mercy

God’s Loving Kindness

“Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever, Amen”

Revelation 7:12

What would provoke angels, elders and the four living creatures standing around the throne of God to worship the Lord with these words? In the previous chapter we read that a quarter of the world’s population had been killed by war and famine. The world will be in unimaginable upheaval. Much worse will follow as four angels stand ready to reap destruction on those still living (7:1). Our Creator is a righteous judge and will judge all sin and unrighteousness but because of what the Lord Jesus accomplished on the cross on our behalf He is able to show mercy and save anyone who will call upon His name.

Another angel seals 144,000 Jews who, in the likeness of the apostle Paul, will preach the Gospel throughout the world. A number beyond counting will put their trust in Jesus and many will be murdered for that faith. John sees them before God’s throne in white robes washed in Christ’s blood (vv 9-14). God Himself will dwell with them (v 15) so it isn’t surprising that there will be no more tears (v 17). At present, we who believe have the privilege and responsibility of sharing the Gospel.

In the midst of God pouring out righteous judgment on a rebellious and unbelieving world He shows His abundant mercy by sending messengers throughout the world with the Good News. In spite of the very real threat and likelihood of being murdered, multitudes choose to believe.

When times of trouble come there are many who will reach out to the Lord provided they are warned and informed of God’s available mercy and forgiveness. In the midst of wrath God remains abundantly merciful and will forgive anyone who comes to Him. Jesus is the Lamb who took away the sin of the world and through whom salvation is offered as a gift (Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 6:23). “It is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16). God’s loving kindness toward people is revealed again in this: “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). There is no sin, and no sinner, so great that Jesus’ death and shed blood cannot forgive and take away. Even in judgment God remembers mercy. Such is the loving kindness of our God.

Spontaneity

“And what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?”

Micah 6:8

There are not many occasions in the Bible where God spells out so succinctly what He requires of us. Much of the rest of Scripture is given to reveal the myriad of examples of how to, and how not to, fulfil this requirement. Please notice that these are three things we are to do not to receive.

In this world we may want to be dealt with justly but the evidence is that this will not always be the case. Sometimes that is just as well! However, we are to always deal with others in a just and righteous manner regardless of how we are being treated. This is a description of the life of Jesus Christ in us.

Secondly we are to love mercy. When we are walking with Christ we will be as He is. He loved to show kindness to undeserving people and to forgive them when they wronged Him. We will know that we are spiritual people when we also gladly forgive those who have wronged us and no longer hold grudges. It is of no consequence whether the other person is merciful, kind or forgiving to us. If we are in Christ we will delight to show mercy and spontaneously forgive and show kindness.

To “walk humbly” is often misunderstood. In this context it is “walk humbly with your God.” This means to have a right perspective of the relationship between yourself and God. We can start by delighting in the fact that He is our Creator and Sustainer, Redeemer and Saviour. He is the One who is “all in all” and I am the one in need and who can do nothing of myself.

There is a counterfeit humility that parades itself but that has no place in the Christian’s life. Humility can never be consciously achieved because the moment we recognize it in ourselves, pride will sweep it away. Like all aspects of true Christianity the attributes of Christ are either in us spontaneously or they are not there at all. In reality we cannot manufacture Christ likeness. To say we can is to say that we can become a dog by acting like a dog. All that does is make us look foolish. The same is true in the spiritual walk with Christ, it cannot be faked and the fake cannot remain hidden.

Chief of Sinners

“This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief”

1 Timothy 1:15

In charging Timothy with the responsibility to keep others faithful to the true Gospel against those who were infiltrating with error, Paul relates how the grace of God was and is being enacted toward him. He obtained mercy because he did it “ignorantly in unbelief” (v 13) but the grace of God was “exceedingly abundant” in delivering him from that ignorance and unbelief (v 14). He then professes the essential teaching that Jesus came to save sinners. What we may skip over is what he then writes, “of whom I am chief.”

