Lookahead:  So if we tell a white lie about how many pounds we bench-pressed, do we really deserve to go to hell?  The problem is not picayune v. grandiose sins.  The problem is that we are sinners–and God can’t fellowship with sinners, or allow us into His sin-free habitation.  God gave us a way to become 100% clean, so that we can live with Him.  And it’s not by being severely punished and begging His forgiveness with the honest intention of never sinning again.  It’s…Jesus:  the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  Jesus took 100% ALL of the punishment for ALL our sins (end-game punishment = hell).  If we sorrowfully  acknowledge our sins and His singularly exclusive role as the annihilator of those sins…then if we live for/with Him in our hearts…God no longer sees an imperfect human being when He looks at us–He sees His son’s matchless, unending perfection.  Result:  full-duplex bidirectional communication on earth…and guaranteed premier seat “on the 50-yard line” in heaven…for whomsoever will.  

In continuing to analyze the scripture passage in Post Unpacking #17 and #18, it’s useful to understand the context of these verses.  I believe that these aren’t stand-alone verses and are bracketed by verses on the front and back ends that help us understand the scriptural passage:   

Bracket 1 

[If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well; but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. James 2:8,9]

Scriptural Passage for #17 and #18 and This Post

For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. James 2:10-13

Bracket 2 

[What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. James 2:14-17]

Bracket 1 verses talk about being a transgressor of God’s “No-Favorites!” Law–expressed as demonstrating mercy in accordance with, “You shall love you neighbor as yourself.” 

Bracket 2 verses talk about being a transgressor who talks the talk, but does not walk the walk. If you claim that you believe in being merciful, but you are not demonstrating/practicing mercy in your life, then can you be saved?  

Hmmmm.  What does it mean to be saved? 

Per Blue Letter Bible: σώζω sṓzō to save, keep safe and sound, to rescue from danger or destruction: (1) one (from injury or peril) (a) to save a suffering one (from perishing), i.e. one suffering from disease (b) to make well, heal, restore to health (c) to preserve one who is in danger of destruction (d) to save or rescue;  (2) to save in the technical biblical sense (a) negatively to deliver from the penalties of the Messianic judgment; to save from the evils which obstruct the reception of the Messianic deliverance.

Per Sureth, ܕܬܚܝܘܗ to be saved, to survive, to be revived, to be healed, to be nourished

What happens if you are not saved?  You live a very unpleasant life?  You die?  You go to hell?  

And there’s that hell question again like the proverbial 800 pound gorilla-in-the-room:  “I wonder if that Christian over there thinks I’m going to hell?”

I was surprised to hear one of my “staple” Christian TV preachers theorizing that hell was not a place of perpetual torment for human beings.  That is, people’s souls perished as soon as they were tossed into the hell fire and they were not forced to suffer for eternity–unlike satan and the bad angels, for whom hell was created. My reaction was that I would not have the chutzpah to teach that to a 2-Billion-viewer audience…because what if I were wrong and it put the brakes on those who were seeking God’s deliverance from a place of perpetual punishment? 

Do I believe that a Loving God would send people to a place of eternal torment?  Please don’t think I’m deflecting…but whether people are vaporized or tortured in hell, it is not God who sends them there. They send themselves there by refusing GOOD Option A (choosing to follow Him) over BAD Option B (not). But why would a Loving God force us to choose between heaven and hell?  Well, free choice is what it’s all about.  If He eliminates BAD Option B, then the natural extension of this is eliminating every evil element entirely from earth.  Subsequently we become a bunch of automatons. Being the control freak that I am, this would be a life-long prison sentence in shackles for me.  Bottom line, God loves us too much to rescind the perfect gift of free choice.  

However, I agreed with the Christian TV Preacher that hell was not supposed to be populated with human beings–it was meant as a place to contain rebellious angels. On the other hand, if you drink the Kool-aid and jump on a rebellious angel’s train, well I guess you just “ride it on down.” 

So if we tell a white lie about how many pounds we bench-pressed, do we really deserve to go to hell?  The problem is not picayune v. grandiose sins.  The problem is that we are sinners–and God can’t fellowship with sinners, or allow us into His sin-free habitation.  God gave us a way to become 100% clean, so that we can live with Him.  And it’s not by being severely punished and begging His forgiveness with the honest intention of never sinning again.  It’s…Jesus:  the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  

Jesus took 100% ALL of the punishment for ALL our sins (end-game punishment = hell).  If we sorrowfully  acknowledge our sins and His singularly exclusive role as the annihilator of those sins…then if we live for/with Him in our hearts…God no longer sees an imperfect human being when He looks at us–He sees His son’s matchless, unending perfection.  Result:  full-duplex bidirectional communication on earth…and guaranteed premier seat “on the 50-yard line” in heaven…for whomsoever will.  

What about innately good people who are trying their best not to be bad, and have never “heard heard” about the above offer (because they’ve been brain-washed or programmed since birth and/or live in some geographically remote location)?  I sought God’s understanding of this over the years and plumbed the depths of Romans 2:12-16; and I believe that God gave me the agápē-laden answer.  I believe that He’ll do the same for you. 🙂 

Back to James…So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. 

This is God’s take on the “Merciful or Judgmental?” Topic.  His take is “Mercy is King.” 

Infinite thanks are due to the Master Designer who believes that mercy is significantly more preferable than judgment.  I used to think God was up in heaven with thunderbolt in hand–trying to slap me down whenever I was bad.  But He’s actually saying, “All I want is for you is good(ness).”

He Himself didn’t nuke Moses who had the audacity to say, “I want to see what You look like.”  He instead bridled the intense power–that a human being could not be exposed to without dying–and gave Moses a glimpse.  He also verbally gave Moses a description of Who He is as He passed in front of Moses “…merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, continuing His love for a thousand generations, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion, and sin and clearing (cleaning) the guilty…” Exodus 34:6,7 (NKJV, NAB, Int) He didn’t show Moses His lightning bolt collection.  He let His Goodness pass by him and had fellowship with His teeny little 1000X-mag-microscope-worthy creation.  He loves us!

So if this is God’s stratospheric standard, how can we not help but jump on-board about judgment being a no-go; and with God’s enabling power–enjoy the victorious accolades associated with a merciful response?