If you take your Bibles now and
turn with me to Isaiah, Isaiah chapter 1, we'll be looking at
verse 24 through verse 27. 24 is just a prelude. My text will be in verse 25 to
27, but let's read that. And I've entitled this message,
What It Takes to Save a Sinner. What it takes to save a sinner. The Scripture says, therefore,
saith the LORD, the LORD of hosts, the mighty one of Israel, Ah,
I will ease me of mine adversaries, and avenge me of mine enemies. I will turn my hand upon thee,
and purely purge away thy dross, and take away thy tin. And I
will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counselors
as at the beginning, Afterward thou shalt be called the city
of righteousness the faithful city Zion shall be redeemed with
judgment and her converts with Righteousness what it takes to
save a sinner And by way of introduction I want us to go back and see
what we have been taught in this chapter thus far by the Holy
Spirit In the first part of this, we've learned several doctrines.
First of all, in verses 2 through 8, we see the total depravity
of man, that man has rebelled, that man is ignorant of God and
His righteousness, that we cannot, by our obedience, by God's chastening
and divine judgments, we would only revolt more and more, that
we are covered with the leprosy of sin, from our sole of our
foot to the crown of our head, we are a desolate city. That's
what God reveals about man by nature. He's totally depraved.
The second thing we saw is the election of grace in verse 9.
Except the Lord of hosts had left us a small remnant, we should
have been as Sodom, we should have been like unto Gomorrah. He reveals that God has a remnant
of grace, an elect people. And if God had not chosen a people,
then we would have all been lost. And the third thing we see is
the contempt of the Lord for works in free will religion. And that's found in verse 10
through verse 15. Because we are covered with sin,
therefore our works and religious deeds outside of Christ are contemptible. He says these sacrifices, these
we're offering, these were sacrifices commanded by God. They were commanded
in the law. They were performing these sacrifices. But because it was not done in
faith toward Christ, they were contemptible. And so any works
religion that bases salvation on works and religious works
and free will religion is contemptible, contemptible. And the fourth
thing we learn is God's means of conviction in verses 16 and
17. He says, wash you and make you
clean. Do good, learn to do well. These
are impossibilities, friends. There is no offering we can make
to wash ourselves. There is no way we who are accustomed
to evil can do good. This is God's means of conviction. And listen, when God convicts
a man, it's then He gives the promise in verse 18. He said, Come, let us reason
together. This is a command. To those who are convicted this
morning of sin, God commands you to come. And reason, not
by earthly reasoning, but by spiritual reasoning. Here's the
spiritual reasoning, you're a sinner. And God says, you come to me
by Christ and I will wash you. I will cleanse you. I will make
you righteous. But all who come in need, all
who come in need of of washing will be washed. This is a promise.
He said that. He said in verse 11, if you be
willing and obedient, you can eat of this, you can rejoice
in this, you can find comfort in this. I'll cleanse you. I'll
wash you. All who come with no righteousness
are made righteous. But those who refuse and rebel,
what does God promise in verse 19, He says, verse 20, He said,
if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured with the sword.
God promises eternal damnation to those who refuse and will
not come to Christ. Now in verses 21 through verse
24, God stands back and He marvels at the ruined state of man. He
says, how is this faithful city becoming harlot? What does this
mean? He's looking at man that He made
upright, man that He made perfect, and He marvels at His ruined
state. How has man now become so vile,
so corrupt? He said, your silvers become
dross, your wine is mixed with water. That means that you are
full of sin. You were as valuable as silver,
but because of sin, you are now worthless. You had the joy of
communion with God by nature, and now you have no communion
with God. Your joy, your wine is mixed
with sorrow and misery. Listen, if you are outside Christ
today, I want you to know this. God says this about you. I will
cast off mine enemies. God will cast you off. If you
are outside of Christ today, you are an enemy of God. An enemy
of God. And without righteousness and
all your works, religion are as filthy rags. You must be washed,
but you have no ability to wash. You must be made holy. You have
no ability to make yourself holy. But listen, if you need cleansing,
if you need righteousness, listen, God promises to give it to everyone
who comes to Christ. Everyone. He will make you righteous. He will cleanse you from all
your sins and make you pure. But what does it take to do that? What does it take to save a sinner? That's my question this morning. What does it take? God promises
to do it, but what does it take to make a sinner righteous, to
cleanse a sinner? Listen, it's going to take more
than the preacher can give you. It's going to take more than
your friends can do for you. It will take more than what you
could do for yourself. You know what it's going to take?
It's going to take the power and grace of God to save you.
There is nothing else to save you. Try if you will. You'll
fail. It's vain. It's empty. Come,
God said, let us reason about this. You can't save yourself,
but I can save you. Why? The Word of God is plain.
It says this, salvation is of the Lord. Salvation is of the
Lord. If you are to be washed, God
must do it. If you're to be righteous, God
must make you righteous. If you're ever to believe on
Jesus Christ, it will take the power and the grace of God Almighty
to give you faith to believe in Christ. That's how ruined
we are, is that we cannot even believe of our own power. It takes the power of God to
give faith in Christ. Now, I've got four divisions,
four divisions concerning the work of God in the salvation
of sinners. Now, if you're ever to be saved,
it will be a result of these four things. It will be by divine
resolution. In our text, God says, I will.
There's divine resolution, I will. I will do what? Look at that
in verse 25, I will. turn my hand upon thee, and purely
purge away thy dross, and take away thy sin." It's going to
take God to do that, a resolution. Second of all, it's going to
take a divine redemption. To take away the dross and the
sin, we must need a divine redemption, a divine sacrifice. And thirdly,
a divine regeneration. We need to be born again. And fourthly, divine restoration. God to restore his people and
bring them to himself. Now let's see each one of these.
