Introduction:

A lot of religious foolishness circulates these days in the name of a "social gospel" that has no foundation in the scriptures. So the international lesson for this week has been advertised widely under the heading, "God's Continuing Encounter with a the Social Order." Tommy-rot! The Bible has absolutely nothing directly to say about any social order in this world, as such, except the Israelite theocracy - and the modern, social gospelers are far from recommending submission to the laws of that society!

But the Bible has much to say concerning the character and conduct of men, regardless of their "social order." Christians can conduct "themselves as Christians even in the worst society, and sinners can still sin even in the best society. God's primary concern, as revealed in the Bible, is with the souls of men. When individual souls get right with God, they will exercise righteous judgment in their dealings with one another: but not until then.

"Judgment" may refer to thought, word, or deed. It is the judgment of genuine Christianity that the judgments of God are set forth in His word and will eventually, in the light of eternity, be made clear to all His creatures.

Scripture passages from Luke and Isaiah included in this lesson may be outlined as follows:

1. Word of Judgment, Luke 4:16-21
a. The word written, 16, 17       
b. The word read, 18, 19
c. The word realized, 20, 21

2. Worth of Judgment, Isaiah 5:16, 17
a. To the Judge, 16
b. To the justified, 17

3. Woes of Judgment, Isaiah 5:18-23
a. Woe of defiance, 18, 19
b. Woe of deceit, 20
c. Woe of delusion, 21
d. Woe of debauchery, 22, 23

Notes on the Printed Text:
Word of Judgment, Luke 4:16-21.

God's judgments in action always have been and always will be in accord with the principles and prophecies of His holy word. Unlike the wishy-washy vagaries of earth's "supreme courts," the judgments of God are always right, always dependable, and always delightful to all who know and love His truth.

The Word Written, 16, 17.

As the synagogue was the customary place, so the sabbath day was the customary time, for the Jews of the community to gather for worship. As a good Jew, Jesus Himself observed the custom. His attendance was not occasional or accidental, but customary.

Copies of the scriptures were more scarce in those days when they had to be made by hand, but we may safely suppose that each synagogue was furnished with rolls of parchment bearing the written word of God contained in what we now call the Old Testament. "Esaias," transliterated from the Greek, is the same name as "Isaiah" from the Hebrew. There were no chapter and verse divisions to the original scriptures, but we can be sure that Jesus had no difficulty finding "the place" from which He chose to read.

The Word Bead, 18, 19.

Isaiah was the human instrument that God used to write this prophecy, but he wrote as "moved by the Holy Ghost" (II Peter 1:21.) This same Holy Spirit constituted the anointing of the Messiah. If we understand something of the "mystery of godliness" (I Timothy 3:16), we may say that on this occasion the Author became the Reader on the subject of Himself.

Perhaps it is obvious enough that the language here is rather figurative than literal. The anointing is not of literal oil but of the Holy Spirit. The "poor"are poor or meek before God rather than before men. "To heal the brokenhearted" does not refer to repairing the fleshly organ but to comforting the sorrowful. "Captives," "blind," and "bruised" no doubt refer primarily to spiritual coinditions, though the literal meanings need not be excluded. In short, we have here clearly a figurative description of Christ's work of redemption

Note that Jesus stopped reading (Isaiah 61:1, 2) in the middle of a sentence. As is often true in prophecy, nearer and more distant events ran together in the prophetic vision; but Jesus chose not to speak at this time of events connected with His second coming.

The Word Realized, 20, 21.

Divine power decreed God's judgments before creation, declared them in His written word, and delivers them on schedule. The audience at Nazareth refused to believe it, but their unbelief did not change the fact that the word of God was realized in Christ.

Worth of Judgment, Isaiah 5:16, 17.

Sometimes it seems that our earthly courts of "justice" operate mostly to protect criminals against the interests of government and society (not necessarily the same): but divine judgment is different. It may indeed be true that sinners would be much worse off, working far more injury even to themselves, if not restrained by divine judgment; nevertheless the prime worth of God's judgments lies in the upholding of His own honor and in the blessing of those creatures that willingly submit to His government.

To the Judge, 16.

Governors, mayors, and judges in the United States of America have prostituted themselves in the service of sentiment in despite of law and order; but the supreme Governor of the universe will faithfully execute the extreme penalty of His holy law. The God that is holy in His own character will be set apart from all other rulers by the perfect righteousness of His ultimate judgments.

To the Justified, 17.

When the wicked are overthrown to judgment, the justified saints will come into their proper inheritance. "When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn." (Proverbs 29:2.) The greatest rejoicing of the righteous will come when the righteous God by His righteous judgments shall purge His kingdom from all sin and from all the evil consequences of sin.

Woes of Judgment, Isaiah 5:18-23.

Sinners are warned in advance of the woes that await them. God has no ex post facto laws. In His judgment, "where no law is, there is no transgression." (Romans 4:15.) But this does not mean that there are loopholes in His laws. He foresaw all the possibilities of sin and provided laws to suit. As David discovered, God's "commandment is exceeding broad." (Psalm 119:96.)

Woe of Defiance, 18, 19.

Blasphemous sinners who cannot carry as much sin as they crave on their shoulders drag a cartload behind them and defy God to intervene, "that we may know." Sure enough, they shall know to due time; but that knowledge too long delayed will be only a knowledge of woe.

Woe of Deceit, 20.

Confusion of labels, especially in moral and spiritual matters, is disastrous. Satan is the oldest and greatest of experts in the false labeling business, but he has multitudes of followers who must share hia eternal woe.

Woe of Delusion, 21.

Self-deception can be personally disastrous even if no one else is deceived. Sincerity is no substitute for truth. The most sincere delusion may result in most bitter woe.

Woe of Debauchery, 22, 23.

How about people who becloud and debauch their better judgment by intoxication, whether with alcohol or other drugs or with bribes? Woe also to them! In fact, from one point of view, I might hazard the opinion that if they know better when sober, their willful choice of intoxication as an excuse can only aggravate their offense. But aside from human opinion, the judgment of God is sure: Woe unto them!

Key Verse:

"But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream." - Amos 5:24.

True judgment and righteousness come through the river of the water of life straight from the throne of God. The people of God are commanded to be channels through which this water of life can flow without obstruction. If the mighty stream of divine righteousness seems sometimes to slow down to a tiny trickle, it is because sin in our lives has erected a dam against it. Context (Amos 5:27) shows that this too calls for divine judgment.
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[From the Ashland Avenue Baptist paper, June 29, 1969. Transcribed and formatted by Jim Duvall.]

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