Seeking The Wrong Salvation – Part 1
Isaiah 51:9 – 52:15 (51:9-23)
June 30, 2024
Well, it’s certainly been a minute or two since we were here in Isaiah.
So allow me to draw our minds back to the journey we are taking.
Chapters 50-66 is Jesus Christ addressing apostate Israel.
By apostate we are referring to their rejection of Christ when He came.
• They rejected the truth.
• They neglected salvation.
• They crucified the Lord of Glory.
Romans 9:30-33 “What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith; but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as though it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone, just as it is written, “BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE, AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.”
Israel sought salvation through the Law, that is through their own religious works.
• They hated the gospel of Jesus Christ for exposing them as beggars and captives in need of grace.
• They murdered the Son of God in order that they might maintain their dignity as men pleasing to God through their own religious efforts.
“They stumbled over the stumbling stone”
These people who should have been the most receptive to the gospel
Proved to be the most resistant.
Romans 10:18-21 “But I say, surely they have never heard, have they? Indeed they have; “THEIR VOICE HAS GONE OUT INTO ALL THE EARTH, AND THEIR WORDS TO THE ENDS OF THE WORLD.” But I say, surely Israel did not know, did they? First Moses says, “I WILL MAKE YOU JEALOUS BY THAT WHICH IS NOT A NATION, BY A NATION WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING WILL I ANGER YOU.” And Isaiah is very bold and says, “I WAS FOUND BY THOSE WHO DID NOT SEEK ME, I BECAME MANIFEST TO THOSE WHO DID NOT ASK FOR ME.” But as for Israel He says, “ALL THE DAY LONG I HAVE STRETCHED OUT MY HANDS TO A DISOBEDIENT AND OBSTINATE PEOPLE.”
Israel would not trust in their Christ.
THE RESULT is that God broke them off and put them under a time of discipline.
Romans 11:7-10 “What then? What Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened; just as it is written, “GOD GAVE THEM A SPIRIT OF STUPOR, EYES TO SEE NOT AND EARS TO HEAR NOT, DOWN TO THIS VERY DAY.” And David says, “LET THEIR TABLE BECOME A SNARE AND A TRAP, AND A STUMBLING BLOCK AND A RETRIBUTION TO THEM. “LET THEIR EYES BE DARKENED TO SEE NOT, AND BEND THEIR BACKS FOREVER.”
And Israel resides in this condition down to this very day.
There is always a remnant, and there are believing Jews today,
But by in large, Israel still rejects Christ.
They are in a current state of rebellion and apostasy against God.
This rebellion and apostasy is exactly what Isaiah spoke of in the first two verses of Isaiah 50.
Isaiah 50:1-2a “Thus says the LORD, “Where is the certificate of divorce By which I have sent your mother away? Or to whom of My creditors did I sell you? Behold, you were sold for your iniquities, And for your transgressions your mother was sent away. “Why was there no man when I came? When I called, why was there none to answer?”
• Asking why Israel was broken off…
• Asking why Israel was divorced and sent away…
• THE ANSWER is because when Christ came and called no one answered.
They are a perpetual illustration
Of the danger of rejecting Christ when He calls.
Hebrews 2:3 “how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?”
That is a really good question
And the answer is…you won’t.
Israel is a graphic illustration of this.
NOW, NONE OF THAT HAS CHANGED THE PROMISE OF GOD
That they remain God’s chosen people
And that they are one day promised to return to Him.
• God will one day again open the door of salvation to the Jews
• And Israel will come running to their Messiah
• In a sweeping revival and time of salvation.
Romans 11:25-29 “For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, “THE DELIVERER WILL COME FROM ZION, HE WILL REMOVE UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB.” “THIS IS MY COVENANT WITH THEM, WHEN I TAKE AWAY THEIR SINS.” From the standpoint of the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but from the standpoint of God’s choice they are beloved for the sake of the fathers; for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”
So we know that God will once again, because of His faithfulness,
Awaken Israel and call her back to Himself and she will come.
