Just Holiness - Part 1

 

Psalm 9:8 “He will judge the world with justice and rule the nations with fairness.”

 

I came across a great article by the late American Theologian and Pastor Robert Sproul on God’s Justice based upon His holiness that was enlightening and I’d like to share. He writes: A more complete understanding of God’s character enables one to see these actions of divine justice by God with greater clarity and helps us to avoid the very real danger of taking His grace for granted. The purpose of this article is to promote growth in the understanding of, and thankfulness for, God’s grace.

If we look at the period of the eighteenth century on the American frontier, we notice a recurring motif in the preaching during the Great Awakening—a sort of dual emphasis. On the one hand, the message of the preachers was that man is very, very, very bad and that God is very, very, very mad. This was an emphasis on the sinfulness of man and the wrath of God. Nahum 1:3 “The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked. The Lord has His way.” God is merciful, and therefore doesn’t want to punish us. This is because  “God is love” (1 John 4:8). But the same Bible which tells us that God loves us, also tells us that God is just and therefore must punish sin. He says “I will by no means clear the guilty” (Exodus 34:7). And “the soul that sins, it shall die” (Ezekiel 18:4). We have a problem. 

 

Psalm 11:7 “For the righteous Lord loves justice. The virtuous will see His face.”

 

Dr. Hans Küng makes the point that the real mystery of iniquity, the real puzzle is not that a holy and righteous God should exercise justice. What is mysterious about a holy creator punishing willfully disobedient creatures? The real mystery is why God, through generation after generation, tolerates rebellious creatures who commit cosmic treason against His authority. Did you ever think of it like that?

 

Remember the rules that were set forth at creation, when God, the omnipotent Ruler of heaven and earth, breathed into dirt the breath of life and shaped a creature in His own image. He gave that creature the highest status on this planet and the greatest blessing and gift, which He did not owe them at all—the very gift of life—and stamped His holy image on that piece of dirt, and gave them life. And He said, “The soul that sins shall die.”

 

Psalm 36:10 “Pour out your unfailing love on those who love you; give justice to those with honest hearts.”

 

All sin in creation was viewed as a capital offense. And it was not that this punishment would be death sometime after you’ve had your threescore and ten. The terms of creation were, “The day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:17). Now I know people look at this and say that the text is saying there that the day the transgression takes place, we suffer spiritual death. But that’s not what God said. It may be true that man suffered spiritual death the day he transgressed the law of God, but the terms of creation were: “The day that you eat, you die biologically. It’s over.” Death entered the world. There is no "cheap grace". 

Let's continue Pastor Sproul's message on God's holy justice, mercy and grace in the next post. In Christ, Brian