Sermon Central
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What Does God Require?
Contributed by Dennis Lee on Oct 9, 2022 (message contributor)
Summary: Today’s passage of Scripture looks at what we as Christians ought to be doing in spite of what is going on in our society. In other words, it’s about how are we to live out what God requires rather than the requirements of man.
What Does God Require?
Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDUhBRk5ADw
Let’s just get right to it and look at this remarkable verse about what God requires of those who are His.
“He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8 NKJV)
The Bible will challenge us, correct us, and even rebuke us.
The Bible challenges us like Paul in his letter to the Ephesian church saying that we are to walk worthy of our calling.
The Bible also corrects us like what Paul said to the church in Galatia asking how they could be so foolish by going back to the law when they were set free by the Holy Spirit of truth.
And the Bible also rebukes when Jesus tells the church in Laodicea to repent of its lukewarmness before judgment comes.
And this is what this verse before us does. It does all three. It does triple duty.
These past few years with all the political upheaval, along with the violence that has followed, I have seen this verse displayed by those on both sides of the issues trying to justify their position.
But what does it mean to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with the Lord? Does it lend itself to these positions. Actually, it lends itself to what we as Christians ought to be doing in spite of what is going on in our society. In other words, it’s about how are we to live out this verse as to what God requires rather than the requirements of man.
And so, it comes at us with this question, “What is good?” And what God is saying is that He has already shown us what is good.
“He has shown you, O man, what is good.”
And so, what is good? Well, there are only two things that are good, and they are God and His word.
When it comes to the goodness of God, nothing speaks more to this than the Psalms.
“Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!” (Psalm 34:8 NKJV)
“Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.” (Psalm 107:1 NKJV)
And as far as God’s word, Proverbs 16:24 says something that fits the bill.
“Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.” (Proverbs 16:24 NKJV)
Now, to show how this verse fits, one of the main definitions used in our verse for “good” means “pleasant.”
And to show how good and pleasant God’s word is, King David said, “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.” (Psalm 19:7-8 NKJV)
And it doesn’t get any better than that.
And so, through Micah, the Lord is showing us what is good, what is pleasant, what is best and beautiful. And that is to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God.
And this is what I’d like to take time to look at with you, what each of these means, and what it looks like in our lives.
But before we get there, we should take a moment and look at the context and what brings the Lord let us know this.
In Micah 6 God is speaking and is making a case against the people of Israel. The question He asks is found in verse three.
“O My people, what have I done to you? And how have I wearied you? Testify against Me.” (Micah 6:3 NKJV)
These are strong words and quite an accusation. What God is reminding them of is what He has done and how He has redeemed them from their Egyptian bondage. Therefore, how should they respond to God’s righteousness? And the Lord makes sure they realize that it isn’t though any religious acts, which is seen in verses six and seven.
This is the problem with most people. We think that religious acts are what God desires and what pleases Him the most, but it isn’t. And while Micah 6:8 is what we will be concentrating on in our time together, it really begins with these same thoughts that Micah brings out about how to get right with God that has haunted humanity since the very beginning.
And what we see from our passage is that God is contrasting for us external religion, that is, the religion of man as it compares to what God set up, that is, true religion, which is all about our coming into and staying in a right relationship with God.