Deo Gloria
Sermon for February 9, 2020
Pastor Martin Bentz
Text: Isaiah 58:5-9a
Theme: It’s Time to Get Back to Real Religion!
- Real repentance
- Real love for God and others
- A real and close relationship with God
It was a critical time for God’s Old Testament people. Many had become very unfaithful to God. They were not satisfied with worshipping the Lord and him alone, but they chose to worship idols too, especially Baal and Asherah, two Canaanite fertility gods. In fact it wasn’t uncommon for some people to go to the temple and worship the Lord in the morning and then go out to one of the high places and worship Baal in the evening. Corruption and injustice were rampant throughout the land—from the king to the judges to the merchants on the street. Remember Ahab and Jezebel and how they had Naboth killed so Ahab could have his vineyard? Besides that they were under attack from enemy armies—the armies of Aram and later on the armies of Assyria, attacking their towns and villages, killing their soldiers, destroying their homes. The people could sense that something was wrong. They fasted and prayed, but God didn’t answer. He didn’t come to their aid and help them. Back in v. 3 they said it like this: “Why have we fasted, and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?”
So God told Isaiah to tell them. “Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their rebellion and to the house of Jacob their sins”(v. 1). So Isaiah did. He spoke out publicly and called attention to their sins:
Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers. Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high. Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself? Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed and for lying on sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD? (vv.3-5)
So what was the problem? The problem is that their fasting was hypocritical. The problem is that they were just going through the motions. Sure, they did what you were supposed to do when you fasted. They bowed their heads. See how humble they were! They would lie on sackcloth and ashes. Sackcloth was a coarse kind of material, sort of like what gunny sacks were made of. People would wear sackcloth or lie on sackcloth and sit in ashes when they were really sad or troubled, when they troubled by their sins. That was the whole point of fasting too. You gave up the pleasure of food because you were very sorry for your sins. The problem for them is it was all just a show. They were going through the motions of fasting and bowing their heads and lying on sackcloth and ashes, but there was no real repentance in their hearts, no confessing their sins, no pleading for God’s mercy and forgiveness. Instead they were thinking about what would please them, maybe where they would eat supper after the fast was over: “Hmm, should we go to McDonalds or Subway?” Or what is more likely according to the context: They were thinking about how they could make more money, how they could exploit their workers and make more profit. And as a result, how did their fast end? With quarreling and strife (probably with their workers), and sometimes even coming to blows, striking each other with fists. Is this what you call fasting? Is this what you call a day acceptable to the LORD? Obviously not! It was time for change, a change of heart. It was time to get back to real religion.
It’s a critical time for God’s people here in America too, for Christian churches all across our country, including ours. Attendance is down, in some cases dramatically down. And I’m sure you’ve noticed it here at Trinity too. Attendance is down by about 15 % in the past five years. And it’s especially down among young people. Young people just are not going to church the way their parents and grandparents did. There are a variety of reasons, but studies tell us that one of the main ones is that they have become disillusioned. They’ve lost their trust in just about every major institution in our society. They’ve become disillusioned with government because all they see is corruption and political gridlock. They’ve become disillusioned with education because they were told that if they went to college and got a degree, they would end up with a good job and high pay. So many did. They went to college and got their degree. And when they graduated, many couldn’t find a job and they were saddled with a boatload of debt. And many have lost their faith in the church too. Why? Well, what do they see and hear about the church in the news? They hear about church leaders who are more concerned about protecting pedophiles than they are about helping those they abused. They hear about church leaders being arrested for corruption and stealing from their congregations. And all too often they see that being a Christian makes little difference in a person’s life. Take divorce, for example. The divorce rate in our country is roughly 50%. Roughly half of all marriage end in divorce. And it makes no difference if you’re a Christian or an unbeliever. The divorce rate is the same. But I thought the church was against divorce and for marriage? And I thought Christians were all about forgiveness and working out their differences and preserving unity for the sake of the family? Yeah, that’s what they thought too. And how many of them grew up in broken homes with broken marriages and they’re stilling living with the heartache and the problems today? Do you see the problem? Do you see why so many of them are disillusioned and don’t really care about church anymore?
So what’s the solution? I think Isaiah gives us the answer—not the only answer mind you, but certainly one of the most important answers. The solution is to get back to real religion. And it starts with real repentance, not just going through the motions. Is the repentance that God wants to go out drinking with your friends on Saturday night and then sleep through most of the service on Sunday because you’re so tired? Oh, but you were in church. That’s all that matters. Is the repentance that God wants praising his name in worship on Sunday and cursing and swearing on the basketball court or at your co-workers during the week? Is the repentance that God wants bowing your head during the time of confession or during the Lord’s Prayer and then later that day posting nasty things about a classmate or co-worker on Facebook? Of course not. That isn’t real religion. That isn’t real repentance. It’s a sham. It’s just going through the motions. Real repentance involves real sorrow over my sins, that I really am sorry about getting drunk with my friends, that I really am sorry about misusing God’s name, that I really am sorry about the nasty things I said about my classmate, or the hurtful things I said to my spouse or my children. Lord, I am sorry. I really messed up. I sinned against you and I sinned against others too. Please have mercy on me. Please forgive me. And help me not to do it again.
