We read in Jeremiah 9:24, “If any want to boast, they should boast that they know and understand me, because my love is constant, and I do what is just and right. These are the things that please me. I, the LORD, have spoken.”(GNB)
If anyone in this world would like to boast about something, he should not do so about his knowledge, wealth or strength, but rather boast in the realization that they know the Lord, the one who is gracious, just and righteous. The Lord our creator desires that each one of us should know Him in a personal way. There are many parents who lament that their children are incapable of understanding them. When this happens it creates a sense of pain in the hearts of parents, who truly love their children, take every effort to care for them, and provide for them. The children who are unable to comprehend this, continue to be indifferent or insensitive to these feelings of their parents. So also, God yearns that His children should understand who He is, and should be able to comprehend His divine attributes of grace, justice and righteousness.
God of grace
In this study we will meditate on these three aspects of God namely God’s grace, justice and righteousness. When God created man, He made him in His own image and He also gave him the power to rule over all that He had created. This was God’s grace bestowed on mankind. There was no need for God to have created man in His own image and likeness. If we were to closely observe this, we realize that human beings are the extraordinary ones in all of God’s creation. God has given to man the ability to reason, understand and make decisions. For a few moments analyze our human body, the way it is created and functions, and you will for sure realize what an awesome creator God is behind this marvelous creation. Take the eye for example, it far surpasses any hi-tech camera that any man can invent. The eyes have stereo-vision, are multi-dimensional and have such depth that is far beyond human comprehension.
No wonder the Psalmist said it this way in Psalm 139:14, I will give thanks to you because I have been so amazingly and miraculously made. (GW)
The Psalmist was so astounded by this creative power of God that he burst forth in praises and thanksgiving, as he pondered on the amazing and miraculous way he was created.
God of justice
Not only is God gracious, but He is also a just God. Sometimes when God extends this grace over us, we may be misled to forget that He is also a God of justice. God in His grace created Adam and Eve and placed them in the beautiful Garden of Eden. However, the Serpent subtly entered that garden, and deceived Adam and Eve. The consequence was that God had to execute His justice on Adam and Eve when they chose to disobey God. Man lost the power and authority that God had graciously endowed on them. Moreover, this is the justice that God meted out to the Serpent who entered that garden and deceived Adam and Eve.
We read in Genesis 3:14, Then the LORD God said to the snake, "You will be punished for this; you alone of all the animals must bear this curse: From now on you will crawl on your belly, and you will have to eat dust as long as you live.(GNB)
The justice of God was what made Him punish the serpent to crawl on its belly and eat the dust of the earth.
We also read in Genesis 3:15, I will make you and the woman hate each other; her offspring and yours will always be enemies. Her offspring will crush your head, and you will bite her offspring's heel." (GNB)
Here the Lord mentions that the snake will hurt the heel of the woman’s offspring, and that man will crush the snake’s head. This signifies that the head of the Serpent which deceived Adam and Eve will one day be totally crushed or defeated. On that very day when man fell into sin, God had a divine plan to redeem man from this dreadful situation he found himself in. We can therefore see that the grace of God, and the justice of God always go hand in hand.
Grace and Justice in the days of Noah
We read about Noah in Genesis 6:8, “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.” (AFV)
As God beheld all of mankind during Noah’s days, God observed that Noah was a righteous man in his generation, and hence God’s grace rested on Noah. The people who lived during the time of Noah had no time to seek God or to think about God. All of their ways were evil and wicked. God therefore decided that He could not leave this unchecked, for soon they would destroy all that God had created. God spoke to Noah and commanded him to build an ark. The invitation was open to all to enter the ark, but no one was willing. All those who refused to accept the offer were destroyed because God is a just God.
God is gracious to those who walk uprightly before Him. God in His grace has made a way for us to be saved from our sins, and if we refuse to accept this, we will be responsible, and will bring destruction on ourselves.
Noah believed God, obeyed God’s word and prevailed into the ark. When the massive flood destroyed the whole earth, Noah and his family were kept safe because of Noah’s faith. These are God’s words to Noah and his family when they stepped out of the ark onto dry land.
In Genesis 9:12-13 we read, And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you and every living creature with you, for everlasting generations: I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. (AFV)
I wondered as to why God had to give the rainbow as a sign to Noah after that devastating flood. This was God’s covenant and reminder to Noah that He would never again destroy the earth this way. Whenever, there were dark rain clouds, Noah must have always looked at it with a sense of apprehension. The reason was that Noah had experienced the torrential and non-stop rains that God sent on the earth to destroy all those who did not heed Noah and enter into the ark. Noah trusted in God, and the Lord protected Noah and his family from this perilous destruction.
Every time as Noah saw the dark rain clouds and was fearful, the rainbow was a reminder that God had made an everlasting covenant with Noah. The gracious and just God sent the rainbow as a sign of His eternal love and grace that He extends to all mankind. Whenever, the rainbow appeared it would have removed the sense of fear from Noah and given him the calm assurance that God was gracious.
God will certainly protect those who put their faith and trust in Him. Sadly the same rainbow in recent times is being used as a symbol for a lifestyle that is totally contrary to God and His word. We must constantly remind ourselves that God is a gracious, just and righteous God.
