The Motivation for Mercy

a former American footballer who played football for the Miami Dolphins,

was asked by Newsweek, he was being interviewed by Newsweek,

and he was asked what motivated him as a footballer to go to university.

Apparently it's a disconnect there in the United States between those two things.

And his reply was,

my father and my uncle were human cannonballs in carnivals.

And one day my father took me aside and said to me,

son, go to university or become a human cannonball.

And he said, I'm working that out.

That decision out which way to go when my uncle came out of a cannon one day,

he missed the net and hit the Ferris wheel, was killed,

and I decided in that moment to go to university.

Seems like a fairly good decision in my mind.

Self-reservation sometimes is a great motive.

But motive, on the best of times, is often quite a difficult thing to work out.

And especially as Christians.

For instance, what's your motive of being here tonight?

Why come to church?

What motive do you have to pursue spiritual disciplines?

What motivates you to give?

What motivates you to serve?

What motivates you to show mercy?

What motivates us to do, as this series is all about,

to love thy neighbour, to love your neighbour?

You see, when secular people claim that moral behaviour is possible without God,

when secular people say it's possible for us to love our neighbour,

they are absolutely right.

From a Christian point of view,

someone who does not believe in God

is capable of loving their neighbour

and doing things that God's laws requires.

So what is it about the Christian faith that drives us to care for those in need,

for us to love our neighbour?

Is it just simply a sense of duty or a load of guilt?

What is the real dynamic that's behind the Christian pursuit of loving your neighbour?

Two weeks ago, first message of this series,

Sam took us to the parable of the Good Samaritan.

John read out a little bit of it to us just a moment ago,

from Luke chapter 10.

Luke 10 · chapter mention

And there we were confronted by this legalistic law expert

who wants to narrow down the definition

of what it means to love your neighbour.

He wants to narrow down, in fact, who my neighbour is,

and therefore the smaller definition of who it is that I'm required to love.

And he wants to do that in order that he can justify himself,

declare himself righteous.

He's a self-justifier.

He believed his own moral efforts could earn favour with God.

And so Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan

to help him see his insufficiency.

Jesus put before him a picture of the love that the law of God requires.

And it's an incredible picture.

You see, you could as well imagine a Taliban fighter

putting his life on the line for a US Marine

gunned down on the side of a road.

Or a Palestinian freedom fighter

putting his life on the line to assist an Israeli commando.

Or a member of ISIS putting his life on the line

to come to the aid of a Christian in desperate need,

as you could imagine a Samaritan helping a Jew.

But this is what the law of God requires.

Luke 10, 27.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart,

with all your soul,

with all your strength,

with all your mind,

and love your neighbour as yourself

all the time.

No failings, no gaps,

no minimising,

all the time.

You see, what Jesus' goal was here

is to show this law expert

who believed that he was spiritually rich,

that he was, in fact, spiritually bankrupt.

That was Jesus' goal.

That he wanted to help him see

that he didn't actually have the resources

to make good on his debt.

He was in a desperate state,

and yet Jesus says

that the person who comes to that state

of understanding about themselves,

that desperate state of need.

Jesus says earlier in Matthew's Gospel

that they are blessed.

And so Jesus' true goal

was to show this law expert

that he was poor

to prepare him

to seek spiritual riches

in the mercy of God.

What is the mercy

that Jesus is preparing this law expert for?

This is in a nutshell.

In a nutshell.

That all of humanity,

us included,

me included,

is like that man beaten on the road.

We're lying in our blood,

waiting for death.

We are spiritually bankrupt.

We are spiritually lost.

We are not capable of helping ourselves.

We need a rescuer.

And yet in that position,

God has provided spiritual health

and wealth

and healing and life.

And he did that

by putting his son

on the side of the road.

He impoverished his son,

Jesus Christ,

on a cross

so that all of his riches,

all of his health,

all of his righteousness,

all of his wealth

and life

could be given,

transferred to those

who trust in him.

2 Corinthians 5, 21

reveals this

incredible,

merciful transaction.

so clearly

when it says,

God made him,

that's Jesus,

who had no sin

to be sin for us

who are sinful

so that in him,

Jesus,

we might become

the righteousness

of God.

We might have

a clear standing

of right standing

before God.

A couple of chapters

a little bit later

in Romans,

Paul puts that

in economic terms.

He says,

for you know

the grace of our Lord

Jesus Christ

that though he was rich,

yet for your sakes

he became poor

so that you

through his poverty

might become rich.

And so the foundational

core element

of the Christian faith

is that though poor,

we're being made rich

through the mercy of God.

we are

human race

living

in a rubbish tip,

scrounging around

for scraps

to try

to keep ourselves

alive.

And his grace,

in his grace,

God has

taken us

from the rubbish tip.

He has clothed us

in his kingly robes.

He has sat us down

at his royal

banqueting table

never ever

to get up again.

And there are

a multitude

of powerful effects

that the grace of God

has on the recipients

of his mercy.

And the one

that I want to focus on

today

is that those

who receive mercy

while an undeserving

enemy of God

will have a heart

heart

of love

and mercy

for the most

ungrateful

and the most

difficult of people

even

their enemies.

You see,

when a Christian

sees

prostitutes

and alcoholics

and prisoners

and drug addicts

and the homeless

and refugees

and the broken

and the destitute,

when they see them,

they're face to face

with them,

they know

that they are looking

in a mirror.

That's the heart

of the Christian.

They know

that they're looking

in a mirror

at that moment.

It is irrelevant

if that Christian

has spent

their entire life

as a respectable

middle class person,

they look at the broken,

they look at the outcast,

and they say,

spiritually,

I was that person.

Even if physically

and socially,

I've never been

where that person is

right now,

they are

in desperate

need

of mercy

and I

was in desperate

need of mercy.

God gives mercy

to the ungrateful

and the wicked.

That is what we were

and the powerful effect

of his mercy

and his grace to us

is we become

like a merciful God.

That's what we become like.

His mercy

makes us more merciful

and the parable

in Matthew 18

that John read out

for us a moment ago

makes this principle

really clear.

It shows the principle

with a great deal

of force.

It's a parable

which helps us

to see

how grace

motivates

a life of grace.

Jesus has been

talking about

Matthew 18.

You've got your Bibles,

go to Matthew 18.

Jesus has been

talking about

how to handle things

when someone sins

against you

and particularly

when a brother

or sister sins

against you

but really

it's to everyone.

And Jesus

asks a question

in verse 21.

Sorry,

not Jesus,

Peter asks a question.

He's always the guy

who comes up first.

He's always the guy

with the first question.

And Peter

asks this question.

He says,

Lord,

how many times

should I forgive

my brother

or sister

who sins against me?

Up to seven times?

Now you see,

the attitude

of the rabbis

in the first century

around Jesus' time

is that you would

forgive your brother

or your sister

three times.

That's where we get

that's the tradition,

that's what lies behind

the statement

when we say

three strikes

and you're out.

It goes right back

to that Jewish heritage

which says

you could forgive

your brother or sister

no more than three times.

Three strikes

and you're out.

And so Peter

who suffers

from foot in mouth disease

is thinking,

you know,

I have come up short

so many times

with Jesus.

Jesus asks a question,

I give an answer

and it's always wrong.

So this time

I'm going to get the three,

I'm going to double

and add one

just for sure.

You know,

seven's a perfect number,

it must be seven

so let's go with that.

And so

Jesus gives

this stunning response

in verse 22.

I tell you,

not seven times

but 77 times.

And Peter goes,

not again.

You know,

back to the back

of the line.

You know,

John,

say something.

You know,

Barnabas,

what do you guys

say something?

And

some people say

that Jesus meant

77 times.

Others say,

well actually he meant

70 times 7,

that's the better translation

so he meant

490 times.

either alternative

is simply

missing the point

of what Jesus

is saying here.

Jesus

is saying

do

not go into

pedantic

calculation

of forgiveness

and mercy.

Forgiveness

and mercy

is unlimited.

That's the point

that Jesus is making.

That's what God's

grace is to us.

It is unlimited.

Limited.

And to make

the point clear,

Jesus goes on

and tells his story.

There's a man

who owes a king

10,000 bags

of gold.

Translation

that John said

said 10,000

talents.

It was a debt,

as verse 25

says,

that was not able

to be repaid.

That's an

understatement.

10,000

talents.

The talent

was the highest

unit

of currency.

10,000

the highest

Greek numeral.

It's meant

to convey

the largest

sum

imaginable.

It's what I

say to my kids

when they say

how much is that?

Oh,

it's

squillions

of dollars.

You know,

just

a lot

is what

that's meant

to convey.

In actual

fact,

the debt

was

10,000

was 1,000

times

the annual

revenue

of Galilee,

Judea,

Samaria,

and Edomia

collectively.

