LOVE AND JUSTICE: The Attributes of a Divided God?

“How could a loving God send anyone to Hell?” This is a question that is often asked by the skeptics of Christianity and the Bible. We read in the scriptures of a God who is love (1 John 4:8). We see this love lived out in the example of Jesus Christ. He showed compassion to sinners, healed the sick, and led the lost. But, we also see a God who wasn’t so “loving”. We see a God who had the Israelites destroy the Canaanites, who took the life of David’s child through Bathsheba, and allowed the capture of Israel at the hands of ungodly enemies. Unfortunately, this has led many nonbelievers and “weak” Christians to come to the conclusion that there is a theological contradiction. In other words, that there are possibly two Gods in the Bible: the God of the Old Testament (Yahweh), and the God of the New Testament (Jesus). The latter being as a “hippie” from the 60’s, prancing around holding flowers, smiling and saying “peace brother, I love you”, and the former being as an angry judge, looking to pounce on and destroy anything that He deems as evil. Either there are two separate God’s of the Bible, or there is only one God who can execute justice and love at the same time. So which one is it?

It is foolish to assume that there are two conflicting Gods in the Bible. Jesus said “my Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 29-30, ESV). This is a very bold claim for Jesus to admit that he was God. Erickson states that “Jesus’ power over nature was part of what caused the disciples to recognize that he was God (Mark 4:39-41)”^[1] So, just on these two points alone (and there are plenty more to be found) we can see that Jesus was God incarnate. He is definitely the God of the New Testament, but also of the Old. You may be saying “Wait, how can God and Jesus, two distinct persons, be one person?” The answer can be found in the doctrine of the Trinity. John MacArthur states:

Though the fullness of the Trinity is far beyond human comprehension, it is unquestionably how God has revealed Himself in Scripture—as one God eternally existing in three Persons. This is not to suggest, of course, that the Bible presents three different gods (cf. Deut. 6:4). Rather, God is three Persons in one essence; the Divine essence subsists wholly and indivisibly, simultaneously and eternally, in the three members of the one Godhead—the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit… The Scriptures are clear that these three Persons together are one and only one God (Deut. 6:4).^[2]

I don’t want to concentrate on the role of the Holy Spirit, but we see here that the Bible clearly states that Jesus and God are the same, however with separate roles. So it is impossible to state that there are two Gods in the Bible. That still leaves us with the paradox of a loving God who punishes, or chastens. Can one love and chasten at the same time?

Hebrews 12:6 tells us that “For whom the Lord loves he chastens, and scourges every son whom he receives” (KJV). But what exactly do we mean by “chastening” and how and why does God do it?

Throughout Scripture, God portrays Himself as a Father. Those who have received Jesus as Savior are His children (John 1:12; Galatians 3:26). He uses the analogy of father/son because we understand it. He compares Himself to a loving father who not only blesses but disciplines His beloved children for their own good. Hebrews 12 goes on to show that those who do not receive God’s discipline are not legitimate children (verse 8). A loving father carefully watches his son, and when that son defies his orders and heads for danger, the father disciplines him to keep him safe. God does that with us. When a born-again child of God heads for sin or refuses to resist temptation, our Heavenly Father brings chastening into his life to direct him back to holiness.^[3]

Would a good father sit idly by and watch his son do bad things or hurt others and get away with it? Would a good father allow his son to do whatever he wants to do, despite the threat of negative results, without directing him to the correct path? I would hope not. So why would we expect God, who is our Heavenly Father, to be any different? Why would we expect God to allow us to do as we please according to our will, and there be no correction? But why discipline? Katherine Lee states: “Child discipline, when done correctly, is not about trying to control your child but about showing her how to control her own behavior. It is not about punishing a child for doing something wrong but about setting clear parameters and consequences for breaking rules so that she learns how to discipline herself.”^[4] I believe that the reason why is that we refuse to allow ourselves to believe that God is in a position to correct us. Or maybe, just maybe, we refuse to acknowledge that God will correct us because it means that we have to obey HIS will.

So we have determined by the Scriptures that there is only one God in both of the Bible’s Testaments, and we have also determined that God does chasten us to correct our behavior (and remind us as to Who is in control and Who’s will that we should follow). Let’s take a moment to examine some examples from the Bible where God chastened His people.

The first example (of many) that I would like to mention occurred to the nation of Israel just before they were to enter the Promised Land. After spies were sent to Canaan and reported back about the conditions of the land (Numbers 13:27-29), the people of Israel complained: “’Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become a prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?’ And they said to one another, ‘Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt.’” (Numbers 14:2-4). God responded to this complaint by saying:

How long shall this wicked congregation grumble against me? I have heard the grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against me. Say to them, ‘As I live, declares the Lord, what you have said in my hearing I will do to you: your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness, and of all your number, listed in the census from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against me, not one shall come into the land where I swore that I would make you dwell (Numbers 14:27-30).

