In this series, we are exploring words that people of faith use every day... This Post Continues our Faith-Based Word Study with “Justice”   In this series, we are exploring words that people of faith use every day. This is because certain words can take on entirely new meanings for us as our faith in our Lord Jesus Christ increases. It is my hope that this study will help you find the right words to share your experience, strength and hope with others or that you will better understand others as they share theirs with you! (If you are new to this series, log on to http://choosingthingsoflife.comto see earlier posts.) If we check the secular dictionary for the word justice, we’ll see it defined as fairness, reasonableness and neutrality and that its opposites include lawlessness, chaos and anarchy. When we hear of a young mother and child killed by a habitual drunk driver, we want justice. We get angry and want the criminal to be caught and punished and for the punishment to be equal to the crime. It’s how “the world” works. It’s human nature to want “justice” in a case like that. We want the perpetrator to get what he deserves. But what does the word justice mean in God’s kingdom? Robert G. Ingersoll was a late 19th century American agnostic who lectured about his reservations concerning the existence of God. One night when he was addressing an audience in New York, he detailed his doubts about the existence of hell and future judgment. When he was finished, a teetering drunk in the back of the room loudly announced… “I sure hope you’re right, brother... I’m counting on that!” The world does not like to think of God in terms of His wrath, anger and judgment, but rather a God who is loving, merciful and accepting no matter what. Man doesn’t want to be judged and punished for sin, so he longs for a God who is tolerant, open-minded and easy going. But, if we think that way, we will fool only ourselves. With that type of fantasy God there would be no laws and no standards that anyone would obey, making for a chaotic and dangerous world. To make any sense at all, a just society must be based upon justice, not lawlessness. In God’s kingdom, justice goes far beyond our human sense of courts and prisons. It means to give everyone his due. God wills nothing that is not just… because being “just” is one of God’s attributes. God can’t be anything but just. It’s who He is. In kingdom terms, justice is a term used for what is “as it should be.” The book of Romans tells us that all sin is an affront to God and His justice demands a penalty of spiritual death and separation from Him for it. The Bible tells us of this judgment in many places: 2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. Matthew 16:27 For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done. Matthew 25:32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. Hebrews 9:27 And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment… But dear reader, here is the good news! God doesn’t want us separated from Him by sin. When we make a decision to repent, put our faith in Jesus and ask God for forgiveness… we are forgiven… and justified. We are justified (declared righteous) at that very moment. Justification does not make us righteous, but rather pronounces us righteous. Our righteousness comes from placing our faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. His sacrifice on the cross covers our sins, allowing God to see us as perfect and unblemished. Consider… Romans 3:21-26  “But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.” Justification is God's removing of the guilt and penalty of sin while declaring the sinner righteous through Christ's atoning sacrifice through faith alone, without us having to do anything else! This is God’s free gift of grace to us. But here’s the thing, when that free gift of grace is deliberately rejected, the only alternative is God’s judgment. Famous preacher D.L. Moody did a revival meeting the night before the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. That particular evening he did not give people a chance to respond to the message to accept Christ. It was reported the next day that of the hundreds of people who were there that night, many perished in the flames. Moody never again stood up to talk about God without asking people to make a decision for Christ. If we will choose to trust Him and His ability to forgive, we will finally be separated from our past and become justified. If you have not prayed this prayer already, there is no time and place like right now to accept the forgiveness of God. If you have never done this, I encourage you to pray this prayer: “Father God, I know that my sins have separated me from you. I am truly sorry, and now I want to turn away from my past sinful life, and towards you. Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again. I believe that your Son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayers. I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.”