331. Merciful to the Unrighteous
Hebrews 8:12a For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness….
Thank God for the promise of mercy. The mercy of God is through Jesus Christ unto the unrighteousness of us sinful men. There is no need of mercy for the righteous, actually the self-righteous, for no one is righteous, no, not one. However, some Pharisaical types (and the Pharisee in us) think they are righteous, and they do not go to their home justified. Mercy is for the sinners, that is, for those who know and admit that they are. “While we were yet sinners, Jesus died for the ungodly.”
We know we are unrighteous, and we know we are in great need of mercy. And the promise is that God will be merciful to our unrighteousness. The truth is, we would not be alive without mercy; if it were not for the mercy of God we would be dead, since that is what we are, dead in sin. Mercy, and life, is not available for the already righteous, for there is no such thing. Jesus did not come to call the righteous, but the sinners, to repentance. Repentance is vital, but it not so simple and easy, and it is not something that the sinful flesh can just do by itself. Honest repentance requires the work of the Spirit through the Law of God’s Word. When the Spirit works repentance through the Word then it is genuine; and then the Gospel is ministered.
Mercy gets rid of the unrighteousness in us; and not only so, but mercy also replaces our unrighteousness with the righteousness of God. And that is a good deal. Now in Christ, we are declared righteous, even though we have not earned it; but Jesus Christ earned it for us and gives it to us. This is mercy: receiving forgiveness, life and righteousness, which we did not deserve. It is an “alien” righteousness, but that a good thing, as we can be confident it avails before God. Faith knows we have obtained it, for we believe that Jesus died and rose to give it to us for free.
So go ahead, “sin boldly.” That does not mean sin intentionally; but it means be brave, and be honest to God: admit bravely and boldly that you are chief of sinners (for we can count more of our own sins than we can count the sins of others). We can be bold about our own sins and confess them boldly because we are assured of this promise: God will be merciful to our unrighteousness.