About Jesus Steve Sweetman
A Matter Of Justice
As part of the seventh bowl judgment found in Rev. 16:5 an angel loudly proclaims, "you are just in these judgments". The judgments referred to by this angel are so devastating that they destroy the earth and all therein. Maybe this angel feels compelled to confirm that these judgments were in fact just since they were so terrifying.
As part of the fifth seal judgment in Rev. 6:9 to 12 men and women who were killed because of their faith in Jesus cry out saying "how long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood". These martyred saints knew it was not their place to repay evil with evil because that’s their Lord’s job. Now the Lord uses very extreme measures to bring about this judgment, but of course many people today think Jesus is too loving to do such things.
As I’ve studied the book of Revelation of late I’ve noticed that one of its main themes is that "God is just and because He is just He will judge". I think in many cases we promote God’s love at the expense of His justice. This is not right because He is just as much just as He is loving. God is just and His justice demands judgment.
I’ve been in many prayer meetings over the years and I can’t remember hearing anyone cry out to God to bring justice and judgment to the world as the Rev. 6 martyred saints do. The same applies to worship services. I can’t recall any songs that proclaim God’s justice and the severity of His judgments as the seventh bowl angel proclaims. I guess we like to think of more pleasant things. I’ve heard some people call this kind of talk "doom and gloom" but I think the book of Revelation calls it the "majestic power of God".
The book of Revelation is full of examples of God’s justice that is seen in His judgments. If justice is this important to God then we should acknowledge it more than we do, and we should demonstrate such justice in the way we live. Take church finances for example. We spend lots of money on buildings, programs, salaries and other things, but how much money do we spend on matters of justice?
I can think of at least three individuals in my locality that have had a major injustice done to them because of a wrong judicial decision. These people are attempting to reclaim their lost lives and receive compensation for wrongful conviction and imprisonment, all of which costs lots of money that they don’t have. Our church finances would be well spent in helping such people in these matters of justice whether they are Christian or not. Why should we do this? Because truth and justice matter to Jesus and if it matters to Him, it should matter to us.
The Bible is clear. God is love, but He does not love at the expense of justice that demands judgment. And concerning us, we leave the judgment up to the Lord. In the mean time, as we love, we also uphold the truth in matters of justice in whatever way possible.