Theology Application Paper
Nakietha Gooden
THEO 104
Instructor H. Harriss
March 8, 2016
Introduction
From the start of this course, Dr. Guiterriz noted in his welcome video that, “Theology is about
understanding who God is. By understanding who he is gives us insight on how we can relate to
him, ourselves, others and our roles in his creations.” This course has provided me with
principles that I can apply to my Christian life and has allowed me to get a better understanding
on God and what my role is in this life. Two things that remain at the forefront of my mind is
how God has given his grace and mercy to all of mankind since the beginning. God created us
from love and that alone shows how favorable we are to him. It humbles me to know that God
not only loves us despite our sinful nature; but he also continues to grant us with his grace and
mercy. My goal in this paper is to demonstrate how God rewards us with his precious gifts of
grace and mercy.
Theological Definition: “Grace is defined as unmerited favor. It is God’s free action for the
benefit of his people. It is not the same as justice and mercy. Justice is getting what we deserve
and mercy is not getting what we deserve grace on the other hand is getting what we do not
deserve. In grace we get eternal life, something that we do not deserve, but because of God’s
love and kindness manifested in Jesus on the cross, we receive the great blessing of redemption.”
(www.carm.org).
Biblical Foundation: “The Bible gives a beautiful example of what grace is and does. When
Moses took the children of Israel out of Egypt and into the desert the people became thirsty, but
there wasn’t any water to be found, especially not for 2,000,000 people and their herds of
animals. God told Moses to strike a specific rock and he (God) would give the people water. The
water that came out that rock demonstrates the grace of God flowing out to all who would drink.
It also caused the parched and barren land to blossom which on turn gave the people and animals
something to eat; without the water and God’s grace of supplying the needs of the people, they
would have died” (www.bibletimes.net). Throughout the old and new Testament God
demonstrates his grace on many accounts and it is clear without his grace we could do nothing
on our own just like Moses and the children of Israel; 1 Peter 5:10 says, After you have suffered
a little while, the God of all grace, who imparts his blessing and favor, who called you to his own
eternal glory in Christ will himself complete, confirm, strengthen and establish you, making you
what you ought to be. This scripture provides confirmation that it is the grace of God that
sustains me.
Practical Application: Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For 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.” God has confirmed throughout the scriptures that grace is the unconditional love for his
children; therefore our works will not cause us to get more or less, it is God’s gift to us. We must
realize that we are nothing more than sinners who do not deserves the grace of God, but through
his kindness he still gives it to us freely. When we fully understand the cost of our sins, we then
can understand how precious God’s grace and it is not something to take for granted, but instead
work to deny sin and honor God’s word.
Theological Definition: Mercy is not the same as grace. It can be defined as, “the act of not
administering justice when the justice is punitive. We were born with a sinful nature and deserve
death and eternal separation from God, but he provided an atonement for sin and through it
shows us mercy; he does not deliver to the Christian the natural consequence of sin which is
damnation. Through God’s mercy Jesus became sin on our behalf and bore the punishment that
was due to us which in turn delivered us from damnation.” (www.carm.org.)
Biblical Foundation: “One of the most tragic days in the history of the world was when sin was
introduced to humanity” (The Fall of Man, p.1). Adam and Eve ate from the tree that was
forbidden, seems like it would be no big deal, but it was. The disobedience of Adam and Eve
would have an effect on all of mankind and would leave us to suffer the consequences; physical
death and separation from God for eternity. Adam and Eve tried to hide from God out of shame
for their wrongdoings, but they could not hide their sins. God was already aware of the sins they
committed and because he loves what he created, he already had a plan to redeem them. The
mercy that God showed Adam and Eve would be the first account of how God grants mercy
those he loves. After committing their sin, Adam, Eve and all of generations to follow could do
nothing to earn the right into eternity, however through God’s mercy they could earn the right.
God would have to send his only son Jesus Christ who was sinless to earth to die for the sins of
man. 2 Corinthians 5:21 states that, “Christ never sinned but God put our sins on him; through
this we are made right with God because of what Christ has done for us.” “This is greatest act of
mercy that anyone can experience” (www.carm.org).
Practical Application: “It is important that we remember that God’s mercy provides a way to
escape the condemnation that we deserve; that means we must respond to God’s call and obey
his commands to obtain the gift of his mercy. In Luke 1:50 we are told, God will show his mercy
forever and ever to those who worship and serve him.” (Head, 2016). What God was simply
saying is, his mercy is free to all, but only those who fear God and obey him will actually receive
the benefits of it. None of mankind deserves the mercy of God, what we deserve is what Jesus
got. As believers we should always remember that God owes us nothing, but instead we owe him
everything.
Conclusion: We are all sinners and do not deserve God’s favor, but his unconditional love for us
allows him to grant us with his precious gifts of grace and mercy. James 4:6 says, that God
opposes the proud but gives more favor to the humble. There is nothing that we can bring to God
but our thankful and humbled hearts as we trust not in our own works, but only on what Jesus did
on the cross.
References:
https://carm.org/dictionary-grace
http://www.bibletimelines.net/article/16/articles-brief-and-to-the-point/define-grace-what-is-god-
s-grace
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Thessalonians+2&version=NCV
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James+4%3A6&version=NIV
Liberty University (2016, March 7) “The Fall of Man” retrieved from https://learn.liberty.edu/
http://www.lookingtojesus.com/resources/Understanding+God$27s+Mercy.pdf
Casey Head 2016
