Day 9: God is Just

Day 9: God is Just

“For I will proclaim the name of the LORD; ascribe greatness to our God! "The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.” - Deuteronomy 32:3–4

We worship a just God in a world filled with injustice. God always does what is right. He always acts in line with his character. In a foundational way, justice has to do with God giving us what we are due. This ought to humble us. We are sinners who deserve judgment. As the Judge of all the earth, everyone must give an account to him "because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness." (Acts 17:31) So, how can God accept sinners like you and me without compromising his justice? Psalm 103:10 says, "He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities." God is gracious and merciful. All of this comes together in a glorious way in the cross of Jesus Christ. On the cross, justice and mercy meet. Jesus took our place. He got what we deserve—the wrath of God against our sin. In turn, we get what we do not deserve—his righteousness. This is what it means to be justified by faith in Christ.

God not only executes justice on the guilty, but he also establishes justice for those who have been wronged and mistreated. In other words, God's justice is not only retributive but also restorative. One theologian put it this way: God stands against "perverting the justice due the poor… slaying the innocent and righteous… accepting bribes…. oppressing the alien, the widow, and the orphan…" God "raises them to a position of honor and well-being… [D]oing justice with an eye to the needy becomes an act [also] of grace and mercy." (Bavinck)

As God's people, we must bear the message of God's justice, which tells us that we are guilty before a holy God, and our only hope is in the cross of Jesus Christ. We must also be a people who reflect God's justice in our lives and the world. Just as God is just, we are called to live just lives in the midst of an unjust world—speaking up for what it is right, being generous to those in need (Ezek. 18:5-9), advocating for the poor and the mistreated (Ps 41:1; Prov. 29:7; 31:8-9). Indeed, God is calling us "do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God." (Micah 6:8)

Prayer

Father, thank you that you don't deal with us according to our sins. I rejoice in your justice, which shows me my sin. I rejoice even more in the cross where your justice and mercy come together. Thank you for saving me and making me righteous in your sight. Help me to reflect your justice in the way I live and the way I treat others. Move me out of my comfortable boundaries towards those who are in need in my community. I want to see people as you do and seek to do justice as you have called me.