What we are currently doing is one long exposition
of Exodus 34:6-7, where God shows
His glory to Moses. The way that God
causes His glory to pass before Moses is in a self-declaration of who He is and what He is like (His attributes).
One pastor called this declaration an
unpacking of the name, “YAHWEH.” Not
only does this passage become a central confession about God in the Old
Testament, there are fewer passages in the Bible that are more crucial to a
person’s understanding of God. So far we
have one side of a two-sided coin: that God is “merciful and gracious” and is “abounding
in steadfast love.” We did not deal
with God’s being “slow to anger” and
His “forgiving iniquity and transgression
and sin,” not because they are not separate attributes, but because they
are really the outworking of God’s mercy, grace, and love.
Today we are going to deal with a hard and
sobering truth: that of God’s justice.
This same passage that declares God to be merciful, gracious, patient,
loving, and forgiving, also declares that God will “by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on
the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth
generation.” Fewer truths are more
offensive to a fallen race. We all tend to
think that we deserve what the Bible declares to be unmerited and that we don’t
deserve what the Bible declares to be merited.
This is especially true when it comes to the truth of God’s
justice. Most of us desire some type of
justice in the world, until we are the ones who deserve it! Why such a reaction to God’s justice? I think there are two reasons, along with
others, that we have such a resistance to this attribute of God. The first reason is that we underestimate the
holiness of God. We fail to appreciate
the fact that with God is so holy that moral outrage takes place in His heart
over the smallest iniquity, and that the smallest iniquity becomes deserving of
eternal punishment in light of His holiness.
The second reason is that we underestimate the
seriousness of our own sin. We really
don’t think that we are as bad as the Bible declares us to be. Commenting on this issue, R. C. Sproul says, “No traitor to any king or nation has ever
approached the wickedness of our treason before God. Sin is cosmic treason. Sin is treason against a perfectly pure
Sovereign. It is an act of supreme
ingratitude toward the One to whom we owe everything, to the One who has given
us life itself. Have you ever considered
the deeper implications of the slightest sin…?
What are we saying to our creator when we disobey Him at the slightest
point? We are saying no to the
righteousness of God. We are saying,
‘God, your law is not good. My judgment
is better than Yours. Your authority
does not apply to me. I am above and
beyond your jurisdiction. I have the
right to do what I want to, not what you command me to do.’
The
slightest sin is an act of defiance against cosmic authority. It is a revolutionary act, a rebellious act
in which we are setting ourselves in opposition to the One to whom we owe
everything. It is an insult to His
holiness. We become false witnesses to
God. When we sin as the image bearers of
God, we are saying to the whole creation, to all of nature under our dominion,
to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field: ‘This is how God is. This is how your Creator behaves. Look in this mirror; look at us, and you will
see the character of the Almighty.’ We
say to the world, ‘God is covetous; God is ruthless; God is bitter; God is a
murderer, a thief, a slanderer, an adulterer.
God is all of these things that we are doing.’”[1]
He calls our rebellion reaching
for the crown and plotting for the throne and points out that the real mystery
of sin is not that sinners deserve to die, but that sinners in the average
situation continue to exist.
He would go on to say, “We are not really surprised that God has redeemed us. Somewhere deep inside, in the secret chambers
of our hearts, we harbor the notion that God owes us His mercy. Heaven would not be quite the same if we were
excluded from it. We know that we are
sinners, but we are surely not as bad as we could be. There are enough redeeming features to our
personalities that if God is really just, He will include us in salvation. What amazes us is justice, not grace.”[2] This last line is crucial, because the better
we understand God’s justice, the more we will be amazed by His grace. Let’s consider God’s justice in three steps:
I.
The Nature of God’s Justice
As with the other attributes mentioned in this
passage, we want to begin by considering the nature of God’s justice. This is review, but the first aspect of God’s
justice that appears in this passage (from the context) is that God’s justice is a manifestation of His
glory (33:18). All of these attributes described in 34:6-7 are necessary to display God’s glory to Moses. He is not one of these attributes at the expense of the other; He is all of these
things in continuity with each other. Second, this passage also teaches us that God’s justice is an expression of His
goodness (33:19). It is good that
God will by no means clear the guilty. A
judge who sets lawbreakers free is not a good judge. As Packer says, “Moral indifference would be an imperfection, not a perfection.”[3] So not only does this help us avoid
having a partial picture of God, but it also reminds us that God’s justice is
part of what makes Him glorious and good.
It is glorious that God is just and it is good that God is just.
