The Justice/Mercy Problem

Justice is an essential component of any system of law, including the law of God. If God did not ensure justice, then God would be unjust and unreliable, which would cause God to cease to be God.

“Now the work of justice could not be destroyed; if so, God would cease to be God.” – Alma 42:13

The first and least aspect of the atonement addresses our debt to the law. This enables God to be just while offering us mercy. To understand how the atonement accomplishes this, we must first clearly see the connection between the law, punishment and justice and second understand the basic principles required to ensure justice.

What is the Law

The law is a rule that instructs people regarding what they should or should not do. More than a suggestion, the law includes a punishment assigned as a threat for those who might break the law.

Rule + a Punishment for breaking the rule = a law

The Connection Between Law, Punishment and Justice

Righteous people are not given a law because they don’t need it. The law is not given to righteous people, who live honorably without the threat of a punishment, but to the wicked who would harm others were it not for the fear of punishment. Essentially, using the fear of punishment, the law tries to make the wicked, immoral and ignorant act as if they were moral or righteous by imposing consequences to gross immorality.

8 But we know that the law is good, IF a man use it lawfully;

9 Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,

10 For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;” – 1 Tim. 1:8-10

While we are under the law, we are subject to the penalties or punishments of the law. 

The law without a punishment is merely a suggestion and has no true power over the wicked. The punishment is given as a threat to those who would otherwise do evil. It is to prevent the wicked from doing evil by use of fear of punishment. The law and punishment go hand in hand.

“Now, how could a man repent except he should sin? How could he sin if there was no law? How could there be a law save there was a punishment?

18 Now, there was a punishment affixed, and a just law given, which brought remorse of conscience unto man.

…

21 And if there was no law given, if men sinned what could justice do, or mercy either, for they would have no claim upon the creature?

22 But there is a law given, and a punishment affixed, and a repentance granted; which repentance, mercy claimeth; otherwise, justice claimeth the creature and executeth the law, and the law inflicteth the punishment; if not so, the works of justice would be destroyed, and God would cease to be God.” – Alma 42:17-22

If the law is broken, and the punishment is not given to the guilty, then the law has lost its power and the wicked are no longer afraid to do evil because there is no fear of consequences. 

Justice is the result of administering the punishment associated with a broken law. A Judge is a person who attempts to determine if a law is broken and what punishment should be administered according to the law in order to accomplish justice and maintain the power of the law to keep the wicked in line through fear of punishment.

The Basic Principles of Justice

Across the world there is a statue that symbolizes the Justice of the law. It is called “Lady justice”.

Lady Justice is an allegorical personification of the moral force in judicial systems. Her essential attributes include a sword, a blindfold, and a balance.

The Sword

The sword is the symbolic threat of the law which constantly creates fear through punishment.

“Now, if there was no law given—if a man murdered he should die—would he be afraid he would die if he should murder?

20 And also, if there was no law given against sin men would not be afraid to sin.” – Alma 42:19-20

“Nevertheless, they durst not lie, if it were known, for fear of the law, for liars were punished; therefore they pretended to preach according to their belief; and now the law could have no power on any man for his belief.

18 And they durst not steal, for fear of the law, for such were punished; neither durst they rob, nor murder, for he that murdered was punished unto death.” – Alma 1:17-18

Under the law of Moses, there were many laws, each with its own punishment affixed. The punishment of the law is the sword that gives the law power.

The Blindfold

 The blindfold represents another essential component required for the system to work.  In order for this system to work, it must be impartial or blindfolded. It cannot favor any group of people whether they are rich or poor, friend or foe. The law and its punishment must be impartial and respond equally to all who are under the law and its punishment. Any lack of impartiality in the law destroys the justice system and creates a loophole which can be exploited by the wicked, destroying the fear of punishment and therefore the power of the law. We can see historically that any discrimination or bias in the law creates civil unrest in which the people loose faith in their legal system.

“Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons.” – Acts 10:34, (see also D&C 1:35 & 38:16)

The Scales

The scales represent the balance of evidence for and against the accused. Justice places the evidence on the scale. One side of the scale holds all the evidence showing the person’s innocence. The other side holds the evidence showing a person’s guilt. All the evidence is weighed to determine innocence and guilt. 

Justice must weigh the evidence carefully so that it only punishes the guilty who broke the law. If Justice punishes the innocent, then, by harming the innocent in the name of the law, it has accomplished “injustice” and become the very evil that it attempts to stop. 

Additionally, if justice knowingly punishes the innocent on behalf of the guilty, then it creates a loophole in the law which can be exploited by the wicked and thus removes the threat of punishment and ultimately its power to keep the wicked in line. 

