A Just Judge

Psalm 89:14 “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.”

I’ve heard it so many times…I want justice! Such is the cry of the one falsely accused or wrongly offended. But who could ever bring about justice unless there was a good judge who was fair, upright, and wise in his rulings.

Justice is a term that is directly affiliated with law. Every judge is held to the standard of the law but if the law is corrupt, what would we ever do?

In every country there are laws meant to bring order and civility among its people. Without laws, chaos would ensue. Without the people who are called to uphold the law, there would only be guidelines without any strength.

The strength of God’s law is manifold. It was the Lord who instituted His law, He is the One who upholds it and brings justice. For the offender, God is the One who renders judgement and determines the offense. God’s laws are not random, they are holy as God is holy.

Justice is served in judgement and we find that because God doesn’t deviate from His standard, believers have security.

A Law of Freedom

Romans 8:1-2 “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.”

What is the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus?

If the definition of the law is a rule of action or instruction, then the rule of walking in the leading of the Spirit is to walk in freedom bought with the blood of Christ. The evidence of salvation is the indwelling Spirit of God in the life of a believer. To walk according to the Spirit of God is to walk in the instruction of righteousness.

2 Corinthians 3:17 “Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”

When a person accepts the free gift of salvation, they choose to subject their heart, mind, and strength to the will and purpose of the Father. The Son of God makes them acceptable because their sin has been remembered no more. Jesus fulfilled the requirement of the law which is perfection, and then He fulfilled our requirement which was death.

James 2:12-13 “So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty.  For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.”

Since the liberty believers have in Christ is freedom from condemnation and judgement, a believer is compelled to walk in accordance with the leading of the Spirit. If they miss the mark and do things by their own strength and will, their actions are not done in faith but from dead works.

Ephesians 4:30 “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”

Believers have more than a loss of reward to be concerned about, they lose fellowship with the Spirit of God when works are done for selfish gain. Lacking self-control is to ignore the moral law in how we live, this is the pattern Paul is talking about in Ephesians 4.

Love in Judgement

1 John 3:4 “Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.”

The standard of God’s judgement is the law. Do you want to know if you’re guilty before God, look into the Law of the Lord (10 commandments) and you can see for yourself. The judgments of God are not left to interpretation, nor are they fuzzy in their application, they are clear, concise, and spiritual.

Then how is love expressed through judgement?

Romans 7:7-12 “What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.” But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead.  I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died.  And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death.  For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me.  Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.”

God is good. God is love. The Law is good and holy, therefore the law is love. Any expression of God is an expression of His love. The law represents the very nature of God, therefore its purpose has its foundation in God’s loving response to His people.

The Wayward Sinner

Galatians 3:24 “Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.”

For the wayward sinner, the law expresses the need for a Savior. Jesus fulfilled all of the law and the prophets, He was who the law was pointing toward and still does today. Sinners don’t realize the full extent of their need for a Savior until the law shows them.

Jesus is the expression of God’s love, when the law points the lost sinner to Jesus, it points them to God’s love.

The Faithful Believer

John 14:15,21 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” “Whoever has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me. The one who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and reveal Myself to him.”

When a lost sinner comes to Christ, the law no longer carries the power of death. The law becomes the pathway for a believer to express their love back to God in their conduct and actions. The Spirit of God is who leads the believer along the path of righteousness.

Righteousness is to walk according to God’s commandments. His commandments are always in accordance with His love for His people and their loving response comes back to Him is by obedience.

Matthew 22:37-40 “Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’  This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’  On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

Loving God/Loving others is the full expression of obeying the Moral law. Only believers in Christ can walk in an expression of obedience. Any attempt at obeying the law apart from Christ is a practice in self-righteousness.

Love and Faithfulness

Finally, getting back to Psalm 89. Righteousness and justice are foundational to God’s seat of power. He upholds holiness and rules the universe by His standard of righteousness–which is perfection. What goes before God, or in other words what people see is His love and faithfulness.

What people are meant to see is Jesus.

Colossians 1:27 “To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

All believers are given the honor of representing Christ to the world. They cannot express Christ faithfully if they are living in sin. The Sprit convicts and grows believers by His sanctifying work, but the practice of righteousness requires self-control, discipline, and at times sacrifice.

God is just in His dealings with mankind. He is fair in His judgement and yet He gives to each the opportunity for new life. Some receive the gift, many choose to reject it, but God always remains faithful.

Do you want to be found faithful?

Walk in the manner Jesus walked, by the power of the Holy Spirit, and you will be represented in love and faithfulness that brings glory to God.