Old Testament Versus New Testament Justice - Essay Example

The Old Testament versus the New Testament Justice Introduction In the whole Bible, God is presented as not only loving and long-suffering, but also a righteous judge who will come to discipline the unrepentant and the evil. This is as true in the Old Testament as in the New Testament. The Book of Revelation particularly talks about Gods judgment on the nations and his extensive demolition of nations. Likewise, the Old Testament emphasizes occasions where God reached out to sinning nations and gave them extraordinary grace. For instance, the Ninevites were given a chance to repent in the book of Jonah, although their actions were wicked. Therefore, all through the Bible, the nature of God remains constant (Comereason.com, 2010). Gods essential nature is the foundation of his justice or righteousness. Nevertheless, just as with man, it is not something conceptual but it is seen in his relation to the world – it is his kingship founding and preserving the right. This appears as retributive justice, meaning that response of His holy will, as grounded in His eternal being against wickedness wherever found. God himself cannot fail to be concerned about good and evil. All the Major Prophets maintain on Gods demand for righteousness. However, this is not the major feature of Gods justice. Theology has attempted to portray Gods justice as the basic fact in His nature with which we must reconcile His mercy the best way possible. Actually, the Scriptures most frequently regard Gods justice, or righteousness, as the act of His mercy. Justice imply the relief of the afflicted and needy, thus Gods justice is His kingly authority engaged on behalf of men, and justice and mercy are continually joined (Bibleencyclopedia.com, 2010). Many people mistakenly deem and wrongly charge that God in the Old Testament was a brutal and angry God, fast to judge and punish, whereas God in the New Testament is loving and full of grace. This certainly does not recognize that the God of the Old Testament is the same God of the New Testament. In addition, there are those who allege that the writers of the Old Testament were too primal to comprehend God and they therefore misinterpreted His nature and recorded those misinterpretations in the Bible (City-data.com, 2010). Primarily, justice had to do with behavior concerning others, particularly with regard to the rights of others. Businesses apply justice where there is demand for just measures and weights. It is also required in courts, where the rights of the poor and the rich, sojourner and Israelite, are regarded equally. In general, this justice is contrasted with that wickedness which did not have the fear of God, and did not regard man, according to Luke 18:2. Justice is not only about giving others their rights, but it entails the active task of establishing their rights. Therefore, to look for justice means to help the afflicted, judge the fatherless and plead for the widow (Bibleencyclopedia.com, 2010). The full meaning of the New Testament is not fully realized in this conception of justice. This does not mean lack of sin or ethical faultlessness. For instance, Job realizes the sin in his heart and yet regards himself as a just or righteous man. Though the Psalmist knows that no man is righteous in Gods sight, he boldly relies upon the righteousness of God in Psalms 143:1, 2. When the Psalmist asks for a judgment according to his righteousness, it is not a lack of modesty or dependence upon God. With regard to God, the just, or righteous, man is one who believes in God and trusts in Him (Bibleencyclopedia.com, 2010). In the Old Testament, the word justice is complex and is used in various ways. In the lawful codes, the term illustrates decrees, which control communal life and which stipulate recompense for injury done to a person or property, in addition to cultic regulations. All through the Old Testament, justice is immensely related to the notion of relationship and the life of the society; therefore, justice in biblical thought concerns loyalty to the commands of relationship, that is, to God and neighbor. The character and content of the justice of God dictates the application of Christian justice. There are few considerations as intensely ingrained in the mind of biblical man as the deliberation of God’s justice and righteousness. It is not a supposition, but self-evident; not an additional attribute to His essence and identified with his ways (Foster, 1999). Old Testament thoughts of righteousness and justice include God’s punishment, judgment and wrath. God’s punishment gives salvation and reinstatement and can even conquer the power of death. God’s liberation of Israel from Egypt in the Exodus served as the basis of Israel to understand Gods concern and intention to deliver the suffering. The Scriptures disclose God to be the champion of the sojourner, stranger, the orphan and the widow. The focus of Israel’s social justice was protecting the poor and the less fortunate (Foster, 1999). Although many believe that the New Testament substitutes the old, it does not. It reinterprets the essential message of justice, widens it and makes it a matter of execution in the heart of man rather than automatic observance. The New Testament articulates what the prophets and the law were driving at. The way of justice is unlocked into the way of love and therefore fused but not replaced. The Old Testament contains the two laws that Jesus gave: Love God and love thy neighbor. This is a matter of reviewing the heart of the law and the prophets and disclosing the fundamental spirit (Clancy, 1951). God has several features, two of which are Holiness and Love. His holiness consists of His righteousness and His justice. In the New and the Old Testament, both