ISAIAH 50-66 IS THAT STORY.
It is a segment filled with the evangelistic calls of Christ
To a stubborn and obstinate nation.
And though we are Gentiles,
We are learning a great deal from this segment.
1) On one hand it is the tremendous value of hearing the evangelistic calls of Christ to His people.
Have you ever wanted to hear
An evangelistic sermon of Jesus preached directly to the lost?
Well read Isaiah 50-66.
Isaiah is doing the preaching, but make no mistake,
It is the Spirit of Christ who has compelled him.
2) As we read this segment we are also moved by the faithful loyalty of God.
Though these people have spurned Him and offended Him in every possible way, God still has not abandoned them.
Though they are rebellious, He continues to hold out His hand to these stubborn and obstinate people.
In this segment He is the very epitome of that prodigal’s father
Who will not quick waiting by the road for the return of his wayward son.
3) We also feel the evangelistic call of Christ upon our own hearts.
In this segment we are reacquainted with the gospel which we love,
And we realize that even the lost among us
Are exposed to the call of Christ through this segment.
And so we are eager to study it.
HERE
• We are also called to repentance and faith in the glorious gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ
• And we are commissioned to preach it as Christ does to a lost world around us,
• While we also marvel at the faithfulness of a God who though spurned continues to preach it to sinners even today.
What a great segment of Scripture this is!
NOW, LAST TIME
(which I am aware was 4 weeks ago) we looked at Isaiah 51:1-8.
We called it: “Catching Righteousness”
In those 8 verses
• You have Christ calling out to a people who pursue righteousness, but who have pursued it the wrong way.
• They have pursued it as though they could achieve righteousness by works.
• The call of Christ there through Isaiah was to look to their father Abraham and learn from his salvation.
Isaiah 51:1-2 “Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, Who seek the LORD: Look to the rock from which you were hewn And to the quarry from which you were dug. “Look to Abraham your father And to Sarah who gave birth to you in pain; When he was but one I called him, Then I blessed him and multiplied him.”
Abraham is continually lifted before us even in the New Testament
As the pinnacle example of a man who is justified by faith and faith alone.
“Abraham believed God and God credited it to him as righteousness”
Abraham was justified and he did nothing except believe.
And Christ through Isaiah asked Israel to learn from him.
God justifies the ungodly by faith.
In those first 8 verses Christ calls Israel to give God that faith
Knowing that in return God will save them and God will bless them.
• He promises comfort (vs 3)
• He promises restoration (vs 3)
• He promises joy and gladness (vs 3)
• He promises righteousness (vs 5)
• He promises salvation (vs 6)
• He promises vindication (vs 7)
It was a simple call to believe God
And God will justify you and bless you as a result.
AND THAT MESSAGE HASN’T CHANGED.
That is the very message we find Peter preaching to Israel even in the New Testament.
Acts 3:19-20 “Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you,”
So hopefully you remember the basics
Of what we are studying here in Isaiah.
Well this morning, let’s move forward.
Our next segment which we want to look at
Really covers from 51:9 through 53:12.
And it is a segment about a very important person.
It is a person who was introduced to us back in verse 5 of this chapter.
Isaiah 51:5 “My righteousness is near, My salvation has gone forth, And My arms will judge the peoples; The coastlands will wait for Me, And for My arm they will wait expectantly.”
The message is about the coming salvation
And we see that salvation coming here through “My arm”.
We are talking here about: THE ARM OF THE LORD
Arm is a reference to power and ability and accomplishment.
• It is a reference to One through whom God accomplishes redemption.
• It is a reference to One through whom God accomplishes salvation.
Certainly you know who this prophesied “Arm” is.
It is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ.
Isaiah 51:9-53:12 is about this Arm of the Lord.
In verse 5 it was announced
That the salvation of Israel is directly tied to the arrival of this arm.
