Verses 1 through 3 of Romans 12, with the calling of the brethren to offer themselves as living sacrifices of thanksgiving to their redeemer in holy consecration of mind and life, supply one glorious motive: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice.”

In Romans 11:29–32 Paul explained the glory of God’s mercy according to sovereign election. That the gifts and calling of God are without repentance is due only to the mercy of God. The Gentile saints, who did not believe God, obtained mercy through the unbelief of the Jews. The unbelief of the Jews, according to the counsel of God, had its further purpose of mercy back to the Jews, as declared in verse 31: “Through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.” Verse 32 powerfully establishes the end of God’s mercy: “For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.”

Romans 9 explains the same bond between election and mercy, and that over against the doctrine of reprobation and wrath. “[God] saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy” (vv. 15–16). This contrast is even sharper in verses 22 and 23: “What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: and that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory.”

The glorious doctrine of eternal, unconditional, gracious election is necessary for the sake of the glory of God’s mercy. For God’s mercy to be as complete and abundant as it is, the doctrine of sovereign double predestination is necessary. Using the language of Romans 9:16, if salvation is “of him that willeth” or “of him that runneth,” God’s mercy is not mercy. If there is a quality or condition in man that determines the mercy of God, his mercy is incomplete. If mercy is for the deserving, it is no mercy at all. God’s mercy is for the completely helpless and the hopeless.

This is the point of the publican’s prayer in Luke 18:13, “God be merciful to me a sinner,” in sharp contrast to the Pharisee’s prayer. In the parable of the unmerciful servant in Matthew 18:23–35, the reason for forgiveness was mercy. Out of mercy the king forgave the servant the entire debt, which he could not pay. The stark failure of the servant to forgive his fellow servant was due to lack of mercy.

Mercy characterized the entire earthly ministry of Jesus Christ, God incarnate. Repeatedly, his wonders of salvation proceeded out of his mercy. He had compassion on the multitudes, as sheep without a shepherd. His compassion led him to cast out demons, to heal the sick, and to raise the dead. His deeds were deeds of mercy.

Especially his glorious work on the cross was a work of wonderful mercy. His mercy was indeed to forgive. But his mercy brought him to his cross to work there the complete basis of forgiveness and to obtain salvation in every part for his needy people. His words on the cross were words of mercy. In mercy he prayed for the forgiveness of those who crucified him. In mercy he saw to the care of his mother, giving her to the beloved apostle, John. In mercy he promised salvation to the penitent thief.

His perfect satisfaction on the cross was the glorious, crowning work of mercy. He presented his body as the living sacrifice to his Father in the perfection of his priestly office on behalf of those whom he came to save. By his perfect salvation he obtained eternal salvation for those who were in need, in the debts of their sins and miserable under the just wrath of God. In mercy he paid what they could not pay. In mercy he offered himself as an atonement to cover the sins of those who were the ungodly and his enemies. In his mercy he obtained for them all the blessed salvation that could not enter into the heart of man to conceive.

What, then, are these mercies of God by which we are to offer ourselves as living sacrifices of thanksgiving?

First, they are the wonderful works of God in Christ that powerfully raise us out of our needy and miserable condition. They are the works that bring us righteousness to justify us from our sins and the just judgment of God. They are the works that raise us to life from our death in trespasses and sins. They are the works that bring us out of our struggles against sin and Satan in this life to the glorious victory in heaven, to live and reign with the Lamb forever.

Second, they are the wonderful works that proceed from the infinite pity and compassion of God. His pity means that he does not abandon his needy people. His pity means that he does not judge them as their sins deserve. His pity means that he has tender compassion on them, compassion that brings him near to them to save them. His pity means that he does not work from a distance, merely sending his goodness and blessings for the welfare of his people. But in the person of the Son, the living God comes near to them, into the likeness of their sinful flesh, to take their sins upon himself and to shed his own blood for them, so that they are justified. In the person of the Spirit, he comes into their polluted natures to wash away all their pollution with his blood and to infuse his own new life into their entire natures, so that they are regenerated, converted, and sanctified.

