Why No Mercy

• Misunderstandings – Miscommunications happen all the time
  • When I assume everyone thinks the way I do, accidents happen.
    • Story
  • Ludwig Wittgenstein
    • Philosopher, done a lot of things. Really saw all of life through the lens of miscommunication
      • Sets out to write a rule book.
      • Decides the project is beyond him, changes his tune. Still brilliant guy but since they’re still disagreements over miscommunications, his project failed. 
    • The problem is right now, there’s a whole lot of Christians who seem to be obsessed with telling whole groups of other people what to do and believe.
      • That’s find, insofar as two conditions are met.
        • That you yourself are living out the Gospel
        • That you yourself are actively sharing the Gospel
      • What then, is the Gospel?

Bozos on the Same Bus

• Story – People irritate me. I irritate others.  While it’s our natural tendency to give ourselves grace and understanding, it is also our tendency apart from the Gospel to believe we’re better than other people.
  • The Bible will have NONE OF THIS.
• God’s Word teaches plainly that all have sinned and stand condemned before God
  • Romans 3:10 – “As it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one.”
  • Romans 3:23 – “or all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
  • Romans 6:23 – “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
• Story – John 8 – Woman caught in adultery
  • John 8:7b – “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” 
• Do you see, “DON’T JUDGE OTHERS”?

God takes Action through Jesus Christ

            This saving action is foretold in the OLD TESTAMENT.

• One of the reasons we read and study the OT is because, in its own way, it’s about Jesus. All about Him.
  • All that to say, Christ’s salvation is told of in the Old Testament.
• God in Christ relieves us of the punishment of sin – death
  • Isaiah 53:4-5 – “He who knew no sin became sin for us but he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
  • 2 Corinthians 5:21 – “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
• Christ’s sacrifice on the cross has redeemed from the curse of the Law all who trust in Him by faith - No Laws