Mountain View Baptist Church

"...everyone is hurt by this type of false mercy that would give the assailant freedom over the rights and virtue of another."

[This sermon is one of a series entitled "Sermon on the Mount, Concentrating on the Beatitudes," which is being preached on Sunday mornings by Pastor Tim Senter.]

There is much more to hungering and thirsting after righteousness that we could study, and we may at a later point in time. However, we must move forward and consider our next Beatitude. Morris makes the point that while the first four Beatitudes display the saved soul’s dependence upon God, this Beatitude begins to show the results of that dependence – the outward work of our salvation begins to show.[1]

Watching the progression of the Christian’s sanctification through the eyes of the One who exemplifies Christian attributes perfectly, is a wondrous event. This is the sense we should have as we study the Beatitudes. Jesus, in describing what those in His kingdom are like, is describing Himself. Knowing we have not yet attained perfection, yet within us we have the capability for perfection, we watch as our souls transform into that perfection that is the Master (Matt 5:48 & Luke 6:40). We find the natural progression in spiritual maturity spelled out in the Beatitudes. We first recognized the perfection of God in our spiritual poverty. Then we felt anguish at our imperfection in comparison. Third, meekness sets into our spirit. We see others in our plight and treat them more as Christ treated us. Next, we experience a huge appetite for the things of God such that we are only satisfied when we find Him and when we are in places were we know He is present. Now the righteousness that we seek begins to take shape in our lives. This righteousness begins to change us and we see these results in our Beatitude today and those that follow.

We, then, look at our next Beatitude as we did with the others. It is an element of the spiritual building blocks to Christlike perfection. These are not results of perfection; the Beatitudes are perfection in their completeness. Our “Tim’s Translation” today reads,

“Contented are the merciful ones because they will receive mercy.”

In our society today there is a trend in our legal system that is troubling. In attempts to be merciful, judges across the nation are taking leaps out of the word of law and applying a personal level of justice. I did an Internet search on the phrase “Child Molester set free” and returned over 150 results. All of these were cases since 2006. In one instance, a Maryland judge released an individual because the judge thought the trial had taken too long to get to the court system; however, the accused had waived all rights to a speedy trial. This is one example of many across our nation that shows that, regardless of the actual facts in the case, judges are taking it upon themselves to adjudicate and determine justice. This same type of activity has happened in Massachusetts, California, New Jersey, and a number of other states.

We call ourselves Christian but we tend to take a very hard line with child molesters. Is that being merciful? Is this judge more merciful than we are? Martin Lloyd-Jones said, “We are not meant to control our Christianity, our Christianity is meant to control us.”[2]

Does this mean that we are somehow supposed to be forgiving of such atrocious crimes that would, in the Levitical law, demand capitol punishment? I believe that there are a number of complex issues to deal with respecting this Beatitude, “Contented are the merciful ones because they will receive mercy,” and the plight of man. When we look at the example above, and consider the countless other evil ones who have been set free do we, or does the judge, consider the victim of the crime? When these criminals are released after serving only a small portion of their sentence, and showing no evidence of rehabilitation, what does that tell the victim? They can see things in a couple of different ways, (and these examples are not meant to be all-inclusive). The victim may determine that their life is not worth as much as the assailant’s life, since the person who attacked them was not punished for the crime. The victim can also attempt to reconcile within themselves that the judge saw some legal issue that he must abide by – that no matter how evil the person was, placing them back into the populace to kill, hurt, molest, and violate others was more profitable to society than the weight of one law against another. After all, some must be sacrificed for perfection, correct? How a young child is going to contemplate this concept is beyond this minister. Regardless, everyone is hurt by this type of false mercy that would give the assailant freedom over the rights and virtue of another. The judge, in her thoughtless action, was just as evil, abusive, and careless as the assailant.

Another mistake is for man to consider mercy as a carefree, happy-go-lucky, or nonchalant response to things. Man sees mercy as a mark of complacency. It involves self-assurance and smugness, almost a form of gloating by the individual providing the mercy. In this instance, we find excuses of upbringing. This is as if to say, “We are not that way, we were brought up in a good home, therefore they are disadvantaged. That person who exhibits that behavior is socially challenged.” Folks, this is not showing mercy or pity. This does not recognize that the very individual making the assessment has the exact same evil capability within their heart. It is not upbringing that drives this, as many studies have shown. The sanctimony of this type of assessment reeks of arrogant complacency.

