A lonely bathtub became the setting for one of the most courageous acts of faith. This video recounts the story of a North Korean woman who was baptized in secret, declared her allegiance to God, and began a dangerous journey to freedom that same night. Her whispered prayer request and her determination to study the Bible will inspire you. Watch now and subscribe for more stories of faith and courage. #BibleAndFreedom #StoriesOfFaith #PowerOfGod #awr #adventistworldradio Watch the full video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qg7uFDACQUc #short Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyXc12R2lJ4
The God of Love and Justice – Lesson 6.God’s Love of Justice | Sabbath School with Pastor Mark Finley
Series THE GOD OF LOVE AND JUSTICE with Pastor Mark Finley |
Lesson 6.God’s Love of Justice |
God’s Love of Justice – The Foundation of His Actions |
God is both perfect love and perfect justice. Throughout the Bible, it is clear that His love never compromises justice, and His justice is always infused with love. His nature is unchangeable, and He calls people to reflect these divine principles in their lives. While human justice is often flawed and driven by self-interest, God’s justice remains perfect and reliable. Even when it sometimes seems that God is “yielding,” it does not happen out of inconsistency but because He is in a genuine relationship with people. God’s love and justice are the foundation of His governance, and He invites us to hold on to them and live accordingly.
Memory Text: Jetemia 9:24 – “ ‘But let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight’ says the Lord.”
Content:
6.1 Love and Justice
Two Inseparable Pillars of His Dominion
The Bible shows that love and justice are inseparably connected. True justice cannot exist without love, and true love requires justice. In God’s moral order, these two principles are perfectly united, in contrast to the often distorted human justice, which is marked by self-interest and corruption. The prophets repeatedly call for justice and warn against oppression and inequality. Therefore, God’s judgment is a hope for the suffering, as it brings punishment for the wicked and liberation for the oppressed. In a world full of injustice, we long for the day when God’s perfect justice is revealed in love.
6.2 God Is Entirely Good and Righteous
God is Perfect – in Justice, Faithfulness, and Love
God is not only just but the source of all justice and goodness. The Bible attests that He never does wrong but always acts according to truth and love. His justice is unwavering, in complete contrast to human injustice. While human rulers often abuse their power, God’s omnipotence is perfectly pure and just. His light knows no darkness, and His ways are always perfect. Even when we do not always understand why God allows evil in the world, we can trust that He always acts with wisdom and love, and His justice will ultimately triumph.
6.3 God’s Changeless Character
God’s Nature Remains Eternal – Faithful, Just, and Unchanging
God is unchanging in His nature, which means that His love, justice, and faithfulness never waver. While people change and circumstances are uncertain, God remains the rock of consistency. His promises stand firm, and His moral purity is eternal. Although He enters into a genuine relationship with us and responds to our behavior, His nature remains consistently good and just. The Bible repeatedly confirms that God cannot lie and that His promises are unbreakable (Titus 1:2; Hebrews 6:17–18). In difficult times, we can hold on to His unchanging love, for He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
6.4 A Repenting God?
God’s Repentance – An Expression of His Mercy and Faithfulness
God does not repent in the human sense because He makes no mistakes or errs. Instead, biblical passages where God “relents” or “gives way” show that He is in a genuine relationship with us. His nature remains unchanged – He is always just, loving, and merciful – yet He responds to human repentance and intercession. When people change, God can adjust His actions without breaking His faithfulness or promises. This is not a sign of weakness but of divine patience and grace. God’s willingness to withhold judgment when people repent reveals His deep love and unwavering mercy.
6.5 Hold Fast to Love and Justice
Holding on to Love and Justice – God’s Way for Us
God is the source of all faithfulness, justice, and love, and He remains perfectly good in all His actions. He loves not only those who follow Him but also those who reject Him – a love that Jesus revealed in its deepest form on the cross. This perfect love requires justice because true mercy cannot exist without righteousness. The Bible urges us to actively live out love and justice (Hosea 12:7) and thus reflect God’s nature. Our trust in God’s justice gives us hope that one day all wrongs will be righted. Until then, we should promote love and justice in our surroundings, just as God exemplifies to us.
6.6 Summary
God’s Love for Justice – An Inseparable Divine Principle
God’s love and justice are inseparably connected – true justice can only exist in love, and true love requires justice. God is perfectly good and just, His nature remains unchanging, and He always acts in faithfulness and truth. Even when the Bible sometimes speaks of God “repenting” or “yielding,” it does not happen because of an error but because He is in a genuine relationship with people and responds to their repentance. God calls us to hold on to love and justice in our lives, for He Himself embodies these principles perfectly. In the end, His justice will be fully revealed, and He will judge all wrongdoing. Until then, we should reflect His nature by practicing love and advocating for justice.
Editorial: “If Jesus Visited Our Church”
If Jesus stepped into our church, what would he see? Let’s ask ourselves a few preliminary questions first. Would he only visit an Adventist church, or would he fill his weekends checking on his other Sunday and Saturday worshiping children? If he walked in off the street, with rough hands, a work shirt, and jeans, […] Source: https://atoday.org/editorial-if-jesus-visited-our-church/
Sunday: Love and Justice
Daily Lesson for Sunday 2nd of February 2025
Throughout Scripture, love and justice go together. True love requires justice, and true justice can be governed by and meted out only in love. We are not used to thinking of these two concepts together, but that is only because both love and justice have been greatly perverted by humanity.
Read Psalms 33:5, Isaiah 61:8, Jeremiah 9:24, Psalms 85:10, and Psalms 89:14. How do these texts shed light on God’s concern for justice?
Image © Lars Justinen at Goodsalt.com
These texts explicitly declare that God loves justice (Psalms 33:5, Isaiah 61:8). In Scripture, the ideas of love and justice are inextricably linked. God’s love and God’s righteousness go together, and He is deeply concerned that righteousness and justice be done in this world.
For good reason, then, the prophets consistently decry all kinds of injustice, including unjust laws, false scales, and injustice and oppression of the poor and the widows or anyone vulnerable. Though people perpetrate many evils and injustices, God is the one constantly “ ‘exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth’ ” (Jeremiah 9:24, NKJV). Accordingly, throughout Scripture, those faithful to God greatly anticipate divine judgment as a very good thing because it brings punishment against evildoers and oppressors, and it brings justice and deliverance for the victims of injustice and oppression.
In fact, righteousness and justice are the foundation of God’s government. God’s moral government of love is just and righteous, quite different from the corrupt governments of this world, which often perpetuate injustice for personal gain and personal power. In God, “mercy and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed” (Psalms 85:10, NKJV).
And God makes it clear what He expects of us. “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 6:8, NKJV). If there is anything that we should reflect of God’s character, love—and the justice and mercy that stems from it—would be central.
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What are examples, even now, of perverted human justice? How, then, can we not cry out for God’s perfect justice to come one day? |
(1)How Young People in Ukraine Are Making Bold Decisions for Jesus
At a youth camp meeting in Ukraine, young hearts were moved to follow Jesus. These decisions reflect God’s power to transform lives. Pray for these young people as they embark on their new path of faith. #YouthForJesus #PrayForUkraine #FaithJourney #awr #adventistworldradio #short Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWsHZg8a80I
