But Not in Truth
Isaiah 48:1, 4, 8 ESV
“Hear this, O house of Jacob,
who are called
by the name of Israel,
and who came
from the waters of Judah,
who swear by the name of the Lord
and confess the
God of Israel,
but not in
truth or right…
“Because I know that you are obstinate,
and your neck
is an iron sinew
and your
forehead brass…
“You have never heard, you have never known,
from of old
your ear has not been opened.
For I knew that you would surely deal treacherously,
and that from
before birth you were called a rebel.”
We who believe in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of our
lives are Israel. We are the only Israel, the Israel of God. For, when Jesus
died on that cross, he destroyed the barrier between Jew and Gentile and he
made us both one in Christ, by faith in Jesus Christ.
So, the division is no longer Jew and Gentile, but it is
saved and unsaved, or believer in Jesus and non-believer in Jesus. So, whether Jew
or Gentile by birth you are either a follower of Jesus or you are not, and if
not, then you are not a child of God, and you don’t believe in the one true
God.
[Rom. 9:6-8; Gal. 3:10, 16, 26-29; Gal. 4:22-31; Eph.
2:14-18; 1 Jn. 2:22]
So, when we talk about Israel today, this is speaking of
those who have put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior
of their lives. They have been crucified with Christ in death to sin, and
reborn of the Spirit of God to walk in newness of life, created to be like God
in true righteousness and holiness (Rom 6:1-23; Eph 4:17-24).
But not all who call themselves “Israel” or “Christian” are
so in truth. Not everyone who confesses Jesus as Lord or claims to believe in
him is true Israel – is truly a follower of Jesus. Many are obstinate,
stiff-necked, hardheaded, and rebellious idolaters who have never truly ever
known Jesus as Savior and Lord. They are Christians in name only, but not in
truth.
Listen! Listen!
Isaiah 48:12-14 ESV
“Listen to me, O Jacob,
and Israel,
whom I called!
I am he; I am the first,
and I am the
last.
My hand laid the foundation of the earth,
and my right
hand spread out the heavens;
when I call to them,
they stand
forth together.
Assemble, all of you, and listen!”...
So, to all those who claim to be followers of Jesus, but who
are not so in truth, Jesus is calling to you to listen up to what he is saying
to the churches. We all need to listen to him, but this is a special call to
those who have ears to hear but who whose ears have not been opened to the
truth.
For, many professers of faith in Jesus Christ are just that,
professers only. They have not died with Christ to sin and they are not living
to him and to his righteousness. They give lip service to him only, but their
hearts are far from him, for they are following the teachings of man in place
of God.
For, the teachings of man tell them that they can make a
mere confession of faith in Jesus Christ and that it guarantees them heaven as
their eternal destiny regardless of how they live while still on the earth. It
tells them or it implies to them that their sins no longer matter to God, so
they can keep on sinning, only now without guilt.
But, the Word of God says the opposite, and the Word is
truth, so this teaching of man is thus a lie.
The Way We Should Go
Isaiah 48:17-18, 20-22 ESV
“Thus says the Lord,
your Redeemer,
the Holy One of Israel:
‘I am the Lord your God,
who teaches you
to profit,
who leads you
in the way you should go.
Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments!
Then your peace
would have been like a river,
and your
righteousness like the waves of the sea…’”
“Go out from Babylon, flee from Chaldea,
declare this
with a shout of joy, proclaim it,
send it out to the end of the earth;
say, ‘The Lord
has redeemed his servant Jacob!’
They did not thirst when he led them through the deserts;
he made water
flow for them from the rock;
he split the
rock and the water gushed out.
“’There is no
peace,’ says the Lord, ‘for the wicked.’”
So, here we have the truth. The Lord teaches us, and he
leads us in the way we should go. And, that way is the way of his commandments
to us, his church (Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn
2:3-6).
He teaches us that to have faith in him means to die with
him to sin and to live to him and to his righteousness, not just once, but for
forever until our Lord returns. This faith is a gift from God, and therefore it
submits to Christ as Lord (owner-master).
Those who have genuine faith in Jesus Christ have left their
sinful lifestyle behind them, they have been reborn of the Spirit of God, and
now they are living for the Lord and for his purposes, and they are no longer under
the control of Satan, sin and the flesh, for Jesus set them free.
We have peace with God because Jesus bought us back for God
with his blood so that we are now God’s possession, and so that we now honor
God with our lives. And, peace with God means we are no longer living as
enemies of God and as enemies of the cross of Christ.
So, if you have not been living like this, but if you have
still been living for the sinful pleasures of this world, then Jesus is calling
out to you to repent of your sins and to turn to him to now walk in obedience
to his commands for the rest of your days on this earth.
He is calling you out of Babylon, i.e. out of the world, and
the world’s system, and the worldly flesh-driven and market-driven church, too.
For Jesus has bought you back for God with his blood so that you would now
honor God with your lives. And, he will provide for your every need.
For, there is no peace, says the Lord, for the wicked. For,
those who keep walking in their sin do not have eternal life with God (Rom
8:1-17; Lu 9:23-26; 1 Jn 1:5-9; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; 2 Co 5:10).
Knowing
You Jesus
By Graham Kendrick
All I once held dear, built my life
upon,
All this world reveres and wars to own;
All I once thought gain I have counted
loss,
Spent and worthless now compared to
this.
Knowing You, Jesus, knowing You
There is no greater thing.
You're my all, You're the best,
You're my joy, my righteousness,
And I love You Lord.
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