God is

Merciful

Beyond Unmerited Favor

One of the popular definitions of God’s mercy or grace is the idea of unmerited favor, that is, man does not deserve such kindness from God. Yet this is not the full story. Such words as unmerited, unworthy, and undeserved do apply to the concept of mercy or grace, but they are not strong enough to reveal the full meaning of how merciful God has been to us. “The fact is that grace is not merely undeserved or unmerited; it is the very opposite of what is deserved or merited. We are not just unworthy of God’s forgiveness; we are actually worthy of its opposite. One could walk up to a perfect stranger and give him a thousand dollars for no reason at all. That gift would certainly be unmerited. But if the thousand dollars were given to a thief who had just stolen the giver’s car, the gift would be the very opposite of the punishment deserved. The matter is more like God’s grace. Thus instead of speaking of grace as ‘unmerited favor’, we should think of it as ‘favor bestowed when wrath is owed” (God the Redeemer, Jack Cottrell p. 376). We see the above truth in Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”. The price of our sins (the cost of sin) is eternal destruction; in contrast, God is actually willing to give us salvation. “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). The death of Jesus delivered us from God’s wrath (5:9). That wrath was not merely coming upon mankind in general, but it was directed toward us, specifically; “for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience” (Ephesians 5:6). David realized this same truth in the Old Covenant and made mention of this truth in his Psalms to the Lord. “He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities” (103:10). We will never really appreciate God’s mercy and forgiveness until we come to a realization of the true cost of our sins, and understand that our sins had earned us a place in hell, and that God’s wrath was directed right at us.

Mercy and a Holy God

The word “forgiveness” often means very little in our culture. A person might say, “I forgive them”, but what they are forgiving might at the same time mean very little to them. It is so easy for people to simply say the words, “I forgive you”. But when Holy Creator says “I am willing to forgive you”, we often fail to grasp what such a statement means to God. Sin is absolutely an abomination to God. Sin is loathsome, sick and disgusting to God. It is something abhorred and hated with divine intensity (Proverbs 15:8; Leviticus 18:25; Romans 1:18 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men”; Hebrews 10:27 “and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries”. Listen with a careful and honest heart to the description, the intense language used by God when describing sinners: Hebrews 12:16 “no immoral or godless person like Esau”; 2 Peter 2:12 “unreasoning animals”; 2:13 “stains”, “blemishes”; 2:14 “accursed children”; 2:20 “a dog returns to its own vomit”. We need to stand back and be impressed that our forgiveness comes from a Holy God who is absolutely sickened by our transgressions. It is this God, that our sin is such an abhorrence to, this God, that sin is such an insult to, this God, that sin is such a defiant attack upon, and the same God that offers forgiveness. There is really no way that we can truly and fully appreciate what it means from God’s standpoint to forgive sin. Sin is obviously pure evil, if it merits being the eternal object of God’s holy wrath, and if Jesus, God in the flesh, had to shed His own blood if there was going to be any chance for atonement and thus forgiveness.

A Holy God who Desires to Show Mercy

Even though sin is such an offensive thing to God and the fullness of His wrath is directed against it, at the same moment the fullness of God’s love yearns for the sinner to repent so that God can bestow mercy, “Who desires all men to be saved” (1 Timothy 2:4); “Not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9); “I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways!” (Ezekiel 33:11). We see this same attitude in Jesus, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34); “For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them” (Luke 9:56). Even though Israel in the Old Testament was deep into sin (Isaiah 1), God still yearned for their restoration, “Come now, and let us reason together…Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be white as snow; though they are read like crimson, they will be like wool” (1:18).

