Just – Uses of the Law: Make Known the Character of God (7)

Just

Uses of the Law: Make Known the Character of God (7)

“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

The scale is an excellent symbol for justice, which helps us to understand why it is so universally employed. Justice is served when wrongs are set right and “balance” is restored to a community. Where justice obtains, evil is kept in check, good is rewarded, and benefits abound.

Within Himself, in the Persons of the Godhead, God is just and upright; all His ways are justice. He is completely “in balance” within Himself, and His Law shows us how we may know uprightness, balance, and justice in our relations with one another.

God is without sin—He is holy. Justice is thus related to holiness; a holy people sustains communities where justice is the norm. Justice is also related to love. Where justice does not exist among sinful men, danger and chaos must obtain, as the book of Judges makes clear. For our just God to reveal the way of justice, therefore, is a most loving thing.

Justice also enables us to realize the goodness and wisdom of God. As we work for justice we work to preserve a society in which wickedness is restrained, goodness prevails, and wisdom is practiced all around. God is One, and all His attributes are one in Him. His Law makes known to us the character of God so that, as we hear, fear, obey, love, and serve Him, we escape the corruption of the world, claim His promises, and partake of His very being (2 Pet. 1:4).

For a practical guide to the role of God’s Law in the life of faith, get The Ground for Christian Ethics by going to www.ailbe.org and click on our Bookstore, then Church Issues.

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In the Gates is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore, editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001, 2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.