And what we learn now as we move forward is that
Isaiah’s audience caught the announcement
And they are here more than eager for this Arm to arrive.
That is actually where we pick up in our text.
(51:9) “Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD”
• You see them calling for this Arm to come!
• You see them crying out for this Arm to rise up and to come and save!
They heard Isaiah’s message and they want the Arm.
(Or so they think)
So with that, let’s begin looking at our text this morning.
#1 THE CRY FOR A SAVIOR
Isaiah 51:9-11
Well it would appear that
Israel is all in on God’s plan to send His arm to save.
They are crying out for Him, and almost in such a way
As to insinuate that God has been sluggish in sending Him.
They are here found actually telling God to wake up
And get on with being the Savior that He has promised to be.
(9-10) “Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD; Awake as in the days of old, the generations of long ago. Was it not You who cut Rahab in pieces, Who pierced the dragon? Was it not You who dried up the sea, The waters of the great deep; Who made the depths of the sea a pathway For the redeemed to cross over?”
Can you hear them actually calling God out here?
• Aren’t You that mighty savior?
• Aren’t You the One who toppled Egypt?
• Aren’t You the One who parted the sea?
Well, wake up!
Let’s Go!
They heard the effects of His coming and they want it.
(11) “So the ransomed of the LORD will return And come with joyful shouting to Zion, And everlasting joy will be on their heads. They will obtain gladness and joy, And sorrow and sighing will flee away.”
They heard that the effects of God’s saving arm will be
• “joyful shouting”
• “everlasting joy”
• “sorrow and sighing will flee away”
And they respond with a resounding: “YES PLEASE!”
So wake up Arm!
We’re ready!
Come do Your thing!
Come save!
WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?
AND WHILE AT FIRST GLANCE
That may seem like a glorious response on the part of Israel,
All we have to do is read a little further
And understand the hypocrisy that saturates their cry.
If you skip ahead just a little you come to Isaiah 53 and we see all about how the Arm did come and they wanted nothing to do with Him.
Isaiah 53:1-3 “Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.”
In chapter 51 they are begging for the Arm to wake up and come.
By the time we get to chapter 53
We find out He did come and they rejected Him.
Chapter 51:9-11 is NOT a genuine call for the salvation of Christ.
This is the hypocritical call of the Triumphal Entry.
You remember them throwing those palm branches on the ground and crying “Hosanna” which translated means “Lord Save!”
But the cries for salvation on Sunday
Quickly became cries for execution on Friday.
That same hypocrisy is on full display here.
They want salvation sure enough,
But they don’t want the salvation which Christ offered.
And we saw this in the New Testament.
Allow me to call your mind to the scene of John 6.
• It is a chapter which begins with Jesus working His famous miracle of feeding the 5,000.
• And make no mistake, the people loved what they saw!
John 6:14-15 “Therefore when the people saw the sign which He had performed, they said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.” So Jesus, perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone.”
That mentality is no different than the mentality expressed here.
They were in effect saying the same thing,
“Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD;”
They wanted Him to save and save now.
But what kind of salvation did they want?
• Certainly NOT a salvation from sin.
• Certainly NOT a salvation from worldliness or corruption.
• No, they wanted a salvation from hunger and nothing more.
So Jesus hides Himself.
That night He crossed the sea by walking on water.
But the crowd pursued Him and found Him wondering why He had left.
Jesus’ answer to them is very telling.
John 6:26-27 “Jesus answered them and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. “Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.”
What was He saying?
• You aren’t looking for salvation, you just want food.
• You aren’t looking for a King to submit to, you are looking for someone who can satisfy all your worldly desires.
And Jesus immediately called them to repent
And to start seeking genuine salvation through Him.
Now, if you remember John 6 that crowd totally ignored His message. Instead, they kept insisting that Jesus give them more bread.
• Jesus announced that He was the bread.
• Jesus announced that He is the One from Heaven.
• Jesus announced that He had come to give life and salvation.
But that is not what they wanted
And by the end of the chapter we read a tragic reality.
