Justice vs Judgement

Loyal Encourager:

Greetings in Jesus

Maybe I am confusing justice and judgement

What’s the difference?

If I were to boil it down one is temporal the other is permanent.
As everything else in this world has a physical shadow pointing to that which is eternal spiritual
The earthly demonstrates a spiritual principle.Justice is not protection from evil or a promise of good but that the equitable fairness will be dealt out.  “Eye for an Eye and tooth for tooth” principle.  You will reap what you sow principle.Someone steals from you, you suffer loss.  That is injustice.  That person is made to repay you not only what was stolen but four fold.  That is justice, the stolen was returned and the suffering for the violation was compensated with the additional gain.  To the one who stole in order to get gain for himself, he not only has to return what he stole, but four fold. Now instead of “easy” gain without labor, he must labor harder to repay more than he took.

Justice is set and administered by the Law Giver.

When we suffer persecution for Christ sake in this life, we are compensated in the life to come with Christ.

In judgement it is determined there is penalty to pay.  You may not receive your stolen item back or be compensated four fold for it, but the one who stole has lost his freedom, his ability to steal or pay back.  He has no chance to redeem himself.  He has lost more than what was stolen from you .  Justice.

In the judgement of God, there will not be a time to pay back for the evil we have done.  There is only an expectation of penalty to pay,
likewise in the judgement of God, there will not be time to do more works for the Lord, the rewards will be granted based on what has already been recorded in the books.  To each given according to his deeds, weather good or bad.  Justice.

Amos 5:24 God is saying to israel they were mechanically offering praise, gifts and sacrifices at the temple, but outside of the temple they were living ungodly lives.  ( Jer. 22:3-5 )  The passage in Amos was a call to the house of Israel to repentance.  They were mechanically offering to the Lord thinking they would receive reward in the day of the Lord.  Look at Amos 5:18

In what God tells them to do in an act of repentance in verse 24 is “But let justice run down like water”.  This would indicate His fault with them is that they did not act, execute or promote justice.  They needed not correct one injustice, but let justice become a way of life, never ceasing, without stopping like “water” and righteousness, (doing that which is right according to Gods word or law) like a mighty stream, to be carried away by it even when you try to resist because the force is so strong.  Desire and practice righteousness so strongly that even when you are tempted to ignore or turn away from it you are pulled to act righteously by compulsion.

Matt. 5:7 (“blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.”)  No different in principle, and a blessing from our Lord.  All have obtained mercy from God in that He sent His Son to die for us while we were yet sinners.  This speaks of when we show mercy, we shall obtain mercy.  I think this is more in line with His statement through the Holy Spirit that Love covers a multitude of Sins.  We may receive mercy from others when we show mercy but I think that we show mercy God sees and rewards us though we are sinners with mercy.  What a blessing.

Justice is not done.. it occurs.  When Gods laws and precepts are followed and enforced justice is done.  When Gods laws and precepts are disobeyed, changed ignored or modified Justice is perverted.  We do not have the power to enact justice, justice is done when we follow and submit in obedience.  That is why in the Amos 5:24 passage it is tied to righteousness.  The nation of Israel were extorting from one another, not obeying the law of jubilee, releasing of all debtors, etc. They were not caring for the widows or the fatherless.  In the case of our legal system or where God says respect the authorities and kings they are His ministers.

Romans 13:

1 Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. 

2 Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. 

3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. 

4 For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. 

Here Justice is do what is good and you will have praise Do what is evil and have wrath executed on you.  This is in obedience to the system God has established.  When a king or government go against God’s instruction or they use the power of the law they have been given to unbalance the scales or for personal gain, they pervert justice.

The same thing in Amos.  They were not doing what was good and right but were going through temple worship.  God found it offensive.  Almost like the attitude of the one who received only one talent.. “here you have that is thine”.

So they were thankful to God in offering for the blessings and abundance that God gave them but was not willing to use any of that abundance to help the widows or the fatherless, etc.  So God was telling them their problem in His command to “let justice run down like water”,  He was telling them they were doing injustice.  Jesus said as much to the Pharisees.

Matthew 23

 23 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.

As for executing justice and mercy at the same time.   God does that so often.  We are not God.  I would argue though that when a judge passes judgement and sentence on a criminal based on the evidence that is presented and a punishment is handed out according the crime, if that judge acts on the sole basis of the law and not his / her emotional feelings then he is showing mercy and enforcing justice.  If the crime is rape and the judge has a grand daughter about the same age as the victim, he has the authority to use the law to pronounce judgement.  The evidence against him is sure, the jury has (more than two witnesses) has found him guilty. The judge gives him the death penalty because it could have been his grand daughter.  No mercy within the guidelines of enforcing justice.  If that judge was so offended and wanted to give him the death penalty but the jury recommended 20 years in jail without the chance of parole, even though both were in the judges authority to satisfy that justice was done, if the judge awarded the 20 years and not the death penalty, he has shown mercy while executing justice.

God has demonstrated this in establishing the cities throughout israel where the man slayer could flee to be protected from the avenger of blood.  But if you read that, it is only a place where he could go to get a trial really.  If it was determined that the death was accidental then the person had to live in that city until the death of the high priest, but if he was found guiltily he was put to death.

Numbers 35:6-28

mercy while executing justice