Christian people excel in virtues and some live in a state of holiness so far as their conduct is concerned, and yet fellowship with them is limited by unmerciful judgments and dispositions over time. It is said that there are only two kinds of sins: sins of the body and sins of the disposition. Christians have come to condemn the sins of the body as being far worse than sins of the disposition such as judging others with prideful, condemning attitudes.
What God thinks about every matter should be considered. He indicates no form of vice, no worldliness, no greed of gold, no drunkenness, no adultery has caused more distrust of Christ than judgments coming from His followers’ distasteful dispositions. Christian leaders preach messages that make people fear eternal damnation for their offenses. Hear this: for embittering life, for breaking up communities, for destroying and withering the most sacred relationships of husbands and wives, for taking the bloom of childhood, for devastating homes, for sheer gratuitous misery-producing power, lack of a merciful disposition takes the lead!
The sins of the body and the sins of the disposition in the heart (or spirit) can be seen in scripture characterized by the prodigal son and by his older brother. Ultimately, which was worse in God's eyes? And how many prodigal sons are kept from fellowship with the Father's house by the unlovely character of those who profess to be on the inside? The elder brother's character is made of jealousy, anger, prideful judgment, vindictiveness, and uncharitable self-righteousness. These are the ingredients of a dark, sullen, and condemning spirit.
You should judge now if such sins of the disposition are not worse for others to live with, harder to change, and more destructive to the Lord's name, than the sins of the body. Did not Jesus say that the harlots and the publicans enter into the Kingdom before Pharisees who were religious scholars? Even now a judgmental, condemning disposition ,especially among Christian leaders, is extremely vile in God’s eyes!
But it seems to be the way so many are trained to be. Jesus has MERCY to give. He is SEATED in mercy — our Father's central redemptive feature is displayed in the high seat of mercy!
"And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto His disciples, ‘Why eats your master with publicans and sinners?’ But when Jesus heard that, He said unto them, ‘They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. But go ye and learn what this means! I WILL HAVE MERCY, and not sacrifice; for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.’" Matthew 9:10-13
He was paraphrasing to them from Hosea wherein the scriptural wording is:
"I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings." Hosea 6:6
The Old Testament bears witness to the life of Israelites’ worship as being built around sacrifices. Those sacrifices meant that the worshiper was acknowledging that his life belongs to the Creator. The Hebrew worshipers came with the offerings of unblemished animals from the time of Abel because God had respect unto it. The offerer came with the acknowledgment: "I am not doing all the law requires and I deserve to die. But You have given me the right to offer this animal in the faith that, on my behalf, it will pay my debt of death, so that I may be acknowledged as properly clean and rightly belonging to You."
That was the FAITH the nation of Israel walked in under the sacrificial laws of Moses. Yes, sacrifice was the great central feature of Israeli worship. Yet here, we have Jesus saying:
"Go and learn what this means, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice."
Pharisees were asking, "WHY does He blaspheme? Why does He dare teach against our custom of sacrifice? He eats with sinners! WHY does He do it on the sabbath?" And in one of His answers Jesus stated for all time the direction of God’s WILL working in Him. He stated the Father’s will for Jesus: “I will have mercy.” Thank God, the Father has been merciful to all of us followers of King Jesus as being a very special people in which "I will display mercy."
It is best to drop the English word "have" and use the straight equivalent of the Old Testament Hebrew words for "desired." Thus stated it is:
"I will mercy, and not sacrifice."
The word "mercy" and the word "will" tells us what God wants religious people who serve Him to know: I WILL MERCY. We who accept this new covenant presented by God’s King have the keys of KNOWLEDGE to truly cause growth in our inner spiritual man so that His Will becomes our purpose too. When our spirit grows in the glorious knowledge of the WILL OF GOD, it opens entrance to a spiritual dimension behind the veil of fleshly activities to where the merciful High Priest sits.
