The School of the Basics of the Christian Faith “The Creator and His Creation.” Lesson 6. God’s Mercy. The school consists of 22 lessons. The school was founded by the Christian Bible Institute.
Mercy is forgiveness despite deserved punishment.
When people ask for mercy, they acknowledge their guilt and understand that they deserve punishment. It is impossible to ask for mercy without acknowledging one’s guilt.
God’s mercy means that God does not give us what we deserve..
1. The Need for Mercy
Without God’s mercy, no person would survive even a single day! God should have subjected those who sinned to immediate and eternal punishment, but He does not do so; instead, He is patient!
God’s justice requires punishment for sin. God is holy and cannot tolerate sin, so His wrath should have been poured out on the people who rebelled against God.
All this could only have been stopped by God's mercy! Here is how Paul speaks about it when he prays for God to enable us to understand the power of His work in us:
Ephesians 2:1–5 And you, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked, following the ways of this world, according to the [will] of the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who is now at work in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the flesh and the thoughts, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest. 4 But God, being 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,
The first part of this passage describes the condition of a person without God.
All people:
- Spiritually dead
- Full of transgressions and sinfulness
- Subject to the prince of this world—the devil
- Enemies of God
- Slaves to the desires of the flesh
All this leads to a terrible result: people are children of wrath (from birth, they are objects of God's wrath).
To begin the process of humanity's salvation, it was first necessary to stop the process of its destruction.
The only reason you and I are alive today is God's mercy. Our condition is so sinful that we should be immediately cast into hell together with the devil. But, thanks to God's mercy, we continue to live.
That is why David, seeing the immense value of God’s mercy, exclaims:
Psalm 63:3 For Your lovingkindness is better than life; my lips shall praise You.
Thus, people cannot exist without mercy. To our great joy, mercy is one of the essential qualities of God’s character.
2. God Delights in Showing Mercy
God not only wants to show mercy, but He looks for opportunities to show mercy!
Micah 7:18 Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of Your heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in mercy.
Imagine a parole board reviewing requests for clemency. Much depends on how the board members approach their work. They may simply review the case submitted to them, or they may diligently look for reasons to show mercy to the person.
The Bible says that God looks for every opportunity to show mercy.
2 Samuel 14:14 Yet God does not take away life, but devises means so that the one who is banished may not remain an outcast from Him.
It is precisely because of His great mercy that God is so patient with people. He does not punish them immediately, but shows tremendous patience toward those who have rebelled against Him.
Psalm 145:7–9 They shall utter the memory of Your great goodness, and shall sing of Your righteousness. 8 The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and great in mercy. 9 The Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works.
Let us look at one important condition for God’s mercy—
3. God’s Mercy Is Based on the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ
When we say that a good and loving God seeks opportunities to show mercy, we must understand that He could not have shown mercy to a single person without giving His Son, Jesus Christ, over to suffering and death for their salvation.
God paid an extremely high price for the opportunity to show mercy to people! God’s mercy cost Him His only begotten Son!
Eph. 2:4–5 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
The sacrifice of Jesus Christ was offered on the cross for those whom God saves, and this sacrifice also makes it possible for God’s mercy to be shown to all other people living on earth.
Thus, we can see that the death of Jesus Christ on the cross gives humanity the opportunity to exist physically on earth. God’s mercy, revealed to people through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, restrains the power of God’s righteous wrath and prevents the immediate destruction of humanity.
4. God’s Mercy Is Absolute Mercy
There are several reasons for this:
A. God’s mercy is absolute because we are absolutely unworthy!
God’s mercy is absolute because all people are absolutely unworthy—that is, completely corrupt—and therefore absolutely deserving of destruction. Without God’s mercy, we would not be able to live even a single day. We need His mercy from beginning to end!
Rom. 3:10–12 as it is written: There is none righteous, no, not one; 11 there is none who understands; there is none who seeks God; 12 they have all turned aside; together they have become worthless; there is none who does good, no, not one.
No person on earth can be saved through their works or righteous living. In salvation, every person depends 100% on God’s mercy. They cannot contribute even one percent of their own merits. From beginning to end, a person depends on God’s mercy.
It is very difficult for people to admit this for several reasons:
- First, we need to understand and admit that we are completely corrupt and can do nothing to help ourselves. We simply need to fall before God with a broken heart and plead with Him for mercy.
- Second, we must understand that we have nothing to boast about or exalt ourselves over one another. If we are all saved only by the mercy of God, then none of our merits have any significance.
Titus 3:5 He saved us, not because of righteous works we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit
Look at the story told by Jesus Christ about the Pharisee and the tax collector! The Pharisee prayed, boasting about his achievements and merits. He told God that he deserved God’s attention and consideration. But the tax collector asked for only one thing: “Have mercy on me, a sinner”
The Bible says that the tax collector was justified by God, but the Pharisee was not. The reason is that the tax collector understood that his only chance of being accepted by God was to ask Him for mercy and not rely on his own merits.
B. God’s mercy is born in Him Himself, and therefore it is absolute!
True mercy always comes from the heart of the one who shows mercy!
This is a great blessing for us.
This is exactly what the apostle Paul writes:
Romans 9:16 So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who shows mercy.
God’s mercy is born in Him Himself. There is absolutely nothing in us, human beings, that could compel God to show us mercy. The Bible says that we are completely corrupted by sin and that there is nothing good in us
Romans 3:9–11…all are under sin, as it is written: There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none who understands; there is none who seeks God;
Therefore, we need God’s mercy. We must acknowledge that we cannot save ourselves.
Having come to know the Lord and trusted in His mercy, we can be far more confident in His mercy than in the stability of the world around us.
Isaiah 54:10 Though the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, My mercy shall not depart from you, nor My covenant of peace be removed, says the Lord who has mercy on you.
Humble yourselves before God and seek the Lord’s mercy! Strive to see God’s mercies all around you!
Understand that you need God’s mercy every moment of your life. Without His mercy, you would not be able to live even a single minute.
Psalm 57:9–10 I will praise You, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing to You among the nations, 10 for Your mercy is great above the heavens, and Your truth reaches to the clouds.
Review Questions
- What does God’s mercy consist of?
- What is God’s mercy necessary for?
- Why does God not destroy the sinful world?
- What is God’s mercy based on?
- Why can we hope in God's mercy?
Source: Christian Bible Institute
