Truth Magazine

By Tom M. Roberts

“For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment” (Jas. 2:13, NKJV).

Each of us can be thankful that God allows mercy to temper justice. Since “all have sinned,” and “the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 3:23; 6:23), each of us could properly be damned to everlasting torment. God would not be unjust in that event and none could levy charges of inequity against him. Truly, grace and mercy go hand in hand and it is by God’s grace that we are saved (Eph. 2:8,9). None of us will dare to ask for justice before God’s great Judgment; we plead for mercy.

Our text states that mercy in some fashion wins out over judgment and this news should be received with joy on the part of every responsible person. However, the relation of mercy and judgment within God’s character will be compatible with God’s nature, so we should not quickly assume that mercy negates judgment. On the contrary, Paul warned that it is the “righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death. . . ” (Rom. 1:32). “Worthy of death” cannot be ignored in the context of a discussion of God’s righteous judgment. I fear that many have assumed that mercy will somehow cause God to overlook sin, discount it, fail to impute guilt or, in some manner, be so benevolent toward sinners that we feel we can sin with impunity. Many funeral orations seem to leave this impression by preaching the most reprobate of sinners right into heaven. But whatever it means for “mercy to triumph over judgment,” it cannot be an absolute situation whereby mercy assures universal salvation to all men, regardless of their deeds. Remember, “it is fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Heb. 10:31). It will be to our advantage to study mercy and judgment in the light of our text to see how we may share in the triumph of mercy.

Definition of Mercy

“The outward manifestation of pity: it assumes need on the part of him who receives it, and resources adequate to meet the need on the part of him who shows it” (Vine, p. 60).

“Mercy, kindness or good will towards the miserable and afflicted, joined with a desire to relieve them” (Thayer, p. 203).

This suggests that God has a desire to help and resources adequate to meet our needs. It also suggests that man is pitiable and miserable, which is, indeed, the truth, as we are afflicted in sin and unable to do anything about our condition. We need mercy and, thanks be to God, he wants to be merciful. Paul says that God was “rich in mercy” (Eph. 2:4-6) even while we were “dead in trespasses.” He is said to be the “Father of mercies” (2 Cor. 1:3) in that mercy originates and has its source in him. David pleaded with God to save him “for your mercies’ sake” (Psa. 6:4) and begged for forgiveness: “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to your loving kindness; according to the multitude of your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions” (51:1). However, David recognized a responsibility on the part of the one pleading for mercy. He said, “For you, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in mercy to all those who call upon you” (86:5. emp. mine, tr). We must understand, therefore, that mercy is conditional, not absolute. What does God require of us for him to be merciful?

Mercy Has Conditions

God is merciful, but David has shown that mercy is bestowed selectively to those “who call upon God” (Psa. 86:5). “But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children’s children, to such as keep his covenant, and to those who remember his commandants to do them ” (103:17,18, emp. tr). Further, we read, “In mercy and truth atonement is provided for iniquity; and by the fear of the Lord one departs from evil” (Prov. 16:6).

Isaiah declares: “let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon” (55:7). In the Magnificent, Mary declares, “and his mercy is on those who fear him from generation to generation” (Lk. 1:50).

All these passages, and many more, simply teach that God has made choice of those upon whom he will have mercy and those upon whom judgment will be visited. “Therefore he has mercy on whom he wills and whom he wills he hardens” (Rom. 9:18). This is not saying that God is arbitrary with his mercy, sending some to hell who want to go to heaven or sending some to heaven who ought to go to hell. But it is teaching that God has the desire to show mercy and that he has chosen to show mercy to those who 41call upon him,” “fear the Lord,” “walk in the light” (1 Jn. 1:7). On the other hand, the disobedient, the rebel, the wayward and backsliding will meet God’s judgment and justice (Rev. 1:8), not mercy.

Where is Mercy to be Found?

God has specifically identified not only the conditions by which mercy will be offered, but he has specifically identified the Person through whom mercy will be offered. Mercy is not administered haphazardly, not through merit, not according to respect of persons or wealth, or because of lineage. Mercy is administered in Christ. This important point cannot be overemphasized. It is the theme of the entire Bible.

