Grace & Mercy | Guest Post, Vernell Ingle, Teaching Pastor

Grace & Mercy | Guest Post, Vernell Ingle, Teaching Pastor

“Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.” Matthew 5.7, KJV

i. grace & mercy

Grace always deals with the sin and guilt itself.

Grace extends pardon.
Mercy extends relief.

Grace cleanses and reinstates us before God, places us in right standing with Him.
Mercy heals and helps.

With God mercy always follows grace.

Grace is associated with men in their sins.
Mercy is associated with men in their misery.

This is why mercy is not natural. For it grows out of our personal experience with the grace and mercy of God.

It is God who makes us merciful. Then He even blesses us for being merciful.

“Grace removes the guilt.
Mercy removes the misery.
Grace extends pardon.
Mercy extends the release.
Mercy always follows grace.
Grace is associated with men in their sin.
Mercy is associated with men in their misery.”
Rev. Vernell Ingle, Teaching Pastor@christpoint_ks Galena KS pic.twitter.com/zkcPxuV5Lh

— Jared Ingle (@JaredIngle2022) January 25, 2024

ii. identification

This mercy is a deliberate identification with the other’s needs or suffering.

If we exhibit this kind of identification, it would save us from being superficial in our attempt at kindness.

If we did demonstrate this kind of identification, it would save us from being self-centered in our acts of kindness.

When we exhibit this kind of identification, it makes forgiveness and tolerance much easier.

Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes. That way if they get angry, they’ll be a mile away and barefoot! . . . or something like that.

iii. forgiveness

Again, this is not a natural temperament. Nobody has an advantage over anybody else when face to face with God. We all have received the grace, mercy, and forgiveness of God.

We are not forgiving by nature. Some of us love to hold onto grudges. Some of us love revenge.
That is not the kind of mercy that is found in the Kingdom of God.

Jesus did not categorize. He did not categorize and specify groups or categories of people He had in mind for us to show mercy to.
There was no need for Him to elaborate! Why? Our God is a merciful God and we are the recipients of that mercy.

We forgive because God has forgiven us.

There’s an old French proverb. “To know all is to forgive all.”

There is always a reason people think and act the way they do.
We need to get inside their skin, not under it.

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