REPUBLISHED FROM BETHLEHEM BAPTIST CHURCH, MINNEAPOLIS, MN
He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? —Micah 6:8 (ESV)
My prayer for our church in this season is that, as we are being conformed to the image of Christ, we would reflect both God’s mercy and justice by being a people of mercy and justice.
Throughout the Bible, God reveals his character in this harmony. When the Lord makes his name known to Moses, he declares that he is “merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love,” and yet also the God who “will by no means clear the guilty” (Exodus 34:6–7). Scripture does not force us to choose between compassion and righteousness. God is both.
He shows mercy to the weak and suffering: “He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner…” (Deuteronomy 10:18). And he loves righteousness, hates evil, and judges with perfect justice. God has never been divided within himself.
Jesus Christ is both the Savior of the world (John 4:42; 1 John 4:14) and the Judge of the world (Acts 10:42; cf. 2 Corinthians 5:10; 2 Timothy 4:1). This harmony reaches its greatest glory at the cross, where God shows himself to be just and the merciful “justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Romans 3:26). The gospel is the glory of God’s justice and mercy in saving sinners by grace. From beginning to end, Scripture teaches us to trust a God whose mercy is holy and whose justice is good.
Biblical clarity matters deeply in our moment. God never separated what our culture separates. Some speak loudly of “justice” while treating mercy as weakness. Others speak warmly of “mercy” while portraying justice as harsh or unloving. As Christians, we must not surrender our moral conscience to either script.
In Minneapolis—and across our country—justice and mercy are often unbiblically redefined, politicized, and used as weapons. When political outcomes become ultimate, the danger is idolatry, and what follows is the church’s mission drift. We must guard against a practice of selective Christianity shaped more by partisan instincts than by Scripture. We exist to make disciples of Jesus Christ from all nations for the glory of God, not mainly to fix American social problems.
Each Lord’s Day, as we gather for worship, we rehearse these truths together: Christ reigns. His Word is true. His church belongs to him. Christ is coming again.
Bethlehem family, the challenge in a time like this is not choosing between mercy and justice. The challenge is—by walking humbly with our God in wisdom—to uphold both under the lordship of Jesus Christ and live accordingly for the glory of his name.
To reflect the image of God in mercy and justice here in Minneapolis and to the ends of the earth, we must be a people of mercy and justice.
Grace and peace,
Pastor Kenny Stokes
Pastor for Preaching and Vision, Bethlehem Baptist Church
Kenny Stokes was born and raised in Minneapolis and has served as one of the pastors of Bethlehem Baptist Church since 1998. He is also a trustee of Bethlehem College and Seminary and Associate Professor of Church Planting.