He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities. – Psalm 103: 10

Have you ever heard anyone demand: “You had better give me exactly what I deserve?” Well, I certainly hope they weren’t talking to God when they said so. For, the last thing we want for God to do is give us exactly what we deserve.

We may desire what we have been promised. We may expect what we have prayed for. We may long for what we have hoped for. But, for goodness sake, do not tell God that you want Him to give you exactly what you deserve. Don’t you remember that the wages of sin is death? Has it slipped your mind that the soul that sinneth shall surely die?

If you read this section of your believer’s benefit package listed here in Psalm 103: 10, you will discover that because we are His children and because we are believers in Him, when it comes to the way God regards our sins, we get what might be called a disciple’s discount.

What is a discount? It is when you purchase something and don’t have to pay full price. That doesn’t mean, you don’t have to pay at all. What you are getting is by no means free. It is only that you don’t have to pay as much as the next person because, for some reason, you get special treatment.

God has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities because we have a coupon signed with the blood of Christ. We pay less because Jesus paid it all. We get wholeness wholesale from the Holy Ghost. God’s grace covers our greed. His love dilutes the effects of our lusts. His mercy cleans up our mistakes. His patience waits for us to change our stubborn will.

The classic distinction between grace and mercy is that grace is when you get what you don’t deserve and mercy is when you don’t get what you do deserve. No matter how you slice it, we should all be glad for God’s grace and mercy because as a result of them, He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities.