Hebrews 4-16

By definition, mercy is compassion and a kindly forbearance shown toward an offender or enemy; it is pity or benevolence. This aptly describes how God is toward us and His attitude toward us. He was never at odds with us; rather, we were at odds with Him. Sin is the reason for this enmity between God and man, and sin is the cause of man’s rebellion against God. It started at the very beginning of creation, after God created Adam and Eve—the first married couple. When Adam fell, so did the entirety of the human race. Now, I know that some of you might have a hard time wrapping your heads around the fact that we are like we are—sinners— because of one man, but that’s exactly what happened.

It was supposed to be that Adam and Eve would bring sons and daughters of God into this world, but due to their sin, they could not do that. They would have to settle for bringing in sons and daughters after the nature and likeness of Adam, and, with Adam now flawed, so would the entirety of the human race. However, God did not want us to stay in this condition, so He did something about it. In fact, before the creation of the world, the universe, or the planetary beings, God knew through foreknowledge that He would create man, that man would fall, and that He would provide a way of escape for those who desired to do so. That way of escape was the Cross. The Cross of Christ provided the means by which we can experience such mercy from a thrice-holy God. The very moment that Christ died, the veil of temple, which separated sinful man from a holy God, was torn from top to bottom. This signified that anyone, no matter who they were, could now come into the throne room of God and receive mercy from the Almighty.

How does this apply to us today? Because of what Christ accomplished at Calvary's Cross, and due to the fact that Christ is our mediator, we can come into the very presence of God, and all we have to do is exhibit faith. This throne is not a throne of judgment, but one of grace and mercy, and we all need grace and mercy. Only grace and mercy can bring us through every trial and tribulation that we will ever face in our lives. Only grace and mercy can provide what is needed for every person, no matter what their conditions of life may be.

All of us need mercy, but we don't deserve mercy. We deserve the opposite of mercy, which is judgment. But due to the finished work of Christ and simple faith on our part, we can “come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16).

Our past has been forgotten, our sins have been forgiven, and our blackness has been blotted out— all by faith in what Christ has done. Mercy can never be granted through our works, but only through the work of Jesus Christ, which was performed at Calvary's Cross, and our faith in that finished work. We have mercy because of Christ. We have grace because of Christ. We have life everlasting because of Christ. We have more abundant life because of Christ. We have access to very throne room of God because of Christ. All of Christ and none of us.

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Gabriel Swaggart has been in full-time ministry for 15 years. He serves as associate pastor for Family Worship Center, is an integral presence on the <a href="http://sonlifetv.com" target="_blank">SonLife Broadcasting Network</a>, and is Lead Pastor of Crossfire Youth Ministries. In addition to his administrative and ministerial responsibilities at <a href="https://jsm.org" target="_blank">Jimmy Swaggart Ministries</a>, he also preaches several annual U.S. rallies.

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