Salvation by God's Mercy Alone!!!

2003-11-17 15:04

Mercy means having compassion on and caring for someone. Because God is rich in mercy and has great love, He so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. The true light brings warmth and brightness together. Warmth and brightness are one that cannot be separated.

It is written, " But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved (Ephesians 2:4-5)." The rich warmth and great brightness made us alive who were dead in our sins. That is the true salvation. We are not saved by righteous things we have done, but by God's rich mercy and great love.

The Bible says about it, "he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone (Titus 3:5-8)." God surely wants to find mercy in those who have obtained His mercy through Christ.

No one can be saved by his own righteous things. the Bible testifies, "As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one. Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit. The poison of vipers is on their lips. Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know. There is no fear of God before their eyes. Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God (Romans 3:10-19)."

The Son himself, who was sent into the world to fulfill God's will--to show the Father's mercy and love for men, said, "But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners (Matthew 9:13)." God the Father showed us His rich mercy and great love by sending His Son according to His will to make us alive, who were dead in our sins.

The Bible says, "When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross (Colossians 2:13-15)."

The Lord spoke a parable about that salvation, "Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded. "His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.' But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened. Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart (Matthew 18:23-38)."

Here we should know clearly that the saying, "The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go" means God's rich mercy. God canceled all the debt of those who are not able to pay. That is the great love of God who so loved the world. The Bible refers to it as "such a great salvation (Hebrews 2:3)." And also, it is written, "For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all (Romans 11:32)."

Such a salvation is accomplished through Christ, namely, the mystery of God who wants to make known to the world His rich mercy and great love. It is written, "And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment--to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ (Ephesians 1:9-10)." Therefore this is eternal life: that they may know the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom He has sent. The Bible says, "Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free (John 8:32)."

Because God has the rich mercy and great love, the children of God, who are saved, also have them. Those who don't have them are not the true children of God. "Ten thousand talents", without "a hundred denarii", don't mean true salvation. The law of faith, the faith working through love, and the new commandment should be found in the true salvation, as it is written, "I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?"

It is written, "because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment (James 2:13)!" And also, the Lord himself said, "Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him (John 14:21)."

The Bible said to the children who obtained mercy and love, "Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16)." And also, it exhorts, "Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life (Jude 1:21)."

Therefore, the true salvation is not accomplished by things man has done, but by God's rich mercy and great love. It is written, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8)."

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade--kept in heaven for you (1 Peter 1:3-4)." Amen. Thank you, Lord.

The least brother, Kim Yun-gu