Grace and Mercy

Grace and Mercy
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Grace and Mercy
Introduction
The book of Hebrews (4:16, The New King James Version) declares that “Let us, therefore, come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” This short passage would prompt a Christian to pursue the meaning of both grace and mercy, and not necessarily within this context. One can locate the words and mercy in English Bible translations used in a similar context, and often in the same sentence. However, with respect to Biblical semantics, the two words do not have the same meaning. The lesson from Jonah provides a succinct incident when the meaning of the words is separated in the Bible. mercy is intricately linked to mercy, God shielded Jonah from the heat of the sun by using a plant, which he later destroyed to teach Jonah about his mercies. In 1 Timothy (1:12-14), Paul expressed his appreciations to the mercy he obtained and for the grace of Christ, for his was a big sinner.
Part 1
Grace is a horribly misinterpreted word, and defining it in a succinct way is often challenging. Well, there have been definitions that perhaps have been floated around, that try to capture its definition, but most of them have fallen short of capturing an accurate theological definition. Grace is a favor that is given to sinner, who otherwise might have deserved the wrath of the Almighty (Timothy, 2010). Displaying kindness to people one does not know can be defined as an unmerited favor; however, when one does some good to the enemies, then it shows more of the spirit of grace (Luke 6-27-36).

Grace cannot be an inactive or conceptual quality, rather a vibrant, energetic and active principle (Keller, 2012). The grace of the Almighty has materialized and has brought salvation and instruction to people (Titus 2:11-12). It is a type of delicate blessing that is kept idle until people appropriate it. It described as a sovereign initiative of the Almighty to the sinners (Ephesians 1:5-6). The Bible describes it not as a onetime event in the life of Christians; rather the Christians stand in grace (Romans 5:2). This implies that the entire life of a Christian is fueled by grace (Hebrews 13:9).
“Christians should mature in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ” (2Peter 3:18, New King James Version). Hence, one can effectively define grace as the compassionate and kind influence of the Holy Almighty operating in a sovereign manner in the lives of unworthy. Paul was very careful when stating that grace does not render the moral demands of the Almighty’s law (Romans 4:16; Galatians 2:21). Grace fulfills the moralities of the laws (Romans 6: 14-15).
Part 2
Mercy is a concept that is vital to developing an understanding of the Almighty’s dealings with humanity. The noun, mercy, denotes love and compassion, and cannot be relegated to mere feelings or emotions as communicated in a solid manner (Timothy, 2010). Mercy is part of the Almighty’s nature, but it may also be common amongst people, in particular to those with whom they have developed some special relationship. Equally, the lack of mercy is inherent to the human condition. Furthermore, mercy is a quality fundamental to nature the Almighty, and it is the reason that is some circumstances merciful was an adequate description of the Almighty (Psalms 116:5).
There are times it emerges together with the traits as the expression of the nature of the Almighty‘s children, specifically recounting and observing. The understanding of the people of God is that the Almighty’s mercy, is inexhaustible, unlike the human mercy (2 Samuel 24:14). However, this cannot mean that the divine mercy is blind or dumb, even though the Almighty stomached the rebellion of Israel for a long time with mercy (Nehemiah 9:17). Eventually, the rebellion in Israel was met by the withdrawal of the mercies of God, and which lead to judgment (Lamentations 2:21; Zech 1:12).
The creation and daily providence are all instances that indicate the Almighty’s tender mercies for all human beings (Job 37: 11-13). Moreover, the laws of the Almighty contain numerous provisions that protect people who are helpless with the mercies (Deut 22: 6-7). In the Bible, the mercies of the Almighty convinced Jonah that Nineveh would be forgiven (Jonah 4:2). The Bible contains numerous examples of the mercies of God to men and women: Adam, Noah, Hagar, Isaac, the widow of Nain, and amongst others. There is also the situation when God granted people spiritual forgiveness and mercy to great sinners.
Conclusion
These two terms can be thought of as two sides of a coin, whereby one provides Christians with what they do not deserve, and the other does not provide humanity with what they deserve. Grace is the undeserved favor, offered with nothing in return by the Almighty, through the salvation in Christ. It is available only through the Christ, so that humanity may in understand a clear manner that it is not obtained by a strict observance of the law, for the law came with Moses, but the grace with Christ. However, the Almighty is laden with his mercies towards His people, as he broadens His loving compassion to the people regardless of the sinful situation. Human beings’ salvation is deeply rooted in the mercy of the Almighty. The two words mercy and graced are mixed and probably used in the same context, but they certainly mean different things within the context of the Bible. To sum up the difference between the two words: mercy implies that people are not punished for their sins, punishments that they seem to deserve, but grace refers to the blessings of the Almighty despite the fact that people are undeserving of the blessings. Mercy can be described as the liberation from judgment, while Grace refers to an extension of kindness to people who are undeserving. All human beings have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and for that, all human beings deserve death in the lake of fire (Romans 3:23, New King James Version).
References
Keller, T. (2012). Generous justice: How God’s grace makes us just. Riverhead Books.
Timothy, B. (2010). A Child by Mercy: Out of Darkness and Into God’s Grace. iUniverse.