“For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.” ~ John 3:17
It is right for us to think of God as holy. He is morally perfect, set apart, separate from sinners, and unique in His perfections. As such, and given His authority over all that He has made, He has the absolute right to judge the wicked. The Bible clearly affirms in a host of passages that this is true. God is the righteous Judge over all the earth, and will dispense justice upon the ungodly in perfect righteousness.
However, gloriously, that is not His FIRST response to sin.
In fact, His first response to sin is grace and mercy. We learn this not only from the flow of history with the people of Israel and the church. We also learn this from His own self-affirmation. In Exodus, as Moses asks to see God’s glory, God responds by announcing His name to Moses. And the first statements that define God are kind.
"The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.”
(Ex 34:6-7)
There is an infinite well of information in that statement, but what should be apparent is that God’s character is marked by compassion, grace, patience, love, truth, and forgiveness. He certainly punishes the guilty, but He is first kind.
And this grace and mercy and kindness is most glorious clear in how God the Father sent His Son into the world. He could have (and will!) sent His Son to judge the world and to bring a devastating end to sinners once and for all.
He could have come with fire and terror, waging war on all those who do not confess God as Lord, or love Him. This would have been just.
Instead, however, He came with mercy to save rather than to judge. His compassion caused Him to send His only Son into the world on a rescue mission rather than a vengeance rout.
Now—WHY? Why not judge? Why not punish? Why offer salvation to sinners? The answer is very simple. In offering salvation first, God honors Himself. There is nothing more glorious than for God to offer to pay the moral debt of His people by Himself, and then to offer salvation as a free gift. It is this trait of God that the angels rejoiced over!
God’s revealed will for you today is to believe this truth. What you rightfully deserve is this fiery judgment and terror. What He is offering you today is a crucified Savior—One who will take away your sins.
Come to Bethlehem and see Christ whose birth the angels sang!
