SEVEN CARDINAL VIRTUES
JUSTICE
DR. JIM DIXON
JULY 22, 1990
MICAH 6:6-8
What happens to people after death? The Bible tells us that there are only two eternal destinies. There’s heaven and there’s hell. There are people who feel that this is a little too black and white. There’s a lot of people who wonder if this is entirely just. Certain liberal theologians have come up with the doctrine of universalism which teaches that ultimately nobody is going to be in hell. Ultimately everybody is going to be in heaven. To these liberal theologians, this seems just. Other theologians for the same reason have come up with a doctrine of annihilation. This doctrine teaches that at death the wicked are simply annihilated. They cease to exist because it doesn’t seem just to these theologians that even the wicked should have to suffer eternally.
Roman Catholic theologians have come up with a doctrine of purgatory because it seems just to them that most Christians should have to suffer at least a little bit before they get into heaven, spend a little time in the penalty box before they can skate the ice, little agony before the ecstasy. And for the same reason some Roman Catholic theologians have come up with the doctrine of limbo, which teaches that ultimately some people will spend eternity in neither heaven nor hell, but they’ll spend eternity in another place called limbo from the Latin limbus, which means border or between. Babies who die in infancy without having being baptized, adults who live and die never having heard the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. It seems just to these theologians that these people spend eternity in limbo, not qualifying for heaven, but not deserving of hell.
We live in a world where theologians, men and women, are very much concerned with the justice of God. Is God just? Everybody wants to know that God’s eternal judgments are going to be just. They want to know whether his judgements are going to be fair. The Bible tells us God is just. God is utterly just and you can trust that. The Bible tells us we need to be more concerned with our own justice. The real question we ought to be asking is are we just? Are you just? Am I just?
I have two teachings this morning and these two teachings concern the definition of a just person. First of all, a just person is a righteous person. The Greek word for just in the Bible is the word dikaios. Dikaios is sometimes translated as just, and righteous. It’s a legal term and it means innocent with respect to the law.
In the year 1645, a man was born in Scotland. His name was William Kidd. He died in 1701. He was a famous Scottish pirate. In fact, he’s one of the most famous pirates our world has ever known. But there are some people, some historians who question whether William Kidd was really a pirate at all. William Kidd lived for a time in Colonial America in the city of New York. He was a respected trader and sea captain. It was in 1695 that King William III of England commissioned William Kidd giving him the title Privateer. A privateer was the captain of an armed ship. William Kidd was commissioned to capture pirates and to seize their stolen bounty. William Kidd set out Early in 1696 with his own ship and with a handpicked crew.
As he was in the Atlantic, he was met by a British warship who took part of his crew. British warships had that right when they lacked crew. William Kidd needed more men. He came to the city of New York to recruit some additional men from New York’s pirate infested population. And in September of 1696, William Kidd was ready to go again. He set sail across the Atlantic near the coast of Africa and defeated two French ships, sinking them. This was perfectly legal because England and France were often at war.
Next, William Kidd took his ship to Madagascar and went across the sea to the West Indies. In the West Indies, William Kidd discovered that in England he had been declared a pirate. He was astounded. He made his way north to Gardiner Island, near New York City and there it was said he buried his treasures of gold, silver, and Indian artifacts. Some people say the treasure is still there today. William Kidd made his way to New York City where he turned himself in, proclaiming his innocence. William Kidd was sent back to London, England, and there he was tried for piracy and was accused of five acts of piracy. To this day, nobody knows for sure whether William Kidd committed any acts of piracy. We know this. He was not allowed legal counsel evidence that he wanted to use was deemed inadmissible. And William Kidd was convicted as a pirate and he was hanged on May 23rd, 1701. His body was left to rot near the Thames River in the city of London as a warning to men and women throughout England that they must obey the law.
The life of William Kidd became famous through legend and myth and the Ballad of Captain Kidd was sung all over the world. Robert Lewis Stevenson wrote that famous book, Treasure Island, basing it on the life of William Kidd. But you see William Kid until the moment of his in of his death insisted that he was innocent. And his final words to that British court were these words, “I am a just man.” What did William Kidd mean when he said, “I am a just man?” He meant that with respect to the English law, he was innocent. He meant that he did not violate the English law. In fact, he meant that he obeyed the English law. He was righteous under the English law. He was just.
