The Justice and Goodness of God E-Book

Thomas R. Schreiner

• Herausgeber: Crossway
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Seitenzahl: 248

Beschreibung

Understanding God's Righteousness through His Final Judgment of Sin The reality of God's ultimate punishment is central to the gospel. Only by facing sin's devastation can believers fully grasp the beauty of their salvation and help unbelievers confront their need for forgiveness. Unfortunately, many Christians and Bible scholars neglect God's final judgment. In his book The Justice and Goodness of God, theologian Thomas Schreiner offers a comprehensive, biblical analysis of eternal destruction. Explaining that "final judgment doesn't contradict God's goodness but verifies and displays it," he examines themes of sin, death, and redemption in the New Testament and other passages of Scripture. With helpful personal and theological application, this brief guide helps readers see how God's judgment is anchored in his holiness, justice, and righteousness. Readers will see that God's judgment isn't bad news but good news. Life doesn't make sense without it, and salvation shines brighter against the backdrop of God's judgment. - Brief yet Insightful: Examines themes of sin, death, mercy, and holiness, with helpful Scripture references and summaries in each chapter - Rich Biblical Analysis: Studies eternal destruction as described in the Gospels, the Pauline Epistles, and throughout Scripture - Ideal for College and Seminary Students

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“This book on the final judgment of God reflects everything we have come to expect from the scholarship of Tom Schreiner—judicious exegesis, confessional fidelity, practical application, and clear writing. The topic is not an easy one to write on, but it is a necessary one lest we forget why the gospel of Jesus is indeed good news.”

Jonny Gibson, Associate Professor of Old Testament, Westminster Theological Seminary; coeditor, Ruined Sinners to Reclaim

“This is an important study of a biblical truth that needs to be proclaimed to our generation. Tom Schreiner shows that God’s final judgment is based on his perfect goodness that deals righteously with human sin to establish his righteousness in the world. The book handles the different sections of the Bible carefully and thoroughly, highlighting and discussing important themes, and painting a powerful picture in the mind of his reader.”

John Coulson, Deputy Principal and Lecturer in Bible, Brisbane School of Theology

“Does it sound uplifting to read an entire book on what the Bible teaches about God’s judgment? It should. In this book, Tom Schreiner delivers to us the hard truth about God’s righteous judgment that we deserve for our sinful condition. The bad news is really bad. But that is what makes the good news about God’s merciful kindness in Jesus the Messiah so uplifting. The more accurately you understand God’s righteous judgment, the more brightly God’s saving work shines.”

Andy Naselli, Professor of Systematic Theology and New Testament, Bethlehem College and Seminary; Elder, The North Church, Mounds View, Minnesota

“This is a deeply insightful book on an important, oft-overlooked, and confronting truth. It can be painful to consider our sin and God’s judgment, but doing so helps us appreciate the grace of God more deeply. Tom Schreiner has written a penetrating, accessible guide to this important topic.”

Peter Orr, Lecturer in New Testament, Moore Theological College

The Justice and Goodness of God

The Justice and Goodness of God

A Biblical Case for the Final Judgment

Thomas R. Schreiner

The Justice and Goodness of God: A Biblical Case for the Final Judgment

© 2024 by Thomas R. Schreiner

Published by Crossway1300 Crescent StreetWheaton, Illinois 60187

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, except as provided for by USA copyright law. Crossway® is a registered trademark in the United States of America.

Cover design: Jordan Singer

First printing 2024

Printed in the United States of America

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated into any other language.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

All emphases in Scripture quotations have been added by the author.

Trade paperback ISBN: 978-1-4335-9119-8 ePub ISBN: 978-1-4335-9121-1 PDF ISBN: 978-1-4335-9120-4

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Schreiner, Thomas R., author. 

Title: The justice and goodness of God : a Biblical case for the final judgment / Thomas R. Schreiner. 

Description: Wheaton, Illinois : Crossway, 2024. | Includes bibliographical references and index. 

Identifiers: LCCN 2023027178 (print) | LCCN 2023027179 (ebook) | ISBN 9781433591198 (trade paperback) | ISBN 9781433591204 (pdf) | ISBN 9781433591211 (epub)

Subjects: LCSH: Judgment of God. | God (Christianity)—Goodness. 

