Since the decisive event of history has already taken place in the ministry, death, resurrection and ascension of Christ, all subsequent history is a kind of epilogue, an interval inserted by God’s mercy in order to allow men time for repentance, and, as such an epilogue, necessarily in a real sense short, even though it may take a very long time.
Luke-Acts, SJT, 1963, p. 300.
Christian maturity requires that we ask whether we are more motivated by gratitude for God’s mercy or by a futile attempt to earn it.
The Power of Mercy by Bryan Chapell taken from Holiness by Grace by Bryan Chapell, copyright 2001, Crossway Books, a division of Good News Publishers, Wheaton Illinois 60187, www.crosswaybooks.org. Page 193.
Mercy stimulates the gratitude that is the only enduring motivation for effective Christian service. Gratitude recognizes the love that never fades and restores confidence in our eternal relationship that is the only true source of Christian power.
The Power of Mercy by Bryan Chapell taken from Holiness by Grace by Bryan Chapell, copyright 2001, Crossway Books, a division of Good News Publishers, Wheaton Illinois 60187, www.crosswaybooks.org. Page 192.
Without faith we are not fit to desire mercy, without humility we are not fit to receive it, without affection we are not fit to value it, without sincerity we are not fit to improve it.
A Puritan Golden Treasury, compiled by I.D.E. Thomas, by permission of Banner of Truth, Carlisle, PA. 2000, p. 189.
Presume not upon God’s patience. The exercise of it is not eternal; you are at present under His patience, yet while you are unconverted you are also under His anger: “God is angry with the wicked every day” (Psm. 7:11). You know not how soon His anger may turn His patience aside, and step before it. It may be His sword is drawn out of the scabbard, His arrows may be settled in His bow, and perhaps there is but a little time before you may feel the edge of the one or the point of the other, and then there will be no more time for patience in God to us, or petition from us to Him. If we die without repentance, He will have no longer mercy to pardon, nor patience to bear.
God’s Patience Abused.
As a merciful God, He pitied us; but as a holy God, He could not but hate our transgression; as a God of truth, He could not but fulfill His own threatening; as a God of justice, He must avenge Himself for the offense against Him. He gave Christ as a God of mercy, and required satisfaction as a God of justice.
Christ Crucified.
[Don’t mistake] God’s patience with sinners for the idea that God is tolerant of sin.
Gospel-Powered Parenting, 2009, P&R Publishing, p. 57, Used by Permission. Get this book!
God delights far more in His mercy than in His wrath. So in order to show the priority of His mercy, He must place it against the backdrop of His wrath. How could God’s mercy appear fully as His great mercy unless it was extended to people who were under His wrath and therefore could only ask for mercy? It would be impossible for them to share with God the delight He has in His mercy unless they saw clearly the awfulness of the almighty wrath from which His mercy delivers them.
The Unity of the Bible, Zondervan, 1992, p. 446-447. Get this book!
If God should have no more mercy on us than we have charity to one another, what would become of us?
Only the Christian gospel presents….a way in which justice and mercy kiss each other… First, Christianity confirms the fact that justice must be satisfied. Sin must be condemned according to its demerit. This means eternal doom. The sinner must be damned because God must be inexorably holy and just. His all-powerful Being must vindicate His all-holy Being. Christianity never compromises the ever-blessed purity and excellency of the divine nature. Second, Christianity alone finds a way to satisfy infinite justice and provide infinite mercy at the same time. What no other religion has dreamed of, Jesus Christ has accomplished. He underwent the infinite wrath of God against sin and lived to bestow His mercy on the damned sinners for whom He died. The infinite Son of God took upon Himself a human nature in which He underwent the full fury of the divine wrath. The omnipotent God satisfied His violated holiness by punishing sin completely in His blessed Son, who “became sin” for His people. The justice of God was vindicated in full in the substitute, His own Son, our Saviour dear. He survived that awful vengeance and rose victor over the grave by the power of His own divinity. Now He offers to every sin-sick and “pleasure” – burdened soul an everlasting mercy. Perfect mercy and perfect justice in the gospel of the crucified.
The Problem of Pleasure, Soli Deo Gloria, 2002, p. 24-25.
