The Justice of God
Dearly beloved of God, there are different standards for justice. The Constitution is the standard for justice in the United States. The Roman standard for justice during Jesus Christ’s lifetime was different from the Mosaic standard for justice for Israel. What is God’s standard for justice today?
The word translated “righteousness” in the King James Version is the Greek word “dikaiosune,” which means justice, justness, or righteousness, according to an established standard. There is no higher standard for justice than the established standard that God determined.
The first place “dikaiosune” appears in the New Testament is in Matthew 3:15.
Matthew 3:15
And Jesus answering [John] said unto him, “Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness [justice].” Then he suffered him [he allowed John to baptize him with water].
Jesus Christ came to fulfill all righteousness, to fulfill all justice.
Matthew 5:17, 18
Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
Jesus Christ came to fulfill the law. It was in force until he fulfilled it.
Romans 10:4
For Christ was the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth [concerning him].
Jesus Christ fulfilled the law, and he was the end of it for God’s justice concerning mankind. When was he the end of the law for God's justice?
I Peter 2:24
Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins should live unto righteousness: by Whose stripes ye were healed.
He fulfilled the law for justice when he hung on the tree. I Corinthians 5:7 informs us that Christ our Passover was slain for us. Romans 6:23 reveals that "the wages of sin is death," and Jesus paid those wages when he hung on the tree. Jesus Christ fulfilled the law as he gave his life as the Lamb of God. He fulfilled the law for God's justice as he hung on the tree.
Galatians 3:13
13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, "Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:"
14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the spirit through faith [The right way of believing].
Galatians 3:21
Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.
The law could not give life; Jesus Christ did. He sent the promise of the Father, which was spirit life. The spirit of life in Christ Jesus made us free from the law of death dealing sin.
The Mosaic law was God’s standard for justice under the old covenant of the Law. It pertained to Israel when they were natural men of the flesh. It was in force before Jesus Christ fulfilled it, and he sent the promise of his Father, which was the gift of holy spirit.
The new covenant God made with Israel is a covenant of the spirit [See Hebrews 8:6-13; 9:1-25; 10:1-23 for some background concerning this].
The Gentiles entered the new covenant by the grace of God as described in the revelation of the mystery of God concerning Christ. God made one new man in Christ from the Jews and the Gentiles that believed in Jesus as Lord and that God raised him from the dead; they are saved, and members of the Church, which is the body of Christ.
The book of Romans reveals the gospel of God concerning Jesus Christ. This gospel reveals God’s standard for justice, which is by the believing of Jesus Christ. This standard differs from the standard set under the old covenant of the law.
Romans 1:16 and 17
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
17 For therein [the gospel of God concerning Jesus Christ] is the righteousness of God [the justice of God] revealed from faith to faith: as it is written “The just shall live by faith [believing].”
Rejoice! The justice of God is revealed in the gospel of God, and that gospel is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes it. This gospel reveals God’s standard for justice. The gospel of God concerning Jesus Christ is the foundation on which our believing is founded with the intent of producing believing in Jesus Christ. The just shall live by believing.
Romans 3: 21 and 22
21 But now the righteousness of God [the justice of God] without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
22 Even the righteousness of God [the justice of God] which is by faith [the believing] of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference [between the Jew and the Gentile]:
God’s standard for justice without the law was revealed after Jesus Christ fulfilled it. Jesus Christ believed to fulfill the law, and he did fulfill it. He was the end of the end of the law for God’s justice. He came to do the will of God. He took away the first covenant of the law, so that he may establish the second covenant, which was a covenant of the spirit.
How do we partake of God’s justice concerning Jesus Christ so that we might be saved?
Romans 10:9
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Jesus Christ justified us. He gave us the victory over sin and death. God marked him out as the Son of God with power by resurrecting him from the dead, and he dies no more.
How much power does Jesus Christ have? He has the power of salvation from start to finish. There is salvation in no other. That salvation is eternal life. “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” He came so we could have spirit life, which is eternal life. “The just shall live by believing.”
Dearly beloved, we receive the justice of God by hearing the gospel of God concerning Jesus Christ and believing it, not by the works of the law. We are saved by the grace of God toward us by believing in Jesus Christ our Lord.
The gospel of God concerning Jesus Christ is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes it. Rejoice!