We find true mercy in the unmerciful servant parable in Matthew 18:23-35.   Jesus gave us a parable that displays true mercy. Let us take that parable and apply it to our own lives. The master demands your payment in full, which is his right. You beg, plead that you not be sold to repay the debt. Your master, being a loving master, relents and forgives your debt – knowing he will have to make up for the loss himself, personally. The master puts himself in jeopardy with his creditor. This is mercy.

In our examples above, the only individuals suffering were the victims, their families, and society as a whole. The judge suffers no loss in the event and is in no other jeopardy. The loss is placed completely upon others. In the social arrogance example, we find no encouragement to improve or change. This stems from a permissive attitude. Permitting children to guide their own lives destroys their picture of reality. When they are older and still do not conform, people wonder why. It is because no structure was initially required for them to abide by, and the child, now an adult, has just perpetuated the error. The adult brought up in this distorted reality of no disappointment or responsibility provides no good service to society. As adults they should now realize they have been misled, and make a decision to change. The merciful thing for parents to do is hold their children accountable, not to be permissible.

In Matthew 18, the merciful Lord actually had the ability to relieve others in his kindness. However, the unmerciful servant did not pass on this generosity, but instead visited upon his debtors greater burdens. This is more the example of the judge. Where she has the opportunity to live in this wonderful country, free from tyranny and torture, she instead chooses to place the society she is sworn to protect in greater jeopardy. The social ineptitude in our second example displays a lazy attitude toward child rearing that is not willing to confront error and correct it.

One has to ask why this type of false mercy is displayed. Biblically we know that “Mercy is not unlawful or unjust, it is the embodiment the fulfillment of justice and the law of God.” However, “man considers mercy a laissez-fair approach to the law, but God’s mercy involves the fulfillment of it and true justice.“

The differences in the Mercy of man and the Mercy of God are striking in many ways. First, we find that true mercy can only be God given.

I. God Given

Christian mercy takes on a completely new aspect. It is, as Broadus put it, “(the) idea to remove the evils that excite compassion.”[3] The word used here as “merciful” (KJV) is only used twice in our New Testament. The other use is in Hebrews 2:17 where we find our Savior described as the perfect priest that had perfect empathetic mercy for all those He ministers to – all of you. Mercy is to be mindful of the guiltiness of man, but to have pity for his suffering. Mercy has been labeled as an attribute of God (Psalm 5:7; 6:14; 13:5, 21:7 and more).[4] Allowing God to challenge and change this selfish life is a most fundamental function of Christianity. We see this clearly in our ability to exercise Christlike mercy.

Where man sees mercy as outside the law, outside the ability for law to be effective; God sees mercy as a complete fulfillment in the law. This is why Paul can say, in Galatians 2:20,

“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”

It is the all-encompassing death of one Person that provided for true mercy. Man’s mercy can only take place as a result of the utter emptying of the Savior. God’s mercy is purely one way – given. We struggle to understand this even in the most simplistic form. As we find more of God in our lives, as Jesus makes His life increasingly visible to us, as we live more like Christ and develop a more pure and righteous spirit, we too can display true mercy.

This is the aptitude of spiritual change – that we can forgive one another even as Christ has forgiven us. We see others who sin as the sinners that they are. We know children are not innocent or inherently honest, but we pity them and their lack of understanding while still holding them accountable for their actions. We have compassion and mercy for them and their condition. We find in others sin-filled behavior, the inability for them to fight off any of this horrid activity. Sure, there are those who have a moral bent to them. They want to do well, but deep inside they are capable of the same heinous crimes as any murderer, idolater, or sorcerer on the planet. When man can actually face this fact, they become the beggar in spirit. When man can acknowledge this reality, it brings about a saddened spirit that bemoans its lack of purity. Once someone realizes the truth of their actual life, and the inherent evil capabilities of their mind, they see this in others and know that the only way to properly present the truth is in the strength of quietude. Communicating these concepts and ideas in a loving, caring, yet forthright, and strong manner becomes a more natural happenstance. In doing this, those who present the truth, also seek more of the truth. The more we find in the truth of God, the more we see our evil existence played out before us. We will either assent to these facts and seek the purity of God, or we will run from them. When we face them, we gain a sense of pity, of sadness or sorrow for all those who do not know these truths. God gives us truth so that we can then be changed into His image, and not be conformed to the world. The mercy that is first given to us, and then exemplified by us is equally as powerful. It changes us, and it has the ability to change others through us just as the unmerciful servant could have forgiven debts of others.

