Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Matthew 5:7
Blessed are they who are merciful! They will receive mercy! It’s the exact literal translation, right? It’s an exclamatory sentence to begin with “you are blessed! You who are blessed!” Those who are merciful, they will receive mercy. This is what we will study today. Whenever these kinds of verses come out, the Christian doctrine of sanctification very simply couples them with human works, and uses them to urge a holy life of the saints. A saint who is saved must become merciful. If so, he too will be shown mercy. Christian history says such an assertion is Arminianism. If it is so, how shall we interpret this verse from the book of Romans?
For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16 So then it depends not on human will or exertion,[a] but on God, who has mercy.
–Romans 9:15-16
What do you think? It’s saying that mercy is not given because you will it or by labor, but is a gift, right?
If the word of Jesus in today’s text literally means only those who are merciful can receive mercy, isn’t Apostle Paul contradicting the word of Jesus? If what Jesus is saying means, “The merciful will receive mercy,” and the Apostle Paul is saying “it does not depend on human will or exertion but God has mercy on whom God has mercy on," then what he is saying conflicts the word of Jesus, doesn't it? But they both are saying the exact same thing. Please look carefully how this reconciles.
The Hebrew words equivalent for the Greek word ‘elemones,’ which is translated in today’s text as ‘mercy,’ are ‘raham’ and ‘hesed.’ These words are translated as a Greek word ‘eleos’ in the Septuagint and they originally contained the following meanings of sadness, mourning, mercy, grace, etc. So mercy is correctly facing his or another person’s reality, being sad and mourning together for its condition, and feeling the same way in need for mercy and grace. Abraham Kuyper said ‘eleos,’ or ‘mercy,’ is the essential character of God.
But this mercy is not a word which simply means sympathetic pity like the dictionary says. There are many verses supporting this in the Old Testament, but let's look at one place and move on.
And that to you, O Lord, belongs steadfast love. For you will render to a man according to his work.
– Psalm 62:12
There the translated word for ‘steadfast love’ is the Hebrew word ‘hesed.’ It means mercy. Mercy, compassion, and grace are all translated as ‘eleos’ and ‘mercy’ in the Septuagint. And it says that belongs to the Lord, right? To translate this phrase literally, it is “Lord, you are mercy.” “Lord, you are mercy.”This means the representative word to name the Lord is mercy. But does it make sense that God, who is mercy, repays each man according to his work? In the front, it says “Lord, you are mercy,” and then says “you will render to a man according to his work.” What is this? It doesn’t make sense, does it? This means, because rendering to a man according to his work is ‘justice,’ God’s other essential character, there is no one who can come to life without the involvement of God’s mercy.
Setting that aside, mercy is not an emotion or an action a man can produce, but it is an inevitable reaction shown in a man who knows God’s mercy. Mercy is not what men produce and exercise but the mercy of God is shown in the people of God. It is not what men make or endeavor and produce. It is the mercy of God being displayed in the lives of those who have received God’s mercy. It is a different thing. Therefore, the mercy that must come out of the saints is not the kind of mercy for which a man gets to be praised. “Wow, that man is a merciful man. He is a man who shows mercy.” It’s not this kind of mercy a man gets to be praised for. Because mercy belongs to God, God must be praised when that mercy comes out in a man. That is mercy. The kind of mercy that must come out of a saint is mercy that becomes a glory to God and exposes the man as powerless.
Therefore, to decipher today’s text and make it easier to understand, it means “Those who have received the mercy of God are those who show the mercy of God, and they are blessed.” Saying this once again, Jesus is not explaining ways to be blessed by God through the Sermon on the Mount, but He is explaining the inevitable and natural reaction that comes out only from those who are living this history as a saint that is already spiritually blessed before the creation. Therefore, the mercy in today’s text must be something that cannot come out from the people of other religions or atheists, since this mercy only comes out from those who have received the heavenly blessing. But if we take this verse as a moral or ethical work of sympathizing and helping others, this verse becomes good work other people can also do. If we look at it that way, that singer who lives in a rented apartment and donates over 10 million dollars is the king of mercy. All the more, that was a specialty of the Pharisees who beat and killed Jesus. They were the people who readily sold all their possessions and relieved the poor. Then, are they the merciful Jesus spoke about? They were the kind of people who intentionally fasted twice every seven days for the orphans and widows. If they did not have the ability to help others, they would fast from eating their meals to help others. Then, is that mercy? As you people know well, God said the great mercy of those who do not know Jesus is garbage. If you look at 1 Corinthians 13, it says even if you show the kind of mercy of selling all your possessions to help the poor and burning up your body, it is nothing unless it is based out of the love of Jesus. It says it’s nothing. Nothing.