If the system allowed the innocent to suffer the punishment of the law on behalf of the guilty, then the wicked would force or pay the innocent to suffer the penalties of the law on their behalf so that they could go unpunished and continue in their wickedness. The result again would be that the law would lose its power and the wicked would not be afraid to do evil. 

“11 Now there is not any man that can sacrifice his own blood which will atone for the sins of another. Now, if a man murdereth, behold will our law, which is just, take the life of his brother? I say unto you, Nay.

12 But the law requireth the life of him who hath murdered; therefore there can be nothing which is short of an infinite atonement which will suffice for the sins of the world.” – Alma 34:11-12

This last point is essential. It shows us the biggest flaw with the most common understanding of the atonement. That flaw, that it is commonly taught, is that Jesus, who was innocent, suffered the punishment of the law and died on behalf of the guilty to fulfill justice. The problem with this idea is that it assumes that an innocent person can suffer the punishment of the guilty. 

Some people who recognize the error in this thought convince themselves that because Jesus was a God this eternal truth somehow doesn’t apply.

You see, we are guilty of sin and when the judgement comes, we will receive the punishment for our sins. Justice can’t be robbed, so the guilty must be punished.

The promise of the atonement is that we can be forgiven and with that forgiveness obtain mercy so that we avoid the punishment demanded by justice against the wicked. Because of that promise, and knowing that justice cannot be robbed, we conclude that somehow, Jesus, being a God can break the eternal principles of justice and suffer the punishments of the law on our behalf.  

There are those whose Christian faith is so rooted in the idea that Christ being innocent suffered the punishment due to the guilty that they can’t accept or imagine that this never happened. They have read the scriptures many times and in their minds, they can reference verse after verse that proves Christ did exactly that.

What is so interesting is that the scriptures and Christ never actually teach this. There are no scriptures that say Jesus suffered the punishment on behalf of the guilty, or that doing so was a way to satisfy, remove or overcome the demands of justice. 

If you are one of the people who are absolutely convinced that the scriptures teach this, then you are reading what you expect the scriptures to say. Hear us out and we will show you something that you won’t be able to unsee and you will feel like you just walked into another reality. We’ll even walk through some of those verses you may want to point to and show you how they could not possibly say what you think they are saying.

For now, realize that no true system of justice can punish the innocent on behalf of the wicked and still be considered a system of justice. The atonement doesn’t require it, or rely on it, or even support it. In fact, the atonement specifically and directly rejects the notion.

There is no instance in which an innocent person, animal, plant or other being, including a God, can suffer the penalty owed to a guilty party and thereby satisfy the demands of justice. To allow an innocent being of any type to suffer for the guilty would only serve to create greater injustice and ultimately create a loophole which can and will be exploited by the wicked thereby destroying the power of the law and its ability to govern the wicked.

 The punishment of crimes must be answered by those who are guilty of the crimes and no one else. If the innocent are allowed to suffer the punishment of the guilty, then justice has been replaced with injustice, even if that innocent person is a God. 

This means that Justice requires that the following two criteria MUST be met or Justice has gone unfulfilled:

• The punishment of a broken law must be given.
• The punishment must be given to the guilty and no one else.

If God did not meet those requirements of justice, and He allowed justice to be robbed, then God would be breaking an eternal truth so great that it would cause God to cease to be God.

“…Now the work of justice could not be destroyed; if so, God would cease to be God.

14 And thus we see that all mankind were fallen, and they were in the grasp of justice; yea, the justice of God, which consigned them forever to be cut off from his presence.

15 And now, the plan of mercy could not be brought about except an atonement should be made; therefore God himself atoneth for the sins of the world, to bring about the plan of mercy, to appease the demands of justice, that God might be a perfect, just God, and a merciful God also.” – Alma 42:13-15

Ultimately, this is the first problem that the atonement must solve:  We have sinned or broken a law and so we are subject to the punishment of the law. 

No one can suffer that penalty except the guilty and the guilty must suffer it. The punishment is death and hell, something that we certainly want to avoid.

This places us in a catch-22 and shows us where the traditional view of the atonement becomes impossible and falls short. The good news is that the atonement doesn’t work the way that we have been traditionally taught. The truth is so much more powerful and life changing.

This then begs the question, if Jesus didn’t suffer and die to pay the punishment of our sins, why did he suffer and die and how does his suffering allow him to offer us mercy on condition of repentance? Additionally, how is justice fulfilled if we don’t suffer the punishment of sin? How is Mercy granted? 

Hold on to these questions and keep them in the back of your mind. They will be answered, but first we need to unteach the errors that so many of us have been taught.