Controversial Statements

Controversial Statements,
As a believer in Christ Jesus there are several statements in the New Testament that I and other believers in Christ believe that can be seen as controversial. I lay them out here for you the reader to decide for yourself whether or not you agree with them.
1/ Jesus is God incarnate and the creator of the world.
The apostle John states,
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  
He was with God in the beginning. 
Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.  
In him was life, and that life was the light of men....
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. ” John 1:1-4,14.
2/ Jesus is the exact representation of God who cleanses us from sin.
The writer of Hebrews states,
“The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.” Hebrews 1:3 
3/ Jesus is the way to God the Father. The Way to heaven. The apostle John records this statement made by Jesus to his disciples
“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.  John 14:16.
4/ Jesus speaking of himself states,
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son”. John 3:16-18.
C. S. Lewis made this statement,
“Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.” C. S. Lewis.
Thus the question I have for you the reader is Do you believe Jesus is the Son of God, God in the flesh, the Saviour of mankind?
Please think about it.

Have you?

Have you?
The apostle Paul writes,
“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.”Philippians 4:12,
I’m not sure who said it but someone once said,
“I’ve been rich and I’ve been poor. And, believe me, rich is better.”
Most would I think agree they would rather be rich, and there is nothing wrong with being rich. There are many rich believers in Christ Jesus who donate some of their wealth and time to serving the Lord.
The key for the believer in Christ Jesus is where is your true wealth. Jesus said,
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  
But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21. 
Matthew’s gospel records this incident between Jesus and a rich young man. Matthew records,
“Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” 
“Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.” 
“Which ones?” the man inquired. Jesus replied, “ ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony,  honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’’” 
“All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?” 
Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 
When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.” Matthew 19:16-22.
The young man in this incident had put his faith in his earthly wealth, not in God.
The true test of our faith is not in the good times, but in the bad times. It is in times of trial that our faith in God is tested.
The apostle Paul underwent many tests. Everything from being shipwrecked to being stoned to being put into jail. As he said in the verse I quoted above,
“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.”Philippians 4:12.
Paul goes on to say,
“I can do everything through him who gives me strength” Philippians 4:13.
If you are a believer in Christ Jesus, can you say what Paul says? Have you learned to be content in every situation?
Please think about it.

Forgive

Forgive
The apostle Paul wrote,

“In your anger do not sin” : 

Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,” 

                                                               Ephesians 4:26.

In my previous blog I quoted James the half brother of Jesus as writing,
“My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. ” James 1:19, 20.
That being said we all get angry from time to time. However when we get angry we need to turn to God right away and ask Him to calm us down.
We above all should heed the advice of the apostle Paul.

“In your anger do not sin” : 

Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,” 

                                                               Ephesians 4:26.

It is easy to sin when you get angry. Quite often someone who get angry is not thinking rationally. They throw caution to the wind and do things they regret later on. Thus the need for taking a time out and turning to God in prayer.
The apostle Pauls advice to “Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry” is especially relevant.
From a purely practical point of view going to bed angry may cause us to loose sleep. I’ve even heard doctors say being angry can cause health problems. Thus even more reason to turn to God and get rid of the anger.
My wife and I firmly believe in what the apostle Paul said.
From the days before we were married we have never let the sun go down on our anger. If we have a problem with each other we come together and talk it out. We do not go to bed angry. Ultimately we forgive any wrong that has been done to us. It’s not always easy but it works.
It’s the same when someone else upsets us. We go first to God in prayer asking for His wisdom in how to deal with the situation. Then if appropriate approach the person in love and try to discuss the problem with the person.
No matter what the situation is however we always forgive the individual.
I admit sometimes this approach does not always work. Some individuals simply don’t want to listen to you. Still if you can in all sincerity forgive the person you personally will feel much better and I believe will be in right standing before God.
Jesus in teaching his disciple to pray noted,
       “And forgive us our sins, For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us....
     For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” Matthew 6:12,14,15
Please think about it.

