"It Was His Mercy That Set Us Free!"

Scripture: “At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. …”-Titus 3:3-5, NIV

Within this day and age, one of the busiest places on a daily basis is the courtroom. Judges, throughout this land, deal with various cases from killings to moving violations. They have the undaunting task of deciding the fates of these people. They decide whether a person gets life in prison, “the chair”, jail time period, probation, fines, and other things. In some cases, the one who done wrong receives the harshest of penalties. Then, there are some cases where the one who has done wrong receives a “slap on the wrist”. When the person receives the slap on the wrist, it lets us know that the judge had mercy on the person to set them free or serve a shorter sentence than the norm. If we switch this thing spiritually, there’s been someone whose mercy has pleaded not just my case, but your case as well! It’s our Heavenly Father whose mercy has set us free! Just in case you never experienced this, today’s text will illuminate why we can make such a statement.

Today’s main scripture is located in the book of Titus. This book, along with 1 and 2 Timothy, are considered Paul’s Pastoral Epistles. Titus was written around 66 A.D. This epistle served as an epistle of encouragement to Titus as he is receiving advice on how to select the leaders for the church at Crete (modern-day Greece). Paul also provided Titus warnings about the reputations of the people who reside in Crete. Within Chapter 3 of Titus, Paul concludes his letter with Titus and he provides a discussion on doing what is good. Within the discussion on doing what is good is where we find out that it was God’s mercy that set us free.

Paul begins the text with this thought, “At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another”. If we cut the grass short enough, this has been you or at a certain point, still you. Paul told the church at Rome that we all have sinned and come short of the Glory of God (Romans 3:23). He also told the church at Galatia that when a man think of himself is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself (Galatians 6:3). No matter who you are, you have done some foolish things! We have been disobedient to the will of God! We have been deceived by what is shown on TV! We have been deceived by what is written in the news! We have been deceived by what is shown on movie screens throughout the country! We have been enslaved because of the color of our skin! We have been enslaved because of our financial demographics! We have been enslaved by having the biggest homes! We have been enslaved by having the nicest cars! We have been enslaved by having the nicest suits! We have envied someone, we have hated someone, we have had people hate us! At one point or another, we have all been trapped by the enemy’s vises!

The ending of today’s text provides me joy on the inside and in turn, it should do the same. The text concludes with Paul writing, “But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy.” Though we were bound by the chains of being rich, God had mercy on us! Though we were bound by the vises of the TV, God had mercy on us! Through the hating of your brothers and sisters, God had mercy on us! Through people hating on us, God had mercy on us! Through every dangerous toils and snares, God had mercy on us! Through our foolish decisions, God had mercy on us! Through our disobedient acts, God had mercy on us! No matter what you have been big and bad enough to do, God’s love, God’s kindness, and most importantly, His mercy pleaded your case, my case, and has allowed us to be set free! When the Son has set you free, you are free indeed!

In closing, being a judge in today’s judicial system is tough. Nevertheless, if judges do not decide on people’s cases, then they would not have a paycheck. One thing about judges, they are people and some are kindhearted and some are not kindhearted. Aren’t you glad about the God who was loving, kind, and merciful to plead your case through our life’s foolishness and craziness? If so, you ought to give Him a praise wherever you are and thank Him for being your lawyer that’s NEVER lost a case!