W1D4 of the study: “Who Should I Be?”, by; Me-from the Inside Out
Today’s Scripture: Deuteronomy 32:3-4,10:17; Psalm 9:7-8, 37:27-29
Turn away from evil and do good;
Psalm 37:27-29 ESV
so shall you dwell forever.
28 For the Lord loves justice;
he will not forsake his saints.
They are preserved forever,
but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.
29 The righteous shall inherit the land
and dwell upon it forever.
When I think about God being “JUST” I think I get it – but can I just admit that I’m having difficulty trying to put it into words? So bear with me as I borrow some words from Jen Wilkin’s book as well as from the trusted words of Scripture. For instance, the words found in Deuteronomy 32:3-4 tell us that “{God’s] ways are entirely ‘just’. He is a faithful God, without prejudice, He is righteous and true. Or how about, Deuteronomy 10: 17, where we read – “He shows no partiality and takes no bribes.” The Psalmist wrote that God “judges the world with righteousness; He executes judgment on the nations with fairness.” (Psalm 9:7-8). We see this fairness played out in Psalm 37:27-29, where we read, “For the Lord loves justice and will not abandon His “faithful ones.” They are kept safe forever, but the “children of the wicked” will be destroyed…” God’s judgment is based on the same criteria for everyone, which was/is on our positioning with God, or what we understand as New Testament believers to be justification through Christ.
God’s justice is untainted by sin. He is always right and perfect in all He does. His being just, is based on His knowledge of our actions, thoughts, and motives – which are weighed or measured against His perfect law, given so we might know right from wrong.
Me – from the Inside Out
“But the cross is where Christ suffered for the sins of many. none is righteous, no, not one (Rom. 3:10). The fate of Sodom, (Gen. 19) is the fate we all deserve. At the cross, God’s towering justice for the many, for me, white-hot and sulfurous, holy, equitable to the crimes it repaid, rained down from heaven on the only just human ever to walk the earth. Willingly, the just suffered for the unjust, that He might bring us to God. This is why the Bible reminds us that if we confess our sins, God is not only faithful to forgive our sins, but also just [to cleanse us]. Because Christ was punished in our place, God would be unjust to punish us for a sin that has already received its recompense. – The need for excuses, for self-justification is removed. We are justified before God in Christ [alone].”
Thus, “The life of the believer who loves the justice of God will be marked not by score-keeping, but by reverent obedience. it will be marked by a love of the moral law that reshapes our desires to reflect those of our heavenly Father. It will be marked by humble submission to where our good Governor sets the limits of what is right The immediate effect of understanding God’s justice will be an inward-facing desire to obey. The long-term effect will be an out-ward-facing desire to do justice for others.
Called to Do Justice
Much like we are called to be holy, loving, and good – we are also called to “do justice” or to “act justly”. …and what does the LORD require of you – but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with Your God? (Micha 6:8) “We act justly when we intercede on the behalf of widows and orphans, sojourners, and indigents. We act justly when we intercede on their behalf, ensuring that they are treated as humans created in the image of God. We should be the first to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, welcome the stranger, visit the sick. We should secure justice for the oppressed, because to do so is to look like God. To do it as though we have done so for Christ Himself (Matthew 25:35-40) “
“What is the will of God for your life? That you be just as He is just, delighting in His law … and doing justice daily as children of Your heavenly Father.”
All quotes unless otherwise noted are by Jen Wilkin from her book, In His Image