Justice in the Kingdom Community: Isaiah 1:16-19

Isaiah 1:16-19

I.                    Vs. 16

a.       Wash yourselves, cleanse yourselves (cf. Ps. 51)

                                                                          i.      The worshipers cannot cleanse themselves of sin, but they can make inward and outward changes that are pleasing to God (cf. Jer. 32:19).

                                                                        ii.      The same is true for us today, our actions do not save us, but they can be more pleasing to God.

                                                                      iii.      This is more than a rhetorical flourish on the prophet or God’s part. As God’s people, we are required to submit ourselves to God and do good works.

b.      Remove evil – doing good alone is not sufficient. Evil must also be removed.

c.       Stop doing evil – we must do good in such a way that there is no room in our lives to continue doing evil.

d.      How do we know the difference between good and evil? The antagonist to faith would say that our definitions of good and evil are arbitrary at best, subservient and malignant at worst. How should the believer defend against this secular position?

                                                                          i.      What criteria would remove arbitrariness from a discussion of ethics? Does the secular humanist have a better position to defend against this claim? It hardly seems so, every position starts from a position of some sort of faith, whether it is faith in the precepts developed from evolutionary standards or from the Bible. If we are starting from a point of suspicion and skepticism, the secularist has even more a reason to be called arbitrary because evolution and social standards alone have no outside moral reason to say what is right or wrong. For example, if the secular humanist claims there is no God (god) and then states that all the precepts of the Bible were merely invented by humans to control other humans and enforce their own moral code, then there reason to reject them will come from personal or social bias developed by contemporary society. But why should contemporary society dictate any what is right just because of temporal hubris? To say that previous societies were wrong just because they were not as evolved is to assume that evolution itself is helpful and right. But why should this be the case without outside intervention? What about appeals to reason? Reason, without God, must necessarily be an evolutionary solipsism. For, even if reason and rationale exist independently of the human mind, what reason would we have to believe we could access them consistently without the prejudices of evolution betraying our ability to access them?

                                                                        ii.      On the other hand, biblical faith must accede to the position that we are not sufficient to ground reason or ethics on our own. For biblical faith, this is not solipsism though. The referent in faith is to a higher being who is free of these same restraints, by being infinitely wise, and who has access to reason and ethics during the process of creation. From this divine access point, the created order gets to start with all things being good (cf. Gen. 1). Skeptics cannot claim any such common starting ground without borrowing from faith.

                                                                      iii.      This leads us to say that knowing good and evil must come from:

1.      Careful study of scripture.

2.      Knowing God through the individual leading of the Holy Spirit

3.      The worship of the local church through holy lives

a.       Community developed in the Holy Spirit looks different than any other community

b.      The inherent messiness of this type of community comes from the reordering of:

                                                                                                                                                  i.      Priorities – how time is spent

                                                                                                                                                ii.      Values - what type of things and ideas are important

                                                                                                                                              iii.      Culture – people of faith use those things of culture which are valuable and beautiful, while rejecting those things which demean original creation’s goodness

                                                                                                                                              iv.      We must be careful to avoid human authoritarianism and cult-like behavior while also honoring God

II.                 Vs. 17

a.       Learn to do what is good and seek justice – these seem to be written to those who have authority in society. However, seeking justice is something almost all people can do in their dealings with others and even how they spend money (cf. Deut. 16:20; Ps. 89:14; Amos 5:15; Zech. 7:9).

b.      Correct the oppressor/help the oppressed – there is little distinction between correcting those who are oppressing others and helping the oppressed person (cf. Ps. 68:5; Jer. 22:3; James 1:27).

                                                                          i.      We live in one the most criminalized and penalized societies in the world. Does our penal system enact justice or is it partial to those who have money? In what ways does it divide our society unjustly? When business is such a large part of the penal system, how much justice is done in our system?

                                                                        ii.      What about children and family members affected by our penal system? Are we looking out for these people?

                                                                      iii.      What about people who have been affected by unjust laws related to our banking our bankruptcy systems? Are we caring and looking out for these people?

                                                                      iv.      Do we try to correct unjust laws?

c.       People of faith must be advocates to the vulnerable. We must be for life in all its forms, not just in the womb. If we are for life, we are for the children who do not receive proper nutrition during the week. We are also for single parents who struggle to raise their children.

III.              Vs. 18

a.       God argues His case against the people of Judah (cf. Is. 43:26)

                                                                          i.      What would God bring in a case against us today?

                                                                        ii.      The end of Job and the letters to the churches in Revelation come to mind as bookends

1.      We are not as infinitely wise as God

2.      We must seek God first to act justly

3.      God’s priorities are often not our priorities

b.      Psalm 51 is again recalled, if not quoted as this juncture. As always, the point of discipline is restoration.

c.       It is no accident that Jesus’ robes were scarlet (Matt. 27:28; also see Lev. 14:4 for an interesting passage)

                                                                          i.      Our sins were carried by Jesus both literally and figuratively for those who had eyes to see

                                                                        ii.      The situation is no different today, and we are reminded of this reality when we regularly take communion with others

IV.              Vs. 19

a.       For those who are willing and obedient, a promise of full life in the land is given

                                                                          i.      For the descendants of Jacob, this was a promise of the physical land of Israel.

                                                                        ii.      For the church, we look forward to a restoration of heaven and earth after the return of Christ.

                                                                      iii.      Willing and obedient are parallel thoughts. The one who is willing must also be obedient. True obedience is not blind, it is willing to follow God.

b.      For the Christian, when we take and eat the body of Christ, we are taking and eating the good things. This is metaphorical in relation to this verse, but it is also true and important. As noted earlier, true Christian community becomes a distinct thing in the world when done right. It also points us toward the coming reality of kingdom through our current participation in the kingdom.

Final thoughts:

1.      Am an I advocate for the poor and oppressed, those who are vulnerable?

2.      What sins of commission (things I have done) do I need to confess and repent of in my life?

3.      What sins of omission (things I have failed to do when I should have – e.g. helping someone in need) do I need to confess and repent of in my life?

4.      Are my ethics grounded properly in kingdom ethics?

5.      How can I live in a way that honors God with my good works of righteousness?

6.      When I come to communion, is there someone in the community I need to make things right with?

7.      What does a growing kingdom community look like in the church?