For the End of a Year

Jim — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 01:11:47 +0000

A Debtor to Mercy Alone

A debtor to mercy alone, of covenant mercy I sing;
nor fear, with your righteousness on, my person and off’ring to bring.
The terrors of law and of God with me can have nothing to do;
my Savior’s obedience and blood hide all my transgressions from view.

The work which his goodness began, the arm of his strength will complete;
his promise is yea and amen, and never was forfeited yet.
Things future, nor things that are now, nor all things below or above,
can make him his purpose forgo, or sever my soul from his love.

My name from the palms of his hands eternity will not erase;
impressed on his heart it remains, in marks of indelible grace.
Yes, I to the end shall endure, as sure as the earnest is giv’n;
more happy, but not more secure, the glorified spirits in heav’n.

- Augustus M. Toplady (1740-1778)

The Impracticality of Grace

Jim — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 04:01:46 +0000

When you were a child and misbehaved, how did you learn not to do it again? Because you were punished. Punishment hurts us and teaches us not to do something again. In a sense, it functions like pain does: only a fool touches a hot stove after being burned the first time.

One of the hard things about being an adult is that there is no one to punish you. Of course, in some areas of life this isn’t true. If you murder someone, the law will take over and punish you. I’m talking instead about those many areas of our lives that the law doesn’t legislate.

Specifically, I’m talking about those actions that violate our moral creeds yet go unpunished. I’m talking about sin.

In his infinite wisdom, God answered our sin with his grace and mercy at the death of Christ. And grace it undoubtedly is, because I know full well that the wages of sin are death. Yet grace so often seems to fail me because I refuse to learn from my failures.

Is it that the sin is supposed to be punishment enough? Or is the punishment the chasm between me and God created by sin? Somehow nothing seems to fit. I find myself wanting someone to simply hit me when I commit a sin, so I know that I’ve done wrong.

Grace begins to seem impractical. What good does grace do me if my behavior doesn’t change?I suppose there is a reason the apostle Paul wrote “by grace… through faith.” I realize the need for grace, even if I can’t understand the sense in it. I must never disparage God’s grace in my life, so I’ll have to depend on God for the faith.

The Smidgin » grace

For the End of a Year

The Impracticality of Grace