Classification: LCC BT180.J8 S38 2024 (print) | LCC BT180.J8 (ebook) | DDC 231/.8—dc23/eng/20240110

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2023027178

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2023027179

Crossway is a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

2024-04-09 03:03:43 PM

Contents

Preface

Abbreviations

1  Only a Holy God

2  The Ugliness of Sin

3  Judgment in the Gospels and Acts

4  Judgment in the Epistles

5  Judgment in the Book of Revelation

6  Living in Light of the Judgment

7  Salvation Shines Brighter

Epilogue

General Index

Scripture and Ancient Sources Index

Preface

Why would anyone want to write on the final judgment? It might seem that anyone who writes on this theme is obsessed with the negative, with hate instead of love, with punishment instead of mercy, with crankiness instead of joy. It is probably true that some who focus on judgment live in winter instead of summer and have acerbic personalities, and maybe some readers will suspect that I am of the same temperament. In any case, let me explain why I wanted to write a book on the final judgment.

First, Scripture often talks about judgment; it is a pervasive theme in both the Old Testament and the New Testament, though I limit myself mainly to the New Testament since the topic is far too large to include the whole Bible in a brief book. Judgment isn’t the invention of unhappy people but represents the truth. Adolf Schlatter rightly says, “When truth becomes our judge and shows us what is reprehensible, we fall silent before our just Judge.”1

Second, judgment is often ignored or overlooked in scholarship in that there are not many books on the theme. Still, some helpful treatments are available,2 but my intention is to write a brief and accessible introduction to the theme and to restrict the study mainly (though not exclusively) to the final judgment. Certainly the scriptural story can’t be understood apart from the last judgment. Salvation, justification, reconciliation, redemption, regeneration, adoption, and other salvific realities don’t make any sense if human beings don’t deserve condemnation. If there is nothing to be saved from, we don’t need to be justified, reconciled, redeemed, and forgiven.

Third, I believe one of the reasons the Christian gospel seems alien to many today is that they reject the notion of a last judgment. As Leon Morris says, the modern person “has largely dismissed the thought of final judgment from his mind. He does not think of himself as accountable. The New Testament does not share his unreasoning optimism.”3 The final destruction of sinners, of those who rebel against the Lord, of those who don’t put their faith and trust in him, seems unjust and vindictive to many today. Morris again is to the point: “It seems axiomatic to us that God in love will deliver all men. This is not what Scripture teaches.”4 People aren’t inclined to turn to Jesus Christ for forgiveness and to escape wrath since they don’t think their sins warrant punishment. I am under no illusion that non-Christians will read this book, or that unbelievers, even if they did read it, would be persuaded. I am writing this book for missionaries, for pastors, for Christians in ministry, and for all Christians to remind us that judgment is fundamental to the message we proclaim so that we will not be ashamed of or neglect speaking about judgment. Indeed, I hope Christians will rejoice in judgment, not because they long for the punishment of others (since we pray and hope that all will be saved) but because judgment displays the holiness and goodness of God. Without judgment, God would not be good, and life on earth would be without meaning since our moral decisions would not ultimately matter. They might matter to us personally, but there would be no final reckoning for our lives, no ultimate accountability for our actions, and thus no significance to our lives—and that would be bad news indeed.

I am grateful to Crossway for publishing this book and in particular for Justin Taylor who carefully read an earlier draft and made many helpful suggestions. I have noted some of what he suggested in footnotes. Finally, my friend and outstanding editor Chris Cowan proved to be an amazing help with his keen reading and many helpful suggestions.

1  Adolf Schlatter, Do We Know Jesus? Daily Insights for the Mind and Soul, trans. Andreas J. Köstenberger and Robert W. Yarbrough (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel, 2005), 51.

2  R. V. G. Tasker, The Biblical Doctrine of the Wrath of God (London: Tyndale Press, 1951); Leon Morris, The Biblical Doctrine of Judgment (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1960); John R. Coulson, The Righteous Judgment of God: Aspects of Judgment in Paul’s Letters (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2016); Brendan Byrne, Paul and the Economy of Salvation: Reading from the Perspective of the Last Judgment (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2021).

3  Morris, The Biblical Doctrine of Judgment, 65–66.

4  Morris, The Biblical Doctrine of Judgment, 69.

Abbreviations

ACCS  Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture

BBR  Bulletin for Biblical Research

BDAG  Danker, Frederick W., Walter Bauer, William F. Arndt, and F. Wilbur Gingrich. Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. 3rd ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000.

