Justice is a topic that offended parties like to talk about.  Victims and their advocates often gather in the court of public opinion and make statements such as, “this isn’t personal, we simply want to see justice served.”  I can’t speak for all such comments, but I suspect that many are not quite completely honest.  Particularly in cases where we can not see our self ever being the offending party in the way that “they” are.  We want more than justice — we want an example to be made out of them.  Show people once and for all that the offense committed simply will not be tolerated. 

A number of years ago, my vehicle was hit by a drunk driver.  My family and I walked away with no real injuries, but my Bronco II was totaled.  The insurance on the truck he was driving paid for my replacement vehicle (another Bronco II) and even gave us a small amount for the inconveniences and trauma of the collision.  But that wasn’t enough!  I wanted to see this man punished for what he put us through.  Over a two year span, I did what I could to see this case prosecuted in the county court system.  I would show up for his court dates to give a “victim’s impact statement” and he would not be there.  Not only was that frustrating to the judge and prosecutor, it was another reason in my mind to pursue “justice” in this case no matter how long it took.  I don’t know exactly when it happened and I don’t think there was anything that specifically triggered it, but one day I simply decided I was wasting too much time and energy trying to pursue “justice” in a case when I wasn’t really wanting justice, I was seeking revenge.  I already had justice.  My loss that he had caused had already been restored.  The damage done to me had been resolved.  The crime he had committed in the drunk driving collision was under the jurisdiction of the county, not me.  Justice for him was between he and the authorities, not between he and I.  It was their place to decide, so I quit calling and checking on the case progress.  I have no idea if they ever found him and what became of the drunk driving case.  I do know that I let go of my anger and my desire for revenge so that justice could be served.

If we define justice as “getting what we deserve”, the question quickly comes to my mind; “Who decides what I deserve?”.  In the case of this drunk driver, I wanted to decide what he deserved.  That is usually the case, isn’t it?  We like justice if we get to decide what that is.  Paul writes in the third chapter of Romans about God demonstrating His justice.  The thought of God handing out justice — of you and I getting what we deserve from God — should make us sit up and take notice.  We may even ask, “What do I deserve from God?”  I would say that depends — it depends on what you allow to define what you deserve.

In Romans 3:21-26, Paul lays out for us how God can demonstrate His justice and we can still have hope.  Here is what he says:

“But now a righteousness from God, apart from the law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.  This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.  There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.  God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.  He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished — he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.”

Paul indicates two ways of defining justice.  One is through the law.  This is the definition we are most familiar with — and frankly the one we most like to see used on “others”.  Simply put, we say “you do the crime, you do the time”.  Under the law, justice is spelled out through a series of “if/then’s” — if you do this, then this is the punishment or consequence.  God’s law is really a fairly basic if/then — if you sin, then you will die!  Oh, and just in case anyone begins to think they’ve done pretty well, I just might make it, God makes it clear in verse 23 that all have sinned.  Justice under the law?  I think I’ll look for something else.

Fortunately, Paul says there is hope — there is a righteousness apart from the law through faith in Jesus.  God was able to do this by presenting His Son, Jesus, as a sacrifice for sin.  Justice demanded that payment for sin be made.  Jesus made that payment on our behalf so that by His grace through faith, we could be justified.  God’s justice says that sin will be punished.  It also says that faith in His Son, Jesus, will bring forgiveness.  The only way God could reconcile those two aspects of His nature was through the death of Jesus.  His death allowed God to be just and punish sin, and it also allowed God to justify and bring forgiveness to those who accept His grace through faith.

May you and I be encouraged that while justice is served, it has been served in a way that allows us to be justified even when we don’t deserve it.