A NEW ADVENT APPROACH? PART 2 OF 4: AN ADVENT OF MERCY AND GRACE

"All of Creation Worships"

 What's the difference between mercy and grace? I don't recall who deserves the credit for pointing it out, but mercy is not getting what you deserve and grace is getting what you don't deserve.

Two things are evident when you read the Bible: 1) God is merciful, and 2) God is gracious. Micah 7:18 says "He does not retain anger, because He delights in mercy." We deserve His wrath for how each of us rebels against Him, but He is a God who forgives. We definitely DON'T deserve His goodness, yet He joyfully gives it to those who seek Him.

Jesus' first advent was to die for our sins to save us. Christ's coming was for us to be reconciled with God. 

However, we definitely need an advent today of mercy and grace. We need to ourselves be merciful. As it says in Psalm 18:25, "With the merciful, You will show Yourself merciful." Jesus stated in the Sermon on the Mount, "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy" (Matthew 5:7). 

Likewise, we need to show grace to others. Again on the Mount, Jesus taught, "Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets" (Matthew 7:12). Other religions put it in the negative sense - "Don't do to others what you don't want them to do to you," but that's not grace; that's being civil. Only Christ instructs us to love our enemies, to do good to all (1 Thessalonians 5:15).

How are we doing? Are we tearing others down in theological debates, or are we aware God may overlook imperfect theology (who is perfect anyway)? Are we living out the above for verses with those who are in the other major party than us, or even worse, an advocate for a third party?