Q: What movie or move actor comes to mind when you hear the word ... are
you ready ... "Justice"?
- For me, I think of John Wayne. He was a big man in the
westerns, almost always playing a "good guy" who enacted justice for
the "bad guy."
- In John Wayne movies, the line between good and evil was clear.
The good guys were good and bad guys were very bad.
Q: Why do we so enjoy seeing justice enacted?
- Perhaps because each of us has a sense of right and wrong
(conscience) and we don't want to see those who do wrong get away
with it.
- We have a desire to see good overcome evil.
- Another way of thinking about it - we do not want evil to grow
and become dominant.
Life does not always reflect this clear line of good versus evil and
the quick enactment of justice.
Q: When you look around the world today, do you see God's justice?
- In the Sudan, hundreds of thousands have been killed by military
militias, women raped as a "weapon" of war, people enslaved and
humiliated. And the bad guys are still in charge.
- Dictators in countries all over the world oppress and steal from
their own people to enrich themselves and the military that protects
their brutal leadership.
- Anything good to eat is either fattening, high in cholesterol,
induces cancer, brain tumors, or any number of horrible diseases
(OK, this one is just a funny one, but the point is the same - where
is the justice?).
While we long for instant justice, we do not see it in our world.
And it is not often that we think to praise God for His justice -
because it is often delayed (at least from our point of view).
1 I will praise you, O LORD, with all my
heart; I will tell of all your wonders.
2 I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing praise to your name, O
Most High.
3 My enemies turn back; they stumble and perish before you.
(Psalm 9:1-3, NIV)
Are your prayers begun with this kind of praise for God's justice?
God is just. And God enacts justice in this world.
Whenever we pray, we should keep these things in mind about God's
justice.
1. God rules from Heaven as a righteous judge.
4 For you have upheld my right and my cause;
you have sat on your throne, judging righteously. 5 You have rebuked the
nations and destroyed the wicked; you have blotted out their name for
ever and ever. 6 Endless ruin has overtaken the enemy, you have uprooted
their cities; even the memory of them has perished. 7 The LORD reigns
forever; he has established his throne for judgment. 8 He will judge the
world in righteousness; he will govern the peoples with justice. (Psalm
9:4-8, NIV) The psalmist is King David. He took over
a troubled kingdom from Saul, a man who did not follow God with his
whole heart. Friend, if you are engaged in half-hearted obedience
to God right now, you need to realize you have a troubled kingdom:
- The kingdom of your heart is troubled
- The kingdom of your family will be troubled
- The kingdom of God will be troubled by your failure to advance
God's agenda.
David, on the other hand, was a man after God's own heart:
After removing Saul, he made David their
king. He testified concerning him: 'I have found David son of Jesse
a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.'
(Acts 13:22, NIV)
This does not mean David was perfect - far from it. But his
heart was loyal to God. Whenever he wandered from God's path
(which was not often), he always repented and turned back to the God
he loved.
During David's reign as king, he fought many battles. He
took the nation of Israel into battle at God's direction:
8 When the Philistines heard that David
had been anointed king over all Israel, they went up in full force
to search for him, but David heard about it and went out to meet
them. 9 Now the Philistines had come and raided the Valley of
Rephaim; 10 so David inquired of God: "Shall I go and
attack the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?" The LORD
answered him, "Go, I will hand them over to you." 11 So David and
his men went up to Baal Perazim, and there he defeated them. He
said, "As waters break out, God has broken out against my enemies by
my hand." So that place was called Baal Perazim. 12 The
Philistines had abandoned their gods there, and David gave orders to
burn them in the fire. 13 Once more the Philistines raided the
valley; 14 so David inquired of God again, and God
answered him, "Do not go straight up, but circle around them and
attack them in front of the balsam trees. 15 As soon as you hear the
sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, move out to
battle, because that will mean God has gone out in front of you to
strike the Philistine army." 16 So David did as God commanded him,
and they struck down the Philistine army, all the way from Gibeon to
Gezer. 17 So David's fame spread throughout every land, and the LORD
made all the nations fear him. (1 Chronicles 14:8-17, NIV, emphasis
mine)
David was fortunate to see God's justice enacted on many
occasions for three reasons:
- He sought the LORD's direction before he took action.
- He obeyed the LORD's will when he took action.
- It was in God's timetable to enact justice for the nation of
Israel to establish them in the land God had promised them.
And so David sees God as a just God:
- Seated on His throne - taking His rightful place (v4)
- Enthroned forever - cannot be overturned (v7a)
- Established righteous judgment - that's God's plan (7b-8)
Q: Since we do not always see God's justice enacted today, how
does that affect your confidence in God?
- It can be problematic for many people.
- If you have suffered a personal tragedy in your life, the
lack of justice can be a hindrance to personal faith and
obedience to God.
God's delay in enacting justice does not reflect a lack of caring
or compassion. God "will judge the
world in righteousness; he will govern the peoples with justice"
(Psalm 9:8, NIV).
2. God will bring literal, physical, and actual justice to all
nations over all the Earth.
17 The wicked return to the grave, all
the nations that forget God.
18 But the needy will not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the
afflicted ever perish. 19 Arise, O LORD, let not man triumph; let
the nations be judged in your presence. 20 Strike them with terror,
O LORD; let the nations know they are but men. (Psalm 9:17-20, NIV)
A famous preacher in his day was Robert G. Lee (not the confederate
general ;-) He was at one point the president of the Southern
Baptist Convention. His most famous sermon was entitled "Pay
Day -- Someday." Here is the main point:
"Pay Day -- Someday" is written in the constitution of
God's universe. The retributive providence of God is a reality
as certainly as the laws of gravitation are a reality.
