You're tuned into Everyday Theology in Plain English, making sense of God's truth for your everyday life. Here's your host, the man who yells at referees through the TV but trusts a judge who never blows a call? Charlie Miller. Hey there, welcome back to Everyday Theology in Plain English. I am so glad that you're here with us. Today, we're tackling a topic that hits close to home for almost everybody. God's justice. And specifically, we're wrestling with a question that's probably crossed your mind at some point. It's maybe even kept you up at night. And that question is: if God is perfectly just, why does life seem so unfair? I mean, you've seen it, right? The greedy businessmen who cheat their way to the top and die wealthy in their sleep. The faithful mother who serves everyone around her and gets diagnosed with cancer at 42. The criminal who walks free on a technicality. Where is the justice in all of that? Maybe you've experienced this personally. Maybe you've been treated unfairly at work while a less deserving coworker got promoted. Maybe you've watched someone who hurt you face zero consequences for their actions. Maybe you've cried out to God, why do the wicked prosper while the righteous suffer? Well, so you're in good company. The psalmist asked the same question. The prophets asked that question. Even the teacher in Ecclesiastes wrestled with the apparent meaninglessness of a world where good isn't always rewarded and evil isn't always punished. I'll be honest, this has been one of the hardest theological realities for me to truly make peace with. When I've watched people I love suffer unjustly and die far too young, the words God is just have sometimes felt just hollow. Here's what I want you to know right up front. God is perfectly just, even when our circumstances don't feel fair. Today we're going to discover together what God's justice actually means, why we don't always see it here in this life, and how it can give you hope rather than frustration. So, what do we mean when we say that God is just? God's justice means that he always acts in accordance with what is right, and that he always treats people fairly according to what they deserve. God never does wrong. In Deuteronomy chapter 32, verse 4 says, He is the rock. His works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he. And Psalm 89, 14 declares, righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne. Did you notice that? Justice isn't just something that God does occasionally, it's the very foundation of his throne. It's built into the structure of his rule over all creation. Now, God's justice has several dimensions. So let me walk us through some of them. First, there's God's rectoral justice. And this means he has rule over creation. As the creator and the king, God has the right to establish laws for his creation and to enforce them. His commands aren't arbitrary, they flow from his own righteous character. When God says something is wrong, it's because it contradicts who he is. Second, there's God's distributive justice, giving people what they're due. Now, this includes both rewards for righteousness and punishment for sin. God rewards those who seek him and punishes those who persist in rebellion. This is the aspect of justice that we think about most often. Third, there's God's retributive justice, the punishment of wrongdoings. God doesn't just ignore sin. He doesn't sweep it under the rug. Every sin will be dealt with either at the cross or at the judgment. Romans 2, verse 6 says God will repay each person according to what they have done. Here's a crucial truth. God's justice isn't the opposite of his love, it's an expression of it. A God who didn't punish evil wouldn't be loving. He'd be indifferent to the suffering that evil causes. I mean, think about it. When someone wrongs you, you want justice. When the innocent are victimized, we instinctively cry out for someone to make it right. That instinct comes from being made in the image of a just God. A world without justice would be a world where evil wins, where victims are forgotten, where nothing ultimately matters. And God's justice means that none of that is true. But here's where we need to address the elephant in the room. If God is just, why don't we see justice served in this life? This is where we need to understand something really, really important. God's justice operates on an eternal timeline, not an immediate one. We expect justice now, right? We want the bad guy punished by sundown. But God sees the whole picture, not just this life, but all of eternity. And he has appointed a day when every single wrong will be made right. Acts chapter 17, verse 31 says, He has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead. See, there is a day coming when every hidden thing will be revealed, every unpunished sin will be addressed, every injustice will be corrected, every victim will be vindicated. The apparent injustice in this world isn't evidence that God is unjust. It's evidence that the final chapter hasn't been written yet. We're living in the middle of the story, and God's justice will have the last word. Now let me address another question. How does God's justice relate to the gospel? And this is where things get beautifully complex. The gospel isn't God setting aside his justice to show mercy, it's God satisfying his justice while showing mercy. Both are fulfilled at the cross. Romans 3, 25 and 26 explains that God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement to demonstrate his righteousness so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. Did you catch that? God is both just and the justifier. He doesn't compromise his justice to save sinners, he satisfies it. Jesus bore the punishment of our sins that we deserved and that our sins deserved. Justice was served and mercy was extended. I'm going to stop for just a second. If this is making