God’s Twin Character Traits

Messages for June 2016: Our Month of Grace and Mercy

Message for the 5th June, 2015

Theme: Understanding the Grace and Mercy of God - Text: Ex.33:19; Ps.103:8; Jer.31:34; Heb.8:12 and Romans 9:15-18

Topic: God’s Twin Character Traits

Introduction: why are we looking at this theme this month? Most of us know that the end is near and we want to be on God’s side as He closes the age. However, for us to not only be on his side, but to be established in the faith that will take and keep us there, we must learn to know Him. This is why a study of this truth is not optional for anyone who wants to be on God’s side. We cannot claim to be ending up in eternity with God if we do not know him. From the experience of the heroes of faith we learn of in Hebrews 11, it is clear that God has reserved a city for those who know him. This explains why these people were strong and did exploits. See Dan.11:32. Today, therefore, we shall be looking at the twins called God’s mercy and grace. 

The Character Traits of God called grace and mercy: In the book of Exodus 33:11-19 when Moses prayed to God requesting that God should show His (God’s) glory to him, what he was asking of God was that he wanted to really experience God in his life through a divine revelation of God’s character to him. This is because God’s glory is all that God is and has. It is his personality. In answering Moses, in Exod.34:6-7, God replied in these words among others: 

“The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.”

These texts of scriptures reveal the character of God so much that we cannot miss it as he starts by introducing his name as: “The Lord, The Lord God”. We can also observe here that he is first merciful and then gracious before any other traits. His mercies far outweigh his judgements. He visits mercy to thousands and iniquity to only three to four generations.  

Lessons from the above text on the nature of God:

1. God is merciful and expects us to be merciful also. See Matthew 5:7

2. God is gracious and expects the same from us towards people. This is a fruit of the spirit also known as kindness and we are expected to bear this fruit. Only the truth abiding in us makes this trait possible to manifest and that is why God is abundant in goodness and truth. See Jn.8:31-32 and Jn.17:17

3. God is longsuffering and expects his children to also bear this fruit. See Gal.5:22.

4. God is abundant in goodness; not stingy about it at all. We are also expected to be generous in our good nature. See Ps.112:5, 9 and 2Cor.9:8-9.

5. God judges sin and iniquity for which forgiveness is not sought. If we however genuinely repent and seek forgiveness, he will pardon as this scripture says. See Rm.6:23.

For us to be able to walk in all of His traits as stated, we must walk in the spirit because if we walk in the spirit, we would not fulfill the lust of the flesh. In addition, the desire to please God always would be our life pursuit and this will cause God to work in us to will and to do of His good pleasure. See Gal.5:16-17; Rm.8:1, 5-9 and Philippians 2:12-13.

What is Mercy and what is grace? Mercy is simply when God pardons iniquity and transgressions. Iniquity refers to inherited sin while transgressions refer to acts of disobedience to God. By His nature, God cannot stand sin and therefore as the just judge He is, He must punish it. However, because he is merciful, He has found a way to mitigate his judgment on mankind by his Character of grace and mercy. Mercy happens when we are not given the punishment for sin we deserve. The word of God tells us that the wages of sin is death and that the soul that sins shall die. See Rom.6:23 and Ezek.18:1-5. This is actually what we deserve for both iniquity and transgression which make up sin. However, because of God’s character of mercy, he has chosen to forgive our sin and not remember them. He put a structure in place to make it possible and that is the sacrifice of His only begotten Son on the Cross to take our place in the punishment by going to hell on our behalf to suffer in our place. When the demands of justice were fully met, He rose from the dead for our justification so that if we believe in Him and embrace his truth, we shall enjoy his grace. This takes us to what the grace of God is. Meanwhile, see Isa.53:1-5 and Heb.8:12

Grace on the other hand means to receive the benefits we have not earned or do not deserve; for example the forgiveness of sin. We learn in John 1:17 that grace and truth came by the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the mystery of redemption. When we repent and receive by faith the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for us on Calvary’s Cross, we are blessed with the grace of God. Grace is in two parts. It is divine favor and divine ability to do what we cannot do naturally. God’s favour grants us access to opportunities and His ability enables us to not abuse the opportunity but to fulfill the expectations of that opportunity. For instance, the thieves crucified on the cross with the Lord on the same day were both open to God’s grace – divine favour, but the choice each made determined whether they were able to take advantage of the opportunity offered or not. The one on the left hand did not take advantage of it and ended up eternally lost. The one on the right hand took advantage of it and was saved from damnation. 

As the world approaches the end, God is offering this same opportunity to as many as would receive it. If you will hear his voice today and not harden your heart, all that is required for you to live the great life that would set you in the right place at the right time for your divine fulfilment has been made available to you if you will believe and receive this great salvation. If you say you want to turn your back on all others and serve the Lord in spirit and in truth, please do so right away by saying the following prayer out loud and you will be born again:

Heavenly Father, Have mercy on me a sinner. Today, I believe that Jesus died for me and you raised Him from the dead for my Justification. I therefore declare that Jesus Christ is my Saviour and Lord and from today, I renounce the fatherhood of Satan and embrace Jesus Christ as my Saviour and Lord. Thank you for this father in Jesus’ name! Amen. 

Congratulations! For more information and resources that would help you grow in this new life, please visit our website at www.kingdomheirsministries.org and our blogs at www.flourishinggirl.blogspot.com and follow us on twitter at alero_nannaand on face book on www.facebook.com/flourishinggirlwww.facebook.com/khmii2015; www.facebook.com/thewellbeingcenter. Or www.facebook.com/kingdomjointheirsfamily email:  jointheirsfamily@gmail.com.    

Remain on top of your challenges in Jesus’ name!