{"id":714,"date":"2008-12-20T11:08:57","date_gmt":"2008-12-20T16:08:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/iomaire.com\/?p=714"},"modified":"2008-12-20T19:06:28","modified_gmt":"2008-12-21T00:06:28","slug":"judgement-mercy-and-cheap-grace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iomaire.com\/index.php\/2008\/12\/20\/judgement-mercy-and-cheap-grace\/","title":{"rendered":"Judgement, Mercy, and Cheap Grace"},"content":{"rendered":"

I found this post on Steve Kimes’ Radical Theologian<\/a> site and have used it with his permission. During this Christmas season, I find his wise words comforting, particularly after witnessing the excesses of the recent presidential election campaign. Pondering Steve’s thoughts on judgement and cheap grace would be time well spent for everyone.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Judgment is immediate.<\/p>\n

It demands the quick decision and the sentence is as swift and demanding as a guillotine.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Mercy is slow.<\/p>\n

Mercy takes its time, deliberating, mulling over options. Mercy is often second-guessing itself, repenting of former decisions as repentance is made known.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Cheap Grace is careless.<\/p>\n

It cares not what the issues are, and is as swift in its decision of forgiveness as judgment is of condemnation.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Judgment is simple.<\/p>\n

Black and white, clear cut, no recourse, no compromise. Judgment sees all situations from a demanding, no fills position.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Mercy seeks truth\u2014no matter how messy.<\/p>\n

It deliberates, considers, ponders, discusses\u2014but not without a goal. Mercy plods, the tortoise who wins the race, slow and steady. Mercy understands that truth cannot be found in a headline, but in a feature article based on many interviews.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Cheap Grace triumphs the ignorant.<\/p>\n

There is no need for determinations, deliberations or decisions. The decision has already been made\u2014freedom and blessing for all, no matter what the situation.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Judgment focuses on the law as a principle.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe law is a standard which once broken cannot be mended. It is the Humpty Dumpty of God. It is an ancient china doll, needing to be placed behind glass\u2014protected, served, and loved from a distance.\u201d But the law of judgment is cold, hard and sharp as a steel blade. Judgment claims to be for the good of society, but the only one who benefits is Judgment itself.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Mercy loves the law as a benefit to others.<\/p>\n

The law is to \u201clove your neighbor,\u201d thus mercy is the heart of the law. The law is to train us in mercy, to see the Other as the beneficiary of all of our actions. Mercy considers the well-being of all\u2014even the law-breaker. Mercy\u2019s law is comforting, light, for it always seeks the benefit of all.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Cheap Grace discards the law.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe law was a plaything of youth, but is to be set aside as unworthy of consideration. Grace has set aside all law, especially the law of Jesus, as unworthy of God.\u201d Cheap Grace claims to speak for Mercy, but denies the heart of God.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Judgment demands recompense.<\/p>\n

Judgment seeks equity to the cost of the action of the law-breaker. \u201cYou broke it, you pay for it.\u201d It seeks a balanced account book for which each debit has its equal and opposite credit\u2014the coin of which is blood and dishonor.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Mercy pursues reconciliation.<\/p>\n

Mercy can lead to dishonor, should repentance be the flip side of that coin. Mercy pleads for restoration, constantly seeking an ingathering together for all the saints.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Cheap Grace rejects cost.<\/p>\n

Cheap Grace points to Calvary and claims that all had been accomplished there. Cheap Grace ignores the man who said, \u201cAll who would follow me must take up their own cross daily.\u201d Cheap Grace demands no personal cost, no change, no death, no discipline, and so gains no gift, no new creation, no life, no restoration.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Judgment has no escape.<\/p>\n

Once judged, there is no exit. The sentence is irrevocable, the differences irreconcilable, the community ununitable.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Mercy offers an out\u2014repentance.<\/p>\n

The one who has harmed another\u2014and so has defied the law\u2014has an opportunity to be brought back under the law. To repent, to reconcile is the extent that Mercy demands, and will seek any way to achieve that goal.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Cheap Grace is unconditional forgiveness.<\/p>\n

