Objects of Mercy

[dave c]

simpletruth #138n Revisited 29May10 salicart@msn.com

HOSEA 10:12—Part Fourteen: Objects Of Mercy

by rev. dave c

Hosea 10:12, Sow for yourselves righteousness; Reap in mercy; Break up your fallow ground, For it is time to seek the LORD, Till He comes and rains righteousness on you (NKJV).

In Part Thirteen we began to discuss the subject of God’s mercy as described in Romans 9:13-23. Through the centuries, this group of passages have spawned a great deal of disagreement within the Church. At stake are several core issues regarding receiving and retaining salvation. As we read these verses we come face to face with God’s divine grace and mercy in one hand—election and predestination in the other. Is salvation open to anyone and everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord, or only to God’s chosen...His elect? Do we really have freewill if we are individually, or as a group, predestined for either salvation or destruction? If I have received spiritual rebirth, if I have been born again, is it possible for me to lose my salvation...to fall from God’s grace?

If we first understand that God is sovereign...that He is in ultimate and absolute control of all that exists and all that transpires...and that He is The God of Justice and Judgment, it may be useful to examine what the word “mercy” means. While Pastor Adrian Rogers provides a useful working definition of grace and mercy (“Grace is getting what we don’t deserve—Mercy is not getting what we do deserve.”), according to the Micro$oft Encarta World English Dictionary 2002, mercy is defined as: 1. compassion: kindness or forgiveness shown to an offender or to somebody a person has power over [The judge showed mercy and imposed the shortest sentence he could.] 2. compassionate disposition: a disposition to be compassionate or forgiving of others [a killer completely without mercy.] 3. something to be thankful for: a welcome event or situation that provides relief or prevents something unpleasant from happening [It was mercy that no one was hurt in the accident.] 4. easing of distress: the easing of distress or pain [The supply convoy was on a mission of mercy.]

After the sovereignty of God, the second absolute reality that we must understand and accept is that of the utter sinfulness and depravity of unregenerate humanity. Paul in Romans 3:10-12 makes this perfectly clear, As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one (NIV)." In James 1:13-15 we are told, When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death (NIV). Other than Jesus, sin has given birth to death in every human being who has ever existed (with the possible exceptions of Enoch in Ge 5:24 and Elijah in 2Ki 2:11, whom God may have taken out of the earth without dying and to His purposes), because...all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Ro 3:23, NIV).

The real question is not, “How can a good God say, ‘I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion’ (Ro 9:15; NIV)”—the question is, “Why would a God who holds the very definition of righteousness within His person, choose to save anyone through the redemptive death of His Son, Jesus Christ?” The answer is, of course, ...because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins (1Jn 4:8-10; NIV).

Paul tells you and me in Ephesians 2:1-5: As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved (NIV). If you have been redeemed...if you are born again...if you are a new creation through the desire of the Father, the work of Jesus Christ upon the Cross, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit within your person—be grateful that God has chosen you to mold into an object of His mercy. As a pastor exclaimed some years back, “Unlike sports in my youth, God chose me to be on His team…and I wasn’t the last person on the list! And He chose you! The Lord has chosen us to be on His team! Isn’t that great news?”

If you are still an object of His wrath, if you know that you are lost and you’re tired of the struggle, kneel down to Him and ask Jesus to forgive you. Turn your life over to Him and receive Christ into your life as your personal Savior and Lord. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. Cry out, "Save [me], O God [my] Savior; gather [me] and deliver [me] (1Ch 16:34&35, NIV). He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing (Ze 3:17; NIV). "May the LORD, who is good, pardon everyone who sets his heart on seeking God--the LORD, the God of his fathers--even if he is not clean according to the rules of the sanctuary." And the LORD heard Hezekiah and healed the people (2Ch 30:18-20; NIV). Amen.