Mercy Triumphs Over Judgment

"Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, ¹³ because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!"

James 2:12-13 (NIV)

Jesus came to fulfill the Law, and He established a new covenant in His own blood that provides liberty from the Law of Moses, condemnation and death.  Having been born again by the Gospel we are not to be lawless but to walk in love, grace and righteousness that trumps the letter of the Law.  The one who walks in love will love God with all his being, and it is love that guides him to bless and help others rather than murdering them or stealing from them.  James referred to the "perfect law of liberty" in the previous chapter, and the Bible Knowledge Commentary explained it this way:  "The “Law that gives freedom” seems like a paradox. Law seems to imply restraint and therefore a lack of freedom. Not so with God’s Law. His perfect Law provides true freedom...One who does what God decrees will find full liberty and will be blessed in what he does."

The perfect law of liberty provides freedom to serve and honour God by eating food or by not eating food, by observing a day or choosing not to observe it unto the LORD.  Jesus demonstrated love for us by dying in our place, and we are to respond by loving God and others as we present ourselves as living sacrifices, freely giving as we have received from God.  One criticism people have made concerning "religious" people is a tendency to be judgmental--to be quick to condemn others as wrong as if they are without fault.  It is easy to make rigid judgments without caring for people; everyone can do this.  James exhorted believers to speak and act knowing we will be judged by the law that gives freedom by showing mercy.  Justice hardliners are naturally suspect of mercy, for they are concerned mercy will encroach upon or undermine justice.  Not so, for God is perfectly just and also is merciful to us sinners, providing an opportunity for salvation we never deserved.

Webster's definition of mercy is excellent:  "That benevolence, mildness or tenderness of heart which disposes a person to overlook injuries, or to treat an offender better than he deserves; the disposition that tempers justice, and induces an injured person to forgive trespasses and injuries, and to forbear punishment, or inflict less than law or justice will warrant."  Being merciful is a matter of the heart, an inclination and disposition that is for others rather than against them.  Even as all spiritual gifts, sacrifices, and good deeds are of little value without love, so judgment without mercy misses the point.  Consider what Jesus said in Matthew 23:23:  "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone."  The Jewish rulers were very strict concerning weighing out their herbs which were light as feathers, but they neglected the weightier matters of the law.  Justice, mercy and faith in God were to be exercised together, and Jesus weighed the scribes and the Pharisees and found them lacking due to hypocrisy.  They were big on giving 10% of their herbs yet ignored the most important matters of the heart.

James explained those who neglect to show mercy in judgment will be judged without mercy--similar to those who refuse to forgive will not be forgiven.  This is not speaking of eternal condemnation for Christians, but a loss of fellowship with God and eternal reward should we refuse to heed God's word.  Do you love God's judgment and mercy?  It is important for Christians to embrace both in the things we say and do.  Mercy is more than a matter of tone, for it is a weighty matter of the heart.  Having been made new creations by the Gospel, justified by grace through faith, forgiven and set free, illustrates perfectly that mercy indeed triumphs over judgment.