John 6:64-66 “But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him. And He was saying, “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.” As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore.”
The day before they were begging for the Arm of the Lord to be King and rule and reign and it all looked so noble.
But in less than 24 hours we find out that the salvation He offered
Was not the one they wanted.
• He wanted to save them from sin, they only wanted to be saved from suffering
• He wanted to set the captives free, they only wanted more of the world.
• He wanted to make them righteous, they only wanted to be comfortable
DO YOU SEE THE PROBLEM?
So let me ask you:
WHY DO YOU WANT JESUS?
There has always been and there will always be
A fascination with the idea of Jesus.
The 60’s & 70’s saw the rise of what was called “The Jesus Movement”.
• There Jesus was the model of the anti-establishment free thinking youth.
• He was idolized as the rebel of love who broke away from organized religion
• And was going to turn this world into a better place.
The 80’s & 90’s saw fads like WWJD
• Where Jesus was nothing more than a model of moral living
• And an example that all men should follow for how to live a good life.
Today we are inundated with the “He Gets Us” adds
• Where Jesus is portrayed as a champion of social justice
• Whose sole goal seems to be to end racism and sexual discrimination and all spirits of judgmentalism.
THE POINT IS that the world has always found
A need for Jesus in one sense or another,
But like those of Jesus day they aren’t interested in the real Jesus
And they aren’t interested in the salvation He came to bring.
What do we learn of Jesus’ salvation?
Matthew 1:21 “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
Certainly we know His goal was NOT social reform.
• It would certainly seem strange that with all the slavery, corruption, and injustice of the Roman empire that Jesus never really addressed any of it.
His goal wasn’t to end poverty
• He actually called His followers to follow Him even though He was homeless.
His goal wasn’t any kind of anti-establishment deliverance.
• He told Pilate verbatim that His kingdom was not of this world.
AND MY POINT IS SIMPLY THIS.
If that’s the kind of Savior you are calling out for,
You’re likely to be shocked when He doesn’t show up.
But, if sin is your enemy.
• If slavery to corruption is what you grieve.
• If freedom from iniquity is your hope.
• If peace with the Holy God of the universe is your ambition.
Well, He is precisely the Savior for that.
Israel was crying for a Savior,
They were just crying for the wrong one.
So it is no wonder when the “arm of the LORD” they were crying out for
Did not show up in the manner in which they were expecting.
That crowd all deserted Jesus.
Who stayed with Jesus?
John 6:66-69 “As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore. So Jesus said to the twelve, “You do not want to go away also, do you?” Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. “We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.”
I hope you see the difference.
Well, you see “The Cry For A Savior”
#2 THE CORRECTION OF GOD
Isaiah 51:12-23
Verses 9-11 introduced us to a group of people
• Who may have even been a little frustrated with God for failing to come and save.
• They knew Him to be the great Savior from Egypt and here they were yelling at Him to wake up and save like they expected.
• It actually reminds of the prophets of Baal leaping on the altar exclaiming, “O Baal answer us”
These people here sound a touch frustrated.
So God has an answer for them.
And it is best to see His answer in 3 parts.
1) YOU ARE NOT FORGOTTEN (12-16)
God had already reiterated this point through Isaiah.
Isaiah 49:14-16 “But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me, And the Lord has forgotten me.” “Can a woman forget her nursing child And have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you. “Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before Me.”
God had already reiterated that He could never forget Israel.
Here the first thing He does is address this frustrated people that
His comfort has always been available to them.
The problem is not that God has forgotten them,
But rather that they have forgotten God.
What makes this segment really interesting is that
It really reads here like God is addressing the prophet Isaiah.
You see that in verse 16, “I have put My words in your mouth”
And it comes to us like perhaps Isaiah has grown to sympathize with the congregation, perhaps he even fears them a little,
And he is joining the cry of the crowd and also asking God,
“Yeah, where is this arm? Where are you?”
