Christians often believe that they always have grace and mercy from God but reality is far from it. This is because of corrupt church leaders and preachers not leading the flock of Christ into scriptural truth. To fully understand why grace and mercy are not always guaranteed, we need to first understand what they are.

Grace and mercy is not always guaranteed

The simple explanation is, a criminal awaiting to be executed for his death penalty is seeking clemency from the president of a nation (as in many countries). We can always speculate what the decision of the president might be based on the past decisions and how merciful he is on clemency. However, there is no law which binds the president that he must grant clemency if requested. It is purely his personal decision. This is the same with the Heavenly Father. Our Heavenly Father is much more merciful and gracious than any of the world leaders but being gracious and merciful is His decision. He declares His own character to Moses in this way:

Exod 33:19 Then He said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.”

No man can dictate God to be merciful or expect Him to be gracious when they want. This is one of the important reasons why the word ‘grace’ never even came from Christ’s mouth. It is a wrong attitude to take for granted the grace of God and His mercy. The right attitude is to repent of our sins and not to sin again but keep His words written in our heart and obey His commandments, being fearful of Him who can destroy our souls in hell. If anyone sin, they do have a throne of grace and an Advocate who is Christ with the Father. But will they always get grace? The sad truth is no.

1 John 2:1-3 My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world. Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.

If you look into the above passages, Christ is the Advocate for those who keep His commandments. This means, Christ will advocate and plead our case with the Father only if we truly have a heart to be sinless and accidentally fell into sin or temptation.

Christ is not an Advocate for the following:

• Those who think they can live sinful and God’s grace will somehow cover and forgive them. These are the people Jude warned about in his letter.
• Those who think that God’s standard of holiness is too high and we can never attain it. So, Christ attained that holiness and became our righteousness and we don’t have to be sinless, holy or righteous to attain salvation.
• Those who think that we can never live sinless but keep falling in sin again and again, who reject the example of Jesus Christ who being God became a Man and showed how to live sinless by being a normal man.

Heb 4:15-16 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

We have a High Priest who knows our weakness and being tempted like us, yet lived a holy and sinless life. In other words, the above passages merely point out that we have an Advocate who can ‘plead’ our case to the Father so that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. But still there is no guarantee that Christ will always plead or the Father will always be merciful and gracious. This is why, we must always be fearful of God and obey His commandments.

Luke 13:6-9 He also spoke this parable: “A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, ‘Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?’ But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.’

Jesus spoke the parable of the fruitless fig regarding the grace of the Heavenly Father and how Christ pleads with the Father for the sake of a fruitless fig to extends it’s grace from being cut off.

Grace and Mercy of God is not His obligation

There are several passages in the old testament and also in the book of Revelation to the churches were God’s grace is not always guaranteed.

2Sam 7:15 “But My mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you.

Jer 13:10a,14 ‘This evil people, who refuse to hear My words, who follow the dictates of their hearts …. “nd I will dash them one against another, even the fathers and the sons together,” says the LORD. “I will not pity nor spare nor have mercy, but will destroy them.”

Hos 2:4 “I will not have mercy on her children, For they are the children of harlotry.

God took away His mercies from Saul for disobeying Him. God had no mercy for people who refuse to hear His words but follow the dictates of their hearts. God will not have mercy on those who reject Him. How much more we need to be careful to receive the mercies of God?

Jer 15:1 Then the LORD said to me, “Even if Moses and Samuel stood before Me, My mind would not be favorable toward this people. Cast them out of My sight, and let them go forth.

Isa 27:11 When its boughs are withered, they will be broken off; The women come and set them on fire. For it is a people of no understanding; Therefore He who made them will not have mercy on them, And He who formed them will show them no favor.

There is no grace from God for people who reject His commandments or having no understanding of Him. How much more we need to be careful to receive the grace of God?

Acts 5:1-5 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession.  And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles’ feet. But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God. Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. So great fear came upon all those who heard these things.

Did Ananias and Sapphira receive grace from God as we read the story in Acts 5:1-11? Did they have time to repent of their sins and get back to God? Nope.

There is no grace for the churches in revelation too. Christ is denying access to tree of life for believers who don’t overcome. Rev 2:7. Christ is allowing believers who don’t overcome to get hurt from second death. Rev 2:11. Christ will fight against believers who eat things sacrificed to idols and commit sexual immorality. Rev 2:16. Christ will push believers who commit adultery with a self-claimed prophetess inside the church into great tribulation and kill her children Rev 2:22-23. Christ will blot the names of believers from the book of life if they defile their garments. Rev 3:4-5. Christ will not keep the believers from the hour of trial if they had not kept His command to persevere. Rev 3:10. Christ will vomit believers out of His mouth if their works are lukewarm (Rev 3:15-16). As we can see, grace and mercies of God is not always guaranteed.

God sees our heart and He decides to give grace or be merciful. God has no obligation to give you grace and be merciful. This is the sad truth of God’s grace and mercies. Unfortunately, Christians are being repeatedly deceived that we are even living under the covenant of grace or dispensation of grace when Christ never even mentioned the word grace.

Heb 10:26-29 For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?

Christ dying for us on the cross to defeat death and show us the path to eternal life, shows the great mercy and grace of God. Are you not satisfied with this level of grace and mercy by God, who gave His only begotten Son to be killed on the cross? Are you expecting more grace and mercy until you personally butcher Him by sinning again?

Heb 10:30 For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. And again, “The LORD will judge His people.”

This is why, God will not show mercy and grace on those who sin willfully and demanding more and more grace, but as the next verse says, He will take vengeance and repay them.