Post # 26 The Doctrine of God - P1 God's Attribute Of Mercy - Its Definition And Richness

 

Introduction:

    In our study through the attributes of God, we've looked at what are called "incommunicable" and "communicable" attributes. The latter of these are those perfections which God shares or "communicates" to His creatures.  Among the communicable attributes are a subdivision of what we could term "moral attributes". 

    Perfections such as love, faithfulness, and goodness are examples of communicable, moral attributes. Such moral perfections highlight for us the moral character of God. In today's post, we are interested in considering one of my favorite attributes of God - mercy. 

What is meant by God's mercy?

    Theologian Wayne Grudem comments on God's mercy, "God’s mercy means God’s goodness toward those in misery and distress." Certainly, the mercy of God expresses the goodness of God toward those who don't deserve it and who did nothing to merit such a bestowal of goodness. This writer and you the reader fit under that categories of "undeserving" and "unable to merit" God's mercy. We read for instance in Exodus 33:19 of God's promise to Moses' request to show him His glory,

"And He said, “I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the Lord before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.” 

    The reader can note that the underlying Hebrew words translated "gracious" is the same word elsewhere translated "mercy". At this point, it may prove useful to distinguish between God's compassion and mercy. We've noted in past posts how each of God's attributes gives us "all of God", meaning each is a true and entire expression of His Divine being. To have one attribute entails having access to all the others. 

    Mercy and compassion do have much overlap, so we won't press their distinction too far. Mercy is God witholding from us what we do deserve. Grace is God giving to us what we don't deserve. In noting those distinctions, we find that God's compassionate love, expressed in grace and mercy, is what underlies their commonality to one another. Baptist theologian J.P. Boice in his "Abstract of Systematic Theology" notes the distinction. He first writes of God's compassion, 

"The third form of love is the love of compassion. This corresponds to our idea of pity. It is benevolent disposition to those who are suffering or in distress.
This also may be exercised towards the guilty or the innocent, if it be possible to suppose that guilt and suffering are separable."

Boice then focuses on mercy,

"A fourth form of the love of God corresponds to what we call mercy.

This can be exercised only toward sinners. Its very nature contemplates guilt in its objects. It consists, not only in the desire not to inflict the punishment due to sin, and the neglect and refusal to do so, but in the actual pardon of the offender."

    In the Bible, we find a close connection between God's compassion and mercy, making them at times virtually indistinguishable. If we consider mercy as God withholding what we do deserve, then compassion is God showing Divine pity as a consequence of His mercy. The Hebrew Old Testament uses the same word to render our English "compassion" and "mercy". 

    We saw above the NASB translation of the underlying Hebrew text of Exodus 33:19. As the Holy Spirit led Paul to write what he wrote under Divine inspiration, He would use the Greek translation or Septuagint translation of Exodus 33:19 to capture the nuance of God's mercy in Romans 9:14,

"or He says to Moses, 'I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.'”

The infinite richness of God's mercy

    As mentioned already, the common way mercy is defined, which I still find helpful and soothing, is this, "mercy is God not giving us what we deserve". Thomas Watson, that great 17th century Puritan author, notes the following about the superabundance (i.e. "richness") of God's mercy,

"The Lord has treasures of mercy in store, and therefore is said to be ‘plenteous in mercy’ (Psa 86: 5), and ‘rich in mercy’ (Eph 2: 4). The vial of God’s wrath drops only, but the fountain of his mercy runs. The sun is not so full of light as God is of love."

Watson goes on,

"God has mercy of all dimensions. He has depth of mercy, it reaches as low as sinners; and height of mercy, it reaches above the clouds. God has mercies for all seasons; mercies for the night, he gives sleep; nay, sometimes he gives a song in the night (Psalm 42:8). He has also mercies for the morning. His compassions ‘are new every morning.’ (Lamentations 3:23)."

    Twentieth century author A.W. Tozer writes of God's mercy in his classic book, "Knowledge of the Holy", page 64, reminds us that God's mercy, like all of His attributes, is an eternal perfection, 

"If we could remember that the divine mercy is not a temporary mood but an
attribute of God’s eternal being, we would no longer fear that it will someday cease to be."

