Justice

I. False Witnesses

Proverbs 12:17 NASB95

17 He who speaks truth tells what is right, But a false witness, deceit.

Truth

†אֱמוּנָה S530 TWOT116e GK575 n.f. firmness, steadfastness, fidelity Ex 17:12 + 46 times; אֱמוּנוֹת Pr 28:20. 1. lit. firmness, steadiness: Ex 17:12 וַיְהִי יָדָיו א׳ his hands were steadiness (i.e. steady). 2. steadfastness, אֱמוּנַת עִתֶּיךָ steadfastness of thy times Is 33:6. 3. faithfulness, trust:

Right

צֶ֑דֶק ṣěʹ·ḏěq

צֶ֫דֶק ṣěʹ·ḏěqaccuracy, what is correct; right thing, what is honest; equity, what is right; communal loyalty; salvation, well-being

צֶ֫דֶק ṣěʹ·ḏěq accuracy, what is correct; the right thing, what is honest; equity, what is right; communal loyalty; salvation, well-being

צדק ṣdq to be in the right, be right; to be just

Today: He who speak truth tells the way he, she, feels about how they perceive what is right to them at the moment.

Stage 1

Proverbs 14:5 NASB95

5 A trustworthy witness will not lie, But a false witness utters lies.

Stage 2

Proverbs 14:25 NASB95

25 A truthful witness saves lives, But he who utters lies is treacherous.

Stage 3

Proverbs 19:9 NASB95

9 A false witness will not go unpunished, And he who tells lies will perish.

Stage 4

Proverbs 21:28 NASB95

28 A false witness will perish, But the man who listens to the truth will speak forever.

Altogether

A false witness utters lies, is treacherous, will not get away with it and will die.

A trustworthy witness will not lie, saves lives, and will live forever.

Proverbs 25:18 NASB95

18 Like a club and a sword and a sharp arrow Is a man who bears false witness against his neighbor.

The words you say can be used like a weapon if you don’t tell the truth.

II. Open-Mindedness

Proverbs 18:17 NASB95

17 The first to plead his case seems right, Until another comes and examines him.

Imagine a judge who only heard one side of the case and then made a judgement. Both sides must be heard in court and in the family living room.

III. Judicial Justice

Proverbs 17:15 NASB95

15 He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous, Both of them alike are an abomination to the Lord.

Roe Verses Wade is a perfect example of this kind of upside-down justice.

Proverbs 17:26 NASB95

26 It is also not good to fine the righteous, Nor to strike the noble for their uprightness.

We are seeing this unfold in Aphganistan with those who helped American troops as well as many Christians being killed by the Taliban

In a press interview, the Taliban’s former head of religious police, Mullah Nooruddin Turabi, said extreme punishments, such as executions and amputations, will resume.

Turabi told AP News that amputations and executions were “necessary for security” and that the Taliban’s cabinet ministers were now discussing whether or not punishments should be public. Under Taliban rule in the 1990s, executions were held in public. The scenes of public massacres and amputations inside Kabul’s soccer stadium are still fresh in the minds of Afghan people. For secret believers inside the country who have left Islam to follow Jesus—considered apostates under Shariah law—the new announcement is a death sentence. Under strict Shariah law, apostates are subject to execution.

Proverbs 18:5 NASB95

5 To show partiality to the wicked is not good, Nor to thrust aside the righteous in judgment.

Why would you do this? Maybe because of fear or because of a bribe.

Proverbs 21:15 NASB95

15 The exercise of justice is joy for the righteous, But is terror to the workers of iniquity.

When drug dealers, rapists, child abusers are brought to justice it does bring joy to those who believe because it means relief from evil for the victims and glory to God who has made man in His own image.

those who commit these crimes should be afraid of the punishment they might receive. It is a deterrent to evil behavior.

Proverbs 24:11–12 NASB95

11 Deliver those who are being taken away to death, And those who are staggering to slaughter, Oh hold them back. 12 If you say, “See, we did not know this,” Does He not consider it who weighs the hearts? And does He not know it who keeps your soul? And will He not render to man according to his work?

Those who are wrongly being slaughtered need someone to intervene for them. Deliberate ignorance is no excuse.

Proverbs 24:23–25 NASB95

23 These also are sayings of the wise. To show partiality in judgment is not good. 24 He who says to the wicked, “You are righteous,” Peoples will curse him, nations will abhor him; 25 But to those who rebuke the wicked will be delight, And a good blessing will come upon them.

Proverbs 28:5 NASB95

5 Evil men do not understand justice, But those who seek the Lord understand all things.

Proverbs 29:26 NASB95

26 Many seek the ruler’s favor, But justice for man comes from the Lord.

ultimately and in the short term we must depend on God through prayer to bring about true justice

a number of people whom I work with, have shared about being abused as children. The judicial system of our country should protect them and those like them. But even if it doesn’t, they need to entrust justice into the hands of the God who made them in His image. He will defend His character because that is who His is. But He will also defend those who bear His image.

2 Thessalonians 1:4–10 NASB95

4 therefore, we ourselves speak proudly of you among the churches of God for your perseverance and faith in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you endure. 5 This is a plain indication of God’s righteous judgment so that you will be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which indeed you are suffering. 6 For after all it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, 7 and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, 8 dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, 10 when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed—for our testimony to you was believed.

Romans 12:19–20 NASB95

19 Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 “But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”

Even if the law fails to bring justice, God will ultimately bring justice and His justice is perfect.