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Right now, we're going to look 
at Matthew 5. I just want to read, beginning in verse 1. And 
seeing the multitudes, he went up on a mountain. And when he 
was seated, his disciples came to him. Then he opened his mouth 
and taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs 
is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, 
for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they 
shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger 
and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. Blessed 
are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the 
pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, 
for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who 
are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom 
of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile 
and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely 
for my sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, 
for great is your reward in heaven. For so they persecuted the prophets 
who were before you. You are the salt of the earth, 
but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It 
is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled 
underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. 
A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they 
light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, 
and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light 
so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify 
your Father in heaven. Amen. Well, let us pray. God, 
we thank you for your word. We pray now for the ministry 
of your Spirit. We pray that he would guide us 
and lead us into an understanding of what it means to be merciful. We just pray now that you would 
be glorified in this time. We just pray at the outset, forgive 
us for our lack of mercy, forgive us for our mercilessness. And 
God, we know this is inconsistent with the profession of faith 
in Jesus. We just pray that you would guide us now, and we ask 
in Jesus' name, amen. Remember, the Beatitudes of verses 
three to ten are indicative. They're not imperative. Jesus 
is not saying, go out and do this in order to enter into heaven. He has saved them by grace. The 
primary audience is the disciples. They're saved by grace alone. 
through faith alone in Christ alone. Rather, these beatitudes 
are indicative there. What is true of a kingdom citizen? Those inhabitants, those who 
are in Christ manifest these not fully and wholly as they 
are, but these things are true. They ought to be cultivated. 
They are in us. We need to develop that. And 
this morning, as I said, we're taking up number five in the 
list, the blessed are the merciful. Remember that Lloyd Jones says 
they presuppose the grace of God. He says that all Christians 
are to be like this. All Christians are meant to manifest 
all of these characteristics. None of these characteristics 
refer to what we might call a natural tendency. It's not just some 
people got a bit of mercy. Some people have a little bit 
of this, and boy, aren't they blessed. No, as kingdom citizens, 
we are merciful. We ought to exhibit that and 
stress that and highlight that in our day-to-day lives. He says, 
each one of these is wholly a disposition which is produced by grace alone 
and the operation of the Holy Spirit upon us. So, the message 
this morning is not, go out and be merciful in order to achieve 
mercy from God. Rather, for the Christian, those 
justified by faith alone, go out and be merciful, which is 
consistent with who you are as a kingdom citizen of Jesus Christ. I want to address this particular 
beatitude with five considerations, so we can try and get at the 
thrust or get at the point. The kernel of it. First, we'll 
look at its description. Secondly, its illustration. Thirdly, 
its source. Fourthly, its attractiveness. 
And fifthly, its promise. So, those five things as we take 
up this fifth beatitude. The first is its description. The idea here is simply that. 
Being merciful. Being full of mercy toward others. Having compassion. Pitying others. seeing others in the manner in 
which God tells us to. It includes forgiveness for the 
guilty and compassion for the suffering and needy. Those things 
are involved in this whole idea of blessed or the merciful. Again, Lloyd-Jones hits the nail 
right on the head. He says, Grace is especially 
associated with men and their sins. When you think about grace 
and mercy, what is the difference between the two? If I were to 
ask you, what do you understand is the difference between grace 
and mercy? How would you explain that? How would you answer that? 
Think Lloyd-Jones Hitchcock. He says that grace is especially 
associated with men in their sins. Mercy is especially associated 
with men in their misery. Men in their misery. Grace respects 
men in sin. Mercy respects men in the misery 
that results from a life of sin. This is why we ought to praise 
God that he looks upon us in grace and mercy. He not only 
deals with our sin, but he has compassion. He is pity. He is 
pitying us. He is merciful toward us. He goes on to say, in other words, 
while grace looks down upon sin as a whole, mercy looks especially 
upon the miserable consequences of sin. So that mercy really 
means a sense of pity, plus a desire to relieve the suffering. That 
is the essential meaning of being merciful. It is pity plus the 
action. So, there's this pitying response, 
there's this merciful response, there's this compassion, but 
it's not just sort of this, we feel sorry for you, but we act 
consistently with that disposition that has been implanted in us 
supernaturally by the Spirit. R.T. France gets at it this way. He says, mercy is closely linked 
with forgiveness. but is broader here than just 
the forgiveness of specific offenses. It is a generous attitude which 
is willing to see things from the other's point of view and 
is not quick to take offense or to gloat over other shortcomings. Let's read that again, so that 
we're all tracking with what Jesus is speaking to here. He 
says it is a generous attitude, not a miserly, not a stingy, 
not a hard-hearted, but rather it is a generous attitude, which 
is willing to see things from the other's point of view and 
is not quick to take offense or to gloat over other shortcomings. And then the Puritan divine, 
Thomas Watson. In his commentary on the Beatitudes, 
what is meant by mercifulness? I answer, it is a melting disposition 
whereby we lay to heart the miseries of others and are ready on all 
occasions to be instrumental for their good. Everybody with 
me? Everybody tracking? Everybody 
see what Jesus is speaking to in this fifth Beatitude? Blessed 
are the merciful. Stott points out that the meek 
is meek because he's a sinner. The meek exercises mercy because 
they're sinners. See that distinction? A meek 
man is such because he himself is a sinner. The meek man deals 
mercifully with others because he knows that they're sinners. He doesn't demand upon them things 
that he can never deliver. Remember Jesus' indictment of 
the Pharisees and scribes. They lay heavy burdens on you, 
which they themselves are not able to live. That's not mercy. 
