What is the Church’s Role in Fighting Oppression?
Is our worship pleasing to God if we ignore the poor and oppressed? Isaiah 58 challenges us to move beyond religious rituals into active service, answering God’s call to justice.
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“Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of wickedness,
to undo the straps of the yoke,
to let the oppressed[b] go free,
and to break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover him,
and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
8 Then shall your light break forth like the dawn,
and your healing shall spring up speedily;
your righteousness shall go before you;
the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’
If you take away the yoke from your midst,
the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
10 if you pour yourself out for the hungry
and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
then shall your light rise in the darkness
and your gloom be as the noonday.
Isaiah 58 Context
Let’s explore the context of our passage, Isaiah 58:6-10.
This episode of Isaiah provides instructions for people who have returned from the Babylonian exile to rebuild their homelands of Judah and Jerusalem. However, amid the joyful return, as they gather regularly for worship and even fasting, they assume that as they’re back in their homeland as God promised, they’re pleasing God and enjoying His favor.
But they are shocked by the prophet’s strong rebuke of the emptiness of their prayers, religious observances, and fasting. God issues judgment, and Isaiah expresses this stinging indictment:
“Behold, in the day of your fast, you seek your own pleasure and oppress all your workers. Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to hit with a wicked fist. Fasting like yours this day will not make your voice to be heard on high.” Isaiah 58:3e-4
Despite prayers, fasting, and rituals, their prayers weren’t heard. Yet, if you go back and read Isaiah 58:2-3, the people believed they were doing all the right things and that it was God who wasn’t keeping faith.
So, why was God displeased? They were ignoring the poor and oppressed around them. Their prayers weren’t heard because of how they treated people who were made in God’s image, and instead, they focused on living self-centered lives for their own pleasure.
In response, God tells (paraphrased) them, “Yes, it’s good that you fast, gather, and go through worship rituals, but you’ve made it all an outward religious routine. You’ve lost the heart behind it all! You’ve lost a heart for me and others. You’ve lost all I’ve called you to do.”
God’s Calling Against Oppression
The author David Guzik wrote:
“God tells His people, ‘If you want to fast the way that pleases Me, begin with getting right with your brothers and sisters. Stop oppressing others and reach out to help others.’ First, they had to stop acting wickedly towards others. This means that getting right with God begins by stopping the evil we do towards others. Then, they had to start acting lovingly towards others. This means that getting right with God continues by doing loving things for other people.”
Devotion to God isn’t empty religious rituals that are disconnected from care for the poor, oppressed, and the spiritually empty in the world. Each of us needs to consider what that looks like in our life. What does caring for people with urgent physical and spiritual needs look like?
We see the answer in what the Lord expresses through Isaiah:
“Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him?” Isaiah 58:6-7
As a reminder, Scripture isn’t here to entertain us but to instruct. If it can happen to them, it can happen to us. So, let’s put ourselves into the context of this passage. The Lord gave them/us three things to stop doing.
They must stop oppressing others, treating them as animals bound with a yoke.
They must stop pointing fingers at others and see where they are to blame.
They must stop speaking wickedness.
Instead, God reminds them that they’re/we’re reminded that they’ve/we’ve been called to:
“Loose the bonds of injustice/wickedness.”
“Share your bread with the hungry.”
“Bring the homeless poor into your house/provide shelter for them.”
Doesn’t Jesus reiterate all these imperatives in His life and ministry? Therefore, aren’t they as urgent today as they were then?
Additionally, these are all things that the early Methodist movement stood for in John Wesley’s day. He cared for people spiritually by actively sharing the Gospel. He cared for the poor, advocated against slavery, pushed for prison reform, and provided education and medical care to those in need.
The scholar Avraham Gileadi said:
“Instead of being a source of oppression to others (Isaiah 58:4), Jehovah’s people should release others from oppression: ‘Learn to do good; demand justice, stand up for the oppressed’. Instead of emulating the arch-tyrant and his kind—who are a yoke around people’s necks—they should emulate Jehovah’s servant, who releases them from bondage. As Jehovah cares for the poor, and as He frees His people from tyranny, so should they if they would enjoy His salvation.”
Current Injustice On Our Watch
In 2020, Ahmaud Arbery was jogging in North Georgia when two white men chased him down and murdered him. Despite there being documented proof of the murder, there was no prosecution until the film was released. Justice wasn’t done until there was a large public outcry.
Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” The idea is that injustice in one place affects everyone and should be addressed in our nation and among every nation on earth. Throughout the earth, there are places with massive spiritual hunger, slavery, and oppression. You may think I’m exaggerating, but let’s look at some facts.
Human Trafficking
There are more than one million victims of human trafficking in the USA.
That number is nearly triple the estimate from the previous version of the same research study, published six years ago when the figure was closer to 400,000. (Source: www.hopeforjustice.org, July 1, 2023)
There are 24.9 million victims of human trafficking around the world. (Source: www.traffickinginstitute.org)
Illiteracy
21% of adults in the US are illiterate in 2024.
54% of adults have literacy below a 6th-grade level.
20% are below 5th-grade level.
Low levels of literacy costs the US up to 2.2 trillion per year.
(Source: www.thenationalilliteracyinstitute.com)
How can a democratic republic survive if nearly a quarter of your population are illiterate? If you can read, a thousand doors are opened to you. If you can’t read, a thousand doors close on you.
