The Cure (4)
Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, Isaiah 1:16 ESV
Cease – If removing evil was the same as not doing it anymore, then it would not be necessary to have two verbs connected to this idea. But there are two verbs here. The first is sur which we now know is about changing direction. The second is hadal. The first verb tells us that changing direction when we are confronted by similar circumstances is the equivalent of removing evil from the eyes of the Lord. The second verb adds the thought that we must STOP doing things that are evil. It is not sufficient to simply alter our course when we run into the same temptations. There will always be new things that entice. The wheel moves along the path as it turns and some things that we should not do will not have been encountered before. Therefore, we must know what we must STOP doing even if we have not done these things before.
The command is clear. STOP doing what is evil. But now we have a problem. What exactly are these evil things? If they are not part of our past experiences, how are we to know them as evil? This is the crux of the modern moral dilemma. For most of the world, evil is determined by the beholder. In other words, evil is a function of what I decide is inappropriate, harmful or detestable. For most of the world, evil is a matter of personal taste. Theologically, we might say that evil is determined by the paradigm I accept. What this implies is that my definition of evil depends on the authority that I submit myself to. If my authority is my peer group, my culture or my nation, I could have radically different ideas about what is good and what is bad. But for those who embrace the paradigm of the Kingdom, there is but one authority who determines what is good and what is evil. That authority is YHWH. What He says is good is good. What He says is evil is evil. And there is no argument or appeal or exception or excuse. When the King speaks, the citizens obey.
I am often surprised to find that people who claim to be citizens of the Kingdom have selective morality. In other words, while they say that they follow YHWH and honor Him as their Lord, they seem to pick and choose which of His instructions and definitions apply to them. They declare that the paradigm of good and evil is in the hands of the Lord, but their behavior seems to be determined by what they think applies. It’s no surprise that these people have a difficult time defending biblical morality against cultural mores. They actually have the same operating system.
When the followers of YHWH embrace the truth that He alone determines what is good and what is evil, they often find that a great number of behaviors have to change. Some are simple to incorporate. Some are much more difficult because they stand in opposition to both the culture and the religious establishment. But there is no wiggle room here. If God is the final authority, then what He says is truth and I must conform to His word or live in defiance of His expectations.
Topical Index: ra, evil, cease, hadal, Isaiah 1:16
Walk With Me
(John 8.10,11) ~ Straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?” She said, “No one, LORD.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.” ~
This woman had a “close encounter!” She met Someone! She met the One who is Truth Incarnate, the Word made flesh, the Son of God and God the Son. Did the “living Truth” condemn her? No, but He did convict her. She knew in her heart of hearts (and according to the instructions of YHWH) her behavior was not in right alignment with Torah. Specifically? ~ You shall not commit adultery ~ Exodus 20.14- (Only?) one of the ten. This woman at the well was a sinner- and “she” knew it. There was no need for anyone else to “condemn” her, not even the holy, pure and totally sinless and spotless Son of God! She knew it, He (certainly) knew it- the conviction of sin had already taken place.
What this woman needed was given unto her on that day. Grace meet need. What she needed (what we (all) need, was given unto her at that very hour. “Neither do I condemn you- go and sin no more”.
He gave unto her, the “total package.” Forgiveness AND freedom. But, only God can forgive sin! Yes, this is true. Only God. The Son of God IS God the Son. And this One, the God-Man has the authority to forgive sin. All authority (in Heaven and in Earth) has been given unto Him.
Not only did “Grace incarnate” provide the much needed forgiveness, but also a freedom she had never known before: “Go, and sin no more!!” Christian, “go, and sin no more!!” We too, have been given the power of choice!! If we sin, it is because (are you listening?)- we now (knowingly and willingly) CHOOSE to do so!
We have resident within us, the power, the authority of choice. Ahh, but what is “right” and what is “wrong?” If we are to choose what is right and refuse what is wrong, – how can we know? ~ This is the Way, – walk in it? ~ Selah.
~ Good and upright is the LORD; therefore He instructs sinners in His ways ~ (Psalm 25:8)
May I? Oh, Hallelujah!! Blessed is the Name of the LORD! He instructs sinners!! (Sinners are us!!)
We (fellow sinners) now have His instructions! “Go, – and sin no more!!” We have been given, (praise His wonderful Name)- the power, the authority of choice! Friend, (what does the scripture say?) Oh, Word of God speak!!! Speak unto sinners and say to them (clearly, concisely)
~ Sin shall no longer have dominion (power/authority) over you!! ~ (Romans 6.14)
(May I?) With your permission, (HALLELUJAH!!)
