Dissecting Isaiah 1:17. Are you mature in your faith or are you just playing at being a Christian?
Today we are going to dissect Isaiah 1:17 word by word and see how nearly every church, every mission agency and nearly every Christian is on the wrong track. This is a long read today so settle in with a good cup of coffee and some focus and discipline and your notebook.
Isaiah 1:17 ESV
Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause.
Church leaders, Missionaries and Christians often think this means doing good things like providing gifts or acts of service for the poor. Nothing could be further from the truth. It means sharing the gospel and making disciples and we do this by SEEKING JUSTICE for EVERYONE, CORRECTING OPPRESSION FOR EVERYONE, BRINGING JUSTICE ESPECIALLY FOR THE FATHERLESS AND PLEADING THE WIDOWS CAUSE so lets break that down step by step.
Pre-requisite 1: Sharing the Gospel (you at least need a primer in this to understand the rest of the article)
Sharing the Gospel and making disciples. If you don't know how to share the gospel you need to understand and learn that is the number one directive for ALL BELIEVERS (I am not going into that in this article as there are thousands of articles on the internet about that). The very fact that Luke 24:7 commands us to do that should be a hint that it is a 24/7 job of EVERY BELIEVER to share the gospel but here is one article to clarify. https://www.gotquestions.org/share-the-gospel.html
Pre-requisite 2: Making Disciples (you at least need a primer in this to understand the rest of the article)
Now, lets briefly discuss what it means to MAKE DISCIPLES. Disciple making – entering into relationships to help people trust and follow Jesus (Matt. 28:18–20), which includes the whole process from conversion through maturation and multiplication. Disciple maker – a disciple of Jesus who enters into relationships with people to help them trust and follow Jesus.
Matthew 28:18-20 New International Version
18?Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19?Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20?and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Again, ALL BELIEVERS are called to make disciples. It is not relegated to the job of pastor or elder. It is something every believer should be doing. Some Christian writers, preachers and some traditions incorrectly define a disciple as an elite Christian. They believe that there are converts and some of those converts mature into disciples (elite Christians). I have been told "You can't tell if a person is a Christian or not. But scripture says otherwise. Read this article to learn more about the call of ALL BELIEVERS to MAKE DISCIPLES, baptizing them in the name of the fathers, son and holy spirit.
CONGRAUTLATIONS YOU HAVE NOW PASSED PRESCHOOL LEVEL OF HOW TO BE A GOOD CHRISTIAN. LETS MOVE ONTO ELEMENTARY LEVEL TRAINING.
Okay good, now that the basic pre-requisites are out of the way lets get on with the verse at hand and settle in with a notebook because I practically wrote a whole chapter for a book today.
Isaiah 1:17 ESV
Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause
SYLLABUS FOR ELEMENTARY THROUGH PHD LEVELS.
Part 1: DO GOOD-Elementary Level Training
Part 2: SEEK JUSTICE-Middle School Level Training
Part 3: CORRECT OPPRESSION-High School Level Training
Part 4: BRING JUSTICE TO THE FATHERLESS-Bachelors-University Level Training
Part 5: PLEAD THE WIDOWS CAUSE-Masters-University Level Training
Part 6: Bonus topic. How does Isaiah 1:17 apply differently to single people.-PhD Level Training
Part 7: 99 Supplemental and Remedial Coursework that you must TEACH.
Part 8: www.harvestime.org (post-doctoral courses for you to TEACH although I always thought it was elementary and basic foundational training but apparently not.)
Okay...here we go...
Part 1: DO GOOD
This part is very easy. First share the gospel, then make disciples as described above. It does NOT mean giving gifts or doing acts of service as it is very very very easy for you to get bogged down in BEING GOD and trying to save someone or do nice things for them like every single horrible vacation mission trip out there.... UTTERLY USELESS. Stop it and have enough wisdom to know the biggest gift you can give someone is the Word of God in a way they can understand and to walk through life with them and hold them accountable to scriptural principles and help them up when they fall or face tragedy. Stop doing dental and medical and other service missions and focusing on vacation bible school which looks more like a play time than making a disciple.