Here is something so vital, so revolutionary, so wonderfully simple that we cannot afford to have any controversy about it, not any, not one doubt in our mind:
"Go and learn what this means, I will mercy and not sacrifice, for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."
Pharisees wanted to know, "Why?" Jesus told them: "It is because GOD'S WILL IS TO BE MERCIFUL — and I am come to DO HIS WILL." Here we have a clear explanation of the will of God for all Christians to practice wholeheartedly today. Christians should be willing to consider, to learn enough, to know how to apply the meaning of the King’s message, "I WILL MERCY"!
Deep within our innermost being, our spirit gives assent and agreement with and bears true witness to the merciful will of God displayed through Jesus. Mercy and judgment is seated on God’s throne. We are facing those points of truth, absorbing His will, thinking and saying that GOD's WILL toward us today is TO BE MERCIFUL.
In God’s eyes, being merciful within toward others is more important than any sacrificial work of righteousness. Yet it seems it is still harder to move the religious right to have mercy than the plain old worldly sinner pursuing fleshly satisfactions. We understand therefore WHAT THE WILL OF GOD IS and it can rise from every other mindset to show us what has been unclear about God's ultimate will toward mankind.
God provides knowledge to be more deeply grasped than ever before. We hope no matter how useless our life may seem, regardless how spoiled things have become for us, this is the time for us to see and express the MERCIES of God from within our being because it is the WILL OF GOD.
We too are being merciful, for we really agree and see clearly in our spiritual mind the ultimate will of God. We are easily moved into a manifestation of mercy that does not reckon people’s offenses to them. God wants mercy to be in us. The mercy seat is the pinnacle, the center, the throne of His attention. Some of His people are enabled to be the same way. They are able to abide in an inner state of having HIS MERCY flow to and through us to others. It comes right where we are, flowing out to those close to us. Today we abide in a spirit of mercy:
"Happy are the merciful, for they shall be shown mercy." Matthew 5:7 concordant
Learn also the grand truth that opens the door to mercy:
"Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again…" Matthew 7:1-2
Scripture teaches there is divine judgment available that forgives at the point of repentance. Yet righteous judgment corrects us so we can be in accord with the truth of God's heart. We declare that our Father mercifully forgives our lack and remembers our sin and iniquities no more. According to His will, Jesus instructed us to:
"Judge not according to appearance, but judge righteous judgment." John 7:24
He warns against the judgment which arises from fault-finding in the condemning spirits of religious people. The warning is this still: you will be judged with your own standard of judgment and YOU will be measured with or by YOUR OWN MEASURE to others. The measure in which we are condemning of others will be the very same measure which is used on us. So wisdom is to learn now to be merciful in thought and deed.
How quickly and easily these words are forgotten when Christian leaders self- righteously are judging the destiny of sinners to be hell and torment forever. Those are the people whom Jesus will keep calling to a repentance that works most effectively. Self-righteous religious men are skilled judges in their own court while holding to false opinions that cause torment to our disposition ceaselessly, day by day by day.
Many of the religiously informed church folk become critical and judgmental, measuring everyone and everything by the standard they learned. This critical spirit does not always need full and sufficient evidence or proof for its conclusions. Hypocritical people's judgment is according to what others around them do or don't do to them personally. It’s so easy for rich powerful people to think they know the right standard. Every man thinks he is right in his own eyes, so man judges for his own benefit and his own glory and his own satisfaction.
God judges justly, according to His standard, yet men judge by appearance. Why did wicked leaders judge Jesus, the only guiltless One, and drive Him to death at a cross? Religious leaders in church circles can easily have the spirit of Cain even today. Church circles do not educate us to fully know nor understand the spirit of MERCY. So our eye sees and our wondering mind is learning to understand and apply what "I will mercy" means. We have been apprehended and are now being prepared by the masterful hand of an omnipotent Father to BE VESSELS OF MERCY, yea, to be a MERCIFUL PRIESTHOOD for all.
