Mercy is for those who are sorry and desire to change their behavior. Those who are ashamed of their own bad behavior and want to be different will obtain mercy. Those who have no desire to change their behavior are not extended mercy; they wouldn't know what to do with it.
Matthew 5:7-12 "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God."
This passage in Matthew 5, is not one-sided, the offender who is not sorry is not showing mercy or understanding, he too is included in this passage. Why do we require mercy from the one who was offended toward the one who is not sorry? It is satan's lie to guilt anyone who has been wounded to just "suck it up" while the evil-doer is coddled and forgiven even when they are not sorry and continue in their hateful conduct.
Unrepentant people are not merciful, they will not receive mercy, they are not pure of heart, and they are not peacemakers.
Showing mercy to an unrepentant sinner only solidifies their sinful attitude, further hardening their heart. God does not show mercy to those who reject Him. He instructs us to remove ourselves from those who continually offend without remorse.
1 Corinthians 5:13 "“Expel the wicked man from among you.”
2 Timothy 3:5 "avoid such people as these."
Read the entire passage to see the context and then look up all the passages God gives about dealing with wicked unrepentant people. We give them the gospel and if they reject it we move on, we do not keep continual company with those who are rebellious without remorse.
The modern idea that if we show the unrepentant mercy, they will like us and Jesus and change their ways is psychological thinking based on Darwinism.
Darwinism teaches that we are only animals responding to stimuli. If the stimuli is good, then the animal will be friendly; if the stimuli is bad, then the animal will be mean.
We are not animals operating from instinct. We are human beings with a depraved heart that only understands discipline that corrects behavior, and even then, the behavior can't change while the heart remains wicked. Behavior can be modified to some degree to fit into society, but it always emerges during stressful or challenging times.
We see this often when someone who everyone thought was a good person suddenly, without warning, turns mean toward those they don't like. All this means is that the person pretending to be good was hiding their real selves until the pile of bitterness within them becomes too burdensome, then the wickedness emerges in response to any challenge.
Isaiah 59:2
"But your iniquities have built barriers between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He does not hear."
Proverbs 28:9
"Whoever turns his ear away from hearing the law, even his prayer is detestable."
James 4:3
"And when you do ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may squander it on your pleasures."
John 9:31
"We know that God does not listen to sinners, but He does listen to the one who worships Him and does His will."
1 Peter 3:12
"For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are inclined to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
This is why we see old people appear to have become more angry and contentious in their elder years; they no longer have the strength or desire to hide their real selves.
This ought to be a warning for all of us to develop a Christ-like mentality within us all our lives, continually being changed by Christ as we seek Him, so that the elder years are a blessing to others and remain a witness to the kindness of God. When our real self emerges during the aging years, it will be sweeter and kinder. When our real selves emerge, it will be the character of Christ, nothing of ourselves.
John 3:30-35
"30 He must increase, but I must decrease.
31 “He who comes from above is above all; the one who is only from the earth is of the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all.
32 What He has seen and heard, of this He testifies; and no one accepts His testimony.
33 The one who has accepted His testimony has certified that God is true.
34 For He whom God sent speaks the words of God; for He does not give the Spirit sparingly.
35 The Father loves the Son and has entrusted all things to His hand."
May we have a more intense fruit of the Spirit as we age!
Galatians 5:22-23
"22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."
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