Justice

Justice in biblical theology refers to God's essential attribute of moral rectitude and his active governance of the world in accordance with righteousness. The Hebrew concepts of mishpat (judgment, right decision) and tsedaqah (righteousness, conformity to a standard) together constitute the biblical understanding of justice, and both are used of God as the foundation of his throne. Divine justice expresses itself in the condemnation of sin, the vindication of the righteous, the protection of the poor and powerless, and ultimately in the cross, where God's justice and mercy meet in the atoning death of Christ.

The prophets consistently called Israel's rulers and people to embody justice in their social and legal practice, and the New Testament insists that justification — being declared righteous before God — is itself an act of divine justice accomplished through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ.