The Breadth of Mercy [Devotion]

In the course of the wonderful roller-coaster of ups and downs in the last three months the song, “His Mercy is More,” by Matt Boswell and Matt Papa, has often been on my heart and on my lips. It’s profoundly significant message is a powerful reminder that the Lord’s mercy is infinitely more potent than the deepest and vilest of our sins.

I did a little digging into the writing of the song and found that it was inspired by an excerpt from one of the sermons of John Newton (redeemed from a life in the slave trade and writer of the hymn, “Amazing Grace,”).

“For if our Physician is almighty, our disease cannot be desperate and if He casts none out that come to Him, why should you fear? Our sins are many, but His mercies are more: our sins are great, but His righteousness is greater: we are weak, but He is power.” ~ John Newton

It is so essential for believers to remember this concept. We all fall prey to the natural tendencies of our flesh, giving in to our earthly desires or fears rather than fixing our eyes on our Savior. All of us must be constantly reminded that though we still sin we are no longer its slave (Romans 6:17-18) having been purchased and freed by the Son (John 8:34-36)! Reading the sermon excerpt, in the context of contemplating the song, put me in mind of Psalm 103:11-12,

“For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
    so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
    so far does he remove our transgressions from us.”

How beautiful it is to have the completeness of our redemption so vividly illustrated! We also have in John 8:36 another beautiful reminder, from Jesus Himself, of the fullness of God’s grace.

“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

And Paul reminds us, in Romans 8:38-39,

“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Nothing can separate God’s people from His love! And John, in his first epistle emphatically declares that, while all of us still sin, it is through the faithfulness of God that we are cleansed from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:8-9,

“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Indeed the only way for us to be outside the mercy of God is to be outside the mercy of God… Yes, I did repeat myself. For those who are in Christ, there is no condemnation (Romans 8:1)! But Jesus tells us exactly the circumstances of those who will not be forgiven in John 3:18,

“Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”

So, what can we make of this message? What can we understand about God by being more blatantly aware of the infinite breadth of His mercy? For the believer it is comfort. Not safety from the battering of life but security in knowing that our nature cannot overcome God’s nature and that our souls have been irrevocably redeemed. For the one who has not trusted Christ, it is both fear and hope. Fear, in knowing that, just as nothing in the believer can separate him from Christ, nothing in the one who rejects Christ can save him. But hope because, as Paul says in Romans 10:9-13,

“because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, ‘Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.’ For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For ‘everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’"

So praise the Lord for His mercy! And, if you ever find yourself with questions about salvation, never hesitate to reach out to me! Our sins, they are many. His mercy, is more!