Mercy or Wrath

A commentator on the book of Romans says that Paul describes the “intersection between God’s wrath and mercy”, but that statement is illogical. God can be both faithful and true. He can be just and loving, although that will require immense wisdom. But he cannot be full of wrath and full of mercy. Likewise, he cannot be good and evil.

Although some theologians pretend otherwise, wrath and mercy are opposites. Wrath wants and demands vengeance. Mercy wants to put things right. A person cannot be full of wrath and full of mercy, even if they are God, because when wrath overwhelms, mercy inevitably gets squeezed out. When mercy prevails, anger has to dissipate. Wrath and mercy cannot remain together.

Blessed are the Merciful

I am always amazed when Christians, who have experienced God’s gracious forgiveness through Jesus, want God to be really nasty to those who have rejected it. They seem to like the doctrine that people who have rejected Jesus will be tortured for eternity.

Fortunately, that ugly doctrine is not true, but why would people who have benefitted so much God’s love and grace want it to be true. Surely people who have received such immense and undeserved generosity from God would be praying, “Please show grace and forgiveness to them too”.

Blessed are the merciful (Matt 18:23-35).

Redemption and Mercy

Ephesians contains an interesting promise.

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace (Eph 1:7).

1. Redemption
We have redemption through his blood (a person is redeemed from someone who holds them captive). Jesus' blood satisfies the accuser who demanded blood for our sins. It frees us from the clutches of the powers of evil by paying the ransom that they demand for our release.

2. Forgiveness
We have forgiveness through the riches of his grace. God loves us and was glad to forgive us. He did not need someone to pay a penalty for sin before he could forgive us. He is loving and kind, so he is glad to forgive us.

We are forgiven by God’s grace, not his blood.

Mercy or Wrath

When the people of a city or nation cast off restraint and reject God, they lose their spiritual protection and leave the powers of evil unrestrained. They have the authority to bring judgment against the city or nation, but they often wait until sin is filled up so they can do more evil. The powers of evil execute judgment in a way that causes the most harm and pain, because they love to rob, destroy and kill.

God will sometimes pre-empt this judgment so that less harm is done, and to ensure that his purposes are accomplished. Because the people have turned away from him, he does not have authority to bless them, but the does have the right to send judgment.

By getting his angels to bring the judgment, rather than waiting for the powers of evil to deliver it, he can turn it for good, and use it to achieve his purposes. The holy angels hate executing judgment, because they love to do good. They will only do it, if they have a clear prophetic word from God’s prophets explaining how it will bring glory to God.

God’s people sometimes need to choose. Will they wait for the power of evil to execute their plans, or should they ask God to bring a pre-emptive judgment that is more merciful.

An example is the judgment after David counted his fighting men (2 Sam 24). When he realised he had done wrong, the prophet Gad came to him with three options:

• Three years of famine in the land.
• Three months of running before his enemies while they pursued with the sword.
• Three days of plague.

David chose the third option. This was a bit selfish, because he was the one who had sinned, but the people would suffer most. This is a reminder that when the leaders of a nation sin, it is their people who suffer most.

When the judgment started, David realised that he had been selfish and cried out,

I have sinned; I, the shepherd, have done wrong. These are but sheep. What have they done? Let your hand fall on me and my family (2 Sam 24:17).

But it was too late, because the decision had been made.

Nevertheless, David had made the right decision, perhaps for the wrong reason. He explained the reason to the prophet when he made his decisions. He said to Gad,

I am in great distress. Please let us fall into the hand of the Lord, for His mercies are great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man (2 Sam 24:14).

There were really only two options. One option was to come under judgment executed by God. The other option was to fall into the hands of man, literally the hands of Adam. David did not fully understand this, but Adam had lost his authority when he sinned, so falling into the hands of Adam literally meant falling into the hands of the powers of evil.

Two of the three judgments, would be executed by the powers of evil. The famine and defeating war were their plans for Israel once David’s sin had given them the right to do it. (The powers of evil are often divided and disagree over what they want to do. If David had chosen the plan of one group, the Holy Spirit would have rested the other group, so they would not be able to fulfil their plans.)

Even though David did not realise that he was avoiding falling into the hands of the power of evil, he did realise that it was best to choose the judgment that would be executed by God. God opened David’s spiritual eyes and he saw the angel of God with the sword of death outstretched. This was terrible, but it was better than would have happened if the powers of evil had been able to execute evil for three years or three months. Three days was merciful by comparison, and when David repented of his selfishness, God cut it short to less than a day.

When a nation hardens its heart, the power of evil get authority to work their plan in it. The Holy Spirit often shows a prophet what the powers of evil have planned. The prophet must be careful not to prophesy these plans, except as a warning (if you keep doing this, that will happen), because it increases the authority of the powers of evil to do their stuff. Sometimes, the prophets may see several forms of evil, that different factions of the power of evil would like to do (they are seldom united).

