The God of Mercy

by | Jul 14, 2019

Our God is abundant in Mercy.

1 Peter 1:3-5 NKJV

[3] Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, [4] to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, [5] who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

 

Micah 7:18-20 NKJV

[18] Who is a God like You, Pardoning iniquity And passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, Because He delights in mercy. [19] He will again have compassion on us, And will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins Into the depths of the sea. [20] You will give truth to Jacob And mercy to Abraham, Which You have sworn to our fathers From days of old.

How does mercy and justice work in Christianity?

In other religions you get justice from a higher being or god unless you do something to get mercy; but mercy means you make a payment or some earthly authority just brushes aside your offense to extend mercy.

In Christianity mercy and truth have met together.

Psalm 85:10 NKJV

[10] Mercy and truth have met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed each other.

In Christianity justice is served. Justice IS come from God on the cross.

Jesus IS crucified. We have eternal justice in the cross. When we receive communion, we remember that our sin brings pain to Jesus.

Repentance involves godly sorrow. Repentance doesn’t absolve our transgressions. Repentance takes us back to the cross where our sin is paid for in full. We again watch as he takes justice for us in an act of unprecedented and unimaginable love. We call it mercy.

 

Isaiah 55:1-13 NKJV

[1] “Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters; And you who have no money, Come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk Without money and without price. [2] Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And let your soul delight itself in abundance. [3] Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live; And I will make an everlasting covenant with you- The sure mercies of David. [4] Indeed I have given him as a witness to the people, A leader and commander for the people. [5] Surely you shall call a nation you do not know, And nations who do not know you shall run to you, Because of the LORD your God, And the Holy One of Israel; For He has glorified you.” [6] Seek the LORD while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near. [7] Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the LORD, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon. [8] “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD. [9] “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts. [10] “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater, [11] So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. [12] “For you shall go out with joy, And be led out with peace; The mountains and the hills Shall break forth into singing before you, And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. [13] Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree, And instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree; And it shall be to the LORD for a name, For an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”

Nehemiah 9:15-31 NKJV

[15] You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger, And brought them water out of the rock for their thirst, And told them to go in to possess the land Which You had sworn to give them.

[16] “But they and our fathers acted proudly, Hardened their necks, And did not heed Your commandments. [17] They refused to obey, And they were not mindful of Your wonders That You did among them. But they hardened their necks, And in their rebellion They appointed a leader To return to their bondage.

But You are God, Ready to pardon, Gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, Abundant in kindness, And did not forsake them. [18] “Even when they made a molded calf for themselves, And said, ‘This is your god That brought you up out of Egypt,’ And worked great provocations,

 [19] Yet in Your manifold mercies You did not forsake them in the wilderness. The pillar of the cloud did not depart from them by day, To lead them on the road; Nor the pillar of fire by night, To show them light, And the way they should go. [20] You also gave Your good Spirit to instruct them, And did not withhold Your manna from their mouth, And gave them water for their thirst. [21] Forty years You sustained them in the wilderness; They lacked nothing; Their clothes did not wear out And their feet did not swell. [22] “Moreover You gave them kingdoms and nations, And divided them into districts. So they took possession of the land of Sihon, The land of the king of Heshbon, And the land of Og king of Bashan. [23] You also multiplied their children as the stars of heaven, And brought them into the land Which You had told their fathers To go in and possess. [24] So the people went in And possessed the land; You subdued before them the inhabitants of the land, The Canaanites, And gave them into their hands, With their kings And the people of the land, That they might do with them as they wished. [25] And they took strong cities and a rich land, And possessed houses full of all goods, Cisterns already dug, vineyards, olive groves, And fruit trees in abundance. So they ate and were filled and grew fat, And delighted themselves in Your great goodness. [26]

Nevertheless they were disobedient And rebelled against You, Cast Your law behind their backs And killed Your prophets, who testified against them To turn them to Yourself; And they worked great provocations. [27] Therefore You delivered them into the hand of their enemies, Who oppressed them;

And in the time of their trouble, When they cried to You, You heard from heaven; And according to Your abundant mercies You gave them deliverers who saved them From the hand of their enemies.

[28] “But after they had rest, They again did evil before You. Therefore You left them in the hand of their enemies, So that they had dominion over them;

Yet when they returned and cried out to You, You heard from heaven; And many times You delivered them according to Your mercies, [29] And testified against them, That You might bring them back to Your law.

Yet they acted proudly, And did not heed Your commandments, But sinned against Your judgments, ‘Which if a man does, he shall live by them.’ And they shrugged their shoulders, Stiffened their necks, And would not hear.

[30] Yet for many years You had patience with them, And testified against them by Your Spirit in Your prophets.

 Yet they would not listen; Therefore You gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands.

[31] Nevertheless in Your great mercy You did not utterly consume them nor forsake them; For You are God, gracious and merciful.

The Apostle Paul’s testimony

 

1 Timothy 1:12-17 NKJV

[12] And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, [13] although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. [14] And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. [15] This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. [16] However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life. [17] Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

 

Ephesians 2:1-10 NKJV

[1] And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, [2] in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, [3] among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

 [4] But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, [5] even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), [6] and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, [7] that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. [8] For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, [9] not of works, lest anyone should boast. [10] For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Exodus 20:2-6 NKJV

[2] “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. [3] “You shall have no other gods before Me. [4] “You shall not make for yourself a carved image-any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; [5] you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, [6] but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.