387: Aaron McKee - The God of All Grace and Justice

Automatically transcribed. Accuracy is good but not perfect, and words are sometimes wrong. Trust the audio over the text.

1. 0:03

   Welcome to good Christophian talks. Thank you for joining us this week on this podcast. We select one talk a week to help us get the Bible in our Daily News feed. Each week we post a talk that we previewed from suggestions sent in by listeners from around the world. Then we record a short intro beforehand as a personalized recommendation to you on why we are sharing the talk. And now let’s talk more about this week’s talk. Hello and welcome back.

2. 0:34

   This is brother Chris with another talk to share with you this week. For this week, we’re listening to actually a pair of classes that were given by brother Aaron McKee at the San Diego Study Day at the end of January 2026. The overall subject of this entire series was the relenting and unrelenting God. And I found Brother Aaron’s approach in the way that he was addressing the sort of the paradox of the duality of God in the grace and mercy and the judgement and justice that God presents in his character in Scriptures and did a fabulous job of presenting them.

3. 1:16

   In addition, bringing out some ideas about how we perceive God’s character from our own perspective. And I just thought it was a really fascinating class because of some of the nature of what he was talking about. I’ve made the decision to take classes two and three and combine them together. It still is about an hour long with it all together, but it sort of presents the two sides of the coin of God’s character in a way that I think is really well put together. Brother Aaron does a spectacular job of speaking it through, talking through what he is presenting in a way that I found to be a really concise and structured way to look at the topic.

4. 1:58

   Obviously, we’ll have the other classes of the entire five classes that were in this series on good Christadelphian Talks extended, and I would encourage you to listen to them all. They’re a very easy read. Brother Aaron is a very easy speaker to listen to and the there’s some foundation he lays in the first class, but he does a very good job at connecting to the key points, so you’re not missing anything if you don’t hear Class 1 before listening to classes 2 and 3.

5. 2:23

   I will also have just a short little comment from me right in between classes 2 and 3 so you know when they are transitioning from the first second class to the third class. But I hope that you enjoy both of them and find them to be encouraging and uplifting in your walk. The titles for classes two and three are the God of All Grace and then the God of All Justice. And for the sake of the podcast, I’ve combined those for the subject for this podcast to be the God of all grace and justice.

6. 2:53

   So with that, I will turn it over to our brother, Aaron McKee. In 1751 a boat was being destroyed off the coast of England and on this vessel lived a a man who to this point in his life lived quite a an unsavory existence. In fact, he’s the owner of this vessel and the vessel was a slave ship.

7. 3:30

   And he’s so convicted in the fury of this raging storm and in conscience and in heart to change his ways, to mend his deeds to, to, to that that by miracle the storm begins to, to clear. He makes his way to land. Well, he makes landfall, he sells the ships, he enters a ministry and he dedicates his life to God. 25 years later, now a minister, now reflecting on God’s ability to to restore him from that situation, to esteem him better than his works.

8. 4:08

   He writes a sermon on New Year’s Day, this poem for his congregation, writing words we know well, penning words that that stretch to this very day towards grace. That taught my heart to fear and grace my fears relieved. How precious did that grace grace appear the hour I first believed? Brothers and sisters, many in the ages of history have marvelled in the glories of God’s character of grace. From David, who would write in First Chronicles. Who am I Lord and and what is my house? You bring me this far to to Jacob, who would say I’m not worthy the least of your mercies. To the centurion who proclaimed of Christ, I’m not worthy, You come to my house.

9. 4:59

   Many marveled God could esteem them better than their works. This afternoon, brothers and sisters, we will do the same. We will explore this character of God dedicated to grace. Prince sisters, but we will do so by moving beyond the fact that our God is merciful, beyond the fact he is a loving and caring God, which he demonstrates time and again throughout his word. And instead we will ask why?

10. 5:30

    Why does our God well let you know what? What prompts, what moves the grace of God throughout Scripture? And in asking that question, Bron sisters, we will move beyond what God does towards who God is, the essence of what grace means to God, How how this character expresses itself. Here we’ll consider a grace that is loyal and faithful, secured in his promise word.

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    Here we’ll consider a grace that bears the cost of mercy that that self sacrificing that reaches to the broken. Here we’ll consider grace responding to truth, reaching to the humble, granting to the sincere, and ultimately, brothers, sisters, we are going to bring our thoughts to the charge given to Moses by the Lord, to be gracious as I am gracious as God. We are going to end on what grace works in us, the transformation it seeks and the teaching qualities it possesses to all who receive it.

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    But we’ll start our consideration by thinking back on Exodus 32. Let’s go there for a moment. Run sisters. And we start here because while there are many places our minds might take us run sisters and and considering why grace is granted and the record of Scripture I I put to you there are a few moments so comprehensive, few so concise as what we see in the record of this chapter. In this chapter, a number of things prompt the grace of God. We see verse 13 of chapter 32.

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    Remember Abraham says Moses remember Isaac in Israel. He’s saying in the face of their sin, who you swore by your name here Moses petitioned God’s covenants that grace may come.

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    We see verse 32. Yeah. Now forgive their sins as Moses, if not, take me. Also we see Moses’s intercessor petition God’s grace that that grace may come. We see chapter 33, verse 6. The people mourn. They they strip themselves of their ornaments, they burn them in fire. They show humility of heart, that grace may come.

15. 7:48

    And finally, verse 19, what does God say? I am gracious to who I am gracious Moses underscoring he is a God of grace and that’s why grace came in total brother and sisters 4 points emerge four points that all throughout Scripture are this this framework a pattern for how the grace of God is often reaching out as an outstretched hand to man. And when we see these brother and sisters all throughout the records of Scripture.

