God’s Justice

God is Perfection. His justice operates out of His word given for man to live by. Justice is a part of God’s very nature.  It is that characteristic of God that made Him place within the life of angel and man a free will, even though He foreknew that they could and would use it against themselves, and against Him. For God to withhold or restrict their freedom of choice would be contrary to His perfect nature.

Omnipotence and Omniscience execute perfect justice at all times and in all circumstances, without any limitations or boundaries, without any violation of His love and perfection. God is not intimidated by any situation that may arise, nor is He incapable of resolving any issue that His own creation might bring upon themselves, whether good or evil. Neither would His perfection be influenced by His foreknowledge of the action of angels and men.  He is the Supreme Being!

Justice is inherent in every single law of God. It is also a component of the free-will concept and responds appropriately to the law of good and evil, right and wrong, holy and unholy, innocence and guilt; so that whatever choice angel or man may make, justice responds perfectly. If they sow that which is evil, they reap evil: corruption, jealousy, hate, sickness, distress, failure, unhappiness, and separation from the presence of God. If they sow that which is good, they reap good: health, peace, victory, success, blessing, happiness, and the continuance of God’s favor.

For example, the law of justice is inherent in God’s Ten Commandments, for the appropriate law of justice is applied, executing cursing on the disobedient and blessings on the obedient. God does not have to sit on His judgment seat and judge individual cases and nations. This is automatically executed by His law of justice, based on His eternal unchangeable Word and determined as we exercise our free choice.  Angels and man, therefore, decide their own fate based on God’s given word.

I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life that both thou and thy seed may live:—Deuteronomy 30:19

And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.”—John 3:19

Justice that is within God’s Law weighs the facts, circumstances and motives surrounding the offence and it rules accordingly. It also takes into account God’s plans and purposes. Let us consider the rulings in the case of two of God’s creations—the archangel, Lucifer and the first man and woman, Adam and Eve. Lucifer was one of the three archangels given the privilege of serving in the throne room of God.  Similarly, Adam and Eve were God’s greatest earthly creation and work of art, in whom God placed His own image and likeness, and gave them planet earth as their own. Both Lucifer and God’s first children were privileged, special, created beings of God.

I find two aspects of God’s justice applied in the case of Lucifer and Adam and Eve. In the case of Lucifer, there was no reprieve considered on his sentence for treason and murder.  This was so because Lucifer soberly, consciously, and deliberately used his free will to corrupt himself allowing iniquity to enter his heart. With this condition of heart, he tried to exalt himself above God, thereby violating God’s universal law and order which set God as Supreme and which govern all of creation. In so doing, he corrupted himself and went on to corrupt Adam and Eve, bringing sin and death to mankind. Lucifer was not deceived. Nor was he innocent.  He had forfeited the honor God had bestowed upon him and the privilege of sharing the divine life. This was his choice and justice must follow, and it did. He brought upon himself the sentence of eternal punishment which will take place in the Lake of Fire prepared for him and the angels that supported him.

In the case of Adam and Eve, however, they were granted a reprieve because of their innocence. Adam and Eve were deceived and violated by Lucifer, now called Satan, whose intent was to inflict evil, corruption, and death upon them. Satan’s act was directed at God more than it was directed toward Adam and Eve. Satan wanted them to sin against God and to mar the image and likeness of God in them so that he could then have a claim on the earth by default. He took advantage of their innocence, their inexperience, their purity of heart, and he deceived them. Because Adam and Eve did not have full knowledge and understanding of what they were coerced into doing, they did not soberly, deliberately, and consciously direct their free will to challenge God’s universal law and corrupt His established order. Note, however, that their innocence did not exempt them from the consequences of disobeying God’s specific instructions to them. The verdict imposed the penalty of expulsion from the Garden of Eden. This also meant a life without relationship, fellowship, and dialogue with God, as well as strenuous labor for the rest of their life until their flesh, which is now corrupted, would degenerate, die, and go back to the earth. If the imposed penalty is paid with sinless blood, their spirit can again be reunited with God. If not, it will be eternally separated from God and go into Satan’s Lake of Fire.

All of creation looked on with keen interest at the method of justice that God would apply. God’s justice is not carried out in terms of human knowledge and response, based on right and wrong, good and bad, partiality and impartiality, favor or disfavor. God bases it on the principle of individual choice and consequence. The offence, therefore, determines the course of justice and, as such, God can never be accused of injustice. Justice, being an element of the free will, exempts God from any charge of partiality or injustice. This is why when Lucifer and Adam and Eve chose to violate God’s law, in spite of their position and privilege, God could not withhold justice from taking its course.

Sin metes out its own judgment without God’s inclusion. This is an inherent principle of cause and effect in God’s law. When we obey God’s law, which is His Word, the inherency of blessings—goodwill, peace, prosperity, and happiness—follow. When we disobey His law, the inherency of cursing is applied and sorrow, pain, distress, sickness, and failure follow. Most of the time, God is silent and allows consequential justice to run its course. However, there is a time when God verbalizes a prescribed judgment for the benefit of creation and for establishing a record of the consequences of sin for our learning and example.

God’s righteousness demanded that there be a penalty for sin. As man is an extension of God by virtue of His image and likeness seeded in him, God could rightfully and justifiably pay the penalty for man’s sin; and in His love, He did.

For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. —John 3:16

God is creation’s example of perfection, holiness and justice, and cannot be otherwise. All of creation would crumble if His justice was determined by His emotions or anything that would result in inconsistencies.  God’s justice, however, is established through His eternal, unchangeable Word.