What is justice? Is God just in His judgement?
What is justice? Is God just in His judgement?
How is God’s justice declared? Justice is a term used for what is right or “as it should be.” Justice is one of God’s attributes and flows out of God’s holiness. Justice and righteousness are often used synonymously in the Bible. Since righteousness is the quality or character of being right or just, it is another attribute of God and incorporates both His justice and holiness.
Did I mention that God’s justice is a good thing? God is not mean. Justice is required and God is blameless in His approach to justice. Is God fair? Yes. God’s justice is without any partiality. We can trust God completely.
Are we creating hindrances for other believers?
Life is tough. Jesus knows that. He really knows that.
Jesus has a warning.
Am I ready to hear it?
He said to his disciples, “Hard trials and temptations are bound to come, but woe to him for whoever brings them on! Better to wear a millstone necklace and take a swim in the deep blue sea than give even one of these dear little ones a hard time! | Luke 17:1-2 (The Message Bible)
10 Times Christians Actually Should Judge Others
Should Christians judge others? Wife, mother, and Mimi, freelance artist and photographer, DiAne Gates writes for children, young adults, and non-fiction for adults through her blogs, http://dianegates.wordpress.com/ and www.floridagirlturnedtexan.wordpress.com.
“You’re not supposed to judge.” And fingers waggle in the face of believers bold enough to confront the current world rebellion against God’s Word. Those finger-shakers cherry pick—lifting Scripture out of context to squelch our rebukes. But does Scripture really prohibit differentiating right from wrong?
Every believer is to judge him or herself according to the Word of God. But many of us don’t know enough of the Word to correctly judge ourselves much less anyone else. Jesus instructed us to snatch the beam out of our own eye before we attempt to rip the speck from someone else’s eye. God, however, gives authority within the body of believers to rebuke and correct when His Word and His righteousness is violated.
“Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth and be turned aside to fables” (2 Timothy 4:2-4 NKJV).
Source: 10 Times Christians Actually Should Judge Others
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Is justice a quality displayed in Jesus the Messiah’s life?
Is justice a quality displayed in Jesus the Messiah’s life? Absolutely. God is God. God has given Jesus, His Son, the sacred honor of ensuring justice. I may not see it today, but I will see it. May God have mercy on me, a sinner.
Jesus has been given the authority, from God, to administer justice. I cannot begin to understand God’s justice unless I first understand sin (missing God’s goal).
I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.
~Jesus| John 5:30
Jesus defends his actions and claims to be God’s son
- John 8:16 “But even if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone in it, but I and the Father who sent Me.
- John 4:34 Jesus *said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.
- John 6:38 “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.
- John 8:14 Jesus answered and said to them, “Even if I testify about Myself, My testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from or where I am going.”
- John 5:37 “And the Father who sent Me, He has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time nor seen His form.”
What about Justice?
- “I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.” | John 5:30
- Matthew 23:23 (NASB) — “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.”
- Matthew 12:18–21 (NASB) — “Behold, My Servant whom I have chosen; My Beloved in whom My soul is well-pleased; I will put My Spirit upon Him, And He shall proclaim justice to the Gentiles. He will not quarrel, nor cry out; Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets. A battered reed He will not break off, And a smoldering wick He will not put out, until He leads justice to victory. And in His name the Gentiles will hope.”
- Sin is lawlessness (1 John 3:4) and iniquity (Daniel 9:4-5; Micah 2:1; James 3:6). It embodies everything contrary to God’s holy nature and is offensive to Him. Sin is a crime against God and justice demands a penalty (Romans 1:18-32; 2:5; 3:23).
- God sent His Son, Jesus the Messiah, to pay that penalty for me (Romans 5:8-11; 6:23) and made salvation available to all who believe in His name (John 1:12; 3:15-17; 20:31).
- Since righteousness is the quality or character of being right or just, it is another attribute of God and incorporates both His justice and holiness. I am stunned by the amazing justice of God and His son Jesus.
- Justice is a term used for what is right or “as it should be.” Justice is one of God’s attributes and flows out of His holiness. Justice and righteousness are often used synonymously in the Bible.
- I want to see justice. God promises it will happen. That is some very good news. God is a just God and will right all wrongs.
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Could Jesus, Paul and James all be wrong?
This theme seems very clear. There isn’t too much to be added here. 8 very specific references citing Jesus, Paul and James.
Should I be the judge? The early disciples of Jesus clearly understood what Jesus expected of them. This is important.
Is Judgement Always Forbidden?
Below is some great insight written by Jeremiah Johnson with Grace to Know ministry.
