NOVEMBER 12, 2024

 “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” (Isaiah 1:18)

The sinful condition of men is terrible to the extreme. This fact is set forth vividly in the previous verses of the chapter. They describe a people altogether alienated from God; “a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers.” They have become corrupters; having “forsaken the Lord, and provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger.” Why do they not seek to be reconciled, seeing that they have been stricken, and have suffered great desolation because of their sin?

Yet it is their merciful God from Whom they have gone away backward, Who graciously reaches out to a people that “doth not know,” even His own people that “doth not consider.” God, Himself, interposes to bring about a change. The proposal of reconciliation between Himself and sinners is always from His side. It is true of all sinners,

“They will not seek, they must be sought;

They will not come, they must be brought.”

He urges that a conference be held at once, “Come, and let us reason together.” This conference needs to be held at once: “Come, now, and let us reason together.” The danger is too great to admit of a moment’s delay. Since God is urgent, let us not procrastinate. Many are the souls that plan to come to Christ, but just not today. However, we have no expressed promise of tomorrow; Scripture only recognized that “Today is the day of salvation,” and that “now is the accepted time.”

Here is a gracious invitation to a conference. The Lord calls upon sinful men to be reasonable. “Come now, and let us reason together.” Sinful men do not care to think or look the matter of their enmity against God in the face. The proposal here is not merely to discuss the situation, but to treat the subject with a view to reconciliation. This also will ungodly men decline. Jesus said, “How oft would I have gathered…but ye would not.” Our merciful God, through his ambassadors, is reaching out to sinners, beseeching them to be reconciled, but the ungodly heart declines the offer. Yet still we preach the Gospel, knowing that “Faith cometh by hearing,” and that thereby, the Lord can give them an heart to know. (Rom. 10:17; Jer. 24:7)

Notice the specimen of the reason on God’s part. The one main ground of difference between God and the sinner is plainly stated: “Though your sins be as scarlet.” God calls the most glaring sinners to come to Him. Sin’s most indelible stain, which has penetrated the entirety of our being, God promises to remove. “They shall be as white as snow.” This is truly astounding. “Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” The stain is both inward and outward.

Certain scarlet cloth is first dyed in the thread before it is woven into a piece of cloth, and then it is dyed again. Such was the “turkey red cloth” that Lydia was selling. (Acts 16) It was double-dyed. There was no detergent that could remove the dye, no matter how many washings it was subjected to. The fabric would completely disintegrate before the redness would wash away. So, it is regarding the guilt of sin; we are double-dyed, for we are sinners by birth, and sinners by practice. Our sins are as scarlet, yet by faith in Christ’s atonement, though our offences be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. That is, they shall be as white as the undyed wool.

“Dark is the stain that we cannot hide;

What can avail to wash it away?

Look! There is flowing a crimson tide,

Whiter than snow you may be today.”

It matters not the singular greatness of your sins; though they be “red like crimson,” there is a crimson tide that can wash them away. Who would have imagined – crimson made white by crimson? Neither does it matter how deep the stain is from continuing long in the dye-vat, “There is power, power wonder working power in the soul-cleansing blood of the Lamb.”

Regardless of the failed attempts to whiten your soul by your own efforts, or by religious performances and rituals, “The blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanseth us from all sin.” Crimson and scarlet cannot be removed by the art of man; but the blood of the Lamb of God taketh away the sin of the world. (John 1:29)

NOVEMBER 7, 2024

 “Should it be according to thy mind? he will recompense it, whether thou refuse, or whether thou choose; and not I: therefore speak what thou knowest.” (Job 34:33)

It is never wise to dispute with God. Anyone who does so is essentially saying, “The Judge of the whole earth is wrong, and it should be according to my mind.” The speaker here in this chapter is asking all complainers against providence, “Wilt thou condemn him (God) that is most just?” (Vs. 17) He had just made the point that if it is disrespectful to accuse a king or a prince of wrongdoing, how much more so“Him (God) that accepteth not the persons of princes, nor regardeth the rich more than the poor,” noting that they are all the work of His hand. (Vs. 18, 19) “Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, why hast thou made me thus?” (Rom. 9:20) Yet we creatures of clay are ever prone to dispute with the Divine Potter about His work. “Should it be according to thy mind?”

Elihu, in his attempt to correct Job, declares yet another absolute truth with respect to God’s dealings with man: “For he will not lay upon man more than right; that he should enter into judgment with God.” (Vs. 23) Notice, when God chastens us, it is good for us to respond by saying “I will not offend any more.” (Vs. 31) When there is something that we need to learn, let us humbly say, “That which I see not teach thou me” (Vs. 32). It is always better for us to so respond to our righteous, all wise, and merciful God, rather than to proudly suggest that we know what is best. What pride! What arrogance! To suggest that God should govern according to our mind is to imply that we are wiser than God.

Since “He will recompense it, whether thou refuse, or whether thou choose,” is it not in your best interest to submit? When God chastens, is it not wise to cease to offend and say, “I will not offend any more?” Any child who has ever felt the chastening rod can attest to this fact. When the Lord sees fit to teach through “painful lessons” things that we need to learn, it only makes sense to become a “quick study” and say, “That which I see not teach thou me.”

No unsaved person should be so foolish as to dispute with his Sovereign God, who is the only Savior for sinners. How ought salvation come to your soul? “Should it be according to thy mind?” Should beggars be choosers? Should the sinner in need of repentance become a dictator? Should not God, the gracious Donor of salvation save according to His will? These questions imply that there is an objection. But to what the sinner objects is not quite clear. Is it too much of grace? Is it too simple? You must know that anything you might add to make it less of grace or less simple would only ruin it. All of the false religions in the world bear the same message. “It should be according to the mind of man.” Proud man wants to add his works to the perfect vicarious and substitutionary work of the Divine Savior.

