The Perfect Standard For Life
Mercilessness, The Disease Of The Soul -Part 5 of 8
Reading: Matthew 5v7
Many years ago now, a true story is told of two identical twins who were working for their father.
They were so close they even dressed alike.
When their father died they took over the family business as everybody expected them to do.
Their relationship with each other was considered by the town people as being a model relationship.
One day in the shop, one of the brothers was so busy that he forgot to ring up a sale, and by mistake left a dollar bill on top of the cash register while he went to the front of the shop to wait on another customer.
Later, remembering the dollar bill, he returned to deposit it, but it was gone.
Automatically he asked his brother if he had seen it, but the brother said he had not.
An hour later he asked his brother again, but this time with an obvious note of suspicion.
His brother became angry and defensive.
Every time they tried to discuss the matter the conflict grew worse, culminating in vicious counter charges.
The outcome?, their relationship started to break up which led to a partition being installed down the middle of the shop and two competing businesses.
They continued like this for 20 years and their relationship became an open sore to their community.
One day a car with a number plate from another state pulled up in front of the two shops.
A well-dressed man entered the one brother’s shop and asked how long the shop had been there.
Learning it had been there for 20 years, he said, “Then you are the one with whom I must settle an old score”.
He said, “Some 20 years ago I was out of work, driving from place to place and I happened to get off in your town.
I had absolutely no money and had not eaten for 3 days.
As I was walking down the ally behind your shop, I looked in and saw a dollar bill on top of the cash register.
Everyone else was in front of the shop.
I had been raised in a Christian home and I had never before in my life stolen anything, but that moment I was so hungry, I gave in to temptation, slipped through the door and took that dollar bill.
That act has weighed on my conscience ever since and I finally decided that I would never be at peace, until I came back and faced up to that old sin and made amends.
“Would you let me now replace that money and pay you whatever is appropriate for damages?”.
When the man finished his confession, he was amazed to see the old shop owner shaking his head in deep sorrow, and beginning to weep.
Finally the old man gained control and taking the gentleman by the arm, asked him to go to the shop next door and tell it’s owner the same story.
The man agreed.
Only this time, two old men who looked almost identical, wept side by side.
Now, we don’t know if those two old men were Christians or not, but whatever their spiritual profession, their merciless, unforgiving spirits revealed hearts that had never understood the mercy of God in their lives, because if they had, they themselves would have been merciful to each other 20 years earlier.
If you are one of those people this morning caught up in bitterness and unforgiveness, then this Beatitude if for you, because it says, “Blessed [approved of God] are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy”.
In other words, if you have a problem similar to these two unhappy brothers, this could change your life forever.
What Does The Word “Merciful” Mean?
Well, the basic Greek word translated “merciful”, is “to give help to the wretched, to relieve the miserable”.
Now, there is something we first have to understand before we go any further.
There is a difference between “mercy” and “grace”.
“Grace” is shown to the undeserving, whereas “mercy” is compassion to the miserable.
Mercy deals with the consequences of sin, whereas grace deals with sin itself.
Mercy eliminates the pain, whereas grace cures the disease of sin.
Mercy says, “I pity you”, whereas grace says, “I pardon you”.
Mercy can also have the meaning of compassion and we need to understand this as well.
Yet mercy is not simply feeling compassionate, why?, because mercy only exists when you do something about it.
It’s when you practically show compassion to a person.
…and here’s how you practically show mercy to a person.
Here’s how God describes it for us in Ephesians 4v32, “…be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God has forgiven you because you belong to Christ.” (LB).
In other words, Jesus says, “Blessed are those who practice forgiveness”.
I think it’s like this story told of a judge who tried a young father accused of stealing groceries for his family during Christmas Time.
The judge listened to the young father’s defense, “I can’t find work, and my children are hungry”.
The judge debated the case in his mind for a few moments, then announced the sentence.
He fined the man R 1500-00 plus court costs.
Heartless! you may say!
But here’s the rest of the story.
The next day the judge drove to the young man’s house with a pick-up trick filled with groceries.
“I can’t believe it!”, said the young father, helping the older judge carry the groceries into the house.
The judge replied, “Young man, as a judge I had an obligation to fine you.
As a father, I wanted your family to have a merry Christmas”.
…and God works in the same way with us!
God does not show mercy without punishing sin, because God holds us responsible for our sins, but He also shows us mercy.
Remember, in every true act of mercy, someone pays the price.
To be merciful then is to bear the load for someone else.
The Good News of the Gospel of Jesus is that God did not merely wink at justice, or glossed over sin and compromised righteousness.
The Good News is that in Christ shedding His blood on the cross for us, God’s justice was satisfied, our sins were forgiven, righteousness was fulfilled and mercy was made available to all of us.
In other words, you cannot separate God’s justice and His mercy just as we have seen in this story of the Judge handing out his verdict, but also showing mercy by handing out groceries to the family in need.
…and so God says, “Approved of God are those who practice compassion”.
