Mercy Upon Mercy

About this sermon

Introduction: God is magnified in judgment. When God judges, when He expresses His own holiness and uprightness and faithfulness by judging sin, that is not an act that reflects poorly on God. That is an act that glorifies God. God is glorified, not just by showing mercy, not just by giving grace, not just by demonstrating love, God is glorified by His hatred for sin and His judgment of sinners. And He is to be worshipped for this. If He is not admired for this, if He is not praised for this, then the problem is not with God. The problem is with the observer. Anyone who claims to worship God, but they do not see God’s glory in His judgment of sin and sinners, has a false god that they worship. Anyone who does not acknowledge God’s glory in His judgment of sin and sinners, does not love God as He truly is. God cannot be worshipped if He is not admired for His holiness and justice. And there are many who are just like that. They have a God who loves but never hates. They have a God who encourages but never warns. They have a God who shows mercy but never judges. They have a God who offers Heaven, but never punishes in Hell. They have a God with no firm standards regarding sin and righteousness — He exists to cheer you on as you pursue your dreams, even if what you want is contrary to what the Bible teaches. In short, they have a false god. They have a god who does not exist in Scripture. But admiring God for His holiness and justice does not mean that we do not equally admire God for His abundant mercy. In fact, this is something quite amazing about God’s self-revelation. He always makes plain that (if I could say it this way), He prefers to show mercy. He delights in judgment, but He delights even more in mercy. He will not clear the guilty, He is absolutely committed to the vindication of His own name, but His very name emphasizes His mercy, even before it emphasizes His judgment. ESV Exodus 33:18 Moses said, "Please show me your glory." 19 And he said, "I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name 'The LORD.' And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. We see this when the message of God’s judgment is delivered. Jerusalem will be destroyed, but Jesus weeps over her. Jeremiah will give voice to God’s promises of judgment, but He will do that as the weeping prophet. YOU MEET WITH GOD IN HIS OWN SON, AND YOU MEET WITH GOD BY THE VOICE OF HIS PROPHETS, AND WHAT YOU MEET WITH IS A COMMITMENT TO JUDGMENT, BUT A COMPASSION THAT COULD DESIRE THEIR SALVATION. What God reveals throughout Scripture, and then in His own Son is His willingness to be gracious. ESV Ezekiel 18:23 Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord GOD, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live? Eze 18:32 "For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies," declares the Lord God. "Therefore, repent and live." Eze 33:11 "Say to them, As I live! declares the Lord God, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then will you die, O house of Israel? Mic 7:18 Who is a God like Thee, who pardons iniquity And passes over the rebellious act of the remnant of His possession? He does not retain His anger forever, Because He delights in unchanging love. THIS CHARACTER OF GOD WAS EXPRESSED IN CHRIST’S FIRST COMING. ESV John 3:17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. ESV John 12:47 If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. And, of course, what Jesus means by this is that the purpose for His first coming is salvation. He does not mean that He will not judge. ESV Acts 17:31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead." But, nonetheless, what Jesus emphasized in His first coming was that He came to save.

Topics

• Love & Compassion