Mercy
We love presenting the Truth of God's Word to you. Thank you for joining us today as we examine the topic of mercy. As usual, there are many facets to our topic. God's Word is rich and full. Lord, we pray You will send the Holy Spirit to bring this truth as a revelation to us. Help us to not simply read the Words but allow them to conform us more into Your image. Eric
In our journey through life, we quickly and easily discover that we are not perfect. If we are honest, we will admit that we tend to be self-centered and make bad decisions. At times, we disregard other's feelings and speak or act without thinking of consequences to ourselves or others. Sometimes, we unintentionally hurt others, including those we love. We forget that the Word of God instructs us to consider the interests of others as more important than our own. Worst of all, we disobey God.
What has God done for us in all of this? He poured His mercy out on us! While we were yet sinners Christ died for us.
You see, we are all in the need of mercy - mercy from God and mercy from each other. We learn scripturally that our treating others mercifully is not simply a good idea - it is a command.
Let's see what God's Word reveals. We will begin with Luke 6:35-38 (NIV), "But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. 37 "Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." 'Love' in verse 3 5 is defined as actively doing what the Lord prefers; it is affection which involves choice and selection. (HELPS Word-studies). 'Enemies' are adversaries or those who are hostile and hateful. 'Do good' means to do what is inherently good such as that which is inspired and powered by God. (HELPS Word-studies). Our showing benevolence and mercy toward our adversaries reflects a practical demonstration of the Father's love. When we choose to reject personal vengeance and seek the good of those who oppose us, it identifies we believers as children of God because we are displaying His character. Verse 36 commands, 'Be merciful.' 'Merciful' oiktirmon in the Greek means: compassionate or experiencing deep pity. It portrays one who comforts the oppressed and humbles the oppressor. In this verse, the plural form of the word is used, indicating we are to demonstrate an ongoing pattern or mercy. In saying 'as your Father is merciful' reveals that our behavior is to flow from or imitate the divine character of God. “His 'merciful' nature establishes the standard for life in the kingdom.” (Topical Lexicon Bible Hub). As a believer, we should always be willing to help bear the misery and burdens of another, to aid those who need it and to grant mercy to one who has wronged us.
How do we respond to others when they hurt or wrong us? Do we walk away? Do we reconcile with them or never reconcile? Do we hold a grudge? When others make costly mistakes - are we willing to show mercy? When we make mistakes, do we hope others will offer us mercy?
Definitions for 'mercy' found in the Webster Dictionary include: “compassion, leniency or restraint (as in imposing judgment) shown especially to an offender or to one subject to the power of another."
Verses 37 and 38 of Luke 6, "Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." reveal how vital it is for believers to live by God's standards. There are consequences whether good or bad for our actions. The standard which we use toward others reveals the condition of our heart and brings about corresponding discipline or blessing to us. In other words, we reap what we sow. (Galatians 6:7-10).
Matthew 5:7 (ESV),"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy." God's favor will be upon those who are merciful, to those who respond to human need with compassion and forgiveness. In Jesus' ministry, He was merciful to the sick, outcast, sinner and any in distress. His goal in the mercy which was shown, was for restoration and not excusing sin or injustice.
If we've received God's mercy in Christ - we are to show mercy to others. Micah 6:8 (BSB) reads, "He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?" It is important to note, these are not suggestions. The Hebrew word darash translated 'require' means demands. Isn't it amazing to realize that we do not have to guess at what our Lord demands and expects of us? We are to do what we do properly with justice or uprightness. We are to take great delight in being compassionate and exhibiting steadfast kindness (mercy - chesed in the Hebrew) with modesty. We can summarize what our daily conduct should be, based on these verses of Scripture. Our daily walk as believers should exhibit justice (righteousness in judgment), mercy and humble fellowship with God. To be humble is to be willingly submissive to Him in all things.
As we fulfill God's expectations and desires, those around us will see true worship to God. However, if we do not fulfill God's expectations and desires - we are in sin and our relationship with God will be negatively affected.
We are going to look briefly at two parables from the Scriptures which show us good examples of mercy. First, we will look at 'The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant' in Matthew 18:23-33. A king wanted to settle accounts with his servants. One debtor owed the king 10,000 talents, an innumerable amount! This debtor begged for mercy and stated he would pay off the debt so that he and his family would not be sold into slavery to pay the debt. The master had mercy on him and forgave the debt. That forgiven servant went to a fellow servant who owed him 100 denarius. The forgiven servant began to throttle his fellow servant, demanding he pay back the 100 denarius owed him. This debtor also begged for mercy. However the 'forgiven' servant refused to give it and had him thrown into jail. The master heard what happened, became very angry and approached the 'forgiven' servant and stated in verse 33, "And should not you have had mercy for your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you." In anger, the master delivered him to the jailer until he should pay all his debt. For comparison's sake, if one talent equals 6,000 denarius, the 'forgiven' servant's master forgave him a debt that equaled 60 million denarius and yet that servant was not willing to forgive a debt of 100 denarius. Our heart's attitudes need to align with the values of the kingdom of heaven.
At the beginning of this parable, Jesus told His disciples that the Kingdom of God could be compared to this parable. The lesson we need to learn from it, is that "Mercy received from God creates an obligation to forgive others. God's people are to extend to others the compassion they have received from God." (Bible Hub Study Bible).
Our second parable is that of the ‘Good Samaritan’ recorded in Luke 10:30-37. A man was going from Jerusalem to Jericho when he was attacked, robbed, stripped, beaten and left half dead. A priest and Levite came upon the scene and passed on the other side. However a Samaritan (who were greatly disliked and rejected by the Jews) came upon the man, tended his wounds, took him to an inn and paid the inn keeper to take care of him. The Samaritan was a 'neighbor' and showed him mercy. After the telling of the story, Jesus told His disciples to "Go and do likewise."
Lamentations 3:22 and 23 (BSB) reveals, "Because of the loving devotion of the LORD we are not consumed, for His mercies never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness!" God's mercy has no limits! They never fail!
Micah 7:18 (NIV) is a wonderful verse for those of us who are believers, "Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy."
Mercy from God creates an obligation to forgive others. Believers are to extend to others the compassion they have received from God.
When someone makes life difficult for you or hurts you in some way, you need to respond by forgiving them and showing kindness. That is mercy. Love believes the best of every person. 1 Corinthians 13:7 (NKJV) reads “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” ‘Believes' was translated from pisteuo in the Greek. In this verse, Thayer's Greek Lexicon indicates “it is used in an ethical sense meaning: confidence in the goodness of men.” God saw the goodness in us when there was none. We need to see the goodness in others. We are to have love and have mercy on others as Christ loves and has mercy on us.
Remember:
God is rich in mercy!
His mercies never come to an end!
He delights to show mercy!
Psalm 103:11 (NABS20) reveals, "For as high as the heavens are above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him." It is important that we note His mercy is as high as the heavens are above the earth, toward those who revere or have reverential awe of Him.
Then, we are issued a warning in James 2:13, "For judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful."
Colossians 3:12 (NKJV) instructs believers, "Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering." The understood subject of this sentence is ‘you.’ You choose to put on His tender mercies. You have to make that choice.
I will close with two quotes by C.H. Spurgeon:
"Every hour of every day, God is richly blessing us; both when we sleep and when we wake His mercy waits upon us."
"When all else is changing within and around, in God and His mercy no change can be found,"
Praise God for His mercy! Let us be mercy- bearers to the world!
Scriptures were taken from:
NIV New International Version
ESV English Standard Version
BSB Berean Standard Bible
NKJV New King James Version
NASB20 New American Standard Bible 2020