Kind of an interesting week and an interesting day; God is so very gracious to me and has shown me so very much I am humbled. Earlier this week I wrote a letter that I will be using in witnessing for Him, the letter can be found at www.biggestquestion.blogspot.com . God has shown me something in compiling this letter that has just left me without words, all though my wife would disagree, she thinks I haven’t been able to stop talking about it, but in reality I haven’t been able to come up with words even to explain it all and still can’t, even though I will try. The biggest question is; how can God be just and merciful both? The bible tells us that God is Holy and just, but the Bible also tells us that God is merciful and love. God is described in scripture as being a judge, if He were to let guilty law breakers go free He would not be just nor would He be Holy or righteous, but God is Holy and righteous (morally perfect). Now if God punishes the guilty He is just but not merciful. The bibles says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). Can you appreciate the contrast here? The bible tells us, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). So you can take anyone of us, before God, we are all guilty sinners; now what we have earned for our sin is death, being cast out of the kingdom of heaven into outer darkness (hell); but the gift of God is eternal life. How can this be? How can God give eternal life to the guilty and be righteous?
Justice and mercy in juxtaposition to one another is as dark is too light, as hot is too cold, as day is too night, and as north is too south. I could continue with these contrasting analogies but I think you see my point, they are polar opposites. You can’t be hot and cold at the same time; you are either fully one or the other or neither, but not both. And you can’t be just and merciful at the same time; you are either one or the other or neither. Now God is just and God is merciful, how can this be? I’m beginning to think that the most powerful scripture in the entire Bible is found in Romans chapter 3. While the Bible is full of absolutely amazing and wonderful things throughout all of scripture, given to us by God through His Holy Spirit, you can look at multiple text on how a man is saved through faith in Jesus Christ but the explanation of this question and the reason God did it is explained in Romans 3:23-26 and it is absolutely beautiful and amazing, every time I think about this I have to just glory in God, it is so amazing and it is the Gospel.
Now the wages for sin is death, so for God to serve Justice someone has to die and be cast into outer darkness (hell); but God is also merciful. God in his righteousness and glory made a Way so that He could be just and merciful at the same time and only God could do this, because only God meets the righteous requirements of His law. God became a Man and in the body of a Man took upon Himself the just wages of sin; He died on a cross at the hand of the Romans, God the Father turned His back on His only begotten Son Jesus Christ and He died, and He was buried. He paid a price that we cannot pay and then three days later defeated death and arose from the grave. He offers us as a free gift the eternal life that only He deserved, that we receive by faith in Jesus Christ. God paid in full our fine and while it was once a fearful thing that God is just, now it is wonderful that God is just. Why is this wonderful? Because our crimes have been paid for in full and being that God is just, you legally cannot be held accountable for those crimes ever again. Yes you can and will remember your past sins and regret them. In fact Ezekiel 36:31 tells us that God will cause us to remember our past sins and loathe ourselves because of them. But, for all who have repented and put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ there is no fear of punishment! Why did God do this? Romans 3:26 tells us why, “to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” All I can say to that is Wow, what an Awesome God!
Mike Peek a slave of Jesus Christ
