The Have you ever had someone who practically attacks you with scripture? Someone who is so

passionate that their approach starts to feel harsh and judgmental. That's not what the Bible promotes.

And today on Truth for Life, Alistair Beg explains how instead we are to act mercifully.

We're looking today at the Book of Jude for Instead we are to act mercifully.

We're looking today at the book of Jude

verses 22 and 23.

Now our word this morning, the sermon in one word, is mercy, mercy.

Classically in the Merchant of Venice in the conversation between Portia and Shylock, Portia says to

Shylock, though justice be it I plea, consider this. that in the course of justice, none of us should see salvation.

We do pray for mercy and that same prayer doth teach us all to render mercy. I try and understand for myself the distinction if we need a distinction between

grace and mercy there are really two sides of one coin but if we think of

grace in terms of what God lavishes upon us, even though we do not deserve it,

then the flip side of that would be that in mercy, God does not give to us actually what we deserve and he

refrains from executing justice upon us by executing judgment on his dearly beloved son.

Now Jude has been addressing these matters of great significance. We find ourselves at the end of verse 21, where

he is reminding his readers that they are actually waiting for the mercy of our Lord

Jesus Christ. And the Bible of course centers on this. You don't have to

look very carefully for it, even taking your concordance and looking up the word mercy, you would

find yourself immediately at passages like Ephesians chapter 2.

Where Paul is reminding his readers, quotes,

we were, by nature, he says, children of wrath.

That's what we deserved, just like the rest of mankind.

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