And it's

like taking

all the

foreign debt

and lumping

on one

man with

the responsibility

to pay

it back.

It's

totally

beyond

imagination

for those

who first

heard it.

It's

like,

that

dude's

bankrupt

several

times

over.

And yet,

this servant

here in this

passage still

has a sense

of pride.

In verse

26,

it says,

this servant

fell on his

knees before

him.

Be patient

with me,

he begged,

and I will

pay you

back everything.

See,

he hasn't

grasped the

totality

of his

debt.

Hadn't

quite understood

that there

is no way

he could

pay back

no amount

of time,

no amount

of patience

would ever

allow him

to pay

back this

debt.

He is

utterly

bankrupt.

He is

powerless.

He is

helpless.

He has

no ability

to trade

out the

situation,

which is what

bankruptcy

is.

It's what

genuine

bankruptcy

is.

Someone else

has to come

in on your

behalf and

take over

your affairs

to help you

trade out

of this,

help to

deal with

it.

This is

what this

law expert

in Luke

10 failed

to understand.

It's what

this gentleman

here,

this first

servant,

fails to

understand

here.

But what

they fail

to understand

is that

they are

both the

men on

the side

of the

road,

beaten,

helpless,

dying,

destitute,

and they

need a

rescuer.

Neither

of them

could say

it.

Ephesians 2

says that

that's all

of humanity.

We are

dead in

our

transgressions

and sins.

Dead

people don't

cut deals,

they don't

pay back

loans.

That is

our state

before God.

all of

humanity.

Now of

course,

the king

who represents

God here

understood

completely

the plight

of his

servant.

Verse 27,

servant's

master took

pity on

him,

which is

the exact

same word

which is

used

above the

Samaritan.

In Luke

10,

he had

pity on

him and

he cancelled

the debt

and he

let him

go.

Again,

it's a

story about

God and

the way

he has

graciously

treated

us.

We who

are

bankrupt

before

God

with

a

debt

of

sin

that

we

could

never

repay

have

been

forgiven.

Our

sin

against

God

has

been

piling

up

load

of

bad

load

debt

after

debt

hour

after

hour

day

after

day

week

after

week

year

after

year

but

God

in

his

gracious

action

in

the

Lord

Jesus

Christ

has

come

in

and

wiped

it

all

clean.

