“Sins of the Church”
[Isaiah 1:10-20]
March 4, 2018, Second Reformed Church
We may remember that Isaiah preaches
700 to 800 years before Jesus during the reign of the kings: Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. He preaches primarily to the Southern Kingdom
of Judah, and the collection of his preaching begins with God’s condemnation of
three groups.
Last week we looked at the first of
these groups: the nation. God tells the nation that He chooses them and
adopts them, but they choose to rebel against Him. So God calls them to repentance, but they see
their prosperity as a reason to continue in their sin, and God promises to send
the Chaldeans – the Babylonians – to slaughter them and bring them into
captivity for their discipline. However,
God is always faithful to His promises, so He saves a remnant that the Savior
would be born of the line of David.
This morning, we see God condemns
the sins of the Church – the sins occurring in worship in the Temple in Jerusalem.
We see, first, God does not delight
in worship without heart belief.
“Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of
Sodom! Give ear to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomorrah! ‘What to me
is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the LORD; I have had enough of burnt
offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood
of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats.’
At the end of our Scripture last week, we
are told that if God did not save a remnant, Judah would be like Sodom and
Gomorrah – a sulfer-stenched fiery pit of smoke. Here, God tells Judah that though He is not
going to utterly destroy them as He did Sodom and Gomorrah, it is not because
Judah is better than Sodom and Gomorrah – in fact, their hearts are just as
dead as the hearts of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah.
So, they are told to hear the Word of the
Lord – to hear the teachings of God.
“Don’t shut your ears to what God has plainly said. Don’t shut your ears to the right interpretation
of the Scripture. Don’t ignore the
fullness of what the Word of God calls you to do and be and believe.”
And then God condemns their worship
specifically: God is sick of all their sacrifices. God is fed up with the burnt offerings and
fat offerings. God is not filled with
delight over the blood of goats and bulls and lambs.
And if we think about this for a moment,
we might be puzzled. Isn’t God the One
Who in Leviticus and elsewhere, ordains and commands the sacrifices and the
offerings – especially the offerings of the blood of goats and bulls and
lambs. Aren’t we told that sin is not
forgiven without blood?
Hear the Word of God:
“And Samuel said, ‘Has the LORD as great
delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams’”
(I Samuel 15:22, ESV).
“What use to me is frankincense that comes
from Sheba, or sweet cane from a distant land? Your burnt offerings are not
acceptable, nor your sacrifices pleasing to me” (Jeremiah 6:20, ESV).
“For in the day that I brought them out of
the land of Egypt, I did not speak to your fathers or command them concerning
burnt offerings and sacrifices. But this command I gave them: ‘Obey my voice,
and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. And walk in all the way
that I command you, that it may be well with you’” (Jeremiah 7:22-23, ESV).
Do we understand what is going on?
The worshippers were going to the Temple
and offering up the sacrifices, just as God has commanded them in His
Word. They were doing everything they
were supposed to do in worship, but God was rejecting it. Why?
The author of Hebrews clearly gives the
answer: “And without faith it is
impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that
he exists and that he rewards those who seek him” (Hebrews 11:6, ESV).
If we come to worship and do everything
that God commands – if we go through all the motions of the worship service –
but do not have faith – but do not have heart belief – it is nothing – it is
unacceptable – it is an abomination to God.
Many of the people coming to worship were
doing everything right, but did not believe in God and His Word Alone, so God
rejected their worship.
It would be like someone coming to worship
here this morning, being all nice and friendly, singing the songs, reading the
prayers, listening to Word of God and the sermon, putting money in the plate,
receiving the sacrament, and thinking all is well. But, if you asked him if he believes in
salvation in Jesus Alone, he says “no.” There
is no faith. There is no heart belief.
It is like if it is your anniversary, and
your spouse comes home and says, “Here are some flowers and candy. Let’s be physical, so I can fulfill my duty,
so I can go out with my friends.” Would
you be pleased with that? Would you be
satisfied with that? Or would you fly
into a range and throw the flowers and candy and kick your spouse out until he
or she got a clue and apologized?
God is telling Judah, “You’re going
through all the right motions, but you don’t believe in Me, you don’t love Me,
your have not received Me by faith. So,
I reject you and your worship.”
God does not delight in worship without
heart belief.
Second, God does not accept our worship if
we are unrepentant.
“’When you come to appear before me,
who has required of you this trampling of my courts? Bring no more vain
offerings; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and Sabbath and the
calling of convocations— I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly. Your new
moons and your appointed feasts my soul hates; they have become a burden to me;
I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes
from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are
full of blood. Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your
deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct
oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause.’
God continues to speak and condemns
a second sin in worship.
God begins by condemning the sin of
adding to what God has required in worship.
God told Israel and Judah how He is to be worshipped, but Israel and
Judah thought they had better ideas – that they could improve upon what God has
commanded. So, they trample the courts –
they add to the requirements of worship.
They bring offerings and incense that God has not sanctioned. They change the new moon and Sabbath and
convocation days to make them their own.
And God tells them that they are an abomination, they are hated, they
are a burden, God can’t endure them, and God is weary of having this go
on. This is sin.
In the Reformed tradition, we hold
to what is called the Regulative Principle.
What this means is that we are to only do those things that God has
commanded in worship, and we are not to add things that God has not
commanded. We are to worship the way God
has commanded us to worship.
Two additions to worship that have
become quite popular in our part of the world are liturgical dance and clown
ministry.
I attended a worship service during
which the pastor started dancing around with streamers as part of the
“sermon.” Neither you nor God would want
to see me do that.
I have only heard about clown
ministry where clowns bring the elements of the Lord’s Supper around to the parishioners
in an attempt to “lift their spirits.”