God really loves us and wants us to turn away from our sins. If He passed final judgment now, we would have no such opportunity; that would be the end of time for us. He has sufficient provocation to do so; that we recognize. We have sinned enough to deserve His infinite wrath at any moment, but we do not receive it. We have an opportunity, therefore, to turn away from our sin and to turn to God. Instead of continuing to offend Him, we can plead for forgiveness and seek to please Him. While there is yet life, that is possible.
The Problem of Pleasure, Soli Deo Gloria, 2002, p. 20.
Mercy even with us is an optional virtue; we do not have to be merciful. We usually admire people who are, but we do not say that people must be so. We say everybody must be just. We say, for example, an employer, if he agrees to pay a certain wage, must pay that particular wage. If he does not pay it, then he is unjust and is liable to a lawsuit. All our contracts are based on the integrity and honesty and justice of people with whom we do business. They are actually subject to trials and imprisonment and even execution if they violate their duty of man to man. What about mercy among men? We love it. We admire it. We encourage it. We sometimes practice it. But we do not say mercy is obligatory… If this is true even of human affairs, we can see immediately that God does not have to be merciful. He gave us life and conscience. He gave us intelligence to meet our obligations, and He has a right to hold us responsible for using them. He has no further obligation to forgive us if we do not. We say that the Judge of all the earth cannot do wrong, but we cannot say that the Judge of all the earth must be merciful.
The Problem of Pleasure, Soli Deo Gloria, 2002, p. 21-22.
God has no obligation to sinful men except to condemn. He may or may not, as His wisdom dictates, exercise mercy upon them. But mercy is not something which God must offer anybody. He offered no mercy to the angels when they sinned. And He says with respect to fallen human creatures: “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy” (Rom. 9:18). He strongly insists that mercy is optional with Him and a matter of His sovereign pleasure alone.
Theology for Everyman, Moody, 1965, Chapter 10.
Whatsoever is upon you is from the Lord, and whatsoever is from the Lord, to you it is in mercy; and whatsoever comes in mercy ought not to be grievous to you. What loss is it when the losing of earthly things is the gaining of spiritual things? All shall be for your good, if you make your use of all.
A Puritan Golden Treasury, compiled by I.D.E. Thomas, by permission of Banner of Truth, Carlisle, PA. 2000, p. 13.
He who has had mercy on us will be the One to judge us, with Christ’s own righteous and merciful character being the essential criterion for evaluation. Those who have received mercy in Christ will be merciful to others, receiving mercy from Christ on the Day of Judgment.
2 Corinthians, Zondervan, www.zondervan.com, 2000, p. 96.
Sinners come to God knowing that although there is no reason in them that God should be merciful, God has every reason in Himself to show mercy (Isa. 43:25).
This We Believe, John Armstrong and John Woodbridge, ed. Zondervan, www.zondervan.com, 2000, p. 86.
Mercy explains how a holy and loving God can relate to sinners without compromising who He is.
When Sinners say, “I Do,” Shepherd Press, 2007, p. 80. Used by Permission.
As God’s mercies are new every morning toward His people, so His anger is new every morning against the wicked.
If the end of one mercy were not the beginning of another, we were undone.
A Puritan Golden Treasury, compiled by I.D.E. Thomas, by permission of Banner of Truth, Carlisle, PA. 2000, p. 123.
A visitor (seeking to console the dying Thomas Hooker): Sir, you are going to receive the reward of your labour. Thomas Hooker: Brother, I am going to receive mercy!
A Puritan Golden Treasury, compiled by I.D.E. Thomas, by permission of Banner of Truth, Carlisle, PA. 2000, p. 189.
The only real, practical measure of my appreciation for the goodness and mercy of God to me is the extent to which I am, in turn, prepared to show goodness and mercy to others.
A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, Permission by Zondervan, www.zondervan.com, 1970, p. 133. Get this book!
Mercy can never be earned. Its very necessity is evoked by unworthiness, else there would be no need for it. Because we have sinned, we need mercy, not because we have obeyed. The only qualification for mercy is affliction.
Contemplating the Almighty, Perth Publishing, 1984, p. 137.
