The Fruitless Vine – Part 2
Isaiah 5:8-12, 18-23 (18-20)
March 26, 2023
It’s been a couple of weeks now since we were together in Isaiah.
If you will remember we are now in the 3rd sermon of Isaiah.
It is a sermon in which Isaiah will make a shocking announcement.
ISRAEL IS HEADED FOR EXILE.
Isaiah 5:13 “Therefore My people go into exile for their lack of knowledge; And their honorable men are famished, And their multitude is parched with thirst.”
By the end of the sermon Isaiah will reveal that
God already has their captors in mind.
Isaiah 5:26 “He will also lift up a standard to the distant nation, And will whistle for it from the ends of the earth; And behold, it will come with speed swiftly.”
• For the northern kingdom the captor will be the nation of Assyria.
• For the southern kingdom the captor will be the Babylonians.
But all of God’s people are soon to be removed from the land
And carried away as exiles to a land they do not know.
The obvious question is: “WHY?”
And the answer is because they have FAILED TO PRODUCE FRUIT.
We broke this sermon up into 4 points.
We saw the first on Sunday morning:
#1 THE SONG OF THE VINEYARD
Isaiah 5:1-7
Without totally rehashing it you will remember that Isaiah gave a parable of sorts about a vineyard which his beloved had planted.
• His friend did everything required to be able to expect a fruitful harvest,
• But when the harvest came the vineyard only produced worthless grapes.
The question was posed:
Isaiah 5:3-4 “And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, Judge between Me and My vineyard. “What more was there to do for My vineyard that I have not done in it? Why, when I expected it to produce good grapes did it produce worthless ones?”
And the only answer is that it was the fault of the vineyard.
So the decision was made to totally destroy the vineyard.
• No more protection
• No more provision
• The vineyard would be laid waste
AND THEN THE PARABLE WAS EXPLAINED.
Isaiah 5:7 “For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel And the men of Judah His delightful plant. Thus He looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; For righteousness, but behold, a cry of distress.”
God wanted “righteousness”, God wanted “justice”.
All He received was “bloodshed” and a “cry of distress”.
Israel would be exiled for their lack of fruit.
They had wasted the grace of God.
He had chosen them, delivered them, planted them, protected them, and provided for their every need, but they had not produced the fruit He expected.
AND THEY WOULD BE REMOVED.
We must stop again and realize that God expects fruit from His people.
• He expects righteousness from those whom He saves.
• He expects justice from those whom He saves.
Not producing fruit is a serious offense to God.
But that then leads to the next obvious question.
WHY WERE THEY SO UNFRUITFUL?
WHAT WAS THE PROBLEM?
And that led us to the second point of this sermon.
#2 THE SIN OF THE NATION
Isaiah 5:8-12, 18-23
In these 11 verses you see the same word used 6 times.
It is the word “Woe”
Each of those appearances introduces a specific sin
That is the explanation for Israel’s lack of fruit.
Certainly Israel had more sins than these that could be listed,
But Isaiah is highlighting those specific sins that cause fruitlessness.
It is these sins which keep men from producing
The righteousness and justice which God expects.
We saw the first two a couple of Sunday nights ago:
1) GREED (8-10)
You see men who are like leaches, they only want more.
• All the land, all the houses.
• More, more, more, more, more
It is very simply the sin of coveting.
It is very simply the sin of wanting more of the world.
How does this cause a believer to be unfruitful?
Jesus said we are to be “salt” in this world.
Salt is representative of flavor.
In short, we say that as Christians we know where true life is.
• We know what it means to really live.
• Just as salt makes food worth eating, we know who makes life worth living.
• We have Christ who gives us life and life abundant.
We remember Paul saying:
Philippians 3:7-8 “But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ,”
And then were remember Paul saying:
Philippians 3:17-19 “Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us. For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things.”
So when a Christian starts coveting the things of the world
We have to ask this question.
If Jesus is all-sufficient
Why do you also need the stuff of the world to be happy?
Christians fail to produce fruit for God
When they are caught up in pursuing the things of the world.
