Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore, let us go forth to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach. For we have no continuing city here, but we seek one to come.
Select a thought to read by choosing a collection, the month, and then the day:
"If
ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good
of the land.
But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword."
(Isa. 1:19-20)
What Isaiah said to God's Old Testament people here was not new to them. Moses had said it before (Dt. 30:19-20), as well as Joshua (Josh. 24), and as had done every other man and woman whom God had anointed to speak to His people. Isaiah's message is also consonant with the apostles' message to the New Testament saints. For example, Paul wrote to believers in Rome (Rom. 8:13): "For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die, but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live." The saints of God have always had two choices: obedience or disobedience. It is a life or death choice because doing the will of God is required for anyone who hopes to be saved in the end. Consider the following Scriptures that show the need to do the will of God:
Mk. 3:31-25 Jesus considers only those who do the will of God to be his family.
Mt. 7:21 Jesus will not permit anyone to enter into the kingdom of heaven unless he does the will of God while he lives on earth.
Jn. 7:16-17 Those who sincerely desire do God's will are rewarded with a sense of who is telling God's truth. God is very pleased to show such people His mysteries (Eph. 1:9). It is unwise not to take advantage of this golden opportunity to find God's will for our lives instead of living in sin (Eph. 5:16-17).
Jn. 5:30 A person's judgment of anything, whether of individuals or circumstances, is made clear and true only as he is seeking to do God's will. Only those who sincerely prefer the will of God above their own can judge anything rightly.
Rom. 12:1-2 To do God's will means to offer your body to Him as a sacrifice, and those who do this are the ones who are made able to distinguish what is right from what is wrong.
Rom. 6:12-26 To offer to God your body as a sacrifice means to yield to His control the individual members of your body: your hands, your feet, your eyes, your tongue-every single member. If a person does that, God will both cause him to know what to do and will help him do it (Phip. 2:13). By His Spirit, God will enable him to understand and to do His will perfectly (Heb. 13:20-21).
Heb. 8:10 It is as if God writes out His will in big letters on the hearts of those who truly desire to do it. That is how plainly they are made to understand what He wants them to do.
1Thess. 4:3 Pursuing the will of God leads naturally to being sanctified by the holy Ghost, for that is an essential part of His will for people.
Rom. 8:26-27 Once the holy Ghost comes within a person, it will pray through him according to the will of God, even if he himself does not know what to pray for.
Heb. 10:36 Doing the will of God will not always produce for us immediate results of peace and rest. Sometimes, our Father asks us to patiently continue to do His will until the promises come (Rom. 2:6-11). Even if we must go through very difficult times, it is best to continue doing what God wants us to do (1Pet. 4:19), for this world of trouble and sorrows will be destroyed by our Father (2Pet. 3:10-14), while everyone who does the will of God will live forever in peace and joy (1Jn. 2:17).
Eph. 1:5 Those who do the will of God understand that He planned eternal blessings for them before He created the earth they live on.
1Thess. 5:18 For this reason, those living in the will of God feel thankful at all times, knowing that all things concerning them are being designed by their heavenly Father for their good (Rom. 8:28).
1Cor. 10:13 They know that their Father will not put them in situations that are too difficult, and that it is His purpose to deliver them from this present, evil world (Gal. 1:4). This is the very reason that Jesus suffered and died, so that everyone could be set free from this world's pressures to do evil and could do the will of God instead (1Pet. 4:2).
1Pet. 2:13-15 Those who do the will of God have no problem humbling themselves to authority because they see both earthly authorities and spiritual authorities as having been placed there by God for their protection and blessing.
Jn. 8:44 When God's children choose not to do His will, and yet they continue to maintain an appearance of righteousness, they become "children of the devil" instead of children of God, for that is what the devil did. He tries to look good, but he is no longer truly good. The devil did not love the truth God taught him; he loved himself more. Maintaining an appearance of righteousness without really doing the will of God is not the will of God, and if we do the devil's will instead of God's, then we will share in the devil's coming judgment.
Jn. 6:38-40 Nothing would please God more than for every person who believes in Jesus to do His will and be saved in the end. He will not willingly disinherit any of His children (2Pet. 3:9).
It is abundantly clear that doing the will of God is the only way to escape the coming wrath and Judgment of God. Those who teach that one need only believe that Jesus is Lord, and that there is no need for obedient works, are dangerously mistaken. The following are some notable Scriptures in the writings of the apostles, showing that Isaiah was speaking the word of God when he told Israel that God's promise of salvation to His people is conditional upon their righteous conduct:
Matthew 7:21 Only those who do the will of God's will be saved in the end.
Matthew 24:9-13 Faithfulness to God is required for those who would be saved from the coming wrath of God.
Matthew 25:14-30 These verses show plainly that no one will be saved without doing good deeds.
Romans 2:5-11 These verses also show this, using different words.
Romans 11:17-24 Paul invites the attention of the saints to the spiritual blindness of Israel as evidence of the awful judgment of God upon those who refuse to submit to God's righteousness. This is an excellent warning to believers against becoming proud of the calling and blessings of God.
1Corinthians 9:24-27 Paul says that if he fails to submit himself to the gospel that he preaches, he himself will be cast out by God.
1Corinthians 10:1-12 Paul cautions against becoming slack or proud, pointing to ancient Israel as an example of the wrath of God against His own people who are stubbornly disobedient.
1Corinthians 15:1-2 The gospel will save only those who both believe and obey it. Without works that please God, no man will be saved; simply believing is insufficient (Jas. 2:14-26).
Galatians 5:1-5 To depart from simple faith in Christ to the use of religious symbols and ceremony is to endanger the soul.
Hebrews 3:6 - 4:2, 11 The saints are warned to fear God, lest they become complacent concerning doing the will of God, as the Israelites in the wilderness did.
2Pet. 2:1-18 Peter describes "cursed children" of God; that is, those who have pursued professional religious careers instead of following the call of the Spirit.
Jude 3-13, 16-19 Jude describes these unstable, wandering souls as being "twice dead". They were once delivered from sin, but now they have been overcome by sin again.
2Pet. 2:19-22 Peter teaches us that it is better never to have been washed from sin than to return to sin after we have been washed from it. Sinners who never knew Christ will receive more mercy on the day of Judgment than will those children of God who once knew Christ and then turned again to the filth of the world.
With no exceptions, whenever the Scriptures describe the Final Judgment, we are told that all people will be judged according to their deeds. The Bible never wavers from its position that our behavior will determine where we spend eternity.
Jesus' easily understood words (Jn. 5:28-29) concerning the coming Judgment are never contradicted by any man truly sent from God: "Marvel not at this. For the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear [the Son of man's] voice and shall come forth, those who have done good, unto the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation."
Amen. And may God help us to do His will while we live.