- Mercy and Justice
- The bible, which is a word of God, mainly contains a set of specific instructions that guide how nations and individuals should operate. This holy book contains two sections the Old and the New Testaments. The Old Testament is a covenant of law and therefore implies that it outlines issues related to justice. On the other hand the New Testament is a covenant of grace and articulates issues related to mercy. The Old Testament was directed towards the Jewish people who were God’s chosen people. This Old Testament lays down the laws that man was supposed to follow. In addition it also lays down various punishments that could follow in case anyone disobeyed the law. Some of these punishments that one was supposed to get after disobeying the law were so cruel that the Old Testament can only be termed as the creator’s righteous justice under the law.
- Analyzing the New Testament it is evident that it is a message of hope and salvation to every person on earth. This New Testament reflects the story of messiah that was promised to the Israelites in the Old Testament. The New Testament therefore reflects God’s mercy on his people. Due to the sinful nature of human being and the inability of the man to follow God’s law the creator sacrificed his son so that the entire human race could be saved through him. God’s mercy is also demonstrated from the teaching in the New Testament since they speak on the hope, faith, love and tolerance. This New Testament not only does direct the personal relationship but also how one is supposed to relate to the creator.
- The covenant in the Old Testament also represents the principle in which most of the governments and societies are supposed to operate. This is because any government in order to be effective must follow a certain code of laws. In this case justice also comes ahead of mercy. This is because one must first try to ensure that they seek justice in accordance with the laws of nature. This therefore implies that any person acting on the behalf of the nation, government or the society should try and place justice ahead of mercy. An example that can be used to illustrate the concept of justice versus mercy is the American federalism, which is articulated in the ninth and tenth amendment in the American constitution. According to this amendment all the national policy demanded justice and logic. In addition, most of the national policies were devoid of the emotion and mercy. This national policy dealt with issues that affected the entire nation. The other type of the policy was the domestic policy, which was left entirely to the state and the people. Domestic policies manly dealt with individual and their interest. These policies were therefore guided by emotions and mercy.
- Mercy and grace as presented in the New Testament supersedes the Old Testament covenant of law and justice. However, it is worth of note that no one is supposed to place mercy before justice when serving the nation. This is because the nations are served by the covenant of the law. In relation to this it is evident that the Old Testament was written to the nation. This therefore implies that the testament addressed issues related to justice and specifically righteous judgment. In addition, this Old Testament outlines how a just nation should conduct their affairs. It is therefore worth noting that an individual acting on behalf of the nation should place justice before mercy. However, with regard to the New Testament it was written to individuals implying that it addresses issues related to mercy and grace. According to the scripture in the book of Mathew 7:1, no one is supposed to judge another person. However, this does not apply to anyone acting in the pursuit of justice in the court of law since such individual is acting on behalf of the society or a nation. Most importantly the New Testament mainly addresses how individuals should handle their own personal relationship.
- Justice and mercy are two important concepts that are highly interconnected. This is because, justice can only be termed as the mother of dissolution, and on the other hand justice without mercy can only be seen as an act of cruelty. Even though mercy offers forgiveness, it does not evade the demands of justice. However, mercy only opens the way of reconciliation with the aim of promoting healing at the same time helping to build bonds in the society while ensuring that justice is met. This means that mercy does not itself condone or ignore the evil it tries to forgive.
- From the bible it is evident that there are so many incidences that God had shown mercy upon his people. First there was the incident where God had led the children of Israel out of Egypt, and immediately after they crossed the Red Sea they sang a song to praise God for his mercy. Another incidence where mercy is mentioned in the Old Testament is the incident where Moses was instructed by God to build a mercy seat. This mercy seat that Moses built was a representation of Christ’s merciful sacrifice and eternal presence that allows all the human beings to communicate to their creator.
- Through issuing of the Ten Commandments to Moses God clearly demonstrated that He is both merciful and just. This is clearly demonstrated in the book of Exodus 20: 4-7 where God states that no one is supposed to carve any image in his likeness for he is jealous God punishing the children for the sins of their fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate him. However, God also indicates that He will show mercy to the thousand who obey and keep the His commandments. God is serious about the people who serve him and at the same time promises some consequences to the people who have chosen not to serve.
- From the above it is evident that justice and mercy should never be confused and that they are both related in some ways. The bible provides that God is merciful since He provides a way in which the sinners get saved and escape His wrath. God also demonstrated His merciful nature through giving His own son to dies for our sins and that through Him we can be able to acquire the internal life. However, the bible also provides that the sinner will definitely face the wrath of God. Man standard of standard of mercy and justice can never be perfect. Only God standard is perfect. We may think we are white but in the God’s eye we are dark and sinners only through His mercy that we can be saved.
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