In classic Pauline style, these next few verses are packed with humbling truth – we have done nothing to earn or deserve God’s mercy and forgiveness.
“But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” (v4-7)
Let’s highlight a few of the truths in this passage:
– God is merciful and understanding with us because we cannot earn or deserve His forgiveness (we are broken from sin, and have broken our relationship with Him)
– God sent Jesus to save us because we could not save ourselves
– Jesus’ loving sacrifice on the cross paid the penalty for our sin and opened the door for the Holy Spirit to “richly” enter our lives (we don’t receive just a hint of the Spirit, we “richly” receive Him)
– Jesus’ grace allows us to be ‘adopted’ back into God’s family as His children (we started out as His children, but our sin severed the family ties as we rebelled against God and ‘ran away from home’)
– the Holy Spirit washes and renews our hearts when He comes into them, making us more like Jesus, one day at a time
There is far too much content here to fully unpack everything, so let’s focus on God’s grace and mercy. Mercy is essentially “a blessing of compassion from God shown to His subjects who have rebelled against Him”. Grace is essentially “the love and mercy given to us by God, because God desires us to have it, not necessarily because of anything we have done to earn it”.
These two concepts are so closely linked that at times it’s hard to differentiate between them. Both are required for us to be reconciled to God (‘adopted’), and both are natural extensions of God’s loving nature, being core parts of His character. Since God is loving, He is also compassionate (merciful); since He is compassionate, He is also generous (gracious) to those He loves.
The Bible says “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Heb 4:16) I encourage us to take God up on His promises, confess our sin, sincerely accepting His grace and mercy as the generous gifts they are. These gifts are in fact so abundant and limitless we can share them with everyone.
Father God, our Glorious and Generous Lord, You bless us so richly. You overwhelm us with grace and mercy that are so abundant they have to be shared. The immense power and presence of Your Spirit in our hearts cleanses any remaining sin and makes our hearts beat like Jesus’. Thank you Jesus for being the embodiment of our Father’s love for us. May we all praise Your name, for You are indeed worthy of all our praise, forever and ever, amen.
~ Conqueror in Training