WHEN Paul wrote his letters to Timothy, he saluted him on this wise, “To Timothy my own son in the faith : grace, mercy and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord”.
When we read Paul’s letters, it is very easy to gloss over the opening verses of salutation, yet in grace, mercy and peace is comprehended the complete life-giving substance of our high calling in Christ Jesus. No greater gift could be bestowed on mortal man than “grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord”.
GRACE is forgiveness ; undeserved forgiveness : it is a gift.
MERCY is judgment with understanding ; judgment that takes into account the problems, weaknesses, the attitude of mind, and measure of repentance of the sinner.
PEACE is that tranquility, that freedom of conscience, that steadfast confidence which comes with the gift of God’s grace, dispensed in his mercy.
GRACE, MERCY AND PEACE comprehend our most intimate contact with God and our Lord Jesus Christ. Further, grace, mercy and peace are the life-giving essence that binds us together into one body, one family : the family of God — Christ’s brethren !
Now, unless we receive God’s grace (God’s forgiveness), our sins will for ever stand against us, and will exclude us from eternal life in the company of God’s elect.
Jesus in his teachings called for complete obedience in the heart. We all fall far short of such perfection, and if God were to judge us by our own deeds we would all perish. But, if God judges us in his mercy, he takes into account our weaknesses, our frame of mind, the nature of our repentance and the quality of our faith. If it were not for God’s mercy, we would all perish.
Unless we receive the grace of God dispensed in his mercy, the peace of God which passeth all understanding will never reach into our hearts. If we have a knowledge of the Truth and fail to receive God’s grace, then our conscience will be burdensome. It will be seared, as it were, with a hot iron. We will be yet in our sins. Peace will be far away.
If a man with knowledge fails to receive this peace of mind from God, he will most likely seek it through pride and worldly striving. He will make issue of doctrine and strive for leadership, yet will his conscience remain burdensome, and death will be his lot.
How, then, do we gain God’s grace, mercy and peace ?
Since peace depends on the forgiveness or grace of God, and the gift of grace depends on the mercy of God (for none of us deserves forgiveness), it becomes evident that we must first seek for God’s mercy.
To receive God’s mercy, we must do the things that please him. We must look unto him as our Father. We must seek to come close to him in humbleness of mind. We must constantly talk with him in prayer, placing ourselves completely in his hands and at his disposal. We must become sensitive to sin, and continually seek for guidance. We must be quick to correct our faults, and suffer chastisement with patience. And above all we must love God to the very depth of our beings.
There Is No Other Standard
We know that Jesus was a man wholly acceptable to God. His character was approved by God, for he raised him from the dead. God requires the whole of us. He requires us to be his children, subject to him as to a father. To the world we are grown up, yet to God we must become as obedient children.
The matter is intimate and personal. Our whole lives, our intellect, our passions and our emotions must all be brought into subjection to God’s will. Our desires and our will must dissolve, to be gradually replaced by the perfect character of Jesus.
By this humble striving we will come closer to God, and he will draw us near unto himself. In his mercy he is able and willing to forgive our sins. In his mercy he is willing to provide grace sufficient for all our needs. He will supply us with a measure of grace that will bring about in us that peace of God which passeth all understanding.
Look to the many examples in the scriptures.
David was a man after God’s own heart, yet he sinned grievously. But, because of his humility and repentant spirit, and the power of his faith and love, he received God’s grace in abundance.
Paul, a man noted for his spiritual perception and zeal, also sinned grievously, yet God’s grace was sufficient for Paul. Paul said, “In weakness am I made strong”. This was through the abundant grace of God.
Brethren and Sisters, it touches each of us personally.
When we consider the evils we have committed in the past, some through ignorance, some through sheer moral weakness, our hearts melt within us. What right have we to claim to be Christadelphians, brethren of Christ, indeed, sons of God ?
We have no right, yet God in his mercy can forgive our sins. He understands our weaknesses. He knows our frame. He chastises us as children, which in fact we are. He has made us weep as children many times over, but then in his mercy he stretches forth his hand and bestows upon us his grace. He is able to make us stand upon our feet. He alone is able to restore us through his grace to stand firm on the rock of truth, the deep, deep truth of God. It is immovable, and nothing external can separate us from it.
This is peace, “the peace of God which passeth all understanding” ; peace which we do not deserve, peace which is a gift of God.
Jesus taught us to pray, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those that trespass against us”.
The implication is quite clear. If we don’t forgive those that trespass against us, or if we don’t bestow upon them grace and mercy, then we can expect none from God. Further, we will receive none from God. Indeed, without a humble “turning again” to God, we will die in sin
The first action, therefore, is ours. We must read and meditate on the scriptures, for they tell us how to understand and f or-give others. This grace and mercy towards others is intensely real and practical, and has a keen application in our life as a community.
If we would practise forgiveness, we must cast aside all barriers and distinctions amongst the brotherhood. There is no room for jealousy, or for the bearing of grudges. We must be quick to make amends.
Hasty judgment and gossip are sin. Whilst we practise such things we turn our backs on that life-giving grace, mercy and peace that comes from God.
Inactivity in this regard is identical with burying our talents in the ground. We therefore must be active and positive to forgive and dissolve our differences. We must be free with grace and mercy towards each other and towards those outside our body.
We have a commandment from Jesus in this regard :
“A new commandment I give unto you,
that you love one another ; as I haveloved you, that ye also love one another.
By this shall all men know that ye are my
disciples, if ye have love one for another.”
Are we known among those of the world for our love one toward another ? Are we deserving of the grace, mercy and peace of God ? Can we sincerely pray, “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those that trespass against us” ?
We must be ever more fervent in our efforts to draw near unto God. We should long for the Kingdom to come. We should live close to God all day, every day. We should talk with him in prayer and constantly meditate upon his grace, mercy and peace.
We must dispense grace, mercy and peace to our brethren and to those about us, casting aside the false values that are rending the world at large.
In a worldly sense, the lives of Moses, David, Jesus, Paul and Peter, the prophets and countless other men of God were failures. If we earnestly seek God, our worldly lives, too, will be failures. Yet there
awaits for us the resurrection, when the grace, mercy and peace of God will have its perfect fulfilment in a rising to life eternal and peace which passeth all comprehension :peace which only God can give.
Reflections on the Potter and the Clay