- Aug 10, 2006
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“Ah, you destroyer,
who yourself have not been destroyed,
you traitor,
whom none has betrayed!
When you have ceased to destroy,
you will be destroyed;
and when you have finished betraying,
they will betray you.” (Isaiah 33:1 ESV)
The “destroyer” and the “traitor” that the Lord is showing me this morning is that of a false church teaching a false gospel of salvation to its people. For the true church is the body of Christ, comprised of all who have believed in Jesus Christ to be Lord (Owner-Master) and Savior of their lives, who have died with Christ to sin, and who have been raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but now as slaves of God and of his righteousness. Sin is no longer their master for Jesus delivered them from their slavery to sin so they could obey his commands.
[1 Peter 2:24; Romans 6:1-23; Titus 2:11-14; Ephesians 4:17-24]
And the false church is largely incorporated as a not-for-profit business under the state (the government) being marketed to the world just like any other business. And so it appeals to the felt needs of the people of the world in order to draw in large crowds of people from the world into its gatherings. And since its goal is to attract the world to its gatherings, it also dilutes and alters the character of God/Christ, of his church, and of his gospel, to make them less offensive and more appealing to the ungodly and to human flesh. So its body is not the body of Christ but of men in their deceitful scheming.
And the false gospel, which deceives, and betrays, and destroys, is teaching that we can “believe” in Jesus (rarely biblically defined), have all our sins forgiven (past, present, and future), and be guaranteed heaven when we die, but regardless of whether or not we submit to Christ as Lord, or surrender our lives to the lordship of Jesus Christ, or die with Christ to sin daily, or follow Jesus in obedience to his commands. But Jesus said that his sheep listen to him, he knows them, and they follow (obey) him, and they have eternal life, and they will never perish, etc. (see John 10:27-30).
For the true gospel message is what Jesus and the NT apostles taught, that if we are to come after Christ, we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin) and follow (obey) Jesus Christ. For if we hold on to (save) our old lives of living in sin and for self, we will lose them for eternity. But if for Jesus’ sake we deny self (lose our lives), die daily to sin, and follow him in obedience to his commands, then we have true hope of salvation from sin and of eternal life with God. For if we are ashamed of him and of his gospel message, he will be ashamed of us when he returns (see Luke 9:23-26).
But the message here is not something for just the time of Isaiah, for I think about half (or greater) of the book of Isaiah is prophecy concerning these last days before the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. And one day our Lord is going to judge this earth and the people of this earth, and he will destroy that false church and its false message of salvation (the false gospel) and all who are promoting and living that cheap grace gospel which does not teach the necessity of dying with Christ to sin and of walking in obedience to his commands. Only if they repent, turn, and obey God, will they be saved.
But not many are taking these warnings seriously. And not many are taking the true gospel message seriously. For many are they who are intoxicated to sin and who are the self-indulgent who are more concerned about losing “the cheap grace gospel” than they are concerned about losing their lives for eternity. So they are holding on tightly to the malignant evil, which is spreading destruction to human lives, fearing the loss of that rather than fearing spending eternity without God in the fires of hell. And so they have an attitude of “Oh, well.”
“Now I will arise,” says the Lord,
“now I will lift myself up;
now I will be exalted.” (verse 10)
“The sinners in Zion are afraid;
trembling has seized the godless:
‘Who among us can dwell with the consuming fire?
Who among us can dwell with everlasting burnings?’
He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly,
who despises the gain of oppressions,
who shakes his hands, lest they hold a bribe,
who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed
and shuts his eyes from looking on evil,
he will dwell on the heights;
his place of defense will be the fortresses of rocks;
his bread will be given him; his water will be sure.” (verses 14-16)
Right now our nations are in disarray. Chaos is everywhere you look. War is crouching at our door, ready to take us all out. Liars are everywhere – in our governments, in our churches (or what are falsely being called churches), in the news media, on social media, and the like. Anything pretty much can be altered and faked to make it look real when it is not real. The news largely reads like a giant soap opera or like a household with wild and disobedient children who are always fighting with their parents and with one another. And morality has definitely gone out the window, like Sodom and Gomorrah.
So, the Lord is going to rise one day, perhaps soon, and he is going to judge the people of the world. And only those who walk (in conduct, in practice, in lifestyle) righteously, and who speak uprightly, in practice, will survive the judgments of God and will have the hope of eternity with God. And God’s righteousness is his divine approval, which refers to what is deemed right by the Lord and approved in his eyes, which we can read about in the Scriptures. And upright is what is decent, honest, and morally pure. Only those who live uprightly in the sight of God will have eternal life with God.
[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; 1 Pet 2:24; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2]
As the Deer
By Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1
As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after You
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
You alone are my strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
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