Natural men and women, unsaved, unregenerate professors of religion, sometimes become excited and zealous about Christ and the gospel of God's free and sovereign grace in him. In a sense, they often get just as excited about the doctrines of grace as true believers do, maybe even more so, at least for a while. But after a while the luster and beauty of grace grows dim in their eyes, the glory of substitution is lost to them. After a while, the lost religionist gets tired of the gospel of Christ. He wants something new, something more profound, something mysterious. Like the children of Israel in the wilderness, the natural man has no real taste and relish in his soul for the manna of heaven. He soon longs for the leeks and onions of Egypt.
Such people may or may not openly deny the gospel. But, in time, they get tired of hearing the sweet message of Christ crucified. They grow weary of hearing about grace, free, sovereign grace, and nothing but grace. The manna of heaven tastes stale to them.
I have seen this happen so many times that it frightens me. I am fearful for you, just as Paul was for the Corinthians (2 Cor. 11:2-3).
2 Corinthians 11:2-3 "For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. (3) But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ."
Satan is a crafty, subtle deceiver. He does not care what the issue is by which men and women are beguiled, so long as they are beguiled. He does not care what he gets you to embrace, so long as he gets you to turn away from Christ. When the fiend of hell turns anyone away from Christ, he has won the day. That frightens me.
There are four dangers to which we are all naturally susceptible, four snares of Satan by which multitudes have been deceived. Many men who were once so promising, so encouraging, so impressive have been turned away from Christ by one of these four satanic snares. Mark them and be warned.
1. WORLDLINESS
Worldliness is a very great danger. The care of this world and the deceitfulness of riches, the love of the world (its riches, its power, its acceptance, its pleasures), have slain many in time. Usually, these weeds do their work slowly, but they do it effectively. Beware, my friends of worldliness!
Matthew 13:22 "He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful."
1 John 2:15-17 "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. (16) For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. (17) And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever."
2. ARMINIANISM
Arminianism is a great danger to us because we are all proud Arminians by nature. No matter how thoroughly convinced we are of free grace, our proud, sinful nature still cries up freewill. We all want to build the altar at which we worship by our own hands (Ex. 20:24-25). We all want to think that salvation, at least some part of salvation, at least in some measure, is of our own doing.
Exodus 20:24-25 "An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee. (25) And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it."
Arminianism is a monster with many heads. Every time it raises one of its ugly heads, cut it off quickly. Do not endure for a moment any thought that promotes man's dignity, or any thought that robs God of his glory.
Romans 9:16 "So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy."
3. INTELLECTUALISM
Being proud, arrogant worms, we all have to face the danger of intellectualism, too. Satan knows how proud we all are of our puny brains. Because we are so very proud of our mental abilities, we vainly imagine that by much study and diligent research we can find out all things. We foolishly imagine that we can by searching find out God! So we give ourselves to answering one question, then another, and then another.
Those who give in to this lust of the flesh soon make the gospel of Christ a sideline, because there is no end to foolish questions. And when the gospel of Christ becomes a sideline in any church or ministry, Satan has won the day (1 Tim. 1:4; 2 Tim. 2:23; Tit. 3:9).
We all have a tendency to become sidetracked by issues, questions, and events.
1 Timothy 1:4 "Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do."
2 Timothy 2:23 "But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes."
Titus 3:9 "But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain."
I have even heard some men boast that they came to know the gospel, not by divine revelation, but by their own great brilliance and disciplined study.
4. LEGALISM
Then we face the danger of legalism. It is more difficult for a person to be weaned from legalism than from any other tendency of human nature. The spirit of bondage and legality is more frequently and more forcefully dealt with in the New Testament than any other error. To one degree or another, worldliness, Arminianism, and intellectualism all have their roots in the spirit of legality. Let me be crystal clear.
Legalism is any doctrine which teaches that man can be justified before God by something he does.
Legalism is any doctrine which makes sanctification and holiness something a man does for himself.