Where is mercy greater than that? Where is mercy greater than that of selling all your possessions to help others and burning up your body to give yourself for others? But God is saying that is nothing. He says it is useless, useless. Not only that, the writer of the book of Hebrews says everything done not by faith is sin. What is sin? No matter how good it may look, if not from faith, it is sin. So, today’s text is not something He said to simply encourage a good work of mercy. Hosea in the Old Testament is a book in which the mercy of God is concentrically explained. You wouldn’t know how many times the word mercy comes out in there.
As you know, the book of Hosea is a story about Hosea, whose role is God and Gomer the prostitute whose role is the people of God. The Hebrew from of the name Hosea is Jesus. God tells Hosea to marry Gomer the prostitute, right? And they have children together and upon each child a curse of God comes upon.
"She conceived again and bore a daughter. And the Lord said to him, “Call her name No Mercy,[a] for I will no more have mercy on the house of Israel, to forgive them at all." –Hosea 1:6
A daughter is born between Gomer the prostitute and Hosea and her name is “Lo-ruhama." This word is made by adding a particle meaning ‘it is not’ with a Hebrew word ‘raham,’ meaning ‘mercy.’ “I will never show mercy to you.” This is added to the name of Gomer’s child. It is “I will never show you mercy. Why? Look at you? Is that a look that deserves mercy?” Every single offspring of Gomer receives a curse from God. It means that also is the destiny of Gomer the prostitute. Even worse, the son’s name is Lo-ammi. This word is made by adding the particle ‘Lo’ meaning ‘it is not’ with ‘ammi’ meaning ‘my people’, right? It means “you are not my people. You cannot be my people.” Such a curse from God is pictured a little more clearly in Hosea chapter 2.
Plead with your mother, plead— for she is not my wife, and I am not her husband— that she put away her whoring from her face, and her adultery from between her breasts;3 lest I strip her naked and make her as in the day she was born, and make her like a wilderness, and make her like a parched land, and kill her with thirst.4 Upon her children also I will have no mercy, (again the word mercy comes out, right?) because they are children of whoredom.5 For their mother has played the whore; she who conceived them has acted shamefully. For she said, ‘I will go after my lovers, who give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.’ –Hosea 2:2-5
It is a story of Gomer but He talks about “they.” Who is He referring to? He is talking about Israel. She does not know who God is and she thinks all the grace God has allowed is from her lovers. She thinks her lovers gave her all those when in fact it was God who gave them to her. It means that such a corrupt prostitute and her children are Israel. Here, He is saying “they are who could never receive my mercy, the mercy of God.” That is the exact reality of our original place, the state of dead dust. ‘Those who cannot deserve Gods’ mercy no matter what,’ that is dust. The dead dust, that is. The state of not being able to do good, the state of non-existence, an adulterous bride who has nothing to say even if she is divorced and killed at once. That is Israel’s, or our original place. God’s mercy coming upon her despite this and the prostitute who could not be forgiven, becoming the bride of God is called salvation and what is being poured upon there is ‘raham', mercy.
"and I will sow her for myself in the land. And I will have mercy on No Mercy,[a] and I will say to Not My People,[b] ‘You are my people’; and he shall say, ‘You are my God.’” –Hosea 2:23
Exactly this is God’s mercy and this mercy is the overall theme of Hosea. In Hosea 11, the mercy of God is well described as God’s essential character. Please look at Hosea 11:7.
