In the hilarious Barbara Streisand classic movie, “What’s Up, Doc,” Barbara makes life impossible for Ryan O’Neill and a whole cast of other eccentric characters. The chaotic plot line revolves around a certain mistaken piece of baggage, which gains the interest of the local mafia, as well as two rival academicians. The whole fiasco is resolved in a San Francisco courtroom as all of the characters assemble before a cantankerous, highly stressed judge, who has already had a very bad day. Members of the mafia are there. Rival university professors are there. I forget who all else is packed into the courtroom, but all of them are eccentric. The judge demands answers for a car chase down the hills of the city, which resulted in destruction of city property, demolished police cars, gunshots and a rescue operation in San Francisco Bay. No one is able to explain all of this mayhem. Streisand remains hidden in the background until the judge calls her out. When she creeps out from behind Ryan O’Neill, she surprises everyone with a feeble, “Hi Daddy.”
Of course, that explains it all.
There she is, trying to explain herself, to justify herself before her daddy the judge. She’s been doing it all of her life. And by now, he’s gotten pretty weary of it.
We all have the human tendency to want to justify ourselves:
We have been following in the news the story of the Seattle policeman who was accused of taking ,000 from a crime scene, and then bringing it back. His trial ended this week in a hung jury. It was split, 7 to 5. They could not justify him, nor condemn him. But he stood before the TV cameras, and once again, claimed his innocence. It was “a crime I did not commit.”
We hire lawyers to justify our actions, to show that they were in compliance with the law, to show that we are not responsible for anything that is contrary to the law.
Kids seek to justify themselves all the time by shifting blame: “He pushed me!” “The dog ate my homework!” “My mom wouldn’t let me!”
Our own President of the United States sought to justify himself before the American people: “I did not have a sexual relations with that woman—Miss Lewinsky.” Later he responded, “It depends on what the definition of “is” is.”
Even Religious people want to justify themselves:
The Bible says,
Luke 10:25-29
25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
27 He answered: ”‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” [1]
He knew he had not kept the Law, and he wanted to find a point where he had! He wanted to justify his position before the evaluation of the law.
That’s why Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan—to show this proud man how far he was from compliance to God’s standards.
How about you and me? We are all prone to self-justification. We want to shift blame, avoid responsibility, and end up without having to pay any penalties! It’s the American way. Especially in this era of lawsuits, with multi-million dollar payments going to a lady who spilled coffee on herself at a fast food restaurant, and held the chain responsible because the coffee was hot!
What does it mean to justify a person or a course of action?
Leon Morris: The root idea is conformity to established law. Something complies with some standard of right. In the corporate world, this falls under the responsibility of the Quality and Assurance department. At Ford Motor Company—“Quality is Job One.” And if a part or a procedure deviates from the standard, that part or procedure comes under intense scrutiny and correction until it adheres to the standard.
Or the standard is adjusted to allow for a certain level of performance that is more realistic.
But there is one situation in which we will never be able to justify ourselves. And that is when we appear before God, the Judge of all creation.
“What’s that,” you may ask, “God is a judge? I thought he was a God of love! How can he judge mankind?” The Bible shows that He is the lawgiver and judge of the universe.
God Is the Judge of the Universe:
Psalm 5:6
And the heavens proclaim his righteousness,
for God himself is judge. Selah [2]
Isaiah 33:22
22 For the LORD is our judge,
the LORD is our lawgiver,
the LORD is our king;
it is he who will save us. [3]
Isaiah 3:13
13 The LORD takes his place in court;
he rises to judge the people.
14 The LORD enters into judgment
against the elders and leaders of his people: [4]
God will Judge Rightly:
Abraham asks,
25 Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?” [5]
Genesis 18:25
Morris points out,
“He (God) is going to act in accordance with moral law. Heathen gods could not be counted upon to act this way; they reacted in the most capricious fashion. …Among the heathen the deity was thought of as above all law, with nothing but the dictates of his own desires to limit him. Accordingly, his behavior was completely unpredictable, and while he made demands on his worshippers for obedience and service, there were few if any ethical implications of this service and none of the logically necessary kind.”
However, by great contrast, “The Lord’s actions were always in accordance with ethical laws, and he demanded of his people that they should similarly act in accordance with these laws.” (Leon Morris)
“You shall have no other gods before me.
7 “You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy
12 “Honor your father and your mother,… 13 “You shall not murder. 14 “You shall not commit adultery. 15 “You shall not steal. 16 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house.
You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” [6] (Exodus 20)
It is clear that the Lord was thought of (in the OT) as a God with a deep interest in law….the phenomena of nature are said to be governed by a statute of the Lord who makes a “statute for the rain’ (Job 28:26) and an ‘everlasting statue’ which governs the limits of the sea. From such ordinances Jeremiah is able to reason to the continuing mercy of the Lord towards Israel (Jeremiah 31:36), which seems to imply that law is of the very essence of the Lord’s working. Law is not simply a demand which He makes on Israel; it is the essential way in which He Himself administers his universe and He can be relied upon to act according to law.” Morris, page 228.
We are very used to the ‘law of the rain’ here in the Northwest. We know all about the ‘statute for the rain.’ It pours around here! And when the weather patterns change, we here in the Northwest become very concerned.
God cannot abrogate the law. It is an expression of his very nature. He cannot nullify one part of himself to satisfy some other part of his nature. He does not contradict himself. And he holds people accountable who break his law.
The other day I was having a discussion with some teens here at the church. We set up an imaginary situation where we were trying to warn a colony of ants that a great fire was coming their way. What would we do to try to warn them? We couldn’t speak their language. They would bite and attack us if we tried to move them. What could we do? I was looking for the answer of what God chose to do for us. He took on human form, spoke our language, and warned us of the judgment to come. Repent! You can be saved if you repent!
