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God is Not Just

By Jeremy Myers
7 Comments

God is Not Just
https://media.blubrry.com/one_verse/feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/962011042-redeeminggod-god-is-not-just.mp3

I’m back! 2020 was a rough year, and 2021 will likely be difficult as well, but I am going to try to get back into blogging and podcasting.

In this first episode of 2021, I explain the new format for my podcast, and discuss three things:

  1. My thoughts on the response of some Christian pastors and authors on the January 6, 2021 election protest in Washington DC
  2. Mailbag: How to know you have eternal life and did not commit the unforgivable sin.
  3. Why God is not just, the Bible does not talk about justice, and how we can respond to injustice.

Is God a God of love AND justice? Nope.

On the topic of justice, here is a brief summary of what I say in the podcast, and also what I will be teaching in my soon-to-be-released Gospel Dictionary lesson on justice:

“Justice” is not in the Bible. Indeed, the English word “justice” is not found anywhere in the New Testament of the King James Version.

The trouble with justice begins in the Bible translation. On the one hand, there are several Greek and Hebrew words that often get translated as “justice” and then then are several other English words that are used as translations for the Greek and Hebrew terms.

Usually, translation troubles come from one direction or the other. For example, we have one English word “love” that is often used to translate four different Greek words for love (agape, philia, eros, and storgē). Other times, there are numerous English words that are often used to translate one Greek word, such as both faith and belief being used as a translation for pistis. With the justice word family, both of these translation troubles exist.

With justice, the two main Greek terms are krisis (2920) and dikaiosunē (1342). However, as seen previously, the best translation for krisis is judgment; not justice (see Judgment). In the passages where krisis is translated as justice, the term judgment (and specially, the concept of properly naming or identifying something) is a better translation (cf. Matt 12:18, 20; 23:23; Luke 11:42; Acts 8:33). Therefore, it seems best to always translate krisis as judgment rather than justice.

That leaves the dikaiosunē word family. The dikaiosunē word family (including dikē, dikaios, dikaioō) is variously translated as justice, justification, justify, just, and righteousness and a few others. You will notice that the term righteousness and justification have no English semantic connection, and yet they are both used to translate the same Greek term, dikaiosunē. As argued elsewhere in The Gospel Dictionary, it is best, when translating a single Greek term and for clarity’s sake, to pick one English term and stick with it. No English reader who has little knowledge of Greek would ever imagine that a single Greek word lies behind the translation of both righteousness and justification. So it is of immense help to the English reader to pick a single English word (and its word family) as a translation for a single Greek word (and its word family).

With dikaiosunē, we have two English choices. We can choose the “just” word family (justice, justification, justify) or the “right” word family (righteous, rectification—or rightification, rectify—or rightify). Since “rightification” is not an English word, the initial inclination is to go with the “just” word family. However, the Greek term dikaiosunē is most literally translated “to make right.” Since, as seen above, the term justice is so misunderstood and misapplied today, it seems that using the right word family is the “right” way to translate the dikaiosunē word family.

The Hebrew words tsedeq (6664) and misphat (4941) have also been translated as justice, but tsedeq is best translated as “righteousness” and misphat as “judgment.” So again, justice is not in the Bible.

But righteousness is. When humans cry out for justice, what we really want is righteousness. We want things to be set right. And God’s way of achieving righteousness is far better and far different than the human, earthly way of seeking justice. In fact, the two are usually at polar opposites of the morality spectrum. The human methods of achieving justice are often seen as unrighteous by God, while the divine methods of righteousness are often viewed by humans as unfair, unjust, and irresponsible. So it is not true, as people claim, that God is a God of love and justice. Rather, God is a God of love and righteousness, and the two are not at odds with each other.

But justice and righteousness are at odds with each other. Human history, including biblical history, reveals that when humans call for justice, what they really want is vengeance. But God has said that vengeance is His and He will repay (Deut 32:35; Rom 12:19). And how does God exact vengeance? How does He repay people for the evil they have done? Jesus shows us how. When God sets out to repay people for the sins they have committed, He dies for them. He freely forgives them. This “justice” of God does not fit any human definition or understanding of justice.

Human justice calls for people to get what they deserve. To be punished in a similar measurement to the pain they have caused others. Divine “justice” extends only love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness, all of which are the exact opposite of what people deserve. This is why we cannot call it justice. It is righteousness, but it is not justice. It is as Gandhi said, “Justice that love gives is a surrender. Justice that law gives is a punishment.”

