The justice of God is one of God’s perfections. Find out why Christians can be glad and take heart in His justice, and why non-Christians can only tremble in this message.
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The Justice Of God
Last Sunday, we spent our time considering the mercy and grace of God. We discovered that mercy is not getting what you deserve, and grace is getting what you don’t deserve. Well, I realize that until we consider the justice of God, we won’t really be able to appreciate the mercy of God.
So, this morning, our meditation will be on the justice of God.
1. What Is The Justice Of God?
The justice of God is very closely related to the righteousness of God. In fact, in the New Testament, those two words share the same Greek root. The justice of God means that God will do to every man what is right. God will give every man what he deserves. God never has or ever will do any wrong to His creatures. The Puritan, Thomas Watson said, “The wicked will drink an ocean of wrath, but not sip one drop of injustice.”
2. What Does The Bible Say About The Justice Of God?
Let’s examine some passages of Scripture.
Deuteronomy 32:3-4, “For I proclaim the name of the Lord; ascribe greatness to our God! The Rock! His work is perfect, for all His ways are just; a God of faithfulness and without injustice, righteous and upright is He.” This passage teaches us that all God’s ways are just, and that He is a God who is without injustice. Thus, we can know without a shadow of a doubt, that God will always act according to strict justice. He will always give to man what he deserves.
Psalm 89:14, “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; lovingkindness and truth go before You.” Friends, who sits on a throne? Well, there are two types – kings and judges. What forms the basis of God’s rule as king and judge? Righteousness and justice. That’s how integral God’s justice is. It forms the foundation for His throne.
Acts 17:30-31, “In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now He commands all people everywhere to repent. For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the Man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising Him from the dead.” There is coming a day in which God will judge the world, and He will do so with justice.
Revelation 15:3-4, “And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and amazing are Your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations! Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship You, for Your righteous acts have been revealed.”
I think these texts are sufficient to convince us that justice is an integral attribute of God. God cannot be God and not be just. It is part of His very nature.
3. Where Do We See Biblical Examples of God Exercising Justice?
- When Adam and Eve sinned, God pronounced curses upon them and then banishes them from the Garden of
- In Noah’s generation, the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually, and so the Lord brought a great flood upon the earth to destroy all men except for Noah’s family.
- God sent fire and brimstone upon Sodom and Gomorrah to destroy them because of their wickedness.
- When Pharaoh refused to let the children of Israel go to worship the Lord, God sent the ten great plagues upon them.
- When the children of Israel bowed down to the golden calf, God commanded the Levites to go throughout the camp and kill with the sword every man his brother, friend and neighbor. About 3,000 men died that day.
- When Nadab and Abihu offered strange fire in the tabernacle, the Lord struck them dead.
- When Achan took some gold that was under the ban, all Israel stoned him and his family with stones until dead.
- When the northern kingdom gave themselves to idols, the Lord gave them into the hand of the Assyrians to be carried captive. When the southern kingdom did the same, the Lord gave them into the hands of the Babylonians.
- When the Jews rejected Jesus Christ as their Savior and Messiah, God sent the Roman army to destroy Jerusalem and the temple.
- When Ananias and Saphira lied to God, the Lord struck them dead.
- When Herod was lifted up with pride, the angel of the Lord struck him and he was eaten by worms.
- When Elymas the magician opposed the gospel, the Lord struck him with blindness.
- When the Corinthians selfishly ate and drank all of the food before the rest of the church could gather, the Lord struck some with sickness and others with death.
In all of these Biblical examples, God acts as a Judge, making sure that justice prevails. He is bringing about what is right, what they deserve.
4. What Is Necessary For God To Exercise Justice?
Well, ask yourself what is necessary for a human judge to judge a case perfectly?
1) He must have perfect knowledge of all the facts, so that he can render a just sentence. We have already seen in the Scriptures that God has all knowledge. His knowledge is infinite. He possesses all knowledge of every one of His creatures. He knows their past, present, and future. He is able to read our hearts and understands our hidden secrets. He knows their thoughts, deeds, and motives. He even knows what would have happened in every situation. He is the only One in all the universe with perfect knowledge, so He is the only one who is qualified to be our Judge.