BECNT  Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament

BSacBibliotheca Sacra

CSC  Christian Standard Commentary

2 En.  2 Enoch

2 Esd.  2 Esdras

ET  English translation

ITC  International Theological Commentary

LCC  Library of Christian Classics

4 Macc.  4 Maccabees

LXX  Septuagint

MT   Masoretic Text

NICNT  New International Commentary on the New Testament

NIDNTTENew International Dictionary of New Testament Theology and Exegesis. 4 vols. Revision editor, Moisés Silva. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2014.

NIGTC  New International Greek Testament Commentary

Sib. Or.  Sibylline Oracles

SSST  Short Studies in Systematic Theology

Them  Themelios

T. Isaac  Testament of Isaac

TLOTTheological Lexicon of the Old Testament. 3 vols. Edited by Ernst Jenni and Claus Westermann. Translated by Mark E. Biddle. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1997.

WBC  Word Biblical Commentary

WUNT  Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament

1

Only a Holy God

Righteous are you, O Lord,

and right are your rules.

Psalm 119:137

Introduction

Leon Morris brilliantly begins his book on judgment with several texts showing that judgment and justice belong together: if there is no judgment, then there is no justice.1 Isaiah proclaims that “the Lord is a God of justice” (Isa. 30:18). Malachi casts aspersions on those who doubt whether God is “the God of justice” (Mal. 2:17) since no one will trust or obey the Lord if he is unjust. Isaiah reminds us that the Lord doesn’t need human beings to inform him about what is just:

Who taught him the path of justice,

and taught him knowledge,

and showed him the way of understanding? (Isa. 40:14)

Abraham prays to the Lord about the fate of Sodom, asking with confidence, “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” (Gen. 18:25). The Scriptures assure us that God is fair and just since “I the Lord love justice” (Isa. 61:8).

The Lord loves justice because his very person, his very nature, is just. He doesn’t love justice as something outside of himself. Thus Moses sings,

The Rock, his work is perfect,

for all his ways are justice. (Deut. 32:4)

The psalmist declares, “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne” (Ps. 97:2). The Lord’s judgments are right because he loves justice, because he is justice.2 He doesn’t need anyone to teach him justice since it is his very nature or character—justice defines him.3 Or, better, the Lord defines justice. Since God is just, he always does what is right, and his judgments should not be questioned but praised. Because if there were no justice in the world, the world would not make sense. It would be a place of absolute chaos and anarchy.4

We see God’s justice from the first story in the Bible. Adam and Eve were commanded not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 2:17; 3:2–3), and they were threatened with death if they violated God’s instructions (Gen. 2:17; 3:3). We are not given any reason why eating from the particular tree is forbidden. We can say that God as the Creator and Lord defines good and evil, determining what is right and wrong. This is not to say that good and evil are arbitrary, since moral norms reflect God’s character and nature, but as the sovereign Lord of all, God may also give commands that aren’t in and of themselves moral norms. Adam and Eve transgressed God’s command, rejecting his lordship over their lives, and consequently they were separated from God (Gen. 3:7–19), expelled from paradise (Gen. 3:23–24), and destined to die physically. Judgment for evil manifests itself in the earliest pages of the biblical story, showing that evil has consequences.

The flood story represents another shocking account of judgment, and once again it occurs at the outset of history, or at least the history that is recorded and written down. Human beings were indicted for being corrupt (Gen. 6:3, 11). Wickedness multiplied on earth like weeds spring up in a green lawn, and “every intention of the thoughts of [man’s] heart was only evil continually” (Gen. 6:5). Two features of the account are rather striking.

First, the descriptions of human wickedness are vague. We are told that human beings were corrupt and wicked, that their thoughts were always evil. But a specific portrait or description of the evil they engaged in is lacking. We might expect a lurid account of what human beings were doing, given the horrific deluge that destroyed virtually the entire human race. Instead of their evil being detailed, we are invited to use our imaginations to sketch in the evils perpetrated by human beings.

Second, all except eight people in the world were swept away in the cataclysm that snuffed out their lives. If we ask ourselves why such a drastic measure was needed, the answer is that human beings were corrupt and wicked, that they practiced what was evil. In fact, we are told that every thought and motive was evil (Gen. 6:5). The judgment was drastic and overwhelming because the evil being perpetrated was comprehensive, devastating, and horrific.

