Grosey's Messages

 

Isaiah 1  The Gospel of Isaiah

The whole first chapter of Isaiah is a court scene.  It's a crown case.  The Lord brings an arraignment against His people.  He says, "I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against Me.”  “Instead of worshiping God and giving glory to God, they give their lives and their hearts and their possessions and the love of their souls to everything else in the world and leave God out." That's God's arraignment, and He calls them to trial.

Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the Lord has spoken. (Isaiah 1:2a)

“Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me.” (v. 2b)

Why should one listen to the message of the prophets and of Holy Scripture? In an age of doubt and the rationalistic criticism of Scripture, this remains a vital question for the church and all believers. Scripture is the word of God given through the apostles and prophets. God gives His word to His people in times of need and guidance. This word from God is the only reason that the church has any authority to speak to the world and call it to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. The message of the church is that Jesus Christ has died for sinners so that they might be righteous and children of God. All who repent and believe in Jesus are saved from sin and the wrath of God. This message of salvation confronts the world in its fallenness and brokenness and tells of the God who has died for the world. God’s revelation is the only reason that the church can stand and proclaim this great truth that Jesus has come and died for sinners.  We only have something to say because God has spoken, He spoke first: irrefutably, unrelentingly, and demands that you and I and the whole world answer to Him!

The prophet Isaiah wrote to show Judah and Jerusalem the cause of their troubles and the way out.

While the book of Isaiah has authority to speak to the Jews at that time, this book speaks to you and I even more powerfully. It is recognized as the Old Testament gospel! It is quoted more times than any Old Testament book in the New Testament!  Its main subject, though written 700 years before Christ, is Christ! 

Sometimes God shouts to us in our troubles. And sometimes we cannot hear Him because we are so focused on our troubles we forget to listen to Him! And so we try our own wisdom and our own ways to get us out of troubles. We try false ways of dealing with trouble.

And God has already the announced the true way of deliverance.

Isaiah's message is still relevant today because it deals with man's relationship to God.  God never changes. Man’s problems are usually variants of the same problem: Sin.

Isaiah asks us to listen to his message because it is a vision from God. It is not his own ideas. God spoke through Isaiah.

The evidence that Isaiah's message is from God includes:

The sublime and elevating character of the message.

The unity of message across prophets separated by time. 

The historical accuracy of predictions.

The timeless relevance of the message.

Isaiah's message is summarized in the first chapter.

As the book of Isaiah has come to us, chapters 1–5 form a distinct section— like a ‘preface’ to Isaiah’s collected prophecies. It summarises the whole book in some ways.

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.

Israel was in a state of complete desolation and ruin. The text describes:

A country that was desolate; Cities that were burned with fire;  Land that strangers were devouring;

This represented Israel's spiritual and physical condition - they were isolated, conquered, and watching helplessly as others consumed what once belonged to them.

Isaiah starts with what must have been obvious—even if the people will not accept his diagnosis, they cannot quarrel with his facts! Nationally (2–9), foreign invasions (7–8) have left a trail of desolation so that the ‘body politic’ (5c–6) is like the victim of a savage mugging. Religiously (10–20), there has been punctilious devotion —sacrifices in abundance (11), temple attendance (12), monthly and weekly observances (13–14), prayers (15)—but it has not got through to God and has done nothing to rectify the national plight. And socially (21–26), the city life is degenerate and dangerous (21), its leaders corrupt and self seeking (23a–d) and its needy uncared for (23ef).

But the cause of trouble is sin.  Man's troubles are due to his own rebellion against God.  Even though we might blame circumstances outside our control. We may choose to see only the trouble, but not recognize our own responsibility for our own sinfulness.

It is not immigration laws that cause a higher rate of crime in Australia today. It is sin.  And that news I bring to you today comes to you via a great great grandson of a convict!

The essence of man's trouble is sin, which is rebellion against God, not just individual sins. Sin is about man's relationship to God.

“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).

God raised up prophets like Isaiah to show people their sin, call them to repentance, and offer mercy. 

Even when shown the damage caused by sin, people continue to live in rebellion, not listening to God’s call to repent. While even animals know their master and know the master provides their food and all that they have, people refuse to acknowledge God and all the blessings that come from His merciful hands. Humanity loves sin and wickedness more than their gracious God who has promised to give all things to those who love Him and believe in His name.