We see here chastening from God because of the unbelief of Israel, even after seeing all of God’s mighty works during their exodus from Egypt. Later, in Numbers 21, Israel again complains against God. “’Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.’ Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died.” (vv. 5-6). It should be noted that through God’s direction for the construction of the bronze serpent, that Israel was spared (Numbers 21:7-9). Would an unloving God spare an entire nation that He promised would carry on Genesis 17:5-6)? He remembered His promise to Israel and kept back a remnant.

Another example is found in 2 Samuel 12:

Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ Thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house. And I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun.’ David said to Nathan, ‘I have sinned against the Lord.’ And Nathan said to David, ‘The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord, the child who is born to you shall die.’ (vv.10-14, emphasis mine).

David had committed adultery with Bathsheba, and then had her husband Uriah killed as the cover-up. So the preceding Scripture is God’s judgment against David, spoken through the prophet Nathan. Notice that God did not kill David, but basically destroyed SOME of what was important to David. God had established the Davidic Covenant and kept His word. It was because of His love and mercy that David was spared. Of this particular event, John MacArthur states:

David had done evil to another man’s family. Therefore, he would receive evil in his own family, such as Ammon’s rape of Tamar, Absalom’s murder of Ammon, and Absalom’s rebellion against David… The Lord graciously forgave David’s sin, but the inevitable temporal consequences of sin were experiences by him. Forgiveness does not always remove the consequences of sin in this life, only in the life to come. Although the sins of David legally demanded his death, the Lord graciously released David from the required death penalty. This is consistent with justice and grace.^[5]

Finally, I would like to explore the greatest example of God’s justice being executed against those whom He loves, yet also revealing His love by grace and forgiveness. Because of Israel’s constant idolatry and turning their back on God, they faced the ultimate chastening:

God used Babylon as His agent of judgment against Israel for their sins of idolatry and rebellion against Him… Nebuchadnezzar would lead his armies against Judah until they laid siege to Jerusalem for over a year, killing many people and destroying the Jewish temple, taking captive many thousands of Jews, and leaving Jerusalem in ruins. As prophesied in Scripture, the Jewish people would be allowed to return to Jerusalem after 70 years of exile… The return under the direction of Ezra led to a revival among the Jewish people and the rebuilding of the temple.^[6]

Even though God allowed the capture and destruction of His own people, He did not allow their total destruction and allowed them to return to their land. This was grace and forgiveness in action, as well as God’s restoration. It should also be noted that Israel no longer returned to idolatry after the exile. Lesson learned.

These examples are much like a father who corrects his son so that he will do the right thing. There are consequences for the son’s bad actions, but correction is necessary in order for there to be a “lesson learned”. Some of these examples are a bit extreme because death was involved. However, we must remember that God is in control of both life and death. As Job said “Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:21).

We have determined that there is one God based on the doctrine of the Trinity, and we have determined that God executes justice by chastening those who He loves in order to correct them. So if there is one God throughout the entire Bible, then why do we see chastening in the Old Testament, but not the New?

Well, we do see it in the New Testament:

But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and with his wife's knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles' feet. But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.” When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it. The young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him. (Acts 5:1-6).

Not just do we see the “Old Testament God of Justice” bringing judgement in the New Testament, but we also see the connection between the Holy Spirit (v.3) and God (v.4). You may think “Oh, that’s just the other mean God doing that, Jesus would never execute justice and judge anyone”. Well, if you are saying that then you still aren’t convinced that the God of justice (Yahweh) is also the God of love (Jesus). Let me illustrate for you just what the God of love is capable of delivering:

The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. (John 2:13-15).

Jesus doesn’t look much like a peace loving hippy anymore now does He? He too is capable of delivering judgement within the means of just and righteous anger. Again, there is only one God who is both just and loving at the same time.

When we read the Bible as a whole, we see the connection of justice and love. Erickson states: “The justice of God means that he is fair in the administration of his law… What we have done or not done is the only consideration in the assigning of consequences or rewards”^[7] Would a good judge allow a murderer or rapist to go free to commit more acts of horror? I would hope not. There must be consequences for the crime. Erickson states further: “In a fair number of cases, we bring evil upon ourselves by our own sinful or unwise actions… Much of the evil recounted in Scripture came upon people as a result of their own sin, or that of someone close to them”^[8] Many Israelites died because of their grumbling and lack of faith. David’s child died as a result of his sin with Bathsheba. Israel was warned by the prophets numerous times to turn back to God, and they refused. So God allowed them to be taken into captivity. You reap what you sow. “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.” (Galatians 6:7-8).