God’s grace on Lot and judgement on Sodom and Gomorrah
We read in Genesis 19:15, At dawn the angels tried to make Lot hurry. "Quick!" they said. "Take your wife and your two daughters and get out, so that you will not lose your lives when the city is destroyed."(GNB)
The city of Sodom in which Lot and his family lived, and the neighboring city of Gomorrah were filled with untold wickedness. We must be reminded that God extends His grace for a long time, but He will punish those who refuse to give heed to Him, and take His grace for granted. The Lord was so gracious to Lot, because he remained righteous, and God sent His angels to save Lot, his wife and his two daughters from the impending judgement.
These are the words of the angels earlier in Genesis 19:13, “For we will destroy this place, because great is the cry of it before the face of the LORD. And the LORD has sent us to destroy it.” (AFV)
God is gracious and therefore He sent His angels to save Lot and his family. Nonetheless, He is also the God of justice, and hence He also sent the same angels to destroy the people of Sodom and Gomorrah who continued in evil and wickedness.
Sadly, this is what happened to Lot’s wife as we read in Genesis 19:26, “But Lot's wife looked back and was turned into a pillar of salt.”(GNB)
The command that the angel of the Lord gave to Lot, his wife and daughters was simple and straight. They were to flee away from the cities without turning back. However, when Lot’s wife disobeyed, and looked back she was turned into a pillar of salt. The reason was simple, God was gracious, but God had to act justly and righteously when Lot’s wife disobeyed His command.
Whenever, the commands of God are broken there will certainly be consequences to face. Lot’s wife is a reminder to us that disobedience to God will incur God’s just punishment on us.
The father who was just and gracious
The story is told of a man who served as a judge in a small town. This man had an only son, whom he loved much as the boy had also lost his mother when he was very young. This young man however spurned his Dad’s love, and began to live a life of rebellion and disobedience. He also got into wrong company, discontinued his studies, and chose to lead a reckless life. One day the young man approached his father, and asked him for money which his father refused him. This young man stole a sum of one lakh rupees from a shop nearby, and fled from the scene. He spent all the money for his own whims and fancies, and not only did he become penniless, but also got caught by the cops.
This young man was now brought to book, and brought back to his own town, to stand trial before his own father in court. The young man was confident that since his father was the judge, he would let him go scot free. He also knew that his father loved him deeply and that though he would be angry with him, he would not punish him. As the young man stood before his father who was the judge, the father assessed the case in its entirety. When it was established that his son did steal the amount of rupees one lakh, the judge slapped an additional fine of one lakh. The judge also passed the verdict that if the young man was unable to pay the fine, he would have to be sentenced to three years rigorous imprisonment. As the son heard the verdict being read, he was cried out in anguish to his dad to have mercy on him. While he spent the day in prison, the young man thought his father had disowned him. However, that night the father came to his son’s cell, hugged his son, and handed him a check for two lakh rupees, so he could be set free.
If you are wondering what this story is akin to, it is likened to God who created man perfect, and in His own image and likeness. However, Satan entered into that relationship and devised a huge gap in this beautiful relationship between God and men. No wonder then that God began His redemptive process right in the Garden of Eden, when He cursed the Serpent and said that there would be enmity between him and the woman’s offspring. God went further to explain that the Serpent would hurt man’s heel and the woman’s offspring would crush his head.
Jesus came down to this earth to save mankind from the sin that they was so messed up in. Just as the judge undertook to pay the fine that was slapped on his son, so too the Lord Jesus took on Himself the sins of all mankind. Though He was sinless, Jesus became the propitiation for our sins when he died on the cross.
The son who got the check from his dad could have done two things. Not realizing the value of the check he could have thrown it away or else he could be wise, understand what his father had done for him and paid for his release.
We too have two options before us today. The bible tells us clearly that all of us who are born into this world have sinned, and have fallen short of God’s glory. Just like the young man who was sentenced with a fine which he was unable to pay on his own, no matter how hard we try, none of us can pay to be rid of our sins. The judge who gave the judgement was also the father who came to save his son from the penalty of that judgement. So also, God is the just judge who has to punish sin, but He is also our loving Father. That was why He sent His Son Jesus to pay the price for our sins so that we can be set free from the penalty that was duly ours.
If there are those who think that you are under some sort of sin and curse for generations, and think there is no way out, there is a way that Jesus has made for us by giving His life as a ransom for all of our sins. Jesus paid the price, but we can receive this gift freely. There is no payment that one can make or nothing that we can do to hurt our bodies that will attain the salvation that Jesus has purchased for us by His death on the cross, on our behalf.
Just as the young man believed and accepted the check from his dad as the payment for his freedom, so too we as children of God must believe and accept that Jesus died on our behalf, for our sins. We must be willing to accept the Lord Jesus as our Savior and Lord, believe on the sacrifice that He made on the cross for our sins, and we will be set free. Jesus is the only one who died and rose again from the dead to live forever. If we call unto Him, He will certainly deliver us.
The Lord is gracious, but He is also a just God. God in His grace has made a way for us through the death and resurrection of Jesus, just as the ark was the safety for Noah, and the angels the protectors of Lot and His family. In these days when we are specially are focusing on the death of Jesus, let us realize that Jesus did not come for one people group, but for all mankind. He was sinless, was condemned, crucified and took on Himself all of our sins willingly, and broke the powers of sin over our lives.
At the cross of Jesus, God’s grace, His justice and righteousness came together as one. For those who are facing untold hardships and sometimes wonder if this is the consequence of their sin or the sins of their ancestors, the Lord comes to encourage us that He alone is The Way, The Truth and The Life.
Rev. F. Andrew Dixon
www.goodnewsfriends.net
Transcribed by: Sis. Esther Collins
