Shifting Veils

The Gospel is simple: we are sinners. The wages of sin are death. Because of sin, we are eternally doomed. However, God has had compassion on us and sent Jesus to die in our place so that we can have forgiveness of sin and live with Him forever. 

Jesus died and is now resurrected, and if you want to have your sins forgiven, simply repent and believe the gospel. 

Because all people are sinners, we all need God’s forgiveness; there are no exceptions. (Romans 3:23) God’s forgiveness is only offered through Jesus. There is no other way.

So, if you don’t repent and believe the Gospel, then you will die in your sins and spend eternity in Hell. 

These facts are all a person needs to know when they reach out to Jesus for His forgiveness.

We do not need to make the gospel more palatable by softening it at the edges; anyone who reaches out to Jesus, turns from their sin and believes in His name will be saved. 

As that person follows Jesus, their life and their behaviour will change. As they read God’s word, they will grow, and more information and personal revelation will come into their life. You don’t have to be a theologian to get saved; you just have to put your trust in Jesus. 

So, if salvation is this easy, why isn’t everyone saved? Why is there a resistance to the gospel?

Veils

In 2 Corinthians 4:3-4, Paul writes this. 

And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

Paul had been talking to the Corinthian church about the Gospel, and here he says that some people are not saved because the devil (the god of this world) has placed a veil over their hearts that stops them from understanding the Gospel and acting upon it.

Previously in 1 Corinthians 1: 18, Paul wrote

For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

We can put these two scriptures together. The reason people think the gospel is foolishness is because of the veil that the devil has placed over their hearts.

Church-going is not salvation

Once we were all in such a position. Sure, some of us may have even grown up in the church, but our values and behaviour outside of the church building may have been very contrary to God’s laws, and we were still sinning. With a veil over our hearts, we thought we were ok and that going to church was enough to save us. However, going to church won’t save you of itself; only repentance and faith will. Every believer at some time in their life was a sinner who has had an encounter with God. In everyone’s life, there was a time when they met Jesus and repented of their sins and believed that everything He did on the cross for them was enough to pay the price for all of their sins. It is at this point that they became a born-again believer.

Going to church should put you in an environment where you are hearing the Gospel, and learning how to live in a broken and sinful world; but church attendance on its own makes you as much of a Christian as going to McDonald’s makes you a hamburger!

So, we have a planet full of people, many with veils over their hearts that are stopping them from understanding the truth of the Gospel and acting on it. So, what do we do? We live our lives openly and share the message of Jesus plainly. Life brings events that often lift the veils on people’s hearts, and for a short time they are receptive to the Gospel message. But to hear it, they need to be around people who are living it and telling it as it is.

The nurse who changed

On my life’s journey, I once worked as an orderly at a hospital in Canberra. I just did my daily duties and wasn't aggressively evangelistic, but people knew I was a Christian. One day, a nurse came to me and said,  

“I don’t know what you are doing, but God is at work in my life; keep praying.” 

I was surprised I could not remember talking to this nurse about Jesus, but the veil over her heart seemed to be shifting. I began to pray for her. A few weeks later, she came to me and said that she was going to a local church and was enjoying the fellowship. I continued to pray. Then one day in the staff room, she told everyone that last Sunday night she had gone forward in church and given her life to Jesus, and she was feeling the presence of God in her life in a real way, and she knows that all of her sins are now forgiven, and she is going to heaven when she dies. Most of the staff in the room didn’t know what to say.

I congratulated her and encouraged her to continue in her walk with Jesus. She then turned to me and said … “and my conversion is your fault. Whenever you came to work on the ward I was on, God started getting on my case.” To this day, I do not see how I could have had a direct effect on her life, but I trust God and His timing for her.

Not a score board.

You would be right if you are thinking that I am trying to move myself out of the spotlight of this story. This is God’s story; I just happened to be there when it happened.

For a long time, I have been uncomfortable when I hear people say things like: “I got 93 people saved this week!”

When I hear that, I think, “Really!!” The Bible says that God is the one who saves; we sometimes have the privilege to be present when someone gives their life to Christ.

