Tag Archives: mercy

The Bible wasn’t written to tell God what he has to do

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gavelAs we continue talking about baptism (I’ll get back to Acts 2:38), there is something important that needs to be said. The Bible wasn’t written to tell God what he has to do. Whether it’s about salvation, end times, heaven/hell, or the sun rising in the east, God continues to be God.

Specifically, God will have mercy on whom he chooses to have mercy. He will have compassion on whom he will have compassion. When someone asks, “Can a person in ___ condition be saved?”, answer is always yes. They can be saved. God is still God.

God has revealed to us that he cannot lie. He also does not change. But he does “repent” from punishment. It’s the story of the book of Jonah. He also forgives sin when the heart is right. Isn’t that the story of Aaron’s sons Eleazar and Ithamar? God can accept those who don’t meet all the requirements, like when David ate the showbread or when Hezekiah prayed for the people who weren’t ritually clean and God allowed them to participate in the Passover.

We need to remember how God described himself in Exodus 34:

“The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.” (Exodus 34:6–7)

Slow to anger. Quick to forgive.

And also a God who punishes. Even as we recognize the right people have to throw themselves on God’s mercy, we have no right to preach the exceptions. Jonah preached doom in Nineveh, despite being convinced that God would show mercy. We don’t get to decide when God will extend mercy beyond what he has revealed. God retains that right. Will he do it at times? Most probably. But only when he chooses; not when I choose.

The Bible wasn’t written to tell God what he has to do. Human logic doesn’t have that power either. In the end, we have to let God be God.

Ticking Time Bomb

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You may remember the old television show M*A*S*H, the show about a group of doctors during the Korean War. One of my favorite episodes involves a bomb that falls into the camp and fails to detonate. As luck would have it, the bomb is an American bomb. The doctors take it on themselves to defuse the bomb, following instructions from a manual. Two doctors work on the bomb while their colonel reads the instructions from a safe distance. At one point the colonel reads, “Carefully cut the wires leading to the clockwork fuse at the head,” and the doctors do as instructed. The colonel continues reading: “But first remove the fuse,” and the doctors look at one another in shock, realizing that they have failed in their efforts to carefully follow the instructions. They quickly verify that the bomb has indeed been activated (don’t worry; it turned out to be a propaganda bomb and merely rained pamphlets on the compound).

Some people see God that way, don’t they? You can be trying to follow instructions, meticulously observing each detail, but you miss one item and KABOOM! Say the wrong words, make the wrong gesture, or fail to notice one small command and your salvation blows up in your face.

These people see God as a ticking bomb and the Scriptures are our manual for defusing that bomb. The Bible becomes “God’s little rule book” whose only purpose is to keep us from being blown up.

Is that our God? Is He a God who spends His time looking for reasons to punish or is He a God who looks for chances to save?

The overwhelming testimony of Scripture is that God is a gracious, forgiving God, slow to anger and quick to forgive (Exodus 34:6-7). He is a holy God in whose presence sin cannot enter. He is a just God, who will punish evil. But His overwhelming desire is that men be saved (1 Timothy 2:4).

We should respect God’s holiness, but we should also trust in His love, His mercy and His grace. “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” (1 John 4:18)

New every morning

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1120444_dont_let_her_fall_she_is_so_fragile___Thinking about new years and how much people like new things, this passage came to mind:

“The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”” (Lamentaciones 3:22-24)

It’s just about the only hopeful passage in all of Lamentations. A disaster has occurred: the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple. The writer sees death and destruction all around him; surrounded by suffering, he knows that God is punishing his people. Yet he also knows that God is merciful and forgiving. He clings to the fact that God doesn’t get tired of forgiving; his mercies are new every morning. They don’t run out, they never come to an end. Every day God has brand new grace to offer.

We don’t have to ask ourselves, “How can God forgive me again?” His mercies are new every morning. Yesterday’s forgiveness was applied to yesterday’s sins; the grace extended to today’s sins is new.

That’s good news.

The verse Jesus recommended twice

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“Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Matthew 9:13)

And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless.” (Matthew 12:7)

Maybe it’s a coincidence, but Jesus twice told people that they needed to learn the meaning of Hosea 6:6.

Let’s say it’s not a coincidence. What do you think is so important about this verse that would make Jesus quote it twice?