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    Yeah, we we see them in the the account of Nehemiah 9 Nehemiah 9’s another moment of of national repentance very similar to what’s happening in in the accounts of Exodus. What do we see in Nehemiah 9 verse one, they assemble as Israel and fasting and sackcloth and dust. They show humility of heart. Verse 7 Nehemiah says you are a God who chose Abraham and made covenants with us.

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    We see covenant mercies. Verse 28, the leaders and Levites act as intercessors. Verse 17 Nehemiah says you are a God, gracious and merciful to the thousandth.

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    He petitions a character of grace, and while not every example of relenting, it is as comprehensive. Brothers, sisters, as what we see in Nehemiah and Exodus. I put to you every moment of God’s mercy is expressed for one of these reasons. And when we ask ourselves why,

19. 9:12

    why is God relenting for these things, will we come to better understand what grace and this character looks like to God? So let’s start with his covenant mercies. Brothers and sisters, you know, there are many times in the record of Scripture that we hear this common refrain. We see it in Deuteronomy 7 verse 9.

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    Know the Lord your God is faithful keeping covenants and love, says Moses. Curious, isn’t it? He says covenants and love. He, he links these two things somehow together and he’s not alone in that run, sisters. In fact, we see covenants in love either implicitly or explicitly linked together many times throughout the record of his word. We see it in Exodus.

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    I heard their groanings as God and remembered my covenant with Abraham. We see it in Daniel 9. O awesome God, who keeps covenants and steadfast love. We read. We see it in Genesis 90. Establish my covenant with you, never to destroy all life by water. An act of covenant secures an act of grace. We see it in Isaiah 37.

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    Brothers and sisters, for the sake of David, my covenant, I will defend the city. We see it in the words of Solomon. O awesome God of Israel, there is no God like you keeping covenants and love.

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    All throughout our Bibles, Brun sisters, grace is extended through the words of God’s promise. All throughout Scripture, the grace of God is secured in his covenant. And Brun sisters, we should note the extent to which it’s secured.

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    Maybe we think to the kings of Israel. You think to Abijah, the idolatry of his day. What did God say to him in First Kings 15? For David’s sake, Abijah, I will give you a son for my covenant. I will show you grace. We see it in Jahoram. Despite the evilest day, for David’s sake, I will not destroy Judah. We see it in Solomon, despite the idolatry of his day, For David’s sake, he says, I will not take your Kingdom. And this underscores a simple, crucial, essential avenue of what grace means to Godbrun sisters. And that’s that it is deeply and unwaveringly committed. You know, brothers and sisters, I, I, I don’t know about you, but, but sometimes I, I think we can perceive grace as something Moody or whimsical, as God’s emotion or, or exception to his rules, where he’s relenting in spite of his faithfulness. That can’t be farther from truth. Brothers and sisters, all throughout Scripture, the grace of God is an expression of faithfulness. It is the preeminent aspect of character revealed to Moses on the top of Sinai.

25. 12:08

    It it is legal and deeply rational where even in failures it is reaching or even in darkness it’s presenting. And we see this type of grace, one sisters manifest all throughout Scripture. We we see it in the accounts of Second Samuel, the accounts of of Chapter 9. We recall Brun sisters in the context of Jonathan and David’s relationship. They make a covenant and First Samuel 20. And what did David say?

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    I will never cut off love from the House of Jonathan forever, no matter the unknowable, no matter the hardships, the ups and downs, the betrayals, no matter what may come. He makes that pledge. And in Second Samuel, David acts on this covenant. He takes Mephibosheth, then he cares for him, brings him to his house.

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    And what does he say in verse 9, Bronze sisters? I do this that I might show the kindness of God to Him. David relates covenant mercies to how God works in our lives. When, sisters, and how did he show it? How did he reveal it? Not because of merit, not because it’s earned, not because of worth, but because like God, he is faithful to His Word. Like David, brothers and sisters, we are convicted to show the same.

28. 13:26

    Like David, we are bound in covenant to each other through the waters of baptism. We enter as a body of Christ this commitment, and it requires we reflect the same durable grace. You know so often that the impulse draws us to treat grace as temporary, as withdrawn in the face of failure. In our Lord we are challenged with grace that loves through struggle, as a spouse in a marriage that doesn’t look away from wrong, but is is present in consequence. Not because it’s merited, not because it’s earned, but because we are committed.

29. 13:58

    Covenant Mercy, brother and sisters, reframes grace not as something that you give to the repentant in your life, but as reaching to the broken people that are around you.

30. 14:21

    We consider the second avenue of grace and we know Brun sisters that all throughout Scripture, the the grace of God, he, he builds his relationship with man around intercession, doesn’t he? And there’s so many ways we see this Brun sisters. We see it and and Levites and kings and prophets. And it’s so common, in fact, that I think if if you’re anything like me, it’s something we take for granted, It’s a role. It’s a structure of scripture that that, that that we just intake or it’s something that because it’s so common, we we see as perhaps trivial or limit to a select few. We see brothers, sisters, it is anything but trivial and anything but limited.

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    We see this in Ezekiel 22, verse 30, where in the face of Israel’s sins, what does God say? He says I looked for an intercessor and asked for anyone, anyone among you Israel to stand in the breach and marvel. There was none anyone says God in this verse. Bron sisters. It’s the clear expectation that all of us emulate this behavior play this role for the people in our lives and there is much we could say, Bron sisters about why God’s grace values an intercessor. You know, we might think to the to the cries of Abraham for Sodom.

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    Your mind might go to the tears of Abigail. It might think to the prayers of Daniel who didn’t pull away from Israel, but he what did he say in his prayer that our brother read forgive our sins, or Nehemiah, who said of Israel’s sins, forgive our faults. And we can know that while it takes many forms, articulates different ways.

