One of the critiques of the Bible is that it contradicts itself. There are those who say that God can't seem to make up His mind. On one hand, He'll say that He loves the whole world and doesn't desire for any to be apart from Him, but then, the other hand shows a God who does indeed declare condemnation upon people. He spares the life of a widow's son from a distant nation while His chosen people suffer through famine. And if we simply looked at each instance, we might come to the conclusion that God can't really make up His mind, or that the Bible does indeed contradict itself.
I would assert, however, that what may seem to be contradictions fall more into line of the tensions that we find in life and in faith. We believe that God is both a God of undeserved love and of justice as well. So, when we see God demonstrating justice, it will seem to go against His nature as a gracious God. Likewise, we will see Him demonstrate His grace in a situation where we might feel justice is deserved (see John 8:1-11 for an example where God's people of Israel witnessed both).
This is a tension we encounter, both in what we believe about God, and how we then live as disciples and followers of Jesus. There are moments in life where grace is appropriate. There are also moments where justice is called for. Properly discerning which one is called for in that particular situation at that time is where we find our challenge and the tension that comes in our faith.
The reality is, the situation and the people involved typically will dictate how we respond. And our response might be different for a different person. That's what makes this discernment so difficult. We may be tempted to confront when simply loving another person is called for, and we may try to be gracious when the person really needs to hear that they were wrong. Grace and justice do not contradict each other, but merely represent two tensions that we will face as we live out our faith.
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