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6. Mercy a) Definitions (1) [Mercy]
is the goodness or love of God shown to those who are in misery or distress,
irrespective of their deserts. (Buswell,
A Systematic Theology of the Christian Religion, p. 72) (2) [Mercy is] God’s tenderhearted, showing
compassion toward the miserable, needy people he loves and also his not
bringing on fallen people what they deserve. (House, Charts of Christian Theology and Doctrine) (3) The Greek word for mercy is éleos
and carries the idea of an attitude and emotion roused by the affliction
of another (Friberg), often of a superior to an inferior. It is
equivalent to the Hebrew word chesed, which was translated,
“lovingkindness” and referred to God’s faithful and covenantal love and mercy
(Exo 34:6, 7; Isa 54:10; Jer 31:3). (4) Sometimes mercy is a synonym for
“compassion” as illustrated by the Hebrew word rachum (Ge 43:14; Ex
33:19) and the Greek word oiktirmon (Ro 9:15; Col 3:12). b) God’s
mercy is part of His nature (Ps 86:15; Ps 116:5). (1) Perhaps
one of the most precious attributes of God is His mercy, which is a
motivating channel for many if not all of God’s attributes. (2) Along with all the other attributes of God,
mercy is described as His divine essence (Ps 86:15). So, as much as God is
righteous, He is also merciful and compassionate (Ps 116:5). c) God’s
mercy is related to His goodness (Ex 33:19) (1) When God
used the attribute of goodness to describe His glory, it was not without
graciousness, mercy, and compassion (Ex 33:19; Isa 49:13; Hos 14:3). (2) The mercy of God has its spring in the
divine goodness. The first issue of Gods goodness is his benignity or bounty,
by which He gives liberally to His creatures as creatures; thus has He given
being and life to all things. The second issue of Gods goodness is His mercy,
which denotes the ready inclination of God to relieve the misery of fallen
creatures. Thus, mercy presupposes sin. Pink (3) If mercy relieves the misery of His
creatures, then how is it that misery and suffering still exist? First of
all, misery and suffering were brought upon man by his own sinfulness (Ro
8:21-22, 6:23). Secondly, God is also just and will not remove suffering from
sin even though He would desire to relieve it. However, though not always
removing suffering, God often alleviates some of the severity of suffering
(1Co 10:13). Thirdly, sometimes God is merciful in permitting suffering,
which many times keeps man from going farther into sin, and thereby protects
him from receiving greater suffering (Ps 119:67, 71, 75). d) God’s
mercy is everlasting (Is 55:3; Lam 3:22-23). (1) Since God
Himself is an everlasting God, all of His attributes are everlasting;
including His mercy (Is 55:3). (2) It is because of God’s everlasting mercy
that those who have availed themselves of it can be fully assured that His
mercies are new every day (Lam 3:22-23). (3) On this same vein we can say that God’s
mercy is immutable (Mic 7:18). e) God’s
mercy is involved in His works (Ps 145:9) (1) Similar
to God’s goodness, His mercy is extended to mankind in a general way through
all of His works (Ps 145:9). (2) We might say that God does not withhold His
goodness upon all creation (sun, rain, vegetation, water, air, etc.) because
having created us to be dependent upon them; it would be the cause of
merciless suffering. f) God’s
mercy is not separate from His justice (Ex
34:7; Lk 13:3;Ro 3:8). (1) Because
God is also a God of justice, He will never be guilty of a universalism of
mercy. Though mercy is extended to all, not all will avail themselves of it.
In such cases, only justice remains. (2) In fact, to not punish the unrepentant
wicked, would not only be injustice, but it would be merciless to those who
have come under the umbrella of God’s mercy (Ex 34:7; Ro 3:8). (3) In regard to salvation, faith and
repentance are required for God’s mercy (Lk 13:3; Is 55:7). a) God’s
mercy is the basis for salvation (Tit 3:5; Eph 2:4-5). (1) Mercy,
however, is never merited, otherwise mercy would cease to be mercy.
Furthermore, man’s own self-righteous works can neither remove sin nor gain
God’s mercy. Man is saved only on the basis of God’s mercy (Tit 3:5). (2) God’s mercy in salvation is depicted as the
sole means of salvation when He made the believer alive, being dead in his
sin (Ep 2:4-5). g) God’s
mercy is according to divine choice (Rom 9:15-16, 18, and 23). (1) Since
God’s mercy is solely based upon Himself and not man, it is God who must
initiate mercy (Ro 9:15-16). (2) When God extends grace and mercy upon a
sinner, that sinner is awakened spiritual and is enabled to exercise saving
faith and repentance (Ep 2:8-9 cf. Ep 2:5). (3) If God does not extend His mercy, then the
hardened unbeliever will remain and continue to be hardened (Ro 9:18). (4) In this way, the riches of God’s mercy in
salvation are made known to the recipients of God’s mercy (Ro 9:23). h) God’s
mercy is extended through Christ’s death and resurrection (1Pe 1:3). (1) Though
God would desire to be merciful, He can only do so on the basis of the death
and resurrection of Christ (1Pe 1:3). (2) Having made atonement for man’s sins
through Christ, God was then justified in extending His “great mercy” to
those He “caused to be born again.” i) God’s
mercy is related to propitiation (Ex 25:17-22) (1) The OT
depicted atonement for sin when the blood of the sacrifice was sprinkled on
the “mercy seat.” This “mercy seat” was the place where a holy God could meet
with sinful man (Ex 25:22). (2) The “mercy seat” (Heb. kapporeth - place
of smearing, place of atonement) in the OT is translated by the Greek
word hilastārion (cf. He 9:5). Hilastārion means to
“satisfy or appease (propitiate)” and explains that God’s righteousness is
satisfied by the atonement made on the “mercy seat.” Christ, through His
death on the cross has become the believer’s propitiation (hilastārion
or “mercy seat”), satisfying God’s righteousness through atonement for
sin (Ro 3:24-25). j) Christ
possesses the divine attribute of mercy (1Ti 1:2; ) (1) Grace
and mercy come not only through the divine Father, but also through the
divine Son (1Ti 1:2; 2Jn 1:3). (2) Only God can extend mercy and forgive sin.
Christ is observed forgiving sin while on earth, so this shows Christ’s deity
(Mt 9:6; Jn 8:10-11). (3) Christ is also the believer’s merciful high
priest (He 2:17). k) Applications
for the believer (1) The
believer can rest assured in the mercy of God. Positionally the believer has
been forgiven from all sin (Ep 1:7). Conditionally, he but needs to confess
his immediate sin and gain instant forgiveness (1Jo 1:9 cf. Jn 13:10). (2) Because the beli ever has found mercy, he
can also find mercy and grace in the nick of time at God’s throne (He 4:16;
2Co 1:3). (3) Since the believer is born of God’s Spirit,
then he should live in accordance with God’s attribute of mercy toward others
(Mt 6:14-15; Ep 4:32; Col 3:13). |
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Grace Bible Church · 4000 E. Collins Rd · PO Box #3762 · Gillette, WY · (307) 686-1516 |
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