To all who would dispute with the Sovereign Savior, listen to His warning. “He will recompense it, whether thou refuse, or whether thou choose.” God will perform His pleasure, and He will punish sin. God will glorify Christ and Him alone in the salvation of sinners. Let all men know and understand that God is not asking for permission or cooperation from His creature. He will magnify His own name by carrying out His work of mercy in the one way, which He has chosen. He will not alter one jot nor tittle to accommodate vainglorious men. Salvation is and shall ever be according to the mind of God. Scripture declares that “God hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence.” The only sound advice for all who would be saved, is to abandon all trust in men and cast your soul upon Sovereign Mercy, calling upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

NOVEMBER 5, 2024

 “Which when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of, they rent their clothes, and ran in among the people, crying out, And saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein:” (Acts 14:14-15)

In this part of Acts chapter 14, Paul and Barnabas have entered Lystra, a city in the province of Galatia. This city’s reaction is the opposite of what happened in Pisidian Antioch and Iconium, where they were threatened with stoning.

In Lystra, they are initially worshiped as gods. The two Christian missionaries are horrified by this reaction and do their best to stop it. Paul and Barnabas, upon their working one miracle, were treated as gods. This reaction is misguided. They determine Barnabas must be the Greek god, Zeus, and Paul must be Hermes. It’s unclear if the two evangelists realize what is happening. Paul is preaching to the Lycaonians, but he may speak in tongues and does not know the language. As soon as he and Barnabas realize the priest of Zeus is leading the people to offer sacrifices to them, they respond with actions associated with mourning and horror.

We do not learn that they rented their clothes when people went to stone them, but when they started worshipping them, they refused to stand for it. The men were more concerned for God’s honor than their own. “Renting one’s clothes” was a dramatic way of expressing horror or panic. It was hardly ever used except in deprecation of spoken or acted blasphemy. How far it would be fully understood by the heathen population of Lystra may be a question, but its very strangeness would unnerve and arrest them. In short, the missionaries needed everyone to pay attention to the disgust and anger they felt through this action.

Paul and Barnabas react strongly to the crowd’s sacrifices for at least two reasons. The first is that as devout Jews and Jesus followers, they know only God is worthy of such honor. The idea of people offering worship sacrifices to them is horrifying. The second reason, possibly, is they know the last person to accept such accolades suffered a gruesome death, eaten from the inside by worms. They have no desire to share Herod Agrippa I’s fate.

They cannot fathom the utter stupidity of the people’s conduct in worshipping those who were only human. When an offer was made to worship Paul and Barnabas, they shrank from it with strong expressions of aversion and anger. Still, when Thomas offered similar worship to the Lord Jesus in John 20:28, he provided no reproof. He approved it and expressed that others would join. Instead, they say, “We are human beings just like you”. They have no claim to anything more. God is not subject to things of men, like pain, sickness, and death, and is the only one deserving of worship. These are but men, subject to the same passions as everyone else.

If we worship people as idols or vanities, as they were called, we must turn to the only living and true God. A pastor, celebrity, or politician has no power to save your soul; thus, confidence in them to do so is in vain. The living God is the only proper object of worship, the one God who has made all things.

OCTOBER 31, 2024

 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.” (Ephesians 1:3-6)

Paul opens with “Blessed be” to clearly emphasize God. In the following few verses, he will address predestination, adoption, God’s will, grace, redemption, and glory; all themes connected to God Himself and all worthy of blessing. After blessing the Father and the Son, Paul notes that God has blessed us, in Christ, with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places. This all-encompassing statement indicates that Christ has given us every blessing we need. Christ came from heaven to earth from the Father to bring us every blessing we need.

God chose every person who would believe in Him before they were even created. These words have tremendous implications regarding God’s wisdom and plan. His wisdom and power are so great that He knew the end even before the beginning. God exists outside of time and is the only Being able to know all things because He created all things.

Paul also notes a few essential applications of God’s choosing us to be His children. Because of God’s wisdom, power, and love, our proper response as His children is to obey Him. We are to be “holy,” a word meaning “set apart.” We must also live in a way that is without blame, an essential characteristic for all believers, especially church leaders.

The Apostle then teaches why God chose believers to be His children according to His own will. In an act of love and as part of His divine plan, God designed a way for all men, even those not part of the Jewish people, to come into the family of God. The Gentile believers reading this letter would especially appreciate this note from Paul, who considered his Gentile readers as equals, as brothers and sisters in the family of God.

Choosing believers in advance to become part of God’s family is an act of His glorious grace. God does all things for His glory. This includes His planning for those who will become His children. Some think the doctrine of predestination is ridiculous because they see it as removing our autonomy. They will say, “If your salvation was determined before birth, why take your faith seriously? Whether you made the list or not, there’s nothing you can do to change that.” Consider instead that God, who created all things, specifically chose before the world’s creation that we would be made, live, become His children, and one day stay with Him for eternity. This grace is a powerful gift, a blessing God gave us.

His acceptance of His beloved Son is thus bestowed to all who genuinely believe and trust in Him and His sacrifice in our place. In love, we were predestined to be adopted as children of God by faith in Jesus Christ and openly admitted to the privileges of that high relation to Him. The reconciled and adopted believer needs to give all the praise of salvation to their gracious Father, for it is “to the praise of the glory of His grace” that we are “accepted in the Beloved.