Chapter Five Overview

An investigation of judgement and punishment as God's rehabilitation program for restoring his creation.

Snippets from Chapter Five

Actually, judgement is a decision or a verdict: not a sentence or a punishment.
A judgement and its subsequent course of action are two connected, but quite separate, components of any legal system.
A judgement is the result of a process for deciding between right and wrong or between guilt and innocence.
It is this judgement which then influences what the next course of action will be.

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So a judgement may have a favourable or an unfavourable outcome, not always an unfavourable one as some people believe the word “judgement” implies.

However, in the case of an unfavourable outcome, the penalty is designed and administered with the purpose of improving the guilty person’s behaviour or character so that he or she will eventually be different.
Once that penalty has been paid and the change in behaviour or character achieved, the previously guilty person will then become as free as a person who was immediately acquitted.

So whatever the initial result, judgement is a good thing, not a bad thing, as all the results of judgement immediately or eventually lead to freedom.

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So here’s the difference.
Justice occurs when offenders get what they deserve.
Mercy occurs when offenders don’t get what they deserve.
Grace occurs when offenders get what they don’t deserve.
God fulfils his role as Judge using all three, usually spread over a period of time.
Let's see how this might work out.

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So, my tongue-in-cheek advice?
If you want to hear the best sermons preached, avoid church and attend funerals conducted by Christian celebrants !!
Seriously, isn’t it amazing that when real people in real-life situations are involved, the real good news that Jesus is the Saviour of the whole world is usually admitted.

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"The Really Good News About God" has now been published in various formats. You can purchase a copy by clicking the "Buy the Book" link.