Red and white

We often use the expression “black and white” – another pair of opposites, but this time based on colour.  We discussed “light and darkness” in the last newsletter, and “black and white” presents a similar contrast.  The Bible, however, doesn’t use “black and white” at all.  Instead, the most similar colour contrast is between red and white, with red representing sin and white meaning purity or sinlessness.  We find it at the start of Isaiah when God roundly condemns the sin of his people[1] and encourages them to wash themselves.  The section starts with God’s statement that he will ignore their prayers (and makes it fairly clear why):
 

The passage uses three synonyms: scarlet, red and crimson.  All are associated with sin – particularly the blood on their hands.  If the people want to, however, they can wash themselves of sin, which would leave them clean, as white as snow or wool.  In Revelation, the paradoxical way in which people can make themselves clean is described:

Jesus is the Lamb referred to, and his blood – which can wash away sins – is symbolised in the cup taken by believers in remembrance of him.[2]

A scarlet mark on a brilliant white garment cannot go unnoticed.  Not only so, but we would expect it to leave a permanent stain.  This is how our sin appears in God’s eyes: it can’t be missed and it can’t be removed without special treatment.  After we decide to commit our lives to God through Jesus, he applies this extended treatment throughout our life.

This example shows the contrast between God’s attempts to clean us (and keep us clean), and the efforts of the world around us to stain and tarnish us instead.

Let’s look at a couple of examples of our progress as described by Daniel.  First, one where he describes the final result – either purification or complete contamination:

Secondly, an example describing possible false starts or temporary setbacks, but still with cleanness as the final result:

“The time of the end” is an appointed time when God’s ongoing process of purifying us will end with the return of Jesus.[3]  Until then, or until our death, we make a choice every day between the red of sin and the white of righteousness.

Genuine or only skin-deep?

When the outside of a house starts to decay or deteriorate, we often paint it to cover up the effects of time.  The paint doesn’t make the house new, but makes it look better for the time being.

Can we do the same sort of thing with our appearance of godliness?  Can we put on a veneer of godliness, rather than being genuinely godly?  Can godliness be only skin-deep?

In the Bible, applying such a veneer of godliness is sometimes described as smearing something with whitewash.  It doesn’t change the underlying structure or content, but it makes it look better for a while.

In Matthew 23, after the Pharisees and teachers of the law conspired together to trap Jesus through tricky questions they would have refused to answer themselves, Jesus reflects on their insincerity:

A thin coat of paint on the outside can hide many defects for a while – which is why it is so common for people to paint houses just before they sell them.  However, all it does is cover up problems or paper over the cracks, it doesn’t make any deep change.

Ezekiel uses the same analogy when describing false prophets in Judah:

These dishonest prophets falsely claimed to have messages from God, but really just told the people what they wanted to hear.  When the people believed them and spurned God’s warnings – described here as building a wall, intended to keep out the punishment God had threatened – the prophets gave them support, symbolically painting their pathetic wall with whitewash.

The coating of whitewash might make a wall look well-built and impregnable, but since it was not built on God’s foundations, it would soon collapse.  God’s judgement would be poured out on the false prophets and the people alike, just as the genuine prophets like Ezekiel had announced.  In the end, only the foundation would matter, not the gleaming whitewash that looked so nice.

In the same way, our righteousness must be genuine, not just about appearances.[5]

Good and evil

“Good” and “evil” are an obvious pair of contrasting words and it’s not surprising that they occur together quite often in the Bible.

Adam and Eve were not allowed to eat from one particular tree in the Garden of Eden – the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.[6]  They disobeyed the command and death came as a result.[7]  

It’s hard for me to imagine how fruit can give such knowledge because I’m used to thinking of eating food as similar to filling up a car with petrol or recharging a battery – the effects aren’t permanent.  Clearly this tree was different – it appears that a single dose of its fruit had a permanent effect, not only on Adam and Eve but on their children and all of us as their descendants.[8]  

We all know what it is like to have the niggling feeling in our mind that something is right or wrong, good or evil.  And none of us can remember a time in our life when we didn’t feel our conscience in this way, as an urge that pushes us to do some things because they “feel” right and not to do others because they “feel” wrong.  This niggling feeling is also independent of the laws of our country, because our conscience will often stop us from doing things that are quite legal, but don’t seem right, and allow (or even sometimes drive) us to do things that are not legal but seem necessary.

At the same time, although our conscience is independent of law, there is normally a wide overlap between the laws of our country and the laws of our conscience. 

Experience also shows that individual consciences are different: just as our height, build, strength, skills and ability vary from person to person, so does our conscience.  And our conscience is not unchangeable: it can be tweaked, twisted, ignored or nourished; it can be cauterised into silence, or pampered until it becomes hypersensitive and attacks us like an auto-immune disease.

The Bible helps us to avoid these extremes by providing fine tuning for our knowledge of good and evil.  You could say that God has given us a conscience for built-in day-to-day navigation, and the Bible to keep our conscience healthily calibrated.

As God said to his people:

And to the prophet Amos:

In our earlier discussion of light and darkness, we saw that some people will rebel against God’s definitions of good and evil and do their best to reverse them.[9]  We can subvert the operation of our conscience over time, if we form a habit of ignoring it or listening to others who try to convince us that its guidance is wrong.  The end of this path is to join the group God describes as:

Overall, what we do shows whether our consciences are well-calibrated or badly out of adjustment.  As Jesus said,

Notes

[1] Isaiah 1:4
[2] Matthew 26:27-28; 1 Corinthians 11:25-26
[3] Daniel 12:1-4, 8-13; Acts 1:3-11; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11
[4] See also Ezekiel 13:14-15 and Ezekiel 22:28.
[5] See Paul’s confrontation with the high priest in Acts 23:1-5.  Paul admitted a mistake; not so the high priest.
[6] Genesis 2:9; 17
[7] Genesis 3:19
[8] Genesis 3:20
[9] Isaiah 5:20

As we prepare new books for publishing, we often make them available as weekly serials to anyone who would like early access to the stories and is willing to report any spelling errors, grammatical flaws, typos, plot holes or other problems they find.  That doesn't mean you have to concentrate so much on finding spelling errors that you can't enjoy the story!  It just means that if you do notice any problems, we really do want to hear about them.  Interested?  Then read on.

"West to Moora Moora" is a sequel to "Beyond the Western Margin", a post-pandemic adventure about Dan Turner and his family and their escape from pandemic-threatened Melbourne.  In this latest adventure, Dan and his family take a break from managing the Roses Gap Camp and travel west to Moora Moora Reservoir, camping in the shadows of the dam wall.  At first, they revel in its quiet peace, but soon it becomes clear that a large concentration of people is not far away, and that not everyone loves peace.

Unexpected visitors make it clear that the Turners aren't welcome.  Recognising some of the troublemakers, Dan investigates and soon finds that there is more danger than he could have imagined.  In a secret paramilitary training camp nearby, sinister plans are being made to terrorise first the Grampians and then Victoria.  And there's no time to waste, either: their training is almost complete and they've already placed explosives at their first target.  Can Dan and his family prevent a catastrophe, or is the problem too big for them?

The Process

Our eBook serials welcome paid subscriptions and close to subscribers just before the serial begins.  From then on, subscribers receive a chapter or two of the book each week by email until the story is complete.  As well as getting early access to the story, subscribers receive a copy of the final eBook when it is published – incorporating the corrections and improvements made through subscriber feedback.