By our own eyes it would appear that there are two Gods in the Bible because there is so much judgment (or justice) being dished out in the Old Testament than in the New. “This should not be viewed as some sort of inconsistency or transformation… The major reason for the perceived difference is that there are very few contexts in the New Testament that portray rebellion and sin.”^[9] Most of the New Testament is a directive on how to live the Christian life, not a narrative like the Old Testament.

It is simply a case of God “spanking” His children for their disobedience. This correction is to guide them away from their sins and onto a better path because God loves them and wants what is best for them, not because he hates them.

This is just the sprinkle on the icing on the cake. There is so much more that can be explored on the subject of God’s justice and love. I hope that this article has proven, in a nutshell, that there is only one God of the entire Bible who is fully capable of being just and loving at the same time.


In Christ Alone.

 

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[1] Millard J. Erickson. Introducing Christian Doctrine. 2nd Edition. Grand Rapids, MI.: Baker Academic, 2001. Pg.141.

[2] John MacArthur. “Our Triune God” Gty.org. Accessed May 5, 2015. http://www.gty.org/resources/articles/A215/Our-Triune-God?Term=trinity.

[3] Michael S. Houdmann. “What does it mean to be chastened? How does God chasten us?" Gotquestions.org. Accessed May 6, 2015. http://www.gotquestions.org/chasten-chastening.html.

[4] Katherine Lee. “Surprising Reasons Why We Need to Discipline Children” About.com. Accessed May 6, 2015. http://childparenting.about.com/od/behaviordiscipline/a/Why-We-Need-To-Discipline-Children.htm.

[5] John MacArthur. The MacArthur Study Bible, English Standard Version (Commentaries). Crossway, 2010. Pp. 439-440.

[6] Michael S. Houdmann. “What was the Babylonian captivity/exile?" Gotquestions.org. Accessed May 7, 2015. http://www.gotquestions.org/Babylonian-captivity-exile.html.

[7] Erickson, 101.

[8] Erickson, 152.

[9] John H. Walton and Andrew E. Hill. Old Testament Today (Zondervan, 2004). Pg. 218.

It Is Finished

“When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.” (John 19:30, KJV).

We have to ask ourselves this Resurrection Sunday, as with any day of our Christian lives, “what was finished”? We know that Jesus’ earthly ministry was done, as He had given up the ghost, or His spirit. But was it that simple? Many atheists and followers of other religions would surely like to think so. They would love to believe that Jesus was entombed and rotted away like the nice man that He was. But was He more?

…It is finished…

First, we should note, is that Satan’s reign was finished. In Genesis 3 God said to the serpent “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” (3:15). Since man’s fall in the Garden of Eden it was prophesied throughout the Old Testament that there would be a Savior. Sin is the poison the Satan serves us. We are born in it (Psalm 51:5, Romans 3:23). And the wages of sin are death (Romans 6:23). So how can we be saved from this imminent death that is guaranteed to us, the sinner? “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23). “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:9-10). If we believe that Jesus is the Christ and has indeed risen, and confess that we are a sinner in need of saving, and that only Christ can save (John 14:6), then we shall be saved from Satan’s “death grip”. “For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.” (Romans 6:20-22). “Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.” (Romans 6:18). Lots of great theology in the book of Romans.

Second is that religion was finished. What? Isn’t Christianity a religion? It is classified as one, but it is really a faith that draws upon the work of the Holy Spirit and not a system of laws and rules in order to gain righteousness. In John 8 we find the scribes and Pharisees bringing a woman to Jesus who was caught in adultery. They said “Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?” (8:4-5). Jesus’ response was “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.” (8:7b-9). Jesus caused the self-righteous religious elite to turn their eyes inward. Their own system of laws that they strictly adhered to wasn’t enough to save them from their own sins. They had no choice but to drop each stone and walk away. Again, in Romans 6: “For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.” (6:14). However, it is important to remember “What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?” (6:15-16, ESV).

Third is that any debate of Jesus’ deity was laid to rest. Notice it says that “he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost”. The Greek term for “gave up” is paradidōmi, which means to surrender or deliver. Typically, one does not involuntarily surrender or deliver something. It is done by choice. Jesus said “Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.” (John 10:17-18, emphasis mine). Jesus chose to die once His work was finished. Death did not defeat Him at the cross, He chose to draw His last breath. This leads us to…

…the resurrection. Notice in John 10:18 Jesus said “…and I have power to take it again.” Jesus made the decision to rise again. His earthly ministry was finished, but He was not. Satan was finished at the cross, as was death. Jesus also proved by His power that He was indeed who He said He was….

“When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 16:13-17).

In Christ Alone.