It is spiritual bloodletting\u2014seeking to heal the patient, while ignorantly killing him. Cheap Grace sees no need to gather in, to restore, for there was no separation.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Judgment demands payment from the lawbreaker.<\/p>\n

As the law suffered, so must the criminal. As society was harmed, so must the harmer. Judgment claims the lost deserve nothing, and so gives nothing.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Mercy sacrifices.<\/p>\n

Restoration also has a price, and the merciful takes that price on oneself. Mercy pays whatever the cost so the sinner can be restored. Mercy groans in prayer, endures attacks, forgives debts against it, pays debts against others, sacrifices its comfort, its family, its friendships, its resources, its very life\u2014all for the sake of the lost.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Cheap Grace gleefully ignores cost.<\/p>\n

It is the thief, stealing from God\u2019s honor. Cheap Grace receives no payment, demands nothing, gives nothing, since there is no debt incurred. Cheap Grace celebrates at the foot of grace delivered, but ignores the call of grace transferred to others. Cheap Grace requires nothing and so gains nothing.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Judgment never forgets.<\/p>\n

It is the elephant of virtues. It never trusts, never believes, never forgives, never restores. Judgment says \u201cOnce a sinner, always a sinner.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2022 Mercy gives the benefit of the doubt.<\/p>\n

Mercy does not forget, but allows complete restoration, a rebuilding of trust. Mercy believes in new creation, a new life, which has nothing to do with the old.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Cheap Grace always trusts, even the hypocrite.<\/p>\n

It always believes, even the liar. It always forgives, even the unrepentant. It accepts everyone and everything\u2014except God\u2019s truth.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Judgment is Satan.<\/p>\n

Judgment is the accuser of the brethren, the murderer of humanity for the sake of a bloodless law. It is the prosecutor seeking the death penalty.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Mercy is Jesus.<\/p>\n

It is the self-sacrificer, the reconciler to God, the perfect sacrifice. Mercy is the one who said, \u201cGo and sin no more,\u201d \u201cThe one whom the Son sets free is free indeed,\u201d \u201cI have come to seek and save the lost,\u201d \u201cUnless you repent you will likewise perish,\u201d \u201cI have not come to call the righteous but the sinners to repentance,\u201d \u201cBe merciful as your Father is merciful.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2022 Cheap Grace is the Flesh.<\/p>\n

It is self-seeking, self-upholding, self-deceptive. Ultimately, it upholds what is abhorrent to God as the will of God. They practice sin and gives approval to those who practice it.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Judgment is a liar.<\/p>\n

It claims that God does not forgive, sees the sin and not the sinner. It denies the power of God to change the one in Jesus. It is lost, for it has forsaken the mercy of Jesus. Those in the power of Judgment will die by God\u2019s hand\u2014\u201cJudge and you will be judged.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2022 Cheap Grace is a liar.<\/p>\n

It claims that God\u2019s standard is flexible, and so non-existent. It loves the lost to such a degree that it cannot be separated from the lost. It causes the lost to remain lost, and so dead. Those in the power of Cheap Grace will die by God\u2019s hand\u2014\u201cWhoever does not obey the Son will not see life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2022 Mercy is the truth of God.<\/p>\n

It upholds the law, which is to love all. It demands love, even as it offers love. It demands forgiveness, even as it offers forgiveness. It demands sacrifice, even as it sacrifices. It demands purity, even as it offers purity. It demands devotion to God, even as it offers devotion to God. \u201cBe imitators of God, and walk in love as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mercy stands with God over against Judgment and Cheap Grace <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I found this post on Steve Kimes’ Radical Theologian site and have used it with his permission. During this Christmas season, I find his wise words comforting, particularly after witnessing the excesses of the recent presidential election campaign. Pondering Steve’s …<\/span> Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iomaire.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/714"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iomaire.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iomaire.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iomaire.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iomaire.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=714"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/iomaire.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/714\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":717,"href":"https:\/\/iomaire.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/714\/revisions\/717"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iomaire.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=714"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iomaire.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=714"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iomaire.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=714"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}