God is Merciful

There is tricky balance between the two sides of God's judgement: justice and mercy. Often we hear preached His justice, that He is coming "In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge," (2 Timothy 4:1) and "Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. "He will rule them with an iron scepter." He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty." (Revelation 19:15). While it is important to emphasis Emmanuel's justice, we must equally emphasize the mercy of God. How is that we are confrounted with image of Christ crucified and the cross, and somehow manage to forget God is mericiful? It was because of mercy and love that "God so loved the world, he gave His only begotten (not made or created) Son (Jesus) and whosoever believes in Him, shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16, italics mine). Within the wide spread arms of Christ on the cross is mercy and yet many doubt God's mercy. Many believe that unless they live a perfect life and strain to be saintly, they shall be sheared and sent to the scorching flames of the Second Death.

Mercy is miracle of the Messiah. It was offered to us on the cross and is a free gift we can never earn, deserve, or merit. Mercy be definition is not the rule, but the exception. It is mercy when a judge is suppose to lock away a criminal for fifteen years, but seeing the man's heart and hearing his plea, gives him a lighter sentence. This clemency and compassion has become a rarity within culture today, and church too. Out of fear of "greasy grace" and becoming like those who claim "If grace abounds, shall we not sin all the more so that God is more gracious? God forbid! You have died to sin." (). However, mercy is much more than merely giving a person a reprieve, it is done usually when person is penitent and owns what they have done. Here is an example, "11When David arose in the morning, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Gad, David's seer, saying, "Go and speak to David, 'Thus the LORD says, "I am offering you three things; choose for yourself one of them, which I will do to you."'So Gad came to David and told him, and said to him, "Shall seven years of famine come to you in your land? Or will you flee three months before your foes while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days' pestilence in your land? Now consider and see what answer I shall return to Him who sent me. Then David said to Gad, "I am in great distress. Let us now fall into the hand of the LORD for His mercies are great, but do not let me fall into the hand of man." So the LORD sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning until the appointed time, and seventy thousand men of the people from Dan to Beersheba died. When the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD relented from the calamity and said to the angel who destroyed the people, "It is enough! Now relax your hand!" And the angel of the LORD was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. Then David spoke to the LORD when he saw the angel who was striking down the people, and said, "Behold, it is I who have sinned, and it is I who have done wrong; but these sheep, what have they done? Please let Your hand be against me and against my father's house." So Gad came to David that day and said to him, "Go up, erect an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. 25David built there an altar to the LORD and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. Thus the LORD was moved by prayer for the land, and the plague was held back from." (2 Samuel 24:11--25). Here the Lord gives David three choices for punishment, to smite the land with famine, with plague or to let David, who sinned be sole person pursued by his enemies. God has mercy, and David repents and erects an altar to the Lord. Mercy comes when you show mercy. It was not merciful for David to let his nation be judged for his wrongdoing (David called census and numbered the people, and Lord did not have it done this way, a census before Lord is suppose to be taking each man and woman by head, look them in eye, and tell them their name. To prove God does not believe man is a number, see Mosaic Law).

Mercy  begets Mercy, "God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy." (Matthew 5:7). There law of reciprocity is that God repays us for what we do, if sow mercy, you reap mercy, "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows." (Galatians 6:7). The apostle James, whom Martin Luther believed wrongly to be rigid like the Catholic Church said this, "For judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment." (James 2:13). Why are we to be merciful? Why not an eye for an eye? Because Jesus Christ said, "You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:43-45). Why are we to love our enemy? Because we were once enemies of God, "Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior," (Colossians 1:21), and "For if, while we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!" (Romans 5:10). This mercy should flow through us because "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). Mercy is not letting murders always walk or people who adulterers get a second chance at marriage; only in the perfect mercy of God do those things happen, otherwise justice prevails. It is difficult to talk about mercy without people becoming loosy goosey and tolerating every evil like this church, "It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is intolerable even among pagans: A man has his father’s wife. And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have been stricken with grief and removed from your fellowship the man who did this?" (1 Corinthians 5:1). Paul here addressed a church who thinks through their unsanctified mercy: manmade mercy, really tolerance and lethargy, and pride: "we can change him," instead of Christ, which is an antichrist spirit too.

