WELCOME TO GROWING
With this issue we begin the second year of publication of GROWING. If you are reading GROWING for the first time, we want to welcome you. Each issue of GROWING generally will include an article on a fundamental doctrine of Scripture under the heading of “FOUNDATIONS.” In 1993, doctrinal themes included the authority of the Bible, the divine inspiration of the Scriptures, and the attributes of God. In addition, articles on practical Christian living appear under the heading of “THE RACE.” Our readers are encouraged to complete the ASSIGNMENTS and send them to the editor every two months.
If you are missing some or all of the 1993 issues of GROWING, please notify the Editor or Distributor who will be pleased to send you the copies you need at no cost to you.
If you have not yet sent in all of the ASSIGNMENTS for 1993, you may still do so through February 1994 and remain eligible for an award. Don’t worry if you can’t figure out the answers to some of the ASSIGNMENTS. They were designed to be challenging.
Foundations of Faith
THE MORAL ATTRIBUTES OF GOD (III)
Do you remember the story about the prophet Elisha and his servant when they were surrounded by the Syrian army with horses and chariots? (2 Kings 6). The servant cried out, “Alas, my master, What shall we do?” Then the Lord made all the enemy soldiers blind, and Elisha led them to the King of Israel in Samaria. The King of Israel, delighted at this turn of events, eagerly sought to kill the enemy soldiers. However, Elisha forbad him. Instead, he commanded that they be given food and water and then sent back to their own country.
Here we have an example of the attributes of mercy and grace. These are special aspects of the attribute of goodness discussed in the previous issue. In God-inspired mercy, Elisha forgave or pardoned the captive Syrian army and prevented the King of Israel from killing a single one of them. In grace, Elisha did even more:he set a feast before them (verse 23)!
Let us define and contrast mercy and grace, and compare them with another related attribute, that of pity. Pity denotes sorrow felt for another’s suffering or misfortune, but without necessarily making any attempt to help the person. The priest and the Levite who saw the man lying on the road, robbed and wounded, may have felt pity for the man, but did not lift a finger to help. It’s like when we see a car with its hood up and a man or woman standing helplessly beside it, and we think, “I really feel sorry for that person,” and drive right on by.
Mercy is pity in action; it takes the next step of providing help for the person in need. The good Samaritan not only had pity upon the man lying in the road, he went to his aid. He showed mercy. (See Assignment 1)
Now what about grace? This goes even further than mercy. Grace denotes positive favor and blessing shown to those who do not deserve it, in fact, who deserve just the opposite. It is more than offering your left cheek to the bully who slugs you on your right cheek:it is going out and buying a box of chocolates to give to the bully. Let us now describe and illustrate the pity, mercy, and grace of God.
Quick now:what is the shortest verse in the English Bible? I’m sure most of you know it. In this verse (John 11:35) we have an example of the Lord Jesus’ pity and sympathy toward the sorrowing relatives of Lazarus who had recently died. But the Lord Jesus did not stop at showing pity. He cried out, “Lazarus, come forth,” and raised him from the dead. What a tremendous display, not only of divine power, but of divine mercy!
God shows both mercy and grace in saving sinners. Notice the progression from mercy to grace in the following passages in Ephesians and Titus:”But God who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, has quickened us [or given us life] together with Christ,… and has raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus; that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are you saved through faith” (Eph. 2:4-8). “For we … were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us … that being justified by His grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life” (Tit. 3:3-7).
It surely is wonderful to know that God in His mercy has saved us and pardoned us of our sins, delivering us from the coming judgment which we surely deserve. And it is even more wonderful to know that God in His grace has brought us–who deserve eternal separation from Himself–into a close relationship with Himself as His children, and has given us the assurance of an eternity of nearness to Himself and His Son.
Running the Race
HOW SHOULD WE THEN LIVE (in View of God’s Moral Attributes)? (III)
Just as God has marvelously shown His mercy and grace to us, He expects us to pass it on to others. “Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful” (Luke 6:36). Let that which comes “out of your mouth … minister grace unto the hearers” (Eph. 4:29). “Grow in grace” (2 Pet. 3:18).
Assignment 1: Find and write out a passage in James 2 that illustrates having pity but not mercy.
Assignment 2: Suppose you have had an operation and are unable to go to school for three weeks: (1) Your best friend Michelle comes over each day to cheer you up and also brings you the class notes and the homework assignments. (2) That nerdy shrimp, John, whom you have frequently teased and belittled, comes over each day and helps you work those difficult algebra problems. (3) Your friend Marcy calls up and says, “I’m sure sorry you aren’t feeling well. I hope you get well soon. Goodbye.” Which of these three friends illustrates pity? mercy? grace?