When it comes to others we beg for justice, when it comes to ourselves, we often plead for mercy. Everyone seeks justice in this life but is it always attained? Believe it or not our innate desire for justice stems from being created in the image of a God who is the very definition of justice. Justice was served at Calvary when an innocent man died in our stead, paying the wage of sin on our behalf. No-one needs to go to Hell as the price of perdition has been paid. Join Carl now for this enthralling broadcast about a just and merciful God who served both on our behalf.
Here is a complete transcript of the broadcast (below)…
Friend, God is just, He is a God of justice and thank God for that. The words just, justice and justly appear nearly a hundred times in the Bible, and overwhelmingly in the OT but only a handful of times in the new. Justice fits with the concept of law, and thus God’s justice is revealed more heavily in the OT. The law was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, yet we were never able to fully keep the law. Thankfully, Christ is the end of the law in the new covenant, and we are justified by God’s mercy, not the law, which only Christ could fulfill. Now, justice is one of the most outstanding attributes of God in Scripture. Time and again God is depicted as the herald of justice, especially in the Prophets (Is 28:6; 51:4–5; 61:8; Jer 9:24; 21:12; Ezek 34:16). God is the very definition of justice and holiness. All of God’s ways are just: “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” (that’s Deut 32:4), see also Neh 9:13, 33; Is 58:2; Jn 5:30; 2 Thess 1:6). The righteous are called to mirror God’s justice, for the Lord loves the just (Ps 37:28; cf. Gen 18:19; Deut 27:19; Jer 22:3). The image is so closely tied to God’s character that “evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the Lord understand it fully” (Prov 28:5). It is interesting that God calls his followers just also, Gen 6:9 says, “Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.
God enjoys and years for just balances and weights in the hallways of justice and the marketplace (Lev 19:36). Judges and officers are a direct outward expression of God’s desire to curtail evil and uphold righteousness in the earth. If justice in our courts no longer upholds those ideals, then justice has left the building. In the dying words of King David he typifies God’s desire for men to be just above all and rule in the fear of God, saying, ”Now these be the last words of David. David the son of Jesse said, And the man who was raised up on high, The anointed of the God of Jacob, And the sweet psalmist of Israel, said, The Spirit of the Lord spake by me, And his word was in my tongue. The God of Israel said, The Rock of Israel spoke to me, He that rules over men must be just, Ruling in the fear of God.” 2 Samuel 23:1–3.
Justice is often considered a synonym for fairness, but often God’s justice equals not what is fair but what is right (2 Chron 12:6; Neh 9:33; Jer 22:15; 23:5; 33:15; Ezek 18:5). A living example is seen in Job’s plight. We know from Scripture that God is always just (Deut 32:4), yet fairness is not given to Job-he suffers at God’s will, despite his righteousness. There is nothing Job has done to deserve such punishment, yet he is afflicted with great pain and loss. We must remember, however, that it is Satan not God, who persecutes Job, albeit with God’s permission. And allow me, at this juncture, to mention that the time of Jobs’ existence was one of gross vulnerability for humanity. The Book of Job is dated in the patriarchal timeframe; you could say he was a contemporary of Abraham, hence it is one of the oldest books in the bible from that standpoint.
At that time, the sacrificial system was in place, there was no law; only a sacrifice could appease God’s wrath. Satan took full advantage of Job’s ignorance of many ways and for that reason, it says in the very first chapter of Job that, “In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.” Job was also sacrificing out of fear, as he feared that his sons were doing something foolish. Reading from Job 1:5, it says, “And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.” As we know from the NT fear opens the door to the devil, something job was not aware of and the devil took full advantage. Yet while God’s justice is often associated with punishment or wrath, mercy plays a large role in it. Isaiah prophesies that says, “Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, And her converts with righteousness (Isa 1:27) and “my justice will become a light to the nations. My righteousness draws near speedily, my salvation is on the way, and my arm will bring justice to the nations” (Is 51:4–5) speaking of Jesus of course. see also Jer 30:11; Ezek 33:13–20; 34:16). Here, judgment or justice is associated with redemption and salvation, bringing deliverance to the captives and freedom to the oppressed.
