Have you ever thought about what it is to be shown Grace or Mercy? We recieve these from God every day. No matter how bad our life seems at the moment, we are being given grace and shown mercy. You might say that your life is great at the moment, well you are being shown mercy from God. First I want to give you a definition of what the two mean.
Grace: 1 Unmerited divine assistance given man for his regeneration or sanctification. 2 A state of sanctification enjoyed through divine grace. 3 A virtue coming from God.
We are being helped by God.
Mercy: 1 Compassion or forbearance shown to an offender. 2 Clemency.
We are not getting what we deserve.
[Grace]
First I want to talk about the help that all mankind receive from God everyday. We probably don't even realize that we are receiving this protection and guidance from Jesus. We take it for granted. I'm as guilty about this as anyone else. We are told in the Scriptures that we receive this from God, especially believers.
John;1:16(For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.)Talking about Jesus.
To those who will believe, Ephesians;1:5-8(He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight) Here we are receiving help from God in that He chose us. You could be saying that you chose God first. WRONG!
John;6:449("No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.") So you see, we are chosen.
Acts;4:33(And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all.) They were receiving favor from those outside the church as well as favor from God. They were sharing all that they owned.
Ephesians;2:8(For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.) So here we are getting help from God for our salvation through Jesus. We would never of had any hope of getting to Heaven, except through Jesus.
We don't deserve any help, but God is showing us grace.
Now I want to talk about mercy. This is not getting what we deserve from God. We should be so thankful to our God that we don't get what we deserve. Our wages would be death in hell.
Romans;6:23(For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord) We are being shown mercy by God, because we deserve to die for our sin, But God sent His Son to die in our place.
When God was talking to Moses, he told Moses that He would have mercy upon whom ever He desired.
Romans;9:15-16(For He says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy.) God has shown us mercy and we need to show others mercy. You don't want to be someone who doesn't show mercy.
James;2:13(For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.) If you show mercy to others, you are demonstrating by this that you realize you have been shown mercy by God.
So what we have learned is that we are shown Mercy and Grace by not having to die for our sins, because Jesus already paid the price for us on the cross. Then being allowed into heaven as children of God.
Grace is getting what you do not deserve. Mercy is not getting what you do deserve.
God Bless You!
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