The Benefit of Mercy
Read from Scripture what the Ultimate Father did. “For God so loved the world, He gave His one and only Son, that whoever, believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) Those who receive the Father’s gift, receives all the Father has. The Bible gives us this wonderful truth, “What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. He is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. So also, when we were children, we were in slavery under the basic principles of the world. But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba, Father.’ So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.” (Galatians 4:1-7)
Titus 3:5 says, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost, Whom He shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior.” “Mercy” (eleon) means “to feel compassion, pity, and show kindness.” It draws oneself to want to care for someone who cannot help themselves. It enables one to see a need and meet the need. God not only beheld our need for salvation, He enables us to receive His salvation found in Christ. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, God not only sees our need for righteous living, He also enables to live a righteous life. Upon our repentance, we receive His mercy freely at no cost to us. (The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible)
In Reader’s Digest, Jim Williams of Butte, Montana, writes, “I was driving too fast one night when I saw the flashing lights of a police car in my rear view mirror. As I pulled over and rolled down the window of my station wagon, I tried to dream up an excuse for my speeding. But when the patrolman reached the car, he said nothing. Instead, he merely shinned the flashlight in my face, then upon my seven-months-pregnant wife, then on our snoozing 18-month-old in his car seat, then our three other children, who were also asleep, and lastly on the two dogs in the very back of the car. Returning the beam back to my face, he then uttered the only words of the encounter. ‘Son,’ he said, ‘you can’t afford a ticket. Slow it down.'”
Sometimes, mercy triumphs over the law. According to the law of God, we all deserve God’s judgment. However, in Christ Jesus we receive mercy and we are prompted by the Holy Spirit to live a life pleasing to God.
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