Tozer then completes his thought,

"Mercy never began to be, but from eternity was; so it will never cease to be. It will never be more since it is itself infinite; and it will never be less because the infinite cannot suffer diminution. Nothing that has occurred or will occur in heaven or earth or hell can change the tender mercies of our God. Forever His mercy stands, a boundless, 

overwhelming immensity of divine pity and compassion."

More next time....

    

Thank the Lord for His Forbearance

Nehemiah 9:30 "Yet many years didst thou forbear them, and testifiedst against them by thy spirit in thy prophets: yet would they not give ear: therefore gavest thou them into the hand of the people of the lands."

Romans 2:4 "Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?"

Romans 3:25 "Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God".

Today's post is about a wonderful quality of God's character that the King James translates as His 'forbearance'. To forbear someone is described in the Oxford English Dictionary as: "enduring with, bearing up with, controlling oneself in the absence of a desired thing, patiently retraining oneself from doing something." Hence, when God is described as being "forbearing", He is preventing Himself from exercising what otherwise would be well-deserved justice. Oftentimes God's forbearance will be connected to His mercy, with the distinction being that God is choosing to continually extend His mercy beyond what may seem to be a long-than-expected period of time.

The above passages highlight this quality of God. For God to continue with His people for 40 years in the desert despite their grumbling is an example of how He chooses to love and show mercy, despite the fact they deserved to be wiped out. Such behavior by God can only be described by His forbearance. 

The two passages in Romans highlight how God's forbearance leads us to repentance and functioned as the backdrop for Jesus' work on the cross. Imagine what would had occurred if God had not exercised forbearance? There would be no grace of repentance nor cross. For God to be forbearing meant that the quality had to be resident in His very being. The cross did not arise as a reaction to our plight, but rather resulted from God's eternal forbearing decision to bring about the cross in spite of our well-deserved condemnation. 

Forbearance refers to God holding out, delaying wrath and ever extending His mercy to those He calls; so that in turn, they may respond, believe, repent and be saved. Forbearance is the sprint of mercy operating in a marathon. God ever waits, retrains and patiently moves towards sinners He is desiring to affect, love and change for His glory. Would it be that we not take for granted God's forbearance. 

God's tender mercies that lead us to worship Christ - Romans 9-11

Romans 12:1 "Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice,acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship."

Introduction:
Today's post wraps-up what has turned into a series on the tender mercies of God in Romans 12:1. I pray in our journeying through Romans you have found out how great our God is in the display of His tender mercies. Is it any wonder why Paul would use such mercies as the basis for being able to present one's body as a living sacrifice? The mercies we have explored here in Romans represent the much larger expressions of God's tender mercies we find throughout the Bible. We will only have the desire to live the life of worship to God insofar as we recognize how much mercy He has expressed to us. 

We have discovered how Romans is the perfect book to explore the theme of God's mercies.  Amazingly enough there are roughly 70 such mercies listed throughout the first 11 chapters of Romans. We've considered 55 of them thus far in Romans 1-8 and in today's post we will finish up the remainder of God's tender mercies in Romans 9-11. The tender mercies of God we have looked at deal with those mercies which draw us to Christ (Romans 1-3) and which keep us desiring Christ (Romans 3-5) and keep us in Christ (Romans 6-8). Today's post will consider one final heading - namely those mercies which lead to worship of Christ in Romans 9-11.

God's tender mercies which lead to worship of Christ - Romans 9-11

1. Mercy 9:14
2. Identity
3. Israel 11:1
4. Answered Prayer 10:13
5. No shame 10:11
6. Missionary 10:15
7. God's plan 11:12

Romans 9 as a whole deals with the too often neglected doctrine of election, which as we saw in yesterday's post is among the many tender mercies of God. God was under no obligation to choose anyone. The fact that He chooses whosover He wants is described by Paul as an act of mercy. His choosing of Jacob over Esau and Israel over the other nations is His expression of love. He does what He does because of His loving purposes of grace towards those whom He wants. God is God and has the right to be such. By nature God is merciful. Hence His plan of salvation includes gentiles from every tribe and nation whom He has loving chose to display mercy. Missionaries, the proclamation of the Gospel and the call for sinners to believe and repent are God's mission in demonstrating His mercy upon those who otherwise do not deserve it. 

