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The Cross: Where Judgment And
Mercy Meet
By Jack Wellman
Jesus’
sinless life and death on the cross are where judgment and mercy meet.
The Judgment
“God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through
our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:9).
The Apostle Paul writes about those who are practicing evil deeds
which is only serving to store up more wrath against the Day of Judgment (Romans 2:5), so there will be a day when God “will
render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in
well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life;
but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey
unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury” (Romans 2:6-8).
For those who have been brought to repentance and faith in Christ,
they can rejoice because it is “Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to
come” (1 Thessalonians 1:10).
This means that “God has not destined us for wrath, but to
obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:9).
It is
only those who are self-seeking and not seeking after Jesus Christ and His
righteousness (Matthew 6:33) that
will receive what they have sown in this life.
The
judgment of God will only be stopped by the work of Christ on the cross, but you must
humble yourself and confess your sins before God and put your trust in Christ.
That is the point when the wrath of God will “pass over” you,
but as the Scriptures teach, “for those who are self-seeking and do not
obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury” (Romans 2:6-8).
Mercy
Even so,
Jesus promised him that that he would be with Him in Paradise (Luke 23:43), but in all honesty, all of us are the
thief on the cross.
We might
have trusted in Christ years ago, but we were all just as in need of God’s
mercy as the thief was.
The
Apostle Paul levels the playing field in that we’re all cut off from God and
fallen infinitely short of His glory (Romans
3:23).
The foot
of the cross is level ground where every single person stands at the same
level.
God makes
no distinction between us (Acts 15:7-9) because of Christ, but also makes no distinction between those
who naturally sin less and those who naturally (or desire to) sin more.
We’ve all
earned the wages of death, but thank God through our Lord Jesus Christ, that He
also offers eternal life (Romans 6:23), so it takes only one sin to condemn us, but only One to set us
free (John 8:36).
Dying for Enemies
The Apostle Paul writes in Romans 5:6-8 that “while we were
still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will
scarcely die for a righteous person — (like the Thief on the Cross) though
perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die (like Abraham or
Moses) — but God shows his love for us in that while we were still
sinners, Christ died for us.”
Jesus told the disciples, “Greater love has no one than this,
that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).
Even as those who crucified Him watched, He prayed, “Father,
forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:43).
I remember where Jesus taught us, “Love your enemies, do good
to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you” (Luke 6:27-28).
He also testified, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd
lays down his life for the sheep” (John
10:11).
It is abundantly clear from Scripture that “God so loved the
world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not
perish but have eternal life” (John
3:16).
That’s where God’s judgment on sin landed; Jesus Christ, but that’s
also where God’s mercy was revealed, “For even the Son of Man came not
to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for man” (Mark 10:45).
No one
took it from Him… He willingly laid it down (John
10:18).
Compassion
Jude writes about witnessing in two different ways. We should “have
mercy on those who doubt” (Jude
1:22), and many do doubt.
Some
doubt that God could possibly save them. They think they’ve done too much, and
can’t come as they are.
They
often wait until they can clean their lives up, but that will never happen
until they come to Christ.
It’s not
trying to get holy and then come to Jesus, but it’s coming to Jesus and being
accounted as holy before God (2
Corinthians 5:21).
Then Jude tells us to “save others by snatching them out of
the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by
the flesh” (Jude 1:23).
Listen to the caring compassion that Jesus has. It says, “When
he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and
helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36).
Do we have
such a heart for the lost? Are we willing to leave the 99 and seek the one that
is lost?
If not us, then who?
Paul may have put it best by telling us to “be imitators of
God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself
up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Ephesians 5:1-2).
This life
gives us opportunity to show the world who Jesus’ disciples are (John 13:34-35).
We don’t retaliate or “get even,” but rather, as
Jesus said, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless
those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you” (Luke 6:27-28).
These
verses were worth repeating!
Conclusion
Humans
may have many definitions of love, but the Bible tells us what love really is,
and it is a verb… it is what you do, and for us who believe, it is what Jesus
did.
Love is
not a greeting card, a love letter, or a big kiss. Those are byproducts of love,
but they are not love in themselves.
Love is
displayed in action. Jesus lived a sinless life, gave His life as a sacrifice
for us to receive eternal life, then offered the free gift of eternal
life (Ephesians 2:8-9).
And even
though we were dead in our sins (Ephesians
2:1-7), being ungodly, wicked enemies of God,
Jesus died for us (Romans 5:6-10)!
There is
no greater love possible than for Jesus Himself to die for unworthy sinners.
Here’s why grace is such an amazing thing.
He did
not give us what we deserved (His wrath); He gave us what we needed (His
mercy).
Jack Wellman is a Pastor and
Prison Minister in the State of Kansas. Jack is also a writer at Christian
Quotes and also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know
whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address
questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can
follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel
available on Amazon.
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/christiancrier/2019/04/15/the-cross-where-judgment-and-mercy-meet/
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