Matthew 5:7

PSBC 9/5/99

In a nutshell: Mercy means to be concerned about the plight of others, to forgive when wronged, and to intentionally do something about the lost condition of the people we know. Showing mercy will gain us expanded mercy from God, and will disappoint the efforts of the devil.

I. Introduction

Dr. Jim Dobson, of Focus on the Family, told about a sign he saw here in Southern California, back when Focus on the Family was still located in Pomona. The sign happened to be on the main door to the entrance of a convent. It read, "Absolutely No Trespassing–Violators Will Be Prosecuted to the Full Extent of the Law." Signed, "The Sisters of Mercy."

Mercy is an interesting concept. And as you’ll see, as you turn in your Bibles to Matthew 5:7, that it is the subject of the fifth Beatitude.

7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

I’m not sure if you’ve noticed it, but we have an interesting and purposeful progression in the Beatitudes that we’ve studied so far. Let your eyes go to the beginning of this chapter.

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

There’s a definite starting point to God’s Kingdom. You must first realize how spiritually unable you are to pay the debt of your sin, and eradicate your guilt that is owed to a holy and just God.

The next step is to admit that you are personally unworthy to deserve a relationship with God–the weight of your sin as you compare yourself to a holy God, will cause any spiritually bankrupt person to mourn. But the promise is you’ll be comforted when you accept God’s gift of salvation through grace.

It is in meekness that we demonstrate a dependency on the wisdom of God to guide our thoughts and actions, as opposed to our own ideas, or human wisdom or our selfish whims.

You and I must change. We need to think, desire and value like God does, and then act on that basis alone. That’s the standard we must aim for–nothing less. That alone will bring satisfaction to our lives.

In essence, what is described in the first four Beatitudes is the relationship that God desires to have with one of us. The love relationship of being a child of God — which is not just a relationship of forgiveness of sin, but of life-leadership as well — And God is pursuing that family relationship with every human being on the face of the earth.

And it’s out of that close and proper, family relationship with God, that you and I begin to affect our world in very practical and Godly ways. The first of these practical ways is found in the fifth Beatitude...

But what is mercy?

A. Not Toleration

Well, to answer that, I think it would be good to first examine what mercy is not. Because in our culture today, the terms toleration or acceptance is being substituted for the Biblical term of mercy.

Today in our society, under the guise of toleration, sin is no longer considered sin anymore. This is true not only for the non-Christian, but we’re seeing this attitude creep into the church as well. For instance...,

-alcoholism and drug-abuse are being called diseases that need treatment, not sins that need forgiveness.

-Homosexuality is being called a genetic predisposition, not an lifestyle choice from which to repent.

-Abortion is being called a woman's right to control her own body, not the taking of the life of an unborn child.

-Pre-marital or extra-marital sex is being called the fulfillment of a physical need, not the degradation of the Lord's temple.

-Lotteries, bingo, casinos, and dog races are not thought of as gambling, but a form of entertainment–a way to have fun.

-Pornography is being called a safe alternative, rather than a demeaning of God’s creation.

-To take advantage of a customer, to gouge the market and overcharge for goods and services, is not being called theft, but good business.

-And to take advantage of a business by underpaying because of a mistake in the calculation of the bill–isn’t called theft, but merely your good fortune.

I’m seeing more and more Christians today, confusing toleration with mercy. And many people are redefining mercy as an easy-going, laissez-faire attitude toward sin. Mercy to many simply means...

-overlooking sin,

-smiling in an understanding way on transgression,

-and condoning evil.

But friends, to be merciful does NOT mean to tolerate sin or evil.

B. Mercy applied to God

The reason I can say that mercy is not toleration is because of where it comes from originally...

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,

Mercy belongs to God. And because it belongs to Him, He also is able to give it...

To Timothy my true son in the faith: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

When we talk about mercy, we must never forget that we are talking about something that is applied specifically and specially to God Himself. And as we know from the Bible, God is never easy-going or tolerant of sin. We must never forget that God in His mercy is also righteous, just, and holy.

So, what does it mean to be merciful? Well, the Bible seems to point to three things when it talks about mercy...

First, mercy is an inward and outward concern for the sorrows and sufferings of others.

One of the best Biblical illustrations of mercy is found in the parable of the Good Samaritan.

Bible Illustration: On his journey from Jerusalem to Jericho a Samaritan stops when he sees a man who has been beaten and robbed, lying on the side of the road. A priest and then a Levite also see the victim. But those guys both pass by on the other side. The two religious leaders may have felt compassion and pity for the victim, it didn’t move them to do anything about it.

Illustration: But that’s not an exclusive example of mercy. Dwight Moody used to tell the story of a man in a small village who suffered the loss of his young son. After the funeral he visited the local undertaker and said, "I've come to square my account."

The old undertaker answered, "If you had to bear the sorrow, surely I can bear the expense."

The point is simply this... those who are merciful not only are emotionally filled with concern, but tangibly show concern to those who need help.

B. Forgiving

A second part of mercy includes being forgiving.

