Stand on the roads and ask for the ancient paths

STAND ON THE PATHS AND ASK ABOUT THE ANCIENT PATHS, JEREMIAH 6:16, EXPLANATION, WRITTEN PREACHING

Stand in the ways and return to the old paths, preaching about ask for the old paths, Jeremiah 6:16

“Thus saith the Lord: Stand in the ways, and look, and ask for the old paths, what is the good way, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk” (Jeremiah 6:16).

Jeremiah received a warning from God that he had to deliver to the people: Jerusalem was going to be destroyed! They were going to be punished for their sin as they had strayed from the Lord and His ways, they had strayed from the old paths. In the previous verse, the Lord made a final call for them to return, and told them to “ask for the ancient paths”, but they refused.

If we have strayed from the way, stand in the ways and ask for the old paths, Jeremiah 6:16

The Scriptures teach that it is possible for God’s people to stray from their ways (1 Timothy 4:1). How does this happen? And if we stray, how can we return to “the ancient paths”? Therefore, as the text says “ask for the ancient paths”.

How did the people of Jerusalem come to such a state of apostasy? This is important to understand, because this is how we get carried away by sin and error.

STAND ON THE ROADS AND ASK ABOUT THE OLD PATHS, FOR THEY HAVE DEPARTED FROM IT, JEREMIAH 6:16

They turned away from the ancient paths because they closed their ears to the word of God, Jeremiah 6.

“To whom shall I speak and admonish, that they may hear? Behold, their ears are uncircumcised, and cannot hear; behold, the word of the Lord is shameful to them, they do not love it” (Jeremiah 6:10).

Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear” (Luke 8:8). Unfortunately, many do not want to listen. One day they will itch to hear (2 Timothy 4: 3), but they will not be able to hear this message, since today is the time to delight in the word of God; however, if we are not willing to listen to the word of God, we cannot be saved because “faith comes from hearing and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). Ask for the ancient paths so that you can hear the voice of God.

It is time to open our ears and listen attentively to the word of God to put it into action, therefore, ask for the ancient paths to walk on it.

They strayed from the old ways because they followed what was popular

“For from the smallest of them to the greatest, each one follows covetousness; and from the prophet to the priest, all are deceivers” (Jeremiah 6:13). The prophets and priests were “greedy for gain. Micah described his mentality:

“Her chiefs judge for a bribe, and her priests teach for a price, and her prophets divine for money; and they lean on Jehovah, saying, Is not Jehovah among us? He will not come upon us evil ”(Micah 3:11).

Seek the good way, ask for the old paths, Jeremiah 6:16

How can religious leaders/teachers guarantee their own monetary gain? They deliver the message that pleases the people (2 Timothy 4:3). Too many people, when they come across “a difficult statement” in God’s word (John 6:60), give it up. This even happened when Jesus taught to such an extent that scripture tells us that “From then on many of his disciples turned back, and walked no more with him” (John 6:66).

It is necessary to put aside what is popular and ask for the old paths, seek again the good path to find rest for our soul.

They turned from the old paths because they were ignorant of sin

“And they heal the wound of my people lightly, saying: Peace, peace; and there is no peace” (Jeremiah 6:14). The false prophets declared “peace” while God’s prophet declared “great destruction” because of his “abomination” (6:1,15).

In the first century, the Corinthian church ignored sin among them (1 Corinthians 5:1-2). However, Paul warned that this was dangerous because “a little leaven leavens the whole lump” (1 Corinthians 5:6). The influence of sin would spread and cause more problems in the future.

They strayed from the ancient ways and lost their sense of shame

“Have you been ashamed of having done an abomination? Certainly they have not been ashamed, nor do they even know how to be ashamed; therefore, they will fall among those who fall; when I punish them they will fall, says the Lord ′′ (Jeremiah 6:15). They were seared into their own conscience (1 Timothy 4:2). When one no longer feels guilty about sin, there is no motivation to repent. When we do these things, we will inevitably stray from the old paths.

ASK ABOUT THE ANCIENT PATHS, BUT WHAT ARE THE ANCIENT PATHS? JEREMIAH 6:16

If we are going to walk the “old paths” today, we need to know what those ancient paths are. First, let’s look at what would not be considered ancient paths.

Ask for the ancient paths, for to us it is not only the Old Testament, Jeremiah 6:16

In the context of this passage, the people were called back to the Law of Moses; however, that law does not apply equally to us today. Later in this book, Jeremiah prophesied of “a new covenant” that would replace the one in effect at the time (Jeremiah 31:31-34). Paul explained that this law had been “nailed…to the cross” (Colossians 2:14) and those who “seek to be justified by the law…have fallen from grace” (Galatians 5:4).