We are starting to be more merciful and helpful to believers and nonbelievers alike. We realize that all desperately need His love and acceptance, His mercy. Mercy is at the center of our life line, saying, "I care for you." We then become one with the Lord’s spirit to live by the quickening encouragement that stirs up our own merciful substance within. Christ is living within us—that is more important than sacrificial works like handing out Christian pamphlets and quoting scripture in attempts to convert nonbelievers. Being merciful is high on God's list of rewarded attributes. Instead of doing good works in the eyes of others, seek to become filled with mercy right in your home, living in peace with one another and with enjoyment of each day God has given.
Now the light of mercy is imparting to our inner spiritual man a life that is the real witness of our subjection to Jesus. Our knowing, here and now, what God's will is: "I will mercy." God is the judge of all, and every unconfessed and unrepentant error shall receive God's just recompense of reward. The Spirit of Christ Jesus has been sent to DELIVER us. He does not leave the condemnation of the world upon us. Blessed are the merciful, they shall be shown mercy.
Blessed are the peacemakers. Peacemaking takes real Godliness! We need to be filled with peace when standing between two warring parties if offering to dissolve anyone’s animosity. We are hoping to release people from the grips of tormenting ideas, to conquer death even by the truth, delivered from hellish contaminating torment. We are being invited to participate in a MORE EXCELLENT MINISTRY, in the love of His righteous mercy that truly forgives. His mercy allows a making of peace with God’s flow of blessings coming from the mercy seat to be upon all of us. “Father, we are learning to be merciful, to sing that new song within our heart.”
The enthroned Lamb within us is something which is not ordinary. We have distinct and distinguishing characteristics because we are equipped with Christ, filled with Christ, and clothed with Christ. Whatever we do, we do with Christ. There are many parts in our life for Christ to perform a perfecting work, in our inner disposition deep within our very own being.
The ministry of RECONCILIATION He has ordained for us extends a touch of help with the deep things of God. Christ releases and reaps us and others too, to change men with the spirit of love, light and life, the merciful flow coming from Him with peace even in open exchanges with conflicts. Now mercy and peace go hand in hand, established in us as it is in Him.
Jesus Christ, the firstborn Son of God, is the Prince of Peace. The spirit of the Prince of Peace also resides within His body. Can we not see by this that with Christ Jesus in our lives, God has given us also the character of being merciful peacemakers? Has it been occurring to you what this mercy and peacemaking does? It seals us into that stature that is EXPECTED TO MAKE PEACE. If what Jesus says about peacemakers is true, it could make us extremely happy indeed:
"Happy are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God." Matthew 5:9 concordant
We have been in legitimate conflict between the outer life of flesh and the inner spiritual man that was regenerated by Christ. In our natural lives in the outer world, we still encounter crises, trauma, and conflicts as we are involved with people. These conflicts are where we have learned to exercise the spirit of mercy and peace within our spirit.
We do it even now, today, in the thoughts of all that has happened to us, in the nitty-gritty of our everyday life. Kingdom priests are made by being faithful in the small things. Without this, I doubt that we will qualify in some future blaze of glory to suddenly becoming qualified representatives of the Kingdom on behalf of nations, principalities, or powers.
Comfort does not necessarily make for inner peace. The cross-currents, opposition, trouble, and conflict can still work at making us troubled of mind. But for us, it is to discover release to peace within these cross currents of opposition, in the discovery of trouble. God causes even our conflicts to enhance the search for true spiritual completeness given of the King.
Peace for us is more than the absence of war. God is unaffected by any external conditions in opposition to Him. So our peace should not flee in the face of our own troubles. What we have need of is HIS peace. Christ is within us, in the midst of us, within our very spirit. He is conditioned to rise victorious over every occasion and accomplish every task with merciful love, peace, and enjoyment that is in the nature of our heavenly Father. It is Christ within us who today makes real to us the MERCIES OF GOD.
“Happy are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” Matthew 5:9 concordant
"When a man's ways please the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him." Proverbs 16:7