The Lord's Requirement
Good parents
teach their children what is required of them. Employers inform their employees
what is required of them, often by giving them a job description. What does the
Lord require of us?
If the question is, “What does the Lord require of us to get to heaven?”, the answer is to have faith in Jesus Christ (John 3:16). Once a person trusts Jesus Christ, getting to heaven is a sealed and settled issue that nothing can change (John 5:24). If the question is, “What does the Lord require of those who have trusted Christ”?, the answer can be boiled down to three things.
Micah says, “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). Notice, this is given to those to whom the Lord has revealed truth (“what is good.”). This is addressed to believers. The Lord had previously revealed the good (Martin: “beneficial”) things He requires of His children (Deut. 10:12; see also Hosea 12:6), but the people of Micah’s day were not doing what was just (Micah 2:1-2; 3:1-3; 6:11). They were not loving mercy (2:8-9; 3:10-11; 6:12), nor were they walking humbly with the Lord (2:3).
The Lord wants His people to do justice, rather than continuing to plot and practice unfairness and injustice toward one another (see 6:11; 2:1-2; 3:1-3). In short, do what is right.
The Lord wants His people to love mercy. The Hebrew word translated “mercy” means “goodness, kindness” (BDB; see “kindness” in the NASB and the ESV; “mercy” in the NIV). Kindness is the most basic meaning of the word; “merciful kindness” is the idea. Justice is what right requires; mercy is what love requires (Barnes).
The Lord wants His people to walk humbly with Him. The Hebrew word translated “humbly” means “to be humble, be modest, be lowly” (BDB; Martin says it means “modest” and is only used here). The Lord wants His people “to live their lives modestly trusting and depending on Him, rather than arrogantly relying on themselves (2:3)” (Constable).
The order of the requirements is interesting. It starts with what is external (“do justly”), moves to that which is internal (“love mercy”), and concludes with what is both internal (“humbly”) and external (“walk”). The list of requirements starts with our relationship to other people and ends with our relationship to the Lord.
To accomplish these requirements, they should be done in the reverse order. First, we must walk humbly with the Lord. The opposite of humility is pride, which is the attitude of Satan that says, “I can rule without God.” In other words, humility includes dependence on the Lord. It is the attitude that says, “I can do nothing without the Lord” (John 15:50). As we depend on the Lord for His grace and power (notice “grace” and “power” in 2 Corinthians 12:9), we are able to be kind and do what is right. When we do what the Lord requires of us as believers, we are blessed in this life and rewarded in the next (1 Tim. 4:8).\
ã G. Michael Cocoris 3/17/2015
If the question is, “What does the Lord require of us to get to heaven?”, the answer is to have faith in Jesus Christ (John 3:16). Once a person trusts Jesus Christ, getting to heaven is a sealed and settled issue that nothing can change (John 5:24). If the question is, “What does the Lord require of those who have trusted Christ”?, the answer can be boiled down to three things.
Micah says, “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). Notice, this is given to those to whom the Lord has revealed truth (“what is good.”). This is addressed to believers. The Lord had previously revealed the good (Martin: “beneficial”) things He requires of His children (Deut. 10:12; see also Hosea 12:6), but the people of Micah’s day were not doing what was just (Micah 2:1-2; 3:1-3; 6:11). They were not loving mercy (2:8-9; 3:10-11; 6:12), nor were they walking humbly with the Lord (2:3).
The Lord wants His people to do justice, rather than continuing to plot and practice unfairness and injustice toward one another (see 6:11; 2:1-2; 3:1-3). In short, do what is right.
The Lord wants His people to love mercy. The Hebrew word translated “mercy” means “goodness, kindness” (BDB; see “kindness” in the NASB and the ESV; “mercy” in the NIV). Kindness is the most basic meaning of the word; “merciful kindness” is the idea. Justice is what right requires; mercy is what love requires (Barnes).
The Lord wants His people to walk humbly with Him. The Hebrew word translated “humbly” means “to be humble, be modest, be lowly” (BDB; Martin says it means “modest” and is only used here). The Lord wants His people “to live their lives modestly trusting and depending on Him, rather than arrogantly relying on themselves (2:3)” (Constable).
The order of the requirements is interesting. It starts with what is external (“do justly”), moves to that which is internal (“love mercy”), and concludes with what is both internal (“humbly”) and external (“walk”). The list of requirements starts with our relationship to other people and ends with our relationship to the Lord.
To accomplish these requirements, they should be done in the reverse order. First, we must walk humbly with the Lord. The opposite of humility is pride, which is the attitude of Satan that says, “I can rule without God.” In other words, humility includes dependence on the Lord. It is the attitude that says, “I can do nothing without the Lord” (John 15:50). As we depend on the Lord for His grace and power (notice “grace” and “power” in 2 Corinthians 12:9), we are able to be kind and do what is right. When we do what the Lord requires of us as believers, we are blessed in this life and rewarded in the next (1 Tim. 4:8).\
ã G. Michael Cocoris 3/17/2015