Hosea 11:8-9 “How can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I surrender you, O Israel? My heart is turned over within Me, all My compassions are kindled”

As we read such scripture we gain a vivid picture of God’s grief over sin and those lose in sin. In view of such a passage I believe that God is greatly offended when people complain about rebellious people ending up in hell. God feels far more pain over the loss of a soul—than we do! Adman and Zeboiim were two cities in the plain overthrown with Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 14:2). Some writers feel that there is a struggle within God between wrath and mercy, but I deny that. God is perfect, and His love and mercy are just as much a part of His nature as His wrath against sin (Romans 11:22; Exodus 34:6-7). Others feel that maybe holiness is something that God must do while love is something that God desires to do. I also don’t agree with that explanation, for I find that God equally desires that people be holy. The Scriptures are clear, God’s holy wrath will come upon the unrepentant (2 Thessalonians 1:6-9), without apology or revocation, yet God would much rather dispense His mercy. We see the same compassion and desire to give mercy in the life of Jesus. Jesus even manifested compassion upon those who were suffering from physical ailments (Matthew 14:14; Mark 1:41). God does feel compassion for us when we are suffering from physical diseases. Even though sin, and thus disease and death, entered this world via man’s rebellion, God still has compassion upon mankind who suffers from so many ills. When Epaphroditus recovered from a very serious illness, Paul said that God had mercy upon him (Philippians 2:27). Jesus even wept over the city of Jerusalem, because He so desperately had wanted that city to experience the peace that comes from obedience rather than the suffering that will come as a result of Divine judgment (Luke 19:41-44).

Mercy for All

God desires to forgive the sinner, even the person who has been up to their neck in sin, “But if the wicked man turns from all his sins which he has committed” (Ezekiel 18:21); “Her sins, which are many, have been forgiven” (Luke 7:47); “Even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy….and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant…It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all” (1 Timothy 1:13-15). Seeing that Paul was the foremost or chief of sinners, he persecuted and killed Christians, we can have hope and assurance of the forgiveness of our sins. I can think of no greater encouragement to sinners than the pardon granted to a man who so intensely persecuted the Lord’s Church. By the forgiveness granted to Paul, we can see the great blessing we have in the grace of God.

Luke 17:3-4 “Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.”

*** From this verse we learn that God’s mercy is abundant and that God is patient. A person may have blown it in life many times, but as long as one is alive and willing to repent, forgiveness is still available (1 John 1:7 “Cleanses us from all sin”; Isaiah 55:7 “For He will abundantly pardon”).

Our Obligation

Do not seek to manipulate or abuse God’s mercy:

While mercy is abundant, God’s Word warns those who seek to turn God’s grace into a license to sin (Jude 4; Romans 6:1 “Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase?”). Manipulating God’s grace would include having no qualms about planning a sin, and then telling yourself that such is Ok, because you can always be forgiven afterwards. A person would be foolish to think they can continue in a sinful relationship or practice sin willfully and think God’s grace will cover you. God’s mercy actually should teach us the exact opposite (Titus 2:11-12). When the doctrine of God’s mercy is accurately taught no one is left with the impression that they can remain in an ungodly situation or hold on to any worldly desire.

Truly repent:

The repentance here cannot be superficial or merely a sorrow drummed up to satisfy men, but a heart that is truly broken and contrite (Joel 2:13 “Rend you heart and not your garments”; 2 Corinthians 7:10 “For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret”). There is a difference between a genuine sorrow over the sins of the past and a superficial (worldly) sorrow. Worldly sorrow has two characteristics. (a) It is not really sorrow, but rather resentment. Resentment at the punishment for sin, and resentment of the fact that “I got caught in sin. (b) It is not really sorrow for the sin or for the hurt caused by the sin – but rather sorrow over being found out made a spectacle of), and given the chance to do the same thing again, we would do it – It is the pain of being caught.

A true repentance, (godly sorrow), is a repentance and a sorrow that has comes from seeing the wrong (sin) committed and not just focusing on the consequences of the wrong. Godly sorrow truly regrets the sin and desires to turn from such wrong and understands the need to turn from sin and earnestly works to keep from committing the sins of the past.

Ready for Mercy?

“God, be merciful to me, the sinner!” (Luke 18:13). A person is ready for God’s mercy when they honestly see themselves as a lost sinner, and the only hope for their condition is God’s mercy. We are ready for mercy, when we have abandoned all other avenues and all other excuses and are willing to completely place ourselves before God with no hope but His kindness.