S criptural concepts are often suspended on a web of ideas whose very shape relies on the tension between apparent contradictions. It is in the midst of this web that we discover our theology; in the center of this tension that we find the Christian life. Our faith, for example, is deeply personal, yet also profoundly corporate. While we may grow in holiness through works of piety (such as the stillness of prayer and Scripture), we must also grow through works of mercy (such as the activity of service and social justice). We may be saved solely by the grace of God, but we are also called to actively participate in the inner working of that salvation. We find our peace in the mercy of a God of justice.
This last one is of particular importance, as mercy and justice are both good things; yet mercy and justice are also diametrically opposed. A God who claims both is thus faced with an enormous challenge. It is in this place of tension that we approach a very interesting question posed in response to my article on sacrifice in the Old Testament.
Dear Sir
I understand Jesus having sacrificed Himself for me. Through His life, death and resurrection He shows me the way to true life. I do not believe that He died in order for God to forgive us. If God needs to punish something or someone before He can forgive, then He is too much like me to be worthy of worship.
So my question to you is, do you believe that God sacrificed His son in order for Him to be able to forgive me?
Yours in Christ,
Hando
This is a great question, and one that deserves a thoughtful response. Before we dive into it, however, let us look a little closer at the paradox in which it finds a home.
The Paradox Of Justice And Mercy
Justice is a fickle thing. We recognize the need for it, and when we see a wrong that has been committed, we expect justice to be done. There is something in our gut that jerks to life when we see the innocent victimized, and that inner sense of violation gives birth to a holy desire to set things right. Evil is never an acceptable state of affairs. Justice is a critical issue.
Of course, we often confuse justice and vengeance. That inner voice which cries out for restitution can easily morph into a throbbing rage, and that slow boil can then subtly shift from a holy cry on behalf of the victimized to a decisive intent to victimize the offender. The movement is quiet, and often imperceptible, but it is there. Justice wants things to be made right, for evil to be dealt with appropriately. Vengeance wants to unleash one’s own internal torment upon the one who inflicted it, forcing them to share in the suffering which we experience. These are two very different things, yet vengeance often dons “justice” as a mask. The lust for vengeance is only doused with the power of forgiveness. Evil, however, is still a force that needs to be addressed.
The God we serve takes evil very seriously. This is important, as a god who looks upon human suffering with apathy (or worse, revels in it) is difficult to reconcile with a God of love. Justice is a moral imperative. The God of the Bible is a God of justice. And yet, this same God is also a God of mercy. This is problematic.
Mercy exists on the opposite spectrum of justice. The closer one gets to justice, the further they move from mercy; the closer to mercy, the further from justice. The pendulum does not swing both ways. Faced with a decision, one must choose. A God of justice or a God of mercy? You cannot have both.
And yet, He finds a way.
The Confluence Of The Cross
Here is the beauty of divine wisdom and overwhelming love. Rather than surrendering justice, or forgoing mercy, He chose to become the offender. Far more than merely sheathing His divinity in a flesh-suit, God chose to become fully human. The Creator became the creation.
As one of us, He took the full weight of justice upon Himself. He walked as one of us, laughed as one of us, suffered as one of us, and was betrayed by those He loved… as one of us. Then, on the cross, this innocent God-man took on the full penalty of sin, as the only truly innocent one among us. This innocence was important, as was His willingness to suffer. Had He not been innocent, He could only take on the just punishment He had incurred Himself; had He not been willing, He would simply have been another victim at the hands of evil men. He was neither. God took upon Himself the full weight of the justice His character demanded.
Yes, Hando. I believe that Jesus died so that I could be forgiven and restored, because it is only through the cross that the demands of both justice and mercy could be met.
The cross is the confluence of the paradox. It is here, at Calvary, that the God of mercy and justice chose to extend mercy to humanity… through His justice.
What do you think? How integral was the cross in God’s redemptive purpose?
Image Credit: Lindsay Shaver
Steve January 15, 2013 at 9:14 am
This is a great article, and well put, but I believe that true justice doesn’t have to demand punishment for a crime, but rather healing and restitution from a state of fallenness.
When a criminal is sentenced to a period of rehabilitation, is taught to face the consequences of their crime and is taught to become a productive member of a society, the outcome is far greater and ethically superior to what it would have been had he been given the death penalty (or eternal torture for that matter). This sort of justice serves both the oppressed and the criminal and is entirely compatible with mercy.
I believe God could have chosen to forgive without the cross and met the requirements for a restitutive justice in some other way (e.g. through some sort of purgatory – as the Jews believe), but he chose not to in order to emphasise the ugliness of sin and the urgency of God’s desire that we turn to him.