That's not this generous attitude. That's not this disposition that 
Jesus is highlighting or this activity that Jesus is highlighting 
in Matthew 5, 7. Blessed are the merciful. Not 
just mercy, but merciful. You're full of it. This generous 
attitude ought to prevail. This generous attitude ought 
to affect the way that you live. How would men describe you? He's 
a hothead. He's an angry man. He's a wretched 
man. He's a sinful man. He's a merciful 
man. That's what Jesus is saying. 
People ought to be able to see in the way and in the manner 
in which we treat them. Let's look secondly at its illustration. It is an attribute of God. We've 
already seen that in Exodus 34. God delights in mercy. An attribute, 
kids, is what we attribute to God. It's a statement concerning 
God. It's his perfections. God is 
spirit. He's infinite. He's eternal. 
He's unchangeable in his being wisdom, power, holiness, justice, 
goodness and truth. We are attributing those things 
to him. We're not. The scripture does. 
And we acknowledge it and praise him as a result. God reveals 
this mercy in Exodus 20, in the giving of the law. He shows mercy 
to people and to generations subsequent to those people. Remember, 
this was one of those particular attributes that the prophet Jonah 
didn't like. Remember when Jonah was angry 
in Jonah chapter 4 and God comes to indict him? Don't miss the 
context. Jonah was angry because God blessed 
his ministry. Jonah was sent to Nineveh to 
preach, and Nineveh, under the grace of God, repents. Change 
to scene four, chapter four, and what's Jonah doing? Instead 
of praising the Lord, worshiping the Lord, delighting in the Lord, 
Extolling the Lord for his goodness, he's upset, he's angry. And when 
God calls him to account, Jonah says, essentially, I knew that 
you were gracious. I knew that you were merciful. 
I knew that you abounded in these characteristics and that when 
I preached to Nineveh, you were going to go ahead and turn them 
from their sinful ways and not bring your judgment to bear upon 
them. And then God uses that worm and he uses that plant to 
illustrate a particular point with Jonah. Jonah gets upset 
that his plant has died. Jonah's upset that he no longer 
has some vegetation to cover the sun from hitting him on the 
head. Jonah's upset and angry and God says, you are upset and 
angry over this plant. And then God's words ought to 
penetrate deep into each of our hearts. Should I not pity Nineveh? Shouldn't I, Jonah? When God 
looks down upon the mass of humanity and brethren, we get it all wrong. 
We often focus upon the wrath and judgment of God, not to take 
away from that, but we miss the mercy of God. We miss the graciousness 
of God. The fact that you and I are still 
here is a display of the grace and mercy of the Lord. God says, 
should I not pity Nineveh, in whom there are 120,000 persons 
that know their right from their left and much cattle? That's 
where the book ends. That's where it stops. It ends 
on a question. What's supposed to be our response? 
Well, did Jonah go home and have a burger? Did Jonah go home and 
amend his ways? Did Jonah go home and do such 
and such? No, when God asks that question 
at the end of Jonah, chapter four, it also promoted us humility 
before the Lord say, yes, it was good, Lord, that you showed 
pity. Yes, it is good, Lord, that you show pity. Yes, it is, 
Lord, that I need your pity constantly. Blessed are the merciful. It 
is an attribute of God most high. The prophet Micah describes it 
this way in Micah, chapter seven. Micah, chapter seven, says in 
verse eighteen, using his name, Micah means who is a god like 
you and your Micah uses his name and Micah seven verse eighteen. 
