The Way of the Just

Isaiah 26:7 – “The way of the just is uprightness: thou, most upright, dost weigh the path of the just.”

The great speaker Zig Ziglar tells this story: Back in the days of sailing ships a young sailor went to sea for the first time. The ship encountered a heavy storm in the North Atlantic. The sailor was commanded to go aloft and trim the sails. As the young sailor started to climb, he made a mistake and looked down. The roll of the ship combined with the tossing of the waves made for a frightening experience. The young man started to lose his balance. At that moment, an older sailor underneath him shouted, "Look up, son! Look up!" The young sailor looked up and regained his balance.  We Christians need to stop napping around down cast and hopeless and look up toward heaven, the source of our salvation. There is victory in Jesus and we need to start acting like it.

The Bible speaks much of our Christian walk.  But the most important thing for us to remember is that “the way of the just is uprightness.”  It is incumbent upon each of us to walk uprightly.  The psalmist tells us in Psalm 84:11, “No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.”  It is our Christian walk that determines our relationship with Christ.  Paul in his epistle to the Ephesians gives several expectations of our walk with Christ. 

In Ephesians 4:2, he tells us to walk in unity with the brethren, “endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”  In 4:17, he tells us to walk in purity, “not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind.”  These worldly ones walk in lust and filthiness.  In 5:2, he tells us, “And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us.”  If we walk in unity and in purity, then we will walk in love for each other – not an unclean love or foolish love but a pure Christ-like love.  In John 15:17, Christ said, “These things I command you, that ye love one another.”

Then in Ephesians 5:8, he says to walk in light, “walk as children of light.”  He says we used to be in darkness, but now we are in the Light and should act like it.  In 5:15, he says to walk carefully, “walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise.”  We should always be on our guard in our daily walk with Christ, because, as He told Peter, “Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat (Luke 22:31).”  If we don’t walk carefully, Satan will do his best to destroy us.

In Ephesians 5:19, Paul says to walk in harmony, “Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.”  Nothing can lift you spirits better than singing a good gospel song.  The secret of harmony is the fullness of the Spirit (v. 18), which is evidenced by joy (v. 19), gratitude (v. 20), and sacrificial obedience (v. 20ff).  Then in 6:10, Paul caps it all off by telling us to walk in victory, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.”  He continues by telling us how to “put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil (v.11).”

This is what God expects of us in our Christian walk.  Isaiah concludes our text verse, “Thou, most upright, dost weigh the path of the just.”  That means He passes judgment according to how well we walk with Him – for Him – in Him.

Quote – “If you live the way God wants you to, He’ll take you home and crown you.  If you don’t live right, He’ll crown you and take you home.”  – Dr. Ben Byrd

"Lord, Help us to remember the way up is always down - to be upright is to be humble - to be just is to be always in a position of submission before you. Thank you for putting in our hearts the desire to live for you.  Amen."