God’s Justice vs. God’s Mercy

[Catherine_W]

For a few months now I have talked with many people who were growing in their faith, but had the same “trouble spot” along the way. It is knowing that God is loving, forgiving and merciful… but also that He is a punisher for justice. Many times in the Bible, very sinful populations were put to death (men, women and children). I understand that God is like a parent who needs to punish and discipline His people so that they can learn and become better… but these punishments don’t appear to bring about much hope of redemption for the people who were put to death. It seems to me that His punishment does not necessarily help the people who are killed, but it does bring out a conversion of heart from the larger population who see the harsh judgment.

I would just like some help in understanding how God’s Justice and Mercy go together… I know they do, and I do not doubt God because of this… but I really struggle to understand it, can you help explain it to me?

 

[cfrancis]

Christ on the cross is the easiest and most poignant way to reconcile God’s mercy and justice.

On the cross, God’s perfect mercy and God’s perfect justice met.

 

[Valentin]

i want to do something very dangerous - to explain what and how God does his will ! in fact we can’t do that. if we try to understand our God with our brain, impossible. our brain is too small, comparing with God, i can’t even imagine. God can be understood only with your hearth. i really think, he does merci to those who have merci to others, who loves Him, who are following the 10 blisses. punishment to those who have stiff heard

 

[Nita]

Hi Catherine,

This question has come up quite often on the forum. It’s a question all Christians have to deal with. Rather than rewrite, I’m just going to copy and paste a response I gave (5/5/08) on an earlier thread:

Considering the physical circumstances of Israel at the time (nomadic, lack of resources, etc.), where incarceration in jail was not an option, how were the wicked to be dealt with? This was a whole culture that needed to be destroyed because of its wickedness.
[As a weak comparison, think of the polygamist enclave in Texas, where the behavior is engrained in the culture itself. Altho, in comparison, what the Texans were doing is very mild – and would not even have been necessarily considered wrong in OT days!!]

God promised the land to Abraham 400 years prior to when his descendants would be allowed to take it over. Only when the wickedness of the Canaanites was complete would God allow and assist the Jews in taking over the land. (Gen 15:16 And they shall come back here in the fourth generation; for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.)

Here is some of what the culture consisted of:
Incest, homosexual actions, bestiality. (Leviticus 18)
Human sacrifice of children, witchcraft, mediums, wizards, (Leviticus 19 & 20)

How do you deal justly with such an evil culture?
What about good people who dwell in such a culture? How is justice done for them as they live and try to raise children in conformity with God’s values?
A just society upholds what is good and protects people from what is harmful. In addition, it establishes punishments for harmful acts.

We may not be able to see when a culture has become so depraved, it’s practices so engrained in the inhabitants that the only solution is to destroy it,— but God can. However, we can know and trust that when God ordered the destruction of the Canaanites, it was not only what was best for the Jews (and future generations here on earth), but also what was best for the Canaanites.

There is another thread currently going on this topic. You might want to check it out.
forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=237213

End quote/copy & paste​

As to how the killing of these people can be reconciled with God’s love and mercy for them, ponder that:

1. God’s judgment of each person takes into account what they have been given (cf. Luke 12:47-48).
2. God desires that all be saved
3. God loves every person and knows when the best moment for death is for each.

I don’t for one minute believe God would allow someone to die if He knew they would change for the better (convert) were they allowed to live longer.

It is a fact that we are all going to have to die at some point.
Let’s take a hypothetical case. Jack has grown up in a pagan culture that calls sin good. He practices all the abominations they accept. A new people are coming into the area that will preach the sinfulness of those practices. Jack’s attachment to those practices is so strong that, even if he hears this new teaching, he will reject it rather than give up those practices.
From the eternal perspective, when is the best time for Jack to die?
In addition to whether Jack is saved or not, keep in mind that even if he isn’t, there are “levels” in hell. When would his guilt be less?

This got very long. Sorry about that.

God bless,
Nita

 

[Jerry-Jet]

One place where God’s Perfect Justice and Perfect Mercy are manifest is purgatory.

 

[bogeydogg]

I think we should also remember what Anselm of Canterbury said, “God is that of which nothing higher can be conceived.” If this is so, then we must acknowledge two things;

1. Any characteristic if God’s is, within God, the highest that said characteristic can possibly be. So if we are referring to the love of God, then that love is the highest love which can possibly be. The same holds true for mercy, justice and wrath.
2. No characteristic of God can be higher than any other characteristic. For example, one cannot say that God’s justice is incompatible with God’s love because that would be saying that God’s justice somehow lends disrepute to His love or that His love is higher than His justice. Or even that His justice is in some way deficient when compared to His love.

Any conceptualization of God which makes one characteristic of God less than ‘that of which nothing higher can be conceived’ is an idol and not God.

So what about God’s love and justice?

Would you agree that God’s love at the cross is such that all men who refuse that love are actually guilty of refusing God’s love?

Is that love such that to refuse it would be treasonous?

Does God as the sovereign King of Creation have the right to demand obedience?

Has God commanded that all men worship Jesus?

Do those who refuse this command and the love which made it have the right to escape the judgment which must follow, if God is truly just, for this act of Universal Treason?

If so, then would God be good if He ignored this willful treason and did not punish the guilty?

One example and I’m done, I promise.

Let us say that a man is convicted of murder and is now at the sentencing portion of his trial. The law demands that he be given a life sentence for what he has done. However, the judge decides that he doesn’t want to mete out that punishment and so instead lets the guilty go free to commit another crime.

Would we say that judge is good?

Would we say the victims family had received justice?

Well in the case of God and sin, God is the offended party, and He can not ignore the guilt of the unrepentant and still be good.