Slow to Speak

Slow to speak
James the half brother of Jesus wrote,
“My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. ” James 1:19, 20.
James here is speaking to believers in Christ Jesus. So I ask the question to believers in Christ Jesus. Do you get easily upset? Do you lash out in anger? If you are a true follower of Christ Jesus this should not be so.
The writer of Proverbs tells us,
“ A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” Proverbs 15:1.
There is a lot of things in this world that can and do get us upset but we should never lash out in anger against anyone.
I was given some good advice many years ago. I was told when someone makes us angry we need to take the whole incident to the Lord in prayer right away. Even if it’s only a quick prayer. We need to ask the Lord to calm us down and bring us peace.
We need to heed the words of James when he said,
“Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.”
Whether you like it or not if you claim to be a follower of Christ Jesus people do expect you to live your life differently.
As believers in Christ Jesus our lives should be founded on love. Love for God, Love for our neighbour and even love for our enemy.
  We need to nurture the fruits of the Spirit as expressed by the apostle Paul who wrote,
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  
gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22,23.
If we nurture these fruits our lives will be much better, and, ultimately these fruits will open doors to present the word of God to those around us.
Please think about it.

Render to Caesar

Render to Caesar
“Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words.  
They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are.  
Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” 
But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me?  Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius,  and he asked them, “Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?” 
“Caesar’s,” they replied. Then he said to them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” 
When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away.” Matthew 22:15-22.
Here the Pharisees and the Herodians were trying to trap Jesus into saying something against Rome. That would cause Jesus to be jailed or put to death. Instead Jesus turned it to his favour and gave Christians an example to live by.
They asked Jesus is it right to pay taxes to Caesar. For Jesus to say no would be against Roman law. To say no could have brought a charge of insurrection against Jesus.
To say yes would be to possibly loose favour with the people who followed him.
Instead Jesus turned things around on them. He noted the head on the coin. The head being Caesar’s and said, “Give (or render, give back to) Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s”
This is how we as Christians must be today. We are not citizens of this world our home is in heaven. However we live in this world and must follow the laws of the land in which we live.
It is only when the law of the land requires us to break God’s laws that we must disobey the law of the land and follow God’s law.
That being said, as long as the nation and government in who’s jurisdiction we live in does not casus us to violate God’s law, we must obey the laws of that nation.
The apostle Peter states,
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.  
Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 
Dear friends,
I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.  
Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” 1 Peter 2:9-12.
Please think about it.

Costly

Costly
Jesus told this parable,
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. 
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.” Matthew 13:44-46.
If you claim to be a believer in Christ Jesus how precious is your faith to you? How precious is God’s Grace to you?
The other day a friend on Facebook noted she’d been at a sporting event when a friend of hers seeing her son do something wrong said, “O my G___”. This person was suppose to be a believer in Christ Jesus yet she was taking the Lord’s name in vain. It shocked my friend.
Sadly many of who go to church and claim to be believers in Christ Jesus do take the name of the Lord in vain.
Christianity has in many circles become a culture in which God and Jesus are simply a part.
Many come to church to socialize. They come because in their social circles going to church is the thing to do. Such people know the right things to say in church. They know how they are expected to act. Sadly however many do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Still others while they have a personal relationship with Jesus, they fail to see the true cost of their salvation. The true cost of the grace that brought them salvation.
Dietrich Bonhoefer a German Cleric wrote,
“Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock.
Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. 
It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. 
It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner.    Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son: 'Ye were bought at a price', and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us. 
Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon his Son too dear a price to pay for our life, but delivered him up for us. 
Costly grace is the Incarnation of God.”  Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship.
Please think about it.

Watch Out

Watch out
Jesus said,
“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.” Matthew 1:15.
Never has such a warning been necessary as in this century.
We live in a multimedia world. Where anyone with a smart phone can post there views on anything. This is especially true it seems when it comes to speaking about God. There are many people claiming to be Christians that are not.
They may seem to be. They may string a few scriptures together that makes them sound good but a closer look will see that they are not teaching the truth about Jesus.
The apostle Paul warned,
“For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.  
They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.”  2 Timothy 4:3,4
The apostle Peter warned,
“But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves.  
Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.  
In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. 
Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.” 2 Peter 2:1-3.
  Such teachers were around in the time of the apostles and are very much around today.
Now I know within the Christian world there are differences of opinion on minor things.
However in order to be a follower of Christ Jesus we must agree on the basics.
The apostle creed while not written by an apostle of Christ is the baseline as to what I believe you need to believe in order to be a follower of Christ Jesus. It reads,
1.I believe in God the Father the almighty maker of heaven and earth
2. I believe in Jesus Christ God’s on and only Son, our Lord and Saviour.
3. I believe Jesus was conceived by the Holy Ghost, and born of the Virgin Mary
4. I believe Jesus suffered under Pontius Pilate; That He was Crucified, died, was buried. That he descended in hell.
5. I believe He rose again on the third day from the dead.
6. I believe that he ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father almighty.
7. I believe Jesus will one day Judge the living and the dead.
8. I believe in the Holy Ghost
9. I believe in the Church which is the communion of the saints,
10. I believe in the forgiveness of sin.
11. I believe in the resurrection of the body.
12. I believe in life everlasting.
What do you believe?
Please think about it.