And so God is addressing Isaiah and the crowd:
(12b-13a) “Who are you that you are afraid of man who dies And of the son of man who is made like grass, that you have forgotten the LORD your Maker,”
Isaiah, has this crowd won you over
So that you now also doubt who I am and what I have promised?
PERHAPS A REMINDER OF WHO I AM
I am (13a) “the LORD your Maker, who stretched out the heavens And laid the foundations of the earth”
In verse 15, He is “the LORD your God, who stirs up the sea and its waves roar (the LORD of hosts is His name).”
A reference to creation is meant to remind us of His power
And most specifically the power of His word.
His word accomplishes what it intends to accomplish.
So what is the point to Isaiah?
(16) “I have put My words in your mouth and have covered you with the shadow of My hand, to establish the heavens, to found the earth, and to say to Zion, ‘You are My people.’”
WHAT IS THE POINT?
• Isaiah, even you have begun to doubt My salvation.
• Even you have begun to wonder if I have forgotten My people.
WHAT DID I TELL YOU?
What words did I put in your mouth?
“You are My people.”
And My words never fail.
I could never forget you.
So when I promise salvation then you know salvation is coming.
In verse 14 He said, “The exile will soon be set free, and will not die in the dungeon, nor will his bread be lacking.”
You think I have forgotten you
Because I have no come and delivered you like you have hoped.
But that is not true.
I have never forgotten you.
• In fact, I have made promises regarding you.
• And when I speak, it happens, without fail, every time.
Romans 11:1-5 “I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? May it never be! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel? “Lord, THEY HAVE KILLED YOUR PROPHETS, THEY HAVE TORN DOWN YOUR ALTARS, AND I ALONE AM LEFT, AND THEY ARE SEEKING MY LIFE.” But what is the divine response to him? “I HAVE KEPT for Myself SEVEN THOUSAND MEN WHO HAVE NOT BOWED THE KNEE TO BAAL.” In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to God’s gracious choice.”
Israel’s current predicament of apostasy
Is NOT because God has forgotten to save.
SO WHAT IS THE PROBLEM?
2) YOU NEED FORGIVENESS (17-20)
In verse 9 they were trying to wake God up to do His job of saving.
Now in verse 17 God responds by saying, “Rouse yourself! Rouse yourself! Arise, O Jerusalem”
“Me wake up? You’re the one who needs to wake up!”
Your current predicament is not the result of being forgotten.
Your current predicament is the result of being punished by God!
“You who have drunk from the LORD’S hand the cup of His anger; The chalice of reeling you have drained to the dregs. There is none to guide her among all the sons she has borne, Nor is there one to take her by the hand among all the sons she has reared. These two things have befallen you; Who will mourn for you? The devastation and destruction, famine and sword; How shall I comfort you?”
And there is the question.
“How shall I comfort you?”
Israel is upset because God has not risen up with His mighty arm
To save them from their affliction.
Here God reveals that the affliction is coming from Him!
Many times when the kids were little I’d come home and Carrie would just point at a couple of them and say they needed a spanking. Zech was always my debater. He’d look at you and say, “But it’s gonna hurt!”
I’d say, “If everything goes according to plan it will.”
He had offended the peace of my home.
He had turned the person who cared about his comfort more than anyone else in the world into an enemy who wanted him to feel pain.
He had sinned and deserved punishment, and the mother who loved him had decided he would receive pain.
He had earned wrath and during the wrath he wanted comfort.
At that point all I can say is, “How shall I comfort you?”
When in reality I’m here to bring pain.
God goes on to say:
(20) “Your sons have fainted, They lie helpless at the head of every street, Like an antelope in a net, Full of the wrath of the LORD, The rebuke of your God.”
It is God’s way of correcting their misconception.
You want Me to swoop in and deliver you from you affliction,
But you have failed to comprehend why you are here in the first place.
• I am the One who put you there.
• I am the One who is pouring out wrath on you.
You are seeking comfort,
What you ought to be seeking is repentance and forgiveness.
Again, you are seeking the wrong salvation.
AND LISTEN TO ME THIS MORNING.
If you are a child of God, this does not apply in your case.
We know what Scripture teaches:
Romans 8:1 “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
• Christ already drank the cup of God’s wrath for you.
• There is no more wrath from God on you.
• You now have peace with God through Jesus Christ.
But here we are talking about the unredeemed.
Here we are talking about those who have rejected Christ.
They are those whose sin has not been atoned for.
They are those who are currently under God’s wrath.
Do you understand the ridiculousness of being a person
Who has rejected Christ and the only means of atonement
And then to go to God and to ask Him to remove your suffering?
It is God who has brought this judgment upon you.
It is only removed in Christ.
This is the current hypocritical nonsense of our nation.
As we have said many times all you have to do is read Romans 1 to see that our nation is under the wrath of God.
Watch a presidential debate and you’ll be convinced of it.
And yet as a nation we want God
• To deliver us from inflation
• Protect us from terrorism
• Spare us natural disasters
• Relieve our burdens
• Heal us when we are sick
• And help us stay comfortable during hard times…
Do you see the absurdity of such expectations?
Listen, the call of God has been clear.
That men must be reconciled to God
Through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.
1 Timothy 2:5 “For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,”
Acts 17:30-31 “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”
Even in your own life.
If you have not run to Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sin and sought new life through Him…
DO YOU NOT SEE THAT IT IS ABSURD
For you to expect God to save you from your discomfort
When you have not asked Him to save you from your sin?
And that is God’s point to Israel here.
• You want Me to wake up and save you from your affliction.
• I’m the One who put you under that affliction!
• I’m waiting for you to wake up and repent!
So Israel, you are not forgotten, that’s not the problem.
The problem is that you need forgiveness of your sin.
3) YOU WILL NEVER BE FORSAKEN (21-23)
And once again God does what only a gracious God would do.
In spite of their rebellion.
In spite of their sin and God’s judgment on it.
God once again reminds them of His guaranteed mercy.
If they will repent, He will save.
(21-23) “Therefore, please hear this, you afflicted, Who are drunk, but not with wine: Thus says your Lord, the LORD, even your God Who contends for His people, “Behold, I have taken out of your hand the cup of reeling, The chalice of My anger; You will never drink it again. “I will put it into the hand of your tormentors, Who have said to you, ‘Lie down that we may walk over you.’ You have even made your back like the ground And like the street for those who walk over it.”
This blows my mind about God.
He looks at sinners and time after time makes the exact same guarantee.
It’s the promise of 1 John 1:9
1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
He gives a 100% guarantee.
• There is not an evaluation process…
• There is not an approval process…
It is God just guaranteeing that
When you come to Him through Jesus Christ He will save.
And that promise is to all sinners of every age.
God doesn’t turn away repentant sinners.
Romans 10:13 “for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”
SO WHAT IS THE POINT TO THIS PASSAGE?
Namely Israel: YOU ARE MISSING THE POINT!
You think God’s chief duty is to save you from pain and suffering.
You think He is somehow obligated to do “good” by all the world.
WRONG!!!
The mercy of God is seen
• In His tolerance of sinners as He calls them to repentance.
• In His sending Christ to save you from the sin which has earned His wrath.
God’s comfort comes only through His righteous Arm – Jesus Christ.
Romans 5:1 “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,”
When you run to Him to be forgiven of your offense to God,
He will forgive you and free you from the sin which God hates.
Quit begging God to give this world!
Beg Him to save you from it!
GOD CAN SAVE! GOD DOES SAVE!
But Israel has yet to want the salvation He offers.
DO YOU WANT IT?
Do you want freedom from sin and escape from worldliness?
Because that is a salvation Christ gives.
Galatians 6:14 “But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”
If you want that, then run to Christ.
If you have that, then rejoice in Christ!
If you only want to obtain this world
Then you are seeking the wrong Savior.
