Mercy Me!
Mercy Me!
We have learnt in a previous article that we are all gods, Christians and non. But our ‘godship’ is not complete because we cannot live forever. We need the tree of life to achieve this, and it is available only with Jesus.
We have also learnt that God pours his grace, like rain, on
everybody. But he reserves his Truth for the ones who are in Christ, for Jesus
himself is Truth.
Now, we will learn how that righteousness (meaning right standing
with God) has been paid for by God through Jesus His Son, for the whole world. However,
peace and joy in the Holy Ghost has been reserved for those in Christ – those who
have accepted Jesus as Lord and Saviour, and now have a personal relationship
with him.
2Co_5:21 For he hath made him to
be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God
in him.
It is important to look back and understand why humanity
needed Jesus for us to be in right standing with God: In Adam, man sinned, and caused
a rift between God and Man.
We can look at it this way, a child sins against his parent,
and the effect of that sin is such that the parent could no longer associate
with the child unless a sacrifice is made to atone for that child’s sin. Now, in times past, animals
were used as sacrifice to atone, but the animals could not wipe away the sin of a human.
Humanity is much higher in value before God than animals. It is only the
sacrifice of another human, that could take away completely the sin of humanity.
But there was another issue, the human that must be sacrificed must be holy,
without sin or blemish. But, all the seed of Adam, were already corrupted. Which meant,
there was no worthy ‘sacrificial lamb’. This was supposed to be the end of
humanity, a masterstroke by Satan on the chessboard of life. But Satan did
not take into account the enormous love God had for humanity, and also that God
cannot lose a battle.
Joh 1:29
The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of
God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
The genius (for want of a better word) thing that God did
was to come down to earth in human form and die for humanity. Could He have come
as a fully grown man, and then died for humanity? Yes, but he would not have
qualified as a human. He needed to come in the same way every human came –
through a woman. So, in fulfilment of prophecy:...
Gen 3:15
And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her
seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
...he came as a seed – to the woman. Our human mind will
translate the seed as sperm – the smallest cell in the human body. He did not
come as Adam’s seed, but in the likeness of Adam’s seed. If it is easy to
believe that God could come as a full grown man, it should be easier to believe
that he could come as a simple seed. How as a seed, he inseminated Blessed Mary,
is at the top of the long list of unexplained miracles. What we do know is that
the Holy Spirit came upon her, and the power of the Most High overshadowed her.
Luk_1:35 And the angel answered and
said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the
Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be
born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
So, God came as the smallest cell instead of as a mighty
giant. It allowed him the opportunity to live life as a human - from the cradle to the grave -, to see the
weaknesses of human and experience the strengths of humanity as well – you can
say he gathered data. He himself had to learn the same obedience he asked of
his creations - through suffering.
Heb_5:8 Though he were a Son, yet learned
he obedience by the things which he suffered;
Imagine creating a robot, and the robot develops a glitch, and then you having to become a robot just to save your creation. But we know, that if we created a robot, and it develops a glitch, we will probably destroy that robot and start again. It is nothing but pure love for a person to go as far as becoming the robot he created just to save that robot. And so, Jesus dies on the cross for the world. And then the rift between God and every living human was closed. CHECKMATE. Humanity is saved. Let us meditate un these verses:
Rom_5:6 For when we were yet
without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
Rom_5:8 But God commendeth his love
toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Rom_6:10 For in that he died, he died
unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
Rom_14:9 For to this end Christ both
died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.
1Co
15:1-8
Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you,
which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved,
if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in
vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received,
how 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: And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After
that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater
part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, he
was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all he was seen
of me also, as of one born out of due time.
Sidebar: Lol - I couldn’t resist, see how Paul says it is
Cephas (Peter) that saw Jesus first … that is called the bias of the storyteller.
Lol. John’s account says that it is Mary Magdalene that saw Jesus first. John
20: 1 – 18. Yep, you guessed right, Peter and Paul were friends. It is interesting
how their humanity comes to play, and it helps us to even understand the
concept of righteousness much better.
Heb_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.
So everybody now has right standing (righteousness) with God
because Jesus died for the ungodly – which is literally everybody. The child
can now go again and commune with his father - the rift has been mended. Even though the child messes up
and sins, the righteousness Jesus paid for still makes him able to stand before
God.
Now many have said, I can now come before God and ask him
for anything I want, and also go back and continue to act anyhow I want because
the sacrifice of Jesus has paid the price. But, this isn’t exactly so, If I had
offended my father, and he had ensured that I can now come to his presence,
then he expects me to be thankful and sorry – a broken spirit and a contrite
heart. He expects that I should consider the gravity of the price He paid
for our reunion, and thus come cap in hand, and obtain mercy.
This Mercy is obtained through accepting His Son as Lord
and saviour. Because, God made sure that when He reunited himself with
humans, he also collected the authority over the earth from satan. It was
originally Adam’s, but when Adam lost to satan in Geness 3, the earth became
satan’s own. And when Jesus defeated satan, he took back the authority over the
earth. Now get this, God decided to leave everything that was once Adams’ and
Satans’ to Jesus. It belonged to humanity again, but it is in the safekeeping
of Jesus. This way Satan can’t get it back again. So, when a righteous person
comes to the throne of grace, and believes in Jesus, and comes with a broken
spirit and a contrite heart, he obtains mercy along with his portion of every
other thing that Jesus has taken ahold of to meet his need.