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    True intercession, brothers and sisters, is never separating from others failures. It walks with people through trial, it draws near them and failure not, not not speaking from afar. You know, we could note that in the prayers of Elijah, petitions of Jeremiah, cries of prophets who will for years intercede with no turning or sign of hope or any indication that what they do is of any benefit.

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    That true intercession, it is never one and done. It’s never just declaring a wrong and then pulling ourselves away. It’s a constant, persistent effort to be in people’s lives. But if there’s one analogy, one point that hits to the center, I think of why, of why grace responds to intercession. Brund sisters. We see it in the words of David, words spoken of Moses, words that speak to what we’ve been reading on Sinai.

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    It’s the words of Psalm 106. He says God would have destroyed us had not Moses, his chosen 1, stood in the breach. What David draws us to understand. Brund sisters and the symbolism of a breach of a city, walls that have been ripped open and an enemy is rushing to the point of vulnerability and an individual puts themselves there in the midst of that. That rushing dangerous way for everything and everyone inside, whatever that is to the person

36. 17:20

    is that at the heart of intercession is self sacrifice. It’s suffering for one another. It’s standing exposed between God and sin and saying as Moses did, if you will not forgive them, take me God. It’s saying as Paul did to an estimates, let his debt be on my account. It’s saying as David prayed, let their sin be on my account.

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    It’s saying as Abigail spoke to David, hold me responsible for my husband. True intercession. Brunsisters bears the cost of grace. It is sensitive to the quality of our God who lives by a moral order. It bears the burdens of others on our soldiers. So grace may come and if there’s any question why it’s significant run sisters, why God moves towards it, why he puts man in this position artificially throughout Scripture to try to get us to think this way. We see it in the words of Psalm 59. What does it say I look said the Lord for an intercessor. There was no one, so my own hand

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    brought salvation. What you see in this verse from the sisters is a fundamental truth about the character of who our God is, and that’s simply that He is an intercessor.

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    Romans 8 speaks in this way. The Spirit of God intercedes for the weakness of man from the moment in the garden, as God steps forward, calling out to us to start this process of restoring what was broken, at a loss to Himself, He shows us this is who He is. He relents because it emulates His sacrificial grace. Bron sisters.

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    He relents because He recognizes Himself in this action. We consider the 3rd Ave. of Grace and in so doing reflect on, you know what is perhaps the most prevalent, the most power, the most beautiful and the most challenging aspect of grace. Friend, sisters, and that’s humility.

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    Don’t we see grace and humility linked all throughout our Bibles? We we think to the words of Joel, Ren your hearts and not your garments that God may relent. We we think to Hezekiah, Lord, he prays. Remember how I walk before you with my whole heart. And God relents to Manasseh. When captured of the Assyrians sought favour with God humbling self and God relented to Ahab. Who in tears after Naboth’s death, after he he convicted that man to death, put on sackcloth weeps and what does God say?

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    See how he humbled himself before me. I will not bring disaster in his day. All throughout scripture, Brun sisters, the grace of God moves towards humility. All throughout Scripture, he relents for this quality in the heart of man. And there is much we could say, Brun sisters, much we could discuss this morning about this quality of our God.

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    We can know the extent of it. We’re in Ahab, despite the sin he had done this, the sin he would continue to do, By no means was he a reformed man after after God gave him that grace. Humility in his heart in that moment was sufficient for his grace.

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    What a powerful lesson. Bron sisters, we can note that that in that example we are challenged to do the same, to remove conditions that that man so often imposes on grace. You know, we might think to Peter and James, who both independently state that God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble. And we can reflect, brothers, sisters, that that where pride is, grace cannot be.

45. 21:19

    And not because it isn’t there, not because the hand of God doesn’t extend it, but because pride lies to us. Pride blinds us to seeing we’ve needed. Pride makes us the latest IANS who said in their heart, I am rich, lacking in nothing, not realizing, says Christ, you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind and naked.

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    Pride makes you the Pharisee in Christ’s parable who said in their hearts, thank God I am not as that Sinner we think to the words of Christ to Nicodemus Bruns sisters. God so love to the world he gave his son. That is the unmeasurable depth of grace quality of his character he extends to man. The only thing that can keep you from that, Bruns sisters, is ourselves.

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    But if there’s one thing, one singular reason, grace draws to humility, Bronze sisters, I suggest we see it in the words on our screen. These are the words of David, the words of Psalm 51. What does he say of his God? This is a quality he came to know intricately of God. Behold, you delight in inward truth.

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    What David touches on brothers, sisters, and that statement is a repeated, fundamental, central understanding and knowing what grace means to God. And that’s simply that all throughout Scripture it is granted on substance and not image. All throughout Scripture. Bruns sisters, we see that lesson, don’t we? God emphasizes this meshes of grace given not from from partiality, not for appearance, not for external merit, but to those who’ve recognized in themselves a need for it, those who desire. We see it in the task collector of Luke 7 who goes justify before God rather than the Pharisee. We see it in that that woman before Simon who when no one in that room thought her deserving of grace. Christ says your heart has made you worthy, your desire makes you worthy of this character of God. Your sins are forgiven and she goes justified before God rather than the the seemingly righteous Pharisee. Grace is given, brothers and sisters, to those who ask and what we see in this aspect of grace. Is the greatest challenge to man’s concept of grace Brains, sisters.

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    Because you see, even at our best, we attach conditions to grace, don’t we? I give grace when I feel safe or appreciated. You know, I, I, I, I give grace when, when somebody apologized for their wrong, I showed grace because I thought that that brother or sister was of good repute. So, so they warrant it because surely the righteous merit and the unrighteous don’t.

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    What’s implied in that thinking, brothers, sisters, is that grace is something to be earned. Many in our Bibles wrestled and struggled in that perception to reserving grace for the for the deserving. The Pharisees resented Christ for this, for showing grace to the to the undeserving. The elder brother of the prodigal son resented grace shown his brother considering it undeserving.

