Isaiah 1:18 English Standard Version

¹⁸ “Come now, let us reason^[a] together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.

Footnotes ^a Or dispute

The footnote makes reasoning sound like a singular verb. Looking to the hew brew we will find yakah which is defined as “let us reason together.” It is not a thing to be done alone. How God makes that possible is contained in the rest of the verse. He will change our circumstances.

If we look to the Gesenius’ Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon we find the initial meaning to indicate a face to face encounter, being in the forefront, and then to appear in the sunshine, to be clear, manifest, to appear.

John 8:12 English Standard Version

¹² Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Another way of looking at it is standing in truth.

Psalm 43:3 English Standard Version (ESV) Send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling!

We can stop thinking of reasoning as a singular action that is the function of our mind alone. We can now allow our reasoning to be exposed to the light and be compared to the truth. We want to be found to be truthful. No one chooses to be a liar. If our reasoning is not sound, we should want to know the truth.

Yesterday the issue of our base nature was put into play. Can the Lord change our base nature? We consider that God can do all things. Can does not mean He does. He changes our hearts and changes our minds but our base nature is flesh.

Galatians 5:17 English Standard Version (ESV) For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.

Isaiah 66:4 English Standard Version

^4 “I also will choose harsh treatment for them and bring their fears upon them, because when I called, no one answered, when I spoke, they did not listen; but they did what was evil in my eyes and chose that in which I did not delight.”

The worst actions that I have taken in my life I did without thinking. I gave no second thought to my actions. It did not feel like a choice.

Giving into our base elements without regard for consequences is a matter of not learning basic social skills. How to live in a world that is violent does not mean one has to be violent. One needs to learn what causes violence and avoid doing things that stir up violence. Understanding our nature should help us control our nature. Then it becomes matter of choice.

What if we are not taught to control our nature by word nor example? Is that an excuse for giving in to our base nature?

Romans 2:1 English Standard Version (ESV) Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things.

Our base nature looks to blame others. “It isn’t my fault.” Pleading innocent does not make you innocent. At some point we must come to the conclusion that what we are doing isn’t working.

“I don’t want to be like this.” That was my salvation prayer. It did not take on all the elements of the sinner’s prayer because I had never heard the sinner’s prayer. I eventually got there but not until those words were received by God as a prayer. I was a sinner who didn’t know it. That was no excuse.

When will we stop making excuses for our actions?

I don’t know, I am not there yet, I still have my base nature.