"...And Justice For All.".

Greet everyone!!

Mention what a great time of food and fellowship and games we had Friday evening at the Dishman manor, with the airsoft ministry team!

Elaborate on why such a ministry is so important for the body and encourage people to become a part of it, or support it if they can!

I am going to ask you to stand at this time and just listen and silently read along on the screen with me the passage that I have, as I read it aloud to you this morning, OK?

So, I am going to be reading to you this morning, the 33rd Psalm. (Yes, all 22 verses!)

You can look at your own Bibles and follow along, or just look at the verses on the large screens, which will already be in the NASB format, the version that I am reading from this morning for this passage.

Psalm 33,

Psalm 33 NASB95

1 Sing for joy in the Lord, O you righteous ones; Praise is becoming to the upright. 2 Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre; Sing praises to Him with a harp of ten strings. 3 Sing to Him a new song; Play skillfully with a shout of joy. 4 For the word of the Lord is upright, And all His work is done in faithfulness. 5 He loves righteousness and justice; The earth is full of the lovingkindness of the Lord. 6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, And by the breath of His mouth all their host. 7 He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap; He lays up the deeps in storehouses. 8 Let all the earth fear the Lord; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. 9 For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast. 10 The Lord nullifies the counsel of the nations; He frustrates the plans of the peoples. 11 The counsel of the Lord stands forever, The plans of His heart from generation to generation. 12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, The people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance. 13 The Lord looks from heaven; He sees all the sons of men; 14 From His dwelling place He looks out On all the inhabitants of the earth, 15 He who fashions the hearts of them all, He who understands all their works. 16 The king is not saved by a mighty army; A warrior is not delivered by great strength. 17 A horse is a false hope for victory; Nor does it deliver anyone by its great strength. 18 Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, On those who hope for His lovingkindness, 19 To deliver their soul from death And to keep them alive in famine. 20 Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. 21 For our heart rejoices in Him, Because we trust in His holy name. 22 Let Your lovingkindness, O Lord, be upon us, According as we have hoped in You.

Thank you and you may be seated. “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our Lord shall stand forever!”

OPEN IN PRAYER!!!

The passage that we just read clearly shows that God is in control. And because God is in control and because He is the one who protects and covers those who are His, those people should be praising and worshipping Him for His greatness!!

It was Yahweh who spoke everything into existence and who controls the earth and everything upon it.

It is the Lord God who watches over all of mankind and controls the flow of the nations!

The blessings and protection of a nation NEVER come from its own strength and from the might of its people and their armies and weapons.

Nothing and no one, save for the Lord God Himself, can ever save and protect and provide for any nation.

God watches over the nation who keeps His commandments!

And he especially watches over those who fear Him.

The passage says that He loves righteousness and justice!

And it also says, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord!”

Over the course of the past week or two, we have watched and witnessed the events that have unfolded on the national news, about the court hearings for the George Floyd case and the sentencing of the officer involved, Derek Chauvin, along with several other incidences that have arisen over the past couple of weeks involving officers and minority shootings.

And in each one of these cases, I heard, or read of a certain word being used, in relation to each one of the news stories. This word that I mention is used repeatedly in this country as to how people and groups are treated and dealt with.

I read of, or listened to people talking about seeing “justice” being served, or not served in that particular situation.

“We want to see justice happen”, or “Justice has not occurred yet”, or, “Justice has truly taken place now.”

And in each one of these situations, the people were specifically referring to the word “justice”, in light of it defending their particular situations and their own unique cases.

In other words, the word “justice” was relevant to what they wanted, or expected to see happen.

And in this understanding of the word “justice”, we find ourselves looking at another very familiar phrase and use of the word “justice”, as in the case of the phrase, “social justice”.

“SOCIAL JUSTICE”........what is it exactly and why is it such a hot topic in this country today?

In order to understand the phrase “social justice”, I think that we should first look at what the word, “justice”, itself means, and then move forward.

So, what is “justice”?

According to the dictionary, justice means: “the quality of being just (acting or being in conformity with what is morally upright or good), righteousness, equitableness, or moral rightness. The upholding of what is just, especially fair treatment and due reward in accordance with honor, standards, or law. Conformity to truth, fact, or sound reason.

OK, so then what is a definition for “social justice”?

Basically, according to the Oxford English dictionary, social justice is, “Justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society.”

Scholar William H. Young,  describes “social justice” as “state redistribution of advantages and resources to disadvantaged groups to satisfy their rights to social and economic equality.”

In other words, “social justice” is redistributive justice — a material process of leveling the playing field for certain groups that are deemed “disadvantaged.” It is essentially socialism and/or Marxism.

