With what shall I come before the Lord and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has showed you, O man, what is good, And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Today we are going to take a look at what it means to act justly.
The word "to act" imply behavior. It's something that you do. You have to do, you have to behave in such a way that is justly. Justly means honestly and fairly. It also means in conformity to fact or rule and it also means as deserved. Let's take a look at some examples in Scripture.
First let's look at the story of Zacchaeus. Luke 19:1-9. Zacchaeus was a tax collector. Tax collectors were seen as sinners because they often cheated and collected more money than was required. They made themselves quite wealthy through such dishonest gain. Zacchaeus was the chief tax collector and was quite wealthy, however, he repented. Verse 8 reads, "But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord!" Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount." When Zacchaeus repented, it wasn't just a "move forward" philosophy. It wasn't just a "I'll stop cheating" decision. He went back and made his past actions right again. He didn't just repay what he took - he multiplied his retribution.
Next, we have the story of Ananias and Sapphira, a dishonest couple. You can read their story in Acts 5:1-11. Members of the church had been sharing their possessions and giving money to the apostles. Ananias and Sapphira wanted in on some of the attention received. They had a plot of land and sold it. They decided that they didn't want to give all the money, but they wanted the church to believe that they had given all of their money. They lied to the apostles and said that they had given all that they had earned from the sale. Ananias ans Sapphira wanted the praise of men and thought they could fool men. But God cannot be fooled. Verse 4b says "You have not lied to me but to God." Ananias and Sapphire died as a result of their lies.
Psalm 106:3 - Blessed are those who act justly, who always do what is right. When you act justly, you do what is right. You are honest and you are fair. When you do what is right, you obey God. You conform to the rule of God. James 1:22 says, "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says."
"justly." Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition. HarperCollins Publishers. 26 Jun. 2013.
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