Ready For Salvation? – part 1
Isaiah 56:1-8 (1-2)
September 1, 2024
Are you ready for salvation?
That may seem like a pretty straightforward question.
And because we commonly associate salvation
With things like being forgiven of my sin or being granted eternal life,
One would think that the immediate and obvious answer is, “Yes”.
• “Yes, I’m ready for Jesus to forgive all of my sin.”
• “Yes, I’m ready for Jesus to have mercy on me.”
• “Yes, I’m ready for Jesus to give me abundant life.”
And people tend to assume that they are perfectly ready
For the Lord to extend whatever mercy toward them that He intends.
But that is NOT exactly the question I am asking.
Nor is it the issue that Isaiah is addressing.
You notice in verse 1 that salvation is the issue of the day.
“Thus says the LORD, “Preserve justice and do righteousness, For My salvation is about to come And My righteousness to be revealed.”
Isaiah is clearly calling the people to a righteous life
Because “salvation is about to come”
We often speak of salvation in the scope of Christ justifying us
And granting us the righteousness which we do not possess,
So in this sense it would make Isaiah’s statement seem backward.
We DON’T TELL people to become righteous so that they can be saved,
We TELL people they need to be saved because they are not righteous.
In that sense, it would almost make Isaiah’s statement seem anti-gospel.
So you need to understand what Isaiah is saying.
• He is not here speaking about personal salvation.
• Isaiah is speaking about the salvation of the nation of Israel.
And the salvation he speaks of is the day in which their Messiah
Will come to deliver Israel from her enemies by crushing the wicked.
To put it another way, the salvation Isaiah speaks of
Is not the first coming of Christ, but the second coming.
It is the day Christ comes in holiness to judge the living and the dead.
It is the day He comes to save His people totally and finally.
We read about that day in the book of Revelation.
Revelation 19:11-21 “And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in midheaven, “Come, assemble for the great supper of God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves, and small and great.” And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone. And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.”
THAT IS THE DAY OF SALVATION.
Even the gospel writers understood salvation in this sense.
Romans 13:11-12 “Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.”
• Paul wasn’t speaking there about some personal salvation or even justification which you received when you believed in Christ.
• Paul is talking about the total and final salvation of all of God’s people when Christ returns to destroy the wicked and to reign on the earth.
• Paul says that since that salvation is growing nearer and nearer and nearer then you should “lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.”
And if you’ll notice, that is the message of Isaiah.
He is revealing to you God’s expectation for your life.
That since the Messiah is going to come in judgment, you should, “Preserve justice and do righteousness,”
Peter said it a little differently.
2 Peter 3:10-14 “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless,”
Peter asked, “since all these things are to be destroyed…what sort of people ought you to be…looking for…the coming of the day of God..?”
That is the question.
ARE YOU READY FOR SALVATION?
This was the ministry of John the Baptist.
Matthew 3:1-3 “Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said, “THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, ‘MAKE READY THE WAY OF THE LORD, MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT!’”
Certainly John was preparing the way for Jesus
And the earthly ministry which He brought.
But John was just as much preparing people for Christ’s second coming as he was His first coming.
In fact, John was actually a little confused
When he was thrown in prison and Christ hadn’t delivered him from the hands of evil men.
• John questioned at that point whether Jesus was really the Messiah because
John had grand expectations of a Messianic reign and the destruction of the
wicked.
• John didn’t fully understand that Jesus first came to save sinners, but would
then come again to judge them.
• When you hear John preaching, he is preaching like an Old Testament
prophet as he desperately seeks to prepare men for salvation.
That is, he is seeking to prepare men for the salvation of the world
When Messiah comes to judge the wicked.
So John told men to “repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
He spoke to them like the army would be here any second
And you would much rather be pleasing than to be offensive to Him.
Jesus preached that message as well.
Matthew 24:42-44 “Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. “But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. “For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.”
Luke 12:30-40 “For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things. “But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you. “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom. “Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor moth destroys. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. “Be dressed in readiness, and keep your lamps lit. “Be like men who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the door to him when he comes and knocks. “Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find on the alert when he comes; truly I say to you, that he will gird himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and will come up and wait on them. “Whether he comes in the second watch, or even in the third, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves. “But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into. “You too, be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect.”
SO I HOPE YOU UNDERSTAND THEN THE POINT.
When we are asking if you are ready for salvation
• We are NOT asking so much if you are ready to be forgiven,
• We ARE asking if you are ready for the Lord to return and deliver His people by
judging the living and the dead?
The first time Jesus came in meekness to save sinners.
The second time He will come in justice to destroy them.
He will do that to deliver His people from the oppression of this world.
