WHAT IS JUSTICE?
Do you notice how often the word justice is used in modern conversation? Take the recent election result. Labour lost the election and so many people wrote that it would only be just for them to go into opposition. On the other hand others are asking whether it is just that the party that came third should exercise the influence the Liberal Democrats do at this time. But yet others would argue that the system is not just when a party can gain 23% of the votes but only 8% of the seats in Parliament. The word justice has been used interchangeably with fairness in much that has been written, and indeed fairness has been a slogan bandied about by many people.
But let’s leave the world of politics and power and look at ordinary life. What do we find? The word justice gets regular use there as well. A family, who has had a member cruelly killed by a reckless driver, walk down the steps from a Crown Court after a trial when the driver has been found guilty and given a short prison sentence. They are distraught – “we have been denied justice” they weep. Or a child has gone missing and the police arrest someone for the crime. As they go into the Court they say they are looking for justice. Someone is wronged by another and they passionately seek recompense because they look for justice.
What does everyone mean by justice? Often it is used as a synonym for revenge. Sometimes it is used as a word to express their own personal values and expectations. Strictly it should be used to express the correct application of the law of the land. But it is generally a word without a clear meaning. When people think of justice they think of what is right. But then what is right is down to a variety of definitions because there is no ultimate authority and no absolute standard. So the Liberal Democrats did get 23% of the overall vote and only 8% of the seats but that is the law and the way things work. Yet a large number of people would say it is unjust, or unfair! Everyone sets their own standard and feels justified in doing so because we are all encouraged to see ourselves as the authority in what is right or wrong.
The problem that arises is that when you have no fixed criteria, no final standard and no ultimate point of reference even something as basic to a balanced society as justice becomes arbitrary to some degree. There was a time in Britain when the standards of the law were fixed and accepted. Even criminals acknowledged the standard that was set and so when arrested would use the immortal words, “it’s a fair cop!” We may smile at the concept but such a time existed. That meant that there was, across the spectrum of society, a set of values to which everyone could relate. It didn’t mean that no-one committed any crimes. There was still too much law-breaking. But it was clear what was right and wrong and behaviour could be clearly assessed. There was respect for the law, even though it might be grudging respect. There was respect for those who enforced the law. The Courts commanded respect. And society had a balance about it. There was a standard to live by and an authority that sought to apply that standard equitably.
Now justice is uncertain. Cases arise increasingly where a decision is made not to prosecute, or a sentence is passed that is contrary to expectation, and the ground for these decisions is simply “the public interest”. It was not that the law had not been breached, nor was there no clear direction in what the law demanded, but it was decided that the public would not approve in some way – it was against the public interest. There the idea of justice is reduced to the assessment of what people would think. Standards become very arbitrary once such things happen. Justice is abandoned in the streets for a whole new and unstable set of criteria.
But what is justice? Thank God we can answer that question with considerable ease. There is an absolute and unchangeable standard. God has declared His law in the Ten Commandments and then explained the details of that law throughout the rest of the Bible. It is all very clear and unequivocal. There is also an ultimate authority. We must all answer to God for how we have lived and how we responded to His law. It is the Lord Jesus Christ before whom we must all ultimately stand. He is utterly just and fair. He knows everything. He understands our situations exactly; He has been a man and walked on this earth. He will deliver absolute justice. The problem is that when we look at the Law of God and when we consider our own personal actions, we know one thing - we are guilty of serious multiple breaches of that Law. All we can expect is the righteous administration of justice. “The soul that sins is the one who will die”. There is an eternal death awaiting us because we have broken God’s Law.
But it is not hopeless. There is a way of just escape from this awesome justice! Jesus Christ Himself has paid our penalty for us. Justice has been satisfied because that eternal death which we deserve has been endured by another. That is the meaning of the Cross and that terrible cry, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me.” There is forgiveness and full pardon through Him. Faith in Him alone as our Saviour brings that forgiveness to us. And it could not be more just. It is perfect and complete in its justice.