God's Love As It Relates To Justice

As surely as I live, says the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of wicked people. I only want them to turn from their wicked ways so they can live. Turn! Turn from your wickedness, O people of Israel! Why should you die? [Ezekiel 33.11]

This passage refutes what is likely the most misunderstood characteristic of God - His love as it relates to justice.

The apostle Paul wrote that love is the greatest of all. In fact, in Paul's discussion of the matter in 1 Corinthians 13, justice is not even mentioned.

For fallen man, God's holiness is a problem. So holy is our God that, without the works of Jesus on our behalf, God's holiness would simply and exhaustively eradicate us with no trace left. God's holiness, in its unfiltered form, completely consumes unholiness.

Perhaps we should consider God's justice as His holiness, filtered to prevent our total and complete annihilation. In filtering His holiness, God reveals His love for us. Justice is God's merciful way of allowing just enough holiness to perform its consuming, purifying effect to lovingly alert us of our need to repent. Curses (as defined in Deuteronomy 28) are the manifestation of God's justice.

We must understand this or we will never have the relationship with God that He desires!

We must also understand then how Jesus eliminated the need for meticulous religious protocol to accompany repentance and instead replaced it with the simplicity of faith. "Repent and believe" is the message of Jesus. 

Outside of repentance and faith however, justice remains because God's holiness is eternal. Every curse defined in the Bible remains a curse today regardless what title we give it (cancer, diabetes, heart disease, etc...). Likewise, the instigator of curses today remains the same as always: sin. The Law of Sin and Death exists just as much today as it always has in its original form.

But there is another problem. The enforcer of Sin and Death, when he realized his job was in jeopardy because of Christ, began a new campaign to assure himself of ongoing accomplishment. He ramped up his plan to deceive man into believing that curses are not God's loving way to call man to repentance and faith, but instead are simply "bad things just happening to good people." Why would he do this? So people would not repent.

Ironically, all of the intricacies of repentance are discussed in Ezekiel in today's OYCB reading!

For again I say, when righteous people turn away from their righteous behavior and turn to evil, they will die. But if wicked people turn from their wickedness and do what is just and right, they will live. [Ezekiel 33.18-19]

The only different between Old Testament and New Testament is that faith in, and obedience to Christ is the fulfillment of "do what is just and right" above. Repentance will remain necessary as long as sin exists.

1. God says, "I take no pleasure in the death of wicked people. I only want them to turn from their wicked ways [repent] so they can live"
2. Jesus says, "repent and believe."
3. Satan says, "curses are just random, you don't need to repent."

Two out of the three above are correct.

Father, please help us get past all the incorrect thoughts we have had about You! Help us to rightly interpret our circumstances and respond accordingly!