HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 194
page A192
Justice continued
about God’s mercy as we mete out justice. While justice provides law and order, mercy
provides hope and forgiveness—God’s formula for restoration.
Is God always fair and just?
• PSA L M 6 :1 | O Lord, don’t rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your rage.
• E Z R A 9 :1 5 | “O Lord, God of Israel, you are just. We come before you in our guilt.”
Don’t beg God for justice, because he might have to punish you. Instead, beg for his love,
so he will forgive you. Don’t beg God for fairness, because that might bring judgment.
Instead, beg for mercy, so you can be saved.
• 2 T H E S S A L O NI A NS 1 :5-6 | God will use this persecution to show his justice. . . . In his
justice he will pay back those who persecute you.
When you are burdened with troubles, it is tempting to think that God is not fair or just.
How can God allow a Christian to suffer when so many unbelievers down the street are
prospering? But God has made it clear in the Bible that justice and fairness will often be
perverted in this life by selfish people. The Bible also makes it clear that justice will not
be twisted forever. True justice will one day prevail, forever, for those who follow God.
Why should I strive for justice?
• E X O DU S 2 3 :1 -3 | “You must not pass along false rumors. You must not cooperate with evil
people. . . . Do not slant your testimony.”
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• J O H N 1 4 :1 5 | “If you love me, obey my commandments.”
• A MO S 5 :2 4 | “I want to see a mighty flood of justice.”
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Because God is just, you pursue justice out of your love for him.
• PSA L M 5 8 :1 1 | Then at last everyone will say, “There truly is a reward for those who live
for God; surely there is a God who judges justly here on earth.”
• R E V E L AT I O N 2 0 :1 2 | And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as
recorded in the books.
God rewards those who seek after justice.
• J O H N 1 4 :6 | Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”
God didn’t just create truth, he is Truth itself. If you want to live for God, you must uphold
truth at all costs or you will become an accomplice to injustice.
• MAT T H E W 2 3 :2 8 | “Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are
filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness.”
• J A ME S 3 :1 6 | For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find
disorder and evil of every kind.
Without justice, chaos and evil will reign. Justice is essential to living in peace.
Why does a loving, sovereign God allow injustice? Why doesn’t he stop it?
• MA L A C H I 2 :1 7 | You have wearied the Lord with your words. “How have we wearied him?”
you ask. You have wearied him by saying that all who do evil are good in the Lord’s sight,
and he is pleased with them. You have wearied him by asking, “Where is the God of justice?”
• J O B 3 5 :1 4 | You say you can’t see him, but he will bring justice if you will only wait.
• L A ME NTAT I O NS 3 :3 6 | If they twist justice in the courts—doesn’t the Lord see all these
things?
• PR O V E R B S 1 7 :1 5 | Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent—both are detestable
to the Lord.
• MI CA H 2 :1 -3 | What sorrow awaits you who lie awake at night, thinking up evil plans. . . .
But this is what the Lord says: “. . . You won’t be able to pull your neck out of the noose.
You will no longer walk around proudly, for it will be a terrible time.”
• G A L AT I A NS 6 :7 | Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always
harvest what you plant.