Justice

Revelation 16:5-7 (PHILLIPS)

^5-6 ….“You are righteous, O Lord, the one who is and who was and who is to be, because you have judged these things. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink. For it is their just due.”

⁷ And I heard the altar say, “Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are your judgments.”

Webster’s 1828 dictionary defines ‘justice’ as: The virtue which consists in giving to everyone what is his due. 

I have heard many energetic Christians talking lately about the ‘Justice’ of God.    God has always had a heart for justice according to scripture, God loves His creation and desires to redeem mankind, yet God’s ‘justice’ demands the penalty of death for our rebellion against God’s higher standards, that is why He sent His Son Jesus to suffer and die on our behalf so that He could pay our penalty by becoming our redemption.  It is a debt we could never pay on our own.

In truth, we do not deserve the gift of redemption that God has given us.  God’s gift is overwhelmingly undeserved.  If you even try to imagine God actually dying for us (while we were still rebels) it boggles the human mind, and brings us the realization that we are no more than just recipients of the unmerited favor of God.  Even though it is undeserved, God still desires to offer it freely to us because of the sacrifice of Christ Jesus.  That is the true demonstration of God’s Justice.

Romans 5:8 (NASB)

⁸ But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

I have heard many arguments from well-meaning people concerning social justice.  Some have blamed God for the suffering in the world, God is also blamed for abuses coming from sex trafficking, and the uprising of errant sexual behavior among our young people here in the United States and abroad.  Some of the arguments included: “Isn’t it God’s fault that people are born with a human nature that can’t be changed?”  Or, “why doesn’t God just change people and bring them back to some kind of ‘normal’ behavior?”  “Why must so many people be allowed to suffer?”  “Why does it seem there is no hope?”  “Where is Justice in it all?”  These are truly valid questions, and tough questions to tackle.

Romans 13:12-14 (NIRV)

¹² The dark night of evil is nearly over. The day of Christ’s return is almost here. So let us get rid of the works of darkness. Let us put on the armor of light.

¹³ Let us act as we should, like people living in the daytime. Have nothing to do with wild parties. Don’t get drunk. Don’t take part in sexual sins or evil conduct. Don’t fight with each other. Don’t be jealous of anyone.

¹⁴ Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ as your clothing. Don’t think about how to satisfy what your sinful nature wants.

True Christianity isn’t about tolerance by blindly accepting permissive or errant behavior or opinions, true Christianity is about living a ‘poured out life’, about becoming a suffering servant. We are called to put on Christ and to share in His suffering.  But in our suffering there is hope as we are empowered by receiving more of Christ.  And with more of Christ there is fullness of joy.   It seems like a paradox doesn't it?   But that is the wisdom of God.  The song below calls this: “…the inside, outside, upside down kingdom where you lose to gain, and you die to live.”  It is truly opposite from what we would normally think.

Now, what does it mean to share in Christ's suffering?  I believe it is to partake in His burden for lost humanity.  Many of us have been  called to various acts of service to our communities, and this service is vital to serving the body of Christ and others.  But service (or works) are not our primary focus as much as prayer is. 

Matthew 20:25-28 (NIRV)

²⁵ Jesus called them [His Diciples] together. He said, “You know about the rulers of the nations. They hold power over their people. Their high officials order them around. ²⁶ Don’t be like that. Instead, anyone who wants to be important among you must be your servant. ²⁷ And anyone who wants to be first must be your slave.

²⁸ “Be like the Son of Man. He did not come to be served. Instead, he came to serve others. He came to give his life as the price for setting many people free.”

Living a ‘poured out life’ is becoming intimately acquainted with our Lord and knowing His heart for the lost, the broken, the poor and the needy.  His desire is to operate within us so that He may serve others through our obedience.  This is where the Justice of God has it’s greatest impact, when we begin allowing God to break our hearts for the things that break His. 

Philippians 2:5-8 (CEV)

⁵ and think the same way that Christ Jesus thought:

⁶ Christ was truly God.

But he did not try to remain

    equal with God.

⁷ Instead he gave up everything

    and became a slave,

when he became

    like one of us.

⁸ Christ was humble.

He obeyed God

and even died

    on a cross.

Searching out this hidden ministry of prayer doesn’t make the headlines or make for great discussion, because this is something private between God and us.  Desire for justice is what forms in the man or woman of God as we become empowered by grace and become warriors in the truth. 

Prayer is the place where we meet our true self, as we empty ourselves out before the Lord we are drawn into intimate face-time with God.  This is why Jesus recommended that when we pray, we do it in the privacy of our closet with no one around, and speak with Him honestly and openly regarding the injustices that surround us daily.  There we have the opportunity to ask Jesus to fill us with Himself, so that we in our brokenness may partake of His heart and be empowered to be His voice, His hands and His feet to demonstrate God’s justice to the world we influence.  Prayer is where these convictions are activated. 

John 15:10-17 (KNOX)

¹⁰ You will live on in my love, if you keep my commandments, just as it is by keeping my Father’s commandments that I live on in his love.

¹¹ All this I have told you, so that my joy may be yours, and the measure of your joy may be filled up. ¹² This is my commandment, that you should love one another, as I have loved you. ¹³ This is the greatest love a man can show, that he should lay down his life for his friends; ¹⁴ and you, if you do all that I command you, are my friends. ¹⁵ I do not speak of you any more as my servants; a servant is one who does not understand what his master is about, whereas I have made known to you all that my Father has told me; and so I have called you my friends. ¹⁶ It was not you that chose me, it was I that chose you. The task I have appointed you is to go out and bear fruit, fruit which will endure; so that every request you make of the Father in my name may be granted you. ¹⁷ These are the directions I give you, that you should love one another.

God’s justice is always about LOVE!  Loving the un-loveable! 

↓ Click Here to listen to the song

Servant of All
Words and Music by Misty Edwards

I want to be Your lover

show me how to go lower

For in the depths I will find You

where You are serving my brother

I want to be with You where You are

I want to be with You where You are

I want to be with You where You are

You're the servant of all

I'm in love with a king who became a slave

I'm in love with a God who is humble

You got to go down

if you want to go up

You've got to go lower

If you want to go higher and higher

You’ve got to hide and do it in secret

If you want to be seen by God

It’s the inside outside upside down kingdom

Where you lose to gain

and you die to live

All lyrics are subject to US Copyright Laws and are property of their respective authors, artists and labels. 

The music above is copyrighted by the respective artists, and is demonstrated here for educational purposes only.

Guitar Tabs Click Here