As I was reading in Isaiah this morning, a few verses jumped
out at me. These are the first two:
Isaiah 3:8–9 “For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen:
because their tongue and their doings
are against the LORD, to provoke the eyes of his glory. The shew of their countenance doth witness
against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for
they have rewarded evil unto themselves.”
Yes, the
LORD is talking about Jerusalem and Judah and the people of Israel, but the
principles He used in dealing with them have not changed because He has not
changed. They still apply to His people
today.
Malachi 3:6 “For I am the LORD, I change not….”
The LORD
is declaring judgment against them because “their tongue and their doings are
against the LORD.” The speech and
actions that dominate their land are against the LORD. They are blatantly rebellious to His word
that specifies what is acceptable in word and deed before Him. Their words and actions boldly declare their
sin; they act without shame in defiance of God’s word.
Say what
you will, America’s roots grew in a foundation that was formed using the
standard of God’s word. Many of the
early settlers came to America for religious freedom. The schools of our land began as institutions
of training up young men to honor the LORD.
Honoring God was the accepted norm.
How far
we have strayed from those beginnings!
The verses above from Isaiah would read just as true if we substituted
the words Washington D.C. for Jerusalem and America for Judah.
It is
obvious to me that the LORD has declared His judgment against our land. We should fear for our lives because our
actions, our rebellion against God will culminate in evil against us. In our nation as a whole, things that were
once universally recognized as sin have now become accepted—even in our
churches. The blatant disregard of God’s
word is at an all-time high. It has
gotten to the point that those who stand for the truth of God’s word are being
persecuted, and I believe such persecution is only going to get worse as time
goes on. Our only hope is that a
national revival breaks out in the land, and we repent of our sins before
God. Personally, I don’t see this
happening because I believe we are firmly enmeshed in the season of the final
countdown to the LORD’s return as revealed by the prophets.
People
of faith that have accepted Jesus as their Savior need not despair. The next two verses provide hope for the
righteous and emphasize that the wicked can expect to reap what he sows.
Isaiah 3:10–11 “Say ye to the
righteous, that it shall be
well with him: for they shall
eat the fruit of their doings. Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with
him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him.”
It is
important to be able to identify who are the righteous and who are the wicked
according to God’s word. I think that
Paul sums it up well in his letter to the Romans.
Romans 8:1–9 “There is therefore now no
condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but
after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made
me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that
it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of
sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness
of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after
the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh;
but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally
minded is death; but to be
spiritually minded is life and
peace. Because the carnal mind is
enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can
be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the
flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if
any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.”
The
righteous are those that possess the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus and strive
to live according to the leading of that Spirit in accordance to God’s
word. The wicked are those who “mind the
things of the flesh” that lead to spiritual death. To act according to the flesh testifies to a
carnal mind, a mind that is against God, and results in refusing to live
according to His laws. Paul made the
point in a previous chapter that those who choose to serve the LORD are
servants of righteousness; all others are servants of sin. It’s either/or; there is no middle ground in
God’s eyes.
Romans 6:16–18 “Know ye not, that to
whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey;
whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But God be
thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart
that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin,
ye became the servants of righteousness.”
Now that
we have identified the righteous, we can understand Isaiah when he declared
that the righteous will do well; their future will reveal God’s favor and
blessing when they reap the reward of their actions. The wicked will also reap the rewards of
their actions. Sadly, that “reward” will
result in death and an existence devoid of the presence of the LORD.
John 5:28–29 “Marvel not at this:
for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his
voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of
life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.”
In which
camp do you fall? God has graciously
provided for every single person to be made righteous.
2 Corinthians 5:20–21 “Now then we
are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you
in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin;
that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”
John 3:16–17 “For God so loved the
world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him
should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the
world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”
Romans 10:9 “That if thou shalt
confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that
God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”
