Strict justice a characteristic of Messiah's kingdom.
Whatever may be said, and said with truth, of the Divine mercy, still there is no quality more characteristic of God's rule over man than his justice. "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" (Genesis 18:25); "God is a righteous Judge" (Psalms 7:11); "He shall judge the world in righteousness, and minister judgment to the people in uprightness (Psalms 9:8). If this were not so, the whole foundations of morality would fall. And Messiah's rule was to be like God's—was, in very truth, to be God's. It had, therefore, to be strictly just. What is most wonderful in that marvelous scheme of salvation, which infinite wisdom conceived and decreed from everlasting, is that in it a way was contrived whereby "mercy and truth' might "meet together," and "righteousness and peace kiss each other" (Psalms 85:10). Attributes of God, seemingly contradictory, obtained a wondrous reconciliation by means of the sacrifice of Christ, which, though its whole import may transcend our faculties, was beyond all doubt an integer in the equation wherein mercy and truth met together, and reconcilement was made between "the wrath of man" and "the righteousness of God." The justice of Messiah's kingdom was shown—
I. IN CHRIST'S SEVERE CONDEMNATION OF EVERY FORM OF MORAL EVIL. "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!" (Matthew 23:13); "Depart from me, ye that work iniquity" (Matthew 7:23); "Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment" (Matthew 12:36); "Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts … and these defile a man" (Matthew 15:19, Matthew 15:20). Christ made no compromise with sin. In his most signal act of mercy his words were, "Neither do I condemn thee; go, and sin no more" (John 8:11).
II. IN THE STRICT DISCIPLINE AT FIRST ESTABLISHED IN HIS CHURCH. "Purge out … the old leaven" (1 Corinthians 5:7); "Put away from among yourselves that wicked person" (1 Corinthians 5:13); "Now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such a one no not to eat" (1 Corinthians 5:11). The apostles "delivered to Satan' those who sinned grievously (1 Corinthians 5:5; 1 Timothy 1:20)—cut them off from the communion of the faithful (Galatians 5:12), and only restored them after confession and penance. "The princes ruled in judgment" (Isaiah 32:1).
III. IN THE SOLEMN DECLARATIONS MADE OF A FINAL JUDGMENT ACCORDING TO WORKS. "I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works" (Revelation 20:12, Revelation 20:13; comp. Matthew 7:23; Matthew 12:37; Matthew 13:39-43; Matthew 25:31-46, etc.).