It is Jesus who is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. John 1:29

It is the Father who draws people to Jesus. John 6:44

It is the Holy Spirit that convicts the world of its sin. John 16:8

We have nothing to do with the salvation of another person; we are called to be witnesses of what God has done in our lives and what He is doing now, and sometimes we happen to be there at that critical time in a person’s journey when they give their life to Christ. Jesus said, 

… and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” Acts 1:8

Our job is to be faithful witnesses. Evangelism is not like a scoreboard at a sports ground; it is a process in which many people may contribute, but God deserves all the glory.

Shifting veils

The veils over people’s hearts shift from time to time. A death in the family, sickness, war, a marriage breakdown, or just the realisation one’s life is empty, may be a time when the veil over a person’s heart shift. Shifting veils provide the opportunity for people to clearly hear the truth about Jesus. When a veil has shifted, the people who we work alongside or even pass on the street may find a piece of the Gospel through their encounter with us. Continued encounters may bring a person to the point where they give their lives to Christ.

Salvation is a journey; for some people the journey is very quick, for others it takes years, but it is a journey, nonetheless.

The Engel Scale

The Engel Scale is a conceptual framework or tool used in understanding a person’s spiritual journey from unbelief to conversion. 

This scale was developed by Dr James Engel, and you will find it in his book, What’s Gone Wrong with the Harvest! 

In the book, Engel puts forward the idea that coming to Jesus is a series of steps that are of no measurable length, but still steps people need to go through in order to come to Christ and be successfully discipled. These steps have become known as the Engel Scale, and they help us to understand that we too are part of the process of other people finding faith in Christ.

Over the years I have seen many versions of the Engel Scale; here I am going to outline a simplified version.

The Engel Scale steps explained.

-8 Awareness of a supreme being – no knowledge of the Gospel

Many tribal peoples would fit into this category; they may worship the spirits or a god, but they do not have knowledge of the Gospel.

I was once in secondary school in a NSW country town that had many strong churches. There I met a white Australian teenager who had never heard the Gospel, did not know what Easter and Christmas were about and thought that Jesus Christ was an expletive you said when you were angry or hurt. This young man was at -8 on the Engel Scale.

-7 Initial awareness of the Gospel

Many people say that they understand the Gospel, but who really would not have a clue. They will tell you that Jesus died on a cross, but they do not understand the reality of the Gospel message and its implications. They may have seen something on the internet or on TV but seen it without understanding.  Proverbs 4:7 says … with all your acquiring, get understanding.

-6 Awareness of the fundamentals of the Gospel

In the opening of this article, I explained the fundamentals of the Gospel. We are sinners; God is holy. The wages of sin is death. (Romans 6:23)  Because of sin, we are destined to spend eternity in Hell. Jesus came to die in our place and pay for our sins. He offers us forgiveness of sins and eternal life if we will repent of our sins and believe that all that He has done for us on the cross, plus nothing, is enough to pay the price for all of our sins and that with our sins forgiven, we can live with Him forever. 

Some people can rattle off these facts and still not want to do anything about it because of the veil over their heart.

-5 Grasp the implications of the gospel

These are the people who one day wake up to the fact that they are dead in their sins unless they do something about it. They might say, “When I am dying, I will do it then, but now I am just too busy.” 

They understand the implications, but their attitude is that it is not a high priority for them. One could argue here that they say they understand the implications, but really, they don’t.

Sin is not an inconvenience, it is a wretched and horrible state from which we need rescuing. The key truth we all have to grasp here is, this is a problem that only God can fix.

-4 Positive attitude towards the Gospel

After grasping the implications of the Gospel, the person must develop a positive attitude towards the Gospel where they see it as the truth that will set them free.

Once they have this attitude, these people are on the edge of making a decision to do something about it; these are the people who might attend a crusade meeting or talk with a street evangelist, or even visit a church. 

-3 Personal problem recognition

This is a fancy term for when a person is convicted by the Holy Spirit about their sins.

