Ss Lesson January 20

“Breakthrough in Justice” Sunday School Lesson for January 20 The image of blindfolded woman holding a sword in her right hand and a pair of balance scales in her left is the icon that is supposed to represent justice in our legal system. But where human beings are in charge, injustice inevitably rears its ugly head. Just about any of us can recall at least one story where the criminal justice system misfired, either by being too lax or too harsh. Of course, there are the outrageous cases cooked up against innocent people and organizations by anti-God groups like the ACLU. Example: They focus on an issue like nativity displays on public property, a Bible clubs at schools, or Christian T-shirts, then research the prior rulings of selected judges and choose the judge (usually a Clinton or Carter nominee) who is most likely to rule in their favor. They find somebody on whose behalf they can file a suit in that judge‟s district, which they sometimes win, and their win generally includes recovery of significant legal fees from the entity who lost the suit. In that way, groups like the ACLU and individuals like Michael Newdow tend to prevail over constitutional common sense with legal precedents that leave decent Americans stunned and disoriented. Even apart from the ACLU, there are federal courts all over the country (not the least of which has been the Supreme Court) handing down wrong-headed decisions that have far-reaching impacts on American society. The decision to outlaw prayer in public schools is an example of this nastiness, not to mention Roe vs. Wade in 1973 and the removal of the Ten Commandments from public schools in 1980. Bill Clinton nominated (and the U.S. Senate confirmed) nearly three hundred federal judges while he was president, most of them known for their left-leaning decisions. The crazy opinions being handed down by those courts in our day reflect the way those liberal judges think and the choices they‟re making. U.S. District Court Judge Myron Thompson (a Jimmy Carter nominee) handed down the opinion that forced the removal of Roy Moore‟s Ten Commandments from the rotunda of the Alabama judicial building, and he did so without any legal precedent whatsoever – his decision was nothing more than his opinion, and it carried the weight of law because it was handed down from his bench. Thus, a president‟s nomination of justices produces a legacy that can outlive him (or her) for decades and can

ultimately change the social climate of the whole country through legal precedent. George Bush has placed one conservative judicial nominee after another before the U.S. Senate, only to have many of them stonewalled, because the senate is dominated by liberal lawmakers that hate conservatism, George Bush, and everything for which our soldiers have fought and died for the past 200 years. Be that as it may, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Sam Alito (both conservatives) have both been confirmed Bush nominees to the Supreme Court. That‟s a good thing, since it shifted the nation‟s highest court away from the left. The next president we elect will probably nominate two more Supreme Court Justices and a host of other federal judges (Supreme Court Justices Stevens and Ginsburg might well retire within the next eight years), so the judicial nominations of the next president are likely to have as much, or even more significance on our future culture than anything else the next U.S. president does. Justice and judges are extremely important to God, as is our worldview and where our real security comes from. Psalms 7:1 - 2 (KJV) 1 O LORD my God, in thee do I put my trust: save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me: 2 Lest he tear my soul like a lion, rending it in pieces, while there is none to deliver. God‟s immutable justice will eventually bring everyone his or her due – everybody will get what‟s coming to them sooner or later; God won‟t be mocked, tricked, deceived, or conned. He knows everything we‟re thinking and everything we‟ve ever done – that‟s scary, isn‟t it, especially when Jesus considers evil thoughts to be practically as sinful as evil acts, and tells us (see Matthew 12:36-37) we‟ll render an account for every careless word! So what‟s the remedy? Well, as Christians we enjoy the imputed righteousness of Christ – the rest of mankind doesn‟t, and it‟s to their own hurt. The principle of human rights and ownership of private property originated with God (i.e., thou shalt not steal, not to mention dozens of other passages dealing with property ownership), and in the final analysis, whatever happens on this earth, we as believers simply have place our trust in Him when it comes to making things right. And we can count on God to deliver us from the snare of the oppressor, no matter how bad things may seem in this life. The very things we hold dear can be stolen – Jesus Himself admonishes us not to lay up treasures on earth where thieves break in and steal (Matthew 6:19). In Romans 8:18, Paul writes that, for the Christian, the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory God shall reveal in us, and in our human experience as believers, we have to remember that