Gods love and His holiness are disclosed. Because the charge is that the Old Testament portrays God to be brutal and angry, there are those who blame God as portrayed in the Old Testament as being wicked, which of course accuses His nature (City-data.com, 2010). Gods justice is not just gracious, but redemptive. It establishes righteousness and it is not simply apportions rights. Therefore, just as in the Old Testament, the judge is the Savior. The difference is that in the Old Testament, salvation was more secular and national whereas in the New Testament, it is individual and spiritual. However, mercy is no longer opposed to justice in the New Testament than in the Old Testament. The ultimate duty of justice is righteousness, which God institutes by the forgiveness of sins. Therefore, it goes that God is at the same time just, and the justifier of him that have faith in Jesus (Romans 3:26). 1John 1:9 states, "He is faithful and Just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (Bibleencyclopedia.com, 2010). The notion of justice-from its clear-cut description by Moses to its inspiring enhancement by Jesus: the idea of equity between man and man under God is given a lot of attention throughout the Bible. Due to this, it is at times hard to see how people can admire that book and abandon its vital theme so (Clancy, 1951). Looking at Old Testament passages such as Judges 20:43-48 or Joshua 6:17, we realize that the commands of God are addressed on a national level. Here, God instructs Israel as a founder nation. On the other hand, Christs command to give the other cheek and pray for those who harass you are directed to persons on how they should treat other persons who insult them. These passages are addressed to two entirely different audience types: a political government versus individuals, and two different sets of conditions: instituting a new nation versus dealing with a personal wrong. Also worthy noting is the fact that the commands given to Joshua and the people of Israel were for a particular situation where God was instructing them. They were to kill all the residents of Jericho, but that command did not extend beyond them, and it was to occur only during that timeframe. This command of God did not give the Israelites the permit to eradicate anyone who they considered as in their way. The teachings of Jesus however are common reprimand for life. They are principles of the way in which we can extend love to our fellow human beings and they help inspire a spirit of unselfishness in our personal characters. In addition, they are not difficult and fast rules. For example, Jesus did not turn to offer His other cheek when an officer of the Sanhedrin struck him on the cheek rather; he challenged the officer who had struck Him (Comereason.com, 2010). The justice confirmed in the work of Jesus Christ exemplifies a conquest over wicked powers. It is apparent both in the historical lives of Christians and as a pillar of their eschatological hope. The realization of ideal justice in the wholly accomplished messianic kingdom does not free human beings from founding justice now, to the level possible. Certainly, the New Testament influentially teaches that Christians must establish justice in the present (1John 3:17-18; James 2:14-17). The waters of righteousness and justice are treacherous, but the church in its dangerous respect to Christ is continually at risk. The Church has the Scriptures and the sanctioning of Spirit who confers gifts upon her. This is to reinstate and restore Christians to the image of Christ so that they will gain his character and behavior through knowing him (Foster, 1999). God would command an extensive destruction of a whole population for the defense that he provided to Israel. In addition, he can take such action to bring His justice to an evil nation. In Genesis 15:16, Abram initially inquires about acquiring the land but God tells him that the time is not yet right for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete. This means that God was going to give the nations of Canaan extra time to repent and turn from their evil ways. When they did not, God opted to sell Israel to bring His judgment upon them. Likewise, God used Assyria and Babylon to judge Israel afterward in its history. Even though the punishments of God may emerge to some as out of character with His kindness and love, it is not true that these are clashing aspects. Justice is essential to show love to the preys of evil. We would deem God unrighteous and heartless if he did not reprove those who commit evil. When we read some of these secluded cases in the Scripture, we are not privy to the extent of their deeds and we do not understand why God feels he should judge them, so we tend to think of the judgment as unjust. Nevertheless, God is in a position to judge His creation and due to that, He does not need to validate His actions to us with a justification as to why a nation warrants judgment (Comereason.com, 2010). There is universal recognition of the Ten Commandments as exemplifying the Law of Justice. The significance of these Commandments is providing a relation of impartiality between man and man, under God. The children of Israel are continually reminded what they are escaping from all through the chapters of the Pentateuch. The false gods signify the laws, which permit bribery, injustice and oppression. The true God to who they owe loyalty symbolizes the Law of Justice. All through the Bible, prophets and preachers reiterate this with growing emphasis and persistence until it becomes their central theme. The prophets are definitely among the most inspirational phenomena in the Bible. For instance, Nathan appears boldly disapproving King David for an act of injustice. There were several such injustices, as