Knowing God: He is a Just Judge :: By Angela Scohy

A few years ago, after coming across several Christians in a row who didn’t believe in the rapture, it came to me to jot down a few reasons why someone should be confident that we will be delivered (to have a quick answer on hand). The more I looked, those notes became hundreds of pages of reasons and places in the Word where the theme of His protection and deliverance is revealed.

Around the same time that I began to write them down, I came across the verses in Genesis 18:23-25, where Abraham was speaking to God after he had been told that God was going to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah for their wickedness. Even though I’d read this passage several times before, this time I very clearly heard Abraham’s conviction through his words:

“Then Abraham approached Him and said: ‘Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?… Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?’”

The moment I read that, I knew with all of my heart that God would never leave us here for the tribulation, simply based on who He is: The Just Judge.

Four points to consider:

>Those who have repented (yes, we must truly repent! Acts 3:19), received, and believed in the name of Jesus Christ, and been baptized by His Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:13), have eternal salvation forever. We’ve been cleansed from all of our sins and justified through the blood Jesus shed on the cross when He redeemed us from the curse of the law (Galatians 3:13).

>The tribulation is for those who have refused to believe Him. This is written clearly in 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12, which says the lawless one comes against those who are perishing: “They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.” V.12 says, “so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth, but have delighted in wickedness.”  For the ones who refuse His salvation, they’re still in their sins, where the ground has produced thorns and thistles due to the curse (see Isaiah 24:6 and Deuteronomy 28:15-19).

>“All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out” (John 6:37). To leave those who are in Jesus on Earth for that time would be putting someone going through terror, torment, destruction, and death for a crime which there is absolutely no record of them ever doing. And God is Love – He keeps no record of wrongs when He forgives us.

>It also wouldn’t be just for Jesus Himself: Our precious Savior gave His life to redeem us from the curse and save us from our sins. He took the punishment for us, shedding His own blood as a sacrifice. He already paid that very high price. He won’t crucify Himself (His body) all over again.

The Hebrew words translated for righteousness are also defined as “justice” (Strong’s H6664,5,&6), so they’re intertwined with one another. Therefore, if we’re righteous, we’re just, which is the foundation of His throne:

Psalm 89:14 “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; Mercy and truth go before Your face.”

            Isaiah 61:8 “I, the LORD, love justice.”

Isaiah 28:17 “So this is what the Sovereign LORD says: ‘See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who relies on it will never be stricken with panic. I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plumb line; hail will sweep away your refuge, the lie, and water will overflow your hiding place.’”

Psalms 37:28 “For the Lord loves justice, and does not forsake His saints; They are preserved forever, but the descendants of the wicked shall be cut off.”

Nahum 1:3 “The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked.”

The Word points out many times that those who are God’s are just. We’re told Job was just, in Job 34:12 – “Surely God will never do wickedly, nor will the Almighty pervert justice.” We hear King Solomon was blessed greatly because He asked God to teach him about justice. Even the man on the cross next to Jesus was just, who said to the other thief, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong” (Luke 23:40-42). He made a strong confession of faith: he feared God, knew he was a sinner, knew that Jesus did not deserve death, and asked that Jesus “remember him.” Those are very specific and key words.

God takes justice so seriously that He requires it from His people.

Micah 6:8 “He has told you, mortal one, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”

If we sow His Words, which are justice, righteousness, and eternal life, we’ll reap the fruit of it abundantly. To some of us, this is a promise of great benefit; to others who don’t sow these words, it is a warning. Those who have understanding of the Holy Spirit listen and hear Him:

Job 34:8-12 “Therefore listen to me, you men of understanding: Far be it from God to do wickedness, and from the Almighty to commit iniquity. For He repays man according to his work, and makes man to find a reward according to his way. Surely God will never do wickedly, nor will the Almighty pervert justice.”

Jeremiah 17:10 “I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.”

Eternal life means life forever, and we abound in joy, but the tribulation is where death abounds. We won’t be saved and filled with His Spirit, then be unsaved and given over to Satan, the sword, and tribulation, and then resaved. That wouldn’t make any sense. In addition, that would also be calling those – who God has already cleansed – unclean and unequally yoked.

Satan desires to take us captive and shake, condemn, and sift us like wheat; he wants to steal, kill, and destroy, which he’s unable to do if we’re clothed in the righteousness of our Savior, safely behind the veil of His flesh, as Jesus has told us. His word tells us He is our “Rock, fortress and deliverer; our God, our strength in whom we trust, our shield, horn of our salvation, and our stronghold” (Psalm 18:2). The word stronghold in Hebrew H4869 “misgab” literally means “High Tower,” an inaccessible, high place of refuge and safety.

If you haven’t had this confidence that He’s just and will deliver us to safety, I highly encourage you to believe and know without a doubt that He’ll never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).

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