“Approved of God are those who are willing to pay any personal cost to win back the people they’re not on speaking terms with, because they know that their own forgiveness has been bought with just such an unlimited price through Jesus Christ dying on the cross for them”.
Jesus made this very clear to all of us when He told the parable of the Good Samaritan.
In Luke 10v36-37 He says, “Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked. The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.” Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.” (NLT).
Two things we need to look at:
a. Mercy Is Compassion In Action.
In other words, mercy is about meeting people’s needs.
…and it goes back to the Old Testament to Deuteronomy 15v7-8, “But if, when you arrive in the land the Lord will give you, there are any among you who are poor, you must not shut your heart or hand against them; you must lend them as much as they need.” (LB).
…and I think what God wants to communicate to us is this: Never must you think you’re compassionate if you merely feel compassionate toward another person.
That’s not being merciful.
Mercy means active goodwill.
In other words, compassion is never passive and silent and unable to give tangible help.
I think what Jesus is saying here is this, “The people in My Kingdom are not takers but givers,…not pretending helpers but practical helpers. They are not condemners, but mercy givers”.
It’s like this story of a preacher who one day came across a friend’s horse who had just been accidentally killed.
While the crowd of onlookers expressed empty words, the preacher stepped forward and said to the loudest sympathizer, “I am five pounds sorry. How much are you sorry?”
…and then he passed the hat around.
In other words, if you want to be merciful, don’t just say it, show it!
Mercy demands action.
b. Mercy Means Forgiving.
Being merciful means forgiving another person who is in the wrong.
It means not to hold onto a grudge or a resentment or taking advantage of someone’s failure or weakness.
Yet mercy is bigger than forgiveness, because God is merciful to us even when we do not sin.
In other words, God’s mercy does not just forgive our sins but it also reaches to all our weaknesses and needs.
If you look at the story of Joseph you will find that he forgave his brothers the wrong they did against him.
The Bible says that his brothers “were at his mercy”.
He showed them compassion and then went into action and actually forgave them.
So a merciful person remembers his own sin and God’s mercy to him and also understands the weaknesses of others, therefore He forgives them as he has been forgiven.
In other words, mercy must replace judgment.
However, you will find that mercy is never part of the proud person, - the self-righteous and the judgmental person.
Look what God has to say about such people in Luke 6v32-35, “Do you think you deserve credit for merely loving those who love you? Even the godless do that! And if you do good only to those who do you good—is that so wonderful? Even sinners do that much! …“Love your enemies! Do good to them! Lend to them! And don’t be concerned about the fact that they won’t repay. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as sons of God: for he is kind to the unthankful and to those who are very wicked.” (LB).
What is The Result Of Being Merciful?
There is only one result from practically showing mercy, “they will be shown mercy”.
However, there is something you must notice this verse does not say.
It does not teach however that showing mercy to other people brings mercy to you from them.
It teaches us that as we show mercy to other people, it brings mercy to us from God.
In other words, if we are merciful to other people then God will be merciful to us, whether we get it back from other people or not.
It is God who gives us mercy just as it is God who gives us the kingdom, and comforts us, and gives us the earth and gives us satisfaction if we hunger and thirst after righteousness.
Again, like all the other Beatitudes, that little word “they” is very emphatic, and it means they and they alone will be shown mercy by God.
In other words, only those people who are merciful qualify to receive mercy from God.
…and this is what God has to say about that in James 2v13, “For there will be no mercy for you if you have not been merciful to others. But if you have been merciful, then God’s mercy toward you will win out over his judgment against you.” (NLT).
Jesus Himself says in Matthew 6v14-15, “Your heavenly Father will forgive you if you forgive those who sin against you; but if you refuse to forgive them, he [God] will not forgive you.” (LB).
Now, don’t ever think God will show you mercy just by performing acts of mercy.
The Bible does not teach that.
Our salvation is by grace alone.
Moreover, if receiving God’s forgiveness could only be received by becoming a forgiving person, none of us would ever be forgiven, because none of us would be able to meet this standard.
In other words, you don’t become a Christian by being merciful.
You must be saved by God’s mercy, before you can truly be merciful to other people, which means, if you cannot show mercy to other people, then you haven’t received God’s mercy, and you’re not a Christian!
What this verse actually means, is that those people who are truly God’s children, those people who have really received God’s mercy because of their repentance over their sins, will themselves be merciful to other people and will receive mercy in the end.
In other words, showing mercy is evidence that we ourselves have first received mercy from God toward us.
Now, this suggests two very important Tests you and I have to take:
a. If we have no mercy toward those people who are physically and economically in
distress,…we are not Christians.
In other words, we cannot count ourselves to be believers in Christ if we are unwilling to show mercy to these people.
This is precisely the point in the story of the Good Samaritan.
Jesus told the story to show the religious leaders of that day, that they did not love their neighbour as they loved themselves.
In doing so they failed to fulfill God’s law and they were lost.
Only the Samaritan showed that he loved his neighbour as he loved himself.
