“Justice,” defined in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary is “the establishment or determination of rights according to the rules of law or equity.” It is also described as “the quality of being just or impartial.” We often hear the cry for justice ringing out across the globe. People who feel that they are being treated unjustly protest with signs and raise their voices in unison as they cry out, “No Justice! No Peace.” Even if we do not join public protests, we sometimes think to ourselves, “that’s just not fair.”
Evidently, the justice, or fairness of God was being questioned by some in Rome. Before we get to our Scripture this morning let me ask you a question. Let’s say that during the fires of a couple of weeks ago, there was a house on fire with an entire family trapped inside. They were all doomed to die in the fire. A brave fire fighter was somehow able to break through the front door and rescue two of the little children in the house before he was overcome by the thick smoke on his way out of the house. Before he could get back inside the house, and rescue the rest of the family, all of them died. Would there have been a public outcry for the fire fighter’s job? Would he have been tried in court for allowing the other family members to die? No, we would have been grateful that he risked his life to save any of the family members.
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