What, then, does perfect mercy look like? What examples do we have in scripture?

A. Perfect Spiritual Savior

Who can question the perfection of Christ’s mercy? Here is God, seeing His beloved creation unable to meet His call to perfection. Yet, God must have justice, He must have reconciliation with the law. There is a just punishment for the penalty of sin which must be fulfilled. This is mercy then:  God provides in His own body on the tree, with the ability to take the sins of the world upon Himself;  therefore, our souls are reconciled through His great, merciful, compassionate sacrifice. The truth of Christ is merciful to the soul.

The cross itself is a display of mercy. Just as the unmerciful servant did not deserve to receive mercy, but did receive a release from his debts, even so we sit in a position of utter guilt, completely laden with the burdens of sin. Christ provided this sacrifice for the undeserving. He came to the cross and showed mercifully how to forgive one another, even when pain must be accepted and experienced to do so. We must forgive one another even as God for Christ’s sake has forgiven us. Jesus Himself said of those at the foot of His cross, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”

Consider also, the lack of mercy in man as he crucifies our Lord. As Spurgeon wrote,

“If the innocent substitute for sinners suffers in this way, what will be done when the sinner himself- the dry tree – falls into the hands of an angry God?”[5]

Christ died for you when you were unmerciful. When your heart was bent on the sins of vengeance, Christ died for you. When your heart was bent on the sins of self-justification, Christ died for you. When your heart was steeped in the sins of personal retribution, Christ died for you. When you could think of nothing but retaliation, Christ died for you. Christ Jesus died for you when your heart was full of nothing but thoughts of justifying yourself.

Christ rose again to defeat the unmerciful. Christ, our Savior, not only bore the cross out of mercy, and went to the cross out of mercy, and gave up His ghost for mercy– He also chose to rise again the third day. We celebrate this Easter knowing that the great mercies of God are abundant in Christ Jesus our Savior. We celebrate this day of our risen Savior because we know no other one has died for us, taken upon themselves our sins, suffered death such as we shall never suffer it. We see Easter as the day marked by the risen Lord–proof that death and the sting thereof has no hold upon Him.

Christ lives now in triumph over unmerciful sin. We see His mercy in this great success, and His continuing life in heaven, and His promised return on earth. We see His great mercy in the removal of this sinful and wicked world and its replacement with the great justice and goodness that will be in His new creation. The perfection of the new world and the new heavens that He will usher in during the millennium is a triumphant and merciful blessing to all those who believe in Him. The perfection that will take place during the millennial reign of Christ, and the wonderful blessings therein, are merciful to us sinners, because we will be removed from the temptations of the flesh. This is blessed mercy.

With mercy being lawful, God given, and exemplified first in our Lord’s salvation for us, we find ourselves responding to this new spiritual condition in a merciful fashion.

B. New Spiritual condition

We have reviewed our position before an angry God – helpless. Knowing we have no stance before God, the poor in spirit know they need mercy. There is no other way that the sinner can stand in the presence of this awesome wonder that is our God of the Universe. We yearn for the spiritual food of God, long for the thirst-quenching living water of Christ. This great spiritual water that quenches the parched soul of the sinner is salvation’s freedom. If we know where we stand, if we really recognize this spiritual condition for what it is, how can a saved, truly repentant person not be merciful to the lost?” When we truly face the evil that we are, we should then repent – change – determine in our souls to dedicate our lives to Christ Jesus.

This repentance then comes with the knowledge and understanding of faith in Christ Jesus. Our repentance precipitates our faith, it ushers in our salvation. We go to God begging forgiveness for our sins, and lay in the hands of Christ our immortal soul for safekeeping and salvation. When we have placed our eternal life in the hands of the Savior, we have exercised faith and accepted His gift – life eternal with Him. How, then, can we be unmerciful? If we realize the great mercy that has been bestowed upon us, how then can our soul not show mercy to others? How can we be obstinate, rejecting mercy for others even in the face of the mercy of God? This is the lesson in Matthew 18. If we have no mercy for others, yet claim Christ as Savior, we will suffer the fate of the unmerciful servant. In Matthew 18 verse 34, we find our sentence where it reads, “And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.” If we are unmerciful, we too will be delivered over to the tormentors and all that we owe we will pay– for the wages of these sins is death. We will suffer eternal judgment for the sins we commit on mankind because we will not have truly taken the gift of God’s mercy, we will have stolen it in name only, and never have actually seen it work in our own hearts.

