“Grace, Mercy and Justice” – R. Nelson
BIBLE MEDITATION:
“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:16
ENCOURAGING WORD:
We so often hear about grace, mercy, and justice, but do people really know the difference between the three? I will give you a description of each one in a simple to understand way.
Grace: Getting something that we do not deserve
Mercy: Not getting something that we do deserve.
Justice: Getting what we do deserve.
We read in Romans 3: 22-24; where we get a couple of excellent verses on what grace is; “even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. There is such a huge misunderstanding within the main line denominational churches of today when it comes to grace and works. Like the description above, grace is not something that you can earn or work your way to, it is a free gift from God our Father that was offered to all who believe on His Son, Jesus Christ. To receive grace, we need to know, understand, and accept the following truth. We read in 1 Corinthians 15: 1-4; “Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,” These few verses give us the gospel in a nut shell. Paul first starts out by telling us that we can believe in vain. To me personally, this is one of the most eye-opening verses that should bring us all to our knees. We so often hear people say, yes, I believe in Jesus Christ. Believing is only the first step toward being saved. Here is what the scriptures say about this that should make things crystal clear about want I am saying. In James 2:19 we read this rather disturbing verse, “You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe–and tremble!” If you think believing is good enough, carefully read the last verse. Satan and his demons believe, and they are certainly not saved. So, when you truly believe the gospel and realize what salvation cost our Lord, it should bring you to a loving relationship with our creator. How can you believe that someone truly died for you and then just casually act like it is not really a big deal? We should be on our knees everyday praising Jesus Christ for everything that we have.
Let me walk you through what it cost God to redeem mankind back to Him. First, the love that God has for His creation far exceeds anything that we could possibly imagine. When man fell into the clutches of the evil one (Satan) in the Garden of Eden, we fell out of fellowship with our God in every way. God found Himself in a predicament (because of His never-ending love for you and I) that the only way to free mankind from their sins was for Him to come to earth in the personage of Jesus Christ and lay down His life for the sins of those that would accept His free gift of grace. See, God cannot receive sinful man into heaven, therefore, sin must be dealt with. I cannot pay for my own sins and neither can you because we are sinful beings. Sin could only be paid for by someone that was Himself, sinless. You cannot pay off something for someone else that you yourself owe. We read this well-known verse in John 3:16; “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Through Jesus Christ, God entered His own creation to suffer for the sins of mankind so that we could be redeemed back to Him. John 1:14 tells us, “The Word (Jesus Christ) became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ it was made possible for mankind to be set free from sin and be reconciled back to God the Father. We read in Ephesians 2:8-9; “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” Friends, we need to understand this very important truth, nobody took the life of Jesus, He willingly gave His life for us. The Jews did not kill Him, the Romans did not kill Him, Our sins are what killed Him, so we are all guilty of Christ’s death. But see, that is only partly correct, nobody took His life, it was His love for you and I that held Him to the cross. It was not the nails. At any time He could have said, “Enough is enough, I’m out of here”, but He did not and thank God that He didn’t or we would all still be in our sinful state of being with one destination for all. “Hell” So for the love of God, I cannot figure out why we never hear this verse taught in any of the denominational churches. I have a very good idea, it is because they teach that we are saved by works and this verse would put a big wrinkle in their doctrine of being able to earn your own salvation by doing good works. That doctrine is a lie from the advisory, Satan himself. He wants everybody to believe that we are on a balance of being good and evil, that if our good deeds out way our bad deeds, then the balance will fall in our favor. To be able to be saved by good works, you need to be perfect in every way possible without ever committing one sin. Can anybody make that claim? If you can then you go to heaven and say to Jesus Christ, “Move over, now there are two of us.” Most people do not realize that there are not just Ten Commandments, There are a whole lot more than only Ten Commandments found in the Old Testament, there are 613 Commandments! I have heard a very ignorant man once say about the Sermon on the Mount, “how radical is that to think you can go to heaven by keeping all those commandments.” He meant it as a slam against Christianity but, he hit the nail on the head. Nobody can possibly keep all those commandments and it is radical to think that you can. That is the point exactly, that is where grace comes in! The Bible teaches us that one single sin will keep us from heaven. Now, the most exciting news of all, the gift of grace is free to all who call upon the name of the Lord. Romans 6:14 tells us this, “For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.” When you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and receive the Holy Spirit into your heart it is then that you have become born-again. This means that you have become justified, it is just as if you had never sinned. This, my friend, is grace. You are getting a gift, one that you cannot earn or pay for in any way, shape, or form.