8. Christ's return 11:26
9. God's wisdom 11:33
10. God's knowledge 11:33
11. God's judgments 11:33
12. God's mind 11:34
13. God's providence 11:36

These last remaining mercies remind us of how great our God is. God has been revealed in the incarnation of the Son and thus such mercies drive us to worship Him. When we think of the nearly 70 mercies that we have considered over the last few days, is it any wonder that Paul would end Romans 1-11 with the great doxology of Romans 11:33-36. May we be those who worship Christ and give Him thanks for His tender mercies. 

God's tender mercies that guarantee our salvation in Christ - Romans 6-8

Romans 12:1 "Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice,acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship."

Introduction:
I pray in our journeying through Romans you have found out how great our God is in the display of His tender mercies. Is it any wonder why Paul would use such mercies as the basis for being able to present one's body as a living sacrifice? We will only have the desire to live the life of worship to God insofar as we recognize how much mercy He has expressed to us. Jesus proves this point in Luke 7:47 "For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.” 

We need exposure to a fresh unfolding of God's greatness in His tender mercies. Romans is the perfect book to explore the theme of God's mercies, since Paul basis the remainder of His practical instructions in Romans 12-16 upon such tender mercies revealed in Romans 1-11. Amazingly enough there are roughly 70 such mercies listed throughout the first 11 chapters of Romans. We've considered 43 of them thus far in Romans 1-5 and in today's post we will explore more of these wonderful mercies in Romans 6-8. The tender mercies of God we have looked at deal with those mercies which draw us to Christ (Romans 1-3) and which keep us desiring Christ (Romans 3-5). Today's post will look at those tender mercies of God in Romans 6-8 that guarantee our salvation in Christ.

God's tender mercies that guarantee our salvation in Christ - Romans 6-8

1. Crucified life 6:1-4
2. Freedom 6:4
3. Eternal life 6:23
4. Christ our spouse 7:1-5
5. No condemnation 8:1
6. Spirit-control 8:5
7. Resurrection 8:11
8. God's calling 8:28
9. Election 8:29
10. Foreknown 8:29
11. Secure 8:39
12. Glorified 8:30

When we look at these 12 tender mercies, they all are used by the Holy Spirit to minister gurantees of assurance. When the Christian is aware of who they are and whose they are, they walk in victory. It has been said that the principle of the victorious Christian life is laid down in Romans 6. In Romans 7, we see depicted the struggle that comes in experiencing what it means to be an overcomer. Romans 8 spells out the reality of such a life and thus God's guarantee that we will not only persevere, but flourish under trial. God has so guaranteed our victory that such mercies empower us to run, not crawl, across the finish line of faith! (2 Timothy 4:7-8) These are the tender mercies that guarantee our salvation in Christ.

More tomorrow...

God's tender mercies that keep Christians desiring Christ in Romans 3-5

Romans 12:1 "Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice,acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship."

Introduction:
Today's post is continuing to explore more of the tender mercies of God revealed to us in Romans. It seems like this phrase in Romans 12:1 "by the mercies of God" has captured my attention. I pray in our journeying through Romans you have found out how great our God is in the display of His tender mercies. Is it any wonder why Paul would use such mercies as the basis for being able to present one's body as a living sacrifice? We will only have the desire to live the life of worship to God insofar as we recognize how much mercy He has expressed to us. Jesus proves this point in Luke 7:47 "For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.” 

We need exposure to a fresh unfolding of God's greatness in His tender mercies. Romans is the perfect book to explore the theme of God's mercies, since Paul basis the remainder of His practical instructions in Romans 12-16 upon such tender mercies revealed in Romans 1-11. Amazingly enough there are roughly 70 such mercies listed throughout the first 11 chapters of Romans. We've considered 26 of them thus far in Romans 1-3 and in today's post we will explore 17 more of these wonderful mercies in Romans 3-5. When we think of how merciful God is to an otherwise undeserving people such as us, it truly staggers the mind! We looked at those mercies two days ago which draw sinners to Christ. Today and tomorrow we will explore those mercies which keep Christian's desiring Christ. 