A third aspect of God’s justice present in this
passage is that God exercises His
justice according to His righteousness. The very essence of what “just” and “justice”
is requires that there is such a thing as right and wrong and that wrongs
should be righted. The words, “justice”
and “righteousness” come from the same word group in the original Hebrew.
It is “the
guilty,” not the innocent who will be punished according to this
passage. Only those who deserve to be punished will be punished. [4] “The
Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness
and without iniquity, just and upright is he. (Deuteronomy 32:4 ESV) If I
had to give you a definition of God’s justice, it would be that God’s justice is God’s merited retribution (the rendering to people what they have
deserved).
We see this aspect manifested in God’s
conversation with Abraham before He destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. Genesis
18:16-33: [16] Then the men set
out from there, and they looked down toward Sodom. And Abraham went with them
to set them on their way. [17] The LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham
what I am about to do, [18] seeing that Abraham shall surely become a
great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?
[19] For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his
household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and
justice, so that the LORD may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.”
[20] Then the LORD said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is
great and their sin is very grave, [21] I will go down to see whether they
have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I
will know.”
[22] So
the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before
the LORD. [23] Then Abraham drew near and said, “Will you indeed sweep
away the righteous with the wicked? [24] Suppose there are fifty righteous
within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the
fifty righteous who are in it? [25] Far be it from you to do such a thing,
to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as
the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what
is just?” [26] And the LORD said, “If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in
the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”
[27] Abraham
answered and said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am
but dust and ashes. [28] Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking.
Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And he said, “I will not
destroy it if I find forty-five there.” [29] Again he spoke to him and
said, “Suppose forty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of forty I
will not do it.” [30] Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I
will speak. Suppose thirty are found there.” He answered, “I will not do it, if
I find thirty there.” [31] He said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to
the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of twenty
I will not destroy it.” [32] Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry,
and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there.” He
answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.” [33] And the LORD
went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to
his place. God is the Judge of all the earth and He will always
do what is right. All of His judgments will always be
appropriate and fair. As R. C. Sproul
would say, there may be nonjustice,
or mercy, shown by God, but there will never be injustice in or shown by God.[4]
The final aspect of God’s justice seen in this
passage is that God exercises His
justice according to His wrath. He
will “visit” iniquity. God hates sin with a holy, righteous anger. He hates every threat to what He loves. This is as a natural response from an
infinitely holy, pure, and righteous God as it would be for a parent to become
angry and wrathful towards those who would harm their loved ones. There is a moral outrage within God towards
sin and wickedness that causes Him to visit those who are committing it with
His vengeance. “The Bible labors the point that God is good to those who trust Him and
terrible to those who do not.”[5]
II.
The Reality of God’s Justice
What I would like to do now is take the time to
consider four places in which the justice of God is displayed in the Scriptures
(and there are much more than four) in order for us to get a feel for just how
sobering the justice of God is. First, God’s justice is seen in the depravity of
mankind. Romans 1:18-32: [18] For the wrath of God is revealed
from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their
unrighteousness suppress the truth. [19] For what can be known about God
is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. [20] For his invisible
attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly
perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been
made. So they are without excuse. [21] For although they knew God, they
did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their
thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. [22] Claiming to be
wise, they became fools, [23] and exchanged the glory of the immortal God
for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
[24] Therefore
God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring
of their bodies among themselves, [25] because they exchanged the truth
about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the
Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
[26] For
this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women
exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature;
[27] and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were
consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men
and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.
[28] And
since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased
mind to do what ought not to be done. [29] They were filled with all
manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy,
murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, [30] slanderers,
haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to
parents, [31] foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. [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.
One way that we see this reality play out is
implied in Exodus 34:6-7, where is
says that sins are visited across generations.
This is not saying that children are directly punished for their parents
sins, but it means that children will feel the effects of their parent’s sins
and will be prone to follow in their footsteps, which will bring upon
punishment upon them as well. John Piper
has an excellent summary of this concept:
“When God visits the sins of the
fathers on the children, he doesn’t punish sinless children for the sins of
their fathers. He simply lets the
effects of the father’s sins take their natural course, infecting and
corrupting the hearts of the children.
For parents who love their children, this is one of the most sobering
texts in all the Bible. The more we let
sin get the upper hand in our own lives, the more our children will suffer for
it. Sin is like a contagious
disease. My children don’t suffer
because I have it. They catch it from me
and then suffer because they have it.”[6]
Second, God’s
justice is seen in the Flood of Noah.
