A Truth to Believe

What does it mean that God is Gracious and Merciful?

God overflows in grace and mercy (Exod. 34:6; John 1:14; Rom. 1:7; Heb. 2:17) for the praise of his own glory (2 Cor. 4:15; Eph. 1:6; 2 Thess. 1:12). Truly, he is the "God of all grace" (1 Pet. 5:10) who is "rich in mercy" (Eph. 2:4). God's mercy and grace reveal his generous heart toward undeserving sinners. In his mercy, he withholds the judgment we deserve, and in his grace, he freely gives the blessings we do not deserve. Together, they display his abundant kindness, compassion, and ongoing, enabling help in the lives of his people.

God's mercy is his compassionate withholding of the judgment our sins deserve (Heb. 8:12). It is closely connected to his tenderness (Luke 1:78), forgiveness, and slowness to anger (Neh. 9:17), and he freely bestows it according to his own sovereign will (Exod. 33:19). God's mercy is his undeserved kindness toward guilty sinners. Because God is merciful, he does not deal with us according to our sins but grants forgiveness, new life, and salvation through Jesus Christ (Eph. 2:4–5; 1 Pet. 1:3). His mercy is seen throughout Scripture in his covenant faithfulness and preserving care (Deut. 4:31), his restoration of his people (Deut. 30:3), his forgiveness (Neh. 9:17), his continual presence (Neh. 9:19), his saving deliverance (Neh. 9:27–28), his blotting out of transgressions (Ps. 51:1), his abundant love (Ps. 145:8), his relenting from judgment (Jer. 3:12), and his making sinners his own people (1 Pet. 2:10). Everywhere God's mercy is displayed, sinners receive compassion instead of condemnation.

God's grace is his generous giving of blessings we could never earn or deserve (Eph. 2:8). It is closely related to his kindness (Eph. 2:7), compassion (Neh. 9:31), and saving work (Eph. 2:5), and, like his mercy, it is given freely according to his sovereign pleasure (Exod. 33:19). God's grace is his undeserved favor toward the undeserving (Rom. 11:5–6), but it is also his ongoing power at work within his people (2 Cor. 12:9; 1 Cor. 15:10). By his grace he relieves the afflicted (Ps. 4:1), heals the weak (Ps. 6:2), hears the cries of his people (Ps. 9:13; 27:7), delivers and rescues them (Ps. 25:16; 31:9, 15), redeems them (Ps. 26:11), blesses them (Ps. 67:1), strengthens and saves them (Ps. 86:16), forgives their sins (Eph. 1:7), and gives them eternal comfort and hope (2 Thess. 2:16). God's grace not only saves his people but also sustains them every day.

At the center of God being gracious and merciful, is his gift of salvation in and through Jesus Christ (Rom. 3:24; Acts 15:11; Rom. 5:15). Though we deserve only God's righteous wrath, God, in his mercy, withholds the judgment we deserve, and, in his grace, freely grants the forgiveness, righteousness, and eternal life we do not deserve (2 Cor. 8:9). Through Christ, believers become the joyful recipients of "the riches of his grace" (Eph. 1:7) and his "abundant mercy" (1 Pet. 1:3) while being witnesses to the "gospel of the grace of God" (Acts 20:24). Yet God's purpose extends beyond our salvation. As his grace reaches more and more people, thanksgiving multiplies and glory returns to him, "so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God" (2 Cor. 4:15).

But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness (Psalm 86:15)

Something about Living

Psalm 124:8 recently struck us as we read through the Psalms of Ascent.

Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.

As believers in Christ, have you ever stopped to dwell on who it is that actually helps us?

Our ultimate help does not come from a book, a teacher, or a counselor. It does not come from idols made of wood or stone. It does not come from myths, legends, or stories imagined by men.

Our help comes from the LORD––the One who created heaven and earth.

Stop and linger in that reality.

God, the creator of all things––galaxies, oceans, mountains, cells, and every living thing is the very One who, in his mercy and grace, comes to the aid of his people.

What could be better?

Whose help could be more precious? Who could offer greater assistance than the God who spoke the universe into existence and now upholds it by the word of his power?

The God of the universe helps his children. If you belong to Christ, he is helping you.

I don't know about you, but I wish I lived as though that reality were always true. Such a reality should make us bolder, braver, more willing to take risks for Christ, less fretful about the future, and more steadfast in the face of hardship.

The King of heaven and earth is on our side. There ain't much better news than that.

A Quote

"Not once are we told that God is 'provoked to love' or 'provoked to mercy.' His anger requires provocation; his mercy is pent up, ready to gush forth."

Dane Ortlund

A Resource

Although we talk often about God's grace as his unmerited favor, we don't often speak about God's grace as his enabling power in the life of a believer.

John Piper writes at length about this wonderful reality in his book Future Grace.

If you have never read it, I encourage you to pull up a chair and dig in.