Mercy and Grace are two sides of the same coin of God’s Love. Mercy is the act of withholding deserved punishment, while grace is the act of endowing unmerited favour. In His mercy, God does not give us the punishment we deserve, namely hell and eternal death; while in His grace, God gives us the gift we do not deserve, namely heaven and eternal life. To put it in another way, Mercy and grace are closely related. While the terms have similar meanings, grace and mercy are not exactly the same thing. Mercy has to do with kindness and compassion; it is often spoken of in the context of God’s not punishing us as our sins deserve. Grace includes kindness and compassion, but also carries the idea of bestowing a gift or favour. It may help to view mercy as a subset of grace. In Scripture, mercy is often equated with deliverance from judgment. Deuteronomy 4:30–31 “When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the LORD thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice; 31 (For the LORD thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.” Grace is always the extension of a blessing to the unworthy.
Mercy is an essential aspect of God's character. Exodus 34:6 tells us, "God is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness." God's mercy is seen throughout scripture. In the Old Testament, we see God's mercy when he rescues the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. Further, whenever the Israelites sinned and sinned exceedingly, they were punished by God, who gave them in the hands of their enemies. They were put to the severity of oppression and whenever they cried out to the Lord, He came to their rescue. Their sins deserved punishment but God being merciful came to their rescue. In the New Testament, we see God's mercy when he sends his Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins.
God demonstrated his mercy by making us alive in Jesus Christ. Ephesians 2:4-5 says, "But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved." This is the ultimate demonstration of God's mercy. He loved us so much that he sent his Son to die for us, despite our sin and rebellion.
God loves mercy and teaches his followers to be merciful just as God is merciful. In the Sermon on the Mount, given in Mathew, Jesus says, "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy". Jesus goes on to say that we are to forgive others, just as God has forgiven us. When we are merciful to others, we are showing them the same mercy that God has shown us.
An illustration of God’s mercy is found in Matthew 18:23–27. In this parable, Jesus describes a rich ruler who was owed a large sum of money. The ruler ordered that money be collected, but then the debtor came and begged for mercy. The ruler, in turn, graciously forgives the debt. Here’s the point: we owed God a debt we could never repay, and He has freely forgiven us that debt in Christ! God also requires us to be merciful and forgiving to others. Luke 6:36 “Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.
Dr Ashwin Drummond
Laddertoheaven.co.in