Mercy in Motion
James 2:16-17, 20-22,
If one of you says to them, "Go in peace; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
Now we will deal with the last question of how mercy is used. Let us look at how mercy is put into action. It meets up in the last part of James 2 with faith and works. Psalm 85:10 says that "mercy and truth are met together." They are joined together like a couple that sat down for lunch one day and never parted since. This is something that even Pilate had an issue with in John 18:37 as seen in his question, "what is truth." Rather than getting into an argument, I will answer this practically. If God cannot lie and can only be seen by faith, would it not behoove us to trust him just a little more according to Hebrews 6:18. Since mercy is not getting what you do not deserve, let us discuss what mercy actually is. Mercy is getting something that you do deserve. I can hear you saying now that could have been done long ago and spared you the reading of this. It might, but these teachings and examples are given for our learning according to Romans 15:4. Sometimes you must unlearn some things you thought you knew before to see what God may actually be saying. Here is where another breakdown commonly occurs at this issue of faith. Just like faith is proved by works so mercy is proved by judgment.
You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.
Let us talk about it. Abraham was not a good guy at times. He had a wife but he slept with his maid according to Genesis 16:4. When she got pregnant and had a son, Abraham would have raised him as his own as in Genesis 16:15. Then at his wife's insistence, he left the child and the woman to die without support or shelter in the desert in Genesis 21:14-16. After all this, he left everything to his wife's son who turned out to be if anything, somewhat cruel. The wounds left between those two sons still have not been healed to this generation. Abraham was not declared righteous until he offered this son Isaac on the altar before God as told by Hebrews 11:17. He did so to help set things right for what he had done.
You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone. In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?
Look at that text: "a person is considered righteous by what they do." This is why mercy triumphs over judgment. God's mercy counted Abraham as righteous and called him God's friend even after everything he had done to God's creation. This man deserved judgement for what he did. Instead, he got mercy because of his faith demonstrated by the righteous works he did do. Rahab the prostitute is next; not much is known about her other than what she did. The oldest profession is not always the most noble. Yet, this woman was righteous for allowing the spies to stay. Then she helped them escape from those who came hunting for them. She did not deserve judgement. If anything, she deserved vindication, a nice warm bed, and someone to love her for her lifetime. As a woman of God, she was worth more than just a night of passion only to be scorned the next day as those men went home to their families and left her alone. Yet, she was given mercy after everything she endured at the hands of others. By doing this, God hooked her up with the right people who would treat her right. She married Salman of the tribe of Judah and would later be the mother of Boaz according to Matthew 1:5. Rahab probably taught Boaz to treat women in bad situations right for he later showed great kindness to Ruth who found herself in a similar situation. Through Rahab's line came Jesus. God showed her mercy who deserved it most and sent her in a different direction. How many times does God do this with us? See verse twenty-six of the text: "as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead." This is the final link of faith to mercy. The kingdom of mercy is entered by faith. It is the house that God built and the one he personally administers. Choose a different direction for yourselves and your children.