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    What did he say all these years? I’ve slaved for you, he said to his father, and you didn’t give me anything. I earned it. He didn’t.

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    Laborers in the vineyard resented grace given those who came later, because surely they they didn’t earn it as I did. It’s all too often brother, sisters, we think the same.

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    Why grace shouldn’t go to that neighbor down the street? Why? Why shouldn’t go to this, this brother or sister in the ecclesia? Because I acted right. I made the right calls in life. They didn’t they, they didn’t, they didn’t live as as pious, as as righteous as I did. They didn’t take the Scriptures as seriously as me. So often we see grace like Jonah. Who could accept it for those he deemed worthy himself, his people, the the things he loved?

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    Surely they were certainly they were deserving in the mercy of God. Surely not the wicked Gentile. Surely they don’t deserve God’s grace. That is why I made haste to flee. He says he indicts himself as this being his problem. In their examples, Brothers Sisters is a warning that grace can be something we grow to resent.

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    It’s a warning that this life can mean that that grace can be an enigma to those who don’t show it. It can be offensive when we don’t understand it.

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    And it’s this very concept of undeserved grace from sisters that that will bring us to the final point that the last avenue of of why grace is is granted in the records of Scripture. And we see it in the words of Daniel, the words our our brother read of Chapter 9, where in a moment of intercession, in a moment where the scriptures proclaimed to Daniel that that the return of the Exiles was imminent.

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    What does he say? How does he petition God? He says do this, Lord, not because we are righteous, not because it has been earned, but because you are merciful.

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    What Daniel forces us to reconcile Bron sisters is that while God might relent in Scripture because of covenants, while he inclined his ear for intercessors, and he will comfort the humble in the honesty of their hearts, the Amazing Grace of God is that none of these actions, Bron sisters, ever earn you His grace.

59. 27:12

    None of these things that we’ve considered does anything to make you deserving of it. He is gracious because this is who He is. I knew you were gracious, says Moses. I am God and not man, so I relent, he said to Hosea, who is like you, pardoning iniquity and passing transgression, writes Micah.

60. 27:27

    I am merciful and gracious to the thousandth, he said of Moses. This, brothers and sisters, is the wellspring from which all grace flows. When God says to Moses and Exodus, I am gracious to who I will be gracious, what he’s not saying is is my grace is arbitrary. Moses. He’s saying in every case it is free, unmerited, unearned.

61. 27:54

    Grace is the prerogative of goblin sisters. This is the aspect of grace that challenges us to forgive as He has forgiven us. This is the end of Class 2, the God of all grace. Now this is the start of class 3, the God of all justice. Now we’ve talked this morning on many things about this, this merciful quality of God.

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    Brothers and sisters, we, we noted the, the loyalty and steadfastness of it. We talked about grace through, through intercessors, how how he responds because it mirrors his character and his selflessness and his compassion. We, we spoke of humility, how it allows for grace and and reflects God’s desire for sincerity over partiality. But Bronn sisters, we’ll, we’ll, we’ll close our thoughts on two points 2 fundamental things when it comes to understanding this relenting character of our God. The 1st is that learning to accept grace is crucial. Yeah, that that that might sound like the easy part. Brothers and sisters, it is far from easy. It is so easy to impart punishment on ourselves. So it’s so easy to when we have, we have done wrong, condemn ourselves, do it and, and let the, the, the weight of those wrongs, those sins weigh us down in like keep us inactive from, from showing the character of God or whatever pit of sin we’re in.

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    Think this is surely too far from God’s standard and, and, and retribution will come and, and that this was too great a mistake and, and surely God won’t let it slide. What does Christ say to the Pharisee of Luke 18? Brother and sisters Who loved me more? Simon? The one forgiven much or little?

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    Our capacity to accept the depths of God’s grace between sisters? It is directly related to our relationship with God. Directly related to how much you will be willing to give others. In His words, we are reminded if you only accept a little little, you will only give a little. In his words, we are reminded that to to be accepting of grace is to learn how to give it. We’re reminded that we only love because he first showed us how to love.

65. 30:41

    But the final point we’ll note are in the words of Paul. Do you presume? Oh, man, you who practice evil, that you will escape the justice of God. Or do you presume on the riches of his forbearance, not understanding, he says, that grace was meant to lead you to repentance. You know, I find it interesting, brothers and sisters, that often when somebody might talk a little bit too much about grace, there’s a common response.

66. 31:09

    And I’m guilty of this. It’s it’s well, what about truth as if you can have one without the other. You know, I’m not trying to be dismissive of that. Bron sisters Again, I’m a person who said that myself. But in that is a misperception because that’s coming from a mischaracterization of grace as tolerance or a blank check you received in moments of wrong That that that must be balanced with this other part of of truth of God’s character.

67. 31:37

    What Paul highlights in that statement, Bron sisters, in that verse is the fundamental challenge to that premise that grace is never the end of truth, nor is that the absence of of responsibility, nor does it begin when the law of God ends. Grace is not tolerance, it is mercy leading us to righteousness. Bron sisters, all throughout Scripture, God implores us to see this message.

68. 32:02

    We see it in Peter spoken to of Christ God. Christ gives him grace to build him to something better. Paul giving grace to build him to an instrument of God. Samson giving grace to do with it what he could never hope to do without it. Grace is not God overlooking sin, Brun sisters, it is his tool of instruction.

69. 32:22

    It’s overcoming sin by showing us a better way, and then he expects us to walk in it. And that means, Brun sisters, once it’s given, it is never something you leave behind, not a doormat where you walk over and you you wipe your feet clean and you walk inside and and leave its effects in the past.