He's

not

just

wiped

it

clean

not

just

taken

it

away

but

he's

also

given

us

Jesus

bank

account

of

pure

righteousness

he has

loved

our

bank

account

so to

speak

with

squillions

of

dollars

the

words

here

be

patient

with

me

and

I

will

pay

you

back

everything

is

pitifully

untrue

for

me

for

you

and

for

all

of

humanity

no

amount

of

good

activity

no

good

amount

of

good

Christian

activity

no

amount

of

pulling

up

your

socks

and

rolling

up

your

sleeves

and

trying

a little

bit

harder

to be

a bit

more

moral

will

actually

do

it

our

debt

against

God

is

phenomenal

we

are

bankrupt

we

don't

have

the

power

or

the

ability

to

trade

out

of

it

but

God

comes

along

and

he

says

I

release

you

from

that

debt

man

I

wish

the

heritage

bank

would

do

that

to

me

that

would

be

awesome

let

me

tell you

if

you're

someone

who's

here

tonight

and

is

anything

happening

in your

heart

right

now

to

say

that

is

news

that

I

need

to

discover

more

I

need

to

know

about

I

need

to

embrace

because

I

don't

know

what

it

is

to

have

my

guilt

and

my

shame

cancelled

all of

my

sin

or my

debt

against

God

cancelled

to be

able to

walk

away

totally

free

if

you

don't

know

that

then

I

would

love

to

talk

to

you

tonight

that's

what

we

exist

for

as a

church

we

want

people

to

know

Jesus

and

treasure

Jesus

because

it's

the

greatest

now the twist

in the story

comes

when this

servant

who's been

forgiven

this

enormous

debt

goes out

and makes

sure that

this other

guy

who owes

him a

few

dollars

pays

him back

right down

the last

sentence

verse 28

but when

that servant

went out

he found

one of his

fellow servants

who owed

him a

hundred

silver

coins

he grabbed

him began

to choke

him pay

back

what do

you owe

me he

demanded

his fellow

servant fell

on his

knees and

he begged

him please

be patient

with me and

I'll pay

you back

but he

refused

instead he

went off

and had the

man thrown

into prison

until he

could pay

the debt

it's ludicrous

isn't it

this second

servant

debt against

the first

servant is

one

six

hundred

thousandth

of the

first debt

that's how

ludicrous it

is it's

like I

don't have

a mortgage

this big

but if I

bought a

house I

would

bigger in

fact

is it

it's like

the bank

rings me

and says

Steve

lucky day

we had

this sort

of spin

the wheel

at the

office today

and your

debt's

being cancelled

six hundred

thousand dollars

boom you're

done

white free

it's all

yours

the paperwork's

in the mail

woohoo

and I go

immediately to

John

John remember

last week I

lent you that

dollar for

that stamp

or for

whatever else

that you

bought

not much

ice cream

cheap ice cream

McDonald's

and I

just

and John

said I

don't have

it on me

right now

and I

just leapt

on him

and started

choking him

John

pay me

back

and I

ring the

cops and

cart him

away

it owes me

a dollar

it's ludicrous

isn't it

isn't it

ludicrous

that's

nuts

you see

any

limitation

of grace

or forgiveness

or mercy

that this

first servant

shows

is

inconceivable

second

servant

here

pleads for

mercy

be patient

and I

will pay

you back

and he

could have

paid him

back over

time

he did

have a

job

he did

work

he did

get money

but the

moment

that first

servant

threw him

into prison

his livelihood

is taken

away

and he

can't

pay

him

back

and so

he

will

hold

that

debt

against

him

forever

the one

who had

been shown

mercy

refused

to show

mercy

it is

a totally

unthinkable

response

to God's

grace

and it's

not unlike

what Paul

teaches in

Romans 6

I'll read

it to you

verse 15

it says

what then

shall we

shall we

sin

because we

are no

longer

under the

law

but under

grace

by no

means

don't you

know

that when

you offer

yourselves

to someone

as obedient

slaves

you are

slaves to

the one

you obey

whether you

are slaves

to sin

which leads

to death

or obedience

which leads

to righteousness

but thanks be

to God

that though

you used

to be

slaves

to sin

you have

come to

obey

from your

heart

the pattern

of teaching

that has

now claimed

your allegiance

you have

been set

free from

sin

and it

becomes

slaves

to

righteousness

so what

Paul's

doing here

in Romans 6

he's quoting

this person

and he's

trying to help

this poor

individual

who doesn't

understand

the essence

of the

Christian life

and this

person

listens to

Paul

about

and what

Paul's

teaching

is that

we have

a right

standing

with God

by God's

grace

through faith

apart from

any effort

on our

behalf

this person

hears

that

hears

it as

good

news

and they

respond

with

well

if I

have a

right

standing

with God

by trusting

in his

merciful actions

towards me

and the

Lord Jesus

and if

all of my

sins

past

present

and future

are all

forgiven

I might as

well go

on sitting

then

I might as

well enjoy

that

and enjoy

doing

whatever I

want

keep on

sitting

and what

Paul says

is that's

the way

a person

talks

whose

Christianity

is simply

a group

of ideas

and not

an experience

of the

precious

mercy of

Christ

it's a

person

whose

Christianity

is all

truth

no treasure

all choices

no cherishing

all logic

about Christ

no love

for Christ

all decisions

and no delight

he says

it's not

genuine

Christianity

it's not

genuine

faith

a grasp

and an

experience

of mercy

gives rise

to a life

of mercy

and we see

that in

Matthew 18

leading verse

32 onwards

then the

master called

the servant

in the first

servant

in that is

he says

you wicked

servant

I cancelled

all that debt

of yours

because you

begged me

shouldn't

you have

