Justice, part 2

Thinking about Justice in the Bible, for my sermon this week.

To begin, Justice is directly (and somewhat obviously) linked to God as judge. This is uncomfortable for most of us. One reason has been explored a little in the previous post. Another reason is that we have had the idea of God as judge stolen from hate-spewing preachers who claim every natural disaster, terrorist attack, and calamity as the hand of God. This is not a full view of the biblical notion of justice. As a result we then discard any notion of God seeking justice and judging the earth.

Let's explore some ways God is judge in the Bible:

Genesis 3 is probably the first instance of justice in the Bible. This is the story we all know of Adam and Eve who ate from the tree and rebelled against the command of God. I can't say I understand much of this story. I don't understand why this is considered sin. I don't know why God ever told them not to eat from the tree. All I know is that it sounds remarkably similar to my own story. I know the way I should be, and yet cannot seem to achieve this kind of life. The result, God speaks judgment on Adam and Eve. The judgment God speaks is essentially mortality. Christian theology, largely due to some words of Paul, and later articulated more clearly in Augustine called this the original sin. Now the guilt of this original sin taints all of us, even babies. One thing I learn from this story is that judgment is linked to the command of God, namely I learn that there are consequences to sin. And these consequences reach far beyond me, even to subsequent generations.

Exodus 14 is the story of the parting of the Red Sea. In this passage, the Egyptians are judged for holding the Hebrews in slavery for generations. The Egyptians experienced the ten plagues and now the "horse and the chariot are cast in the sea." God judges the Egyptians and the result is the salvation of the oppressed, the Hebrews.

Later in the Scripture, God judges the people of Judah by destroying the Temple and then sending them into captivity in a foreign land. How could a good God possibly judge the people in this way? They had been led into great apostasy and were in need of severe correction. The major objection most people will (and probably should) raise is how is God good and loving when he allows (and even ordains) destruction on people?

This leads us to the main judgment in the Scripture. I'm not talking about the final judgment. The final judgment pails in comparison to this judgment. All of humanity stands condemned just as Paul (and later Augustine) taught. We stand condemned by the way we participate in the story of Adam and Eve, how we have all participated in the rebellion. We have seen that God cannot tolerate sin. I believe this is in large part because God has created us for so much more. We are created to live in the very image of God, imago Dei and yet we have settled for so much less. We have settled for a lie and when we confess this lie through our lives as the ultimate truth in our lives, then we stand condemned, condemned by our own confession. Knowing that we cannot remove this condemnation, God judges humanity. But his act of judgment is as unbelievable as you can imagine. He endures our judgment. He takes it upon himself. He assumes our judgment and releases us from judgment if we would only receive this freedom for ourselves. God is just, and in this he shows his great justice and his great mercy. How can there be mercy without judgment?

When we place our faith in this judgment, then we say in theological terms that we have been justified. We have been made right. God's justice makes us right. This is the very heart and character of God's justice. Not judgment for punishment, but judgment to make things right. We have been made right through justice; we have been justified.

This work of justice has not ended with the work of the cross and with our decision(s) to follow and obey in faith. God is continually seeking to spread his justice. This is similar to how our salvation both begins now and will be completed at the end. Justice started with Jesus and will be completed at the end. In the meantime, God is seeking to make things right. He is seeking justice to be on the earth. He is seeking to end poverty. He is seeking to end human trafficking. He is seeking to end the reign of the evil one. He is seeking to bring people out of depression. He is seeking to bring healing to broken homes. He is seeking to tople the systems that keep people down and in systems of pain and trouble and sin. He is seeking for his word to go out and bring healing. For those in the far away places to be brought into relationship. This answers the question how can God be both good and judge. The bigger question is how could a non-judgment God be good? He is seeking justice. He is seeking to make the wrong things right. God is on mission, the mission of God, the missio Dei.

The question now is turned on us. How will you respond? You've been justified, you've been made right in his image. You've been made a new creation. God is on mission, will you join him? Will you realign your life so that your life reflects the mission of God. In your job, how will you join in God's mission to make things right? In your family, how will you join in God's mission to make things right? In your free time? How about this: in your finances? Does your finances look like someone who has been justified and is now being used by God to make things right?