Tim Keller | February 27, 2000
We have all faced these questions at some point or another … How can you live with both justice and mercy in the world? Can mercy and justice be combined? Can forgiveness and justice be combined? I’m not sure that immediately grabs you as one of the great problems in your life or in the culture, but it is.
We have at least two problems, and I’m going to show you it’s because of a third. We have a problem of public justice. In public justice, when one group has really wronged another group, should there be forgiveness? How can there be forgiveness and justice?
On the other hand, personally, if someone has wronged you, how can there be both forgiveness and at the same time justice?
Let’s break this down, and let’s show there’s a problem of public justice, there’s a problem in the area of private justice, and it’s all because there’s a huge problem with perfect justice.
This Month's Featured Book
In The Prodigal God, Tim Keller examines the way Jesus presents the parable to speak both to those who run from God and to those who try to earn his love by being good. It reveals the heart of the gospel—a message of hope for both the rebellious younger brother and the judgmental older brother, and an invitation for all to experience God’s grace.