What The Lord Requires
It is
plainly taught in the Bible that God requires something of His people. It is
too plain to be denied that many have failed to do what the Lord requires.
Micah wrote, “With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the
High God? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?
Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, ten thousand rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the
sin of my soul? He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord
require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your
God?” (Micah 6:6-8) We know we must come before the Lord, but what does He
require of us?
We
must do justly: While the Lord does not desire impractical things like
thousands of rams, rivers of oil or the sacrifice of our firstborn, He does
desire that we do justly. Injustice and oppression are everywhere seen. But
these are destroyed by obedience to the teaching of Jesus. He said, “Therefore,
whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them,
for this is the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 7:12) In all our dealings with
men the law of justice must prevail. Christians must do wrong to none, but do
right to all.
We must
love mercy: Mercy or kindness is that element that gives more than
justice requires. We must show mercy by forgiving others. “And be kind to one
another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave
you.” (Ephesians 4:32) Mercy must also be shown as we do deeds of helpfulness.
“So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the
thieves? And he said, He who showed mercy on him. Then Jesus said to him, Go
and do likewise.” (Luke 10:36-37) But we must do more than show mercy; we must
love mercy and delight ourselves in it.
We
must walk humbly with God: The first two requirements have to do with
our relationship with man. This requirement has to do with our relationship
with God. Let us be like Enoch, “And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for
God took him.” (Genesis 5:24) We must make pleasing God our constant business.
We must humble ourselves to walk with God. “For we walk by
faith, not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7)
To
become a Christian, you must hear the gospel (Romans
By Charles Box,