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Himself, while the latter is that perfection of God by which He maintains Himself over against
every violation of His holiness, and shows in every respect that He is the Holy One. It is to this
righteousness that the term “justice” more particularly applies. Justice mani fests itself
especially in giving every man his due, in treating him according to his deserts. The inherent
righteousness of God is naturally basic to the righteousness which He reveals in dealing with His
creatures, but it is especially the latter, also called the justice of God, that calls for special
consideration here. The Hebrew terms for “righteous” and “righteousness” are tsaddik,
tsedhek, and tsedhakah, and the corresponding Greek terms, dikaios and dikaiosune, all of
which contain the idea of conformity to a standard. This perfection is repeatedly ascribed to
God in Scripture, Ezra 9:15; Neh. 9:8; Ps. 119:137; 145:17; Jer. 12:1; Lam. 1:18; Dan. 9:14; John
17:25; II Tim. 4:8; I John 2:29; 3:7; Rev. 16:5.
b. Distinctions applied to the justice of God.
There is first of all a rectoral justice of God. This
justice, as the very name implies, is the rectitude which God manifests as the Ruler of both the
good and the evil. In virtue of it He has instituted a moral government in the world, and
imposed a just law upon man, with promises of reward for the obedient, and threats of
punishment for the transgressor. God stands out prominently in the Old Testament as the
Lawgiver of Israel, Isa. 33:22, and of people in general, Jas. 4:12, and His laws are righteous
laws, Deut. 4:8. The Bible refers to this rectoral work of God also in Ps. 99:4, and Rom. 1:32.
Closely connected with the rectoral is the distributive justice of God. This term usually serves to
designate God’s rectitude in the execution of the law, and relates to the distribution of rewards
and punishments, Isa. 3:10,11; Rom. 2:6; I Pet. 1:17. It is of two kinds: (1) Remunerative justice,
which manifests itself in the distribution of rewards to both men and angels, Deut. 7:9,12,13; II
Chron. 6:15; Ps. 58:11; Micah 7:20; Matt. 25:21,34; Rom. 2:7; Heb. 11:26. It is really an
expression of the divine love, dealing out its bounties, not on the basis of strict merit, for the
creature can establish no absolute merit before the Creator, but according to promise and
agreement, Luke 17:10; I Cor. 4:7. God’s rewards are gracious and spring from a covenant
relation which He has established. (2) Retributive justice, which relates to the infliction of
penalties. It is an expression of the divine wrath. While in a sinless world there would be no
place for its exercise, it necessarily holds a very prominent place in a world full of sin. On the
whole the Bible stresses the reward of the righteous more than the punishment of the wicked;
but even the latter is sufficiently prominent. Rom. 1:32; 2:9; 12:19; II Thess. 1:8, and many
other passages. It should be noted that, while man does not merit the reward which he
receives, he does merit the punishment which is meted out to him. Divine justice is originally
and necessarily obliged to punish evil, but not to reward good, Luke 17:10; I Cor. 4:7; Job 41:11.
Many deny the strict punitive justice of God and claim that God punishes the sinner to reform
him, or to deter others from sin; but these positions are not tenable. The primary purpose of