July 18, 2026 | Christianity
Ideal Justice
"He shall bring forth judgment unto truth" (Isaiah 42:3). Some people say this passage means that God will faithfully judge. I believe that truth is in such an interpretation. Yet, I also believe there is more to this passage. Say we make ideal justice our starting point instead of faithful judgment. On the one hand, it seems that few people, if any, can render ideal or perfect justice. On the other hand, if we think about regular justice, many people can render such justice faithfully. But since this passage is not talking about a normal human being, but God, I believe we should start interpreting this verse by looking at the kind of justice that would be difficult for a regular human being to render: ideal justice.
I could insert my own opinion here. For instance, I could say that ideal justice will, or at least should, fit into my perception of fairness, equality, equity, inclusivity, or impartiality. And continuing this line of reasoning, I would produce scenarios (actual or imagined) that support my perception of what ideal justice is. My examples, scenarios, and perceptions might not differ drastically from the perspectives of other people about ideal justice. My view might even be the popular view on ideal justice. However, this reasonable and agreeable opinion about ideal justice may not automatically align with what ideal justice is according to God. If I and a million other people think they know what ideal justice is, but God disagrees, that makes all of us wrong.
So, the ideal sense of justice must come from God. So, we need to look at Scripture to gain a clearer understanding of ideal justice. In another passage, the prophet Isaiah indicates that the judgment of God differs from the judgment of the world. Isaiah says, "The Lord will not judge after the sight of the eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears" (Isaiah 11:3). In other words, God does not judge based on what things appear to be or by what people say. "Appearance," here can represent physical observation, logic, probability, or the physical world. "Hearing," here can represent testimonial "evidence," hearsay, declarations, or second-hand knowledge. Regardless of what appearance and hearing mean, we can scratch out all of these possibilities as the basis of the judgment of God. God judges perfectly based on something else.
Ideal justice, according to Scripture, saves those who are afflicted and destroys the oppressor. We can think of this action as liberation.
One aspect of ideal justice is removing evil and rescuing those subject to such evil forces. Scripture says, "He shall judge thy people with righteousness, and thy poor with judgment. The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness. He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor" (Psalm 72:2-4). This passage provides us with a clearer picture of ideal justice. Ideal justice, according to Scripture, saves those who are afflicted and destroys the oppressor. We can think of this action as liberation. Liberation can be physical, such as one who was enslaved being set free. And liberation can be spiritual, such as one enslaved by sin being set free to live a righteous and eternal life. Both forms of liberation are examples of justice. The passage also mentions God judging the poor. We can understand this part of the passage to mean that God is going to, has done, and will vindicate the people that the world has treated as inferior or having less value. In other words, God restores (through his ideal justice) the value that may have been taken away by the evil forces of society and culture. This restoration may require the punishment and destruction of evil forces.
Now, some might think that the punishment and destruction of evil forces refers to the observable forces of evil on Earth. And in some sense, this interpretation can be true. We know that God hates evil. Thus, initiatives to destroy and prevent evil from happening on earth can follow the plan of God. However, a lot of variables exist that make rendering ideal justice on Earth problematic. First, to get rid of evil ideally, there must be an ideal judge. That is, one must be able to decide without error what is good or evil. Initially, this might seem like an achievable task. Yet, if we look at history and see how concepts of good and evil have been changed, corrected, and flat-out wrong, we see how we are probably not the best candidates to be ideal judges over good and evil. This is not to say that we are incapable of making good decisions concerning good and evil. Nevertheless, we are not the best candidates to make the best decisions about good and evil. The best judge of good and evil is righteous and perfect. We do not fit this description and, thus, cannot render the best rewards or punishments for good and evil actions respectfully. I believe only God renders the best rewards or punishments for good and evil actions. This belief runs alongside the point that the evidence we usually base judgment on is the very thing that God does not base his judgments on: sight and hearing. The world judges things by what it sees and hears. The U.S. court system attests to this point; evidence for legal matters relies heavily on physical and testimonial evidence. So, though we may see good examples of justice on Earth, we should not say that such instances are examples of ideal justice.
Another aspect of ideal justice is that it must relate to and reflect Jesus. We cannot separate ideal justice from the personhood of Jesus. As the book of Psalms says, "He shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth" (Psalm 96:13). Earlier, I suggested that ideal justice does not rely on sight and hearing. One might say, then, that ideal justice must, therefore, be spiritual. But being "spiritual" is not the only requirement of ideal justice.
Another aspect of ideal justice is that it must relate to and reflect Jesus. We cannot separate ideal justice from the personhood of Jesus.
Ideal justice must relate to Jesus because Jesus is the Truth. Jesus says, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). In other words, no one is righteous according to God, unless they are made righteous by Jesus. This means that Jesus is the lawyer of our souls. He is the one who defends us. As Jesus says, "Whosoever will acknowledge me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father, which is in heaven" (Matthew 10:32). This means that Jesus testifies on our behalf and clears us of charges when we are on trial in front of God. We are all guilty in front of God because we have all sinned (Romans 3:23). But we are justified through faith in Jesus Christ, who will clear us of all charges against us.
Equity is another aspect of ideal justice. And Jesus is the only one who can be completely equitable. But if we think about it, such straightness and balanced judgment does not come from weighing our sins against our good deeds. Though some may think they have done more good than bad in their life, they might be surprised that they are still worthy of death. Death is the consequence of sin. Of course, in the world we live in, judicial systems have outlined "degrees of evil" by categorizing greater and lesser crimes. But with God, evil is evil; sin is sin. Scripture states, "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all" (James 2:10). And the "wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). Therefore, since we have all sinned, we are all worthy of death. Jesus is equitable because he is the only one who can offset our sinful nature and our innocence. The Bible says, Jesus "is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world" (1 John 2:2). If our good actions could outweigh our evil actions, there would be no need for the sacrifice of Jesus. Therefore, Jesus not only provides equitable judgment by being fair, equal, and impartial, but Jesus is equity.
Ideal justice, therefore, differs from the common and wordly concept of justice because, according to God, justice includes forgiveness.
Forgiveness is an aspect of ideal justice that people may overlook frequently. Today, "getting what is due to them" typifies most ideations of justice. "He got what he deserved," or "That was a terrible thing to do. I hope justice is served" are common thoughts of this world. However, we should be careful to remember forgiveness plays a crucial part in justice. The prophet Micah writes, "I will bear the indignation of the LORD, because I have sinned against him, until he plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: he will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his righteousness" (Micah 7:9). Here, Micah acknowledges that he sinned. He also states he will endure the rage of God because of his sin. Nevertheless, Micah also expresses hope in spite of his sin. Micah is hopeful that the Lord will plead his cause. Now, one might think, "Why should a guilty person hope for someone to plead his cause?" Well, Micah hopes the Lord will plead his cause because he knows the Lord can clear his sin. In this passage, I believe Micah prophesied about the propitiation of Jesus. Jesus is not a normal person. And as mentioned before, Jesus Christ clears the charges made against us. And like the Lord who Micah prophesied about, Jesus Christ also forgives the sins we have committed. Ideal justice, therefore, differs from the common and wordly understanding of justice because, according to God, justice includes forgiveness.
Seeking the will of God is a crucial element in ideal justice. Sometimes, we get caught up in our emotions and think justice must align with our desires. We might also think that justice must align with our morals. People might think, "If this or that does not happen to that person because of what they did, then justice has not been served." However, this thought relies entirely on the will and desire of the person judging the matter, not on the will of God. Ideal justice should always ask, "What is the will of God in this matter?" As mentioned before. Forgiveness is a part of ideal justice regarding God. And a particular judgment might require forgiveness instead of punishment if one checks with God first. This makes me ask, "What would judicial systems look like if they pursued the will of God on every matter? How might people view justice differently if this happened? Seeking the will of God in justice is the only way one can be sure a person gets what they truly deserve.