My God is the God of Mercy and Justice

But is God not also merciful? 

• God is indeed merciful, 
• But He is also just. 
• His justice requires that sin committed against the most high majesty of God also be punished with the most severe, that is, with everlasting, punishment of body and soul.

For the Bible Tells Me So...

Exodus 20:6 

• …but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. 

Exodus 34:6,7 

• And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, 
• keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.” 

Psalm 103:8,9 

• The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. 
• He will not always strive with us, nor will He keep His anger forever

Exodus 20:5 

• …you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me… 

Deuteronomy 7:9-11 

• “Therefore know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments; 
• and He repays those who hate Him to their face, to destroy them. He will not be slack with him who hates Him; He will repay him to his face. 
• Therefore you shall keep the commandment, the statutes, and the judgments which I command you today, to observe them.” 

Psalm 5:4-6 

• For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness, nor shall evil dwell with You. 
• The boastful shall not stand in Your sight; You hate all workers of iniquity. 
• You shall destroy those who speak falsehood; the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man. 

Hebrews 10:30,31 

• For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. And again, “The Lord will judge His people.” 
• It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Matthew 25:45,46 

• Then He will answer them, saying, “Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me. 
• And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

The Heidelberg Catechism Lord's Day 4