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

The prophet sees God’s people missing the point of life (“sinful nation”), oppressed with failure (“laden with iniquity”),7 going from bad to worse (“offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly”). But he isn’t railing. The word “Ah!” signals that this is a lament. Hear that in the prophet’s tone. He is not nagging; he is weeping. It is a solemn thing to see God’s children, called to greatness, dissolving into the opposite. How does this happen? Isaiah sees through the infestation of surface-level sins, down to the root.

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."

Do we really forsake the Lord and despise the Holy One? From his point of view, yes. How so? To forsake the Lord is to treat him as the last resort rather than as the fountainhead. To despise God is to disrelish him, to put a discount on God while valuing other things. And that condition of the heart estranges us from God because of who God is — “the Holy One of Israel.” He is both the Holy One and our Holy One. Jonathan Edwards explains the moral significance of that: Our obligation to love, honor and obey any being is in proportion to his loveliness, honor and authority. Therefore, sin against God, being a violation of infinite obligations, must be a crime infinitely heinous and so deserving infinite punishment. If there is any evil in sin against God, it is infinite evil.

What Does This Teach About the Nature of Sin?

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. And the daughter of Zion is left like a booth in a vineyard, like a lodge in a cucumber field, like a besieged city. (ESV)

Sin always leads to misery and unhappiness.

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

Sin makes false promises - "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 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.

1. God’s Arraignment

2. God’s Argument

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;

20 but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken."

What Solution Can We Offer to the Problem of Sin?

Consider the Invitation

Isaiah 1:16-18, God calls sinners to "Come now, let us reason together,"

God demonstrates the rightness of His demands, the justice of His judgment, and now he invites us to consider the grace of His offer of forgiveness.

The first principle is the rightness of God's demands on us. God made us and has the right to lay down conditions for us. His demands are right and good. 

The second principle is the justice of God's punishment of our failure and sin. God has the right to judge and has told us He will punish sin. We deserve punishment according to God's judgment. 

The third principle is the grace of God's offer. Though we deserve punishment, God offers forgiveness, justification, renewal and blessing. 

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. 

God’s Arraignment       God’s Argument

God’s Acquittal

Isaiah’s name means God saves. God is salvation. Salvation is of the Lord!!

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!14

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.

We must realize we are a phenomenon and monstrosity because of our sin, then we must repent, and believe in Jesus to be saved.

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’s Arraignment of you           God’s Argument to you         God’s Acquittal Provided for you

God’s Appeal to you personally

Repent. This is a command that many, even those outside of the church, are familiar with. But what actually is repentance?

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 1:10-17. 

Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom! Give ear to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomorrah! 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. 14 Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hates; they have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. 15 When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood. 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.

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?

Thomas Watson, the Puritan pastor, offers us incentives to say yes to God:

Have you repented? God looks upon you as if you had not offended. He becomes a friend, a father. He will now bring forth the best robe and put it on you. God is pacified towards you and will, with the father of the prodigal, fall upon your neck and kiss you. . . . Have you been penitentially humbled?

The Lord will never upbraid you with your former sins. After Peter wept, we never read that Christ upbraided him with his denial of him. God has cast your sins into the depth of the sea. How? Not as cork, but as lead. . . . O the music of conscience! Conscience is turned into a paradise, and there a Christian sweetly solaces himself and plucks the flowers of joy. The repenting sinner can go to God with boldness in prayer and look upon him not as a Judge but as a Father. He is born of God and is heir to a kingdom. He is encircled with promises. He no sooner shakes the tree of the promise but some fruit falls

Repentance means that a man, having come to the end of his own wisdom and having seen an end to all other human wisdom submits himself utterly and absolutely to [the Bible] because it is the wisdom of God.

Have you sincerely repented and taken the free offer of the gospel for your life?

GOD'S CALL TO ME Fred Scott Shepard

"Come now...though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as snow." Isa. 1:18.

God's call to me is a call of grace;       "Come out from the life of sin;

My blood will cleanse you from ev'ry stain;      Make pure without and within."

 "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy  laden and I will give you rest."  Matt:28

 God's call to me is a call of love: "Come unto Me and find rest;

If weary ladened and burdened sore,    My presence should be your quest."

 "My grace is sufficient for you for My strength is made perfect in weakness." II Cor. 12:9.

God's call to me is a call of power; "Go work at your daily task;

My strength shall be yours, my wisdom too, If you will but only ask."