Ready For Salvation? – Part 3
Isaiah 56:1-8 (3-8)
September 8, 2024
Luke 12:35-40 “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.”
It is the call we read over and over from the Lord – “be ready”
And of course He is speaking of being ready for His return.
That is the theme of Isaiah 56:1-8.
The LORD reveals “My salvation is about to come And My righteousness to be revealed.”
It is the call of John the Baptist who told his audience, “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.”
It was a call to be prepared for the day when the Lord returns, crushes His enemies, & totally, finally, & eternally saves His people
And the question we are asking is: ARE YOU READY?
We are looking at the requirements for being ready.
#1 A STATED REQUIREMENT
Isaiah 56:1
It could not be any clearer:
“Preserve justice and do righteousness,”
• It was a call to pay close attention to that which God is says is right.
• It was a call to pay heed to the things that please God.
• And then it is a call to do those things.
In short the call is for righteousness.
Our understanding of the gospel teaches us that the righteousness of God is that which is credited to us when we place our faith in Christ.
Romans 3:21-22 “But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction;”
So certainly we would say that
If you want to be ready for the coming of the Lord
Then you need to be in Christ.
That is to say that
• You must have placed your faith in His finished work.
• You must have trusted in Him so that His righteousness has been imputed to you and you are justified in the sight of God.
If you are not trusting Christ then you are not ready.
That is a clearly stated requirement from the LORD.
#2 A SERIOUS REQUIREMENT
Isaiah 56:2
We are still talking about righteousness
But we see the seriousness of it in the fact that
It is linked to whether or not we receive the blessing of God.
Moses laid it out over and over for his people.
They could have “the blessing or the curse”.
The blessing came through righteousness,
The curse came through disobedience.
It is the serious standard of God on which He does not budge.
As we learned in chapter 55 of Isaiah,
It is not God who changes His thoughts or ways,
It is us who must change ours.
AND THEN ISAIAH BEGAN TO SHOW US
Exactly what he means when he is speaking about righteousness.
If you want to evaluate your life to see if you are ready,
There are 3 areas here that Isaiah looks at to help you see.
I think they are incredibly beneficial to understand.
These are great evaluators.
1) YOUR PURSUIT
“How blessed is the man who does this, and the son of man who takes hold of it;”
• Certainly a man must be justified through faith in Jesus Christ.
• Certainly a man must have the righteousness of Christ imputed to him by faith.
But Isaiah is going even further here as he talks about
The person who pursues righteousness beyond just being justified.
A true believer is NOT one who believes in Jesus,
Gets justified in the sight of God,
And then is content to go back to living in sin.
If that is your thought process
There is tremendous reason to question if you’ve been saved at all.
Paul taught the Romans
Romans 6:1-2 “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?”
The writer of Hebrews warned us
That without “sanctification” “no one would see the Lord”.
A genuine believer who has been justified in God’s sight
Will then pursue that righteousness practically in their life.
And we read all those practical commands in both Ephesians and Colossians that show the lifestyle that is expected of a believer.
And the simple question we used to evaluate our lives is:
AM I PURSUING RIGHTEOUSNESS?
WE ARE NOT YET RIGHTEOUS, and we will never be perfect in this life,
But like the apostle Paul can we say that we have “forgotten what lies behind and we reach forward to what lies ahead”?
Can we say we are pursuing the practical expression of Christ’s righteousness in our lives?
That is essential to being ready for His coming.
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.”
So we look at our PURSUIT.
• Are we declared righteous through faith in Christ?
• Are we pursuing Christ-likeness in our lives?
Then last Sunday night we looked at a second evaluating point.
2) YOUR PRIORITY
“How blessed is the man…who keeps from profaning the sabbath”
This is a theme that is going to run even throughout verses 3-8.
We talked about the Sabbath and how Sabbath rest was a prophetic picture of the salvation that was going to come in Jesus Christ.
Hebrews taught us:
Hebrews 4:10 “For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His.”
When God rested after creation
• It was not because He was tired, but rather because He was finished.
• It was good, flawless, and needed nothing tweaked or added to it.
And we enter that same rest when we trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross.
• A work that is also flawless and finished and needs nothing tweaked or added to it.
As Christians we rest continually in Jesus Christ who is our Sabbath rest.
But Isaiah had even more in mind than just that here.
What Isaiah spoke of was PRIORITY
We looked at Jeremiah and we looked Amos
We saw that the common problem with the Sabbath was that it was a nuisance to the people of God.
• They couldn’t wait for the Sabbath to be over so they could get on with their lives of making money.
• A day to rest from their worldly pursuits and delight in God was a massive hurdle to all of their plans.
