Judgment, Mercy, and a Skilled Physician

“The doctor said I’m cancer-free!” I can only imagine the relief, joy, and new lease on life shared by new survivors. Being cleared of life-threatening disease — even if through harsh treatment — must be one of the most euphoric feelings in all humanity. Yet if bodily healing buys us additional finite time, be it 10 years or 40, how much more glorious must be our purification from the eternal-life-threatening presence of sin, for any amount of it, even one “cell,” is spiritually lethal. James writes, “Whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it,”¹ and Isaiah tells us our sins separate us from God,² in whom life exists.

The prophet Habakkuk once proclaimed, “Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrongdoing.”³ Indeed, our God is holy and He will not allow His purity — purity’s only source — to be compromised, as we have. Then we have a problem, a soul sickness to be cured and a closeness to be restored. We need a physician who can “get it all,” we need our sin to be removed and ourselves declared “sin-free.” So like an oncologist, God detects our sin, declares it, and condemns it; He goes after it with a vengeance — zero tolerance. For God will not taint His purity by ignoring ours, nor does He will to abandon us to our sin condition. Sin must be judged: it must be named for what it is, and then eradicated.

Then judgment is a kindness, for God would kill the disease of sin while saving the patient. And so it is that God judges with mercy; He is harsh on our sin, yet merciful to us. For though we were dead in our trespasses — judged and found condemned — God removed them from us through the sacrificial death and victorious resurrection of Jesus Christ. Paul writes, “God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.”⁴ And again, “Our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus . . . gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, eager for good deeds.”⁵ He killed the cancer and saved the patient.

Judgment speaks truth, then sends us to mercy. It confronts us with reality of sin— no compromise, zero tolerance — then points us to healing and life. In judgment, God displays His purity, and in mercy He declares our own.

Thank You, God, for your judgment and Your mercy. Both proclaim Your purity and speak Your love. Send us with confidence to proclaim You with joy. In Christ we pray. Amen.

¹ James 2:10 ESV
² Isaiah 59:2
³ Habakkuk 1:13 NIV
⁴ Romans 8:1-4 NLT
⁵ Titus 2:13-14 NASB