What is this mercy, the mercy we are to have one for another? It is pity– pity that sees those who are enslaved to the dominion of this satanically-controlled world. It sees people enslaved to their own devices. This mercy sees people who are simply unable to defend themselves against this evil onslaught. Man is incapable of defeating Satan; he is unable to defend himself against the whiles of that old serpent. Eve, a perfect human being, was unable to defend herself against Satan. How much better do you think you will fare if you do not accept the only one to defeat Satan, Christ Jesus? The merciful know this, understand these truths, and live in the world that has these truths inherent in it every day.

Do you see this mercy in your life? You, Christian, need to see this spiritual change – true mercy – in your Christian life.

We gather, then a whole new spiritual outlook concerning the things of the world. We apprehend our understanding from the great savior that gave us mercy. In our new spiritual outlook, we see those who are on earth in a completely different light.

C. New spiritual outlook

Men are sinners. The merciful see them as lost and without any real life within them. True life is spiritual life. The soul is dead in trespasses and sins until the spirit of God quickens it. This only happens at salvation, therefore, all those who do not have salvation, do not know Christ as their Savior, have a dead soul within them. They are to be pitied. Yes, even those who choose to remain in this state are to receive compassion. Our Savior did not wait until we were somehow justified in order to show us His great mercy. We were wicked when He died, and we remain wicked now. If we had to be perfect in order to receive mercy, Christ Himself would be the only individual ever to receive God’s mercy. We need His mercy because we need Him. Our spiritual outlook has changed from that which was under the control of Satan, to that which is now free of him. We were unable to break the bond of sin’s slavery, and we are still not without spiritual chains; yet we have access to all the keys to any shackle Satan may slap around our wrist or ankle.

Stephen had this outlook when he said, “Lord, lay not this sin to their charge.” All Stephen did was speak as the Spirit of God had given him to do – he exposited the entire Old Testament concerning the Messiah who had come. Stephen, being stoned, died with these words on his lips, knowing full well that Jesus was watching, standing at the right hand of God in Heaven. Stephen asked that God receive his spirit, as he believed God would deliver him to Heaven.

In this strength–the strength of God–you too can forgive hatred. You can forgive hurt. You have mercy on those who would offend you, because you know where they are, whom they serve, and their ultimate destination – if they do not find the Savior. You experience  despondency instead of repugnance for the lost. You find your heart in despair in their condemnation, not some form of false hope that they can receive some second chance. You experience great heartache and woe for them, not some visceral hatred because they do not believe you.

People who do not know mercy get angry when they see this reaction. This is shown in Stephen’s sermon as well where the priests and Pharisees yelled at him and covered their ears and gnashed their teeth at him. The lost get angry for all the wrong reasons. They get angry with you for loving them. Those who did not understand the great mercy of God in Christ Jesus stoned Stephen. They do not understand this love comes from a loving God. Most anger results from an inability to comprehend what is taking place. Many times though anger results from people’s opinion versus the truth. The truth is that Christ Jesus died on the cross for your sins and rose again the third day. All you have to do is accept his gift of salvation to be with Him in heaven. People of the world want to make up their own minds and believe what they choose; and the “Jesus thing” is too easy, it’s too neat–it is also too complicated because they have to change to be like Him. People tend to say to themselves, “If someone does me wrong, I want to rectify the situation. I am the one who will decide what is just. When I am satisfied is what counts. I will be nice to them, if they are nice to me. I decide what is good and what is bad.” These are all marks of arrogance, not mercy.

What is taking shape daily in your life? Is your mercy self-centered, based in laziness or in arrogance, or do you see all sinners (even your children) as spiritually empty?

The marks of true mercy recognize the true Gift of God for what it is. True mercy that is, of necessity, from God alone is another mark of the great grace of God–because it is given not taken.

