God is….Just

God is just.  What does that mean?  Let's look at a dictionary definition. 

just

adjective

1. guided by truth, reason, justice, and fairness:

We hope to be just in our understanding of such difficult situations.

2. done or made according to principle; equitable; proper:

a just reply.

3. based on right; rightful; lawful:

a just claim.

4. in keeping with truth or fact; true; correct:

a just analysis.

5. given or awarded rightly; deserved, as a sentence, punishment, or reward:

a just penalty.

6. in accordance with standards or requirements; proper or right:

just proportions.

7. (especially in Biblical use) righteous.
8. actual, real, or genuine.

From <http://www.dictionary.com/browse/just>

There is often a tension between justice and mercy.  God is a God of both.  The tension comes from the fact that without Jesus, the two would be mutually exclusive in a way.  When God bestows mercy on someone, a lot of people think that it is at the expense of justice.  I don't believe that is true.  Let me explain why. 

From what I've read God dispenses His mercy to those who have accepted Jesus.  It is one of the rewards for being heirs with Christ.  If that is the case then we can rightly say that God's mercy is only dispensed once the price of justice has been paid.  For those who accept Jesus, the price has been paid for us and we receive mercy.  For those who don't accept Jesus, the have to pay the price of justice for themselves and they don't receive mercy.  Make sense?

So let's take a look at some of the verses that talk about God being just.

Deuteronomy 16:18-20(NKJV)

“You shall appoint judges and officers in all your gates, which the Lord your God gives you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with just judgment. 

You shall not pervert justice; you shall not show partiality, nor take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous. 

You shall follow what is altogether just, that you may live and inherit the land which the Lord your God is giving you.  

2 Samuel 23:3(NKJV)

    The God of Israel said,     The Rock of Israel spoke to me:     ‘He who rules over men must be just,     Ruling in the fear of God.

Nehemiah 9:13(NKJV)

    “You came down also on Mount Sinai,      And spoke with them from heaven,     And gave them just ordinances and true laws,     Good statutes and commandments.

Nehemiah 9:33(NKJV)

    However You are just in all that has befallen us;     For You have dealt faithfully,     But we have done wickedly.

Psalms 7:11(NKJV)

    God is a just judge,      And God is angry with the wicked every day.

I think this will be a surprise for some.  There are many who seem to think that God will play favorites, especially concerning the poor.  Because the Bible says the "poor will inherit the earth" a lot of people think that means that God will favor them whether they accept Jesus or not.  I believe that is an incorrect interpretation. 

Did you ever stop to think it may mean something else altogether?  Revelation tells us that there will be a new heaven when Christ returns.  Did you ever stop to think that maybe "the poor shall inherit the earth" means they are going to get the earth as a left over when the Christians all move on to the new Heaven?  Maybe inheriting the earth is a bad thing instead of the good thing that so many think it is.

Isaiah 45:21(NKJV)

    Tell and bring forth your case;     Yes, let them take counsel together.     Who has declared this from ancient time?     Who has told it from that time?     Have not I, the Lord?     And there is no other God besides Me,     A just God and a Savior;     There is none besides Me.

Zechariah 9:9(NKJV)

    “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!      Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!     Behold, your King is coming to you;     He is just and having salvation,     Lowly and riding on a donkey,     A colt, the foal of a donkey.

Here is another one that may surprise the kumaya Jesus crowd.  Jesus is described as just, just as God is.  That tells me that Jesus will have the same perspective that God has.  In other words only those who do it God's way will get into Heaven. 

Acts 3:14(NKJV)

But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 

Romans 1:17(NKJV)

For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.” 

Revelation 15:3(NKJV)

They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying:      “Great and marvelous are Your works,     Lord God Almighty!     Just and true are Your ways,     O King of the saints!

The patience of hope!

This is sometimes one of the hardest things about being a Christian.  Having to endure the "patience of hope".  No matter how much we would like to have it differently, God always answers our prayers in His time, not ours. 

1 Thessalonians 1:2-3(NKJV)

We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers, 

remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father, 

Formula for prayer

I've always loved this formula for prayer.  Always include thanksgiving in your prayers.  I Tend to start my prayers by thanking God for all the blessing He has already given me before I move on to anything else. 

Colossians 4:2-3(NKJV)

Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving; 

meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains, 

I can't think of a more worthy daily goal!

 

Colossians 3:17(NKJV)

And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

Press towards the mark!

Great advice for life!

Philippians 3:12-14(NKJV)

Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 

Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 

I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Don't look back.  The past is the past and you can't do anything to change it.  Move forward.  Always move forward.  Press towards the mark.  Failure us never permanent as long as you keep getting up and press towards the mark!!!