Romans 8:28 is still there – for those of us who are called true repentance is all about. Perhaps that‟s what Jesus according to His purpose, everything works together for meant when He said to pluck out an eye or cut off a hand if good, regardless of how things seem at the time, and He will that‟s what it takes to repent, as uncomfortable as that may deliver us. Who else can we ultimately count on? Jesus sound. Himself told us not to be afraid of those who can kill the We are supposed to take our sin as seriously as God body – they can‟t kill the soul (Matthew 10:28, Luke 12:4). does. Do we? Repentance after forgiveness is a key point The above passage doesn‟t, however, just speak of those that the “judge not lest ye be judged” crowd tries to shout who would harm us physically – notice the „lion‟ reference, down when it is pointed out today. The would-be champions and compare it to First Peter 5:8 – the devil‟s presence on of what today‟s world calls „tolerance‟ don‟t see the need for the earth is like that of a roaring lion who devours anyone repentance and they don‟t want forgiveness – they want and everyone he can – that particularly includes (but is not their sins validated and even embraced. They want us to limited to) those of us who have dedicated join them in their sin and like it. And it‟s Matthew 7:1 - 6 (KJV) 1Judge not, that ye be not judged. 2For with what our lives, fortunes, and destinies to God. people like that Jesus was speaking of when judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: The devil‟s purpose is to steal, kill, and He said not to throw holy things to the dogs and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why destroy; we‟re his targets and he is tireless. or cast our pearls before swine (Matthew 7). beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? In our focal passage (verse 3-5 above), Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the psalmist renders a dreadful judgment Verses 3-5 3 O LORD my God, if the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the against his own self in regard to his own sin. I have done this; if there be iniquity beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye. So should we! Are we as tough on in my hands; 4 If I have rewarded 6 Give not that which is holy unto the ourselves as we are on others? We should evil unto him that was at peace with dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under be more so. me; (yea, I have delivered him that their feet, and turn again and rend you. 5 without cause is mine enemy:) Let the enemy persecute my soul, and take it; yea, let Verses 6-11 6 Arise, O LORD, in thine anger, him tread down my life upon the earth, and lay lift up thyself because of the rage of mine mine honour in the dust. enemies: and awake for me to the judgment that Selah thou hast commanded. 7 So shall the congregation As for situations that require justice, we need to realize of the people compass thee about: for their sakes that we are all guilty of transgressions against others and we therefore return thou on high. 8 The LORD shall need to acknowledge that fact. Most of our transgressions judge the people: judge me, O LORD, according are rooted in what we think and say – indeed, James tells us to my righteousness, and according to mine that if any person makes no mistake in what he (or she) integrity that is in me. 9 Oh let the wickedness of says, then that person is perfect… Yet if we hear that some the wicked come to an end; but establish the just: person spoke evil of us, we are so incredibly quick to judge for the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins. 10 them for their sin against us in spite of the fact that we have My defence is of God, which saveth the upright on occasion made remarks that would have placed us in a in heart. 11 God judgeth the righteous, and God is similar light (see Ecclesiastes 7:21-22). It‟s so easy to angry with the wicked every day. inadvertently repay good with evil… God loves the world, but He hates the sin that crouches So do we really want justice, or would mercy be more at my door and yours, and with all the sons and daughters desirable? As we consider the transgressions of others of disobedience working (on various levels) to marginalize against us, we should remember Jesus‟ remark to the the people of God, we should draw ever closer to God, and Pharisees (John 8) who were urging the execution of the when we do, He will draw closer to us. We should, as adulterous woman – not a single one of them was without believers in Jesus Christ, be living above the world‟s sin, and under their own self-examination, they dropped standards, beneath the Cross of Christ, living pure and holy their charges against the woman and walked away. He alone lives as members of the body of Christ and the heirs of was qualified to judge her, and He freely forgave her sin, but kingdom of God. Where do we congregate? With God‟s urged her to repent (i.e., „go and sin no more‟). people under His ultimate protection or with the unbelieving She was forgiven, to be sure, but Jesus expected her to condemned of the world? turn her life around and strive against sin to the point of Are you comfortable with the prospect of asking the shedding blood, if necessary (Hebrews 12:4) – that‟s what Lord to judge you according to your righteousness? I‟m not! 3

