(All scripture from the World English Bible, ebible.org, all rights reserved)
““‘For the Lord Yahweh says: “Behold, I myself, even I, will search for my sheep, and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered abroad, so I will seek out my sheep. I will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. I will bring them out from the peoples, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the watercourses, and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them with good pasture, and their fold will be on the mountains of the height of Israel. There they will lie down in a good fold. They will feed on rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will cause them to lie down,” says the Lord Yahweh. “I will seek that which was lost, and will bring back that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick; but I will destroy the fat and the strong. I will feed them in justice.”’”
(Ezekiel 34:11-16)
“Answer me when I call, God of my righteousness.
Give me relief from my distress.
Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer.
You sons of men, how long shall my glory be turned into dishonor?
Will you love vanity and seek after falsehood? Selah.
But know that Yahweh has set apart for himself him who is godly;
Yahweh will hear when I call to him.
Stand in awe, and don’t sin.
Search your own heart on your bed, and be still. Selah.
Offer the sacrifices of righteousness.
Put your trust in Yahweh.”
(Psalm 4:1-5)
“But you, beloved, keep building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in God’s love, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. On some have compassion, making a distinction, and some save, snatching them out of the fire with fear, hating even the clothing stained by the flesh. Now to him who is able to keep them from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory in great joy, to God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.”
(Jude 1:20-25)
God wanted (and still wants) humanity aligned with Him. In relationship with Him. We can’t do it on our own. Never could. Never will. He had a Way for them to learn how. The Law. It showed you can’t do it on your own perfectly. Ever. It gave a provision to cover Sin and iniquity until God dealt with Sin period. Good system. God taught it to His people. He encouraged them to follow it. Eventually, most of them refused. They put their own ideas in. They led other people into a different way of ‘saving’ themselves. It didn’t work, but that didn’t stop them. And God had enough. He declared that HE would do it. It was always the plan, but He really let them know that since He couldn’t trust humanity to follow the example of salvation, He would save them Himself. He would do it. He wouldn’t let them remain lost and floundering. He would save them.
God is the only one who can save us. The only one who can deal with Sin. The only one that can declare us righteous. We can’t do it. We fail miserably. No matter how good we are as people, how loving, caring, compassionate, giving, and pleasant. We can’t be perfect. We just can’t. So He is perfect FOR us. Jesus came to be the perfect one in order to pay the price. To abolish Sin so that God could save us. Provide a Way that doesn’t need daily sacrifice, just daily surrender. A Way that focuses on our SPIRITUAL life first, so that we can handle everything else that comes our way. A Way that lets Jesus live through us. Hearing our prayers. Coming to our rescue. Saving us so that we can trust in Him.
We need to keep our eyes on Him. If we call, He WILL answer. If we seek, we WILL find. If we keep Jesus and what He did for us front and centre of our lives, we’ll stay resting in Him. We won’t try to get out and go our own way. When we focus on Him it helps us rest in Him. That’s how we get declared righteous. By trusting in Him. By relying on Him. By listening to Him and being obedient to what we hear. Letting Him save us and relying on that salvation. Receiving the mercy our loving God is holding out to us.
Summary
Grace is receiving what someone else deserves. Mercy is NOT receiving what WE deserve. Grace means we get what Jesus deserved. Jesus ran the race perfectly. We get the result of that. He ran, we get the medal. That’s grace. Grace doesn’t mean we have a ticket to sin. Because to receive grace, we have to rest in Him. Receive Him and let Him be our Lord. He becomes our Source. He becomes our guide. He calls the shots. He corrects us. We make His moral character our moral character. We choose that enough, and it becomes habit. To think like Him – the Word shows us how. To say what He says to us. To do what He shows us. To receive correction. To walk out what we find in the Word in obedience. Grace isn’t a license to sin more so that we can receive more grace. Grace is a journey where we realize the mercy we have been shown and we alter our behaviour to emulate Jesus’ own behaviour more and more every day out of love, gratitude, and thankfulness for the mercy. And the grace. It turns us toward Him and away from sin. It restores our relationship with God.
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