Love and mercy provide the impetus for God’s plan, which offers salvation, for starters, followed by provisions for living. The key solution for sin lies in the operation of love and mercy, which leads to our forgiveness and an ability to associate with a holy God. We are forgiven initially at salvation, which qualifies us for eternal life, and then we are given a way to receive forgiveness repeatedly in life, so that we can walk in fellowship with God, and in the bounty of His blessings.
By being forgiven for the sins we inevitably commit in our daily lives, we are able to participate in God’s gracious love and mercy, which allows Him to perform His work through us. We will study this topic in much more detail, but first we must understand that the source for all forgiveness is God’s love, expressed toward us as mercy. We will allow the space here for a rather long passage that describes God’s mercy at work. This passage appears in Eph. 2:4-10, which says the following:
"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. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."
Who does the work at salvation? God. And who does the “good works” that God prepared in advance for us to do? As we have begun to see, it is God. We do not earn God’s grace and kindness, not when we are saved, and not now as believers. God’s view of us comes through the prism of His Son, who wipes us clean to make us presentable to the Father.
Ps. 33:18 says, “But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love.” God looks favorably toward us when we trust and acknowledge Him, and when we attach our hope to His love. We can have confidence in God’s love. Ps. 33:22 adds, “May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in you.” Our understanding of this love will be the basis for embracing the techniques that are now waiting for us in the wings. These will show us how to bring God’s forgiveness, power, and provision into our lives.
Love is the prompt for mercy, which generates conditions for the forgiveness of our sins. In the next chapter we will look deeper into the treasure chest of God’s love, as we examine the first technique. We will discover that grace works for us when we expose our souls to His mercy, following a simple, though exact, protocol.
God loves us, and therefore He has provided a way for us to deal with sin. Even when we fail, we can keep God’s grace-line open, as we shall see.
By being forgiven for the sins we inevitably commit in our daily lives, we are able to participate in God’s gracious love and mercy, which allows Him to perform His work through us. We will study this topic in much more detail, but first we must understand that the source for all forgiveness is God’s love, expressed toward us as mercy. We will allow the space here for a rather long passage that describes God’s mercy at work. This passage appears in Eph. 2:4-10, which says the following:
"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. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."
Who does the work at salvation? God. And who does the “good works” that God prepared in advance for us to do? As we have begun to see, it is God. We do not earn God’s grace and kindness, not when we are saved, and not now as believers. God’s view of us comes through the prism of His Son, who wipes us clean to make us presentable to the Father.
Ps. 33:18 says, “But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love.” God looks favorably toward us when we trust and acknowledge Him, and when we attach our hope to His love. We can have confidence in God’s love. Ps. 33:22 adds, “May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in you.” Our understanding of this love will be the basis for embracing the techniques that are now waiting for us in the wings. These will show us how to bring God’s forgiveness, power, and provision into our lives.
Love is the prompt for mercy, which generates conditions for the forgiveness of our sins. In the next chapter we will look deeper into the treasure chest of God’s love, as we examine the first technique. We will discover that grace works for us when we expose our souls to His mercy, following a simple, though exact, protocol.
God loves us, and therefore He has provided a way for us to deal with sin. Even when we fail, we can keep God’s grace-line open, as we shall see.
RSS Feed