(The Lord) will judge the world with righteousness And the peoples with fairness.
Psalm 98:9
There’s a lot of talk these days about justice…and pardons. In fact, until recent months (and days) the concept of pardoning probably didn’t cross our minds. Then, rather suddenly, they’re flying around like those old Oprah days when she had her big giveaway shows: “You get a pardon! And you get a pardon! And you get a pardon!” (And I won’t even go into that whole “pre-emptive pardon”—how is that even a thing?)
Before I digress, let’s establish some legal definitions in order to get to some spiritual implications.
- Justice: “The ethical, philosophical idea that people are to be treated impartially, fairly, properly, and reasonably by the law and by arbiters of the law.” Another simply explanation is “getting what one deserves.”
- Pardon: “To use the executive power of a Governor or President to forgive a person convicted of a crime, thus removing any remaining penalties or punishments and preventing any new prosecution of the person for the crime for which the pardon was given. A pardon strikes the conviction from the books as if it had never occurred, and the convicted person is treated as innocent.”
We all pine for justice, don’t we? When we witness a person, group, or even community of people being mistreated or victimized, something rises up within us—payment must be made, the wrong made right! (This is especially if we’re the one who was wronged.) We stand firm on our sense of righteousness, and shout, “That person/group/government” has fallen short!”
Ah, but this is where things get tricky when we shift our perspective to the heavenlies. See, the only reason we—or anyone in the world—has any sense of moral “right” or “wrong” is because God instilled it in us (Romans 1:19-20). We want to see justice because God is just—His perfect, holy righteousness is the ultimate standard (Deuteronomy 32:3-4). Yup…He is just. And we all fall short (Romans 3:23). One little lie or angry thought toward another….mark missed. So, what happens when we cannot meet the righteous requirements of our perfect and Holy God? Well, there is the penalty of His wrath to be paid (Romans 1:18; Romans 2:5). Uh oh. Is “justice” what we really want now?
God is just, we’re easily convicted, and the sentence is definitive. But praise God that He is also merciful! Jesus has stepped up to the Judge’s proverbial bench and said, “I will take the punishment (your name here) deserves.” And He did. Jesus came to earth, fully God and fully man, to live a perfect, sinless life we could not and take the wrath meant for us. Then, He rose victorious over sin and death.
And, friend, guess what we get when we accept for ourselves what Jesus did on the cross? A pardon! Look at the elements of the legal definition again: 1) a person convicted of a crime is forgiven (Ephesians 1:7); 2) any penalties or punishments are removed (Psalm 103:10-12); 3) any new prosecution is prevented (John 10:27-30); and 4) (this is the best, most amazing part) the conviction is stricken from the books as if it had never occurred, and the convicted person is treated as innocent (2 Corinthians 5:21). The church word for this is actually “justification”—we are made righteous by the blood of Jesus, so that God upon His Judgment seat looks upon us as completely innocent…as if we’ve never sinned at all (Romans 3:21-26).
Someday soon, you’ll likely find yourself in a political conversation about those recent pardons—around which there is much vitriol one way or another. So, join the discussion! Share how you are a BIG FAN of pardons…then tell them the story of your own.
“Lord, thank You for your grace and compassion. And thank You, Jesus, for being the Just and the Justifier.”
encouraged by grace 