THE CROSS SYMBOL OF MERCY
1“Mercy is having compassion for others. God’s mercies are abundant (1Perte 1:3)
and fresh every morning (Lamentation 3:22-23). Paul described God as “the father of all
mercies” (2 Corinthians 1:3). Jesus commended the Samaritan who showed mercy for a
wounded traveler (Luke 10:36-37).” The mercy of God is reflected in the most powerful
way by the work of Jesus Christ on the cross at Calvary. It is revealed in man through the
power of the Holy Spirit. Robert Heidler writes in his book “Experiencing the Spirit.”
2 “Sometimes the Holy Spirit reveals Himself with a surprising kind of mercy. He chose
Saul of Tarsus a proud man, hardened and resistant to God. He waylaid Saul on his
mission to Damascus,
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The answer is, God’s justice and mercy are seemingly incompatible. After all,
justice involves the dispensing of deserved punishment for wrongdoing, and mercy is all
about pardon and compassion for an offender. However, these two attributes of God, do
in fact form a unity within His character.
The Bible contains many references to God’s mercy. Over 290 verses in the Old
Testament and 70 in the New Testament contain direct statements of the mercy of God
toward His people. God was merciful to the Ninevites who repented at the preaching of
Jonah, who described God as “a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and
abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity” (Jonah 4:2).
David said, “The Lord is gracious and full of compassion. Slow to anger and great in
mercy. The LORD is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works” (Psalm
145:8–9). But the Bible also speaks of God’s justice and His wrath over sin. In fact,
God’s perfect justice is a defining characteristic: “There is no other God besides me, a
just God and a Savior” (Isaiah 45:21b,WEB). “He is the Rock, His works is perfect; for
all His ways are justice. A God of truth and without injustice; Righteous and upright
God is sinless, loving, forgiving and full of wisdom. God’s love is shown throughout the Old and New Testaments. Many times throughout the Old
Under all religions there are common attributes associated with god. God is known to be all good (omnibenevolent), all powerful (omnipotent) and all knowing (omniscient), which together form t...
John 17 v9, Christ prays for his people, they are the ones he atones for. Justice has been done in that sense.
In Judaism, God is seen as having a contractual relationship with the Jewish people where they must obey his holy laws in return for their status of the chosen people. God rewards or punishes Jewish people based on whether they obey or disobey his will. In parts of the Old Testament, however, God does show mercy or forgiveness, and in later interpretations God’s laws such as the Ten Commandments are followed
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus endorses agape, or selfless love (in contrast to eros, or possessive love), which consists of dedication to another person’s good, even at the expense of our own good and happiness. People should practice peace and nonviolence, return good for evil and love for suffering (“turn the other cheek”). This leads to a special conception of justice, called the “divine justice”, which is based on giving a person what he or she needs rather than deserves (e.g., in case of a crime, redemption rather getting even).
For those who believe in a God who is living and active and who believe in the sanctity of the scriptures, the question of God's justice in the Bible does seem a contradiction at times. As Neiman observed, The Book of Proverbs presents a formula for life, promising blessings to the man who lives a moral life (436). But is The Book of Proverbs a collection of promises or is it the wise man's observations of probabilities? One can see the unpleasant consequences of poor choices, as well as the good fortunes of those who have lived a "clean" life, but sometimes this moral law breaks down. As Neiman states, "experience has led men to realize that ...
An instructive and stirring string of verses, this passage from the Bible holds great relevance not only for the Ancient Israelites to whom it was spoken, but also acts as a herald to Christians today. This passage forms part of Moses great oration; his instructive teaching, advice and counsel narrated to the second generation of Israelites who required redirection before moving forward into what God had for them. Similarly, it is also relevant for all Christians as we remember what our faithful, loving and powerful God has done in the past, and what he requires of us to move forward.
In Genesis 6:8 God says “But Noah found favor in the sight of the Lord.” The word “favor” is translated in Greek to “Charis”, which is then translated to the word “grace”. This verse once again shows the grace of God. He could have easily just killed every single man but instead he shows his grace and mercy to save Noah and his family because Noah listened to God. ...
And Solomon said, Thou hast showed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou has t kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.
A wonderful description of the nature of God’s existence that includes the absolute possession of characteristics that have to be uniquely God was said, “First, God must exist necessarily, which means that God’s existence differs from ours by not being dependent on anything or anyone else, or such as to be taken from him or lost in any way. God has always existed, will always exist and could not do otherwise than to exist. Also, whatever attributes God possesses, he possesses necessarily” (Wood, J., 2010, p. 191).
“He said not:Thou shalt not be tempested, thou shalt not be travailed, thou shalt not be afflicted Thou shalt not be overcome” (144). Although as St. Julian reported, “As long as we be meddling with any part of sin we shall never see clearly the Blissful Countenance of our Lord” (149). It is important to stay clear of any sin and to flee from it when we find it creeping into our lives. “Though we be highly lifted up into contemplation by the special gift of our Lord, yet it is needful to us to have knowledge and sight of our sin and our feebleness”
The implementation of this new ethical paradigm allowed for Abrahamic societies to link their belief in God to common social values and responsibilities (Stark, 2001). The approach which Judaism, Christianity and Islam each take toward these common social values and responsibilities displays which values are held highest in each religion. Despite differences in each religion’s approach, common themes exist. The role of justice and forgiveness in each religion displays a common belief that man’s nature is to stray from God’s justice, but that man can ultimately connect with the divine through the contemplation and understanding of what is good and right.
The Doctrine of Salvation (Soteriology). God provides us with everything we need; we see this in Genesis where he provided Adam with everything he needed. Jesus became a man by reincarnation; a verse to support this is John 1:14 “
Many people state that they do not believe in any kind of god, that the world simply came into existence. However, this belief cannot hold true. Simply by examining nature and all of its intricate details, people stand unable to deny the presence of a Creator. Deep down, people cannot help but to feel that something greater than themselves exists. A Supreme Being- a god, but what kind of god exists? A god similar to Ares, the war-god of the Greeks? One who lusts for blood and destruction? Or a placid god, one parallel to Eirene, the Greek goddess of peace? Fabricated by mankind, these so called “gods” all bear flaws. The Bible, the Word of the Lord, remains the only book on earth that gives an account of the true God and His attributes. Through examination of the Word, readers will come to the realization that a just God exists, that He sends trials to his followers to develop their faith, and that He remains sovereign.
We all know God is love and it is shown everywhere in the Bible. To be merciful means to have broad grace. To be just means to be respectably good and fair. These two attributes seem to contradict each other because how can a merciful God judge a person for their wrongdoing or how can someone who hates sin have mercy on the people who do evil? Many atheists question how could a merciful God be just? The answer to this question is Gods mercy is expressed to us through His love. God is a perfect God meaning his justice and mercifulness is also faultless. This paper will focus on comparing and contrasting the attributes God is just and merciful by pointing out the similarities, differences, and by showing ways in which God demonstrates them to mankind.