The Simultaneous Revelation of Justice and Mercy
Greetings, brothers and sisters. This is Dr. James Perry continuing with our series where we seek to
explore the deeper meanings of our relationship with Jesus Christ. Over the years, the heavenly
Father has revealed many revelations of spiritual truth to me, and I want to share them with you. This
morning we seek to understand the simultaneous revelation of justice and mercy.
And now, sit back and listen to today's message.
The Simultaneous Revelation of Justice and Mercy
"Justice and judgement are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy
face." Psalms, Chapter 89, Verse 14.
Brothers and sisters, today we shall examine the problem of the simultaneous revelation of spiritual
justice and mercy. We know that the Father is just, but he is also merciful. Spiritual justice we define
intuitively as the measure of conforming to a standard that has been previously set, while mercy is
the degree of allowance made for not conforming to the standard. Justice demands that we meet the
standard set by the heavenly Father: Be perfect as He is perfect. Mercy is inherent because of certain
growth deficiencies and other environmental limitations that made complete adherence to this
standard at a given time and place unlikely. Mercy provides compensations for these inherent
limitations, and when factors of justice and mercy are integrated we have a quality that is called
fairness. We all recognize fairness. The standard must eventually be complied with but mercy allows
further time for growth and the overcoming of environmental limitations.
This standard is eventually complied with because incompleteness which adds the value of growth
eventually becomes complete. This standard is promulgated by the Trinity which has stated that
progress is the order of life in the universes. This standard applies to the total. Mercy then becomes
those influences and forces that assist us in complying with the standards of justice. This quality of
mercy as might be conjectured is personal. But how does this same standard of justice apply to the
material aspects of life?
Let us consider how the problem of justice and mercy are applied in the material sense. A sitting
judge has been given the responsibility and authority to administer justice and in some cases mercy.
In carrying out this function, one of the most important instructions that he gives to the jury is that
of impartiality. He instructs them that they are not allowed personal considerations to influence their
assessments of evidence that is presented to them; they are not to allow feelings of sympathy,
empathy, or mercy to erode their partiality. They are to make their decision based solely upon the
evidence. Now we know that it is impossible to be impartial when there is an emotional or personal
interest in the outcome of the evidence. Therefore this problem is partially resolved by eliminating
those individuals who may have a bias towards the evidence, one way or another. It is much easier
to assess the evidence when there is no stake involved in shifting the evidence one way or another.
If an individual has a stake in the outcome of the evidence, then that individual is eliminated from
serving in that particular trial.
The sitting judge goes through a similar process. If he has any emotional or personal interests in the
trial that he is presiding over, he recuses himself from the trial. Fairness being the product of justice
and mercy is neither non-personal nor personal, but impersonal. It does not take sides one way or the
other. It applies to all, be they guilty or innocent. When the verdict is finally announced, the judge
has in some cases a range of what the punishment should be. Here is an opportunity for mercy to
function. By considering the environmental factors, the personal factors of the defendant such as
whether this is a first time offense, the circumstances surrounding the offense, the motive of the
individual, he arrives at a judgement that integrates justice and mercy. And when the sentence is
finally pronounced, the fairness of it is recognized. Though we acknowledge that on our world this
process does not always work in perfection, at least the trend is there.
Without some kind of standard (justice) along with some kind provision for deviation from the
standard (mercy), it is impossible to induce us to work in a group for the common good of the group.
We know that individuals working as a group far transcend individual accomplishments. Thus the
whole growth process is made possible, and accelerated progress within that process is made
possible by group functioning, which is impossible without justice and mercy. Thus the simultaneous
revelation of justice and mercy is fairness. Finally justice says you must become perfect as the Father
is perfect; mercy says I will help you grow. And we all recognize this as being fair.
This concludes today's message on understanding the simultaneous revelation of justice and mercy.
We hope you find something in this message to ponder and pray about as you go about your day.
Until next time, this is Dr. James Perry.
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By Dr. James Perry
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The Simultaneous Revelation of Justice and Mercy
