Series: Isaiah
Title: Certainty of Salvation
Text: Isaiah 30: 18-26
Date: July 25, 2010
Place: SGBC, New Jersey
As we behold the uncertainty in sinful man, God's children need to be re-assured that our God shall save us. In verses 18-26, the Lord declares 21 times what "shall and will" come to pass. Not one time are any of these promises attributed to the sinner for whom God "shall and will" perform these things. But all 21 times are declared to be what the Lord "shall and will" bring to pass himself, for his children. If you know even the slightest truth of your dire need for God to save you, then you rejoice in this most assuring word of our Lord.
Title: The Certainty of Salvation
Proposition: The following verses declare what God has done, and is doing, for his elect in this Gospel age. GOD "SHALL AND WILL" ACCOMPLISH HIS SOVEREIGN PURPOSE IN THE SALVATION OF HIS PEOPLE BY HIS OWN POWER AND GRACE.
Let's read our text together (last time we looked only at verse 18, let's read it again, down to verse 26--note the will's and shall's--the certainty of salvation.)
I. GOD SHALL BRING EACH CHOSEN CHILD OF GOD INTO INSEPARABLE UNION WITH THE GOD WE HAVE OFFENDED (Isaiah 30: 18, 19.)
· God has a chosen remnant in this sinful world--v19:…'The people.'
· God does all he requires of us and shall save each one--19: For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem:
· God will be gracious--very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry
· Will each one of God's elect children cry for him?--Yes--when he shall hear it, he will answer thee.
· Were it not God doing all this work, salvation would not be by grace. But salvation is all of grace. If salvation were not all of God, it could never be said, "the people shall".
· Those who have experienced the certainty of God's salvation, know this is so and this is why we--"shalt weep no more."
IN THE CHILDREN OF JUDAH WE SEE THE CONDITION OF EVERY SINNER GOD SAVES.
When Isaiah was sent to the deliver this message, Judah was not, and would not, rest in the Lord.
- They said, No! (Isaiah 30: 15, 16.)
- They looked to Egypt for salvation.
- None were seeking God.
- This is the case with every sinner whom God saves.
In Adam's, one transgression, our sins separated us from our God. God kicked Adam out of the garden, out of his presence and Adam could not longer enter in to God's presence because he was a rotten stench in God's nostrils because of sin.
The gospel is the good news of how the triune God, through the person and work Christ Jesus, accepts his children and brings each of his children back into his presence--into Mt. Zion, the church God purchased with his own blood, into his presence in heavenly Jerusalem.
Galatians 4:25: For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. 26: But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.
Hebrews 12: 18: For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, 19: And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words;…22: But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, 23: To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, 24: And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. 25: See that ye refuse not him that speaketh.
Revelation 3:12: Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.
Note: Any sinner can go to that earthly city Jerusalem or that earthly Mount Zion. But none can be brought into this union with God, but by God's grace, by God-given faith in the person of Christ Jesus.
Every child of God, regenerated to newness of life, are children of Zion, dwelling in the gospel church which God purchased with his own blood. We have been brought--not to Jerusalem which is below, which is yet in bondage with her children--but to Mount Zion--the church of the living God; to the city of the living God, Jerusalem which is above. Paul teaches us that so plainly in the allegory of Sara and Hagar:
II. THE SALVATION OF EACH CHOSEN CHILD OF GOD IS A CERTAINTY BECAUSE EACH SHALL BE BORN OF THE SPIRIT OF GOD AND TAUGHT THROUGH THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST (Isaiah 30: 20, 21.)
God shall give the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, but it is bread and it is water (life, nourishment) as he teaches us not to trust in the things of this world. "Yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers…" (Isaiah 30: 20.)
Scott Richardson--No bad news since I heard the good news.
Christ is King, High Priest, but he is also, THE PROPHET
The certainty of this word is because Christ our King, our High Priest, is also, THE PROPHET. The government of all nations is in Christ's hand (Psalm 22: 28; Isaiah 9: 6; Matthew 28: 18.) He is our King Christ, our David, seated on his throne in heavenly Jerusalem. His rule is absolute and unlike any man--all power is his to work his sovereign will in calling out his brethren as he sings unto his brethren in the midst of the great congregation through the voice of his watchmen, lifting up their voices together with his and making it effectual through the Spirit Christ sends from the Father (Isaiah 52: 6, 7, 8; Psalm 22: 22; Hebrews 2: 11, 12.)
Hebrews 12: 1: God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, 2: Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son,
Thine eyes shall see thy teachers…
1. First, the Word was made flesh. He came into the temple and read the prophet Isaiah and all eyes were upon him.
Luke 4:20: And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21: And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
1 John 1:2: (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)
2. Secondly, when Christ ascended he gave teachers to care for his redeemed, his body. Just as real as Christ came in the flesh, he is now speaking through the teachers he sends.
Ephesians 4: 11:…some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 12: For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:…14: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; 15: But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: 16: From whom the whole body fitly joined together
When he sent his disciples to preach the truth concerning him he said, "Lo, I be with you always." According to his word, God our Savior is not with men who use "sleight" and "cunning craftiness",
- Not with those boasting of the will of the flesh (free will)
- Not with those boasting of salvation by blood kinship
- Not with those boasting of salvation by the will of man (by what mother and daddy did for you when you were too young to know it.)
- Not with those boasting that Christ died for all men without exception so that they can lie and make sinners think Christ's blood is only effectual if you exercise your choice to believe him--when he entered into glory the scripture says "he hath obtained eternal redemption for us." All those for whom he died were redeemed when Christ said it is finished.
But Christ is speaking through those who use great plainness of speech, declaring, "Thy God reigneth." By his Voice, speaking the truth in love, we are born, rooted, grounded, and grow up IN HIM IN ALL THINGS! The truth is to the praise of the glory of his grace, not the praise of the glory of something sinners do!