None of this is to say that injustice does not occur in this world. Quite to the contrary, injustice is everywhere, even (and especially) in the political and religious programs (which often become pogroms) for justice. Our world is awash with injustice. The biblical solution to injustice, however, is not a better form of justice. In the same way that more war is never the answer to war, so also “better justice” is never the answer to injustice. Why not? Because all forms of justice lead to greater injustice. In fact, cries for “justice” often hide the scapegoating mechanism. Scapegoats are never truly seen. If you are able to identify your scapegoat, he or she is not your scapegoat. People think a scapegoat truly is guilty, and therefore, killing or punishing them is not wrong, but is only justice. But scapegoating is always wrong, and scapegoating is always justified. Therefore, both scapegoating and cries for justice must be done away with.

So what can we do about injustice? We can follow the way of God. God’s answer to injustice is righteousness. The righteousness of God is based on forgiveness, restoration, reconciliation, and redemption (see Righteousness), terms that are not usually related to justice. It is usually not considered “justice” to forgive the one who wronged you. But it is righteous. It is usually not considered “justice” to reconcile with the one who hurt you, unless that other person is first forced to make reparations (often unjustly), but reconciliation is righteous. So it incorrect to say that God is a God of love and justice. He is not. God is love (1 John 4:8). God is holy (Isa 6:3). God is righteous but God is not just. And there is a vast difference.

God is Redeeming God, Redeeming Theology, z Bible & Theology Topics: forgiveness, judgment, justice, podcast, righteousness, social justice

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Jonah 4:5 – Is God a Social Justice Warrior?

By Jeremy Myers
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Jonah 4:5 – Is God a Social Justice Warrior?
http://media.blubrry.com/one_verse/feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/349790179-redeeminggod-94-jonah-45-is-god-a-social-justice-warrior.mp3

There are lots of calls for justice in the world today. And God is a God of justice, but most Christians are not really aware of how God carries out justice. We are going to learn more about justice today as we study Jonah 4:5.

Jonah wants Nineveh brought to justice, and takes steps to see if God will act.

Nineveh Shamash gate
Shamash Gate of Nineveh
By User:Fredarch, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=57771995

The Text of Jonah 4:5

But Jonah went out from the city and sat down to the east of the city and made there for himself a shelter, and sat in its shade while he waited to see what would happen to the city.

In this discussion of Jonah 4:5 we look at:

  • The similarities between Elijah and Jonah
  • Why it is significant that Jonah went out the east gate of Nineveh
  • What we know about Jonah’s little shelter
  • What God wants to teach us about His justice

Resources:

  • Redeeming God Discipleship Area
  • The Atonement of God on Amazon
  • Subscribe and Leave a Review on iTunes

Downloadable Podcast Resources

Those who are part of my online discipleship group may download the MP3 audio file for this podcast and view the podcast transcript below.

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Do you like learning about the Bible online?

Do you like learning about Scripture and theology through my podcast? If so, then you will also love my online courses. They all have MP3 audio downloads, PDF transcripts, quizzes, and a comment section for questions and interaction with other students.

If you want to deepen your relationship with God and better understand Scripture, take one (or all) of these courses. They are great for personal study or for a small group Bible study.

You can see the list of available courses here, and if you join the Discipleship group, you can take all the courses at no additional cost. Go here to learn more and join now.

God is Redeeming God, Redeeming Scripture Bible & Theology Topics: Jonah 4:5, judgment, justice, Nineveh, One Verse Podcast, Shamash

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How much does a person need to know to receive eternal life?

By Jeremy Myers
4 Comments

How much does a person need to know to receive eternal life?

How much does a person need to know to receive eternal life? The answer is that it depends on the person! Yes, there is a minimum, but no one will ever believe in Jesus for eternal life if all they know is the minimum. So how much should you share? How much must a person believe? When you present the gospel, what do you need to say?

One of the greatest problems in presenting the gospel today is that people confuse “Preparation” gospel truths with “Purification” gospel truths. Then they confuse all these various truths with the one, simple “Presentation” truth of the gospel. With all this confusion, the gospel gets pretty muddied.

