The following student report was submitted by Ambassador League Agent Kelcey W. during the 2009-2010 League.
Mission: Research on Justice
Justice is getting what we deserve. It is God holding Himself to the law He has established regarding sin. Justice is in fact a core part of who God is. Justice is the main reason Jesus had to come to earth and die in our place. The world would be chaos and pain without justice. Without punishment (or consequences for actions) wrong can never be stopped; if there is no negative outcome, why should that person who did wrong change his ways?
God's justice required the sacrifice system to temporarily pay for sins. After Adam and Eve disobeyed God, the rest of mankind was also under the curse of sin, and there was no way man could redeem himself fully. Under God's law, blood was the required payment for sin. However, because He loved His creation, He set up a way for His people to sacrifice animals for their sins as a picture of the horribleness of sin, but also of the perfect Lamb that was to come – Jesus. God's sense of justice could not allow us to get away with all the bad things that we do, but He loved us so much that letting us die in hell was not an option. His justice could allow for one clause: the sacrifice of a sinless Man. If this sinless Man was willing to give His life as a ransom for the rest of mankind, then the payment for sin would be met. Since we live in the church age, we know that this Man, this Messiah, came as Jesus and sacrificed His life on the cross to meet this requirement. He was not a political messiah, as the Jews hoped He would be, but He was a spiritual Messiah that paid the sin-debt to meet God's requirement of justice. Old Testament believers did not have this knowledge, but as they sacrificed animals, they could look forward to this coming Messiah and hope in the promise that God had given them.
As we become more and more like Christ, one of the characteristics showing in our lives should be justice. God says it is not our place to pervert justice or to twist justice in favor of the poor, but rather be just. David, when he was king of Israel, administered justice to his people by exhibiting fairness when interpreting the law and handed out punishment with mercy. The Bible says that the king should do justice and righteousness. God even says that justice is more pleasing to Him than sacrifice.
Daniel 32:4 says, "He is the rock, and His work is perfect, for all His ways are justice – a God of truth without injustice – righteous and upright is He." Every way that He metes out justice will be right. It is important to remember that God is not bound to a law of fairness or our concepts of justice. God is the standard of justice, and He follows what He knows is just. It may not line up with our human conceptions of justice, but because His nature is so rooted in justice, we can be confident that He will do what is right.
Christ came to give justice to the Gentiles. As Americans most of us would be considered Gentiles, and before Christ came, Gentiles were greatly disliked by the Jews. Because God loves the entire world and not just the Jews, His salvation was for everyone. Through Christ, everyone can be justified and have the payment for their sins met by Jesus' death on the cross. That is good news! It should also cause us to be merciful in our justice, because that is what God did for us. We must also be careful not to carry out justice when it is not our place to do so. "Vengeance is mine, says the Lord, I will repay." (Romans 12:19) God has a high standard for justice, but He is also compassionate and merciful. When God administers justice, He does it with love and mercy. Thank God for that! Where would we be left in justice without mercy? Our sin would condemn us and there would be no hope for redemption. We would be sentenced to life apart from God forever, in hell, if not for His Son who was willing to be justice for us.
