Mercy-- "kindness and forgiveness, especially when given to a person who doesn't deserve it"
We all know those people. It almost doesn't matter what they do, but they seem to find someway to irrate every person in the room. It makes you wonder if they didn't have sort of spirtual gift for it.
Every person, as one time or another, has met someone who has caused them to wonder, "How can I love this person?"
Sometimes it's the lady at the cash register who decides that, because they hate there job, they will share there bad attitude with everyone who is fortunite (or unfortunite) enough to visit there check out that day.
Or it is the old guy driving slow in the fast lane.
Or maybe it's the workers in the restraunt who have returned your food wrong three times.
We all know people who have hurt us.
Who have broken our hearts.
And who we haven't been able to forgive.
These are not only times that test our patience but cause too flex our mercy muscles.
We are easy to forget the patience and mercy God has shown to us when we are faced with trying situations. (myself included)
We talk about this in multiple parts. Today we will look alittle at what Paul says about mercy.
This is one of the points Paul tries to drive home to the Roman church is his letter to them (appropriately titled, "Romans").
Paul spends the first 11 chapters of this book writing about theology. I highly suggest you read through this book, if you haven't, but to give you the highlights.
"The wrath of God abides on the unrighteous." - Romans 1:18
"All men are without excuse because of there knowlege of God" -Romans 1:19-20
"None seek after God." -Romans 3:11
"None are righteous before God" -Romans 3:19-20
By this point, Paul has told the point that all men, left to ourselves, are nothing but doomed to face God's wrath and be punished in a place called Hell. We all have turned to our own way, sinning and seeking after anything other then the God who has given us life.
But, God was patient. In His mercy He provided a way to make men righteous before God. God made a way to salvation.
"A rightouesness that is apart from works" -Romans 3:21
"A righteous that comes through faith and turning from sin" - Romans 4:5, 5:1-2
"This was given to us as a free gift, through the person of Jesus Christ and His blood shed on the Cross". (Romans 3:21-31)
(There is much more packed into the book of Romans, but this is just an overview of the first few chapters)
Now, many of you may be wondering, what is my (and Pauls) point, and what does this have to do with mercy?
Now, let's turn to Romans 12.
"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship" - Romans 12:1 (emphasis mine)
Paul shows us God's mercy so that we may reflect God's mercy. Jesus gave Himself in place of us out of His love for us (Romans 5:8)
He openly offers forgiveness to us, by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, (Ephesians 2:8-9, John 14:7) even through our open rebellion to Him in sin. The fact is, if we say that someone we know "doesn't deserve mercy", then we ourselves don't deserve it either. None seek after Him. God had no reason at all to offer us anything, He is Creator and we are creation, and yet He did, even though our sin made us hostile to Him and His grace (Romans 8:7)
What does this mean for us?
It means that no matter what has been done to us, or how broken a relationship is, it can never be as broken as our relationship to God when we are, as the Bible says, dead in our sins. (Eph. 2:4-5). No matter how alone we may feel, it compares in no way to the solitude Jesus felt on the Cross (Psalm 22).
What else does this mean? That being "annoying" is a barrier to God's love.
Our sin was much more serious to God then some silly "annoyance" we face in life. We love because He first loved us. (1 John 4:19)
As if this wasn't enough (and certainly a whole book in and of itself) Paul continues with much more in Romans 12.
Pauls tells us not to conform ourselves with the worlds attitude toward revenge, which we will touch on more later. (Romans 12:2)
How do we reach this "anti- revenge, radical love-like-Jesus" that we have been disscussing?
Well, let me give you a couple simple, Biblical suggestions.
1) Change the way you view the world.
First, we need t0 set our eyes on the person.
Paul writes in Romans 12:3-8 about each Christians role within the Body of Christ. But before that Paul calls us to change our view of ourself, not just to view ourselves in God's love, but also remember that we were once under His judgement. (Romans 12:3)
The fact is, whether the person is a Christian or not, ultimately you are no "better" then any other person. Though the space that seperates a Christian from a non-Christian is too great to describe, this should only be more of a reason to love this person. David prayer in Psalm 39 to "...keep His tounge from sin...as long as the wicked (which is what all men are before God while still in sin) are in my presence"
Let the Church open its eyes to the world that is perishing around us! Let us put on the compassionate eyes of Jesus too see the need for the Gospel of Christ (Matthew 9:35-38)
If we really believe the Bible we have a job to not only show this non-believer Christs love, but to the Gospel to Him. (Mark 16:15)
Now, if the person is Christian, let us set our eyes on there purpose.
Paul says that each Born again believer has a place and a purpose within the Body of Christ. (Romans 12:4-8) Not only in there strengths, but also there weaknesses make them different from us and perfect to bring Glory to God through the gifts He gave them from the moment He "knit them together in the womb". (Psalm 139:13)
So for the sake of making the mercy of God found in the Gospel known to every people, in every nation...Let's all get along.