Ask about the ancient paths as they are not anything that was done in the past, Jeremiah 6:16

what was done in the past may have been wrong. The Apostle Paul’s past included the persecution of Christians (Acts 8:1-3; 9:1-2; 1 Timothy 1:13), something he did with a “conscience in which he thought he was good before God” ( Acts 23:1). However, he was wrong. Our past is not the ancient paths. Whether good or bad, our past has nothing to do with the ancient path that God is speaking of in Jeremiah 6.

Ask for the ancient paths, for it is nothing of what the fathers have done, Jeremiah 6:16

For some, following the Lord puts them at odds with their parents. Jesus said: “Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against his mother, and the daughter-in-law against his mother-in-law; and the enemies of man will be those of his house ”(Matthew 10: 34-36). If our parents did not follow Christ, then we must not go back the way they have followed.

Ask for the ancient paths since it is not what brothers of previous generations have done, Jeremiah 6:16

the brothers of previous generations proclaimed the noble goal of “speaking what the Bible speaks or says”; however, our standard is the Bible, not those who claim to follow the Bible. The fact that the brothers of previous generations believed, taught or practiced something does not necessarily mean that we should continue in them.

We must observe those who walk according to the pattern (Philippians 3:17) and follow their example to the extent that they have faithfully followed the pattern found in God’s word. Paul told the Corinthians, “Be imitators of me, just as I of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1). The implication was that they were to imitate Paul just as Paul imitated Christ since they were to be followers of Christ (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:12-13).

Ask for the ancient paths (Jeremiah 6:16), which are in the word of God

It’s tempting to follow these things, but they’re not the standard we should follow. The ancient paths are found in the word of God. That is the standard we must follow. Paul told Timothy: “Retain the sound words that you heard from me, in faith and love that is in Christ Jesus” since the gospel is good news and the word of God prepares us for every good work ( 2 Timothy 3:16-17).

ASK ABOUT THE OLD PATHS, BUT HOW DO WE GET BACK TO THE OLD PATHS? JEREMIAH 6:16

The people were told: “Stand on the roads and ask for the old paths, what is the good way, and walk in it” (Jeremiah 6:16). Earlier we noted what was done to turn us away from the old paths; but to return to these ancient paths we must do the opposite.

Ask for the ancient paths (Jeremiah 6:16), because to return to them we must open our ears to the word of God

– Once again, Jesus said: “He who has ears to hear, let him hear” (Luke 8:8). We have to be willing to listen and be like the Bereans who were examining the Scriptures every day to see if these things were so (Acts 17:11). The things they were testing were those taught by Paul. They wanted to know what the Scriptures said to see if Paul’s teaching matched what was revealed in God’s word.

To return to the ancient paths, let us reject the popular path

– Jesus explained that there is a broad road that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter it, and a narrow road that leads to life, and there are few who find it (Matthew 7: 13-14). Given where the broad path leads, we should not want to follow the path that is popular with the majority; we must follow the right path.

To return to the old ways let us recognize sin for what it is

John defined sin as “violation of the law” (1 John 3:4). Since it is contrary to God’s law, the penalty it brings is death (Romans 6:23). Sin is not something to be taken lightly. We must acknowledge sin in order to return to the old ways.

Stand on the roads and ask for the ancient paths, if we want to return to them let us repent of sin and return to the Lord

If we recognize how terrible sin is, we will naturally regret the sin we have committed. This makes one return to the Lord. Paul explained this to the church in Corinth: “For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, which need not be repented of; but the sorrow of the world produces death” (2 Corinthians 7:10).

Therefore, we are told to “draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Sinners, cleanse your hands; and you double-minded, purify your hearts. Be afflicted, and mourn and weep. Your laughter turns into tears, and your joy into sadness. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you” (James 4:8-9). Sin is not something to celebrate or tolerate, it is something to be rejected.

STAND IN THE PATHWAYS, AND LOOK, AND ASK FOR THE OLD PATHS, JEREMIAH 6:16

Ask for the ancient paths, conclusion

The people of Jerusalem were presented with two options: Continue in their apostasy or return to the old paths. Unfortunately, they chose apostasy.

We must also make a choice: Follow the ancient paths or fall into apostasy. Following the ancient paths, which are found in the way of Christ, leads us to rest (Matthew 11:29); but we must be willing to follow his word and do what he has instructed us to do (Hebrews…