(Gen. 18:16-19:29) When Jesus took our punishment on the cross, He proved beyond doubt that God is more than willing to let mercy and forgiveness have the final say in the matter of sin and judgment. He offers His gift of salvation freely at no small cost to Himself. And yet, don't we sometimes still assume that God would rather deal with humanity in terms of justice rather than mercy? Sometimes we can look at stories like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and focus so much on God's wrath that we forget what that vengeance was for. Sin brings destruction, not God. God is necessarily responsible for the punishment of sin, but wrath and destruction are never His preference. He does not take pleasure in meting out just punishments. It grieves Him. If we look closely, His mercy really outweighs judgment every time.