Ephesians 2:3-5 "Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved."
A good way to understand the meaning of mercy is to see how it relates to grace:
-Mercy is not getting what you do deserve / withheld punishment.
-Grace is getting what you don't deserve / unmerited favor.
Mercy is like a judge finding you guilty, but then withholding any punishment. Grace is getting something you could never have imagined. An inexplicable gift. It's like the same judge awarding you a million dollars after finding you guilty!
In this sense, mercy can be thought of as the opposite of grace, or perhaps more correctly the inverse. The words are normally used in Scripture as defined, though occasionally the distinctions are blurred. In Greek as in English, mercy can also mean pity or compassion. (The King James Version, for example, often translated the word love as mercy.) I want to focus on mercy as "not getting what is deserved" in the here and now.
Exodus 33:19 "I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion."
God forgives all confessed sin. By grace we are saved and "put right with" him. But will He intervene to withhold earthly consequences? Will He show mercy? How many times? Even after we know better? Let's look through Scripture to see why, when, and if God doesn't give some of us what we deserve.
Lamentations 3:39 "Why should any living man complain when punished for his sins?"
Jeremiah 21:14 "I will punish you as your deeds deserve, declares the Lord."
Numbers 32:23 "...You may be sure your sin will find you out."
Is God ineffective at making "sure our sin finds us out"? Are we really getting away with it? Can we continue to count on God's mercy if we remain unrepentant?
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