Isaiah sees the return of the people but it will be only a
remnant and they will lean not on their own understanding or some other nation
that has saved them, they will lean on the Lord as their savior. The picture is not a pretty one,
however. Though now they see a large
nation, the fulfillment of the promise to Abraham, when they return it will be
only this remnant things will look very different at that time than they do
now. Have we any idea how this would
affect the people who return, to recall how great was the nation at one time
and now it is as nothing at all. Rebuilding
after such an event would be a daunting task, it would be easy to be
discouraged, but if our trust is in the Lord we will be like Nehemiah. They are assured, all who will listen, that
ultimately the Lord will prevail but it will be a painful and difficult time
for all concerned.
Luke tells us that John was not particularly welcoming and encouraging
to the crowds, referring to them as a brood of vipers. If this is simply a show, a crowd coming
because it is the thing to do and no one wants to be left out or thought
irreligious, then they need not come at all.
There is a command to bear fruits in keeping with repentance, prove that
their religion is real, that they have true intentions to follow the Lord. John's attitude is don't come here unless you
mean it, you can't escape judgment simply by being baptized, your life is what
truly matters. Dietrich Bonhoeffer would
say the same in his book Cost of Discipleship, that we have given out cheap
grace by giving away the sacraments to those whose repentance is not real,
whose only desire is to avoid judgment and we have given assurance that there
is salvation by sacrament rather than by discipleship. The road is narrow to life, not many will
enter says Jesus.
Sanctification matters, not only justification. Is our justification dependent on our
sanctification or are they two different things? It is a matter of which came first, the chicken
or the egg. Our pursuit of
righteousness, or sanctification would seem to indicate something about our
justification. Could one who is truly in
Christ Jesus, justified, not pursue righteousness, not deny self, take up the
cross and follow Him? It would be
impossible to say to Jesus that you accept His sacrifice but you didn't realize
that it meant anything had to change in your own life, that you would be
required to make sacrifices also. He died
for sin and only sinners need Him. If He
died for my sin there must be something that needs to change about my life,
particularly that which is called sin. Do
we hate the garment stained by flesh? Jude
is talking about the garment closest to the flesh, realizing that the flesh is
the problem but if we have the Spirit we can subdue the flesh by the power of
the Spirit. Not completely, but
sanctification is the mortification of the desires of the flesh and awakening
to the desires and demands of the Spirit.
Let us then bear fruit in keeping with repentance and thereby reveal our
faith and our salvation.
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