Justice Delayed is not Justice Denied
Rev. Richard A. Bolland

Isaiah 26:1-4,8-9,12-13,19-21
(Nov. 2, 2003 Sermon Transcript)

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        Dear friends in Christ, on this All Saints Sunday, we often remember, and rightly so, those whom God has called to stand for His name. To stand for those who hate His name, and who hate His people, and who oftentimes bring upon this church great persecution, and trial, and often even death.

        In this last Monday’s Washington Times, a brief, and (I might add) well-buried story, which read, in part, "Egypt has launched a crackdown on Christian missionaries, arresting more than 20 in the last week. Many of those arrested were Muslims who recently converted to Christianity", Middle-East Newsline reported. Local Christians fear that arrests will continue. And many other converts from Islam, who have been living quietly as Christians may now be arrested in the next few days.

        Needless to say, when it comes time to be offering our prayers, we will ascend with them to heaven to seek God’s grace and strength at such a time as this. I must tell you, none of this is new. For from the days of the persecuting Saul, to the Coliseums of Rome, to the killing fields of Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia, and Indonesia, Christians have paid, and continue to pay dearly, for the cause of Jesus Christ.

        In our Old Testament reading from the prophet Isaiah, we hear words that render some comfort. For these words too were ascribed to those who were in affliction, and were ascribed to those who were in bondage, and who feared the worst. The prophet speaks. I would speak to you as I would speak to you of clarity, of the persecution, the end and the final deliverance of the day of the Lord’s choosing, when He comes. Not only to bring us home to Him, but also to bring justice to the earth. But also to bring justice on the earth. For as we learned in this passage, and in many others as well, that justice delayed in the eyes of God is not, is not justice denied.

        In this world, justice for the followers of Jesus Christ, seems rather far removed. From apostolic times, the followers of Christ have been vilified and persecuted, and yes, often murdered. And it has not stopped to this very day.

        In the nation of the Sudan in Africa, nine American Christians (and they were simply aid workers, bringing food and medicine to the Christian people to the southern part of that nation) were murdered this week. And indeed, we find that this is just a part of the ongoing genocide in that particular nation. Just that nation, which for the past 16 years has claimed the lives of over 2 million people, mostly Christians.

        In Jordan, this last week, courts are removing children from Christian homes, and granting child custody to parents who are not even related.

        In Vietnam, two weeks ago, Christian Montagnards have been beaten and murdered and tortured as a continuing protest against the Christian faith they hold. And this is done by the police of the nation.

        In Eritrea, at least 230 Christians have been imprisoned for having the gall to have a Bible in their homes. Sources have been unable to determine the status of 57 young boy, who, on August the 19th, were place in metal boxes, because they refused. They refused to sign a statement renouncing their faith. And they will be kept there until they do.

        It is estimated, and I might add, conservatively so, that during this particular point of this world’s history, that approximately 200,000 Christians a year die for the faith of Jesus Christ. That means that this time, this time, in the world’s history, is the greatest time of persecution that has ever been for the Christian church, and should be a sign to us that indeed, if we are not in the last days, we are surely approaching them.

        It should be pointed out as well that these martyrs, as do all Christians at time of persecution, cry for justice, but as has been true since the very beginning of time when God’s people have suffered persecution, it seems to those going through it that God seems to be perhaps far away, perhaps not to be listening as well as we think He ought. But God graciously tells us it is not so.

        The prophet Isaiah speaks to such suffering for the faith for indeed, the people of Judah to whom he writes this particular passage find themselves in a terrible spot. For even though their unfaithfulness brought upon the nation of Judah destruction, as well as for the nation of Israel to the north. For indeed, the people of Judah literally watched as the armies of Assyria literally made a vassal state out of northern kingdom, surrounded and besieged them and literally took them over, destroying them as a people, and hauling many of them into bondage in Assyria.

        And we find people are pleading. Indeed, the prophet himself if pleading, as we read in this text, he writes, Yes, LORD, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts. My soul yearns for you in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for you. When your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness.

        God’s people wait and pray, and speak the faith. And they speak the faith regardless of the circumstances. We, of course, are most blessed to be in a nation which, for the most part, allows us to worship as we will. Which permits us to speak plainly the faith that we hold. And we thank God for that. But lest we become complacent in our own comfort, let it be known that God has promised redemption and justice for all people of all times.

        Listen to the words of hope that God speaks through His servant Isaiah, for in the first four verses of our Old Testament reading, these words are given us. In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city; God makes salvation its walls and ramparts. Open the gates that the righteous nation may enter, the nation that keeps faith. You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock eternal.

        Here is peace with God that is not dependent on the circumstances of life. Here is peace that is not dependent on our own strength, but to lean on the strength which God alone can provide us, especially in times of persecution and trial. This is peace which is ours alone through Christ Jesus our Lord, who lived an incredibly sinless life, so that those of us who must bear the name "sinners", and that is us all, will be able to claim the righteousness of His son. And indeed, we bear it now.

        This is peace that will prevail in the end, even if, God forbid, we be placed in the situation in which many of our faith now find themselves, and our very lives are threatened.

        How is it possible? Even in the face of persecution and death? It is possible because Christ is our strength, and Christ is our salvation, and He is, as our text says, our rock who is eternal.