And one important qualifier that should be pointed out about “social justice”, according to a lecture on the subject from Dr. Voddie Bauchman, is that the disadvantaged group is never to blame for its own problems — the group is perpetually the victim, always to be believed and sympathized with.

We will be coming back to this in a few minutes, as to the issue of always being the victim and being sympathized with and never really to blame!

OK, so I have given you a definition of the word, “justice” and also for the phrase, “social justice”, so now let me give to you, for fairness, a definition of “justice”, from a biblical viewpoint.

According to the Lexham Bible dictionary, “justice”, is defined as: “Divinely righteous action, whether taken by humanity or God, that promotes equality among humanity. Used in relation to uplifting the righteous and oppressed and debasing the unrighteous and oppressors.”

You will very often, see “righteousness” and “justice”, butted up along side one another in Biblical discussions, because they are partners in terminology.

Righteousness, is the standard of right and wrong.

Justice, is the impartial and equitable application of God’s moral law in society.

God is righteous (right and holy and perfect) and everything that comes from Him, via word or action, will ALWAYS be morally perfect and just in how it is carried out!

The justice of God, which is based upon His righteousness, will always be impartial and equitable to everyone impacted by it!

There is no partiality, there are no favorites, there are no special interest groups under His system of justice.

Everyone receives from God, what they are due, without excuse and without exception, because He is perfect and the administration of His righteousness (His justice) is not limited to, or affected by any special interest groups, or any sinful influence from the logic of man!

Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:45, during His Sermon on the Mount, “So that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”

God’s justice is not swayed or determined by man. Everything that He does, is done because He alone is righteous and just!

Deuteronomy 32:4 says, “The Rock (speaking of the Lord God), His work is perfect, for all His ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is He.”

So, the main point here after looking at these definitions, is that people use the term “justice” and “social justice” all of the time these days (and seemingly interchangeably, when suiting their plight), but is it really “justice” they are talking about?

There is a scene from a very popular movie, that I have loved for years, called “The Princess Bride”, in which one of the main characters, (Inigo Montoya), keeps hearing another character using a certain word quite often, and in various circumstances.

Finally, Inigo turns to the other character and says, “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”

And that is the way that it is with the words, “social justice”, or even “justice”.

These words are thrown around all of the time in society, but to quote Inigo, “I do not think it means what you think it means.”

You see, as Christians and followers of the Word of God, we are to see and know and understand that the world’s idea of “justice” is not even close to the “justice” of God!

Justice and “social justice”, as determined by the world’s standard today, have to do with equity and redistribution for the masses and without accountability for individual actions!

In other words, whatever the situation, and whoever the group is who is calling for justice to be done, (whether a socio-economic group, or a racial group, or a group demanding sexual equality), they want justice to mean something that becomes equitable (the same for everyone in the group) and “just” for the group, without any individual accountability!

Basically, we want to change what justice really is, (thus removing it from God’s standard) and making it something that seems right and fair to us.

Let me illustrate this somewhat for you, by a past experience in my life.

When I was a younger man, in my early twenties, I used to play basketball with a group of friends of mine that I grew up with.

And when we were playing basketball together, we saw ourselves as little Michael Jordans!

The problem was, that only a couple of us could legitimately dunk a basketball on a regulation height goal.

So, in order for the game to be “fair”, and “equitable” and “just” for the entire group, we did the only sensible thing that there was to do.........we lowered the basketball goal rim down to around 8-9 feet!

That way, we all could dunk the ball and feel like we were the pros on the court!

The problem was, it wasn’t regulation…it wasn’t legal height. Whether you are talking about high school basketball, or college basketball, or NBA basketball, regulation height for the rim of the goal, is to be 10’ from the ground! NOT 8, or 9 feet!

We changed the legal limit, to make ourselves look good and feel good and to make the game seem “just” for everyone on the court, but no matter how much it made us feel like the pros, we would never “legally” be allowed in their arena, because we were playing under illegal regulations!

The NBA sets the legal rulings for their professional players and by these rules, all of the players find real “justice” on the court, because they are playing by the rules that are set from a higher authority, which is the board of governors of the NBA.

Not by some back court, fly by night, change as you will, group of guys who want to feel like they are something they are not and who want the privileges of another group, even though they are not willing to play by the set rules and regulations!

You see, when the goal went back to the legal, regulation height in our backcourt basketball games, it was no longer equitable for every guy and it no longer seemed just to each one of us.

So, the one or two in our group who could dunk the ball at the legal height, were seen as at an unfair advantage and so, we brought it down to everyone’s level, so that it seemed fair and just!

Does that make sense to everyone about how the modern mindset is that we change the standard to fit everyone, regardless of whether they truly deserve it and with no accountability in doing so?