We are told to “seek first His kingdom and His righteousness”
When we seek our own kingdom and the world’s goods
We cease to produce fruit.
It was one of Israel’s sins which caused her to bear no fruit for God.
We saw also the second sin Isaiah mentioned:
2) SENSUALITY (11-12)
When you initially read it,
It sounds like it’s merely an indictment of drunkards.
• Certainly we don’t defend drunkenness
• Certainly it is hard to maintain a Christian witness when you’re drunk.
But the focus of Isaiah is not simply on drunkenness, it is on sensuality.
It is focusing on the man who finds all his pleasures
In the entertainment of the world rather than the presence of God.
AND THIS CAN BE FAR MORE THAN JUST LIQUOR.
• This can be television,
• This can be your smartphone,
• This can be a relationship,
• This can be a hobby.
The people here sought to occupy all their free time partying.
WHAT DO YOU OCCUPY YOUR FREE TIME WITH?
That is the question.
(12) “Their banquets are accompanied by lyre and harp, by tambourine and flute, and by wine; but they do not pay attention to the deeds of the LORD, nor do they consider the work of His hands.”
Instead of focusing on the LORD,
They focus on the fun and entertainment of the world.
Surely I don’t have to tell you that that is NOT a recipe for fruitfulness.
Luke 8:14 “The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity.”
Romans 8:5-6 “For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace”
We talked about the difference between Martha who was busy and Mary who was seated at Jesus’ feet and wondered which of the two would bear the most fruit?
It is the problem of a believer who spends little time with Jesus
But it is really the world’s entertainment that captivates your gaze.
Fruitfulness only comes from abiding in the vine.
Fruitfulness only comes from abiding with Jesus.
I’m not saying you can never enjoy any entertainment at all.
I enjoy watching sports or a movie
I have been on social media
We went and watched Zech play baseball yesterday
You just have to know those things won’t help you produce fruit.
And so things like that cannot captivate your life.
And that was another problem with Israel.
Their passion was partying not communing with God and the result was fruitlessness.
Incidentally, this sin was given the most credit for causing their exile.
(13-14) “Therefore My people go into exile for their lack of knowledge; And their honorable men are famished, And their multitude is parched with thirst. Therefore Sheol has enlarged its throat and opened its mouth without measure; And Jerusalem’s splendor, her multitude, her din of revelry and the jubilant within her, descend into it.”
They “go into exile for their lack of knowledge”
Perhaps if they had spent more time with Jesus and less time at banquets
They could have escaped this coming exile.
YOU SEE THE PROBLEM.
Israel is fruitless because of the sin of greed and the sin of sensuality.
LET’S MOVE ON: There are 4 more sins which contribute to their fruitlessness.
3) INDIFFERENCE (18-19)
“Woe to those who drag iniquity with the cords of falsehood, And sin as if with cart ropes; Who say, “Let Him make speed, let Him hasten His work, that we may see it; And let the purpose of the Holy One of Israel draw near And come to pass, that we may know it!”
Here we see TWO GREAT REALITIES that jump off the page at us.
• One is an insatiable desire for sin.
• The other is total unconcern about what God thinks of it.
Their love for sin is evident.
“Woe to those who drag iniquity with the cords of falsehood, And sin as if with cart ropes;”
• It’s one thing to carry around sin in your arms.
• It’s one thing to carry around sin in your backpack.
• But when you need a trailer to carry around all your sin you have real problems.
THIS IS A SIN HOARDER
• They can’t get enough.
• There is no self-control.
What is more there is no longer even a desire to conceal it.
If you’re dragging your sin behind you
It is obvious that everyone knows about it.
AND THAT ALONE IS A MAJOR FRUIT INHIBITOR.
As Jesus taught us, it is EXTREMELY DIFFICULT to take the spec out of your brother’s eye when you have a log in your own.
OR HERE WE MIGHT SAY it is difficult to rebuke your brother for the sin in his hand when you have a trailer load that you are hauling.
SIN IS AN ENEMY OF FRUITFULNESS.
(and that make sense since the fruit God wants is righteousness)
But to compound the problem here Isaiah keeps going.