My people are bent on turning away from me, and though they call out to the Most High, he shall not raise them up at all. (This is Israel. This is Gomer. This is the look of a prostitute. But God is pouring mercy upon them as they are, not because they did something good but as they are.) 8 How can I give you up, O Ephraim? (This Ephraim is Israel, right?) How can I hand you over, O Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart recoils within me; my compassion grows warm and tender. –Hosea11:7-8
This is the mercy of God. This is mercy that is being poured upon Gomer who has been prostituting for all her life without a cost. The Bible calls this love, compassion, mercy, loving-kindness, steadfast love, or other numerous words but they all are ‘raham’ and ‘hesed’. First of all, Gomer does not become a bride of Hosea, a bride of Jesus. Gomer was prostituting till the end and was finally sold at a slave market after being sucked out of. She is dying now. Like a loaf of meat, like a carcass of a pig at a butcher’s shop, she was displayed hanging at a slave market. But Hosea, or Jesus, is nonetheless going there and buying her with 15 shekels of silver and one and a half homer of barley. This is called mercy. How can pork at a butcher shop show mercy? Then, to that pork… hahahah, I keep calling it pork… that beef… that sounds weird, too. To that carcass, mercy is being poured upon without a cost. Then, when mercy is that, how would Jesus say that you will receive mercy unless you act mercifully.
Please look at Habakkuk 3:2. Such mercy of God comes out well in Habakkuk.
O Lord, I have heard the report of you, and your work, O Lord, do I fear. In the midst of the years revive it; in the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy. –Habakkuk 3:2
God’s mercy is not poured on those who did something to ease the wrath of God but the wrath of God is being turned into mercy when God is still angry. I have told you the word ‘revive’ means completely bringing to life, right? But, how do they become alive? They are still doing what is worthy of God’s wrath but they become revived because God’s mercy is poured on them. Thus, ‘revival’ means all the things that will be burned off at the judgment of God, if you still have them being cut away in history. So do not carelessly say “give us a revival.” It means “please kill me.”For this reason, you should not carelessly go to revivals. All the churches where I spoke as a revival speaker become broken. They did a good thing. They revived. God’s mercy is not poured on because men do something admirable, but it is being poured on by the grace of God, even in the midst of His wrath.
Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love.19 He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our[e] sins into the depths of the sea.20 You will show faithfulness to Jacob and steadfast love to Abraham, as you have sworn to our fathers from the days of old. –Micah 7:18-20
Steadfast love and mercy, they both mean the same. So God’s mercy is what He pours on by grace as He treads men’s iniquities underfoot and it not a benefit in return for the work done by the recipient.
But would it make sense that Jesus would require His disciples of merciful acts that must come out from men as a condition for God’s mercy? But the doctrine of sanctification teaches this passage like that. “Show mercy!”
The phrase, ‘the merciful’ in today’s text is made up of an adverb that means ‘the one who has mercy, the one who knows mercy’, rather than ‘to show mercy’. Thus it means this. “You who are blessed by God! You are the ones who know mercy and have mercy, since you have been shown mercy by God. You should translate like this. Then, let’s study what it means to know mercy and what it means to have mercy. There is a place where the same word ‘mercy’ in today’s text is used in the book of Gospel. Shall we take a look?
And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, “Have mercy on us, Son of David.” (This is it. It’s the same word.) 28 When he entered the house, the blind men came to him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to him, “Yes, Lord.” 29 Then he touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it done to you.” –Matthew 9:27-29
If you look at this episode, two blind men cry out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!,” right? Then, was mercy given to them? No? It was given to them. Then, on what condition, was it given? What did these men do? They were just blind. They had nothing they could do about it. But they had faith, right? He is saying, “According to your faith, be it done to you,” when showing mercy to them. This is the premise.
Let’s look at one more. Please go to Matthew 15.
And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” 23 But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” 24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.”
26 And he answered, “It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.”
27 She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table.” 28 Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.[e] -Matthew 15:21-28
Mercy is being shown, right? She asked, “O Lord, have mercy on me,” and in the end it was given. But based on what? It was given based on faith. On the side of an Israelite, this gentile woman, who is a Canaanite, has a zero percent possibility of receiving mercy from Jesus. Zero %. But this woman is given mercy. Based on “O woman, great is your faith,” mercy is poured on. Likewise, the mercy of God is poured out on the people of God, based on the premise of faith. Strictly speaking, it is not that mercy is given with faith as a prerequisite, but this kind of faith comes out from those who have received God’s mercy, since God is the owner of faith.
