Show Mercy

"By grace are ye saved through faith…"

Grace is defined as "God's unmerited favor". Grace has been explained as "God's giving to us something which we do not deserve". Not a single person alive today "deserves" salvation. We are all unworthy (see Romans 3:23). But nonetheless, God has provided salvation for all mankind. But grace has a twin sister which we must acknowledge.

If grace is God giving to us freely, not something we have earned, but something which we could not obtain on our own, then mercy is withholding from us what we rightly deserve.

Mercy, as used in Matthew 5:7 means compassion. Compassion may be defined as " …a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering." (Dictionary.com).

ON one hand, we do not deserve salvation because of the actions of our first parents, Adam, and Eve, yet God, by His grace, grants salvation through one's faith in Christ.

On the other, we do deserve death, and eternity in hell because of our sinful nature, but God, in His mercy, withholds that from us.

God's grace deals with the guilt of sin, but His mercy deals with the sorrow and suffering.

Someone has said, "Grace takes away the fault, mercy the misery."

How is mercy obtained? What is the price? There is not price. It can only be obtained by faith. Mercy and grace come into the life of a believer the exact moment they acknowledge their sin, acknowledge their inability to pay for that sin, and trust in Christ's finished work on Calvary. As the song writer put it:

"Mercy there was great and grace was free. Pardon there was multiplied to me. There my burdened soul found liberty, at Calvary."

I don't know about you, but the fact that I have been forgiven brings a sense of joy to my heart that surpasses all understanding.

Interrogative: How can showing mercy bring happiness as Jesus says it will?

TS: Showing mercy brings happiness when we…

Respond to the Needs of Others

In your life you will come across many people in need. When you respond with mercy, compassion, you will gain a sense of fulfillment. You’ll see this when you help...

Brethren in need 1 John 3:16-17 “16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 17 But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?”

WE are under divine obligation to help our brethren in time of need

When the Bible speaks of the early church having "all things common", that doesn't mean that God condones what we know today as Communism, it means that if I have a shovel, and you need a shovel, guess what? My shovel is your shovel.

My neighbor Anthony is a great example of this. He has anything and everything. And he doesn’t mind you borrowing it. Can’t tell you the times he has just given me something because he wanted to. His wife is the same way.

Unbelievers in need…uh-oh, how do we help them out? Why would we help them out?

About 10 times in Scripture we are commanded to "love thy neighbor as thyself"

But before we stop and suggest that only those closest to us are our neighbors, let's turn to Luke 10:25-37

The man robbed was a Jew (from Jerusalem)

A priest and a Levite both passed by on separate occasions and ignored this man's need - both men were "kin" to the man who was robbed, and should have shown compassion

A Samaritan - a subgroup of people in Israel who were hated, people so reviled they wouldn't even speak to them, stopped, and helped the injured man

Picture yourself a Samaritan, and those around you Jews. It is safe to assume today that people hate, if not us, what we represent. When you see them in need, then show them mercy.

If you want to be happy then show mercy by responding to the needs of others. Another way showing mercy can bring happiness is when you...

Realize that Mercy is an attribute of God

When we show mercy to others we are showing the love of God. Psalm 62:12

Psalm 62:12 KJV 1900

12 Also unto thee, O Lord, belongeth mercy: For thou renderest to every man according to his work.

What about Luke 6:3

Luke 6:3 KJV 1900

3 And Jesus answering them said, Have ye not read so much as this, what David did, when himself was an hungred, and they which were with him;

Paul told us that we are ambassadors of Christ 2 Cor. 5:20

2 Corinthians 5:20 KJV 1900

20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.

To what purpose are we ambassadors? So that unbelievers might be reconciled to God. How can they be reconciled? By hearing and receiving the gospel of Christ.

How do others hear the gospel? We, as ambassadors, take it to them. When you share the gospel of Christ to a lost person you are extending the mercy of God to them, you are demonstrating God's love and His mercy. God loves sinners, and God wants them to be saved!

To obtain biblical, godly happiness, you must respond to the needs of other, realized mercy is an attribute of God, and finally, and don’t miss this, if you really want happiness by showing mercy, then just...

Relive What Calvary did for You

Before Calvary was the law.

The law did not save, it condemned.

Only faith, blind faith, in the promise of the Messiah could save sinners.

John Phillips said, "Justice was the heart and soul of the law; mercy is the heart and soul of the gospel"

2. Without sacrifice and shedding of blood there is no remission.

a. When you trusted Christ as your Savior you obtained mercy.

b. When you show mercy to others, you relive what Calvary did for you.

i. A Christian who will not show mercy, will not forgive, has a very deep spiritual sickness.

ii. Let me go further, a Christian who will not show mercy, compassion, and forgiveness probably is not truly a Christian

Conclusion:

Do you want to know happiness? Then show mercy. Show forgiveness, show the love of God, not to those who you feel deserve it, but those you feel do not deserve.

Let me share with you a sure fired way to determine who doesn’t deserve salvation: Go look in the mirror.

NO one deserves forgiveness of sin, but God grants it freely. If God is willing to forgive and extend mercy, why not us?

My friends, you will never know happiness until you know the mercy of God! You say, “What must I do to know the mercy of God?”

It is so simple, just believe! Accept that you are a sinner in need of forgiveness, and believe that Jesus died to pay the cost of your sins. Call on Him to save you, and you will be saved.