The Judge of All the Earth

"Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?" (Gen 18:25)

It was Abraham talking with God when God informed him He planned to punish Sodom and Gomorrah for their sin. Abraham was dickering with God. He was concerned that God would kill the righteous with the wicked. And he essentially obtained an agreement from God that if a 10 righteous were found in those cities, He would spare them. Spoiler alert. They weren't. He didn't.

The question of God's justice is, I think, more important than we realize. Sure, we get that God is just. Fine. But, to be honest, we're not real fond of His justice. His grace, yes. His mercy, yes. His justice? Not so much. I mean, "If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?" (Psa 130:3) Oh, no, it's not His justice we really like. Because, let's face it, if justice were all there was, we'd all be in deep trouble.

So, sure, we like His justice, just not toward us. On the other hand, we do like the aspect of His justice that demands that those who do well are rewarded for it. And we are thoroughly blessed that His justice was fully met in Christ's sacrifice on our behalf (Rom 3:24-27). Blessed indeed.

But there is another aspect of God's justice that is essential. We recognize this aspect even in human terms when we say to an offending party, "You'll get yours!" You see, without divine justice, morality would have no weight.

Have you ever seen where laws were passed that were not enforced? It is a travesty. It has no real purpose. Rules without consequences--either positive or negative--are useless. In order for objective morality to have any basis, it is absolutely necessary that there is justice. And if we don't see it in this life (and we don't), we must believe that there will really be justice at some point. It is Immanuel Kant's Moral Argument for God.

(1) Morality behavior is only rational if justice will be done.
(2) Justice will only be done if God exists.
Therefore:
(3) God exists.

Now, to be sure, an argument that something is true because the alternative is horrendous is not a real argument, and this is, in fact, Kant's argument. The fact remains that if God is not just, moral behavior is not rational. Thus, God's justice is not only a positive affirmation when it rewards those who do good and a negative warning against doing bad, but it is also an essential basis for all moral behavior.

God's justice is important. Perhaps more important than you realized. Oh, and Abraham's question was the ultimate rhetorical question. Of course He will do what is right which, by the way, is the definition of justice.