Justice

Television shows about persons seeking justice seem quite popular. There are shows like “Judge Judy”, “Justice for All”, “People’s Court”, “Divorce Court, etc. Just watching those shows makes us realize that obtaining justice is not always easy, nor even guaranteed.  

The Bible gives many examples of judgment situations, for example:

·      Solomon being asked to decide who is the mother of a baby (I Kings 3:16-28). Solomon’s wise decision: Cut the baby in two and give each woman half.

·      The case of the woman caught in adultery (John 8:1-8). The judgment: Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.

Romans 14:11-12 cautions: “For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. Each of us will give an account of ourselves to God. Therefore, let us stop passing judgment on one another.”

But in John 12:46-47 Jesus says: “I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness. If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world.”

After Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension He is still doing an important work in Heaven for us. While Satan is accusing us, pointing out our sins before God, Jesus is our Advocate – pleading our case before the Father and defeating the accuser. While this is not an encouragement to persist in sin, we need not be fearful to appear before God, for Jesus paid our sin debt by His death on the cross, and God sees in His children the perfect righteousness of Jesus.

Finally, “Judgment today is often seen as cold and harshly legal. But in the biblical sense, judgment is something for God’s people to look forward to. It is a time that all the wrongs of earth will be made right. If there is no judgment at the end, there will never be any justice in this world” (SDA Adult SS Lesson 10 – Qtr. 1 2019 – Teacher’s Comments).