Wayne Eppehimer
June 23, 2020Who Is God? (#5 in series)Discovering Mercy"It is impossible for us to understand God exhaustively, but it is possible to understand Him meaningfully." Ravi Zacharias Mercy - A refraining from harming offenders A disposition to (or the power to) forgive and be kindForgiving, kind and compassionate treatment The last part of the definition is most often the definition of the various Hebrew words for mercy – being forgiving and kind and having compassion. Daniel 9:9 clearly gives the picture of God's mercyDaniel 9:9 (NIV) 9 The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him; We see here in this verse all of what Webster said was the definition of the word mercy. God refrains from harming the offender. He has the disposition or the power to forgive, and He is kind and full of compassion. Lamentations 3:22-23 shows the same themeLamentations 3:22-23 (KJV) 22 It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.Now, don’t let the first part of that definition lead you astray. Where it speaks of God refraining from harming the offenders – we could easily get the idea there that God won’t punish our sin and that He is too full of mercy to send anyone to hell. God is merciful, but God is also a God of justice. We need to keep the balance in mind. God does not forgive in the sense that He tolerates our sinful behavior. By all rights God should strike us down when we sin, when we disobey, when we go astray. But in His mercy he gives us the opportunity to repent and come back to Him. When we think of this mercy we need to understand that just like with grace there is a duel distinctive.First, there is the general mercy of God. And then there is the special mercy of God.General Mercy - Psalm 145:9 and Matthew 5:44-45Special Mercy - Titus 3:3-5In Luke chapter 6 Jesus said “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” We should be gracious and kind and forgiving to others even though they may not deserve it, because we are following the example of our Lord who showed mercy and forgiveness to us.
https://www.listennotes.com/e/0885d5b65935408eb0a7c39c059e0074/