Mercy Seat

Mercy Seat

We don’t hear much about the Mercy Seat these days – pity isn’t it? Why do preachers and evangelists seem to be suddenly shy of mentioning that God has a “Throne of Mercy”? A place we can approach and receive His mercy. A place of forgiveness and the beginning of grace.

Old time preachers used it extensively. Evangelist Steve Hill used the image at Pensacola more recently. The altar call went out to all whom the Lord is calling to draw near to the Mercy Seat, to repent, to receive forgiveness in the Name of Jesus, and to receive Jesus as Lord and Saviour of their life. Having turned away from their old life of sin, penitents were assured of Grace to stand by their new way of life and to resist the temptations trying to lure them back to their old, bad, ways.

As the emphasis shifted away from sin and repentance, so the need for a “Mercy Seat” seemed to have receded with it. As the emphasis on a watered down, even wonky Gospel increased, so the Mercy Seat became almost irrelevant.

What a mistake to make!

The days are coming, once again, when penitents will run to the Mercy Seat, crying out to God for mercy, begging for forgiveness, and eagerly seeking the salvation of Jesus Christ. The days are coming when “easy salvation” or “salvation without repentance” will be a mistake of the past never to be repeated. The days are coming when, once again, the mercy seat will be all in all to those seeking God in His infinite mercy.

Salvation without a changed life, without repentance, and without forgiveness of sins, is no salvation at all. Repentance without tears will no longer be acceptable as the reality of our sin becomes more and more real to us.

It is my belief that God, our Father, is just waiting for us to “re-introduce” the mercy seat into our meetings. It is as though He wants us to ‘get real’ with Him. It is almost like Holy Spirit is encumbered by our refusal, changes of practice, to call for repentance and cannot, nay will not, move before we do what His Word calls us to do – Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand.

In today’s world of ‘tolerance for all’ this may seem to be tantamount to a denial of the Gospel and a denial of the power of God ‘unto salvation’. But God’s Word is still His Word and if that Word calls for repentance then, without it, all our “acceptance” is to little or no avail as we will have failed the very conditions He laid down for that salvation. His Word says for us to preach the Gospel, and for men to repent and be saved - by turning away from our sin and receiving Jesus as our Lord and Saviour.

By approaching the Mercy Seat with a penitent heart we fulfil everything required for salvation. I think it is time to re-instate it to its proper position as part of the Gospel message.