Once sin entered the world (Rom. 5:12), man needed mercy in the form of a Savior. This Savior was to be the seed of woman (Gen. 3:15). The Scriptures further identified the seed of woman as being the seed of Abraham (15:4, et al) and the seed of David (2 Sam. 7:12). Isaiah explained further: “incline your ear, and come to me. Hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, the sure mercies of David” (55:3). We are not left in doubt as to the meaning of this phrase since Paul identified it with Jesus and his resurrection in Acts 13:34: “And that he raised him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, he has spoken thus, ‘I will give you the sure mercies of David.” In these verses, mercy is firmly connected with Jesus as a fulfillment of prophecy. Other inspired men recognized this to be so. Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, spoke under the influence of the Holy Spirit when John was born, saying that the Lord was fulfilling his covenant with Abraham, David and Israel by “performing the mercy promised to our fathers” in sending John and Jesus “through the tender mercy of our God” (Lk. 1:67-79). Note that Jesus’ coming into the world is an act of mercy, an “outward manifestation of pity” toward those who “sit in darkness.” It was no accident that many of Jesus’ day, hearing his message and seeing his mighty deeds cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (Mk. 10:47) They rightly connected Jesus with the promise of Messianic mercy.

Furthermore, not only is the coming of Jesus an act of mercy, but salvation in Christ is the focus of this mercy. Not all in the world will be saved; only those in Christ will be saved. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christfrom the dead” (1 Pet. 1:3). Our hope is rooted in Christ. Those in Christ are begotten again. Redemption is in Christ (Eph. 1:3ft), along with “every spiritual blessing.” Salvation is in Christ. Remission of sins is in Christ. Fellowship with God is in Christ. Eternal life is in Christ. Thus, mercy is not generic, found somehow in an attitude of looseness toward sin or an overlooking of sin, but specific: in Christ. Remember how David said that God is “abundant in mercy to all those who call upon” him? The New Testament reminds us that when we obey the gospel, we are calling on God: “And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord. ” Obedience to the gospel is the same thing as calling on God. The gospel is the good news of this mercy and is to be preached to the whole world. Those who accept Jesus as Christ and Lord by faith and baptism (Matt. 28:18-20; Mk. 16:15, 16) are added to Christ and his body (Acts 2:47; Rom. 6:37; Col. 2:12; etc.) and he is the savior of the body, the church (Eph. 1:22, 23; Eph. 5:23).

My friend, don’t wait for the Judgment Day, expecting in some vague way to plead for mercy as you stand before the Judgment Throne. “Mercy triumphs over judgment” in the sense that God has made it possible to extend mercy in the Person and Will of Christ when we ought to be condemned. All we who need mercy may find it in abundance as we turn in faith to Christ. In that way, when we stand before God, we will, as Paul, “be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith” (Phil. 3:9). To appear before God outside of Christ and plead for mercy is to plead in vain. In Christ we find mercy, and this mercy triumphs over judgment because our sins are forgiven, pardoned by the same Judge who appointed Christ as our Merciful High Priest (Heb. 2:17). It is in this manner that God can say, “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more” (8:12). Indeed, mercy triumphs over judgment in the redemptive work of Jesus. “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. . . ‘ (Rom. 8:1).

Guardian of Truth XXXIV: 14, pp. 432-433
July 19, 1990

By Bill Dodd

In the winter and early spring of 1990, 1 sent several articles to the Arkansas Gazette. The first articles I sent were to challenge evolution and abortion. Those articles never saw the light of day. You see, the first two articles I sent took issue with the views sent in by Gazette readers. Then it dawned on me to apply some insight gained from the “waterfront philosopher,” Eric Hoffer. Hoffer said that the main reason intellectuals like Communism is that Communism’s restricted political system draws more attention to their protests. A democracy does not give them the attention that they think they ought to command. So, I challenged the editors of the Gazette to print my article on abortion; you guessed it, I got written up.

It has occurred to me that perhaps one reason so many bright preachers have gone off the deep-end spiritually is to draw attention through their radical views to themselves. I well remember that in the sixties, some young intellectuals took some cheap shots at Alexander Campbell. Luther Blackmon made the observations that Campbell’s intellectual mantle would fit these young upstarts like a cowhide would fit a canary. Some fit! Also, in this same time frame, I perchance asked Melvin Curry about one young preacher who had been a four-pointer grade-wise at Florida College. He told me that he was not all that impressed with brainy folks anymore. I am quite sure that Melvin appreciates ability used the right way as much as anyone. He was not impressed with the vanity of some spiritual renegades of which he had first hand knowledge. Neither am 1. Incidentally, that young preacher is now an Episcopalian.

