The Mystery of Righteousness and Justice Revealed
“Clouds and thick darkness surround Him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne,” says Psalm 97:2.
If we are to understand God, and what He wants from each and every one of us, we must understand what the Bible has to say about righteousness and justice. Once this is fully understood, many mysteries of God’s word are resolved and understood in the extreme simplicity with which God’s word is to be read and understood.
Remember, God’s word states that He is hiding the understanding of His word from the wise and the intelligent, but He is revealing it to babes (Matt. 11:25).
Righteousness, according to Webster’s New International Dictionary (1948) is characterized by: uprightness or morality; acting in an upright, moral way; virtuous, a righteous person. We can see here, not only the characteristics, which describe God, but also the characteristics of the person whom God would consider righteous in His eyes.
According to the same dictionary, justice is: the maintenance or administration of that which is just; just treatment of others; being impartial in your treatment of others; merited reward or punishment due to one’s conduct. Justice then, is anything that is right; injustice is anything that is wrong. Justice is keeping or staying within the law, such as a law-abiding citizen. One who breaks the law then, has caused an injustice.
God has laws and all His laws are just. These laws are meant to govern man’s behavior so man knows (is not ignorant of) those laws, and thus, will receive blessings instead of curses from the Lord (Deut. 4:40; 5:29, 32-33).
The mystery is and always has been: How do you keep God’s laws? How do you keep God’s covenant (Deut. 7:9)? The key is to walk in all of God’s Ways. This is how you keep all of His commandments (Deut. 10:12).
But look, the ancient Israelites were disobedient to God and would not keep His Ways. Because they did not keep God’s Ways, they could not know what God’s Ways were, so they remained unconverted and did not enter God’s rest (Heb. 3:10-11, 18-19; 4:10). Therefore, only by keeping God’s Ways can you truly understand them (John 7:17). If you believe God, then you are obedient to Him. If you do not obey God, your belief becomes unbelief or disobedience.
Notice in Exodus 33:13, that Moses asked God to reveal His Ways to him so that he might know God. Knowing God’s Ways is how one knows God, for you cannot know God unless you know His Ways. In Psalm 103:7, it says: “God made known His Ways to Moses, but He only showed His acts to the sons of Israel.”
God will remember His covenant forever, which are the words He commanded Abraham to keep. This covenant is to endure on this earth for 1000 generations or 30,000 years—a generation being 30 years (Psalm 105:8-9).
When we find out what God commanded Abraham to do, we will also know what God’s Ways were for Moses. Remember, righteousness and justice are the foundation of God’s throne. God told Abraham to command his household and his children to keep His Ways (Gen. 18:19). How was this to be done? This was done by practicing righteousness and justice (which is charity and kindness) towards others at all times. Only if Abraham did this, could God bring upon Abraham all the promises He had spoken to Him. So, Abraham, his children and all of his household (approximately 300 including servants) practiced righteousness for God by practicing righteousness and justice towards each other, as well as towards strangers.
Yes, practicing righteousness and justice (charity and kindness) towards our fellowman, is keeping God’s Ways. As you keep His Ways, you continually perfect them in your life. This is how God wants man to repent! Another point that is not known by many is that the Hebrew word for “charity” (tzedaka) is derived from the root word for “justice.” So, practicing righteousness towards others, as well as charity and kindness, is practicing justice.
When you practice righteousness towards others, God considers you righteous - just as He is righteous. Can you begin to understand the monumental significance of what is being said in 1 John 3:7? God will consider you righteous (sinless) if you practice righteousness towards all others as God practices righteousness towards all others. “If you won’t practice righteousness for God daily like Jesus did, you remain a son or daughter of the devil,” says 1 John 3:10. Practicing righteousness and justice (charity) towards others continually is true daily repentance. It is a righteous way of life. Not only is this true repentance but it is also how God is glorified, honored, worshiped and shown respect daily. It is also how you imitate God in thought, word and deed (Eph. 5:1; 1 Peter 4:11; Matt. 5:16; Rom. 12:1).
Jesus told His true followers that they should beware of practicing their righteousness towards others for reasons of being seen by others, or they would have no reward from the Father (Matt. 6:1). You see, there is a reward from God—a continual reward—for practicing righteousness towards others for Him. By doing so, you become a servant of God—a bondservant of God. This is your new way of life in Christ Jesus. Practicing righteousness, which includes justice and charity, is how you overcome Satan and sin in your life. These are the words, which many millions of people long to hear from the pulpit but almost never do. They wonder: “How can I be pleasing to God?” The answer is simple; just overcome evil by doing good to others for God, if you want to live forever (Psalm 37:27; 1 Peter 3:10-11, 13; Rom. 12:21; Rev. 2:26).
You can bring yourself to believe (obey) when all you do is good each day, as Jesus Christ your example did. You then enter the good life, which is the “God” life or the Way God lives in heaven, which is serving others. You can now receive all the blessings that God has waiting to shower on you as you continue to persevere in doing good (1 Peter 3:13). You are showing God, by your actions, that you are seeking honor and glory and immortality and eternal life (Rom. 2:7). This is how God wants you to repent. This is how He wants to be worshiped (Rom. 12:1). God does not change. His everlasting covenant does not change (Heb. 13:8; Mal. 3:6). Change, however, is what He is waiting for you to do. Turn to Him and do His Will on earth as He is doing it in heaven daily (Matt. 6:10).
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne. Righteousness and justice are also God’s Will or God’s Ways. They are also Jesus Christ’s words and works and when we practice them, we overcome evil (John 8:51; Rev. 2:26). Jesus said to those who would follow Him that they would do more works of righteousness and charity than He did (John 14:12). He also said that they would be zealous for doing good (Titus 2:14).
There you have it—the mystery of righteousness and justice revealed. If your eyes are open, you now know how to repent, please the Lord daily, overcome your old nature, become a new creation and enter God’s rest. You have been shown how to love others and keep God’s Ways, by practicing righteousness and justice towards others daily. This is how you keep all the laws of God.
Romans 13:8 — Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves [does justice and righteousness to] his neighbor [fellowman] has fulfilled the law.
This is the mystery that has been hidden since the foundation of the world and revealed to only a few (Matt. 13:35; Rom. 16:25; Eph. 3:9; Col. 1:26). This is the mystery, which must be revealed by God to His saints (Eph. 3:3). So, a determination must be made in the last days between all those who would serve God by serving others and those who would continue to be God’s adversaries (Mal. 3:18; Psalm 97:3; Matt. 25:41).
God bless all who read these words, and prove them to be true in God’s word by studying these Scriptures and thus, show themselves approved to Him!
2 Timothy 2:15; (King James Version) — Therefore, study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that not needeth be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth!