where does mercy end and wrath begin?

i have been a christian for 2 1/2 years now. before Christ found me i was a mess...however, for the last 2 years i have been up and down, back and forth...the input i need is where do mercy and wrath meet? when am i stepping over the line of falling into His grace and into the realm of abusing it?i have searched scripture, (especially the Epistles but have been confused...)Hebrews 10:29-39 say that there is a point where I begin to mock God and trample Jesus Christ, but Romans 7-8 say that Christ has justified me.I understand grace but i still fear that i have trampled the Son of God and can expect judgement. because i have been up and down, at the feet of Jesus and into the hands of Satan...please help... your wisdom is always a blessingChad Lough

Hi Chad,Children of God are not subject to the wrath of God, but to His chastening. The question is, "who are His children." His children are those who have rightly responded to the Holy Spirit who leads us to salvation. This response is to what we call "Holy Ghost (Spirit) Conviction." When Peter preached on the Day of Pentecost, he commanded his hearers to repent for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38). Without repentance, there is no genuine conversion; and we are still under His wrath. Repentance means simply this- you turn away from sin- towards God and you do not turn back. You do what we call a "U" turn. Peter further stated, "Repent and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out and the times of refreshing will come from the presence of the Lord", (Acts 3:19, 20). We cannot be "converted" unless we repent. God Himself commands all men everywhere to repent (Acts 17:30) because He has appointed a day in which He shall judge the world in righteousness by Jesus Christ. Peter preached repentance at Pentecost: "Repent, and be baptized every one of you..." (Acts 2:38).Once convicted and converted the next step of this process is called regeneration. We call it being "Born Again." When you realize that you are desperately a sinner and without hope you have only one acceptable option, to TRUST Christ for salvation by believing that He died on the cross for your sins and was raised to life again. When this work of trnsformation has happened as a result of your right response to the Holy Spirit and submission to Him, we say that a person has passed "from death to life." At this point (though these events are happening all together generally) you receive a new heart in place of your stoney heart. You will receive the Holy Spirit unto obedience in place of the spirit that was once working you towards disobedience. This is a marvelous event! If you have passed from death to life you will know you are a child of God. You will have a witness inside of you that will testify to the fact. Noone can tell you- you will just know that you know. The outworking of this is that you, as a New Born Baby in Christ, will desire the 'milk' of God's word. This means you will want to know the will of your new Heavenly Father so that you can please Him. You greatest desire is to please God. From that point on you will never be comfortable in sin. It is not your nature to sin. If you do sin we have an advocate with the Father. If we confess our sin He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all sin. But, this is not your nature and sin is not normal for a Christian. Pigs are comfortable in the pig pen, but "Son's" are not. Son's are at home in the Father's house, but the pigs are not. Why? everyone gravitates to an atmosphere conducive to their nature. That is why the Prodigal Son went home; he was not at home in sin.God Bless,-Robert

I,m going to weigh in on this question. However let me answer it as simple as I can. This question is really a loaded question and doesn't really have an answer that'll do it justice in light of human experience, or better ---that I can do justice with. So here's what you may want to prayerfully consider. A wise old pastor once asked me a question out of Matt21:28-31 (now I know alot of you folks on this board who read my post here and that story will be tempted to read the other verses,but please don't comment on them, I'm answering this brother as one who will someday be judged by God for all eternity in what I'm now saying, I take personal ministry and questions I deem as honest very serious and therefore I (we) will someday be held accountable for them). The question was which of the two sons are you? At the time my answer, being a young christian and full of zeal was I was the one who would do the will of the father. His reply to me was, we are both. In looking back over 20 plus years of serving the Lord I've seen the wisdom of this story and comfort of it so many times in my personal experience and the wisdom of his answer to me on it. It brings me hope-comfort and its full of mercy and good fruits of righteousness. Now in the area of conscience and the entering into the fearful dealings of God you need to look at Heb9:9,14/10:2,22/13:18. There are better studies ---maybe Ron has a study on conscience somewhere on this board--- about conscience. But basically here it is, each christian has a conscience that is washed from dead works to serve--- obedience , we no long are accepted by our own works but by identification with and throug Jesus, that's done by faith and faith work in the area of conscience. Now each of us has a different degree of sensivity to the conscience God has placed within each of us. The goal is to conform our conscience to the written word of God. That is done as God turns on the light in our thinking and reasoning which translates to action in life. That's why a new born ex-drug addict often has a closer walk with God than someone who has been in the church for years.We are only responsible for the light -- ie.> understanding that we have recieved from the Lord.There is no doubt that many in thier pursuit of Jesus fall away the closer to the cross they get.Rember the parable of Matt 21.Jesus simplified the Old Testament when he summed up the law and the prophets with the key word Love.Love - our response to God his Word and others is a major ---major point in our walk with Jesus.The differing thing in christianity over all the other religions of the world is that ours reaches into the conscience and cleanses our conscience and places the love of Jesus Christ in our hearts as an expression of God's love on earth in us to other believers and non- believers alike.On the day of judgement the only question Jesus will ask is did you Love, all our deeds will be measured against this one question(motive) and that motive of love is central to the condition of our conscience. So, let me ask you, which of the two brothers are you?

