What Does God Want?

Hosea 6:6 

“For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.” 

We are given record of Christ quoting the first half of this verse on two occasions: both times He was speaking to Pharisees, and both times He emphasized that we need to understand what “I desire mercy, not sacrifice” means. Some people believe that Christ was speaking against the Law in saying this, indicating that God is not (or was not) pleased with observances of the Law, such as the sacrifices and burnt offerings mentioned. This is one of many scriptures that people twist to try to invalidate God’s law.

The Measure You Use

When Jesus taught the disciples how to pray in what has come to be known as the Lord’s Prayer, one of the points that he emphasized was forgiving “those who trespass against us.” Afterwards, he expounds on this:

Matthew 6:14-15

For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

That sounds scary – the only way that we can be forgiven (and therefore saved) is if God forgives us of our sin, but he will not do that unless we forgive those who sin against us!