Mercy, Grace & Faith

The doctrine of mercy has totally changed my life. It is absolutely awesome to know that God has outlined specifics that we may walk in all that Jesus is. Let us do a quick review to understand both grace and mercy in the lives of the sons of God.

WHAT IS MERCY?

Mercy is God’s unmerited favor, however, in the new covenant, it can be uniquely applied to the church. The Church is the only race on the planet that has the Holy Spirit. Hence a special form of mercy can be applied to them. Mercy for the church is the right to continue in the life of Christ. The Holy Spirit is the life of Christ; hence, when God gives us mercy, He has approved us to retain the Holy Spirit.

In addition to this, there are certain things that having the Holy Spirit gives you access to. These things can only be found in or produced by the Holy Spirit. The primary thing the Holy Spirit gives us access to is holiness, nevertheless there are many others.

For example, the power of God to work miracles, the strength to endure intense trials, the wisdom and knowledge to understand the scriptures, and to apply them to our situations. These are all features or gifts of the Holy Spirit. Nevertheless, having the Holy Spirit does not mean that you will necessarily operate in the things listed above. No, you must be approved to operate in them. Hence, God in his mercy will grant unto us the right or the approval to continue not only in Christ, but in all that Christ is. If we are prayerful before Him with the right heart posture, God will hear us, and grant us the mercy we need to walk in Christ. When He grants us mercy, He has found us acceptable, and has decided to use us. He then agrees that it is good for us to have whatever we need to walk in the life of Christ - whether it is strength, power, authority, peace, love, health, you name it. It is important to note however, that mercy is merely the approval for these things. Mercy is when God says, “Ok, you get to experience Christ”.

Summary Scripture:

Ephesians 2:8

8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God

WHAT IS GRACE?

Many know grace to simply be the undeserving love that God has shown to all mankind. This grace has brought us to God and allowed us to be saved from our sins. It was by the grace and mercy of God that Jesus died for us, while we were undeserving enemies. However, there is an element of grace that many have missed. Not only was the death of Christ considered grace, but so was His resurrection. Jesus’ resurrection allowed Him to live forever in the form of a spirit. He is the Holy Spirit, however, Paul used a unique name to describe who He is.

Hebrews 10:29

29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?

Apparently, sin does despite to the Spirit of Grace. Grace then cannot be a blanket covering for sin, as he said in Roman 6:1-2, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” Jesus is the Spirit of Grace. Thus, Grace is the Holy Spirit and the activities performed by the Holy Spirit. He can be called grace because we do not deserve or earn anything He does to us or for us. But His great love for us causes Him to do it anyway.

Ephesians 2:4-6

4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,

5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

It is by grace we are saved; however, grace is described here as the power by which we were quickened together with Christ at salvation. It is the power of Grace that did the curious work of salvation, which is the joining of our souls to the Holy Spirit, and the spiritual washing of our bodies. Grace performed the work of salvation. However, there is something that we must consider, look at these two scriptures.

1 Peter 3:7

7 Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.

Romans 5:10

10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

We are saved by grace and grace is the life of Christ. Thus grace is what you receive mercy for. Grace is the life of Christ that is manifested through you. However let us look at the word “life”.

LIFE –a living thing and its activities.

Jesus is not only alive in us, but He also has a life. He has activities that He has slated to perform through us. If He is not allowed to perform these activities, even though we may have the Holy Spirit, our souls will not be saved in the end. This life includes the strength of God, the power of God, and all the other things listed above. All the things that we had prayed for mercy for, are answered in Grace. The difference between grace and mercy is that mercy is simply an approval, while grace is what you’ve been approved for. You need mercy to walk in grace. Hence, mercy is the right to continue in the grace of God which is the life of Christ. Many are not aware that Christ has a life to live through them, in fact they limit Christ for various ministry engagements they have. However, Christ will live through us every second, if we allow Him. When we open our eyes, walk, eat, or even breathe, we do so by and because of Christ. He is the Spirit that has our bodies alive, because He is in it.

THE CHRISTIAN FAITH

There is a concept that we must come to terms with if we are going to walk according to the scriptures.

Galatians 2:20

20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Paul here speaks a great mystery. He brings to our attention that the very life He lives every day is actually Christ living through him. When we see Paul and the things he does in a day, we have witnessed the life of Christ. Once again, this is not limited to preaching, teaching and healing the sick, this includes, the times when he was buffeted, stranded, robbed, hungry, and even when He rested and healed from bruises. Every second of his existence was the life of Christ being manifested through him. However, Paul terms it in a peculiar way. He said the life that He lives through the flesh is by the faith of the Son of God. We at Bible Teachers have known for many years now that faith is the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost is the substance or the essential part of those eternal things we hope for as sons of God. He is also the evidence that they exist and that we will receive them. Thus the Holy Ghost is faith, however, we too have faith. Our walk of faith is when we obey the Holy Ghost. There is no greater sign of belief in God than obedience. I mentioned earlier that we received the life of Christ at salvation. When He came, He came with an agenda and a detailed outline of the deeds He desires to do through us. This outline will be different per person, nevertheless, for all it will be a walk of holiness.

