“I, the LORD, invite you to come and talk it over. Your sins are scarlet red, but they will be whiter than snow or wool…” – Isaiah. 1:18[1]
I find God’s words in this scripture a great joy. ‘I invite you to come and talk it over…’
Talk what over? You may ask.
In Isaiah 1:18, God is speaking through the prophet Isaiah to:
- The nation of Judah
- The inhabitants of Jerusalem
These were God’s covenant people, but at the time they were:
- Morally corrupt
- Spiritually rebellious
- Going through the motions of religious rituals without genuine obedience.
In other words, they had missed the goal.
‘What goal?’ you ask.
The goal of obedience to God’s word.
What is God’s reaction to this state? Gently, like a loving parent to a disobedient child, God invites them to discuss the matter.
The more common emphasis that is taught in Christianity today is explained here:
Definition, Origin, and Meaning of the Word “Sin”
“Sin is any action, thought, or attitude that goes against God’s law and His standards described in Scripture. It can be an act of disobedience—choosing to do what is wrong—or a failure to do what is right. Sin is not just about outward behavior; it also includes the condition of the heart, such as selfishness, pride, or harmful intentions. Ultimately, sin separates us from God, but through God’s grace, we have the opportunity for forgiveness and restoration in Christ.”[2]
The emphasis here is on sin as an action rather than as a state of moving away from God’s guidance and living by one’s own will and desires.
Which brings me to the point of God’s words: “Your sins are scarlet red…” The ancient Hebrew word in this instance is ‘Khata.’ Translated from the ancient Greek means, ‘Missed the Goal’. Simply put, their sins had caused them to miss God’s goal through wrongful behaviour. This amounts to not sticking to the goal of living under God’s guidance and going the wilful way of self-pleasing. What was God’s reaction? He washed away the scarlet red of their missing the goal into ‘whiter than snow or wool.’ Or, in contemporary words, putting them back onto the heading for God’s goal.
“Your sins will be as far from me as the East is from the West.”[3]
This is another scripture that could be interpreted as we have with ‘whiter than snow or wool.’ It’s almost like saying, Thank you for forgiving my sins. And God’s response – ‘What sins?’ The distance between East and West is immeasurable, whereas the distance between North and South is measured between poles. In other words, God may have said, ‘Your sins have disappeared from my sight. All you have to do is get back onto the path of my will for you. That’s the goal.’
The objective of your and my life is… “You must love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.”[4]
It is our loving relationship with God that keeps us on a sin-free walk to God’s goal.
Don’t try to please God. Simply seek to love God. We don’t please God by trying to stop sinning. We love God and want to be in close fellowship with God. As this happens, the desire to sin leaves us. Not practicing sin is the effect of closeness to God.
We do not come closer to God by our efforts to avoid sin. Rather, we avoid sin by remaining close to God.
Until Jesus’s ascension into the heavenly realm, humans lacked the power to avoid sin.
His death on the cross performed the last acceptable sacrifice to God for the freedom of all humankind from being unable to avoid sinning. Those who believe in God through Jesus’s sacrifice are empowered by the Spirit of God to avoid sin.
The Spirit of God within us allows us to walk through this life and reach God’s goal without sin.
“Those of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death. Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin.”[5]
Stop trying to be a God-pleaser and become a God-lover.
Until next time
Love and Blessings
Peter-James.