Justice is the effect of the law. The law is an if / then sequence. There are no moralistic judgements in the law. It does not condemn or label or shame. It is blind. A wise person, however, can make value judgements through careful, continual observation of the law.
Justice can be thought of as a very sharp knife. The knife, and the way it cuts, is inculpable. That which is cut bears responsibility for the way which it falls on the knife. The law exists outside of God. God is bound by the law. Because this is the case, God has no motive for issuing moralistic judgements surrounding the law. "There is a law given, and a punishment affixed, and a repentance granted; which repentance, mercy claimeth; otherwise, justice claimeth the creature and executeth the law, and the law inflicteth the punishment; if not so, the works of justice would be destroyed, and God would cease to be God" (italics, underline, and bold added). All God does is watch and warn, then weep or rejoice.
The law is comprised of two parts, if and then. The "if" encapsulates choice, or the agency of man over which the Eternal War is fought. The "then" encapsulates consequence. Our Adversary seeks to do away with both choice and consequence by compelling others to meet needs and by obtaining fruit without works. An example of a law he fights against is the law of the harvest, which states that you reap what you sew. Common practice to his theology stipulates that all are forced to work, and all will reap equally (this includes taking from those who work more and giving to those who work less). In theory, forcing everyone to work may seem like a good idea, but in practice, removing people's choice is like withholding the leaven from bread. Non-autonomous people will not rise, except in rebellion.
No comments:
Post a Comment