Only By His Mercy

“For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy” (Rom. 9:15:16). I have to once again resort to one of my favorite phrases in trying to describe the blessedness of obtaining mercy from God: It simply is the grandest of all privileges. I didn’t just decide I was going to devote my life to the Lord a good number of years ago. He did the deciding and I just went along for the ride. And what a glorious ride it has been! Not without it’s difficulties, hardships, and adversities; but glorious nonetheless. In fact it has been the hard times, and the marvelous grace that he has allotted to me to endure those times, that has given me the unshakable solidity of his love, peace, and faith that dwells in me this day. No my friend, none of us have willed ourselves, or could will ourselves to experience the untold glory of the love of God. Jesus said to those who followed him on earth, “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain" (Jn. 15:16). He made the same point again in another place: "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him" (Jn. 6:44). Only by faith in Jesus are we able to come into the divinely given new birth experience, and the apostle Paul made it crystal clear that we cannot just decide that we’re going to have that faith: "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God" (Eph. 2:8). He confirmed this reality once again, by saying, "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure" (Philip. 2:13).

This understanding could be mistaken to mean that some folks are just left out. But let’s temper this knowledge with a few scriptures that give us a fuller picture: "I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;… For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth" ( I Tim. 2:1,3,4). The beloved apostle echoed this truth, saying: "And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (I Jn. 2:2). Same with Peter: “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance" (II Pet. 3:9). So yes, it is only by the kindness and mercy of God that anyone can come to him and believe, but according to the preceding scriptures there is no doubt that it is God’s will for everyone to go that route. Friend, if you have not been baptized by Jesus with his Spirit, don’t let the opportunity for that grandest of all privileges pass you by. For, "If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his" (Rom. 8:9). If you have obtained mercy to experience the new birth [the Spirit baptism], understand that it takes continued mercy to endure in true holiness to be saved in the end (Mat. 24:12,13). So how do we continue to obtain that mercy? "Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy" (Mat. 5:7). And if we do not learn to be merciful? "Well; because of unbelief they [the Jews] were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off" (Rom. 11:20-22). So then, we see that the mercy of God is a wonderful thing, and a fearful thing as well. Amen.