had mercy

on your

fellow servant

just as I

had on you

that is

logical

reasonable

application

to mercy

is that

you would

immediately

have mercy

you have

not understood

mercy

if that's

not your

response

so the

master says

throw him

in the

jail

too

see

Jesus

purpose

of the

parable

of Matthew

18

is to

teach the

principle

of unconditional

forgiveness

forgiveness

and especially

you do not

understand the

forgiveness of

God if your

life is

bulging with

resentment

towards other

people who've

treated you

badly

and I want to

suggest to you

that the

ministry of

mercy has the

same motivation

and rationale

that is the

grace of God

to us is the

rationale behind

love your

neighbour

the grace of

God is dynamic

and life

changing

God's grace

his compassion

his love

his mercy

his forgiveness

is meant to

motivate in us

grace

compassion

love

mercy

forgiveness

the only

true

and enduring

motivation to

love our

neighbour is an

experience and a

grasp of the

grace of God

if we know

that we are

sinners saved

by grace

alone

we will both

be open

and generous

to the

outcast

the unlovely

and even

even

our enemy

so it's a

little ironic

for me

that our

secular society

is in

many ways

more committed

to social

justice

universal

benevolence

and human

rights than

any other

civilisation

has ever

been

things like

suffering and

death through

famine

flood

earthquake

pestilence

war

can awaken

wide

movements

of sympathy

and practical

solidarity

in ways

that have

never been

known before

in the history

of humanity

it's a little

ironic for me

because

secularism

has its

foundation

in theories

like evolution

which is

by and large

things like

the survival

of the fittest

and

and also

the purposes

of life

and so

technically

for the true

secularist

human life

should be

cheap

individuals

count for

little

and that

is represented

in vast

slabs

of our

world

human life

is cheap

individuals

count for

little

it's simply

survival of

the fittest

and if I

live and you

die

that means

my genes

are stronger

than yours

that means

not these

my genes

you know

we want me

to keep

producing people

now I think

the Christians

should be

grateful

that this

is not

broadly the

case in

the secular

west

that

we're not

handed over

to the

extremes

of the

secularist

theories

I mean

certainly

in large

slabs

of

you know

the communist

world

that has

been the

case

so what

motivation

could there

be for

secular love

and mercy

and this

question

dumb

founds

philosophers

because there

appears to be

no motive

for it

whatsoever

one motive

and I want

to suggest

this applies

to religious

people as

well

one motive

philosophers

are suggesting

and these are

non-Christian

philosophers

suggesting

is the feeling

of superiority

us secular

people

have done

what other

people are

not able

to do

and we've

abandoned

all that

religion

stuff

and we've

been able

to formulate

in our

own

human

wisdom

how to

run

the world

and so

we just

want to

help you

poor

religious

types

and you

backward

people

around the

world

to see

that we

have good

values

and you

really

need to

learn from

us

and so

it's a

big brother

little brother

sort of

patriarchal

kind of

come over

the top

and let

me just

show you

how to

live life

that's

one way

that philosophers

say

that is

what it

does is

it pumps

up our

fragile

egos

that's

one reason

why

we want

to

love

people

and I

think

that

applies

to

the

religious

person

who

believes

that

God

will

favour

them

because

of

their

morality

and

because

of

their

respectability

ultimately

you push

deep

deep

deep

down

and

those

kind

of people

who have

that as

their

motive

have a

contempt

for the

outcast

of the

unlovely

and certainly

for their

enemies

they say

things like

I've worked

really hard

to get to

where I

am

and frankly

those people

can do

exactly the

same

that's the

language of

the moralist

that's the

language of

the legalist

another

motive

to act

in mercy

is the

exact opposite

of that

according to

the philosophers

and that is

that it is

a simple

anger

over

injustice

in the

world

and these

people

who are

keen

for

injustices

to be

resolved

are moved

by a

burning

indignation

against

racism

and oppression

and sexism

good things

to get rid

of

don't

don't

hear me

wrong

and what

ultimately

does

it means

is that

they inevitably

it inevitably

requires them

to demonize

someone

in order to

help someone

else

they have

to do

that

they have

to demonize

someone

in order

to help

someone

else

in other

words

one of

their

neighbors

they have

to hate

in order

to love

another

neighbor

you have

to do

that

and

as

Friedrich

Nietzsche

said

who was

no friend

to Christianity

whatsoever

he says

strangely

these acts

of benevolence

and mercy

are really

powered by

hatred

and contempt

for people

that is

you've got a

real hatred

and contempt

for this

dictator

or these

governments

or these

pharmaceutical

companies

or you

know

whatever

you hate

them

and you're

going to help

the people

who have

been treated

so badly

by them

people

he says

it's driven

by hatred

and contempt

Christians

motivation

for the

alleviation

of poverty

and equality

and just

and suffering

is the

extension

of the

radical

love

and mercy

of God

that we

have received

I am

only

where I

am

by the

sheer

and unmerited

mercy

of God

I am

completely

equal

with all

other people

that is

the language

of the

person

who has

grasped

and experienced

the grace

and mercy

of God

God's

love

motivates

our love

by doing

the exact

opposite

of the

secular

motive

and that

is

it