How perverted the creature who sins against His Creator and then demands and expects mercy from the just consequences of such… How dare we think that we should be allowed continue in the deceitful pleasures of our sin and then expect mercy when the despairing consequences result. We are called to repent and obey, not expect and demand that which we do not deserve.
Contemplating the Almighty, Perth Publishing, 1984, p. 139.
The damned, instead of getting what they deserve, may be given the opportunity to stand forever in the presence of the High and Holy God. Condemnation may be wholly replaced with justification. Shame may be replaced with glory. Hell may be replaced with heaven. This is pure mercy.
Contemplating the Almighty, Perth Publishing, 1984, p. 140.
The most compelling motivation for faithful, obedient living should not be the threat of discipline or loss of reward but overflowing and unceasing gratitude for the marvelous mercies of God.
Romans 9-16, Moody, 1994, p. 141.
How would you like to live with somebody who was everlastingly grieving your heart by his conduct?
The motive for repentance is not only sorrow for sin but also a sense of the mercy of God in Christ. We have zero motivation to repent, unless we see the mercy of God awaiting us. Not the slap of God, but the embrace of God. Repentance is not just turning from sin, not even that primarily. Repentance is primarily turning to God, moment by moment, because He has promised His mercy to the penitent.
Blog Post: What is True Repentance, December 6, 2014, Used by Permission.
Unspeakably solemn is it to see so many abusing this Divine perfection. They continue to despise God’s authority, trample upon His laws, continue in sin, and yet presume upon His mercy. But God will not be unjust to Himself. God shows mercy to the truly penitent, but not to the impenitent (Luke 13:3). To continue in sin and yet reckon upon Divine mercy remitting punishment is diabolical. It is saying, “Let us do evil that good may come,” and of all such it is written, whose “damnation is just” (Rom. 3:8).
The Attributes of God.
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God’s interest is to magnify the fullness of His glory by spilling over in mercy to us. Therefore the pursuit of our interest and our happiness is never above God, but always in God. God’s greatest interest is to glorify the wealth of His grace by making sinners happy in Him.
In the exercise of His common grace, God displays patience and forbearance with the world. But patience and forbearance ought to lead men and women to repentance. Instead, it emboldens the unbeliever in his sinful rebellion and mocking of God, and the patience of God is then turned into a rationale to rebel further against God. This does nothing more than store up greater judgment because of their ungodly response to His kind patience (Rom. 2:4-5).
Tabletalk, p. 10, vol. 28, no. 9, Ligonier Ministries, Used by Permission.
I think of all the questions that I ask the Lord, and then I think of my stubborn streak against Him; I think of my inability or refusal to learn. I think of how many times God shows me the way of righteousness and how I turn away. I think of my faltering and failing steps and my outright rebellion against Him – even as a believer. Oh the patience of God and the riches of His forbearance and grace!
Tabletalk, p. 11, vol. 28, no. 9, Ligonier Ministries, Used by Permission.
There is mercy with the Lord; this should encourage the miserable to approach Him; this informs the fearful that they need bring nothing to induce Him to bless them; this calls upon backsliders to return to Him; and this is calculated to cheer the tried Christian, under all his troubles and distresses. Remember, mercy is like God, it is infinite and eternal. Mercy is always on the throne. Mercy may be obtained by any sinner.
Quoted in: C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, Psalm 130:7.
The Bible is chalked-full of verses that describe our Creator as a God of mercy. “The Lord is gracious and merciful; slow to anger and great in lovingkindness. The Lord is good to all, and His mercies are over all His works” (Psalm 145:8-9). The Bible describes His mercy as “great” (1 Pet. 1:3), “abundant” (Psm. 86:15), “tender” (Lk. 1:78) and “everlasting” (Psm. 103:17). God is forever extending mercy to His children and even to those who blaspheme His name (Psm. 145:14-16; cf. Mt. 5:45; Lk. 6:35; Ac. 14:17; 17:25). We should thus not be surprised that the Bible calls God the “Father of mercies” (2 Cor. 1:3).
Sermon, The God of Mercy, 2 Corinthians 1:3-5, August 30, 2020.
