The Essential JesusSample

He's Against It

PRAY: Dear Lord, I ask that you would strengthen my relationship with you as I spend time in Your Word.

READ: Isaiah 59:1-21

REFLECT: President Calvin Coolidge was famous for giving short answers. It is reported that he was once questioned about a church service he had attended and allegedly answered as follows. Question: "Did you like the sermon today?" Coolidge: "Yes." Question: "What was the sermon about?" Coolidge: "Sin." Question: "So, what did the preacher say about sin?" Coolidge: "He's against it."

This reading from Isaiah reminds us once again that God is against sin. That means we should be, too, for several important reasons. First, sin separates us from God (v. 2). We first saw this when God evicted Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:23-24). By the time of Isaiah, people were even more distant from God; they had lost the ability to experience his presence or communicate with him (Isaiah 59:2). Today, the distance has gotten so great that some people mistakenly think God is dead or that he never existed at all.

Second, sin leads to a breakdown of fundamental values. The modern bumper sticker that reads "No justice. No peace." could just as easily have been written by Isaiah (v. 8). He mentions justice six times in this reading alone. As we work for justice today, we must be careful not to define it according to a short list of political issues. Biblical justice means doing what's right for all people, especially the poor and oppressed (Psalm 82:3-4).

Finally, sin causes a rejection of truth. Isaiah used the image of a person stumbling and lost in the street (Isaiah 59:14-15). Most people today believe in some form of their "own truth," but when truth becomes relative, society loses its reference points and wanders ever further from God.

It's no surprise that God is against sin. Surprisingly, despite our continual rebellion against Him, God has had a plan to save us from it all along (vv. 20-21). The plan was to send a Redeemer (v. 20)–Jesus Christ–who could restore the broken relationship forever.

APPLY: In what ways do you need to demonstrate that you are against sin?

PRAY: Thank you, heavenly Father, that you've always planned for me to find forgiveness of my sin and a new relationship with you.