Don't Put Your Hope in January 20th

True, perfect, and lasting justice will not be carried out in this life, but it will be carried out in eternity.

For those who were hoping that Donald Trump would remain President and that many who have done great evil would be brought to justice, remember the Source of ultimate hope and justice. True and perfect and lasting justice will not be carried out in this life, but it will be carried out in eternity.

For those who were hoping that Joe Biden would become President and who believe his inauguration will right many wrongs and that justice will now reign in our land, remember the Source of ultimate hope and justice. True and perfect and lasting justice will not be carried out in this life, but it will be carried out in eternity.

Many of us have had great hopes over these past three months, hopes that have been tied directly to the person who sits in the Oval Office. But regardless whether our preferred candidate is now serving as President, we must remember that the next four years (just like the last four years) are a tiny dot on the long line of history. Nations rise, and nations fall. But the LORD will continue to reign forever.

Knowing the unchallenged reign of our sovereign LORD, what should all of us do in the coming days and in the coming four years? First, we should pray that the LORD might still give us glimpses of the true and lasting justice that will reign in the new heavens and the new earth. We should pray that the LORD would “[g]ive justice to the weak and the fatherless, [that He would] maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute” (Psalm 82:3). And we should not only pray, but we should do what we can to work for true justice—justice as defined by Scripture and not our own personal desires or preferences. We should work to relieve suffering. Strive to care for the poor. “[S]eek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause” (Isaiah 1:17). And as we work, we should pray that God grants us wisdom to recognize true injustice and to bring about a truly just justice, not simply what a fallen world would define as justice.

But even if our best efforts at achieving true justice fall short, and even if the efforts of leaders we esteem should ultimately fail, remember the One who still sits on His throne and who will, in His perfect timing, put all His enemies under His feet and usher in a reign of perfect justice. Hear these words from Psalm 146:3-9:

3 Put not your trust in princes,

in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.

4 When his breath departs, he returns to the earth;

on that very day his plans perish.

5 Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,

whose hope is in the Lord his God,

6 who made heaven and earth,

the sea, and all that is in them,

who keeps faith forever;

7 who executes justice for the oppressed,

who gives food to the hungry.

The Lord sets the prisoners free;

8 the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.

The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;

the Lord loves the righteous.

9 The Lord watches over the sojourners;

he upholds the widow and the fatherless,

but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

Finally, as we look to the injustice around us, may God also grant us grace to recognize our own sinfulness: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). Not only that, but while we rightly long for great injustices to be made right, may we remember that it is not only the deeds of others that will one day be exposed; our own deeds will all one day be laid bare:

“But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed” (2 Peter 3:10).

Indeed, “no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:13).

I often hope for justice to be done—for the deeds of the wicked to be exposed—but I often forget the sinfulness of my own heart and that all of *my* secret sins will one day be laid bare. This reality should be cause for deep reflection, and it should terrify all who have not trusted in Christ. But for those who have trusted in Jesus, take heart that the LORD has atoned for all your sins, including those that are currently known by others and those that are currently unknown.

And for those who have not trusted in Christ, if you are reading this post it is not too late! Turn to Christ and be saved! He welcomes you, just as He welcomes me, and just as He has welcomed our enemies. We only need repent and turn to Christ:

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15).

What is this gospel?

1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. —Ephesians 2:1-9

21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. —Romans 3:21-26