But the kids didn’t come up with that answer. One of them said “put out the fire.” Well, God cannot put out the fire of judgment. That fire expresses a part of his very nature.
“But the Lord was thought of as essentially righteous in his nature, as incorporating the law of righteousness within his essential Being. Accordingly He works by a method which may be called law—he inevitably punishes evil-doing and rewards righteousness. He himself acts righteously, and he demands that his people do the same.” Morris page 233.
That’s why he can’t simply “put out the fire” of judgment. For God to be God, for him to be righteous, he must act in accordance with his nature. He must be just.
“Judgment is as natural to the Lord as the movements of the birds are to them.” Leon Morris, The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross, page 227.
And the Bible says that each and every human being will give an account of himself to God. What will you say to him to justify your actions, attitudes and decisions in life?
Hey, wait a minute, you might reply? What chance do I have? What chance would any person have? God can read your mind, he knows your thoughts, he knows what you are going to say before you even say it….everything is open to him. I stand convicted! I’ve blown it plenty! We all have: Listen to this modern analysis:
"The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings, but
shorter tempers; wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints; we spend more, but
have less; we buy more, but enjoy it less.
We have bigger houses and smaller families; more conveniences, but less time;
we have more degrees, but less sense; more knowledge, but less judgment; more
experts, but more problems; more medicine, but less wellness.
We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much,
love too seldom, and hate too often. We've learned how to make a living, but
not a life; we've added years to life, not life to years.
We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the
street to meet the new neighbor.
We've conquered outer space, but not inner space; we've cleaned up the air,
but polluted the soul; we've split the atom, but not our prejudice.
We have higher incomes, but lower morals; we've become long on quantity, but
short on quality. These are the times of tall men, and short character; steep
profits, and shallow relationships.
These are the times of world peace, but domestic warfare; more leisure, but
less fun; more kinds of food, but less nutrition. These are days of two
incomes, but more divorce; of fancier houses, but broken homes.
It is a time when there is much in the show window and nothing in the
stockroom; a time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time
when you can choose either to make a difference... or just hit delete."
(Dr. Bob Moorehead, former pastor of Overlake Christian Church)
We don’t even measure up to our own human standards, let alone God’s standards!
Job in the Bible asks the same thing:
Job asks,
“How should man be just with God?”
(Job 9:2, 15:14, 25:4)
9Then Job replied;
2 “Indeed, I know that this is true.
But how can a mortal be righteous before God?
3 Though one wished to dispute with him,
he could not answer him one time out of a thousand.
4 His wisdom is profound, his power is vast.
Who has resisted him and come out unscathed? [7]
No one! Paul answers. There isn’t anyone who will be, on his own merits, righteous before God! No one!
David pleads with God:
Psalm 143:
2 Do not bring your servant into judgment,
for no one living is righteous before you. [8]
“Here we are face to face with the ultimate question of religion, and the conclusion is that is it impossible for any man to have confidence in his standing before God on the grounds of his deeds.” Morris, page 235.
This is why the Gospel is such Good News. Religion is man’s best effort at pleasing God, to become righteous. To become good enough to where God will say, “Hey, that’s impressive, I accept you!” The Gospel is God’s method for declaring the guilty sinner “not guilty.”
In the Bible, the basic idea of “justification” is acquittal. There is no doubt that the person in question is guilty. But he is declared “not guilty” because of the love and mercy of the Judge Himself.
Romans 5:8-9
8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:
While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Since we have now been justified by his blood,
how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! [9]
Charles Swindoll writes,
“Someone once told me, “Justification is the sovereign act of God whereby he declares righteous the believing sinner while he is still in his sinning state.” It means that while we were still prone to sin, God saw us in Christ and said, “You’re righteous! I declare you to be right in My eyes. You don’t have to work to find favor with Me.” Grace says, God reached down in Christ, captured us, declared us righteous and said, “You’re right from now on in My eyes.”
So how do we get in on this? How does a person make it his own? How are we declared "Not guilty?"
We are declared “not guilty” when we
1. Believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross, was buried, and rose from the grave.
Jesus took the judgment of God upon himself.
Romans 3: 23-24 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. [10]
But He rightly declared us “not guilty" because of Jesus
Admit sin—that I am a sinner, and that my sin distances and separates me, alienates me from God.
3. Agree to turn from sin to God through faith in Jesus Christ.
It is By Faith!
Romans 5:1 Peace and Joy
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.[11]
It is by Faith!
Abraham Justified by Faith
4 What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, discovered in this matter? 2 If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. 3 What does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
It’s sure certain that we cannot earn it ourselves! Justification means that it is a gift! We are acquitted. Let off Scott free! It’s a scandal! A person can get right with God simply by repenting of his past deeds, indicating his interest in letting God be his leader and, accepting God’s free gift of eternal life. God justifies even the wicked through this method.
People ask, “Was that mass murderer, Ted Bundy let into heaven just because he confessed his sin, and accepted Jesus as his Savior? How can that be fair?” It’s a scandal. A gospel scandal.
But remember, you and I come in the same way. If God can declare a mass murderer not guilty because of what Jesus did on the cross, then there is hope for each of us. Understand that there is not one person that deserves the favor of God. Yet he loves us, and offers to acquit us of our sins if we will turn from them and turn to Him. What is keeping you from turning to God? Let it go and come receive life everlasting.
Dr. Wes Johnson
Lead Pastor
Bethel Baptist Church
"Father of Compassion, grant us passion to thrive in our brokenness." 2 Corinthians 1:3-6
Source:
Leon Morris, The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross