Day 223

Preach about Sin

Read: Isaiah 56-59

God said to Isaiah, “Declare to my people their transgression” (58:1). Sin is taken so lightly today. God wants pastors to preach against sin so people may repent and avoid the tragic consequences of disobedience. To preach against sin, using the Bible as our guide, is therefore an act of love.

One great sin is injustice. “The Lord saw it, and it displeased him that there was no justice” (59:15). God is not only concerned about personal sins; he is also concerned about social sins. Being a God of justice, he demands justice. We must cry out against the unfair treatment of oppressed people everywhere.

God is also concerned about sins regarding worship. Failure to worship, failure to spend time in his house with him, to use Sunday for pleasure instead, is sin. “If you turn back . . . from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight . . . then you shall take delight in the Lord, and . . . I will feed you” (58:13-14 ESV). But God hates worship by those who do not treat others justly. “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness . . . to let the oppressed go free . . . to share your bread with the hungry” (58:6-7). God also condemns the personal sins of drunkenness (56:12) and lust (57:5). Paul quotes from these chapters (59:7-8) when he teaches the universality of sin in his letter to the Romans.

PRAYER
Father, may pastors preach about sin and as a result people repent and avoid its consequences. In Christ. Amen.