In the last blog, we began exploring the theme of faith and works. We first asserted that in order for human beings to fulfill the image-bearing role God has given them, they must offer God proper worship and obedience. And obedience necessarily involves action, not simply belief. We also learned that God’s covenant with Israel prioritizes these same two key ingredients: worship and obedience. In fact, throughout the Bible, it’s vital to note that true worship and obedience cannot be separated from each other. Let’s continue to unpack this principle by looking at some Scriptures.
This same idea can be stated in the negative: where there is disobedience, there is no true worship. Listen to what God says to faithless Israel through the prophet Isaiah: “‘The multitude of your sacrifices – what are they to me?’ says the LORD. ‘I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and goats. When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my courts? Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moon, Sabbaths and convocations – I cannot bear your evil assemblies. Your New Moon festivals 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 in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you; even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood; wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing wrong, learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.'” (Isaiah 1:11-17)
This is an astonishing passage of scripture. God looks upon the worship of Israel, and utterly rejects it! He’s not just disappointed, or feeling a bit let down. The language is startling: Israel’s offerings are meaningless, their incense is detestable, he cannot bear their assemblies and he hides himself from their prayers. I’m sure that all of us have heard how the great God of the universe loves and cares for us, and listens to our prayers no matter how trivial they might be in the big picture. Yet here the Bible portrays the exact opposite: a circumstance when God deliberately refuses to hear the prayers of his people Israel. Think about that for a moment. It’s a sobering thought that God might hate or detest our worship and reject our prayers. But there it is, right there in the Bible. This thought might be quite uncomfortable for many folks. It might even force them to re-think their understanding of God himself. Scripture is powerful in that way. In it, we encounter the God who made the world. Sometimes those encounters might be deeply disturbing for us. If that’s the case, so be it.
What drastic circumstances would turn God against his people Israel? Well, the passage is quite clear, and it boils down to disobedience. God had required obedience from Israel so that there might be justice and righteousness. Instead, God saw violence, with hands drenched in blood. Instead of goodness, there was evil and injustice. Note God’s special concern for the most vulnerable, the orphan and the widow. All this is nicely summed up by God’s admonition: “Stop doing wrong, learn to do right!” The predicament could not be more clear: Israel’s worship was worthless without her obedience. The remedy is equally straightforward: in order to restore proper worship, the people of Israel need to stop doing wrong, and learn to do right. In other words, they need to change their behavior.
In order to reinforce this point, let’s keep reading this same passage in Isaiah: “‘Come now, let us reason together,’ says the LORD. ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.'” (1:18) This is a very, very well known slice of scripture, frequently quoted in evangelical churches. Unfortunately, the context is virtually always left behind. This verse is rightly used to celebrate the forgiveness we receive through the death of Jesus on the cross. Yet for many, that forgiveness must be kept sealed off from any mention of our behavior or action. However, that’s the exact opposite of the original context. God is indeed offering his people Israel complete cleansing from their sins. But the offer is clearly conditional; the conditions God requires having been laid out in the preceding passage we’ve just look at: “Stop doing wrong, learn to do right!” Instead of violence, God’s demands peace. Instead of oppression, he requires justice. There is an undeniable link between Israel’s behavior and her forgiveness.
Just in case you might have missed it, the passage immediately goes on to repeat the exact same principle: “If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.’ For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” (1:19-20) Again, obedience will be met with forgiveness and the restoration of covenant blessing. In this case, covenant blessing is specified as eating “the best from the land”, but we should see standing behind that small phrase all the covenant blessings. But if Israel persists in rebellion and resistance to God’s commands, only the certainty of the covenant curses await them. In this case, Isaiah specifies the curse of death by the sword of invaders.
These same connections can be found all over the Bible. Let’s check out another famous prophetic passage, this time from the book of Amos. “I hate, I despise your religious feasts; I cannot stand your assemblies. Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Though you bring choice fellowship offerings, I will have no regard for them. Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps. But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!” (5:21-24) Here we find precisely the same elements we noted in Isaiah chapter one. Shockingly harsh language regarding Israel’s worship. God hates, he despises their religious feasts. He rejects their sacrifices and can’t stand their songs of praise. But what God truly desires is obedience leading to the flourishing of justice and righteousness.
