helmsdeep.org: Nathan Holyoak

Book Review: Counter Culture

Nathan Holyoak — Sun, 01 May 2016 10:00:00 +1000

On social issues, Christians have recently been on the defensive. Cultural changes have shifted the ground beneath our feet. We find ourselves defending our beliefs against an often hostile audience who once shared common values with us. This situation has frequently led us to withdraw from engaging in various social issues that plague our fallen world. When we do engage with the world, it’s usually based on what is least costly for us in the context of our culture.

In his recent book, Counter Culture, David Platt makes the case for Christians to go on the offensive. Not an aggressive offensive, but a compassionate offensive. For Platt, the core of our mission is the gospel. He sees the gospel as the solution; but it can also be the problem. He says that in confronting the world the biggest issue is not our beliefs on sexuality or abortion. The biggest issue is the gospel itself. He writes: ‘The most offensive claim in Christianity is that God is the Creator, Owner, and Judge of every person on the planet.’ (p 16)

Platt argues that this truth is the real cause of our clash with secular culture. Yet our response should not be less gospel but more. We need to understand the gospel more and the world needs to see the gospel more at work in us. When we truly understand the gospel it transforms how we see the world around us: it calls us to truly love people as God loves them. We will put aside superficial notions of what it means to follow God and give our lives in sacrificial service to our neighbours. We will be the salt and light they so badly need: ‘My purpose is to show how the gospel moves Christians to counter all of these issues in our culture with conviction, compassion, and courage.’ (p 18)

Of course, to do this we need to have a clear understanding of what the gospel is. If I have one criticism about this book, it’s that Platt’s definition of the gospel is a little too individualistic—it’s about what Jesus has done to save each of us personally. But I see the gospel as bigger than that: it’s also about what God is doing with his people in the church, building them into a body to his glory (Ephesians 3:2-11; Colossians 1:15-23). Nevertheless, a concern for the body of Christ as a whole seeps through everything Platt writes. We—believers and non-believers—are all people for whom Christ has died. As believers, we work together to restore all people to our creator within that one unified body of Christ. This is the Good News, both for the future and the here and now.

So Platt affirms the central place of the gospel as the defining narrative in our lives. After that, he unpacks what this means for many of the issues facing us today—issues like poverty, abortion, sexual immorality, marriage and race relations. What light does the good news of Jesus shine on these issues? How does the gospel change our thinking about ourselves and our relationship to those around us? How can we make a difference in a fallen and hostile world without compromising the truth of the gospel?

The topics Platt covers demand a consistent and biblical response from us. In doing this, Platt draws on both his theological and pastoral experience. He shares his own journey, wrestling with his conscience, seeking to reconcile what the gospel was clearly telling him with what he had always been comfortable doing. His candour challenges us to reflect deeply on ourselves. Do we really believe the gospel enough to let it change our lives? As disciples of Jesus, how are we called to live in our culture?

Such practical questions form the heart of the book. Platt then calls for action. To spur us, at the end of each chapter there are helpful suggestions as to how we can put these ideas into practice. There are things to pray about, scriptures to dwell on and simple steps to begin the journey. This book is easy to read. Yet, I found it provocative and challenging. The book is a call to heed the gospel of Jesus Christ as Lord of every aspect of our lives. It’s a call to embrace passionately the gospel life. That call is radically counter-cultural, but one we all need to hear. The gospel really is good news, capable of transforming us and the rest of the world.

This article first appeared in InterSections, May 2016.

Restoring a Biblical Understanding of Sin

Nathan Holyoak — Thu, 01 May 2014 10:00:00 +1000

As Christians, the concept of sin is fundamental to our understanding of the human condition. We recognise ourselves as sinners and a good deal of our Christian walk is committed to removing its influence from our lives and from the world around us. Yet when we look at people around us, many don’t seem to think of sin at all. When they do think about sin, it’s often regarded as just a label used by religious folk to make them feel guilty about their choices or to control the weak-minded. It’s also common to talk about sin flippantly, like indulging in a ‘sinful’ dessert, or enjoying a weekend away in ‘Sin City’. Sin is just not taken seriously. Of course, most people are still concerned with right and wrong but it is usually thought about subjectively, without the same sense of authority or gravity traditionally associated with sin.

