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!