1
"The retributive providence of God" is not how we talk today.
But it simply means getting what you deserve. You will get
what you deserve from God. That is a reality as sure as night
follows day. Q: When you look back on how you have lived, how do
you feel when you hear that you are going to get what you deserve
from God?
- It is quite chilling to me. I know my life does not
measure up in the slightest to God's holiness and righteousness
and love.
There will be a "Pay Day -- Someday." As the Bible says
here, people of the nations will know that they are but men and,
by inference, that God is God. In fact, during a terrible
time of punishment, God will literally, physically, and actually
judge the nations of the Earth for their rejection of Him.
Here is how bad it is going to get when God enacts justice for
the wickedness of men: 15 Then the
kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the
mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves and
among the rocks of the mountains. 16 They called to the
mountains and the rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face
of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17
For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?"
(Revelation 6:15-16, NIV) Notice that those who
have continually rejected God and His Son (the "Lamb" in this
passage) ask the mountains to fall on them. They would
rather die than turn to God for mercy. The book of
Revelation unfolds horrific judgments on the nations of the
world for rejecting Him. This is getting pretty depressing.
Is there any hope? Yes. Q: Did you know that God has
already enacted ultimate justice for every single person on this
planet?
3. God's justice is delayed to allow His redemption time to work.
We wonder why God does not strike down some particularly
wicked person. You may have had a loved one killed by a
drunk driver - why does not God strike down that person?
You may have been betrayed by someone close to you - why does
not God simply "zap" that person? Because He has already
exacted the greatest punishment to the greatest degree that
could ever be enacted. He sent His only Son, the LORD
Jesus, to the cross: 22 "He committed
no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth."23 When they
hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he
suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to
him who judges justly. 24 He himself bore our sins in his body
on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for
righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. 25 For you
were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the
Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. (1 Peter 2:22-25, NIV)
On the cross where Jesus died, God has already enacted justice
for every person in the world. What we see as delayed
justice (or delayed punishment for the wicked) is, in reality,
justice delivered. Jesus took the rap, as it were, for all
the wicked things done by all the wicked people for all time.
Jesus "died for sins, once for all, the
Righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God" (1 Peter
3:18, NIV). This was perfect justice. Had God
instantly punished us for our sins, then we would all be dead.
We would be nothing more than a little brown spot on the floor -
squashed like a bug. Instead, God's perfect justice
involved redemption. And so the psalmist said:
13 ... Have mercy and lift me up from the
gates of death, 14 that I may declare your praises in the gates
of the Daughter of Zion and there rejoice in your salvation.
(Psalm 9:13-14, NIV) The psalmist prays, "have
mercy ... that I may declare your praises ... and rejoice in
your salvation" (Psalm 9:13-14, NIV). King David looked
forward to the coming of God's Messiah - Jesus Christ. One
day Messiah would come to deal with the problem of sin in the
world. David knew that and eagerly awaited that day. Oh
happy day - the day of Messiah has already come. Nearly
2,000 years ago, the cross was stained with His blood. The
perfect man (the God-Man, Jesus) paid the ultimate price for sin
(death) and He did it as a substitute for Y-O-U. He chose
imminent grace instead of imminent justice. The wicked can
and will prevail for a time. Many a great nation has come
and gone over the years. Every nation in history that has
rejected God has fallen - every single one. Q: Why do we think
that the nations today are any different?
4. God deserves our praise at all times whether we see justice
prevail today or not.
9 The LORD is a refuge for the
oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. 10 Those who know
your name will trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken
those who seek you. 11 Sing praises to the LORD, enthroned in
Zion; proclaim among the nations what he has done. 12 For he who
avenges blood remembers; he does not ignore the cry of the
afflicted. (Psalm 9:9-12, NIV) Q: What are some
examples from your own life where you have experienced a clear
injustice?
- Consider the situation where you get demoted from your
job, another person is hired into your old position, and
then you are assigned to report to the person who took your
job at a higher level?
- Consider the situation where you show unfailing love to
someone - day in and day out. No matter how bad their
attitude, selfish actions, or poor choice of words you
continue to exercise grace and kindness toward them.
But they never respond back in kindness.
- A close family member gets sick and you get to take care
of that person. No one else in the family lifts a hand
to help. You ask and they refuse - "too busy" they
say.
How can we praise God when we see injustice in our own
life?
- Keep the big picture of God's plan and His end game
in mind: "he [God] who avenges
blood remembers; he [God] does not ignore the cry of the
afflicted" (Psalm 9:12, NIV).
- There was justice on the cross for all injustice for
all time: "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" (Acts 17:31, NIV).
- Keep the right personal perspective: in
Christ, you are a child of God (John 1:12) and you will
not be forgotten: "Those who
know your name will trust in you, for you, LORD, have
never forsaken those who seek you" (Psalm 9:10, NIV).
While anger flares up quickly when you experience
injustice, think just as quickly about God's ultimate
justice on the cross. This will dissipate your
anger and allow you to experience joy and rejoice in
God's justice. End Notes
1. Lee, Robert G. Payday, Someday. Retrieved
9/12/2009 from
http://www.sbc.net/aboutus/sbvoices/rgleepayday.asp
Copyright 2009, Randy Lariscy.
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