The very word disciple should give you a clue. It shares a root with the word DISCIPLINE. BE DISCIPLINED. After baptism and after the person has regularly and continually shown they are serious about studying the faith then that MIGHT be a time to help them with basic needs only until they can GET JUSTICE. That does NOT mean tablets or phones for kids. It means JOBS FOR THEIR FATHER so that he can consistently meet their needs. If there is no father or male figure present then you will have to literally move them into your house and adopt the entire family. Stop focusing on giving band aids to women and children when what they really need is a functional male covering.
Go and reach the men who left the church or are not able or not willing to provide physically, emotionally and spiritually for their family and SORT THEM OUT. THERE ARE ENTIRE NATIONS WHERE THE MEN ARE BARELY FUNCTIONAL AT ALL SUCH AS IN BLACK COMMUNITIES (oh, you thought I could not say that because I am a white woman. I SAID IT. )
CONGRATULATIONS. YOU HAVE PASSED ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ABOUT HOW TO BE A GOOD CHRISTIAN. LETS MOVE ON TO MIDDLE SCHOOL.
Part 2: SEEK JUSTICE
This is where most believers start to fail. Instead of SEEKING JUSTICE on behalf of the person who has been wronged they typically try to meet the physical need or in worse case they shun the person who has need for justice (happens a whole lot). This happens in the church type groups ALL THE TIME. For example, a woman complains her husband is abusing her and the church or a believer agrees and decides to help the woman get a house to get them safe when what needed to happen was a MALE leader should go an correct the man and REMOVE him from the house and place him into housing with a MALE leader for continuous correction, rebuke and discipleship and meanwhile the church should directly pay the rent or mortgage of the woman and provide as needed UNTIL the man has repented and is empowered to provide and protect and be spiritual head of the home and they should both sign a written agreement submitting to the churches counselling plan and life plan that they all work out together including separation, minimal contact, child visitation and custody, safety, contact clause etc.
If the man fails to repent the church will have to take care of that women and children as if she is a widow for the rest of her because the CHURCH HAS FAILED TO SUCCESSFULLY CALL THE MAN TO REPENTANCE AND EMPOWER HIM TO BE SPIRITUAL HEAD OF THE HOME and failed to ensure he can provide and protect his children and wife and she is under the covering of the church.
Too many churches let the man get an apartment of his own where he has freedom and then pick up the bills he is failing to pay. NO. The last thing a man needs when he is in sin is FREEDOM. He needs intensive intervention and the church fails more often than not.
They often focus on the women and children instead of the men. The women and children should return to her parents or his parents if the church cannot handle the bills or they should go into the home of a church member because they have been utterly neglected spiritually if they have an abusive husband and father and they too will need proper intervention because they will most likely also be out of line due to lack of spiritual and physical and emotional care. If they will not submit to this do not help.
If either member of the couple is an unbeliever this goes double....stop farming out the work you, the church, are supposed to be doing by putting them into their own housing and MOVE THEM IN. Literally build an attached house on a church members property or the church property if necessary because as soon as you give them freedom you remove any influence you have over them and the intervention will be unsuccessful. On average a woman returns to her abuser 7 times so you need to make that stop. If they are asking for help they need to submit to your authority. ALL OF THEM IN A LEGAL, WRITTEN CONTRACT. BTW, the lesson in moving them into your home or church facility is for YOU. It is for YOU to become a better leader and has very very very little to do with THEM.
Now, let's talk about another form of justice that is needed and that is LEGAL ASSISTANCE. Most people need hundreds of thousands of dollars of legal help to get justice. Justice does not just happen in God's court but we are to seek justice her on earth as well. If you have failed as a church to recruit a lawyer to provide FREE legal services to believers in the congregation as well as assistance to those outside of the congregation who come to you for help then you have FAILED again. LEGAL HELP IS ESSENTIAL TO JUSTICE so either you as a congregation pay for it or you have a lawyer on staff. This is not a joke. I am dead serious. Frankly in my opinion I would not appoint anyone to the elder board who did not have extensive legal expertise and formal training in mediation and at least one or two lawyers for the congregation AS WELL AS OTHERS WHO COME TO YOUR FOR HELP. If your mediation efforts fail that is more a reflection on YOU than it is on them and YOU will need to pick up the bill for the legal help to get JUSTICE for them.
It is also important to have independent faith based NGOs that provide FREE LEGAL services to help people mediate with a church or religious organization that has harmed them. You cannot go to the people who harmed you to get help. This is a topic for a separate paper though.
CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE PASSED MIDDLE SCHOOL LEVEL OF HOW TO BE A CHRISTIAN. LETS MOVE ON TO HIGH SCHOOL!
Part 3: CORRECT OPPRESSION
So, you did good (shared the gospel and are actively discipling them DAILY, not weekly) and you dealt as best you could with the Justice issue and got the matter mediated, got proper intervention for the people and also took the matter to court if necessary.
Now along the process of helping this person properly (probably for a year or so now), you realized there was significant spiritual oppression and actual oppression from systemic issues. You noticed that poor people can't get the help they need due to system being so corrupt or bogged down in paperwork or not enough resources or outright corruption like lying, cheating and stealing. Spiritual matters should be tended to through intensive spiritual warfare but that is NOT ALL YOU DO.
This is the line we draw to see if you are really a faithful person or not. You see a faithful believer does NOT look at a broken system and say there is nothing we can do to change it. They engage in disruptive strategies and put an entirely alternative system in place to make the old system obsolete OR, they FIX the old system, OR they utterly destroy the old system allowing space for a new system to be put in place that is more efficient, effective and makes better use of resources.
This is the line where nearly all believers completely fail and give up and return to step one of doing good and focusing on the positive which just means you failed yet another test. Jeremiah 1:10 is clear about how we are to handle broken systems that result in oppression. You are a big girl or boy now, you might even be considered a mature teenager in your faith now if you have kept reading so go look up the verse yourself and put it into your daily meditation journal for reflections.
Stop thinking you are powerless. That is the spirit of Ahab in or around YOU. Go ahead and look that up too because the Ahab spirit that looks the other way and chooses the path of least resistance is infecting believers who refuse to correct oppression and that spirit is insidious and spread likes the plague. It allows corruption to flourish in broken systems and allows toxic people in leadership to remain. How are you going to stop it? Write that in your journal too along with a few other questions to ponder.
HOW AM I GOING TO STOP THE AHAB SPIRIT FROM SPREADING?
HOW AM I FULLY GOING TO IMPLEMENT ISAIAH 1:17?
WHAT DISRUPTIVE STRATEGIES CAN I AND OTHER BELEIVERS I KNOW PUT IN PLACE TO SOLVE OPPRESSION AND SYSTEMIC ISSUES?
WHAT EXPERTS DO I NEED TO RECRUIT TO DISRUPT THE AHAB SPIRIT AND COME UP WITH A FUNCTIONAL ALTERNATIVE SYSTEM AND IMPLEMENT IT?
HOW AM I GOING TO PAY FOR ALL OF THAT?
HOW AM I GOING TO IMPLEMENT JEREMIAH 1:10?
WHAT ABOUT THE OTHER VERSES BELOW ABOUT OPPRESSION AND INJUSTICE?
...MEMORIZE EVERY ONE OF THEM.
CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE PASSED HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL OF HOW TO BE A CHRISTIAN. LETS MOVE ON TO UNIVERSITY.
Part 4: BRING JUSTICE TO THE FATHERLESS
So by now you might be considered like a young adult in your faith if you have already discipled people, already fought for justices and mediated many disputes and now you might be ready to deal with the fatherless.
Let's discuss who is fatherless since we already discussed justice.
Please note, if a person has a father, brother, uncle or grandfather then that is the first person you should be going to for help for them rather than taking on the responsibility to care for them.
I really want you to read carefully again Isaiah 1:17 in paralell bible now (go look it up...if you have made it this far you are a young adult in your faith and ready for more responsibility). It says BRING JUSTICE to the fatherless.
How will you BRING JUSTICE to the people above?
I will tell you how. Here are some simple steps
CONGRATULATIONS YOU HAVE PASSED UNIVERSITY WITH A BACHELORS DEGREE IN HOW TO BE A GOOD CHRISTIAN. LETS MOVE ONTO THE MASTERS DEGREE.
Part 5: PLEAD THE WIDOWS CAUSE
Wow, you made it to Part 5 which means that spiritually you are now a mature adult raising spiritual children of your own...especially those lost sheep you left the 99 for to go and catch and bring back to the flock and you have already discipled many and you also have sought justice for many and mediated hundreds of disputes at this point and taken matters to court as needed and paid for all of that...yup I said it...YOU PAY or YOU RAISE THE MONEY.