Chad, I've been a believer since April 6, 1981 and for several of the years since I met Jesus I lived in such a way that I know that I was trampling Jesus' Name in the mud. He should have killed me. But, He didn't. He led me into a place of great pain and discipline and taught me my error. Grace teaches us you know. Titus 2:11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, 12 teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, Grace is not just an instantaneous happening, a magic wand. It is given over a lifetime...learning takes time. If you are one of His Sheep, you can rest assured that you will be taught to deny ungodliness and lust. And some of the teaching will not be fun. Some of your scourgings will draw blood. Some of the pain from your lessons will last your entire life. But, once you've learned the lessons, they will become most precious to you. Don't let the Enemy draw you into shortsightedness. He wants you to look only at the moment, at a certain current failure, and to despair, to lose hope. No, no brother. You look up and head into that throne of grace where you belong and receive your mercy "and find grace to help in time of need." Hebrews 4:16. You have a High Priest Who will not let you down.I pray the strenth of the Lord for you. May He enlighten the eyes of your heart so that you can see what great things He has done for you. He has already perfected and completed you through that one Sacrifice and is now in the process of sanctifying you, setting you apart for His use, making you holy. Hebrews 10:14.Go to God brother. Jesus has already been judged on your behalf. Don't neglect such a great Salvation as this!

Well I do not attempt to answer this question. I saw the title of this thread then later on in the day read 2 Samuel 17:15 "But My mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you.To understand all that is being said here it would be good to read from the beginning of Saul.I don’t know?2 Peter 2:21 For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them.Let us pray that we would be made in the image of Christ, in every thought, WORD, deed, action, prayer.A good sermon to listen to is a sermon by Keith Daniel "Prove Me Now". It is excellent and will encourage you to a walk closer to Jesus.A Quote from the sermon. "Is anything worth loosing a tender walk with God?"

ChadIt is wonderful to have you on Chad. I hear your message all too clearly. Brother RobertW has said everything very clearly. I just want to add one or two points but, you must read what Robert wrote as well as this.To begin, if you are concerned about your spiritual health that is a very good sign…warning flags should go up when you do notice sinful behavior. The Holy Sprit convicts men of sin righteousness and judgment. If you feel bad and have a concern about “trampling the name of Jesus”, give God the praise because there are many who do so but do not have an opportunity to see it. God is considerably more patient than you may realize. He did not choose anyone because of their saintly qualities, but because he could make some adjustments…The first step after conviction is confession. A prayer that centers on nothing but confessing how wrong we have been is very important for spiritual growth. Although the prayer does not have to be very long, you have to be entirely focused and truthful. In addition, it is important to praise God for having his Spirit reveal this to you; this is an act of great mercy from God. I assure you Chad He did not show you this about yourself just to see how bad he could make you feel but because he is concerned about you and your spiritual health. God communes with everyone differently so I am not going to tell you how to seek him for it is in you already (the Spirit will guide you into all truth). I will tell you to be instant in prayer and confession. The moment you feel bad, is the moment to pray earnestly. This the Spirit drawing to God. It is very difficult to submit yourself to prayer at such times but this where the battle lies and where it is either won or lost. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness (Mathew 5) Chad, Jesus Himself has ordained it.Consider Proverbs 24:16 Though a righteous man falls seven times, he will get up, but the wicked will stumble into ruin. If you fall Chad, get up and ask for forgiveness. God will help you but you must continue to get up and not wallow in self-condemnation. Jesus came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance and this respect all have sinned and fall short of God’s glory. For Jesus to work in you, you must be submissive and to admit that you have weakness in certain areas, if you try to adjust your behavior yourself you will not have any freedom from bondage. God does not expect anything from you but submission He will produce the righteousness. Still having said all that, your road to salvation is different to mine. Do not let the Devil sidetrack you on trivial matters. Remember, Abraham believed God and it was imputed to him for righteousness… do you believe God can fulfill his promises? Pray my friend, pray very earnestly and very often.Philippians 2:12-13 12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.In Christ James