Justice in Florida?

The front page of my Monday newspaper shows a group of people protesting the acquittal in the Zimmerman trial in Sanford, Florida. Talking heads on the news channels and Sunday news programs disagreed passionately about the verdict. Some insisted it was a travesty, others were equally convinced that evidence simply was not there for a conviction. I was not in the courtroom, did not hear the evidence, so I take no public stand about the fairness of it all.  My real concern is that money is so much a part of our ‘justice’ system.  If two very expensive (and superbly qualified) defense attorneys had been replaced by public defenders, would George Zimmerman be free today?

Christian, I want to draw two reminders for us from that trial.

First, we have an amazing Advocate who stands with us! "My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world." (1 John 2:1-2, NIV)  One translation of the Bible uses the word, advocate, in place of ‘speaks in our defense.’  The first Bible was written in Greek and the word there is ‘parakletos.’  It described a person who came to the side of one in a dispute, who spoke on his behalf.  We are guilty before a holy God, but we are not left to present our own defense. Jesus Christ stands with us. Going better than that, He settles the case by accepting our guilt and taking our penalty! 

Are you dealing with shame or guilt today?  Does regret about something, big or small, hidden or public, keep you from experiencing a joyful life?  Put your complete faith in the Advocate provided! Accept the gracious judgment of God, provided in Christ Jesus.  You were not acquitted by God. You were found guilty, but the sentence was passed to the One who offered Himself in your place. "Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us." (Romans 5:1, NLT)

Second, we need to remember that God will hold us perfectly accountable for the way we live.  Many Christians confuse the freedom from sin’s penalty with a license to live as they please.  The faulty line of reasoning goes like this:  if Christ has forgiven all my sins, then why can I not just indulge my whims, follow my own way?  It’s not a new error. The Bible says, "All that passing laws against sin did was produce more lawbreakers. But sin didn’t, and doesn’t, have a chance in competition with the aggressive forgiveness we call grace. When it’s sin versus grace, grace wins hands down. All sin can do is threaten us with death, and that’s the end of it. Grace, because God is putting everything together again through the Messiah, invites us into life—a life that goes on and on and on, world without end. So what do we do? Keep on sinning so God can keep on forgiving? I should hope not! If we’ve left the country where sin is sovereign, how can we still live in our old house there? Or didn’t you realize we packed up and left there for good? That is what happened in baptism. When we went under the water, we left the old country of sin behind; when we came up out of the water, we entered into the new country of grace—a new life in a new land! That’s what baptism into the life of Jesus means." (Romans 5:20-6:3, The Message)

Each of us will come before Christ, our King. It will be both glorious and terrifying!  Excuses won’t hold any water.  Rationalizations will be shown for the flimsy things they really are.  Things we have done that were overlooked or forgotten during our lives will be richly rewarded.  The Bible says that the Lord’s vision will go deeper than appearance, seeing to our motives.  No, it’s not about our salvation which is secured by our Advocate. It’s about our reward.  The Word explains,  "For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames." (1 Corinthians 3:11-15, NIV)

Perfect justice is God’s promise.  It should comfort us that we will never be subject to a flawed system. It should sober us that "Nothing in all creation can hide from him. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes. This is the God to whom we must explain all that we have done." (Hebrews 4:13, NLT)

So here’s the word from the Word –

"With what shall I come before the Lord,
And bow myself before the High God?
Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings,
With calves a year old?
Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
Ten thousand rivers of oil?

Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

He has shown you, O man, what is good;

And what does the Lord require of you

But to do justly,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God?" (Micah 6:6-8, NKJV)

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