Now you get to relax a little and plea the widows cause and make no mistake the order given in the original Isaiah 1:17 verse is very important and very much reflects your spiritual journey and levels of responsibility at each stage.
Who is a widow?
Widows are a fun group to deal with so now you get a little break....or do you....you see, widows have been sent to you to teach you a lesson.
CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE PASSED MASTERS DEGREE LEVEL OF HOW TO BE A GOOD CHRISTIAN. LETS MOVE ON TO PHD.
Part 6: Bonus topic-Single people vs. Married people as it relates to this verse.
If you have made it this far in this article you are nearly a middle aged person in their faith and you have successfully discipled many people, gotten justice for many, corrected massive oppression in systems, helped dozens of sneaky widows and now, finally now you are ready, equipped and prepared to deal with the special case of single people as it relates to this verse.
I will use myself as an example, 51, single, no kids, no family that can provide spiritual oversight and can't find a functional leader to provide an umbrella of protection because they don't have resources or I know the bible better than them and it makes them uncomfortable when I correct them no matter how loving I am (completely does not matter in my experience how you say it if you are a woman)
I am a single woman who has no family that are nearby to me physically, no family members that spiritually guide me, no family members that provide emotional support. Most family members are not Christian and those that are I have only met once or twice in my entire life and are not involved in my life. My father is dead, my uncles refuse to get involved, my grandfathers are dead and my birth father barely knows how to dial a phone and is essentially on his deathbed and non functional as a father.
I was married once to a man the church pressured me to marry and they had terrible discernment and so did I and he turned out to be an abusive unbeliever pretending to be the perfect Christian to get his citizenship and I have been divorced from him for 20 years. Because the marriage was a sham the pastor said I should get an annulment but that was too expensive and he divorced me so I let the unbelieving spouse leave in peace. I am free to remarry but have never once in 20 years met a man who was up to my standards and I did what the pastors advised and stayed focused on God (probably a big mistake because that really pushes men away and there are not enough Godly men to marry all of us single girls).
I am a missionary who has been bi-vocational and independent for 20 of 25 years not because I wanted to but because my church split and the new leaders no longer are supportive (nor did they ever explain why) of the missionaries sent out by the old leaders and the old leaders are dead now or not reachable. I joined another church and it closed its doors in 2009 and one man in that church continued to support and guide me and encourage me but he has like 7 kids now and no time, energy or ability to fulfill the role of spiritual mentor or provide regular emotional or physical support either. I found small mission minded organization once to work under but that board of directors had an average age of 70 and did not respond to messages or calls for months until I got cancer and asked them to help me with a ticket home at which point they dismissed me with no explanation. I have visited dozens of churches and never found a pastor or elder willing to step up and provide oversight because I was already more capable and stronger and more knowledgeable than they were and if I spoke up about anything their little egos got hurt and they could not handle me. Anyone who knows me well knows the problem is not that I am not willing to submit...the problem is the men are not equipped to lead me and there are not enough Godly men for spiritually mature women to marry.
Now, after 25 years of full time ministry (completely self supporting), I have discipled thousands, got justice and mediated hundreds of conflicts for people, fought tirelessly and forcefully to change systems that oppress people, ministered to dozens of widows but recently I found myself in a situation in which I was severely in need (lost everything in hurricane), experienced severe injustice (a story for another day), had no resources to survive, let alone get justice and case was blocked in court leaving me destitute. I asked hundreds of pastors, elders and believers to fight for justice for me and get me a lawyer and not one of them has done that and I have 0 money for a lawyer and am very very sick as a result of the injustice and no longer able to work much. So I ask you? Where are the believers willing to fight injustice and correct oppression for a woman like me... basically fatherless and without any male willing to do his part and seek justice on my behalf, correct oppression and help the fatherless and basically I am also a widow and single and I have faithfully served God for 25 years but no one is doing the right thing and following Isaiah 1:17 in my life....as for those I have discipled I I am NOT their pastor because I do not believe in women being pastors. They have other pastors and I teach online and they choose to study or not. I refer them to other male leaders for baptism and follow up and those male leaders have really done an abysmal job turning them into functional men of God but as a woman that is not my role. I share the gospel and share the word of God and refer the men to a man of God for proper in depth discipleship after baptism and this strategy has been an absymal failure due to the failures within the church systems and I have actively worked hard for decades to change those broken systems taking much abuse from the very people who should not only be supporting me but should also be providing a covering. I can say that they nearly caused me to lose my faith and I will lay that charge at the feet of Jesus.
