The quality of mercy. . .

The quality of mercy is not strain'd.
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest:
It blesseth him that gives, and him that takes.
'Tis mightiest in the mightiest; it becomes
The throned monarch better than his crown.
His scepter shows the force of temporal power,
The attribute to awe and majesty,
Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings;
But mercy is above this sceptered sway;
It is enthroned in the heart of kings;
It is an attribute to God himself;
And earthly power doth then show likest God's
When mercy seasons justice.  wrote William Shakespeare.

I fear we do not understand mercy.  We live in times in which mercy has become muddy, cloudy, and confused.  Like so many other things, it has become detached from that which is its context.  Mercy does not eliminate judgment.  Indeed, judgment is the only context in which mercy makes sense.  Mercy does not wish the sin away but acknowledges the sin for what it is.  Today, it is hard to speak of sin without being accused of having no compassion, no heart, and no mercy.  It is no wonder that God's mercy has become the judgment from God that sin does not matter anymore or that God does not care about holiness and righteousness.

Mercy presumes that sin exists, that it is horrid and terrible, and that there is a day when sinners will be held accountable.  Mercy does not mean there is no sin, that nothing is wrong, that we have no culpability for evil.  The gift of mercy is not to wish away restraint.  Just the opposite, mercy means that sin does indeed exist but that there is a remedy for sin and a medicine for its death.  We give thanks to God not because He no longer counts sin as bad or sinners as responsible but because He has visited our sin and its punishment upon Him who willingly came to bear it up for us all.  Mercy does not mean that sin does not exist but that God has not allowed it to have its last word over us.  We need mercy precisely because sin matters.  Maybe you are better than I am but the reality is I have no chance for salvation apart from the mercy of God revealed to me in Christ Jesus, His Son.   It is only through grace and mercy that we are set free from sin, healed from its death, and raised to dwell with God in His presence forevermore.  The Scriptures say, But nothing unclean will ever enter it [heaven], nor anyone who does what is detestable or false (Rev 21:27).  We are given in mercy the clothing of righteousness in Christ, a righteousness not our own.

Mercy certainly does not mean there is no judgment, no accountability, and no path of impunity in which we can hide.  There will be a day of judgment and this cannot be escaped.  We need mercy precisely because there is a day of judgment coming.  If there is no hell, there is no mercy.  If there is no prospect of punishment, there is no need for mercy.  So, thanks be to God for His mercy is freely given and fully able to overcome the mountain of our sin and its shadow of death!  Our glory is not that we have overcome sin but that God has shown mercy to those who do not deserve it, have done nothing to merit it, and have nothing to offer with it.  It is a fool who suggests that mercy means there is nothing really wrong, that sin has no consequence, or that judgment will not take place.  God has answered our sin not with the shrug of His shoulders but with the shoulders of Christ, outstretched in suffering, to pay in full our debt of sin and to clothe us with an alien righteousness which alone can commend us to the Father.