2) He must have the power to execute the sentence He renders. Again, God is the only one qualified in this respect, because He is the only Being in the universe who is omnipotent. His power is infinite. After reaching a verdict, God alone has the power to enforce that verdict. Jesus said in Luke 12:5, “Fear Him who has power to cast both body and soul into hell.”
Our judicial system is occasionally unjust, because either we don’t know all the facts, or having determined the punishment, we are unable to execute the sentence because the prisoner escapes, or gets off through some legal loophole.
5. How Will The Final Judgment Reveal God’s Justice?
Remember that in Acts 17:30-31, “In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now He commands all people everywhere to repent. For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the Man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising Him from the dead.” God promises that He will judge the world in justice. In fact, He has fixed a day in which He will do this. All of human history is speeding towards this day – Judgment Day. Well, let’s take a look at Judgment Day. Revelation 20 describes it as the Great White Throne Judgment.
Let’s read the biblical account in Revelation 20:11-15, “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them; and they were judged, each one of them according to their deeds. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”
In every court case you have these four things: a judge, the defendants, the evidence, and the verdict. In our human courts, we have a jury. In God’s final Judgment, He is the Judge and Jury. He needs no one else to assist in this judgment, because His knowledge is perfect, and His power is infinite
THE JUDGE
Who Is The Judge? He is the One who sits upon a great white throne. Who is it? Acts 17:31 says that God will judge the world with justice by the Man He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead. The Judge is Jesus Christ.
That should not surprise us, because Jesus Himself said in John 5:22, 26-27, “For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son…” “For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man.”
Peter preached to Cornelius and his household in Acts 10:42, “And He ordered us to preach to the people, and solemnly to testify that this is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead.”
2 Corinthians 5:10 says, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”
It is crystal clear that the One exercising judgment in order to bring about justice is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. And that is very fitting, for who else would be better suited to be the judge of all mankind other than Jesus who has a divine and a human nature? He is one of us.
How is the Judge pictured? He is pictured as sitting on a great white throne. Why is His throne described as great? No doubt because of the eternal destinies that will be rendered from this throne. The stakes are infinitely high. Heaven and Hell hang in the balance. Why is the throne described as being white? White in the Bible signifies purity or holiness. The One sitting on the Throne is perfectly righteous in every way. There is no moral flaw or blemish in Him at all. And the judgments He renders are pure, holy, and right. He sits on a white throne, because He is just and His judgments are just.
He is also pictured as the One from whose presence earth and heaven fled away. Why do earth and heaven flee away from His presence? 2 Peter 3:10 says, “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.” The present heavens and earth are going to be burned up and destroyed. They flee away from His presence.
THE DEFENDANTS
Who Are The Defendants? Who is on trial? There are some Christians who believe that only the lost will be judged on this occasion. They say that if the saved are here at all, they are only spectators. I beg to differ. I believe that every son of Adam will be at this Judgment. Revelation 20:12 describes the defendants as “the dead, the great and the small.” I take that to mean, everyone – kings, generals, and billionaires, as well as paupers, hamburger flippers, and the nobodys of this world.
Jesus described the Final Judgment in Matthew 25:31-32, 46, “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats… These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” It is obvious that both the saved and the lost are at this judgment, because Jesus separates all mankind into those two groups, and then sentences the goats to eternal punishment, and receives the sheep into eternal life.
In John 5:28-29 Jesus said, “Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.” Notice that there is a single hour coming, in which ALL in the tombs will be resurrected and brought for judgment. Both the saved and the lost will be there because those who committed the evil deeds will go to judgment, and those who committed the good deeds will experience a resurrection of life.
So, I don’t want you to exempt yourself when you read of this judgment. You will be there, and so will every other human being who has ever lived.
Can Any of These Defendants Avoid The Trial? No, Revelation 20:11 says “and no place was found for them.” What does that mean? I think it means that there was no place they could hide in order to escape this judgment. You can’t hide from God. You can’t exempt yourself from this Judgment just because you don’t want to be there. Whether you like it or not, you will face your Judge, Jesus Christ, on this day.
Where do these Defendants Come From? Verse 13 says, “And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them.” If they were drowned at sea, their bodies are resurrected. If they died and were buried, death gives up those bodies that had turned to dust. Their resurrected bodies are reunited to their souls which are in Hades, which is the place of departed spirits.