Well Meaning but Irrelevant

Well meaning but Irrelevant
The apostle Paul writes,
“That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  
For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”  
For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him,  for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” Romans 10:9-13.
I’ve been a follower of Jesus Christ since I was nineteen. I’m now sixty-four. Over the years I’ve heard many well meaning believers say many things.
For instance when a person made a confession of faith. They were immediately told they were expected to do certain things. Things quiet often that mattered little to their salvation. The classic being men had to wear a suit to church. Women were expected to wear dresses or skirts to church. Pants were not considered acceptable for a woman to wear.
In some churches they had to follow a set of rituals. There were even written prayers they were expected to recite.
None of which made sense when it came to the individuals relationship with Jesus.
I’m fairly sure Jesus and the early church didn’t have a dress code for those who attended their meetings. I’m fairly sure they didn’t have much ritual to follow.
In fact there was a debate in the early church about whether or not gentiles (non-Jews) who came to know Christ should be circumcised or not. The book of acts records,
“The apostles and elders met to consider this question.  
After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: “Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe.  
God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us.  
He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith.  
Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear?  
No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.” Acts 15:6-11.
While the church today does not, for the most part debate circumcision and other laws set out in the Old Testament. Laws that mean little to our salvation It still does debate other irrelevant things.
Peter pointed out,
“...We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.” Acts 15:11
The apostle Paul writing to the Corinthians said,
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—  not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8,9.
When the debate ended the council of Jerusalem put few rules on how a believer in Christ should act. It sent a letter to the churches that said,
“The apostles and elders, your brothers, 
To the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia: 
“Greetings. 
We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said.  
So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul—  men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.  
Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing.  
It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements:  
You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things.” Farewell. Acts 15:23b-29.
When it comes to a persons salvation no one can tell for certain if another person is truly saved. An individual’s salvation is between them and God.
What we as a body of believers can do however is provide a good and safe place for a believer in Christ to grow in.
Question: Does your church congregation provide a good place for a believer to grow in.
OR,
Does your congregation place on individuals a lot of well meaning but irrelevant rules on how believers are to act and even dress in church? 
Please think about it.

God and Creation

God and Creation
The Bible written to believers in God makes a simple statement,

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” 

                                                                         Genesis 1:1

There are debates in Christian circles as to whether God created the universe and everything in it in six twenty-four hour days, or over the space of millions of years.
For me personally it matters little to my faith as to how God created the universe. He’s God and he could have done it either way.
That being said I would like to quote what some scientist are saying about creation. I got these quotes from a video by Dr. Huge Ross an Astronomer and Astrophysicist who is also a creationist.
In his video “Journey Toward Creation” he states for life to evolve as we know it, more than 200 characteristics must be present. He notes,
“The probability of all these known parameters randomly coming together would be one chance in 10 to the 215th power a probability so incredibly tiny that statistically speaking is impossible. This probability is becoming more remote with every scientific discovery.” 
Since the video came out The number of characteristics believed to be necessary for life is now considered to be in excess of 800. As more have since been discovered since the video’s release.
In his video Ross goes on to quote several prominent scientist,
Physicist Dr. Paul Davies Professor of Natural Philosophy in the Australian Centre of Astrobiology at Macquarie University who formally promoted Atheism said,
“The Laws of Physics seem themselves to be the product of exceedingly ingenious design.[There] is for me powerful evidence that there is something going on behind it all it seems as though somebody has fine-tuned nature’s numbers to make the Universe... The impression of design is overwhelming” Dr Paul Davies
Dr. Arno Penzias 1978 Nobel Prize winner in Physics said,
“Astronomy leads us to a unique event, a universe which was created out of nothing, one with a very delicate balance needed to provide exactly the conditions required to permit life and one which has an underlying (one might say ‘supernatural’) plan.” Dr, Arno Penzias 
Stephen Hawking is quoted as,
“It would be very difficult to explain why the universe should have begun in just this way, except as the act of a God who intended to create beings like us,” Stephen Hawking.
Those quoted above are very will educated men. Men who have studied and continue to study carefully how the universe was created.
They have looked into the heavens and concluded there is a God who created the universe. They have proven what the Psalmist said,

“The heavens declare the glory of God; 

the skies proclaim the work of his hands. 

