THURSDAY
How do we deliver Justice?
So, how do we see justice play out here on earth? Well, justice is fulfilled in people getting what they deserve, either for punishment or protection. Because of our sin we are all accountable to a holy God, so there has to be a penal form of justice here on earth where wrongdoers are punished and the vulnerable are protected. Certainly this is the case, and God governs over the affairs of even our earthly courts.
But going further, the Gospel says that the sinner receives mercy, and Jesus receives the penal justice on our behalf in order to give us His righteousness. This is true justice delivered. And if this is the case, this should prompt us to:
Be Grace in all we do
We will now be motivated to partake in true justice with a truly changed heart. We can have conversations and serve the world around us from a place of humility because we deserved judgment but God gave us justice in Jesus. 1 John 1:9 says “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
It doesn’t say He is faithful and “merciful” to forgive our sins, it says He is “just” to forgive our sins. So that means when we confess our sins to God, we are pleading the justification that comes through Christ. It would be unjust for God to demand a second payment for our sin, when there has already been a perfect one paid through Christ. So, the only way for us to be gracious to people is to realize we have received grace. The only way for us to show mercy is to realize we have received mercy, and the only way to be just is to realize that our justification is accomplished through Christ.