Legalism is any doctrine which teaches that man can put God under obligation to him, that man can, by something he does merit God's favor.
Legalism is any attempt to bring the people of God back under the bondage of the law.
This demon of legality must be exposed and eradicated. The Holy Spirit says, "Cast out the bondwoman and her child." Nothing is more harmful, or more deadly than this foolish attachment of sinful men to the law.
Legalism, in any form, to any degree is totally contrary to the gospel of Christ. Law and grace simply will not mix. We who believe on Christ, we who are saved by the free grace of God in Christ are not under the law in any sense, to any degree, for any reason. We will not, we must not, allow anyone to bring us under the yoke of bondage to the law. (Rom. 6:15; 7:4; 10:4; Gal. 3:1-3, 13, 24-25; 5:1-4; 6:12-13; Col. 2:16-17; 1 Tim. 1:5-10).
Romans 6:15 "What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid."
Romans 7:4 "Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God."
Romans 10:4 "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth."
Galatians 3:1-3 "O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? (2) This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? (3) Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?"
Galatians 3:13 "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:"
Galatians 3:24-25 "Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. (25) But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster."
Galatians 5:1-4 "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. (2) Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. (3) For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. (4) Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace."
Galatians 6:12-13 "As many as desire to make a fair show in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised; only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ. (13) For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law; but desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh."
Colossians 2:16-17 "Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: (17) Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ."
1 Timothy 1:5-10 "Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned: (6) From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling; (7) Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm. (8) But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully; (9) Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, (10) For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;"
We are saved by grace. We are justified by grace. We are sanctified by grace. We are kept and preserved by grace. We are motivated by grace. We are governed by grace. We shall be glorified by grace. And there is no room in the house of grace for the whip of the law.
I use great plainness of speech because I want to be understood. Let men call me a foul, base antinomian and promoter of licentiousness as often and as loudly as they please. I will not be moved. There is no room for Hagar in Sarah's house! You cannot rest on Zion's hill of grace until you quit trying to climb Sinai's dark, high mountain. Ishmael shall never be heir with Isaac.
You can have either grace or works, but not both. You can have either Moses or Christ, but not both. You can either work or rest, but you cannot do both! Any mixture of law with grace is a total denial of grace. If you cling to the one, you cannot hold the other!
Romans 11:6 "And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work."
I urge you, my friends, do not allow anyone, or anything, to take you away from Christ! If anyone grows weary of Christ and the gospel of God's free and sovereign grace in him, they will soon grow weary of this preacher. I have made up my mind. My feet are planted in concrete. By the grace of God, "I am determined not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ and him crucified!" After the pattern of the New Testament and the Apostles, I am determined to preach the gospel of Christ with boldness, sincerity, and simplicity. I hope never to be turned away from this blessed work.
THIS IS MY DOCTRINE – Ephesians 2:8-10 "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: (9) Not of works, lest any man should boast. (10) For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."
THIS IS MY HOPE- 2 Corinthians 5:21 "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him."
THIS IS MY MOTTO – Psalms 115:1 "Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake."
Now, let me tell you how things are going to be WHEN GOD GETS DONE. Open your Bibles to Isaiah 45. Hold them open on your laps at verses 20-25.
Isaiah 45:20-25 "Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save. (21) Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me. (22) Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. (23) I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. (24) Surely, shall one say, in the LORD have I righteousness and strength: even to him shall men come; and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed. (25) In the LORD shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory."
Proposition: Here the Lord God himself speaks to sinners about who he is, what he is determined to do, and how we may be saved by him.
Divisions: In these verses, the Lord God tells us four things. May God the Holy Spirit now write them upon our hearts.
1. Those who worship at the altar of a god who cannot save have not knowledge (v. 20).
2. He who is God indeed is sovereign, just and saving (v. 21).
3. The only way any sinner can ever be saved is by looking to this great and glorious God, who reveals himself in Christ (v. 22).
4. When God gets done with this world, everybody is going to know who he is (vv. 23-25).
2Also preached at The Gospel Church of San Jose, San Jose, CA (1-28-99).