II. God’s Gift

Salvation brings with it true mercy. If we experience these things in our lives, we are truly repentant. If we know our Savior and depend upon His salvation, we have Mercy – we know mercy. We will have experienced it at the cross already. We were crucified with Christ. In our baptism, then, we are buried in His likeness and raised again to newness of life. All these things are given by God, not selected by us. God chooses us for His kingdom in His foreknowledge of His kingdom. When we truly realize that we were there at the foot of the cross dividing the garments with the Romans, we have to have mercy for others. When you face the fact that you were right there accusing Him shouting at Him you have to have mercy. When you understand that every human that was present there could have literally been you, you have to have mercy.

Stephen speaks of your sins as well. Those who stoned Stephen were steeped in a belief that was now obsolete with the New Covenant in Christ Jesus. Just as the world is steeped in the condemnation that is humanism, occultism, Mormonism, or Catholicism, those who accused Stephen were steeped in Judaism. We have all, prior to our knowing Christ, persecuted Christians in some way – even to refer to them derogatorily as “churchy people” or “Bible thumpers.” Are we, as we talked last Wednesday night, zealots? Are we dangerous? We have noted before that some people consider Christians to be simpletons because they actually believe what is in the Bible. Moreover, we are incapable of original thought because we are beholden to our beliefs. We are bound, then, to believe in Jesus and His precepts. In this, we are stuck on this arcane document as if it has all the answers to all the world’s problems. We should study the “smart writings” of Aristotle, Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Marx, and Socrates. These were “great men of great wisdom.” We should study other mystic religions to learn what we should not do in Christianity. These thoughts lead people to improper beliefs and a lack of faith. The more the human mind attempts to rationalize God and His precepts, it becomes a humanistic endeavor. Those who know Christ know this and we have to have mercy, not malice, for those who fall prey to these deceptions.

Looking at Matthew 5:23-24 –this is the picture of mercy. The one who is merciful is focused upon maintaining and cultivating the relationship with God first. The one who is merciful gives forgiveness because they know that the relationship they have with God is dependent upon their heart with others. After taking the Savior, we take upon ourselves new responsibilities in God. In God’s salvific act, in His great gift, we have each severally been given a portion of the Holy Spirit to enliven our souls and, in turn, to provide for this forgiveness.  Having hate for a wrong against you and not showing the mercy of forgiveness is detestable to the God who, even when you were merciless, gave Himself for you. When you do forgive, then God can forgive you – again. These too are those who have the mercy of God, because this mercy and the ability to forgive in this way comes from God.

Knowing that true mercy cannot come from any man because it is only given of God, shows us that we have to have a forgiving heart placed within us. As the psalmist said, “create in me a clean heart O, God.” Knowing we are therefore decrepit and evil, we seek that which is perfect because only perfection can atone for perfect requirements. The perfect Savior of our spirit provides us mercy as we see Him on the cross at Calvary. His great saving grace is given to us as He bleeds for us on the cross at Calvary. Further, His great grace is shown where He keeps the promises He made to man concerning the resurrection, and the proof that He can and does provide eternal life to all who believe. We gain a new spiritual condition in this situation, having the living God existing within us. We receive Him into our empty soul and He fills us with purity that must bring forth mercy. We then have a new spiritual outlook that focuses upon Him, serving Him, and maintaining this relationship with Him because He has given us a great gift. We should never permit the gift of mercy to tarnish unused in the cupboard that can be our soul.

Folks, some questions for you today are:

Is the cabinet in your soul full of mercy waiting to be given? Is the cabinet full of things that should be brought to God and doled out to those whom you should forgive? Is there a great lack of ability in your heart to forgive those who wrong you before God? Do you, having ought against someone take it before the living God to seek forgiveness for your sin-filled and arrogant heart?

Further, are there cobwebs in your cupboard where mercy and forgiveness belong? They would only be there if there never were mercy or forgiveness in your heart to begin with– because if you have Christ, there is an unlimited supply. You receive mercy from God when you accept Him. The mark of the merciful is that they already know Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. Do you? In this way, they are contented because they can be merciful, as they have received mercy. Can you?

[2] Lloyd-Jones, D Martyn, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, One-volume edition (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1976), 82.

[3] Broadus, John A., Commentary on Matthew, (Kregel: Grand Rapids, 1990), 91.

[4] Stewart Custer, The Gospel of the King: A Commentary on Matthew (Greenville: BJU Press, 2005), 68.

[5] Spurgeon, Charles H. Morning and Evening, A New Edition of the Classic Devotional Based on the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, Rev. Alistair Begg (Crossway: Wheaton, 2003), April 8 Morning.