“I can’t help but wonder as I step back from the Christian culture I was raised in and consider…could they have gotten it wrong. I mean most certainly there is grievous error with a Christianity that seems to desire mercy but not justice. But what if this isn’t Christianity at all?”
“For I, the LORD, love justice. I hate robbery and wrongdoing. I will faithfully reward my people for their suffering and make an everlasting covenant with them.” – Isaiah 61 I’ve never quite…
The Christian Community is one of the most confused communities on the planet oh, they have a thousand different denominations all teaching a different truth yet they all claimed to be teaching the truth oh, you don’t have to be a member of Mensa to know this is impossible.
Colby Helms, is there a question or statement here you want to discuss?
Why would a Christian use the “S” word in his article?
Good read, interesting topic to talk about concerning the difference between mercy and justice. We do need to set the record straight on a few things though. First, the story of the adulterous woman. The fact that this man who wrote the article doesn’t understand that God says nothing shall be added or subtracted from my word. He is claiming that this story is made up and it was added some years later if that is so then we can’t trust anything else that is written in the gospels because if there is one flaw then everything is flawed. God’s word is perfect so the fact that this story is in the Bible goes to show that this event actually happened because if it didn’t we wouldn’t have very much of a story of Jesus to go on. The second issue I want to bring up is this mercy versus justice the author of this article thinks that Jesus is unable to exercise mercy because he should have exercised justice because of the time that he was living he doesn’t have to he is God in the flesh the fact of the this man the article author is saying that this never happened proves that he doesn’t believe who Jesus says he was and is. God came down into a physical form lived a perfect life to show the Jews and the Gentiles that there is nothing you can do anything good can get you into heaven it is all based on faith in Jesus Christ you cannot live a righteous life and expect to get some reward out of it. Jesus came to fulfill the law and the prophets and to teach a new message saying no longer follow this law that says do Righteous things but have faith in him and to put your faith in him. The issue I’m having with this is that this man believed that it was that you have to live a good life that God will reward you for being righteous if you look back at the parable of the prodigal son even the older brother said father I have stayed home and I’ve worked for you the father didn’t care he did but he focused on someone who came home he had mercy on someone who send against him. The father took pity and rejoice that the one who send against him came home back into his arms he didn’t punish him he opened his arms up and said kill the fatted calf we are having a party because my son Was dead and now he was alive he was lost and now he is found. This is something that Jesus is trying to teach us all that he wants us to live a righteous life but he also has pity on those who do wrong he will never cast anyone aside he will always have a loving heart to those who will refuse because God created us all and he loves each and every single one of us no matter where we are.
The “error” of Mercy versus Justice is a false premise. For there is no error and both exist together! If one knows the Bible and Gospel this is not an issue.
The fellow who wrote this article does not understand Christianity at all. One of the questions he asks is, “What do we make of a Christianity that favors the villains over those who pursue virtue? ”
This is a false assertion, but seems to be the central theme of his complaint.
He also said that he didn’t understand theology when he was younger, and I say he still doesn’t.
I think as others have said that modern American Christians are more culturally Christian than true born again believers. There seems to be a hard swing in either direction between mercy and justice and very little balance in between. God is merciful and this can be found throughout the Old and New Testaments, but that does not negate his justice. Sin still has consequences. I think Christian’s often forget that paul teaches in Romans that our Christian liberty is not a free pass to sin. That is abuse of Gods grace and mercy.
Interesting story but his theology is off a bit. I agree that the “Once saved, always saved” theology that has people accepting Christ and then living however they want is bogus and I found his story interesting. However, his idea that Jesus died only for the righteous (when none are righteous) is false. He said there were no examples of mercy in the old testament? What about David (after sleeping with bathsheba and killing Uriah to cover it up)? He could have easily killed David and used a different son of David for the lineage of Jesus. He didn’t however, he gave mercy to David. What about Jonah? He could have killed Jonah, or said fine and let Nineveh fall. He didn’t however and Nineveh repented. I could go on as there are many mercy stories in the old testament. This guy seems to me a bit of a narcissist. His theology is that God is only calling the righteous. Jesus calls those who want him but none are righteous. We are only made righteous through Jesus.
Not sure where I picked this up, but this is a truncated, edited version. I think it’s spot on.
Mercy Requires Justice
When a judge pardons an unrepentant murderer without good reason, we don’t typically see this as an act of love, particularly when we consider the rights of the victim (and the safety of potential future victims). Mercy without justice is meaningless. True love cares enough to punish wrongdoing. For this reason, a God of love must also be a God of justice, recognizing, separating and punishing wrongdoers.
Freedom Requires Consequence
True love cannot be coerced. Humans must have freedom in order to love, and this includes the freedom to reject God altogether. Those who do not want to love God must be allowed to reject him without coercion. Those who don’t want to be in God’s presence must be allowed to separate themselves from Him if their free will is to be respected. God’s love requires the provision of human freedom, and human free will necessitates a consequence.
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