It would seem that Jude had the vain intellectual’s number when he penned these words: “and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men’s person in admiration because of advantage” (Jude 16).

Guardian of Truth XXXIV: 14, p. 424
July 19, 1990

By Ron Halbrook

Godly women are taught to dress modestly so as to reflect reverence for God and so as to exert a good influence upon men (1 Tim. 2:9-10; 1 Pet. 3:14). Worldly minded brethren tell us that these passages do not forbid such “styles” as shorts, miniskirts, and swimsuits, but forbid only overdressing. They tell us that in the first century there was no problem with women exposing their bodies and that the passages cited above have no reference to such a question. “Besides, nobody thinks anything about it nowadays. No one considers such attire immodest or pays any attention to it except a few grouchy preachers and a few narrow-minded brethren.”

The truth is that some first-century fashions were gaudy and some gauzy – some overdressed and some under dressed a woman’s body. Both forms of immodesty are forbidden by the principles taught in such passages as 1 Timothy 2:9-10 and I Peter 3:1-4. Historians tell us that the silk market boomed in the first century because silk clothing could be designed which “clung to the female form in a way that was infinitely more pleasing to the eye” than traditional fashions. Next, designers decided that “the close-woven Chinese fabric” was “not sexy enough,” so they “re-wove it into a flimsy gauze which left little to the imagination.”

For the average Roman girl-watcher those were golden years, but the moralists raise a fearful outcry. “I see clothes of silk, if clothes they can be called, “wrote the philosopher Seneca (4 BC-AD 64), “affording protection neither to the body nor to the modesty of the wearer, and which are purchased for enormous sums. . . ” Pliny told of garments that “render women naked.” Other writers waggishly referred to clothes I made of glass” (Robert Collins, East to Cathay: The Silk Road [New York: McGraw-Hill, 1968], pp. 44-46).

Notice Seneca’s reference to costly array which violates the principle of modesty when worn, both of which are mentioned in 1 Timothy 2:9-10.

In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works.

The new fashion rage is pushing ” see-through blouses,” ‘racy peek-a-boo garb,” and all sorts of “gauzy merchandise. ” As Laura Akgulian observes, “The ‘power’ of these clothes resides in the fact that they’re hardly clothes at all. They are lingerie masquerading as day wear.” Akgulian is working on a book about women and fashion. Her article “See-through chic is sheer effrontery to females” appeared in the Houston (TX) Chronicle, 21 March 1989, p. 11A. She rightly protests the new fashion as outrageous and brazen.

It is embarrassing and disgusting even to read about these new styles, but it will be still more embarrassing and disgusting to be “forced to watch other women parading around” in them. The only thing worse will be when some Christian women get sufficiently accustomed to the new style to wear it. Will some of us become so demoralized and degraded as to show off the new fashion at worship services, as happened with the miniskirts? I shudder to think about it.

We cannot become totally pessimistic when a voice like Laura Akgulian’s can still be heard in our society! In traveling around the country, it is heartening to meet many godly sisters in Christ who have never bowed the knee to the fashion gods of under dress and overdress. There are many godly husbands and fathers who are leading their families in the paths of righteousness. Not all gospel preachers are as silent as the tomb on modesty. Many still speak the truth of God with dignity, kindness, and firmness. When necessary, they can cry aloud and spare not.

Brethren, we must not become so discouraged that we quit speaking out in behalf of righteousness, godliness, and modesty. When my wife and I wrote the editor of the Houston Chronicle thanking him for printing Laura Akgulian’s article, he printed our letter in the “Viewpoints” column (2 Mar., p. 3H). We must not be ashamed of the gospel. We must not be afraid of the frowns of our neighbors and relatives (and even some brethren). Compromise and concession cause our lights to grow dim in this world of darkness and sin. With childlike faith in the Lord, with courage and conviction, let us resolve to “shine as lights in the world, holding forth the word of life” (Phil. 2:15-16).

Guardian of Truth XXXIV: 14, p. 427
July 19, 1990

By Larry Ray Hafley

“And at that time there was a great persecution against the church . . . and they were all scattered abroad” (Acts 8:1). “I wrote unto the church; but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not” (3 Jn. 9). The “church” is “they,” “them,” the saved.

