God has joined together His law and His mercy. When we speak of obedience, faithfulness, perseverance, works, or law, we do not elevate these Biblical notions above their Biblical place and purpose. God preserves His people, shows mercy, justifies those in whom He grants faith, and forgives those who repent of breaking His law. Another Biblical phrase which gives Reformed people the willies is, "God is love." These willies are again a sign of misunderstanding what God communicates in such phrases. God is love and we ought not shy away from such merciful statements; we can reconcile the Scriptures which speak of His holiness with those which speak of His mercy. He is One, the same God.
Our Heavenly Father calls us to holiness just as He is holy. We do seek to observe His law, walk in His ways, keep His testimonies, obey His commandments. But we do not divorce such loving acts from the fact that God is merciful and His grace is indeed amazing. We cannot properly walk without the power of His Holy Spirit within us.
"Do we always look up to Him both for our inner life and our outward service with the respectful dependence which is fitting?" - Charles Spurgeon, "Morning and Evening"
The outward service which I recently called us to is a reflection of the inner life and is only rightly understood when seen with the respectful, reverent dependence on the power of the Holy Spirit of God, granted to us by God's grace through faith in our Risen Savior Jesus Christ.
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