A casual reading may interpret this as saying he was the chief of sinners before he was delivered by the grace of God. That would be a misunderstanding. He is acknowledging that he knows he is still currently the chief of sinners. We will have a shallow understanding of God’s active grace toward us if we don’t know that we are still chief sinners. We may believe theologically that we are but until we know it in our hearts we will have a diminished view of God’s grace.

Paul writes something similar in Romans 3:23. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” The grammar in this verse reveals that we (saved sinners) keep on falling short. The self-righteous doesn’t know this and thereby reveals he has only a shallow understanding of God’s grace.

We are not told what Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” was (2 Corinthians 12:7-10) and perhaps we should be glad of that or we might think there is only one kind of “thorn”. Had he told us we might be taken up with that one instead of the real point of the passage: “My [God’s] grace is sufficient for you” (v 9). Though we know we continually fall short and we know we are the chief of sinners we can also know that God’s exceeding abundant grace is sufficient.

Satan may attempt to use that to discourage us but God wants us to advance in our knowledge, understanding and experience of His exceeding abundant grace. Paul goes on to write “for My [God’s] strength is made perfect in weakness” and “For when I am weak I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). Jesus said, “without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Without God’s active grace through Christ Jesus we cannot minister to others or serve and worship God.

The Insanity of Idolatry

“It is the land of carved images and they are insane with their idols”

Jeremiah 50:38

The reason for God’s judgment of a nation is expressed in several ways but it always boils down to man’s pride.

Against the people of Moab Jeremiah expresses the reason for God’s judgment as being arrogance: “Because he exalted himself against the Lord” (Jeremiah 48:42). The people of Moab are not alone in this. Satan’s lie (Genesis 3:5) is gladly consumed these days although the source of the lie is denied. In order to do what seems right in their own eyes people declare they are answerable to no one. Exalting themselves against the Lord they deny His existence and His word. In doing this they confirm their enmity with God. Mercy, love and forgiveness are available through Jesus Christ but when God’s existence is denied all these provisions are also.

Against Babylon Jeremiah expresses the reason for God’s judgment as being idolatry (Jeremiah 50:38 quoted above). We still observe people worshipping the works of their hands. The objects of worship may not be in the form of statues of wood, stone or metals. The things that are idolised may be cities, buildings, ships, bridges and other structures. There are TV programs that assist in worshipping these works of the hands of people. Likewise people may worship the talents of athletes, singers and actors.

Rarely does anyone give God the glory for these abilities and talents because they prefer to exalt themselves above the Lord. They forget that it is God who “made the earth by His power; He has established the world by His wisdom, and stretched out the heaven by His understanding” (Jeremiah 51:15). It is the Lord who created all the materials, laws and principles in creation that people use to make their objects or perform their art yet they will not give Him the glory. We ought to remember that our next heartbeat and our next breath are at His pleasure.

The last time God judged the whole earth He sent a flood. The rainbow is both a sign that He has judged and destroyed the whole earth, except those on the ark, and that He will not do so again by flood. Next time it will be by fire (2 Peter 3:7, 12).

Jesus gives us the principle that we should follow: “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 14:11).

Pleasing God

“The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him, in those who hope in His mercy.”

Psalm 147:11

In the preceding verse the psalmist writes that the Lord takes no delight and finds no pleasure in physical might. What pleases Him are people who know Him and therefore stand in awe of Him. People who have not entered into a personal relationship with the Lord cannot stand in awe of Him because they do not know Him. We stand in awe of a sunset because we see it. We stand in awe of God because we know Him and see His handiwork in everything.

It is encouraging to know that we do bring pleasure to the Lord. Satan would have us believe otherwise. That is why he attempts to discourage us and rob us of the experience of the joy of the Lord. John states that the main purpose of his second letter is that our “joy may be full” (1 John 1:4).