• They profaned the Sabbath because of a heart that didn’t really want to be there.
And it provided a good opportunity for us to EXAMINE OUR PRIORITIES.
We are not so legalistic that we now replace the Sabbath with Sunday and hold a man’s salvation over his head if he misses a service.
But, can we not see a problem when there no longer becomes
A time or a day at all that is simply for enjoying the Lord?
Sunday used to be called “The Lord’s Day”
• Many now should only call it “The Lord’s Half-Day”
• Perhaps even more should only call it “The Lord’s Occasional Day”.
When worship of the Lord and fellowship of the saints
Becomes a hindrance and a hurdle to the things of this life we want to do
Are we not demonstrating a profaning attitude?
Can we really say we are ready for the Lord to return when worship of Him and fellowship with His people is a hindrance to us and not a delight?
When Christ comes
• He will crush the idols of this world
• His glory alone will shine.
• We will worship Him continually.
If that is not appealing to you now,
Then you must wonder if you are ready for that day.
So we look at our PURSUITS and our PRIORITIES.
THIS MORNING there is one more area we examine.
3) YOUR PURITY
“How blessed is the man who…keeps his hand from doing any evil.”
This is not only a man who is pursuing righteousness,
But a man who at the same time is fleeing from evil.
TO CLAIM to pursue righteousness without fleeing from evil
Only puts a man on par with a Pharisee.
Jesus said about them:
Matthew 23:1-7 “Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them. “They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger. “But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments. “They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by men.”
They were men who appeared to pursue righteousness,
But they did so externally only while they still loved sin in their heart.
Jesus continued:
Matthew 23:23-28 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. “You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel! “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. “You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. “So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.”
IT WAS JUST A SHOW.
They could claim to be pursuing righteousness sure enough.
• I mean they tithed, they fasted, they prayed, they did all the external things.
They could certainly claim to be making the Sabbath a priority,
• Even though they totally missed the point.
• But they never missed it, they even repeatedly confronted Christ and claimed that He broke it.
So when talking about PURSUIT and PRIORITY
They would have sat smugly in their chairs believing they fit the bill.
That is why this third requirement is also necessary.
A man must also be fleeing from that which is evil.
Paul wrote:
Romans 12:9 “Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good.”
To have an unhypocritical love of God is two-sided.
• On one hand to truly love God is to “cling to what is good”
• On the other hand to truly love God is to “abhor what is evil”
After all God’s love, we are told:
1 Corinthians 13:6 “does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;”
SO YOU SEE THE QUESTION NOW AT HAND.
In my quest for righteousness, am I also seeking to remove sin?
• Perhaps I am pursuing righteousness.
• Perhaps I am reading the word to see what is required.
• Perhaps I am faithfully attending worship to hear preaching and have my sins exposed.
But when my sin is revealed to me.
When my sins are shown to me.
WHAT DO I DO THEN?
Do I hate them?
Do I abhor them?
Do I leave them?
Am I seeking pure hands?
This is a prerequisite for standing before the Lord.
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.”
When James spoke of a man who was ready to be exalted by God, James gave practical steps that are required.
James 4:7-10 “Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.”
Isaiah addressed this issue very early on in his ministry.
Isaiah 1:15-17 “So when you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; Yes, even though you multiply prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood. “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Cease to do evil, Learn to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless, Defend the orphan, Plead for the widow.”
Think about some of those practical sanctification passages
We read last Sunday morning to close our service.
Listen specifically to what Paul said, not just about the pursuit of sanctification, but also the reason for the desire to flee what is evil.
Ephesians 5:3-5 “But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints; and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.”
Colossians 3:5-6 “Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience,”
See, it’s not just what you pursue, but it is also what you flee.
It’s not just what you love, but it is also what you hate.
And we hate it because it invites punishment.
And I think this might be the most telling indicator of all
Regarding genuine salvation in our hyper-tolerance culture.
There are very few sins that our culture still mandates hatred for.
It is love that is held up as the sole acceptable response.
But what do we read in the Scripture?
(Our prayer journal verse Friday morning)
Proverbs 6:16-19 “There are six things which the LORD hates, Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that run rapidly to evil, A false witness who utters lies, And one who spreads strife among brothers.”
So let me ask you:
• Should you hate haughty eyes?
• Should you hate a lying tongue?
• Should you hate hands that shed innocent blood?
• Should you hate a heart that devises wicked plans?
• Should you hate feet that run rapidly to evil?
• Should you hate a false witness who utters lies?
• Should you hate one who spreads strife among brothers?
And perhaps you are sort of caught in limbo there.
Perhaps you are so indoctrinated by the culture that
You are actually struggling to say yes to those questions.
Well should you love those things?