Day after day they pour forth speech; 

night after night they display knowledge. 

There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.” 

                                                                        Psalm 19:1-3.

Please think about it.

Judgement and Mercy

Judgement and Mercy
Jesus said,
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged.  
For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Matthew 7:1,2.
Let me make a statement here first. When it comes to judgement it is acceptable to judge another person when it come to our personal safety. We should never blindly follow anyone. We need to use wisdom in all our dealings with people.
Where we are not allowed to judge people is with respect to where they will spend eternity. We do not know what goes on in the hearts and minds of another person. We do not know what makes a person do what they do. Thus we cannot judge them.
Tony Campolo the American Evangelist said,
“We ought to get out of the judging business. We should leave it up to God to determine who belongs in one arena or another when it comes to eternity. What we are obligated to do is to tell people about Jesus, and that's what I do.” Tony Campolo.
James the half brother of Jesus writing to believers in Christ said,
“Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!” James 2:12,13.
If we are truly followers of Christ Jesus we must show mercy and forgiveness to those around us and not judge them.
Rather than judging a person we must reach out in with the Love of God and show those around us the way to heaven.
Please think about it.

Meaningless

Meaningless
The writer of Ecclesiastes states,
“I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor. 
Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.” Ecclesiastes 2:10,11.
If all we have is this world as Atheist believe I think it would be such a waste. To my mind there has to be more. And the writer of Ecclesiastes also comes to that conclusion he states,
“Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole  duty  of man. 
For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.”Ecclesiastes 12:13,14 
There are many people out there looking for meaning in life. Some look for it in drugs and alcohol. Others in material things, fine houses, cars and other possessions. Some follow various philosophies. Many no matter what they do find no fulfilment in life.
To them C. S. Lewis states,
“If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.” C.S. Lewis.
Thomas Aquinas said

If, then, you are looking for the way by which you should go,

 take Christ, 

because He Himself is the way.

                                     Thomas Aquinas

Jesus said,
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  
For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30.
As a believer in Christ I can say the words of Jesus are true. That’s not to say everything will be smooth sailing. Storms and troubles come up in everyone’s life.
Having Jesus in one’s life however makes even the worst storms and troubles easier.
When it comes to Jesus however, each person who is truly looking for meaning and peace within one’s life needs to pray. Then read the New Testament and decide for themselves who Jesus is.
Please think about it.

Judged by the Law

Judged by the Law
James the half brother of Jesus wrote,
“Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom,  because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!” James 2:12,13.
If you consider yourself a believer in Christ Jesus do you act as one “who (is) going to be judged by the law that gives freedom”.
Remember James here is writing specifically to believers in Christ. His call is to make sure believers are living the life Jesus would want them to live.
Jesus made several statements that all who believe in Him must do. Jesus when asked,
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 
Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’  
This is the first and greatest commandment. 
And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  
All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:36-40.
Prior to him saying that Matthew quotes Jesus as saying,
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’  But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,...” Matthew 4:43,44.
In telling us to love God, our neighbours, and our enemies. Jesus is telling us to love all people unconditionally. Jesus summed this up in one sentence, saying,
“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets” Matthew 7:12.
Put this way Matthew 7:12 means,

If you are

demonstrating against anyone. 

You are telling them 

they can demonstrate against you.

If you are 

speaking out and trying to restrict the rights of others 

given to them by the lawfully elected government.

You are telling others 

they can try to restrict your rights.

If you are 

imposing your morals however good they may be on others.

You are telling them 

they can impose their morals on you, 

even if they are not as good as yours.

If you are 

trying to impose your faith on others rather than presenting your faith.

You are telling others 

they can impose their faith on you.

If you are

judging others.

You are telling others 

they can judge you in the same way.

If you 

are telling the world you are a Christian

You should be telling the world 

I love you as Jesus loves you,...

unconditionally. 

To quote the warning of James to Christians once more,

“Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom,  

because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!” James 2:12,13.

Please think about it.