Mercy and Justice (punishment that is due) are both symbolized in Jesus on the Cross. On one hand Christ has shown us ultimate mercy, by dying for our sins and taking penalty, propitiation for our transgressions. Mercy is thus extended to us, but punishment (justice) fell on Christ, because he was stripped, beaten and crucified and died the death we deserved; so make not mistake, mercy and justice are two sides of the same coin, are conjoined twins and so no matter what justice must have its day, but thanks be to God our Savior that he decided to extend Mercy to us on the cross! "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.." (1 Peter 1:3).


The Definition of Mercy according to Dictionary.com is this:

1. compassionate or kindly forbearance shown toward an offender, an enemy, or other person in one's power; compassion, pity, or benevolence:

Have mercy on the poor sinner.

2. the disposition to be compassionate or forbearing:

an adversary wholly without mercy.

3. the discretionary power of a judge to pardon someone or to mitigate punishment, especially to send to prison rather than invoke the death penalty.

4. an act of kindness, compassion, or favor:

She has performed countless small mercies for her friends and neighbors.

5. something that gives evidence of divine favor; blessing:

It was just a mercy we had our seat belts on when it happened."

God does all five of these definitions of mercy, but I believe we principally need to be operating in the first two definitions. We appeal daily to God's mercy, "Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." (Hebrews 4:16). Then why are so many content to seek this mercy from God, and then treat their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ without mercy? Does not Jesus say, "But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins." (Matthew 6:15). How can this be reconciled with Christ's all sufficient sacrifice? Did he not die for all my sins? Yes, but if you beseech God for forgiveness and will not forgive, you are then a hypocrite, and this is what Christ has to say about hypocrites, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness." (Matthew 23:27-28). Jesus told His disciples to not follow the works of Pharisses, "“The scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So practice and observe everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. 4They tie up heavy, burdensome loads and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them." (Matthew 23:3-4). We forgive to be healed, but we also forgive to avoid becoming hypocrites. To not have mercy on someone who wronged us is to spit in Christ's face who had mercy on you when you did not deserve it! It is actually antichrist in nature if you believe God can forgive you, but you want to hold on to unforgiveness; for by doing this you reject the Gospel and hinder it towards another person. You become walking contradicition like Pharisee, you preach God forgave all sin on the cross and if you believe in Him you shall be saved and He will live in you (1 Corinthians 3:16), but then by not forgiving you act against the Gospel and do not testify that Christ lives in you.

We must be in equal balance, showing God's love and mercy, but also His justice and judgement when the time is appointed for it, "Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life!" (1 Corinthians 6:3), "It isn't my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your responsibility to judge those inside the church who are sinning," (1 Corinthians 5:12),

and, "For the time has come for judgment, and it must begin with God's household. And if judgment begins with us, what terrible fate awaits those who have never obeyed God's Good News?" (1 Peter 4:17).

I want to speak directly to anyone who believes the lie that they have failed, they have fallen into sin, and committed the unpardonable transgression. The devil is trying to convince you that what you have done, after even confessing Jesus as Lord and believing in Him in your heart, that you have done something worthy of absolute separation from Christ. Let me reassure you of this, "But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness." (1 John 1:9). If that does not reassure you of God's mercy, then read this,
"Nothing Can Separate Us from God’s Love

³¹ What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? ³² Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? ³³ Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. ³⁴ Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.

³⁵ Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? ³⁶ (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) ³⁷ No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.
³⁸ And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.
³⁹ No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord." (
Romans 8:31-39, NLT). If that still has not convinced you of God's mercy, grace, and love, then memorized this, "Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2For in Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life has set you free from the law of sin and death.3For what the Law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in likeness of sinful man, as an offering for sin. He thus condemned sin in the flesh. 4so that the righteous standard of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit." (Romans 8:1-4).
Now these  verses do not give us a license to sin, but when we stumble we can be assured of God's mercy. Just remember that you must have mercy when other stumble. If they practice sin, then as Paul said, you can judge; but remember to first "Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend's eye." (Matthew 7:5).