Third, they are the wonderful works that bring the objects of his pity back to God. In their sins they have wandered far from him into paths of corruption and death. But in mercy he seeks, finds, and brings them back to himself. The mercy of the Son is to bring God’s people back to the Father, forever to be blessed in his fellowship and friendship. The mercy of the Spirit is to sanctify them, so that their lives are directed to the glory of their God. The mercy of God turns those who were no people at all into the children of the living God. So his goodness and mercy must follow them all the days of their lives, until they dwell in his house forever.

One of the more powerful aspects of mercy is that its proper objects are needy. Mercy does not need to be given to the rich, but to the poor. Not to the strong, but to the weak. Not to the healthy, but to the sick. Not to the proud, but to the lowly. Not to the whole, but to the broken. Throughout God’s word, but especially in the psalms, those who are in need cry and appeal to God for mercy. The oppressed and downtrodden cry out for mercy from on high. The repentant, burdened and cast down by the guilt of their sins, seek the mercies of God for their forgiveness and salvation. Those stricken with grief and sorrow over their loss look to the mercies of God to restore strength to their souls and health to their bones.

The Bible also places mercy in a strong relationship to judgment. God is a God who remembers mercy in the midst of judgment. When he punishes the nations for their sins, he remembers his people in mercy. When he punishes the nation of Israel for their sins, he remembers his elect remnant to preserve them. When he punishes the nation for their sins, gives them into the hands of their enemies, and afflicts them, he remembers his mercy and restores them. When those enemies in their hateful glee so horribly treat his people, whom the Lord has given into their hands, the Lord sees his afflicted people, is grieved with their grief, and determines to rescue them in his mercy. In his bitter lamentation over the destruction of Jerusalem and the captivity of the people of God, the prophet Jeremiah comforts them with the prospect of God’s everlasting mercies: “This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness” (Lam. 3:21–23). “For the Lord will not cast off for ever: but though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies” (vv. 31–32).

God’s people, suffering the judgments of God, appeal to him for mercy. They feel those judgments upon the ungodly nation in which they live. Feeling those judgments falling upon them, affecting them deeply with troubles and sorrows, they look to their God to remember his promised mercies to them. When he afflicts them in judgment for their sins, they look to him for mercy to forgive and cleanse. They feel his judgments upon their society, their churches, and their families, and they seek God’s mercy to turn, to forgive, and to restore. They take his judgments in their personal chastisements and afflictions to heart, and in sorrow over their sins, they look for his mercy.

There is an antithetical distinction of mercy. By his mercy the living God distinguishes himself from the idol gods of the heathen. “Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy” (Mic. 7:18). The heathen gods demanded and required for their own pleasure and enjoyment. They were selfish and vengeful. If ignored and not worshiped, they destroyed without remedy. By gifts or glorious deeds, their worshipers could buy and channel favors from the heathen gods. Their so-called mercy was dependent on the devotion and gifts offered by those seeking mercy.

In observing the world today from an ethical standpoint, the inescapable observation is that mercy is more and more an unknown quality.

In spite of the rhetoric about the inequalities and injustices of the past, the fear is entirely justified that the present movement in culture and society, encroaching into politics and government, is a massive deception. The false charge of “racism” hurled everywhere is a thin cover for brutal and violent overthrow. Law and order are the targets in sight. Anarchy seeks to overthrow government. The movement falsely justifies itself publicly as an attempt to correct a racist past. Protest is the disguise for clear and evident anarchy. First, a number of groups that are revolutionary, according to their own manifestos, are welcomed into the movement. Second, present is an open determination to turn a peaceful, organized protest into such a violent force that it drives out law and order. The movement seeks next to organize into a substitute “government” for the overthrown government. Finally, the speech of the leadership of this movement expresses a determination to overthrow existing order rather than to correct injustice. What is especially troubling about the latter is that many government officials are ready to appease demands that they oppose their own government and its support in law enforcement.

