How God’s justice prepares hearts for His mercy
How much do you know about God? In addition to the Lord’s love, Scripture also reveals His justice. It is not only part of His nature, but it actually permeates everything He does. And if you hope to know God’s love and the mercy He extends to sinners, then you will also need to wrap your mind around His justice.
After all, how can one begin to understand and embrace the cross of Christ without first coming to terms with the justice of God? If God was unjust, He would not require payment for sin. He could simply let it slide. But since He is perfect in justice, every sin must be paid for one way or the other.
John F. Walvoord wrote, “Forgiveness on the part of God always has a judicial basis, not an emotional basis, and represents an attitude of God based upon the satisfaction of his righteousness in some way.”
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Since God is perfectly just and Jesus revealed the truth about Heaven and Hell, we are left with only two options. Brace yourself for what I am about to share. You will either pay for your sins in Hell, or you will come to Christ and have your sins washed away with the blood He shed on the cross. Jesus consistently warned people about the horrors of Hell, while affirming the beauty and perfection of Heaven.
A.W. Tozer wrote, “The vague and tenuous hope that God is too kind to punish the ungodly has become a deadly opiate for the consciences of millions.”
Meanwhile, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10). Do you have a holy fear of sinning against your Creator and engaging in behavior that God hates? If not, you do not have the fear of the Lord or a proper understanding of God’s justice. If you did, you would respect the Lord far too much to continue deliberately doing things that stir up His anger.
Anger? Yes, anger. How else would a perfectly holy God react to willful sin? If God was imperfect, he could overlook some of our sinful behavior. But since God does not have a single flaw, his love and his justice extend way beyond what you and I tend to assume about God’s nature. And the sooner we realize that God does not think or act like us, the better.
Hell reflects God’s justice, whereas Heaven reflects God’s love. And it was at the cross where God’s perfect love and perfect justice collided, with the force of the collision falling on the sinless Son of God.
God is the Creator of all things, and we are His created beings who were made to worship him and serve him. But when sin rules our hearts, we are too proud to bow before our Creator and worship Him. Such blatant pride is reflective of Lucifer. When he got tired of serving and worshipping his Creator, he took things into his own hands. And the rest is history.
Most of the Pharisees in the New Testament were self-righteous. They assumed that their religious efforts made them acceptable to God. And while they took great pride in the history and laws of the Old Testament, they were skilled at casting stones at others while refusing to humbly turn away from their own sins. Hence, most of them were far too proud to receive Jesus as their Messiah and Savior.
Do you have a heart of stone, or is your heart fertile soil in which the Gospel can be planted and begin to grow?
“The Law was put in charge to lead us to Christ” (Galatians 3:24). The Law prepares hearts for the Gospel because God’s justice prepares hearts for his mercy. The Law shows us our sins, whereas the Gospel reveals God’s remedy for sin. The Gospel informs us that the cross is our only lifeline and our only way to the Father.
Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).
The Apostle Paul wrote, “We know that a man is not justified by observing the Law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So, we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the Law, because by observing the Law no one will be justified” (Galatians 2:16).
Woodrow Kroll said, “Justice is for those who deserve it; mercy is for those who don’t.”
Do you want God to convict you of your sin, or would you prefer to remain oblivious to where your sin is leading you? “Humble yourself before the Lord, and He will lift you up” (James 4:10).
Once again, I must ask you: Do you have a holy fear of the Lord and an awareness of the punishment you deserve as a result of your sins? Jesus said, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Hell” (Matthew 10:28).
It is absolutely critical that you open your eyes and your ears to the truth about God’s justice and his love. “Come near to God and he will come near to you” (James 4:8).
What do you say? Are you ready to humble yourself before the Judge of the living and the dead? Your time on Earth is running out like sand in an hourglass. You can either accept the love of God in Christ, or be prepared to face God’s anger, judgment and justice. You see, God’s justice and His love are unchanging, even when individual sinners choose to ignore the inevitable.
Dan Delzell is the pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Papillion, Nebraska.
