Make Straight the Way

“There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.” (John 1:6-8 ESV)

“And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, ‘Who are you?’ He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, ‘I am not the Christ.’ And they asked him, ‘What then? Are you Elijah?’ He said, ‘I am not.’ ‘Are you the Prophet?’ And he answered, ‘No.’ So they said to him, ‘Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?’ He said, ‘I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, “Make straight the way of the Lord,” as the prophet Isaiah said.’” (John 1:19-23 ESV)

In accord with the prophesies of Scripture, John the Baptist was the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy:

“A voice cries:

‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;

    make straight in the desert a highway for our God.’” (Isaiah 40:3 ESV)

He was called of God, even before he was born, to be the one to prepare the way for Jesus Christ, to prepare people’s hearts to receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior (the Messiah, the Christ). And, in a sense, all of us who are followers of Jesus Christ are called of God to do the same, not in preparation for the Lord’s first coming, but in preparation for his second coming when he returns to judge the people of the earth and to take his faithful ones to be with him for eternity, which is when our salvation will be complete.

For we who are God’s holy people are called of God to proclaim the excellencies of him who called us out of darkness into his wonderful light. We are all to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth in taking the message of the gospel of our salvation to the people of this world. And we are called to make disciples of Christ of people of all nations, baptizing and teaching them to obey all the Lord’s commandments (New Covenant). And we are to be his witnesses locally and then throughout the earth. 

We are also given spiritual gifts and spiritual assignments from God which are our body parts in the body of Christ (the church). And we are to minister to the rest of the body of Christ in mutual encouragement and exhortation and in lifting one another up in prayer and in speaking the truth in love to one another so that none of us are hardened by sin’s deceitfulness, and in order to spur one another on to love and good works, and so that none of us are led astray by false teachers, and so that we can all grow to spiritual maturity in Christ together, as each part does its work.

[Matt 5:13-16; Matt 28:18-20; Jn 4:31-38; Jn 13:13-17; Jn 14:12; Acts 1:8; Acts 2:14-18; Acts 26:18; Rom 10:14-15; Rom 12:1-8; Rom 15:14; 1 Co 12:1-31; 1 Co 14:1-5; Eph 4:1-16; Eph 5:17-27; Php 2:1-8; Col 3:16; Heb 3:13; Heb 10:23-25; 1 Pet 2:9,21; 1 Jn 2:6]  

So, in this way, we also are preparing the way of the Lord, and we are making straight the way of the Lord for others to travel. For we are teaching them that we must all die with Christ to sin and live to his righteousness. We all must be crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, created to be like Jesus, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as slaves to righteousness. For if sin is what we obey, it will lead to death. But if obedience to God is what we obey, it will lead to righteousness and to sanctification, and its end is eternal life with God (Romans 6:1-23).

We are not teaching the broad road that leads to destruction that so many are traveling, but we are teaching the narrow (the straight) way that few travel which leads to eternal life with God. We are not teaching that we can be saved from our sins and have heaven guaranteed us when we die but regardless of how we live. But we are teaching what John the Baptist taught and what Jesus taught and what his NT apostles taught, and that is the necessity of us dying with Christ to sin so that we might live to him and to his righteousness. For that is the straight way, the way of holiness.

So, we all need to be faithful to the calling we have from God to take the message of the gospel to the people of this world and to minister to the needs of our brothers and sisters in Christ and to help them to walk in holiness and in righteousness in obedience to our Lord. For so many people are being taught lies and are being told that they do not have to forsake their sins and that they do not have to follow the Lord Jesus in obedience, for they call that “works.” 

But we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared in advance for us to walk in them (Ephesians 2:10; Titus 2:11-14). And so we need to be doing the works that he created for us to do for his glory, honor, and praise, and in his power, strength, and wisdom. 

[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 3:1-11; 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]

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.

https://vimeo.com/379406352