23 Pt. 20
”And mercy…” Psalm 23:6
I have often heard it said that grace is God’s unmerited favor and mercy is God’s refusal to give us the punishment we so richly deserve. I have also heard it said that we cannot earn mercy or grace, that they are gifts. The Bible bears this out time and again:
“ For the wages of sin [is] death; but the gift of God [is] eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God:” Eph. 2:8
Still have you ever wondered what motivates God toward mercy? If He is truly merciful then why doesn’t He just save everyone? After all no one is more deserving than anyone else. Romans makes it perfectly clear that we have all fallen too far to be worthy of salvation. So why can some claim to have received mercy while claiming that others have not received it? Does mercy follow everyone or just a certain few?
Tell me what you think!
Lillie-Put 
Well, my understanding is that if they’re gifts, they’re available to everyone–but you have to actively/deliberately “receive” them from Him. The “whosoever” reference.
Yes indeed Sis! It is the place where our personal faith meets God’s sovereign choice.
I think if we have the love of Jesus then it is through that love we are able to extend mercy to others.
Yes indeed!
Now you are getting into ‘predestination, election and the free will of man’ – a complex issue. I have it sorted out in my mind, but also keep my mind open.
I believe (and certainly it was so in my case) that we are all DEAD spiritually, with not one iota of spiritual life. We CANNOT receive the things of the Spirit of God unless He reveals them to us, granting us faith and understanding. Jesus said “You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you”. I certainly believe that Jesus’ finished work at Calvary was sufficient for every person who ever lives, and that God’s love, mercy and grace are available as free gifts to all . . . but Jesus Himself said that no one could come to Him unless the Father draw him John 6:44,65.
Yes and how He manages that drawing of souls is an amazing testament to His inexhaustible power!
The question you posed about mercy intrigued me, so I just read the comments. “Meeting in the clouds” mentioned a couple verses that I have thought about a lot over the years.
“No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day”. John 6:44
“And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.” John 6:65
Then I suddenly remembered this verse:
“And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.” John 12:32
So if we combine those verses should we conclude with this verse below?
“Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.” Romans 5:18
Now I have read about irresistible grace ( the 4th petal in tulip). So is it possible that the Lord’s mercy is both irresistible (unfailing) and infinite (universal)? I suppose if we sincerely believe that, we would need to pluck out the the “L” petal…”Limited Atonement”…I must confess I never thought that one was pretty anyway. 🙂
Yeah I am not a susbscriber to TULIP myself. I know Go draws and I know there is a season of salvation for the soul and then I don’t know how that all works out but I do know that free will is mixed in with sovereign grace there somewhere. I guess that’s what we come to isn’t it? Between extreme sovereignty and extreme Free will there is middle mixture that is a mysterious tension of truth we live with.