That is the salvation we speak of here.
And the question we begin this segment with is:
ARE YOU READY FOR THAT SALVATION?
• Are you ready to look Jesus in the face upon His arrival?
• Are you ready to stand before the Holy One of Heaven?
• Are you ready to have your life laid bare in judgment before His throne?
• Are you ready to have those books opened and all your deeds exposed?
• Are you ready to face Jesus Christ in all His glory?
Are you ready for salvation?
That is the question.
And in the flow of Isaiah’s ministry it is a fitting question.
We know that everything changed after Isaiah 53.
• Isaiah 53 spoke of the One who came in atonement.
• Isaiah 53 spoke of the One who bore our sins.
• Isaiah 53 spoke of the One who came to justify sinners.
Because of what He did on the cross
Sinners can now be declared righteous in the sight of God.
Because of what He did on the cross
The wicked can be justified in God’s sight.
And we have seen God crying out as He offers that salvation.
That’s what chapters 54 and 55 were all about.
• He called out to that barren woman that she could have the blessing of many children.
• He called out to that rejected woman that she could have the honor of once again being married.
• He called out to that thirsty beggar who had made a mess of his life that he could be satisfied with abundant life.
He called all of them to come!
• He called them to repent by changing their thinking.
• He called them to forsake their thoughts and ways.
• He called them to seek the LORD while He may be found.
But the point is: HE CALLED THEM
They could now come and be saved.
They could now come and be declared righteous in the sight of God.
And that is good, because as we find out here, the Lord is coming again!
And when He comes the next time
He will destroy all of those who have not taken advantage
Of the offer of righteousness that He presented.
That is the point of these 8 verses.
• What have you done with the atonement of chapter 53?
• What have you done with the offer of chapter 54 and 55?
• Are you ready for salvation?
Here in Isaiah 56 we’re going to see what it looks like to be ready.
• What does a man who is ready for the return of the Lord look like?
• What does his life look like?
• How would you spot him?
• How would I evaluate myself to know if I am ready?
Those are good questions.
Those are important questions.
Here is the answer.
#1 THE STATED REQUIREMENT
Isaiah 56:1
“Thus says the LORD, “Preserve justice and do righteousness, For My salvation is about to come And My righteousness to be revealed.”
Isaiah starts with the all-authoritative, “Thus says the LORD”
We are talking about the reality of a coming salvation and Isaiah says
This is what God says regarding how to be ready for it.
And the stated command is clear:
“Preserve justice and do righteousness”
LET’S LOOK AT THAT A LITTLE CLOSER.
The word “Preserve” translates SHAW-MAR
It certainly means “to preserve or to protect or to keep.”
• It is the word used when God placed Adam in the garden to “keep it”.
• It is a word used how a shepherd watches over his flock.
• It is to look upon something with great concern for it.
And in this case that which we are called to watch over or protect or to keep is “justice”.
“Justice” translates MISH-PAWT
It speaks of “a discernment of what is right and wrong.”
• Sometimes rendered “judgment”.
• It is sometimes rendered “ordinance”
• It is a word that is used to speak of God’s word.
Often Psalms 119 refers to God’s word as “ordinances” or “judgments”.
It is God’s declaration of what is right and wrong.
AND THIS IS THE FIRST CALL.
If you want to be ready for the second coming
Then you must pay special attention to
What God says about what is right and what is wrong.
• You had better concern yourself with God’s judgments and ordinances.
• You had better preserve and keep God’s revealed justice.
You certainly understand that when Christ returns,
He is coming to “judge the living and the dead”.
On that day, it will not be your standards that He judges by, it will be His.
He will not judge the world by your standard of right and wrong,
He will judge the world by His standard of right and wrong.
Sin will be determined by His definition, not yours.
Therefore you should be very careful and diligent
To find out what His definition is.
That certainly makes sense.
And then Isaiah is again very pointed
When he says that you should “do righteousness”.
“do” is not a hard word to comprehend.
• Don’t just learn about justice, do it.
• Don’t just learn about righteousness do it.
“righteousness” is the Hebrew word SAID-AW-KAH
It just speaks of “what is right.”
Incidentally, it is the very thing which God “reckoned” to Abraham
But there is nothing really confusing about the command here.
LEARN WHAT IS RIGHT AND DO IT.
God said “Preserve justice and do righteousness”
Be focused on what I say is right and do it.
WHY?
“For My salvation is about to come And My righteousness to be revealed.”
John the Baptist said:
“Clean up that trash, fill in that pothole, smooth out that bump for the King is on His way!”
