It is Defiled, it shall Destroy - Micah 2:6

“Arise and depart,

For this is not your rest;

Because it is defiled, it shall destroy,

Yes, with utter destruction. (Micah 2:10 NKJV).

“It is defiled, it shall destroy” is a message that we all need to pay attention. Somebody sent me an email and asked if water baptism is required for salvation and the answer is emphatically “NO.” Any seeds planted in defilement will blossom destruction. Just like Israel and Judah, they were reaping destruction because they were worshipping false gods, they were committing idolatry. Israel and Judah were worshipping a whore and committing spiritual adultery against the LORD and they were destined to reap destruction.

All her carved images shall be beaten to pieces,

And all her pay as a harlot shall be burned with the fire;

All her idols I will lay desolate,

For she gathered it from the pay of a harlot,

And they shall return to the pay of a harlot.” (Micah 1:7 NKJV)

Your carved images I will also cut off,

And your sacred pillars from your midst;

You shall no more worship the work of your hands; (Micah 5:13 NKJV)

The people of Israel and Judah followed the statutes of Omri and kept the works of Ahab’s house.

For the statutes of Omri are kept;

All the works of Ahab’s house are done;

And you walk in their counsels,

That I may make you a desolation,

And your inhabitants a hissing.

Therefore you shall bear the reproach of My people.” (Micah 6:16 NKJV)

Israel and Judah were worshipping false gods and committing acts of idolatry and spiritual adultery. They were in love with things created with their own hands which anything created by man is rooted in defilement and will reap destruction. However, there was a small remnant within Israel and Judah who placed their trust in the LORD.

Therefore I will look to the Lord;

I will wait for the God of my salvation;

My God will hear me.

8 Do not rejoice over me, my enemy;

When I fall, I will arise;

When I sit in darkness,

The Lord will be a light to me.

9 I will bear the indignation of the Lord,

Because I have sinned against Him,

Until He pleads my case

And executes justice for me.

He will bring me forth to the light;

I will see His righteousness.

10 Then she who is my enemy will see,

And shame will cover her who said to me,

“Where is the Lord your God?”

My eyes will see her;

Now she will be trampled down

Like mud in the streets.

11 In the day when your walls are to be built,

In that day the decree shall go far and wide.

12 In that day they shall come to you

From Assyria and the fortified cities,

From the fortress to the River,

From sea to sea,

And mountain to mountain.

13 Yet the land shall be desolate

Because of those who dwell in it,

And for the fruit of their deeds.

14 Shepherd Your people with Your staff,

The flock of Your heritage,

Who dwell solitarily in a woodland,

In the midst of Carmel;

Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead,

As in days of old.

15 “As in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt,

I will show them wonders.”

16 The nations shall see and be ashamed of all their might;

They shall put their hand over their mouth;

Their ears shall be deaf.

17 They shall lick the dust like a serpent;

They shall crawl from their holes like snakes of the earth.

They shall be afraid of the Lord our God,

And shall fear because of You.

18 Who is a God like You,

Pardoning iniquity

And passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage?

He does not retain His anger forever,

Because He delights in mercy.

19 He will again have compassion on us,

And will subdue our iniquities.

You will cast all our sins

Into the depths of the sea.

20 You will give truth to Jacob

And mercy to Abraham,

Which You have sworn to our fathers

From days of old. (Micah 7:7-20 NKJV)

I don’t know about you but I would rather trust in the LORD than man. “It is better to trust in the Lord Than to put confidence in man” (Psalm 118:8 NKJV).

What are you trusting in for salvation: e.g., water baptism, works for salvation, Ten Commandments, confession, etc. Remember, anything created by man is defiled so if you are trusting in any tradition, ritual or sacrament created by man for salvation, you will reap destruction. “In flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power” (II Thessalonians 1:8-9 NKJV). The Bible is all about Jesus Christ and salvation is received when you believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

There is only one thing that will save and that is believing the Gospel -believe Jesus Christ died on the Cross for your sins, burial, and resurrection. What is stopping you right now from believing in Jesus Christ for salvation? Jesus Christ is God from everlasting. “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting” (Micah 5:2 NKJV). We just read that the Holy Spirit revealed to Micah that Jesus Christ would come out of Bethlehem seven hundred years (+) prior to it actually happening. Tell me there is not a God and I will tell you that you are a fool. “The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, They have done abominable works, There is none who does good” (Psalm 14:1 NKJV).

Works for salvation are abominable. There is only one thing that is precious and that is the Blood of Jesus Christ. “Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (I Peter 1:18-19 NKJV).

Again, are you going to believe or trust in things that are planted and rooted in defilement which reap a harvest of tares that will burn up like chaff? “But they do not know the thoughts of the Lord, Nor do they understand His counsel; For He will gather them like sheaves to the threshing floor” (Micah 4:12 NKJV). “His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire” (Matthew 3:12 NKJV). Or, are you going to believe in the only thing that is NOT rooted in defilement, but rooted in righteousness which reaps a harvest of rest, peace and comfort because Jesus Christ has done all the work! “IT IS FINISHED.” The work for salvation has been done, it is done, and it will always be done; you can find rest, peace and comfort in the Finished Redemptive Work of Jesus Christ.

What is the Gospel: “Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures” (I Corinthians 15:1-4 NKJV).

Trust in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and be clothed in a garment of salvation, the robe of righteousness. “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels” (Isaiah 61:10 NKJV).

What is stopping you right now from trusting in Jesus Christ alone for salvation? Believe Jesus Christ died on the Cross for your sins, burial, and resurrection -trust in Jesus Christ alone to save you. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9 NKJV).

Right now, you need to know that Jesus Christ loves you and He has already died to meet you. Why not trust in Jesus Christ today for salvation. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:16-18 NKJV)

If you know someone who is not saved, forward this message to them and share the greatest gift that one could ever receive.

Lance Edminster

The Good News Voice

Email: thegoodnewsvoice@gmail.com

Once Saved, Always Saved -"And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one" (John 10:28-30 NKJV)