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“Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.” – Psalm 89:14
“The works of his hands are faithful and just; all his precepts are trustworthy. They are established forever and ever, to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.” – Psalm 111:7–8
Understanding the Justice of God
When we think of God’s justice, we often view it through His actions toward humanity. Yet, since this series focuses on the attributes of God, we begin with His nature — what Scripture says about His justice as part of His eternal character.
God’s justice is inseparable from His holiness and righteousness. R.C. Sproul writes:
“When justice is spoken of in biblical categories, it is never as an abstract concept that exists above and beyond God, and to which God Himself is bound to conform. Rather, in the Scriptures, the concept of justice is linked with the idea of righteousness, and it is based on the internal character of God.”
Justice Is Who God Is
A.W. Tozer explains, “To say that God is just is to say that there is uprightness and rectitude in God. Justice is not something that God has. Justice is something that God is.”
What Scripture Says About God’s Justice
- Deuteronomy 32:4 – “He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just.”
- Job 8:3 – “Does God pervert justice? Does the Almighty pervert what is right?”
- Psalm 11:7 – “The Lord is righteous; he loves justice.”
- Psalm 33:4–5 – “The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.”
- Isaiah 5:16 – “The Lord Almighty will be exalted by his justice.”
- Jeremiah 9:24 – “I am the Lord who exercises kindness, justice, and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight.”
God’s Justice in Relation to Humanity
There is another dimension to divine justice — God’s dealings with us. Scripture reminds us of two key truths: God is perfectly holy, and we are not.
- Habakkuk 1:13 – “Your eyes are too pure to look on evil.”
- Romans 3:23 – “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
- Romans 6:23 – “The wages of sin is death.”
If God acted in justice alone, we could expect only death. Yet, He tempers justice with mercy through Christ.
Justice and Mercy Meet at the Cross
Ephesians 2:3–5 tells us, “Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ.”
Substitutionary Atonement and Divine Justice
Norman Geisler explains that God’s justice demands all sin be punished, but not necessarily that every sinner bear that punishment. The cross fulfills divine justice without compromising mercy. Christ’s death satisfies righteousness so that mercy can triumph.
“God’s justice demands punishment of the sinner, but the Cross (His love) wins out.” – Norman Geisler
God’s Righteousness Revealed in Christ
Wayne Grudem writes, “God forgives because Christ died to take punishment upon Himself. In this way, Jesus demonstrated God’s righteousness... so that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” (Romans 3:25–26)
This is the beauty of the Gospel — justice and mercy perfectly united.
The Righteousness of God in Salvation
“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)
References
- R.C. Sproul, Everyone’s a Theologian
- A.W. Tozer, The Attributes of God
- Norman Geisler, A Popular Survey of Bible Doctrine
- Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology
Go Deeper
R.L. Wilson
R.L. Wilson has been on staff at the Ankerberg Theological Research Institute since 1982. Wilson’s articles draw from the perspective of someone who grew up in a multicultural environment, and who has been a follower of Christ for many decades.
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