He says, who is a god like you pardoning iniquity and passing 
over the transgressions of the remnant of his heritage? He does 
not retain his anger forever. Why? Because he delights in what? Mercy. He delights in mercy. It makes him happy. It's a joy 
to God. It's a good thing for God. There's this idea that when we 
display mercy, we're weak. We're getting walked all over. 
We're getting stepped on. God says, blessed are the merciful 
because they look like God. He delights in it. He doesn't 
retain his anger forever because he delights in mercy. He will 
again have compassion on us and will subdue our iniquities. You 
will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. You will give 
truth to Jacob and mercy to Abraham, which you have sworn to our fathers 
from days of old. You'll remember Psalm 136. I 
hope you'll remember Psalm 136. It is a psalm of praise for this 
particular attribute of God. It makes a statement concerning 
what God has done. And then the refrain is, His 
mercy endures forever. When you get done with Psalm 
136, if you don't know what that psalm is about, shame on you. 
You have failed. Reading comprehension and listening 
comprehension is not your strong suit. Proposition for the mercy 
or his mercy endures forever. Proposition for his mercy endures 
forever. Proposition for his mercy endures 
forever. The littlest child should have 
been told or asked afterwards, what does this song mean? Junior, 
his mercy endures forever. Absolutely correct. You see, it's an attribute of 
God. Ephesians two, verse four, but God, who is what rich in 
mercy. Not just a little bit, great 
sinners need great mercy, bad sinners need rich mercy, lawbreakers, 
God hating rebels who despise him at every step of the way, 
need rich mercy. This is how Paul begins to open 
up the good news. But God, who is rich in mercy 
because of his great love with which he loved us, even when 
we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. 
By grace, you have been saved. It's an attribute of God. This 
is the illustration. It was characteristic of our 
Lord Jesus. Turn back to Matthew's Gospel. 
We'll just confine ourselves to three spots in Matthew's Gospel 
where we see it as characteristic of Jesus' ministry as we attempt 
to illustrate just what mercy is all about. Matthew chapter 
9. Matthew chapter 9. Wonder if, 
as Matthew wrote this particular point, the tears streamed down 
his cheek. Matthew is recalling God's gracious 
dealings with him as he includes it here in the narrative. I wonder 
if Matthew stopped for a moment just to bow his head and praise 
the Savior. He's recording how the Lord has 
been merciful and gracious unto him. Matthew 9, 9, as Jesus passed 
on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office 
and he said to him, follow me. So he arose and followed him. 
Now what happened is Jesus sat at the table in the house that 
behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with 
him and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it, 
they said to his disciples, why does your teacher eat with tax 
collectors and sinners? We say, oh, those dirty, rotten 
Pharisees, don't we? Those nasty, rotten Pharisees. What do you think you would do? Seriously. Jesus is sitting with 
the scum of the earth. Would you extol free grace? Would 
you celebrate mercy? Would you rejoice that salvation 
is of the Lord? Or would you ask yourself, what's 
he doing? Why is he here? Does he know 
this is a tax collector? Luke 7, when that woman, which 
was a sinner, came into the place where Jesus was having lunch 
with the Pharisee. She falls at his feet. She starts 
to weep over his feet. She takes the hair of her head 
and starts wiping his feet. Good Bishop Hall says the tools 
of her trade, supposing her to be a prostitute, the tools of 
her trade, she now pours them at the feet of the Lord Jesus. 
Her tears, her hair. What's the response of the Pharisee? Let's be honest, brethren. This 
be yours. If this man were a prophet, he 
would know what manner of woman this is. It's the same thing 
going on here, because we, by nature, instinctively, are not 
merciful. We are merciless. And when we 
see mercy displayed, unless grace has conquered our hearts, we 
think it's outlandish. We think it's strange. We think 
it an odd thing. When the Pharisees saw it, they 
said to his disciples, why does your teacher eat with tax collectors 
and sinners? When Jesus heard that, he said 
to them, those who are well have no need of a physician, but those 
who are sick. But go and learn what this means. 
I desire mercy and not sacrifice. For I did not come to call the 
righteous, but sinners to repentance. You don't understand the prophet 
Hosea. You don't understand the Old Testament. You don't understand 
the character of God. Jesus characteristically exercises 
mercy in the midst of sinners. Same thing in chapter 12 chapter 
12 Sabbath wars. Jesus tells his disciples, or 
Jesus' disciples, gather grain on the Sabbath day, verse 3 of 
chapter 12. But he said to them, Have you 
not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who 
were with him? How he entered the house of God 
and ate the showbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, 
nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? Or 
have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests 
in the temple profane the Sabbath and are blameless? Yet I say 
to you that in this place there is one greater than the temple. 