God's tender mercies that keep Christian's desiring Christ - Romans 3-5
1. His glory 3:10
2. His honor 3:10
3. His peace 3:10
4. Imputed righteousness 3:24

The four tender mercies in the above list has to do with God crediting to the sinner the righteousness of Jesus Christ which Christ earned in both His life and death. Such righteousness is place over the sinner like a robe at saving faith. Any good works the Christian does from salvation onward is called "sanctification" or "practical righteousness". Our practical works of righteousness, imperfect and incomplete as they are, are deemed acceptable to God due to the source from whence they draw - namely Christ's imputed or credited righteousness. God's glory, honor and peace are the benefits enjoyed by believers, further testifying to His tender mercies in their lives as a result of Jesus' achieved work on their behalf.

5. Covenant signs 4:11
6. Covenant of grace 4:12
7. Christ our inheritance 4:13
8. Peace with God 5:1
9. Access to God 5:1
10. Hope in God 5:2
11. Perserverance 5:3
12. Character 5:3
13. God's love 5:4
14. Reconciliation 5:10
15. God's gift 5:16
16. Christ's active obedience 5:19
17. Christ's Lordship 5:21

These last remaining tender mercies are those mercies that keep us energized, growing, progressing, desiring, thirsting and loving God. God has walled us in more than we realized. His tender mercies are a might fortress. It would require a years worth of blogposts to unfold all of these mercies. Indeed the mercy and love of God is lavishly poured out on the Christian, testifying to the fact that they are indeed children of God. (1 John 3:1-2)

More tomorrow.... 

God's tender mercies that draw you to Christ in Romans 2-3

Romans 12:1 "Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice,acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship."

Introduction:
Today's post continues on to explore more of the tender mercies of God revealed to us in Romans. Two days ago we considered God's tender mercies from Romans 1 (http://www.growingchristianresources.com/2015/05/exploring-all-of-gods-tender-mercies-in.html). Romans is the perfect book to explore the theme of God's mercies, since Paul basis the remainder of His practical instructions in Romans 12-16 upon such tender mercies revealed in Romans 1-11. Amazingly enough there are roughly 70 such mercies listed throughout the first 11 chapters of Romans. We've considered 11 of them thus far in Romans 1 and in today's post we will explore 15 more such mercies revealed throughout Romans 2-3. When we think of how merciful God is to an otherwise undeserving people such as us, it truly staggers the mind! To aid us in our exploration, I will deem these mercies as the ways in which God draws us to Jesus Christ.

God's tender mercies that draw you to Jesus Christ - Romans 2-3
1. Riches of His kindness 2:4
2. Riches of His tolerance 2:4
3. Riches of His patience 2:4

These first three mercies of God are described as "riches". God lavishly makes known to sinners His tender mercy by way of the richness of kindness, tolerance and patience. God's endurance, giving space for repentance and kindness is so undeserving. No sinner will be able to say that God was ever unfair. Quite honestly, if God dealt with any of us according to fairness, all of us would be in hell. Let it be remembered that mercy is God choosing to withhold from sinners what they rightly deserve.

4. Justice 3:10
5. The law 2:17, 3:20
6. God's name 2:24
7. The conscience 3:15
8. The Spirit 3:29

These mercies may at first glance appear contradictory. How can God's wrath or justice and the law be viewed as merciful. Like we saw two days ago, God's revelation of anything about Himself or word of warning is an act of mercy. To be shown how dark and sinful we really are is merciful. Such information prompts us to want to find the remedy. Moreover, the same wrath of God revealed from heaven is the same wrath that the Father poured out on the Son. By bearing the wrath of God on His cross, we discover that in our confrontation with the wrath of God we flee to the only place of refuge - the cross. This is where God's name and His Spirit enter into the picture. No other name (the name of Jesus) is given under heaven among men whereby we must be saved (Acts 4:12). Only the blood of Jesus can cleanse the guilty conscience upon which God's law is written. (Romans 2:15; Hebrews 9:13-15) The Holy Spirit is the One Who convicts the world of sin, righteousness and judgment and convinces sinners of their need for Jesus as Savior and Lord. (John 16:8-12) Lest the Spirit of God makes known to sinners the implication and saving power of Jesus, no sinner will willingly turn to God. Once the Spirit of God has acted on the sinner's behalf, we see more tender mercies turning us to Jesus, namely....