The ultimate possibility thinker!

Philippians 4:13(NKJV)

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Amen, amen, and amen!!!

This is probably my 2nd favorite foundational Scripture

I have written often about different Scriptures that I consider foundational Scriptures.  That is Scriptures that I use to guide my life on a daily basis.  As you know one of my very favorites is Romans 5:3-5. 

Romans 5:3-5(NKJV)

And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 

and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 

Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

I've written often about the Romans passage so I won't go into it here.

Today I ran across another foundational Scripture that I really don't remember writing much about.  Here it is.

3 John 1:2(NKJV)

Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. 

As I have pointed out in the past, most if not all of God's promises are conditional up to and including the promise of salvation.  We are all guaranteed salvation IF AND ONLY IF we accept Jesus. 

So let's see what God has to say about prosperity.  According to 3 John 1:2 it is God's wish that we PROSPER IN ALL THINGS….just as our soul prospers.  Notice it doesn't say in all things except financial because money is bad.  It says all things! 

But the catch is, God says He wants us to enjoy the promise of prosperity only to the extent that our soul is prospering. 

So If we aren't prospering the way we would like to prosper, what is the clue here?  Look to how our soul is prospering.  Are we doing everything we can to draw closer to God so that our soul can prosper?  Are we in the Word consistently and often?  Are we in prayer?  Are we listening to the Holy spirit and letting Jesus lead us? 

All of these things lead to the prosperity of the soul.  Take care of this part of our lives and the rest will take care of itself!

"…after you have done the will of God,…"

There are a lot of people who think that because God loves everyone, that means everyone is entitle to the rewards of being a Christian without accepting Jesus.  I believe Scripture says otherwise. 

Hebrews 10:34-38(NKJV)

for you had compassion on me in my chains, and joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods, knowing that you have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven. 

Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. 

For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise:

    “For yet a little while,      And He  who is coming will come and will not tarry.

    Now the just  shall live by faith;     But if anyone draws back,      My soul has no pleasure in him.” 

Did you catch that?  After you have done the will of God you may receive your reward (promise).  Scripture tells us that it is God's will that all knees shall bow to Jesus.  Therefore it would be illogical to think that you can reject Jesus and still expect to share in God's promises to believers. 

Confirmations in Scripture

I love it when I find confirmations in Scripture.  I wrote about this a week or so ago.

Ephesians 2:8-10(NKJV)

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 

not of works, lest anyone should boast. 

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

So look at what I found today.

Philippians 1:6(NKJV)

being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; 

So rest assured, if God puts good works in your heart, enjoy the struggles because God will help you see it through to completion. 

The armor of God

There are many who believe that Jesus was a pacifist.  Qs I have written in the past, I believe that is a mistaken belief.  Briefly I'll summarize why and then I'll get to today's passage. 

One of the mail Scriptural reason I believe that is mistaken is that God and Jesus agree on everything.  There is no way you can look at the Old Testament and come to the conclusion that God is a pacifist.  Therefore it would be inconsistent for Jesus to be a pacifist and God not be a pacifist.  Remember, Jesus himself said "a house divided against itself cannot stand."
 

Secondly Jesus said among other things "I did not come to bring peace but to bring a sword".  Those are funny words for a pacifist to say.  I could give other example but you get the point.

So on the these verses from Ephesians

Ephesians 6:11-20(NKJV)

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 

Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 

and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 

above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 

And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 

praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—

and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, 

for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

Notice first it says put on the armor of God.  It doesn't say put on the peace beads.  It also says "the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God".

Wouldn't it be odd for a pacifist to use such militaristic phrases.  Especially the second one.  The Word of God, the Bible, is described as a sword.  Do those sound like things a pacifist would say to you?

"stand fast in liberty…"

Galatians 5:1(NKJV)

Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. 

I don't know why but that phrase struck me this time when I read it.  Connecting Jesus and Liberty.  I'm going to keep an eye out for other Scripture that makes that connection.

My how times have changed!

Ephesians 4:15(NKJV)

but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—

How have they changed?  Speaking truth with love is now speaking truth with hate.  What am I talking about?  The politics of the day. 

Scripture says the truth shall set you free and yet we aren't supposed to speak the truth anymore if it makes anyone uncomfortable.  The easiest example I can think of is when you tell someone who is poor that it is their fault in any way.  Modern politics tells them that it isn't their fault at all. 

How is someone supposed to learn and correct their behavior if they are continually told that they aren't doing anything wrong.  That the system is against them.  If anyone tries telling them the truth like you really need to graduate high school if you want to succeed you are accused of being hateful. 

How is it loving to lie to people and keep them enslaved in poverty?  Or is that the intent?  Hmm?