The psalmist then adds that those who bring pleasure to the Lord are those who have received His mercy. Mercy is God’s gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. We deserved judgment but in His loving kindness He receives those who humble themselves and seek Him. Notice that He does not say that the Lord finds pleasure in the righteous. None are righteous (Psalm 14:1-3; 53:1-3; Romans 3:23).

The prophet Micah records, “He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8). In another Psalm we read, “The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and great in mercy. The Lord is good to all and His tender mercies are over all His works” (Psalm 145:8-9). Who would not stand in awe of the Lord when they begin to know these qualities of Him? “Let not mercy and truth forsake you” (Proverbs 3:3).

In the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector (Luke 18:9-14) we observe that the one who appealed to his own righteousness did not please the Lord but the one who humbled himself, acknowledged his sinfulness and sought mercy, he pleased the Lord and received forgiveness. Such a person stands in awe of God because they have seen and experienced God’s forgiveness of a sinner. Not surprisingly, this and many other Psalms conclude with “Praise the Lord.”

As in the Day

“Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually”

Genesis 6:5

This was the assessment of the Lord concerning mankind prior to the world wide flood in the days of Noah. By the grace of God Noah and his family were saved to accomplish God’s plan and purpose. The people of Noah’s day were warned by Noah’s testimony as he built the ark. Those who ignored his testimony went on as before and were drowned in the flood.

Jesus warned that His second coming will be in similar circumstances (Matthew 24:37f; Luke 17:26f). In these days God’s warning of impending judgment and the outpouring of His wrath against sin is through the faithful preaching of the Gospel of Christ as revealed in the Bible. Those who do not heed His words will carry on as before and be unprepared for His judgment. Those who receive it will be saved from wrath (1 Thessalonians 1:10; 5:9; Romans 5:9).

In the days of the Tribulation the Lord’s witnesses will be 144,000 Jews who will preach the Gospel to all nations and ethnic groups in all languages. Those who carry on as before and ignore the warning are destined to endure God’s wrath. Those who receive it will be delivered through it or from it by bodily death.

Jesus also gave the illustration of the city of Sodom (Luke 17:28f). Lot had been less than faithful in warning the people that their wickedness would bring an outpouring of God’s wrath. The judgment of God fell upon those people also.

Denying either of these historical events is to call Jesus a liar and renders one carrying on as before and unprepared for the wrath to come. His words are clear; when every intention of the thoughts of the heart of mankind is evil, then we can expect God to again judge the earth.

God is presently allowing Satan to test the hearts of nations and of individuals to reveal openly whether they are truly His or not. He is giving us an opportunity to see the world as it would be without His righteousness and without Him. Perhaps some will turn to Him and call for mercy.

Of that great city, Nineveh, the Lord said, “Their wickedness has come up before Me” (Jonah 1:2). Jonah was sent to warn them. With reluctance he went saying, “Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown” (Jonah 3:4). Unlike in the days of Noah and the days of Lot the Ninevites had a change of heart and pleaded for God’s mercy. They believed the warning and acted upon it through prayer and fasting believing that God might show them mercy. God will always respond to genuine calls for mercy.

It is not difficult to see that our world is at the threshold. Those who know the truth have the privilege and responsibility of warning others. We don’t know whether the world, our nation or our neighbour will respond in the way the people in Noah’s and Lot’s days did or in the way that Nineveh did so let us persevere in sharing the Gospel of grace and see what the Lord does in the hearts of people and nations.

Greener Grass

“He has hedged me in so that I can’t get out” Lamentations 3:7

There will be times in our lives when we are in situations that we want to escape as quickly as possible. This may be one of the reasons some people suffer depression which may lead to taking their own life. They feel trapped and see no hope of being delivered from their painful situation.

Jeremiah’s situation included spiritual pain with the physical and emotional pain. His cry reveals that he was suffering because he had done all that the Lord had asked of him. His present affliction and pain was the response to his speaking, writing and doing as the Lord had asked.

He had proclaimed God’s word but the people had chosen to reject it and in rejecting it they took to persecuting God’s messenger. This is still the way of those who refuse to accept God’s word. That was bad enough but he also lived to see Jerusalem’s destruction. None of this needed to have happened had the people received the warning and returned to the Lord.