Real repentance involves faith too, doesn’t it, real trust in Jesus and his forgiveness? That’s the beauty of our Christian faith, isn’t it? That’s the peace and comfort of real religion. There is real forgiveness for our sins, real pardon for all the times we have messed up, real peace for our troubled hearts. And it’s found in Jesus. It’s certainly not found in me or my efforts to try to make up for my sins and earn God’s favor. How could it be? How could I ever do enough to make up for the wrongs I have done? How could I ever do enough to earn God’s favor after I’ve sinned against him so often? Nothing I could do would ever be enough.
But Jesus could. And Jesus has. It’s why he came: to do for me what I could never do. And that’s why he gave his life on Calvary’s cross: In love he paid the penalty for my sins and all people’s sins. And because of what Jesus has done and because he rose again on the third day, our sins are all forgiven. Our debt has all been paid. The guilt has been removed. Our record has been wiped clean. Isaiah described it so beautifully at the beginning of his book, didn’t he? “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool”(1:18).
And that’s the reason for our worship too, isn’t it? That’s the reason we gather in the Lord’s house every week to worship him and hear his Word. We need the assurance of that real forgiveness, that real pardon for our sins, that real peace for our souls. We need that assurance week by week, and we want to thank and praise him for it.
But does it end there? Is that where real religion ends: with real repentance and real forgiveness and real gratitude and thanks to God? No, it extends to our lives as well, in the way we act, in the way we deal with other people. Listen again to what God says in verses 6+7:
Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
The injustice and oppression Isaiah is referring to is the way they were treating their workers, exploiting them and beating them and treating them like slaves. If you’re really sorry for your sins, then stop treating your workers like that. Stop exploiting them and taking advantage of them. Stop beating them and treating them like slaves. You have to treat them fairly and pay them fairly. Instead of oppressing the poor, help them. If you see someone in need, don’t ignore them. Help them. Share your food. Share your clothes. Help them find a place to stay. Show them compassion. Show them kindness. Show them love.
OK, so now apply that to your own life. If you’re a boss or a foreman, don’t treat your employees like dirt. They’re not slaves. They’re real people just like you. Treat them fairly. Pay them fairly. Show them kindness and respect. If you’re an employee, don’t rip on your boss behind his back or your co-workers behind their backs. Treat them with kindness and respect. If you’re a student, don’t bully other students or post nasty things about them on Facebook. Treat them the same way you want to be treated: with kindness and respect. And if you see someone in need, help them. Maybe it’s the elderly lady across the street or maybe a friend who lost his job or maybe a total stranger. Show them kindness. Show them compassion. Show them love. That’s what real religion is: demonstrating the love of Jesus in our daily lives. The apostle James said it like this: “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world”(1:27).
And finally notice the blessings God promises will follow: “Then your light will break forth like the dawn…” The light God is talking about is not the light of Jesus our Savior but rather the light of joy and happiness. As we practice real repentance and find real forgiveness in Jesus, as we worship him with grateful hearts and show his love in our daily lives, then we’re going to find true joy and happiness in life. It’ll break forth like the dawn. “…and your healing will quickly appear…” Then God will heal our sin-sick souls and make us healthy and whole in here. “Then your righteousness will go before you and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard”(v. 8.). The words Isaiah uses are military terms. They refer to the vanguard and the rear guard, the brave soldiers who lead the way and keep the rest of the army safe from a surprise attack and the brave soldiers who bring up the rear, keeping the rest of the army safe from a sudden rear assault. So what brave soldier is going to go before us and keep us safe as we journey through this life? Our righteousness, our salvation. And who’s going to bring up the rear and keep us safe from a rear assault? The glory of the LORD, our Savior Jesus. Could we be more safe? “Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I”(v. 9). When we pray, the Lord will hear us and the Lord will answer us. And he will be there to help us in every time of need.
All of these are blessings we enjoy as children of God, blessings we enjoy through faith in Jesus, blessings we enjoy as we practice real religion, but they also are blessings we risk losing if we allow our religion to become little more than a sham. God forbid! Friends, it’s time. For Jesus’ sake and our own good, it’s time. It’s past time. It’s high time. It’s time to get back to real religion. Amen.