What kind of God is God according to Romans 12:1's "mercies of God"?
The God of Romans 12:1's "mercies of God" is a God of mercy. Scripture presents Him as neither an ogre waiting to zap people when they do wrong nor a Santa Claus waiting to be manipulated. Paul's first eight chapters of Romans show the mercy of God exploding throughout, even after proving all—immoral, moral, and religious—were enemies.
Les explains that the "therefore" in Romans 12:1 reaches back beyond chapters 9, 10, and 11, and even beyond chapter 8, all the way to everything covered in Romans 1-8. On that basis Paul beseeches the brethren by the mercies of God. Les stresses that this is not empty talk: reflecting on those first eight chapters, what is really exploding throughout them is the mercy of God. He is not some ogre waiting to zap people when they have done something wrong, nor a Santa Claus waiting to be manipulated; He is a God of mercy. Les recalls how Romans 1-3 built God's case against the whole human race—the immoral person, the moral person, and the religious Jew—concluding that all were enemies of God.
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.