Romans 6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? 4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
God is love and in Him is no darkness at all, and this fact was clearly manifested by what was accomplished on Calvary, by the death of Christ for our sins. In the ancient sanctuary system the mercy east was placed above the law for a reason, and it's because God delights in mercy as all of His actions towards us clearly show. Yet the law was there also, and this fact brings us to the above passage in Romans so that we may have a balanced view of the God whom we serve.
In Romans chapter six the apostle Paul starts out by reminding us that the whole purpose of the plan of salvation is to redeem us from the curse of sin, so that we may walk in newness of life. God hates sin but He loves the sinner, and that's why it's important for us to know that His grace and mercy is given so that sin, which is offensive to Him, might be uprooted from our lives. God's mercy does not cancel out His sense of justice, and that's why Jesus had to die in order that we might have life. The wages of sin is death, and the wages must be paid so that we could be ransomed, hence the reason why Calvary was the convergence of truth, mercy, and justice, all of which were necessary so that the love of God could be exercised in a legal framework.
If Bin Laden was captured alive and president Obama were to feel sorry for him and set him free, we would all be in an uproar to find out what is the legal premise for doing so after such horrific crimes were committed by him. Similarly, the other inhabited worlds would be wondering what is the legal framework for letting sinful human beings go free after we have committed many wrongs, if the wages of sin were not paid.
In our day there is an unbalanced view of God that has become increasingly popular, in which the love of God is made to cancel out His justice, and so many people take His grace for granted, as though He will never engage the just aspect of His character. As Christians we should be careful not to invent a Jesus of our own devising, who only forgives and heals and loves, but does not judge nor reprove, nor execute justice. This is one of the great errors of our time, and it is the will of God that we learn from the scriptures, that all of the aspects of God's righteous character are manifested together as a complete,indivisible whole in all of His dealings with the beings he has created.
We therefore end with a passage of scripture which encourages us to rightly value the purchase of our salvation, and also to harbor a balanced view of God. Let's read:
Hebrews 2:1 Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. 3 How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him.
May we have a good, balanced understanding of God's character, for our lives and destiny are shaped by what we believe. "Good night" and God bless!