To rush into a conclusion, that act of being merciful shown in a saint, is ‘that faith,’ which trusts in only the mercy of Jesus Christ. That is why in both cases above, their faith is being pictured as “I am a powerless person who cannot do anything. So please have mercy on me.”
Think about it. There is no way for a blind man to open his eyes on his own, right? That is why they could only ask, “Have mercy on me.” Because there was nothing they could do. The same way, a gentile Canaanite woman has no way to receive mercy from a teacher who is an Israelite. So Jesus is calling her a dog. He is doing it on purpose. But this woman knows she is a dog and is admitting it. It means she is admitting that she is a dog that’s not qualified to get anything to eat from the owner. Then, God called that faith and mercy is being poured on her. Therefore, ‘showing mercy,’ or ‘being the merciful’ is on the premise of ‘I am nothing but a dead dog unless God has mercy on me.’ Isn’t that called faith? That is being merciful. This is ‘being merciful’ that comes out of a saint.
The object of me being merciful is the whole world, including myself. Knowing that I need to receive mercy from God and treating others the same way (knowing that just as I will be in trouble if not shown mercy, they are also in trouble unless mercy is shown) is called being ‘the merciful.’ It is not the kind where you sell your house to help others. But it seems all are saying, “I will force myself to do such things so that I can receive mercy from God.” So, the mercy that must be exercised by those who have received mercy primarily begins from admitting their powerlessness and this includes the confession of self-denial that nothing in this world can exist without the mercy of God. You must be merciful, starting with yourself. What I mean is being merciful to myself is knowing that I am a being who is in a big trouble without God’s mercy. And it is also treating others the same way. That way, you become able to not take people by their outer appearance.
Luke 10 is where Jesus explained well in a parable about the identity of mercy. Let’s go there.
But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. (This is mercy.) 34 He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 And the next day he took out two denarii[c] and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ 36 Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” (This is the same word. Show mercy.)
And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.” –Luke 10:33-37
What is He telling them to do? He said, “Show mercy! You said with your own mouth, 'The one who showed mercy is the neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers.' Is that so? Then go and show mercy!” But, as you know, since we studied the parable of the Samaritan, could he do as he said? Could he not? He was rather the one who fell among the robbers, right? Wasn’t he the one who had to be shown mercy from the Good Samaritan, rather than to show mercy? Thus, He is saying you cannot receive eternal life by loving someone- this changes to mercy or compassion. He is saying, “You cannot have eternal life by loving somebody or by showing compassion to someone. You are the one fell among the robbers and almost died, but you are to gain eternal life by being shown mercy from Jesus, who came to this earth as the Good Samaritan (the Good Samaritan will die if he goes into the land of Judea. He is a dead man, a man who would surely die there because the Jews treated Samaritans like a dog). So you go and do likewise!” It means ‘go and receive mercy’ not ‘go and show mercy.’
Therefore, mercy is poured out to those who go down to the place of crying out, “Help me God,” after realizing that they are the ones who fell among the robbers and almost died in sin and transgressions. No, to be exact, such confession comes out from the one who is shown mercy. “Because I am a dead man who fell among the robbers, please help me, Good Samaritan!” This is being merciful. “Like them, show mercy to me. And you all too must be shown mercy. Therefore, I cannot judge you good or evil by your outer appearance. I do not judge you by your outer appearance even if you have built, own, and possess much worth and many works because I know you are nothing but dead meat in a butcher’s shop if it weren’t for the mercy of God.” This is being merciful.
The Bible said no one can become righteous by the law.
