The Good Way

“Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? Nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore they shall fall among them that fall; at the time that I visit them they shall be cast down, saith the LORD.  Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls, But they said, We will not walk therein”.  Jeremiah 6:15-16

It has been said and proven to be true that sin only leads to more sin.  A person might feel guilty at first, but he or she becomes pretty good at stuffing those guilt feelings so far down in their souls that they soon feel no guilt at all and thus continue on the path to destruction.  This was the condition of the people of Judah.  They felt no shame nor could they even blush over their sins.  Their hearts were so hardened that nothing could penetrate them.  They were like the folks whom Paul wrote about some 660 years or so later in his letter to the Romans (1:28) concerning those who rejected God and desired to have nothing to do with Him.  God gave them a “reprobate mind” which caused them to be void of judgment and lost forever.  (A reprobate mind is the only thing that I can think of that causes all the ungodly behavior that we see going on around us, and those who participate in it see nothing wrong with it.  They have lost the ability to judge right and wrong.  That is an awfully dangerous position in which to live one’s life.)  The difference was that the Judeans were under the law and could return to God through a true repentance while those Paul spoke about were under grace, but refused to accept that grace by faith in Christ, the only hope of reconciliation with God.

The people of Old Testament times were saved by obeying God and believing in His promise of a Savior.  After God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, as that Savior, folks were and are saved by repenting of sin and placing their faith in Christ and His work on the cross to reconcile sinners with the Father.  In the pages of the Old Testament and also in the New Testament, it was and is always Christ who saves.  Those of Israel and Judah who followed after idols would suffer the same fate as those of their idolatrous neighbors, that is, they would die in their sins.

However, God was so merciful to His wayward people that He gave them opportunity after opportunity to repent and return to Him.  How many times does the Holy Spirit knock on the door of the sinner’s heart seeking to come in?  Most people who have been saved were given more than one opportunity to come to Christ.  I am not certain, but it seems that if God gives each individual one opportunity to repent and to be saved, He is not obligated to extend the invitation.  For most folks that I know who have been born again, just about all of them were given many opportunities to repent and place faith in Christ, but, like everything else, there is always a last time.  God said that His Spirit would not always strive with man (Genesis 6:3).

God’s word is a roadmap to a life of joy and peace.  It is always wise to map out one’s route when going on a trip to a place that one has never visited before.  Before GPS, we all used printed roadmaps that we picked up at gas stations so that we would know the way to our destination, but when traveling to a place that we have been to many times, we don’t need to consult a map.  We know the way by heart.  God’s people knew the way to be at peace with God for they had followed the old path that He laid out for them for many years.  Because of their turn to idolatry, God urged them to stop in their tracks of impending doom and ask for Him to lead them back in the old, familiar, righteous, and good way so that they could continue on their journey with their LORD and God.  This would be the only way in which they could be able to find rest, a rest in the LORD which would bring them back in right standing with Him and be able to receive His blessings.  However, the people, stubbornly and arrogantly, refused to walk in the old paths even if someone reminded them of all the good that the LORD had done, and what He would continue to do for them if they would only heed His message.

The truths that God issued to Israel and Judah is relevant to us today.  He still warns before bringing judgment.  It is to our benefit to heed His warnings, otherwise, we will be just like those of Israel and Judah who suffered because of their sins.  God is not playing.  He desires to bless His people, but we must obey His word.  Jesus said that it is those who do the will of His Father in heaven who will be included in His kingdom (Matthew 7:21).