Oh, where would we be apart from the mercy and grace of God?! Consider with us these wonderful attribute of our glorious God!
Teaching Notes:
The Mercy of God
1. What is the Mercy of God? “The ready inclination of God to relieve the misery of fallen creatures.” “The attitude of God in response to the misery of His people.” Because of sin, man suffers now & in life to come.
2. What is The Difference Between Mercy and Grace: Mercy is not getting what you do deserve. Grace is getting what you don’t deserve. Mercy cancels out punishment. Grace adds all spiritual blessings. Mercy is God’s compassion extended to men in their misery; grace is God’s favor extended to men in their guilt.
3. What are some Biblical Examples of God’s Temporal Mercy?
Mt.17:14-18 “When they came to the crowd, a man came up to Jesus, falling on his knees before Him and saying, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is a lunatic and is very ill; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. I brought him to Your disciples, and they could not cure him.” And Jesus answered and said, “You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him here to Me.” And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was cured at once.”
Mt.20:30-34 “And two blind men sitting by the road, hearing that Jesus was passing by, cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” The crowd sternly told them to be quiet, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” And Jesus stopped and called them, and said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” They said to Him, “Lord, we want our eyes to be opened.” Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes; and immediately they regained their sight and followed Him.”
Luke 1:57-58 “Now the time had come for Elizabeth to give birth, and she gave birth to a son.
Her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had displayed His great mercy toward her; and they were rejoicing with her.”
Phil.2:25-27 “But I thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger and minister to my need; because he was longing for you all and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick. For indeed he was sick to the point of death, but God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, so that I would not have sorrow upon sorrow.
What kind of temporal miseries do these passages tell us God sometimes relieves people from? (physical sickness, demonic possession, and barrenness)
4. What Are Some Biblical Examples of God’s Eternal Mercy?
2 Timothy 1:16-18 “The Lord grant mercy to the house of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains; but when he was in Rome, he eagerly searched for me and found me — the Lord grant to him to find mercy from the Lord on that day — and you know very well what services he rendered at Ephesus.
What “day” is Paul talking about?
Titus 3:4-7 “But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
What does Paul connect mercy to in this passage? (salvation from sin and its miseries)
1 Peter 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead”
If we needed to be born again, what were we before? (spiritually dead). What miseries do spiritually dead people suffer?
1 Peter 2:9-10 “But you are a chosen race, A royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”
What did God do for us because of His mercy? (called us out darkness, made us His people)
Jude 1:20-21 “But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life.”
What kind of mercy is Jude talking about? Is it present or future? When will this mercy be granted?
5. What are the Characteristics of God’s Mercy?
A. It is Sovereign: Rom.9:15-18: “For He says to Moses, “I WILL HAVE MERCY ON WHOM I HAVE MERCY, AND I WILL HAVE COMPASSION ON WHOM I HAVE COMPASSION.” So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “FOR THIS VERY PURPOSE I RAISED YOU UP, TO DEMONSTRATE MY POWER IN YOU, AND THAT MY NAME MIGHT BE PROCLAIMED THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE EARTH.” So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires.
Who does God have mercy upon? Is there anything we can do to make God have mercy on us?
B. It is Immense: Scripture says God is “plenteous in mercy” (Ps.86:5); “rich in mercy” (Eph.2:4), “full of compassion and merciful” (James 5:11), and refers to “the multitude of Thy tender mercies” (Ps.51:1), “His great mercy” (1 Pet. 1:3). Further, Scripture says, “For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.” (Ps.103:11), and “the earth is full of Thy mercy, O Lord” (Ps.119:64).
Does the Bible teach that God is stingy or generous with His mercy?
C. It is Everlasting: Ps.103:17 “But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children”
If you have received God’s mercy, will He at some point in the future decide to take it away? Who is it that He has everlasting mercy upon?
6. How Should God’s Mercy Affect Our Lives?
Jude 1:22-23 “And have mercy on some, who are doubting; save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh.”
What should we do in order to have mercy on those who doubt, or are in the fire? When we seek to witness to and persuade the lost, how should we do it? (fearing and hating their sin)
1Pet.2:9-10 “But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY.”
Who should we be proclaiming God’s excellencies to?
The Grace of God
1. What is the Grace of God? “unmerited favor”; “God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense”; “the free favor of God”; “spontaneous self-determined kindness”; “the eternal and absolute free favor of God manifested in the bestowal of spiritual and eternal blessings to the guilty and unworthy” (Abraham Booth); “grace is what all need, what none deserve, and what God alone can give (A.W. Pink).
2. What are the Characteristics of the Grace of God?
It is Opposed to Works: Rom.11:6 “But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.” Eph.2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
It Was Granted Us From All Eternity: 2 Timothy 1:9 “who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity”
It Reigns in Believers: Rom.5:20-21 “The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Rom.6:14 “For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.”
What is grace “reigning” compared to? How did sin reign? What does it mean to be “under” grace?
It is Connected to the Gospel: Acts 20:24 “But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God.”
What is the “gospel”? Why is grace “good news”?
It is Connected to God’s Choice: Rom.11:5 “So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace.”
Did God’s choice of us have anything to do with our personal worthiness?
It is Given to the Humble: James 4:6 “But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.”
What is the best way to be in a position to receive God’s grace?
It Comes to us through Jesus Christ: Rom.5:1-2 “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.”
Why does grace have to come through Jesus?
3. What are the Effects of the Grace of God?
Salvation: Acts 15:11 “But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are.” The Father is the Fountain of grace, the Son is the Channel of grace, the Spirit is the Applier of grace. See also Eph.2:8.
Calling: Gal.1:6 “I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel”
What does it mean to be “called”?
Justification: Rom.3:24 “being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus”
What does it mean to be “justified”?
Faith: Acts 18:27 “And when he wanted to go across to Achaia, the brethren encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him; and when he had arrived, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace”
Does faith come from the unregenerate person? Where then?
Giving of Thanks: 2Cor.4:15 “For all things are for your sakes, so that the grace which is spreading to more and more people may cause the giving of thanks to abound to the glory of God.”
Ministry: Romans 1:5 “through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name’s sake” Eph.3:7-8 “of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God’s grace which was given to me according to the working of His power. To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ”
Why is even our spiritual ministry a gift of God’s grace?
Spiritual Gifts: Romans 12:6-8 “Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.”
Sacrificial Giving: 2Cor.8:1-4 “Now, brethren, we wish to make known to you the grace of God which has been given in the churches of Macedonia, that in a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality. For I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord, begging us with much urging for the favor of participation in the support of the saints”
When you have given sacrificially, where has that come from?
Strengthening of the Heart: Heb.13:9 “Do not be carried away by varied and strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, through which those who were so occupied were not benefited.”
What does it mean here for the “heart to be strengthened”?
Eternal Comfort: 2Thess.2:16 “Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace”
What does this “eternal comfort” and “good hope” refer to?
4. How Should God’s Grace Affect Our Lives?
2Pet.3:18 “but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
What does it mean to grow in grace? (develop in our understanding of, response to, and appreciation for God’s grace)
Eph.1:5-6 “He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.”
What does God want us to do in response to His Amazing Grace?
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