The Justice and Mercy of God
We live in a world that constantly wrestles with justice and mercy, but never seems to hold them together. Some demand justice but have no patience for mercy. Others speak of mercy but shy away from justice. Yet in God, justice and mercy are not rivals. They are united in His character and perfectly displayed in His Son.
God Is Just
To say that God is just means that He treats every creature with perfect fairness. “He will render to each one according to his works” (Romans 2:6). No sin will go unpunished; no righteousness will go unrewarded. As Wilhelmus à Brakel said, “The justice of God consists in giving each his worthy due, either by punishment or reward.”
That sounds terrifying, doesn’t it? Because when the light of His perfect justice shines upon us, we find that we have no righteousness of our own. It is right and just for God to punish our sin.
God Is Merciful
Thomas Watson wrote that “the great design of Scripture is to represent God as merciful.” Mercy is not getting what we deserve and it is one of the sweetest truths in all of Scripture.
“The LORD, the LORD,” God declared to Moses, “a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” (Exodus 34:6). His mercy flows from His goodness. He sees our misery and moves toward us with compassion.
Watson also reminds us that God “is more inclinable to mercy than to wrath.” He delights in showing mercy (Micah 7:18). He is “rich in mercy” (Ephesians 2:4). His mercies are “new every morning” (Lamentations 3:23). As long as He is God, He will be merciful, overflowing and everflowing toward His people.
That is why we can pray with confidence. When we approach the throne of grace, we come not to a God clothed in judgment robes, but to a Father robed in mercy. We go, as Watson said, “to the Father of mercies,” and we go not doubting, but believing that He delights to receive us.
Justice and Mercy at the Cross
If we want to see both attributes in full color, we need only look to Calvary. At the cross, God did not compromise His justice. He satisfied it. And in doing so, He opened the floodgates of mercy to sinners.
The same God who said, “The soul who sins shall die” (Ezekiel 18:4) also says, “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters… without money and without price” (Isaiah 55:1).
God’s justice required payment; His mercy provided it. Jesus bore our punishment so that we might receive His reward. “He made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Justice and mercy met that day in Christ, and they have never been parted since.
Living in Light of Justice and Mercy
For the believer, this truth changes everything. God’s justice no longer provokes dread but gratitude: “For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:9).
And His mercy humbles us. As Watson said, “Mercy is not the fruit of our goodness, but the fruit of God’s goodness. We have no cause to be proud if we live upon the alms of God’s mercy.”
Because we have been shown mercy, we are to show mercy. Because we have received justice through Christ, we are to seek justice in our world. “He has told you, O man, what is good… to do justice, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8).
When we understand that justice and mercy are not opposites but harmonies in the character of God, we begin to reflect something of His beauty in our own lives.
The psalmist says, “He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the LORD” (Psalm 33:5). That’s the mystery and the glory of our God: His justice is never without mercy, and His mercy never violates justice.
If you belong to Christ, then justice has already fallen on your Substitute, and mercy has already found you. Every day that you draw breath is another evidence of His kindness.
So look upon your God today, not in His judgment robes, but in the rainbow of His mercy. Trust Him. Thank Him. And live humbly before the One who is both “just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”