The cross was an act that was committed by evil men. An act that God allowed as a desperate wake up call to our fallenness. An act that works as a drawing card and a call back to him since through it we realise the deep love that God has for us and the longing he has for the return of his prodigals.
T. E. Hanna January 15, 2013 at 9:57 am
I think you raise a valid point, in that the greatest hope in justice is one of restoration and transformation. Isn’t this, however, the ultimate result of the cross? Jesus was transformed in the resurrection; we are transformed by His grace. The greater image of salvation is not some singular moment of cleansing, but the ultimate freedom from our own inner darkness which we discover in the sanctifying presence (and process!) of the Holy Spirit.
I have to wonder, however, if justice in some circumstances does not demand death. Genocidal tyrants, for example, who are responsible for the torture and death of hundreds of thousands of people… does it meet the demands of justice to sentence that person to rehabilitation? I don’t know the answer to that. What I do know is that Jesus took on the justice demanded for the genocidal just as much as the petty criminal. That was a weighty burden.
I also think it is fitting to reflect on the idea that God’s response to evil was to subject Himself to victimization at the hands of evil men. The cross meets the demands of justice, but it also shows that God understands the suffering of the victim.
Steve January 15, 2013 at 10:53 am
> I have to wonder, however, if justice in some circumstances does not demand death.
Perhaps it does, but I can’t help but believe that a better result would be a state of forgiveness between the genocidal warlord and his victims, restitution to those who have suffered loss at his hands and a genuine repentance and brokenness on the behalf of the perpetrator.
I can’t help but feel that the death sentence doesn’t really fix anything apart from satisfy our thirst for vengeance. If rehabilitation and reconciliation were impossible then perhaps the death sentence would be the most just outcome, but I struggle to see how this would be impossible for God.
When Jesus taught that it is better to forgive your enemies than to seek revenge, I can’t help but wonder if he didn’t mean this in a universal sense. Maybe forgiveness and reconciliation really is better than vengeance regardless of whether it is us doing the forgiving or God.
Holly Anne January 15, 2013 at 4:11 pm
Great, though provoking article! In all my years as a pastor’s child, a Bible college grad and a pastor’s wife, I have never heard that question asked.
I would probably respond with the fact that Hell is not necessarily the punishment for our wickedness, it was originally created for Satan after he chose to attempt to rise above God.
Hell is simply everything that exists where God does not. It is void of all Light, truth, and all things good and pure. It is exactly the opposite of God.
That being stated, when man decided to be above God (knowing good and evil), our species was then deemed imperfect, an hereditary trait passed to all mankind, thus forbidding our own wickedness to enter into the presence of God. It isn’t exactly that we are being punished for our basic state, but our flesh just simply cannot mingle with perfection.
His death on the cross was not a way out of punishment (for we still are punished when we sin after salvation, like a child being punished for wrong doings) but simply a way to bring us into perfection with Himself out of the miry depths of unholiness.
He decided to forgive us in the beginning before sin entered the world. Forgiveness has already been granted us, we simply need to accept it. The rejection of that forgiveness and choosing to follow our flesh is what separates us from God.
T. E. Hanna January 15, 2013 at 4:53 pm
Hi Holly! Thanks for stopping by!
I tend to think of hell more as an existential reality we create for ourselves when we reject that which frees us from our own inner darkness. If sanctification leads us to a freedom from “the sin which so easily entangles”, then a rejection of that freedom-issuing grace leaves us on a trajectory which ultimately results in being consumed by our own internal darkness.
An eternal community of those consumed by their own darkness would be an existential hell – a hell that God wishes to free us from.
I actualyy dealt with this is in more detail here: http://ofdustandkings.com/2012/03/14/hell-doctrine-of-a-loving-god/
criticofchristianity January 15, 2013 at 7:40 pm
What an interesting, helpful and clearly articulated post. It is so refreshing to see Christians admitting to and dealing with the difficult questions of their faith. The paradoxical contradiction between grace and justice is an issue I have been struggling with for some time.
I find it very difficult to accept that punishment of an innocent (Jesus) can pay for my own sins. I feel like my sins are my own responsibility and that it is wrong for God to accept Jesus’s blood in my place. Jesus’ death is an injustice because it results in sinners like me end up going unpunished, and an innocent goes through undeserved suffering.
As you say: “There is something in our gut that jerks to life when we see the innocent victimized, and that inner sense of violation gives birth to a holy desire to set things right.” That’s how I feel when I see Jesus die for me, he is an innocent, willingly victimised for me and I just can’t see how that can be right.
When I have spoken to some of my church leaders about this they will remind me that Jesus was God, through the Trinity and tell me that it’s all alright because Jesus was willing to die. But it still seems to me that Jesus’ death, as atonement for my sins, is a compromise of justice. I have always been passionate about justice (I will hopefully be starting law school this year) and I can’t love a God that does not deliver true justice.