But if you had known what this means, I desire mercy and not 
sacrifice. You would not have condemned 
the guiltless for the Son of Man is Lord, even of the Sabbath. 
Mercy is what characterizes the Lord Jesus Christ. We seek to 
illustrate what it means to be merciful. Look at God. Look at 
the Lord Jesus. Look at how it is displayed in 
the context of Holy Red. The final place in Matthew 23, 
23 is Jesus' indictment of the Pharisees and the scribes. It 
says, Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites. Why? In this particular instance, 
you tithe the mint and the anise and the cumin. I've always thought 
how strange this would have looked to see a man with his robes flowing, 
measuring out cumin seeds so he gets the tithe right on. Is that the spirit of sacrifice? 
Just get right there and then we've fulfilled our duty. You 
tied mint and anise and cumin. These Jews with their scales, 
right? Can't give an extra percent. Don't give an extra cumin seed 
because our life, our resources, our health hangs upon it. You 
tied the mint, the anise and the cumin. and you neglect what 
the weightier matters of the law. How does Jesus describe 
that? Justice, mercy, faith. You bring your tithe and your 
mint, your mint, your anise, and your cumin, but you're mean 
to people, you're merciless to people, you're unkind to people, 
you don't love people, you don't encourage people, you don't exhort 
people. You just live as if you're an 
island unto yourself. Do you think really that that 
mint, anise and cumin is a sweet-smelling sacrifice to the Lord God most 
high? No, you neglect greater matters of the law. It is an 
attribute of God. It was characteristic of Jesus' 
ministry. Its absence is a gross sin. It's 
indicated in the vice-list in Romans chapter 1. The Christians 
are good at denouncing homosexuality, and we ought to, because God 
calls it an abomination. But mercilessness is in the same 
list. How come the dirty, rotten sinners 
are always out there? Don't the Beatitudes teach us? The meek man says, the dirty, 
rotten sinner is right here. I've got enough to do to look 
after this than denounce everybody else. I'm not saying we shouldn't 
preach. I'm not saying there isn't a 
place for apologetics. I'm not saying there isn't a 
place to confront our culture and its abominable deeds or tasks. But if we are denouncing them 
to the neglect of us, I wonder if we've learned these beatitudes 
experientially, if they are true of us. So we looked at its description. 
We looked at its illustration. Thirdly, what is its source? 
This is not the language of the ledger. Matthew five, seven is 
not teaching us be merciful and God will give you mercy for your 
salvation. No, it's saying this is true 
of you. You, by God's grace, have been 
visited with his mercy. You, by God's grace, have come 
out of darkness in the marvelous light. You now, by God's grace, 
will engage in this attitude of mercy toward others, and on 
that great day you'll find mercy. It's a blessed cycle, if you 
will. Spurgeon said, followers of Jesus 
must be men of mercy, for they have found mercy, and mercy has 
found them. Followers of Jesus must be men 
of mercy, because mercy has found them. Right? You shouldn't take 
this and say, well, you know, that's just not my thing. Little 
hard hearted, rough around the edges. I got my issues. I don't know about this mercy 
thing. You know, there's these brethren, they can cry. They 
seem more inclined to this whole idea of mercy. It's a package 
deal, all of these things work together. Watson says you must 
first be a new man before a merciful man. It sources God. We're merciful because he's been 
merciful to us. Paul says we love him because 
he loved us. I'm sorry, John does. Paul says 
we know him because he knew us. You see, that's the way it starts. God implants in us new life. As Watson says, a new man before 
a merciful man. Sinclair Ferguson says, being 
merciful is the natural fruit that issues forth from one who 
has received mercy. If we are not merciful, we cannot 
have received Christ's mercy and therefore will not receive 
mercy at the last judgment. He cites our highlights in this 
connection, James 2.13. Again, a context where people 
are professing faith. People are saying that they believe 
the gospel. People are saying that they have 
come out of darkness in the marvelous light. And James hits them with 
this statement. He says judgment is without mercy 
to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. Let that sink in. This is optional. This is true of you, but it's 
not like it ought to be, then you need to cultivate it. You 
need to work on it. You need to be prayerful. You 
need to seek the Lord. Make me to be more merciful. Make me 
to be more like Jesus. Make me more like you, God. Should 
I not pity vast regions of people that don't have the gospel? Should 
I not pity the persecuted church? Should I not pity those in Muslim 
countries? Should I not pity Pastor Yusuf? This man that was put on, or 
tried for blasphemy because he's a Christian. That sentence was 
upheld by the Iranian court. The brother is on death row waiting 
to be killed or executed because he's a believer in Jesus. Should 
we not pity him? Should we not pray for him? Should 
we not think about him? Should we not, in our busy week 
that more often than not is punctuated with me, myself, and I, make 
some time in our busy schedule to show some mercy at the throne 
of grace? You may not be able to fly to 
Iran. You may not get the bandoleros and the guns blazing and break 
him out of that place. You may not launch some black 
ops mission under the cover of darkness and get him out of there, 
but you can go to the throne of God most high and say, Lord, 
change the hearts of men. Because the Proverbs tell me 
that that king's heart is in your hand and you direct it like 
the waters. God changes heart. Pastor Yusef, 
go home. If not, Lord, nevertheless, your 
will be done. Give him grace, give me grace, 
give us grace to receive whatever your hand has purposed here. 
