SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/6/2020
9:37 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
PT-2 “Mercy and Justice”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Matthew 5:7
Message of the
verse: “’Happy
are the merciful, for they will have mercy shown to them!’”
We will continue to look at the
relationship that mercy and justice have together in this SD. We have to have the right view of mercy when
it comes to God’s mercy and in the Word of God there are some examples of mercy
that ignores sin which is actually false mercy.
One of the first examples comes from 1 Samuel where we read about Saul
having a job to do for the Lord, but he changes what the Lord, through Samuel
told him to do. Saul showed false mercy
to King Agag and did not kill him as the Lord instructed him to do and this is
an example of false mercy. David did a
similar thing when he showed false mercy to his rebellious son Absalom when
Absalom was young. David should have
dealt with Absalom’s sin early on but he showed false mercy to him and in the
end it cost him men and also humiliation as Absalom tried to take over David’s
kingdom.
In our day today we also see this
sort of false mercy, as it is common today.
It is thought of unloving or unkind to hold people responsible for their
sins, however that is a cheap grace that is not just and is not merciful as
this offers neither punishment nor pardon for sin. Because it is mercy that overlooks sin, it
leaves sin; and the one who relies on that sort of mercy is left in his
sin. MacArthur writes “To cancel justice
is to cancel mercy. To ignore sin is to
deny the truth; and mercy and truth are inseparable, they ‘are met together’ (Ps.
85:10 KJV). In every true act of mercy, someone
pays the price. God did, the Good
Samaritan did, and so do we. To be
merciful is to bear the load for someone else.”
We cannot expect to enter the sphere
of God’s mercy without repenting from our sin for that is only wishful
thinking. The church cannot hope of God’s
mercy apart from repentance from sin for that is to offer false hope through a
false gospel. MacArthur adds “God offers
nothing but merciless judgment to those who will not turn from their sin to the
Savior.” We cannot rely on good works
nor can we rely on God’s overlooking sin for that will not bring salvation as
we mentioned above that is a false gospel.
We cannot rely on trusting in personal goodness, for that is what the
Pharisees did and that too was wrong.
The ones who do not come to God on His terms have no claim on His mercy,
after all God is God and we are not.
God’s mercy is not only grounded in
His love, but also in His justice. It is
grounded in Christ’s atoning blood, and not in sentiment, for His blood paid
the penalty for and also cleanses from sin the ones who believe in Him. Without being punished and removed, even the
least of our sin would eternally separate us from God.
Gospel means “good news” and the
good news of the gospel is that Christ paid the penalty for all sins in order
that God might be merciful to all sinners.
It was on the cross that Jesus satisfied God’s justice, and when a
person trusts in that satisfying sacrifice God opens the floodgates of
mercy. MacArthur adds “The good news of
the gospel is not that God winked at justice, glossed over sin, and compromised
righteousness. The good news is that in
the shedding of Christ’s blood justice was satisfied, sin was forgiven,
righteousness was fulfilled, and mercy was made available. There is never an excuse for sin, but always
a remedy.
“Mercy, therefore, is more than
forgiveness and less than love. It is
different from grace and is one with justice.
And what is true of God’s mercy should be true of ours.”
It seems strange, but perhaps not
really strange as I have been studying over some of my older Spiritual Diaries
from the book of Genesis and today I was looking at how Abraham rescued his
selfish nephew Lot from Chedorlaomer and his allies. This was an act of mercy by Abraham for
Lot. Another example is what happened to
Joseph as he forgave his brothers and also provided them with food for their
families. Mercy also led Moses to plead
with the Lord to remove the leprosy that his sister Miriam had been punished
with. Mercy led David to spare the life
of Saul and this happened more than one time.
Spiritual
meaning for my life today: I am
thankful to the Lord for learning the meaning of mercy in a more inclusive way,
and pray that because God has given me mercy that I will be merciful to others.
My Steps of Faith for Today: I certainly desire
to understand more about mercy and also the other beatitudes that I am studying
and to allow the Lord to use them in my life.
I also desire to be more content, to learn more about humility and live
in humility and to have joy as I study God’s Word each day.
5/6/2020 10:15
AM
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