God only knows whether William Kidd was just, but you see, biblically God wants us to understand that if you are to be just, you must be innocent under God’s law. If you are to be just, you must be righteous with respect to the law of God. If you are to be just, you cannot violate the law of God. If you are just, then you obey every detail of the law of God. That’s a problem. Nobody’s just, nobody’s righteous, nobody has perfectly obeyed the laws of God. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. There’s no none righteous, no, not one. And yet the Bible says there is one, our Lord Jesus Christ. He is just. He alone is righteous. He alone perfectly obeyed the laws of God. He alone is innocent under the law. That is why the Bible calls Jesus Christ, “The Just.”
Here’s the amazing truth of scripture. If you would be a just person, if you would be a righteous person, it can happen through Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ has fulfilled all the requirements of justice. He obeyed the law perfectly as justice requires. He paid the penalty for the sin of the world as justice required. And now the Bible says, if you would come to him, if you would come to Jesus Christ and you would admit that you are a sinner and you would repent of your sin and you would say, “Lord Jesus, come and sit on the throne of my heart. I want to live for you.” If you would say, “Lord Jesus, I trust you as my savior from sin, you died for me.” If you would believe in him as Lord and Savior, you will be justified. You will be declared innocent in the courtroom of heaven. Your sin will be removed as far as the east is from the west. You would be washed whiter than snow. You would become a just person just through Jesus Christ.
We have a lot of members here at Cherry Hills Community Church. There’s not any of you here today who know all the members. Even not all of us on staff, know all members. Hopefully each of you know a few members. There’s one member of this church that none of you know. His name is Richard Ryan. He’s never seen any of you because he’s in federal prison, convicted of murder. He’s written a letter to you, the congregation. I rarely do anything like this, but He asked that his letter be read and I feel led to read it to you. Listen very closely.
“The reason this is being read to you rather than my being present is because I’m serving a life sentence in the Mississippi Department of Corrections for committing a murder while in a drug-demented state of mind. My story’s not a pretty one. Life is often not pretty. I shall share briefly what it was that life unfolded for me. I had it all – a fine home, my own television show, nice cars, a wonderful family, and friends that few of us are ever privileged enough to enjoy. Yet none of it was enough. There remained a void that could not be filled with any amount of wealth, power, or prestige. It was an emptiness that ate like a cancer, slowly eroding my heart, festering a bitterness and anger that would not even with the finest the world had to offer go away. The only time I could even face myself in the mirror was when I was either high on cocaine or stone drunk. So my drinking and drug abuse became a common occurrence.
“Eventually the cocaine abuse got the best of me. And within three months from taking my first bit of cocaine, I sat in a jail cell facing the death sentence for murder. What is even worse, however, was that I really did want the state to take my life for I was too much of a coward to do it myself. So I waited. On November 7th, 1986, while sitting in that jail cell, I decided no longer to wait on the state to carry out what I thought surely would be a speedy justice. At about 2:00 AM, I got up from the steel cot, retrieved a razor blade I had hidden earlier and decided not to be anymore.
“God, however, did not see it that way. As I raised the razor to my wrist, the images of my beautiful daughter shimmered before me. And then in the words that were almost audible, I heard, “Is this the way you want Brittany to remember her daddy?” I fell face down on the floor crying and screaming, “I hate you, God. How could you allow this to happen to me?” Somehow in my sick and addicted mind, I blamed God for all that had befallen me. Yet with each tear that fell from my face, I could feel the pain and bitterness dissolving like dust in a rainstorm. After about 20 minutes of this, I soon found myself saying, “God, I need you. I need you.”
“God heard my cry came into my life through Jesus Christ. I was saved, not just from the death penalty, not just from my addictions, not just from myself, I was saved from all eternity. Since coming to know Christ, He’s blessed me in many truly amazing ways. One of those blessings was Him leading me to write to Tom Melton.” (Tom is our Pastor of Congregational Life). “Over the two years that we have been corresponding, God made me increasingly aware that he wanted me to become a member of Cherry Hills Community Church.
“At first I argued with God for it seemed like such a silly idea. I mean, after all, I could not attend any of the services. I couldn’t meet any of you. I surely had nothing to offer in the way of serving. So what good would it do for me to join? I wrestled with that question and with God for nearly a year before I wrote to Tom and expressed my desire to join. Surprisingly, Tom thought it was a great idea. I thought when I wrote and told him what was on my mind, that he would think I was crazy, but apparently God knew what he was doing. Since joining, I have felt more and more like I belong. As funny as this may sound it was kind of like coming home.
