Title

Justice In Law Requires Retribution

Scripture
Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, but such as keep the law contend with them.
(Proverbs 28:4)
Devotional
I recently heard a preacher say a really foolish thing: “If we went by the law of ‘a tooth for a tooth and an eye for an eye’, we would have a bunch of blind toothless people walking around.”
The foolishness of this statement is that it implies that the precepts of God are outdated or archaic. The principle is as sound today as it was when God gave those instructions to Moses because there is no retribution in our justice system. Our justice system is more than flawed. The criminal mind has no fear of the law because the law has no power to chastise and punish. Therefore, the mistaken preacher praised the wicked by forsaking the law.
We may not like the law, but if there is fear in breaking it, we will be much more apt to keep it. I cannot tell you how many times the fear of the law of my parents kept me from wrongdoing. For I knew that if I got caught, there was going to be retribution to pay.
Text For The Day
Proverbs 28:4: Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, but such as keep the law contend with them.
 
Thought For The Day
“Justice and mercy are the two blades of one pair of scissors; grace is the handle” Tony Foglio
Questions To Ponder
Morning Study Guide
Defining:  “Law” “The term toÆraÆ is used in some instances in the OT for law in general. In the great majority of cases it is used for commandments in the vetitive (‘you shall not do this’), imperative (‘do this’) and jussive (‘you shall do this’). It is a commandment from a person of higher authority to a lower one,” The New Bible Dictionary
 
Referencing: “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light… finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them,” Ephesians 5:8-11
 
Applying: Grace, mercy and justice are inseparable; walk in them.