The Grace and Mercy of God
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The Grace and Mercy of God Ephesians 2:4-10
INTRODUCTION:
Luke 10:30-37 Use story of the Good Samaritan to show Mercy and grace. Two parts - compassion and action.
Just like the man lying naked in the street we, by God’s grace, and through His mercy, have been saved. He not only offers us salvation but secures it. It is by His mercy that we receive such a gift, and one that we are completely undeserving of. When we know who He is, His attributes, we have the opportunity to really know His heart and in turn, recognize our desperation and desire for all of Him. How do we accept the grace and mercy so readily given to us?
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
7 so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
I. So, what Is Grace?
A. The Greek word for grace is charis, meaning “of the merciful kindness by which God, exerting His holy influence upon souls, turns them to Christ.”
Another way to say it is the free and unmerited favor of God, as manifested in the salvation of sinners and the bestowal of blessings.
1. The divine heart of God longs for us to be drawn to Himself, and it is through His kindness, grace in and of itself, that we are able to be with Him for eternity.
(Grace is the offer of exactly what we do not deserve. Must be aware of our need for it to receive it.)
2. As our passage tells us, we are only saved because of grace—it is out of God’s nature of abundance that He readily gives us the ultimate gift of undeserved and unmerited favor. Although grace is a character trait of God, He gives it to us without limits, therefore, He is graceful. So grace is both a noun, the gift, and a verb. Grace is an action. We are given the active grace that when received, produces a relationship with God, and in turn, encourages His truth in our hearts and lives, ultimately freeing us from sin and giving us the opportunity to spend forever in His presence.
Grace. Love. Mercy. These things cost God the very life of His Son, but He offers them to us for free. Talk about getting something for nothing - that’s God’s grace!
But how do we accept this gift?
B. We accept it by Clothing Ourselves in Him.
1. We can do nothing to earn grace, it is freely given. We know that it is grace that saves us because Ephesians 2:8–9 says:
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
In His infinite desire to call us to Himself, the Lord has blessed us with the gift of grace. Verse eight tells us that grace is a gift from God. A gift given in love has no strings attached. God’s grace has no strings attached... Is a gift a gift if it has strings attached? Every time I tug on the string it is a good work. (Come up with some works)
Since grace is a gift then we cannot earn it by works.
Which is what verse nine tells us. We can’t earn it. What would be the price? ....
It is by God’s grace that we are able to receive His grace. In receiving His grace we are able to recognize His sovereignty over our lives. In recognizing His sovereignty we are able to live according to His will. The good works we do are not a means of earning grace, but they are evidence of the grace given to us.
2. How then do we clothe ourselves and walk in the grace God has for us? It’s not to be taken for granted or thought of as a casual notion. Our lives depend on it. A relationship with Jesus is active—just as grace is a verb, so is what we do with what we know. If we are confident that God is graceful, and His grace is a kindness to us, our lives need to reflect gratitude for the gift of grace, of salvation. The sacred gift of grace turns us to Christ, deepens our relationship with Him, and ultimately, draws us back to Him again and again.
II. So, what Is Mercy?
A. The Greek word for mercy is eleos, meaning “kindness or good will towards the miserable and the afflicted, joined with a desire to help them.”
Another definition is compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one’s power to punish or harm.
Just as grace is a kindness of God, so is mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment, over sin, over the Fall.
1. The theologian Millard Erickson once wrote: “God’s mercy is His tenderhearted, loving compassion for His people. It is His tenderness of heart toward the needy. If grace contemplates humans as sinful, guilty, and condemned, mercy sees them as miserable and needy.”
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
God’s Mercy - two parts. Compassion and then Action. Verse four says he loved... Verse five says that He sent us His Son to die for us.
2. Without God’s mercy, we might not have received grace, they go hand-in-hand, for if grace is given because of our sinful nature, knowing we are separate from God, then mercy is the act by which He desires to draw us to Himself in spite of our separateness. God’s mercy is choosing to have a relationship with us though we often don’t choose Him. God’s mercy is longing for us to be with Him in eternity though we consistently push back.
James 2:13 says:
13 For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.
Part of the good works we do because we have received grace is to show mercy to others. We won’t earn grace by doing it but God’s mercy will be seen in our actions helping others to be drawn to God.
B. God’s Merciful Response
1. 1 Peter 1:3 says:
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
Therefore, it is because of God’s mercy that we are given the gift of grace. According to His mercy, we are able to be called worthy. According to His mercy, Jesus dies for us. According to His mercy, we are made new. Because God looked upon us with compassion and acted out of love we have eternal life.
2. How then do we walk in the mercy of God? Again, a heart response would be thanksgiving. How merciful He is to even want a relationship with us—shouldn’t our response be one of gratitude? Of thankfulness? Of desire for more of our merciful God?
Shouldn’t we want to draw closer to Him and know Him more deeply?
That brings up this question.
III. Why Do We Need His Grace and Mercy?
A. Grace and mercy are ultimately features of love 1 John 4:7–12 says:
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
8 The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
9 By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him.
10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
12 No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us.
God is love—to know Him is to know love; to know Him is to know grace and mercy. We need all of Him, and all of Him includes all of His character.
Such as His:
Holiness - The quality of God that sets him utterly apart from His world, especially in terms of his purity and sanctity.
Eternality - He has no beginning or end.
Sovereignty - God’s kingly, supreme rule and legal authority over the entire universe.
Power - Ability to act or produce an effect; the possession of authority over others.
Love - The heart of God’s character and, along with faith and hope, one of the cardinal virtues of Christianity.
And of course His grace and mercy.
B. Our salvation doesn’t exist without grace and mercy. Our God cannot be separated from His characteristics.
If we need mercy in order for God to have compassion on us and give us grace in the form of Jesus, then we must be desperate for both. We are desperate for Jesus. We are desperate for His love.
IV. How then should we respond?
A. To receive God’s grace and mercy, to even acknowledge it, we must first recognize that we need both. Yes both. We need all of Him, and all of Him includes grace and mercy. We must be humble. We need to realize our humanness, our sinful nature that is desperately in need of a Savior.
We have to want the gift. We have to want to open the gift...
B. That leads us to long for the One who is full of grace and mercy. We must draw close to Him.
Hebrews 4:16 says:
16 Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Closeness increases the power of grace and mercy. The good Samaritan could have had mercy by paying someone else to get him off the street, but he didn’t, he did it himself. He drew closer to the person of his compassion. Closeness increases intimacy, intimacy increases the power of grace and mercy. God can provide the grace and mercy from afar but who wants that. Draw close. Increase the intimacy of His grace and mercy.
C. When we know the character of God, our response must consist of gratitude, reverence, and continuous thanksgiving.
As we are to be like Christ, our response is to become full of grace and mercy. Therefore, do as Luke 6:36 says:
36 “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
CONCLUSION:
Take a moment to reflect. What is God speaking to you about Himself? What is the Spirit revealing? What is He asking you to receive? God’s grace and mercy is seen throughout Scripture—from Adam and Eve in the Garden to the promise of a new heaven and new earth in Revelation. When you’re studying the Bible, take note of the grace and mercy of our God, and thank Him for His ongoing grace and mercy for you.
Prayer: God, we thank You for Your goodness, for Your character. We are undeserving of Your grace and mercy, but we are so thankful to be in relationship with You and receive such a blessing. We pray for a deep hunger and a deeper longing for You. Lord, give us fresh eyes for who You are, and draw us close to Your heart. May we continue to learn more and more about You as we study Your Word. Thank You for giving us the grace we could never deserve. Thank You for being merciful. You are so good. Amen.
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