“Although I feel good about being a member of the body of believers at Cherry Hills Community Church, I was still troubled over just how to serve both God and the church as a whole when I’m in prison and so many miles separated from you. Well, perhaps God will take this letter as a small offering, an indication that I’m willing to help in any way I can. Also, I write up a monthly newsletter which I’ll gladly share with each of you. If you would like to get on the list, you only need to contact the church office.
“I recently received the directory of Cherry Hill’s members. As I leafed through the pages, God spoke to me—not like in some Cecil B. DeMille movie, but in the quiet voice that has become familiar to me. ‘Even though you are in prison, you can still pray.’ So I started with the A’s in the church directory and I’ve begun to pray for each of you. What a joy it has been for me. I firmly believe that God answers prayer. So I prayed that you will come to understand as I have that the question is not to be or not to be, but rather who’s to be. Once that is decided, to be is enough for any person. May God bless you all so that you may in turn be a blessing to others. For the glory of his name. Richard Ryan from prison, June 23rd, 1990.”
Richard Ryan has led 26 different men to Jesus Christ in prison this year. He’s radically committed to Christ. I want to suggest to you this morning that Richard Ryan is a just man. He’s a righteous man. He’s not just, not righteous with respect to the law of the state. In regards to the law of the state, he is guilty, an ex-drug addict, a convicted murderer with a lifetime sentence in a federal prison. But with respect to the law of God, with respect to God’s law, Richard Ryan is just, and he is righteous and he has been deemed innocent because he acknowledged his sin and he came in repentance and he sought the forgiveness of Christ by the blood of the cross. And he invited Jesus Christ to come and be the Lord of his life. And he invited Jesus Christ to come and be his Savior from sin. And because of the just one and the righteousness of Christ imputed to him, Richard Ryan has been justified.
We’re all sinners. The problem is sometimes when our sin doesn’t seem so grave by worldly standards, we don’t feel so sinful. But just as desperately, we need to come in repentance, seeking the grace and mercy of God with faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. It’s the only way that we can be declared righteous. We can be declared just the Bible says the just shall live by faith. What is a just person? A just person is a righteous person made righteous only by faith in Jesus Christ.
Now there’s a second definition of a just person in the Bible. A just person is not only a righteous person made righteous through Jesus Christ but is also a Christian seeking a righteous world. A just person seeks to make this world a fair place. The Greek word dikaios used in the Bible not only means righteous, but it also means fair. A lot of things aren’t fair but if you’re a Christian, if you’ve been deemed just in the courtroom of heaven because of your faith in Jesus Christ, you are now called to make this world a better place. If you’re really just, if you’ve really been made righteous through Jesus Christ, if you really believe in Jesus Christ, then you have been called to seek his kingdom on earth, that his will might be done here even as it is in heaven.
We live in a world where there’s very little justice, wicked people are not punished and good people are not rewarded. People are not treated fairly. Twenty-five hundred years ago, as we’re told in the book of Daniel, Belshazzar was king of the Babylonian empire. Belshazzar was not a just or fair man. He did not treat people with equality and he did not seek to deter evil and reward righteousness. In his personal life, he was utterly depraved and he practiced every kind of fornication.
One night Belshazzar was having a party in his royal banquet hall. At that party he had all of his wives, concubines and friends. He’s having a great time. He commanded that the sacred vessels of gold that was confiscated years earlier by Nebuchadnezzar be brought into the banquet hall. He commanded that wine be poured in those sacred vessels. Belshazzar used them for drunkenness and blaspheming God. Suddenly the divine hand appeared, and the hand of God wrote on the wall of the banquet hall. Mene, tekel, and parsin – Mene, meaning “numbered” – your days are numbered. Tekel, meaning “weighed” – you’ve been weighed in the balance and found wanting. Parsin, meaning “divided” – your kingdom will be divided and given to others. The judgment of God was about to fall that very night.
And so it was that the armies of Cyrus the Great, the armies of Medo-Persian Empire poured over the royal city of Babylon. Belshazzar’s life was snuffed out and his kingdom was divided and given to the Medes and the Persians. Justice was served.
Now even a brief glimpse at the Bible and at history, tells us that what happened that night was incredibly rare. God doesn’t normally work like that. God doesn’t always intervene in the affairs of this world. God doesn’t always choose to serve justice in this age of the world. God doesn’t always pull the plug on wicked people. He doesn’t just cut their lives short and righteous people are not always blessed and rewarded throughout history. We live in a world where many malignant rulers reign long, benign rulers have had their reign cut short. We live in a crazy world where drug lords live in lavish estates and they die of old age.
The Bible tells us that justice waits for God. Justice will not ultimately be served until the close of this age of the world and the dawning of the new age when God judges the hearts of men and women through Jesus Christ. This is the age of mercy and grace where the gospel is proclaimed, but there’s a sense in which in this age, God has entrusted justice to us. There’s a sense in which you as Christians are to seek to make this world a more just place until the Just One comes. It’s a great calling that sometimes I think we as evangelicals have ignored.
Romans chapter 13 tells us that it’s the will of God that earthly governments seek to establish justice in this age deterring evil and rewarding righteousness. That’s not easy for earthly governments.
I was reading in Time Magazine a few weeks ago about a man named Donald Dixon. Donald Dixon lives in Texas and is a very wealthy man. In 1982, Donald Dixon bought a savings and loan in Vernon, Texas. He built it into one of the largest savings and loans in Texas. In four years, the savings and loan grew 1,600%. The United States Justice Department has been investigating Donald Dixon and found some questionable things. They say that he’s used some of the money from the savings and loan to buy himself a beach house in California and used some of the money to take incredible trips all over the world staying at expensive places. He’s used some of the money to throw extravagant parties and invite prostitutes. He’s used the money to give illegal contributions to political candidates hoping for political favors. He’s used some of the money to buy a fleet of five airplanes. The United States Justice Department claims that Donald Dixon, through his criminal activities, is costing the American taxpayers $1,300,000,000 and has brought a 38-count criminal indictment against him.
If he is convicted he’ll be sentenced to 190 years in prison. The United States Justice Department has taken three years just to examine this man, to accumulate data and facts. It’s going to take additional years to fully prosecute. The United States Justice Department tells us that they’ve had 7,000 tips concerning alleged fraud in other savings and loans that they are yet to investigate. They say they don’t have the staff to be able to investigate all of them. Ultimately, the savings and loan crisis are going to cost the American taxpayer 500 billion. We have more criminals in this world than there are prison cells, more criminals than policemen. The job for governments of this earth seems insurmountable. It’s not just their problem. As Christians, it’s our problem because we’ve been called to seek a more just world.
There’s a lot of injustice in this world, that’s why we as Christians, of all people, need to vote, serve on jury duty, pay taxes, speak out, write to newspapers and congressmen as the Lord leads. We need to get down on our knees and pray. We need to do everything within the law that is possible to deter evil in a fallen world. Christians simply cannot remain silent. If you have embraced the Just One that you might be clothed and cloaked in righteousness by his shed blood. You are now called to seek his kingdom and righteousness. You are to seek his will on this earth.
Until the year 1865, slavery was legal here in the United States. In 1860, there were 4 million black slaves in the southern states. The law was used to oppress them. They were not allowed to own property. It was not legal for them to bear witness. Did you know that black slaves were not even allowed to marry? When they began to read, write, and teach themselves in order that they might rise up, of our government passed a law, making it illegal to teach a black person to read or write. The white men had sexual relations with their black slave women. The offspring would then claim to be free because, after all, their white fathers were free. The nation didn’t know what to do, so they passed another law saying you’re only born free if your mother is free. So white men could go out and have all the sex they wanted with their black slaves and not worry about how they treated the offspring.
We live in a world like that. I’ve got to tell you that as you look at American history, there were a lot of people who knew it was wrong. There were hundreds of thousands of Christians of believers in Jesus Christ who knew it was wrong. They knew that we were created equal before God, but they were silent. They were utterly silent. And if you would be numbered among the just, if you would be numbered among those who belong to Jesus Christ, you can’t be silent in the face of such injustice.
Women weren’t allowed to vote here in the United States until 1920, and again, there were Christian men who knew it was wrong and they were silent. The women’s suffrage movement wasn’t led by Christian men. It was led by women, some of them not Christians, just people seeking a just world.
There’s a lot of injustice in the world today, still a lot of inequalities. And there’s more than a million babies aborted right here in the United States every year. You’ve heard that said from this pulpit, you’ve read it many places. What does it mean to you? Some of these abortions are surely justified, but no way, no way abortion on demand can be justified. It’s a national nightmare. You can’t be silent. It’s comfortable to be silent. It’s convenient to be silent. But if you belong to the just one, you got to do something.
What does the Lord require of you? But to do justice, love, kindness. Walk humbly before your God. Let’s close with a word of prayer