Part of the role of the Holy Spirit is to convict the world of its sin. When the veil has moved, and the Holy Spirit convicts a person of their sin, this is a likely time when the person will decide to act.

If they decide not to act, then on the Engel Scale they slide back to -5 because they obviously do not appreciate the full implications of saying no to the grace of God extended to them through Jesus. For them, they will have to continue their journey until at last they decide to follow Jesus.

-2 Decision to Act

Once a person has grasped the implications of the Gospel, has a positive attitude towards the gospel, and has been convicted of their sin by the Holy Spirit, their next step is to decide to act. They decide to give their life to Jesus.

-1 Repentance and faith

At this step, the person prays and asks Jesus to forgive them and to be the Lord of their life. Then receive God’s offer of forgiveness and eternal life because of the death of Jesus.

Here the miracle happens: all their sins are forgiven, the power of sin in their life is broken, and their name is written in the Book of Life. They are a New Creation.

0 New Creation

By the time the person says amen to the prayer they pray, they are a New Creation. They are not the same as they were a few minutes ago. But this is not the end; the Engel Scale continues for 5 more steps.

+1 Post-decision evaluation

The question every new Christian needs to ask is, now that I belong to Christ, how should I live my life? This may lead a person to change their friends, habits, or occupation. Perhaps, like Zaccheus (Luke 19:1-10), God will lead them to make restitution to people they have wronged. This is the time when the journey when the new convert finds their footing in their new life with Jesus.

+2 Incorporation into a church body

Within a church body are the keys for sustained and continued growth. The next steps in their Engel Scale journey presume that they have a fellowship or church to which they belong where they can receive teaching and can worship and participate in a way that will help them grow in Christ. Bible study groups will be a key element of their spiritual growth.

+3 Conceptual and behavioural growth

In a fellowship or church, the nitty-gritty of daily life as a Christian is fleshed out. Here other Christians can give new converts pointers as to how they handle the dilemmas of daily life. Here the new convert learns about the more complicated matters of faith, such as the incarnation, Baptism, Holy Communion, and the Trinity, just to name a few. 

It is also within the fellowship of the church that the new convert is taught how to worship God and the importance of reading the Bible, the importance of tithing, and much, much more.

+ 4 Communion with God

At church and at home, the new convert needs to know how they can prayerfully practice the presence of God. Read the Word, pray, worship, and experience God’s presence in their daily life.

+5 Lead others to Christ

This step could well happen before some of the other post-conversion steps. But every Christian should know how to lead someone else to the Lord, should they ever have the privilege to do so.

Evangelism is not just for the evangelists; it is for those who are part of God’s forever family.

Why the Engel Scale is important

Veil movement and opportunities to share the gospel are important in evangelism. There are some people who are gifted evangelists who find it easy to share their faith in a public forum. Some are terrified of sharing their faith in case they get it wrong, especially in a public forum.

The Engel Scale shows us that because a person’s conversion is part of a process, we may already be affecting people’s lives without knowing it. That person you work with may have slipped from -7 to -6 on the Engel Scale because of the chat you had with them over morning tea. The little old lady who visited your church, whom you spoke to at morning tea and who you drove home, may have developed a positive attitude towards the Gospel based on your kindness.  

Evangelists are very good at working with people at -4 through to conversion on the Engel Scale, but there might have been 100 people God used to get them from -8 to -4.

Evangelists may also be very lacking in discipling new converts. This is the job of those with pastoral and teaching gifts, and Christian friends that they make in their local church. So in the bigger picture, we all have a part to play.

The veils on people’s hearts shift, and opportunities arise; as Christians, we need to be living our faith openly and clearly so that those around us can hear the message that will change their lives for eternity.

The importance of the resurrection of Jesus

The resurrection of Jesus is one of the key foundations of the Gospel; without it, salvation becomes very vague, and we have to ask what the point of Jesus' life was if he just lived and died like the rest of us. 

Today, if you were to talk to people on the street about Jesus being raised from the dead, what answers do you think you would be likely to get?

