A story is told of a mother who pleaded with Abraham Lincoln on behalf of her son who had committed an act of treason. A war court found him guilty and sentenced him to hanging. His mother sought a pardon. Lincoln granted her request but said, "I wish we could give him a little bit of hanging." Sometimes, we, too, need half a hanging because nothing drives home the blessings of a pardon like standing on the block with the noose around your neck and hearing your sentence read. Thinking about God’s justice, at least for me. is like a little bit of hanging. 

Have you ever cried out for justice? I can’t bear to hear the stories from our missionary friends about the atrocities they’ve witnessed in Ukraine. Like the psalmists, when we see unjust suffering, we appeal to the justice of God. When we are oppressed, treated unfairly, or experience raw evil and call for God to intervene, we are appealing to God to be our Righteous Judge. (See Psalms 7, 9, and 11.)

When I was treated unfairly, God’s justice brought me comfort. When I felt like I was being hunted down at work without cause by people who intended to harm me, I entrusted myself to God. And when I was fired, I consoled myself with the truth that I didn’t need to seek revenge because God knew what had happened and he would be the Judge. ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord…Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Rom. 12:18-21). Paul instructed me to focus on “overcoming evil with good” not on seeking my own revenge. I had to give everything that happened to God. One day, they will give an account (Rom. 14:10-12) of themselves to God. When we are the victims of injustice, we cry out for God’s justice and entrust the perpetrators to him.

However, we don’t have to get too far down the road of calling down fire from heaven before we realize that we, too, must appear before God, the righteous Judge (2 Cor 5:10). We will all give an account of things we have done, whether good or bad. Peter reminds us, the God we call on is an impartial Judge (I Peter 1:17). We live under the eye of him who judges not only our actions but also our thoughts and motives (Heb. 4:13). He vividly sees our secrets. We, too, rebel against God’s goodness in such a way as to fall on the wrong side of justice. Justice requires punishment. If we know ourselves at all, we tremble at the thought of standing before the Lord Jesus Christ himself “to receive the abiding and eternal consequences of the life we have lived.” (Knowing God, 131)

God will be our Judge. We tend to think that the God of the Old Testament is the harsh Judge and Jesus in the New Testament is the God of love. But the justice of God belongs equally to each person of the Trinity. As divine attributes, justice and love are infinite, always at work, always working together. It’s not that the Father is just and Jesus is loving. The three persons of the Trinity share all of the attributes. The Son who is impartial, holy, and righteously just will judge us.

Astoundingly, God’s judgment and wrath were poured out on Jesus. This morning as I took communion, I reflected on God’s judgment. I felt the weight of my sin. The pastor encouraged us to reflect on the cost of our sin, “that it would take the violent death of the Son of God to pay for our redemption.” (I Peter 1:17-21) Sometimes it’s good to get a little bit of hangin’.

Praise and glory and honor to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! Because of his sacrifice for us “there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). We cling to his promise of grace and “make it our goal to please him…For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad” (2 Cor. 5:9-13; see also I John 4:11-18 and Rom. 14: 10-12).

The justice of God cuts both ways. His judgment gives us hope when we suffer unjustly, and the demand of his impartial judgment humbles us as we anticipate giving an account “of our doings” to our righteous Judge, the Lord Jesus Christ. Sometimes I need a little bit of hangin’ so I don’t take for granted the punishment Jesus bore for me. “Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live your lives in as strangers here in reverent fear” (I Peter 1:17). A little bit of hangin’ causes us to cling to the Cross and live our lives in a manner worthy of the Lord that we might live to please him in all we do (Col. 1:9-12).

“May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it” (I Thess. 5:23).