Saul breathed “out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord” (Acts 9:1). He laid waste “the church ” (Acts 8:3). Saul did “much evil . . . to (the Lord’s) saints” (Acts 9:13). He “persecuted the church of God” (Gal. 1:13). Saul “destroyed them which called on (the Lord’s) name” (Acts 9:21). He “persecuted the church of God” (1 Cor. 15:9). Saul put “many of the saints . . . in prison” (Acts 26:10). He was zealous, “persecuting the church ” (Phil. 3:6).

The believers whom Saul beat and imprisoned were the saints which called on the Lord’s name – note it well – “in Jerusalem” (Acts 9:13,21). Who were these people “at Jerusalem “? They were the ones who believed, repented and were baptized “in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins” “at Jerusalem” (Acts 2:5,36-38). These people are collectively referred to as the “saved,” “the church” (Acts 2:47; 5:11), “which was at Jerusalem” (Acts 8:1).

People in Antioch heard the preaching of the Lord, “and a great number believed and turned to the Lord.” Further, “much people were added unto the Lord.” These saved people were “the disciples (which) were called Christians first in Antioch.” Collectively, they referred to as “the church” (Acts 11:20-26).

Why Such Repetition?

Why be so redundant about a point that no Christian denies; in other words, the saved are the church? First, the fact often is acknowledged without its implications being fully appreciated or clearly understood. Second, certain brethren are uncomfortable with the “exclusivistic” nature of the church. They rail and revile against being “legalistic, narrowminded, bigoted,” but they offer no scriptural alternative to the body of the saved. Third, many devout souls in denominationalism repudiate “the one true church” concept. Their prejudice against the truth is born partly of ignorance. They need to be instructed in the way of God more perfectly. Fourth, sincere believers, hearing the taunts of brethren and religious friends, begin to question the truth which they mentally accept. They must be reminded, grounded and settled, rooted and built up in Christ and established in the faith.

Ask Yourself:

(1) Does the Bible teach the saved constitute the church, the body of Christ (Eph. 1:22,23; 2:16; 4:4; 5:23)? Are there saved people who are not members of the church (Acts 2:47; 1 Cor. 12:12,13,20)?

(2) What must one do to be saved (Mk. 16:16; Acts 2:36-38,41; Heb. 5:8,9)? What does it mean to obey the gospel (Rom. 5:1; 6:3,4,16,17; 10:9,10)?

(3) When the Bible refers to “the church,” does it refer to a Protestant denomination, i.e., a Baptist, Presbyterian, or Lutheran Church? Does it refer to the Roman Catholic Church? If not, to what does it refer? If yes, prove it.

(4) If one contends for the New Testament system as outlined in the first segment of this article, is he doing wrong? If one argues for something other than what the New Testament reveals as shown in the first section of this essay, what authorizes him to do so (Gal. 1:8,9; 1 Cor. 4:6; 1 Pet. 4:11)?

(5) Were the saints and disciples, whom Saul persecuted, redeemed by the blood of Christ? Since this group is the church, are they the church which Jesus “purchased with his own blood” (Acts 20:28)? If not, what church was it?

Finally: No sympathy should be extended to compromising, apologizing brethren who seem bent on blurring the New Testament’s vision of the church. No Christian should feel guilty or ashamed of the truth regarding the church. Rather than draw back unto perdition, the saved need to be more bold, more militant in their efforts to make known the spiritual nature of the body of Christ. The church is the sphere of salvation. It is the room and realm of the ransomed and the redeemed. It is the glorious church, the product of the glorious gospel. It is th6 blood bought Spirit born, heaven bound, kingdom of the Prince of Peace. God purposed it, promised it, preached it, perfected it. Jesus loved it and gave himself for it, and all who have been born again are in it.

The greater man’s unbelief of these fundamental, elementary facts, the more aggressively they must be pressed and presented. When brethren who ought to know better begin to hedge and equivocate and throw out sops for denominational consumption, when they insinuate that the kingdom’s borders may include those in alien camps who have not obeyed the gospel, then the faithful must open their mouths and speak boldly as they ought to speak. There is nothing to be feared in proclamation and declaration of the truth regarding gospel obedience and the church. Do not cower; do not blush, but stand and speak the truth in love, in faith, in hope. Souls are not saved by obscuring and perverting the truth. The lost do not need to be consoled with the thought that they may be in the kingdom though they have not obeyed the gospel as it is written. No, they do not need to be comforted. They need to be convicted and converted. Only the truth heard, believed and obeyed can accomplish that. Preach the word.

Guardian of Truth XXXIV: 14, p. 431
July 19, 1990