Love, don’t judge.
For many people in the church, that simple slogan has become the kneejerk defense in the face of criticism and confrontation. At some point, believers decided that careful discernment and agapē love are diametrically opposed; that judgment is always a threat to our unity in Christ. And with no regard for the quality or content of the exhortation, too many Christians speedily deploy Matthew 7:1 as an all-purpose, get-out-of-jail-free card: “Do not judge so that you will not be judged.”
Writing thirty years ago in his commentary on Matthew’s gospel, John MacArthur explained how that verse is routinely misapplied as a shield against confrontation and conflict in the church.
This passage has erroneously been used to suggest that believers should never evaluate or criticize anyone for anything. Our day hates absolutes, especially theological and moral absolutes, and such simplistic interpretation provides a convenient escape from confrontation. Members of modern society, including many professing Christians, tend to resist dogmatism and strong convictions about right and wrong. Many people prefer to speak of all-inclusive love, compromise, ecumenism, and unity. To the modern religious person those are the only “doctrines” worth defending, and they are the doctrines to which every conflicting doctrine must be sacrificed. [1]
In the intervening decades, the church’s appetite for criticism, conflict, and confrontation has only further diminished. And in that same time, the misunderstanding and misapplication of this verse and others like it (cf. Luke 6:37; John 3:17) has taken root in the church, skewing its perspective on discipline and judgment, and insulating its people from rebuke and exhortation.
In fact, many in the church today behave as if confrontation and discerning judgment are forbidden. Any confrontation—whether it’s a question of personal holiness or doctrinal disagreement—is seen as prideful overstepping and an attack on the unity of God’s people. As John MacArthur explains,
In many circles, including some evangelical circles, those who hold to strong convictions and who speak up and confront society and the church are branded as violators of this command not to judge, and are seen as troublemakers or, at best, as controversial. [2]
But Matthew 7:1 has nothing to do with avoiding conflict in favor of unity, or ignoring doctrinal or moral error in the name of love. As with many of the abused verses we’ll examine in this series, a simple look at the context makes the original intent of Christ’s words abundantly clear.
Read more here:
Blog Post – Is Judgement Always Forbidden?
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Beware of Criticizing Others
Judge not, that you be not judged. —Matthew 7:1
Jesus’ instructions with regard to judging others is very simply put; He says, “Don’t.” The average Christian is the most piercingly critical individual known. Criticism is one of the ordinary activities of people, but in the spiritual realm nothing is accomplished by it. The effect of criticism is the dividing up of the strengths of the one being criticized. The Holy Spirit is the only one in the proper position to criticize, and He alone is able to show what is wrong without hurting and wounding.
It is impossible to enter into fellowship with God when you are in a critical mood.Criticism serves to make you harsh, vindictive, and cruel, and leaves you with the soothing and flattering idea that you are somehow superior to others.Jesus says that as His disciple you should cultivate a temperament that is never critical.
This will not happen quickly but must be developed over a span of time. You must constantly beware of anything that causes you to think of yourself as a superior person.There is no escaping the penetrating search of my life by Jesus. If I see the little speck in your eye, it means that I have a plank of timber in my own (see Matthew 7:3-5).
Every wrong thing that I see in you, God finds in me. Every time I judge, I condemn myself (see Romans 2:17-24). Stop having a measuring stick for other people. There is always at least one more fact, which we know nothing about, in every person’s situation.
The first thing God does is to give us a thorough spiritual cleaning. After that, there is no possibility of pride remaining in us. I have never met a person I could despair of, or lose all hope for, after discerning what lies in me apart from the grace of God.
Source: Beware of Criticizing Others | My Utmost For His Highest
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Will there be a day of judgement?
Las Vegas
Tyre and Sidon were well known pagan cities in Jesus time. It might be like saying Las Vegas and New Orleans will have it easy on Judgement Day compared to Atlanta that has a church on every corner.
Jesus is in our midst performing amazing miracles. Do we see Him? Do we hear Him? Do we believe Him?
It is easy to judge places like Las Vegas and miss what He is doing in Dallas. May I see Jesus in the here and now. May I respond to Him.
God is God. There will be a day of judgement.
We may like to believe that a loving God won’t judge us. That would be a mistake.
“Tyre and Sidon will have it easy on Judgment Day compared to you.” ~Jesus (Luke 10:13-14 The Message Bible)
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Are we called to judge?
Ian Debor shares what he learned in devotions about Jesus and his righteous judgment. Ian is from Spotswood, New Jersey. He has been in the Heroes program for two years.