This year, Paul Tripp Ministries (PTM) is celebrating 20 years of God’s faithful provision. To commemorate the anniversary, I wanted to prepare a new teaching series, something special that summarized and defined PTM’s mission: connecting the transforming power of Jesus Christ to everyday life.

Immediately, my mind went to preparing something related to, or out of, New Morning Mercies, my daily devotional that the Lord has used to bless so many of you. But my team and I quickly realized a 365-part video series would be hard to pull off!

Instead, as I meditated on the word mercy and searched the Scriptures for it, the Lord led me to a verse that had been in front of me for decades, but I hadn’t revisited it with fresh eyes in a long time.

It’s James 2:13: “For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.”

It very quickly became my new favorite verse, at least for 2026. And so, for PTM’s 20th anniversary, we recorded a brand-new teaching series on those four words: Mercy Triumphs Over Judgment.

(In fact, we just livestreamed Mercy Triumphs Over Judgment this past weekend, and at the end of this email, I’ll share a link for you to replay it if you missed the live online event.)

To continue PTM’s 20th anniversary celebration this month, I will spend four weeks in October focusing on my new four favorite words (Mercy Triumphs Over Judgment), but this time, in Wednesday’s Word.

Mercy. Triumphs. Over. Judgment. It’s an iceberg of a verse, one with so much meaning underneath the surface of those four words. It quite literally carries the entire narrative of the Bible!

And even though James 2:13 is towards the end of the New Testament, we have to go all the way back to the very beginning of Genesis to understand its weight and importance.

Genesis begins with the most brilliant, mind-bending, and heart-engaging introduction to a book ever written. God knows how much we need the creation-to-destiny themes of the biblical narrative in order to make sense of our lives, so he lovingly gives us those dominant themes right up front.

The beginning of the Bible is wonderful, awe-inspiring, heartbreaking, cautionary, and hope-instilling . . . all at once! Since God created us to be meaning-makers, he immediately presents us with the wonderful and awful realities that we need to understand in order to make proper sense of who we are and what life is really all about.

Even though “mercy triumphs over judgment” are my four new favorite words, the first four words of Genesis are probably the most important in all of Scripture: “In the beginning, God . . .”

Here is the ultimate fact through which every other fact of life is properly understood. There is a God. He is the Creator of everything that exists. He is glorious in power, authority, wisdom, sovereignty, and love. Since we are his creatures, knowing him, loving him, worshiping him, and obeying him define our identity, meaning, and purpose as human beings.

But Adam and Eve made their most important decision ignoring those four words. Genesis 3 is the most horrible, saddest chapter ever written. In an act of outrageous rebellion, Adam and Eve stepped over God’s wise and holy boundaries, ushering in a horrible plague of iniquity that would infect every human heart.

Despite being the saddest chapter ever written, Genesis 3 ends with glorious gospel hope. A second Adam would come, defeat temptation, crush the evil one, and restore us to God.

Mercy triumphs over judgment. It’s a theme that courses through the entirety of God’s Word from Genesis 1, through James 2:13, and up until the final verse of Revelation. These four words form the lens through which we can look at and understand everything in our lives.

In his Word, God makes himself known, alerts us to the tragedy of sin, and welcomes us into the hope of the saving mercy to be found in the seed of the woman, his Son, the Lord Jesus.

Today, we live in the hope of the riches of a single truth that is the core of everything the Bible has to say: mercy triumphs over judgment!

P.S. If you want to study the meaning of Mercy Triumphs Over Judgment with me, you can replay PTM’s 20th anniversary livestream. Each of the four 25-minute sessions is a deep dive into one single word.

REPLAY THE EVENT

God bless,
Paul Tripp

A Prayer for Today: God, you are the Creator of everything that exists; glorious in power, authority, wisdom, sovereignty, and love. I am yours, and I want to know you more, love you more, worship you more, and obey your Word. Help me to find my identity in you, my meaning in you, my purpose in you. Thank you for your mercy in my life that has triumphed over judgment because of the blood of Jesus Christ. It is by him and him alone that I come to you now with confidence because of his perfect life, death, resurrection, and ascension. Thank you for giving yourself and welcoming me into a relationship with you. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Conversation Prompts for Children

  • What do you think the word mercy means? Why do you think mercy is such an important thing when it comes to having a relationship with God?
  • Can you think of any ways that God is full of mercy toward us? Let’s make a list of the things in our lives we can name as mercy from God.
  • What does the word judgment mean? Why do you think the Bible says that mercy triumphs over judgment? How can that impact the way you and I live our lives every day?

Reflection Questions

1. How would you describe the word mercy? In your own words, describe how mercy is different from grace.

2. In what ways does the tragedy of Genesis 3 point directly to the hope of James 2:13? How does the truth of James 2:13 impact you? How can absorbing its reality into the roots of your heart impact the way you go about daily life?

3. Think about the normal relationships you have in your natural circle of influence. In what ways does “mercy triumphs over judgment” change the way you see other people? How does it influence the words you speak? How is it molding and shaping your innermost thoughts and feelings? In what ways does it expose your need for God’s power in your life?

4. Who in your life keeps you accountable to live out James 2:13? How are you keeping them accountable for living it out as well? Why do you think it’s vital to incorporate others to help you live the Christian life and walk in a manner worthy of the gospel?