Justice and Living

A bible study, primarily from 1 john.

There is much undeveloped in this document right now. I believe that conceptually it seems correct, but it is not fully self-validating in its present form. Completing the points through their validation should establish full validity or disapproval of the ideas individually and as a collective concept.

10:32 PM 5/30/2010



The satisfaction of justice does not make one "deserving"; sins have been atoned by the christ upon his cross of execution. All sin, iniquities, and transgressions have allowed their payment, conclusion and removal at the advocation of Jesus. Not only our sins, but the sins of all the world. Justice is complete.

What is left for us then? If not our sin, then what keeps us from God, from truth, from righteousness? What constitutes us worthy for the reward of righteousness or the punishment of the unjust? Is it exactly that? To live "unjust" would be to live without regard to justice; Without the impartial enforcement of law; without fairness to all for their legitimate due with no more and no less; without giving gifts, and without respect for any-one above another; guided by what is pitiful and seemingly merciful. Is this the pattern of living unjust?

What is righteousness then, if justice is so easily quantified? The text of First John seems to indicate the following:
Sin is a problem, but no longer relevant
Fellowship is crucial
Love is imperative
the real contrast is the love of the world against the will of God
there is action, result as a culmination of the previous points

The will of God seems to be the work-action of love [God is love]; the manifestation of righteousness is the works of God's love (or the will and desire of love - the love-desire). In a flow-viewpoint it would look like this: Fellowship brings the familiarity of knowing and /understanding/ the love-desire of God, through fellowship with God and fellowship with others of the same goal; through the exposure of living with the love-desire, the knowing shapes world-view and self-view into the perspective of God's love-desire; When we inhabit the love-desire view, the love of world (desire of body, desire of eyes, and pride of living) is super-ceded [the helmet of our life cannot accept 2 visors - we become blinded by the added effect of both and either worthless or detrimental in our actions], and we are left with the love-desire of God; Our actions are controlled by the strongest will [desire] we allow to possess us. By this motivation, our actions (our deeds and the end-result of all our existence) moves us to do the admonitions of Jesus: the caring for the poor and needy (not of pity, but of love and compassion), the contribution of our time and energy into ministering and serving, working in whatever task is assigned in the strength of God's love with excellence, improvement, and growth. And because it is all done as the product of God's love-desire through us, it is God's love tangibly changing the world itself by changing the life of me as an individual to becoming the express image and shape and form of God Himself.

This all sounds simple, but doesn't answer the frightening question we last asked ourself. What constitutes us worthy for the reward of righteousness or the punishment of the unjust? We know now unjust, and we have an example of righteous, but both are measured at so universal a level that it is so subtle, so completely capable of looking the same! I can do good things from God telling me, but I can do the exact same things just to be proud of my living charitably - the exact same action, from the exact opposite source! It is in sovereignty that God judges the heart, and God alone who can do so. This is justice, poured into compassion, grace and mercy. We are not measured by what we do, we are measured by the Heart of God.