[MUSIC PLAYING] [DOG BARKING] [BIRDS CHIRPING]

Hello. I'm your host today, as we talk about justice and mercy-- two concepts we need to understand if we're to better comprehend the atonement of Jesus Christ.

So what is justice and mercy? Let's begin with justice. While justice is part of God's nature, it may be helpful to speak of it as if it were a person. Sometimes justice is depicted as a woman. She has a blindfolded and scales. The scales show that justice weighs or judges all things impartially. The blindfold suggests that she doesn't see who is being judged-- all are alike to her. The justice of God has two aspects. First, for every act of obedience to God's law, there is a blessing. Second, for every violation of God's law, there is a punishment. According to the scriptures, the blessing that comes from obedience is joy. The punishment that comes from disobedience is misery or suffering. These blessings and punishments may not come immediately, but surely will come. It's that simple. Obedience leads to joy. Disobedience leads to suffering. There are no exceptions. So how can we satisfy the justice of God? One way is to never violate the law. However, if we do violate the law, justice can still be satisfied if a payment for the violation is made. So two ways to satisfy the justice of God-- never violate the law or pay the penalty. To see how this works, let's look at an example using man's law. Mrs. Adams is hurrying to the store. [MUSIC PLAYING]

She knows there are traffic laws she's supposed to obey.

[ACCELERATES] As long as she obeys those laws, the law has no reason to go after her-- uh-- um-- [TIRES SCREECH, CRASH] Hey! But if she violates one of those laws, she must pay the penalty. Would you look at this? Would you just look at that-- Justice must be satisfied. --disaster! What have you done? We-- (SIGHS) what are we-- Ma'am, are you all right? Could you get out of the car, please. I'm sorry, but I have to write you a ticket for running a stop sign.

[SIGHS] The scales of justice are out of balance. To balance the scales, Mrs. Adams must see a judge and pay a fine.

But what would happen if Mrs. Adams didn't have any money? She would go to jail. I don't have any more money. OK. Or she would have to turn to someone for help. Now we're ready to see-- Wait, what am I supposed-- --how mercy works. --to do now? Sometimes in life, we cannot violate the laws of man and not be caught. But with God's laws, we are always punished for disobedience. One way or another, justice must be paid.