70. 32:38

    It is something we live with. Paul speaks this way in Romans, where one’s sin reign to death. Even so, grace must reign in us to eternal life. It rains in me, says Paul.

71. 32:54

    It is like a king over me. It, it, it rules everything about who I am, how I think, how I treat others, how I speak about truth. It is not something passive. It is active always. He writes the same in Romans 6. I am not under law, I am under grace. He writes the same in Romans 5, verse 20.

72. 33:10

    Grace reigns in me through righteousness. If we can do that, run the sisters. If you can conceive of grace in this way, it will do some powerful things. Titus 2 verse 11 reads For the grace of God that bringeth salvation to all man hath appeared to man, teaching us to deny ungodliness, that you might live godly lives. Grace, brothers and sisters, teaches you. It’ll teach you to be Paul, who could say by grace I am the person that I am and not in vain. It wasn’t given as something transient in passing, but it made me labour more abundantly.

73. 33:52

    It’ll teach you that that despite your mistakes, the things you’ve done, the things you’ve struggled to forgive yourself for, you are worthy in the eyes of God and you can have endurance and grace that you could not give yourself. It’ll teach you to be Isaiah, who in seeing the awesome righteous truth of God and his might and power, realizing his sins before him, but in the words of God, your sins are forgiven, stands up and goes into Israel.

74. 34:18

    It’ll teach you to be the same, to be strong in grace. It’ll teach you peace and your relationship with God. Bren sisters, that you can draw boldly to the throne of grace, knowing it is always present and it will always settle you in moments of failure. It’ll make you as all those throughout Scripture who quoted the words of Exodus 34 brothers.

75. 34:41

    Sisters who recognized that turning point of Scripture and lived and hoped because no matter the uncertainties of life, no matter whatever chaos would be around them, they knew that God was always merciful. It’ll make you David, who in despairing at the world that Santas destruction, took hope. And what does he say in Psalm 86?

76. 35:03

    You, Lord, are merciful, slow to anger, and abounding and steadfast love and faithfulness. It’ll make you Joel, who hoped in hopeless days that his people would turn to God and was convicted every day in their failure to do that yet and still implored them with the reminders of God’s character. He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in love. It’ll make you the authors of Lamentation. Brothers, Sisters who’s standing in the rubbles of Jerusalem would say, even here, Lord, I know you are merciful and abounding in love.

77. 35:44

    We and brothers and sisters, on the words of Peter, words that encompass the power, the care and the transformation of God’s Amazing Grace that has changed the lives of countless others and is being presented to you. You have suffered a little while, says Peter. And indeed we do, brothers and sisters, we live in a flawed world as flawed people.

78. 36:13

    But the God of all grace is calling you to his eternal glory in Christ. And he will himself, through that grace restore, establish, strengthen and settle you. To him be dominion forever and ever, says Peter.

79. 36:34

    Amen. Our world cries for justice, doesn’t it? We? We see this outcry practically everywhere we look. We see it in protests over world events decrying destruction of nature and and deaths of innocence. We we see it in depravity of the impoverished. We see it in cases of corruption and and abuses of power, Brun sisters. We see it in in out cries against lawlessness, oppression of power imbalances, governments to citizens, countries to other countries.

80. 37:19

    You have husbands to wives, you have civil and social injustice. And Brun sisters and seeing these things and witnessing this world around us, well, maybe not personal to us. It, it certainly feels personal. There are certainly moments where you see, we, we see injustice and it sits in our stomach. It, it weighs in our heart.

81. 37:38

    In fact, huge portions of society are built around alleviating that feeling. You, you have unions, you have law firms, you have you have political parties, rightly or wrongly, all capitalizing on man’s desire for justice. And this fixation, this drive in the heart of man to enforce right in the face of wrong justice and face of injustice, that is nothing new. Brothers and sisters, I thought you could go to the earliest records of humanity, to the earliest societies of humanity and see man aspiring for justice. In fact, one of the oldest samples of writing ever found, a stone pulled from the deserts of Iran in 1901, is 500 lines etched in stone dedicated exclusively to the enforcement of justice.

82. 38:34

    It declares justice to the poor, justice to the impoverished, retribution for the wrong. And it is thousands of years old. And in seeing these things, Bren sisters and every form of society and witnessing in ourselves, we have to reconcile one thing.

83. 38:54

    And that’s that justice is biological. You know, as many of you have come to find Rose and I have a little 7 month girl who’s been floating around the hall today.

84. 39:11

    And right about this stage of her development, she’s, she’s starting to form a, a, a sense of right and wrong. You know, developmental psychologists, they, they know this, that children as young as six months of age, they begin to show signs of moral intuition. They respond to helpful puppets over harmful ones, that they show distress in the face of unfair treatment. Children ages three to five act on this sense of fairness. I’m still waiting for that for my 3 year old. But so I’ve been told they, they, they begin practicing equal sharing.

85. 39:45

    They begin enforcing rules and games, even to their detriment. And all this for all this Brun sisters to a very simple, very purposeful, powerful understanding and an important one. And that’s that God is placed in the heart of man, a quality central to who he who he is. And it is this unwavering character of our God, Brun sisters, His commitment to justice, what it means to him, how he will use it, how it relates to his grace.

86. 40:18

    That we’re going to be considering this afternoon. Come with me to Deuteronomy 32. You see, our God is a God of justice, Brunt sisters, and we can note this in many different ways throughout our Bibles. We can see it in the the holding of Israel to an account. He gives them this law, cast them out into the nations because they transgress it.

87. 40:49

    Well, there’s perhaps no better place to get a sense of just how how intimately justice relates to the heart of God than than the words of Exodus 32. And we think of that for a moment, Brunt sisters, because we identified that that that is really a turning point in our Bibles. We reflected that that when Moses this morning was given there, it’s not just a a proclamation of God’s name.

