You turn things upside down as if the potter were thought to be like the clay. Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, “He did not make me”? Can the pot say of the potter, “He knows nothing?” Isaiah 29:15-16 NIV)
If you look around, there is no doubt we have lost sight of God’s holiness. It is as if we make God into the person we want Him to be. We say we have faith. We say we have the Lord, but do we? Do we really have Him, when we see God as being like us—fallible and tolerant of our sins?
I have heard Christians say, God loves me. He made me the way I am. He is a good God and only wants what is best for me. And since doing my thing is what is best for me, even though God may call what I do sin, I do not see why I need to change. Because God knows this is who I am and I cannot change.
You see many do not view God as a Holy God. Isaiah wrote, “You turn it upside down as if the potter were thought to be like the clay.” This attitude did not please God then, why should we believe it pleases Him now.
God is Holy. He expects us to live Holy, repentant lives. He calls us to serve in righteousness and not to live like the world. However, we have lost sight of all this. Today, that which is good is now evil and that which is evil is good. Righteousness, honor and duty to our Lord are no longer the goals. Can those who profess Christ with their lips while they continue in sin without remorse, know Him? How can they? For God is not the God of sin. He will never overlook sin in us. Why? Because He is about making us in His Son’s image. He is about shaping us and removing every vestige of sin, so we may one day stand before Him, blameless and without shame.
Thus, we should be careful not to mistake God’s mercy for tolerance. God does not tolerate sin. Instead, He gives us the mercy we need to find our footing so we might turn from our wicked ways to serve Him in righteousness and truth.
Some wonder why they ought to follow God’s Word. They act as if God’s Word no longer applies to our post-modern church, but it does. Some act as if God does not understand them. But God does. Isaiah writes, “Can the pot say of the potter, ‘He knows nothing’”?
Can the clay say to the potter you know nothing about me? The One who created us, who knew us before time and knitted us in our mother’s womb knows everything about us. The Word says He knows every hair on our heads. Yet, we go on doing what we want to do, living for self and for sin and see nothing wrong with this behavior. After all, when we have a God like us, He accepts our wickedness, because He is love and love tolerates all sins, right? Wrong!
Where is the holiness? Where is the righteousness? Are they not applicable today? We want our future crown without sacrificing self. Oswald Chambers reminds us "Holiness and not happiness is the chief end of man."
The world is in a spiritual slumber. Nations that once knew God, seek Him no more. People who once strove after goodness, holiness and righteousness now seek to satisfy their own lusts, believing their loving, tolerant God will sit idly by while they play.
Yes, the spiritual slumber around the world is real. Therefore, we can only ask God to open our eyes and let us see His holiness, so we might so we might seek after Him before it is too late.
Copyright 2008, GodFire Revival and Discipleship Outreach
http://godfire.org
Modern Day Discipleship | Disciple Bible Study
Author writes and distributes discipleship material and articles to train believers in the Word.
