Part 3 – Mercy Has a Big Part to Play in Our Christian Lives!
The Word Among Us: Listening, Speaking, Mercy & Healing
A four-part series on life together in the body of Christ — from the ear, to the tongue, to the heart, to healing.
This little series walks through four plain truths about how we live together as the body of Christ, and they move in order: from the ear, to the tongue, to the heart, and at last to the place of healing.
We begin where every healthy relationship begins — with listening, to one another and to God. From there we turn to the tongue, and the quiet harm of gossip dressed up as concern. Then to the heart, and the mercy we are called to show because we have first received it. And we close with healing — how a wounded believer lays the hurt down and walks on, free.
Listen well. Speak well. Show mercy. Be healed. That is the walk worthy of our calling: That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work [Colossians 1:10 KJV].
Last time, in Part 2, we turned to the tongue — and the quiet harm of gossip dressed up as concern, learning to speak only what edifies. Now we move to the heart — and to the mercy we are called to show, because we have first received it…
Part 3 - Mercy Has a Big Part to Play in Our Christian Lives!
The mercy we've received from God is the mercy we're called to give…
Mercy isn't a "nice extra" — it's the Gospel lived out
Because the Gospel that saved us is the mercy we're now called to show.
Mercy isn’t just a “nice Christian trait”. Mercy is stitched into the whole Gospel. If God had dealt with us strictly according to what we deserved, we would have had no hope at all. Yet here we are — saved, kept, helped, forgiven, restored — not because we were worthy, but because God is merciful.
And that’s exactly why mercy has a big part to play in our Christian lives: the mercy we’ve received from God is meant to shape the way we treat people.
Mercy is who God is — and it’s how He dealt with us
Some believers struggle to show mercy because they forget what mercy really means. Mercy is not pretending sin is fine. Mercy is not denying truth. Mercy is God seeing misery and need, and moving toward it with help — when judgement would be deserved.
The Bible says plainly:
But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, [Ephesians 2:4 KJV]
God isn’t short of mercy. He’s rich in it. That means mercy isn’t the last drop in the bottom of the barrel for God — it’s abundant. And when you read your Bible honestly, you see it: God corrects, God chastens, God judges, yes — but God also rescues, forgives, restores, and carries His people.
And if we’re saved, we are living proof of it.
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us… [Titus 3:5 KJV]
That verse shuts the mouth of pride, doesn’t it? The Lord didn’t save us because we cleaned ourselves up first. He saved us because He is merciful. So if mercy is the reason we’re standing, then mercy cannot be optional in the life we now live.
Mercy is not weakness — it’s power under control
The world often frames mercy as weakness. “If you show mercy, people will walk all over you.” But Bible mercy isn’t spineless. Mercy is strength with a soft hand. It’s the ability to respond like Christ when your flesh wants to respond like the old you.
Because let’s be honest: the old nature doesn’t want to be merciful. The old nature wants to be sharp. It wants to win. It wants to punish. It wants to get even. It wants to talk about people, label people, and write people off.
But the Lord calls us to something higher, because we belong to Him.
Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. [Luke 6:36 KJV]
That’s not a suggestion. That’s a command — and it’s rooted in identity. “As your Father…” In other words: this is family likeness. This is what sons of God are meant to look like. We don’t show mercy to earn a place in the family. We show mercy because we are in the family.
Mercy changes the way we look at people
One of the biggest battles in Christian living is learning to see people the way the Lord sees them. If you only see what someone did, you’ll struggle to show mercy. But when you start asking, “What’s going on in them? What led to this? What might they be carrying?”, mercy starts to rise.
I’m not excusing sin. I’m talking about understanding that people are often broken, scared, ashamed, proud, wounded, confused — and their actions are the overflow of a heart that needs God.
The Lord Jesus looked at crowds and didn’t just see sinners to condemn. He saw sheep without a shepherd.
But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them… [Matthew 9:36 KJV]
Mercy begins with that phrase: “moved with compassion”. If you want mercy to grow in your life, ask God to move your heart again. It’s hard to be merciful when you’ve gone cold.
Mercy does not remove truth — it delivers truth the right way
Some Christians react against mercy because they think mercy means compromising truth. It doesn’t.
Truth without mercy becomes harsh and proud. Mercy without truth becomes sloppy and permissive. But the Lord Jesus was full of both — and that’s our pattern.
When we speak, correct, warn, confront, or counsel — we must do it with the spirit of Christ, not the spirit of irritation.
Mercy asks, “How can I help this person come back to the Lord?”
Pride asks, “How can I prove I’m right?”
And if we’re honest, many church arguments are fuelled by pride dressed up as “contending for truth”.
Yes, contend for truth — but contend with a clean heart and a merciful spirit. Because people can feel the difference between correction that wants to restore them and correction that wants to crush them.
Mercy becomes practical in daily moments
This is where it gets real. Mercy isn’t just something we talk about in church. It shows up on Monday morning, in traffic, at the shop, at home, online, in the way we respond when someone disappoints us.
Mercy looks like:
- giving someone time instead of snapping because you’re stressed
- listening before judging
- praying for someone instead of talking about them
- helping where you could have ignored
- forgiving where you could have held the grudge
- being patient with the slow learner, the awkward person, the difficult colleague, the needy family member
And yes — mercy looks like forgiveness.
The Bible warns us that if we refuse mercy to others, something is wrong in us:
For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment. [James 2:13 KJV]
That’s sobering. It doesn’t mean we lose salvation because we struggled. But it does mean a merciless spirit is dangerous. It hardens the heart. It grieves the Holy Spirit. And it makes our Christianity look nothing like Christ.
Mercy keeps us walking worthy (and fruitful)
This ties straight into our theme verse — walking worthy and being fruitful. You can be right on paper and still be wrong in spirit. You can have “sound doctrine” and still be unloving, sharp, and unmerciful. And if that’s the case, you won’t be fruitful the way God intends.
Fruitfulness is not just preaching, teaching, serving, and “being busy”. Fruitfulness is also Christlikeness — character that looks like Jesus. Mercy is part of that fruit.
That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work… [Colossians 1:10 KJV]
Every good work includes the quiet works nobody applauds: patience, forgiveness, gentleness, compassion, help, restoration, longsuffering. Mercy is one of the ways we “walk worthy” where it counts most — in relationships.
The mercy we give should be connected to prayer
If you want to become more merciful, you probably won’t get there by sheer willpower. You’ll get there by staying close to the Lord in prayer and in the Word. Because mercy is not natural to the flesh.
Here’s a simple prayer that will change your day if you mean it:
The Lord has been patient with us. He has listened to us. He has forgiven us. He has helped us again and again. If that truth sinks in, mercy won’t feel like a burden — it will feel like a natural overflow of gratitude.
Next time — from the heart to healing: ‘Can You Recover From Being Hurt in the Church?’, how a wounded believer lays the hurt down and walks on, free…
Key Takeaways
Mercy is the Gospel lived out — [Titus 3:5 KJV]
God is rich in mercy — [Ephesians 2:4 KJV]
Mercy is family likeness — [Luke 6:36 KJV]
Mercy is strength with compassion — [Matthew 9:36 KJV]
A merciless spirit is spiritually dangerous — [James 2:13 KJV]
Mercy helps us walk worthy and bear fruit — [Colossians 1:10 KJV]
