Yesterday I posted on the aesthetic value of God's justice. I was reminded by a friend that I could be misunderstood at a certain level and I wanted to clarify a point. It is true that:
(1) God's justice will be beautiful in the eschaton.
(2) We will rejoice to see God's justice.
(3) God desires that no person perishes, but that all come to repentance (2 Pet. 3:9).
There seems, then, to be a difference between God as the Reconciler, and God as the Judge. As Reconciler, God not only provides the means of salvation, but His desire is that mankind turns from sin and believes unto life in His powerful and effectual gospel. We herald the gospel of salvation knowing that God's general call is given with no regard to race, nationality, sex, or background (Gal. 3:28-29), and with the full knowledge that God is in the business of making friends out of His enemies (Rom. 5:6-8; Eph. 2:1-7).
This is, however, not to confuse God's reconciling activity with God's judging activity. He is not some grandfatherly figure, benevolently looking upon sin, smiling, and wagging His head. He is the Judge of the earth. He has set His purposes to setting the world right. We have the option to turn from our sin today and believe in His Christ, or reject His infinitely magnanimous offer. If we choose the latter, we may be sure that God's wrath is singular in purpose, unwavering in application, and absolutely, terrifyingly right.
Psalm 7:11-13 (NET Bible) 11 God is a just judge; he is angry throughout the day. 12 If a person does not repent, God sharpens his sword and prepares to shoot his bow. 13 He prepares to use deadly weapons against him; he gets ready to shoot flaming arrows.
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