Getting Job-ed
What should we say then? Is there injustice with God? Absolutely not! Romans 9:14 CSB
In the last article, we established that Hell is a place where the wrath of God is poured out on people that deserve it. I was recently listening to a Podcast on whether Hell was real or not, which helped spark this topic, and I wanted to provide more Biblical clarity rather than philosophical presuppositions and theories. Universalism says, “all roads (religions) lead to heaven,” and Christian Universalism says, “everyone will go to heaven eventually through Christ.” I feel the Bible is abundantly clear that this is not the case (over 150 times hell is referenced to in Scripture, more than heaven), as we discussed in the last article.
We can’t even begin to comprehend what it takes to manage the universe, let alone govern it perfectly…
The question that would most likely follow would be, “how is God just in sending people to Hell for an eternity?” We have to be able to admit that, as finite human beings with such a tiny perspective in regards to eternity and to the universe, that our concepts of justice and what is right may be a little skewed. For instance, if there is an infinitely holy God, His perspective of what is right and wrong and how to handle it is infinitely wiser than ours. We can’t even begin to comprehend what it takes to manage the universe, let alone govern it perfectly. God does. So, when we come at God with our fists up, ready to fight, we have already lost. We have to turn to the Word and for God to guide us.
We need a Paradigm Shift
Leviticus is an interesting book of the bible. Let’s be honest, if anyone is trying to do the Bible in the year plan or is just trying to read through the Bible in general, this is the book that typically either causes us to fall during that journey or blow through it quickly to get to the other side. However, the book has huge insights into this paradigm of uncleanliness and cleanliness, holiness and unholiness. The book was written for a specific audience in a specific time period in human history, but the book is amazing to show how far we are from the holiness of God. Just going through The Bible can help show us that we barely scratch the surface on God’s holiness, His righteousness, His justice, and His love (Leviticus 21:8, 1 Peter 1:15-16, 1 John 4:8, amongst so many others). He is infinite in those characteristics and we can’t even begin to fathom what that truly means (Isaiah 55:8-9). So, when I have an issue with God’s justice or how He is managing the universe, I need to humbly put my hand over my mouth and say that the issue is not with God, it’s with me (Job 42:1-6).
So, if there is a God that does in fact send people to hell that truly deserve it (as this is what it means for God to be just, holy, and righteous), then the punishment must fit the crime. Here’s our issue as humans: we tend to not see the severity of our wrongdoing when we are the one that inflicted a wrong- we see the severity when we are the victim of the crime. So, severity is in the eye of the beholder, and in this case, the ‘beholder’ is an infinitely perfect and holy Judge. In Genesis 3 we, the creatures God formed from the dust of the earth, decided that we wanted to be equal to God. Romans 3:23 and 1:23 say that we exchanged the glory of God for anything and everything else. God sees Himself and His glory as what is supremely valuable, and by ‘exchanging’ it, we have committed cosmic treason against an absolutely holy King.
We need a paradigm shift. If we have a problem with the justice of God, the issue is with us. We don’t see the value and worth of His holiness as we should. We are the ones that need to repent and ask God to help us to see Him as most valuable and holy.
The Good News
But here is the beauty with all of this, God did not leave us to rescue ourselves from His wrath. To satisfy the justice of God with the treason that has been committed against Him, there is a debt to be paid. A life has to be taken. This is why the sacrificial system of the Old Testament points to us needing a Savior- something to take our place from the wrath of God. We all completely, 100% deserve this wrath. The wrath and justice of God is what makes Jesus look so beautiful. Romans 3:24-26 says,
…they are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. God presented him (Jesus) as an atoning sacrifice in his blood, received through faith, to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his restraint God passed over the sins previously committed. God presented him to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so that he would be just and justify the one who has faith in Jesus.
A just and holy Judge would not just pass over our sins. This would mean that He was a poor judge and didn’t value His holiness. Instead, He sends Jesus to die in our place, to remove that divine wrath (atoning sacrifice) through faith in Christ. This is good news everyone! God is holy and does not overlook sin or leave them unpunished (Exodus 34:6-7) but rather, He gave Himself to die in your place to give you right standing with Him because He loves you and for the praise of His glory (Ephesians 1:3-14). This is beautiful. Hell, the wrath of God, shows us what God holds most valuable: His glory. His glory encompasses His infinite characteristics: His justice, His righteousness, His holiness, His love.
-Austin
