Tag: mercy

Enveloped by Grace or Bound by Law

I would much rather be enveloped by grace than be bound by the law. I was thinking about culpability and people who intentionally or unintentionally inflict harm or commit a crime. In the law of man, there’s a term called ‘mens rhea’ which means, in a simplified version, a person with a guilty mind. A person with a guilty mind is one who intentionally commits a crime. They may even plot with friends or family how to carry them out. They are most certainly bound by the law.

Then there are those who do things unintentionally. They are the ones who are enveloped by grace. For example: Let’s look at two driving accidents: Driver One is driving when a pedestrian steps out in front of their car, but they don’t see them until it’s too late to stop. No matter how hard they push their brakes, it is impossible to stop the car and the pedestrian is killed. Driver One would be liable, but most likely only have to pay monetary damages.

Driver Two goes out looking for a certain pedestrian and when they see them; aim their car at them and they kill the pedestrian with malice. They hit their gas pedal instead of their brakes when they see them and then say it was tough luck the pedestrian was on the same road. Driver Two is bound by the law; criminally liable, and will most likely have to pay damages and do jail time. Their offense was premeditated and they had a guilty mind. This is ‘mens rhea.’

Now let’s look at grace. Grace says if you confess your sins to God, you can be cleansed and healed. God’s grace takes care of the unintentional and the intentional! You will still face the consequences of man’s law, but you can get rid of your guilty mind and turn from your harmful intentions. Jesus told the guilty person on the cross next to him, “Today you will be with me in paradise.” This man showed remorse at the last moment of his life and Jesus showed mercy and gave him grace.

1 John 1:8-10 If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.

Ask yourself, ‘What sins are in my life that I need to have forgiven? Do I need to ask Jesus to come into my life and give him control, so grace can take over? Am I driving over other people’s rights? Do I feel no remorse in my actions? Maybe there are sins you are unaware of and need to ask God to make you aware. He will bring them to you and make them apparent so that you can deal with them. The Holy Spirit helps us in whatever we need to confess. Grace is freely given, but it cannot be taken if we aren’t willing to let go of our sins.

1 John 3:4-6 Everyone who sins is breaking God’s law, for all sin is contrary to the law of God. And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, and there is no sin in him. Anyone who continues to live in him will not sin. But anyone who keeps on sinning does not know him or understand who he is.

Once we have renewed our hearts and minds, he is there for us and we are forgiven. Our sins are removed as far as the east is from the west! Note that it says if we continue to live in sin, we don’t know or understand who Jesus Christ is. Jesus knew no sin and if we use him as a pattern for our lives, we have no desire to live in sin or sin against others. We seek to have peace with everyone.

Romans 8:1-2 So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.

Psalm 103:12 He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.

We are free from sin’s hold on us when we totally turn our life over to God and allow the Holy Spirit to work through us. Some may need a ‘Road to Damascus’ conversion like Saul did. It took Paul, who was once known as Saul, to be shown the light and then be struck blind for three days before he saw the error of his ways. He thought he was living for God, when he was persecuting him and his devout followers. What drastic measures it took to give him a wake up call, but look what a minister Paul became! Ultimately, in the law our errors are held against us, yet in Grace our mistakes are forgiven and not remembered. God doesn’t bring up past offenses or hurts, those have all been cleansed by the blood of Jesus. This is the same mercy we must extend to others. We must forgive them their sins if they have asked for forgiveness and many times even when they haven’t. The difficulty is when they keep committing the same offense, that is when we must give them over to God to handle, because nothing we say will change their habits. God will choose how to show them the error of their ways, we are powerless. This is when our grace is extended in prayer.

Grace

I was thinking this morning of the phrase WWJD? It is a good reminder many times of how we should behave, but it is so incomplete. A better reminder might be WDJD? (What DID Jesus Do?) He died on the cross, which is true, but what did that mean? Was it simply a sacrifice for our sins? Was it our ‘ticket’ to eternal life? While those are also true, it is so much more.

He abolished the law that man interprets (and misinterprets) and that man uses to guide his way through life. In its place, he supplanted us with His Spirit that directs us into Truth. The law can only reprove and correct, but the acceptance of his Mercy and Grace redeems us and imparts his Spirit. Words spoken from an obedient son:

“Jesus replied, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them. Anyone who doesn’t love me will not obey me. And remember, my words are not my own. What I am telling you is from the Father who sent me. I am telling you these things now while I am still with you. But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.” – John 14:23-26

“But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate[a] won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. The world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in me… When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me. All that belongs to the Father is mine; this is why I said, ‘The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me.’” John 16: 7-9&13-15

Posted below is a blog I wrote on Grace a couple of years ago at this time, it bears repeating.

Grace.

Whose Hands are Holding your Life?

Then Jesus shouted, “Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands!” And with those words he breathed his last. Luke 23:46 NLT

As Jesus hung on the cross, he spoke to his Father and told him that he was committing his life (his spirit) into his hands, he was placing his trust in the Father to take care of him. He was making that final statement that he trusted him to keep the promise that even in death, his life was not over. As I thought about this, I thought how many times we put our life in the hands of others… and many times ill-placed. Every day we have to trust other people to do what’s right. We also must forgive them when they don’t do what is best for us.

We put our lives and the lives of the ones we love in the hands of teachers and professors. We trust what they are teaching us is factual. I won’t go into how much false information has been given in education, that could be an entirely different blog… or how vulnerable our children are… We put our lives in the hands of other drivers when we get in our cars, when we drive in traffic, or as a passenger, or especially when we ride on public transportation. We put our lives in the hands of chefs or anyone who prepares our food when we eat in restaurants. We put our lives in the hands of our government by the laws that are passed and the people who run it. While some of these may seem fairly innocuous, one of the riskiest is how we put our lives in the hands of doctors and nurses by allowing them to treat us for illnesses or by having surgeries. This is probably one of the ways we give up the most control of what happens to us in our life; but I’m speaking of dally life. Our ultimate decision in giving up control and the most important one is allowing God to have control of our life. Truly committing our life to him and putting our life in his hands, so that he may direct it in the way that is best for us.

Prayer: Father, into your hands, I commit my life. Help me forgive others when they put themselves first. Help me to put others before myself. Show me your ways, so that I am following the correct path. Thank you for your mercy and help me to show mercy to others. Through Jesus’ name I pray. Amen

Hebrews 4:14-16 NLT So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.