So, as I obtain
mercy, I have peace with God, and I am full of the Joy of the Holy Ghost.
Rom_14:17 For the kingdom of God is
not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
So why is it that non-christians (with no broken spirit or
contrite heart) who have heard of the
paid for righteousness, go to God and get answers to prayers sometimes? This is
because the goodness of God is meant to lead a person to repentance. The key
word being repentance. But don’t forget this:
Psa
18:20 The
LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of
my hands hath he recompensed me.
Psa 18:21
For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my
God.
Psa 18:22
For all his judgments were before me, and I did not put away his
statutes from me.
Psa 18:23
I was also upright before him, and I kept myself from mine iniquity.
Psa 18:24
Therefore hath the LORD recompensed me according to my righteousness, according
to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight.
Psa 18:25
With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou
wilt shew thyself upright;
Psa 18:26
With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew
thyself froward.
Psa 18:27
For thou wilt save the afflicted people; but wilt bring down high looks.
That I am now righteous before God and can come and stand in
His presence, doesn’t mean my words, thoughts and actions are also
automatically righteous. Hence, the importance of obtaining mercy through faith
in Jesus and a broken spirit and contrite heart.
Psa_34:18 The LORD is nigh
unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
Psa 51:15
O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.
Psa 51:16
For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest
not in burnt offering.
Psa
51:17 The
sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O
God, thou wilt not despise.
Now, another question: is my receiving mercy really contingent
on forgiving others?
Mat 18:21
- 35 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin
against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I
say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. Therefore
is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account
of his servants. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto
him, which owed him ten thousand talents. But forasmuch as he had not to
pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all
that he had, and payment to be made. The servant therefore fell down, and
worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. Then
the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave
him the debt.
But the
same servant went out, and found one of his fellow servants, which owed him an
hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat,
saying, Pay me that thou owest. And his fellow servant fell down at his
feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And
he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. So
when his fellow servants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and
told unto their lord all that was done. Then his lord, after that he had
called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt,
because thou desiredst me: Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on
thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? And his lord was wroth, and
delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. So
likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts
forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.
Yes, the more we grow in our relationship with God, the more
he expects more from us. From my personal experience I have seen that sometimes
God shows mercy even though you have not forgiven others from the heart as you
should, or loved others as you should. But this is the exception and not the rule. I
see it this way, the earth is a womb, preparing us for another level of life in
God (heaven) after our time on earth is done. The more mature you become in God
while you are in this womb, the better it is for you when you get to that new
level of life in God (heaven). And we are warned by evidence in this life that not all
those who are in the womb, come to full term. We will not be miscarried in Jesus
name, Amen. We therefore must forgive because we love like God loves, saving
those who have no strength to save themselves. Let us hear this wisdom from Saint
Jude:
Jud 1:17
But you, dear friends, must remember the statements and predictions of the
apostles of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah. They kept telling you, "In
the last times there will be mockers, following their own ungodly
desires." These are the people who cause divisions. They are worldly,
devoid of the Spirit. But you, dear friends, must continue to build your
most holy faith for your own benefit. Furthermore, continue to pray in the Holy
Spirit. Remain in God's love as you look for the mercy of our Lord
Jesus the Messiah, which brings eternal life. Show mercy to those who
have doubts. Save others by snatching them from the fire. To others, show
mercy with fear, hating even the clothes stained by their sinful lives.
Here is a hymn by Fanny Crosby titled: Rescue the perishing.
The verses:
Verse 1:
Rescue the perishing, care for the dying,
Snatch them in pity from sin and the grave;
Weep over the erring one, lift up the fallen
Tell them of Jesus, the mighty to save.
Rescue the perishing, care for the dying,
Jesus is merciful, Jesus will save.
Verse 2:
Though they are slighting him, still he is waiting,
Waiting the penitent child to receive;
Plead with them earnestly, plead with them gently,
He will forgive if they only believe
Rescue the perishing, care for the dying,
Jesus is merciful, Jesus will save.
Verse 3:
Down in the human heart, crushed by the tempter,
Feelings lie buried that grace can restore;
Touched by a loving heart, wakened by kindness,
Chords that were broken will vibrate once more.
Rescue the perishing, care for the dying,
Jesus is merciful, Jesus will save.
Verse 4:
Rescue the perishing, duty demands it;
Strength for thy labour the Lord will provide;
Back to the narrow way patiently win them;
Tell the poor wanderer a Savior has died.
Rescue the perishing, care for the dying,
Jesus is merciful, Jesus will save.
*I hope this article inspires a lot of questions in you.
Yes, and I pray that we are able to pray and search the scriptures for the answers to the questions
– with our Father in heaven supplying us His Grace and Truth…in Jesus name, Amen.
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