You see, should I not pity, should I not have mercy, should I not 
engage in this attitude, its description, its illustration, 
its source? Fourthly, its attractiveness. What does it do when Christians 
are merciful? Put some luster on our profession. Put some feet to our profession. shows us that James is on the 
right track, not that James needs James to tell him he's on the 
right track, but that faith without works is dead. Calvin said we 
never claim that the faith alone by which we are justified is 
alone. In other words, we're justified 
by faith alone which necessarily yields sanctification and a life 
of holiness, a life of mercy. It is attractive in the family. 
when we're merciful to one another. Think about the various admonitions 
from Paul the Apostle in Ephesians and Colossians toward husbands 
and wives, toward children and parents. Imagine what mercy can 
do in that context, just showing its attractiveness. Why you should 
go home today and pray to the Lord God to make you more merciful. Husbands, it could be a preventative 
against that embittered spirit that Paul calls us not to engage 
in. Right? Colossians chapter 3. 
Husbands, do not be embittered toward your wives. Notice that 
Paul says that. He doesn't say, husbands, don't 
beat your wives. Husbands, don't smack your wives. Husbands, don't 
kick your wives. Husbands, don't throw your wives 
out in the cold. Husbands, don't take her closets and everything 
in it and put it on the front yard so that when she comes home 
from grocery shopping, she sees that you don't want her there. 
He doesn't say that. He addresses the particular sin that Christian 
men are most inclined to. Bitterness. Imagine a little mercy. How we could quench that bitterness. 
She's a sinner, too. She's got her issues, too. Yes, 
grace deals with sin. Mercy pities the misery. What about why submit yourselves 
to your own husbands as to the Lord? How about a bit of mercy? 
Is he going to make mistakes? Is he going to sin against you? 
Is he going to do dumb things? Yes. So imagine a bit of mercy. I can submit. In all things being 
equal, this isn't the regular patterning course of his life. Mercy. We want to exact a pound of flesh 
for every anomaly that is ever inflicted upon us. Lloyd-Jones 
gives a great illustration about mercy. He says the best time 
to see whether or not you're merciful is when somebody sins 
against you. What do you do? Look at what 
you've done against me. Look at how you've offended me. 
Look at what you've said to me. Or is it mercy? What about parents and children? 
Parents, have you ever said, oh, could you ever do such a 
thing? I hope one day one of our little 
children rises up and says, mommy, daddy, because I'm an Adam. I'm 
dead in my federal head. I act according to my nature. 
My heart is deceitful above all things, and I'm desperately wicked, 
and I seek out those devices. Mommy or daddy. I doubt that 
response will be forthcoming. So, parents, let's try mercy. 
Not excuse their sin. Not look the other way. Not pretend 
like we have libertine attitudes. But, you know, God has shown 
mercy to us. Hopefully, we can show mercy 
to our children. Children, mercy towards your 
parents. Do your parents do foolish things 
at times? Don't raise your hand. Especially those back there in 
the corner. Both hands are raised. Yes. There's the mercy. Again, we're 
not talking about patterns. We're not talking about consistent. 
