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Mercy and Grace
4/24/2006
Psalm 86:15 But You, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, Slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness and truth.
Titus 3:5-7 He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
I know that many of those who read my writings feel that I am harsh and judgmental. It is not surprising especially when compared with the current culture of “positive” and permissive Christianity in which we find ourselves.
But allow me to confess to you, my brothers and sisters in Christ, that I doubt if there is anyone in more need of God’s mercy and grace than myself. As someone once said, “we preach best what we need to learn most.” It grieves and torments my soul when time after time I find myself committing the same old sins. How often have I found myself on my face before God asking yet again for His mercy and forbearance?
I would much rather speak of His mercy and grace. I despise conflict (one of my weaknesses). Whenever I am compelled into one rest assured that it has been a gut-wrenching decision for me which usually comes at the expense of sleepless nights and many tears before God. I can’t help but see the irony in this because I so often find myself in conflict nowadays.
James 2:13 For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.
Matthew 18:33 “’Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?’”
Matthew 18:35 “My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.”
As I said, I would much rather speak of mercy and grace. But we hear so much about them today that I fear we no longer appreciate their value. How can we if the only gospel we know is how God loves us and wants to give us life abundantly?
A.W. Tozer:
James 4:6 But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.”
Romans 2:4 Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?
Acts 3:19 “Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.”
Ephesians 2:4-7 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Hebrews 4:16 Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Matthew 18:21,22 Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.”
How in the world can I of all people try and call others to repentance and an uncompromising submission to the Lordship of Jesus Christ? All I can say is that I am compelled to do so by my Master…not because I am better or smarter or more devout but because I am driven by His inescapable urging that this is the message He would have me shout from the rooftops in this age.
2 Corinthians 12:9 And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.
If you hear me speak more often of sin, repentance, and judgment know that it is only because I am attempting to balance out the equation and counterbalance the flood of permissiveness being called grace coming from Western Christianity. It is not because I am not in desperate need of mercy and grace nor am I reticent in showing it to others. How could I be?
Matthew 5:7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”
However, I seem to be patently unable to stand by and say nothing while half-truths are preached, false doctrines are taught, and things are done in the name of God that God has nothing to do with. It is my gift…it is my weakness. May God have mercy on me.
John Wesley:
God’s mercy and grace are not some kind of blank check written out so that we can do what we wish in His name. There ARE prerequisites that must be met before we can partake of them. We must acknowledge our sin and repent.
“Before I can preach love, mercy and grace I must preach sin, law and judgment.”
“No one can know the true grace of God who has not first known the fear of God.”
Luke 24:46,47 and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.”
It is an abomination in the eyes of God for us to proudly stand in church and celebrate ourselves by arrogantly presuming God’s approval when we have not first been humbled by our sin leading to our repentance. Do we think that God’s blessings in our lives are a sign that He approves our ignoring Him and lying to ourselves in areas where we know He is convicting us? As Romans 2:4 says, He is blessing us in the hope that we will repent before He has to discipline us by allowing us to reap the consequences of our sin. He is patient but only to a point. Is He willing to forgive us “seventy times seven?” Yes, but as Matthew 18 points out, forgiveness is dependent on repentance. If we are not willing to acknowledge our sin then how can we expect His forgiveness? Does that mean that we will never commit that sin again? No, but “if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1). THAT is the wonder of God’s mercy and grace!
Romans 11:32 For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all.
It is only by seeing the depth of our own depravity in the light of a Holy God and understanding the justice and inevitability of our condemnation to Hell that we can appreciate the mercy and grace which Christ purchased for us on the cross. We do a disservice to those we seek to bring to Christ (as well as ourselves) by speaking only of the benefits of being born again and not of the cost. God’s mercy and grace are truly unfathomable and wonderful but we must speak the whole truth of why they are so amazing. We must never live as though these precious bought spoils of war give us license to ignore His precepts or as if they were accessible by anything other than repentance.