• Should you love haughty eyes or a lying tongue or hands that shed innocent blood…etc?
THAT BECOMES CLEARER
God hates those things.
We are to love what God loves and hate what God hates.
Now let me give you something perhaps even a little more practical here.
Often times we have talked about
• Those imprecatory Psalms.
• Those Psalms where David calls down judgment upon the wicked.
Psalms 10:12-15 “Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up Your hand. Do not forget the afflicted. Why has the wicked spurned God? He has said to himself, “You will not require it.” You have seen it, for You have beheld mischief and vexation to take it into Your hand. The unfortunate commits himself to You; You have been the helper of the orphan. Break the arm of the wicked and the evildoer, Seek out his wickedness until You find none.”
Psalms 58:6-11 “O God, shatter their teeth in their mouth; Break out the fangs of the young lions, O LORD. Let them flow away like water that runs off; When he aims his arrows, let them be as headless shafts. Let them be as a snail which melts away as it goes along, Like the miscarriages of a woman which never see the sun. Before your pots can feel the fire of thorns He will sweep them away with a whirlwind, the green and the burning alike. The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance; He will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. And men will say, “Surely there is a reward for the righteous; Surely there is a God who judges on earth!”
THOSE ARE INTENSE.
But I remind you that those are Holy Spirit inspired words.
Those are God-written prayers that He has preserved for His people.
• We are never to take our own revenge.
• We are never to meet out justice.
• We leave room for the wrath of God while we turn the other cheek and go the extra mile.
But in our frustration we offer a prayer to the righteous Judge.
But perhaps I might offer to you even another perspective this morning.
Have you ever considered praying such a prayer against your own sinful flesh?
• That God would break your sinful pride?
• That God would seek out the wickedness of your flesh until it is all gone?
• That God would shatter the teeth of your immorality?
• So that you can rejoice when your own wickedness is removed.
DO YOU WANT YOUR OWN SIN GONE THAT BADLY?
If you knew that Christ was going to destroy all those who gossip, would you go to war with your tongue to rid it of gossiping before He returned?
If you knew that Christ was going to destroy all stealing would you buffet your body and make it your slave to put an end to that which Christ will destroy?
If you knew that Christ was going to destroy all who are sexually immoral would you attack your body to make it stop doing that which Christ hates?
How did Jesus put it?
Matthew 5:29-30 “If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. “If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell.”
How badly do you want that which Christ hates eradicated from your life?
THIS IS ANOTHER AREA
In which we EVALUATE our readiness to see the Lord.
• We look at our PURSUITS and ask ourselves if we are pursuing righteousness.
• We look at our PRIORITIES and we ask if Christ is our first love.
• We look at our PURITY and we ask if I am warring to put away sin from my life.
2 Corinthians 5:6-10 “Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord— for we walk by faith, not by sight— we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”
THAT IS THE IDEA.
Those who would trust in Christ for justification
Are expected to obey Christ in sanctification
That we not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming.
A Stated Requirement
A Serious Requirement
#3 A SUFFICIENT REQUIREMENT
Isaiah 56:3-8
The simple point to be revealed here is that THIS IS ALL GOD REQUIRES,
Any man who so prepares Himself is acceptable to God
Regardless of his background, past, or failures.
After God sent the apostle Peter to the house of Cornelius to preach the gospel, Peter was humbled by what God did, and Peter said:
Acts 10:34-35 “Opening his mouth, Peter said: “I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him.”
• The apostles, and the rest of the Jewish community had a very difficult time accepting Gentile salvation.
They were foreigners, they were pagans,
And they certainly would have no inheritance in the kingdom of God.
Deuteronomy 23:1-6 “No one who is emasculated or has his male organ cut off shall enter the assembly of the LORD. “No one of illegitimate birth shall enter the assembly of the LORD; none of his descendants, even to the tenth generation, shall enter the assembly of the LORD. “No Ammonite or Moabite shall enter the assembly of the LORD; none of their descendants, even to the tenth generation, shall ever enter the assembly of the LORD, because they did not meet you with food and water on the way when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you. “Nevertheless, the LORD your God was not willing to listen to Balaam, but the LORD your God turned the curse into a blessing for you because the LORD your God loves you. “You shall never seek their peace or their prosperity all your days.”
That certainly seemed clear enough.
And yet, Isaiah gives us clarity on the heart of God here.
Those sinners were banished for a refusal to repent,
But even sinners like them are welcome through repentance.
Isaiah brings up the two groups whom Moses specifically excluded.
Isaiah speak of Eunuchs and Foreigners.
• Two people who would fall under the category of the absolutely hopeless.
