Isaiah (10)

Therefore the Lord God of hosts,
The Mighty One of Israel, declares,
“Ah, I will be relieved of My adversaries
And avenge Myself on My foes.
“I will also turn My hand against you,
And will smelt away your dross as with lye
And will remove all your alloy.
“Then I will restore your judges as at the first,
And your counselors as at the beginning;
After that you will be called the city of righteousness,
A faithful city.”

Zion will be redeemed with justice
And her repentant ones with righteousness.
But transgressors and sinners will be crushed together,
And those who forsake the Lord will come to an end.
Surely you will be ashamed of the oaks which you have desired,
And you will be embarrassed at the gardens which you have chosen.
For you will be like an oak whose leaf fades away
Or as a garden that has no water.
The strong man will become tinder,

His work also a spark.
Thus they shall both burn together
And there will be none to quench them.  (Isaiah 1:24 - 31).

How do we best read this conclusion to Isaiah’s first prophecy? How does it speak to us today?

Regarding its relation to nations, whether it be the United States or any other nation, if God judged His Covenant People we can be sure that He will judge all nations. From Genesis through Revelation God judges the peoples and governments of the earth - they are all held accountable.

One of many dangers that citizens of nations face is adopting the same arrogance and hubris that Israel and Judah manifested, “Because God blessed us in the past He will always bless us. Because God blessed us in the past He will overlook our sins. When God blessed us in the past it was because we deserved it.” This is why patriotism must always be held in tension with God’s Word, and for the Christian it must also be held in tension with our citizenship in heaven. When patriotism demands that we give our nation a pass on sin, that we overlook sin, that our “God bless our nation” mentality is a cloak for sin and a substitute for deep-seated repentance - then we find ourselves in a similar situation as the nation of Judah in Isaiah Chapter 1.

Of course the capacity to accept the conviction of sin on a national scale is related to our willingness to submit to the Holy Spirit’s conviction of sin in our individual lives; it isn’t likely that we will have a sense of collective sin if we do not have a conviction of personal sin.

If there is “None righteous no not one” on an individual scale, we can be sure that there is “None righteous no not one” on a national scale. Sadly, because we cannot discern the importance of national repentance, or appreciate the importance of the church engaged in intercessory prayer for the nation - prayer that of necessity includes the confession of national sin - God’s people often gather for worship as if nothing is wrong with their earthly nation, or if there is something wrong it has to do with “others” and “other” political persuasions, rather than with deep-rooted sin. Note that in Isaiah Chapter One that God’s condemnation extends from the halls of government to the way widows and orphans (the disenfranchised, those without a voice) are treated. This is the view of the prophets - the corruption of civic and religious leaders translates into social and economic injustice; show me the way the poor, elderly, infants, and others without a voice are cared for and I’ll show you the spiritual and moral character of a nation.

Is the professing church speaking to the sin within itself? Do we hear God’s Voice calling us to repentance for our worship of “the good life”? For our use of the dollar as the arbiter of our lives? For our refusal to speak on behalf of those who cannot speak?

Even a cursory reading of the Letters to the Seven Churches of Revelation chapters 2 and 3 demonstrate that Christ not only will judge, but is judging, churches that depart from His Word - we cannot live outside fidelity to Christ and His Word with impunity - as Peter writes, “Judgement begins at the house of God.” Paul writes, “If we would judge ourselves rightly, we would not be judged.”

There is, however, a promise of hope in Isaiah’s conclusion, a promise of restoration, a promise that a time will come when the people of God will be called, “...the city of righteousness, a faithful city. Zion will be redeemed with justice and her repentant ones with righteousness.”

This is a promise to the New Man, the Church, the New Israel, the Body of Christ (Ephesians 2:11 - 22; Galatians 4:21 - 31; 6:16; Hebrews 12:18 - 24). In the Seven Letters of Revelation Christ calls His people to repent, those who repent and follow the Lamb in faithfulness overcome even as Christ overcame - they participate in His overcoming victory.