Samuel, the last and supreme judge, had warned the people that if they got the king for which they demanded, there would be judgment. The prophets were always there disapproving the tormenters, encouraging the people, comforting the oppressed and rising higher and higher toward a vision of God. Elijah came into sight to condemn Ahab and Jezebel for their stealing of Naboths vineyard (I Kings 21). Isaiah whimpers against the same kind of crime and so do other prophets (Clancy 1951). There is definitely a considerable disparity between salvation by the forgiveness of sins and by firm judicial justice. Forgiveness is Gods lessening of His claims against us out of His caring kindness. The suggestion of a salvation by firm judicial justice, certainly, could not entail any justice in the person receiving the salvation, for he is guilty. It must entail an arrangement by which the account of the person as to become his very own, in some strange way factually imputes the worth of a replacement. For the pessimistic side, in the outlook of guilt, there must be a truthful transfer of every scrap to a replacement, who must undergo the exact equivalent of a given amount of affliction multiplied by a continual duration of time. An ideal standing before God would develop, which would be independent of ethical state or situation with whole guilt literally freed, and in its place, a positive ethical character credited to the person. God would not perceive the person as he is and has been, but relatively, the merits and achievements of his replacement (Olson, 1994). In the New Testament, Gods justice is differentiated from His forgiveness. The compensation of Christ facilitated God to do justice to all His righteous commitments and simultaneously forgive man liberally out of His great heart of love, which He already wanted to do earlier. Therefore, justification is an explanation of the Godly form of forgiveness and not a form of salvation that in any sense adjusts the thought of merely gratuitous forgiveness. Apostle Paul uses the forgiveness of sins in tug of his later epistles (Ephesians and Colossians) as approval of the sum total of salvation as far as man is concerned. Justification is interpreted in the light of forgiveness (Olson, 1994). The propensity to question whether a person deserves to obtain justice or even mercy is not defendable from Scripture. Neither Jesus nor the disciples inquired probable recipients of concentration about their dependence on addictive materials, their work history, their rational state, or any other astute kind of question. Jesus simply felt sympathy for people’s needs. Alternatively, we appear to forget that our wholeness, blessings and salvation are the consequence of God’s grace and not our intrinsic goodness. As a result, we are able to justify the small line item for generosity in our church budgets since several of those people do not warrant any of our reward (Foster, 1999). Possibly, the main difference remaining between the Old and the New Testaments relates to law and implementation. The Law of Moses had numerous authoritarian laws of lifestyle and a set of punishments for those who broke the laws. On the other hand, the New Testament reveals how Christianity is not regarding the obedience of laws, but rather in faith to God. Distinguishing the framework of the teachings in the New Testament is key to understanding the change in focus. Under Moses, the Israelites were in a very different situation to the Christians in the apostolic period. Under him, it was a nation of people whole with a scheme of governance, policing, and justice system. Nevertheless, in the case of those under Christ, there was the supposition that an outer power was behind provision of the elements. The fundamental rule of justice was not within the spheres of Christian life since Christians were instead told to come out of the material world and leave it to rule itself (Infobible.com, 2010). Conclusion The Old and the New Testaments present justice in different ways. In the Old Testament, God proclaimed justice to the people and to the nations through laws that were set in the time of Moses. On the other hand, the gospel of Jesus Christ presents a new idea of justice, which is based on faith in God and individual responsibility of sin. Ignoring issues of justice and integrity exposes the church to accusations of aiding injustice. The Bible reveals that God created humans to live together in the society. Being called the people of God requires even greater attention to injustice. References Bible encyclopedia.com. (2010). Justice. Retrieved from http://bibleencyclopedia.com/justice.htm 2010 City-data.com. (2010). Gods Love and Justice in both the Old and New Testament. Retrieved from http://www.city-data.com/forum/christianity/1044995-gods-love-justice-both-old-new.html Clancy, R. (1951). Justice in the Bible. Retrieved from http://www.cooperativeindividualism.org/clancy_justice_in_the_bible.html Comereason.com. (2010). Is the God of the Old Testament Different From the God of the New? Retrieved from http://www.comereason.org/bibl_cntr/con090.asp Foster, R. (1999). Dangerous Waters of Justice and Righteousness. Retrieved from http://www.christianethicstoday.com/issue/024/Dangerous%20Waters%20of%20Justice%20and%20Righteousness%20By%20Ruth%20Ann%20Foster_024_11_.htm Infobible.com. (2010). God’s Change in Old and New Testaments. Retrieved from http://www.2pi.info/bible/god/gods-change-old-new-testament/Eye-for-an-Eye-or-Turn-the-Other-Cheek.html Olson, G. (1994). Justification in the New Testament. Retrieved from http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:2WTJF_wisUMJ:www.libraryoftheology.com/writings/justification/Justification_Gordon_Olson.pdf+the+new+idea+of+justice+in+the+new+testament&hl=en&gl=ke Read More