The Simple Message of Mercy

Mercy. It is a powerful word to the Christian, for it is because of God’s mercy that a poor, wretched sinner, like me, can have a relationship with Almighty God.

Ephesians 2:4-5
But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.

We have been saved by grace because God has mercy upon us. What response does this great news require of us in return? Jesus spoke about what He wants from us in Matthew 9:13 instructing us to “Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Because God extended mercy to us, we are to extend mercy to others. The question then is this, do we know what mercy is?

The simple answer is to look up the word mercy in the dictionary. The first definition I find when I searched online is a good one. It says that mercy is “compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one's power to punish or harm.” In other words, it is giving them something they do not deserve, while holding back the punishment they do. This is what God has done for us by sending Jesus to die on the cross so that we can, not only be forgiven, but are also given His righteousness. This is called imputation in theological terms. It means that though we are still sinners in our thoughts and behaviors, we are cloaked in the robe of Jesus’ righteousness. When God looks upon those He has saved, He sees them just as He sees Jesus, without sin, pure and holy. This means that when a Christian dies, He will enter the presence of God. It means a Christian can come into His presence anytime through prayer. This is why we add “In Jesus’ name” to our prayers.

In terms of practical Christian living we are to also show mercy to those who are not deserving of our love. This includes every and all types of offenders. Drug addicts, prostitutes, adulterers, and even child molesters are to be shown mercy by the Christian.

Does this mean we simply overlook their offenses? No. The Bible is clear that government is put into place to yield the sword against those who perpetuate violence and crime against us. So, yes, we let justice be served within the parameters of our society. It means we protect the innocent. It means we defend life.

But it never authorizes personal hatred towards even the vilest of society. Jesus said we love our enemies. We are called to pray for them. They are a part of the world in which we are sent to preach the Gospel to. We cannot show them the love of Christ if our minds are set on anger and bitterness. This will require a heart of mercy and the only way to have that heart is through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Let us learn what mercy is and let us show the same mercy to all people as God has shown to us. Before our new birth we were enemies of God. Without His grace given, expressed through mercy, we would all be cast into the eternal darkness of hell.

I leave you with the words of the Apostle Paul from His great letter to the Romans. May we all learn what mercy is and make it real in our lives.

Romans 11:30-32
For just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now receive mercy.  For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.

Go now and learn what this means.