Perhaps some would say yes, they believed he was raised; others might say he cheated death and was not really dead on the cross, and thus faked a resurrection. Then went elsewhere where He died at a later time. 

Some might say that the disciples swiped the body and buried it elsewhere.

Some may say that Jesus never lived and that his story is all a myth. Or perhaps others would say they have other beliefs, and they don’t even think about Jesus’ resurrection at all.

In early Christian times, it seems that the reality of Jesus’ resurrection was a stumbling block for some, and why not? Jesus’ resurrection turned the world upside down. Death was the end as people understood it, and Jesus had beaten death and been raised and promised the same for those who follow Him. That is quite a claim. Let’s see what the scriptures have to say. We have accounts of the resurrection in all 4 Gospels, but I would like to focus on what Paul has to say about it.  

The resurrection was prophetically predicted

In 1Corinthians 15, Paul talks about Christ’s resurrection and our coming resurrection. In verses 3 and 4, Paul makes the point that Jesus died and was resurrected according to the Scriptures. In other words, Paul is pointing to the prophetic plan of God that is evident in the Old Testament, being fulfilled by the death and resurrection of Jesus. Paul is a firm believer in the resurrection. Jesus appeared to Paul on the road to Emmaus. Paul sees that Jesus' resurrection was not a hidden event but foretold in the Old Testament, and was always in plain sight. 

In verses 12-17 Paul argues against those who say there is no resurrection. 

Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 

But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; 

and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. 

Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. 

For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; 

and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. 1Cor. 15:12-17

Paul is astounded that there are some believers in Corinth who say that there is no resurrection from the dead. Paul sees the resurrection of Jesus and our promised resurrection on the last day as going hand in hand. If Christ is raised, then we will be raised; if Christ is not raised, then we are dead in our sins.

The promise of our resurrection

The promise of our resurrection is clearly spelled out for us in John 6:40

For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.” John 6:40

Later in 1 Corinthians 15, Paul details what our resurrection will look like, but we will touch on that later.  

Paul says, “if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. “

This statement has far-reaching implications. If Christ has not been raised …. 

To understand this statement, we need to do some Bible exploring. 

Back to the garden we go!

In the Garden of Eden, God gave Adam a specific warning about a certain tree.

The LORD God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.” Genesis 2:16-17

To say that Adam was told about the fruit on the tree and Eve was unaware cannot be argued, because in Genesis 3:2-3, the serpent asks Eve about what trees she can eat from in the garden; her reply shows that she knew perfectly well that she should not eat from the tree, and to do so would result in death.

The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’” Genesis 3:2-3

We know that to disobey God by eating the fruit of this tree was a sinful act, and these verses link sin and death, … “for in the day that you eat from it, you shall surely die.”

So death arrived because of sin, and it infected Adam, Eve, and all their descendants. 

Only sinners die!

Death only has power over those of Adam's race who sin, so all of the descendants of Adam and Eve were affected by death. Paul says in Romans 6:23, the wages of sin is death. In other words, everyone who sins dies. If Christ has not been raised from death, the implication is that Christ must have sinned, and death had the right to claim him. However, the scriptures are very clear: Jesus was sinless. 

Which one of you convicts Me of sin? … John 8:46

Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no guilt in this man.” Luke 23:4

For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Hebrews 4:15

I cover Jesus' innocence in greater detail in a video you can find here. https://youtu.be/DSbnHOd4Q94

Jesus, being innocent of any sin, means that death had no right to hold him. Jesus' death on the cross paid the price for our sin; His blood was shed for us, and His resurrection is the realisation of His promise to us. We will be raised as he was raised, because our sins are forgiven and death has no claim on us anymore.

How the final judgement works. 

We die because of our sins. There will come a time when we will be raised, and the books will be opened. (… it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, Hebrews 9:27 ) 

The opening of the books is the place where Jesus sorts out the sheep from the goats, the tares from the wheat, the forgiven from the unforgiven. 

The forgiven will have eternal life with Jesus, and the unforgiven will go into the lake of fire as described in Revelation 20. Death will have to give up its claim on everyone who is without sin, whose name is written in the book of life, but those whose sins are not forgiven will be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone.