Let me provide you with some suggestions for clarifying your gospel presentation… I go into great detail on all of this in my course on the Gospel, but let me briefly explain for you here.

gospel truths for sanctification

The 1 Gospel Presentation Truth

The one, central gospel truth this:

Jesus gives eternal life to anyone who believes in Him for it.

That’s it.

I wrote more about this truth in this post: The Gospel Invitation

The problem with this one presentation truth, however, is that if this is all a person hears about the Gospel, they are unlikely to believe in Jesus. If they know nothing about God, Jesus, their own separation from God, or anything else, why would they believe in Jesus for eternal life?

This is where the gospel preparation truths come in.

7 Gospel Preparation Truths

There are likely hundreds (maybe thousands) of truths in the gospel which help prepare a person to believe in Jesus for eternal life. A person needs not know all of these in order to believe in Jesus for eternal life, but most people will need to know at least a few of them before they are ready to believe in Jesus.

I covered 7 of the more popular and persuasive gospel preparation truths in a previous post: 7 Gospel Preparation Truths.

But what happens after a person believes? Well, most Christians don’t realize this, but the gospel has more to say to a person after they believe than before. This is where the Gospel Purification Truths come into play.

7 Gospel Purification Truths

Again, much like the preparation truths, there are hundreds (maybe thousands) of truths in the gospel which help Christians grow into maturity and become more like Jesus Christ.

And yes, all these truths are part of the biblical gospel.

The gospel has more to say to believers than it does to non-believers.

christian purificationSo here are 7 of the more helpful categories of gospel truths that a new believer might need to know in order to be sanctified and grow into the image and likeness of Jesus Christ:

  1. Unconditional Love and Grace of God
  2. The Life and Ministry of Jesus Christ
  3. Repentance from Dead Works and Religion
  4. The Indwelling Work of the Holy Spirit
  5. The Future Resurrection and Judgments
  6. The Bible and Other Believers
  7. Christian Apologetics

I know that a simple list like that might not be super helpful, but again, this is partly why I created my online course on the gospel. By taking this course, you can learn more about the entire line of thought I have presented in this post, as well as more details about the 7 Categories of Purification Truths presented in the list above.

These 7 types of gospels truths will give Christians a firm foundation on which to purify their lives and become more like Jesus every day. This process is not automatic and is not guaranteed, but growing in the knowledge of these gospel truths will help a person build their lives on Jesus Christ.

But notice what happens…

When we Confuse the Gospel Truths

gospel confusionIf you confuse purification gospel truths with the presentation truth, then you might think it is necessary for a person to repent of their sin or believe in the future judgments in order to receive eternal life. (But the Bible never teaches this.)

The same goes for a commitment to other believers, or various works of the Holy Spirit, or even having all their questions answered about the Trinity, the authority of Scripture, or the origin of the universe. But again, all these sorts of things can be discussed and studied after a person believers. They are still gospel truths, but they are purification truths, not presentation truths.

When you keep your preparation gospel truths and purification gospel truths separate from the one presentation truth, you will then be able to share the gospel clearly with others.

The Gospel According to ScriptureWant to learn more about the gospel? Take my new course, "The Gospel According to Scripture."

The entire course is free for those who join my online Discipleship group here on RedeemingGod.com. I can't wait to see you inside the course!

God is Redeeming Theology Bible & Theology Topics: apologetics, believe in Jesus, gospel according to Scripture, Holy Spirit, judgment, love of God, purify, repentance, sanctification

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Jonah 1:2 – God Calls Jonah

By Jeremy Myers
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Jonah 1:2 – God Calls Jonah
http://media.blubrry.com/one_verse/feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/307991145-redeeminggod-65-jonah-12-god-calls-jonah.mp3

Jonah 1 2Do you have an enemy? Maybe it was President Obama. Maybe now it is President Trump. Or maybe it’s the Islamic terrorists in Iran. Or the religious nut jobs here in the United States.

Maybe it is someone you don’t necessarily think of as an enemy, but you just can’t stand to be around them. Maybe a family member, a coworker, or a neighbor?

Anyway, imagine what you would do if God showed up in your living room later today, and said, “Hey! You know that person you just can’t stand? Well, I can’t stand them either, and I have a message of judgment I want you to tell them.”

If that happened to you, what would you do?

Well, that is exactly what happened to Jonah.