For by works of the law no human being[a] will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. –Romans 3:20
But a law expert came and said, “I keep all the laws,” because he is the one who studies and teaches. So Jesus asked, “Really? You asked me how you can receive eternal life. Then, go and keep all the laws. What does the law say?” And the law expert knew it exactly. The law expert knew that the core of the law is to love the Lord your God with all your life and love your neighbors as yourself. Likewise, knowledge is useless. The lawyer knew that 613 regulations in the law were summarized as ‘love the Lord your God with all your life and love your neighbors as yourself.’ That is how he answered to Jesus. “Keeping all those is not important but it is to love God and to love your neighbors.” So Jesus said, “Okay then. Go and do likewise.” Then, what did the lawyer say? He said, “Since I am a lawyer, the chosen, and an Israelite, loving God is something I am already doing, just tell me who my neighbor is. I will go and love him. That’s when Jesus gave this parable. By knowledge, the lawyer knew what the law meant but did not really know the real truth of the law. He believed that he actually had the power to love God and his neighbors. He was saying he could. So he thought he had the power to show mercy. That is why he said to Jesus, “Please tell me who my neighbor is. Please tell me. I will go and love him. I will show him mercy.” But Jesus is saying, “You are not capable of showing mercy. I am telling you that you are the one who fell among the robbers.” Through this parable, the Lord is exposing that all men are not capable of showing mercy, compassion, or of loving someone. He is saying, “Because you are the one who fell among the robbers, in that condition, you cannot love or show mercy or serve anyone. How can you show mercy to someone when your identity is someone who has fallen among the robbers and lying dead on the road? In that condition? Show mercy to who when you are dead in sin and transgressions? Therefore, you first need to receive mercy.”
However, you must take a note of an important fact here that ‘love’ and ‘mercy’ are being used interchangeably. Thus, through this parable, all you should learn is that you become a living being when the mercy of God, or the love of God, is poured on you, and that you are not someone capable of pleasing God by doing such a thing. Like this, we are not capable of gaining eternal life my showing mercy, but we gain eternal life by receiving the mercy of Jesus.
The mercy a saint must show is a confession of self-denial saying, “I am someone fallen among the robbers and half dead. So I can do nothing but die if not the mercy of the Good Samaritan.” And in the process of such self-denial, true mercy, which makes you not judge others by their outer appearance, comes out of you. This is a process and not a direction and not something you can have by amassing or personally owning as time goes by. This word ‘mercy,’ the Hebrew word ‘raham,’ in fact, means intestine. All of sudden, I want to eat tripe… hahahah. The Hebrews believed that good feelings like mercy and love come out from men’s intestines. That is why they use the word intestine for mercy, grace, compassion, and love. So this word was used to cover all of those good emotions. The Hebrews believed that only good things come out from their intestines, from their innards, because they are the chosen people of God. That is why this word ‘intestine,’ the word for our innards, is used to refer to those good words. However, the Bible says it’s the opposite.
Whoever is righteous has regard for the life of his beast, but the mercy of the wicked is cruel.
-Proverbs 12:10
The wording is a little strange here, right? How can mercy and cruel go together? Is there mercy in the wicked? The word here is ‘raham.’ Here, it is correct to translate it as ‘intestine.’ “The innards of the wicked are cruel.”
God is putting the stamp on to make it clear that “the innards, or the intestines, of the wicked are cruel. Even though you are using this word as ‘mercy,’ thinking mercy comes out from here,” what the wicked brings out as mercy is in fact cruel. However, the word ‘mercy’ is a word that refers to a woman’s uterus, among the innards. What does the Bible say is given birth from a woman’s uterus? Sin is. It comes out repeatedly, right?
Behold, the wicked man conceives evil and is pregnant with mischief and gives birth to lies. –Psalm 7:14
Like this, only sin comes out from the womb of a man. It means only sin comes out from a man. That is why David also said he was conceived and born in sin. That is why a man’s mercy is cruel. But from the womb of God, true mercy comes out. The fetus in the mother’s womb is dead if not connected to the mother with an umbilical cord. It is dead meat. However, an umbilical cord connects it to the mother and it becomes a living being, right? This is called mercy. The fetus cannot do anything if the life line of the mother is disconnected. Then, does it make sense that God would say to such men, “You’d better be merciful. If not, I will kill you.”?
Paul was a man who knew exactly the meaning of mercy.
For just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, 31 so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now[e] receive mercy.
