Blessed Are the Merciful – Part 2

Continuing, Michael writes: The beatitudes are the preamble to the Sermon on the Mount... Jesus’ teachings about the keys to the kingdom of heaven.

The first four beatitudes are blessed are the poor in spirt, blessed are they that mourn, blessed are the meek, and blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness. These four beatitudes lead us into meekness and humility to forsake our selfish selves in order to turn toward the Lord Jesus Christ and his righteousness. The next three beatitudes are the practical application of these first four beatitudes. The purpose is to love God above all as we minister to others with Christ’s heart behind our heart. These next three beatitudes focus on the nature of Christ in us the hope of glory. The fifth beatitude says, “blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.” Mercy is not getting the penalty we rightful deserve; the withholding of God’s righteous judgement. Romans 5:6 says, “For in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for the ungodly.” The meaning of mercy is experientially known only when we give others the same mercy that God gave us. .  

There are four possible responses to the good news of the gospel of Christ. The first is outright resistance. The second response is, “I’ll consider.” The third type of response is bargaining: Let’s make a deal. God, I’ll do what You want, if you do what I want. The fourth stage is, “Lord I surrender all ... my life is in thy hands. Use me and make me after your will, while I am willing yielded and still. Not my will but thine be done.” The fourth stage goes beyond questioning God’s motive into trust: Does God really have a good plan for my life? Yes. Is God working all things together for good to those who love God and are called according to his purpose? Yes.

God will break our hearts so that He can pick up the treads of our broken hearts and weave them together to conform to the image of His dear Son Jesus Christ. Proverbs 27:21 says, the crucible is for silver and the furnace for gold, but the heart of man is for the Lord’s refinement. This is a hard lesson to learn. Jesus said, blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. You’re never more like Christ than when you show mercy to others. The Apostle Peter had asked Jesus, how many times must I forgive my brother? Should I forgive him seven times? The Levitical law said that you should only forgive a person three times. Peter thought that seven times would show mercy. However, Jesus said, you should forgive not seven times but seventy times seven.

How can we say that we have repented and confessed our sin unless we forgive others? We are debtors burdened with a debt of sin that we cannot repay. We rightfully deserve to be committed to debtors’ prison (Hell) for the rest of our lives. Even when we have done all our Lord requires of us, we cannot ask His mercy and grace because we’ve simply done our duty as Subjects of our Lord in the kingdom. If we carried a Roman soldier’s pack one mile as the law requires, what reward can you ask ... you’ve simply done your duty as required by Roman Law. Did you walk the second mile from a heart of love? According to 1 Corinthians 13, Without the love of God, even though I gave my body to be burned, it will profit me nothing. Loving kindness is an often used description of the character of God in the Old Testament. Loving Kindness is the Hebrew word “hased” which is the same word as the Greek word “Agape,” the love of God in the New Testament. 

 

Jesus said to the Pharisees, You are servants of you father the devil ... You are a brood of vipers. The devil is the father of lies and you’re just like your father the devil. Romans 6:16 says, you are slaves of whom you obey. As children of God, our nature should be the same as our Heavenly Father, which is loving kindness and tender mercy. We inherited his nature when we were “born again”, not of corruptible seed that we inherited from Adam, but from the seed of the Word of God, the Spirit of God in Christ in us, that we may demonstrate our Father’s loving kindness and tender mercy to the praise of the glory of His grace!

Your brother in Christ, Michael