And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. 

And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. 

Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. Revelation 20:12-14

As each person’s name is read out of the book of life, Death’s claim over them is denied. The forgiven, those without sin, because their sins are forgiven, will pass into God’s eternal Kingdom and the unforgiven, and Satan and his followers, are sent to the second death, the lake of fire. With justice served and the forgiven granted eternal life, death becomes irrelevant, so it too is disposed of in the lake of fire, never to rise again. 

So the resurrection of Jesus is important. Forgiveness of sin and our resurrection to eternal life go hand in hand. 

We will be changed!

Paul goes on to say that when the last trumpet sounds, those who belong to Christ will be changed in the twinkling of an eye. What has been made of perishable material will be clothed in imperishable. We will be changed.

in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

Sin will be fully dealt with, and death will be gone. Our salvation is eternal; we will never again see the likes of sin and death! 

But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory. 

O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?” 

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; 

but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:54-57

O death, where is thy sting?

As for me, I am a firm believer in Jesus’ resurrection, and after my body wears out and I die, my coming resurrection. I know my name is in the Book of Life and that I am going to be with Jesus forever.

How about you?

Jesus and Peter, and agape love

In John chapter 21, we read the story of Jesus' post-resurrection meeting with his disciples by Lake Galilee (Tiberius). The disciples go fishing, catch nothing, and, in the early morning light, they see a person on the seashore asking if they have caught any fish. They say no, and the person on the seashore tells them to cast their net to the right side of the boat, and they will catch something. They do this, and their nets are full of 153 large fish; this was the catch of a lifetime.

John is the first to realise that it is Jesus. He realised that this is a similar situation to when Jesus first called them, in Luke 5:4-11. At that time, there was Jesus and a boat and a large catch of fish and ... a call to follow him and become fishers of men. John says, "It's the Lord," and Peter swims ashore to see Jesus.

What follows is the first men's prayer breakfast. Some men meeting with Jesus over breakfast and there in that context, Jesus speaks to them. 

Jesus has some special words to say to Peter in a very famous conversation, recorded at the end of John chapter 21.

On the night of Jesus' arrest, Peter had denied Jesus three times. In this conversation, Jesus asks Peter three times do you love me? and reinstates Peter as a disciple. He then says to Peter, "Follow Me!" 

Let's look at the conversation.

So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus *said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?” He *said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He *said to him, “Tend My lambs.” 

He *said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” He *said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He *said to him, “Shepherd My sheep.” 

He *said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus *said to him, “Tend My sheep.

Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will gird you, and bring you where you do not wish to go.” 

Now this He said, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He *said to him, “Follow Me!”

John 21:15:19

This book of the bible was written in Greek. The Greeks had four words for love. Agape, Eros, Phileo, and Storge.

Agape = selfless, unconditional, and sacrificial love.

Eros = passionate, romantic, or sexual love

Phileo = love of deep friendship and companionship.

Storge = familial love, particularly the natural affection between parents and children

In this passage, two of these Greek words are used, but are only translated as love in English. Let's look at those same verses with these words emphasised.

So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus *said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you agape Me more than these?” He *said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I phileo You.” He *said to him, “Tend My lambs.” 

Jesus is asking Peter if he will unconditionally and self-sacrificially love him. To which Peter replies, " Sure, Jesus, I will be your friend". 

Jesus asks him the same question again.

He *said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you agape Me?” He *said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I phileo You.” He *said to him, “Shepherd My sheep.” 

And the third time, Jesus asks a slightly different question.

He *said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you phileo Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you phileo Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I phileo You.” Jesus *said to him, “Tend My sheep.

So what is going on here? Why this play on words? When you consider that Jesus spoke Aramaic, not Greek, what is John trying to tell us here with his choice of words?

Peter had always been loud about his love and faith in Jesus. It was Peter who made the confession that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God (Matt. 16:16). It was Peter who declared that whilst all may fall away from Jesus, he would never fall away.  (Matt. 26:33). It was Peter who tried to defend Jesus and chopped off the ear of the High Priest's slave's ear in Gethsemane. (John 18:10).

