Just And Justifer

"For the LORD is righteous, and he loves justice, / Those who do what is right will see his face" (Psalm 11:7, NLT). 
 "... Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne" (Psa. 97:2, NLT).
"Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" (cf. Gen. 18:25).

What qualifies God to be our judge?  Remember, God is our Judge; we are not His judge! He judges everyone according to what they've done; even the righteous according to their deeds, not their faith.  God is holy as His chief attribute that regulates all others and is without sin. Because He is just, He is obliged to judge all sin and evil.   Also, Jesus lived the sin-free life as what to expect of us, while the Ten Commandments delineated God's demands and expectations.  We know what to judge by as a measuring rod when we behold the perfect God-man, Jesus the righteous One.  God is a God of justice and sin and evil are incompatible with His nature just like matter and anti-matter cannot co-exist.  He wouldn't be holy if He let sin slide and let us get away with it.

But He did do something that allows a way out of exercising judgment on everyone.  By declaring all guilty of sin in Adam, He has the right to impute righteousness on those who are in Christ.  It's the principle of substitution and representation.  Adam was Christ's prototype and represents us, while Christ is the last example and our substitution that sets us free from Adam's sin.  God is just and must not compromise His perfect holiness and violate justice so He had to find a way to become both Just and Justifier.  He did this by sending His Son to be our replacement or substitute. His wrath is satisfied in Christ who died on our behalf.

God is not only offended by sin, But He's also angry at it and will take vengeance on it in due time.  God cannot even behold or look upon evil!  The only way to appease His wrath is by expiation or propitiation through the blood of Christ.  His demands were fully met and we can have this reconciliation on account of the blood of Jesus.  Note that God doesn't make us righteous but declares us righteous.  Just like God, we ought to be indignant at the evil in the world and for God to avenge in His time.

Now God is unjust to no one!  The exercise of grace and mercy are forms of non-justice but are not injustice.  The reconciled believer has been imputed with righteousness and is considered as if he'd never sinned in God's eyes--as righteous, not sinful.  But Paul says in Gal. 2:17 that the believer is, in reality, both sinner and righteous at the same time.  We never stop sinning but grow in our acknowledgment and holiness as we get to know our Lord.  The believer who thinks he can reach a point of maturity without sin is self-deceived!  This is where confession comes into play.  We must continually confess our known sin to remain in fellowship with God the Father and God the Son, as well as our believers in Christ ("forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us").

We must not reckon that justice delayed is justice denied, for God tarries to exercise His judgment on mankind and in His time the day of grace will cease.  It may appear that the sinner is getting away with cursing God and sin but his day will come and someday he'll give an account of himself.  God's goodness and delay are meant to give us time and space to repent and to bring us to realize our sin by conviction.

By definition, justice is rendering to someone their due desserts!  Giving them what they deserve, good or bad!  But Christians receive both mercy (not getting what we do deserve) and grace (getting what we don't deserve).  What we must realize is that God was not under any obligation of justice to be merciful to anyone--He could've condemned everyone all the same and remain holy and just.  However, to demonstrate His love, He found a way to be both just and justifier and to save some from the consequences of the coming wrath.

If God had to save anyone, it would be justice, not mercy and grace.  We can rejoice that God tempers His justice with mercy (cf. Hab. 3:2), knowing that He was under no obligation to save us, but loves us even while we were His enemies and still in our sin.  Rest assured that no one will ever be punished beyond that which strict justice demands they deserve, even in hell, if they are not covered by the blood of Jesus! 

Don't ask God for justice for your case, but mercy and grace!  Don't just say, "All I want is justice!"  Because you may get it and that is not what you want!  But note that vengeance belongs to the Lord and is not our prerogative or duty, we must have faith that God's will is for our best and He will determine what justice is and mete it out to His standards.  CAN WE BELIEVE IN JUSTICE WITHOUT A JUDGE?   In summation: We should become so convicted that we are great sinners and that God is a great Savior that we plead "guilty as charged":  "... God be merciful to me, the sinner!" (cf Luke 18:13, NASB). and concur with John Bunyan, in his book, Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners.   Soli Deo Gloria!