In my mind, God’s grace is synonymous with his love. You don’t get one without the other. It’s a package deal, and it’s the most wonderful deal ever offered to mankind. Because of his grace (and his love), God has offered everyone the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ. And like any gift, it’s yours if you simply receive it.
However, not everyone can accept that it’s that easy. The typical counter-argument usually focuses on God’s justice and his need to dole out punishment for sin. You may be saved by grace through faith, but you can lose it if you don’t live a life of devotion and obedience to God.
These two views are diametrically opposed to each other. One focuses on what God has done. The other focuses on what we must do. To see how these differences would play out, let’s imagine a conversation between two people who hold these different views. One we’ll call Mr. Justice and the other we’ll call Mr. Grace.
Mr. Justice: “God’s grace is wonderful and all, but what about his justice? The fact that he’s a just God demands that he punish people for sin.”
Mr. Grace: “Is that what you really want? Don’t forget that all have sinned and fallen short of his glory.”
Mr. Justice: “I’m not talking about little sins. I’m talking about really big sins, such as murder. Murderers will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
Mr. Grace: “Are you sure you want to go there? Have you ever been angry at your brother or sister and called them an awful name?”
Mr. Justice: “Well, I certainly haven’t committed adultery. I’ve been as faithful as can be. So God won’t judge me like he will all those adulterers.”
Mr Grace: “Again, are you sure you want to go there? Have you ever looked at another member of the opposite sex with lust in your heart?”
Mr. Justice: “Ya, but I’m a nice person. I don’t hate people. And God certainly won’t treat haters with grace.”
Mr. Grace: “Okay, here we go again. Have you ever sought revenge against someone who hurt you? Or how about hating someone who doesn’t like you?
It’s tough being Mr. Justice, isn’t it? Living up to all those lofty expectations that Jesus taught in his Sermon on the Mount is not only difficult, it’s impossible. Remember, Jesus even challenged us to be perfect just as his Father is perfect. Ouch! How is Mr. Justice going to live up to that one?
Mr. Justice: “But God is just. Doesn’t there have to be punishment for sin? I know I’m not perfect. Who is? But still, it’s not like I’m Hitler or something. Surely the Hitler’s of this world will be punished for all their evil and wickedness. Otherwise, how would God be just?
Excellent question! Let’s get into that.
There are a couple of forms of justice that are often associated with God. One is called retributive justice, which is just a fancy way of saying that he exercises justice by punishing offenders. It’s essentially our legal system’s form of justice. There are laws, and those who break the laws need to be punished so that there is justice for the victims.
It’s not a coincidence that a synonym of the word retribution is revenge. If you think about it, isn’t that what retribution is, a form of legal revenge against those who have hurt someone in some way? In Mr. Justice’s view of the world, God is the offended party. Our sin is what has caused the offense. We’ve broken his laws, so God must punish sinners so that there is justice.
I see some problems with this view. First, Jesus said that we should love our enemies, just as his Father in heaven does. That’s an amazing statement if God practices retributive justice. Seeking retribution in the name of justice doesn’t seem very loving. Instead, God sends the rain upon the unrighteous and causes the sun to shine on the evil. Sounds like a God who cares for the well-being of sinners, not one who is looking for ways to punish them.
Second, we were once God’s enemies too, and he showered us with love, not punishment. Look at what Paul said about this incredible truth: “For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life (Romans 5:10)!” What Paul is declaring is quite astounding. We were reconciled to God while we were still his enemies! In other words, he took action, made the first move, and pursued us with love. No matter how you slice it, that’s not retribution.
Third, it doesn’t fit the character of God. Did Jesus come to earth to punish sinners? Not according to him. As he said, part of his mission here on earth was to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10). A casual reading of the Gospels shows the truth of that statement. Jesus was constantly hanging out with sinners, not to rebuke or punish them, but to save them with the love of his Father. In fact, that’s part of what got him into regular trouble with the Pharisees and Sadducees, the very religious leaders who depicted the Father as a God who would punish his enemies, including the very sinners Jesus hung out with. But that’s wasn’t the God that Jesus revealed.
The three points that I just raised not only reveal problems with the view of the retributive justice of God but they also reveal the true form of justice that God practices – restorative justice. As I’ve mentioned several times in past articles, God is constantly at work to restore everything that sin and death have sought to destroy, and that includes mankind. That’s why Jesus came to seek and save the lost. That’s why he spent so much time with sinners. That’s why he went to the cross to reconcile man with God. That’s why he came to take away the sin of the world. And that’s why he came to give us life, and give it to us abundantly. As he tells us in John’s revelation, “I am making everything new (Revelation 21:5)!” That’s because he’s not out to punish us but to restore us.
Jesus’ entire mission on earth was about restoring things and setting things right. By that I mean putting things back to the way God intended. That’s what was happening on the cross, the ultimate act of love and grace. As Jesus demonstrated the self-sacrificing, loving heart of God, so we are called to do the same. God’s restorative justice calls for an end to human violence and our penchant for seeking revenge by challenging his children to seek peace and reconciliation. This is the way of love and it’s made possible by the essential grace of our ever-loving Father.
So just as he offered us reconciliation and peace through forgiveness, so we must do the same to others. That is the just thing to do. And as we do so, we will find ourselves participating with God in his work of restoring human relationships to the way he always meant for them to be.
Essential Grace 