God’s Righteousness

 

God wants to be known and loved for who He is:

He is entirely righteous: Psalm 9:7–10 But the LORD sits enthroned forever; he has established his throne for justice, and he judges the world with righteousness; he judges the peoples with uprightness. The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you.

 

We cannot put our trust in Him unless we know who He is—that He is love and righteousness. Therefore, Jesus prayed: John 17:26  “I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

 

To know Christ is to love Him and to partake in His love. But how can we love Him if we believe that He is unjust if:

We are born condemned with a sin nature (original sin) or

The sentence of eternal suffering exceeds our earthly sins and God’s love?

 

But what if we are mistaken in these matters and are libeling and distorting God’s love and righteousness by presenting a false Gospel? Instead, what if our Savior merely allows us to have what we want, allowing us to receive the fruits of our choices:

Psalm 9:15–16 (KJV The heathen are sunk down in the pit that they made: In the net which they hid is their own foot taken. The LORD is known by the judgment which he executeth: The wicked is snared in the work of his own hands.

 

God judges by eventually allowing us to have our own way to pursue evil, reaping what we sow, refusing to confess and to turn from their sins?

John 3:17–21 “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is [self-] condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does [practices] wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

 

Although The Father gave all judgment unto the Son, the Son claims that He didn’t come to judge. How then are those who reject Him to be judged? By His Words:

John 12:47–48 If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day.

 

How do words judge? His Words of truth and light (splendor) convicts and exposes us, and we flee from what we have long repressed. “Without excuse” (Romans 1:20)  for rejecting God and deserving condemnation we flee:

Romans 1:32 Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

Romans 2:15 They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them.

 

Consequently, we are self-condemned by rejecting God, practicing evil, and fleeing from His reproach, while spending the rest of our lives trying to prove that we are okay:

Proverbs 1:29–32 Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD, would have none of my counsel and despised all my reproof, therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way, and have their fill of their own devices. For the simple are killed by their turning away, and the complacency of fools destroys them.

 

Jeremiah 2:19 Your evil will chastise you and your apostasy will reprove you. Know and see that it is evil and bitter for you to forsake the LORD your God…

 

Flee: Isaiah 33:14–15 The sinners in Zion are afraid; trembling has seized the godless: “Who among us can dwell with the consuming fire? Who among us can dwell with everlasting burnings?” He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly, who despises the gain of oppressions, who shakes his hands, lest they hold a bribe, who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed and shuts his eyes from looking on evil. (Psalm 1:5; Luke 21:36)

 

Does this also pertain to eternal judgment? Isaiah 2:19–21 And people shall enter the caves of the rocks and the holes of the ground, from before the terror of the LORD, and from the splendor of his majesty…. (Isaiah 2:10; Luke 23:30; Hosea 10:8; Rev. 20:11)

 

Why would the unbeliever flee from “the splendor of his majesty?” The light of “the face of him” who is seated on the throne” is terrifying. It exposes the truth about ourselves that we have long repressed:

Revelation 6:15–17 Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”

 

Our righteous God need not proactively condemn. Instead, the unbeliever will chose eternal torment rather than to dwell in His presence. Will He allow them to instead choose their complete destruction?

Matthew 10:28b Rather, fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

John 3:16 ... whosoever believeth in him should not perish (Greek: destroyed) ...

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death ...

Philippians 3:19 whose end is "destruction" ...

2 Thessalonians 1:9 who shall be punished with everlasting destruction ...

Hebrews 10:39 But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition (destruction).

Revelation 20:14 This is the second death...

Hebrews 10:26-27 NLT Hellfire will consume the wicked.

2 Peter 3:7 Ungodly will be destroyed.

 

Is God unjust for allowing us to live or die by our own choices? He has given all the temporal gift of life. He has enabled the unbeliever to have their reward now:

Matthew 6:2 …”Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.” (Mat. 5, 16)

 

There is nothing unjust about Christ giving more mercy to some (Mat 20). This is His banquet. He is free to invite whomever. In light of this, we can say with confidence that our Savior is perfect in love and righteousness. This knowledge frees us to proclaim that God is completely righteous and merciful.

1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.