Let’s stop a moment and reflect a bit on the word righteousness, because it’s an important concept within the “faith and works” discussion. The most basic meaning of righteousness is to do the right thing. Of course, in order to “do the right thing,” there must be an agreed upon standard for determining what the right thing is. This brings us right back to the garden of Eden with the man and the woman (representing all of mankind of course). God the creator is the only source of life and wisdom. He alone is the one who determines good and evil, right and wrong. For the people of Israel, God’s wisdom is embodied in the law, the Torah, which God gave through his servant Moses. Therefore, for the nation of Israel addressed by the prophet Amos, “righteousness” would be a straightforward way of denoting obedience to the Torah. The main point I’m making here is that righteousness involves our behavior and our actions.
It’s vital that we remember this home base meaning for righteousness, because in evangelical circles, the word righteousness has come to mean “right relationship.” Evangelicals love to talk about being brought into “right relationship” with God through the death of Jesus, apart from any action or effort on our part. The problem with this approach is that it’s half right. The Bible does sometimes talk about righteousness as a status that we receive from God based upon what Jesus has done. This status of “righteous” indicates that we are forgiven of sin, brought into the family of God, and indeed reconciled to God himself. But notice what has just happened: when we define righteousness only in terms of status, or relationship, we’ve left behind the most fundamental meaning of the word, which is obedience to God’s commands. We have managed to pull apart two things which the Bible always holds together.
How can we think more Biblically about righteousness? Well, let’s do a little exercise. Let’s take one of God’s commands from Deuteronomy 19:14, “Do not move your neighbor’s boundary stone”. What would constitute “righteousness” in regards to this command? Remember that the basic meaning of righteousness is obedience to a command. So if you think of yourself as an ancient Israelite, you would be “righteous” if you refrained from moving your neighbor’s boundary stone. Perhaps your neighbor has a beautiful piece of land right next to yours. His property has some lovely shade trees, a small steam with cool, sweet water, and rich soil that produces an abundant crop. But you remember God’s command, and therefore you learn to be content with the land God has given you. Now, because you have refrained from moving your neighbor’s boundary stone (and he yours!), you are able to have a wonderful relationship with your neighbor. God blesses both of you with prosperity. Your wives are fast friends and your kids play together. Life is good, just the way God intended it. The main point I’m making here is that you cannot jump ahead to “right relationship” without first going through “right behavior.” You achieve right relationship with God and your neighbor through your obedience to God’s commands.
Let’s think of things from the opposite angle: If you cheat your neighbor by moving his boundary stone, or if you steal from his flocks and herds, or if you commit adultery with his wife, or (heaven forbid) if you kill your neighbor, then there can be no right relationship between you and your neighbor. Now, it’s perfectly true that if you commit an offense against your neighbor, you could restore the broken relationship. Let’s say you stole a lamb from his flock. Yet after stealing the lamb, you regret your mistake. You come to your neighbor and seek his forgiveness. You wish to fully reconcile the fractured relationship. What would have to happen for that reconciliation to occur? Well, you would likely begin by “restoring” to your neighbor the lamb you stole, and perhaps even offering some additional thing of value to compensate for your offense. (This “restoring” of stolen property is called “restitution” which is a big part of Biblical justice.) Let’s say your neighbor, recognizing your sincerity, grants you his forgiveness. You and your neighbor are indeed reconciled. Your relationship is joyfully restored!
But what if the next week, you steal another lamb from your neighbor’s flock? Perhaps you might go back through the difficult cycle of forgiveness and reconciliation we described above. Yet if you persist in behaving wickedly towards your neighbor, repeatedly stealing from his flocks and herds, or slandering him, or otherwise harming him, there can never be right relationship. In other words, without true repentance – involving a lasting commitment to appropriate conduct – you cannot in the long run have right relationship with your neighbor. Please note that repentance does not mean simply feeling sorry for what you’ve done. Repentance goes far beyond regret or remorse. No: you have not really repented until there has been an actual change in your behavior. Repentance means turning from wickedness to righteousness. In Isaiah’s words, it means “stop doing wrong, and learn to do right!”
In the same way, we must not think we can have “right relationship” with God without “right behavior.” Many of you might respond by saying, “No! We can have right relationship with God, despite our sinful behavior, because of Jesus!” And I would agree that statement is correct, but not in the way many Christians think. We’ll continue to wrestle with this issue as this series progresses, but for now, just please remember that the basic meaning of righteousness is “doing the right thing.” And the road to right relationship runs through right behavior.
