BiblicalInsights.net

The wonder of God should stimulate “inquisitive awe in the pursuit of an understanding of all of the perfections of the excellent majesty of God.”  Pursuing the wonder of God is a certain cure for boredom!  Pursuit of the knowledge of who God is and what God has done is a thrilling quest of the human heart that is certain to bring excitement to the human soul.  This pursuit is a lifetime spiritual endeavor.  Those who undertake it are immediately rewarded intellectually and spiritually.  Keep the wonder!
God’s Justice Defined
God’s justice or righteousness is an intrinsic moral perfection of God.  There are six moral perfections of God:  holiness, justice, jealousy, perfection, truthfulness and goodness (love).  Each of these moral perfections are interrelated.  Consequently, God’s justice is interrelated to His holiness, truthfulness, and perfection.  God’s laws stem from His moral perfections.  Justice is based upon truth.  No truth, no justice.  Objective truth originates in the mind of God and is conveyed through the revelation God has made by the Holy Spirit.  This revelation we call Scripture.  God is and reveals the ultimate standard of righteousness and by this standard all mankind will be judged by Jesus Christ (Acts 17:31).  God’s justice is His righteousness applied to the human soul.
God’s Justice Revealed
Ps. 89:14, “Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face.”  Justice (God’s intrinsic moral perfection) and judgement (God’s decrees regarding man’s conduct) are inherent in His majesty as King as kings (His sovereignty).  Justice could not exist without truth and one of God’s moral perfections is truthfulness.  In fact, God cannot lie (Heb. 6:18; Titus 1:2; Rom. 3:4).  This important truth about God has tremendous implications for our faith.  Faith in God is never a “leap in the dark” as some falsely claim.  Our personal faith is rooted and grounded in the objective truth God’s has revealed in holy Scripture (Rom. 10:17).  God’s justice expresses itself in mercy or in condemnation.  In order for us to be justified, God’s applies His mercy based upon the atoning power of the blood of Jesus Christ.  When Christ’s blood is applied to our life, we are forgiven (Rom. 5:8-9).  If Christ’s blood is not applied to our life, then we remain unforgiven which is the very definition of condemned.  God’s mercy toward us is conditional.  The terms or conditions are stated in His Word which today is given in the New Testament.  God has always dealt with man through a unilateral covenant.  God gives the commandments and human beings must follow them.  Since Jesus’ death on the cross, when the New Testament went into force, God has dealt with us on the terms of the New Covenant or the Law of Christ (Col. 2:14, Eph. 2:13-22; Heb. 9:15).  The words of Jesus Christ will judge us in the last day (John 12:48).
Heb. 1:8, “But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever; a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of thy kingdom.”  A scepter is a standard of rule.  The scepter is a symbol of imperial authority.  God’s reign/rule is eternal.  God’s reign/rule is universal.  God’s reign/rule is inherent in His righteousness.  God has ultimate authority to bind and loose and exercises this authority over all of mankind.
Ps. 19:9, “The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.”  The LORD’S decrees are based upon His true ordinances, laws or commandments.  God is righteous altogether.  Truth is that which conforms to reality as God defines reality.  To reject the truth is to accept irrationality.  It is to believe a lie and this would lead to vanity in life.  To reject the truth revealed by God would bring condemnation to our soul through the execution  of God’s justice.
Zephaniah 3:5, “The just LORD is in the midst thereof; he will not do iniquity: every morning doth he bring his judgment to light, he faileth not; but the unjust knoweth no shame.”  The violation of God’s law (no matter what covenant is in force at the time) is the definition of injustice.  The unjust are unrighteous.  The unrighteous know no shame.  They act with impunity because they do not fear God, but they will face God’s justice!
The Application of God’s Justice To Us
Righteousness is the standard of justice that God will use to judge the people of this world.  “Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained whereof  he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.”  This righteous standard is the very words of Jesus Christ (John 12:48).  When Jesus comes the second time, He will come as the judge of all people. People will be judged according to their deeds (Rom 2:6).  God’s justice is involved in manifesting mercy to those who have known Him and obeyed the gospel of Christ (II Thess. 1:7-9; Rom. 1:16, Rom. 5:8-9).  Justification is based upon the substitutionary sacrifice Jesus made of Himself for the sins of all human beings.  Those who have obtained forgiveness through the blood of Jesus have no fear of the wrath of God.  However, those who reject Jesus and His words, will be condemned by their unbelief and disobedience (Mark 16:16; John 8:24).  They will be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power (II Thess. 1:7-9).
We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ (II Cor. 5:10).  We must all face the justice of God.  Will we face God forgiven or unforgiven?  Only you can answer that question.  Only you can believe and obey the gospel of Christ (Mark 16:16).