Divine Justice Issues (II)

"Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" 

(Gen. 18: 25)

"For the Lord is a God of justice" 

(Isaiah 30: 18)

It is perhaps good for us to lay a good foundation by citing some biblical texts that assert the justice and righteousness of God. We should also ask - "How is God's justice related to his holiness?" Or, how related to his "moral attributes"?

God is Just

Other companion verses to the ones given in the heading above are these:

Deuteronomy 32: 4: "The Rock, His work is perfect, for all His ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is He." 

 

Psalm 89: 14: "Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before you." 

 

II Thessalonians 1: 6-8: "God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled." 

 

Psalm 11:7: "The Lord is righteous, he loves justice." 

Psalm 19: 9: "the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether." 

In the previous introductory chapter I listed the main questions discussed within the context of God's justice, righteousness, and overall goodness. These we will get to in due time. But, as we are still introducing this subject, we will preface the body of this treatise with further general observations and first principles.

We take it as a firm foundational principle the proposition that God is just and always does what is right. We cannot deduce from that fact, however, that God always does what is right in the eyes of his creatures. Satan and the demons, as an example, do not believe that proposition. Nor does sinful and rebellious man always have right views about God's justice. Indeed he often thinks that God is being unfair to him or to others. This reminds us of the wise words of king Solomon who said: "There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death." (Prov. 14: 12 nkjv)

People disagree every day on whether an action is just or unjust. One says action A is just and another says it is unjust. An example would be on the abortion question. Thus justice is related to ethics and morals. So too with either the lack of punishment towards a criminal by a judge or by too much punishment, by what is judged to be "cruel and unusual punishment." In "Thinking Biblically and Theologically about Justice" Stephen Wellum (See here) says (emphasis mine):

"Our world is consumed with talk about “justice” and specifically “social justice.” Yet similar to how our world has redefined the word “love,” most discussions of “justice” lack definition and any sense of a standard of what justice actually is."

Wellum also wrote:

"But if Christians are to make headway in this discussion, we must first ask what justice is in relation to God before we speak about what justice is in the world. If we do not ground “justice” in an objective, universal standard—namely God himself—then the concept of “justice” becomes only relative, which inevitably results in a disastrous application of so-called “justice” in the world."

We must not rely upon our intellect or reasoning in judging whether God, or something else, is just and right. Only God can tell us what is just and right. Solomon says "lean not unto your own understanding" (Prov. 3: 5) affirming that God ought to be what is trusted. Also, as we will see, in writing his laws in the nature of man he also gives inner intuitive knowledge about what is just and right. When God tells us something is just or unjust, right or wrong, it will agree with our inner sense of justice much of the time.

Wellum also wrote:

"The only warrant for a universal, objective ground for justice is God himself. God is the law because his will and nature determines what is right and just. For this reason, a Christian view of justice stands in total contrast to our secular-postmodern society that views “justice” as a mere human social construct."

This brings us to what is called the "euthyphro dilemma." I have written on this in other writings. For instance I wrote this about it (See here):

The Euthyphro dilemma is found in Plato's dialogue Euthyphro, in which Socrates asks Euthyphro: "Is the pious loved by the gods because it is pious, or is it pious because it is loved by the gods?"  In other words, "is what is morally good commanded by God because it is morally good, or is it morally good because it is commanded by God?" 

Are some actions right or wrong in themselves, independently of God's commands?  Are moral standards independent of God?  When God acts, does he conform to moral standards that exist apart from him and his will?  How is God sovereign and omnipotent, and the only free and independent being, if he is subject to laws outside of himself?  Those who affirm that things are right or wrong because God has willed them to be so embrace what is called "the divine command theory."  God is the sole determiner of all right and wrong, just as he is the determiner as to what effects spring from causes.

Perhaps we should divide our thoughts about divine justice in this order: 

First, the justice of God in creation.

Second, the justice of God in his providence.

Third, the justice of God in salvation.

Fourth, the justice of God in condemnation.

In each of these categories we would have many sub-categories. For instance, under the first we would deal with what is called "the problem of evil" and of how God can be just, righteous, and good if he wills, or willfully allows, evil to occur, either natural or moral evil. It deals with those common thoughts of human beings in regard to the thought of the existence of a Creator or God and the questions 1) why did God make us with the possibility of sin and death? and 2) why do bad things happen to good people? and 3) why did God let an evil thing to occur? Or why did he not prevent it? 

Proceeding in the order above we would address the questions raised in the previous introductory chapter under each section. Many of those questions would be addressed in focusing on God's original creation of angels and men, such as asking why God created a creature who he foreknew would rebel against him and bring destruction to him? Or, why did he create man with the capacity for sin? Why did he allow a cunning tempter to enter the scene in Eden and to deceive Eve? Was he entrapping Adam and Eve? Was it a "setup"? Some might could well see things that way without other information to deter them from that hasty assumption. 