We're not talking about always. I'm not saying just lay down 
and be a doormat. Let everybody run roughshod over 
you. But if it's something unique, 
it's something strange, it's something that doesn't happen 
all the time. How about the response of mercy? I love the way the apostle says 
in Hebrews 12, when he's talking about how our fathers chastened 
us, he says, and they did it as they thought best. They don't 
genuinely mean to do evil. Mercy is often displayed in that 
mindset, too. When somebody sins against you 
or somebody does something wrong against you, do you put the worst 
possible construction on it? One of my buddies says, this 
is conspiracy theory-itis. The worst possible construction. 
Somebody does something and you've concluded they've done it for 
your demise. Probably not. We should get over 
ourselves. We're not the center of the universe. 
Not everybody is out to get us. Not everybody wakes up in the 
morning and says, cut him off. Make him mad. Do these bad. No, it's just not that way. Mercy 
in the family is a means by which we demonstrate the character 
of God. It is a means by which we make 
known the gospel of Jesus Christ. It's attractive in the church 
as well. Lloyd-Jones says, if I know that 
I am a debtor to mercy alone, if I know that I am a Christian 
solely because of that free grace of God, there should be no pride 
left in me. There should be nothing vindicative. 
There should be nothing insisting upon my rights. Rather, as I 
look out upon others, if there is anything in them that is unworthy 
or that is a manifestation of sin, I should have this great 
sorrow for them in my heart. Jehovah Ephesians for just a 
moment. Ephesians, chapter four, conduct becoming a new man, Ephesians, 
chapter four, verse thirty. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit 
of God by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let 
all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor and evil speaking be put 
away from you with all malice and be kind to one another, tender 
hearted, forgiving one another, even as God and Christ forgave 
you. You see, there's a forbearing 
spirit. There's a generous attitude. There's a mercy that is displayed 
in this particular context. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, 
glamour, and evil speaking be put away from you. Get rid of 
the malice. Be kind to one another. Tenderhearted. Forgive. God's forgiven you of 
much. God's forgiven you of tremendous 
things. I mean, just reading in Luke 
22, could anybody ever imagine that salvation is not by grace 
alone, through faith alone in Christ alone? Jesus' closest 
earthly disciple denies him at the crunch time. Go ahead and 
boast that we earn our salvation. Go ahead and boast that you did 
something to merit God's favor. Peter's going to tell you otherwise. 
I denied my Lord three times. And he graciously forgave me, 
and he set me on the path of preaching in the book of Acts 
in chapter two of the day of Pentecost. The church, Colossians 
chapter three, verses twelve to fourteen. Colossians three, 
this is conduct, becoming a new man. You are new creatures in 
Christ Jesus. You no longer are dead in your 
trespasses and sins. Notice the application or implication 
or practicality of this in verse twelve. Therefore, as the elect 
of God, Holy and Beloved. Notice, put on tender mercies. Why does he say that? You're 
a new man in Christ. You get dressed like a new man 
in Christ. You put them on. They're not 
there natively, they're not there naturally, they are there by 
God's grace. They have been put into you. 
You need to cultivate them. You need to put on tender mercies. You need to put on kindness. 
You need to put on humility. You need to put on meekness. 
You need to put on long-suffering. You need to learn how to bear 
with one another. You need to learn how to forgive one another. 
If anyone has a complaint against you, even as Christ forgave you, 
so you also must do. But above all these things, he 
says, put on love. Aren't all of these things subsumed 
under that great category of love? Isn't this love an action? 
Isn't this love displayed? Isn't this love with feet on 
it? Somebody says, what does love 
look like? It looks like this. Looks like somebody was consciously 
putting on tender mercies. Somebody was consciously being 
neat. Somebody was consciously humble. Somebody was consciously 
trying to forgive others. That's how we know you love. 
Talk is cheap. Say you love till the cows come 
home, but if you don't look to some degree like this new man 
Paul is illustrating, you know not love above all these things 
put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace 
of God rule in your hearts to which also you were called in 
one body and be thankful. It's attractive, it's attractive 
in the family, it's attractive in the church and it's attractive 
in the world as well. Proverbs 30, verses 11 to 14, 
Eger describes his generation. Close your eyes and you think 
hard enough, you'll see that he's describing our generation 
too. He says, there is a generation that curses its father and does 
not bless its mother. There is a generation that is 
pure in its own eyes, yet is not washed from its own filthiness. 