This outline includes, the places we go, the jobs we take, and the overall life we live. We commonly call this, the Christian Journey, however, the scripture calls it the Christian Faith. The Christian faith refers to the design and outline that Jesus has for your life. When He comes inside of us, He will begin to lead us and guide us into this plan. This leading is daily, and we have been called to follow His leading. The faith for your day begins from when you open your eyes to begin the day, to when you close them to end the day. Throughout every step of your day, the Holy Spirit will lead and guide you. Obeying His leading is walking in the Christian Faith. So whether He leads you to get ready for work, or to focus on your job, obedience to that faith is essential to being saved in the end. Obedience to the faith is the expression of Christ through us. In many lives, the faith led them to give up jobs and houses to preach the gospel, while in other lives, the faith led them to work and provide for their families. However, the faith leads us all into righteous, holy living. Though Grace is the life of Christ, the faith is the design of that very life. Jesus is sinless, full of faith and is a suffering servant. Nevertheless, when He enters us, He does not necessarily want to do carpentry, He has a new plan for this new man He has entered.

Romans 1:4-5

4 And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:

5 By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:

Paul received grace (the gift of the Holy Ghost) and apostleship (the role the Holy Ghost will perform through Him), for the purpose of obedience to the faith (the Holy Ghost’s outline for Paul’s life). So although Paul is an apostle, this does not mean that He will walk the same walk as other apostles. No, the faith will lead Him according to the purpose of God for His life. Paul’s obedience to the faith will cause Him to be saved in the end.

Acts 16:9

9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us.

Look at how the faith was leading Paul. The Holy Spirit revealed a part of the plan for Paul’s life. It was a part of the plan for Paul to minister in Macedonia and reach the people there. Thus, the faith led Him there through a vision. He had to obey that leading, or He would have lost His soul in the end. Hence, though He was an apostle, even as Peter and John, he was led to Macedonia, while they were not.

THE WALK OF FAITH

2 Corinthians 5:7

7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight)

Every life decision must be according to the leading of the Holy Ghost. We must obey the Faith in all things. The 4th Chapter of Hebrews really teaches this in depth.

Hebrews 3:7-9

7 Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice,

8 Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness:

9 When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years.

Here we receive a promise that every day we will hear the voice of the Lord leading and guiding us according to the faith. Whenever we hear His leading, we are instructed not to harden our hearts, which is to disobey. Here we also see the severity of disobedience to the faith. The Lord likened our daily disobedience to the Holy Spirit to the disobedience of the Children of Israel in the wilderness. Their disobedience was so grave, that God only allowed two (2) people that escaped Egypt to enter into the Promised Land. In fact, He calls it His day of provocation and temptation, when He was provoked and tempted to kill them all in the wilderness.

Hebrews 3:10

10 Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways.

Consider what the Lord is saying.

ERRING IN THE HEART – To error in perception, and to disobey. To think evil and that which is against the commandment of the Lord.

If the Lord is speaking to you there should not be any other reasoning to combat that which He is saying. If there is anything that seems reasonable about disobedience, you have erred in your heart. You have deceived your own self. He continues to say that one who errs in their heart, fails to know the ways of the Lord. The ways of the Lord is not only limited to the principles and character of God, but it also speaks to the direction the Lord was leading you to. For example, the Lord had been leading the way for the Children of Israel, He had been directing their path by cloud and fire. However, when they arrived at the Promised Land, the way of the Lord was to go all the way in and He would have driven the inhabitants out. However, when they refused to go in, they erred in their heart and failed to experience the power of God. If they had obeyed, they would have experienced the power of God in a way they never had, up until that point. Yet because of their disobedience, they chose their own way, which was to stay out of the Promised Land. Likewise for us, whenever we obey the Lord there is something about Himself that He will reveal. We will not know Him if we do not obey Him. Always follow the way (path) He is leading you into, because that path will teach you about God.

Hebrews 3:11

11 So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.

This generation missed the opportunity to not only enter into the promised land, but also into Christ because of their disobedience. Christ is the very rest of God, that we have all been called to enter into. We have entered into the rest of God when we have ceased from our own labours (living our own lives) and in turn Christ lives through us. Hence, when we obey Christ, we are walking in the rest of God, which will feel like peace and love. However, when we disobey, we are returned to our own labours and denied the rest that’s in Christ Jesus.

Hebrews 3:12

12 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.

Faith for the sons of God is obedience to the Holy Spirit, and likewise, unbelief is disobedience. When we disobey, we depart from the way that God was leading us into. Notice that this heart is called evil.

Hebrews 3:13

13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin

Once again, we are reminded that if we should hear His voice today, we ought not harden our hearts, however that hardening is made even clearer now. The hardening of the heart is done by sin (disobedience) and the deceitfulness of it. The deceit arises from the evil counsel that comes with all disobedience. There is a lying spirit that accompanies every sin. That lying spirit seeks to make sin seem as the better choice or most plausible option. However, a decision must first be made to disobey before this counsel can come. Hence, we actually choose to deceive ourselves. Walking in the Faith of Jesus Christ is simply obedience to the Holy Spirit. God has given us the mercy and the grace to walk in His life, however, we must obey to see the power of God released in us. Whatever the Lord is leading you to do today, ensure that you obey, and the God of peace and power will be with you.