I’m sure you’d agree that injustice is rampant! This can cause us to wonder if “things” can or will ever be set right.
A significant contributor to Western thought was the eighteenth-century German philosopher Immanuel Kant.
Kant observed that all mankind has an innate sense of right and wrong. This inner judicial system drives our actions and decisions. This sense of right and wrong inclines us to make laws, to punish criminals, etc. This in turn helps prevent society from escalating toward total anarchy.
Kant also maintained that conforming to a system of fixed ethics makes sense only if justice will surely come. In other words, we’ll live by a set of moral principles only if we know that there is reward coming for those who do right and punishment for those who do wrong.
Of course, Kant was aware that justice is imperfect in this life: We sometimes see wrongs not punished and rights not rewarded. Therefore, as someone has aptly put it: Justice will prevail only if there is life beyond death, only if there is a perfect Judge who will right all wrongs that do not get rectified or are only imperfectly rectified before death; if there is no afterlife, no final judgment, there isn’t much incentive for not doing whatever we want whenever we want.
Here’s the good news: Christ’s resurrection guarantees the believers’ (i.e., those who have placed their faith in Christ alone for the forgiveness of sin) resurrection — and thereby proves there will be a final judgment where justice will prevail (see I Corinthians 15:20-28,50-58).
So, be of good cheer: The Bible teaches that a day of perfect justice is in fact coming! Those of us who live by faith in the resurrected Savior can take heart when wearied in the fight for what is right because we believe our efforts are not, ultimately, futile. God will in fact reward all who choose His path in this life.
