Isaiah 56:1-2
“This is what the Lord says: “Maintain justice and do what is right, for my salvation is close at hand and my righteousness will soon be revealed. Blessed is the one who does this— the person who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it, and keeps their hands from doing any evil.””
Isaiah 56:1-2 NIV
The Lord tells us what are His expectations of duty from us. Be honest and just in all dealings. Also strictly observe the sabbath day. To have the blessing of God upon employments all the week, make conscience of keeping the sabbath holy. Have nothing to do with sin. Blessed is the man that keeps his hand from all things displeasing to God and hurtful to his own soul. Those who, through the Spirit, wait for the hope of righteousness by faith, will be found walking in ways of holy obedience. We often think that the Gospel gets rid of the need of doing good things. And in a way it makes good works unnecessary’. However, of course, we all know God’s will is that we follow after Him in the way of righteousness. God instructs the Israelites and indeed anyone who would listen as is made clear in the rest of the chapter to keep justice, and do righteousness even though His own salvation was about to come in Jesus. In fact, He specifically says to keep justice and do righteousness because His salvation is about to come. Why? There is a strain of logic that says that it should be the other way around. That since we have the gift of the Lord’s righteousness, then it has become unnecessary to have our own righteousness so to speak. But this rightly rejected by this passage. Why? Blessed, I think that is the message. Yes, God’s righteousness and salvation is a gift, one that we cannot work for. But if we want to experience the goodness of that gift in this life, then much depends on how we live out our lives, which is done through God’s strength as well. So the exhortation, or command, is to keep justice, and do righteousness. This is most imperative because we have already received God’s righteousness. When God speaks here, He speaks in terms of the future, and His words are emphatic. How much more so now. Let us live in God’s righteousness, striving to become more and more like Him as we grow in Him. The goal in Christianity is to hunger and thirst after righteousness. That hunger comes to you from the transformation of the work of Jesus Christ. The goal is not union with any personal absolute but communion with God himself. So that in the creation, the incarnation, the transformation and consummation, the Christian faith is unique. The main idea of Isaiah 56 is that we need to respond to God’s saving faith with godliness, which is to demonstrate the character of God toward others. It is to show good works before people. Examples of godliness include justice, love, compassion, and mercy. Godliness is loving our neighbor. Godliness, in a believer, comes from a heart filled with worship and adoration of God. A worship-filled heart loves God and desires to please Him. A thankful heart produces worship. We love and adore God because He is our treasure. When we encounter a worshipful believer, there is no question that they love God. We see it visibly in their life, and we hear it spoken in their words. Call upon God while He is near. Ask Him to show you your heart. Ask Him to help you be sure that you are a genuine believer who gives evidence of His work of grace. Trust in God and you will not be disappointed!!!
Father thank You for this day and the blessing of Your Word that gives us life. Lord let Your abundant blessings pour out from the storehouses of heaven upon my friend and families today. Lord we pray for You to be close us, for we long to live our lives according to Your standards of gracious and generous love. Lord give us a forgiving heart towards others, a desire to do all we can to meet their needs, the courage always to discern what is right and true, and the strength to persevere through trouble so that peaceful solutions to human conflict may be found. Lord use my friend to be a light of Your love to all today. Daddy we love You amen. Be a blessing. Love ya !
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