T. E. Hanna January 15, 2013 at 8:57 pm
One analogy that I have heard given (and this may resonate with a law student) is that of a judge whose child commit some crime and was brought to his courtroom. As a just judge, he pronounced sentence – even on his own child. But then, as a loving father, he stepped out of the judge’s box, removed his robe, and paid the sentence in his child’s place.
The children in this analogy is all humanity. God, therefore, took the analogy one step further. If humanity as a whole bears the penalty of exile as defined in the garden, then God actually becomes one of the exiled ones. He became human and, as a human, took on the penalty due to humankind.
Criticofchristianity January 15, 2013 at 9:44 pm
Yes, I have heard that analogy before. It still seems wrong to me because the child – the guilty one, gets off without paying and the father – the innocent one, pays for the son’s crimes. The child is responsible for his own actions and should therefore bear the consequences. That is justice. Anything else is a compromise.
T. E. Hanna January 15, 2013 at 10:05 pm
Perhaps. As I see it, however, the sentence is handed over, the violation is addressed, and the consequences are real and seen through. The demands of the judge are met. Justice is demanded and met.
From there, we encounter mercy. While the child is, in fact, responsible for his own actions and SHOULD bear the consequences, the decision of another to take that punishment in his stead is an act of mercy.
Christianity never says that we are not DESERVING of punishment – in fact, it says quite the opposite. We are offered grace in spite of what we deserve. The judge issued the sentence; Jesus served it on our behalf; both are God. Justice and mercy.
linusd April 9, 2013 at 7:25 am
The emphasis of the cross seems to be one of appeal rather than punishment. Jesus dies to change us not so much God, because “God” so loved the world that HE gave his son so we could turn to him:
Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Joh 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
How does the CROSS change our lives?
1Jn 4:11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.
God appeals in various languages
1. HE Openly expresses his love and concern for his people (words)
2. HE warns people (strong words)
3. HE provides hope for the circumstances (Appeal)
4. HE allows his faithful to be beaten (Extreme Appeal)
5. HE allows his faithful to be killed (The ultimate love language of blood )
6. HE brings destruction (So those who survive can take heed)
The purpose of using such a method of communication is so that we can change and thereby receive forgiveness. Appeal is expense – prophets and the Lord died appealing to us so we turn to God. God does not need to change we do!
“For twenty-three years, from the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, to this day, the word of the LORD has come to me, and I have spoken persistently to you, but you have not listened. You have neither listened nor inclined your ears to hear, although the LORD persistently sent to you all his servants the prophets, saying, ‘Turn now, every one of you, from his evil way and evil deeds, and dwell upon the land that the LORD has given to you and your fathers from of old and forever. (Jer 25:3-5)
God’s initial resort to help us change is one of appeal and dialog and subjecting his faithful to extremes so we may turn from evil before he finally leashes a whip. This is common parenting I guess!
Following on from Jesus’ life quite a few who followed in his footsteps suffered the same fate as Jesus – i.e. the just killed/murdered by the wicked – Ex. Stephen was stoned. They were encouraged to share in the “example” of Jesus who had become their “template” to follow:
1Pe 2:21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.
Right from the beginning we see this pattern: The just murdered by the unjust – Righteous Abel was murdered by his jealous brother. Jesus died by being nailed but Zechariah the prophet before him was stoned to death by wicked people: Then the Spirit of God clothed Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, and he stood above the people, and said to them, “Thus says God, ‘Why do you break the commandments of the LORD, so that you cannot prosper? Because you have forsaken the LORD, he has forsaken you.’” But they conspired against him, and by command of the king they stoned him with stones in the court of the house of the LORD. Thus Joash the king did not remember the kindness that Jehoiada, Zechariah’s father, had shown him, but killed his son. And when he was dying, he said, “May the LORD see and avenge!” (2 Chronicles 24:20-22 ESV)
Jesus’ own cousin John would be beheaded!
The death of Jesus on a cross is more of injustice than justice! Provoked by jealousy which then lead to hatred and finally the murder of the Christ. Jesus preached: “Mat 5:39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.” And now he would have to live to his teaching even if he had 1000 angels at his disposal.
Is faith worth it is a different question but for Jesus it was worth it: Heb 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
God has exalted Jesus above all. He suffered a little when compared to what he now has at his disposal.
The blood:
The blood is a symbol of love i.e. a language of appeal and dedication. Jesus himself explained this: Joh 15:13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.
There is nothing beyond the test of blood (i.e. death – death is the ultimate test) – so the preacher [Jesus] would also be tested to the ultimate and emerge victorious [i.e. resurrection]!.