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You and I may have integrity, but we cannot be truly righteous apart from Christ. The only chance I have to be presented holy and blameless before God on the Day of the Lord is by virtue of the free gift of salvation I accepted from Jesus Christ – spiritually re-born, washed in His Blood, justified, sanctified, and eventually glorified, I know that my Redeemer lives and on the earth again shall stand – that sounds like the apostle Paul, but it comes from Job 19:25, by the way, and remember; he was a man who was being hammered with every physical, emotional, and financial loss imaginable at the hand of satan himself, yet Job‟s faith and trust in God survived! Would mine? Would yours? Indeed, Jesus Christ our Redeemer is our Rock, our Fortress, our Deliverer, and our Friend. With that in mind, we need to realize that it isn‟t our place to be angry with the wicked – that‟s His place. Vengeance is His, not ours, and we don‟t need to rejoice when our enemy falls (Proverbs 24:17-18), lest God‟s anger be turned away from your enemy. That‟s we read in the sermon of Christ and the teachings of Paul, i.e., give your enemy water when he‟s thirsty and food when he‟s hungry, and you‟ll heap burning coals on his head (Proverbs 25:21-22 and Romans 12:2021, not to mention Matthew 5:44-46). Vengeance isn‟t ours; it‟s God‟s, and we should all give Him that distinction. Verses 12-17 12 If he turn not, he will whet his sword; he hath bent his bow, and made it ready. 13 He hath also prepared for him the instruments of death; he ordaineth his arrows against the persecutors. 14 Behold, he travaileth with iniquity, and hath conceived mischief, and brought forth falsehood. 15 He made a pit, and digged it, and is fallen into the ditch which he made. 16 His mischief shall return upon his own head, and his violent dealing shall come down upon his own pate. 17 I will praise the LORD according to his righteousness: and will sing praise to the name of the LORD most high. God takes great satisfaction in justice – that‟s what this lesson is all about, and in our human experience we sometimes may hear or say these words: What goes around comes around. Where did that human proverb come from? Well, it seems to me that God‟s work tends to be observed by men, and through the centuries, God has dealt with men that way, thus the human proverb above. Remember, Paul wrote to the Galatians (6:7-8) that we should not be deceived because nobody has ever put one over on God; those who 3

devise wicked plans against others tend to receive even worse later on. I knew a boy who didn‟t use foul language, drink, smoke, or any of that, but he was a thief. He would steal repeatedly, sometimes blatantly, from his friends, and somehow he always seemed to get away with it. Thirty years later his father told me that his briefcase had been stolen, and with it some of his most important papers. Were those to elements of his life related? God only knows. Granted, there are people who are victimized who have never harmed anyone, and I‟m not talking about those folks. Job‟s a good example. But it stands to reason that in some cases, we fail to tie our own rotten circumstances to previous sins. How fearful we would be if we could hear God‟s voice on the heels of something we did:

“…because you have done this thing, so will I do likewise to you…” And then we would have to wait for the axe to fall. Are you saved by the Blood of Christ? Praise God for it, but don‟t expect to get away with some secret sin. I grew up with a boy I who tended to get on my nerves, and I deliberately „stood him up‟ a time or two when he and I were supposed to meet. Years later, as an adult, I was confused and hurt on several occasions when I experienced the same treatment from other people I was supposed to meet and it wasn‟t until I plugged the wisdom of God‟s Word into my own past that I solved the mystery – I had it coming. Do you know any stories like that? Maybe the only ones you remember are the ones where people never seem to get what‟s coming to them? Don‟t be deceived by that. God‟s justice is immutable – remember, David was forgiven for his sin with Bathsheba, but the sword never departed from his house. The consequences of an old sin will sometimes return to plague a person, and the frightening part is that it may be years before the consequences are realized. From our perspective, we should be careful who we judge and for what, lest God return our judgment on our own heads. We all know that there is not a righteous person on earth who continually does good and never sins. The Scriptures are plain about that (Ecclesiastes 7:20; Romans 3:23). Not me. Not you, not anybody except for Christ Himself. And when our enemies do their worst what will be our attitude toward those enemies? Will we leave the ultimate justice up to God, the way Joseph did with his recalcitrant brothers (Genesis 39-43)? Will we rejoice when our enemy falls? We‟d better not, if we fear God! What, after all, does the Lord require of us, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with Him? (Micah 6:8) Are we? Have we? Will we? Time will tell. R.W.M.