Abortion
There are more than 600,000 abortions per year in the USA. (Source: Pew Research)
Seventy-three million abortions happen worldwide per year. (Source: World Health Organization)
Poverty
Estimated that 11.6% of Americans, or roughly 38 million people, live at or below the poverty level. (Source: The U.S. Census Bureau, 2021)
Approximately 9.2% of the global population, or about 700 million people, live in extreme poverty. (Source: www.socialincome.org)
There is massive oppression occurring on our watch. So, as God’s people, what are we doing about that?
In 2003, Jonathan Rauch wrote a piece for The Atlantic Magazine titled “Let It Be: Three Cheers for Apatheism” (apathy + theism) about his excitement, as an atheist, regarding America becoming a post-Christian nation. He rejoiced in the generating apathy towards religion and faith in Western culture.
Recently, I heard an interview with a new interview. While he is still an atheist, Rauch expressed a new perspective. He renounced the piece and expressed why he passionately believed. He articulated with convincing substance that America desperately needs what Christianity offers. But he contended that the culture can’t benefit from what the church offers when she is asleep in her own light.
It’s interesting that Jesus once said if we don’t serve Him, even the rocks will cry out (Luke 19:40). We are living in a day when even atheists are crying out for Christians to live into what they say they believe. Read that clearly: an atheist is claiming, “Church, we need you, but you’re asleep!” The culture can’t benefit from what the church offers when she’s asleep in her own light.
Addressing Spiritual Hunger Amid Massive Oppression
As established, there is a massive spiritual hunger, slavery, and oppression happening on our watch, so, as God’s people, what are we doing about that? First, we pray, God, help us. I encourage you to pray: God, what would you have us do? What would you have me do?
Isaiah 58:8-9 contains the promise that if we choose to act from love and spiritual purpose, God will do amazing things:
“Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’”
The result will be a return to the light of God or a greater revelation of the Lord. There will also be healing, God’s glory, and divine support in all things, including answered prayers.
Remember, Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit” (Matthew 5:3), which refers to people who recognize their deep need for God and cry out to Him.
Additionally, Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness” (Matthew 5:6). This indicates people who not only want to live His way but also want to step into patterns that propagate His righteousness in their city, community, and culture.
Jesus also said there’s a blessing upon the individual who mourns their sin and the sin of their culture (Matthew 5:4). These themes are also found in the Book of Isaiah and are unto receiving the mercy, grace, and empowerment of God for the purpose of living out His mission for His glory.
Those who serve God in this way, with sincere action, will accomplish great things for God’s Kingdom. They demonstrate God’s glory to the culture at large. Notice what happens in verse 12:
“And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to dwell in.” Isaiah 58:12
This is the language of cultural and spiritual renewal.
While we’re aware that Memphis has its problems, we can glorify God that Christ Methodist has a history of being benevolent toward the city for God’s glory. However, we can’t live off what has been—we can and should thank God for what has been, but that’s a dangerous place to dwell.
How Are We Moving With God Now?
Let’s ask ourselves, what are we putting our faith in now? How are we being “repairers of the breach” and “restorers of streets to dwell in” (Isaiah 58:12)? Are we laboring for reconciliation so that people can work together for the sake of God’s shalom in our city, community, and beyond?
God’s people labor, so there is confidence in institutions. When we mistrust institutions in America, such as democracy, seeds of mistrust are sown at such a level that it hinders God’s work that can be exercised through the best of our institutions. Let’s also be clear that healthy institutions comprise people with godly character, honesty, promise-keepers, and noble ideation regarding laboring for shalom.
The reason that’s important is because when you have strong character, you have strong families. When you have strong families, you have strong churches. When you have strong churches, you have strong communities. When you have strong communities, you have strong cities. And when you have strong cities, you have a strong nation.
You can’t build anything for God’s kingdom on the foundation of a superficial walk with God. That’s what happened in Isaiah’s day, and it’s what prevented them from stepping into the fullness of what God offers.
Isaiah 58 illustrates the beauty of walking with God.
It is an enlightened life: “Your light shall dawn in the darkness” (Isaiah 58:8).
It is a guided life: “The LORD will guide you continually (Isaiah 58:8, 9).
It is a satisfied life: “And satisfy your soul in drought” (Isaiah 58:11).
It is a fragrant life: “Like a watered garden” (Isaiah 58:11).
It is a freshly sustained life: “Like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail” (Isaiah 58:11).
It is a productive, healing life: “You shall build the old waste places” (Isaiah 58:12).
In North America, more than 40 million people have dropped out of church in the last 25 years. Yet, as we’ve seen, even atheists are asking the church to come back to life. Church, it’s time to rise into your calling and identity.
By the power of the Holy Spirit, we pray, God, help us to be a gospel-centered community who magnifies Jesus Christ, who worships passionately, loves extravagantly, and witnesses boldly while serving the poor, the oppressed, and the marginalized.
TL;DR
Isaiah 58 challenges God’s people to move beyond religious routine and actively care for the poor, oppressed, and marginalized.
True worship isn’t just prayer and fasting—it’s feeding the hungry, advocating for justice, and living out Christ’s love.
As a church, we must examine our role in addressing modern injustices and seek to be “repairers of the breach” in our communities.
Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we are called to serve, love, and act with purpose for the glory of God.
