"When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly” (1 Peter 2:23 esv). Last week, we saw that God commands us to “do justice” and that doing so involves judging with right judgment, not being partial, not taking advantage of the vulnerable, and maintaining the cause of the afflicted and needy. This week we will find that all of these elements of justice are rooted in the character of God. And, because he is the ultimate embodiment of justice, we can fully and completely entrust ourselves to his just judgment, no matter what we’re facing today or in the future.
God is the just judge. In view of Job’s suffering, he and his friends grapple with the question, “Does God pervert justice? Or does the Almighty pervert the right?” (Job 8:3 esv) and they maintain that, “Of a truth, God will not do wickedly, and the Almighty will not pervert justice” (34:12 esv). Indeed, both the Old and New Testaments insist that God is the only judge who is truly just: “Many seek the face of a ruler, but it is from the Lord that a man gets justice” (Proverbs 29:26 esv). Jesus tells a parable of a widow who seeks justice from a wicked ruler, and gets it. How much more, he argues, “will God give justice to his elect” (Luke 18:8 esv)?
Peter tells us that we can entrust ourselves“to him who judges justly” (1 Peter 2:23 esv). We have no better example of this than in Jesus Christ himself. When he was on trial, he did not seek justice through the political system of his day. He knew he would never get it there. Instead, he endured the injustice that ungodly men imposed upon him, and trusted that God would issue the only judgement that ultimately matters.“Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him” (Isaiah 30:18 esv).
God is not partial. “For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe” (Deuteronomy 10:17 esv). The New Testament uses this language to argue that God’s judgements with regard to our salvation never depend on race, wealth, influence, or any worldly standards of the sort (Acts 10:34; Romans 2:11; Galatians 2:6; Ephesians 6:9; Colossians 3:25). The only standard God uses is whether or not we are found guilty of sin. Of course, without God’s mercy, we would all deserve a guilty verdict. But through Christ, God took the punishment for sins upon himself for those who have genuine faith. That means that those who are unrepentant and not covered by the blood of Christ will be judged according to their works and found guilty. But those who repent and do what God requires in order to be covered by the blood of Christ will be saved from the punishment that their sins would otherwise have required.
God hears the cries of the oppressed. Many of the commands to “do justice” in the Old Testament rest on the fact that God heard the cries of the Israelites when they were in Egypt and granted them justice from their oppressors. Therefore, he expected them to treat others in the same sort of way. This is the connection made in Leviticus 19:36, “You shall have just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt” (esv). Just as God showed compassion on the Israelites, we often see Jesus showing compassion on those in his day who were in need: “When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick” (Matthew 14:14 esv; cf. 9:36; 15:32). And, the Bible is filled with promises that God still hears the cries of those who are oppressed today: “And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily…” (Luke 18:7–8 esv); “For the Lord loves justice; he will not forsake his saints…” (Psalm 37:28 esv).
God will avenge the oppressed. This is the context of the promise in 2 Thessalonians 1:8 to inflict vengeance “on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus” (esv). Verses 5–7 tell us why such punishment is not only necessary, but just: “This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering—since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you
who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels” (esv).
Once again, Jesus is our perfect example in this. We truly can entrust ourselves to God, as he did, with full assurance that God will always do the right thing. We may very well have to wait on God to provide justice at the time he decides is best, but we can rest assured that he will grant justice to us one way or the other.
The question remains, then, how we will choose to respond when we face affliction, suffering, and oppression in this world. Let’s choose to entrust ourselves to the God who judges justly. “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed…Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good” (1 Peter 4:12–13, 19 esv).
Rusty Taylor