Class Notes: 1/5/2011

God's uncompromising Love and Grace are completely compatible with his Righteousness and Justice

In our study of the doctrine of the integrity of God when we left off we were discussing the principle that Grace is and has to be the policy of God toward mankind because of God's perfection and man's depravity.

God's policy of grace that is extended through his love never changes because it is based on and established by his perfect righteousness and justice.

Salvation by grace through faith alone in TLJC alone is based on the function of the righteousness and justice of God in judging our sins in Christ on the Cross. 2Cor 5:21;

These imputations freed God to extend Grace through his Love because it was completely compatible with his perfect holiness.

The righteousness and justice of God cannot be compromised. To avoid compromise of the integrity of the holiness of God there is a judicial procedure that was established in the divine decrees of eternity past and is fulfilled in time.

"What the righteousness of God condemns; the justice of God judges."

God's Righteousness demands righteousness and God's justice demands justice. This is the basis for the believer's production of righteousness in the unique spiritual life of all human history. 1Cor 3:10-13;

The holiness or integrity or divine virtue of God is mentioned in Exod 15:11; Exod 19:10-16; and Isa 6:3; "Holy; Holy; Holy; the Lord of the armies. The whole earth is full of His glory." God's integrity is self existent as a part of His unchangeable identity.

The justice of God is man's point of reference with God. God can do nothing for mankind that would conflict with His perfect justice. Prior to the fall of man in the Garden, the love of God was man's point of reference with God. But the love of God has not been man's point of reference since the fall.

The justice of God warned man in Gen 2:17; not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil because it would result in spiritual death and separation from God.

Divine justice administers a system of divine laws that are compatible with God's perfect integrity. Divine justice is the function of eternal God as the judge, the evaluator of mankind, and renders daily decisions regarding mankind in the supreme court of heaven.

The decisions of the supreme court of heaven are always compatible with God's perfect righteousness. Everything God does must be compatible with God's righteousness. This includes the condemnation, salvation, the spiritual life, and the death of every individual.

In the integrity of God, perfect righteousness demands perfect righteousness and justice demands justice. Since man is a sinner, he can have no integrity before God unless provision is made for him to share divine integrity.

In perfect righteousness the divine compatibility for integrity is revealed. In justice the divine incompatibility for sin, human good, and evil is revealed. Psa 45:6-7; Heb 1:8-9;

What perfect righteousness demands, justice executes. Perfect righteousness rejects man's sin, evil and human good while justice condemns it.

At the cross, the personal sins of mankind were imputed to the humanity of Christ and judged by the justice of God the Father. At the cross God the Father briefly set aside His eternal love for His Son and judged Him in our place as our substitute. Rom 5:8; 2Cor 5:21;

The imputation of perfect righteousness at salvation is the basis for all blessings to man from the integrity of God. But justice can only bless where perfect righteousness exists.

In time, justice only blesses under two categories: logistical grace for all believers, 2Cor 9:8; and escrow blessings that are part of "greater grace" for believers who advance in the spiritual life. James 4:6;

The documentation of divine righteousness is found in Lev 19:2; 1Sam 2:2; Psa 22:3; Psa 47:8; Psa 119:9;

That God is absolute good is documented in Psa 25:8; Psa 34:3; Psa 86:5; Psa 119:68; James 1:17;

God is perfect in person and character. God is totally free from any form of sin. God is perfect in all of His attitudes and actions. God is perfect in rejecting all human standards of righteousness because none of them are compatible with His perfect righteousness. Isa 64:6;

As we have seen the moment anyone believes in Christ; God the Father imputes His very own righteousness to the believer. 2Cor 5:21; Rom 10:4;

The imputation of God's righteousness is the means of justification; Rom 5:1; "Therefore; being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."

The imputation of God's righteousness is a guarantee that God the Father now has personal love for the believer in TLJC because it is the basis for the believer's compatibility with God's integrity.

The imputation of God's righteousness frees God's perfect divine justice to bless believers with the logistical grace blessings that are necessary to sustain life. The principle of divine integrity is divine righteousness and the function of divine integrity is divine justice.

God cannot accept anything less than perfect righteousness and God cannot bless anything less than perfect righteousness. Consequently, the justice of God is the source of all direct blessing from God to the believer.

The righteousness of God rejects what the justice of God condemns. This means that the righteousness of God demands discipline for the believer who fails to execute the spiritual life of the Church Age. The justice of God administers what the righteousness of God demands.

Perfect divine righteousness resides in the believer from the very moment of salvation. Therefore the believer is qualified to receive life support and blessing from God under the principle of logistical grace.

Jesus explained this in Matt 6:33; "But first seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things (justification at salvation, logistical grace, personal love from God) shall be provided for you."

Divine integrity is not cancelled because some member of the human race rejects Jesus Christ as savior. God's integrity is not cancelled because some believers fail to execute the spiritual life after salvation. Lack of integrity or virtue in mankind does not cancel the integrity or virtue of God. Rom 3:3-4;

God has provided for everyone, the fact that some reject his provision is not his problem. In fact the rejection of God's provision glorifies God because he foreknew they would reject it and he still provided because of his perfect integrity. Psa 76:10;

There are three functions of the integrity of God. The righteousness of God is the point of responsibility toward all the sins of the human race. For one to be responsible for something, it must be within one's power to control.

In this case, responsibility refers to the power of God related to the integrity of God. The integrity of God has eternal capacity expressed in the righteousness of God in eternity past to know simultaneously all that is knowable.

This knowledge included all human sin, and all sin was dealt with perfectly in the divine decree. Jesus Christ personally took the responsibility or burden of obligation to deal with those sins.

The point of responsibility toward sin was made in eternity past by four decisions of Jesus Christ as eternal God.

His decision to provide the unlimited substitutionary atonement, that would be acceptable to God's perfect integrity,

His decision to provide propitiation (the responsibility to satisfy the justice of God),

His decision to provide reconciliation God with man (to fulfill the responsibility to provide salvation by grace through faith alone in Christ alone), and

His decision to provide redemption (to fulfill the responsibility purchasing our freedom from the slave market of sin.

Responsibility is the reliability and dependability of the human nature of Jesus Christ to willingly go to the Cross in a state of impeccability and be judged for the sins of the entire human race.

The righteousness of God is the point of responsibility toward all the sins of the entire human race. God's justice is completely satisfied with what God's righteousness did so the believer is eternally secure in their salvation because they are protected by the power of God's righteousness, his justice, and his immutability. 1Pet 1:3-5; John 10:27-30; Mal 3:6; James 1:17;

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