It is easy for us to be influenced by these attitudes. We too can sometimes make light of sin and sweep some kinds of wrongdoing under the carpet. We are prone to trying to redefine sin into something more acceptable to us and the world around us. Do we take sin as seriously as God does? Our source of information on these matters is the Bible. Let’s take a look at what God has to tell us about sin.

Put simply, sin is disregarding and breaking God’s law (1 John 3:4). However, there is much more to it than this. The Bible uses many different words to talk about sin. Most commonly we see the Greek hamartia which contains the idea of falling short of the mark or missing the way. A compound form of this word is found in the Greek Bible (Septuagint) in Judges 20:16 to describe the idea of missing a target with a stone. Proverbs 19:2 is not found in the Greek Bible but a Hebrew word often used to describe sin is used there to describe taking a wrong path on a journey. In this way, we’ve all sinned and fallen short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23). We have chosen the wrong path and failed to meet the standard we’re aiming for. A number of words are found in both the Hebrew Bible and its Greek translation that give different shades of meaning to sin. There is a word to describe something ‘bent, twisted or perverted’. It is not the way it is supposed to be, a pathetic shadow of its intention. Another word indicates acts of rebellion and betrayal; a breaking of our relationship with God and each other (Genesis 50: 17; Amos 2: 4). Other words convey the idea of vanity, sorrow and guilt brought about by sin.

Sin began when Adam and Eve became discontent with following God, who had walked with them in the garden. Instead, they listened to the serpent and his deceptions (Genesis 3:1-6). They chose to be their own masters, rejecting God and his instruction. We see how this rebellion destroyed their relationship with God as they hid from him. It also diminished their relationship with each other. They covered themselves and began the blame game over their predicament (Genesis 3:7-13). Their choice to eat the fruit didn’t end the way they imagined. What they thought would elevate them ended up bringing them low. Through this one act all creation was cursed and now bears the consequences of their sin (Genesis 3:14-19).

When we put all these things together, we see a picture of sin in all its ugliness. Sin is an upheaval of the natural order: things are not as they should be. It is the created telling the creator, ‘No, I’m in charge’; the clay telling the potter how it should be made (Isaiah 45:9-11). We were created in the image of a perfect and holy God, created to be like Jesus (Romans 8:29). When we sin we’re not just breaking arbitrary rules but rebelling against God’s wise creation and loving purpose. Sin is taking what God created for good and twisting it into something corrupt.

This is the kind of futile thinking which Paul says characterises the sinner (Romans 1:21; Ephesians 4:17). We think we know better but are wildly mistaken. Those things we do when we stray outside God’s will are futile and seldom good for us. Like Adam and Eve, they don’t achieve for us what we are seeking. This leads to an empty life which, as Christians, we have left behind (1 Peter 1:18). Paul understood this, which is why he considered everything associated with his former sinful life to be rubbish (Philippians 3:7-9). It was useless to him and gave him nothing in comparison to what was to be gained by knowing Christ and the life God had intended for him.

We need to recognise that sin is a lifestyle. It’s more than just disobeying some rules. Paul tells us that anything we do that is not from faith, is sin (Romans 14:23). He’s talking here specifically about a Christian whose conscience instructs them to avoid a certain food, but they eat it anyway. Even though there is nothing wrong with eating the food, they have broken their conviction before God (14:22); and so they sinned. They have acted not out of faith or respect for God, but out of convenience and weakness. What Paul is saying is that when we fail to act out of faith, we sin because we’re ignoring God’s place in our lives. Sin is about more than just our actions; it’s about our attitude towards God as we live our lives – our relationship with him. This is something that plays out daily. Are we living by faith, trusting God in everything, in step with the Spirit within us? Or are we trusting in ourselves and denying God’s presence and authority? It’s from this attitude that all our behaviour springs – whether sinful or righteous.

The most important thing we can learn about sin is contained in this statement: God sent Jesus to die for our sins (John 3:16-17). Sin is so serious to God that he gave his only Son as a sacrifice to solve the problem of our sin. Because of this, all who put their faith in Jesus can have the stain of sin removed. We are no longer slaves to sin and its futility (Romans 6:6-23). We can live as God’s obedient children and enjoy the abundant life he always intended for us (John 10:10).

This article first appeared in InterSections, May 2014.

