Are We Balanced? Thoughts on Mirroring Mercy and Truth

We're still endeavoring to complete our improvements of Pertinent Panoramas, including transferring it from Alicia's Google+ account to its own. Please bear with us as we complete the work of setting up this blog! It's crazy how hard it is to manage our daily lives and still find time for this blog. But God is good, right? He provides, He enables.

Today, we're sharing a few thoughts on being balanced and by mirroring Christ through the unity of compassion and condemnation. We welcome your comments!

Samuel

Mercy and truth seem to disallow each other in our human minds. How can God have mercy and not compromise truth? More specifically for us as Christians, how can we maintain holy standards while still having an attitude of mercy toward others? I am sure each one of us can think others that have fallen into one proverbial ditch or the other. With a little honesty, we should admit that we have done the same.

Alicia

Maintaining balance is essential in our Christians lives, both for ourselves and for those we influence in any way whatsoever. I have often seen people shy away from liberal ideology and jump straight into legalism. I have often seen someone become rightfully wounded by over-zealous conservatives (who proclaim their opinions as gospel truths) and respond by shying away from all things conservative. They spring directly into the ditch of liberal thinking or utter ungodliness, allowing bitterness to make a root in their lives. And I can think of times in my own lives where I have jumped into a proverbial ditch to avoid a problem on the other side - only to realize I'm still in a ditch. 

Samuel

Mercy and truth do not conflict with each other. In fact, they complement each other. In Scripture, mercy and truth are mentioned together at least twenty times. As believers, neither quality should be lacking in our lives. 

Our example, Jesus, showed mercy for all mankind by his death on the cross. He reached out to the broken, sick, hurting, and poor with compassion. Yet, there were times he proclaimed truth at the risk of offending people. He told many outstanding religious leaders the truth about what God really thought of their actions. He pushed away the proud and self-righteous with condemnation. 

Sometimes, it is necessary to use the law of God to confront sin.

"Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God...for by the law is the knowledge of sin." -Romans 3:19-20

When a practice is clearly wrong (according to the Word of God), it is our Christian duty to be the ambassador for Christ. It is not our job to condemn, but rather to show a person that he is condemned already. 

"He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." -John 3:18

An individual in sexual sin is not condemned because he is an adulterer, sodomite, etc. A drunk is not condemned because he is a drunk. A drug addict is not condemned because he is a drug addict. An abuser is not condemned because he is an abuser. Every one is condemned because of what he has chosen to do with Jesus Christ. 

We tend to bring extra guilt on certain sins, but everyone is ripe for judgment. God doesn't hate sinners. In fact, God loves all people and wishes to save them in order to pursue a love relationship with himself. John 3:16 and 2 Peter 2:9 are key verses to illustrate this truth. 

It is right for us to show the world that they are condemned, but only if we also show that we have a heart of love and compassion toward them. God does not enjoy judging sinners. He wants everyone escape justice through the sacrifice Christ made on their behalf. 

Alicia

It's pretty important that we maintain mercy toward the lost, remembering that we are just as capable of the worst imaginable sins as those without Christ. I know that I'd be involved in the sins we as Christians tend to label "the really bad sins." We need to look at ourselves with the realization that we are no better than the most vile murderer, abuser, addict. Reaching the lost with truth absolutely has to be motivated by mercy.

At the same time, we have to show the same mindset with our Christian brothers and sisters. There will be a lot said on this blog about being balanced and not diving into proverbial ditches of either liberalness or legalism. Mercy should be our motivator for conveying truth to fellow believers. 

Oh, and grace should be our response on the issues we disagree on. Believe it or not, there are issues God is quiet on, leaving room for his Holy Spirit to work and the principles -- rather than commands -- of Scripture to be applied. As one Facebook friend said, "...We shouldn't shout the loudest in the areas where God is most quiet. Nor should we stay silent in the areas where God has clearly spoken."

Samuel

Our goal as Christians is not to "be right" or prove someone wrong. Our purpose must be to communicate the heart of God - including his justice and compassion. We must never be afraid to tell someone what God actually says about a social issue, but we should be very afraid to attach God's name to our opinion. This is particularly true when our words do not come from a heart of love.

Alicia

The world can tell when we are motivated by love. Our fellow believers can tell when we are motivated by grace. And, here on Pertinent Panoramas, we hope that our posts convey our desire to let Jesus flow out of us...balancing mercy and truth.

Please share your thoughts.

We're working hard on several blog posts we feel are vitally relevant and important. Stay tuned for more! As always, please like, share, and invite your friends to do the same.