Isaiah 1:21-23 ESV
“How the faithful city
has become a whore,
she who was full of justice!
Righteousness lodged in her,
but now murderers.
Your silver has become dross,
your best wine mixed with water.
Your princes are rebels
and companions of thieves.
Everyone loves a bribe
and runs after gifts.
They do not bring justice to the fatherless,
and the widow's cause does not come to them.”
Today this would be a reference to the adulterous church who
was once faithful to the Lord but who has turned away from that faithfulness
and is now living in spiritual adultery. But this can also include those who
call themselves Christians but who have never turned from their sinful
practices to follow Jesus in obedience to his commands. Yes, they were never
faithful, but they are among all those calling themselves Christians (the
church).
Basically what this is talking about is those who claim to
be Christians, to be part of the church, the body of Christ, and who claim for themselves
salvation from and forgiveness of sins and heaven as their eternal destiny.
They are no longer or they have never been faithful to the Lord but now they
are prostituting themselves to the world to let the world “rape” them,
basically, and to turn them into those who are addicted to immorality.
What this looks like today is a church who has sold herself
out to the world, who has rejected the moral laws of God and the whole counsel
of God in order to attract the world (the ungodly) to her gatherings. She has
turned to the writings and the teachings of humans and their marketing schemes
to teach her how to “grow” the church, and so she has altered the whole meaning
of “church,” and she has adulterated the gospel of Christ.
She no longer teaches, if she did ever, on holiness,
godliness, repentance, obedience, and submission to Christ as Lord, or if she
does, she teaches it more as something optional rather than as required by God.
She separates salvation from sin from obedience to the Lord and from the
forsaking of her sins as though she can have one without the others. And she
has reduced the gospel to a mere profession of faith in Jesus minus genuine
repentance and minus walks of obedience to the Lord in holiness and in
righteousness.
Isaiah 1:24-26 ESV
“Therefore the Lord declares,
the Lord of hosts,
the Mighty One of Israel:
‘Ah, I will get relief from my enemies
and avenge myself on my foes.
I will turn my hand against you
and will smelt away your dross as with lye
and remove all your alloy.
And I will restore your judges as at the first,
and your counselors as at the beginning.
Afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness,
the faithful city.’”
Now this is speaking of a physical judgment of some kind against
God’s adulterous people with the purpose in mind to bring them back to the Lord
in genuine walks of obedience to him. And the New Testament speaks of this,
too, when it talks about how the Lord disciplines, reproves, rebukes, prunes, and
chastises his people, and how he disciplines us for our good that we may share
in his holiness. And warnings to repent are often included, too.
[Hebrews 12:1-12; John 15:1-21; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation
3:1-22]
But I also want you to be aware of what the New Testament
teaches regarding those who turn away from the Lord and who keep on in
deliberate and habitual sin or who return to living in deliberate and habitual
sin without returning to genuine repentance and walks of obedience to the Lord.
The Scriptures teach that they will die in their sins. They will not inherit
eternal life with God regardless of what faith in Christ Jesus they profess.
Isaiah 1:27-31 ESV
“Zion shall be redeemed by justice,
and those in her who repent, by righteousness.
But rebels and sinners shall be broken together,
and those who forsake the Lord shall be consumed.
For they shall be ashamed of the oaks
that you desired;
and you shall blush for the gardens
that you have chosen.
For you shall be like an oak
whose leaf withers,
and like a garden without water.
And the strong shall become tinder,
and his work a spark,
and both of them shall burn together,
with none to quench them.”
The goal of God’s acts of discipline and correction in our
lives is to bring us to repentance or again to repentance. And repentance isn’t
just confessing with our mouths that we have sinned. It is leaving our lives of
sin to walk in obedience to our Lord. A lot of people love to quote 1 John 1:9
that if we confess our sins, that God is faithful and just to forgive us our
sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. But they omit the verses
before that.
In the few verses before that we read that if we say (claim,
profess) that we have fellowship (that we are in relationship and partnership)
with God while we walk (in conduct, in practice) in darkness (sin, wickedness),
we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk (in conduct, in practice)
in the light (Christ, truth, righteousness, obedience) as God is in the light,
then the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin.
Also, please note that this word “confess” is not a mere
verbal acknowledgment of sin but it is agreeing with God about your sin, not
just that you sinned, but that you must turn from that sin, and that you must
no longer walk in sin, for if sin is what you practice, you will not inherit
eternal life with God. And if you don’t walk in obedience to the Lord, you will
not enter the kingdom of heaven no matter what faith you professed.
For our salvation is not a one-time experience in our lives
which guarantees us entry into heaven when we die regardless of how we live.
Our salvation is ongoing and it will not be complete until Jesus returns and he
takes his bride to be with him and our marriage to Christ is completed. For
notice how many verses talk about how we live as critical to whether or not we
enter into heaven, such as 1 John 1:7 and Matthew 7:21-23 and Romans 6 & 8,
etc.
Old Testament and New Testament teach we must repent of our
sins, which means to turn away from, to forsake, to die to our sins, but not just
once, but daily we must be putting sin to death and not yielding ourselves to
it. And daily we must be walking in obedience to our Lord, not necessarily in
absolute sinless perfection, but sin must not be our practice, and
righteousness and obedience to our Lord must be our practice or we will not
have everlasting life with God (see verses noted above).
So, don’t believe the liars and the lies which are telling
you that you can profess faith in Jesus Christ once in your life, have all your
sins forgiven, be guaranteed heaven when you die, but that God does not require
that you turn away from walking in sin and that you now walk in obedience to
his commands. Please read the whole of the New Testament from beginning to end
and pay close attention to the words and what they teach.
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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