The Only Way to Happiness - Be Merciful
The Sermon on the Mount • Sermon • Submitted
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Introduction:
Introduction:
As it has been mentioned to you before, this is the seminal teaching of Jesus about true spirituality.
Because this is the bottom line of what it means to belong to God and what it means to be in the kingdom, what it means to be saved.
And Jesus put all the emphasis on the inside.
Sadly, the Jews of the day put all the emphasis concerning true spirituality on the outside.
The religion that Jesus faced in His day was shallow, it was superficial and it was external.
The Jewish leaders thought that God was pleased with the outside, their apparent external self-righteousness, their formalized religion.
They were proud of it, their were self-centered about it.
Then Jesus came along and demantled it.
Jesus basically did what John the Baptist said that He would do.
John the Baptist predicted that Jesus Himself would come in a destructive way; John said this:
And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
John was basically saying that the Messiah was going to come with the axe of divine judgment against the tree of formal religion.
And He would cut down that external religion that was so utterly displeasing to God.
And, again, I say that Jesus put all the emphasis on the inside.
Not just the actions but also the attitude that is behind the actions.
Not just the conduct but also the character.
The emphasis in the sermon of Christ is not on what I do, but is on what I am.
As Martin Lloyd-Jones said many years ago:
John MacArthur Sermon Archive The Only Way to Happiness: Be Merciful
“A Christian IS someone before he DOES anything.”
And when someone is a child of God, when they are a Christian, they posses a certain kind of nature, a certain kind of disposition, a certain kind of character that is defined in these Beatitudes.
Again, Martin Lloyd-Jones said:
John MacArthur Sermon Archive The Only Way to Happiness: Be Merciful
“We are not meant to control our Christianity, but rather our Christianity is meant to control us.”
It all starts on the inside and then works its way out.
And so, as Jesus was addressing the Jewish religion of His day, and the Jewish people (and the religion of the Pharisees in particular), He goes right to the heart of the matter.
And it identifies for us that salvation is something that happens to us at the very center of our being.
It is a that is called a new creation and it controls everything about our lives.
It controls everything that we are at the innermost part of our being and flows out from that point.
Jesus Christ was not and IS not interested in external religion.
He is not interested in formal religious ceremonies anymore than God is.
He is not interested in superficial work that are just a covering for wrong motives.
He is interested in a purely transformed heart.
Jesus identified the religion of the Pharisees as:
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.
So, Jesus Christ, in addressing the real issue of salvation goes in and speaks to the matter of the heart.
We have already spoken about the first four of these Beatitude Attitudes, the attitude of those that are really in the kingdom.
They have the attitude of realizing their spiritual bankruptcy, they have the attitude of mourning over their sin and coming to God as a beggar, they have the attitude of being meek; they have yielded their wills to the will of the Father.
They have the attitude of hungering and thirsting for righteousness; just like they have to have physical food and water to sustain their physical lives, the people that are in the kingdom see and desire, with an intense longing, for righteousness to be in their lives.
They hunger for it, they thirst for it, they have to have it and they cannot get enough of it.
And when someone has these internal feelings, the only place for them to turn is to the Lord.
These are the characteristics of the inner principles that operate in the life of those who belong to God’s Kingdom.
It is also true that as we approach the fifth beatitude, that those that are in the Kingdom of God are by nature merciful people.
In some ways the first four beatitudes sort of connect up with the next four, verses 7,8, and 9 and then in verse 10 and 11 you have the eighth one.
You can look at it this way, those that are poor in spirit acknowledge their need of mercy and are willing to show mercy to others.
Those who mourn over their sin desire to wash their hearts clean with tears of penitence and they become the pure in heart.
The meek or the gentle are those who spontaneously make peace because their own agenda is not the issue, they are concerned about others.
And those that hunger and thirst after righteousness are willing, if you look at verse 10 and 11, to be persecuted for the sake of righteousness .
So there are some wonderful parallels in the Beatitudes as they unfold.
Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
The concept of mercy is seen throughout the Scriptures, from the Fall to the consummation of history at the return of Christ.
Mercy is a desperately needed gift of God’s providential and redemptive work on the behalf of others and the Lord requires His people follow His example by extended mercy to others.
We are going to discover the beauty of this Beatitude by looking at it from aspects of Mercy: Its Purpose, Its Providence, and Its Practice.
I. Its Purpose
I. Its Purpose
It is important that we understand that in the time and day in which Jesus lived and taught, the society was not known to be a society of mercy.
In fact, where mercy was seen the lest was in the realm of religion.
The religious people of Christs’ day were not inclined to show mercy, because mercy is not a characteristic of the proud, self-righteous, and judgmental.
To most, if not all, of Jesus’ hearers showing mercy was considered one of the least of virtues, if it was thought to be a virtue at all.
It was on the same level as love, you only loved those that love you.
So, you comparison, you only show mercy to those that show mercy to you.
Jesus later condemns this attitude:
Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
Such a selfish, shallow kind of love that was even shown by the outcasts and tax-collectors practiced was not acceptable to the Savior.
If you love those that that only love you, what reward do you have?
But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?
Yet there are many people that interpret this beatitude in another way that is just as selfish and humanistic: they maintain that being merciful causes those around us, especially those to whom we show mercy, to be merciful to us.
For such people, mercy is shown to others purely in an effort toward self-seeking.
Matthew, vols. 1-4 (The MacArthur New Testament Commentary) The Meaning of Mercy
The ancient rabbi Gamaliel is quoted in the Talmud as saying, “Whenever thou hast mercy, God will have mercy upon thee, and if thou hast not mercy, neither will God have mercy on thee.”
Gamaliel’s idea was right; whenever God is involved there will be mercy for mercy.
For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
However, when you apply this principle to men, it does not work.
Matthew, vols. 1-4 (The MacArthur New Testament Commentary) The Meaning of Mercy
One writer sentimentally says, “This is the great truth of life: if people see us care, they will care.”
But neither the Scriptures nor experience hold this to be the truth.
God works that way, but the world does not.
Matthew, vols. 1-4 (The MacArthur New Testament Commentary) The Meaning of Mercy
With God there is always proper reciprocation, and with interest. If we honor God, He will honor us; if we show mercy to others, especially to His children, He will show even more abundant mercy to us. But that is not the world’s way.
A popular Roman Philosopher called mercy, “the disease of the soul.”
It is the supreme sign of weakness, mercy was a sign that you did not have what it takes to be a real man and especially a real Roman.
We live in a society that despises any signs of mercy.
The best illustration of Mercy is found in the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
Matthew, vols. 1-4 (The MacArthur New Testament Commentary) The Meaning of Mercy
He reached out to heal the sick, restore the crippled, give sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, and even life to the dead. He found prostitutes, tax collectors, the debauched and the drunken, and drew them into His circle of love and forgiveness.
When the scribes and Pharisees brought the adulteress to Him to if He would agree with stoning her, Christ confronted the merciless hypocrisy:
So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
Matthew, vols. 1-4 (The MacArthur New Testament Commentary) The Meaning of Mercy
The more Jesus showed mercy, the more He showed up the unmercifulness of the Jewish religious leaders. The more He showed mercy, the more they were determined to put Him out of the way. The ultimate outcome of His mercy was the cross.
In Jesus’ crucifixion, two merciless systems, merciless government and merciless religion, united to kill Him.
Jesus said:
Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
God gives the divine blessings to those who obey His divine standard.
When we understand our own spiritual poverty, we find it more natural to have mercy on others.
Those that do not see their own spiritual deficiency are usually those that tend not to show mercy to others.
When someone is merciful, he does not stand in judgment of others but asks, “What can I do to help?”
His feelings of mercy and compassion lead him to action.
But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
In fact, Jesus said that mercy is one of the weightier matters of the law.
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
Those people that realized that they need mercy, show mercy.
Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?
Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.
Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.
And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents.
But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.
The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.
But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest.
And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.
So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.
Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:
Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?
And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.
So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.
If you give mercy, then you receive mercy.
You say, “so, if I do not show mercy to people then I will not receive mercy? But I am a Christian.”
That is exactly what the people that Jesus was talking to thought as well.
So, Jesus says, “Let’s talk about that.”
Listen, being a Christian is about being merciful, just as you have received mercy.
Believers are called to show mercy for the mercy that they have been shown.
If mercy were shown in greater zeal and consistency, then the preaching of the gospel would be for more effective.
What a blessing that would be for mankind.
That is what Jesus says that the person that is in the kingdom of God, those that are truly saved are those people that show mercy, compassion, or love to others, because they have been shown mercy.
For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Jesus is not speaking of a detached or powerless sentiment that is unwilling or unable to help those for whom there is sympathy.
Nor is He speaking of the false mercy, the feigned pity, that gives help only to salve a guilty conscience or to impress others with it appearance of virtue.
And it is not passive, silent concern which, though genuine, is unable to give tangible help.
It is genuine compassion expressed in genuine help, selfless concern expressed in selfless deeds.
Jesus is saying, “my Kingdom is not made up of takers, but it is made up of givers, givers of mercy, givers of compassion, givers of love.”
Mercy is meeting people’s needs.
It is not simply feeling compassion but showing compassion.
The Purpose of Mercy, takes us to the next part.
II. Its Providence
II. Its Providence
Pure mercy is a gift from God.
It is not a natural attribute of man but is a gift that comes with the new birth.
We can only be merciful in its fullest sense and with a righteous motive when we have experienced God’s mercy.
Mercy is only for those who through grace and divine power have met the requirements of the first four beatitudes.
It is only for those who by the word of the Holy Spirit bow humbly before God in poverty of spirit, mourn over and turn from their sin.
Who are meek and submissive to His control.
And who hunger and thirst after righteousness above all else.
The way to mercy is the way of humility, repentance, surrender, and holiness.
Balaam was a “prophet” that continually prostituted his minstry, trying to keep within the letter of God’s will while conspiring with a pagan king against God’s people.
He presumptuously prayed:
Who can count the dust of Jacob, and the number of the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his!
Balaam wanted to die like the righteous, but he did not want to live like the righteous.
Many people want God’s mercy but not on God’s terms.
We cannot have the blessing apart from the blesser.
We cannot even meet the condition apart from the one who has set the condition.
We are blessed by God when we are merciful to others.
And we are only able to show mercy to others when we have received mercy from God.
And because we have received mercy from God, we will show that same mercy to others.
The mercy that we have received is from the Father and Jesus said that the real happy people are the ones that show that same mercy to others.
III. Its Practice
III. Its Practice
Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
God is merciful to us by saving us through Christ; in obedience we are merciful to others; and God in faithfulness gives us even more mercy, pouring out blessing for our needs and withholding severe chastening for our sins.
The word “they” is the Greek is emphatic.
Jesus is saying, “Blessed are the merciful for they and they ONLY are the ones that receive mercy.
Merciless people are not people that are part of the kingdom of God.
For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.
A person who shows no mercy and compassion for people in need demonstrate that he has never responded to the great mercy of God.
And people have never responded to the grace of God and therefore show mercy to others, will only receive strict, unrelieved judgment in eternal hell.
Since we have received from a holy God unlimited mercy that cancels our unpayable debt of sin, we who had no righteousness but were poor in spirit, mourning over our load of sin in beggarly, helpless condition, wretched and doomed, meek before almighty God, hungry and thirsty for a righteousness that we did not have and could not attain, it surely follows that we should be merciful to others.
Conclusion:
Conclusion:
Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Those that are truly blessed, those that truly make up the kingdom of God are those and only those that show mercy, compassion, and love to others.
Because they have realized that they did nothing to deserve the mercy that they have received from the Lord, the new life that is within them will cause them to show mercy to others, though they do not deserve it.
Mercy is a kingdom attribute.
Jesus says to the crowd, “so, you think that you are right with God, well let’s talk about that.”
“Are you merciful?”
Only those that give mercy, show that they have received mercy.
Kingdom people are kind, gracious, and merciful to others.
Not just the ones that love them, but those that do not love them.
For if we are only gracious and merciful to those who are merciful to us, then we are no better than the heathen.
For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
Kingdom living is Mercy giving.