God is Just - God's Characteristics Study


Hello Travel Companion!

I hope your winter is going well and you are staying healthy and warm.

Learning how God is just has been good but hard, especially as I seek to live a more obedient life. So learning to trust that when He leads me to say no to an opportunity because He has something better planned for me has been difficult but also a great relief for someone like myself who is driven to perform.

So i hope you learn something valuable from this newsletter or even in this month's blogpost.



God is Just

God governs in perfect justice. He acts in accordance with justice. In Him there is no wrongdoing or dishonesty.
Is. 61:8 / Deut. 32:4 / Ps. 146:7-9
- Aubrey Coleman Emotions and the Heart

Who is God? What makes Him just?

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. - 1 John 1:9

The importance of how God is just was unknown to me until I heard Timothy Keller mentioned it in one of his sermons. As he referenced the passage above, he pointed out how because Jesus’ blood covers us, God will never demand a second payment from us because that would be “double dipping."

Because Jesus’ blood not only covers our past and present sins, but also our future sins. So every time we sin and confess it, Jesus is there at the Father’s side - Keller points out - saying, “My blood was shed for her,” and God forgives us because our debt has already been paid.

When and/or where do I see evidence of this characteristic in my life?

If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself. - 2 Timothy 2:13 NKJV

When I doubt, as I strayed and began chasing after ideals and things within this world rather than my Savior, God was just in that He stood by His word. He remained faithful and kept His promises through my unfaithfulness because I had Jesus in my heart, so every time He looked at me He saw His Son's righteousness.

God never left me. He never let go of me. He stayed by my side. He never gave up on me but continued to prepare my heart to be transformed into who He created me to be.

When I turned back and confessed my sins, God was faithful and just to forgive me those sins because of the blood of Jesus that had already washed me clean.

How does this trait affect how God sees me?

But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” - 1 Samuel 16:7

God never once considered my worthiness to be His child based on my actions. Rather, He saw my heart that had already opened up to Jesus as my Savior. He saw His blood painted on the doorposts of my heart.

But God also sees who He created me to be, who I can be once more. Not because I learn to say all the right words or do all the right things, but because of the transformative work the Spirit is doing in my heart. For God loves us too much to leave us as we are.

Because of this perspective, what has God done?

“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. - Matthew 25:14-15

God is not only just in forgiving our sins and saving us when we call upon Jesus’ name, God is also just in how He rewards us for our faithfulness.

In the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30), God gives out 5 bags of gold to one man, 2 to another, and 1 to a third. The first two both double what they were giving in their faithfulness in going about their master's business. As a result, the master gave them more authority over his possessions, and when the third person proved unfaithful his bag of gold was given to the first.

“For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.” - Matthew 25:29

So likewise, when Jesus returns all will be judged according to what they said and did at the Great White Throne Judgement (Revelations 20:11-15).

How does this new understanding affect my response and how I live my life?

Two different ways God's justness speaks to me and I hope to lean into Him.

The first is in confidence of my salvation, that nothing truly can tear me from my Father's hand (John 10:28-30). But that I am held securely in my position as a child of the King because of the blood and righteousness of Jesus that covers my heart.

The second is to be faithful with the time, talents, and resources God has given me to proclaim His truth and love. As displayed in my own life and as I understand it in His word that others may come to know Him and understand Him more deeply.


Coming to realize God's justness also results in the rewards He gives was a new realization for me. How does understanding this change how you approach the things God has laid on your heart?

I hope you join me again next time as we dive into how God is love.

With love in Christ,

Rachel

In case you missed it, this is my latest blog post:
All Bible quotations are from the New International Version (NIV) unless otherwise noted.

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