Today’s guest blog comes courtesy of Chris Larson. Chris is responsible for the outreach and operations of Ligonier Ministries. And, as it happens, he is also a friend. Chris was kind enough to provide an article dealing with mercy.

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Peter didn’t just blow it, he blew it badly. “Though they all fall away…I will never fall away” (Matt. 26:33). Peter’s resolution we admire for its confidence and bravery. But it is a statement relying on one’s own strength and it is doomed for shipwreck. A few hours go by and we find him alone and weeping (v. 75).

We can relate, can’t we? We’ve made promise after promise to the Lord, resolution after resolution, only to come to the end of ourselves. The sinking feeling churns in our stomach, our earlier words of bold resolve pour like fuel on the fire of guilt and self-condemnation.

Godly sorrow doesn’t remove the sting of sin’s consequence. Falling short of the glory of God every day in word, thought, and deed is the norm, not the exception (Rom. 3:23). We may be surprised when we blow it, but our sins do not surprise the omniscient, holy God.

So often we want to hide from the Lord when we sin. Yet after Peter’s very public failure, he doesn’t hide. He waits. Notice what Peter did when he heard it was Jesus on the beach. His exuberance leaps off the pages of the Bible when we read how he throws himself into the water and swims to shore (John 21:7).

Peter’s interaction with Jesus instructs us on biblical restoration. It was Jesus who restored Peter. It was Jesus who knew He would bring Peter back to a place of useful service (Luke 22:31-32). In fact, Jesus knew Peter’s journey through this dark path would only bring greater fruit as he ministered to those around him. The remarkable trials the first-century church faced required humble, God-dependent leaders who knew their strength rested not within themselves. “God is more willing to pardon than to punish. Mercy does more multiply in Him than sin in us. Mercy is His nature” (Thomas Watson, All Things for Good).

The impetuous disciple resolved to be faithful, but his stumbling has served Christians for millennia who have looked at that event in Peter’s life and found the comfort coming from a God of mercy. The Lord overrules our frailty, restores the fallen, and grows His church.

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Chris Larson is executive vice president of Ligonier Ministries. He oversees the outreach and operations of the ministry. He lives in Lake Mary, Florida, with his wife, Jennifer, and their four children, whom he has the pleasure to teach the things of God and the essential facts about the Atlanta Braves.

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Lately I’ve been sharing a few of the hymns and songs we sing at Grace Fellowship Church that are original or somewhat rare. Here is one written by Joseph Hart in the mid-1700′s. We sing it to a new melody written by our lead worshiper and use one of the verses as a chorus. I am particularly drawn to the third stanza: “Convince us of our sin / Then lead to Jesus’ blood / And to our wondering view reveal / The mercies of our God.” How beautiful is that?

Here is the hymn:

Come, Holy Spirit, Come!
Let Thy bright beams arise;
Dispel the sorrow from our minds,
The darkness from our eyes.

‘Tis Thine to cleanse the heart,
To sanctify the soul,
To pour fresh life into each part,
And new-create the whole.

Revive our drooping faith,
Our doubts and fears remove,
And kindle in our breasts the flame
Of never-dying love.

Convince us of our sin,
Then lead to Jesus’ blood,
And to our wondering view reveal
The mercies of our God.

Dwell, therefore, in our hearts;
Our minds from bondage free;
Then shall we know and praise and love
The Father, Son, and Thee.

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