IDEA: There are two kinds of justice in the Bible and in this parable: distributive and retributive.
TEXT: "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.' Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick or in prison, and come to You?' And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.' Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.' Then they also will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?' Then He will answer them, saying, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.' And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life" (Matthew 25:31-46).
PURPOSE: To help listeners understand more clearly what the Bible means by justice.
When we think of "the justice system," what kinds of things come to mind? If you think about love, what parts of the parable come to mind?
We can easily separate justice and love.
I. The Bible does deal with retributive justice. God punishes iniquity.
That's at the core of the gospel. Christ died for our sins so that the justice of God could be satisfied. This is retributive justice.
II. Justice also deals with how we treat other people. We call this distributive justice.
The word righteousness is often used as a synonym for justice in the Bible.
"He has dispersed abroad, He has given to the poor; His righteousness endures forever. Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness" (2 Corinthians 9:9-10).
"The Lord executes righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed" (Psalm 103:6). God's justice has to do with the way He treats those who are helpless.
" 'Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom. Let not the mighty man glory in his might, nor let the rich man glory in his riches; 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" (Jeremiah 9:23).
Throughout the Bible love and justice do not appear as distinct and contrasting principles. There is an overlapping between them.
III. Those who fail to reflect God's distributive justice, will receive His retributive justice.