Please listen carefully. Israel was cut off because it was not obedient. It was cut off. And the gentiles, the Roman church, came into church by the mercy of God. However, they are still disobedient, but like the gentiles, God will bring them into church by having mercy on them. So here, all were disobedient, gentiles or Israelites. But by His mercy, God brought them into church.
32 For God has consigned all to disobedience, (Here ‘all’ means all men including Israelites, gentiles, Romans, right?) that he may have mercy on all. –Romans 11:30-32
It does not mean “You obeyed therefore I show mercy.” If so, the righteousness of men is revealed. But if God shows mercy when they are still disobedient and remaining as those who cannot have mercy, then God’s mercy is revealed and shown. This does not mean that mercy is shown if disobedient, but it means that the one who admits that he cannot be obedient on his own is he who has received God’s mercy. But, “Let’s obey and receive mercy!” Isn’t this what today’s reformed theology is asserting? It is not so. God’s mercy is poured upon our admission of our impossibility and powerlessness. Simply speaking, we are not shown mercy because we are merciful, but rather, he who does a confession of self-denial that “I am a person who has no power to be merciful to anyone. God help me” receives mercy. This is really important, people. You knew this the other way around, didn’t you?
That is why Apostle James writes like this about mercy.
So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. 13 For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. –James 2:12-13
If you read this, it sounds like you must show mercy because everyone who does not will be judged and go to Hell, doesn’t it? But if you look at it carefully in what context this verse is in, you can soon know that it does not mean that. Please look at the verse right above.
If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. (Doesn’t this sound like the parable of the Samaritan being pictured in different words? You are doing well if you keep the law of “you shall love your neighbor as yourself”) 9 But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. (Then, what does he say?) 10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. (Does this mean you can keep all or not? “You shall love your neighbor, to show mercy to your neighbor” After this verse, mercy comes out. I mean, he is using love and mercy interchangeably here. He is asking, “You are doing well if you keep “Show mercy to your neighbor” well, since that is the royal law. But kids, listen well. If you keep the whole law but fail in one point, you fail all. Can you do this?”) 11 For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. –James 2:8-11
He is explaining further. And he continues to say that you must speak and act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. This needs to be deciphered well in order for you to understand what the next phrase “judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy” means. People, what is the law of liberty? Is the law setting us free? It is enslaving. Then, what is the law that sets you free? In chapter 1, Apostle James explains the law of liberty like this. We looked at it once before but let’s go and take a look.
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.
- James 1:22-25
Here, the perfect law, the law of liberty comes out, right? If you read the book of James on the surface, like “You must be a doer of the word. You can’t just hear it but you must be a doer of the law. Faith with works is the real faith. Faith without works is false,” you are reading it completely the other way around. The book of James is saying the same thing as Romans.
What does the Apostle James say about the law of liberty here? He says that it is the perfect law, the law of liberty, right? The perfect law means it is the law that is completed. This means it is the law that can no longer be used as a base for accusation because someone completed the keeping of the law. Then, who completed the law? Jesus did.
This is a part of the Sermon on the Mount.
Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. -Matthew 5:17
It means “someone has to keep the law perfectly because if you break one, you break all, but I came to perfect it. I came to perfect it.” Today’s text is chapter 5 verse 7 and this is chapter 5 verse 17, right? It does not make sense to say “the merciful will be shown mercy” right above and then say “I came to keep all the law,” does it?
Thus, you should be able to sense here that “the merciful will be shown mercy” does not mean what men think. ‘The perfect law, the law of liberty’ is speaking of the Gospel, knowing that Jesus perfected it. That is the law of liberty, the perfect law. It is the Gospel. Let’s go again to James 1. James says the one who looks into the perfect law does not forget it but does it. The Korean version is translated difficultly but you must learn this. You can know right away what that means if you read it continuously from the verse above.
For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. –James 1:23-24
Here the “word” is ‘logos.’ This is the same word in “In the beginning, was the word.” This is logos, the very same word. It was translated as the “way” in Korean because it was translated at that time by those who diligently studied the eastern ideas, using the word ‘way,’ which comes out in Confucianism or Taoism.