        Isaiah knew of what he spoke. Indeed we read in the 53rd chapter of Isaiah, the words of our hope. In speaking of the one who would come, the suffering servant, Jesus Christ our Lord, he writes, Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

        And so we do not find our hope, we do not find our peace in human efforts to please God. For always, our motivations are mixed, at best. And always, if we try to take the measure of ourselves, looking within to find comfort instead we find only doubt, and despair, and fear. For we do not live as we ought to live. And we cannot please God by our human efforts and strength. But rather, we depend on the one who has. We depend on Christ, who has done all things well, who has gone to the cross, who has paid our price, who has carried our infirmities. And yes, by His stripes, by His whipping, by His breathing of His last, by His death and His laying in a stone-cold tomb, we are healed. And our sins are washed away.

        In Acts 2:38-39, scripture says that in our baptism we receive the gift of the forgiveness of sins, and the gift of the Holy Spirit. And that this is for you and for our children, and for all whom God will call (listen carefully) to Himself. God calls us to faith. Jesus said, You did not choose me, I chose you! God grants us even the ability to believe that all things may be a measure of His grace. And for those who live this life, as we all must, struggling with sin and doubt, then we know that our hope is not found within. But as it is with faith, so too our life is in His hands. And anything we do, any testimony we provide to our faith in Him, any persecution to which we stand against, let it be known that we do so by His power, and by His grace, so that we know that grace avails in all things.

        With salvation in Christ also comes a sure and certain promise of ultimate and final justice. Justice sometimes seems in short supply among us. Criminals get off on the flimsiest of legal nuancing. And indeed, we find that sometimes murderers walk free among us. We find indeed that justice, especially for those who are persecuted for the name of Christ, doesn’t even seem to happen in our seeing, but this text tells us with absolute clarity that that justice will be known. God has a very long and a very good memory, and He will not forget the evils perpetrated against His people.

        Listen to the words of Jesus as they are recorded by St. Matthew. He will say to those on his left, depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.' "They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' "He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

        Did you notice the punishment fits the crime? For those without faith in Christ, their good deeds are as nothing, and their evil deeds are counted against them. As He speaks these words to the righteous ones, the ones on His right, they are amazed that they did them! But as He speaks these words to the unrighteous, those on His left, they are astounded that they haven’t! God calls us to be His people. We are not judged by our works, yet our works bear evidence of the faith that is within us. So the judgment is made on what has been done. God graciously looks at His people and knows that justice has already been exacted. Not on us, but on His son.

        For those who do not have the covering, the atonement of Jesus’ blood, their intent was always to be at enmity with God. And therefore, the punishment likewise, must also be eternal. Peaceful kingdom of God when Christ returns, in stark contrast to the conflicts of this world, will be absolutely perfect.

        Listen to the words of our second reading this day. Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

        It is Christ who bears the justice we deserved. And instead of eternal punishment we are granted eternal life in the new Jerusalem.

        The other thing, perhaps, that would be well to remember on this day, is not only that justice will be forthcoming, but that when God permits persecution to come upon His people, He does not permit it without divine purpose. For God has solemnly promised that God will work all things for the good of those who love Him, even the persecution they face, no matter how horrendous it may be.

        History records time and again, the powerful impression of Roman mobs at the Coliseum as the Christians sung hymns while being attacked by the gladiators, or lions. And by their dying. The martyrs of faith have upheld and strengthened the faith of those believers who survived, of your faith and mine, as we see what God can do, even in the midst of death.

        In 1877, Anglican missionaries came to the nation of Uganda in central Africa. They were welcomed initially by the king who was there, but His son, who assumed the throne, hated the missionaries and those who listened to them, and the faith they represented. There were many boys and men who served in his courts, and sometimes they would be found skipping out on their duties and going to catechism, learning the faith. And this infuriated the king, and so he finally called them before him, and insisted that they renounce their faith or die. To a man, and to a boy, they replied to the king these words. "We would rather betray the earthly king than the heavenly king of kings." Then for those who spoke up most loudly, the king took the leaders of the group and had their members cut off, and in front of the rest they were left to bleed to death. And then, to underline the point, a few of the boys more were tossed into a fire in front of the rest, feet first, so that perhaps, at some point, they might renounce the faith, and convince the others to do likewise. But to a man and to a boy they did not.

        Finally, on June 3rd, in 1886, at a place called Namugongo, over 30 boys and men were thrown to their deaths, in firewood they themselves were forced to collect. One at a time, one at a time, the men and boys went into the flames, while the others watched, knowing they were next. As the flames consumed them, they sang these words. "Oh that I had wings of angels, here to spread and heavenward fly. I would seek the gates of Zion far beyond the starry sky!"

        News of their martyrdom spread like wildfire within Uganda. And within two years, every chief in that country converted to the faith of Jesus Christ. Today, at Namugongo, there’s a magnificent shrine to honor the sacrifice that God worked through His people that day. There in that same place, every June 3, people from all over Uganda, and other countries come, pay homage to God for what He did there, and for the faith that He brought to that nation. There’s also a Bible college there, by the way!

        It should be pointed out that God does indeed, in the most awful of situations, grant His people strength. And He does, every single time, bring about His will, even against the evil intent of those who are His enemies.

        Yes, today, this All Saints Day, we thank God for everything He has done. Most of all, of course, for calling us to freedom in Christ, and for withholding His hand of judgment against us, and extending it instead against His own son, that we might live and be His own now and forever.

        But let us also remember that, while we currently enjoy a time of safety, there is no guarantee that it may abide. For indeed there may come a time when we are called. And at that time, if it so comes, God forbid it, that we might stand, and with the voices of Namugongo, sing praises of Jesus Christ the Lord. In whose name we pray, Amen.