June 15th 2025
MERCY Might Be Described As Not Getting What We Deserve, While GRACE Means Getting What We Do Not Deserve!
Luke 11:13 (NIV)
If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!
This weekend we will celebrate Father’s Day and express honor for our earthly father. Unfortunately, some people do not have a father they wish to honor, or some may not even know who their earthly father is! For the sake of honoring those earthly fathers who are loving and responsible, I will stick to honoring them, and pray you feel included as having a good earthly father in this commentary!
Having stated my desire to honor good fathers on this special day, we need to acknowledge as the Jesus states in the select verse, there are in God’s view no good men, as we all possess a sinful nature. However, by becoming a professing Christian all men remain sinful, yet we are forgiven of all our sins! And as this verse quotes Jesus saying, “though you are evil, (you) know how to give good gifts to your children.” Then Jesus goes on to say, “how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
So, that sinful father you know, and love has a sinful nature, but he has accepted forgiveness by becoming a follower of Jesus Christ. Remember, we are all sinner because of our sinful nature, so if you are not sure your earthly father has accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior, pray for him to accept forgiveness by surrendering his immortal soul to Jesus Christ and thus, putting him on that narrow path that leads to heaven.
Jesus taught His disciples about this path we enter by giving our earthly life over to then be protected by Him! Jesus said, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14).
Paul wrote about this choice we all have in this cursed world in which we live. Paul wrote about how we need to avoid temptations we will feel if we allow our sinful nature to dictate how we choose to live. Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation--but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. (Romans 8:12-14). This dying is known as the second death and our immortal soul is destined to end up in hell after we die the first or mortal death!
However, if you become followers of Jesus Christ, then when you die your mortal death, there will be no second death for you (us)! When we are born again, we are in effect born into the family of God! For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. (Romans 8:15-16). Children of God do not go to hell when they die.
Paul wrote about this event of becoming born again for the church in Corinth and for us as disciples of Jesus Christ. So from now on we regard no-one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. As God’s fellow-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. (2 Corinthians 5:16-6:1).
Did you get all of that from what Paul wrote, “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation!” “God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them.” “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” As God’s fellow-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain.
Many people may hope for God to show them mercy and thus God may forgive their sins! However, since we have a sinful nature, we appear to God as deserving of going to hell when we die, and we can do nothing to correct that view while we live in this cursed world. However, God accepts us as appearing before Him as sinless if we have accepted our salvation by believing His Son is who He says He is, the Savior of this world! This special status is described as grace not mercy. Mercy might be described as not getting what we deserve, while Grace means getting what we do not deserve!
If God shows us mercy, we deserve to go to hell! When God shows us grace, because we believe in the Son of God, we go to heaven!
Praying you have an earthly father that loves you, and you can tell him you love him on Father’s Day, whether he is living or he has gone home to be with his heavenly Father!
Wishing you all have a Happy Father’s Day this Sunday!
Your brother in life through Adam, your brother in eternity through Jesus,
Bob Moak
Luke 11:13 (NIV)
If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!
This weekend we will celebrate Father’s Day and express honor for our earthly father. Unfortunately, some people do not have a father they wish to honor, or some may not even know who their earthly father is! For the sake of honoring those earthly fathers who are loving and responsible, I will stick to honoring them, and pray you feel included as having a good earthly father in this commentary!
Having stated my desire to honor good fathers on this special day, we need to acknowledge as the Jesus states in the select verse, there are in God’s view no good men, as we all possess a sinful nature. However, by becoming a professing Christian all men remain sinful, yet we are forgiven of all our sins! And as this verse quotes Jesus saying, “though you are evil, (you) know how to give good gifts to your children.” Then Jesus goes on to say, “how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
So, that sinful father you know, and love has a sinful nature, but he has accepted forgiveness by becoming a follower of Jesus Christ. Remember, we are all sinner because of our sinful nature, so if you are not sure your earthly father has accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior, pray for him to accept forgiveness by surrendering his immortal soul to Jesus Christ and thus, putting him on that narrow path that leads to heaven.
Jesus taught His disciples about this path we enter by giving our earthly life over to then be protected by Him! Jesus said, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14).
Paul wrote about this choice we all have in this cursed world in which we live. Paul wrote about how we need to avoid temptations we will feel if we allow our sinful nature to dictate how we choose to live. Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation--but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. (Romans 8:12-14). This dying is known as the second death and our immortal soul is destined to end up in hell after we die the first or mortal death!
However, if you become followers of Jesus Christ, then when you die your mortal death, there will be no second death for you (us)! When we are born again, we are in effect born into the family of God! For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. (Romans 8:15-16). Children of God do not go to hell when they die.
Paul wrote about this event of becoming born again for the church in Corinth and for us as disciples of Jesus Christ. So from now on we regard no-one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. As God’s fellow-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. (2 Corinthians 5:16-6:1).
Did you get all of that from what Paul wrote, “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation!” “God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them.” “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” As God’s fellow-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain.
Many people may hope for God to show them mercy and thus God may forgive their sins! However, since we have a sinful nature, we appear to God as deserving of going to hell when we die, and we can do nothing to correct that view while we live in this cursed world. However, God accepts us as appearing before Him as sinless if we have accepted our salvation by believing His Son is who He says He is, the Savior of this world! This special status is described as grace not mercy. Mercy might be described as not getting what we deserve, while Grace means getting what we do not deserve!
If God shows us mercy, we deserve to go to hell! When God shows us grace, because we believe in the Son of God, we go to heaven!
Praying you have an earthly father that loves you, and you can tell him you love him on Father’s Day, whether he is living or he has gone home to be with his heavenly Father!
Wishing you all have a Happy Father’s Day this Sunday!
Your brother in life through Adam, your brother in eternity through Jesus,
Bob Moak