As we walk with the Lord Jesus Christ and seek to proclaim His gospel there will inevitably be times when we find ourselves in situations where we are being persecuted in some way and feel trapped. We want to escape. As far as we know we have been faithful in our walk with Jesus and sharing the Gospel. Yet, like Jeremiah, the response has been hostile.

The same can be said in regard to being a leader in the church. We long to see Christians respond to the Lord and grow, but they seem seduced and trapped by worldly values and ways. This is akin to Jeremiah weeping over Jerusalem. Jesus also wept over Jerusalem.

Many years ago, a man I knew well took his own life as a result of just such a situation. He had led many to Christ, but he became overwhelmed with grief over the worldly ways of some leaders of his church. It appears that he lost hope that it could be recovered. His response to the situation was not the right one – but it does show the depth of grief he suffered. Jeremiah grieved and Jesus’ grieved over Jerusalem’s failure to return to the Lord.

Jeremiah did not lose faith in the Lord, because he knew that it would pass. “For the Lord will not cast off forever. Though He cause grief, yet He will show compassion according to the multitude of His mercies” (3:31-32).

There will be times when we feel trapped with no way out, even though we have been faithful to the Lord. The grass may look greener somewhere else; the hunt for that greener grass may simply be a desire to escape a situation where we feel trapped. All the doors ahead may appear closed for now, but at the right time the Lord will open the way for us.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths” Proverbs 3:5-6.

The Truth Exchanged for a Lie

“It was too painful for me until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I understood their end” Psalm 73:16b-17

The writer of this Psalm noted the prosperity of people who gave no thought to their Creator; the One who gives them life and provides their sustenance in gracious abundance. He observes that they are full of pride and count pride in themselves as a blessing (v 6), they oppress others (v 8) and boast in wickedness and blaspheme against God (v 9). They are at ease in the earthly riches (v 12) that God has provided for them.

The psalmist then asks himself what the advantage was of him living a righteous life in which God has frequently chastised him (v 13) when the ungodly appear to suffer no chastisement (cf. Hebrews 12:5-8).

We live in such a world as the psalmist observed. There are many who deny God’s existence and are proud in themselves for their material success. Such blessings were meant to turn their hearts in thankfulness for God’s grace. Instead they boast that they have done it by their own ability and strength.

Those who walk with the Lord Jesus Christ do suffer at the hands of the ungodly. Many have their earthly lives ended prematurely at the hands of the ungodly. All Christians will suffer some form of persecution and oppression.

The psalmist then records that as he entered the sanctuary and bowed before the Lord praying about these matters, the Lord reminded him of the destiny of the ungodly.

The world is still going blindly on in unbelief and instead of receiving the truth the truth is suppressed. By God’s grace there are still many people turning to the Lord Jesus daily but that is against the tide of ungodliness. We live in an age of people “who [have] exchanged the truth of God for the lie and worshipped and served the creature [man] rather than the Creator” (Romans 1:25).

As he waited before the Lord the psalmist realised that those people who have rejected God and refuse to have a change of heart have no expectation other than the wrath of God. He understood that such people are in dire need of mercy and forgiveness and that it was he who was in the most blessed state.

Jesus related an account of a certain rich man and a beggar named Lazarus to give us understanding when we observe these things (Luke 16:19-31). The most necessary thing for people is to hear and believe God’s word. Jesus said, “If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead” (Luke 16:31). At Easter we give special attention to the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is another opportunity God has given us to share the truth with family, friends and acquaintances.

Closed Bible = Closed Heart

“The Word of God … is a discerner of the thoughts and the intents of the heart” Hebrews 4:12

On their way from Egypt to the land promised to Abraham and his descendants Israel neglected the Word of God. They heard it but left it out of their lives. As a consequence of not believing God’s Word they did not act upon it or obey it. The further consequence was that they never experienced the rest that God had for them in the land of promise; they never even entered that land and therefore did not know what they missed.