I. THOSE WHO WORSHIP AT THE ALTAR OF A "GOD" WHO CANNOT SAVE HAVE NO KNOWLEDGE.
Isaiah 45:20 "Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save."
All men and women are religious. Everyone has some kind of religion Everyone has some concept of God, and some form of religious faith and hope. The fact is, most people are very religious. I do not suggest for a moment that they are spiritual, or that they are saved; but most people are quite religious. The vast majority of the people we meet and do business with, most of our friends, and most of our relatives are described by our Lord as people who have entered the wide gate and walk in the broad way that leads to destruction. They have entered into and walk in "a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death" (Pro. 16:25).
In this twentieth verse, God tells us three things about all lost, unregenerate, religious people.
A. "They have no knowledge."
We are not told that they have a little knowledge or misguided knowledge; but that "they have no knowledge." Lost, unregenerate, religious people have absolutely no spiritual knowledge. Their ignorance is blatantly manifest almost every time they open their mouths. In order for a person to know anything spiritual, he must be born again (John 3:3-7). He must be taught of God. He must have the mind of Christ imparted to him in regeneration.
1 Corinthians 2:14-16 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. (15) But he that is spiritual judgeth (discerns) all things, yet he himself is judged (discerned) of no man. (16) For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
It does not matter how religious people are. It does not matter how long they have studied the Bible and studied what men say about the Bible. It does not matter how much experience they have, or how phenomenal their experience is. Natural, unregenerate people have no knowledge of…
B They "set up the wood of their graven image."
They all worship a god that they have whittled out of the dark forests of their own depraved minds.
Romans 1:21-23 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. (22) Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, (23) And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
I realize that the refined, civilized, educated people I preach to around the country do not worship images carved from tree stumps, chiseled from granite, or molded even from gold and silver. Yet, most of the people in Baptist churches (as well as all others without exception) in America worship a little, peanut god which they have whittled from their own little, peanut minds, a god that no more resembles the God of the Bible than a gnat. He is described in the next line of our text.
C. They worship, serve, and "pray unto a god that cannot save."
Turn to 2 Timothy 3. Here the Apostle Paul tells us that in these last days "perilous times shall come." Now notice in verse five how he describes the men and women of this age. Remember, he is describing religious people.
2 Timothy 3:5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
Our Lord Jesus said to the Jews and religious leaders of his day, "Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God" (Matt. 22:29). That is exactly what is wrong with the religious world in which we live. The Apostle Paul describes all legalistic, Arminian free-will, works religion as "another gospel," the preaching another god, another Jesus, another spirit, and another salvation. He here calls it a religion that is a mere "form of godliness;" and he declares that it is a mere form of godliness because it denies the power of God.
NOTE: The power of God, the power of godliness, in this context, is the gospel, which is the power of God unto salvation. Lost religionists do not deny the omnipotence of God, but the gospel of God!
Bro. Henry Mahan had an article in his bulletin several years ago dealing with this very issue. He listed five areas in which the religion of our day is but a mere form of godliness.
1. A FORM of godliness says, "God wills to save all men;" denying His POWER adds, "but He cannot save unless men open their hearts to him."
2. A FORM of godliness says, "God has a wonderful plan for men and women;" denying His POWER adds, "but you must allow Him to have His will and way."
3. A FORM of godliness says, "Christ died on the cross for all the sins of all the sons of Adam that all might be saved;" denying the POWER of His blood adds, "but His blood has no power or efficacy to save anyone until man releases it to work."
4. A FORM of godliness says, "The Holy Spirit knocks at everyone's heart with a desire to enter and work repentance and faith;" denying the POWER adds, "but you must open the door."
5. A FORM of godliness says, "Salvation is of the Lord;" denying the POWER adds, "but those whom He saves may fall away and perish."
How are we to treat such religion? How are we to deal with those who preach it and promote it to the everlasting ruin of men's souls? Paul tells us plainly, "from such turn away!"
