In Bible teaching churches of America today, there are two important principles that are taught constantly: “Grace and Mercy”.
Mercy is not receiving something that we deserve. As sinners, all human beings deserve judgment and punishment. Because of God’s mercy, He was not willing that any person should receive judgment or punishment for their sin, so He sent His only Son Jesus Christ, to die for us at the place of judgment. When any person hears, believes and lives as if they believe this, they have all of their sins removed and there no longer remains any judgment awaiting that person. This is what mercy is all about.
Grace is Receiving all those things that we do not deserve. As sinners, all human beings are separated from God by their sin and have no hope of eternal life. Because of God’s Grace, He wanted to be able to show His Love and Goodness towards us. When we put all of of trust in Jesus Christ to remove our sins, and give us eternal life, we then are able to receive all the manifold blessings the Lord has always desired to give us.
G.R.A.C.E is God’s Riches At Christ Expense. The very basis for Grace is that we received from God what we do not deserve. When we were at our worst, that is when God was Loving us the most. We did nothing to earn His Love, He just Loved us. We had no capacity to earn eternal life, He gave it to us freely.
Up to this point most of those who have read so far have understand what I have said. They have heard these same two principles taught in their local church. What is very often not taught and not understood, is the fact that having received this “Amazing Grace” from the Lord, we now as followers and believers in Jesus Christ, are to give this same kind of Grace to other believers.
2Corinthians 8:7 But as you abound in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all diligence, and in your love for us—see that you abound in this grace also.
When another believer hurts us, offends us, commits some particular sin, does some act or says some particular thing that we don’t like, what is our reaction to them? In my experience over the past 35 years as a believer and follower of Jesus Christ, I have observed that most often those who are hurt, offended or see such actions, will abandon the guilty party.
I have been the pastor of two churches for more than fourteen years. Like all ministers, I am not a perfect man. I have faithfully taught the Word of God and loved all of the people that the Lord has brought to me over the years, but I have also made many mistakes.
While making those mistakes, and very often even when I had not made any mistake but was thought to have made them, I have been falsely judged, gossiped about, and abandoned by close friends and those who have attended my church. Even years after all the events had transpired, not a single person returned to appologize for thier own failures or to even re confirm their love.
I suppose that Grace shown is different for Pastors and Ministers than it is for those who sit in the congregation. I do however think that there is a great lack of Grace in the church today. First to the Pastors who do their best to love and instruct the Body of Jesus Christ, and secondly to the body of believers itself in the way they treat each other.
Because we have all received such undeserved Grace from God, we are commanded to give this same sort of Grace to each other without measure or limit. Jesus said that the only proof that we have that we are His followers and truly belong to Him, is that we Love each other. Now it is very easy to say the words “I Love You” to another believer, those words are spoken every day. It is quite another thing to say the words “I Love You” when that person had hurt, offended, or let you down and demonstrate that love by faithfully remaining the offending persons’s friend.
It is a contradiction of terms to mouth the word “I Love You, but I can no longer be your friend or attend your church…”
There is no “but” in any of the sentences that Jesus spoke regarding His Love for us. His love was without conditions, and without measure. When someone hurts us, we feel that we are justified in removing ourselves from the friendship of that person, we are not. Whether we like it or not, we are commanded to not only say that we love other believers, but to demonstrate that love by showing them Grace when they least deserve it.
Grace by it’s very definition is not deserved. To show Grace to someone that you are in favor with or who has loved you, is not Grace at all. Grace is most profoundly expressed when it is given to a person who does not deserve it. Isn’t that what Jesus did for us? When we were without hope, Jesus died for us.
What is missing in the church today is the kind of Grace towards each other, that was shown to us from Jesus Christ. Who do you know that has hurt you or disappointed you? What is your present relationship with that person? Are you actively seeking friendship with this person or have you isolated yourself from them?
Have you left a church because the pastor said something or did something you did not like or hurt your feelings? Have you left a church because a fellow believer in Jesus did something wrong?
May I suggest to you that leaving a church for any of those reasons is not Biblical. Remaining in a church where you have been hurt is exactly where the Lord would have you be. For it is in that place of hurt that you will find your greatest personal growth. Either by learning to humble yourself, or by giving Grace to a person who otherwise does not deserve any Grace.
Whenever we remove ourselves from the source of conflict, irritation or hurt, we do so to our own detriment. It is the Lord’s will that we remain in those places of difficulty so that the full measure of adversity has it’s proper effect on us. Not to make us unhappy, but to make us different. It is a fact of Christian life that we only change when we are in the fiery furnaces of our life. When we are hurt, that is where we find the greatest opportunity for growth. When we humble ourselves and submit to the tribulation of rocky relationships with other believers or even our pastor, we have submitted ourselves to Jesus Himself who is the head of the entire body of believers.
We only learn how to give Grace in it’s correct form to others who have offended or hurt us, when we allow ourselves to remain that person’s friend and give them Grace continuously. In my own life, I am still learning these important principles. I think that it takes a person an entire lifetime to even begin to put into practice what true Grace is really about. I hope that you are encouraged by this small article to continue to show Grace to those in your life who least deserve it.
Rob Robinson