What does all of the above have to do with mercy? The purpose of government is to protect the citizenry from attack and to provide a stable, protected environment in which its citizens can live, worship, and carry on daily activities. In the peace of the city and nation, the people of God are able to live quietly in peace and to worship and serve their God freely (Jer. 29:7; 1 Tim. 2:2). The purpose of the state is to protect the weak and vulnerable in their lives by restraining the strong from oppressing them. The weak need protection from the strong, and the purpose of government is to provide that protection, specifically through the application of law through enforcement.

Horrifically, modern government has long failed in this simple calling of mercy. Not only has government refused to protect from attack the most vulnerable members of society, but also government promotes, endorses, and financially supports the killing of unborn infants. Most governments have the same attitude toward euthanasia. We now face the grotesquely worded “mercy killing,” having moved beyond debate into practice and now into legal protection. We now have state-sponsored oppression of the most vulnerable members of society, who have no voice or will to defend themselves. Truly, the conditions described in Romans 1:31 prevail under God’s just judgment: “without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful.”

The institution of marriage has been under attack. “No-fault divorce” was promoted and adopted for its so-called mercy. Man decided that the necessity of being represented by a lawyer and of giving reasons that required a judge’s review before a divorce could be granted was far too difficult and heart-rending. The legalization of “no-fault divorce” has opened up divorce for every reason. Husbands can now very easily forsake their wives and children by filing for divorce, with two drastic effects. The short-term effect is that, in spite of alimony and child support, wives and children are left vulnerable and without all the other means of support necessary for flourishing and prospering in homes with healthy marital and parental relationships to enjoy and to follow as examples. The long-term effect of easily breaking and forsaking the most basic of relationships is greatly endangering the stability of society.

We are witnessing a social revolution whose end is quickly approaching. Whether that end will be the antichristian kingdom, a resurgence of atheistic communism, or anarchy, the operating principle will be the same: a Darwinian process of unmerciful natural selection. Only the strong survive.

On a smaller scale, and perhaps closer to our own experiences, bullying, intimidation, harassment, and abuse of every kind are more common. The more numerous and strong oppress the small and weak. Men ignore rules established for the protection of the vulnerable. Those charged with maintaining proper order fail in their responsibilities and turn a blind eye.

Reformed ethics must be antithetical. Mercy must be its motivation, and mercy must be the principle that runs through its order.

How to be merciful? How to offer ourselves as living sacrifices acceptable to God? How to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation, a peculiar people? How to walk as children of light in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation?

Romans 12:1 gives the answer: “by the mercies of God.” The calling to the “reasonable service” of offering ourselves to God as living sacrifices is by his mercies.

The meaning is that we are unable of ourselves to be priests after the example of our merciful high priest, Jesus Christ. In him alone and by him alone can we offer ourselves. We need the gospel of his mercy to us to be merciful ourselves. We need that gospel proclaimed to us. We need that gospel impressed upon our hearts by the working of the merciful grace of the Spirit. We need the Spirit to work that grace in our hearts and to renew our minds, so that we look not to our own things but to the things of others (Phil. 2:4).

To be merciful means that we must drink deeply of the fountain of God’s mercies to us. First, we must meditate on the greatness of our need and our misery by nature. We must understand deeply how helpless and hopeless is our own natural condition as guilty and depraved sinners under bondage to sin and Satan. We must know both our inability to pull ourselves out of that condition and our unwillingness even to recognize it. Second, we must know the wonder of God’s mercies, that they flow only out of his sovereign determination to show mercy to whom he will show mercy. We must know those mercies out of which he came down to us to work our deliverance by grace alone, through the gift of his Son and the Spirit of his Son. Third, we must meditate on the glorious power of his mercy to clear our debts, to free us from the bondage of our sins, and to bring us near to him. We must understand the power of his Spirit to make us, in our hearts and minds, priests to him, his grace renewing us to offer ourselves as living sacrifices of thanksgiving to him.

His mercies must make us truly merciful.