The prophets in this situation should ask God if there is a pre-emptive judgment that he can bring that would be better for the nation than what the Holy Spirit has shown them the powers of evil intend to do. It will often not be nice, but it will usually be better than falling into the hands of the powers of evil. The prophets may need to pray for a lesser more merciful evil, so that God has authority to execute it.

David, and through him Gad, had authority in Israel. When Gad prayed and told God their choice, it gave God authority to send his angel to release the plague. It was a terrible plague, but at least it was a good angel bringing it. This was better than releasing evil angels to do their thing.

In the same way, prophets may sometime have to make a similar choice. They might need to choose to give God authority to bring a pre-emptive judgment. That will be hard to do, but it is usually better than waiting for worse evil to come from the hands of the power of evil.

Gad had a relationship with David, so he was able to consult with him. Many prophets will not have a link to the political powers, so they will not be able to consult. They will have to seek the wisdom of the Holy Spirit and make the decision for their nation.

Many prophets have seen terrible things happening to their nation. They should check before prophesying them, to make sure that God has not shown them what the powers of evil want to do, because their vision might be what will happen if the nation is left to its own devices, but it might not be what God wants to do. The prophets should acknowledge that judgment is inevitable for the nation, but recognise that there is a milder judgement that God could bring, if he were given permission to act in the nation.

Some prophetic people have bitter stomachs, often through frustration and rejection. If they are not careful, they can become hard, and slip into enjoying and prophesying what the enemy plans to do. They have the wrong half of the truth. True prophets make sure they understand God’s purpose, before they prophecy judgment.

In New Zealand, prophetic people have warned of a tsunami that destroys Christchurch, an earthquake that destroys Wellington, and a volcano that destroys Auckland. I suspect that these people have heard what the powers of evil would like to do, if sins are filled up and they get authority in the land. But these events are not God’s intent for the nation.

The Last Days (3) - Mercy

The Last Days were not an important season for the Gentiles, as the ministry of Jesus had opened up salvation to everyone. The gospel had gone out into all the world and that would continue to happen after the season had ended.

The gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world (Col 1:6).

The Last Days were a season of mercy for Israel. This short season gave all the adults who were present when Jesus was crucified the rest of their lives to change their attitude to him. Anyone who was an adult in AD 33 when Jesus died would be quite old by AD 70 when the Last Days came to an end. This season of mercy gave them a chance to admit they were wrong and put things right with God.

Jesus had prophesied that the religious and political leaders of Israel would continue to reject him (Matt 23:33-39). However, God is always fair, so he gave the Jews plenty of time to acknowledge Jesus as their messiah. Nearly forty years would pass before their fate was set in stone. Unfortunately this season of mercy was mostly wasted.

What should have happened? When Jesus made his perfect sacrifice on the cross, the Jewish leaders should have put a stop to the sacrifices in the temple. These sacrifices had always pointed forward to Jesus perfect sacrifice, so once it had come, they were obsolete. When Jesus ascended into heaven and was ordained as the perfect high priest, the priests in Jerusalem were out of a job. They should have resigned and gone home, or better still, gone out and preached the good news. Once the Holy Spirit had been poured out at Pentecost, every believer was a temple of the Holy Spirit, so there was no need for a special place for God to dwell on earth. The temple in Jerusalem was redundant and could be turned into a museum.

However, the priests and political leaders were so attached to their old order that they could not let it go. They continued to offer animal sacrifices in the temple. These offerings could not point to Jesus anymore, so they became a blasphemous insult to him. The priest who carried on in their role became usurpers of Jesus ministry.

Worse still, the Jewish leaders attacked the fledgling church right from the start. Throughout the Acts of the Apostles, the most serious persecution came from the Jewish leaders.

During the Last Days, the gospel was preached throughout Israel, but most of the people hardened their hearts.

What the people of Israel sought so earnestly they did not obtain. The elect among them did, but the others were hardened (Rom 11:7)

The Jews did not take advantage of the mercy shown them during the Last Days of the old order, so God had no choice but to bring the temple system to and end and scatter the people among the nations.

Justice (22) - Increases

God is a just. As his Kingdom grows, justice will increase.

The LORD works righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed (Ps 103:6)
He will not falter or be discouraged
till he establishes justice on earth.
In his law the islands will put their hope (Isaiah 42:4).

When his kingdom fills the earth, injustice will disappear. Evil governments and judges will be swept away. Godly judges will be raised up and God’s justice will prevail.

