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Today's Little Lift
by Jim Bullington
How should the fact that Mercy Triumphs Over Judgment affect how I as a believer feel about the final judgment? Should I take comfort from the fact that there are certain principles of mercy that will be taken into consideration concerning my final destiny? Or, should I be fearful that God’s final verdict will be an unfavorable one and I will be consigned to the same destiny as unbelievers? As was expressed in the previous article, it is my conviction that God does not want believers to be fearful or pensive regarding our eternal estate. In support of this conviction, I introduced a passage from Peter’s pen; we continue our review of this passage today.
“Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 1.10-11; emphasis mine, jb). While it is true that none shall have earned this entrance, it is also true that all the faithful have been promised it! This does not give me the right to gloat or boast about this fate; rather, just the opposite is true. Were it not for mercy and grace (two things which by definition I cannot earn or deserve), my fate would be sealed with the rest of lost humanity. My salvation is not of my own doing; rather I have to do what God says to receive it. If there is any boasting to be done, just as Paul said, “God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” (Galatians 6.14).
Mercy is never deserved; that’s what makes it mercy. I think there are professed believers which I have known who have prided themselves in not “cutting anyone any slack.” Even in matters of opinion or in issues that deserve careful and deliberate study, they have seemed to make no difference in their harsh and unyielding posture. This is not to say that the truth could not be known in such issues, but surely there must be a maturing process that takes place as a babe in Christ grows to spiritual maturity. Some truths are certainly more easily discovered than others and where this is the case, it seems to me that there has to be room for others to grow and reach biblical conclusions as opposed to demanding that they reach these more difficult and obscure conclusions almost as soon as they come up out of the waters of baptism. Mercy has to have a place in my life as a mature believer when dealing with others concerning such matters.
Peter’s comments about an abundant entrance into the everlasting kingdom also make me realize that God accounts for my need for study and growth. He knows that I cannot know everything today that I can know tomorrow. If He holds me accountable for the same level of knowledge today as He will tomorrow, I am doomed. On the other hand, if He reckons my need for time to grow as a believer and to become seasoned such that even the more difficult decisions become relatively easy, then grace and mercy truly come into play. Again, it is not that I deserve these (grace and mercy); it is just that it is His nature to wish to extend them to me so that I can stand before Him in justified innocence.
An abundant entrance is what God grants. We, on the other hand, when we become harsh and doctrinally demanding (requiring doctrinal purity without regards to maturity) shut up the doors to the kingdom just as surely as did the self righteous hypocrites of Matthew 23.13. The way is strait, but it is not impossible! Rather, God encourages us to understand that Mercy Triumphs Over Judgment!
Questions:
1. Why did we say that neither mercy nor grace can be earned?
2. What place does time and spiritual maturity have in our abilities to make sound decisions regarding biblical matters? All other things being equal, would a believer of 6 months be expected to make as decisions equal in soundness with those made by a believer of 25 years? Why or why not?
3. Will God demand as much of me today as He will tomorrow? Why or why not?
4. When we robe ourselves in the garb of self-righteousness and become totally inflexible in how we treat other believers (regardless of their level of maturity), how do we shut up the kingdom of God? How much mercy do you think we extend to others when we act in this manner? How much mercy can we expect to receive when we act in this manner? Do we need mercy?
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