What Doth The Lord Require Of Thee?

Micah 6:8, “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” 1st Thessalonians 5:23, “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Notice in 1st Thessalonians 5:23 that the Bible describes the tripartite nature of a human being: spirit, soul and body. Most people refer to the body, soul and spirit, mentioning the body first; but the Bible mentions man's spirit first, because that is who we really are. The spirit can live without the body, but the body cannot live without the spirit. Notice also the application of Micah 6:8 to man's tripartite nature:

• spirit - walk humbly with thy God
• soul - love mercy
• body - do justly

What do these things mean? Let's keep the Christian life simple. Many Christians make it complicated. God describes three areas of what He requires from you:

• Do Justly:
1. LAWFUL - This Bible verse tells me how to live. Psalms 119:11, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” Joshua 1:8, “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.” It's not what man says that matters. What does God say? Listen dear friend—THE BIBLE HAS AN OPINION. What a great statement! The Holy Bible has an opinion on abortion, transgender, alcohol, immorality, socialism and marriage. What saith the Lord? Jesus commanded us to “search the Scriptures” in John 5:39a.
2. BALANCE - Hebrews 1:9, “Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.” Jesus loved righteousness, but He equally hated iniquity. We often love the things of God, but we don't hate sin and wickedness. We see this in many churches today who love the things of God, but they don't hate the Devil's counterfeit Bible revisions that corrupt the Word of God. We see this in many churches today who are tolerant of the Devil's lies of Calvinism (all 5 points of which are false). The Christian life is a balanced life. To do justly means to love right and hate wrong. Psalms 119:104, “Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.” Something is wrong with professed believers today who are okay with dozens of Bible versions. I hate every Bible revision that was translated from the Greek of Brooke Westcott and Fenton Hort.
3. REASONABLE - Romans 12:1, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” It is reasonable for a child of God to read the Bible, pray, go soulwinning and treat other people with care. To go to church is reasonable for a Christian. To surrender one's life to Christ is reasonable for a believer. This is discipleship (service), not salvation. Eternal life is a free gift! To live a separated life from the world is reasonable for a saint of God. We serve a just and reasonable God, Who is always faithful. 
• Love Mercy:
1. Mercy is God withholding what I deserve as a sinner. We all deserve to go immediately to Hell and burn forever (Romans 6:23; Revelation 20:12-15). We are all sinners by birth, nature and deeds. Nehemiah 9:31-32, “Thou camest down also upon mount Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and gavest them right judgments, and true laws, good statutes and commandments: Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the terrible God, who keepest covenant and mercy, let not all the trouble seem little before thee, that hath come upon us, on our kings, on our princes, and on our priests, and on our prophets, and on our fathers, and on all thy people, since the time of the kings of Assyria unto this day.” Even though we deserve God's judgment, He has shown us mercy. Our great God delighteth in mercy. Micah 7:18, “Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.” What an awesome God!!! God is rich in mercy. Mercy means having forgiveness and compassion toward those who have hurt us. Compassion means that we go to them, and we show up when they need our help, like the Good Samaritan helped the man who had been beaten and robbed.
• Walk Humbly With Thy God - A man who walks with God will always reach his destination. Please notice:
1. The person of God - Many people walk with their employer or their hobbies, but not with their God.
2. The position - humbly. God is first and I follow. Wherever He goes, you go. Walk with God.

Pastor Jack Hyles preached a sermon on Micah 6:8 called, what else, “What Doth The Lord Require Of Thee?” (MP3). Dr. Hyles defines Micah 6:8 as:

• to do justly - give what is due (to God praise, to man a fair wage, et cetera)
• love mercy - put yourself in the other guy's shoes
• walk humbly with thy God - mediate in the Scriptures, pray and trust God

In every book of the Bible we find one great summary truth. For example: In the book of Ecclesiastes 12:13 we read, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.” Another example is in Matthew 22:37-40, “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” In the book of Micah it is Micah 6:8, “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?”

In Genesis chapter one we find the word “good” mentioned seven times. Micah 6:8, “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” Something good is something that is well pleasing to God. We read in Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Jonah was swallowed by a whale. That wasn't good, but God used it for good according to His purpose. Potiphar's wife lied about Joseph. That wasn't a good thing, but God used it for good in the long run, for His purpose and glory. We don't always understand why bad things happen in our life, but God promises if we love Him that everything will work out for good in the end. 1st Peter 2:7 says that Jesus is precious to those who believe on Him. So if you are saved, Romans 8:28 applies to you.

All that God requires from us as His children is to do the right thing, and to love showing mercy toward others, and to humbly walk with Him. James 4:6, “But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.” To be “humble” means to be low in our own mind, not arrogant or proudful. Our prayer to God ought to be to always think right, do right and live right. Thankfully, because Jesus died on the cross for our sins, anyone can be right with God simply by faith. God intended for the Christian life to be simple, despite life's complexities. What doth the Lord require of thee, but to DO justly, LOVE mercy, and WALK humbly with thy God. Do, love and walk.