Grosey's Messages

The Gospel  According To Isaiah

Qumran  Dead Sea Scrolls

The whole first chapter of Isaiah is a court scene.  It's a crown case.  

1. God's Arraignment
Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the Lord has spoken. "Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me." (Isaiah 1:2)
Isaiah 1:7-8, Your country lies desolate; your cities are burned with fire; in your very presence foreigners devour your land; it is desolate, as overthrown by foreigners. 8 And the daughter of Zion is left like a booth in a vineyard, like a lodge in a cucumber field, like a besieged city.

"The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master's crib, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand."  (v. 3)

Man was made to live for God's glory but rebelled. This is why the world is in trouble. 

Motyer: Isaiah sets this three-part analysis of the contemporary scene as if in a court of law. In verse 2ab the witnesses are called, in verses 2c–23 the charges are laid and in verses 24–30 sentence is pronounced. Behind the observable facts Isaiah discerns the hidden causes: rebellion against the Lord (2d) as the root of national calamity (5); personal guilt nullifying religious practice (15); social degeneration through abandonment of justice and righteousness (21). All this gives colour to a comparison with Sodom (9–10) and builds a case for divine punitive action (5, 20, 24, 28, 29–31), but, typically of Isaiah, there is also a surprise: hope is affirmed. The Lord has not left his people (9); when he acts it will also be to purge and restore (25–26), and the very justice and righteousness they abandoned (21) will be affirmed in a divine work of redemption (27).

Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly! They have forsaken the Lord, They have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged. (Isaiah 1:4)

People love their sin, but it leads only to death and despair.

Sin is rebellion against God. It denotes a wrong attitude and relationship towards God. 

Sin blinds the mind and renders man ignorant and incapable of thought. Man fails to think and reason. Sin perverts man and makes a fool of him. Man behaves in an unnatural and stupid manner, worse than beasts.  Man is ignorant of what he was meant to be - the companion of God, meant to share in God's glory.  Man is ignorant of his utter dependence on God. He thinks he is clever and independent but, in the end, his life is in God's hands.

Man is ignorant of the excellence of the provision God supplies - the message of salvation in Christ.

This isn't merely historical study but "a very up-to-date word" for today. The same spiritual principles apply to our modern world. Our world today is "in the same position" as Israel was then.

The physical consequences in Israel's case represented deeper spiritual realities.

"What happens in the material world around us, in Australia, in Sydney, in this church, is a representation of what happens in the realm of the spiritual."
Isaiah 1:7-8, Your country lies desolate; your cities are burned with fire; in your very presence foreigners devour your land; it is desolate, as overthrown by foreigners. 8 And the daughter of Zion is left like a booth in a vineyard, like a lodge in a cucumber field, like a besieged city.

Sin always leads to misery and unhappiness.

Sin is subtle and deceptive  and always comes in a most enticing form.

Sin makes false promises – it always offers life, always offers a good time.

Sin results in total loss rather than gain.

Sin robs people of their most priceless possessions.

Sin enslaves - making people utterly slaves to their own desires and habits.

Sin eventually isolates - leaving people alone "like a cottage in a vineyard."

Sin, having taken all out of me, having fooled me and robbed me leaves me at the end as a lonely, isolated, miserable wreck. Sin takes us further than we want to go, keeps us longer than we want to stay, costs us more than we want to pay. Sin affects everything and its results are seen in many of the difficult daily patterns of life.

Its consequences reach into every area of existence. When disasters strike, people often wonder about the reason behind why something like that happens. Sin alone explains the state of the world as it is in complete rebellion to God and His character. Christians know that the wrong choices they make will result in bad things, and yet still choose to do them. Sin never gives anything of value but instead robs of what is best. After this, sin leaves the sinner alone and isolated.

What About Our Religion?

11 "What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the LORD; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats. 12 "When you come to appear before me, who has required of you this trampling of my courts?  13 Bring no more vain offerings; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations--- I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly. .. even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood.

Motyer But the people were extremely religious: they expended time on monthly, weekly and other observances (13); the financial cost of sacrifices and offerings (11) was considerable. It would be strange if they did not ask why, since they did so much for him, the Lord seemed to be doing nothing for them. But that is just the point: their religion was 'what we do for God' and not 'how we enter into the grace he offers to us'. The Lord cannot bear wickedness coupled with religious punctiliousness. The hands they raised in prayer were blood-stained from wrongdoing (15). The rituals, divorced from its source in a heart grateful for redemption, and from its function in the obedient life—was meaningless and abhorrent to the Lord (13).

2. God's Appeal

16 Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, 17 learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause. 18 "Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. 19 If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land;

It is extraordinary that God would even want to reason with us who are sinners. But in mercy He does. Consider this: the God of the universe, the Creator, has called sinful humans to come to Him.  God calls sinners to reason with Him, to have a discussion about their sins.