In His parable of the Unmerciful Servant, Jesus equates mercy with forgiveness. Most of you know the story. A man who owes a gazillion dollars is forgiven his debt by the king, when he cannot pay it back, and begs the king to forgive the debt. And the king shows mercy, and forgives the huge debt.

32 "Then the master called the servant in. `You wicked servant,’ he said, `I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to.

33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’

34 In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

Max Lucado in his wonderful book, The Applause of Heaven, tells this true story...

Read pp. 114-116

That’s a great way to look at what forgiveness is... Seeing your father’s image in the face of your enemy.

I wonder if our church would be used more powerfully and more significantly in advancing the Kingdom of God if some of us would start showing mercy–forgiveness–for past actions that have gone on here.

Let me challenge you...If you’re holding a grudge over what former pastors did, or decisions our leaders have made, or over the way someone treated you in the past,...I challenge you with the authority of God’s Holy Word, to look into the eyes of any person who hurt you and see the image of God in the face of your enemy, and commit to not getting angry, but to showing mercy.

The third aspect of mercy means do something about the eternal welfare of others. Jude in his one-chapter letter speaks to this. He talks about doing something intentionally with people who don’t know the Savior:

22 Be merciful to those who doubt;

23 snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear– hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.

God loves and wants a love relationship that saves a person from the fires of Hell, (listen to this...) with every human being you make eye contact with on any given day. And the only way He designed to let people know of His love for them, His forgiveness, and His peace, that come through a relationship with Jesus Christ, is through you and me.

I was struck by what Rick Warren said in his book, Purpose Driven Church, that our Board is studying right now. He said, "Have you ever wondered why God leaves us here on earth, with all its pain, sorrow, and sin, after we accept Christ? Why doesn’t he just zap us immediately to heaven and spare us from all this? After all, we can worship, fellowship, pray, sing, hear God’s Word, even have fun in heaven. In fact, there are only two things you can’t do in heaven that you can do on earth: sin, and witness to unbelievers. I ask our church members which of these two they think Christ has left us here to do. We each have a mission on earth and part of it includes telling others about Christ." (P. 116)

But one of the saddest statistics I’ve heard in recent years is that 95% of all church members have never let themselves be used of God to lead anyone to Christ. That means that if there are 140 people here this morning, then 133 of you have never introduced anyone to Jesus Christ.

That means that there is a very good chance that most of the people you know right now, will end up in hell without hearing the Gospel.

I came across a poem this past week that speaks to this:

A Voice from Eternity
You lived next door to me for years
We shared our dreams, our joys, our tears,
A friend to me you were indeed --
A friend who helped me when in need.
My faith in you was strong and sure
We had such trust as should endure,
No spats between us ever rose
Our friends were alike, also our foes.
What sadness, then, my friend, to find
That after all, you weren't so kind.
The day my life on earth did end
I found you weren't a faithful friend...
For all those years we spent on earth,
You never talked of Second Birth,
You never spoke of my lost soul
And of the Christ Who'd make me whole.
I plead today from hell's cruel fireAnd tell you now my last desire,
You cannot do a thing for me,
No words today my bonds will free.
But do not err, my friend, again,
Do all you can for souls of men,
Plead with them now quite earnestly
Lest they be cast in hell with me.

Friends, listen very carefully. You are not merciful if you are not concerned about the souls of the people you know who are lost. It is the merciful who will chose to intentionally do something about the lost condition of the people they know and meet.

We will be giving you some practical help in this, once the winter quarter of Sunday School starts. So, stay tuned! I promise not to give you guilt and leave it at that. We intend to help you know how to intentionally do something to help advance the Kingdom of God into the hearts of people you know.

But there’s still one more part to this Beatitude–what happens when we show mercy–when we’re concerned about the sorrow of others, when we forgive, and when we intentionally do something about the lost condition of the people we know...

Jesus said, when we are merciful, we will be shown mercy.

(Front of bulletin) To quote John MacArthur, "(Here) we see God’s cycle of mercy. God is merciful to us by saving us through Christ; in obedience we are merciful to others; and God in faithfulness gives us even more mercy, pouring out blessing for our needs and withholding severe chastening for our sin."

James echoes this theme from a negative viewpoint, when he writes...

because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!

Jesus mentions one of the definitions of mercy at the end of teaching His disciples about prayer...

14 For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

15 But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

The bottom line is that God will respond to our unmerciful actions (whether those actions are passive or active) with reprimand. Don’t think you can play games here, friends. God expects the subjects of His Kingdom to show mercy if they want to receive mercy from Him.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that salvation hinges on your works–that only comes by grace, and there is nothing you can do to earn God’s grace.

But I am saying that according to the very words of Jesus, blessing in

...your endeavors,

...or your relationships,

...or your decisions,

...or your family,

...or the desires of your heart...

will not happen if you are not merciful.

Mercy is one of God’s highest priorities for you and me. I think Chrysostom, one of the early church fathers, gives us a handle on why it is so important. It’s where I got the title for this morning’s message. He said, "Mercy imitates God and disappoints the Devil.

Let’s disappoint the devil this week, and not God.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

Amen.