Grace, Mercy and Peace…

“…to each of you, through God, the Father and Jesus Christ, his Son our Lord. Amen.”

So begins every Sunday morning (and Monday evening) Divine Service at Faith Lutheran Church in Warsaw, Mo.

Grace is unearned, undeserved favor, and requires only faith in the Savior. The merit system of the law no longer applies to the one saved through faith in Christ because he is “under grace.” He cannot improve his position by good works, although there are rewards for faithfulness and practical holiness (Unger, Merrill F. (1983). Unger’s Bible Dictionary, 3rd Ed., p. 430).

Mercy is the compassion of God which moved Him to provide a Savior (Ibid.).

Despite imperfections, God’s grace preserves the believer whose sins were, and are, covered by Jesus Christ who died on the cross, shedding his blood as a sacrifice for “the sins of the world” (John 3:16).

God showed his mercy through the crucifixion of Christ on the cross; our sins are covered by the blood of Jesus that was shed for us; thus we have “peace” with God. That is, we are not in conflict with God, but become his children, beloved of the Father through faith in the Son.

Through baptism we enter into the death and resurrection of Christ, thus, “in Christ,” we are granted eternal life in the new heaven and new earth where there will be no sin, sorrow, death or fear – such as exists in this present world because of the sin that came into the world when Adam and Eve disobeyed God and were deceived by Satan.

Rejecting God’s gifts of grace, mercy and peace, those who follow the chief of liars and deceivers, Satan, and his army of fallen angels will meet their appointed end (Revelation 11:15).

Once again, because of our faith, we are saved by grace that God gives in his mercy toward us. And, saved and free of condemnation for our sins – the sins removed as far away as the east is from the west, we have peace with God. No matter what happens in the world, we are saved and preserved for a blessed eternity.

Without faith, it is impossible to please God, and those who come to Him must believe that he exists, and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him (Hebrews 11:6).

Yet even the faith that we must have in order to please God is another gift he gives to us: “…for He has given to each of us the measure of faith” (Romans 12:3).

So, what must we do to be saved? Nothing, really, because there is nothing we can do, except to receive God’s free gifts of Grace, Mercy and Peace.