VERY IMPORTANT WORD STUDY! Jesus is called “The Just One,” and God’s Word teaches that we must be just, too (w/ Scripture collection)

This article is a collection of Scripture verses on one of the most important themes in God's Word -- the state of being just (also translated "righteous").

First and foremost, it's clearly an important idea because Jesus Himself is called "the Just" and "the Just One."

But the state of being just is also frequently mentioned in both testaments of God's Word, and in many of its most important verses, such as Habakkuk 2:4, which is partly quoted several times in the New Testament.

“Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.”

Many of the Bible’s most notable people of faith, such as Noah, are also described as just, and those who are to inherit eternal life are described as being just as well.

Since being just is of prime importance to believers, prayerfully studying all of the Bible's verses about it can give us a better understanding of how we are saved by grace through faith, and not by our works, while at the same time, we have been "created in Christ Jesus unto good works," (Ephesians 2:8, 9).

All in all, being just means that we have a proper spiritual attitude towards both God and man, having been reconciled to God through His Son. Both David and the thief on the cross who was crucified next to Jesus were guilty of sinning against God, but when confronted with their sin, they admitted to it and accepted God's right to discipline them rather than further hardening their hearts against Him.

Just people either do right in the first place or are open to receiving God's correction because in their hearts they have submitted to His authority.

Below are the New Testament verses which include the words “just” or “righteous” (Greek dikaios), and I've provided some context for them. A collection of the verses by themselves can be found here.

(And here’s a link to a Biblehub.com page that provides the word’s Old Testament appearances. In Hebrew, tsaddiyq or tsaddiq means “just” or “righteous.” Conversely, adikos is the Greek for “unjust,” while rasha is a Hebrew word often used to mean the same thing. And here's a list of the New Testament occurrences of "righteousness," or dikaiosuné.)

New Testament verses which talk about being just or righteous (dikaios):

Joseph, the earthly adoptive father of Jesus, is described as being just:

Matthew 1:19: Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily.

And like Joseph, God’s children are just:

Matthew 5:45 (verses 44-45): But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

But God’s children also recognize that they’re not righteous like Christ, but poor-in-spirit sinners who need to reject their rebellion against God and reconcile with Him through His Son. (“Jesus came to save not the “good,” self-righteous people, but those who knew they were not good—the people who admitted freely that they needed salvation (cf. Matthew 5:3).” )

Matthew 9:13: But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

As He sends out the Twelve, the Lord instructs them on recognizing God’s work in other people, and that doing so has great reward.

Matthew 10:41 (verses 40-42 provided for context): He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward. And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward..

In this verse, Jesus stresses how blessed the disciples are to be witnesses for Him.

Matthew 13:17 (verses 16-17): But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

God’s children are also those who have eternal life in Christ.

Matthew 13:43: Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Matthew 13:49: So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just…

Jesus condemned the unbelieving scribes and Pharisees who cared only about having a righteous appearance in order to serve themselves rather than God, and in doing so, tried to kill the truly righteous, as others have done in the past.

Matthew 23:28-29 (verses 28-35): Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.

Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?

Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.

In the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats (Matthew 25:31-46), Jesus says that when He comes in His glory, He shall separate the righteous and wicked. The righteous are those who have unknowingly ministered to Him in this life by caring for “the least of these, my brethren” (v. 40) -- feeding them, giving them to drink, taking them in, clothing them, and visiting them when they’re sick or in prison, while the wicked are those who failed to minister to Him by not doing those things.

Matthew 25:37 (verses 37-40): Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee or thirsty, and gave [thee] drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Matthew 25:46 (verses 45-46): Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

And, of course, Jesus is just -- the only perfectly just person, through and through. While He lived in this world, even some unbelievers recognized that He was just and prophetically called Him so, even if they didn’t acknowledge Him to be the world’s Messiah. Pilate’s wife was one who thought Him to be “just”.

Matthew 27:19: When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him.

