God's Justice - 1

Following on from some of the posts below, I have recently finished reading R.C.Sproul's EXCELLENT book - 'The Holiness of God'. I'm going to share some of the quotes from the book that have specifically affected me and reminded me of the truth of who God is. (By the way anything that is in blue text are my thoughts, and everything else...isn't!)

The purpose of this post isn't to become introspective and burdened by sin. It is a chance to take a fresh look at God's justice. When looking at God's justice afresh, the first and primary point is that his justice has been fully and completely satisfied at the Cross. Nothing we can do can ever go any way to appeasing his wrath and satisfying his justice. As J.I.Packer writes in his book, 'Knowing God'

"...Our sins have been punished; the wheel of retribution has turned; judgement has been inflicted for our ungodliness - not on us, but on Jesus, the lamb of God standing in our place" (Knowing God Ch 18 p212)

Speaking in relation to creation, Sproul writes:

"In creation God is not obliged to give us the gift of life. He is not in debt to us. The gift of life comes by His grace and stands under His divine authority. The task that is given to mankind in creation is to bear witness to the holiness of God, to be His image bearer. We are made to mirror and reflect the holiness of God. We are made to be His ambassadors.
God put Adam and Eve on probation and said "If you sin, you will die." Sin brings the loss of the gift of life. The right to life is forfeited by sin. Once people sin, they forfeit any claim on God to human existence" (Ch 6 "Holy Justice" p109)

As Romans 6:23 says "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord"

When we were created by God, we were created in His image and likeness (Genesis 1:26), as Dr Sproul writes, we were created to bear witness to His holiness, but when sin came into the world it marred that image.

Adrian Warnock quotes C.J.Mahaney from his sermon 'The Holiness of God':

"I don't believe it's unjust for God to take away the gift of life that he gave freely if it wasn't used for the purpose for which he gave it. Because when we sin, what we are saying is—we are not just making a mistake—we are saying no to God's law; we are saying your law is not good; we're saying—God, your law does not cut it, I'm not under your authority; my judgment is superior to yours; I'm defying and opposing you, who in reality I owe everything to."

(http://adrianwarnock.com/2008/06/c-j-mahaney-on-people-god-killed-sermon.htm)

So as soon as Adam and Eve sinned and ate the apple in active disobedience against God, they should have been wiped out for their transgression. However God chose delay his righteous justice


Sproul continues:

"In the case of creation and mankind's fall, the full measure of justice was delayed so that grace would have time to work. Here the delay of justice was not the denial of justice but the establishing of mercy and grace"(p115)

Ultimately God's purpose in everything is to bring glory to himself first and foremost. If he had, quite righteously, wiped out Adam & Eve as soon as they sinned, he would not have been any less just. But he chose to display his attribute of grace in delaying the display of his justice.


To be continued...