Nathan Jennings is another of the people I know online who has brilliant things to share when it comes to the love of God and how brilliant He is.

In previous articles, I have described how I believe that God’s Justice is one of redemption, restoration and reconciliation rather than vengefulness, wrath and retribution.

Nathan fleshes out this concept rather nicely in this piece, I think. Over to you, Nathan:

WHAT IS THE JUSTICE OF GOD?

First, what it is not, is the legal Western term most think of when they think of ‘justice’. Divine Justice is not justice in a judicial sense. God is not an angry Judge looking to convict someone for a crime.

Divine Justice does mean to make things right through healing and restoration. God is better likened to a doctor that heals a disease and His justice is always restorative, never punitive.

How does the Bible define justice, then?

“Learn to do good. SEEK JUSTICE BY HELPING the OPPRESSED, DEFENDING the cause of ORPHANS, and FIGHTING FOR the RIGHTS of widows”
Isaiah 1:17

“ADMINISTER JUSTICE every morning BY RESCUING THE VICTIM of robbery from the hand of his oppressor”
Jeremiah 21:12

“ADMINISTER REAL JUSTICE, AND BE COMPASSIONATE and KIND to each other”
Zachariah 7:9

“the Lord is waiting to SHOW you MERCY, and is rising up to SHOW you COMPASSION, because the LORD is a just God”
Isaiah 30:18

“HE WILL NOT CRUSH THE WEAKEST reed OR PUT OUT A flickering CANDLE. By doing this he will cause justice to be victorious.”
Matthew 12:18

“The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to PREACH GOOD NEWS TO the POOR. He has sent Me to PROCLAIM DELIVERANCE TO the CAPTIVES and RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO the BLIND, to RELEASE THE the OPPRESSED,”
Luke 4:18

Justice isn’t what God uses to punish, and certainly doesn’t act contrary to his love, but is used to restore that which needed restoration. To heal that which was sick. Divine justice is about rescue. It’s about compassion. It’s about defending the defenseless (forgive them, Father). It is about giving sight to the blind. It restores. Always. If it doesn’t restore it isn’t God’s justice.

Excellent stuff, eh?

Many people live in fear of ‘Judgement Day’. I don’t. In fact, I look forward to it with eager anticipation! Because that is the day when everything that was ever wrong will be put right. That’s the day when all injustice will be rectified, and death itself, and all its wrongness, will be destroyed forever. Yes!