Settling The Matter!

“Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land;but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” (Isaiah 1:18-20 NIV)

When The Lord speaks through His messenger--whoever it is--people should listen. If they did, they would save themselves a great deal of time and heartache. But just like then, people choose not to hear what The Lord says--through any medium (bible, prophet, pastor, evangelist, teacher) and then declare--what God said then, doesn't matter now.

I know the most popular approach to clarifying or encouraging people to believe is to not discuss sin as sin. If we're going to be true to God and the role He has given us, we cannot discuss His goodness without discussing sin. It is because of sin (and His great love for us)--that He came down from heaven in the likeness of sinful flesh--to redeem us (save us) from ourselves.

Through the prophet Isaiah, He spoke--"though our sins are like scarlet or red as crimson, they shall be (after He comes) as white as snow or soft as wool" (both symbolic of purity), but there is a caveat--"If we are willing to hear from Him and obey Him" then we'll have all the good stuff, but if we don't--we can expect all the bad stuff. I've stated this as simply as I can so even a child can understand. If children obey parents, they can expect a reward, if they don't, they can expect a penalty or punishment of disobedience. Why is this concept--started by God--so difficult for us to understand today?

We have allowed the unbelieving to dictate what we do, by caving to their claims that God is not concerned about sin any more. HERE'S A NEWSFLASH! He is just as concerned about sin today as He was before. If He wasn't, all of us who proclaim the Gospel, forgiveness of sin and grace--are wasting our time and we should have translated out of here, the moment we believed!

He's still concerned about sinful behavior and He wants those of us who know and believe that His Word never changes to continue the good fight of faith--sharing His love with all who will hear and obey. For any who say His Word doesn't mean what it says, we would have to conclude they either do not understand or do not have a relationship with Him, so He can speak to their hearts and they hear. This settles the matter for me. Now, what about you?