In Isaiah 55:6-9, God’s message is simple: repent, and I will pardon you. God’s willingness to save penitent people who leave wickedness behind is a testament to how much better God is than humanity. Humankind likes to see justice done to evildoers, especially when they are not the ones being punished. However, God prefers to forgive all if they are willing to stop their evil ways. God prefers salvation over destruction because He is not like a human: He does not think like a human, nor does He behave like a human. He is better than every human in every way. On our own, humans cannot imagine what is in the mind of God. He must reveal His mind to us, which He has done in the Scriptures (1 Cor. 2:6-13).
Since God is so far beyond humankind in every way, it is arrogant to think people can imagine what is acceptable to Him without His input. Thankfully, God has revealed how to please Him in the Bible (2 Pet. 1:3). Of special importance is the New Testament, God’s covenant in Jesus Christ that binds all today (John 12:44-50). When people do what God commands and permits through the New Testament, there is no doubt that they are pleasing Him. They continue in God’s Word and abide in Him (1 John 2:24).
On the other hand, those who imaginatively do what God has remained silent about in the New Testament travel a path without God, whether in worship or lifestyle. The very nature of God, as expressed in Isaiah 55:8-9, demands that we view His silence on various matters restrictively rather than permissively since a permissive view of God’s silence requires people to imagine what pleases Him without His input, a feat which no person can accomplish.
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