What Does He Require Of Us?

Micah 6:6–8 ESV

“With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

The question was not about what God wanted of all people. So, I am starting from what God requires of believers.

If you are here and are not a believer in Christ.

If you haven’t surrendered to him as your savior, then you have to start there.

Admit you are a sinner

Believe in your heart that God sent His son, Jesus Christ, to pay the price for your sin and mine. That He is Lord, that he is extending Grace to those who He has called. Surrender your life to His Lordship.

Confess Him, Jesus Christ, as Lord. Professing your belief and trust in Him.

Determine to follow Him. The first step of obedience to him is baptism.

Only then can you move on to the content of this message.

Offerings Are Not The Point

The people complained that nothing seemed to satisfy God. No offering, sacrifice or even their firstborn son would satisfy God.

We still battle this today. We come and we offer things to God.

We say things like;

I come to church every Sunday

I give to the church

I read my Bible

Offerings were never the point

Hosea 6:6 ESV

For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

Too often we give things to God trying to win His favor.

God’s favor is given not won through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Romans 10:9 ESV

because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Isaiah 29:13 ESV

And the Lord said: “Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men,

Matthew 15:8 ESV

“ ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me;

So, what does He want then?

God wants your heart, not your things.

Not even just your words

Micah 6:8 ESV

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

To Do Justice

Justice is an attribute of God

We care about justice because all justice is rooted in God.

Deuteronomy 32:4 ESV

“The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.

Deuteronomy

Psalm 99:4 ESV

The King in his might loves justice. You have established equity; you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.

Psalm 33:4–5 ESV

For the word of the Lord is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness. He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.

Psalm 33:5 ESV

He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.

Revelation 15:3 ESV

And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations!

He tells us in His word to model that behavior.

Hosea 12:6 ESV

“So you, by the help of your God, return, hold fast to love and justice, and wait continually for your God.”

Luke 11:42 ESV

“But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.

Injustice Against God

And we care about all injustice, especially injustice against God. Especially — this half of the sentence is intended to call out the practical unbelief of Christians for whom injustices against humans ignite more passion in their hearts and in their mouths than the global tragedy of injustice against God. And it aims to call out the practical unbelief of Christians who are so anesthetized by the comforts and entertainments of this world that they don’t care about injustice against man or God.

Injustice is to treat someone worse than they deserve from other people. And the more respect they deserve, and the less we render, the greater the injustice. God alone deserves the highest respect and honor and praise and love and fear and devotion and allegiance and obedience. Yet every single human being has fallen short of this worship, and exchanged the glory of God for the creation (; ).

Romans 1:23 ESV

and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

To DO Justice is to act rightly, especially toward, and concerning God.

To Love Kindness/Mercy

We should model the compassion of Christ

he felt compassion on the harassed crowds

Matthew 9:36 ESV

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

on the sick

Matthew 14:14 ESV

When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

on the hungry

Matthew 15:32 ESV

Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion on the crowd because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.”

on the blind

Matthew 20:34 ESV

And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him.

Jesus Cared about all suffering. He loved Kindness

Christians care about all suffering, all injustice.

We are to be touched.

We are to be moved.

Our hearts lean in toward relief and protection and justice.

If we don’t, we are not acting like Christians.

Suffering and injustice move us.

To Walk Humbly With Your God

In 1908, the British writer G. K. Chesterton described the embryo of today’s full-grown immature culture called postmodernism.

What we suffer from today is humility in the wrong place. Modesty has moved from the organ of ambition. Modesty has settled upon the organ of conviction; where it was never meant to be. A man was meant to be doubtful about himself, but undoubting about the truth; this has been exactly reversed. Nowadays the part of a man that a man does assert is exactly the part he ought not to assert — himself. The part he doubts is exactly the part he ought not to doubt — the Divine Reason. . . . The new skeptic is so humble that he doubts if he can even learn. . . . There is a real humility typical of our time; but it so happens that it’s practically a more poisonous humility than the wildest prostrations of the ascetic. . . . The old humility made a man doubtful about his efforts, which might make him work harder. But the new humility makes a man doubtful about his aims, which makes him stop working altogether. . . . We are on the road to producing a race of man too mentally modest to believe in the multiplication table. (Orthodoxy [Garden City, NY: Doubleday and Co., 1957], pp. 31–32)

We have confused the language.

Now the word “arrogance” is used to refer to conviction and “humility” is used to refer to doubt.

The conviction/firm beliefs of the Christians is now seen as arrogance because we do not doubt the word of God.

When we express a doubt, which is also viewed as wiggle room, in our beliefs, it is viewed as humility.

God has told us five truths about humility.—John Piper

1. Humility begins with a sense of subordination to God in Christ.

Matthew 10:24 ESV

“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.

“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master” (). “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God” ().

1 Peter 5:6 ESV

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,

“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master” (). “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God” ().

“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master” (). “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God” ().

2. Humility does not feel a right to better treatment than Jesus got.

Matthew 10:25 ESV

It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household.

“If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign the members of his household!” (). Therefore humility does not return evil for evil. It is not life based on its perceived rights. “Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in his steps. . . . While suffering, he uttered no threats, but handed [his cause] over to him who judges righteously” ().

Therefore humility does not return evil for evil. It is not life based on its perceived rights.

1 Peter 2:21–23 ESV

For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.

“Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in his steps. . . . While suffering, he uttered no threats, but handed [his cause] over to him who judges righteously” ().

3. Humility speaks truth in service to Christ not simply to win an argument.

1 Corinthians 13:6 ESV

it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.

“Love rejoices in the truth” (). “What I [Jesus] tell you in the darkness, speak in the light. . . . Do not fear” (). “We do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus’s sake” ().

Matthew 10:27–28 ESV

What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

“Love rejoices in the truth” (). “What I [Jesus] tell you in the darkness, speak in the light. . . . Do not fear” (). “We do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus’s sake” ().

2 Corinthians 4:5 ESV

For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.

“Love rejoices in the truth” (). “What I [Jesus] tell you in the darkness, speak in the light. . . . Do not fear” (). “We do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus’s sake” ().

4. Humility acknowledge its dependence on grace.

1 Corinthians 4:7 ESV

For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?

1 Corinthians “What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?” (). “In humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls” ().

James 1:21 ESV

Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

“What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?” (). “In humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls” ().

“What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?” (). “In humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls” ().

5. Humility knows it can be wrong or improve.

and so considers criticism and learns from it.

But humility also knows that God has made provision for human conviction and that he calls us to persuade others.

“We see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known” (). “A wise man is he who listens to counsel” (). “Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men” ().

1 Corinthians 13:12 ESV

For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

Proverbs 12:15 ESV

The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice.

“We see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known” (). “A wise man is he who listens to counsel” (). “Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men” ().

2 Corinthians 5:11 “We see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known” (). “A wise man is he who listens to counsel” (). “Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men” ().

2 Corinthians 5:11 ESV

Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience.

So, What does God require of all believers.

To do Justice—Act Rightly

To Love Kindness—Outdo One Another Showing Love

Walk Humbly—Trust Your Lord But Know Your Faults

With Your God

God wants a changed life, not just an offering