In my last post on grasping grace, I used an illustration from the movie Les Miserables to describe grace. I mentioned that, while touching, this particular example falls short of depicting biblical grace. It's probably more aligned with the general usage the word grace, but certainly not the biblical meaning.
Some dictionary definitions of grace are: favor or good will, mercy; clemency; pardon.
There are other technical definitions related to legal matters. Still, none of these really capture the essence of biblical grace. So then, how exactly is biblical grace different?
It is necessary to consider subjects such as justice, sin, man's relationship to God, etc., before one can really grasp biblical grace. This post is about justice.
We all appreciate justice, but only when we are not the ones being judged. We particularly appreciate justice when we are the ones who have been offended and struggle when justice is absent, imperfect and unfair.
If we had a perfect judicial system, there would be a just penalty for every offense and for every offense the penalty would be imposed upon the offender. There would be no mistakes, no getting off on technicalities and it would not be possible to slide by on the good graces of another (as was the case in Les Meserables).
A perfect system of justice exists in God's economy. Such a system presupposes a law that all are required to keep perfectly. If there be any transgression of the law, the sword of justice falls upon the transgressor. How does this law/justice system relate to God? According to Louis Berkhof, "...there is no law above God, there is certainly a law in the very nature of God, and this is the highest possible standard, by which all other laws are judged." 1
The bible affirms God's justice.
"For all His ways are just; A God of faithfulness and without injustice, Righteous and upright is He" (Deuteronomy 32:4)
"Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?" (Genesis 18:25)
"I, the Lord, speak righteousness, Declaring things that are upright" (Isaiah 45:19).
If God is truly just in this sense, then He must act in accord with what is right and He is, in essence, the standard of what is right. One aspect of this is that God, by His nature, is obligated to punish those who are unjust; those who cannot meet His standard of justice; those who offend him by their very nature.
I must repeat this because of its importance. A truly just God, MUST deal with injustice. He must punish the unjust. To not do so is injustice and contrary to the very nature of a just God.
Who then are the unjust?
The bible tells us that we all are unjust:
"all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom 3:23).
"There is none righteous, not even one; There is none who understands, There is none who seeks for God; All have turned aside, together they have become useless; There is none who does good, There is not even one" (Rom 3:10-12).
Notice what the bible calls this injustice - sin.
"Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness" (1 John 3:4).
In other words, sin is the transgression of God's law. Furthermore the wages of sin are pretty high according to scripture:
"For the wages of sin is death" (Rom 6:23).
It has been my experience that this aspect of sin is perhaps one which which most people take issue. After all, we can all name at least a few people who are like Mother Theresa . How can such "good people" be considered sinful? And what about me? Certainly I am nowhere near as sinful as _______ [fill in the blank]. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Next post will be on this much misunderstood word called "sin".
So, in summary, we have a fully just God who by nature abhors the unjust, we all are the unjust and the penalty is death-not good to say the least. But there is hope - in grace.
Note:
I realize that many reading this do not consider themselves Christian (or perhaps some do) and will not agree with my posts on grace. Please understand my intention is merely to explain what is considered an orthodox understanding of Grace from a biblical viewpoint. Your comments are welcome.
------