God addresses an appeal to man through the prophet Isaiah. There is nothing more astonishing than God appealing to and calling upon men.  God says "Come now, let us reason together." This is an invitation to a discussion and to state our case before God. It shows God's fairness, reasonableness and condescension.  "Come now, let us reason together" also contains an element of challenge. God will allow us to say anything but then He will answer and we must answer Him. 

3. God's Acquittal

18 "Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.

The name Isaiah means: God saves.  God is salvation.  Salvation is of the Lord. God saves sinners

J. I. Packer puts into words the greatness of the Isaianic message: God saves sinners. God — the Triune Jehovah, Father, Son and Holy Spirit; three Persons working together in sovereign wisdom, power and love to achieve the salvation of a chosen people, the Father electing, the Son fulfilling the Father's will by redeeming, the Spirit executing the purpose of the Father and Son by renewing. Saves — does everything, first to last, that is involved in bringing man from death in sin to life in glory: plans, achieves and communicates redemption, calls and keeps, justifies, sanctifies, glorifies. Sinners — men as God finds them, guilty, vile, helpless, powerless, blind, unable to lift a finger to do God's will or better their spiritual lot. God saves sinners. . . . Sinners do not save themselves in any sense at all, but salvation, first and last, whole and entire, past, present and future, is of the Lord, to whom be glory forever, amen!

God made this offer of salvation possible through sending His Son Jesus Christ. Christ's life, death and resurrection enable God to forgive and justify us.

Consider the promises and the call to life in the gospels that Jesus extends to those who are lost.  Unlike the problems of sin, Jesus promises to never leave His people, and He fulfills the promises He makes.The Solution is Christ alone: Jesus Christ who died and rose from the grave, reigning over all so that all who believe may have eternal life abundantly. Christ is "the only one" who can help in our isolation. He "takes away our guilt" and bears our punishment. He reconciles us to God. He promises to "never leave us nor forsake us." Unlike sin which robs, the gospel "gives and gives us gloriously."

Sin fools us, robs us, leaves us helpless, leaves us hopeless, leaves us isolated, whereas the gospel gives and gives us gloriously, gives us continuously, gives us endlessly.

The Gospel gives us everything and it gives us the Giver Himself as the greatest gift.

God showed the greatest love by sending Jesus to save us from the punishment our sin deserves

Jesus has offered to take sins that are as red as scarlet and make them as white as snow. As the old hymn communicates so poetically, there is a fountain filled with blood that is drawn from Emmanuel's veins. Yet, sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.

Trust in Jesus today for forgiveness from sins.

We cannot meet God's demands on our own. We need God's mercy, grace and the blood of Christ to cleanse us.  If we accept God's offer, though our sins are as scarlet they shall be white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, they shall be like wool. We will be cleansed and made righteous in Christ. this phrase shows God's extraordinary condescension to humanity.

Can you get rid of the guilt of your past sins? Can you wash yourself and make yourself clean?" 

We cannot, and therefore we stand condemned unless we accept God's gracious offer in Christ.

 

God Calls You To Repent And Return To Him

Isaiah 1:10 Hear the word of the LORD, ..If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken." (vv. 19, 20)

What does it means to repent and why every single person ever born is in need of repenting. People who trust in Christ for their salvation from sin do so because they see their need. The word "repent," he says, means literally to stop and think again. With the culture moving along from day to day at a blistering pace, it is imperative that all stop and think soberly about what they believe regarding eternity— they must repent. The second aspect of repentance when someone is coming to faith in Christ is a changing of the mind, realizing they have been wrong regarding their beliefs about Him, and put their complete dependence on Him for forgiveness from their sins. Third, repentance is ceasing to rely on one's own capacity and wisdom. Finally, repentance is utter submission to God and His word. Repentance is not when one cries over their sin; it's when they turn from it and change to follow the Lord instead.

The prophet Isaiah calls the people of Israel to repentance in Isaiah 1:10 Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom! Give ear to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomorrah!

Repentance involves thinking again about one's life and beliefs. It requires a change of mind and turning from sin.  True repentance means ceasing to rely on one's own wisdom and understanding. It requires submitting to God's wisdom found in Scripture. There are several barriers to repentance:

1. Pride of intellect - unwillingness to admit one's thinking is wrong.

2. Natural prejudices - the gospel contradicts human expectations about earning salvation.

3. Need to fully understand - refusing to believe what cannot be completely comprehended.

4. Fear of ridicule - concern about the world's mockery of Christian belief.

5. Failure to recognize one's condition - not seeing the need for change.

Repentance requires humility: "If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken." (vv. 19, 20)

The simple clarity here implies one thing: All that keeps us from renewal with God is our own stubbornness. It isn't as though the path forward is mysteriously hard to find. Is God's appeal unreasonable or irrelevant? He isn't demanding that we be perfect. All he wants is that we be open and responsive. Is that asking too much?