God’s Love and Justice

For some Christians, it’s hard to believe in a God who is both unconditionally loving and yet hates lots of things. Some people picture God as an angry judge waiting to punish sin (God is angry at sin), while others see Him as a gentle grandfather who lovingly overlooks our wrongdoing (God loves us). The Bible presents a more complex but beautiful picture of God. His love and justice are not in competition with each other, but they actually flow from the same loving heart. God's justice and anger is one way He expresses His love. He cannot tolerate sin precisely because He loves His creation too much to let it be damaged and destroyed. His anger at sin and injustice comes from His passionate love for what is right and good. This creates a tension we must learn to live with. How do we relate to a God who is both tender toward us and fiercely angry at everything that damages us and our world, including our own actions and choices at times?

Explore: Psalm 33:4-8 and Romans 2:5-11

Psalm 33:4-8 (NIV)

⁴For the word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does. ⁵The LORD loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love. ⁶By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth. ⁷He gathers the waters of the sea into jars; he puts the deep into storehouses. ⁸Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the people of the world revere him.

Romans 2:5-11 (NIV)

⁵But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. ⁶God "will repay each person according to what they have done." ⁷To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honour and immortality, he will give eternal life. ⁸But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. ⁹There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; ¹⁰but glory, honour and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. ¹¹For God does not show favouritism.

Journal

1. What is God saying to me? Which verse is most significant?
2. What would I like to discuss/explore further?
3. What do I need to do?
4. What do these passages tell you about God's love and His justice?

Reflect

The Psalmist declares that "the LORD loves righteousness and justice" and that "the earth is full of his unfailing love" (Psalm 33:5). Notice that these aren't contradictory statements for the Psalmist. God's passion for righteousness and His unfailing love for creation go together. They are the same love expressed in different ways. When God sees injustice, oppression, or cruelty in our world (including inside of us), His heart breaks more than ours does. His anger at sin isn't the opposite of His love—it's love in action, defending what He treasures.

Paul helps us understand this in Romans 2. God's wrath isn't arbitrary or vindictive. It's His righteous response to choices that destroy human flourishing. When people persist in self-seeking behaviour that disobeys his perfect order and harms his creation, God cannot overlook it. But notice that His judgment is perfectly fair—"God will repay each person according to what they have done" (2:6). He has no favourites.

We intuitively understand that wrongdoing demands a response. When a child is abused, when the innocent are oppressed, when promises are broken and trust is shattered, something deep within us cries out that this cannot go unanswered. This isn't just a human emotion; it is the image of God within us responding to violations of His moral order. Sin isn't just a mistake or a weakness; it's a rebellion against the very fabric of reality that God designed for flourishing. Every act of sin tears at the goodness of creation, wounds people made in God's image, and dishonours the One who made all things beautiful. To not be fiercely protective would to be, well …unloving.

Think of it this way: if God simply overlooked sin, He would be saying that the suffering of victims doesn't matter, that the moral order of creation is meaningless, that love itself has no real substance. A God who didn't respond to sin wouldn't be loving—He'd be indifferent. Love that doesn't respond to what destroys the beloved isn't really love at all.

Here’s what is beautiful about God's character: His justice serves His love. He doesn't punish because He enjoys punishment. He acts with justice because He loves His creation too much to let evil destroy it forever. God is like a loving parent who disciplines a child, not because they hate the child, but because they love them too much to let destructive behaviour continue unchecked.

This means we can trust both God's love and His justice completely. We don't have to choose between them or worry that one will override the other. When we mess up, we can run to God knowing His love is real and unchanging. When we see evil in the world, we can trust that His justice will ultimately make things right. In fact, we are called to participate with God in bringing this justice into the world. When we struggle with our own sin, we can know that God takes it very seriously. We can rely on His grace to forgive us, and His power to change us.

Ultimately, the cross of Jesus is where God's love and justice meet perfectly. God's love refused to abandon us to sin and death. God's justice refused to overlook the seriousness of sin. So Jesus took our punishment upon himself, satisfying justice while demonstrating the depths of divine love. At the cross, we see that God's love and justice are in full harmony. Sin received its full response, and love finds its ultimate expression.

Pray

Holy God, thank You that Your love and justice flow from the same perfect heart. I'm grateful that You love me too much to leave me trapped in sin, and that You're good enough to make all things right. Thank You for Jesus’ sacrifice in which Your love and justice work together perfectly. Shape my heart to love what You love and to hate what destroys Your good creation.

Respond

1. Face your sin honestly. What sin in your life are you minimizing or making excuses for? Stop. God's love doesn't overlook your sin—it must deal with it. Confess it and let His grace do its work.

2. Channel righteous anger. What injustice makes your blood boil? Good. That's God's heart in you. Now do something about it. Pray, act, speak up. Don't just feel—act.

3. Lean the other way. Do you lean more towards showing love or wanting justice? Try to act in the opposite way to what you normally would this week to see how they are both a vital part of God’s heart.

Written by Daniel Sweetman