Luke 3:3-6 “And he came into all the district around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins; as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, “THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, ‘MAKE READY THE WAY OF THE LORD, MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT. ‘EVERY RAVINE WILL BE FILLED, AND EVERY MOUNTAIN AND HILL WILL BE BROUGHT LOW; THE CROOKED WILL BECOME STRAIGHT, AND THE ROUGH ROADS SMOOTH; AND ALL FLESH WILL SEE THE SALVATION OF GOD.’”
THAT IS THE MESSAGE.
So what do we learn there?
GOD DEMANDS AND EXPECTS RIGHTEOUSNESS
That certainly shouldn’t be too hard to understand.
The very gospel message reminds us:
Romans 1:16-18 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.” For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,”
We love the gospel because
The gospel reveals to sinful man
How to obtain the righteousness which God requires.
The gospel message teaches us that
THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD IS IMPUTED TO US BY FAITH.
And the gospel even reveals to us
Why this righteousness is so important and that is because “the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men…”
You must be righteous to escape the judgment of God.
And the gospel tells you that righteousness will be imputed to you
When you place your faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ.
• It is Jesus Christ who came to this earth and lived a righteous life fulfilling God’s Law.
• It is Jesus Christ who then died on a cross and bore God’s wrath for sin He did not commit.
And we are taught in the gospel that
When we place our faith in the work of Jesus,
His righteousness is imputed to us and our sin is imputed to Him.
He is condemned and we are blessed.
We are declared righteous based on His work.
THAT IS ESSENTIAL.
And that is point number 1.
• If you want to be ready for the return of Christ.
• If you want to be ready for the day that He returns to judge the living and the dead.
Then you had better place your faith in His finished work
So that righteousness will be imputed to you.
That is the only way for you to obtain the righteousness
That God has clearly stated that He requires.
If you are not righteous then you are not ready.
That makes sense to us.
God has stated it – BE RIGHTEOUS
It is a stated requirement
#2 A SERIOUS REQUIREMENT
Isaiah 56:2
We find out the seriousness of this requirement here.
And we see it here stated only in the positive.
Certainly there is a negative.
• After all we just read that God’s wrath abides on the unrighteous.
But here, the negative is omitted
And Isaiah only focuses on the positive.
He says, “How blessed is the man who does this, And the son of man who takes hold of it;”
The point is that your eternity is based on this.
When we talk about God’s stated requirement of righteousness
We are not simply talking about getting an upgrade in heaven
Or purchasing the deluxe package with special lounge access.
WE ARE TALKING ABOUT ENTERING OR NOT.
We know the command, “You shall be holy as I am holy”
Matthew 5:48 “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
There is a definite decision to be made.
You will either pursue the blessing of God through righteousness
Or you will receive the judgment of God through sinfulness.
When Moses addressed the people:
Deuteronomy 30:15-20 “See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity; in that I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that you may live and multiply, and that the LORD your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it. “But if your heart turns away and you will not obey, but are drawn away and worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today that you shall surely perish. You will not prolong your days in the land where you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess it. “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving the LORD your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days, that you may live in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”
That is pretty clear isn’t it?
“So choose life…”
You do understand what is at stake:
God is offering you the tremendous blessing
Of imputed righteousness through Jesus Christ.
AND YOU ARE EXPECTED TO EMBRACE THAT RIGHTEOUSNESS.
But if you try to enter without that righteousness God will not be lenient.
We have all read that parable of the wedding banquet.
• We know of the invitation of the King to come to the banquet.
• We know how eventually that invitation was sent even to the cripples and
beggars.
• Anyone who wanted to come was welcome.
• But we also remember that one guy who tried to slide in there without
wedding clothes.
That is, he tried to come in his own righteousness,
And not in dressed in Christ’s perfect righteousness.
Matthew 22:11-13 “But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?’ And the man was speechless. “Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”
The king wanted to know what that guy was thinking
To have the audacity to try and enter that wedding dressed like that.
Psalms 24:3-4 “Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? And who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood And has not sworn deceitfully.”
This isn’t a joke.
This isn’t a recommendation.
Eternal life or eternal judgment hangs in the balance.
“I set before you today the blessing and the curse, so choose life”.
And here Isaiah OUTLINES THE BLESSING.
And with this blessing come 3 EXPLANATIONS.
We are discussing the man who values justice and righteousness
But here Isaiah helps us understand it a little more specifically.
He doesn’t speak of justice and righteousness in a generic sense,
But in a specific one.
It’s as though someone looked at him when he spoke of the importance of justice and said, “For instance?”
Well, here comes your “For instance”.
And let me give you 3 things to consider.
3 things to help you understand if you are preserving justice and doing righteousness.
