He is the Rock; His deeds are perfect. Everything He does is just and fair. He is a faithful God who does no wrong; how just and upright He is! – Deuteronomy 32:4 NLT
There is a lot of senseless tragedy in our world. We turn on the TV or open social media and are bombarded with news of war, disease, death, hunger, abuse, corruption—or we experience those things firsthand.
In the midst of so much ugliness, it’s only natural to question whether God is really just. If He sees all the suffering in the world and cares about it, why doesn’t He seem to be doing anything about it? How could a perfectly just God allow bad things to happen to good people?
A Proper View of Sin
In order to understand how God’s justice works, we first need a proper understanding of sin. Sin is everything that goes against God’s goodness and holiness. When Adam and Eve ate of the tree, sin entered the world and corrupted God’s perfect creation, separating us from communion with Him. In order for our relationship to be restored, God sent His Son Jesus to pay the penalty of sin—death. Jesus died in our place so that anyone who believes in Him and calls on His name will be forgiven and made right with God (John 1:12).
Our Judgment Falls Short
The reason we long for justice and fairness is because we are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). In Psalm 139, King David cries out to God at the injustice He’s witnessing around Him, lamenting about the people who hate God: “O LORD, shouldn’t I hate those who hate You? Shouldn’t I despise those who oppose You?” The answer is yes! We reflect God’s character when we’re angered by injustice, cruelty, and crime. It’s right for us to desire that those who cause harm would be appropriately punished.
But our judgment is inherently flawed, because we are inherently flawed. Our feelings and preconceived notions cloud our view of reality. Even our complex judicial systems often fall short, and despite our best efforts, criminals still walk free while innocent people are wrongly locked away. So in light of our sin and shortcomings, we need a perfectly just Judge to restore order and make all things right.
God Is the Ultimate Judge
God is that just Judge. He doesn’t just see one action in isolation; He sees everything—the whole picture of the whole person within the whole fabric of creation. He’s not weighed down by cultural or personal biases, and He’s not influenced by outside sources. His moral standard is black and white, but He’s also merciful and full of grace. Those things are not in contradiction to each other; on the contrary, they all work together to beautifully reflect God’s perfect, holy, righteous nature. In Isaiah 55:8-9, the Lord says, “‘My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts…And My ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts higher than your thoughts’” (NLT). Similarly, 1 Samuel 16:7 says, “The LORD doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart” (NLT).
So God’s justice may not look like we want it to, or happen when we want it to, but we can trust that He will make all things right according to His perfect will and timing. In fact, His Word says He’s slow to anger—not because He’s being lackadaisical about carrying out justice, but because He desires that all His children would come to repentance and be saved (2 Peter 3:9).
