The Justice of God

(1) God is just.

"Then Abraham approached him and said: "Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing - to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?"" - Genesis 18:23-25 (NIV)

"Be sure of this: The wicked will not go unpunished, but those who are righteous will go free." - Proverbs 11:21 (NIV)

"The LORD is slow to anger and great in power; the LORD will not leave the guilty unpunished." - Nahum 1:3a (NIV)

"The wicked will not go unpunished..." - Proverbs 11:21a (NIV)

(2) Being just, God would not allow our sins to go unpunished. In His sovereignty, He ordained that Jesus would take the punishment for our sins, that Jesus would pay the wages of sin (ie. death - even death on a cross!) on our behalf.

"Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all." - Isaiah 53:4-6 (NIV)

(3) God demonstrated His justice by presenting Jesus as a sacrifice of atonement.

"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished - he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus." - Romans 3:23-26 (NIV)

"...but those who are righteous will go free." - Proverbs 11:21b (NIV)

(4) Being just, God would not allow Jesus (who lived a perfect life and hence did not deserve to pay the wages of sin - not least on our behalf) to remain dead.

"Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him." - Acts 2:22-24 (NIV)

(5) God demonstrated His justice by raising Jesus from the dead.

"David said about him: 'I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will live in hope, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.'" - Acts 2:25-28 (NIV)

To recap...

(1) God is just.

(2) Being just, God would not allow our sins to go unpunished. In His sovereignty, He ordained that Jesus would take the punishment for our sins, that Jesus would pay the wages of sin (ie. death - even death on a cross!) on our behalf.

(3) God demonstrated His justice by presenting Jesus as a sacrifice of atonement.

(4) Being just, God would not allow Jesus (who lived a perfect life and hence did not deserve to pay the wages of sin - not least on our behalf) to remain dead.

(5) God demonstrated His justice by raising Jesus from the dead.

Reflecting on (2) and (4), the justice of God is such that God would not allow our sins to go unpunished and God would not allow Jesus to remain dead.

Through the cross - when (3) God demonstrated His justice by presenting Jesus as a sacrifice of atonement, and the resurrection - when (5) God demonstrated His justice by raising Jesus from the dead, God is both 'just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus' (Romans 3:26b, NIV).

"He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification." - Romans 4:25 (NIV)