THE PRINCIPLES OF JUSTICE

“Always think carefully before pronouncing judgment.
Remember that you do not judge to please people but to please the LORD. . . .
Fear the LORD and judge with integrity,
for the LORD our God does not tolerate perverted justice,
partiality, or the taking of bribes” (2 Chronicles 19:7 NLT).

God is a God of justice. “Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne,” the psalmist writes in Psalm 89:14. God orders the world with justice and it is the way He wants our homes and nations to be ordered. God commands us to raise our children with justice. If they don’t know justice growing up, they won’t understand how the world works and they won’t understand who God is.

What does Genesis 18:19 say about Abraham, the pattern father? “For I know him, that he will command his children, and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, TO DO JUSTICE AND JUDGMENT . . . “ Abraham didn’t hope things would work out in his family the way he wanted. He COMMANDED his children after him to do justice and judgment. This should also be our pattern.

How do we exercise justice? We learn principles of justice from a wonderful passage in 2 Chronicles 19:4-11 where King Jehoshaphat went through the land to bring the people back to God. He then appointed judges throughout all the cities and told them how God wanted them to judge. Take time to read this passage.

We must embrace these biblical principles in our parenting. We must also pray for every judge in our nation that they will learn to judge by these principles. We must especially pray at this time for all the state judges and Supreme Court Judges who are judging the cases of our fraudulent election that they will judge according to God’s pattern. Here are the principles:

1. You must take heed to judge according to God’s judgment, not man’s (verse 6).
2. God is involved with you in judging for God for judgement ultimately belongs to God (verses 6, 11; Deuteronomy 1:17; and 16:18).
3. You must judge in the fear of God (verses 7 and 9). Do you notice that God repeats this principle of judging in the fear of the Lord two times?
4. You must take action on the verdict, not let it slide. “Take heed and do it” (verses 7, 10, and 11).
5. You must not have respect of persons in judgment (verse 7 and Deuteronomy 1:17). Never show partiality.
6. You must not take bribes (verse 7).

“Never accept a bribe, for bribes blind the eyes of the wise and corrupt the decisions of the godly” (Deuteronomy 16:19 NLT).

1. You must judge faithfully (verse 9).
2. You must judge with a perfect (undivided) heart (verse 9).
3. You must warn the guilty not to sin against the LORD. If you fail to do this God will be angry with you (verse 10).
4. You must judge COURAGEOUSLY. Verse 11 says: “Deal COURAGEOUSLY.” The Hebrew for this phrase is “asah chazaq.”

Asah means “to take action” and chazaq means “to be strong, courageous, valiant, to make firm.” We need courage to put justice into action.

Isn’t it wonderful how God does not leave us in the dark but shows us very plainly what it means to execute justice? The above principles are powerful, but there are  more, so let’s continue our study in other passages of the Scriptures:

1. You must judge righteously (Proverbs 31:9). That’s why we need God with us in judgment for He always judges righteously (Psalm 67:4; 96:10; Proverbs 31:9; and Jeremiah 11:20).
2. You must judge fairly (Deuteronomy 1:16 and 16:18).
3. You must not be afraid of the face of man (Deuteronomy 1:17).
4. You must never twist justice (Deuteronomy 16:19).
5. You must pursue justice (Deuteronomy 16:20). The word in the Hebrew means “to run after, to chase.” You do not give up until you have executed true justice.
6. You must investigate thoroughly before making judgment (Deuteronomy 13:13-15 and 19:18).
7. You must judge according to God’s judgements and statutes (Ezekiel 44:24). They must line up with God’s Word.
8. You must judge with truth that brings peace (Zechariah 8:16).

And what is the character God wants for judges? Those who are capable, God-fearing, truthful, and who hate bribes (Exodus 18:20).

May God help us to parent with God’s justice and judgment. His justice is not legality, but perfect and fair. And let’s pray earnestly and fervently for God’s justice to return to our nation.

Be blessed, Nancy Campbell

PRAYER:

“Dear Father, I thank You that You are a God of justice and judgment. Your judgment is always perfect. I ask for Your wisdom and Your judgement in parenting my children. I need You, Lord. I ask that You also help me to walk in sound judgment regarding the issues of life and the issues we face in our nation. I always want to be on Your side of judgment. Amen.”

AFFIRMATION:

I will not be influenced by the “face of man” but seek to walk in the “fear of God.”

You will find the following an interesting article to read: http://tinyurl.com/PermissionToJudge

Did you know, I am now doing a podcast for you each week called FROM OUR HOME TO YOURS w/ Nancy Campbell? I know you will be blessed and encouraged. Go to www.aboverubies.org and you’ll see the icon. Or go to http://ARPoddy.buzzsprout.com