Articles
The Justice of God
The Justice of God
“Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God...”
- Rom. 11:22
Doesn’t the Bible speak of the justice of God, as well as His mercy?
Isn’t God divided with regard to his character, with wrath/justice on one side, and love/mercy on the other, and the two in conflict? If they are in conflict, is the wrathful side stronger, or is his merciful side stronger? Which one has priority for satisfaction?
God chose to reveal to us His word on this, and to ask that we love it and cherish it with all of the understanding we can glean. We have to fight through every preconception to find out what he is saying.
There is no denying that God’s wrath and mercy are both taught in the Bible. But the problem many have is that they believe in their hearts that these two are in conflict, and that God has to keep them “balanced”. That God has his merciful side and his justice side, and that he wants to be merciful, and he IS merciful for a while, but sooner or later the wrath or justice side will have to break out on us. But is this what God teaches us about his wrath and mercy? Does he tell that his wrath demands punishment, even though his mercy would be inclined to “let us off”?
God’s wrath is based in his holiness, righteousness, AND his love. His wrath grows from his great love for us and for all men. “His wrath is for a little while, but his mercy endures forever.” His wrath and his love are satisfied in the same way, because they have the same root and they work to the same end – man reconciled in holiness unto God. If God the Father does ANYTHING, that thing is both merciful and just. It cannot be otherwise. His severity to those who reject is real, and his goodness toward the believer is likewise abundantly clear. But the difference is not in Him – His motive is the same.
Suppose a wise and benevolent and holy man has two sons, the one obedient, devoted, industrious, and the other lazy, immoral, irresponsible. If the father freely forgives the good son for a transgression he has committed, is he merciful? Just? Both? Yes, He is both. If he is angry [wrathful] and punishes the wicked son for a transgression, is he just? Merciful? Both? Yes, He is both. Even if he should be driven to the measure of “cutting off” his son from his household or inheritance, he still is both merciful and just in doing so. This is because he is ever motivated by the higher purpose of the good of His sons, and the punishment and blessing are both manifestations of his character, which is just and merciful. If an earthly father CAN be so, can we not see how our perfect Heavenly Father MUST be so?
Jesus came to show us the Father. He is the ultimate revelation of the character of God. If a thing is true of our Father’s nature, it must be true of Jesus. If Jesus shows us something in His character, it must be a character of our Father. What does Jesus show us about mercy and justice? When He forgave sins, was He unjust? When He showed mercy to sinners was He violating justice? When He harshly rebuked the Pharisees was He without mercy? When in wrath He drove out the moneychangers, did He abandon His love? To ask these questions is to answer them. What is true of Jesus’ character is true of the Father. It is the grand revelation of the universe: Jesus Christ is the brightness of God’s glory and “the express image” of God’s person, Heb. 1:3.
Larry Walker
- The_Justice_of_God.doc (54.27 kB)
