God’s justice and mercy as seen in the Bible
Surely if we don’t bother God, then He shouldn’t bother us?
What if I live my life trying to be a good person, is the justice of God satisfied?
But if God designed and made this world including us, then He must have a plan for us and have certain expectations from us.
What if we totally ignored these thoughts and we turn our back on Him?
Table of Contents:
1. Should God forgive everyone, what about the justice of God?
Could God ignore mankind wanting to go their own way?
What if God declared a “Not guilty” verdict over the whole human race?
That would be like all the Judges in the courts, saying: “You are guilty, but I’ll pretend you’re not, so you are free to leave!”.
It would not be lawful, to let the guilty go free.
That would not be right for the justice of God.
Whether we accept it or not, we are all guilty and deserve the sentence.
Jesus said, “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” 1
The apostle John said,
“Whoever believes in him [Jesus] is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.“
John 3:18-19 NIV
We naturally turn our back on God and refuse to listen.
We put our desires before God’s and divine Justice cannot say: “It doesn’t matter.”
2. Mankind would have to pay the price of their sin that’s justice
It would have to be human nature that would take the blame and punishment for the sin of mankind so that the justice of God could be satisfied.
It would not be lawful for a higher, or lower nature to do this.
That could be like saying: “Prisoner Smith, you have been found guilty of murder, but if we execute your pet hamster, you are a free man!”
No, human nature would have to carry the punishment.
That is why the writer of Hebrews tells us that the Old Testament sacrifices could not cleanse the worshipper:
But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins.
Hebrews 10:3-4 NIV
It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”
So who is qualified to bear the sins of humanity?
3. Why Jesus, God’s Son, came in a human body
The justice of God had to be satisfied, and this was fulfilled in all its parts by the death of Jesus.
Let’s look at two Bible passages, which are talking about Jesus:
Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death – that is, the devil – and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.
Hebrews 2:14 – 3:1 NIV
For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants.
For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.
Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess.”
And:
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.
Hebrews 4:14-15 NIV
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin.“
So Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who as God could not die, who is all-powerful, who is omnipresent (that is He is everywhere all of the time ) took on human nature.
In Hebrews, Christ said to God the Father:
..a body You prepared for Me, .. I have come to do Your will, O God.”
Hebrews 10:5 NIV
The Divine nature of Jesus was like the altar upon which His human nature was sacrificed.
Jesus was, and is, merciful to mankind and faithful to God.
He is merciful because He is willing to stand in the gap and mediate, between the justice of God needing to be carried out, and the condemned, guilty ones.
He was faithful to God, who had appointed Him as Mediator, and therefore His mediation is totally acceptable to God the Father.
His life perfectly fulfilled the Law of God, in thought, word and deed.
Just before the start of Christ’s earthly ministry, God the Father said:
This is My Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.”
Matthew 3:17 NIV
That would have included all His childhood days, up to the point He started His earthly ministry.
Then later in His final year, God the Father repeated His approval of His Son.
Jesus lived a perfect life, for all of His life:
He was tempted in every way, just as we are, yet He was without sin.”
Hebrews 2:18 NIV
We, by our sins, had wronged God, but whatever we could have done, it would never have cleared our guilt.
Therefore only a perfect, human life could take the punishment.
Here we see the mercy and justice of God, the goodness and severity of God.
The mercy of God in that, if Christ had not gone to the cross, we would justly have to face the full judgement for our crimes.
And the severity of God, that though our sin was put upon His blameless Son, God did not spare Him, but judgement fell upon Him.
In Hebrews, it says:
For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one;
Hebrews 9:24 & 26 NIV
He entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s Presence…
But now He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages, to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself.”
4. Becoming family, that’s God’s mercy
God is not only satisfied through the sacrifice of Jesus, but God also becomes a friend to those who approach Him through Christ the High Priest.
The judgement is no longer there, the justice of God was satisfied!
But it is more than that, we become His children and He has a special love for each child.
It is one thing for an undeserving, condemned sinner to be given a pardon, and quite another thing for him to be made a favourite.
That’s what we are; ‘God’s favourite’ if we trust in Jesus Christ.
Peter wrote:
You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation.”
1 Peter 2:9 NIV
A chosen people. This can be translated as ‘a favourite people’.
Peter continues:
A people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him, who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God, once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”
1 Peter 2:10 NIV
See the next article: What is acceptable worship – Jesus the High Priest
Or more detailed articles covering:
Seeing what God sees: Jesus the Prophet
Jesus is the King of his Kingdom, we become his chosen people and his holy nation.
The people saw Jesus as a prophet, some even THE Prophet – the One promised to come and he would reveal God to them.
The Old Testament in the Bible looks forward to Jesus, the New Testament shows us Jesus as the Prophet revealing what God’s will and purpose is.
Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden, Noah’s flood destroyed the old world and judgment fell upon Sodom and Gomorrah – God seems to be at war with humanity.
Jesus is the great prayer warrior.
References and credits – open in new tabs:
Images: thanks to The Pictorial Dictionary published by The Educational Book Company, London
Luke 11:23 NIV ↩