In Jonah 1:2, God calls Jonah to go preach against Nineveh. This podcast episode looks at why God said this, and concludes with a brief look at Jonah’s Jonah’s surprising response.

Jonah 1:3

The Text of Jonah 1:1-3

Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness has come up before me.”

But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish …

In this discussion of Jonah 1:2 we look at:

  • A reminder that Jonah was a popular prophet
  • A bit about how evil Nineveh was
  • Why God wanted Jonah to preach against Nineveh
  • Jonah’s surprising response to God’s instructions

Resources:

  • Redeeming God Discipleship Area
  • Subscribe and Leave a Review on iTunes

Downloadable Podcast Resources

Those who are part of my online discipleship group may download the MP3 audio file for this podcast and view the podcast transcript below.

You must join a discipleship group or login to download the MP3 and view the transcript.

Membership-become-a-member

Thanks for visiting this page ... but this page is for Discipleship Group members.

If you are already part of a Faith, Hope, or Love Discipleship Group,
Login here.

If you are part of the free "Grace" Discipleship group, you will need to
Upgrade your Membership to one of the paid groups.

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Join Us Today.

Membership-become-a-member


Do you like learning about the Bible online?

Do you like learning about Scripture and theology through my podcast? If so, then you will also love my online courses. They all have MP3 audio downloads, PDF transcripts, quizzes, and a comment section for questions and interaction with other students.

If you want to deepen your relationship with God and better understand Scripture, take one (or all) of these courses. They are great for personal study or for a small group Bible study.

You can see the list of available courses here, and if you join the Discipleship group, you can take all the courses at no additional cost. Go here to learn more and join now.

God is Redeeming God, Redeeming Scripture Bible & Theology Topics: enemies, honor, Jonah, Jonah 1:2, judgment, One Verse Podcast, shame

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Your 3 Greatest Sins

By Jeremy Myers
13 Comments

Your 3 Greatest Sins

What are your three greatest sins? Do you know?

If you had to tell someone right now about your three greatest weaknesses, your three greatest sins, what would you say?

This is not a hypothetical question. I once got asked this very question in an interview. During the interview, they asked me what I thought were my 3 greatest strengths. I told them that I thought I was analytical, creative, and a disciplined student of Scripture. (The interview was for a ministry position).

We talked about some of these strengths of mine for a few minutes, then they asked what I thought were my three greatest sins.

Gulp!

greatest sinsI have done some doozies in my life, but I barely knew the two people who were interviewing me, and there was no way I was going to share some of the worst things I have ever done!

So I asked for some clarification. I said, “Do you really want to know the three greatest sins I have ever committed?”

They clarified that no, they didn’t really want the dirty little secrets or the deepest, darkest betrayals. Instead, when they wanted to know my three greatest sins, what they really wanted was three areas of my life in which I constantly struggled with sin.

Frankly, that was easy. I think that if someone is in a growing relationship with Jesus, they are pretty in tune to the areas in which they constantly struggle. This interview of mine was years and years ago, but I am pretty sure the greatest sins I struggled with then are the same sins I struggle with today. I deal with pride, judgmentalism, and selfishness. I think I am better than I am. I am critical of other people not being better than they are. And I primarily think of myself and my needs.

There are numerous other areas of sin as well, but these are some that I constantly struggle with.

Oh… I didn’t get the job… maybe I was too honest about my sins.

A few years ago, however, I was interviewing a man for a position at the place where I did get a job. He and I were having a decent conversation, and I decided to ask him the questions which I had been asked. I asked him about his greatest strengths. He had many that he could list. Then I asked him about his three greatest sins or his three greatest areas of weakness. Here is what he said:

  • I love people too much, and this sometimes causes me to not care of myself as much as I should. 
  • I serve people too much, so that I sometimes neglect my own needs.
  • I love the Bible too much, and this causes me to stay up late at night reading the Bible and memorizing Scripture.

I just about broke out laughing! These weren’t sins! These were just three more good things.

But I now knew at least two of his greatest sins: pride and lying. Ha! Of course, maybe I am just saying that because of my own pride and judgmentalism.

Anyway…. if you have the courage (or you can leave an anonymous comment), write about some of your greatest strengths and weaknesses in the comments below. But remember, I am not a priest, so I cannot offer forgiveness! Only God does that.

God is Uncategorized Bible & Theology Topics: greatest sin, judgment, pride, selfishness, sin, Theology of Sin

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