1) YOUR PURSUIT
Isaiah says, “How blessed is the man who does this, And the son of man who takes hold of it;”
We are talking about the man
• Who preserves the righteousness God requires.
• Who seeks to take hold of the justice God demands.
And certainly we first again speak of salvation.
If you have not yet embraced
The righteousness which only comes from Jesus Christ
Then place your faith in Him
And take hold of the righteousness God demands.
But we spoke about that a moment ago.
What I want you to understand here is that
The pursuit of righteousness does not stop after you are saved.
It is true that the moment you believe in Christ you are justified.
• You are immediately declared righteous in the sight of God.
But I can promise you this,
If that has actually happened in your life,
Then you are far from satisfied with just the designation.
Genuine believers are certainly grateful for justification in their life,
But accompanying that gratitude
Is a tremendous desire for practical righteousness.
We call that sanctification,
And genuine believers not only long for it, but they pursue it.
FIRST let me tell you WHY they long for it and pursue it.
It is because upon your justification God sent and indwelled you with His Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit who indwells you is a constant motivator
For your own personal righteousness.
Remember that promised New Covenant?
Jeremiah 31:33 “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the LORD, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”
Jeremiah 32:38-40 “They shall be My people, and I will be their God; and I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me always, for their own good and for the good of their children after them. “I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; and I will put the fear of Me in their hearts so that they will not turn away from Me.”
Ezekiel 36:26-27 “Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. “I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.”
NOW LISTEN.
We are NOT SAYING that a genuine believer always looks perfectly righteous.
Indeed they do not.
We still live in a body of flesh
We still succumb at times to temptation.
A genuine believer may not always be recognizable by
Their possession of righteousness,
But they should always be recognized by
Their pursuit of righteousness.
Adrian Rogers once said:
“The Holy Spirit does not make it where a believer can’t sin. He makes it where a believer can’t sin and enjoy it.”
The Holy Spirit creates a supernatural desire for holiness
That is accompanied by a pursuit for it.
Listen to Paul:
FIRST he spoke of the value of knowing Christ Jesus and obtaining the righteousness that comes from Him by faith.
Then he said:
Philippians 3:12-16 “Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you; however, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained.”
• Paul had been declared righteous in the sight of God through Jesus Christ.
• Now Paul wanted to actually be righteous through the process of sanctification.
That is the Christian pursuit.
Paul told Timothy:
1 Timothy 6:11 “But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness.”
We are talking about the pursuit of sanctification
And if you want to be ready for the coming salvation
Then this must characterize your life.
THIS IS HOW THAT BLESSING IS REALIZED
1 John 3:2-3 “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”
Did you catch how John wrote that?
John speaks of all three phases of salvation there.
• He speaks of justification – “now we are children of God”
• He speaks of glorification – “we will be like Him”
• He speaks of sanctification – “everyone who has this hope fixed on Him
purifies Himself”
John expected that a genuine believer, justified by Jesus Christ,
Will then begin the pursuit of Christ-likeness in his life.
If you do not pursue sanctification,
There is good reason to question your justification.
If we have no desire for practical righteousness
We have good reason to question whether our imputed righteousness.
Hebrews 12:14 “Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.”
Did you catch that?
Without sanctification you will not see the Lord?
When Jesus was in the upper room washing feet.
John 13:8 “Peter said to Him, “Never shall You wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.”
We understand then the seriousness of the issue.
And we pursue righteousness.
We pursue sanctification.
If you want to be prepared for the return of Christ
Then pursue Christ-likeness in your life.
And just FOR CLARITY SAKE, I want to end this morning with a look at what it means to pursue sanctification.
I want to get practical here.
I want to simply read a couple of passages that give very real application.
TURN TO: EPHESIANS 4:17 – 5:5
• You see the very practical command of Paul.
• That is what sanctification looks like.
• It is taking off the old man and putting on the new.
Your life should be characterized by that pursuit.
TURN TO: COLOSSIANS 3:5-17
• There it is again.
• This is the Christian life of sanctification.
And I’m just here to tell you that
If you want to be prepared for the coming of Christ
Then start looking like Christ.
FIRST, you must place your faith in Him so that you may be justified in the sight of God.
SECOND, pursue the outworking of that righteousness in your life.
How do you expect Christ to find you when He comes?
Where do you expect Christ to find you when He comes?
Tonight we’re going to talk about PRIORITY.
Where does pleasing Christ rank on your priority list?
ALL OF THIS TO ASK:
Are you ready for salvation?
If Christ returned this afternoon would you be ready to meet Him?
Don’t try it without the possession and pursuit of righteousness.
