Sermon on the Mount
“Love in Action”
Matthew 5:7
We’re continuing through our series through the Beatitudes. Today we’re going to be looking at the fifth beatitude, one that deals not only with our relationship with God, but the way God wants us to deal with one another, and that is with mercy.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.” (Matthew 5:7 NKJV)
What this is saying is that we get what we give. It’s the law of direct return. If we criticize other people then we should expect to be criticized back. If we’re friendly then others will be friendly in return. And when we exhibit mercy, we’ll receive mercy back.
If we want to be happy, that is, blessed, we need to treat people the way we want to be treated, which is the heart of the Golden Rule. And so the right way to treat others is with the same mercy we’ve been shown by God.
One definition of mercy is that mercy is not getting what we deserve. We deserve death, “The wages of sin is death,” but instead we receive God’s mercy, “But the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)
Seeing that today is Valentine’s Day, tonight I’d like to give you the verb form of the word, and that is…
Mercy is Love in Action
Mercy is more than merely an attitude, and it’s more than feeling sorry for someone. It’s doing something about it. This is literally one of the attributes of God. God is a merciful God; therefore, God is love in action.
“The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and great in mercy.” (Psalm 145:8 NKJV)
And because God is a merciful Father, He then expects His children to be merciful as well.
“Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.” (Luke 6:36 NKJV)
But how do we show mercy? What are the marks of a merciful person?
1. Patience
We encounter all sorts of different people. Some are good eggs, and some are good eggs that may be a little cracked, while others are hatched and ornery. There are all sorts of different people each with their own particular quirks. And so the Bible says,
“Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all.” (1 Thessalonians 5:14 NKJV)
We need to be patient with everyone, which is something I’m still working on, and more than likely so is everyone else. But if we want to be blessed then we have to be merciful, and to be merciful we need to be patient with those who don’t always fit into our mold.
How can we be patient with everyone? Learn their background. Understand where they come from and stop looking at how far they have to go, instead look at how far they’ve come.
That’s what makes us patient with others. We look beneath the surface at the internal pain they may have or are still going through. Because behind every person there’s loneliness, hurt, depression, or anxiety. The Bible says,
“Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God.” (Romans 15:7 NKJV)
Merciful people are loving people. They’re not quick to criticize or judge. They realize that hurtful people oftentimes are people that have been hurt.
So the first mark of a merciful person is that they are patient with others, and that’s because they need others to be patient with them.
2. Forgiving
When people make a mistake, do we rub it in, or do we try to rub the mistake out? When people let us down, do we hold it over their heads, never letting them off the hook, or do we show them a little mercy and forgiveness?
“Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.” (Colossians 3:12-13 NKJV)
Isn’t it interesting that when we receive forgiveness how right it feels, but when we are called to give forgiveness how wrong it feels, and that’s because we don’t want to forgive, instead we want justice.
It’s like the person who had their picture taken. Later they bring it back complaining that it doesn’t do them justice. The photographer replied, “You don’t need justice, you need mercy.”
It’s a lot easier to criticize than it is to sympathize. It’s a lot easier to point a finger than it is to lend a helping hand. But if we want to be merciful and blessed, then we have to forgive.
3. Helpful
“Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in the power of your hand to do so.” (Proverbs 3:27 NKJV)
Mercy is giving practical assistance. There are people who are hurting, but feeling sorry for them isn’t mercy, nor is it being like Christ. But when we do something about it that’s showing mercy, which is exactly what Jesus did.
The Apostle John said,
“But whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.” (1 John 3:17-18 NKJV)
This verse should stab us like a dagger. We need to stop saying we love people; instead we need to show it. Let’s do something about it. Let’s show them mercy.
John Wesley’s motto was,
“Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as you ever can.”
We need to help the hurting.
Remember the story of the Good Samaritan? Here’s a man who was mugged and thrown to the side of the road practically dead. Two religious leaders saw him and crossed to the other side purposely to avoid helping him.
Another guy, a Samaritan who is shunned by the Jews, which included the guy who got mugged. Instead of doing nothing, he took action taking him to the local Holiday Inn and paying his bill. That’s mercy, that’s love in action.
4. Friendly
We’ve looked at this verse in the beginning of our study. Now let’s look at it in context.