It isn’t unusual to hear comments that produce fear when people speak of governments becoming “big brother.” We don’t like someone else peering into our lives especially when it is someone who has authority over us.

As we read the passage above, and its context, we may be inclined to think that God is up there somewhere with a big stick looking forward to an opportunity to use it. However this is opposite to reality as the context of this verse shows.

The intent of God’s Word is to show us where we have attitudes and behaviour contrary to or out of kilter to His own. Such attitudes and behaviour prevent intimate fellowship because God is holy. “God is light and in Him is no darkness” (1 John 1:5). The Divine Nature is such that God can have no fellowship with any nature that is not exactly as His own. This is why we are helpless in ourselves to enter into fellowship with God.

For each of us the “eyes” of Scripture searching our thoughts and inner-most being is painful but there are two possible outcomes. Either we will close the “eyes” of Scripture by closing our Bible or we will embrace the truth and reality it reveals however horrid and wicked it may reveal us to be. God’s intent is that we see what He already knows us to be so that we will agree with Him that this is what we are. He will then forgive and cleanse us from our sin through the blood of Jesus Christ (1 John 1:9).

The writer of Hebrews writes, “Let us therefore come boldly (with confidence) to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” He means that when the Word of God reveals the evil thoughts and intents of our heart we may come, by God’s grace, to the throne of grace and obtain mercy and find grace even though we are what the Bible has revealed us to be.

When the Bible reveals sin in our heart it is not time to close our Bible, it is time to pour out our heart to God, agreeing with Him, and accepting His forgiveness and cleansing. We can do so with confidence because Jesus Christ died for our sin.

Constrained by Christ

“I also withheld you from sinning against Me” Genesis 20:6

As a youngster growing up and in my teens there were many temptations to sin, not that I recognised them as such at the time. There were things that others were doing that I wanted to do as well but there often seemed to be a limit as to how far I could go. It was more than just conscience. There were physical barriers such as opportunity, interruptions or distractions at key moments. There was also the risk of being caught doing what I knew to be wrong and in other cases the matter was simply not as enjoyable as I thought it would be. That is not to say that I did not indulge in sin. There is not one of the Ten Commandments that I did not disregard at some time if we use Jesus’ application of the commandments that He gives in the Sermon on the Mount.

Even so, as I look back on my life I am well aware that there was a hand limiting my indulgence in sin. At the time it caused me frustration and even anger but now as I read this verse I am so very grateful to God for the merciful and gracious resistance He gave to my lustful self-seeking passions. No doubt His resistance also flowed from praying parents but in this passage we find that it appears that no earthly person was praying for Abimelech. God took the initiative by making Abimelech, his wife and all his servants impotent. Then he spoke to Abimelech in a dream explaining the reason and the solution.

Perhaps as you are reading this article the Holy Spirit is bringing to mind occasions when He put something in the way so that you did not venture down a particular path of sin. As I look back I now wish that He had done so much more. Perhaps part of the answer as to why God has not always kept us from sin can be found in this account of Abimelech.

He was told to restore Sarah to Abraham but he was not forced to do so. However, the way he chose to respond would have a consequence. If he did not restore Sarah to Abraham he and his entire house would die. God had a plan for Sarah and Abraham and He would not be thwarted. If Abimelech did restore Sarah, Abraham would pray for him and he and his entire house would be healed.

We suffer consequences when we disregard God’s word or do not obey Him. God will perform His will with or without our cooperation – but it will be far better for us to join with Him and do as He asks. When we do, there will be a better outcome for our children, grandchildren and others we love.

Let us give a little time each day to thank God for the times He kept us from unwitting and witting sin.
Let us praise Him for His kindness and great grace toward us even before we believed.
Let us humble ourselves before Him and magnify the name of Jesus – because it is only by His shed blood that He is able to forgive and cleanse us, and still remain just.