{"id":12543,"date":"2016-08-17T01:36:25","date_gmt":"2016-08-17T06:36:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/a-decline-of-justice\/"},"modified":"2016-08-17T01:36:25","modified_gmt":"2016-08-17T06:36:25","slug":"a-decline-of-justice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/a-decline-of-justice\/","title":{"rendered":"A DECLINE OF JUSTICE"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:center;line-height:normal'><b>Proverbs 17:15<\/b><b>; 18:5; 28:4<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:center;line-height:normal'><i>He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the just, Both of them alike are an abomination to the Lord<\/i><\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:center;line-height:normal'><i>(Prov. 17:15).<\/i><\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent: 18.0pt;line-height:normal'>As this study is being written, one of the most sensational murder trials in American history is in progress. The O.J. Simpson trial has everything a television producer could want\u2014a star-studded cast, sex, drugs, spousal abuse, jealousy, racial tension, flashy defense lawyers, and dubious jurors. This mix of intrigue and scandal has captivated the country as millions wait impatiently for the verdict. But the guilt or innocence of one man is not all that is at stake in this trial\u2014so is the integrity of the American judicial system. Many in our country believe our court system has become woefully negligent in its duty to punish the wicked and acquit the innocent. Unfortunately, a sensational trial such as the O.J. Simpson fiasco only confirms our fears that the judicial system might be in decline.<\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent: 18.0pt;line-height:normal'>The Simpson trial can cause one to doubt whether our courts are fulfilling their divinely ordained role\u2014especially when it comes on the heels of cases such as the Menendez and Bobbitt debacles. Trials such as these\u2014and numerous others that fill our newspapers weekly\u2014bring to mind the proverb \u201cAcquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent\u2014the Lord detests them both.\u201d Evidence of a society in decline is the corruption of its judicial system. When the crimes of the wicked are justified and the innocent are condemned, something is amiss in the foundation of that society.<\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent: 18.0pt;line-height:normal'>It is not insignificant in an age when God has been thrown out of the government and the courts, when absolute standards of right and wrong are rejected as out-of-date, and when relativism reigns, that our judicial system has witnessed marked decay. More than anything it represents a provocative abuse of God\u2019s authority. \u201cThe judge or magistrate \u2018is a minister of God for good\u2019 (Rom. 8:4),\u201d Bridges wrote. \u201cThe appeal is to him for justice, as the Representative of God (Deut. 25:1). If the great Judge \u2018loves righteousness and hates iniquity,\u2019 this unrighteousness justifying the wicked must be abomination to Him.\u2026 But in a world, of which Satan is the \u2018god and the prince,\u2019 injustice is a natural principle of administration.\u201d Only when individuals once again submit to the authority of God and the standards He has set for judicial administration will a society begin to heal the rifts created by injustice.<\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;   text-align:center;line-height:normal'><b>CORAM DEO<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;   text-align:center;line-height:normal'>Psalms 10\u201313<\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;   text-align:center;line-height:normal'>Acts 17:16\u201334<\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:   18.0pt;line-height:normal'>Look through a newspaper today or watch a news   broadcast. Note any trials that are going on or any laws that are being   written. Pray specifically that justice will be maintained in those   situations, and that men and women in authority will fulfill their roles   according to the righteousness of God.<\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:   normal'><i>For   further study: Lev. 19:1\u201319 \u2022 Deut. 16:18\u201320 \u2022 Isa. 56:1\u20132 \u2022 John 5:16\u201330<\/i><\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:center;line-height:normal'>wednesday<\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:center;line-height:normal'>july<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Proverbs 17:15; 18:5; 28:4 He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the just, Both of them alike are an abomination to the Lord (Prov. 17:15). As this study is being written, one of the most sensational murder trials in American history is in progress. The O.J. Simpson trial has everything a television producer &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/a-decline-of-justice\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;A DECLINE OF JUSTICE&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12543","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12543","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12543"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12543\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12543"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12543"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12543"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}