Restoring a Biblical Understanding of God

Nathan Holyoak — Wed, 01 May 2013 10:00:00 +1000

Who is God and what’s he like? It’s one of life’s oldest questions, one which mankind has debated and fought over for millennia. It’s also one of the most important. How we answer this question will influence all our thoughts on religion and doctrine. For example, many Jews in Jesus’ time misunderstood the nature of the promised messiah. This prevented them from recognising him when he was among them (Luke 7:31-34). What preconceptions might we have that prevent us from seeing the true God?

We can only know God by what he has revealed to us in Scripture and there is no better revelation of God than in the Christ of the Bible. Jesus claimed that to see him was to see the Father (John 14:9). Yet even the God revealed in the Bible can be difficult to grasp, often seeming contradictory. Nevertheless, it is only by engaging and wrestling with these paradoxes that we can come to a more complete picture of God. Let’s explore some of them.

Sovereignty and free will

One fundamental aspect of God’s nature is his sovereignty. It’s what makes him God rather than a pretender. He created the universe and everything in it (Genesis 1:1) and therefore rules over it as Lord (Psalm 103:19). Despite this, he has given us—his creation—the freedom either to follow him or reject him (Deuteronomy 30:19). God desires our trust and obedience but he doesn’t force us. Sadly, this means that much that happens in the world is against God’s will, but this takes nothing away from his sovereignty.

God is in control of the bigger picture; he asks us to trust him (Job 38-41). We don’t fully understand how God works in the world but he assures us that, despite the chaos caused by evil, he is working to achieve good (Romans 8:28). Ultimately, he will be victorious (John 16:33). Meanwhile, our free will is a gracious gift, given at great cost. God’s heart aches when we refuse to follow him (Matthew 23:37). So free will is a gift to be used with great care.

Love and justice

God’s love is one of his most defining personal characteristics. God is love, and anyone who loves knows God (1 John 4:7-8). But what is love? In the following verses, John says God demonstrated his love by sending his son as a sacrifice for our sins (1 John 4:9-10). This is not a soppy, sentimental love. It’s a love that acts, that protects, that costs. It’s a love that does not ignore harsh realities but graciously works to redeem them. Here we see God’s love and justice working together. God is holy and cannot be associated with sin (Isaiah 59:2). His justice demands that a penalty (death) must be paid for sin; yet his love desires relationship and reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18). In Christ’s loving sacrifice both demands are met. We can take comfort knowing that we have a loving God. We can also feel secure knowing that he will see justice is done. Justice without love is cruel and love without justice is hollow.

In God’s presence

What is it like to be in God’s presence? Isaiah tells us that God’s throne room is full of smoke, angelic beings and thunderous praise—a scene which filled him with woe (Isaiah 6:1-5). On the other hand, we have the intimate picture of a God who promises to wipe away our tears (Revelation 21:4). We also see the tender touch of Jesus healing lepers (Matthew 8:3) and delighting with children (Luke 18:15-16). The presence of God is fearful for those who oppose him (Hebrews 10:31). But it brings peace for those who follow him and put their trust in him (Romans 15:13; Matthew 11:28-30). Although Isaiah was terrified, God was quick to reassure him and offer forgiveness (Isaiah 6:6-7). He offers the same to us through Jesus, who leads us as the good shepherd (John 10:11).

Wisdom

God is the source of all wisdom (Proverbs 2:10). But what is this wisdom? What does it look like? Paul reminds us that God’s wisdom is not the wisdom of the world. What we consider wise, God often considers foolish (1 Corinthians 1:20-31). Wisdom and humility seem to go hand in hand. God’s wisdom is not shown in self-indulgent pondering or grandiose power statements. Instead it has been shown in Christ, a suffering servant submitting to a shameful death on the cross (1 Corinthians 1:18-24). God’s wisdom is also revealed in the church, a seemingly weak collection of flawed human beings (Ephesians 3:8-12). These are the glories of God’s wisdom. This realisation ought to radically alter how we perceive true wisdom.

God of paradoxes

It should not surprise us that God defies easy characterisation. His ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9). The aspects of God’s nature we have looked at show that he is not quite what we might expect; he’s not a heavenly version of an earthly king. He’s a God to whom everything is owed, yet he freely gives of himself. He commands the heavens, yet delights in the flowers of the field and the lives of the lowliest of his children. He demands righteousness, yet he bought it for each of us with his own son.