If you fail to help people seek justice, if you fail to correct oppression, if you fail to bring justice to the fatherless, and if you fail to plead the widow's cause then you are a failure in the sight of God.
Congratulations, if you have made it through Step 6 and passed all 6 steps you are now a full blown Christian leader with the equivalent of a masters degree.
Now, on to your PhD. Apply every single one of these verses and get everyone you are discipling to apply them and then we might see some actual healing Doctor Christian.
PART 7: 99 More Bible Verses about
Oppression and Justice
Psalm 9:9 ESV
The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.
Isaiah 1:17 ESV
Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause.
Proverbs 14:31 ESV
Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker, but he who is generous to the needy honors him.
Psalm 72:4 ESV
May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the children of the needy, and crush the oppressor!
Psalm 34:18 ESV
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.
Psalm 119:134 ESV
Redeem me from man's oppression, that I may keep your precepts.
Zechariah 7:10 ESV
Do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.”
Luke 4:18-19 ESV
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”
Psalm 146:7 ESV
Who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free;
Proverbs 22:16 ESV
Whoever oppresses the poor to increase his own wealth, or gives to the rich, will only come to poverty.
Malachi 3:5 ESV
“Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts.
Isaiah 54:14 ESV
In righteousness you shall be established; you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; and from terror, for it shall not come near you.
Psalm 103:6 ESV
The Lord works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed.
Psalm 91:1-16 ESV
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, ...
Romans 12:19 ESV
Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”
James 2:6 ESV
But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court?
Jeremiah 5:25-29 ESV
Your iniquities have turned these away, and your sins have kept good from you. For wicked men are found among my people; they lurk like fowlers lying in wait. They set a trap; they catch men. Like a cage full of birds, their houses are full of deceit; therefore they have become great and rich; they have grown fat and sleek. They know no bounds in deeds of evil; they judge not with justice the cause of the fatherless, to make it prosper, and they do not defend the rights of the needy. Shall I not punish them for these things? declares the Lord, and shall I not avenge myself on a nation such as this?”
John 14:26 ESV
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
Psalm 46:1 ESV
To the choirmaster. Of the Sons of Korah. According to Alamoth. A Song. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Matthew 5:1-48 ESV
Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. ...
Zechariah 7:9-10 ESV
“Thus says the Lord of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.”
Ecclesiastes 7:7 ESV
Surely oppression drives the wise into madness, and a bribe corrupts the heart.
Psalm 12:5 ESV
“Because the poor are plundered, because the needy groan, I will now arise,” says the Lord; “I will place him in the safety for which he longs.”
Proverbs 25:26 ESV
Like a muddied spring or a polluted fountain is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked.
Jeremiah 22:13
“Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness, and his upper rooms by injustice, who makes his neighbor serve him for nothing and does not give him his wages,
Luke 11:46 ESV
And he said, “Woe to you lawyers also! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers.
Isaiah 10:1-3 ESV
Woe to those who decree iniquitous decrees, and the writers who keep writing oppression, to turn aside the needy from justice and to rob the poor of my people of their right, that widows may be their spoil, and that they may make the fatherless their prey! What will you do on the day of punishment, in the ruin that will come from afar? To whom will you flee for help, and where will you leave your wealth?
Amos 4:1 ESV
“Hear this word, you cows of Bashan, who are on the mountain of Samaria, who oppress the poor, who crush the needy, who say to your husbands, ‘Bring, that we may drink!’
Deuteronomy 28:47-48 ESV
Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joyfulness and gladness of heart, because of the abundance of all things, therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the Lord will send against you, in hunger and thirst, in nakedness, and lacking everything. And he will put a yoke of iron on your neck until he has destroyed you.
领英推荐
Leviticus 26:1-46 ESV
“You shall not make idols for yourselves or erect an image or pillar, and you shall not set up a figured stone in your land to bow down to it, for I am the Lord your God. You shall keep my Sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord. “If you walk in my statutes and observe my commandments and do them, then I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. Your threshing shall last to the time of the grape harvest, and the grape harvest shall last to the time for sowing. And you shall eat your bread to the full and dwell in your land securely. ...
