The
poet Robert Frost penned that “all you really want in the end is mercy.” I
think he was spot on there with this one-liner. We also need plenty of grace.
As
we look at our own lives, weigh our brownie points against our sin, we will
definitely conclude that a fair judgment on God’s part at the end of our lives
here on earth would be this – ‘guilty’.
For
we have all sinned and fall short of God’s standards. If not for God’s mercy,
where will we be?
But
Jesus changed everything by dying on the cross for our sins. That’s God’s mercy
at work for us, provided we believe in what He has done.
There
is nothing wrong with a teaching that emphasises ‘mercy’ provided …
- it (mercy) leads to transformed lives.
- it (mercy) is not misused as a licence for sinning. *
- personal responsibility is being emphasised to the same degree as mercy.
Most of us are
familiar with the account of the woman caught in the act of adultery (John
8:3-11). The crowd gathered around her and wanted to stone her.
But Jesus said, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a
stone at her first.”
Finally, when the
crowd dispersed, Jesus asked her, “Woman, where are those accusers of
yours? Has no one condemned you?”
She said, “No one,
Lord.”
And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”
This short account has
deep theological implications. The recipient of God’s love and mercy ought to
show evidence of change in thought and behavior. In other words, the sinner has
to repent. Unfortunately, “sin no more” has not been given the same prominence as “neither do I condemn you.”
We tend to emphasise
God’s love and mercy towards sinners. The need for sinners to bear fruits that
befit repentance – personal responsibility– is often not emphasised to the
same degree.
Footnotes:
*
“What shall we say then? Shall we continue
in sin that grace may abound? Certainly
not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it” (Romans 6:1-2)?
