Without Justice

Justice and righteousness are two interlinked terms. Dictionary.com defines justice as "righteousness, equitableness, or moral rightness." When Paul writes, "The just shall live by faith," (Rom 1:17), he uses the word, δίκαιος -- dikaios -- meaning "righteous." To "justify" is "to declare righteous." The two are not identical, but they are inseparable. You can't have justice without righteousness. You can't have righteousness without justice.

Considered by many the philosophical friend of atheism, Immanuel Kant wrote Critique of Pure Reason in which he questioned the viability of reasoning out the existence of God. He later wrote Critique of Practical Reason in which he argued that if morality was to have any basis, then there must be a God. He said that in order for morality to exist, there had to be justice. Since we don't see justice in this world, there would have to be ultimate justice. For there to be ultimate justice, there would have to be an Ultimate Judge. This Judge would have to be holy -- not guilty of any violation Himself -- omniscient to know all the facts, omnipotent to be able to carry out judgment, immutable in order not to vary in His judgment, and so on. If there is to be any basis for morality, there must be a "Judge of all the earth" (Gen 18:25). And this Judge must necessarily do what is just.

Having established all this, it is important to note that mercy and grace are not justice. Mercy is withholding just punishment and grace is undeserved favor. Similarly, forgiveness on its own is not justice. In all three of these, on their own, we see kindness but we do not see justice.

I hope you can see the problem, then. We worship a merciful and gracious God. He shows mercy and grace to the undeserving. He forgives sin. He does all this to our great relief and appreciation. The problem? If that is how it stands, God is a lot of nice things, but one thing He is not is just. If His mercy, grace, and forgiveness are alone, Abraham was wrong about God (Gen 18:25). The Judge of all the earth does not do what is just. He does what is nice, but not what is just. Now, many would like to say, "Well, then, that's okay. A forgiving God is better than an angry God. We prefer a forgiving God to a just God." What we forget is that if there is no ultimate justice -- if God is not ultimately just -- then there is no foundation for morality. There is no right. Righteousness is meaningless and morality is vain. Dostoevsky said, "If there is no God, everything is permitted." The same holds true if there is a God, but He is not just. If God simply forgives on a whim, then the Hitlers and murderers and child-rapists and right-wing anti-vaxxers are free to proceed with all manner of evil because there are no consequences for doing so and no reason not to. Go ahead; God will forgive you. Don't worry about it.

We really cannot bear the justice of God. If we were given justice for our choices in life, it would be intolerable. Now, let's see ... what word do we use for "intolerable" ... oh, yeah ... it would be Hell. But we know that God is just and we know that God is merciful, gracious, and forgiving. So is it possible to put those two facts together coherently? Can we have both a just God and a forgiving God? There is only one way, and, for a variety of reasons, this way is the one rejected by unbelievers and self-proclaimed Christians alike. Of this way Paul writes, "The word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." (1 Cor 1:18). Scripture describes Jesus as having paid for our sin with His blood (e.g., Rom 3:23-25; 1 John 1:7). Without that payment (Col 2:14; 1 Cor 6:20; 1 Cor 7:23; Gal 3:13), we are without hope. With that payment God can be both "just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus." (Rom 3:26). By receiving the just payment for our sin from Christ, He can justly extend mercy, grace, and forgiveness to us. If Christ did not pay that price, we cannot have forgiveness. Never let them tell you otherwise. Grace, mercy, and forgiveness are the kind gifts God gives to those who place their faith in Christ's payment on our behalf. If Christ did not die for our sin, either justice and morality is dead or there is no God. And we are of all people most to be pitied.