I take it as a truth upheld by scripture that evil, whether in morals or in calamities, is the result of God willing it to be so and that he had a just right to so will. Had God wanted to create a world in the beginning that made evil impossible he could and would have done so. But, he did not. Therefore, though being good and just, he must have had some good reason for creating a world where evil was a possibility, yea, even a certainty. What that good and superior reason or justification is invites the mind to contemplate. Many of us believe that such a world will one day be in existence in heaven and in the ages to come following this "present evil age." (Gal. 1: 4) Others think that God cannot create a world where evil is not a possibility and therefore conclude that the present order of things (world) is "the best of all possible worlds," as 17th-century German philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz theorized. It was also the view of well known apologist C.S. Lewis (See my posting on him in my series of "Free Will and Determinism" - here) In that posting I cited these words from him:

"Some people think they can imagine a creature which was free but had no possibility of going wrong, but I can't. If a thing is free to be good it's also free to be bad. And free will is what has made evil possible. Why, then, did God give them free will?" 

Some argue as did Lewis that the giving to creatures a "free will" makes sin possible if not certain. Yet, God has free will and that does not mean he can or will sin. In fact, we may ask "can God sin?" If sin is the transgression of law (I John 3: 4), is there a law that God is under obligation to obey? Are there things God the Creator can do that would be sin for creatures to do? Yes, for God commands all to worship and to love him above all other beings and things. For a creature to do so would be sin. There is such a thing as "Creator Rights," or God's rights as the one universal sovereign. God is unique, which is an aspect of his holiness. There is no other being like him. 

God is under no law, other than the law of his own nature. He is who he is because he wills to be so. So he appeared in the burning bush to Moses and said about himself - "I am that I am." Further, it would be impossible for God to will to be different than who he is, for the simple reason that he is perfect, already omniscient, omnipotent, omnibenevolent, etc., and to will to be otherwise would show that he was not all wise, for he would be acting foolishly to will to be less perfect. So we read in scripture about things that God cannot do, such as "cannot lie" (Heb. 6: 18; Titus 1:2; etc.), cannot change because he is immutable (Mal. 3: 6; James 1: 17; etc.), "he cannot deny himself" (II Tim. 2: 13), etc. 

It is important that we establish a truth that is denied by some, such as in "Process Theology" or "Open Theism," that God foresees everything without exception.  

In process theology, the concept of "divine foreknowledge" is rejected, meaning that God does not have complete knowledge of the future, but only of the present and of the possibilities that exist within it. God knows what could happen, but not what will happen until it actually occurs, allowing for genuine human freedom and a dynamic relationship between God and creation. Open theism is a Christian theological view that says that God does not know the future actions of humans. Yet, the scriptures say otherwise. Notice a few of those texts.

"Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure.’" (Isa. 46: 10 nkjv)

“Let them (idol gods) bring forth and show us what will happen; Let them show the former things, what they were, That we may consider them, And know the latter end of them; Or declare to us things to come." (Isa. 41: 22 nkjv)

This ability to foresee the future in every detail is a unique attribute of the one true God of the bible and is one way we can know that he, and he alone, is God. 

The bible is filled with examples where God foretold what would come to pass, of which every God given prophecy is an example. Many of these examples do in fact relate to the choices and actions resulting from them, contrary to what the open theists assert. The Lord Jesus told Peter that he would deny him three times in a short period of time following Jesus' arrest and trial. Peter chose to deny Christ. Ergo, Christ in his divinity had foreknowledge of the free choices of people. 

We also read these words of the apostle Peter:

"Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death." (Acts 2: 23 nkjv)

That text simply says that God foreknew what the Jews, for the most part, would do in regard to Christ, knowing that the Jewish leadership would reject Christ and have him crucified. Ergo, God knows what the choices of people will be before they make those choices. Thus, open theism is denied. This attribute of foreknowledge was not a mere prediction or forecasting, as we see done by humans in weather forecasting, or in economic forecasting, etc. God's foreknowledge is not mere educated guesses. What God foresees will come to pass will in fact come to pass, for God cannot be wrong about anything. Not only that, God foresees all future possibilities. In other words, he knows what would have happened had a creature chosen differently, if he had opted for action A rather than Action B. This is called a knowledge of counterfactuals. An example of a counterfactual conditional statement is this statement: "If kangaroos had no tails, they would topple over." Notice this text:

"And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them. For thou art not sent to a people of a strange speech and of an hard language, but to the house of Israel; Not to many people of a strange speech and of an hard language, whose words thou canst not understand. Surely, had I sent thee to them, they would have hearkened unto thee. But the house of Israel will not hearken unto thee; for they will not hearken unto me: for all the house of Israel are impudent and hardhearted." (Eze. 3: 4-7 KJV)

Here God has foreknowledge of a future possibility, one that did not actually come to pass. Notice these words of the Lord Jesus:

“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes." (Matt. 11: 21 nkjv)

Thus, God not only foresees actual future things he also sees other possible outcomes. It is the former however that will be of concern for us. We are discussing why God allows an evil that he knows as not only a possibility but an actual realization of an action.