Genesis 6:5-7: [5] The LORD saw that the wickedness of
man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his
heart was only evil continually. [6] And the LORD regretted that he had
made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. [7] So the LORD
said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man
and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I
have made them.” Genesis 7:21-23: [21] And all flesh died that moved on
the earth, birds, livestock, beasts, all swarming creatures that swarm on the
earth, and all mankind. [22] Everything on the dry land in whose nostrils
was the breath of life died. [23] He blotted out every living thing that
was on the face of the ground, man and animals and creeping things and birds of
the heavens. They were blotted out from the earth. Only Noah was left, and
those who were with him in the ark.
Terry Iles brought out a profound point this summer when describing
God’s judgment in the flood. He stated
that we have really missed the point that the flood is meant to communicate
with cute coloring book pages in children’s coloring books and children’s Bibles. The big idea is the justice of God being
carried out in a universal judgment. If
we really wanted to communicate the main point of the flood, it would be to
have the water around Noah’s ark full of dead bodies in coloring books. That picture would communicate that the Judge
of all the earth has poured out His wrath upon rebellious humanity and done
what is right.
The third display of God’s justice is God’s justice seen in the Gospel of Jesus
Christ, specifically on the cross. Romans 3:21-26: [21] But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart
from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to
it—[22] the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who
believe. For there is no distinction: [23] for all have sinned and fall
short of the glory of God, [24] and are justified by his grace as a gift,
through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, [25] whom God put forward
as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's
righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former
sins. [26] It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that
he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. God is able to forgive the guilty and not
compromise His justice because Jesus Christ became a propitiation for our
sins. He bore the just wrath of God so
that God could be both just and justifier of those who repent and
believe in Jesus.
The final display of God’s justice that I would
like you to consider is God’s justice
seen in the Final Judgment. Revelation
6:14-16: [14] The sky vanished
like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was
removed from its place. [15] 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,
[16] 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,
[17] for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?” Revelation 14:6-20: [6] Then I saw another angel flying
directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on
earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. [7] And he said
with a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his
judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the
springs of water.”
[8] Another
angel, a second, followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she
who made all nations drink the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality.”
[9] And
another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone
worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his
hand, [10] he also will drink the wine of God's wrath, poured full
strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and
sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. [11] And
the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day
or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the
mark of its name.”
[12] Here
is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of
God and their faith in Jesus.[13] And I heard a voice from heaven saying,
“Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed
indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their
deeds follow them!”
[14] Then
I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and seated on the cloud one like a son of
man, with a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand.
[15] And another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice
to him who sat on the cloud, “Put in your sickle, and reap, for the hour to
reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is fully ripe.” [16] So he who
sat on the cloud swung his sickle across the earth, and the earth was reaped.
[17] Then
another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle.
[18] And another angel came out from the altar, the angel who has
authority over the fire, and he called with a loud voice to the one who had the
sharp sickle, “Put in your sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the
earth, for its grapes are ripe.” [19] So the angel swung his sickle across
the earth and gathered the grape harvest of the earth and threw it into the
great winepress of the wrath of God. [20] And the winepress was trodden
outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress, as high as a horse's
bridle, for 1,600 stadia. Revelation 20:11-15: [11] Then
I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence
earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. [12] And I saw the
dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then
another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by
what was written in the books, according to what they had done. [13] And
the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who
were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they
had done. [14] Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire.
This is the second death, the lake of fire. [15] And if anyone's name was
not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. These
are solemn displays of God’s justice that remind us that no rebellion against
God will go unanswered. There is a
record of every rebellious action, word, thought, and intention that has ever
taken place among humanity. It is a
record of debt that stands against us, and it can be nailed to the cross of
Jesus Christ or it can be answered for throughout all eternity. The choice is yours. But know this, this coming day of judgment is
a certainty. The Judge of all the earth
will judge all the earth. Ecclesiastes 12:13-14: [13] The end of the matter; all has
been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of
man. [14] For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret
thing, whether good or evil. Acts
17:30-31: [30] The times of ignorance God overlooked,
but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, [31] because he has
fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he
has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from
the dead.”
III.
The Demands of God’s Justice
All of God’s attributes solicit responses in our
lives and those responses should take place where one truly exercises faith in
these truths. So what should be our
response to the reality of God’s justice?
The first response that the Old Testament prophets
often pleaded for when citing this description of God in Exodus 34:6-7 was that of repentance
and faith. Their plea was to turn
away from sin and to God with one’s whole heart. This is the way that Joel used this very
passage. Joel 2:12-13: [12] “Yet
even now,” declares the LORD, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting,
with weeping, and with mourning; [13] and rend your hearts and not your
garments.” Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow
to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster. Joel
uses Exodus 34:6-7 to encourage
people that if they will return to the Lord, God will turn away from the evil
He is about to bring upon them.