9. Regeneration 3:29
10. Righteousness apart from the law 3:21
11. Christ's redemption 3:21 
12. His atonement applied 3:25
13. His blood 3:25
14. God's forebearance
15. Justification 3:26

As we close out today's post, we consider these last seven tender mercies. Regeneration is the act of the Holy Spirit moving in and affecting the human heart to freely and willingly respond to the call of God in the Gospel. All the other mercies are applied at saving faith, with God's judicial pronouncement of the sinner's innocence in justification. Regeneration logically begins the miracle work of salvation, with justification pronouncing that salvation has truly occurred following sinner's trust of Christ in saving faith. So many mercies for a people who are ladened down by so many sins. Thankfully, mercy triumphs over judgment at the cross. Thank you Lord for your greatness revealed in your tender mercies!

More tomorrow

Exploring God's tender mercies in Romans 1

Romans 12:1 "Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice,acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship."

Introduction:

In yesterday's post we looked at what is meant by serving God from the power of God's tender mercies. Evidently Paul sees the need to underscore the need to present our bodies as living sacrifices from the standpoint of "the tender mercies of God". We explored the wider context of scripture with regards to how the Lord equips saints with His mercies to achieve what He commands them to do. Service to God would be impossible without knowing that He is for us. Today I want us to begin considering the mercies of God mentioned in Romans 1. In all there are around 70 such mercies in Romans 1-11! By the time we get through this listing, the reader will see why Paul by Divine inspiration wrote about "the tender mercies of God" in Romans 12:1.

All of God's tender mercies in Romans 1

1. Prophets 1:1

2. Incarnation 1:1

3. The Scriptures 1:1

These first three mercies are God's way of revelation to man about Himself. He didn't have to reveal anything, and yet Hed did so. 

4. The cross 1:4

5. Christ's resurrection 1:4

6. Effectual calling unto salvation 1:5

7. Preaching 1:5

8. Gifting of faith 1:5

9. Gifting of repentance 1:5

These mercies of God represent the "act" by which salvation was achieved (cross & resurrection) and by which it is applied (effectual calling and preaching). Our God is truly a merciful God. 

10. Covenant of grace 1:7

11. general revelation 1:18

Here we see God's method by which He approaches sinners in need of salvation - the covenant of grace. The covenant of grace is what He instituted in the Garden of Eden and was most chiefly expressed and fulfilled by Christ. Such a revelation of God's mercy is specific and saving insofar as the sinner responds by grace through faith. General revelation in creation reveals God's wrath against sin. God again is showing mercy by even revealing the fact that there is a particular problem - sin. Why is that merciful? Because if there is a problem - sin, then it necessarily follows that there be a solution - salvation. Moreover, the solution must come from God. As Paul writes more in Romans, we discover that the power of salvation is in what He wrote near the beginning, namely the Person of the Son incarnating himself in true humanity. God is truly merciful. He makes available everything needed to be reconciled to Himself. Outside of Jesus there is no reconciliation, no hope and no mercy. God desires to show tender mercy. The question is: will you receive what He offers by faith?

Serving our great God by the strength of His tender mercies

Romans 12:1 "Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice,acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship."

Introduction:

When we consider the above passage, Paul is writing in light of all he expressed in Romans 11:33-36. The word "therefore" indicates that what he is about to write follows from what he just wrote about - namely God's greatness. How a Christian serves God is the chief concern of Romans 12:1-13. When we serve God, we are not talking about some slavish, dutiful, drab, gritting-of-the-teeth type of commitment. To serve God is not something I just do out of my own strength or that you do out of your own ability. As Christians, we cooperate with the Holy Spirit Who brings down to us God's greatness in the Person and work of Jesus Christ. Commentator Warren Wiersbe notes: "The motive for dedication is love; Paul does not say, “I command you” but “I beseech you, because of what God has already done for you.” We do not serve Christ in order to receive His mercies, because we already have them (3:21–8:39). We serve Him out of love and appreciation." Quite literally, to serve God is to serve with Him. So how is it that we serve God with His greatness? What does the Holy Spirit do in enabling Christians to serve the Lord in a lifestyle of worship? It all begins by noting how the Holy Spirit administers His "tender mercies".

