No Matter How Badly You Mess Up, God Offers Mercy

by Rick Warren — October 19, 2022
From Radicalis: Developing Spiritual Roots

“When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.”

Titus 3:4-5 (NLT)

No matter what you’re going through, you can live with hope. That’s the consistent good news of the Bible.

In 1 Peter 1, you can find five reasons to live with hope. In yesterday’s Daily Hope, we looked at the first reason: God chose you before you chose him.

Today, we’ll look at the second reason: God always treats you with grace and mercy.

Peter wrote to those who were already believers, “All honor to God, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; for it is his boundless mercy that has given us the privilege of being born again” (1 Peter 1:3 TLB).

Peter didn’t just say that God is merciful. Peter praised God for his “boundless mercy.”  

The more you understand God’s mercy and grace, the more you—like Peter—will be amazed by it. It’s completely undeserved. It’s totally unmerited. It’s not something that you could earn or work for. It’s just a free gift.

God’s mercy is based on his love for you. And you can’t make God love you any more than he loves you right now. You also can’t make him love you any less. That means his mercy toward you will never change.

God’s Word, the Bible, says, “When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:4-5 NLT).

This is extremely important to understand. When you make mistakes as a believer, God doesn’t get mad at you. God doesn’t want to get even with you. God doesn’t start planning to mess up your life.

Here’s what God does: He always acts in mercy toward you. Why? Because you’re covered in the blood of Jesus Christ when you have accepted him as Savior.

Because of Jesus, God responds in mercy every time you mess up. And that can give you hope.

Talk It Over

  • It’s difficult for many people to accept God’s grace and mercy. Why do you think this is so?
  • You often hear about God's unconditional love. But how does it make you feel to know that God's mercy is unconditional, too?
  • What person in your life needs to hear about God’s grace and mercy? How can you share that message with them this week?

Have you trusted Jesus for your salvation?

The Bible says that you can only get to heaven by trusting in God through his Son, Jesus Christ. You can’t earn God’s love or work your way into heaven. The Bible says, “It is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV).

If you haven’t trusted in Jesus and committed to following him, why wait any longer? If you’re ready to step across that line and make a decision to believe in Jesus Christ and follow him, pray this prayer:

“Dear Jesus, you have promised that if I believe in you, everything I’ve ever done wrong will be forgiven, I will learn the purpose of my life, and you will accept me into your eternal home in heaven one day.

“I confess my sin, and I believe that you are my Savior. You have promised that if I confess my sin and trust you, I will be saved. I trust you when you say that salvation comes by grace, through faith, and not by anything I do. I receive you into my life as my Lord. Today I’m turning over every part of my life to your management. You have the right to call the shots in my life.

“Jesus, I want to relax in your love. Thank you that I don’t have to earn it or work for it. I want to use the rest of my life to serve you instead of serving myself. I humbly commit my life to you and ask you to save me and accept me into your family. In your name I pray. Amen.”

If you just prayed to accept Jesus, please email me at [email protected] and let me know about it. I’d like to send you some free materials to help you start your journey with Jesus.





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