Letter 7:  Grace v.s. Mercy

“Women of Purpose,

Do you ever find yourself seeking the Lord’s help for problems in your life, only to find yourself back in the same situation days, weeks, or months later?

Sometimes Christians confuse the grace and mercy of God, but it so is important to understand the difference between the two.

Grace is not God forgiving you, rather it is Him helping you, empowering you, and giving you what you don’t deserve.

Alternatively, mercy is God forgiving you and not giving you what you do deserve. You need both, but you also need to understand why they are different!

In 2 Corinthians 12:9, Jesus told Paul, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.”

Grace comes from the Greek root word “charis,” which means “to be empowered” and “to be helped.”

The Bible says, “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need,” (Hebrews 4:16).

We are called to come boldly to “The Throne of Grace,” but the seat next to the throne is of mercy known as, “The Mercy Seat.”

Some of you are going to the wrong place and that’s why you’re not being changed.

You’re asking for mercy, but mercy isn’t what changes you. God will have mercy on you, but just because you’re forgiven doesn’t mean you’ve been changed. Mercy is not what changes your condition. It takes grace to change you!

God affords you mercy. It’s almost like having a pardon for awhile as grace is working on you to change you and help you grow out of that condition. Grace is not given as a license for you to keep sinning, but it is given for you to grow up into the measure of the stature of Jesus Christ into all things, “Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ,” (Ephesians 4:13).

Allow the Lord’s mercy and grace to help you change and grow today!”

~David E. Taylor~