Mercy
Mercy generally describes the practice of withholding or reducing (in severity) a deserved penalty. Inasmuch as it is understood that all men are deserving of eternal hell, but God mercifully extends general grace to all men, and the free gift of eternal life for all the elect, mercy is imminently relevant to a complete understanding of God's law. Because legal penalties also have a deterrent effect (to which Scripture testifies), mercy is also relevant to the victims of crime. If a judge failed to bring justice to bear on the criminal, that criminal could commit more crime, and this public failure to execute justice might also fail to deter another criminal. This topic will cover the use of mercy as described in Biblical law, especially its specific relevance to the practical execution of the moral, civil, and ceremonial law in a Theonomic society.
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