There is a generation, oh, how lofty are their eyes and their 
eyelids are lifted up. There is a generation whose teeth 
are like swords and whose fangs are like knives to devour the 
poor from off the earth and the needy from among men. Isn't that 
what we live in? Doesn't it look like you could 
see that in the Vancouver Sun? Maybe not like that, that sort 
of poetic. The metaphors that are being 
employed. But isn't that the generation 
that we live in? Nothing new under the sun. Egger 
faced it. We face it. A generation that curses its 
father and does not bless its mother. Basic fundamental respect 
for authority is broken down. Broken down. Gone. Children call their parents by 
their first names. Children treat other adults with 
disrespect. When was the last time you saw 
a young man rise up in the presence of a gray-headed man? You boys 
should practice that. When was the last time you saw 
a man open the door for a woman? Do it. When was the last time 
you saw basic submission to authority? Ager says, I live in a generation 
like that. He says there is a generation 
that is pure in its own eyes. We have salvation through politics. 
We have salvation through the political order. We have salvation 
through education. Salvation through, you know, 
more money. Salvation through economics. 
There's only one way of salvation. It's by grace through faith in 
a bloody, risen Savior. Self-righteousness was a problem. There is a generation. How lofty 
are their eyes? Their eyelids are lifted up. 
A generation whose teeth are like swords. I wonder if Edgar's 
generation practiced state-subsidized and licensed abortion. In some 
respects, we probably have even exceeded in the nastiness by 
which we committal offense against the living and true God. He says 
there are those who have fangs like knives to devour the poor 
off the earth and the needy from among men. Isn't mercy something 
that would be beautiful for the church to display? Isn't it? Here's what you get 
out in the world. Here's what's going on in the 
nations of the earth. Here's what's happening all around 
us. You come here and we'll try and love you. Try and put on 
tender mercy, try to be humble, try to be meek. Try to bear with 
you. Try to forgive you. What would 
that mercy do? Might open the door for gospel 
proclamation. Open the door for us to say, 
this is why we show mercy, because of our merciful Lord, our merciful 
Savior, our merciful Christ. What about Jesus in Matthew 5? 
Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good 
works and glorify your Father in heaven. Show some mercy in 
your neighborhood. Show some mercy in your community. 
This is a pertinent and relevant text for all of us in the family, 
in the church, in society. Blessed are the merciful. That 
brings us fifthly and finally to consider the promise they 
shall obtain mercy. Do you realize there is never 
a time when you do not need mercy? There is never a time, my dear 
brothers and sisters, when you don't need mercy, you need the 
God of heaven and earth to pity you. You need the God of heaven 
and earth to have compassion upon you in your misery. You 
need the God of heaven to return mercy to you from beginning to 
end. It's interesting, when the Apostle 
Paul is indicting those who had rejected him in Asia, he speaks 
of Anesophorus. He says, May he and his household 
find mercy on that day. What's he speaking about? Onesiphorus 
was a saved man. He was saved by grace through 
faith in Christ. He had been a recipient of mercy. Didn't 
change the fact that on that great day when we stand before 
the throne of God, we ought to beseech him to look upon us in 
mercy. Look upon us in Christ. Look 
upon us blood washed. Look upon us with that cloak 
of righteousness given to us in free and sovereign grace. 
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. The language of the ledger, not 
want to be merciful and God will reward you. No, God has been 
merciful to you. Live consistently with what you 
are in him. And on that great day, you will 
receive mercy. It's beautiful, blessed, wonderful. What we've seen in our study, 
the source of mercy, it's God's grace. the necessity of mercy. As Christians who have received 
God's mercy, we ought to go thou and do likewise. We ought to 
show mercy. And not just show it, we ought 
to do it joyfully. Romans 12, verse 8. We can adopt the ledger mindset 
in our Christian life. Okay, Thursday, do something 
merciful. Wednesday, smile at the checkout 
counter. Sunday, shake a brother's hand. Check, check, check. It's not 
something we schedule, right? By these, you know, events or 
days where we do one particular thing and somehow demonstrate 
our mercy. It just seems fake. It seems 
disingenuous. It seems like it's a put on. 
