Justice Served

Justice Served

And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.

Revelation 20:12

Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”

Genesis 18:25

As we consider why there must be a Last Judgment, we arrive at a large concept. It is the concept of Justice. Because God is Just, He must do Justly. This necessitates a Last Judgment. We live in a world full of predators. They prey upon those around them in all manner of wicked ways. They seem to prosper in their vile behavior. Godly people have struggled with this concept, that it seems that, ‘the bad guys always win.’ The Psalmist declared, ‘For I was envious of the boastful, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For there are no pangs in their death, but their strength is firm. They are not in trouble as other men, nor are they plagued like other men. Therefore pride serves as their necklace; violence covers them like a garment. Their eyes bulge with abundance; They have more than heart could wish. They scoff and speak wickedly concerning oppression; They speak loftily. They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walks through the earth.’ It is not until he goes into the ‘sanctuary of God’ that he can say, ‘then I understood their end.’ There must be a Last Judgment because Justice must be served. In the larger scheme of things, we understand that justice must be done. Our souls cry out for the Righteous God to do righteously. We see inequity, oppression, and all manner of atrocities’ perpetrated on the innocent. We cry out for the All-Powerful Judge to do Judgment and Justice. He will, and there will be no escape for the wicked. So Christ has promised. ‘And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily.…’ So it will be. There must be a Last Judgment in order that Justice be done. We may wait long for it, but at the last it will come. Christ will do all that His Character demands, all that human depravity deserves, and all that Justice requires. He is ‘the Judge of all the earth,’ and He will ‘do right.’

Our Holy and Wise God,
we rejoice that You are Just, and that You do right.
We praise You that You will render to every man, ‘according to His works.’

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning