Salvation… God’s Sovereign Work
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Isaiah
54. An expository study of
Isaiah, chapter 59
Where can we turn, outside of
the Word of God, to understand the vital issues of mankind? The Bible clearly
depicts the doctrine of man, which is so important for us to know and understand.
Then we can recognize our individual place among the human race and diagnose
our problem. From that point, we go on to find the remedy.
The blame lies with mankind
Never allow yourself to put
the blame upon God. That is never the case and there is no remedy for those,
who choose to go in that direction. It will surely end in their ruin. When
there is a problem between God and man, the fault always lies with man. “Behold”… look carefully, learn and
understand… “the Lord’s hand is not
shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear” (v.1).
The problem does not lie with God. He does not change and He does not weaken in
any case for even a moment. We must determine and settle this question before
we can progress in any direction.
Next, we learn to put our
confidence in Him. The extent of His reach and His power to save is
immeasurable. It reaches everywhere to everyone and the potential to help is
unlimited. His sense of hearing picks up the weakest decibel of a cry directed
towards Him. There is no faculty in His total make-up that is less than
infinite.
The sin of man is the only reason
that there is a distance of separation between him and divine help: “Your iniquities have made a separation
between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that
he does not hear” (v.2). The Word of God brings before us the doctrine of
sin, so that we can learn and fear it as an obstacle that keeps us from
experiencing aid from above.
Sin has entered into human history
and has brought disastrous consequences. It has caused entire depravation of
all man’s faculties. His fingers perform evil acts and go so far as to stain
his hands with murderous blood. His mouth is an instrument of wickedness; his
lips and his tongue form deceitful, malicious words (v.3).
All his institutions are
corrupt. Justice is feigned in his courts and its members lack the honesty necessary
to make righteousness prevail in society. The aim of the prosecution and the
defense is to win, at the cost of truth. “No
one enters suit justly; no one goes to law honestly; they rely on empty pleas,
they speak lies, they conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity” (v.4).
How true it is!
Man is eager to sin
We can appreciate the fact
that God’s word is adorned with literary excellence to help provide an impact.
It gives us a wealth of metaphors, symbolism and, of course, parables. Notice
verse 5: “They hatch adder’s eggs; they
weave the spider’s web; he who eats their eggs dies, and from one that is crushed
a viper is hatched.” It means that instead of crushing evil, the people had
reached a high level of depravity and were encouraging its production. Their
designs were deceptive and verse 6 shows that they were weak in practical use
and full of purposeful sin, promoting violence.
The next verse shows the
eagerness to do sin… “their feet run to
evil and they are swift to shed innocent blood”. Twisted minds are not
satisfied with their own corruption, but are zealous to teach others. Society
tries to cover its inner evil by showing a lovely exterior. In former chapters,
I have tried to prove that lust to sin is a reality in modern times. It strikes
at the core of civilization, attacking the home, marriage and family. It
manifests itself through millions of abortions, by legitimizing perversion and
through a high percentage of broken homes.
How accurate are the prophet’s
word to our world today! He says, “Desolation
and destruction are in their highways.” The 20th Century
conceived dangerous inventions that have brought death to tens of thousands
through traffic accidents. One statistic that we heard in Germany, was that the
average life of a motorcyclist was seven years. To achieve egocentric goals,
men use the thoroughfares for a race against time. To dull their sense of
reality, they mix alcohol into their journeys; yes, “destruction is in their
highways” (v.7).
“The way of
peace they do not know”, but war, “no justice in their paths”, but false,
destructive counsel, “they have made
their roads crooked”, deceptive
and unnatural, “no one who treads on
them knows peace”, and there is no potential for good to anyone (v.8). How
can we expect to find any good from the ways of the world? God’s word is
warning us and Solomon summed it up: “All
is vanity”, yet Christians are deceived by it and widely use its promotion,
its public relations, and make its mentality their own.
“Justice is far from us, and righteousness does not overtake us; we hope for light, and
behold, darkness, and for brightness, but we
walk in gloom” (v.9). The
most shocking and saddening fact of all that is being constructed in this
prophecy is that it is written to a nation, who claims God as their own.
Because this is true, there is no example for the rest of the world.
Apply this to the church today
Today, the church is the last
hope on earth and to the degree that it adapts to the ways of the world, to
that degree it loses its earthly purpose. Jesus taught His disciples, “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt
has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good
for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet” (Mt.5:13,
also Mk.9:50, Lk.14:34). We must not seek to be like the people of the world,
but different. We must not borrow from its ways and methods, but contribute the
benefits of heaven to it. We must not follow, but lead. We must not be
influenced, but influence.
I am fully conscious, as I
write, that I am hemmed in by the Word of the Lord. I cannot stray from it; I
cannot be positive, where it is negative. When one gives an expository Bible
study, he becomes truly aware of divine warnings and the negative consequences
that result from ignoring them. I notice it as I expound on the Gospel of John.
A good deal of the good news of the gospel is to warn against the bad news that
happens to those who disobey it or take it lightly. A rejection of evil comes
before an acceptance of good.
The gospel declares that we
are the light of the world (Mt.5:14) and Paul maintains that we are children of
light, awake to what is happening before the rapture of the church: “You are not in darkness, brothers, for
that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all children of light,
children of the day” (1 Th.5:4-5). Yet Isaiah confesses, “We grope for the wall like the blind; we
grope like those who have no eyes; we stumble at noon as in the twilight, among
those in full vigor we are like dead men” (v.10).
To what do we owe this
incongruity? As in Israel, the church has known times of coldness and a lack of
reality. It holds the form, but denies the power of the gospel. It depends on
the abilities and wisdom of men, instead of the gifts and strength of the
Almighty. It functions by the schemes and means of the world around it,
enamored by its toys and tools, rather on the supernatural ways of heaven. In
the past, it was in times like this that a minority called upon God for
revival. Never has there been a time in its history, when the church needed it
like it does today.
We grope, we growl and we moan;
the complaints are due to the symptoms of the disease that ravages inside us,
yet few seem to be conscious of the sickness itself. We treat symptoms, instead
of the cause. True salvation is far less common than we judge it to be. We
wonder why there are so many who fall and we rush to treat backsliders. We
should be preoccupied that few have truly stood in the first place and have
never taken their first step forward (v.11).
Putting oneself at risk by loving truth
It was common in Isaiah’s day
to say the right words, to do homage to Jehovah and to feel the warmness of the
emotions of godliness, but those are not the proofs of reality. Here is the
ultimate test: “Whoever practices
righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of
sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning,” said
John (1 Jn.3:7,8). One wise man said, “I don’t care how high you jump, as long
as you walk straight when you come down.”
The evidence of sin was too
common to be denied: “For our
transgressions are multiplied before you, and our sins testify against us; for
our transgressions are with us, and we know our iniquities” (v.12). Sin was
present and the people had more knowledge of iniquity, than of righteousness.
Public testimony proclaimed a deficient and defective lifestyle.
Israel stands accused by the
eloquent language of the Holy Spirit. Please notice the verbs in verse 13…
denying, turning back from following, speaking oppression and revolt,
conceiving and uttering. They deny, as surely as Peter in the High Priest’s porch,
though not always so clearly. For Paul tells Titus, “They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are
detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work” (Tit.1:16). “Conceiving and uttering from the heart
lying words.” It begins in the heart with a spiritual conception that is
then taught as doctrine. Jesus cites Isaiah, “In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of
men” (Mt.15:7).
This book has much to say
about justice, that is, a proper verdict or sentence, in favor
of the innocent and against the guilty. It is being reversed and righteousness,
simply rightness, is a distant
standard, not expected to be upheld. “For
truth has stumbled in the public squares…” (v.14). I intend to emphasize
this virtue in a day, when it takes second place, at best, to unity, tolerance
and love. I maintain that if we lose truth, we lose everything, for without
truth, nothing is genuine. When truth is absent, love becomes permissiveness,
unity becomes syncretism and tolerance becomes licentiousness.
The argument continues,
insisting that a love for truth and uprightness puts a person at risk. “Uprightness cannot enter. Truth is
lacking, and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey.” Public
sympathy these days is in favor of those who fall morally and the one who
exposes the fallen, testifies against the sin committed, or demands discipline,
is disdained. He will be called critical, judgmental, or unloving, but his
encouragement lies in the fact that the Lord is on his side. “The Lord saw it, and it displeased him
that there was no justice” (v.15).
Just as those who stand for
righteousness are looked upon as outmoded relics, a disturbance to the goals of
the majority, just so is heaven mystified by the lack of individuals who have
enough moral fiber to stand before Him as righteous intercessors: “He saw that there was no man, and wondered
that there was no one to intercede.” In this case, His sovereignty comes to
the forefront: “His own arm brought him
salvation, and his righteousness upheld him” (v.16). The eternal purposes
of God are unstoppable. He upholds Himself and works salvation to His own
glory.
Salvation is the work of a sovereign God
The Christian is to be clothed
with the armor of God (Eph.6:13-17) and if he is not, although he will suffer
personal defeat, the Lord will nevertheless continue to bring glory to His own name.
“He put on righteousness as a
breastplate, and a helmet of salvation… he put on garments of vengeance… and
wrapped himself in zeal” (v.17). The Lord knows no setbacks and His throne
is under no threat. It will be God alone, who rises for the remnant of Israel’s
salvation. Alone, He endured the cross, without an iota of human cooperation
and on Easter Sunday, without one to stand with Him in faith, He arose mightily
from the grave, giving testimony to the efficacy of His work.
Although mankind is unwilling
or unable to carry out judgment, judgment will be carried out, you can be sure
of that. Although modern man neglects or refuses to recognize His wrath, it
will surely fall, “wrath to his
adversaries, repayment to his enemies”. No part of this planet will be
overlooked, even to the distant coastlands (v.18), from east to west.
The earth will be full of the
fear and the glory of the Lord. As a rushing stream of living waters, driven by
the powerful force of the Holy Spirit, the Redeemer will return to Israel
(v.19). “A Redeemer will come to Zion,
to those in Jacob who turn from transgression, declares the Lord” (v.20).
We notice again that Isaiah presents the Holy One of Israel and Jesus taught us
to pray, “hallowed be Your name”. The Lord always works His will in the
atmosphere of holiness. Christ returns to those who turn from transgression and
establishes His kingdom through the hallowing of His name.
“‘As for me,
this is my covenant with them,’ says the Lord: ‘My Spirit that is upon you, and
my words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or
out of the mouth of your offspring, or out of the mouth of your children’s
offspring,’ says the Lord, ‘from this time forth and forevermore’” (v.21).
His Spirit remained upon His
people, and His word continued faithful. The word was near them from the time
of Moses in the wilderness (Dt.30:14) and it was near to the Gentile according
to Paul. In his doctrine, the word of faith is in your mouth and in your heart.
“For there is no distinction between Jew
and Greek, for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who
call on him” (Ro.10:12, see from v. 8-13) The New Covenant with Israel will
continue, from father to son, to grandson, throughout the millennial
generations and on and on in eternity without end. He is the sovereign Lord of
Israel’s salvation and ours and we rest solely in His person, His purpose and
in His work. We trust in Him alone.
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