We (who are His), we, who belong to Him- serve a new Master!! We are now “p-owned!” The Lock, the stock and the barrel!. All of me belongs to all of Him and all of Him belongs to all of me! We are now ONE!! (Somebody tie me down!) -Got those “eagle wings” flappin’! This is the blood-covenant union of human (me) and the Divine (Him). ~it is Christ in YOU,- the hope (glad certainty) of glory (weight or beauty!).
Two words. (am i 2 late?) Refuse and choose. Refuse this, – choose that! Refuse sin- choose the Savior! Turn from (yes), but don’t stop halfway!! Don’t forget to turn “towards!” Look away from this, but (don’t stop there!)- Look unto Him!! ~ Look unto ME and be saved, all the ends of the earth!! ~
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grown strangely dim,
In the Light of His glory and grace.
Sin, has lost its luster. Sin no longer “shines” for me as it once did. I have, within me a brand new “want to!!” Friend, do I want to sin? Praise God (hear me when I say)- NO!!!. Do I want to eat slop with the pigs?? NO!!!. Bread of Heaven, – feed Me!! (I too, now have meat to eat you know nothing about!) I have a new appetite! (Bon Appetit!) Look-find- feast! ~ Eat that which is good and let your soul delight itself in fatness! ~ Woman, (or man) don’t be lookin’ for love in all the wrong places!
Oh the forgiveness we have *in Christ. But don’t stop here. Soldier, continue. Soldier on! Oh the freedom we now have *in Christ!* Now go!-and sin no more!! ~ Sin shall no longer have dominion (power,authority) over you! ~ We are (now) more than conquerors through Him that loved us ~
~ This, I say then, “walk in the Spirit and YOU will NOT fulfill the lusts of the flesh ~ (Galatians 5.16)
Today, let’s go for a walk!
And.. He walks with me,
and.. He talks with me,
and.. He tells me I am His own,
and..- the joy we share
as we tarry “there..”
none other has ever known!
Wonderful.Merciful. Savior. Blessed Redeemer and Friend!
~ Blessed IS the Name of the LORD ~
I have become much more cautious when it comes to making decisions.Is what I am doing good,really good?Are some of the things I do bad?According to who are these things good or bad?Are my decisions dictated by tradition or scripture?Before I understood the law was not done away with I relied on tradition,after all I live in a very righteous community.As easy as it was to follow tradition I have come to understand its not about easy its about freedom.Not freedom from the law but freedom in the law.Now Hashem tells me what is good and what is bad.This might sound silly but I really feel free now.Free from not knowing fore sure what is good and what is bad.
If I were to raise my children or my grandchild as I’ve been instructed in my SBC paradigm, they would get away with murder, lying, stealing, cheating, etc. All they’d have to do is say “I’m sorry.” No big deal. Nothing to see hear. They’ve ‘repented.’
These children of mine certainly need some washing, cleaning, removing and ceasing each day.
I certainly do, as well.
This fits a realistic, tangible road to travel. A good paradigm to drive any training my kids would need for a healthy life, honoring God in all they do, learning to reflect the image they were made in.
On that note, a very good road to travel myself.
Wash. Clean. Remove. Cease.
Oops, FOUR points. One will have to go to fit in to a good 3-point sermon.
Cease. Let’s just leave that one off. We can work around the others.
Sigh.
Good one Michael. I always appreciate your sense of humor.
🙂
Judi, I’m easily entertained.
Also, correction: ‘here’ not ‘hear’ although the three monkeys might fit the sentence as well.
See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil. Or at least any self defined appearance of any of those.
Michael C, I am so sorry to hear of your church history with the SBC. Of course, the SBC is made up of many SBC congregations, but the one you attended (as a youth?) – was it the pastor? or the program? or the people? – or “all of the above?”- In any case, you did the right thing in saturating that place with your absence..- The LORD, (our LORD) knows those that are His! ~ I like what my pastor said, “if you’re looking for the devil, don’t fail to look in the pulpit!” What better place to propagate a lie or to entertain a “bully!” I have my own “stories” (don’t we all..) but in every place and in every time, this much I know (now) as a glad certainty: ~ but God is faithful!! ~
Yes, we should respect the office of pastor or politician, but ~ it is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes ~ (Psalm 118.9) Your response reminds me also of what our pastor once said, Beware of Christian cannibalism- and the church is the only army that shoots its own wounded! Wow!- where do I join a church like that! But then he turned around and said, (sometimes I do “pay attention” in church!), If you ever find the “perfect church”- don’t join it, for you’ll ruin it for everyone else!! lol!
Every SBC church I attended as an adult had the same theology. Mental assent was all that was necessary. Repentance entailed acknowledging the ‘sin,’ drum up some sorrow, apply the blood of Jesus and everything is good.
The foundation supporting all this was that NOT sinning was impossible so why exert any effort to do so. Simply rest in his grace knowing whenever I sinned he’ll just forgive me.