It says that everyone who hears the word of the Gospel but does not act according to it is like a man who looks at himself in a mirror. But here, he is saying that the one who looks at himself in a mirror goes away and soon forgets what he looks like. That is what it means to be a hearer and not a doer. This is the work James is talking about. This is. Not doing after hearing the word, or not doing after hearing the logos does not mean not following exactly according to what is written in the word. What does the word, the logos, say to us?
“Because you are all dead dust, there is no other way but for me to go down there and bring you to life. There is no other way than for me to bear the cross and bring you to life.” This is logos, isn’t it? Isn’t it the word?
For us to hear the word and to admit, “Ah! That is so!” it means that we admit, “Yes, I am the worst of all sinners and I am a dead man,” right? Thus, if I were to overly explain this, hearing the word and not doing it does not mean hearing what the word says to "do" and not doing them, but it means turning around and amassing your own righteousness saying, "I can do this much, then why am I a sinner?" even though the word is saying you are a sinner. Who can understand this?
Please look at the Bible carefully. It is saying that right here. It is saying, “Hearing the word and not doing is like looking at oneself in a mirror, and the reason why I am saying this is because people look at themselves in a mirror and soon forget what they look like.” That is James 1:23-24, isn’t it? Thus, hearing the word and doing it means living like the worst sinner of all, while confessing, “Yes I am a sinner who should be cursed and die. That is why I need God’s mercy.” It is living without forgetting that you are a sinner. It does not mean that you freely sin. “I cannot live without the mercy of God. What do you mean, eternal life? I have nothing to say even if God sends me to Hell now.” Living without forgetting this is ‘hearing the word and doing it.’ That is why we continuously desire a place where the word is being given. “Tell me the old, old story, Tell me the old, old story!” Why? Because we turn around and forget.
This is continuing to verse 25.
But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, (This is the word, logos, right? It is the word, the gospel, isn’t it? The one who is looking into the law of liberty is) being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. –James 1:25
Look at this. It means that the one who is looking into the Gospel, the perfect law, the law of liberty, is not forgetting who he is and he is a doer of the word he hears. That’s what it means. He is a doer who acts and he will be blessed in his doing. It means one who is blessed does such an act. It is saying knowing what is being revealed in the word, knowing that “Ah! We cannot ever come to life without the grace of the cross of God!” This is the ‘work,’ ‘do,’ ‘act’ that come out in the book of James. This is. As such, not forgetting that ‘you are the worst of all sinners and that is why you need God’s mercy’ is being a doer of the word, the word of the Gospel.
Connect this to chapter 2. Let’s go again to chapter 2 verse 12.
So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. 13 For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. –James 2:12-14
What is the law of liberty in verse 12? It is the Gospel. Then, what does it mean for us to act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty? It means we must speak and act, admitting that without the grace of the cross of God, without the mercy of God, we cannot even exist and judgment is unavoidable. “Speak and act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty, according to the law of liberty.” It means to speak and act, thinking like this: “As it is manifested and revealed in the Gospel, I would surely receive judgment if not for God’s grace of the cross.” That is why it is seriously warning that judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. It is obvious for the one who has shown no mercy to receive judgment without mercy, but what is written right above this? It is written that if you keep the whole law but fail in one point, you have become accountable for all of it. It is asking, “You are under this strict law of heaven in which you are considered to have broken the whole thing if you break even one. So that is the whole law, and you will be shown no mercy if you show no mercy. That’s why you deserve to receive judgment without mercy. You understand?” Am I right? This means, you ought to admit this.
"But!” If you read Korean Common Translation Bible version or New Korean Standard Bible, it has the word ‘but’ here, which means there is a great reversal happening. It is saying, “But, mercy triumphs over judgment.”
From the previous passage, James 2:1 begins with “Do not judge others by their outer appearance. Why? Aren’t you too saved by faith you received for free? Then, how could you judge others by their outer appearance?” It is continuing from this. “If you know that you are saved by receiving mercy, you should know that all the others must be saved by receiving mercy. Then, how could you judge others by their outer appearance?” “But you see how that mercy was given? Mercy of God. This mercy is God’s essential character and it is a word inclusive of all that God requires from us through the law. Well, isn’t it that you cannot keep the whole law since you have broken all if you broke even just one? Then what should you do? You should enter into judgment without mercy. But! God’s mercy triumphs over judgment and boasts.” This is what it means. It is not saying “I will judge all who do not show mercy.” How superficially have we been seeing and believing, people!
