For God has made all men prisoners, that he may have mercy upon all. (Romans 11.32)
"Since God's mercy is divine and not human, it is poured out on all people, as emphasized in our text. In his letter to the Romans Paul interprets this mercy by insisting that it is extended to Jews and the gentiles- to those near, or at least nearer, to God and those far away from him- to the so-called pious and the so-called unbelievers- to the so-called good and the so-called evil people- truly to all. God has mercy on all, though each in his own way. God's mercy is such as it described in the parable of the lost sheep, of the lost coin, and of the prodigal son.
Let us pause here for a moment. As according to God's holy word, spoken in Jesus Christ, he has mercy on all, each one of you may and shall repeat- not after me, but after him- 'I am one of them'. God as mercy on me and will have mercy on me. The one great sin for anyone right now would be to think: This is not meant for me. 'God does not have mercy on me and will not have mercy on me.' Or even worse- 'I do not need mercy. I do not want it!' This would be the one great sin which we had rather not commit this morning. God has mercy on all, including you and me. As a result you and I may and shall live from this 'yes' spoken to all men, spoken to us, and live here and now.
But wait a minute! Because according to the word that God has spoken in Jesus Christ he has mercy on all, we may and we must repeat in our hearts: 'Among all people on whom God has mercy are this man and this woman, this fellow-creature beside me, in front of me or behind, whom I don't like to remember. Perhaps he did me wrong, or I am not pleased with him for other reasons. Perhaps I must consider him as my enemy, and myself as his enemy.' God has mercy on all- even on this other fellow! His 'yes' is also valid for him. The one great sin from which we shall try to escape this morning is to exclude anyone from the 'yes' of God's mercy. In our thoughts, words and deeds we may live, and we must live, with each neighbour as with one to whom God is compassionate.We not only pray 'Lord have mercy on me!' We also pray 'Lord have mercy on us, have mercy on us all!' This has been the prayer of the Christian Church from the very beginning, and this is the true prayer for us today."
-Delieverance To The Captives, Sermons in a Prison in Basel.
In his in many ways excellent book Gospel JD Greear provides a short daily prayer to be used as a way to meditate on the gospel. Greear, like his hero Tim Keller, is of the school of thought that the gospel of justification in Christ is not just the beginning of the Christian life, but the whole means of the Christian life. As Keller puts it, it is not the ABCs but the A to Z. Greear's prayer, which I'll include below, aims to ground the believer in the Gospel as the wellspring of their spiritual life.
This perspective- that sanctification flows naturally from a deep reaction to understanding one's own justification in Christ- has been and is important to me. I have found, though, that the effortful pursuit of holiness, which one could also call the effort to be discipled by Christ, is also necesary to my spiritual health and growth. I think the word "holiness" could be replaced by the term "christian integrity". It is indeed a reaction to Gods love- a desire to be pleasing to, and do whats pleasing to, Him.
I do believe that the gospel of justification is the ground of this and a ground we must return to again and again. I also believe that my own fleshly efforts at holiness are extremely limited and fail more often then they succeed. What I have come to believe, though, is that the Spirit empowers me to be able to triumph over sin (or at least to win some battles and slowly and painstakingly gain territory). The promised spirit empowers me to act like the reborn creature I am. When I act in humble reliance on the Spirit- when I call on the Spirit to transform me and then act with strength and discernment within the space that the Spirit opens up for me- then some progress is made. I have found my experience echoes a book I read some time ago somewhat lukewarmly which is now looking better and better in the rearview mirror- Bryan Chapell's The Promises of Grace.
Recently I also came cross the teachings of Kevin DeYoung on holiness (The Hole in our Holiness) and they have been shoring me up in the approach I am taking. I try to combine the Kellerian emphasis on meditation on the Gospel with intentional, discerning battle against sin. I understand this to be the holistic, deep Way of Christ followed by giants like Wesley and the Puritans.
During this time I have on and off again been reciting JD Greear's prayer, which is as follows:
In Christ, there is nothing I can do to make you love me more, and nothing that I have done that could make you love me less.
You are all I need for everlasting joy.
As you have been to me, so I will be for others.
When I pray I will measure your compassion by the cross, and your power by the resurrection.
I have now amended the prayer to the following, which I present here for anyone who loves Greear's basic prayer and shares my resonance for these changes. As well as adding an emphasis on being empowered for holiness and what is pleasing to God, I also simplified the first verse in a way I think the second to last line makes acceptable to do. I added the initial address to God as Father both because of the important theological implications that come with the adress "Abba, father!" and because addressing God without some kind of title or name to begin felt odd to me. Here it is, what I am thinking of as the "holiness gospel prayer":
Father, I know that in Christ there is nothing I can do to make you love me more, and nothing I can do to make you love me less.
You are all I need for everlasting joy.
As you have been to me, so I will be to others.
Please strengthen me in everything that pleases you.
When I pray I will measure your compassion by the cross, and your power by the resurrection.