THE EVIDENCE
What evidence will be presented at the trial? Verse 12 says, “and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.” Notice, that you have “books” and “another book – the book of life.” There is a vast difference between these books. The “books” that are opened contain a record of the deeds of every human being. That is what will serve as the evidence for God’s judgment. God will look at the deeds of every human being, and He will be able to render a righteous eternal sentence on every human being by looking at their deeds. This might be a surprise to you, but the Bible indicates in every passage in the New Testament, that our deeds will be judged, not our faith. 2 Corinthians 5:10, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”
Jesus Christ will review every person’s actual deeds, their life, in order to see whether they have lived up to God’s moral law. It will be shown that every person is a sinner and has broken God’s law time and time again. Even those who never had the revealed will of God in Scripture will be shown to have broken the law of God written on their consciences. Romans 3:19, “Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God.”
THE VERDICT
Is there no hope for anyone then? All men’s lives will be shown to be flawed and sinful and corrupt when God reviews their deeds. So, is there no hope for anyone then? Thank God, there is another book! It is the book of life. This book is a record of the names of all those who are in Christ, the Lord of life. They have been given life in Jesus. Those who have the Son have life, and those who do not have the Son of God do not have life.
If your deeds prove that you do not love the Lord Jesus, and your name is not found written in the book of life, you are cast into the lake of fire! Not only that, but death and Hades are thrown into the lake of fire, which is the second death. The old adage is true: born once, die twice. Born twice, die once.
How long must sinners remain in the lake of fire? Revelation 20:10, “And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”
However, if your name is found written in the book of life, in spite of your sinful deeds, you will be received into God’s eternal kingdom.
How Do I get my name written in the book of life? Well, if the only way of escape is to have your name written in the book of life, how can I get my name written there? Revelation 13:8 says, “All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain.” Did you notice when these names were written in the book of life? From the foundation of the world! You don’t do something to get God to write your name in this book. God has already written some people’s names in this book.
Conclusion
God is absolutely just, and His justice will perfectly displayed on Judgment Day.
1) Non-Christian, Be Afraid! God will execute justice in your life! Be sure of that. God’s justice requires Him to give you exactly what you deserve. And, because you have no one to remove your sins, you deserve eternal punishment in Hell. You can’t get rid of Hell, by ignoring it, or pretending it doesn’t exist. Hell is real, and real people will spend eternity there. Why? Because God is just. For Hell to disappear, God would have to cease to be just. And for God to cease to be just, would mean God would cease to be God. And because God can’t cease to be God, Hell will stand forever. My non-Christian friend, repent! Turn to God! Put your faith in Jesus Christ! Trust Him to save you forever, and He will.
2) Christian, Be Glad! God’s justice condemns those outside of Christ but saves those in Christ. Remember that God’s justice means He will give to every man exactly what they deserve. But, if that is true, how can believers receive eternal life? They have sinned against God. The key is that they are “in Christ.” Because the Christian has been united to Christ, he receives what Christ deserves, which is eternal life. Jesus perfectly fulfilled God’s law, and thus earned eternal life. The only way you can escape condemnation and inherit eternal life is by being in Christ. “There is therefore, now, no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus” Romans 8:1. Christian be glad! Christ has merited eternal life on your behalf. There is nothing for you to do to earn it. In fact, you can’t earn it. There is no reason for you to try to earn it. Christ has already earned it, and if you are in Him, it is yours!
3) Christian, Take Heart! Sometimes we feel like the wrongs in the world will never be righted. I remember learning about several high ranking Nazis who were complicit in gassing and burning hundreds of thousands of Jews and others in the concentration camps. After the war, they moved to Canada or South America, and were able to live out their lives in comfortable surroundings, never brought to justice for their horrific crimes. But this life is not the end of the story. In the life to come, they will be held responsible for their sins. The wrongs in this life will be righted one day. If someone has done something terribly wrong to you, like sexually abused you, or raped you, or murdered a family member, that can be extremely difficult. It is natural for you to have a deep longing for justice. And sometimes in our world, justice doesn’t come. But for the Christian, justice is coming. If it never comes in this life, we can know that it will come in the next. When you truly believe this, you can obey Romans 12:19, “Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.”
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