Justice and Mercy

Dear Friends:

It has been said that the Christian army is the only
army in the world that shoots its wounded.  By this
comment, it is implied that Christians attack and
spiritually slay those who are already in a death
struggle with sin.  All too often this is true.

It is a tricky thing to uphold the standards that God
has set up for His people.  On the one hand, we want
to be kind, loving and forgiving.  On the other hand,
we have very specific examples of behavior which is
not to be tolerated within the body of Christ.

Too many times, it is a matter of approach.  We see
our brethren engaged in some act of sin.  We jump on
our white horses and gallop in to tell them that what
they are doing is wrong.  The problem is that most of
them already know what they are doing is wrong, they
simply lack the faith to stop doing it.  It is like
telling someone they are sick without telling them how
to get well or better yet helping them get well. James
comments on this attitude when he says "...one of you
says to him, 'Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well
fed,' but does nothing about his physical needs, what
good is it?"  It may feel like we are providing some
valuable service in pointing out their malady and then
riding off into the sunset, but we are in fact
providing little value at all. If they don't get
better, we get out the guns of withdrawal to put them
out of our misery.  In an ideal scenario, we need to
roll up our spiritual shirtsleeves and build up their
faith enough so that they can conqueror their sin.

There are three general categories of sins which fall
into the category of withdrawal in Scripture (examples
are found in but not limited to 1 Cor. 5, Gal. 5 and
Titus 3).  They are unrepentant immorality, teaching
false doctrine and creating a schism in the ecclesia.
Another mistake we make in this area is widening or
narrowing the categories.  These areas have been
clearly delineated for a reason.  They are not for us
to change or apply in a flippant fashion.

There are certain principles in the Bible which
necessarily need to be balanced.  Some virtues, like
love, have no need of balance.  You cannot love too
much.  You cannot have too much balance.  Other
virtues, such as justice,  need a proper balance.
Justice is properly balanced by mercy.  Both justice
and mercy are virtues. However, both justice and mercy
not tempered by each other can be faults. Justice left
to itself is unmerciful and harsh.  Mercy left to
itself is anarchistic and permissive.  Balanced and
blended together with God's word as our guidepost,
justice and mercy are kind, fair and righteous.

How can we judge whether we are balancing both justice
and mercy?  You can certainly get closer to the answer
by asking yourself the following questions:  How would
Jesus handle this situation?  Am I doing everything I
can to help this individual overcome their problem
(and not just pointing it out)? Am I looking our
solely for the best interests of the ecclesia and the
individual or are other considerations playing into
this?  Are the Scriptures clear on this matter so that
the sin is indisputable or is this a matter of
conscience? Does the individual acknowledge or deny
their problem? Is their any clear Scriptural precedent
on how to resolve this problem?  Am I being
hypocritical by involving myself with something
equally abhorrent that may not be known to others?  Is
my approach helpful and humble?

In the end, we want Christ to be glorified by whatever
we do.  We need to remember that without qualification
the greatest way to glorify Christ to restore our
erring brethren in the spirit of meekness and truth.
"Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are
spiritual should restore him gently. But watch
yourself, or you also may be tempted."  (Gal. 6:1)

Have a great week!

Kyle