1 Timothy 5:8 ESV
But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
Isaiah 30:12 ESV
Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel, “Because you despise this word and trust in oppression and perverseness and rely on them,
Exodus 23:6-7 ESV
“You shall not pervert the justice due to your poor in his lawsuit. Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent and righteous, for I will not acquit the wicked.
Matthew 25:41-46 ESV
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ ...
Psalm 82:3 ESV
Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.
Psalm 94:20 ESV
Can wicked rulers be allied with you, those who frame injustice by statute?
Psalm 42:9 ESV
I say to God, my rock: “Why have you forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?”
Ezekiel 22:7 ESV
Father and mother are treated with contempt in you; the sojourner suffers extortion in your midst; the fatherless and the widow are wronged in you.
Psalm 44:24 ESV
Why do you hide your face? Why do you forget our affliction and oppression?
Deuteronomy 28:1-68 ESV
“And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God. Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. ...
Zechariah 9:8 ESV
Then I will encamp at my house as a guard, so that none shall march to and fro; no oppressor shall again march over them, for now I see with my own eyes.
Isaiah 41:10 ESV
Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Psalm 43:2 ESV
For you are the God in whom I take refuge; why have you rejected me? Why do I go about mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?
Deuteronomy 26:7 ESV
Then we cried to the Lord, the God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression.
Exodus 3:9-10 ESV
And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”
1 John 4:4 ESV
Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
Jeremiah 22:17 ESV
But you have eyes and heart only for your dishonest gain, for shedding innocent blood, and for practicing oppression and violence.”
Isaiah 5:7 ESV
For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his pleasant planting; and he looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; for righteousness, but behold, an outcry!
Psalm 30:4-5 ESV
Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints, and give thanks to his holy name. For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.
James 4:7 ESV
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Ephesians 6:11 ESV
Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
1 Peter 5:8 ESV
Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
Ecclesiastes 10:4 ESV
If the anger of the ruler rises against you, do not leave your place, for calmness will lay great offenses to rest.
1 Peter 5:7 ESV
Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
Luke 10:19 ESV
Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.
Luke 4:18 ESV
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
Ecclesiastes 5:8 ESV
If you see in a province the oppression of the poor and the violation of justice and righteousness, do not be amazed at the matter, for the high official is watched by a higher, and there are yet higher ones over them.
Ezekiel 22:29 ESV
The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have oppressed the poor and needy, and have extorted from the sojourner without justice.
Jeremiah 22:3 ESV
Thus says the Lord: Do justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor him who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place.
Jeremiah 6:6 ESV
For thus says the Lord of hosts: “Cut down her trees; cast up a siege mound against Jerusalem. This is the city that must be punished; there is nothing but oppression within her.
Psalm 55:3 ESV
Because of the noise of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked. For they drop trouble upon me, and in anger they bear a grudge against me.
Psalm 37:1 ESV
Of David. Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers!
Job 36:15 ESV
He delivers the afflicted by their affliction and opens their ear by adversity.
1 John 5:18 ESV
We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.
Isaiah 38:14 ESV
Like a swallow or a crane I chirp; I moan like a dove. My eyes are weary with looking upward. O Lord, I am oppressed; be my pledge of safety!
James 5:4 ESV
Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.
Ephesians 6:12 ESV
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
Luke 10:30-37 ESV
Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. ...
Isaiah 59:13 ESV
Transgressing, and denying the Lord, and turning back from following our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart lying words.
Psalm 10:17-18 ESV
O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.
Exodus 3:9 ESV
And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them.
Isaiah 10:1 ESV
Woe to those who decree iniquitous decrees, and the writers who keep writing oppression,
Matthew 26:52-54 ESV
Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?”
Matthew 5:38-39 ESV
“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.
Proverbs 22:22-23 ESV
Do not rob the poor, because he is poor, or crush the afflicted at the gate, for the Lord will plead their cause and rob of life those who rob them.
Psalm 72:14 ESV
From oppression and violence he redeems their life, and precious is their blood in his sight.