And then Pilate, possibly prompted by his wife, but also not finding Jesus to be guilty of any crime, also called Him “just.” Pilate recognized that putting Jesus to death was a miscarriage of justice and tried to pass the blame along to the Jewish leaders who were stirring up the crowd to call for Jesus’ crucifixion, but he also apparently didn’t fear God or believe Jesus to be anything more than a mere man who was just innocent of any worldly crime against the Roman Empire.

Matthew 27:24: When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it.

Cf. Matthew 9:13.

Mark 2:17: When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

John the Baptist was also recognized to be just by unbelievers.

Mark 6:20: For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and an holy, and observed him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.

The parents of John the Baptist were just people as well.

Luke 1:6: And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.

John the Baptist is also described in God’s Word as preparing the way for the Lord with his preaching and the example of his life, and one thing he was to accomplish through them was to make the rebellious recognize the wisdom of those who are just:

Luke 1:17: And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

Simeon, the man who prophesied that the infant Jesus was the Messiah, is another person described as just in the New Testament:

Luke 2:25: And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him.

As it says in Matthew 13:49, those who receive eternal life in Christ are part of “the resurrection of the just.”

Cf. Matthew 9:13 and Mark 2:17.

Luke 5:32: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

Here, while teaching and correcting, Jesus remarks that the people have been given the ability to judge rightly, but don't. "The meaning of the words is not that they did not know what was right, but that they did not act upon their knowledge."

Luke 12:57: Yea, and why even of yourselves judge ye not what is right?

In these verses, Jesus teaches that those who show mercy towards those who can’t repay them are just and will be recompensed at their resurrection.

Luke 14:14 (verses 12-14): Then said he also to him that bade him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompence be made thee. But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.

In this next verse, there’s some debate about who these just persons are because they’re said to need no repentance, but as https://www.raystedman.org/thematic-studies/parables/god-and-the-unthinking Pastor Ray Stedman taught, they most likely don’t need repentance at the time of the parable because they had already repented prior to its time.

Luke 15:7: I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.

On the other hand, Jesus’ determined enemies, those who should have recognized who He was and is, but instead rejected Him for earthly gain, could only pretend to be just.

Luke 20:20: And they watched him, and sent forth spies, which should feign themselves just men, that they might take hold of his words, that so they might deliver him unto the power and authority of the governor.

One of the two thieves crucified along with Jesus recognized that he and the other thief were true sinners who deserved the punishment they were getting, while Jesus was innocent of any sin. 

Luke 23:41: And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.

A centurion who put Jesus to death recognized that he was just.

Luke 23:47: Now when the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God, saying, Certainly this was a righteous man.

Joseph of Arimathea, a true follower of Jesus who claimed His body from Pilate, is also described as just:

Luke 23:50: And, behold, there was a man named Joseph, a counseller; and he was a good man, and a just: (The same had not consented to the counsel and deed of them;) he was of Arimathaea, a city of the Jews: who also himself waited for the kingdom of God. This man went unto Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid.

Once the Jews start to persecute Jesus because He healed a man on the Sabbath, Jesus tells them that the Father has given all power and authority to Him, and He in turn is perfectly committed to doing His Father's will.

John 5:30 (vss. 25-30): I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.

Jesus tells the religious leaders that they aren't judging things rightly because they will allow a man to be circumcised on the Sabbath, but then are offended that He has healed a man on the Sabbath, demonstrating to them that He is the Messiah.

John 7:24: Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.

The Father is, of course, perfect in righteousness.

John 17:25: O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me.

Peter identifies Jesus as “the Holy One and the Just” while preaching to the people who are amazed by him healing of a lame man in Jesus’ name.

Then after Jesus’ death and resurrection, Peter calls Jesus “the Just” as he addresses a crowd which is awed by his healing of a lame man in Jesus’ name.

Acts 3:14 (verses 11-15): And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon's, greatly wondering. And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk? The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go. But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you; And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.

Later in Acts, Stephen calls Jesus “the Just One” while boldly preaching against the religious leaders who have put him on trial for his Christian witness, telling them they are resisting the Holy Ghost.