“And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same … But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return … be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.” (Luke 6:33-36 NKJV)
Mercy is doing good to those who do evil to you. However that’s the exact opposite of what society tells us. They say, “When people hurt you, hurt them back.” But God says, “Don’t repay evil for evil, but pay evil back with good.” (Romans 12:17 NKJV)
So the next time we see that person who is constantly criticizing, Jesus says to do something good for them. And the best way is that when they criticize you complement. When they tear you down you encourage and build them up. That’s being merciful. It’s returning good for evil.
If we want to eliminate an enemy, turn them into our friend. Smother them with kindness, because when we do, we’re in control.
Solomon said,
“If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; For so you will heap coals of fire on his head, And the Lord will reward you.” (Proverbs 25:21-22 NKJV)
Now, placing coals upon someone’s head wasn’t a curse, nor is it something we do good to someone to make them feel bad; rather it is a blessing we bestow upon them.
Mercy is love in action. It’s the way God treats people. Throughout the Bible we’re told how the Lord is compassionate, gracious; slow to anger, abounding in love and full of mercy. But when it comes to us being merciful like this it’s tough to do, especially the way other people treat us. What we need are some motivators to help us become merciful.
The first motivator as to why we’re supposed to be merciful is because
1. God Has Shown Mercy
In the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant, the King said to the unmerciful servant,
“Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?” (Matthew 18:33 NIV)
God expects us to show others the same mercy He has shown to us. If we’re finding it hard to be merciful, the best thing is to remember how much mercy God showed sending Jesus to die for in our place.
For myself, the amount of hurt I’ve done in my relationship with God and then know that God still is willing to give me mercy is mind blowing, and helps me realize how much I really need to forgive and have mercy toward others.
One day the religious leaders brought to Jesus a woman caught in the act of adultery saying, “This woman should be stoned to death.” But Jesus turned the tables on them saying, “Whoever is among you that has no sin, let that person cast the first stone.” It says that they all left, John 8:1-11.
On another occasion Jesus said, “How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me remove the speck that is in your eye,' when you yourself do not see the plank that is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother's eye.” (Luke 6:42 NKJV)
God has been merciful to us, and so we need to be merciful to others. It’s interesting in how we tend to judge others according to their faults, but we judge ourselves according to our best intentions?
The second motivator as to why we’re suppose to be merciful is because,
2. We Need Mercy
Not only has God been merciful to us in the past, we’re going to need more of His mercy in the future, especially since none of us are perfect.
“For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.” (James 2:13 NKJV)
Only those who give mercy will get it in return. You may be saying, “You don’t know how much I’ve been hurt?” And you’re right, I don’t, but if we can’t forgive, then we won’t be forgiven, or to say it another way, we burn the bridge we must cross over.
We need to be merciful, because we’re going to need mercy in the future, because if we truly got what we deserve, none of us would be here today.
God doesn’t give to us what we deserve, rather He gives to us what we need, and that is mercy.
The last motivator as to why we’re to be merciful is because,
3. Mercy Brings Happiness
This is this fifth beatitude. “Blessed, or happy are the merciful.” But in saying this, we can also say the opposite: “Unhappy are the unmerciful.” The most miserable people to be around are those who harbor resentment and are unwilling to give up a grudge.
The Bible says,
“The merciful man does good for his own soul, but he who is cruel troubles his own flesh.” (Proverbs 11:17 NKJV)
Doing acts of mercy gets us out of ourselves and away from our own problems and produces happiness.
Conclusion
How can we become merciful? We start by experiencing God’s mercy. We can’t offer to others what we have not received from God.
We receive God’s mercy and forgiveness, not because we deserve it, but because God wants to forgive, and that’s because He’s a forgiving God. Jesus said that God wants none to perish but all to come into eternal life, John 3:16.
Who do you need to forgive? Who needs a little mercy in your life? Who are we holding the past over their heads? Today start offering them forgiveness and mercy!
This is the type of church I would love for us to be. A place that is patient with others, a place that is forgiving, a place that helps those who are hurting, a place that instead of getting even we’ll extend to them grace and mercy.
We need to be a forgiving people, a merciful people, and then we can expect God’s mercy in full.
