God’s justice

1. God’s justice “…he will lead justice to victory” (Matthew 12:20)

2. Heaven and Hell: • Entering into the presence of God • God’s wrath: • God sadly abandoning/forsaking/giving up/handing-over his children who choose to leave his side • God’s justice

3. What is God’s justice? • Substitute another word for justice • Punishment?

4. What is God’s justice? • “God is love, but God also punishes the sinner and hates all who do iniquity. God is not one sided. He is not simply an infinitely loving God. He is also infinitely just. He must deal with sin. He must punish the sinner.”

5. “We will bring the terrorists to justice.”

7. Problems • Assumptions • Wrath of the Lamb • Failure to take the Bible as a whole • Fire/Gehenna • God’s wrath • God’s justice • Failure to hold Jesus as the defining image of God’s character

10. “Then I saw heaven open, and there was a white horse. Its rider is called Faithful and True; it is with integrity that he judges and fights his battles. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and he wore many crowns on his head. He had a name written on him, but no one except himself knows what it is. The robe he wore was covered with blood. His name is ‘The Word of God.’ The armies of heaven followed him, riding on white horses and dressed in clean white linen. Out of his mouth came a sharp sword, with which he will defeat the nations. He will rule over them with a rod of iron, and he will trample out the wine in the wine press of the furious anger of the Almighty God.” (Revelation 19:11-15)

11. What is God’s Justice? • “Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations. He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out, till he leads justice to victory.” (Matthew 12:18-20 – NIV)

12. “How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You give to God one tenth even of the seasoning herbs, such as mint, dill, and cumin, but you neglect to obey the really important teachings of the Law, such as justice and mercy and honesty. These you should practice, without neglecting the others.” (Matthew 23:23)

13. “Then the LORD spoke his word to Zechariah. He said, ‘This is what the LORD of Armies says: Administer real justice, and be compassionate and kind to each other. Don't oppress widows, orphans, foreigners, and poor people. And don't even think of doing evil to each other.” (Zechariah 7:8-10)

14. “Defend the poor and fatherless; Do justice to the afflicted and needy.” (Psalm 82:3)

15. “Wash yourselves clean. Stop all this evil that I see you doing. Yes, stop doing evil and learn to do right. See that justice is done---help those who are oppressed, give orphans their rights, and defend widows.” (Isaiah 1:16-17)

16. “This is what the LORD says to the dynasty of David: ‘Give justice each morning to the people you judge! Help those who have been robbed; rescue them from their oppressors.’” (Jeremiah 21:12)

17. “The LORD is waiting to be kind to you. He rises to have compassion on you. The LORD is a God of justice.” (Isaiah 30:18)

18. “For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: ‘Enough, you princes of Israel! Stop your violence and oppression and do what is just and right. Quit robbing and cheating My people out of their land. Stop expelling them from their homes, says the Sovereign LORD.’” (Ezekiel 45:9 - NLT)

19. “The LORD has told us what is good. What he requires of us is this: to do what is just, to show constant love, and to live in humble fellowship with our God.” (Micah 6:6-8)

20. tsadaq (or t’sedeka); mizpat (mishpat) • “Act with justice (mishpat) and righteousness (tsedeka), and deliver from the hand of the oppressor anyone who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the alien, the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place” (Jeremiah 22:3 NRSV).

21. “The gist of Tsedaka is charity, the giving of your time or money to help someone else, without expecting something in return. It is one of the cornerstones of the Jewish religions.”*

22. …Jewish kings were commanded to practice mishpat u’tzedakah. The literal translation of this term is “justice and righteousness” or “justice and charity.” Classical as well as modern commentators agree that this command does not refer to “courtroom justice and charity” but to social justice. The major wrongdoing to which the prophets objected was not the perversion of the judicial process, but oppression and exploitation of the poor by the political elite and the wealthy classes…One modern political scientist wrote, ‘the execution of righteousness and justice in the royal domain refers primarily to acts on behalf of the poor and less fortunate classes of the people.’ This policy was implemented primarily by means of social legislation rather than by court judgments. The idea (or ideal) of social justice has a long history in Judaism.” “From Charity to Social Justice”, Frank Loewenberg, Published by Transaction Publishers, 2001, page 159

25. Justice that does involve punishment • “I will discipline you, but with justice; I cannot let you go unpunished” (Jeremiah 30:11 NLT).

26. God’s justice • Not: • Quid-pro-quo payback justice • Retributive justice • Legal justice or justice that involves an imposed painful penalty

27. Jesus’ justice • Healing the sick, lepers, blind, the deaf • Eating with sinners and tax collectors • Feeding the 5,000 • His treatment of women • “Blessed are the meek – for they will inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5) • “Blessed are the poor; the kingdom of God is yours.” (Luke 6:20)

28. “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.” (Romans 3:25-26 – NIV)

29. “God offered him, so that by his blood he should become the means by which people's sins are forgiven through their faith in him. God did this in order to demonstrate that he is righteous. In the past he was patient and overlooked people's sins; but in the present time he deals with their sins, in order to demonstrate his righteousness. In this way God shows that he himself is righteous and that he puts right everyone who believes in Jesus.” (Romans 3:25 – GN)

30. “While retributive justice seeks to fit the punishment to the crime, attempting to control wrongdoing through punishment, restorative justice forgives the crime and seeks to redeem wrongdoing through a repairing of the relationship…At the Cross we see God turning away the opportunity to exact retributive justice and the demand for retribution, and instead God would choose to forgive. • Sharon Baker. Stricken by God? William Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2007, pages 234-235.

31. “At the Cross we come face to face with the shameful depravity of our own sin by coming face to face with the One who has the right and the power to punish but who instead loves and forgives…In the face of human hatred and hardness of heart, God still managed to redeem.”

32. Objections • Makes God a “softie” • Makes light of sin

33. Analogy: Patient-physician • Sin • God’s wrath & justice viewed as retributive punishment that is externally imposed • Smoking • Physician’s wrath & justice viewed as retributive punishment that is externally imposed

34. Turning to God from fear • Legalism • Obedience • Obsessed with ones legal standing