"Justice, Mercy and Grace"

I hope the following definitions will be as helpful to you as they have been to me in understanding and appreciating some key Bible terms as they relate to salvation in Christ.  – DAS

Justice – when you get what you deserve.  The Bible teaches that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) and the wages of sin — what we deserve — is death (Roman 6:23).  God is a just God (Psalm 89:14) … His work is perfect; For ALL His ways are justice, A God of truth and without injustice;  (Deuteronomy 32:4)  And because of His justice, God cannot be indifferent to sin. 
God could strike us dead immediately after we sin and still remain just.  But then, no one could be saved.  God, however, is also a God of mercy….

Mercy – when you do not get what you deserve.  W.E. Vine defines mercy as “the outward manifestation of pity; it assumes need on the part of him who receives it, and resources adequate to meet the need on the part of him who shows it.”  Mercy is God’s attitude toward those who are in distress.  A mother once visited Napoleon on behalf of her condemned son.  The emperor told her the young man had committed the same offense twice, and justice demanded the death penalty.  “But Sire,” she pleaded, “I don't ask for justice -- only for mercy.”  “He doesn't deserve it,” said Napoleon.  “No, he doesn't,” she admitted, “but it would not be MERCY if he deserved it.”  Napoleon granted her request.  It is God’s desire to extend mercy to those who deserve justice for their sin.  He also desires to impart His grace ….

Grace – when you get what you did not deserve.  Grace is something unearned and undeserved.  The Apostle Paul wrote that if it is a case of earning something, the reward is not a matter of grace, but of debt (Romans 4:4).  God manifests His grace through His offer of forgiveness for the sins that we have committed.  It is by His grace that one is saved from sin.  “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). 

God’s gift of salvation by His grace must be accepted on His terms.  
Note again the passage above: “For by grace you have been saved through faith” Ephesians 2:8).  As we search the Scriptures we find that the kind of faith that God is seeking from us is an "active"  faith.  A splendid example of the kind of faith that God desires is found in Acts 2.  To those hearers who believed in Jesus and were convicted of their sin of crucifying the Son of God, Peter instructed them to put their faith into action:  “Repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38).  What was their response?  “Then those who gladly received his word [faith] were baptized [faith in action]; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them” (Acts 2:41).  God saved by His grace those who responded to the saving message of Jesus Christ with an obedient faith.

God extends His mercy and saves us by His grace when, in faith, we obey the conditions of acceptance.

Will you trust and obey Him?

God bless you.

David A. Sargent, Minister 

Church of Christ at Creekwood 
1901 Schillinger Rd. S.
Mobile, Alabama  36695

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