The laws of agency, obedience, justice, judgement, and mercy are all interconnected.  Each is essential for the functional integrity and eternal longevity of all God’s laws and creations. Each are essential for our progression.

The Laws of Justice and Judgement stipulate that there must be fair and equitable consequences for both obedience and disobedience to God’s laws. They also stipulate that there must be equitable consequences and punishments for violating or infringing upon the fundamental rights and freedoms of others, which rights and freedoms are perpetually upheld and enforced and are under the protection of the sum of God’s laws.

Justice is a legal necessity. The laws of justice maintain functional integrity and legal equilibrium throughout God’s vast creations. Without maintaining justice, God would cease to be God and all of God’s creations would revert to chaos.

Judgement is the divine intervention. Left to our own devices, there would be no justice. So, God, by necessity, must occasionally intervene to dispense justice in the form of judgement in the execution of the law. God’s judgement comes in the form of both blessings and punishments; but even in dispensing punishment, God blesses inasmuch as He is revealing His light. In revealing His light, God shows us the way forward in what we must do to be positively blessed.

Restoration is the requisite reward. We are rewarded according to our works. If our works are good, we are rewarded with good. If our works are evil, we are rewarded with evil consequences which are of our own making. Restoration occurs naturally. It is the natural consequence for our actions. As the purveyor of natural law, God’s blessings are only natural.

Restitution is the restoration to one’s natural state. We are to be restored to that order, realm, or kingdom to which we naturally belong, according to the laws we have kept and obeyed. This will be discussed more fully later on.

There are two fundamental offenses in the eyes of God:

1. Acts that harm oneself.
2. Acts that harm others.

When we do less than what is best, we do harm, both by omission and commission.

When we do harm, we fall under the condemnation of the law according to the justice of God.

I find it amazing that God loves us so much that He even stipulates laws against us harming ourselves. Of course, when we harm ourselves, we inevitably harm others as well in many ways. When we harm ourselves, we lessen the good we have done and can do for others, and we increase the harm we do and shall do to others.

As we violate the laws of God, our infractions have a ripple effect upon others as we lessen the good we can do and increase the harm that we have done, which harm continues and compounds over time. This should help to motivate us to do good in consideration of the love and concern we have for our family and loved ones.

Incidentally, this is one of the reasons we are commanded to love others; our love inspires goodness and obedience to God’s laws out of concern for the welfare of those we love. Even if you do not yet love God very much, hopefully, at the least, you love your family and children enough to do what is obviously best for them.

For every law given, there are blessings promised for obedience, and there are punishments (mostly in the form of natural consequences) affixed for disobedience, otherwise, there would be little or no incentive to obey God’s laws and no fear of breaking them.

Of course, it should be easily recognized that most of the blessings for obedience are naturally consequential, as are most of the punishments for disobedience. The laws of God are based on principles of cause and effect. God gives us commandments and stipulates laws to help us wisely navigate the many choices and principles which are a part of everyday life.

It would be impossible to have faith in the promises of God if He did not perfectly uphold the law of justice. If we did not have confidence that He would uphold His end of the bargain, we would not have any rational justification for doing what He asks. God’s blessings to the faithful are acts of justice, commensurate with his laws, commandments, and promises. For the faithful, justice is a wonderful thing. For the unfaithful, it is fraught with bitter remorse and sorrow.

The Justice and Judgement of God is a perpetual act of mercy. It is a beacon of hope. Without justice, we would have no assurance of blessings, protection, equity, or the punishment of offenders. There would be no deterrence for violators. There would be no safety, no peace, no joy, and no gain; there would only be conflict, chaos, and pain. Ultimately, without it, all of God’s creation would revert to chaos. That would be very sad.

God is universally honored because He is the embodiment of perfect justice and perfect judgement. Without that honor, He would not be obeyed, He would not be respected, His power would diminish, and He would cease to be God. God’s honor is His power. [1] He has universal power because he is universally honored because He is the embodiment of justice, judgement, mercy, love, goodness, virtue, and truth. He is universally honored because of precisely what He is. If He were anything even the tiniest bit different from what He is, He would cease to be honored as He is and He would cease to be God.

Now, many Christians will freak out when they read this, crying, “Heresy!” and “Blasphemy!” They think that God is a stand-alone, all-powerful God, who can do anything. As I keep saying, that is simply not true. God is not a tyrant. He does not act arbitrarily. He has laws He must adhere to as well. His power and authority is not arbitrary. He is what He is precisely because His actions are never arbitrary; He always embodies the perfection of the highest laws. He must uphold the rule of law. If He were otherwise, He would have no power under the law. If it were otherwise, there would be no law! Nobody is above being governed by law, not even God. God is not all-powerful in the sense that He can do anything; He is all-powerful in that He has all power that righteously exists; but He too is governed by law, otherwise, we could not have confidence and faith in Him. God is Himself bound by the rule of law.

Those who take upon them His nature, who are exalted with His perfections, are those who are qualified and chosen to rule and reign under Him. If anything less were acceptable, the universe would quickly become a horrific place.

Those who think that salvation is granted by grace, and by grace alone, without works, and without perfection, have no idea what salvation even is. Salvation involves a transformation from what we are to what God is. If you think that is sacrilegious, or that this somehow diminishes God, then you really have no idea who or what God is, and you will be disappointed to learn that God actually wants to give you everything that He has and is.

When we rebel against God, when we actively do what we know is wrong, justice and judgement become dreaded things because deep down we know that the demands of justice exact a penalty for such things. The bottom line is that those who continue to knowingly brake God’s laws, and sin, cannot be saved in the kingdom of God, according to the justice of God. On the other hand, even if you unknowingly break God’s laws, you still cannot inherit a higher degree of glory. Only those who learn the law and keep the law can dependably uphold the law—no exceptions.

“But behold, and fear, and tremble before God, for ye ought to tremble; for the Lord redeemeth none such that rebel against him and die in their sins; yea, even all those that have perished in their sins ever since the world began, that have willfully rebelled against God, that have known the commandments of God, and would not keep them; these are they that have no part in the first resurrection. Therefore, ought ye not to tremble?  For salvation cometh to none such; for the Lord hath redeemed none such; yea, neither can the Lord redeem such; for he cannot deny himself; for he cannot deny justice when it has its claim.”[2]

The law of Justice is a product of the love of God. By justice, he blesses us; by justice he protects us; by justice He is able to exalt all those who have faith on His holy name, according to the quality of their faith.

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[1] Doctrine and Covenants 29:36

[2] Book of Mormon | Mosiah 15:26 – 27

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