28 Oct '08 01:13>2 edits
Originally posted by kastOn planet Earth, it is impossible for complete mercy and complete justice to simultaneously occur. For example, if literally everybody who committed a crime received an appropriate sentence, then complete justice would be accomplished, but there would be no mercy. Alternatively, if everybody who committed a crime received amnesty, then complete mercy would be accomplished, but there would be no justice. The final alternative would be to punish some and to give others amnesty, in which case there would be both partial justice and partial mercy, but neither complete justice nor complete mercy.
Why did he have to let his son get tortured (himself get tortured)? Why not simply forgive us? Why not simply get rid of the devil?
My point is, if God "forgave" everybody, his Perfect Mercy would be manifested, but his Perfect Justice would not be. And if God gave everybody what they deserved (i.e. He was "fair".), we would be eternally separated from Him.
The bottom line is this: Christ's cruxification paid the penalty in full for all the sins ever committed on Earth, thus manifiesting God's Perfect Justice. And God's Perfect Mercy was manfested by Him applying this "payment of sin" to each person's "personal account." In short, God's plan of redemption allows Him to express his Perfect Justice and his Perfect Mercy at the same time.
Anyway, that is my current understanding of the matter.