Who will follow the Lamb wherever He goes (Revelation 14:1-5)? Who is willing to stand with Christ in the midst of a hedonistic society? A self-centered professing church? Who is willing to lose his or her life for the sake of Jesus Christ? Who will value citizenship in heaven above all other citizenships? Who will refuse to follow Esau in giving up his birthright (Hebrews 12:15 - 17) for short-term gratification? Who will go outside the camp of society and popular religion (including popular Christianity) bearing the reproach of Jesus (Hebrews 13:13 - 14)?

Jesus is either worth everything or He is worth nothing. He either deserves all of life or He deserves nothing of life.

Do we belong to Jesus? Do our churches belong to Jesus? Whose name is on the title to our lives? To the life of our local church?

Perspectives on Pentecost (2)

Do we realize what a radical change occurred on Pentecost? No longer would God live in temples made with hands, but now the Temple of God was on earth in His people (Ephesians 2:19 - 22). This reorientation was, I think, both energizing (which is somewhat obvious) and disorienting for the followers of Jesus (which may not be obvious unless we s-l-o-w down when reading Acts and when pondering the epistles).

Also consider the Body of Christ; prior to Pentecost there was The People of God, however we may choose to understand that. But at Pentecost a new entity comes into existence on the earth, the Body of Christ - this is not metaphorical, this is organic, this is a present reality. (The term “comes into existence” is something I use with reluctance because I don’t understand it, as Paul writes, “I speak as a man,” this is really too big for me). But whether I understand it or not, a New Man now walks the earth. This is, if you will, a Second Incarnation, a fulfillment of the promise of Jesus in John chapters 13 - 17 that the Son will live within His People, in fact, that the Trinity will live within His People. We see this in the New Temple, we see this in the Body of Christ.

While the New Temple speaks to us of the place where God dwells, the Body speaks of organic union with Christ, the Head of the Body; and then it speaks to us of our organic union with one another in Christ (see Ephesians 4:1 - 16; 1 Cor. 12). Do we appreciate this new reality that came into existence on Pentecost? Perhaps if we did we’d be a little more humble in our Christian tribal warfare. A little more humble and deferential in  seeking the unity of believers. A little more willing to give up our preferences and to be patient in those things we consider non-negotiables - after all, hopefully none of us are the same people today that we were five or ten years ago, hopefully we’re all growing and learning and changing into the image of the Firstborn Son (Romans 8:29).

Passion for sound teaching is good, do we have the same passion for unity? I realize this can be misunderstood, I am not saying unity at the cost of Truth; but if we can’t eat together, laugh together, minimize our “traditions” and “preferences” in order to get to know one another - how can we ever hope to express and experience unity in Christ? And let us not forget that Jesus says that the world will know the Father sent the Son as we are one in Him (John 17). The way we live does not suggest that we are living in the reality of the Body of Christ - that new entity that was born on Pentecost.

Here is an irony, and I write this as one with roots in the Pentecostal and charismatic traditions; to be truly Pentecostal one really ought not to emphasize so much a “personal experience” but rather focus on the corporate reality of Pentecost - for that is really what we see in Acts Chapter 2 and beyond - a New Man, a Second Incarnation, a Body. God filled His People with the Holy Spirit on Pentecost - this does not negate the individual person, but it does place the individual in context - as part of a whole; a living stone, a member of a body.

If my core identity lies in a denomination, or a non-denomination, or a doctrinal distinctive, or experience, or my mode of worship - if it lies in anything other than in Jesus Christ and His Temple, His Body, His Bride, His Church - then I have a skewed identity. If we must have elements of significant identity in any of the foregoing - then let them not be our core - and let us have the good sense to acknowledge that we have them due to the “hardness of our heart”, due to our fractured humanity - let us not make of them something which they are not...for surely they will not survive into the fullness of the Kingdom of God. God may accommodate us in our limitations, but let us not exalt our limitations - let us see them for what they are (or try to) - our various tribal identities at best are still less than God’s ultimate intention, less than His purpose, less than the fullness of the Church of Jesus Christ.

I think we have lost the radical reorientation that the early believers experienced - we have become children of organizations (and a host of other things) rather than of the organic Body of Christ. I want the people I serve to be Christians first, and Congregationalists, or Baptists, or Pentecostals, or Reformed...second...third...fourth?  

Are we living in the reality of Pentecost?