OK, then let’s move forward. With the modern understanding of “justice” being interpretive and ever changing and the status of “social justice” being made so as to be fair for everyone, regardless of individual accountability, there is no longer any real “justice” involved.

You see, people do not want to be accountable for their own actions, but they still want to receive what they call that which is just and fair for others.

And in the eyes of a righteous and holy and perfect God, that doesn’t fly!

The Bible tells in Psalm 97:2, “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.”

And again in Psalm 89:14, we read, “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.”

At the very core of who and what God is, the Bible declares to us that it is righteousness and justice that establishes His reign and rule.

And since God never changes, neither do His foundational attributes.

And from His righteousness and justice, come His mercy and grace and love and salvation and yes, even His wrath and judgement upon sin!

These are all a part of His being a just and holy God!

God will NEVER overlook unrepentant sin. He hates sin and He does not allow it in His presence!

The blood of Yeshua covers true believers from all unrighteousness and removes our sin, as long as our sin is dealt with and released through confession and repentance of that sin from a contrite and broken heart because of that sin!

And as far back as humanity goes, from the creation account in the garden and coming forward, we find a very similar thing taking place.

Mankind not wanting to own up to their own individual sin and take responsibility for it.

ELABORATE ABOUT ADAM AND EVE IN GENESIS 3 TRYING TO AVERT AND DODGE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR OWN SIN.

In fact, as you move forward through the Old Testament and trace the history of the nation of Israel and the relationship of its people to God, you will see this same situation taking place.

During the time of the exile of the people of the southern kingdom of Judah, when the nation of Babylon had come in, in three different waves and taken the people of Judah away in bondage and captivity, you’ll see the people doing and saying the same thing about their sin and their wanting to see justice take place on their behalf.

In Ezekiel 18, we find this happening with the deported people of Judah, in the land of Babylon.

Ezekiel was a prophet to the people of Judah in Babylonian captivity, at the same as Jeremiah, who was a prophet to the people who were still in the land of Judah and who had not been taken away yet.

In Ezekiel 18 listen to how God responds to a very familiar and famous proverb that the people of Judah had come to live by while in captivity.

Ezekiel 18:1-3 reads,

Ezekiel 18:1–3 ESV

1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “What do you mean by repeating this proverb concerning the land of Israel, ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge’? 3 As I live, declares the Lord God, this proverb shall no more be used by you in Israel.

Basically, the people were complaining and saying to the prophet Ezekiel, “It’s not our fault that our fathers before us sinned. And now, we are being punished for their sins! We don’t deserve this; this isn’t fair! This isn’t justice! We demand justice!”

Now, listen and pay attention to how the Lord God responds to this and what He tells the people, because this same thing applies to us and the world today.

In verse 4, God says, “Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine. The soul who sins will die.”

In verses 8-9, God says, “if a man keeps his hand from iniquity and executes true justice between man and man, if he walks in My statutes and My ordinances so as to deal faithfully—he is righteous and will surely live,” declares the Lord GOD.

And on down throughout chapter 18, God methodically spells out for the people that a father will die for his own sins, a son will die for his own sins and neither of them will ever answer for, or be held liable for, or be judged and punished for the sins of the other!

And God tells the people, through the prophet Ezekiel, that if a wicked person turns from their wicked ways and does what is right and just according to God, then that person will live.

And by the same standard, if a righteous person, turns from doing what it right and begins to sin and be wicked, then that person is no longer counted as righteous and they will dies because of their own sin!

The people come back and question God with, “Doesn’t the child pay for parent’s sin?”

To which the Lord God replies, “No! For if the child does what is just and right and keeps my decrees, that child will surely live. The person who sins is the one who will die. The child will not be punished for the parent’s sins, and the parent will not be punished for the child’s sins. Righteous people will be rewarded for their own righteous behavior, and wicked people will be punished for their own wickedness. But if wicked people turn away from all their sins and begin to obey my decrees and do what is just and right, they will surely live and not die. All their past sins will be forgotten, and they will live because of the righteous things they have done. Do you think that I like to see wicked people die? says the Sovereign LORD. Of course not! I want them to turn from their wicked ways and live. However, if righteous people turn from their righteous behavior and start doing sinful things and act like other sinners, should they be allowed to live? No, of course not! All their righteous acts will be forgotten, and they will die for their sins.”

And even after saying this, listen to what verses 29-32 tells us, “And yet the people of Israel keep saying, ‘The Lord isn’t doing what’s right!’ O people of Israel, it is you who are not doing what’s right, not I. Therefore, I will judge each of you, O people of Israel, according to your actions, says the Sovereign LORD. Repent, and turn from your sins. Don’t let them destroy you! Put all your rebellion behind you, and find yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O people of Israel? I don’t want you to die, says the Sovereign LORD. Turn back and live!”