The reason for such a judgment isn’t obvious to many people in our own world, and thus I will attempt to chase down in this chapter the reasons for judgment in the Old Testament witness. There is no attempt to be complete here; instead I will take soundings of some Old Testament texts.5 In addition, I am treating the Old Testament as a canonical unity, and thus the answer we are seeking must be discerned by reading the Old Testament witness as a whole. Furthermore, it is important to recognize that the judgment of the flood is a preview of the final judgment. In the New Testament, the flood has a typological relationship to the final judgment, pointing to and anticipating it. The judgment that will come at Jesus’s return is compared to the judgment that devastated the world in the flood (Matt. 24:38–39; Luke 17:26–27; 2 Pet. 2:5, 9; 3:6). Thus, Old Testament accounts of judgment have an organic relationship to the final judgment, and they point to that judgment.

God Is Holy

One answer—a fundamental and important answer—as to why God judges evil is that he is holy. Often in the Old Testament, especially in Isaiah, Yahweh is called “the Holy One of Israel” (Ps. 78:41; Isa. 1:4; 5:19, 24; 10:20; 12:6; 17:7; 29:19; 30:11, 12, 15; 31:1; 37:23; 41:14, 16, 20; 43:3, 14; 45:11; 47:4; 48:17; 49:7; 54:5; 55:5; 60:9, 14; Jer. 50:29; 51:5). We often read about Yahweh’s “holy name” (e.g., 1 Chron. 16:10, 35; Pss. 30:4; 33:21; 111:9; Ezek. 36:20, 21, 22; 39:7, 25; 43:7, 8; Amos 2:7), which means that holiness is the Lord’s very nature and being.

Holiness is often defined as being separated from evil, though others have said that it signifies what is consecrated and devoted.6 These two definitions may not be as far apart as we might think since what is consecrated and devoted is also separated from common use. For instance, the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place are devoted to the sacrificial cult, but we could say that both places are separated from common use as well. So, too, the Sabbath is a consecrated day, a holy day (Ex. 20:8), but it is also separated from other days and, thus, special. We could say the same thing about holy garments (Ex. 28:2), holy offerings (Ex. 28:38), holy anointing oil (Ex. 30:25), and so on. They are separated from ordinary life and consecrated for special use.

We also receive further help by investigating other words associated with holiness. For instance, priests are to distinguish “between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean” (Lev. 10:10; cf. Ezek. 22:26; 44:23). The holy is in the same category as that which is clean, while the unholy is unclean and defiled. Those from Aaron’s house can’t eat holy offerings until they are clean (Lev. 22:4). These texts refer to ritual defilement, which is not necessarily equated with sinfulness. Still, it seems that the reason uncleanness exists is because of the presence of sin in the world. Uncleanness, then, doesn’t necessarily point to personal sin, but it signifies a sickness in a world that is deformed and bent due to human evil. God stands apart from the world because of his holiness. “There is none holy like the Lord” (1 Sam. 2:2). Since the Lord is the “Holy One,” no one can be compared to him or is equal to him (Isa. 40:25).

The Lord is uniquely holy, and there is clearly a moral dimension to holiness. When the ark was returned from the Philistines to Israel in Beth-shemesh, some looked inside the ark and seventy people were struck dead (1 Sam. 6:19). They immediately responded, “Who is able to stand before the Lord, this holy God?” (1 Sam. 6:20). The author is clearly telling us that the sin of Israel is such that they were unable to live in God’s presence, since he is the Holy One—that is, he is beautiful and full of goodness in contrast to the sinfulness of human beings.

Nor is this an isolated thought. The psalmist asks,

O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent?

Who shall dwell on your holy hill? (Ps. 15:1)

The answer reveals that holiness has to do with the Lord’s moral perfection and his blazing goodness, since those who can live on his holy mountain are those who live righteously, who refrain from slander, who do not injure their neighbors, who esteem the godly, who are true to their word, and who don’t take interest and deprive the poor of their income (Ps. 15:2–5). A similar question is asked in Psalm 24:

Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?

And who shall stand in his holy place? (Ps. 24:3)

The answer again has to do with goodness, since access to God is restricted to those who have “clean hands” and “a pure heart” and are characterized by honesty (Ps. 24:4). It seems apparent in this context that God’s holiness refers to his moral perfection and that righteousness is required of human beings as well.