They wanted to act like the very way they would teach against raising kids. They taught kids should be held responsible and change there wicked ways but told me all I had to do was keep ‘turning around’ or repent over and over again because God’s grace was ever bigger.
Wash, cleanse, remove, cease was relegated to that which I couldn’t do since I was one with a nature that could only sin with no choice to do otherwise without some magical help from the Spirit.
Trusting in Jesus was a magical gesture of mental gymnastics rather that doing specific actions defined and instructed by God himself in Torah.
I can’t even see any validity in recognizing the ‘office’ of pastor. Pastoring biblical, as far as I can tell, is DOING Torah and walking with and encouraging others in the ways of Torah. It is in the ways of a shepherd, protecting, caring for, providing for and leading AS they themselves follow Torah. It’s not a CEO, a president or a sole authority as most every SBC pastor I know has conducted themselves. There’s more, but I’ll stop with that.
These observation are not me crying or whining or complaining about it. I’ve removed myself from that paradigm. I’m simply expounding on what I know now as opposed to what I was taught then.
Michael C,
I was raised with in the SBC paradigm as well and I agree with everything you’ve stated. As a teenager and in my early twenties, I became very rebellious. I walked just like the world and modern culture. But, because of my upbringing in the SBC, I completely believed that it didn’t matter because I was “saved”. After committing a sin that I recognized, I simply said a short prayer for forgiveness and then went on to commit the same sin again later that day or night. I had no idea what repentance was. I have many friends and family members that are still in this paradigm. They have bought the same lie and their day-to-day lives are screaming testimonies (as mine was) of this world view.
Sure they call upon the Lord, but they don’t live by His instructions. Why? Because they are told every week that as “sinners” this is impossible (despite Dt. 30:11) and if they tried, they would be trying to earn their salvation. So sad.
They feel sorry for me now, lol. They look at me with pity as if I’m living in bondage. They really believe that I’ve lost my “way” because I desire to actually do what YHWH requires. They’ve told me again and again that all I need is Jesus. They honestly would prefer that I return to my old dissolute lifestyle rather than pursue Torah obedience. Why?
Over the years, I’ve come to understand that people do not like to go against the flow of modern culture. It is hard. Perhaps that is why most Torah pursuant people I meet are a little rough around the edges, passionate, self-educated, and very thick skinned! So long as we balance all these qualities with compassion, mercy, and love we will do well and remain a good witness to Torah and Messiah. A peculiar people indeed.
You articulated that very well and I totally relate to every word.
What an awesome series on this subject! Thank you Skip – it brings a lot to the forefront .. a lot of interesting introspection of things in and around my world. Thank you!!!
I found out the hard way
about darkness and the evil that awaits.
I chose to go there.
The choice to enter in was easy.
The choice to get out was not.
During my many years of self-imposed exile,
one scripture in particular haunted me.
“For everyone practicing evil hates the light and
does not come to the light, lest his deeds should
be exposed.” Jn 3:20
Oh, how I wanted to be able to come to the light and
walk in it. But I couldn’t. The grip of this evil was too much.
I’ve shared my story with many people in similar straights.
The way out, at least for me, came in two steps.
1. You have to WANT to get out. You must be ready.
2. You have to CRY OUT to God for help. You must be open.
“I cry out with my whole heart; hear me, O Lord.” Ps 119:145
And it worked!
Several friends I know have had the exact same miraculous
results. It happened in the twinkling of an eye!
One moment you’re in the clutches of addiction.
The next, you’re completely delivered! Totally free from all desire!
How can this possibly happen?
“He stretches out the north over empty space;
He hangs the earth on nothing.” Job 26:7
There’s nothing He can’t do!
How easily we can overlook how truly amazing
our God is!!!
That was awesome. Made me cry. How can it be, indeed!
A recent animated discussion in our parashah study group was about whether Adam and Eve could know good from evil if they had not experienced it. If their paradigm was “God is good”, then yes they did know the difference even without the experience (or taste of) the tree. Our consensus was that they did know the difference but I don’t think anyone had a good sense of why that was true or how it still applies today to us . Thanks Skip — this helps.
On another note, while thinking about this TW, I kept hearing Bob Newhart in that old Saturday Night Live skit saying “Stop it; just stop it” to the church. If you’ve never seen this little gem you should Google “Bob Newhart – STOP IT!” I watched it again this afternoon and had a good laugh — with a little “ouch”. Imagine Bob as God and his patient as the church. 🙂 Shabbat Shalom everyone.
Thanks Suzanne we both laughed. How true it is.
I watched STOP IT.
Can’t really be any simpler. Cease evil. Stop it.
Bob was funny.
Hit the nail on the head squarely.
Loved this video! It really does sum it all up, lol!