Mercy and Truth Meeting Together

The human heart desires mercy even when it is responsible for some of the most horrific acts of moral depravity. It is the natural response for mercy to be received but it is most un-natural for the heart to want to dispense mercy to others. A young woman in Denver, Co. went missing one night and she was spotted on several different surveillance cameras’ behaving strangely as if she were intoxicated with alcohol or drugs. One young man took her to his apartment (perhaps to have sex with her), but realized that she was not in her right frame of mind and they talked for a while and she left his apartment building (alive as shown by her being seen on the downstairs camera in the building).

She was later spotted walking along a street by another young man bent with the same desire to have sex with her and he picked her up in his van and took her to some location and ended up raping and murdering her. For many months he denied he harmed the woman but finally said he would confess to killing her if only he would not be labeled a sex offender (rapist). He wanted mercy to be shown to him in exchange for his admition to the truth. He was unable to show mercy to the young woman (as his lust and passion took over) yet his heart still desired mercy shown to him.

Proverbs 14:22 Do they not go astray who devise evil? But mercy and truth belong to those who devise good. NKJV

John 4:7-18 A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give Me a drink." For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, "How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?" For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water." The woman said to Him, "Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?" Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life." The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw." Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here." The woman answered and said, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You have well said, 'I have no husband,' for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly." NKJV

The Lord Jesus Christ went through Samaria for the purpose of meeting this one woman. She had been living most of her adult life in moral depravity sleeping with many men and feeling worthless and devalued. The Lord Jesus Christ is the truth and He knows every human heart. He knew this woman’s life of sexual sin and how she was used by men much of her life. He also knew that her heart was aching and longing for relief for mercy. He knew the truth about her but asked her to go, and bring her husband all the time knowing she was living in fornication with a man. He gave her the opportunity to confess to Him the truth of her sinful heart. This is Divine election and free will or mercy and truth meeting together. Well, this woman was freed from her need to use sex as a means of receiving love and being valued because she received mercy from the Truth Jesus Christ and was enabled to go and walk or live in newness of life by amazing grace through faith given to her as a gift.

Psalm 86:15 But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious, Longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth. NKJV

“We declare, upon Scriptural authority, that the human will is so desperately set on mischief, so depraved, and so inclined to everything that is evil, and so disinclined to everything that is good, that without the powerful, supernatural, irresistible influence of the Holy Spirit, no human will ever be constrained towards Christ. How is it that some of us are converted, while our companions in sin are left to persevere in their godless career? Was there anything good in us that moved the heart of God to save us? God forbid that we should indulge the blasphemous thought!” Charles Spurgeon

“A man does not get grace till he comes down to the ground, till he sees he needs grace. When a man stoops to the dust and acknowledges that he needs mercy, then it is that the Lord will give him grace.” Dwight L. Moody

“Now is our chance to choose the right side. God is holding back to give us that chance. It won't last forever. We must take it or leave it.” C. S. Lewis

“The Gospel is good news of mercy to the undeserving.” John Stott

“Our Savior kneels down and gazes upon the darkest acts of our lives. But rather than recoil in horror, He reaches out in kindness and says, 'I can clean that if you want.' And from the basin of His grace, He scoops a palm full of mercy and washes our sin.” Max Lucado 

Sincerely in Christ,

Clifford D. Tate, Sr.

Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reader, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…