(19) “Who say, “Let Him make speed, let Him hasten His work, that we may see it; And let the purpose of the Holy One of Israel draw near And come to pass, that we may know it!”
In other words, they aren’t even worried about their sin.
They live in sin with no fear of judgment.
It reminds us of those mockers that Peter spoke of.
2 Peter 3:3-6 “Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.” For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water, through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water.”
It is ironic that Peter mentioned the flood of Noah’s day because
Those people were also notorious sinners with no fear of judgment.
Jesus referenced them when He spoke of people unprepared for judgment.
Matthew 24:37-39 “For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. “For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be.”
We are talking about a people who are content to live in their sin
With no thought whatsoever of a coming day of reckoning.
THEY JUST DON’T THINK GOD WILL RESPOND.
One can only imagine the mocking which Noah endured…
But mockers have continued even after the global flood.
Psalms 73:8-11 “They mock and wickedly speak of oppression; They speak from on high. They have set their mouth against the heavens, And their tongue parades through the earth. Therefore his people return to this place, And waters of abundance are drunk by them. They say, “How does God know? And is there knowledge with the Most High?”
But the greater tragedy is when those indifferent thoughts toward sin
Come from inside the church.
Malachi talked about it:
Malachi 3:13-15 “Your words have been arrogant against Me,” says the LORD. “Yet you say, ‘What have we spoken against You?’ “You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God; and what profit is it that we have kept His charge, and that we have walked in mourning before the LORD of hosts? ‘So now we call the arrogant blessed; not only are the doers of wickedness built up but they also test God and escape.’”
And that is the same thing Isaiah speaks of here.
It is men who all but dare God to come and do something about their sin.
They see judgment as a myth.
They are unconcerned.
Some today follow a cleverer pattern than this.
We would refer to it as licentiousness.
It is the distorted belief that because of grace
We are free to sin all we want with no fear of judgment.
Paul referenced it in Romans 3
He quoted his opponents…
Romans 3:7-8 “But if through my lie the truth of God abounded to His glory, why am I also still being judged as a sinner? And why not say (as we are slanderously reported and as some claim that we say), “Let us do evil that good may come”? Their condemnation is just.”
• Paul’s opponents actually held to a distorted belief that somehow by sinning
more they just made grace look that much better.
• So, in one sense, by sinning they were actually doing God a favor by making
Him look that much more gracious in forgiving their enormous amount of sin.
Paul didn’t even feel the need to refute such backward logic,
Simply stating, “Their condemnation is just”
He would approach the subject again in chapter 6 of his epistle to the Romans:
Romans 6:1-7 “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? Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin.”
The whole point of salvation is that
Jesus came to save you from sin, not to save you for sin.
Anyone that treats their sin and God’s hatred of it as a small thing
Does not understand the nature and work of God.
But that is what Israel was doing.
• They sinned in great amounts.
• They actually flaunted it and pulled it in trailers behind them.
• And when someone questioned them as to whether or not they were afraid that
God might be offended they just shrugged and said, “I’d like to see God do something about it.”
It was total indifference to sin and judgment.
And this is ANOTHER REASON they were UNFRUITFUL people.
Do you understand that if you take an indifferent approach to sin and God’s hatred of it that is impossible for you to bear fruit in this world?
I would direct you momentarily to the book of Titus.
TURN TO: TITUS 2
I know several of you ladies spent a lot of time examining Titus 2 in the fall.
You notice that there are very direct commands specifically given to older men, older women, younger women, young men, and even slaves.
But what must be noticed is that
These specific commands for specific behaviors
All come with the same overarching purpose.
Older women are to teach the younger women (5) “to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands…”
Why?
“so that the word of God will not be dishonored.”
Later young men are told (6) “to be sensible; in all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified, sound in speech which is beyond reproach”
Why?
“So that the opponent will be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us.”
Later bondslaves are told “to be subject to their own masters in everything, to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, not pilfering, but showing all good faith”
Why?
“so that they will adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect.”
You see that it is not sinful behavior which glorifies God,
But righteous behavior.
You will produce no fruit by living a sinful life.