We also cannot help being awed. God is beyond what we can imagine. We follow not a simple block of wood but a multifaceted, living, active being. He truly is God. The only appropriate response is worship—worship in spirit and truth (John 4:23) which involves our whole being (Romans 12:1-2). This realisation ought to shake us out of any complacency we might have. What does it mean to follow a God like this? How must we change to conform to his likeness?

When all is said and done, we all want to know God better. But the limitations of our understanding can leave us disappointed. However, it will not always be so. One day we’ll know God fully, intimately. ‘Now we see as through a glass darkly, then we shall see face to face.’ (1 Corinthians 13:12)

This article first appeared in InterSections, May 2013.

Reversing Our Priorities

Nathan Holyoak — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 10:00:00 +1000

The first will be last and the last will be first

Matthew 20:16

God has a history of reversing our expectations and priorities. We often get caught up in our own wisdom and our own narrow thinking, so when confronted by God’s nature we’re shaken up and challenged profoundly. One of the most powerful ways God challenges us is with his concern for those in need. This can be observed as early as the Law of Moses. The Israelites were commanded to be ‘open-handed’ to their poor and needy neighbours (Deuteronomy 15:11). They were also to leave parts of their fields unharvested so that the poor could feed themselves (Leviticus 19:9). Many other laws protected the poor and the foreigner (Exodus 22:25; Deuteronomy 14:28-29; 15:1-4). God’s call for the Israelites to be generous and merciful was based on the mercy they had received from God in his delivering them from Egyptian slavery (Deuteronomy 24:17-22). The way they lived their lives was to be a testimony to God and his character.

Unfortunately, Israel too frequently fell short of this mark. Time and time again, God had to remind them through the prophets that their treatment of the vulnerable was one of his chief concerns. The rich and powerful gave little thought to those below them. Yet, contrary to their understanding, their treatment of the vulnerable was more important to God than their sacrifices and worship (Amos 5:21-24; Micah 6:6-8).

When Jesus came, he too confounded the elite’s perceptions by focusing his attention on the humble and lowly (Matthew 9:12-13). He encouraged his followers to give to anyone in need (Matthew 5:40-42) and to give without expecting anything in return (Luke 6:32-36). Jesus’ very coming was to bring good news to the poor, release captives, give sight to the blind and let the oppressed go free (Luke 4:18-21). The good news is that God is not a god making selfish or idle demands, but one interested in meeting people’s needs. It is this message that the church is here to continue proclaiming.

Despite God’s concern, Jesus said that ‘the poor you will always have with you’ (Mark 14:7). This is because poverty goes hand-in-hand with mismanagement, our own sins (such as unhealthy addictions or gambling) or the sins of others. Poverty is usually a consequence of our selfish desire to advance ourselves at the expense of others, breeding oppression and neglect. As long as sin is present in the world there will be poverty, until God redeems the world upon Christ’s return (Romans 8:19-23). For this reason, we cannot seriously address the material poverty in this world without also addressing its spiritual poverty. Helping the poor is a good thing and worth doing for its own sake. However we shouldn’t fool ourselves into thinking that it is enough.

If we hope to be able to meet people’s needs, we must meet their most pressing need. This is to know God and his forgiveness. Yet, historically, this goal has caused considerable discomfort and misgiving within the church. We fear developing ‘rice Christians’ whose conversion is a charade for the sake of food. We also fear that mentioning God might turn people away and limit our effectiveness at meeting their other needs. These concerns are real, but such problems have their origins in our faulty perception of evangelism and benevolence as projects that we undertake—something separate from our lives. In fact, good works shouldn’t be a strategy for evangelism, as if people could be manipulated into faith. Rather, if we want to reach the whole person who is in need, we must meet them holistically. This involves drawing people into our lives: into our families and our churches; in this way we demonstrate lives soaked in the love of God (1 Thessalonians 2:5-8). The way we live, our love, acts as a pointer to God and the love that he has for them. This gives credibility to our declaration of the Gospel. To do this takes time and patience, an investment we are typically uncomfortable making. It requires our generosity to be a product of who we are and the love God has given us. It’s not something we do just because we’re expected to serve. Too often we compartmentalise our lives into time devoted to work, family, church, good works and the like. Instead we need to see our whole lives—everything we do—as a generous gift to God. This is shown by helping others who are made in his image. We help others by the work we do, the way we act as a family and the things we do together as a church. Our lives are living sacrifices devoted to God and service to others (Romans 12:1-2).

