If We're Willing and Obedient

“Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord:

though your sins are like scarlet,

    they shall be as white as snow;

though they are red like crimson,

    they shall become like wool.

If you are willing and obedient,

    you shall eat the good of the land;

but if you refuse and rebel,

    you shall be eaten by the sword;

    for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” (Isaiah 1:18-20 ESV)

We live in a day and age here in America where the church at large has become fairly worldly. They are much like the church in Laodicea described for us in Revelation 3:14-22. They are neither all the way cold toward the Lord but they are also not on fire for him, so they are lukewarm. They go through the motions of religious practice, but they are not terribly committed to the Lord and to his service. They appear to be more self-serving since so many are now marketing the church to the ungodly.

But among them are many who are living in self-indulgence and in sexual immorality, who are lovers of intoxication to sin. And they are driving an effort to sidestep and to avoid the commands of the Lord and to teach a gospel message which is absent of genuine repentance and of walks of obedience to the Lord. For they want no moral boundaries, for they are immoral people who are dishonest, unfaithful, and wicked. But they still want their ticket into heaven and forgiveness of all sins.

But not everyone is in that circle. Although few in number by comparison to those who are living wickedly, there are also those who are living godly and holy lives in moral purity, uprightness, honesty, and faithfulness to the Lord. Their lives are committed to the Lord and to his service and to teaching the truth of the gospel, and to refuting the lies of the enemy. They are living separate (unlike, different) from the world because they are being made to be like Christ in true righteousness and holiness, by God’s grace.

So those who are living wickedly, although professing faith in Jesus Christ, are living in ways which are separate from those who are walking in faithful obedience to the Lord. Yet, to appease their own consciences they conjure up another gospel which is an altered and diluted version of the true gospel of Christ. And they exchange the true gospel for the “supplanter,” i.e. for a cheapened form of true grace which does not require of them obedience, righteousness, repentance, and holy living. 

And many of them are “wolves in sheep’s clothing” who give an appearance of righteousness but who are truly evil, malicious, immoral, conniving, cunning, crafty, and devious. They may be among the Lord’s true sheep, but they are truly outside of true relationship with Jesus Christ. And they are opposed to the true gospel that Jesus and his NT apostles taught, and so they also oppose the Lord’s true servants and messengers who are bringing us the true message of the gospel of our salvation.

And Jesus said that if anyone would come after him, he must deny self, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin), and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to our lives of living in sin and for self, we will lose them for eternity. But if for the sake of Jesus we deny self, die daily to sin, and follow him in obedience to his commands, then we have eternal life. For not everyone who calls Jesus “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING the will of God the Father (Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).

So, if we want our great and heinous sins against our Lord to be white as snow, then we must be crucified with Christ in death to sin and be raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin, but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness (Romans 6:1-23). We must remove all evil deeds from before the eyes of the Lord, cease to do evil, learn to do good, seek justice, and correct oppression, etc. and now walk in holiness and righteousness, willingly obeying the commands of our God.

But if we refuse and rebel, and we go our own way, instead, even if we claim faith in Jesus Christ, we will not inherit eternal life with God. For if we continue in deliberate and habitual sin against our Lord, and we refuse to obey him and his commands, we are not in fellowship with him. We do not know him, he does not know us, we are not born of God, but we are of the devil, regardless of what our lips profess. And so heaven will not be what awaits us after death no matter how much we believe it will be there for us.

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-24; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-11; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 10:23-31; 1 Co 10:1-22; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

Trust and Obey  

Words by John H. Sammis, 1887

Music by Daniel B. Towner, 1887

When we walk with the Lord 

in the light of His Word,

What a glory He sheds on our way!

While we do His good will, 

He abides with us still,

And with all who will trust and obey. 

But we never can prove 

the delights of His love

Until all on the altar we lay;

For the favor He shows, 

for the joy He bestows,

Are for them who will trust and obey.

Then in fellowship sweet 

We will sit at His feet.

Or we’ll walk by His side in the way.

What He says we will do, 

Where He sends we will go;

Never fear, only trust and obey.

Trust and obey, for there’s no other way

To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KB4KcleYiWM

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