Day 5 of False Choices: You must choose between presenting the mercy of God or the judgment of God.

“You asked, ‘Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorance?’ It is I—and I was talking about things I knew nothing about, things far too wonderful for me. You said, ‘Listen and I will speak! I have some questions for you, and you must answer them.’ I had only heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes. I take back everything I said, and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance.””

‭‭Job‬ ‭42‬:‭3‬-‭6‬ ‭NLT‬‬

[Opening explantation:

In the true sense of the word, the “judgment” of God is not always a “bad” thing. It is only bad when His judgment determines that a person is guilty. But—for our purposes here—we will speak of judgment in terms of punishment.]

We are on a fool’s errand if we try to be God’s public relations representative.

I have noticed a tendency for those wanting to make churches more “seeker friendly” to determine that only the mercy and grace of God should be presented; and the judgment of God should be ignored.

First of all, this is not the picture the Bible paints of the Lord. We consistently see throughout scripture that the Lord compels His people to walk in obedience so that they may receive mercy rather than judgment. Without speaking of the judgment of God, we are giving people a false sense of immunity to God’s judgment.

Now, make no mistake, it is God‘s desire to be merciful to us. This fact is best illustrated in that He sent His son to be a sacrifice for our sins so that we could avoid judgment. However, we know that those who reject the sacrifice of Christ are still subject to the penalty of sin.

Now, I am also well aware of the fact that possibly well-intentioned people have presented a skewed image of God in the direction of His judgment. Perhaps they envision a God with a bag full of lightning bolts waiting to zap people. That too is a distortion of the true nature of the Lord.

Back to my original point: when we decide what’s the best way to present the Lord, without actually making it the biblical way of presenting the Lord, we are in error. We need only look to several of the parables given by Jesus to see the clear representation: God is a God of mercy as well as a God of judgment. (I’ll leave you to do that study on your own.)

The following scripture perfectly illustrates God’s mercy for those who are His,

in the midst of judgment against those who have rejected Him:

“For God did not spare even the angels who sinned. He threw them into hell, in gloomy pits of darkness, where they are being held until the day of judgment. And God did not spare the ancient world—except for Noah and the seven others in his family. Noah warned the world of God’s righteous judgment. So God protected Noah when he destroyed the world of ungodly people with a vast flood. Later, God condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and turned them into heaps of ashes. He made them an example of what will happen to ungodly people. But God also rescued Lot out of Sodom because he was a righteous man who was sick of the shameful immorality of the wicked people around him. Yes, Lot was a righteous man who was tormented in his soul by the wickedness he saw and heard day after day. So you see, the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their trials, even while keeping the wicked under punishment until the day of final judgment.”

‭‭2 Peter‬ ‭2‬:‭4‬-‭9‬ ‭NLT‬‬

In our opening scripture we see Job’s final conclusion at the end of his long trial. Bear in mind, all the while that his friends were accusing him of being judged for his sin, Job was accusing God of wrongfully dealing with him. He had failed to recognize that God is perfect in His judgment; whatever He does is right because He is God. We don’t know what He knows. We don’t have His glorious attributes. Therefore, our estimations fall far short of perfection.

I present the scripture about Job’s illumination into Who God really is to highlight the fact that whatever God does, and however He does it, should not be “explained away” by those trying to present a “better” picture of Him. We can present no better picture of Him than how He presents Himself through Jesus Christ.

Ultimately, God is perfectly just, therefore, there is judgment. Additionally, He is perfectly compassionate, therefore, He is merciful.

There is no conflict between between presenting the Lord‘s judgment while also presenting His mercy. It is the way He presents Himself!

Today we lay to rest the false choice between presenting the mercy of God or the judgment of God.

#10daysoffalsechoices