This way, the narratives beginning from James 2:1 connects smoothly. Instead, would saying, “Do not take men by their outer appearance. You are all saved by faith,” and then saying later, “I will kill you all if you do not show mercy” make the narratives connect smoothly? From James 2:1, it is flowing with a consistency all the way to the end. That is why Jesus also said to His disciples, “Knowing such mercy of God is what God truly requires us of.”
But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” –Matthew 9:12-13
Pharisees spoke in whispers when they saw Jesus eating with Matthew, a tax collector. They were asking why He was eating with a sinner. At that time, it was not right to eat with a sinner. That was the law. So Jesus said to them, “Messiah is a Messiah only to those who know they are sick.” It means, like those who think they are healthy never seek a doctor, there is no way for those who do not think they are sinners to seek a Messiah who has come to forgive their sins. And then, He is saying, “Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’” referring to Hosea chapter 6.
People, sacrifice is law, right? Then, what is mercy? What is love? It is the completion of the law, an implication of the law. However, “God does not want sacrifice, does not want the law, but He wants mercy, which is the completion of the law.” Does it make sense? Look at the parable of the Samaritan. The lawyer was mistaking himself as someone who can help the one who fell among the robbers, when in fact it was him who fell among the robbers, right? Then, the lawyer should not touch the man who fell among the robbers, the man who is unclean. He is breaking the law if he does. But the law said, “Love!” Right? To love, he must break the law, and to keep the law he must not love. This means the law and men have no relation. It means the law belongs to God.
Same here. “I do not want sacrifice. You keep bringing me your works like sacrifice or showing mercy and stuff and ask “Didn’t I do well?” but I do not want things like that. I want mercy. Do you know what that means?” It means you must live your life showing that you can live only by receiving mercy from God. He wouldn’t say, “I do not want sacrifice. I do not want keeping the law,” and then say, “You keep the law! Be merciful!” would he? Therefore, the mercy that must come out from those who received mercy is: realization and admission of their original place, knowing the necessity of God’s mercy to be poured onto themselves, and the directionality of a life of not judging others by the outer appearance as they perceive others as someone who needs God’s mercy, the same way they themselves are saved by it. “You and I are sinners the same. I have nothing to show for and you are not much either. Therefore, let’s just hold on the cross of God.” This is being merciful, to be merciful to oneself. Be merciful to yourself first. Then, for sure, you will see others as those who need to receive mercy. Our life of faith is a procession of this happening.
What was “Blessed are the poor in spirit?" I told you being poor in spirit was “I have no ingredients or elements to please God, not even a little, so I can be pleasing to God only after God fills me up.” And then, mourning comes out from “I am a sinner. I have nothing in me to please God.” And such a person hungers and thirsts for righteousness, desperately seeking God’s righteousness. Then, all of sudden in the middle of it would “the poor in spirit has a certain power to be merciful” connect well? Would it? No.
God is now highlighting God’s grace. God is in the middle of accentuating the Gospel of grace of God and exposing the powerlessness of men. Then, it cannot be that He all of sudden says “I will kill all who do not show mercy.” Instead, it should lead to “As expected, you can be God’s people only by receiving God’s mercy,” to make sense. Therefore, that is not just misinterpreting a little bit but interpreting it the opposite way.
Being merciful is “There is no mercy in me, not in the least bit, so I need the Father’s mercy. And they also need the Father’s mercy.” This is being merciful. Not that I can give them something but asking, “God, please have mercy on them.” This is being merciful.
Giving something to them is not being merciful to them. It is self-boasting. I am not saying you shouldn’t do such acts. Relief, charity, good deeds: even non-believers do these things. So as a manner of being a human, please do them. They are what you do if you are a human, so do them. But do not even think, not even in the least bit, of bringing them to God to boast.
We are to live as men who would reveal the True mercy of heaven in such confession of self-denial. That is the mercy of God that those who are spiritually blessed, those who have received God’s mercy, must reveal in this world.