A Journey Through Romans

Read Romans 2:1-11

How good a judge are you of others.  The truth is our judgement is always impaired alway biased and all to often full of errors. It was Dietrich Bonhoeffer who said, “God's truth judges created things out of love, and Satan's truth judges them out of envy and hatred.”

In truth, our judgements are always weighted by things that favour our own viewpoint.  Do you remember the saying of Jesus where he questioned, “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and fail to notice the plank in your own? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me get the speck out of your eye’, when there is a plank in your own? You fraud! Take the plank out of your own eye first, and then you can see clearly enough to remove your brother’s speck of dust.” Matthew 7:3-5 (J B Phillips)

Paul in this passage insists that there is no favouritism with God. He insists that in God’s economy there in not most favoured nation clause. But in God’s economy there are two side to the his currency of love, Justice and Mercy. I love the saying of Fred Beuchner “Justice is the grammar of things.  Mercy is the poetry of things.”

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 God’s character.

Charles Wesley expresses the mercy of God in this hymn.

Depth of mercy! Can there be

mercy still reserved for me?

Can my God His wrath forbear?

Me, the chief of sinners, spare?

I have long withstood His grace:

long provoked Him to His face;

would not hearken to His calls;

grieved Him by a thousand falls.

I my Master have denied,

I afresh have crucified,

oft profaned His hallowed name,

put Him to an open shame.

There for me the Saviour stands,

shows His wounds and spreads His hands:

God is love! I know, I feel;

Jesus weeps, but loves me still!

Now incline me to repent! 

Let me now my fall lament! 

Now my foul revolt deplore! 

Weep, believe, and sin no more. 

Prayer

God of love,
You see all the suffering, 

injustice, and misery in this world.
Have pity on what You have created. 

In Your mercy look upon the poor, 

the oppressed, the destitute,
and all who are heavy-laden.
Fill our hearts with deep compassion 

for those who suffer,
and hasten the coming of
Your kingdom of justice and truth. Amen

~Eugène Bersier (1831–1889)