And at the same time that the people of Judah who were in Babylonian captivity were being told by God that they were responsible for their own individual sins, listen to what God was saying to the people who were still in the land of Judah, as spoken through the prophet Jeremiah.

In Jeremiah 31:29-30, the Lord God says through Jeremiah to the nation of Israel,

Jeremiah 31:29–30 NLT

29 “The people will no longer quote this proverb: ‘The parents have eaten sour grapes, but their children’s mouths pucker at the taste.’ 30 All people will die for their own sins—those who eat the sour grapes will be the ones whose mouths will pucker.

The people who were left in the land of Judah, were saying and doing the exact same thing as those who had been taken off into captivity!

It’s not fair; it’s not JUST, that we are being punished for the sins of our fathers!

And God tells them the exact same thing that He told the people in Babylon, “All people will die for their own sins!”

People don’t like being responsible for their own actions and having to admit and deal with their own sin. It’s seen throughout the scriptures.

Lamentations 5:7,

Lamentations 5:7 ESV

7 Our fathers sinned, and are no more; and we bear their iniquities.

Proverbs 19:3,

Proverbs 19:3 NLT

3 People ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then are angry at the Lord.

And found within the scriptures, just as God said to the nation of Judah, is the reminder to us, that we are each responsible for our own sin and our own actions and that God will hold us accountable for our sins and our actions.

Jeremiah 17:10,

Jeremiah 17:10 NLT

10 But I, the Lord, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve.”

II Corinthians 5:10,

2 Corinthians 5:10 ESV

10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

Isaiah 3:10-11,

Isaiah 3:10–11 NLT

10 Tell the godly that all will be well for them. They will enjoy the rich reward they have earned! 11 But the wicked are doomed, for they will get exactly what they deserve.

And in the first chapter of Isaiah, where the Lord explains in great detail that He was sick of the people’s sacrifices and worship of Him, while their hearts were sinful and wicked and far from Him, God says to the people in Isaiah 1:27-28,

Isaiah 1:27–28 NLT

27 Zion will be restored by justice; those who repent will be revived by righteousness. 28 But rebels and sinners will be completely destroyed, and those who desert the Lord will be consumed.

Like the nation of Israel, any nation who clings to and adheres to and follows the commands and the Words of God, will be blessed.

The passage we opened up with this morning, in verse 12, which said, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.”

Or again in Proverbs 14:34,

Proverbs 14:34 NASB95

34 Righteousness exalts a nation, But sin is a disgrace to any people.

Listen carefully people, the Apostle Paul clearly tells us in Romans 1 and 2, that the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and the unrighteousness of men and their sins and that the judgement of God rightly (justly) falls on everyone who practices doing such things!

Only those who repent of their sins and turn from their wicked ways and come to God through the blood of Jesus, in faith and belief, can be saved.

Romans 10:13-15 says,

Romans 10:13–15 ESV

13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”

The prophet Ezekiel was told by God that he was to be a watchman for others and that if he didn’t warn others about their sin and their wicked ways and they died in their wicked state, although they would be responsible for their own sin, their blood would be on his hands and he would have to answer to God for not warning them!

Paul said in Galatians 6:1-2, “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”

We have a responsibility to warn others about sin and the need for repentance and turning to God through the Christ!

MENTION PREACHERS WHO SAYS THAT PEOPLE ARE BASICALLY GOOD AT HEART AND THAT THEY DON’T WANT TO BURDEN THEM AND WEIGH THEM DOWN WITH THE HEAVINESS OF SIN!

People want justice, they just don’t want the justice of God, because God is righteous and holy and He requires each person to accountable for his/her own sin!

One day, everyone will give an account to God for their life and for their sins, whether they want to or not. Revelation 20:11-15 says,

Revelation 20:11–15 NLT

11 And I saw a great white throne and the one sitting on it. The earth and sky fled from his presence, but they found no place to hide. 12 I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God’s throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books. 13 The sea gave up its dead, and death and the grave gave up their dead. And all were judged according to their deeds. 14 Then death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire. This lake of fire is the second death. 15 And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire.

The righteousness and justice of God demands death for sin.

Romans 3:23 and Romans 6:23, tells us, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

The justice of God demands death for sin, but the righteousness and love of God, through His forbearance, looked past our sin and offered up His own Son for the forgiveness of our sin!

THE WORLD NEEDS TO KNOW THAT THEY MUST REPENT AND TURN TO GOD THROUGH CHRIST, OR THEY WILL DIE IN THEIR SINS!