Maybe we need to realize our sins are more numerous and more offensive to God than we’d like to admit, but at the same time realize His power to forgive, simply on the basis of grace even further exceeds the enormity of our offense. Maybe we are far worse than we ever thought, but He is far more merciful than we ever imagined.
Sermon, Eternally Separated by a Few Feet, Luke 23:39-43, March 14, 2021.
Jesus is not indifferent, unconcerned or unable to fulfill His promise. He knows after He returns there will be no opportunity for salvation. His so-called delay “as some count slowness” (2 Pet. 3:9) is a token of His mercy – giving people just a little more time to repent and trust Him. Jesus is being patient for His enemies to come to repentance. It was the same before His judgment with water. “When the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah” (1 Pet. 3:20). God is always looking to show mercy to the guilty (cf. Eze. 33:11).
Sermon, Why It’s Essential to Obey God’s Word, 2 Peter 3:8-13, July 31, 2022.
Longsuffering, forbearing patience is to be the Christian’s reflection of the character of God. It is part of God’s character to be slow to anger and quick to be merciful. Part of the incomprehensibility of God in terms of my own relationship with Him is this: I cannot fathom how a holy God has been able to put up with me marring His creation to the degree I have for three score and five years. For me to live another day requires a continuation of God’s gracious patience with my sin… It becomes even more difficult to fathom when we see a sinless Being being more patient with sinful beings that sinful beings are with each other.
There is mercy for a sinner, but there is no mercy for the man who will not own himself a sinner.
God’s mercy is so great that you may sooner drain the sea of its water, or deprive the sun of its light, or make space too narrow, than diminish the great mercy of God.
Sermons 9.441.
When a tear is wept by you, think not your Father does not behold; for, “Like as a father pities his children so the Lord pities them that fear Him.” Your sigh is able to move the heart of Jehovah; your whisper can incline His ear unto you; your prayer can stay His hands; your faith can move His arm. Oh! Think not that God sits on high in an eternal slumber, taking no account of you.
The Sympathy of the Two Worlds, Sermon, Luke 15:10.
Pardon of sin must ever be an act of pure mercy, and therefore to that attribute the awakened sinner flies.
Treasury of David, Psalm 51.
God has a holy temper, but He has a very long fuse! Even those who deny and blaspheme His name are recipients of His patience and long-suffering. He permits His enemies to live, to spew forth their horrid blasphemies, all the while blessing them with food and air and earthly pleasures (see Romans 2:4-5).
Copied from: Pleasures Evermore: The Life-Changing Power of Knowing God by Sam Storms, © 2000, p. 199. Used by permission of NavPress – www.navpress.org. All rights reserved. Get this book!
The original law of the universe is that “the soul that sins, it shall die.” Life is a divine gift, not a debt. Sin brings the loss of the gift of life. Once a person sins he forfeits any claim on God to human existence. The fact that we continue to exist after sinning is owing wholly to divine mercy and gracious longsuffering.
Is God Guilty of Genocide, November 6, 2006, www.enjoyinggodministries.com. Used by Permission.
God was but six days in making the whole world, yet seven days in destroying one city.
A Puritan Golden Treasury, compiled by I.D.E. Thomas, by permission of Banner of Truth, Carlisle, PA. 2000, p. 121.
Grace is God giving us what we do not deserve and mercy is God not giving us what we do deserve.
The mercies of God make a sinner proud, but a saint humble.
A Puritan Golden Treasury, compiled by I.D.E. Thomas, by permission of Banner of Truth, Carlisle, PA. 2000, p. 187.
Take heed of abusing this mercy of God… To sin because mercy abounds, is the devil’s logic… He that sins because of God’s mercy, shall have judgment without mercy.
A Puritan Golden Treasury, compiled by I.D.E. Thomas, by permission of Banner of Truth, Carlisle, PA. 2000, p. 188.
Mercy is not for them that sin and fear not, but for them that fear and sin not.
A Puritan Golden Treasury, compiled by I.D.E. Thomas, by permission of Banner of Truth, Carlisle, PA. 2000, p. 188.
God is more willing to pardon than to punish. Mercy does more multiply in Him than sin in us. Mercy is His nature.
All Things for God.