But They Have Rebelled
Isaiah 1:2-3 ESV
“Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth;
for the Lord has spoken:
‘Children have I reared and brought up,
but they have rebelled against me.
The ox knows its owner,
and the donkey its master's crib,
but Israel does not know,
my people do not understand.’”
Now, under the Old Covenant, the people of God were his
people by physical birth, i.e. they were physical descendants of Abraham and
Sara. They were the children of the promise, but it was still provided that
they had genuine faith in the Lord and in the promise of the Messiah who was
yet to come. For if they lived in disobedience to the Lord they did not enter
into God’s eternal rest. For God regarded their disobedience as unbelief, and he
regarded their obedience as true faith (1 Co 10:1-22; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13).
Under the New Covenant we are children of the promise by
God-given faith in Jesus Christ which involves us being crucified with Christ
in death to sin and us being reborn of the Spirit of God, and us being
resurrected with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, created to be like God
in true righteousness and holiness. But this faith must be present and active
in our lives until the very end and it must result in the forsaking of our sins
and of walks of obedience to our Lord or we don’t have eternal life with God.
[Rom 6:1-23; Eph 4:17-24; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 8:1-14; 1 Co
6:9-10; 2 Co 5:10; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 2:6-8; Gal 6:7-8; Gal 5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6;
Col 3:5-10; Heb 10:26-27; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10;
Matt 7:21-23; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15; Col 1:21-23; Rom 8:24; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 1:18]
So, just because you may have made a profession of faith in
Jesus Christ, and you confessed him as Lord of your life, it is no guarantee of
salvation of sin and of eternal life with God if you do not accompany that faith
with surrender of your life to Jesus Christ as Lord, and with the forsaking of
your sins, and with walks of obedience to the Lord (see verses above). For God
still sees obedience as faith and disobedience (and rebellion) as unbelief (1
Co 10:1-22; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13).
A People Laden with Iniquity
Isaiah 1:4 ESV
“Ah, sinful nation,
a people laden with iniquity,
offspring of evildoers,
children who deal corruptly!
They have forsaken the Lord,
they have despised the Holy One of Israel,
they are utterly estranged.”
Under the Old Covenant, the people of God were a physical
nation of people. Under the New Covenant, the people of God are a spiritual
nation of people who have been crucified with Christ in death to sin, raised
with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, and who, by God’s grace, are now
able to live free from slavery to sin and to be empowered of God to live holy
and godly lives for the praise and glory of God (1 Pet 2:9; Rom 6:1-23; Rom
8:1-14).
But those who have trusted in Jesus Christ to be Lord and
Savior of their lives are still human. They still live in flesh bodies. They
still have the propensity to sin, and they will still be tempted to sin. But
Jesus, through his death and resurrection, provided a way out for us from
temptation to sin so that we no longer have to obey sin. By God’s grace we can
say “No!” to ungodliness and fleshly lusts, and we can live self-controlled,
upright, and godly lives while we wait for our Lord’s return (1 Co 10:13; Tit
2:11-14).
But we have many people today who are teaching a gospel
message which does not insist on genuine biblical repentance and on walks of
obedience to our Lord. For they are teaching that we can “believe” (not
defined) in Jesus, have our sins forgiven, and be guaranteed heaven as our
eternal destiny regardless of how we live our lives on this earth. And so a
large majority of people professing faith in Jesus are living in open rebellion
against God.
They are laden (weighed down) with sins. They are evildoers
(and the offspring of evildoers) who deal corruptly and dishonestly. They are
habitual liars who lie about what they do in secret, who lie about others and
to others, and who lie to cover up the evil that they are doing. Sin is what they
practice and righteousness and godliness are not their practice. They have
forsaken the Lord, indeed, although they claim him as Lord and Savior.
Most of them will not listen to the truth. They prefer the
lies because the lies convince them that they can continue in deliberate and
habitual sin against God, and against other humans, and that they are still
saved, and that heaven is still guaranteed them when they die. But Jesus said
that not everyone who says to him, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of
heaven but only the one DOING the will of God the Father (Matthew 7:21-23).
Under the Judgment of God
Isaiah 1:5-6 ESV
“Why will you still be struck down?
Why will you continue to rebel?
The whole head is sick,
and the whole heart faint.
From the sole of the foot even to the head,
there is no soundness in it,
but bruises and sores
and raw wounds;
they are not pressed out or bound up
or softened with oil.”
In the book of Revelation, chapters 2-3, we read seven
letters to seven churches, which I believe represent varying aspects of various
church fellowships in varying locations and time periods throughout church
history. Four out of the seven the Lord had both positive and negative to say
about them, and one of them it was all negative. These five he warned that they
must repent of their sins and obey him or face some kind of judgment. And after
that we have the declarations of judgment of God on the people on the earth
during the time of tribulation before the return of Christ.
Now I know there are many different interpretations of the
book of Revelation, and I am not going to deal with all of those nor will I
debate them with anyone. But I believe the condition of the church, overall
today, is a sign of the times in which we now live and that God is calling his
wayward people to repent or face some kind of divine judgment. And I do believe
the worldly church in America is presently under judgment. Yet, I don’t see too
many people taking God seriously.
What I still see, and you may see differently, is a church
which has largely adopted the ways of the world in order to attract the world
to their worldly gatherings, who have altered (adulterated) the truth of the
gospel to make it more acceptable to human flesh, and who are living for
themselves, and who are not distinctly different at all from the people of the
world. They claim Jesus as Lord but they do not honor him as Lord. They claim
him as Savior of their sins while they still live in habitual and deliberate
sin against God.
And so God is calling out to his wayward and adulterous
church, at least he is here in America, and he is proclaiming to them the truth
of his gospel, in contrast to the lies which are permeating the church, but not
many people are listening. Not many are heeding his warnings. Not many are repenting
of their sins and taking that Spiritual U-turn and are now walking in obedience
to the Lord and to his commands (New Covenant). So, please know if you continue
on a sinful path that you don’t have the hope of heaven.
For
Our Nation
An
Original Work / September 11, 2012
Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Trust Him with your life today.
Make Him your Lord and your Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of your sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new within.
Men betraying: Our trust fraying.
On our knees to God we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all things.
Nothing from His mind escaping.
He has all things under His command,
And will work all for good.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Men deceiving: we’re believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our future.
For our wounds He offers suture.
He is all we need for this life.
Trust Him with your life today.
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