Category: Theology 101
Communicable Attributes
D. Righteousness, Justice.
“I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice, and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things.”
God acts rightly. He does what is right, and only what is right.
Righteousness and justice are legal terms, that is they have to do with law. Of course, there is no law outside of God to which He must conform. He conforms to the standard of His own nature, and He acts in complete accordance with it. There is no darkness in Him at all. Therefore, whatever God does is righteous, and whatever He wants humans to do is their standard of righteousness. God's laws derive from who He is and what He desires. Thus it is inherently contradictory to think of God doing anything unrighteous—He cannot because whatever He does is, by definition, just. Man's righteousness is determined by how closely he acts in accordance to God's will.
God’s righteousness combined with man’s sinfulness strike terror into the hearts of men, for it would be unjust of God to let a lawbreaker go unpunished. And an offense against an infinite God deserves infinite retribution. If God were a God of justice without grace, we would all be lost in despair.