Amos 2:6-7 ESV
Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals— those who trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth and turn aside the way of the afflicted; a man and his father go in to the same girl, so that my holy name is profaned;
Isaiah 10:1-12:6 ESV
Woe to those who decree iniquitous decrees, and the writers who keep writing oppression, to turn aside the needy from justice and to rob the poor of my people of their right, that widows may be their spoil, and that they may make the fatherless their prey! What will you do on the day of punishment, in the ruin that will come from afar? To whom will you flee for help, and where will you leave your wealth? Nothing remains but to crouch among the prisoners or fall among the slain. For all this his anger has not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still. Woe to Assyria, the rod of my anger; the staff in their hands is my fury! ...
2 Corinthians 4:8 ESV
We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair;
John 16:33 ESV
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
Amos 6:14 ESV
“For behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel,” declares the Lord, the God of hosts; “and they shall oppress you from Lebo-hamath to the Brook of the Arabah.”
Proverbs 22:8-16 ESV
Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity, and the rod of his fury will fail. Whoever has a bountiful eye will be blessed, for he shares his bread with the poor. Drive out a scoffer, and strife will go out, and quarreling and abuse will cease. He who loves purity of heart, and whose speech is gracious, will have the king as his friend. The eyes of the Lord keep watch over knowledge, but he overthrows the words of the traitor. ...
Ephesians 6:13 ESV
Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.
Amos 5:11 ESV
Therefore because you trample on the poor and you exact taxes of grain from him, you have built houses of hewn stone, but you shall not dwell in them; you have planted pleasant vineyards, but you shall not drink their wine.
Ephesians 6:17 ESV
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,
Ephesians 6:16 ESV
In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;
Isaiah 5:1-30 ESV
Let me sing for my beloved my love song concerning his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. He dug it and cleared it of stones, and planted it with choice vines; he built a watchtower in the midst of it, and hewed out a wine vat in it; and he looked for it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes. And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. What more was there to do for my vineyard, that I have not done in it? When I looked for it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes? And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will remove its hedge, and it shall be devoured; I will break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down. ...
Psalm 144:1 ESV
Of David. Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle;
Revelation 4:9 ESV
And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever,
Hebrews 13:8 ESV
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
Zephaniah 3:1-8 ESV
Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled, the oppressing city! She listens to no voice; she accepts no correction. She does not trust in the Lord; she does not draw near to her God. Her officials within her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves that leave nothing till the morning. Her prophets are fickle, treacherous men; her priests profane what is holy; they do violence to the law. The Lord within her is righteous; he does no injustice; every morning he shows forth his justice; each dawn he does not fail; but the unjust knows no shame. ...
Psalm 107:39-40 ESV
When they are diminished and brought low through oppression, evil, and sorrow, he pours contempt on princes and makes them wander in trackless wastes;
Psalm 56:1 ESV /
To the choirmaster: according to The Dove on Far-off Terebinths. A Miktam of David, when the Philistines seized him in Gath. Be gracious to me, O God, for man tramples on me; all day long an attacker oppresses me;
1 Samuel 13:22-23 ESV /
So on the day of the battle there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people with Saul and Jonathan, but Saul and Jonathan his son had them. And the garrison of the Philistines went out to the pass of Michmash.
1 Samuel 12:3 ESV
Here I am; testify against me before the Lord and before his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Or whose donkey have I taken? Or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed? Or from whose hand have I taken a bribe to blind my eyes with it? Testify against me and I will restore it to you.”
1 John 4:1 ESV
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.
Revelation 12:9-13:10 ESV /
And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!” And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. ...
John 18:1-40 ESV / 8
When Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, for Jesus often met there with his disciples. So Judas, having procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, went there with lanterns and torches and weapons. Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, “Whom do you seek?” They answered him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am he.” Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. ...
John 3:16-17 ESV
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
CONGRATULATIONS YOU HAVE FINISHED YOUR PhD and we can now call you Doctor Christian. Let's move on to Postdoctoral work.
Part 8: Post Doctoral Studies. To me these courses were always basic courses in how to be a Christian but in all of these years I never found anyone who managed to complete them. They are totally free, available in 13 languages and once you apply them in the field you will see that you might actually make a real difference in the world so when a hurricane destroys your home and people try to kill you and you are endlessly persecuted for your faith you are prepared and won't let little pre-schoolers or elementary kids who got appointed as leaders derail you. YOU ARE NOT AS GOOD OF A LEADER AS YOU THINK YOU ARE. IN FACT. YOU SUCK. FIX THAT.
(23 courses for you to complete anytime along your journey plus dozens of supplemental courses and they are ALL FREE)