In Part 2 we will explore what "the world"says about mercy....
God bless!
We all know those people. It almost doesn't matter what they do, but they seem to find someway to irrate every person in the room. It makes you wonder if they didn't have sort of spirtual gift for it.
Every person, as one time or another, has met someone who has caused them to wonder, "How can I love this person?"
Sometimes it's the lady at the cash register who decides that, because they hate there job, they will share there bad attitude with everyone who is fortunite (or unfortunite) enough to visit there check out that day.
Or it is the old guy driving slow in the fast lane.
Or maybe it's the workers in the restraunt who have returned your food wrong three times.
We all know people who have hurt us.
Who have broken our hearts.
And who we haven't been able to forgive.
These are not only times that test our patience but cause too flex our mercy muscles.
We are easy to forget the patience and mercy God has shown to us when we are faced with trying situations. (myself included)
We talk about this in multiple parts. Today we will look alittle at what Paul says about mercy.
This is one of the points Paul tries to drive home to the Roman church is his letter to them (appropriately titled, "Romans").
Paul spends the first 11 chapters of this book writing about theology. I highly suggest you read through this book, if you haven't, but to give you the highlights.
"The wrath of God abides on the unrighteous." - Romans 1:18
"All men are without excuse because of there knowlege of God" -Romans 1:19-20
"None seek after God." -Romans 3:11
"None are righteous before God" -Romans 3:19-20
By this point, Paul has told the point that all men, left to ourselves, are nothing but doomed to face God's wrath and be punished in a place called Hell. We all have turned to our own way, sinning and seeking after anything other then the God who has given us life.
But, God was patient. In His mercy He provided a way to make men righteous before God. God made a way to salvation.
"A rightouesness that is apart from works" -Romans 3:21
"A righteous that comes through faith and turning from sin" - Romans 4:5, 5:1-2
"This was given to us as a free gift, through the person of Jesus Christ and His blood shed on the Cross". (Romans 3:21-31)
(There is much more packed into the book of Romans, but this is just an overview of the first few chapters)
Now, many of you may be wondering, what is my (and Pauls) point, and what does this have to do with mercy?
Now, let's turn to Romans 12.
"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship" - Romans 12:1 (emphasis mine)
Paul shows us God's mercy so that we may reflect God's mercy. Jesus gave Himself in place of us out of His love for us (Romans 5:8)
He openly offers forgiveness to us, by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, (Ephesians 2:8-9, John 14:7) even through our open rebellion to Him in sin. The fact is, if we say that someone we know "doesn't deserve mercy", then we ourselves don't deserve it either. None seek after Him. God had no reason at all to offer us anything, He is Creator and we are creation, and yet He did, even though our sin made us hostile to Him and His grace (Romans 8:7)
What does this mean for us?
It means that no matter what has been done to us, or how broken a relationship is, it can never be as broken as our relationship to God when we are, as the Bible says, dead in our sins. (Eph. 2:4-5). No matter how alone we may feel, it compares in no way to the solitude Jesus felt on the Cross (Psalm 22).
What else does this mean? That being "annoying" is a barrier to God's love.
Our sin was much more serious to God then some silly "annoyance" we face in life. We love because He first loved us. (1 John 4:19)
As if this wasn't enough (and certainly a whole book in and of itself) Paul continues with much more in Romans 12.
Pauls tells us not to conform ourselves with the worlds attitude toward revenge, which we will touch on more later. (Romans 12:2)
How do we reach this "anti- revenge, radical love-like-Jesus" that we have been disscussing?
Well, let me give you a couple simple, Biblical suggestions.
1) Change the way you view the world.
First, we need t0 set our eyes on the person.
Paul writes in Romans 12:3-8 about each Christians role within the Body of Christ. But before that Paul calls us to change our view of ourself, not just to view ourselves in God's love, but also remember that we were once under His judgement. (Romans 12:3)
The fact is, whether the person is a Christian or not, ultimately you are no "better" then any other person. Though the space that seperates a Christian from a non-Christian is too great to describe, this should only be more of a reason to love this person. David prayer in Psalm 39 to "...keep His tounge from sin...as long as the wicked (which is what all men are before God while still in sin) are in my presence"
Let the Church open its eyes to the world that is perishing around us! Let us put on the compassionate eyes of Jesus too see the need for the Gospel of Christ (Matthew 9:35-38)
If we really believe the Bible we have a job to not only show this non-believer Christs love, but to the Gospel to Him. (Mark 16:15)
Now, if the person is Christian, let us set our eyes on there purpose.
Paul says that each Born again believer has a place and a purpose within the Body of Christ. (Romans 12:4-8) Not only in there strengths, but also there weaknesses make them different from us and perfect to bring Glory to God through the gifts He gave them from the moment He "knit them together in the womb". (Psalm 139:13)
So for the sake of making the mercy of God found in the Gospel known to every people, in every nation...Let's all get along.
In Part 2 we will explore what "the world"says about mercy....
God bless!
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