This is the second post in a series based on LOVE.
Recently, I've been working on a series about LOVE. This post isn't as focused on love specifically, but is in keeping in the same vein. In this post however, we're going to talk a little bit about mercy, God's mercy, and unsanctified mercy.
First of all, it's necessary to understand exactly what mercy is. For the Christ follower, this is relatively simple. For us, the definition of biblical mercy, that is God's mercy is the sparing and/or rescue from judgment. In regards to our eternal salvation, this is easily understandable. In regards to the confrontation of sin however, many Christians struggle with the mercy issue.
From the New Testament we learn of God's amazing mercy toward us. In Matthew we read about the shepherd who leaves the 99 sheep to pursue the 1 who wandered away. In Titus we read that it is not by our own works of righteousness that we are saved, but only by His mercy. The modern day church has experienced an ABUNDANCE of mercy lacking - the stories would fill volumes and volumes of books. We as humans can be an unmerciful lot to be sure. But the opposite end of this spectrum is the exceptional tolerance of a person's sin without regard to a complete understanding of mercy.
What do I mean? Well, lets look at a few more scriptures. Ezekiel 33:11 says this; "As surely as I live, says the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of wicked people. I only want them to turn from their wicked ways so they can live. Turn! Turn from your wickedness, O people of Israel! Why should you die?" While clear that the Lord is addressing Israel, are we not all Israel in our sin? Of all the scripture regarding mercy, these words exude power coupled with mercy. God is desiring that His children repent of their wickedness, their sin, and return to Him for mercy. Isaiah writes, "Let the people turn from their wicked deeds. Let them banish from their minds the very thought of doing wrong! Let them turn to the LORD that he may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for he will abundantly pardon." (Isaiah 55:7) Again, we read about God's longing for us to return to Him, seeking His mercy rather than judgment. He is yearning for a people who will rebuke the very thoughts of wrongdoing.
There is an absolute necessary act of sacrifice required for the mercy of God. In the Old Testament, people brought their sacrifices to the temple in order to obtain mercy for their sins. We know that Christ Himself became the sacrifice for our sin, but we have forgotten a vitally important element to receiving mercy. Mercy is not a one time deal, it's an ongoing relationship. It is not enough that we seek out the Savior for mercy from death and eternal damnation. We must regularly pursue mercy. . .mercy is applied to our sin, and we are rescued from judgment. But we must act upon our need for mercy in order to receive it.
The sacrifice then is our humbling of self to approach the throne with repentence in our hearts for our sin. I am absolutely astounded at the number of Christians who do not understand that all sin is first and foremost perpetrated against God, and then only secondly toward man. I can't tell you how many times I've heard, "God doesn't care about this. It's just a big deal to you." Our sin is what separates us from God - He very much does care. The Adamic nature of mankind is sinful, which is why we needed a Savior to begin with. But it doesn't release us from the expectation of accountability for our sin nature. The approach we make to God in our sin is what moves Him to mercy. The strolling in attitude of, "Well God you know I'm screw up so here I am again, let's get this done b/c I have things to do" is an abomination and grieves our Lord. The absence of repentence can bring about a hardening of the heart when the Christian does not "feel" as though they are receiving mercy from God.
So now in understanding the need for repentence in the seeking out of mercy, let us address the danger of unsanctified mercy. To sanctify something means to set apart or declare holy. So putting together these two definitions, we can deduce that sanctified mercy is a holy sparing or rescue from judgment. Therefore, unsanctified mercy is an unholy sparing or rescue from judgment. This is a dangerous place from which to operate in our faith because it opens the Christian up to attacks from the enemy. Many Christians today have entered into a "total tolerance" for people. They embrace the misunderstood system of loving sinners. I have heard over and over, "love the sinner, hate the sin." While loving the sinner is visited throughout the Word of God, nowhere are we instructed to love the sinner but hate the sin. We are called to abhor all things sinful. Did Jesus distinguish b/t the sin and the sinner in Matthew 23 when He addressed the Pharisees and called them a brood of vipers? Or how about Psalm 4:5 where David says, The foolish will not stand in Your sight; You hate all workers of iniquity." This seems that those who work in sin defile the very mercy of God. This does not mean that God does not love the repenetent sinner, not at all. These verses address the very real issue of those who are aware of their poor choices, and yet choose to remain in their sin. As I said, it's a very dangerous place to be if you're unrepentent, and more so for those who either cannot see this lack of repentence or simply do not care.
Only real love can express real mercy. This is how mercy ties in with love. Jesus was a living example of this in His seemingly upside down theology of the time. Embracing a tax collector but openly rebuking the religious leaders; embracing a whore and chastising His own friends; healing the soldier who aggressed Him and correcting His disciple who defended Him. These are all issues of mercy with very different finales. The differences b/t those upon whom He emoted mercy and those He judged was the issue of the heart. . .the genuine repentence rather than the justification of deeds.
So which camp are you in? Do you seek to simply "love everyone" and extend mercy to everyone? Are you being led by the Holy Spirit in this or is it possible that you're beliefs regarding these issues could use a little sharpening. I'm by no means saying begin to reject people b/c they are sinners - we're all sinners. But are you practicing sanctified mercy or are you enabling sin by allowing the belief system of unsanctified mercy to drive your faith.