The sacrament is not a joke, and it is not to be treated as one.
God continues by telling them that
when they lift their hands in prayer – which is a biblical posture – God will
not listen, because they hands are filled with blood.
What does that mean?
Some commentators suggest that their
hands being filled with blood is symbolic of their being unrepentant of their
sin, both in and during worship. Others say
that this actually means that murderers were coming to worship – unrepentant of
their crimes – their sins – expecting God to hear their prayers – but He will
not.
In either event, we should not
expect that God will hear us or bless our prayers if we are unrepentant. Understand, we are to be progressing in
holiness – and sinning less – but we will not be holy until Jesus returns –
which is not an excuse not to strive for holiness, but it is a reality that we
must embrace so we can come before God and repent and receive forgiveness, no
matter how often we must come. If we
repent of our sins, God will hear us.
So God gives these commands:
First, “wash yourselves; make
yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to
do evil, learn to do good;”
God commands that they – and we – repent of our sins and wash
ourselves clean that we would be right with God, take the evil deeds away and
do not do them again, and, instead, do the good works that are the fruit of
true faith – that prove that true heart belief has occurred.
What’s the problem?
If the people God is addressing are unbelievers
– not merely believers who are sinning in worship, but actual unbelievers, it
is impossible for them to repent and wash themselves, and they will never have
any intention of doing so of their own accord.
God commands a thorough reformation of the heart and that is not
something an unbeliever can do.
Let us remember:
“as it is written: ‘None is righteous, no,
not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God” (Roman 3:10-11, ESV).
Second, “seek justice,”
God commands that they – and we –
live lives of right judgment in every aspect of our lives. We are to use our minds to discern what the
right way to be and act is.
Third, “correct oppression;”
God commands that they – and we –
both do everything we can to stop oppression and to keep it from ever
happening. We are all the same under God
and in Christ.
Forth, “bring justice to the fatherless,”
God says, “You shall not mistreat any
widow or fatherless child. If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to me, I
will surely hear their cry, and my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with
the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless” (Exodus
22:22-24, ESV).
God has a special care for the weakest of
society – the orphan and the widow in that culture – and God’s people are to be
of the same mind. In a culture where the
man was the landowner and the one who earned a living, to not have a father or
a husband could be disastrous. So, God
tells them that they are to especially look out for those who are in the most
precarious place in society – making sure that they do not get lost and forgotten.
The place of the orphan and the widow is
not exactly the same in our culture, since women work and own land, but the
principle to care for the most likely to suffer still stands for us. Whether man, woman, or child, those who are
in danger because they cannot provide for themselves and protect themselves are
the ones that must be cared for.
And so, fifth, “plead the widow's cause.”
God does not accept our worship if we are
unrepentant.
Third, God is able to cleanse our sin.
“Come now, let us reason together, says
the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though
they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat
the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword;
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
“Come now.”
God calls Judah to the table to make a
decision. Sin and unrepentance are not
rational options. God tells them to
reason through what He is saying. Their
sins in worship and unrepentant stand before God has left them stained scarlet
– stained red like crimson. But God is
able to cause that scarlet stain to become as white as snow. He is able to cause that crimson red stain to
become like wool. God is able to take
their sin away from them – to pay for it through the life, death, and
resurrection of the Savior – that they would no longer be under the Wrath of
God for their sins.
This is true today, as we read:
“[John] said to him, ‘Sir, you know.’ And
he said to me, ‘These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They
have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb’” (Revelation
7:14, ESV).
And someone might think, “I would like to
be cleansed of my sins. But you just
explained that ‘no one seeks after good’ – it is impossible for me to please
God – to repent and be forgiven until He changes me.”
And if you want to be cleansed – washed –
saved from your sins – it means that God has chosen to make you want salvation,
so confess – repent of your sins, submit yourself to Jesus, our God and Savior,
because you have been enabled by God as one of His chosen to believe. You are saved.
We don’t know who God has chosen to save,
but we know if anyone confesses faith and bears good fruit in his or her works,
then that is a good sign to us that God has chosen this person, lived, died,
and risen for this person, and this person has now been washed white as snow –
as are each of us who have believed.
It is possible to be cleansed from your
sins.
God puts it to Judah that if they repent
and turn back to Him, if they are willing and obey Him, then they will eat of
the good of the land of Judah. This is a
promise to Judah about the land they lived in – it is not a promise to
twenty-first century Christians about a physical land grant that God will give
us, nor of physical prosperity.
If Judah refuses, then God will send the
sword to devour them – the Babylonians are coming. Again – this is not threat of a physical war
against our twenty-first century countries.
We must interpret promises and threats as to the people they are given.
There is a principle we can take from this
even so: if we repent and turn to God,
if we repent and obey, then God will save us now and in the Kingdom to
come. But, if we do not, God’s Wrath
will come down upon us until we have payed the full debt that we owe to God for
our sin against Him.
Which shall it be?
God is able to cleanse our sin.
In this second condemnation, God explains
that He is the God of His own worship.
He will not delight in rote worship or worship by those who do not truly
believe in Him and the Savior He has sent.
And God will not accept our worship if we sin by worshipping however we
desire, or by worshipping when we refuse to repent of our sins.
Yet, God is able to cleanse all those who
call upon Him, believing in the One Savior Jesus Christ. And He will cleanse all who do so.
Let us pray:
Almighty God, we thank You for telling us
how You desire to be worshipped, and we ask that the Holy Spirit will keep us
from trying to be wiser that You. We ask
that those who worship in our churches in unbelief would have the Holy Spirit
sent to them to make them uncomfortable with the state they are in, and we ask,
as You are willing, that You would cause them to believe. Help us to come humbly before You repenting
of our sin that we might worship You rightly and fully. For it is in Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.
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