Let me give you an example that should make it clearer. Let us say that you were just tried, convicted, and sentenced for a crime that you obviously committed. Your sentence is life in prison with no chance of parole. Now let us say a philanthropist (a person who performs an act or offers a gift done or made for humanitarian purposes) comes along and offers to pay your debt to society and serve your life sentence. I do not believe this can actually be done, so this is just an example of what I am trying to get across. Would you deny his offer to free you from that debt? Of course, you would not! That is what grace is. It is a get out of jail free card. This is what Jesus did for you? Your crimes of sin that would have put you in the Lake of Burning Fire for all eternity have been paid for, but you must accept and receive His pardon. Once you have received this gift of grace, shouldn’t you feel an obligation toward Jesus? Once again, if you had any sense at all you would feel a great debt of gratitude for what He did for you. Now, let us put this in a Biblical prospective. Every human being walking on this planet has a debt that he cannot pay. It is called a sin debt. No one is exempt. It is a debt that we all own, and we could never pay. There is no way humanly possible to pay off this debt. If we die with this debt still accounted to us, the price is eternal separation from God, or in other words, eternity in “The Lake of Burning Fire”! But there is great news. We have an advocate (one who pleads the cause of another) named Jesus Christ who has paid your debt and all you have to do is believe on Jesus Christ and receive the Holy Spirit into your heart. If your conversion to Christ is sincere and you mean it from the bottom of your heart, you will be forgiven of all your sins. Jesus Christ came to this earth for the sole purpose of freeing mankind from an awful predicament. One with no cure known to man. It is a disease called S.I.N. positive. Here is the point that I want to make. If you really understand what grace is and you accept your full pardon of eternity in hell, you will feel forever indebted to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. You should be exceedingly grateful for what He did on your behalf to the point where you would do everything in your power to please Him. But, if you feel it is something that you must do, instead of something that you want to do, you really do not get it. Keep this little thought in mind, it is said that many people will miss heaven by eighteen inches, the distance from the brain to the heart. In other words, head knowledge will have nothing to do with being saved, but when that knowledge reaches your heart, and you summit to the will of the Father, you will then feel the love for Jesus Christ and understand what He truly did for you!
There is so much more that we could say about grace so now let us look at mercy. We read in Ephesians 2:4-5; “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions-it is by grace you have been saved.” Once we have truly received grace, it is then that we will be shown mercy. Mercy does not come to those who chose to remain in their sinful state. When we do something that deserves a disciplinary action, and we have received grace, God shows us mercy by forgiving us and treating it as if you have never sinned. This is what we call being sanctified. (To be free from sin). There are times, however, when God will allow us to go through certain trails to bring us closer to Him if we start to depart from the faith, but it is not necessarily punishment for a sin, it is what we call, being purified by the will of God. You may feel at times that you are being punished, but know this truth that we find in Romans 8:28’ “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” Even though we sin, and we will, it is because we are still under the curse of sin. Those who have accepted grace, will not be held accountable for their sins. We read in John 3:18; “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” We also read in Hebrews 4:16; “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” It is through grace that we obtain mercy.
Here is a sad truth that we encounter daily. Everyday people go through various issues in life, whether it be financial, health related, emotional or some other form of discomfort or depression. What is the first thing they do; they cry out to God for mercy. They have never committed their life to God nor have they ever considered God’s gift of grace, but as soon as something goes wrong, they think God owes them. Right away they blame everything on God and expect Him to fix it. If you have rejected Jesus Christ and God’s gift of grace, then you are under Satan’s jurisdiction. If you reject God, then He will be gracious enough to let you have your way. He will not invade your sovereignty in any way shape or form so do not expect Him to be at your beckon call every time something goes wrong. Proverbs 3:5-6; “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” When you trust in God things will happen that you will not understand. This is when we must apply Romans 8:28. It says that all things work together for good to those who love God. Do you truly believe in and love God or do you just say you believe?
Now, the part nobody should want and that is” justice.” Unfortunately, all those who reject Jesus Christ will face justice, (getting what you deserve). Romans 6:23 tells us, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” If you die in your sins because you have rejected the only propitiation made for your sins, you will parish into everlasting torment. When you stand at the “White Throne Judgement of Christ “you will be judged for every sin that you have ever committee and sentenced accordingly. Souls will be crying out for mercy, but all they will get will be judgement! No mercy will be shown at this time. The good news is this, you do not need to be a part of this judgement, you need to give your life to Jesus Christ and you will not stand in judgement, because there will be no sins to judge, Jesus already paid for every sin that you ever committed just by trusting it to Him. This is not necessarily a message that I enjoy sharing but it is one that needs to be revealed. If I knew something horrible was going to happen to you, wouldn’t you want me to warn you, well this is exactly what I am doing, only this warning will have eternal consequences if not taken serious. Let me end by sharing this verse once again, “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:16.
ACTION POINT:
My friends, Grace is exactly what it says it is, “A FREE GIFT” Here is the best news of all. Once you receive Jesus Christ and become born-again into the Holy Spirit, you have a twenty-four-hour hotline to the throne room of the universe. You can come to God in prayer any time day or night, He is always available and waiting to hear from you. So, if you truly understand what grace really means, you will want to serve Jesus Christ night and day, not because you must, but because you want to. Think about the guy in the story above, how would you treat someone that paid your penalty? Most likely with a lot of love and respect. Now think about what Jesus did for you, He gave you eternal life where otherwise it would have been eternal damnation. How can you reject His free gift of grace and the price He paid for you to be sin free? If you truly believe the Bible is the true and inherent word of God, you cannot reject Jesus Christ! Give Jesus your life today and show Him your gratitude for what He did for you and find comfort in knowing that you will have an everlasting relationship throughout eternity with the creator of the universe. “Written To the glory of God, Inspired by the Holy Spirit!”
From our Chaplin-R. Fritz
Grace, Mercy and Justice
God’s “Love” for us is why he gives us “Grace.” It is a gift given freely and measured by God.The King James Version Dictionary says that grace has a few meanings, they are not contradictory, they are complementary. 1. “Appropriately, the free unmerited love and favor of God, the spring and source of all the benefits men receive from him.” Romans 11:5 says “Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace. And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.” This is something that God decides to use when he wants to. God gives Grace when we choose him, and our sins forgiven. There are some who try to use grace in their lives to keep believing that continuing to keep on doing the same sin gives them the right to keep on doing it. They say that their sins are under grace, you must be repentant. This is a false teaching. God gives grace as “he” sees fit, we cannot claim it. Proverbs 28:13 says, “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and foresaketh them shall have mercy.” Sometimes we are lacking in our lives. Praying and asking for grace to overcome our shortfalls and believing God will give it to you is what we all should be doing. Satin is always there to accuse us and to get us to fall in the ditch. We must remember Jesus Christ is always there to help us up, dust us off and set us back on that narrow path. Mathew 7:13-14 says and this is Jesus speaking “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” We must first find that gate and that narrow path which is Jesus Christ. That narrow path is a lifetime with Jesus Christ studying and obeying him. Grace is what God gives those that follow him. It is not necessarily for doing a great job. God decides how much grace and at what time. The second definition of grace in the King James Version Dictionary that that we all should know is 2. “Favorable influence of God; divine influence or the influence of the spirit, in renewing the heart and restraining from sin.” 2 Corinthians 12:8-9 says and Jesus answering “For the thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” This is the divine influence on people that have the Holy Spirit living in them, they also have the Spirit of grace. Hebrews 10:29-31 says “Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense (repay), saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” The capital “S” in the Spirit of grace means the Holy Spirit. The grace given to us should be also given to the people around us. Jesus shows us in John 8:2-11 that the Pharisees caught a woman in adultery and brought her to Jesus, Moses law said she should be stoned. Jesus said, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” Everybody left but the woman and he said to her “Woman, where are those thine accusers? Hath no man condemned thee?” She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, “Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.” This was mercy, because the law would have her to be stoned and she would have gotten the death penalty. Let’s think about that a minute, she deserved death and knew it, but Jesus Christ forgave her sin, eventually he would take her sentence along with all sins and the death sentence we deserved for our sins for the opportunity for us to have “Eternal Life” with him. That was mercy and grace.
The Holy Spirit and being born again gives us the ability to overcome sin and Satin, the accuser. 1 John 5:4-6 says “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ, not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness because the Spirit is truth.” Notice it says whatsoever is “born of God” overcometh the world. That is a strong statement. We must remember who we are in Christ. Satin wants to confuse us or put thoughts in our heads to take our thoughts from being focused on Jesus Christ and his word. Love and mercy are what The Lord showed us through the Bible that he did for us. We also must show love and mercy to our fellow man. With the pandemic and what we see going on in this world, we need to show God’s love, grace, and mercy with the people we meet, or the people are in contact with. Ephesians 4:29-32 says “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, and all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” Let us pray for all people in this world who do not know the “grace” of Jesus Christ to hear the words that they may change their heart and feel the “Love” of Jesus Christ. Amen.