88. 41:13

    What’s given wasn’t just a a passing description of our God. It was the character of God that would always guide his hand with man. And that’s what we have there, Bruin sisters. It is a blueprint for how God will work in our lives. And what did we see in verse 6? He will be a God gracious to the thousands, he said.

89. 41:31

    But Moses, by no means will I clear the guilty. Our God, brothers and sisters, is unequivocably a God of justice, one who holds a moral order, one to whom accountability matters, one who will never ignore our turn from injustice. And not only do we witness that there, brothers, sisters, but that resonates all throughout Scripture. That’s a basic tenant of all our Bibles. We see it in Isaiah.

90. 42:01

    I, the Lord, love justice and hate robbery. We see it in the words of David. You Lord, maintain the cause of afflicted and execute justice. We see it in the Psalms. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne. And we see it, brothers and sisters, and the words of Deuteronomy 32, the words of verse 4.

91. 42:20

    What does Moses say? All your ways are perfect, and all your ways just all your ways. In other words, there is nothing he says in the character of our God that will ever compromise his pursuit of justice. Now, now I don’t know about you brothers sisters, but that makes me start to feel a bit uncomfortable.

92. 42:53

    God won’t compromise his pursuit of justice. You know, maybe that’s OK if that’s that’s how he treats the the truly abhorrent things of this world and and maybe the other sinners down the road. But but what if that’s how he treats me? Not exactly a devotional thought this this afternoon, is it Because you know, when I when I start to dwell on this character of Godburn sisters, my mind goes to passages like Deuteronomy 32, verse 41, some of the other verses we see in this chapter. What does it say?

93. 43:20

    I, the Lord, sharpen my sword. My hand stretches to justice. I take vengeance on adversaries. I repay those who hate me. I make my arrows drunk with their blood. My sword devours and takes vengeance. And in reading these things and seeing moments of God’s justice, well, I walk away with a fearful assessment of our God.

94. 43:45

    I fear as justice, as call the mechanical. I fear it in the face of my faults. I fear it where if I’m making mistakes, I will wait sometimes years for the day I’m made to pay for them. You know, it is so easy to judge ourselves on that concept of justice. I did it, so I deserve it.

95. 44:08

    It’s easy because that’s how man perceives justice from sisters that that that’s how we practice it. You see, our society practices retribute of justice. Somebody does you wrong, you can pay them in kind.

96. 44:24

    Isn’t that the premise for which all justice is found? You know, we phrase, we use phrases in society like like punishment should fit the crime, or if you do the crime, you do the time because surely the moment justice is met is the moment we get even. But it’s so important. We ask ourselves, brothers, sisters, is that all that justice means to God? Is that how he judges us?

97. 44:50

    Is that what he expects in our judgments of others? Come with me to Genesis chapter 3. And we refresh ourselves in this chapter, brothers and sisters,

98. 45:16

    because you see here in the face of man’s first sin, the face of the first moment of justice that was ever to be enforced in this world, we we see something really important. That’s that’s worth noting because what do we see in verse 19? God says to dust, you are to dust you’ll return. He holds himself to be a God of truth. He helds into account the wages of sin were death. He delivers it.

99. 45:39

    But before he even pronounces that judgement, brothers and sisters, before justice has ever executed, what does he say in verse 15? The seed of the woman will crush that serpent. In other words, the first moment of justice, the the first moment of retribution, of, excuse me, of justice. It’s framed in the context of future restoration. Paul in Romans 8 speaks exactly to what we’re noting here. In fact, he he highlights the same thing he writes in verse 20.

100. 46:14

     Creation was subjected to frustration. The justice of God delivered not to anger, not to vindictiveness, not to get even, but in hope, He says judgement was made that hope could come to man. That’s how God, brother and sisters, chose to execute the first moment of justice. And this dynamic that we see all the way, the beginning of our Bibles, brother and sisters in the garden of a justice that led man to hope. That’s a blueprint of all the judgements of God throughout Scripture.

101. 46:51

     We see it in Hebrews when speaking to the effects of guns. Chastening. It’s written for a moment. All this discipline is painful. Later it yields the fruit of righteousness. We see it in Revelation, The words of Christ, the latest he are those I love. I discipline, He says so that so that you may be found waiting for me, that you might have hope.

102. 47:10

     We see it in the words of Jeremiah, where in the dark years of Israel’s captivity. What does God say? I brought you to this state. I subject you to these things that you might have hope. What a contradiction brought in, sisters. What a contradiction that seems to us that that justice is a means to a better end for the offender. We see this in the words of Ezekiel 11. This is a powerful thing for and sister Ezekiel 11 and Speaking of times to come and Speaking of a day of judgement and justice to come to this world.

103. 47:43

     What does he say in verse 8? I will bring the sword to you, Israel. I will deliver you up to nations. I will bring my justice to verse 19 for the intent of putting a new heart in you that I might restore you to me says God. That’s our keyword, Brun sisters restoration. You see, in contrast to this justice of man, a justice rooted in retribution, the justice of God aims for restoration. Come with me to Romans Chapter 11. You see, Paul draws us deeper into how closely related these two qualities are justice and and restoration. In fact, he elaborates further on this this pattern we witnessed brothers and sisters of of writing of the judgments of Israel.

104. 48:43

     How does he describe it? What does he say? He says justice is given, verse 22, that goodness might come to you. Justice is executed, says Paul. That greater restoration comes in this world for Gentiles. Behold, he says, the goodness and severity of God. You see, brothers and sisters, Paul pairs these two qualities together, not something isolated from each other, not something in contrast to each other, not severity forsake of severity.

105. 49:19

     It is severity forsake of his grace. In Paul’s words, we are drawn to the fundamental understanding that the justice of God and the grace of God work together.