3. Thirdly, Christ receives the glory in sending forth the Holy Spirit through whom he makes his word effectual in the hearts of his children (Isaiah 30: 21.)
John 15:26: But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
Through the Spirit, Christ's word is made effectual in the new heart-
- thine ears shall hear!--we don't hear till he makes us hear.
- a word behind thee--when ye turn to the right hand and when ye turn to the left--we turned our backs to God, we turn left and right--but he shall make us to walk in THE WAY.
John 16:13: Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
Christ is the Way (Isaiah 30: 21.)--this is THE WAY walk ye in it.
· The Way in whom God blessed his children with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places according as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world
· The Way God can be just and the Justifier of all who believe
· The Way of acceptance in the very presence of our God
· The Way of Blood Redemption (Heb. 9:22; 10:19-22).
· The Way of Grace Alone (John 1:11-13).
· The Way of Personal Faith (Acts 16:31).
· The Way of Heartfelt Repentance (Luke 13:3; I John 1:9)
· The Way who justified and sanctified us
· The Way of Comfort and Strength.
· The Way of Reviving and Refreshing.
Thy teachers shall not be removed any more (Isaiah 30: 20.)
John 14: 17:…he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
1 John 2:27: But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.
III. GOD SHALL GRANT REPENTANCE UNTO EACH OF HIS ELECT TURNING US FROM OUR FALSE GODS TO THE TRUE AND LIVING GOD (Isaiah 30: 22.)
We may think of the idols which they made which God never commanded to be made. But there were many vessels given by God to foreshadow Christ Jesus which were made of gold and silver.
Hebrews 9:4: Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant;
In their depravity those very instruments of God were as much idols to the children of Judah as those they made which God never commanded to be made. The same holds true for religious, unregenerate sinners in our day. In the vanity of our imagination sinners make idols of the means God uses.
· Many seek life in the letter of the scriptures (John 5: 39, 40.)
· In coming to the house of God (Isaiah 1: 12-15.)
· In learning systems of doctrine (Isaiah 29: 13; Matthew 15: 7-9.)
Until God reveals Christ in us these are as much idols as the children of Judah made idols of those means God gave to point them to Christ. But lGod promised to give pastors to feed with knowledge and understanding so that the ark of the covenant (the golden object they worshipped as an idol) to no more come to mind, but to know and trust Christ our true Ark. (Jeremiah 3: 15-19.)
There is no possibility that those who have their conscious purged by the blood of Christ shall continue in dead works. But they shall be purged from dead works to serve the living God.
Jeremiah 31:33: But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people
Hebrews 9:14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
· Apostle Paul--I count it dung! (Philippians 3: 4-9.)
· The multitude on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2: 37, 41-47.)
· The Prodigal Son (Luke 15: 17.)
· Every sinner saved by grace
IV. GOD SHALL FEED HIS CHILDREN WITH THE PURE BREAD AND WATER OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST THROUGH THIS GOSPEL I DECLARE TO YOU NOW! (Isaiah 30: 23-26.)
The Seed God gave is Christ. The Incorruptible Word of God by which the Gospel is Preached Unto You, is the Seed by which we are born of God (Isaiah 30: 23.)
I Peter 1: 23: Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. 24: For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: 25: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.
The mouth of God's teachers drops like rain upon the tender herb, and as showers on the grass. God promises the rain of the gospel in spirit and in truth. We plant and another waters but God gives the increase--The bread of the increase of the earth is of God. And it shall be fat and plenteous
Believers are cattle--sheep--feeding in a large pasture. (Isaiah 30: 23.)
Psalms 23:2: He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
John 10; 14: I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. 15: As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16: And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.
The oxen and the asses are God's ambassador's used to work the field (Isaiah 30: 24.) Paul tells us this:
I Corinthians 9: 9: For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen? 10: Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope.
God's teachers feed on the same clean provender as the rest of God's sheep. We feed on the same food that God uses to feed his sheep--not corn mixed with husks, but the pure gospel of Christ, winnowed with the shovel and the fan. Though God's children shall be attended with afflictions, yet they shall have spiritual consolation. Their teachers should not be removed from them anymore. David said,
Psalm 37:25: I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.
There shall be rivers and streams of water in every High Mountain and High Hill (Isaiah 20: 25)
The high mountain and the high hill are a description of the local assemblies--God promises rivers and streams of water: both in the flow of the gospel and in its effects in the hearts of his people.
John 7:38: He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
Again, this is a certainty because the government is in Christ's hand. He is our King Christ, our David, seated on his throne in heavenly Jerusalem working in all power in the earth in the midst of his church.
The Gospel Light Shall Shine Bright For His People (Isaiah 30: 26.)
Christ is the Light--the Sun of Righteousness, the Daystar that arises in the hearts of his people (Malachi 4: 2; Isaiah 60: 1-3; 19, 20; Matthew 4: 16; Luke 1: 78; Revelation 22: 16.)
- Christ has bound up the breach of his people
- Christ has healed the stroke of our wound
- Christ Jesus the Sun of Righteousness has risen to the right hand of the Father in Perfection, shining sevenfold, as the Light of seven days.
Isaiah 53:5: But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
The moon has no light in itself. It is given light by the sun even as the believer's light is Christ the Sun of Righteousness. So listen to this word of the glorious, inseparable oneness between Christ the Light and the vessels in whom he abides:
The light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun (Isaiah 30: 26.)
Psalm 89:15: Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O LORD, in the light of thy countenance.
Proverbs 16:15: In the light of the king’s countenance is life; and his favour is as a cloud of the latter rain.
This, my brethren, is the certainty of our salvation.
Amen!