Mercy for some sinners ! pt 1 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- lk 18: 9And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: 10Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. 11The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. 12I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. 13And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. 14I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. God be merciful to me a sinner.. Scripture says that God delights in them who hope in His mercy ps 33: 18Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy; ps 147: The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy The word for hope in these psalms is the hebrew word: yachal which means: to wait, hope, expect a) (Niphal) to wait
(Piel) 1) to wait, await, tarry 2) to wait for, hope for c) (Hiphil) to wait, tarry, wait for, hope for Its a waiting on the Lord, not a cocksure confidence, that now that I have humbled myself, God is obligated to hear me or answer me or save me. David has the right ideal too, when his child was sick, notice his words..2 sam 12: 22And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether GOD will be gracious to me, that the child may live? You see those words ? Who can tell wether God will be gracious to me, that the child may live ? david here expressed faith in the Sovereign good pleaure of the Lord, and not his acts of humbling himself before God.. david uses the word gracious here the word is: chanan which means: to be gracious, show favour, pity to direct favour to, have mercy on By the way, its the same word moses used in ex 33: 18And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory. 19And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy. This is important, because as paul refers to this scripture here in rom 9: 15For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 16So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. This gives us to know, that both Gods mercy and grace in salvation are subject purely to Gods Sovereign perogative and not mans will or desire.. For one to scripturally hope in Gods mercy, they must be taught that God is not obligated to show anyone mercy and that He is Sovereign in whom He chooses to shew mercy. However, i will concede that it is acceptable to teach that God will have mercy on some, those whom were chosen in christ [apart from the rest of humanity], before the foundation of the world, for christ having died for their sins, God is obligated to Jesus christ to shew all them mercy, for whom christ died.. It is for christ sake alone, these are shown mercy..Lets look at some scriptures here..isa 43: 25I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins. Not for the sake of your freewill decision, your humbling yourself in repentance, not for the sake of any of your obedience to religous activity, but for mine own name sake..Jesus christ.. mic 7: 18Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. See the discrimination here ? He passeth by the transgression of the remnant of His heritage..what remnant ? lets look at that word and see how it is applied.. ex 26: 12And the remnant that remaineth of the curtains of the tent, the half curtain that remaineth, shall hang over the backside of the tabernacle That which is left over or remains..some of the whole.. neh 1: 3And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire. isa 1: 9Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah. Notice, who leaves a small remnant ? is it freewill, what about mans desires ? Its the LORD of host who leaves a remnant.. paul says in rom 9: 27Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved: rom 11: Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace. Amen, this is the Heritage that God passes over and deligteth to shew mercy upon as mich 7 tells us, its the remnant of the election of grace and not of the jews only, but of the gentiles too.. remember James preached about this in acts 15: 13And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me: 14Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. 15And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, 16After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: 17That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things. 18Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world. The word residue is the greek word kataloipos which means : left remaining You see that, thats the same meaning of the word remanat, that which is left or remains..so there is a remnant of the election of grace within the jews, and a remnant of the election of grace in the gentiles, these all having been chosen in christ before the world began..election is Gods work..notice acts 15: 18Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world. Choosing some in Jesus christ before the world began is Gods work, preserving them from their fall in adam is Gods work.. Now notice the frame of mind of the publican, vs 13: 13And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. Notice, he doesnt give the heir as to be following some kind of prescribed method which ensures him mercy from God, like some romans road herey.., you know..do this, this and this, and God saves you..No this is not this fellows mind frame, he is hoping in Gods mercy..He knows God is Sovereign, he may have read ex 33 before or heard it in his sabaath day school as a child, but he knows now, no doubt by the sovereign teaching of the Holy Ghost who is no doubt the very cause for him being in this humble frame, that God is Sovereign to whom He will shew mercy or be gracious unto.. He doesnt seem to think that his humble disposition is what qulafies him to recieve mercy, but thats what todays religonist think these days..They feel if they humble themselves, feel unworthy, and be honest and confess, that these actions of theirs, these their actions move or causes God to be merciful to them..what they did, or what they dont do..they are more in the frame of the pharisee who feels justified because of his performances.. his baptism, his going to church, his fasting, his accepting christ and so forth, the fact is, these performances or abstaining from the grosser sins of society, these are why God had mercy on them.. This however is pride and works religon, its inspired by the anti christ.. This is not the religon of Jesus christ, or of the Blessed Holy Ghost..this man, the pharisee, left his knees in confidence that because of his performances, God was surely impressed and would have mercy upon him..but the publican, oh the publican today, after finishing his humble cry, he merely left , not in pride and accomplishement and success, but he left hoping in Gods mercy, waiting upon a favorable providence that would indicate that he has found mercy of the Lord.. yes their is mercy for sinners, Sovereign mercy, mercy that is centered in the eternal election of some, who were chosen in christ Jesus before the world began..is that your hope today ? because all other hope is sinking sand.. __________________
