Yes Dear Reader, I'm sure we'd all agree that God's mercy is truly wonderful! King David, and the woman caught in adultery would certainly wholeheartedly agree. But we can't mistake his mercy for acceptance. After all,according to some of David's Psalms, he was suffering while he was under the guilt of what he had done, until Nathan the prophet came and set him free. And Jesus did tell the woman caught in adultery to go and sin no more. God gives us time to repent of any sins he has repeatedly warned us to get rid of. After that, then he reaches for his proverbial rod of correction. Trust me, you don't want him to do that.
Is it not true that God the Father is a Holy God, and he expects us, his children, to be holy too? Oh, boy, calm down, now... that doesn't mean we are going to be able to be completely sinless like he is. That just means we are to separate ourselves from unholy things, and to consecrate ourselves to him, that is our part of his Suzeranity covenant of The Gospel. As am example to us, God is also the "Holy" Spirit, because he is separate from, and opposed to, all the unholy spirits within the spiritual realm. When our Holy God, our Lord Jesus, is trying to discipline one of his naughty children, he goes about it in a certain way, and this is what makes him a very good and faithful father.
First he teaches us the right way to go as taught to us through his inerrant word. If his written instructions are not followed, then he moves to sending someone to warn us against continuing in the infraction, or sin, usually a prophet as in the case of the Old Testament, or maybe a fellow believer, as in the case of the New Testament. When the verbal warnings, also known as edification, are ignored, and some of us get more than enough verbal warnings, then he moves to other means of correction. Usually and finally to corporal punishment, or some kind of physical means of punishment. This is a biblical picture of proper parental discipline.
First he teaches us the right way to go as taught to us through his inerrant word. If his written instructions are not followed, then he moves to sending someone to warn us against continuing in the infraction, or sin, usually a prophet as in the case of the Old Testament, or maybe a fellow believer, as in the case of the New Testament. When the verbal warnings, also known as edification, are ignored, and some of us get more than enough verbal warnings, then he moves to other means of correction. Usually and finally to corporal punishment, or some kind of physical means of punishment. This is a biblical picture of proper parental discipline.
- First instruction
- which moves to several verbal corrections
- some more warnings
- and finally a good "spanking"
- Which hopefully results in repentance and right behavior
For me it took decades, even longer for my mom, before Jesus finally put us across his lap, he truly is long suffering and very patient. Yes, God is exceedingly patient with us, but when push comes to shove, he will do what he has to do in order to make his children want to mind him. Please, I beg you dear reader, don't wait that long, because it is a fearful thing to fall into the holy hands of the Living God. One of God's biggest complaints against the children of Israel in the Old Testament, was that his penchant for long-suffering mercy, caused them to not fear, or revere him. They forgot how he could mess them up, if and when they gave him cause. God's four sore judgments as recorded in Scripture that were unleashed upon the unrepentant and willful sinner, were and still are: pestilence [wild animals], plague [disease], sword/war, and famine. My mother was about to experience God's judgment of disease, something I was already very familiar with.
Dear reader, please understand that God will not be mocked, and what ever you sow, you will reap. Word of Faith teaches this, but they include and over emphasize material goods as the means of sowing and reaping, where as God mostly meant this principle to be applied spiritually, and in regards to forgiveness and doing good to others. Obedience to God's teachings, and not false teachings, will go a long way in ensuring that you are more likely to reap a good harvest as opposed to a bad one. Of course, the Almighty reserves the right to send testings our way, even though we have done everything "right." He has his ways and purposes, he sees the big picture, we only see and know in part. We need to trust his judgement even though we don't "feel" like it.
That being said, it is our duty to seek God when something is not going right, that is what trials and tribulations are for - to turn us back to our Father and to make us grow stronger, not weaker. My mom was indeed an adulterous woman. She didn't reconcile with her living husband, like Scripture teaches, but instead remarried another man, after leaving my father for a man who didn't and never wanted her, apparently it was all a big misunderstanding on her part. She left my father for the mistaken idea another man wanted her, my father didn't leave her for another woman. So he was free and clear to remarry by Scriptural doctrine. She would have been better off remaining unmarried. It took her twenty years of running before the Lord finally said, "enough is enough." He sent her many people in her path to correct her, but she didn't listen. And now, Jesus was going to "kill two birds with one stone" as it were. By sending my mother a plague - twice, he finally got my attention as well as hers, eventually. I say eventually, because my mom was so stubborn and obstinate, that she was even up until last moments of her life, convinced she was in God's will and in faith. Nothing could have been further from the truth. See Matthew 6:23 to help shed some light on this situation.
That being said, it is our duty to seek God when something is not going right, that is what trials and tribulations are for - to turn us back to our Father and to make us grow stronger, not weaker. My mom was indeed an adulterous woman. She didn't reconcile with her living husband, like Scripture teaches, but instead remarried another man, after leaving my father for a man who didn't and never wanted her, apparently it was all a big misunderstanding on her part. She left my father for the mistaken idea another man wanted her, my father didn't leave her for another woman. So he was free and clear to remarry by Scriptural doctrine. She would have been better off remaining unmarried. It took her twenty years of running before the Lord finally said, "enough is enough." He sent her many people in her path to correct her, but she didn't listen. And now, Jesus was going to "kill two birds with one stone" as it were. By sending my mother a plague - twice, he finally got my attention as well as hers, eventually. I say eventually, because my mom was so stubborn and obstinate, that she was even up until last moments of her life, convinced she was in God's will and in faith. Nothing could have been further from the truth. See Matthew 6:23 to help shed some light on this situation.
Don't be like that person who confuses God's mercy for his acceptance. Remember, that presumption policy is extremely dangerous to your health! When someone comes to you to correct you of a possible sin, then please, I beg you, take that correction seriously. Be humble and honest while you apply yourself to the task of seeing if what they say is so. This is not the time to lie to yourself, as if there is ever a good time for that. Could the person be mistaken? Sure, but that is why you must examine what is said with the help of prayer and Scripture. Are you in sin, or not? Is your conscience bothering you, or are you genuinely not guilty as charged? Is this just a misunderstanding? Or is your conscience seared? If you are going through a difficult time, then find out if it is God working to correct you, or is he just testing you. This biblical process of examining yourself to see if you are still in the faith (2 Cor, 13:5) is absolutely necessary and probably will save your life, and it will help you grow in your walk with the Lord and your fellow Christians. (See the book of Job for reference, if only Job had inquired of the Lord, instead of entertaining his "friends.")