Two Related Woes

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greenbaggins

Puritan Board Doctor
Isaiah 5:20-21 (ESV): "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight!"

It struck me today as I was reading Keil and Delitzsch's commentary on the passage that these two woes are inter-related. To be specific, a person cannot call evil good and good evil unless they are also being wise in their own eyes. They therefore reject God's revelation both in nature and in Scripture. One has to do that to call evil good and vice versa. Being wise in one's own eyes is just the same as saying their own ideas are more right and true than God is. These are those who will call salvation joyless and the judgment of God salvation (as Ridderbos says). When morality is completely lacking, their foolish hearts will darken, and they will suppress the truth by means of their own unrighteousness. They see their own sin as a tool to use in further rebellion against God.

It is not difficult to step from an individual's thinking this way to a nation doing so. A nation that calls the murder of the unborn "healthcare," and calls abominations "pride" is clearly calling evil good. This same society will judge Christian morality as bigotry, thus calling good evil. Woe to America (and many other similar nations)!

And yet, I often feel that Christians these days are giving themselves a pass on their own sin because it is so easy to see the sin of the culture. Should not the outward pressure of culture compel us to love one another yet more deeply? And yet, we sometimes fight each other worse than outsiders. I know I have done this. Let not Christians become self-righteous, but rather mourn over the evil in America and other nations. Let us remember that Lamentations is in the Bible.
 
Amen to every word of this, brother! May we recognize how truly wonderful salvation is from the hand of God.

Ps. 32:1-6a "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah. I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah. For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found..."
 
Let not Christians become self-righteous, but rather mourn over the evil in America and other nations. Let us remember that Lamentations is in the Bible.

:applause:Do you know how many of my loved ones are duped into the lies of the devil while at the same time, believing loved ones blow up their social media with comments that are so proud of how Biblical they are against the evils of modern day society rather than weeping and praying for America in sackcloth?

I know a couple who did not start by posting how right they are. They started by posting prayers, but their memes "calling sin 'sin'" got more likes and more attention and the prayer posts disappeared!

I have no problem with making a stand and calling sin a sin but I think the ratio of what is said and prayed shows a picture of how our heart is oriented. Mourning for the world is definitely a strong percentage of a regenerated heart after God.
 
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