… and to purify for himself a people that are his very own …
Summary: Learning to live for God is a purifying process. We give up what is ungodly and embrace what is godly. Having paid the price for our redemption, God changes us into people who are his very own.
You might think that since God made all people that all people would be his own. But that is not the case. A people that are “his very own” are distinguished by their hearts, not their DNA.
God’s people have a heart for God. They love his Word, and they live according to the Word and the Spirit. God’s people are people after his heart.
“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8)
God’s people are on the path to being kind and self-controlled. They are becoming temperate and worthy of respect. They are sound in faith, in love, and endurance. (Titus 2:2)
The thing that breaks my heart is when, instead of purifying each other, God’s people make excuses for ungodly behavior.
One Sunday, I was at church when a friend of my father came up to me. His name was John. He was excited to see me because we were in the process of closing a sale for a house. (In those days, I was in the real estate business.) I had listed the house, and John had sold it.
I remember the day clearly. It was one of those summer Sundays that belong in a picture book. The man I was talking with was older than me, balding and very talkative. In a few short minutes, he told me that he had allowed his buyers to move into my client’s house before the sale had closed. I felt like I had been punched.
I was shocked. It was not uncommon for something to go wrong with a sale. If the sale did not go through, the homeowner would be stuck with people in his house. They did not belong there.
John assured me it was okay because the people needed a place to live. The problem was that it was not John’s house to give away. He could have arranged for a pre-rental agreement, but he did not do that. He simply gave them the key to something that was not his.
It is tempting to want to do this with the keys of heaven, too. Everyone needs a place to live after we leave this body. We do not want anyone to go to hell. Surely God does not mind if we make excuses for ungodly behavior. After all, it is much easier than calling attention to bad behavior.
Micah tells us that God wants us to act justly. The Hebrew “mišpāṭ” (pronounced “mish-pawt’”) suggests that this means we are to render proper judgments.
We are to show mercy. Mercy is not ignoring impurity, it is responding to a penitent heart with forgiveness.
Walking humbly with our God is being a good steward of his Word. We do not give away what is not ours to give. Instead, we help others come to know and trust the God who forgives us personally.
Application: Purification must come first to ourselves before we can help others.
Food for Thought: What does it mean to act justly?
The subject of our purification is God. He is the One purifying His people in our passage. In relation to this discussion, I think to act justly means to allow God to purify me. I have no business purifying someone else if my heart is not pure. To act justly means to act in a way God would approve of and is consistent with His will as revealed in His word. And I need to start with myself.
Thank you, Rich!
Starting with ourselves is a great place to begin!
There’s a word that comes to my mind while reading through this,..holy,..set apart,..we who have ears to hear and who have accepted the truth about Jesus have been set apart for God’s very own,..by knowing that it should want us to walk this life God has given us as if there is a video camera fixed on our every move,..every thing we do is on a big huge screen in heaven,..I can imagine some of the laughter going on right now,..and then there is more than likely some silence for the same reason,..
I guess my point is if we know Who is watching us it would want us to desire and strive to walk the walk,..let our actions speak louder than our words, love God and others, I would imagine that the list of actions taken justly can go on from here,..God is watching our every move, and I have been set apart to bring Him glory through my actions here in this life He has called me to live,..Jesus did always stress on,..he who has ears to hear let him hear,..that phrase has been like a Q-tip to my ears,..
Praise be to God,..all glory and magesty are His in the highest and we will someday be allowed by grace to be in His presence,..
Keep smiling!
John,
I love the video camera / big screen image. For me, the there is also a video camera & microphone in my head. God sees everything I think as well as everything I do.
Thank you!
What does it mean to act justly?
The natural man or woman has biases and preconceived notions about certain “types” of people, and as a society make judgements based on these biases. They judge others, decide who is worthy of their time and who is not. Their standards can change daily which makes it really difficult to try and keep up with what they consider good and bad.
I have been blessed by God to come from a poor family. When I began school, we were the only white family living in the black neighborhood and we were judged as unworthy by others. In time we lived among white people, but in the wrong neighborhood, wrong side of town. Those with money, those from the right side of town were automatically judged as worthy, but I was not.
I joined the Marine Corps at 17 and all that changed. All recruits were the same. We all dressed the same, had haircut the same, ate together, slept together, we did everything together and were evaluated based purely upon our performance. Justice was consistent for all, each man received what they deserved when measured against an unchanging standard.
Justice is an attribute of God who is also Immutable which means He will never change, He will be Just in all He does forever. His justice begins as conviction, as knowledge of right and wrong is revealed in the hearts of all. Those who receive this truth, repent and turn from all revealed unrighteous, accept Jesus Christ as Lord, become justified. His Justice continues as He reveals the prejudices we carry, unjust beliefs and acts we have allowed to shape our values and our behaviors. Feelings we may not even be conscious of that have become part of us over the years. Our foundation for living within this ungodly world system.
Romans 8:4, Ephesians 2:8-9, Luke 11:42, 18:7, Acts 17:31, 1 John 1:9
As believers grow in Christ, we begin to conform to His image and allow Him to exercise His justice as we continue walk in this world. We do not stand in judgement of anyone but ourselves as Christ in us will discern good from revealed evil. We seek to do good and refrain from evil, seeking to live justly. We care for the uncared for, those abandoned, avoided by this world. We seek to give others what we have been given. Salvation through Christ, and a life of joy and prosperity which comes to all who turn from the world and live in obedience to God. We justly treat all with respect and allow allow our God to be God of all.
Micah 6:8, Jeremiah 9:24, Psalm 82:3, Luke 6:37, 18:1-8,
John 13:8-12
There is a great relief that comes from submission to our God. Knowing He is the ruler of all, and we, His creation. We are here to serve Him as He determines. If we want to act justly, focus on ourselves, tend our garden and allow God to justly minister through us to those He brings to us.
Ron,
Your stories are powerful. “Blessed to come from a poor family” is not something you hear from worldly people. Yet I know what you mean. It has given you a perspective on life that you would not have gained otherwise.
Thank you for sharing this with us.
👍🏻