Peter had been big and bold in his love for Jesus, but when the chips were down, he had ended up denying him three times. I think Peter was unsure of himself and doubted that he could love Jesus with the unconditional love he was asking for, but he was certain he could love Him as His friend. We can see that Jesus accepted the love that Peter offered in His third question. Peter, son of John, do you phileo me? (Will you be my friend?)

Jesus then goes on to describe how Peter will die, and you have to ask, was Peter's death based on friendship (phileo), or deep unconditional love (agape)? (History tells us that Peter died in Rome, where he was crucified upside down.) 

I think Peter restarted his discipleship with phileo love for Jesus, but as he walked with Jesus again, his love and passion increased and developed into agape love. At the time of his death, it was Peter, who requested that he be crucified upside down. He did not see himself worthy to suffer the same way as Jesus did. That was an act of self sacrificial love, not just friendship. 

So, why am I saying all this? Well, you might find yourself in a place where you doubt if you can follow Jesus with the passion and unconditional love that He deserves. Well, start with what you have, follow Him with the love of a friend, and watch as he deepens your love for Him as you walk with Him day by day. 

One day, you will realise that your love for Jesus has transformed into the deep and unconditional love that He asks for and deserves. By walking with Jesus every day, you will find it easy to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. (Deut. 6:5)

Like the boy who gave Jesus his lunch, (John 6:9) and watched Him use it to feed a multitude. Take the small bit of love that you have in your heart, and give it to Jesus and watch it grow and deepen as you walk with him. 

It’s A Balancing Act!

​Politics in the last few years has become very polarised. All sides accuse the others of extremism and wrongdoing. You can be accused of being either too left or too right, or if your views are in the middle, you can be accused of being too indecisive! We are indeed in the era of political extremes.

The left side of politics gathers around the idea of tolerance, mercy, and looking after the disadvantaged. The right side gathers around the idea of justice, law and order, making people accountable for their actions, and so the debates, endless fights and accusations begin.

 

So, what does the Bible say? How do the scriptures guide us?

In Jesus, we see his compassion and mercy at work, such as his interaction with the woman caught in adultery, and His healing of the two blind men in Matthew’s Gospel. 

We also see the other side at work, His calling out the Pharisees in Matthew 23, and we look at his actions when He overturned the money changers' stalls in the temple. 

In Jesus, we see the foundational values of both the left and the right sides of politics at work. So, which approach is more Biblical, left or right?!

Psalm 145:17 gives us an idea of God’s view. 

The LORD is righteous in all His ways

And kind in all His deeds.

In God, both mercy and justice are in perfect balance. 

We see this at the cross. Justice demanded that humans pay the price for the sins they committed: death! God’s mercy sent Jesus as the God/man to die in our place. In the cross, we see both the justice and mercy of God in perfect balance. 

(Some years ago, I made a video about 4 reasons why only Jesus could save us. If you are interested in seeing it, you will find it at the link below.)

https://youtu.be/DSbnHOd4Q94?si=UEUuDUAxXEbC5hk5

God wants us to live justly and to live mercifully at the same time. Just like He does!

He has told you, O man, what is good;

And what does the LORD require of you

But to do justice, to love kindness,

And to walk humbly with your God?

                                                             Micah 6:8

We find it hard to find the perfect balance of these two ideas in a sinful world; that’s why governments change from time to time, and people emphasise the extremes rather than the strengths of the opposing view.

The extremes are not where God dwells because one extreme will try to cancel out the other view, and God wants both views to be active in our lives at the same time. 

If we believe that government comes from God.

Be Subject to Government

Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Romans 13:1

Then perhaps when the other guys are elected to office, it is not because they cheated or ran a dirty campaign; it just might be God’s way of bringing balance into our community. To save us from the extremes. 

In a sinful world, we will never get the balance right; in God’s Kingdom, the balance is natural because it is an expression of who He is.