God’s justice is never cold, for God is love. Instead, it brings joy (Prov 21:15). Proverbs 21:15 says, “It is joy to the just to do judgment: But destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity. The Psalms, in particular, sometimes express ecstatic joy that God is coming as judge. Psalm 67:4, “O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: For thou shalt judge the people righteously, And govern the nations upon earth. “ Psalm 96:13, “Before the Lord: for he cometh, For he cometh to judge the earth: He shall judge the world with righteousness, And the people with his truth. “ Psalm 98:9, “Before the Lord; for he cometh to judge the earth: With righteousness shall he judge the world, And the people with equity.” And of course we have a dire warning in the book of Proverbs, chapter three, verse thirty-three, “The curse of the Lord is in the house of the wicked: But he blesses the habitation of the just.” (Proverbs 3:33). And then in the Book of Isaiah, oh my, we have a wonderful prophecy of the coming one who will set the scales of justice aright. Isaiah 42:1–4 says, ”Behold my servant, whom I uphold; Mine elect, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him: He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. 2 He shall not cry, nor lift up, Nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. 3 A bruised reed shall he not break, And the smoking flax shall he not quench: He shall bring forth judgment unto truth. 4 He shall not fail nor be discouraged, Till he have set judgment in the earth: And the isles shall wait for his law.“ It is through God’s servant and son, Jesus Christ the Messiah, that His great plan for salvation was accomplished for the world.
So, the question might you be asking yourself right now? “How can a loving God send people to Hell?” The existence of Hell might be in contradiction to a benevolent God, on the surface, but my response would be, ‘thank God there is a Hell’. God is not a doddering old man who winks at genocide, murder, injustice, theft and the like. Justice will be served by a Holy God, whether in this life or the next. God is not winking at the Genocide of Hitler, and the six million Jews or the 20 million that Stalin slew under his Bolshevik reign. He’s not responding to these goons by saying, “Well, I understand you are simply a product of your environment and a victim, and because I’m loving and all forgiving…Come on in.” No, heck no. Every man needs acquittal by the blood of Christ, and if not, the wages of sin must be paid in a fiery torment of hell, where the worm dieth not. Murder doesn’t send us to hell; not believing in Christ does. This is called unbelief and perhaps the greatest sin of all.
This Legal term “acquittal” is a declaration that someone is in the right and perhaps best describes what Christ accomplished for us on the cross at Calvary. Sinners were in the wrong before God for thousands of years. They had broken His laws, they deserved punishment. Now, when they put their trust in Christ, they are declared to be in the right, acquitted, or justified in God’s sight. The cross shows God to be just, not simply in the fact that he forgives, but in the way he forgives. To pass over sins would show mercy indeed, but it would not show justice. Justice had to be served, a blood sacrifice was required for only by the shedding of innocent blood is there remission of sin and in this case, his son Jesus Christ would pay the ultimate price. Forgiveness by the way of the cross shows both justice and mercy, and from a theological viewpoint, this is summarized in (Romans 3:25–26).
You see God is a God of justice. Justification is the declared purpose of God to regard and treat sinners who believe in Jesus Christ, as if they had never sinned, on the ground of the merits of the Savior. It is not a mere pardon. Pardon is a free forgiveness of past offenses. It has reference to those sins as forgiven and blotted out. Justification, however, has respect to the law, and to God’s future dealings with the sinner. It is an act by which God determines to treat him hereafter as righteous—as if he had never sinned. The basis for this is the merit of the Lord Jesus Christ, merit that we can plead as if it were our own, because we are a joint or co-heir to righteousness with Him. He has taken our place and died in our stead; He has met the descending stroke of justice, which would have fallen on our own heads if He had not interposed, so that we might become the righteousness of God. You see, we were at enmity with God, dead in trespasses and sin until Christ came and took our place on the cross, but until we have repented and chosen to believe in his son, our wages of sin remain unremitted even though Christ has already paid for it on our behalf.
God is just, Holy and morally perfect. We all stand guilty before Him because we fall far short of his perfection, which was embodied in the Mosaic law, which no one could fulfill. But the Bible reveals God is also merciful and loving. He provided a way to escape the condemnation we rightly deserve. He sent His son to die for us. Perhaps the two facets of justice and mercy can be illustrated by this short anecdote. Two close friends graduated from college. One became a judge, the other a banker. One day the banker was arrested for embezzlement of one million dollars. He was to be tried before his friend. There was great speculation in the press about the case. Would the judge throw the book at his buddy, proving what a just judge he was? Or would he let his friend off Scot free? The courtroom was packed, the tension palpable. The jury deliberated. After some time, they delivered the verdict-guilty! The judge then gave the sentence. He leveled the harshest fine possible against his friend.
