Saturday, 2 February 2013

MERCY





 Sometimes we confuse mercy for grace, because some of us are unclear what both mean. Let us try and break the meaning of the two down starting with mercy.

According to Wikipedia, Mercy is a broad term that refers to benevolence, forgiveness and kindness in a variety of ethical, religious, social and legal contexts.

In 1 Tim 1: 12 – 13, Apostle Paul says “And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.

From the above scripture, we can gather that mercy is not getting what you deserve – the wrath of God. It is an act of being spared from judgement.

Imagine being caught by a road safety officer for overloading. If the officer is merciful, he will let you go with a warning instead of a fine.

With any sin or illegal act committed, punishments always follow.

Mercy withholds judgement. This means that every day that we live is an act of God’s mercy.

In Psalm 51:1 King David prayed for mercy after he had gone in to Bathsheba saying “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions”.

Is mercy now an invitation to do whatever we want since mercy will take the punishment away? NO! Mercy is not earned, it is God given.

The wage of any sin is death. However, through Christ Jesus, we are given a second chance.

The Lord shall be merciful unto you in Jesus Name. Amen!

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