• Fruit comes from righteous living.
• Fruit comes from fearing God and honoring Him.
And then Paul goes on to sum it all up for everyone.
(READ 2:11-15)
Grace doesn’t expect you to continue in sin,
Grace expects you to walk in righteousness.
And then look at how Paul sums up his instruction for the church.
(3:14) “Our people must also learn to engage in good deeds to meet pressing needs, so that they will not be unfruitful.”
DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE POINT?
Being indifferent to the righteous life God calls us to live
Is not a way to be fruitful.
Fruit comes from living in the knowledge of God’s truth & obeying it.
INDIFFERENCE DOES NOT PRODUCE FRUIT.
But there’s more.
4) DEPRAVITY (20)
“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!”
We see here confused and backward thinking.
Depravity simply means “moral corruption”
• It is when men do that which is morally wrong.
• It is when men do what they ought not do.
Scripture speaks clearly on the subject of depravity.
Romans 1:28-32 “And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.”
• It is just a list of things that are wrong.
• It is a list of things that should not be done.
• And it’s a list of things that not only invite the wrath of God, but things which God allows when His wrath sits upon a culture.
It is when men supplant the righteous standard of God
With their own righteous standard.
This, incidentally, is as SATANIC as it comes.
Calling what is evil, “good” is straight out of his playbook.
Genesis 3:4-6 “The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! “For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.”
When a culture or a person takes what God calls evil and calls it good
You can see no other influence behind it other than Satan.
I want to be as dogmatically clear on this as I can be because it is a problem in our culture and one that is even creeping into the church.
The hot-button front and center topic of our day is homosexuality.
• Whether it is gay marriage…
• Whether it is gender confusion…
• Whether it is homosexual behavior…
• Whether it is effeminate men…
• Whether it is radical feminism…
Those are all things that the world is championing as “good” things and those are things that God unequivocally calls evil.
We don’t set the standard, God does,
And He has definitively stated His views on such things.
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.”
Leviticus 18:22 “You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination.”
Deuteronomy 22:5 “A woman shall not wear man’s clothing, nor shall a man put on a woman’s clothing; for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD your God.”
Now you all know these things.
• You all know what Scripture says about them.
• So did the people in Isaiah’s day.
BUT NOTICE THE PROBLEM HERE
Is NOT that they were engaging in evil deeds.
What is the problem?
They were calling what was evil good.
(doesn’t say they were doing it, they were simply approving it)
“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;”
They were endorsing sinful behavior.
They would see a sinner doing what is evil and congratulate them
And even call their evil deeds good.
You can’t tell me this is not a problem of the church today.
THE CHURCH TODAY IS ABSOLUTELY LOSING HER BACKBONE.
We are so afraid of being labeled as hateful by a sinful culture
That we will applaud and approve anything.
Homosexuality is the top of the list when you see the number of “evangelicals” who now support gay marriage as a good thing.
But the list doesn’t stop there.
Sexual sin in general is being congratulated in this culture.
• Have you ever congratulated a couple for living together outside of marriage?
• Have you ever told them how happy you were for them?
• Have you ever congratulated a couple for conceiving a child out of wedlock?
HOW ABOUT OTHER SINS:
• Have you defended someone for being selfish?
• Have you ever approved someone’s idolatry or greed or lust?
• Have you ever assured someone God is not angry at their sin?
• Have you enabled someone to continue in their sin because you wanted them to like you?
That is SATANIC
That is what Satan does.
And that is what Israel was doing.
They called what was evil good.
• They “substitute darkness for light and light for darkness;”
• They “substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!”
And the problem is that it rendered them FRUITLESS
HOW?
Because they no longer distinguish themselves from the world.
They are grape vines that produce what the world produces.
Instead of righteousness and justice
They produce the same old rottenness of the world.
If you constantly “Amen” the logic of the world
How do you ever expect to be fruitful for the kingdom of God?
LET ME ASK YOU:
• Do you ever confront the backward thinking of the world?
• Do you ever call someone out on their depraved thinking?
• Do you ever disagree when someone says something wrong?
• Do you ever expose a lie for what it is?