Until that day comes, innocent people will experience injustice. In some situations, Christian may be able to help the victims of injustice to receive justice by providing legal support or publicising their cause. Sometimes this will succeed, but often it will fail. Wherever justice fails, mercy should be waiting at the door. Evil governments can sometimes resist mercy, but mercy is harder to defeat than justice.

Justice (21) - Mercy is Free

No coercion is involved in generosity. Coercion can be used to reverse the effects of injustice. However, coercion cannot be used to reverse the consequences of life. Love and generosity must always be free. Paul constantly reminded the Corinthians about the need to be generous, but no once was forced to give.

Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work (2 Cor 9:6-8).

There should be no “compulsion”, because God wants cheerful giving. His promise is that he will give us “all that we need”, plus more. The more that abounds can be used to assist those in need.

Caring for the Poor (24) - Justice and Mercy

Mercy does not need to be very discerning. Wherever there is a need, mercy responds immediately, regardless of the cause. Mercy does not wait to work out whether the cause is bad luck, poor stewardship or injustice, but responds to the human need need as soon as it appears.

Mercy is never wasted. If the cause of povery is injustice, mercy is still the best initial response. Dealing with injustice takes time, so the mercy assists the while justice is being established.

Mercy gives without asking too many questions and imposing to many requirements. It is happy for the recipients to give account to God for how they use the gifts they have received.

Mercy will sometimes be ripped off, but that does not matter because our blessing comes from giving, not from the righteousness of those who receive. Jesus was ripped off many times, so we should not be suprised that we experience the same.

Mercy helps people who have been messed up their own lives by poor economic stewardship. Mercy is right at the heart of what Christians are called to be. Mercy must triumph over judgement, so being merciful is more important than identifying bludgers.

On the other hand, Christians should be leaders in identifying and challenging in justice. We have the wisdom of God, so we would be the first to identify injustice. We have the boldness of the Spirit, so we should be shouting the loudest against injustice. If we had a fully developed prophetic ministry in the church, we would be zealous in exposing and challenging injustice.

God is just, so his people should never be blind to injustice. Unfortunately, the church has got rather good at supporting the status quo. Part of the problem is that we are not even certain on what injustice is anymore. Injustice is hard to find if you do not know what you are looking for.

Justice and mercy are not in conflict. They work together. Christians must get better at both.

The complete series can be found here.

Caring for the Poor (21) - Justice and Mercy

Mercy should always be much busier than justice. Justice has nothing to do in many situations, because there is no injustice. Mercy should be busy all the time, because there will always be people who are worse off than others and in need of assistance.

I am concerned about an increasing trend to use the word justice, when mercy is really required. Some Christians see all inequality as a cause for justice. They equate justice with equality of income or equality of wealth. Every inequality requires justice, whether Gods law has been broken or not. This confusion is dangerous, because it turns mercy into a legal obligation.

Confusing justice and mercy causes every inequality to be seen as an injustice that someone has a legal obligation to correct. Often that obligation is placed upon the civil government, so mercy-converted-to-justice becomes the basis for state sponsored redistribution.

Justice and mercy are both concerned with equality, but in different way. Justice requires equality before the law, so that everyone receives justice, whether they are rich or poor. Justice should provide equal justice to everyone, but it will not give everyone equal incomes or equal wealth.

Mercy is much less concerned with causes and is more concerned with equality of outcomes. Mercy works through voluntary giving and sharing. As mercy becomes more effective, incomes and wealth will become more equal.

Caring for the Poor (20) - Justice and Mercy

Justice has become a common catch cry for Christians in the modern world, but the word is used in a variety of different ways. I am concerned that mercy and justice are being confused. Mercy is helping a person in trouble, regardless of what caused their problems. Mercy is the outworking of compassion, so it should be normal for Christians.

Justice is different from mercy, in that it has a judicial context. Working for justice means correcting injustices. An injustice occurs when a person or group of people are harmed as consequence of someone breaking one of God’s laws. For example, if someone steals my car an injustice has be done. The biblical solution to that injustice is for the thief to make restitution to their victim. Restitution restores justice.

In the same way, if multinational company takes native lands without payment or permission, a theft has occurred. This crime breaks God’s law, so it is an injustice. Justice can only be achieved by the restitution of the land or equivalent financial compensation. Christians should be calling for justice in every situation where an injustice has occurred.

However, there are many other situations where a person or group of people are in dire circumstances through the circumstances of life. They may have made some mistakes or experienced an accident, but no injustice has occurred. These situations require compassion and mercy, not justice. There is no injustice to put right, because none of God’s laws has been broken. However, there is plenty of room for mercy, because Christians should always be assisting those in need.

Injustice requres judicial action to restore justice. Harmful situations require mercy. We must understand the difference. Christians should be zealous for justice and mercy.

The complete series can be found here.