To Find Mercy, Show Mercy; To Find Freedom, Set Others Free

In just the same way that showing love toward those who hate me is acting like my Heavenly Father does, being supernatural. so being kind toward evil people and merciful toward all who need mercy is also showing God in my life. I cannot be free while judging other people worthy of bondage for their offenses against me. I will only find freedom by setting others free.

This post read as a You Tube video.

In just the same way that showing love toward those who hate me is acting like my Heavenly Father does, being supernatural. so being kind toward evil people and merciful toward all who need mercy is also showing God in my life:

Luke 6:35-36 (WEB).

I am told to be merciful, as the Father is merciful. And the word “is” is emphasized in the original–merciful is one of the things that characterizes God, one of the things God is. The Father is always showing us his love and compassion. He experiences deep pity and grieves for his people who look to him in difficult situations. He came to earth as one of us–fully human–and so has felt all of the pains and griefs we feel and empathizes with us. He is always ready to alleviate our suffering. Here, Jesus tells me I am to be merciful–not just show mercy on occasion but be merciful as a way of life. Not only that, but I am also to be merciful the same way the Father is merciful. I am to love others and be compassionate toward them, empathize with them, and always be ready to help them in their suffering. I should not turn any away as unworthy of my mercy, because the Father did not turn me away but had mercy on me even when I was his enemy.

Luke 6:36-37 (WEB).

Here I am told not only to be like God in my love, goodness, generosity and mercy, but to leave judgment and condemnation to God only.

A time is coming when God will judge the unrepentant for their sins. But I am not to judge others. If I leave judgment to God, I won’t be judged. The word “judge” (krino) here is quite broad–it can be used of merely making a choice, of bringing someone to trial, or of entering a judgment against them. And it is true that I often have to decide, to make a judgment in exactly this sense, between things or courses of action that are right or wrong. Often this involves a choice to follow or not follow the example or the wishes of others, and it sometimes requires opposing things other people are doing. But what I am not to do is form a final judgment that a person is inherently evil, wrong, unworthy of my care, unworthy of existence, or worthy of final condemnation. A person’s actions may be wrong, but that doesn’t make the person inherently wrong. That is a judgment that must be left to God to make at the right time.

Here, Jesus was not promising that, if I refuse to judge other people. other people will never judge me. No, there will be other people who will judge me no matter what I do. Jesus did only good, only the works His Father was doing, yet people judged him worthy to die a very painful death by crucifixion. I really shouldn’t expect any better treatment.

But if I show the love and mercy of God by refusing to judge others, leaving all judgment to God to enter at the right time, God will also not enter into judgment with me. He will continue to show me his mercy.

I am also told that I am not to “condemn” others. This is a stronger word (katadikazo) which means literally to call “down” (kata-) judgment on someone, to hand “down” a judgment of guilt and condemnation the same way a judge would. The picture formed by this word is that I am placing myself above the person I am judging and sending down on their heads a judgment from on high, where I have placed myself. I am presuming to be a god over them. I have no right to hand down judgments of condemnation on other people. If I condemn other people, judging them unworthy of existence and so treating them as unworthy of my love and mercy, then I should expect that others will also condemn me. They will also presume to be gods over me. I should also expect that the Father will apply the same judgment to me that I apply in condemning others.

But if I refuse to hand down a judgment of condemnation on others, and therefore do not withhold my love from them, I will also not receive a judgment of condemnation from the Father.

These verses do NOT appear to make any exceptions for people I believe to be particularly wicked, much viler than others, nor for people who have hurt a lot of other people, nor even for people who have hurt ME particularly badly. I must refuse to judge them. I must refuse to hand down against them a judgment of condemnation that finds them unworthy of existence, or of my love and mercy.

I am to be merciful as my Heavenly Father is merciful, loving me as awful as I am.

Here is the key: I can be set free only by setting others free. The verb used here (apoluō) is often translated “forgive,” even in other translations of this verse, but its primary meaning is to “release, send away, set free.” And that is exactly what forgiveness is–I release you from the judgment of condemnation I held against you, send away the offense, and set you (actually, both of us) free for me to show love and mercy to you, and for you to receive it from me.

This is the only way freedom can be found. As long as I am holding you in bondage, I am also in bondage. (See, A visit with the unforgiving servant on the rack: What did he still owe?) When I release you, I am also released.

Once again, this verse seems to provide no exceptions for people I judge unusually worthy to be kept in chains or for people who have hurt ME particularly badly. As long as I keep even very, very bad people bound in my heart to the consequences of their offenses, to the condemning judgment that puts them outside the human race and denies them my love and compassion, I must remain bound myself. The judgment is mine.

I can only be set free by setting them free.

Luke 6:38 (WEB).

The conclusion of this section is really very simple. I will receive back in the same measure, using the same standard, as what I give to others–and I will receive more of it than I have given.

If I am handing out harsh judgment and condemnation to those around me, I will also receive harsh judgment and condemnation from them, and that in a greater measure than I am using. And, as was said in an earlier installment, if I am holding grudges, holding others’ sins against them, refusing to forgive and love those who have hurt me, I will experience all of the torture that goes with being held strictly accountable for my own sins–both by God and by others.

But If I am living a life of the love given to me by my Father, and giving out his mercy, forgiveness and freedom, I will receive back love, mercy, forgiveness and freedom in a greater measure than what I have given out. I may not be shown the Father’s grace, mercy and freedom through the same people as I have shown grace, mercy, forgiveness and freedom–these people may remain my enemies and continue to ignore, harshly judge or even mistreat and persecute me. And I may not see my reward today. But, if I am living in God’s love, I will surely ultimately receive back–both from others and directly from the Father–much more good than I have given.

And that is my hope.

In my present circumstances, it is my only hope.