ZealousChristia
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- Joined
- Sep 19, 2010
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Mercy Triumphs Over Judgement
Genesis 3 | James 2
Our God is a merciful God, one who abides in love and lives in justice. Instead of the judgement which we deserve, each and every day we receive mercy in our lives. It was by the mercy of God that Noah was not the last righteous man on earth. It is by the mercy of God that we are here today. And it is by the mercy of God that born-again Christians will spend eternity with the greatest giver of mercy, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I would like to clarify a difference between grace and mercy, before I go any further. In my opinion, Bill Johnson of Bethel Church, California, summarizes it aptly: mercy is not getting what you do deserve, grace is getting what you don't deserve. Often times, the two work seemingly in tandem: God exercises mercy whenever we go unpunished for sin, and exercises grace by subsequently granting eternal entry into the highest of high places.
Before Christ, as revealed through the Old Testament, our God was a judging God. It was a time whenever judgement prevailed over mercy. The law was the final word in the matter. By no means am I saying that God did not exercise mercy, for we need not look any further than Genesis 6 to read that "the Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth ... 'I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created - and with them the animals'" (verses 6 & 7); but it was by his mercy that he stopped short. However, he also exercised his judging side, most recognized through Adam and Eve's dismissal from the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3.
Eve "saw that the fruit of the tree [of wisdom] was good for food ... she took some and ate it." After this, "she also gave some to her husband [Adam]" (verse 6). Whether Adam was aware that the fruit was from the tree of wisdom or not, the Lord exercised judgement on them both. The judgement was certainly justified - the Lord had commanded otherwise - therefore it is not to be unexpected whenever the God of Justice exercises justice, saying to Eve "I will make your pains in childbearing very severe" (verse 16) and to Adam "cursed is the ground because of you" (verse 17).
But this justified, judging side of the Lord changed with Christ's birth, life and death. The most altruistic action the world has ever seen was also the most merciful action. The Lord's judgement is not seen in the New Testament (with the exception of the Revelation), for mercy triumphs over judgement. These words are not mine, but James' own. In James 2, he writes "speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgement without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgement" (verses 12 & 13).
These are guiding words of wisdom. For if we are truly zealous Christians, mercy will triumph over judgement both in our lives and through our lives. Who are we to judge our brothers and sisters, who are our greater than ourselves? For we are aware of our iniquities, they of theirs, and God of all. Instead, we should act with mercy, and then act in grace, just as we have been granted mercy and given grace, and will be in the coming days of judgement, as revealed through the Revelation.
Genesis 3 | James 2
Our God is a merciful God, one who abides in love and lives in justice. Instead of the judgement which we deserve, each and every day we receive mercy in our lives. It was by the mercy of God that Noah was not the last righteous man on earth. It is by the mercy of God that we are here today. And it is by the mercy of God that born-again Christians will spend eternity with the greatest giver of mercy, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I would like to clarify a difference between grace and mercy, before I go any further. In my opinion, Bill Johnson of Bethel Church, California, summarizes it aptly: mercy is not getting what you do deserve, grace is getting what you don't deserve. Often times, the two work seemingly in tandem: God exercises mercy whenever we go unpunished for sin, and exercises grace by subsequently granting eternal entry into the highest of high places.
Before Christ, as revealed through the Old Testament, our God was a judging God. It was a time whenever judgement prevailed over mercy. The law was the final word in the matter. By no means am I saying that God did not exercise mercy, for we need not look any further than Genesis 6 to read that "the Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth ... 'I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created - and with them the animals'" (verses 6 & 7); but it was by his mercy that he stopped short. However, he also exercised his judging side, most recognized through Adam and Eve's dismissal from the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3.
Eve "saw that the fruit of the tree [of wisdom] was good for food ... she took some and ate it." After this, "she also gave some to her husband [Adam]" (verse 6). Whether Adam was aware that the fruit was from the tree of wisdom or not, the Lord exercised judgement on them both. The judgement was certainly justified - the Lord had commanded otherwise - therefore it is not to be unexpected whenever the God of Justice exercises justice, saying to Eve "I will make your pains in childbearing very severe" (verse 16) and to Adam "cursed is the ground because of you" (verse 17).
But this justified, judging side of the Lord changed with Christ's birth, life and death. The most altruistic action the world has ever seen was also the most merciful action. The Lord's judgement is not seen in the New Testament (with the exception of the Revelation), for mercy triumphs over judgement. These words are not mine, but James' own. In James 2, he writes "speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgement without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgement" (verses 12 & 13).
These are guiding words of wisdom. For if we are truly zealous Christians, mercy will triumph over judgement both in our lives and through our lives. Who are we to judge our brothers and sisters, who are our greater than ourselves? For we are aware of our iniquities, they of theirs, and God of all. Instead, we should act with mercy, and then act in grace, just as we have been granted mercy and given grace, and will be in the coming days of judgement, as revealed through the Revelation.