Another fascinating window into God’s holiness is Psalm 99, where Yahweh reigns as one “enthroned upon the cherubim” (Ps. 99:1). Given the greatness of the Lord, people are to “praise your great and awesome name,” and the psalmist exclaims, “Holy is he!” (Ps. 99:3). God’s holiness here is related to his transcendence, to his sovereignty, to his reign as King over all. Yahweh’s holiness is a central theme of the psalm. Readers are exhorted,

Exalt the Lord our God;

worship at his footstool!

Holy is he! (Ps. 99:5; cf. 99:9)

Still, God’s holiness isn’t restricted to his transcendence but is also reflected in the “decrees” and “statutes” given to Israel (Ps. 99:7 CSB). The moral dimension of his holiness is confirmed in 99:8 since God is identified as one who forgives and also as “an avenger of their wrongdoings.” God’s holiness is such that sin either must be forgiven or avenged; it can’t be left alone because sin defaces, deforms, and destroys. God’s dazzling beauty and loveliness can’t allow sin to coexist with him; doing such would compromise his holiness, his very being.

Isaiah 6 is rightly famous, and it casts more light on our theme. Yahweh sits transcendently and magnificently as the King in his temple. The seraphim stand around the Lord with their six wings. They cover their faces with two wings since the Lord is ever and always the Holy One, and thus they can’t look on his face. With two wings they cover their feet, which is another indication of their inferiority in the presence of the Creator and sovereign of all things. With two wings they fly as they serve at Yahweh’s behest, carrying out his decrees in the world. The seraphim praise the Lord as the thrice Holy One, signifying his infinite and maximal holiness, as the one whose glory fills the entire world. Yahweh’s holiness has a transcendent character because he is the King of the universe and even angels who are not defiled with sin cannot gaze at him.

The temple fills with “smoke,” and the Hebrew word used in Isaiah 6:4 occurs in the text about the “smoking fire pot” that passed between the pieces in the Lord’s covenant with Abram (Gen. 15:17). Mount Sinai also smoked like a furnace when the Lord descended on it (Ex. 19:18). In 2 Samuel 22:9, smoke is aligned with God’s consuming fire (cf. Ps. 18:8). The temple filling with smoke communicates God’s presence, and the parallels and context suggest that his presence is terrifying. It is frightening because of Yahweh’s holiness, his moral perfection.

Isaiah’s response supports such a reading. Isaiah pronounces a woe on himself since he is “a man of unclean lips” inasmuch as he has seen “the King, the Lord of hosts” (Isa. 6:5). We see further evidence that moral perfection characterizes Yahweh’s holiness when Isaiah became painfully aware of his uncleanness, an uncleanness that needed to be atoned for before he could serve as the Lord’s messenger (Isa. 6:6–7). When human beings see God as he is, reigning and ruling transcendently as King and Lord, then they realize that they can’t stand in his presence since he is beautiful in holiness.

It would be misleading to link holiness only with God’s judgment. Hosea 11 predicts Israel’s exile to Assyria after the nation violated the Lord’s covenant stipulations. Still, the judgment will not be comprehensive and complete so that the nation is entirely obliterated. The Lord will not wipe them out as he destroyed Admah and Zeboiim, on which fire rained down when Sodom and Gomorrah were annihilated (Hos. 11:8). Because the Lord is not a human being, because he is “the Holy One,” he will spare his people (Hos. 11:9). God is holy in that he is true to his name; he will not violate or renege on his covenant promises to Israel. We see that God is also holy in his mercy and his love.

Yahweh is the “One who is high and lifted up,” who lives “in the high and holy place” (Isa. 57:15). Surprisingly, however, the transcendent one is also immanent. He dwells with his people, with the one “who is of a contrite and lowly spirit,” promising

to revive the spirit of the lowly,

and to revive the heart of the contrite. (Isa. 57:15)

God’s holiness doesn’t mean that he isn’t merciful (we just saw his mercy in Hos. 11), but we do need to think about what it means for God to show mercy.

We saw earlier in Isaiah 6 that God’s holiness doesn’t preclude fellowship with human beings since there is forgiveness and atonement. God’s holiness should not be interpreted to mean that he doesn’t show mercy. God as the Holy One has fellowship with a lowly and oppressed people. God’s holiness and forgiveness need to be read in light of the larger storyline of Isaiah, since in Isaiah 53 the servant of the Lord bears and suffers for the sins of his people. He has “borne our griefs” and was “stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted” (Isa. 53:4). Isaiah emphasizes that the servant took the punishment we deserved:

He was pierced for our transgressions;

he was crushed for our iniquities;

upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace. (Isa. 53:5)

God has mercy on those who have gone astray, but not without satisfying his justice:

the Lord has laid on him [the servant]

the iniquity of us all. (Isa. 53:6).