He showed that he was a lover of God and of man.
What this means, that if you and I remain unmoved to the human need around us and refuse to do anything about it, then we have to take a long hard look at ourselves and see if we are really believers or not.
…and look what God has to say about that in 1 John 3v17, “But if someone who is supposed to be a Christian has money enough to live well, and sees a brother in need, and won’t help him—how can God’s love be within him?”. (LB).
This is the test we don’t like.
In fact, I think that even some church people would reject it outright.
If you truly believe, your belief in Christ will never be separated from your actions in life.
I think that’s why the Christian community today is branded as being hypocritical, because we say one thing and do another.
Our walking and talking should be consistent with each other.
b. If you refuse to exercise mercy by extending forgiveness, then you’re not a
Christian.
You see, when you really become a Christian, God’s grace comes into your heart and He makes you merciful, - end of story.
In other words, showing forgiveness demonstrates and is the evidence whether you have been forgiven.
So the bottom line is this: If you refuse to be merciful there is only one reason why:
You have never understood the grace of God, and the result is you are outside the kingdom of God!
Now I know people who call themselves Christians who absolutely refuse to forgive other people.
Tragedy!, because they have been deceived in believing they’re Christian when in fact they’re not.
Jesus taught us a parable of the Unmerciful Slave in Matthew 18.
The slave owed his master millions of Rands.
His debt was impossible to pay, so he pleaded with his master to forgive him his debt and write it off.
Amazingly the master has compassion on his slave and writes off the debt.
Yet, being forgiven of this great debt, the slave now goes out and finds one of his fellow slaves who only owes him about R20000-00, and throws him in prison.
When the other slaves report this injustice to their master, he calls the wicked slave in and says to him, “You evil-hearted wretch! Here I forgave you all that tremendous debt, just because you asked me to—shouldn’t you have mercy on others, just as I had mercy on you?’
“Then the angry king sent the man to the torture chamber until he had paid every last penny due. So shall my heavenly Father do to you if you refuse to truly forgive your brothers.” (LB). (Matt. 18v32-35).
These are words very few people want to hear these days, but they’re true.
In other words, God warns the religious person who comes to church can say all the right words, leads a good life, but holds a death grip on their grudges, - BEWARE!
Jesus says, if you will not forgive that person who has wronged you, - BEWARE!
He says, if you have hatred in your heart toward some person and don’t want to forgive them, - BEWARE!
Jesus says, if you are such a person, you’d better take stock of your life.
This warning’s for those people who absolutely refuse and have no desire to forgive.
Jesus says,…their souls are in danger of Hell itself !
The overall lesson is this, that if you’re a Christian you can forgive and will forgive however imperfectly you may do it.
You cannot live like those miserable brothers who had a broken relationship because of one dollar bill.
Let me give you an example of what I’m talking about.
The late Corrie Ten Boom writes in her book The Hiding Place, how she meets up after the second world war with a guard from her concentration camp.
It was the same camp where her sister also died.
It was this concentration camp where they had been with so many other people subjected to horrible indignities.
She writes:
“It was at a church service in Munich that I saw him, the former S.S. man, who had stood guard at the shower room door in the processing center at Ravensbruck.
He was the first of our actual jailers that I had seen since that time.
And suddenly it was all there – the roomful of mocking men, the heaps of clothing, Betsie’s pain-blanched face.
He came up to me as the church was emptying, beaming and bowing, “How grateful I am for your message, Frauline”, he said.
“To think that, as you say, He has washed my sins away”.
Then his hand was thrust out to shake mine.
And I, who had preached so often to the people the need to forgive, kept my hand at my side.
Even as the angry vengeful thoughts boiled through me, I saw the sin of them.
Jesus Christ had died for this man; was I going to ask for more?
Lord Jesus, I prayed, forgive me and help me to forgive him.
I tried to smile, I struggled to raise my hand.
I could not.
I felt nothing, not the slightest spark of warmth or charity.
And so again I breathed a silent prayer: Jesus, I cannot forgive him. Give me Your forgiveness.
As I took his hand, the most incredible thing happened.
From my shoulder along my arm through my hand, a current seemed to pass from me to him, while into my heart sprang a love for this stranger that almost overwhelmed me”.
Jesus says, it doesn’t matter how much someone has wronged you, forgiveness is possible for the most dreadful of wounds.
By God’s grace, you can forgive that person who said something bad about you.
By God’s grace, you can forgive that person who stabbed you in the back.
You must for your soul’s sake.
Conclusion.
Here’s some questions you have to answer for yourself.
What you’ve learned about today, “Are you really a Christian?”
“Are you merciful?”
“Are you forgiving, or do you hold onto your old grudges?”
Maybe you need to confess your sin today.
Maybe you need to get out of your seat and walk over to that person who’s wronged you and forgive them.
Maybe you need to show more compassion.
The bottom line is, get out and do mercy, don’t just say it.
It’s the only way you’ll enjoy God’s smile on your life.
“Will you do that?”