106. 49:42

     And you see, well, Paul emphasizes this aspect of of God’s justice in in the judgement of Israel. Brothers and sisters, don’t we see the goodness and severity of God all throughout our Bibles? Don’t we see it in the condemnation of Egypt, which through their judgement brought restoration to his people and a witness to all nations?

107. 50:04

     Don’t don’t we see it in Samson, who by the grace of God’s justice lost his eyes that it might restore his heart? Don’t we see it in Paul’s own life, who by the grace of God’s justice, lost his eyes to restore his heart? Don’t we see it in David, who by the grace of God’s justice, he’s confronted with Nathan to restore his heart time and again? The judgement of God.

108. 50:26

     Brothers, sisters, it is executed never in contrast to His grace. But it’s an Ave. for it. It is always executed with the purpose of restoration.

109. 50:51

     But as I say that justice aims to restore. Well, brothers and sisters, if you’re like me, you, you might instinctively think to, to how that’s not the case.

110. 51:02

     Because if you’re like me, these traits are something, you know, diametrically opposed. These are two characters of God that are, that are two sides of a coin where, you know, once God runs out of his mercy, then justice comes to replace it, or once you’ve exercised enough mercy, now justice falls. In fact, it’s so abrasive what we’re discussing by the sisters, the things that we’re noting that that some theologians that go back to the cases of of Exodus 34, they see the qualities of God’s character revealed to man and they say surely it’s been altered. That can’t be what the original text says because because surely these things aren’t compatible.

111. 51:36

     But what we see in these examples is the fundamental truth. Truth, brothers, sisters, one quality never forsakes the other. All your ways are just, said Moses, Psalm 25, verse 4 to 10. Show me thy way, says David. Teach me thy paths. All the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth. There is never a moment when God’s grace is sacrificed for his justice or His justice diminished by grace.

112. 52:05

     He redeems through judgement. He will punish sin in ways that make mercy possible. And, brothers and sisters, we see that even in places that’s hard to find.

113. 52:26

     We think to the law in which we have verses like Exodus 2124, which advocate an eye for an eye or maybe Numbers 3531. Maybe you think to that it advocates a life for a life. And you know, we might think, isn’t this God teaching us retribute of justice? But even in that law, brothers, sisters, that law, which was never the sum of of what justice meant to God. Paul calls it only a shadow of what he’s trying to accomplish in this world.

114. 52:54

     Even that shadow glimpses God’s justice. We see it in cities of refuge. Justice demanded life for a life, but given a chance that, that if a person reached that they could live, that they could, they could reform themselves. We, we, we see it in laws of, of thievery. The offender wasn’t just supposed to pay back what they owed, they were supposed to pay back extra to restore relationship.

115. 53:17

     We see it in the days of Jubilee and which is enshrined in the law every 50 years. A moment of restoration, of slaves, of debts, where relationships are restored between God and man. We sit in the Ark, Brothers, sisters, in which contains the law of God. And what’s it surrounded by? A seat of mercy, a symbol of grace and truth that are harmonized.

116. 53:39

     These are moments that allow people to see beyond the letter and glimpse Gaunts desire of man to understand the law, not as as punishment forsake of punishment, not not as punishment to get even or a box to be checked, but as correction leading to restoration. For that reason the prophets could write as Hosea. Did you desire love and not sacrifice and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings?

117. 54:12

     Or reflect as David wrote, sacrifice and burnt offerings you do not desire, but a broken and contrite heart or right is in the Proverbs. To show mercy and justice

118. 54:26

     pleases God more than sacrifice. And there’s so many other things that we could note about the justice of our Auburn sisters. You know, we, we, we might relate it to his faithfulness. You know, we read in Deuteronomy 32 that what does it say? All his ways are perfect and just. A God of faithfulness. And we can mention that his justice is a reflection of faithfulness and commitment to truth. Hath he spoken and shall not he make good reads? Numbers 23.

119. 55:01

     This is a God who remembers his promises, who defends those he loves, who holds guilt to account, those who persecuted and harmed and use the ways of this cursed world for selfish gains. God says, I will not let that go. I will hold it to account. And I don’t know about you Brun sisters, but I don’t think we’d have it any other way. We could mention that there are times when justice falls in different ways for the same offense. You know, we we see this particularly in in Nineveh versus the account of Second Chronicles 28 verse 6. Both cases, there’s a city of 120,000 people. Both commit the the the fault before God of idolatry 1 spared the other put to the sword.

120. 55:53

     And we might look at that brother and sisters and say, you know, isn’t that isn’t that inconsistency in it is another powerful truth of the justice of God, and that’s that it is never one-size-fits-all the just the justice of God fits the individual. I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, he says, and give each according to their ways.

121. 56:13

     No2 hearts are the same, brothers and sisters, No2 judgements are the same. And because of this we can have confidence that in our God’s wisdom he will not break us, nor injustice give us more than we can bear. A bruised Reed he will not break, writes Isaiah. A burning Wick he will not quench, yet he will faithfully

122. 56:38

     bring forth justice. We could also note that at times justice certainly looks retributive. And I think of this brother and sisters, my mind went to the words of the author, CS Lewis and he won’t wrote once wrote this curious thing. It stuck in my mind. He he said that there’s essentially two types of people in this world. Those who say to God, thy will be, thy will be done. And those to whom God says thy will be done. What CS Lewis is observing, brothers, sisters, is that while the justice of God seeks restoration far past the patience and endurance of man will, it will always honor human choice.

123. 57:43

     Hasn’t God framed service to him in this way? I’ve set before you life and death, he says. When, when giving the law, choose life and live. Our God desires relationships, brothers and sisters, not something forced, not something coerced or mechanical. If somebody knowingly, persistently, and purposely rejects God’s love, light and truth and judgement, falls.

