Proverbs 31:8-9
8 Open your mouth for the dumb [those unable to speak for themselves], for the rights of all who are left desolate and defenseless;
9 Open your mouth, judge righteously, and administer justice for the poor and needy. (AMP)
In Proverbs 31: Part 7 Open Your Mouth we looked at why we are commanded to speak on behalf of those who cannot speak, what it means to do this, how we can do it and some guidelines found in the Word. Here we have a look at the first part of Guideline 3: Learn to do right!
Guideline 3: Learn to do Right!
Isaiah 1:16-20
16 Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes! Cease to do evil,
17 Learn to do right! Seek justice, relieve the oppressed, and correct the oppressor. Defend the fatherless, plead for the widow.
18 Come now, and let us reason together, says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be like wool.
19 If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land;
20 But if you refuse and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken it.
Here God gives us a nice, neat checklist of things we should be doing for Him as a part of our lives. Every time God requires something of us He always attaches a promise of some sort to it. And the blessing is always far in excess of what is required of us. God is an excellent master, He overpays with delight!
I find the statement Learn to do right! most interesting. Doing right is not actually inbuilt in me if I have to learn it. It is something I need to study and then practice until it becomes a natural part of who I am. To do this I run to the Word and to the master teacher, the Holy Spirit, to find out what is right in the eyes of God. Then I beseech my saviour, Jesus Christ to empower me to meet the exacting standards of God the Father. (Philippians 4:13)
Steps to Doing Right
Step 1: Wash and cease to do evil
16 Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean;
18 Come now, and let us reason together, says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be like wool.
How do I wash myself and make myself clean? Repent. Jesus said that unless we repent we will perish. And in verse 18 above we are promised that our scarlet sins will be white as snow. We are promised forgiveness if we repent.
So what is repentance? The Bible definition is to think differently, reconsider, change one’s mind for the better and to heartily amend one’s ways all with abhorrence for past sins. Repentance has two parts: amend ways and abhor the sin. Turn away, cease to do evil and just stop it! It is often easier said than done but Philippians 4:13 is our promise that once we have repented of our sins we can, through Jesus Christ, remain pure before Him.
The second part it to abhor the sin. To abhor something is to have a strong disgust for it. It is a passionate response to the prompting of the Holy Spirit to turn from sin. It is not enough to just change my mind but an abhorrence, a strong disgust of the sin, must accompany the turning away. Then the repentance is deep seated in the heart and the chance of falling into the same trap again is greatly reduced.
Now on to Step 2 of Learning to do right.