God is the source of all mercy. He sovereignly chooses to show mercy to whom He wills, not based on human merit or works. As believers, we were shown mercy solely by God's grace despite being dead in our sins. We should continually come before God's throne of grace to receive mercy and help. We must also show mercy to others as we have received mercy, demonstrating compassion to those in need as the Good Samaritan did. To remain under God's mercy, we must fear Him, walk humbly, and love mercy as commanded.

1. Mercy
All NKJV unless otherwise specified
From the Strongs concordance (1653/1656) to have/show mercy means to have compassion on/for. To show pity on/for.
Luke 1 v54-55
54
He has helped His servant Israel, In remembrance of His mercy, 55
As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and to his seed
forever.”
Luke 1v72
72
To perform the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant,
 Mercy originates from God.
 It is not because of us that we obtained mercy, but it is because of the promise made to our forefathers (Abraham) who
by faith were justified
 However, the benefit of God’s mercy is towards us. We are included as the seed of Abraham.
Romans 9 v15-16
15
For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will
have compassion.” 16
So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.
 Mercy is not something that can be willed by man. It is God’s prerogative. The decision is His. He is sovereign.
Romans 9v18
18
Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens.
 God knows the eternal plan of mankind. He knows who will accept Him and who will reject Him.
 How God makes the choice between whom He grants mercy to and whom He hardens is not for us to know Romans
11v34 34
“For who has known the mind of the LORD? Or who has become His counselor?”
 What is important is that we do not know such matters, but rather live with hope for the lost. We know that Paul
persecuted the church, yet God had mercy on him. It would have been impossible to tell this beforehand looking at the
persecution that Paul was carrying out that he would be saved. We should approach all unbelievers with the same
mindset that this could be the very next person that God uses in a mighty way for His purposes.
But one thing we do know of the Lord is that He is Love, and desires all to be saved…..
1 Timothy 2v4
4
who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
Matthew 9v13
13
“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.”
 The righteous are those who do not believe they are in need of a savior. (They are hardened). The sinners referred to
above are the ones who acknowledge their sin with a humble heart. God resists the proud but gives grace to the
humble.
 Obtaining mercy requires repentance. Only once we are convicted of sin, renounce what we have done, ask God’s
forgiveness, and then turn our backs on this sin, then we obtain His mercy.
Ephesians 2 v1-5
1
And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2
in which you once walked according to the course of this
world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3
among whom
also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by
nature children of wrath, just as the others. 4
But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
5
even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
 It is a free gift. You could not believe as a result of just waking up one day and deciding to believe. You believed
because God drew you to Him. You believed when your eyes were opened by Him to the truth. You believed when
you humbly came before Him in repentance. You believed because of God’s mercy and grace.

2.  So where is our boasting then? So what should our response be towards God? Absolute devotion and thanksgiving.
1 Peter 2v9-10
9
But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises
of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10
who once were not a people but are now the people of God,
who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.
Taking on the nature of the seed in you
 Adam and Eve took on the nature of the serpent by taking the seed of the serpent. So did Cain when he killed his
brother Abel. But now we have a new Seed that has been planted within us when we believed. We are to take on the
nature of Christ.
 Just as God has shown us great mercy, we are in turn to show mercy in all of our dealings with others.
Matthew 5v7
7
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
 Unless we show mercy towards others, we could lose the mercy given to us. Let’s explore some other scriptures to
back this up…..
Luke 11v4(a)
4
And forgive us our sins, For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
 We can see that the Lord’s prayer makes it very clear that obtaining the Father’s forgiveness is dependent on our
willingness and desire to forgive others.
James 2v13
13
For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
Proverbs 21v21
21
He who follows righteousness and mercy finds life, righteousness and honor.
Luke 16v19-25
19
“There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. 20
“But there was a
certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, 21
“desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the
rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. 22
“So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels
to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. 23
“And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw
Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24
“Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send
Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’ 25
“But Abraham
said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is
comforted and you are tormented.
 The rich man referred to Abraham as ‘Father Abraham’. We need to understand by reading this that this rich man was
part of the covenant seed of Abraham – he was not simply an unbelieving Gentile.
 Yet he found himself in hell – for the nature of Christ is to be merciful and compassionate towards others – to love
others. He did not consider it necessary to help Lazarus. He had more than enough resources at his disposal to make a
difference in Lazarus’ life, but chose not to. To love Christ is to obey Him.
Luke 10 v25-37
25
And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26
He said to
him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?” 27
So he answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your
God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’ ”
28
And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.” 29
But he, wanting to justify himself, said to
Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30
Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and
fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 31
“Now by chance a
certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32
“Likewise a Levite, when he
arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. 33
“But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came
where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. 34
“So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and

3. wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35
“On the next day, when he departed,
he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I
come again, I will repay you.’ 36
“So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?”
37
And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
 The priest and the Levite knew the law of God, yet they lived not by this law.
 The Samaritan likely did not know the law of God, yet this Samaritan fulfilled the law in this instance.
 The Samaritan showed mercy – he did not pass by his neighbours need.
 When God commands us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves, do we really assess ourselves in the same light as
the above parable, or do we just pass on by the other side?
How do we remain in God’s mercy?
Micah 6v8
8
He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to
walk humbly with your God?
Luke 1v50
50
And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation.
 Those who fear the Lord walk in the light of the above truth, and God’s mercy rests upon such persons
Romans 12 v6(a);8(b);9(a)
6
Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: 8 he who shows mercy, with
cheerfulness. 9
Let love be without hypocrisy.
 Showing mercy needs to be a cheerful activity, not a grudge.
 Showing ‘love’ to impress others or to make yourself ‘feel good’, or showing ‘love’ out of legal obligation is
hypocrisy.
 We love because it comes from our heart, not because we are under a legal requirement. It is all about the other
person, and not about you.
God’s mercy to unbelievers and God’s mercy to believers
1 Timothy 1v12-16
12
And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry,
13
although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in
unbelief. 14
And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. 15
This is a
faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.
16
However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those
who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life.
 Paul talks about his life before Jesus Christ – and he committed very grave sins
 Yet God’s mercy came upon him (as an unbeliever) because he was ignorant in what he was doing.
 Paul calls himself the chief sinner – a sign of his humility. He realized where he came from and how abundant God’s
mercy upon him was – for he deserved hell, but instead was set free.
 Paul then gives the reason why God’s mercy came upon him, to show that even though Paul did all of these things,
God’s mercy and grace was still big enough to cleanse him from all of these sins. This was done as a pattern to show
other unbelievers (“who are going to believe”) that God’s mercy and grace is sufficient to redeem them as well.
Hebrews 4 v14-16
14
Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our
confession. 15
For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as
we are, yet without sin. 16
Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help
in time of need.
 As believers however, we are to continually come before the Lord asking for His mercy and grace to help in our time
of need. We continue to face temptations daily, however we have as our source of strength Jesus Christ (who
sympathises with our weaknesses and gives us strength to overcome).

4.  We can live a victorious life in God’s continual presence – overcoming sin by not yielding to it.
Hebrews 10v28
28
Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29
Of how much worse
punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the
covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?
 The new covenant is not a lowering of the standard – it is a higher standard!!!
 We have the Holy Spirit living inside of us, with resurrection power quickening our spirits.
 Jesus Christ has done it all for us and has procured the victory on our behalves.
 By rejecting the sanctifying work of the cross and getting back into bed with your old life, you are trampling the Son
of God underfoot.
 If those who rejected Moses’ law received death without mercy on the testimony of 2 or 3 witnesses, the above
passage confirms in verse 29 that the new covenant is stricter…….
 God’s mercy granted to those who have already been enlightened is far stricter, as we cannot like Paul states above
claim that we ‘did it ignorantly in unbelief’.
 It is critically important that we be quick to repent and not silence the voice of the Holy Spirit’s leading.
Some additional Scriptures
Proverbs 3v3
3
Let not mercy and truth forsake you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart,
Proverbs 14v31
31
He who oppresses the poor reproaches his Maker, But he who honors Him has mercy on the needy.
Proverbs 28v13
13
He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.
Psalm 103v8
8
The LORD is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.
Psalm 136v1
1
Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.
 We will be thanking the Lord into eternity for the mercy he has shown us.