It’s easy to come up with excuses to avoid helping the poor. Too often we see good stewardship as being careful with our money rather than being generous, a passive avoidance of risk rather than faith. No doubt we need to be wise with our money, but giving is a spiritual gift that we can use to God’s glory (Romans 12:8).

It’s a big world and there’s a lot of suffering. How can we hope to embrace it all? All we can do is plant as many seeds as possible and allow God to grow them (1 Corinthians 3:6). We can help those we find along the way (Luke 10:29-37). We can make it our purpose to go out and find those who need help (Matthew 28:19-20; Luke 14:16-24). Granted, our efforts and our message may fall on deaf ears or hard hearts. But Jesus faced that too yet was not deterred (Luke 18:18-23; 17:12-19).

We ought to take seriously the upside-down nature of God’s kingdom as revealed in his concern for the poor. Just like the Israelites, we’re prone to blithely view the world from our position of comfort—deaf to the cries of the needy. We listen to the world around us and convince ourselves that it is we who are needy. Just like the brother of the prodigal son, we are often too self-absorbed to see the plight of others, smug in our comfort and self-righteousness (Luke 15:25-32). Instead, we should be like the Father. He rejoices when sinners are reconciled, when the hungry are fed, when the naked are clothed. Do we?

This article first appeared in InterSections, February 2012.

Why Do We Sing?

Nathan Holyoak — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 05:36:00 +1000

Of all the things we do together as a church I think that from the perspective of an outsider, the strangest thing we do is to sing. Especially in our modern culture - it seems that unless you’re performing in front of a large audience, or perhaps a quick solo in the shower or car, singing has no place in our lives. So I can imagine that the sight of a bunch of people getting together and singing would strike most non-Christians as a trifle odd.

I was recently thinking about the story of Paul and Silas when they were jailed in Philippi (Acts 16:16-40). After being arrested for doing nothing more than casting a demon out of a slave-girl, they were severely beaten and thrown into the deepest dungeon. Come midnight, what do you think they were doing? If it was me, I think I’d be getting some well-deserved shut-eye, some much needed rest to recuperate after a rough day. After all, it was probably pitch dark - what else was there to do?

Paul and Silas were not like me. They didn’t sleep, they sang. I wonder what they sang? The text says it was “hymns to God” but I wonder what the words were, what they were saying to God. I wonder what the tune was like. Do you think they sounded good? How much oomph do you think they could muster after all they had been through? But the other prisoners listened. It doesn’t just say they heard them, they were listening.

I find this interesting, not because it is a good example of how we can rejoice even in the worst circumstances, which it is, nor because it shows how their attitude helped to win over the jailer and his family, which it did. I find it interesting because it highlights the important place that singing had in the lives of Paul and Silas. They didn’t sing because everyone else was. They didn’t sing because they were commanded to. They sang because it meant something to them. The words they sang and the fact they could do it together was a great comfort to them. Perhaps they sang an old Psalm which connected them to all the Jews who had faithfully sung it for centuries. Perhaps they sang a favourite of the church at Philippi which reminded them of their brothers and sisters nearby. Their singing connected them to each other, to brethren past and present, and to God.

Is that why we sing?

One Thing

Nathan Holyoak — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 07:50:00 +1000

You don’t have to look very far to see that the world is changing. Even in my few years I have seen the world get faster, more complicated and stressful. One interesting statistic is that during my lifetime the average size of houses have doubled. Is this because families are much larger today? On the contrary, families are smaller. Is it because we are richer? Certainly.

But I think that this reflects something in our lifestyles that is not healthy. It shows how cluttered our lives have become that we need such large homes to contain it all. We don’t just need a place to sleep, a place to eat and a place to socialise. We need a place to work on the computer, a place to watch the TV, a place to play games, rooms to hold all our clothes, several places to primp and preen ourselves, a retreat where we can escape from the children, a place where they can escape us.

What this shows is how many things we dedicate our lives to. When we devote a room to something it tells us how important it is to us. But how many of all these things are really important? Why do we feel the need to escape from our children? Why do we devote so much space and time to our appearance? Please don’t misunderstand me; I’m not saying we ought to be ascetics. But let’s think about what our houses say about us and our priorities. So much of what we do, even legitimate things, are not that important.