• Two people whom it would seem had no reason to expect they could do
anything to be welcomed into the kingdom of God.
Foreigners were pagans
Eunuchs were an offense to God’s created plan.
They seemed to be the very epitome of the disqualified.
And yet it is abundantly clear what God says to each of them here.
(3) “Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the LORD say, “The LORD will surely separate me from His people.” Nor let the eunuch say, “Behold, I am a dry tree.”
God announces that it is absolutely not hopeless
For the foreigner or the eunuch.
• There is hope that the eunuch might have an enduring name.
• There is hope that a foreigner might have an inheritance among God’s people.
HOW?
(4-7) “For thus says the LORD, “To the eunuchs who keep My sabbaths, And choose what pleases Me, And hold fast My covenant, To them I will give in My house and within My walls a memorial, And a name better than that of sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name which will not be cut off. “Also the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD, To minister to Him, and to love the name of the LORD, To be His servants, every one who keeps from profaning the sabbath And holds fast My covenant; Even those I will bring to My holy mountain And make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable on My altar; For My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.”
I realize they are two separate groups but the point is clear in both.
Those who PURSUE righteousness…
Those who PRIORITIZE worship of God…
Those who PURIFY their lives…
ARE WELCOME TO GOD.
Even if they are foreigners and eunuchs.
Foreigners had no right to expect an inheritance among God’s people.
Eunuchs had no physical hope of an eternal name.
And yet God promised these things to both of them.
It is what Peter said:
Acts 10:34-35 “Opening his mouth, Peter said: “I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him.”
God welcomes them because righteousness is what is required
And righteousness is ALL that is required.
In fact, God even makes a shocking statement:
God will honor a faithful eunuch over an unfaithful son.
“To them I will give in My house and within My walls a memorial, And a name better than that of sons and daughters;”
How can that be?
• Because the requirement is STATED
• The requirement is SERIOUS
• And the requirement is SUFFICIENT
Remember that Centurian whose servant was healed?
Matthew 8:10-12 “Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, “Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel. “I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Or how about this parable?
Matthew 21:28-31 “But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go work today in the vineyard.’ “And he answered, ‘I will not’; but afterward he regretted it and went. “The man came to the second and said the same thing; and he answered, ‘I will, sir’; but he did not go. “Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you.”
Or what Jesus said to the religious elite?
Luke 13:24-30 “Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. “Once the head of the house gets up and shuts the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock on the door, saying, ‘Lord, open up to us!’ then He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know where you are from.’ “Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets’; and He will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you are from; DEPART FROM ME, ALL YOU EVILDOERS.’ “In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but yourselves being thrown out. “And they will come from east and west and from north and south, and will recline at the table in the kingdom of God. “And behold, some are last who will be first and some are first who will be last.”
You see it everywhere don’t you?
• It is not your pedigree…
• It is not your external religious involvement…
• It is not your denomination…
GOD LOOKS AT THE HEART.
Those who humble themselves
• And trust in Jesus Christ for righteousness…
• And pursue the righteousness of Christ…
• And prioritize the worship of God over the world…
• And purify their lives from sinful living…
It doesn’t matter if they are foreigners and eunuchs
They are welcome to God and ready for the day of salvation.
But the religious elite who do not do those things are passed over.
YOU SEE THE POINT.
THE REQUIREMENT OF GOD IS CLEAR.
CHRIST IS COMING.
• He is coming to judge the living and the dead.
• He is coming to trample sinners under His feet.
And Isaiah wants to know if you are ready for that day?
DO NOT suppose there is no hope because of your checkered past.
DO NOT suppose there is no hope because of your filthy family history.
• All those who trust in Christ…
• All those who pursue Christ…
• All those who prioritize Christ…
• All those who purify themselves for Christ…
Are welcome to Him and will be greeted by Him in favor when He comes.
(8) “The Lord GOD, who gathers the dispersed of Israel, declares, “Yet others I will gather to them, to those already gathered.”
Jesus is a gatherer of the scattered.
He Himself said:
John 10:16 “I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd.”
And we are taught in the epistles:
Galatians 3:27-29 “For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.”
• You are free to come to Christ.
• You are free to be welcomed into His kingdom.
• You are free to rejoice in His coming.
BUT RIGHTEOUSNESS IS AND ALWAYS WILL BE REQUIRED.
Trust in the finished work of Christ and be justified.
Consume yourself with the sanctification Christ requires.
• Pursue righteousness,
• Prioritize Christ
• Purify yourself from sin and be sanctified.
And on the day Christ returns you will be glorified.
This is how we ready ourselves for the coming of the Lord.
“Thus says the LORD, “Preserve justice and do righteousness, For My salvation is about to come And My righteousness to be revealed.”