Acts 7:52: Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers...

Then a centurion, a Gentile named Cornelius, is also identified as a child of God, although a Gentile, as he is also a just person:

Acts 10:22: And they said, Cornelius the centurion, a just man, and one that feareth God, and of good report among all the nation of the Jews, was warned from God by an holy angel to send for thee into his house, and to hear words of thee.

In defending himself to Felix the Roman governor against the Jewish leaders accusing him of heresy, Paul explains that he believes in a bodily resurrection of the just and the unjust, as some of his accusers also do.

Acts 24:15 (verses 13-16): Neither can they prove the things whereof they now accuse me. But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets: And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust. And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men.

In Romans 1, the Old Testament passage on the just living by faith is quoted by Paul.  Here’s some interesting commentary on this verse):

Romans 1:17: For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

In this verse, Paul is talking to Jews who believe they are able to keep the law. This link provides some commentary on what this passage means in the context of the “faith versus works” question.

Romans 2:13: For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified...

In this part of his letter to the Romans, Paul teaches on how a believer in Christ has been “justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,” (verse 24), explaining that we all need God’s grace because no one is truly and entirely righteous, or just.

Romans 3:10 (verses 9-12): What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

And, Paul continues, we can be justified by Christ because He is just in our place.
More about this verse here.

Romans 3:26 (verses 24-26): Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

Paul puts God’s love and His Son’s sacrifice into perspective as he explains that Christ didn’t die for us because we are the worthy righteous. We’re actually the unworthy and unrighteous, compared to God, and God wasn’t rewarding us through Christ, but His sacrifice demonstrates how much we’re in need of a righteous savior because we’re evil by nature.

Romans 5:7 (verses 6-8): For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Paul emphasizes that it was Jesus’ work that secures salvation for us, not our own, which, after everything, only amounts to disobedience towards God.

Romans 5:19: For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.

Paul again quotes Habakkuk 2:4 as he chastises the Galatian church for turning away from the truth that we can only be justified in the sight of God by faith in Christ and not works of the law:

Galatians 3:11 (verses 11-14): But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

“Things that are just” is one sort of godly thing among many that we’re supposed to meditate upon.

Philippians 4:8: Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Those Christians who are masters over others are to give their servants what is “just and equal”:

Colossians 4:1: Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal; knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven.

Paul describes the behavior of himself and other apostles as just, as well as holy and unblameable, and says this was witnessed by both God and the church. Out of fatherly love, he continues, these apostles set a godly example for believers so that they also “would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory,” (v. 12).

1 Thessalonians 2:10: Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily and justly and unblameably we behaved ourselves among you that believe.

In his first letter to Timothy, Paul warns him against those apparent believers who wanted Christians to keep the Jewish law. He makes a point similar to the one he makes in Galatian 3:24, that the law makes sin against God apparent, so it is “our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.” A righteous man, though, doesn’t need the law. Christ is the one and only true righteous man who not only didn’t need the law, but fulfilled it perfectly for our sakes. And once someone has been brought to Christ by acknowledging their sin against God and comes to put their faith in His Son, then they have the Just One living within and are credited with His righteousness.

1 Timothy 1:9 (8-11): But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully; Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine; According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.

In his second letter to Timothy, Paul talks of the Lord being perfectly righteous in a specific way: he’s the one and only perfectly righteous judge.

2 Timothy 4:8 (verses 6-8): For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

One of the qualifications for the office of bishop is that the believing man must be just:

Titus 1:8 (verses 5-9): For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee: If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly. For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre; But a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate; Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.

Habakkuk 2:4 is quoted for the third time in the New Testament in the letter to the Hebrews, who are told that they must persevere in faith:

Hebrews 10:38 (verses 35-39): Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.

Continuing the exhortation to persevere in faith, believers are told to endure the Lord’s chastening, which is for our own good, and to remember and treat accordingly the better covenant we have with God through His Son.

