Mercy Is Free But Never Cheap

by

After God’s Own Heart

Mercy Is Free But Never Cheap

1 Chronicles 21:1-22:1

King David’s sin brought about consequences for the entire nation.  While God did provide mercy, it had a significant cost.  Our own sin has cost us, and the only hope is in the sacrifice of another to pay the penalty.  

Sin’s Responsibility (1 Ch. 21:1-6)

  • God may test us, and Satan may tempt us, but we will always be held responsible for our own sin (1 Ch. 21:1).
  • Sin originates from our meager attempts to build our kingdom rather than God’s Kingdom (1 Ch. 21:2-3).
  • The unaccountable life is simply waiting for unavoidable devastation (1 Ch. 21:4-6).
 

Sin’s Consequences (1 Ch. 21:7-15)

  • It is recklessly naĂŻve to believe that our sin doesn’t affect others (1 Ch. 21:7).
  • If you have to fall into someone’s hands due to the consequences of your sin, always fall towards God (1 Ch. 21:8-13).
  • If you are troubled when God administers some of his wrath, then you should be relieved that you haven’t experienced all of it (1 Ch. 21:14-15).
 

Sin’s Forgiveness (1 Ch. 21:16-22:1)

  • True repentance is when a sinner becomes more concerned with how his sin brought consequences to others rather than to himself (1 Ch. 21:16-17).
  • The sinner who has received free mercy should never struggle to offer costly sacrifices (1 Ch. 21:18-25).
  • God’s mercy is free but never cheap (1 Ch. 21:26).
  • God never erases sin’s debt – he pays it.
  • The sacrificial offering was the only thing able to disarm the angel of the LORD (1 Ch. 21:27-22:1).