Though your sins are as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.
The above is a promise of God made to Israel in Isaiah 1. If you have read Isaiah before, you already know that there is a lot that is going to occur, and there is a lot that Israel will have to overcome. This is not any of God’s doing, of course. Rather, it is because of the stubbornness, the obstinacy, and the outright mutiny of the people of God. It has been said many times before, but it bears repeating: God only calls prophets in times of rebellion and sin. God raised up his prophets in order to speak truth into the lives of people. Isaiah was no exception.
Even in the midst of the rebellion of Israel, however, God did not abandon his promises. God’s word is good—always. There is never a time or a circumstance in which the promises of God are null and void. Whether or not humanity decides to enjoy those promises, though, is a different matter altogether. As free moral agents, we get to determine if we want to accept God’s promises. We get to choose for or against what God desires to do for us.
The greatest promise that God made came in the person, work, and sacrifice of Jesus Christ. It is through the blood of Jesus that humanity can receive salvation. It is by imitating Christ in his death, burial, and resurrection that people may finally be freed from the prison of sin. God promised this long ago, and in Jesus God has made good on the promise. For those who have not yet taken part in that promise, what do you say to these things? For those of us who already are enjoying that promise, how are we living it out from day to day?
–Ricky