On Divine Justice
Armando meditates on how God must be just and what that means for His love.
I have been reading John Owen's On Divine Justice. This is a very rich and deep book where Owen shows the necessity of God's vindicatory justice (towards sin) and how it flows from His divine nature. This justice comes across as though God is petty when one reads it as vindictive. However, Owen argues that God has the right to punish violators of His divine Law.
He also argued that God must punish sin. Must is a difficult concept when we discuss God. For God is the ultimate free being. The Scriptures say that our God is in the heavens and He does whatever He pleases. So how can He do whatever He pleases while being obligated to do an action? For Owen, and hopefully every Christian, this is not a problem. Owen said God must punish sin in the sense that if He is free not to punish sin then He could choose not to.
Living humans make a myriad of decisions every day. However, there are some things they must do to remain human. They must, for example, breathe. God, to be God, must be just. And a just God will punish sin impartially. The worst types of earthly judges allow their feelings to sway what the Law states they should uphold. God is not like this. His law flows from His divine perfections and He has no issue with upholding each letter of it. Moreover, God has the freedom to delay judgment, as we see throughout Scripture. Just this morning, I read in 1 Kings how God declared he would punish Ahab for his wicked actions. Yet, Ahab humbled himself before the Lord, so God declared He would delay this punishment til Ahab's sons ruled. Romans 2 tells us that God has divine forbearance so that people have an opportunity to repent from their sins.
God punishes sin. Whether it is in Hell for all of eternity or on the cross of Christ. This does not diminish His love but magnifies it. A God who must punish sin but decides to take on the sin Himself is a God of love. As the Bible declared “God is love.” He is not only love, but He is not less than love. His love leads Him to pay the debt we owe in the person and work of Jesus, His own Son. If God did not have to punish sin, then the cross would be cruel. But because He must, it is the ultimate example of selflessness and sacrificial love. This is why Paul celebrates in Romans 8, there is no condemnation left for those who are in Christ! For nothing can separate us from His love. So today, revel in that love. Thank God for His mercy and justice. For if you have declared Jesus as Lord of your life and believed that He died for your sins, God has punished your iniquity on the cross. If you have not, your sin is still held against you. Turn to Christ today!