Martha struggled with this too (Luke 10:38-42). When Jesus came to visit she wanted to serve him—a noble thing to do. Perhaps though, she wanted to make a good impression, put on a good show with her cooking, make everything just so. Wouldn’t we all, especially if Jesus was coming over. Wouldn’t we straighten the pictures, pull all the weeds, polish all the furniture, tidy every room?

How did Jesus react? “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:41-42) Jesus is that one thing. All our houses, all our possessions, all our obsessions mean nothing unless they help to bring us back to that one thing. Too often they do the opposite. Our houses will go out of fashion and fall apart, our belongings will come and go, our appearances will fade and be forgotten. But Jesus, that one thing, will not be taken away from us.

Looking in the Mirror

Nathan Holyoak — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 07:37:00 +1000

I love footy. Its toughness, its spectacle; the way it flows and sweeps across a field. The camaraderie of supporting a team.

But that passion can bring out both the best and the worst in me. It breeds loyalty and devotion, but it can also stir up hatred and derision. Wins sometimes are too gloating, defeats too bitter. After a game I sometimes look at myself, and I don’t like what I see.

I’m sure we all experience this from time to time - we see ourselves in the mirror and are confronted by our sin and are disgusted. It can be thoroughly disheartening.

David was confronted by his sin by the prophet Nathan. Why did it take this long for David to realise his sin? David, who knew God and His law so well - why was his conscience not pricked earlier in the sordid affair? But if we are too critical of David here I think we misunderstand how blinded we can be by power. Maybe David grew too used to his will being done without question that he stopped questioning it himself? We can be just the same when we dwell in the self-important delusions of our own making. When we believe we have power, whether it be power over another person, or power to sit in judgment over a football team, we become blind to our own sin because we believe we are above the law. We are our own king! No wonder we are devastated when we come crashing to earth.

The important thing is that once David was confronted by his sin, he did not ignore it. Nathan’s message enabled David to see the consequences of his actions in a way he hadn’t before, and in a way he couldn’t ignore. He mourned and humbled himself and he turned to God (2 Sam. 12:16-17).

Humility is the antidote to our selfishness and delusions of power. There is no better way to remain humble than to confess our sins to one another, and to God. How good it is that God is willing to forgive our sins and pick us up and make us new (Psalm 32).

Flooding Rains

Nathan Holyoak — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 07:54:00 +1000

It has been an eventful beginning to 2011. In recent weeks have seen one disaster after another, affecting large parts of Australia. The sheer force of nature is both fearsome and awe-inspiring.

Nature teaches us about God, “Ever since the creation of the world God’s eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen from what has been made” (Rom. 1:20). These events have given us a lesson in how powerful God is, and how small we are, how powerless.

Technology often disguises this fact. We build bigger dams, stronger houses. They will save us next time. Doctors can heal us, our learning will guide us, electric lights will dispel the darkness. These things all give us the false sense that we are in control. But, “can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?” (Matt. 6:27). In the face of God and His vast creation we are tiny and insignificant. Dearly loved, but helpless.

Understanding this is the beginning of humility. It is also the beginning of wisdom (Prov. 9:10).

While our minds struggle to comprehend the whys and wherefores of these disasters, we are reminded that all we can do is kneel humbly before God and say, “Here I am, I have come to do your will, my God.” (Heb. 10:7).

Engaging with God

Nathan Holyoak — Sun, 09 May 2010 07:56:00 +1000

“Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool.”

Isaiah 1:18

God is not distant, He is not aloof. His rightful place is in heaven yet the Bible is all about God coming to earth, becoming involved with people, engaging with them.

God did not just mechanically give Isaiah a message to pass on. God wanted to reason with him, to share with him so that he would understand this wonderful news of God’s forgiveness.

God also wanted to share with Abraham about the wickedness of Sodom.

Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just.

Genesis 18:17-19

Abraham then debates with God over what He should do. Can you imagine doing that? But Abraham does not argue selfishly; he reminds God about who He is and what is important. “Far be it from you to do such a thing — to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?” If God will not act rightly, who will?

God did not forget what was right, He wanted Abraham to understand what was right so that he could lead his family righteously. God taught him by engaging with him.

That is also why Jesus became flesh and dwelt among us – to become involved with us and teach us the way. Let’s join in and walk with Him. What a wonderful God! Who, O God is like you?