Where is the God of justice?
Malachi 2v17
Part 2
7th May 2021
Last week we began our study of these words:
Malachi 2v17
You have wearied the Lord with your words.
"How have we wearied him?" you ask.
By saying, "All who do evil are good in the eyes of the Lord, and he is pleased
with them" or "Where is the God of justice?"
Of course God's love has not grown cold. His strength has not withered. He remains omnipotent, and He loves us enough to send Jesus to die in our place. So why do we suffer so much? Why do we have less pleasant lives than some of our wicked neighbours?
Firstly: We don't. Whatever we're going though, we go through it with Jesus, with the Holy Spirit, with the comfort, encouragement and wisdom of the Bible, and with each other. I'm convinced that, for example, I've coped with the coronavirus lockdown much better than I would have done if I hadn't known Jesus.
I don't want to pretend that we don't suffer real loss, real sorrow, real pain, but it would be so much worse if we didn't have God in our lives. As you've heard me say before, the person who has Jesus and anything else, has infinitely more than the person who has everything else but doesn't have Jesus.
I don't say this lightly. I've experienced times of suicidal depression. But at least I experienced them with Jesus.
I don't know how non-Christians manage to live without Jesus. I know they do, but I don't think I could. Even in the midst of stress and sorrow, I can thank God for Jesus.
I remember when Canon Andrew White spoke at my church. He told us that five thousand members of his church in Baghdad had been killed, and most of the others were now in refugee camps. I remember, some years ago, when my friend Anne was in hospital with pancreatitis. She was in such pain, she was allowed a morphine shot every 30 seconds. And her daughter would count down the seconds before pressing the button to release the morphine, over and over again.
It's understandable that we can wonder why it is that some Christians get slaughtered while wicked men live, or why some Christians suffer in agony when wicked people are in good health. But I really don't want to hear myself complaining to the God who saved me, "All who do evil are good in the eyes of the Lord, and he is pleased with them" or ask "Where is the God of justice?"
Secondly: you might not want to hear this right now, but James told us:
James 1:2-4
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds,
because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.
Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not
lacking anything.
This requires faith. None of us likes trials. But it is possible to believe by faith that my trial is good for me. It's OK to pray that the trial comes to an end, but in all probability, another trial will soon follow. James says a trial is pure joy. It can be, if we see it as doing us good, preparing us for heaven. The best analogy I can manage is that a man with toothache can consider a visit to the dentist pure joy. It's not pleasant, but it will bring an end to his pain.
The testing of our faith produces perseverance. Well, it does if we keep the faith, continue to try to live like Christians, refuse temptation, keep praying, stay involved with church, and worship God. And perseverance makes us mature and complete. Perseverance brings us to a state in which we don't lack anything. It gives us character and wisdom. And I don't think there are any shortcuts to character and wisdom.
Thirdly: All a wicked person's wealth, ease and pleasure will come to an end. But our delight in Jesus and His kingdom will last for ever.
John Newton, who'd been a slave trader before Jesus saved him, became a church leader and wrote one of the greatest songs ever written, "Amazing Grace". In its 5th verse, this man, who truly knew what the forgiveness of sins was, wrote:
Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
and mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess within the veil
a life of joy and peace."
We can know joy during trials, because we know that we will never be punished for our sins. We will never be excluded from God's presence. We will enjoy His grace for eternity.
Fourthly: God will reward us for choosing to live righteous lives. And that reward is even greater if we're mistreated as a result:
Matthew 5:10-12
"Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs
is the kingdom of heaven.
"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all
kinds of evil against you because of me.
Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the
same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."
God loves to reward His children, as all good fathers do. God wants us to have the best possible eternity. His preparation for your eternity and mine is to save us, so we can enter heaven, to sanctify us, to make us pure enough for heaven, and to find reasons to reward us, so our experience of heaven can be as wonderful as possible.
1 Corinthians 2:9
However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has
conceived what God has prepared for those who love him."
I recently took the funeral of a dear member of our church community. His son gave the eulogy, and told us how he'd been an electronics expect, designing control systems for the government, designing TV components, and working on a number of highly specialized systems. I only came to know him in his very old age, when his brain was not what it had been. I don't know how much it pained him and his family as his mind deteriorated, but I do know that He's in glory now. I know his mind is sharper than ever. I know He's completely happy. I know He can see the face of Jesus. I know that He will be happy for all eternity. And I know that heaven is better than any of us can imagine.
I don't know what pain you're in now, but I do know that, if you belong to Jesus, then your eternity will be wonderful.
And fifthly: we know that the Lord is the God of justice. He said:
Deuteronomy 32:35
"It is mine to avenge; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; their
day of disaster is near and their doom rushes upon them."
This doesn't just teach us never to take revenge, although it does do that. It also assures us that justice will be done. God will do justice, so we don't need to. The Day of Judgement is coming. Those who repent of their sins and trust in Jesus's redeeming blood will be saved for ever. Those who persist in wickedness will be punished for ever.
God's ancient people had the impertinence to ask, "Where is the God of justice?" The God of justice will pass judgement on the wicked in His own good time. And He will do perfect justice. And no-one can stay His hand.