Jonah makes this same connection with repentance
and Exodus 34:6-7, but rather than
pleading for repentance, Jonah is complaining because the people have
repented! Jonah 3:10-4:2: [10] When
God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the
disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.
[4:1] But
it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. [2] And he prayed to
the LORD and said, “O LORD, is not this what I said when I was yet in my
country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are
a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and
relenting from disaster. [3] Therefore now, O LORD, please take my life
from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” [4] And the LORD
said, “Do you do well to be angry?”
From these two passages, we see one way that God
is both sides of this coin we see in Exodus
34:6-7. Who are “the guilty” that get forgiven “iniquity
and transgression and sin”? And who
are “the guilty” that will by no
means be cleared? What we basically see
is that, though all humanity is
guilty, “the guilty” that will be
forgiven their iniquity and transgression and sin are those who are repentant and “the guilty” that will by no means be cleared are those who are unrepentant. The guilty that spurn God’s offer of mercy
will by no means be cleared of their guilt.[7] And again, remember that the way God forgives
and clears “the guilty” who repent is
through the finished work of Jesus Christ.
In 2 Peter
3, the apostle Peter gives us a
second response, calling Christians to remember
reality of God’s justice and to pursue holiness. 2
Peter 3:1-7, 11-12: [3:1] This
is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I
am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, [2] that you should
remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord
and Savior through your apostles, [3] knowing this first of all, that
scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful
desires. [4] They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever
since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the
beginning of creation.” [5] For they deliberately overlook this fact, that
the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through
water by the word of God, [6] and that by means of these the world that
then existed was deluged with water and perished. [7] But by the same word
the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until
the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.
[11] Since
all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be
in lives of holiness and godliness, [12] waiting for and hastening the
coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and
dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! Revelation 14:12 stated that God’s coming judgment was a call for “endurance.”
The appropriate response to God’s justice in the life of a believer
should a striving for “the holiness
without which no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14). Have you repented and put
your faith in Jesus Christ so that you could see justice served at the cross
for your own rebellion? One of the ways
you know that you have is if you are striving for such holiness and godliness
of living. It is my prayer that you know
such a pursuit and that you are not deceiving yourselves, because no matter
what you tell people in this life, there is coming a day when God will dish out
exactly what is coming to every one of us.
Scripture consistently warns that those who do not continue, or
persevere, will perish.
In 2
Corinthians 5, Paul gives another response to the coming justice of God,
that of evangelism. 2
Corinthians 5:6-11a: [6] So we
are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we
are away from the Lord, [7] for we walk by faith, not by sight.
[8] Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body
and at home with the Lord. [9] So whether we are at home or away, we make
it our aim to please him. [10] For we must all appear before the judgment
seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done
in the body, whether good or evil. [11] Therefore, knowing the fear of the
Lord, we persuade others.
A final response that Scripture calls believers to
in light of God’s justice is to be
people who long for and work towards moral equity in world. Remember that God’s justice is a communicable
attribute, meaning that He shares this attribute with men and women made in His
image. There should be a moral outrage
at injustice in our hearts. And there
should be action on the part of God’s people to stand against injustice in the
world where they can. We should work to
see things like slavery, abortion, etc. abolished. Why?
Because we are the people of the God who is just and it is unjust in His
world for a helpless baby to be murdered and have no one fight for it. Now we should take proper channels to take
such stands, but God’s people should be known as people who stand for those who
cannot stand for themselves.
So what will your response to the justice of God
be? If you are not a Christian, or if
you are not certain that you are, will you repent today and turn to God in
faith with your whole heart? I plead
with you to receive God’s salvation so that justice can be served at the cross
of Jesus Christ for your sins.
If
you are a Christian, are you persevering and pursuing holiness with all your
heart? Remember that there are sobering
words for people who call themselves believers and do not persevere in
holiness. Also, Does that pursuit
include witnessing to others and sharing with them both the bad news of God’s
judgment to come and the good news of God’s provision in Christ? And
finally, will you reflect God’s justice in appropriate ways in this world by
standing for what is right and for those who cannot stand for themselves? These are the demands of God’s justice.
[1] R.C. Sproul, The Holiness of God, 116-117
[2] Ibid., 123-124
[3] J.I. Packer, Knowing
God, 143
[4] R.C. Sproul, The
Holiness of God, 111
[5] J.I. Packer, Knowing
God, 149
[6]
This insight was brought out by a Desiring God
Study on the Attributes of God: http://dwynrhh6bluza.cloudfront.net/resources/documents/4965/Attributes%20of%20God%20Module.pdf?1304607832
[7] Ibid.
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