Now sacrifices signified dedication! In simple terms you cannot be dedicated beyond death i.e. one’s faith cannot be tested beyond death. The sacrifices are commonly understood as “instead of us”. That is true in a sense but they were designed “for us”. Many animals that were sacrifices had practical application as food for priests. The sacrifices in themselves were not given to appease an angry sort of God. Sacrifices demonstrated the sort of dedicated life one ought to lead in the symbol of the purity of a Blameless animal, etc. For example a very poor person who could not afford a big animal was granted to offer just “fine” flour [no blood involved in this specific instance]: Lev 5:11 But if he be not able to bring two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, then he that sinned shall bring for his offering the tenth part of an ephah of fine flour for a sin offering; he shall put no oil upon it, neither shall he put any frankincense thereon: for it is a sin offering.
Offering thousands of lambs and flour does not in any way satisfy the Creator – they were symbols of purity for people to look to. In the absence of a “perfect” role model they were proxies of the reality to come i.e. Jesus. When the perfect man was born he would then become an example of holiness and blamelessness to follow.
Heb 10:5 Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me; Heb 10:6 in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure. Heb 10:7 Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’”
Paul expounds the whole purpose of sacrifices very clearly [Blood is just a symbol!]:
Rom 12:1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Rom 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Or as David wrote: Psa 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
Justice system of God:
Gal 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. Gal 6:8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. Gal 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
Rom 2:6 Who will render to every man according to his deeds:
Christians are not exempt from judgment. The parables of Judgments that Jesus taught were to the Jews and Christians.
Justice and Forgiveness:
God forgives on the basis of mercy not blood! I guess the notion of the requirement of blood stems from this verse:
Heb 9:22 Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.
Here the fact that blood was shed is an observation! It is true BLOOD is involved! But the focus is not blood but only what it signifies.
The physical blood of Jesus did not achieve salvation – it was his life of dedication that pleased God. Jesus’ faith then becomes an example – He believed though he dies yet he would be victorious – He rose!
Basis of Forgiveness:
Psa 103:13 As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him.
Psa 103:14 For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.
I’m not sure which verse is shown to demand that every wrong doing requires punishment and even worse eternal punishment! A father is Just towards his kid only if he is patient and leads his child in gentleness and moderation. If the father thinks justice is to execute an equal and opposite reaction to every wrong doing of his son then that father would be termed imbalanced or crazy!
God like a human father [“As a father shows compassion”] operates on moderation and is pleased to show compassion towards those who seek him. Blood is not a requirement for God – God wants us to trust him even in near death situation because he promises to deliver.
Why forgiveness only in Christ?
Jesus is the way – i.e. he was the one who lived a life of total dedication. He lived a life filled with compassion accompanied with powerful words and wisdom. He lived in faith, hope and love. This pleased God! His life I think is more important than death as death only completed his faith/dedication. The focus is taken to death as it was not a simple death – it was one of humiliation and pain.
Forgiveness process is quite simple: We repent of some wrong doing and then seek a second chance. We are happy for the second chance and commit not to repeat it. The process committing to a life of second chance we learn from Jesus – because Christ’s way is God’s way!
This reply has got too long and needs to end. Sometime last year I blogged on this subject:
The Blood Language of Love – Part 1: Parable of the tenants of the vineyard
The Blood Language of Love and Righteousness: Part 2: The Blood of Abel Speaks
The Blood Language of Love and Righteousness: Part 3: What does the The BLOOD of the prophet Zechariah say to you?
The Blood Language of Love – Part 4: The BLOOD of JESUS Speaks
http://linusd.wordpress.com/category/the-blood-language-of-love/
adaffodil January 16, 2013 at 9:56 pm
I love the questions you address in this blog! …And the crucifixion and the resurrection is something I tried and tried to understand!
I too have trouble imagining what authority in this universe could possibly make laws that God Himself would be compelled to acknowledge — such as the shedding of blood for the forgiveness of sin.
But what I do grasp is that God loves me so much that He did not want me to live in fear, ignorance and despair, and the hopelessness of trying to make myself secure in this world. He wanted me to know that He is God and He loves me to the greatest degree that it is possible to love; that He will provide for every need in my life.
Jesus, God in the flesh, was willing to do whatever it would take so we could believe Him… So what omniscient God did *defines* what was required to convince humans of His power and His love.
Thanks again for your blog… I’ll be back!
T. E. Hanna January 16, 2013 at 9:59 pm
For the blood sacrifice issue, check out my article on it. I believe it is being featured on the slider on the front Page. Glad you came by!
roger January 18, 2013 at 9:30 am
23It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. 25Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. 26Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. Hebrews 9:23-28 – http://www.rogertharpe.wordpress.com