The crowd was aghast with amazement. But then everyone watched in wonder as the judge stood, took off his robe, walked around the bar, and extended his hand to his friend. He said, “ I have sold my house, taken all my savings out of my account. I have paid the fine I just leveled against you.” The judge was just and the judge was merciful. Justice had to be served, yet mercy was offered in return for the offense. Justice was honored, but so was friendship. All in one act of paying the fine. This is how it works with Christ’s death on the cross. In one act both justice and love are found and the quandary of man’s separation from God, solved. Don’t reject God’s mercy, friend, he offers it to you this day because justice was placed on His son, in your stead. Hell is real, but no one needs to go there. We end up there by rejecting Christ’s sacrifice. G K Chesterton once said, “Hell is God’s great compliment to the reality of human freedom and the dignity of human choice.” Based on your decision to live your life separately from God here on earth, will result in you spending eternity separated from Him. No one is going to heaven against their will, friend. I urge you, from the bottom of my heart, to choose life today, repent of your sins, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, cancel your reservation in Hell, and enter eternal life, which is to know the Son of God.
Title: God is Just
https://carljosephministries.com/podcast/should-we-judge/
https://hearingfromjesus.org/god-of-justice-trusting-in-the-righteous-judge-psalm-94/
Bibliography:
Galaxie Software, 10,000 Sermon Illustrations (Biblical Studies Press, 2002).
The Shaw Pocket Bible Handbook, Walter A. Elwell, Editor, (Harold Shaw Publ., Wheaton , IL; 1984), pp. 351-352
Cliffe Knechtle, Give me an Answer that satisfies my heart and mind (Answers to your toughest questions about Christianity), InrerVarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 1986).
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Justice and Mercy
Six Frequently Asked Questions:
1. How can God be both just and merciful at the same time?
God’s justice and mercy are not in conflict — they are perfectly expressed in the cross of Jesus Christ. Justice demanded that sin be punished, and mercy provided the way out. Jesus bore the punishment we deserved, satisfying God’s justice, while offering us mercy through forgiveness and salvation. Romans 3:25–26 shows how God is “just and the justifier” of those who believe in Jesus.
2. Why is God’s justice emphasized more in the Old Testament than the New?
Justice is more explicitly emphasized in the Old Testament because it is rooted in the law, which defined righteousness and revealed humanity’s inability to live up to God’s standards. The New Testament shifts focus to grace, with Christ fulfilling the law (Romans 10:4). However, God’s just character remains unchanged — it’s simply fulfilled in Christ rather than administered through Mosaic law in the church age.
3. Doesn’t Hell contradict a loving and merciful God?
No. Hell actually confirms God’s justice. A truly just God cannot ignore evil. Hell is not about God being cruel — it’s about God upholding righteousness. Those who reject Christ’s payment for sin choose to bear the penalty themselves. As G.K. Chesterton once said, “Hell is God’s great compliment to the reality of human freedom.”
4. What does the Bible mean by “justification”?
Justification is more than pardon. It is God declaring a sinner righteous, as if they had never sinned — based not on their works, but on Christ’s merit. Through faith in Jesus, believers are acquitted and seen as righteous because Jesus took the penalty for sin on the cross. It’s a legal declaration and a spiritual transformation.
5. Was God unfair to Job despite calling Himself just?
God allowed Job’s suffering, but did not cause it — Satan did. Job lived before the law, sacrificing out of fear, unaware of his spiritual authority. While it seems unfair, God’s justice remained intact. Job’s story reminds us that God’s justice is not always about fairness, but about what is right and redemptive in the long term.
6. Why should we care about God’s justice in today’s world?
Without justice, evil would go unanswered. God’s justice gives hope to the oppressed and accountability to the wicked. It also reminds us that sin has consequences, but Christ made a way of escape. In a world full of injustice, God remains the ultimate judge who will make all things right, both now and in eternity.
Carl is an authority. He is a biblical scholar, minister, author, husband, father, and life coach. In his mid-twenties he had a powerful encounter with God and saw miraculous healings as a result. Carl is a unique researcher who investigates current affairs, societal trends, prophecy, technology, cults, and end time events, all through a biblical lens.
Carl holds a Doctorate in Theology (Th D). His Alma Mata includes: Salford University, Manchester, UK, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London, UK, Rhema Bible Training College (Tulsa), and Southwestern Christian University (Oklahoma City).
Carl Joseph Ministries empowers believers in Christ to fulfill their God given potential. Join Carl every other Monday on the Lions Unchained Podcast, available on Spotify, iTunes and other mainstream platforms.
He currently resides in Colorado, with his lovely wife Amy, and their three children.
