God is a fair and just God. This daily devotional looks at how He treats all, including in judgment.
Nuggets
- God is just because He shows no favoritism.
- When God must judge us, He is just in His judgment.
- God’s being just stems from His mercy and compassion.
- God’s being just does not allow Him to accept sinful behavior.
To read devotions in the Redo for Godliness series, click the appropriate button below.
Devotions in the Finding Our Center series
We looked in the last devotion how God is perfect. Next, we are going to look at being just.
Let's Put It into Context
Here is a running list of what we’ve discussed previously.
Just Treatment of All
“The Rock — his work is perfect; all his ways are just. A faithful God, without bias, he is righteous and true.” (Deut. 32: 4 CSB)
God is just because He shows no favoritism.
Burder contended that we learn about God’s attribute of being just by looking at His justice. He gave a quick definition of what just is: “… giving to everyone his due.”
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How does God being just play out? Burder wrote, “God is just in punishing disobedience to His holy law.”
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Some worldview people would take issue with that statement for several reasons.
- They don’t feel God is just.
- They don’t feel like God should be the one to judge.
- They don’t feel God’s laws should be laws.
First, some worldview people don’t feel God is just because they hear Him described as a God of love and see the consequences of sin. In their minds, A does not lead to B.
God is just even when He punishes those who break His laws and commandments. It is us that bring the punishment on ourselves, not Him. We choose to break His laws and commandments.
Second, God has no right, according to worldview people, to be their judge. To them, regardless if He is the Creator, they want control of their own lives.
As Creator, He does have control of everything. He has not abdicated that control to anyone. We are accountable to Him.
Third, worldview people have issues with the laws themselves. God has declared some things are a sin, which they think should not be.
God is sovereign God. He not only has the right to decree what the laws are, he has the right to punish disobedience of those laws. The BST & Crosswalk Staff wrote, “Likewise, although this is hard for many to accept, his sentencing of evil, unrepentant sinners to hell is also right and good.”
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What we cannot forget, as Raikes reminded us, that God possesses the morals and attributes He is asking us to possess. That is why we are called to be imitators (Eph. 5: 1).
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Paul told us another way that God is just. “For God does not show favoritism” (Rom. 2: 11 NIV).
God offers salvation to all. “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (II Pet. 3: 9 ESV).
We all have the same opportunity for His mercy and grace. It is our decision alone whether we are going to accept His salvation and submit to Him.
Just Judgment
“You could not possibly do such a thing: to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. You could not possibly do that! Won’t the Judge of the whole earth do what is just?” (Gen. 18: 25 CSB)
When God must judge us, He is just in His judgment.
God judged Sodom and Gomorrah because of its sinfulness. Before He did this, He told Abraham what He was going to do.
Abraham had some questions for God. Well, really it was a variation of the same question. If You found righteous people there, would you destroy the good with the evil?
Abraham knew God. He couldn’t see God punishing the faithful with the unfaithful.
Did you see what Abraham said? “… Won’t the Judge of the whole earth do what is just?” (Gen. 18: 25 CSB).
• Abraham did accuse God of killing the faithful with the unfaithful.
• He didn’t say God would withhold His protection from the faithful.
He basically said, “It isn’t going to happen.”
And it didn’t.
No, God didn’t save the cities. He didn’t find the number that Abraham got down to. “Then he said, ‘Let my lord not be angry, and I will speak one more time. Suppose ten are found there?’ He answered, ‘I will not destroy it on account of ten.’ (Gen. 18: 32 CSB).
God is still just even though He destroyed the two cities for wickedness. “For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you” (Ps. 5: 4 ESV).
God did save Lot, his wife, and his two daughters (Gen. 19: 15). Well, he tried to save the wife, but she looked back. He tried to save the future sons-in-law, but they wouldn’t believe.
We just said that God decrees what is right/good. Emmons wrote, “He ought therefore to feel and act according to His moral discernment of what is right in the nature of things.”
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That makes any deviation of that decree wrong/evil. God can punish evil.
Binning had an interesting take. He wrote, “All His ways are judgment; just and true in all His ways is the King of saints.”
I guess I can see that. All of our deeds are written in the books discussed in Revelation. He judges whether they are good or not.
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Fun Fact
God’s judgment of us is based on His just disposition toward us.
Being Just Because of Mercy
“What should we say then? Is there injustice with God? Absolutely not! For he tells Moses, I will show mercy to whom I will show mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then, it does not depend on human will or effort but on God who shows mercy” (Rom. 9: 14-16 CSB)
God’s being just stems from His mercy and compassion.
Lyth reminded us of God’s immutability. This applies to His being just, also.
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His fair treatment of us is not dependent on us. “So then, it does not depend on human will or effort but on God who shows mercy” (Rom. 9: 14-16 CSB).
That God is just stems from His mercy. God’s mercy is an act of sovereign will that produces an unexpected response from God as He responds in love to our needs.
Therefore, when God judges, His just judgment is given through mercy. Paul said that it has nothing to do with us.
God’s being just does not allow Him to accept sinful behavior. “Although they know God’s just sentence — that those who practice such things deserve to die — they not only do them, but even applaud others who practice them” (Rom. 1: 32 CSB).
Emmons contended that sinners consciously sin against God. They know that they are not choosing to live for God.
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God will stay true to His character.
Making the Connections
We are given free will. Free will is the ability within us to make decisions, which determine actions that produce character.
It is our choice to obey God’s laws and commandments. It is arrogant of us to think we can disobey those laws and commandments and not suffer the consequences.
God is not unjust because He passes judgment on our actions.
How Do We Apply This?
Raikes applied justice to perfection for us. He wrote, “To make this justice perfect, as all the attributes of God must be supposed to be, it will descend to every particular in our conduct; nothing will be too small to be noted; nothing can be concealed from Him; nothing will be overlooked by Him. To make it consistent with the spiritual character of His nature, and with that spiritual holiness which He requires in His people, it will extend to every thought, to every purpose, to every hidden wish of the heart, as well as to every work and to every action.”
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Ooo, baby. How many things are we to watch?
• Watch the small stuff.
• Don’t try to concealed anything from Him.
• Don’t expect a pass.
• Watch every thought.
• Apply it to every purpose.
• Watch every hidden wish of the heart.
• Apply it to every work and to every action.
Emmons cautioned us not to love things that are displeasing to God. This willful disobedience displeased God.
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We need to accept that God is just and realize that His ways are higher than ours (Isa. 55: 8-9). We make a conscious decision to believe in Him.
Father God. We thank You that You are just. You do reward those who have turned their lives over to You and punish those who have not. Lord, we choose to obey You. Amen.
What do you think?
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