Even though he was without sin (Isa. 53:7, 9), the servant “was numbered with the transgressors” and “bore the sin of many” (Isa. 53:12). Human beings have fellowship with the Holy One of Israel because of the Lord’s forgiving mercy, because the servant took upon himself the punishment sinners deserved, satisfying the justice God demanded. In the death of the servant, both the justice and love of God are displayed.

God Is Righteous

The righteousness of God is a major theme in the Old Testament.7 Even though it is not the focus of this book, it is important to note that God’s righteousness in the Old Testament is often a saving righteousness instead of a judging righteousness. (Paul picks up this theme of God’s saving righteousness in Rom. 1:17 when he declares that God’s saving righteousness is revealed in the gospel.) Remarkably, some scholars deny that God’s righteousness is ever a judging righteousness in the Old Testament.8 As we shall see, this assessment is clearly mistaken, even if the number of verses that forge this connection is limited.

Before linking together God’s righteousness and judgment, it is imperative to remind ourselves that the Lord is righteous, which means that he always does what is right and virtuous. The notion is expressed well in Deuteronomy 32:4:

The Rock, his work is perfect,

for all his ways are justice.

A God of faithfulness and without iniquity,

just and upright is he.

The affirmations supporting God’s righteousness are striking and pervasive in that his justice, faithfulness, impartiality, righteousness, and reliability are asserted. Before we even consider the judgments of God, we see the ground, the basis, and the foundation for his judgments. He doesn’t judge because he is wicked, delights in evil, or is somehow perversely sadistic. He judges because he is perfect in righteousness so that he is unstained and uncontaminated by evil.

David affirms, in a context where the wicked are trying to destroy him, that

the Lord is righteous;

he loves righteous deeds. (Ps. 11:7)

The order of the clauses here is important. First, we are told that the Lord is righteous; that is his character and nature, that is who he is ontologically. First comes being, then doing. Since the Lord is inherently and intrinsically righteous, he loves righteous actions. We fear authorities over us if they are twisted by evil or if they reward those who are corrupt, unethical, and immoral. But we respect and honor an authority who is righteous and who takes pleasure in what is good. The self-revelation of the Lord indicates that he is infinitely perfect—a God who is pure and unsullied goodness, who takes delight when human beings live righteously. It makes perfect sense, then, that God rewards those who practice goodness. The logic is again simple and clear: “The Lord is righteous; he loves righteous deeds” (Ps. 11:7; cf. Ps. 9:4).

If the Lord is righteous, loves righteousness, and rewards righteousness, then the converse follows as well. His love of righteousness also means that evil will be frowned on and punished. We see this several times in the Old Testament. When the southern kingdom of Judah under Rehoboam is disciplined for departing from the Lord, they confess that their punishment is deserved, declaring, “The Lord is righteous” (2 Chron. 12:6). Ezra confesses the sins of Israel in Ezra 9:1–15. He acknowledges that all the sorrow and pain Israel experienced was deserved, that God was righteous on account of the guilt of the nation (Ezra 9:15), while at the same time remembering the Lord’s mercy to his people. Nehemiah, writing at the same time as Ezra (in the 400s, after Israel had been exiled and had then returned to the land), gives us a tour of Israel’s history. He emphasizes the covenant unfaithfulness of the nation, their constant swerving from the Lord’s ways. Thus he declares about the Lord, “Yet you have been righteous in all that has come upon us, for you have dealt faithfully and we have acted wickedly” (Neh. 9:33). The judgments Israel experienced substantiate Yahweh’s rectitude.

We find the same sentiment earlier in Israel’s history. Daniel prays that the promise of Jeremiah (Jer. 25:11–12; 29:10), which pledges that the nation would return to the land after seventy years, would be fulfilled. Like Ezra and Nehemiah, Daniel confesses the sins of Israel. When he comes to the exile he says, “The Lord has kept ready the calamity and has brought it upon us, for the Lord our God is righteous in all the works that he has done, and we have not obeyed his voice” (Dan. 9:14). The logic is exactly the same that we saw above. Since God is righteous, he loves and rewards good deeds. But it stands to reason as well that since God is righteous, he punishes evil.

Righteousness and