God’s
Grace is Not Mercy
Introduction:
In our
previous post on this blog the subject of the Ark of the Covenant was raised. It was revered as the most sacred item in
Israel’s Tabernacle and Temple and placed in the Holy of Holies behind the
vail. The LORD’s instructions for
constructing the Ark included the following: “22 And
there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the
mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the
testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the
children of Israel. (Exodus 25: 22)(Bold added)
Israel had not only the “Ten Commandments”, also known as the
Moral Law. It also had Civil
Laws instructing how to live with others, and the Ecumenical Laws
showing how they were to worship God. Collectively
they totaled 613 Commandments, and expressed God’s standards for human
behavior. . (See: https://www.jewfaq.org/613_commandments )
As you might recall, Israel’s High Priest would go behind the
vail once a year to sprinkle the blood of sacrificial animals to atone for his
and the Nation’s sins over the past year. (Leviticus Chapter 16; see also: https://www.gotquestions.org/Day-Atonement-Yom-Kippur.html ) The
blood was sprinkled on the appropriately named “Mercy Seat” located on top of the
Ark of the Covenant.
Mercy:
According to the Strong’s Expanded Concordance, the
word “mercy” and its derivatives appear more than 300 times in the Bible, with
the large majority in the Old Testament. The most common usage (Strong’s Hebrew
Dictionary # 2617; and the New Testament Greek Dictionary #1653, #1656) refers
to “having compassion” or “feeling sympathy with the misery of another.”
Many times the meaning is expressed in the word “mercy” itself, and commonly as
“loving-kindness in strength and steadfastness”.
Because of the people of Israel’s continued violations of
God’s Laws, they had to repeatedly seek His mercy and forgiveness for their
offenses…both as individuals and as a Nation. Importantly, “mercy” means not
receiving the punishment that one deserves for their sin.
Often Christians forget to address the status of the Gentiles
who were living at the same time. Remember, the Bible tells us that they lived
without the knowledge of God’s Law (as expressed in the Torah). As a result their
ability to be compliant with God’s Law was limited to their conscience / “knowledge
of good and evil” as mankind inherited it following Adam’s sin in the Garden of
Eden. (Genesis 2: 15-17, 3: 1-6; Romans 2: 11-16)
For further context, I recommend your reading the full Scripture
found in Romans Chapter Three, that contains the following selected verses:
“9 What then?
are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews
and Gentiles, that they are all under sin;
10 As it is
written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
11 There is
none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
19 Now we know
that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every
mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
20 Therefore
by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by
the law is the knowledge of sin.
23 For all
have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” (Bold Added)
Pay particular attention to the statements above that say the
Law was given specifically to Israel, but it applies to all the world (Gentiles
included). Further, the purpose of the Law was to give man the knowledge of “sin”,
so that no question could remain as to whether an offense against God had been
committed. Remember, these were His
Commandments. Many people will be seeking “Mercy” at the future Great White
Throne Judgment. (Revelation 20: 11-15)
Now, as a point of transition, I’d like to refer to the
Scripture found in Exodus Chapter 33: I encourage you to read the entire chapter for
context, but please focus on the following words from the LORD to Moses as He declared
His Supremacy as God:
v. 19 – 19 “ … I will proclaim the name
of the Lord before
thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy
on whom I will shew mercy.” (Bold added)
The keys are that our God can be both full of Mercy and full
of Grace, and can dispense them at His will.
Grace:
According to the Strong’s Expanded Concordance, the
word “grace” and its derivatives appear more than 200 times in the Bible, with
the large majority in the New Testament. The most common usage (Strong’s Hebrew
Dictionary # 2580, #2587, #2603; and the New Testament Greek Dictionary #5485,)
refers to “having favor, loving-kindness
or being pleasant and agreeable.” Many times the meaning of “grace” is
expressed in the word “grace” itself. “Commonly it indicates favor on the
part of the giver (as a gift), and thanks on the part of the receiver.” The
Strong’s definition also adds: “…God’s (Grace), the free gift for the forgiveness
of sins, is related to the misery that sin brings.”
The Bible shows that there were several notable examples of the
LORD’s having found “favor / grace” in those who believed in Him and obeyed Him.
They included Noah, (Genesis 6: 18), Moses (Exodus 33: 17), King David (Acts 7:
46), and Mary the Mother of Jesus (Luke 1: 30). Further, I believe the Holy
Spirit directed the author of the Book of Hebrews, Chapter Eleven, to provide
the names of other individuals who should be recognized for their having had
faith in / believed the LORD, and obeyed Him. That Chapter has been notably recognized
as “The Faith Chapter” of our Bible.
Note that the concepts of “faith”, “believing God”, and
“trusting and obeying Him” are various attributes that the LORD / God has always
been seeking from His created being man. As noted above, those named above were
all “sinners”, just as the rest of mankind. However, they were able to receive
the grace / favor of God and will not face judgment at the Great White Throne as
those who likely have to plead for “mercy”.
Some might argue that God’s use of His Grace vs His Mercy
could seemingly be interpreted as arbitrary.
However, because He is God, He must be totally fair in His Judgments.
That is why He has given man the opportunity to choose whether or not to
believe and have faith in Him. That opportunity for free choice began with the
first man Adam and continues with us today.
For some additional context on the concepts of free choice” and
“grace”, consider the words of the Book of
John, Chapter Three. There our Lord Jesus spoke saying:
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life..”
(John 3: 16)
That verse is telling man that through His Grace, God has made
the free gift of eternal life possible and available for “whosoever believes in
Him”, the Son of God / Jesus Himself.
Remember, that since “all have sinned” (as noted above), all are
therefore eligible to benefit from God’s offer of His Grace. However, each
person has to know / understand what they are to believe about the Son
of God, Jesus. The Bible gives us
the answer.
The answer is the “good news” or Gospel of Grace. Because
of His love for mankind, God made the requirement for a person to receive the gift
of eternal life both brief and relatively simple. As Christians we are to know
that the requirement is to know and understand that:
·
Jesus Christ is the Son of God;
·
He died to pay the death penalty for our sins;
·
He was buried; and
·
He rose again / was resurrected on the third day.
(1 Corinthians 15: 1-4)
To confirm their understanding of this Gospel, the person should
be willing to speak it. (Romans 10: 9-13) Most importantly we must recognize that Jesus Himself
paid the death penalty that was to have fallen on believers. It is not necessary for man to know all the
specific details that led up to those events, nor all that the Bible tells us
about what followed.
Christians and other Bible students should remember a basic tenet
that echoes throughout the Scripture:
“The Lord is not slack
concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to
us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to
repentance.” (1 Peter 3: 9)
His gift of Grace to us today should never be ignored. But,
it is the individual man’s choice.
Dr. W. A. (Bill) Robinson
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