The Patience/Long-suffering, Mercy, and Grace of God

This blog has required a lot of contemplation on how I was going to write it. Should I do all three in one blog? Should I do a blog for each attribute? Having been influenced by my systematic theology book and A. W. Pink. I decided to treat them all together. Because these three attributes are separate but intertwined. In these three attributes, you see the love of God played out, and you see the wrath of God played out.

God in describing himself, He said,

“The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” (Exodus, 34:6).

The LORD tells Moses of the three attributes we will describe for you in this blog, showing their relationship in His steadfast love. Mercy, Grace, and Patience described as slow to anger.  Again, the same description in Psalm 103:8. It may seem difficult to tell them apart because they are often described together in the bible, but they have distinguishing traits.

After much thought, I decided to begin with the Patience of God. The Patience of God should be defined as God’s goodness in the withholding of punishment toward those who sin against him. The patience of God is applied to the just and the unjust. To the vessels of wrath and the vessels of mercy. God’s patience is often described as a function of His mercy, and this fact is undeniable. However, His patience is also displayed as a function leading to wrath as well. The patience of God is a function of his divine goodness and mercy, but it is different from both. Stephen Charnock said, “Mercy respects the creature as miserable, patience respects the creature as criminal; mercy pities him in his misery, and patience bears with the sin which engendered the misery and is giving birth to more.” How does this apply to the unjust?

“What if God, desiring to show His wrath and make known His power, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction” (Romans 9:22).

God is enduring with great patience, the sin, the hate, and the crimes against Himself and He is receiving from vessels of wrath. Why wouldn’t God destroy them? If God let His wrath go without exercising patience, would it not go against all who sin? I am suggesting that if God exercised His wrath against sin right now, there would be no one left to be saved. But in his mercy, God is saving His wrath for the day of wrath, not for the benefit of the wicked but the benefit of the elect,

“In order to make known the riches of His glory for vessels of mercy He has prepared beforehand for glory” (Romans 9:23).

So even His wrath is displayed for His glory, and to show the elect just exactly what he saved us from, to show the elect His mercy. Because so great a mercy has been shown to us, we also should exercise patience. Patience should not just be shown to our children and our loved ones but should be shown to our enemies and the enemies of God. Exercising patience is one way of exercising the Grace and the love of God.

Now we can focus on the mercy of God. We can define mercy this way; compassion or forgiveness is shown toward someone whom it is within one's power to punish or harm. This is an internet definition. Webster defines it this way; compassion or forbearance shown especially to an offender or to one subject to one's power. I didn’t like the definition in my systematic theology book. It defines mercy this way; goodness towards those in misery and distress. I don’t think this captures the mercy of God. Everyone that has ever lived is in distress because of sin and being under the wrath of God. Those who God reveals Himself to know their misery and They distress over it. Those to whom sin is never revealed will never know their true misery and, therefore, cannot be distressed over it. Yet God’s mercy is shown to the just and the unjust. How you say? There is general mercy shown to all that is made,

“The LORD is over all, and His mercy is over all that He has made,” (Psalm 145:9). 

“Nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything since, He Himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything” (Acts 17:25).

God has pity on His creation and supplies all their needs. This is sometimes called common grace. At this time, I do not believe in common Grace. Grace is shown only to God’s elect. That goes for angels and men. We will get into that a little more when we discuss grace.

Then there is a special mercy God shows to all mankind. He provides for them all the necessities of life.

“For he makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust” (Mathew 5:45).

The General mercy is for all of his creation, and the special mercy is for all mankind. There is, however, a third mercy, which we will call God’s sovereign mercy. God’s sovereign mercy is reserved for the heirs of salvation, which is delivered to them through the mediator Christ Jesus. The mercies of the special and general kind as given to the unjust are strictly in the present life. Once in the grave mercy ceases for the unjust,

“For this people is without discernment; therefore, He who made them will not have compassion on them; He who formed them will show them no favor.” (Isaiah 27:11).

Now you might say to me, doesn’t it say in Psalm 136:1 that His mercy endures forever? Not for those under general or special mercy who are vessels of wrath, the unjust. God can never cease to be merciful; it is part of His person, and He does not change. His ongoing mercy, however, is reserved for vessels of mercy prepared beforehand for glory.

Some are relying heavily on God’s mercy and sinning without repentance. To continue in this lifestyle of sin even though you claim the name of Christ, this is folly. It is like saying, “Let us do evil that good may come,” your “damnation is just” (Romans 3:8).

The riches of God’s mercies transcend our ability to think about it. His ways are not our ways. The elect will live in God’s Sovereign mercy for eternity. Please seek Christ while you can do so.

Now we will turn to God’s Grace and use Abraham Booth’s definition, “It is the eternal and absolute free favor of God, manifested in the vouchsafement of spiritual and eternal blessings to the guilty and the unworthy.” God’s divine Grace, is the sovereign favor of God bestowed upon hell-bound mankind. A.W. Pink said, “When a thing is said to be of “grace” we mean that the recipient has no claim upon it, that it was in nowise due him. It comes to him as pure charity, and, at first, unasked and undesired” (The Attributes of God, pg.66).  In the epistles of the apostle Paul, grace and works do not mix,

“But if by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace” (Romans 11:6).

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this not of your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Please don’t say it’s your faith. In the context of what is being said here and straight-up grammatically, this verse is saying that grace and faith are not of your doing. They are gifts from God.

The three principals of divine grace are, 1) Grace is eternal, 2) Grace is free, 3) Grace is sovereign. Grace is eternal; God is an eternally gracious being. He decreed before the foundations of the world who would receive His sovereign grace. Grace is free. No one who receives grace pay’s for grace. There was a price, and there was only one who was worthy of paying it, Jesus Christ. Grace is sovereign. Because God is sovereign, grace is sovereign and sovereignly doled out,

“I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious” (Exodus 33:19).  

I mentioned angles and men earlier. A.W. pink would say that because the elect Angels were never in a position to require mercy, they never received mercy, only grace. I am not quite sure what I think of that, because I believe it was merciful of God to keep the Angels who are elect from falling. Or was it gracious of God to keep them? I am still chewing on that. Based on the definitions we used, I would have to say he is right, but I’m not ready yet.

What does all of this mean?  We have a loving and merciful God, a gracious and sovereign God, and if you don’t know Him and you are being pulled in that direction. Then you need to seek Him and not give up until you have assurance from the Holy Spirit that Christ is your savior.