While there is some debate on whether or not “the spirits of just men made perfect” refers to the entire Body of Christ, believers are described here as just people made perfect in and through Christ (“For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified,” (Hebrews 10:14.)

Hebrews 12:23 (verses 22-24): But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.

In a stern warning to the wealthy whose hearts are set on riches and the things of this world, and in doing so oppress those beneath them, James condemns them for what they’ve done to the poor and compares them to those who put the Lord to death:

James 5:6 (verses 1-6): Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. 

Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. 

Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. 

Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.

In his two epistles, Peter calls believers both “the just” and “the unjust.” In the first instance, believers are “the unjust” by comparison to the only truly and perfectly just person, Christ, who gave His life for us, so if it’s God will, we should also being willing to suffer for the Gospel.

1 Peter 3:18 (verses 17-18): For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing. For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit.

In the second instance, Peter explains that those who are saved are “scarcely saved,” because it is only by repenting and depending on the grace of God, in that He gave His Son for us, that “the righteous” can be said to be truly righteous.

1 Peter 4:18 (verses 12-19): Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:  

But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.

But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? 

And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.

In the third instance, Lot is described as just because although he had chosen to live in Sodom, he was troubled in his soul by the city’s sinful rebellion against God.

2 Peter 2:7 (verses 4-9): For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly; 

And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;) The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished.

John also calls Jesus “the righteous.”

1 John 2:1: My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

Angels in Heaven declare God and His judgments to be righteous as the third bowl of His wrath is poured out on the earth because mankind has “shed the blood of saints and prophets.”

Revelation 16:5 (verses 4-7): And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood. And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy. And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.

As mentioned above, “adikos” is the Greek word for unjust or unrighteous. Its New Testament occurrences are these:

Jesus uses “unjust” in the Parable of the Unjust Steward not only to describe the steward, but also in his teaching on the meaning of the parable. He instructs believers to wisely use any worldly wealth they possess to their own benefit by laying up for themselves treasure in Heaven (Matthew 6:19-21).

Luke 16:8 (verses 8-9): And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light. And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.

In the Parable of the Unjust Judge, Jesus teaches that if a corrupt judge can be moved by a mere powerless widow’s persistence to rule in her favor, then God will certainly bring about justice for His elect. The judge is apparently unjust because he doesn’t fear God or have a godly regard for others.

Luke 18:6 (verses 1-8): And he spake a parable unto them [to this end], that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. 

And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?

In the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, both of the men go up to the temple to pray, but only the publican was accepted by God because in his prayer he humbly expressed grief for his sin and asked for His mercy while the Pharisee thanked God that he was better than others, or so he thought. In truth, though, humility before God made the publican just while the Pharisee was actually unjust.

Luke 18:11: The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.

As he instructs the church in Corinth that believers should bring their disputes to other believers instead of taking each other to court before the world, Paul refers to unbelievers as “the unjust,” which emphasizes that they don’t have the mind of Christ or His Spirit within which are both necessary to judge righteously. Unbelievers aren’t qualified to judge matters between saints.

1 Corinthians 6:1: Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints?

Those who don't believe on the Son of God are the unjust.

2 Peter 2:9: The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished.

When the Lord returns to judge the world, the just and unjust will be separated at last.

Revelation 22:11: He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.

Although in the Old Testament, these are still requirements for those who are God's children, who have turned to Him in repentance and believed on His Son for their salvation.

Micah 6:8: He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

We see in the repentant thief on the cross, who acknowledged that Jesus was the Just One and that he himself was a sinner in need of God's mercy, that a righteous person is just in their mind and heart, which leads to just judgments even concerning themselves.

Similarly, once Nathan the Prophet confronted David for his sin of taking Bathsheba, another man's wife, and having that man killed, David was just to agree with God, admit his guilt, and submit to any punishment that he had coming to him.

True Christians don't always do everything right, but they can be considered just judges because they submit to a superior Court ruled by the Supreme Judge. Once removed from this sin-cursed world and perfectly under Christ's authority, they will be qualified to judge the angels and to live in Heaven.