It seems like it's not something that's real. The Christian who 
has received mercy engages in mercy. He doesn't sit around 
and schedule it. Be a jerk on Monday, Tuesday, 
Wednesday, but as you get closer to Sunday, start doing merciful 
things. I would never do that. I don't 
think you ever would. Just say it for caution. Romans 
12.8, if you're going to engage in mercy, do it joyfully. I'm 
being merciful because I have to be merciful. What do you think 
the recipient of that mercy feels like? Gee, thanks. And John Piper 
uses the illustration, the husband comes home on anniversary day 
and gives his flowers to his wife and says, I give flowers 
to you because it's what men do on their anniversary. Brothers, 
don't do that. Unless you've got a good sort 
of defense mechanism. Or you can run really fast. I'm 
giving you these flowers because that's what good men do on their 
anniversary. Duck. Please. Duck, run, cover, 
hide, whatever you gotta do. I'm giving you these flowers 
because I love you. You make me happy. I bless God 
that he gave you to me. I praise him that I don't have 
to walk in this world solo. I not only have Jesus, I have 
you. That's why I'm giving you these 
flowers. If I had an entire forest, I would give it to you. I would 
give you everything. That's kind of the way it ought 
to be. You don't show mercy because you heard a sermon on it and 
you got to do this. You show mercy because God in 
Christ has shown you mercy. He's forgiven you. He's given 
you an alien righteousness. He has fit you to stand in his 
presence. How can we not go out and show 
mercy? That's the way. Show mercy towards 
your family members. Show mercy towards your brethren 
in the church. Show mercy toward those in the 
world. Show mercy ultimately to glorify God most high. Blessed are the merciful. The 
absence of mercy. If you search your heart, you 
say, man, I'm a I'm a merciless wretch. I am a merciless creature. I know nothing of doing these 
sorts of things. I mean, I can boast and say I 
did this for you back in, you know, January 23rd, 1986. I've done some of those things, 
but in absence, again, I'll quote Lloyd-Jones, if I am not merciful, 
there's only one explanation. I have never understood the grace 
and the mercy of God. I am outside of Christ. I am 
yet in my sins and I am unforgiven. The lack or absence of mercy 
indicates you've never been to Christ. You've never learned 
mercy. And that brings us in conclusion 
to consider the gospel of mercy. Tonight, we're going to see how 
the cross demonstrates the righteousness of God. It's not just some maudlin 
story to make us feel a little bit sappy and warm once in a 
while. The cross is the vindication 
of God most high so that he could be both just and the justifier 
of the one who has faith in Jesus so that God could justify the 
ungodly. That's what the cross is all 
about. But if you can look at that cross and not see mercy, 
not see pity, Not see compassion, not see in a bloodied, risen 
Savior the fact that God does pity sinners. We've missed it. If you are here this morning 
and you have not come to this merciful found, you have not 
tasted and seen that the Lord is good. Believe the gospel. The good news is not that we 
go out and be merciful. The good news is that Christ 
is merciful. That Christ came on a mission. 
That Christ did everything the Father told Him to do. That Christ 
perfectly exemplified all of these Beatitudes in obedience 
to His Father's law. Both attitude and action were 
always consistent with what God the Lord had commanded. Jesus 
did that in our stead. Jesus died as a substitute at 
Calvary's cross. Jesus died as an atonement. Jesus 
died to bear the wrath and fury and curse of God Most High. God 
delivered him up for our offenses, and he raised him for our justification. If you are here this morning 
and you know nothing of this mercy, look to the one in whom 
mercy is embodied. Look to Christ. Look to that 
one. Look to the Savior. Receive him. Believe on him. 
Look to the gospel. Believe what it says, and you 
will have forgiveness, you will have pardon, you will have the 
imputation of righteousness, and then go out and be merciful 
to others. You see, it's live and do in 
the Christian life. It's not do and live. It's the 
religion of Satan. It's the logic of the world. 
Go do and live. God's gospel turns that upside 
down. God makes you live and then goes 
out or then sends you out to go and do what he calls you to 
do. Believe on him. Look to him. Look at the gospel. Read your Bible, get alone, read 
what he says or read what it says in Matthew, Mark, Luke, 
John. And believe everything the scripture says concerning 
Christ, you'll have everlasting life and then you'll be fit to 
go out and serve the Lord with the mercy that he enjoins upon 
us. Well, let us pray. Father, we 
thank you for your word. We thank you for your grace. 
And as the psalmist cried out to you, God be merciful to us. and cause your face to shine 
upon us. We ask, Lord, for your continued mercy as we continue 
to sin against you as believers. We confess our remaining corruption. 
We confess our merciless spirits. We confess our hard-heartedness 
and the fact that so often we insist upon things and we want 
to demand our own rights and we want to be treated by others 
in a manner that is It is just inconsistent with who we are 
under God. We just pray that you would cleanse 
us afresh in that precious fountain that is open for sin and uncleanness, 
and we pray that you would help us, God in heaven, to cultivate, 
to put on these things that Paul tells us, these things that the 
Lord Jesus describes here. We ask that you would just watch 
over your church, watch over the believers in this congregation, 
and we ask in Jesus' holy name, amen.