The tender mercies of God - the strength for effective ministry and service

Paul again states in Romans 12:1 "Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice,acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship." Why are the Spirit's dispensing of tender mercies the power source in our service to God? 

1. The joy of Spirit-wrought tender mercies
What is there about these "mercies" that makes rendering oneself as a living sacrifice a joyful privilege? God's tender mercies are His deep and tender affections towards His people. Do not think of the term "mercies" as a weak term. To know that God is already for me in my service to Him means I have nothing to fear - no demon, no person and no situation. When a person realizes how much tender mercy and affection God has chosen to express towards them, that person will find service to God a delight rather than a drudgery. Coupled with the notion that the Spirit Himself is the One responsible for the dispensing of such mercies - we find service to God to be an empowering and enjoyable experience.

2. The power of Spirit-wrought tender mercies

Philippians 2:1-2 gives us the perfect cross-reference to Romans 12:1. Notice what Philippians 2:1-2 says - "So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind." The word translated "affection" is the same word translated in Romans 12:1 by the phrase "tender mercies". Clearly the tender mercies of God that are responsible for empowering our service to God are the result of the Spirit's activity in conjunction with our own. 

3. The provision of Spirit-wrought tender mercies

Scripture elsewhere testifies to how the Lord grants us mercies to do His work. Lamentations 3:22-24 reminds us - "The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease,For His compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.
24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I have hope in Him.” When I consider what Jeremiah wrote here in Lamentations, I often think about each day of the Christian life as having situations that have different costs attached to them. Some situations will be 50 cent situations, others one dollar and if its really big - ten dollars. Every morning, God lays out for me His tender mercies - that is - His grace empowered enablements by His Spirit. For simplicity's sake, lets say today the Spirit had laid out for me $5 worth of mercy to take care of $4 worth of problems. Whatever may come our way, we have more than enough to handle it. But now lets say at the last minute of the day something goes wrong that I have no ability to address until the next day. Now the question arises: do I panic or press into God? Jesus reminds us in Matthew 6:34 “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." In other words, God will have fresh mercies ready for tomorrow to address tomorrow's troubles. He gives us what we need for today. When we understand how His mercies work, and how the Spirit gives to us exactly what we need, we learn the secret to walking daily by faith in His service.  

4. The dependance taught by Spirit-wrought tender mercies
David for instance makes mention often of God's mercies at work in his life. 2 Samuel 24:14 records David in a time of great distress, looking to God's tender mercies - "And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let us fall now into the hand of the Lord; for his mercies are great: and let me not fall into the hand of man." Here David draws strength from what are literally God's expressions of pity and compassion towards him. The manner of mercy which David experienced in his life was to such a degree that scripture elsewhere uses it as a standard way of expressing how God displays His power. The greatest example of the power of such mercies is found in Acts 13:34 "And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David." It is because of Jesus Christ's resurrection from the dead that we have access by His Spirit to all the spiritual blessings of God, including His mercies. The great lesson of depending on God for everything in service to Him only comes through interracting with Spirit-wrought tender mercies in our lives. 

Closing thoughts:

It makes sense as to why Paul would urge his readers by means of the tender mercies of God. The strength supplied and worked forth by the Spirit in these tender mercies strengthens Christians to serve our great God. By these tender mercies spoken of in Romans 12:1, the Spirit does four things: 

1. Works forth joy
2. Works forth power in the Christian
3. Works forth provision 
4. Works forth dependance upon God. 

Such tender mercies from the Spirit of God are what makes service to God so empowering and enjoyable. To know that God is truly for us and on our side, to know that we already have His favor is motivation and power enough to serve Him most effectively. As the Bible Knowledge Commentary notes - "In the light of Paul’s closely reasoned and finely argued exposition of the mercies of God (Rom. 1–11), such an offering is obviously a desirable response for believers."