Why do we have a keen sense of justice?
We now live in a society where the general opinion about whether things are right or wrong can at times be vague.
In the Bible, God has given us clear information about what is right and what is wrong. But there is also a reality about things being just or unjust.
Here are some things to consider:
- Why do children cry “that’s not fair” or “it’s not right”?
- Why is there an inbuilt awareness of fairness in a child?
- Why is it common for people to have a really well-developed sense of justice?
The Bible gives us the explanation. It teaches that God ‘has written His law in our hearts’. God gave us this inbuilt awareness of right and wrong. Holy scripture (the Bible) teaches that we have a conscience. It teaches that we have an inbuilt knowledge within ourselves and a knowledge about ourselves. We automatically can clarify the reality of the rightness or wrongness of the things that we say, feel and do.
For example, most of us feel impulsively that telling blatant lies is wrong. We instinctively know that to remove property that belongs to someone else is wrong. The Bible teaches these principles, but somehow we know them to be true! Is that significant or coincidental?
The ‘ten commandments’ teach that you shouldn’t steal, you shouldn’t lie, you shouldn’t take somebody else’s wife and so on. The list defines prohibitions as well as teaching positive things that we should do. Things like loving God with all your heart and with all your soul and all your mind. Jesus summarized the rest by saying, ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself,’ Matt. 22. 39.
You may say to yourself, ‘I’m not really sure why we all know those things?’ Let me come back to what the Bible says - God has planted within us an awareness of right and wrong. Just look across society for a moment. People are very interested in equal rights and equal opportunities. We are very concerned that disabled people are cared for, that ethnic minorities aren’t disadvantaged, and that there is religious freedom, freedom of thought and freedom of belief. We campaign for the rights of the unborn child, plus we debate people’s rights to free speech. Public behaviour is monitored, ensuring that people do not overreach themselves and inflict damage on other people or their property. In all of this, we try to balance the rights of a society to be free and yet remain free of criminal activities.
These things are right. I believe we are like this in society because God has implanted in us an awareness of things that are very important to Him - a consciousness of right and wrong and of the realities of living in a way that is fair and equitable. God describes Himself as a just, as well as righteous, doing right. He is a God of light; God is love, a God who is eternal and a God who is all-knowing!
We wouldn’t know these things if God hadn’t revealed them to us in the Bible. This is why the Bible is such a key book for us to read. In fact, it is God’s message to humanity, and it’s an amazing thing that we have it so freely available despite some countries that still restrict access to the Word of God.
Let me leave you with a statement from the Bible, the Bible says, ‘For Christ also has once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God,’ 1 Peter 3:18. This verse is saying that if God was being just, if God was being fair, He would punish us for our sin, He would penalize us, He would judge us for breaking His law because we are guilty. But the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came into the world and suffered for sins to bring us to God. He personally suffered the penalty for sin by dying for us. Three days later, He was brought up back to life. His resurrection is sufficient evidence that the price for sin was fully paid. His resurrection establishes that you can take advantage of salvation. You do this by confessing your sin (to God, not a religious representative) and asking God to forgive you. You are effectively asking for God’s blessing upon your life.
I wonder if you would take advantage of God’s offer of salvation today. Will you come to Him for forgiveness and rest upon Him for salvation? You can know what it is to be forgiven and saved.
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved – the Bible, Acts 16:31
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