124. 58:03

     Brunch sisters, and not out of cruelty. Ezekiel writes, I take no pleasure in deaths of the wicked, says the Lord, but it falls because that person becomes incompatible with a greater restoration being accomplished in our world. And when that happens, brothers and sisters, the judgments of God take two effects and we see it in the words of Malachi, the words of chapter 4, words of justice to come to this world. What does he say in verse one?

125. 58:29

     Behold, the day of fire comes of judgement, which will burn the arrogant and evil doers as stubble, and I will leave them neither root nor branch. Yet for those who fear my name,

126. 58:47

     that same fire will be as the Sun of Righteousness that rises with healing in its wings. The justice of God can either restore us in grace for the sisters or by the hardening of our hearts, we break ourselves on it.

127. 59:20

     In our time this afternoon, we’ve considered a few things, brothers and sisters, on this character of God. We, we, we considered that he is rooted in justice, not neglecting wrong. We considered that that despite this desire, his justice, it’s never in spite of Grace Bran sisters, but working with it when aimed for our restoration, when working good to those who love him, when, when relational and adaptive to our needs. And now, brothers and sisters,

128. 59:53

     we’ll consider what this means for us. And there is much we could say on that, couldn’t we? We could reflect that as mentioned in the beginning, God, God put justice in our hearts and and he does that because as said in the beginning, he made man in his image He desired. We reflect this character we think to his words I’ve chosen you Abraham and your children that they may do justice.

129. 1:00:20

     We think of the words of Micah 6 verse 8 do justice, love mercy and walk before God and in these words, Bran sisters is a simple essential lesson that God’s character. This is where the things considered this morning. It’s never something we just understand.

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     It’s something that we live knowing. God is a call to action, to live these qualities and who we are. To restore the hearts of people as God seeks to restore them. To care for those as God would seek to care for them. To see those who are suffering as a result of this cursed earth and treat man as God would treat them.

131. 1:00:56

     But we have to acknowledge that in our desire to emulate God’s justice, there are times that we fall far short of it. Times were unlike God, we take satisfaction in our in our punishment of others. Times we forget the the root of justice isn’t vengeance, it’s correction leading to restoration. Times where unlike God, our justice doesn’t really account for how we’re going to restore the offender. We’re unlike our God, it doesn’t account for circumstance or or individual.

132. 1:01:34

     And in our carelessness, we break the weak and an anger drive out the vulnerable. The challenge for believers is to create safe spaces and our ecclesias for broken people

133. 1:01:50

     without lowering God’s standard of holiness. The challenge for believers is to speak truth in love, to enforce God’s Word, but always in a spirit of mercy so that it may never be said of us. As was written long ago, justice is without mercy to one who had no mercy. The challenge for believers is to remember that a community without justice is lost, and a community without grace is cruel. The standard we strive for are the words of Hosea 12. Hold fast to justice and love and wait for your God. But the final thing we’ll note

134. 1:02:48

     is that while we might understand this, brother and sisters, while we might grasp everything we’ve just discussed that the the the judgements of God aim to restore you. That does not mean that it is easy or when you are in darkness that that you’re always going to see that that light of understanding. You know, as I was thinking to this, my thought went to a speech I once heard.

135. 1:03:13

     I didn’t hear it. I read it by Abraham Lincoln. In fact, it was his second inaugural address, and he wrote this in 1865. And the context was was quite dark for him personally. You see, over the course of that, that long struggle of a nation, he increasingly came to see the conflict he presided over as an act of God’s justice.

136. 1:03:45

     And he was trying to articulate why it had to happen, why so many fathers could not come home, why so many children would now be orphaned. Why, why, why the nation had to suffer for these things. And he was lost in the only thing he could comfort. The only place he turned was this passage of the Psalms. The judgments of the Lord are righteous and true. Sometimes you will not understand the justice of Godfrey and sisters.

137. 1:04:22

     Sometimes the only comfort you will have is knowing that all things come from his hand and that he works good to those who love him. And sometimes that is enough to give you the strength of David, where after living through the unimaginable, he could stand in belief of God’s character that we’ve been reflecting on and say as he did in the Psalms in Psalm 51, I sinned. That whatever God does to me, he might be just. It makes you Abraham.

138. 1:04:54

     And who moments of uncertainty could cry out in conviction. Will not the judge of all the earth do what is? Just as I was thinking to this from the sisters, my mind went to this sculpture on the screen. Several years ago. I had the the privilege of seeing a full reproduction of it. In fact, it’s a work of Michelangelo. And as I looked at it, I was immediately struck by two things.

139. 1:05:19

     The first is that the subject matter is immensely dark. It’s the artist’s imagination of a moment after the cross in which Mary would have, for a brief moment, held the broken body of her child. It is a depiction of a mother holding her crucified son. The second thing that struck me

140. 1:05:50

     is that it is immensely beautiful, bruh. And sisters of mortal man, in all of our failings, can create something so beautiful from something so tragic.

141. 1:06:09

     What can God not do in the darkest moments of our lives? What what beauty can he not pull from tragedy? What peace can he not salvage from our chaos? Oh, the depths and riches and wisdom of our God, wrote the psalmist. How unsearchable His justice and inscrutable His ways. Brothers and sisters and our time Tomorrow we will continue our reflections of the God that Habakkuk writes and wrath remembers.

142. 1:06:39

     Mercy, our God. As Isaiah records in chapter 29, when His justice is in the earth, the inhabitants learn righteousness. We will consider how we live in the tension of these character traits, how we manifest this quality of God and who we are, the pitfalls of it, And we will bring our minds to the reflection of our God’s perfect character, embodied in the glory of his Son.

143. 1:07:21

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