Or do you always just nod and go with the flow?
• Do you just give your assent to their deceptive thinking because you don’t want to cause a division?
THAT IS FRUITLESS LIVING.
You certainly won’t find such procedure in the life of Jesus.
GO READ THE GOSPELS.
Most of the time when Jesus speaks
It is to directly confront and correct someone’s backward thinking.
• He was a walking confrontation.
• He was constantly exposing the depraved thinking of the world.
Listen to Paul:
2 Corinthians 10:3-6 “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete.”
Do you ever do that?
• Do you ever engage in spiritual warfare?
• Do you ever take a thought captive in obedience to Christ?
Ephesians 5:11 “Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them;”
How about that?
• Do you ever do that?
• Do you ever expose evil?
Consider the churches in the book of Revelation.
Listen to the times when Jesus rebukes those churches.
Revelation 2:14-15 “But I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality. ‘So you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.”
Revelation 2:20 “But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.”
Jesus was NOT looking for the church
That would join the world in their backward thinking.
Jesus was looking for the church that would confront the world
And call what was evil, “evil”.
Ephesians 6:10-13 “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.”
I love that last line.
“and having done everything, to stand firm.”
That means, when you’ve done all you can.
It may even feel like you’re losing the battle.
Everyone may be against you.
WHAT DO YOU DO AT THAT MOMENT?
You stand.
The church was called to be rock in the middle of the stream
But she is quickly becoming an innertube
Floating down stream with the rest of the world.
And this is why she is so often unfruitful!
The world can’t see any difference.
SO IT WAS WITH ISRAEL.
God wanted righteousness and justice from His vineyard,
But all He received was the same worthless fruit
That was growing outside His vineyard.
GRACE HAD MADE NO DIFFERENCE IN THEIR LIVES.
LISTEN, if God wanted you to tolerate sin, embrace folly, shake hands with immorality, congratulate abominable deeds, and strive to just get along with sinners then there was no need to redeem you.
If He wanted you to live and think and talk and act like the world
Then there would have been no need for grace in your life.
• He saved you so that you’d be different.
• He saved you so that you’d be fruitful.
• He saved you so that you’d be righteous even in a world that is sinful.
BUT
1. If you crave the things of the world as though Jesus is not sufficient…
2. If you entertain yourself with the world instead of spending time with Jesus…
3. If you hold on to the sin of the world with no care for what Jesus thinks about
it…
4. If you agree with the world and replace God’s standard of righteousness with
man’s standard…
Then you will never bear any fruit.
These were the sins which caused Israel to be unfruitful.
Because of her lack of fruit God was about to send them into exile.
He had no need of a vineyard which would not produce fruit.
I HOPE YOU HEAR THIS CHURCH.
What purpose does God have for a church in America that will not stand against the greed, sensuality, indifference, and depravity of America?
If we won’t be salt and we won’t be light
why would God feel the need to preserve our presence here?
The church must bear fruit; the fruit of righteousness and justice.
BECAUSE UNTIL WE PRESERVE RIGHTEOUSNESS
THE MESSAGE OF THE GOSPEL HAS NO APPEAL.
Why do men need to be forgiven if they do not understand their sin?
DO YOU SEE THE PROBLEM?
• When we crave what the world craves…
• When we love the world’s entertainment more than Christ…
• When we carry with us the same sin the world carries with no thought of judgment…
• When we tell sinners in their sin that it is good and ok…
HOW IS THAT FRUITFUL?
Was that the ministry of John the Baptist?
John just sat out there at the Jordan river drinking up the world, telling everyone who came to him, “You’re good, no need for you to repent or get baptized!”
What that how Jesus did it?
He just walked around Galilee buying up land and telling everyone He saw, “Don’t change a thing you are already perfectly acceptable to God.”
Did the apostles do it like that?
Went throughout the world attending parties and telling people in sin, “No problem, just stay right where you are, God is already pleased with you.”
YOU KNOW BETTER.
It is time for the church to wake up and start bearing fruit.
Well, there’s two more sins Israel was committing that were hindering their fruitfulness, we’ll look at them tonight.
