Mercy and Judgment
Precious Promise Boxes!
Have you ever used one? It
is really neat to take out a card each day that contains a precious promise and
dwell upon it all day. The promises of God are many and sweet, and God’s
children have every right, yea! a duty, to expect Him to fulfill all that He has
guaranteed in His Holy Word. There are some problems with the promises as they
come forth from the Precious Promise Box. The Scriptures quoted are usually not
read in context, because there is only one verse printed on each card, so the
intended meaning is not always clear. Also, one finds only the positive and
pleasant side of God's Word placed in these boxes. This often results in a
faulty concept of Bible truth, and could possibly be carried so far as to lead
to a false sense of security.
Therefore, I would suggest that
equal time be given to what might be called the Precious Obligation Box.
This box would contain the balancing obligation for each promise
so that we do not fall for the popular idea prevalent in the preaching in some
quarters of the Church that you can have the Crown without the Cross.
Take for example the precious
promise card that quotes Mat 5:7 Blessed
are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. This is a
wonderful promise of God, and one that I pray will be appropriated by every
reader of this article in the Trumpeter and one that will be fulfilled in their
life on earth and perfected in glory. But
search as I may, I cannot find in my Precious Promise Box any quote on the very
relevant portion of Scripture that deals with the same subject in my promise
box. I refer to James 2:13 which promises
us that he shall have judgment without mercy,
that hath showed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.
It is one thing to know that God is merciful. It is quite another to know how
this mercy is applicable to you personally in your particular relationship with
Him. It is also important to know under what conditions (yes Alice, there
are conditions) God is justified in granting His mercy. With so much riding on
such promises, we should spend some quality time looking deeper into such
verses.
If we look just below the surface of Mt.
5:7, we will find the very same truth that James is speaking about,
and anyone who reads it with care will realize that to receive mercy, one
must be merciful. It is similar to the concept found in Matthew
6:15 when the Lord declares that ... if
ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your
trespasses. Another verse for our Precious Obligation Box! How
often do we fail to make this Biblical connection between God's mercy towards us
and our own merciful attitude toward our brothers and sisters in the Church?
Yea, and beyond the Church to those who are in the world.
Another thought comes to me. It is that even God Himself
is limited concerning the granting of mercy! This idea is expressed clearly in Rom
3:26 To declare, I say, at this time
his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which
believeth in Jesus. The limitation is not due to any lack in His power
to do mercy. Nor is it due to any
lack of desire on His part to be merciful. The limitation (if we
can call it that) concerns His own
attributes as God. To put it bluntly, God can only be merciful if He can be
so righteously! This strikes at the heart of any concept we may have of God
that does not put things in proper order.
To illustrate this point, let me use another often
misunderstood virtue; love. We
may say for instance that "God is Love"
and we would be right because John tells us so twice, once in I
John 4:6, and again in verse 16.
But we must understand at the same time that even love is subordinate to the
holiness of God. We may indeed say, “God is love”, but we may not reverse it
and say “Love is God!” This has been one of the errors of the modern shallow
evangelism. In the Gospels there is a man that came under the very love of
Jesus. One would think that if love were the greatest power, then one whom Jesus
loved would reap the benefits of His power to save. But what saith the
Scripture? Then Jesus beholding him loved him,
and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou
hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come,
take up the cross, and follow me. And he (the rich man) was sad at that saying,
and went away grieved: for he had great possessions. Mark
10:21,22 Do not overlook the fact that Jesus loved this man, and that
the Greek text tells us it was with AGAPE
love. And yet it was not efficacious for him. It did not save him. This should
not surprise us. Even the most
famous and well known verse in the Bible, John
3:16 would be of no avail to us if it ended with "world".
For then, it would merely tell us that God had a love for the world. But thanks
be to God the motive of love is followed by the action
of sending His Son and the requirement to believe the Gospel.
Just so, when you study the idea of "mercy" through the Bible, you find that it is closely connected to justice, and righteousness, and even judgment if you will. This is the significance of the Romans passage above. God, if He is to be true to Himself, must not only be the Justifier, but at the same time He must be Just! Mercy and Judgment go hand in hand and rest upon the foundation of Righteousness. If God could have justified sinners without adequate propitiation, i.e. “satisfaction of His Holy indignation and wrath at sin” then there would have been no need for Him to sacrifice His Son, and to do so would have been one of most outrageous miscarriages of justice from all eternity. But, if, on the other hand, the holiness of God does indeed requires satisfaction, but God arbitrarily decides to waive that requirement for certain ones, then He would rightly be subject to the charge of being (God Forbid!), unjust! Thus it is that Romans 3:23-26 sets us straight about what it took to justify sinners. It took the life of the Lord Jesus. This is why God is not only able to justify us, but is able at the same time to remain Just.
Now I begin to see something important in James letter. He is telling me two things. First, that I am required to act as God would act in granting mercy. But second, and this is extremely important for those of us who have found Grace in His sight, that mercy rejoiceth against judgment! Perhaps a clearer meaning of the Greek in this verse is found in the New International Version or the New King James Version, both of which translate it as "Triumphs over judgment”. My excitement grows! If I show mercy instead of judgment toward those whom I perhaps have a valid and sufficient reason to condemn, then He will see to it that the mercy which I do not deserve will take precedence over the judgment which I do deserve when I stand before Him. Amazing Grace and Love indeed!
Beloved, do not underestimate
your obligation to show forgiveness, love and mercy. And do not overestimate your own standing in the promises of
God. It is good and proper that you
know for sure that you are saved. It is not good when you forget who you once
were, and what you were saved from. It is within your rights also to boast in
the Lord over the fact that He has redeemed you. But remember that He
also requires that you be holy as He is holy.
Multitudinous Blessings Upon
You in Jesus Name.
Hayden
Romans 3:23-26 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
I
Peter 1:15-17a But
just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written:
"Be holy, because I am holy."Since you call on a Father who judges
each man's work impartially. (NIV)
Lev. 11:45 For I am the LORD that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.