sense to you so far, please drop me a comment and let me know. And if you're confused about something, if there's something you're struggling with, then let me know that too. I'll do my very best to try to clarify anything you might be confused about. Now you might be thinking, okay, Charlie, I understand the theology, but I'm living in the middle of injustice right now. How does knowing God is actually just actually help me today? Well, let me give you three practical ways that understanding God's justice transforms how you live today. First, God's justice frees you from the burden of vengeance. Let's imagine someone named Renee. Okay, Renee was deeply wronged by someone she trusted. She was betrayed, and the person who hurt her never faced any kind of consequences. And the injustice just eats at her. She fantasizes about revenge. She just can't let it go. But then Renee encounters Romans 12, 19, which says, Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath. For it is written, It is mine to avenge, I will repay, says the Lord. Renee realizes she doesn't have to carry the burden of being judge and executioner. That's God's job. She can release her grip on vengeance because she trusts that God will deal justly with every wrong, including the ones done against her. Maybe that's you today. Maybe you're carrying the weight of unpunished wrong and it's poisoning your soul. I get it. The desire for justice is legit. God put it there, but the execution of justice belongs to him, not us. Here's what I want you to know: releasing someone to God's justice isn't saying what they did is just okay. It's saying you trust God to handle it better than you could. It's not weakness, it's strength in your faith in a just God. Second, God's justice gives you hope in hopeless situations. So let me paint you another picture. Um imagine a man named William, right? And William has watched corruption and injustice his whole life. He's seen good people get crushed while the powerful become prosperous. He's become cynical. He says things like, justice is a nice idea, but it's not how the world actually works. But God's justice means William's cynicism is misplaced. Justice isn't just a nice idea, it's guaranteed by the character of God. The wicked won't ultimately prosper. The righteous won't ultimately lose. God sees everything, he forgets nothing, and he will repay perfectly. Here's the hope. No injustice will go unaddressed, no victim will be forgotten, no wrong will remain unpunished. Either the penalty was paid by Christ or it will be paid by the one who committed it. But it will be paid. Justice will prevail. Now, this doesn't mean we just passively accept injustice now. We should work for justice in this world. That's part of reflecting God's character. But our hope doesn't rest on human systems, it rests on a just God who will have the final say. Third, God's justice humbles you and drives you to grace. So here's the uncomfortable truth. If we're honest, we don't want God's justice applied to everyone equally, including ourselves. Right? We want justice for those who've wronged us, but what about the times we've wronged other people? What about our own sins, the lies, the selfishness, the pride, the ways we've hurt people? Do we want strict justice for those things? The doctrine of God's justice is really humbling. It reminds us that we're not just victims of injustice. We're also perpetrators. We need God's justice tempered with his mercy. We need the cross. As we wrap up today's episode, here's what I want you to remember: God is perfectly just even when life doesn't feel fair. We live in the middle of a story where the final chapter hasn't been written, but it will be. God has appointed a day when every wrong will be made right, every injustice corrected, every hidden thing revealed. In the meantime, we can release our burdens of vengeance to the one who judges justly. We can have hope that no injustice will ultimately prevail. And we can humbly thank God that his justice was satisfied at the cross so we could receive mercy instead of punishment. So here's your assignment for this week. Do two things. First, if you're holding on to bitterness towards someone who wronged you, write their name on a piece of paper and then pray over it. Pray, God, I release this person to your justice. I trust you to deal with them rightly, and I let go of my need for vengeance. And second, spend time thanking God that his justice was satisfied at the cross for your sins, that you don't have to face the punishment you deserve. Let both truths shape your heart. Now here's our community question. Have you experienced injustice that still feels unresolved? How does knowing that God will ultimately make all things right affect how you carry that burden? Or maybe you're struggling to trust God's justice because of what you've been through? And if so, what would help you take a step toward releasing it to Him? Your struggle and your hope might encourage someone else who's wrestling with this same question. Don't forget, we have a companion guide for this season that goes deeper into each topic. This is the season two companion guide, getting to know the unknowable God. You can check out the link in the show notes and find it on Amazon. Next episode, we're tackling an attribute of God that makes a lot of people uncomfortable is jealousy. Isn't jealousy a bad thing? Isn't it petty and insecure? What I'm going to share might completely flip your understanding. Because here's the deal: God's jealousy is actually one of the most beautiful expressions of his love. Until then, remember, the just God will have the last word. And because of Jesus, that word for you is grace. Thanks for joining me on Everyday Theology in Plain English. I'm Charlie Miller, and I'm so grateful that you're a part of this community. I can't wait to continue this journey with you today.