When evil is committed against us our hearts automatically long for justice. Deep down, we know that wrongs should not be ignored and evil cannot be swept under the rug. This longing shows itself in every culture, every generation, every story we tell, evil men must face judgment, and victims cry out for vindication. But the Christian faith gives a unique answer to the question of justice. It neither denies justice nor offers cheap forgiveness. Instead, it holds both together at the cross of Jesus Christ.
On the one hand, no one escapes justice. Scripture declares, “For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:14). Every hidden act, every careless word, every sin buried in secrecy will be exposed at the final judgment. God’s holiness is not compromised; He does not overlook evil. What human courts miss, heaven’s court will address. There is no sweeping injustice under the rug of eternity.
On the other hand, the cross shows us that justice has already been carried out in Christ. Salvation is not about sinners slipping past the gates of judgment or criminals getting away. Rather, it is about Jesus, the spotless Lamb of God, bearing the penalty that each of us deserved. Repentance, even at the last breath of life, is not an escape hatch. It is the humble recognition that the punishment has already fallen, not on us, but on Christ. Forgiveness is not given because God shrugs at sin, but because His Son has already paid its full price.
In Christianity, forgiveness is never cheap. It cost Jesus His life. It cost the life of God! The brutality of the cross is the measure of how seriously God takes sin. But it is also the measure of how deeply He loves His people. Where justice demanded blood, mercy provided it, not from the sinner, but from the Saviour. At the final judgment, this reality will be displayed in full clarity: the unrepentant will bear the weight of their own deeds, without excuse, and the repentant, even the very worst, will stand free, not because their sins were overlooked, but because their sins were laid on Christ.
This is the heart of the Christian claim: evil is always dealt with. Either it is punished at the cross, or it is punished at the judgment seat. The cross assures us that mercy does not nullify justice, and the final judgment assures us that justice does not nullify mercy. The two meet perfectly in the person of Jesus Christ, crucified and risen.
God is both perfectly just and perfectly merciful. That is the good news of Christianity; justice satisfied, mercy extended, and salvation offered through Jesus Christ alone.
Whimsical Morality