A god that cannot save is no god at all. If you worship such a god, you are not saved.
Now look at Isaiah 45:21. Here the Lord God contrasts himself with the gods of men who cannot save. He tells us that he is a God who can save; and in this verse he asserts his own glorious, saving character.
II. HE WHO IS GOD INDEED IS SOVEREIGN, JUST AND SAVING.
Isaiah 45:21 Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.
Look at his verse closely. Too often we read a familiar text too quickly and miss the full scope of is teaching. In this verse of Scripture the Lord God declares five things about himself, five things which identify him as God. Listen to what the text says. If the god you worship, if the god to which you pray, if your idea and concept of God lacks any of these five characteristics, then your god is but a graven image, a useless, imaginary god. THIS IS GOD'S DESCRIPTION OF GOD.
A. He who is God has an absolute, unalterable, sure purpose, by which all things are governed.
In the opening part of verse twenty-one, the Lord God challenges men to bring all their peanut gods and let them all take counsel together. I challenge you to do the same. Gather up all the gods of men, the Baptist gods, the Mormon gods, the Catholic gods, the Russellite gods, Hindu gods, Islam gods, Jewish gods, and all the other gods of men. Let them all take counsel together. Find me one in the whole bunch who has declared absolutely, from ancient times, from eternity, all things that are, have been, and shall hereafter be. Our God has!
Isaiah 14:24 The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand:
Isaiah 14:27 For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?
Isaiah 46:9-11 Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, (10) Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: (11) Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.
He who is God has an absolute, unalterable purpose; and he "worketh all things after the counsel of his own will."
B. He who is truly God truly is God, he declares himself to be "I the LORD."
Do you see that? He is not a lord. Our God is "the LORD." He is the only LORD. He is LORD everywhere, at all times, over everything. He controls the universe absolutely. He has his way in the whirlwind. The clouds are the dust of his feet. The thoughts of men's hearts, the roll of the dice, and the paths of the fish in the sea are all under his total rule. I am talking to you about God, not some peanut, imaginary god, but God!
Isaiah 45:5-7 "I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me: (6) That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else. (7) I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things."
Isaiah 45:12 "I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded."
Psalms 115:3 Our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.
Psalms 135:6 Whatsoever the LORD pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places.
This great and glorious God, whom we worship, is the absolute, sovereign monarch of the universe.
C. He who is God is God alone.
He declares there is none with him, none like him, and none but him. Most people are really pantheists3 and polytheists They believe God is in everything and everybody. They believe that just about every man's notion of God really is God: Bhuddists, Mohammetans, Jews, Papists, Mormons, Barbarians, and Baptists; but most people are wrong. There is but one God.
D. He who is God is a just God.
Much could and should be said about God's justice; but I will say just two things regarding it here. These two things simply must be understood.
1. A just God must and shall punish all sin.
2. A just God cannot save sinners apart from the satisfaction of his justice. "By mercy and truth iniquity is purged" (Pro. 16:6), but not by any other means.
Blessed be his name, the justice of God has been satisfied for sinners by the obedience and death of the Lord Jesus Christ his dear Son! In him mercy and truth have met together. Righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Therefore, upon the grounds of Christ's obedience and death as the sinner's Substitute, the Lord God declares this fifth thing about himself.
E. He who is God indeed is both "a just God and a Savior."
That is exactly what the Lord told Moses about himself back in Exodus when he showed him his glory; and that is exactly what Paul tells us in the third chapter of Romans.
Exodus 33:19 And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.
3There is not an ounce of difference between the educated environmentalists of our society who worship "mother earth" and the pagan Hindus of India who worship cattle and rats.
Exodus 34:5-7 And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. (6) And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, (7) Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.
Romans 3:24-26 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: (25) Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; (26) To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
Now look at verse 22 and hear this great and glorious Lord God, who is both a just God and a Savior, declare THE SALVATION WHICH HE PERFORMS. If you would be saved, hear and obey this word from God our Savior.
III. THE ONLY WAY ANY SINNER CAN EVER BE SAVED IS BY LOOKING TO THIS GREAT AND GLORIOUS GOD, WHO REVEALS HIMSELF IN CHRIST.
Isaiah 45:22 Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.
Salvation is Christ. He alone is the Savior of men. The only way you can get God's salvation is to look to him! We are saved by "looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith".
As the children of Israel looked to that brazen serpent in the wilderness and lived, so every sinner who looks away to Christ shall be saved by the grace and power of this great God, who s our Savior.
IV. WHEN GOD GETS DONE WITH THIS WORLD, EVERYBODY IS GOING TO KNOW WHO HE IS.
God raised up Pharaoh and destroyed him, for the saving of his people, to make all men know who he is. When God was done, at the end of the day, everybody in Egypt as well as Israel knew who God is. They did not all know him; but they all knew who he is.
God raised up Cyrus to deliver Israel out of Babylon. He was a splendid type of Christ. But God raised him up to deliver Israel and to deliver them in a specific way, for the reason stated in verse 6.
Isaiah 45:6 "That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else."
Indeed, God created, rules, and disposes of all things in the universe, for this one great reason, that everyone may know him and glorify him in the salvation of his people.
Isaiah 45:7-18 "I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things. (8) Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the LORD have created it. (9) Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands? (10) Woe unto him that saith unto his father, What begettest thou? or to the woman, What hast thou brought forth? (11) Thus saith the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands command ye me. (12) I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded. (13) I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways: he shall build my city, and he shall let go my captives, not for price nor reward, saith the LORD of hosts. (14) Thus saith the LORD, The labour of Egypt, and merchandise of Ethiopia and of the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over unto thee, and they shall be thine: they shall come after thee; in chains they shall come over, and they shall fall down unto thee, they shall make supplication unto thee, saying, Surely God is in thee; and there is none else, there is no God. (15) Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour. (16) They shall be ashamed, and also confounded, all of them: they shall go to confusion together that are makers of idols. (17) But Israel shall be saved in the LORD with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end. (18) For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else."
And that which he has purposed, he will do. Nothing in earth or in hell can prevent it, or even hinder it. Read verses 23-25.
Isaiah 45:23-25 "I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. (24) Surely, shall one say, in the LORD have I righteousness and strength: even to him shall men come; and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed. (25) In the LORD shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory."
Here the Lord God declares to the assembled angels and men before his august, sovereign and holy throne exactly what he is going to do. You can mark it down – When God gets done with this world, these five things will be accomplished. God has bound himself with an oath to do them!
A. Every knee shall bow to the Lord Jesus Christ, acknowledging him as Lord.
Isaiah 45:23 "I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear."
Philippians 2:8-11 "And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. (9) Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: (10) That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; (11) And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
B. The Lord Jesus Christ shall have a people to worship and serve him forever.
There shall be a people called out this world who shall confess that Christ is all their righteousness and strength. "Surely shall one say, in the LORD have I righteousness and strength" (v. 24).
C. All God's elect shall come to Christ.
"Surely shall one say, in the LORD have I righteousness and strength: even to him shall men come" (v. 24).
John 6:37-40 "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. (38) For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. (39) And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. (40) And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day."
D. Every rebel in the universe, both men and devils, will lick the dust before the throne of Christ in utter shame and confusion of face.
Isaiah 45:24 "Surely, shall one say, in the LORD have I righteousness and strength: even to him shall men come; and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed."
E. Every chosen sinner will be saved, and being saved by grace alone, they will all glory in the Lord forever.
Isaiah 45:25 "In the LORD shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory."
Isaiah 45:17 "But Israel shall be saved in the LORD with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end."
Romans 11:26 "And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:"
Jeremiah 9:23-24 "Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: (24) But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD."
1 Corinthians 1:30-31 "But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: (31) That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord."
Then, and not until then, shall our Lord Jesus Christ stand up in the midst of glory, and say to all his creation…
Revelation 21:5-6 " Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. (6) And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely."
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