Salvation, first of all, is by divine resolution. In our text,
we see it is not the resolution of man to turn to God. Salvation is not a resolution
of man to turn to God, but it is the will and purpose of God
that turns toward man in mercy. Read it. God says, I will turn
My hand upon thee. I will. God declares that He
will avenge Himself of His enemies, but He has purpose to show mercy.
to his elect. That's what he, those he mentions
in verse 9, that remnant. God here says, I will turn my
hand to thee, the remnant, in mercy. Now, this is God speaking,
isn't it? God says, I will, I will turn
my hand upon thee. This is God's determination,
and it's not for every man. It's not for every man, but only
for the remnant. God will turn His hand to thee.
The remnant. And the thing that is determined
is what? Salvation. Salvation. So then the Holy Spirit here
is instructing us that salvation, listen, it begins with God. It begins with God. We know this
chapter and verse very well, but it's important because this
text is quoted in it. Let's go to Romans chapter 9.
Romans chapter 9. And see the purpose of God in
this. See the determination, the resolution of God. He said,
For the children, Jacob and Esau, in the womb of their mother,
the children not yet being born, neither having done good or evil,
that the purpose of God according to election might stand. Not
of works, but of him that calleth it was said unto her, The elder
shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob have
I loved, but Esau have I hated. Now what was the purpose of God
in this revelation? Why did He reveal this to her?
That the elder shall serve the younger. Before they were born,
God said this. God determined. God has a resolution
and He makes that resolution known to their mother beforehand. Now why? What was the purpose?
Why did God manifest His love for Jacob and hatred of Esau
before they had done anything? To either deserve life or to
deserve damnation. Listen to what the text says.
That the purpose of God according to election should be established. He was establishing a doctrine. He was establishing a vital truth
that salvation is by the purpose, by the will of God. It begins
by the determination of God to save. And that purpose of God
according to election might be established that His sovereign
election should not, what, be based on the works or the will
of man. Isn't that what he says? Not
of works, but of Him that calleth. Salvation is not based on the
works or will of man, but the sovereign call of God that manifest
our election. How do you know you're elect?
It's the call. The call. You were called of
God from death to life. Therefore, it is manifest to
you. Salvation is by divine resolution. What shall we say, then, verse
14? Is there unrighteousness with God? This is the objection
of all freewill works religion, isn't it? God can't do that. He would be unjust to choose
one and not the other, to love one and hate the other not based
on anything they've done. God would be unjust. God's unfair. Paul, anticipating this, gives
them the answer, God forbid. How dare you say that? You're
unjust. God's just, and you're unjust. In no way is God unjust of His
sovereign election of some and His rejection of others. And
the evidence He gives is the Word of God, and He gives that
thing He says to Moses in verse 15. For He saith to Moses, I
will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, I will have compassion
on whom I will have compassion. You see, mercy by very definition
is undeserved, isn't it? If there's any merit, there's
no mercy. It's all of works. You get that? If there's any, if there's one
thing you've done, it's not mercy. But God saves by mercy. He said
to Moses, I'll have mercy on whom? Whom I will have mercy.
And I'll have compassion on whom I will have compassion. God says,
I will. He will. By divine will and resolution. I'm thankful for that, aren't
you? That He will have mercy. He promises to have mercy on
who? Whoever He will. And we bow and
confess that is just. That's just. And the result of this election
is manifest in verse 16, so then. This is the conclusion of it.
It's not of Him that will it. There's free will works religion.
Gone. Anyone who believes in salvation
by will of man, you are under heresy, friend. It is not of
him that willeth. You got that? Nor is salvation
by him that runneth, that worketh. But here's where it's from. God showeth mercy. His mercy
is not based in any way upon the works or will of man. And
again, he uses an ultimate reference of Holy Scripture for another
example concerning Pharaoh. He's using another one concerning
the one who is damned. Pharaoh, he saith to Pharaoh,
I have raised you up for this purpose, that I might show my
power in thee, that my name might be declared throughout all the
earth. Therefore, he hath mercy on whom he will, and whom he
will, he what? Hardeneth. Today, if you are hardened, God
hardens you. If your heart is softened, God
softens you. God made it pliable. You see,
salvation is by divine resolution of God. Now, we know that election is
not salvation. No one ever declared that that
preaches the gospel. Election is not salvation. It
is unto salvation. And without election, there would
be no salvation. We would all have been doomed
like Sodom and like Gomorrah. So everyone who has received
the mercy of God because of God's divine resolution, because God
had mercy turned His hand toward us, we confess this, "'Tis not
that I did love thee, I did not choose thee, O Lord, that could
not be. This heart would still refuse
thee had thou not chosen me. Thou from sin that stained me
has cleansed and set me free. Thou of old hast ordained me
that I should live to thee. This is the teaching of our text,
that salvation is not by the will or works of man. Salvation
is in no way by the merit or the works of man, but is completely
by the work and will of God. And all salvation begins with
this. God says, I will. I will. Notice what He will do. His divine
resolution requires the hand of God. I will turn my hand upon
thee. This hand is not the hand of
chastisement, it is not the hand of vengeance or judgment, but
it is the hand of salvation. It is a gracious hand, a merciful
hand. Now, this is recorded in other
scriptures. I'm going to take you to a couple. Let's look at
these together. These will be precious to you. Let's go to Zechariah.
Zechariah chapter 13. You know this very well. Zechariah
chapter 13. Look at verse 7. Awake, O sword,
against my shepherd, against the man that is my fellow, sayeth
the Lord of hosts. smite the shepherd and the sheep
shall be scattered and what? I will turn my hand upon the
little ones. Here God purposes to save. He gives the means of salvation
which is the death of Christ. That's the shepherd here that's
being smitten. And He swears that all those
for whom Christ died, He will turn His hand of salvation to
them. They'll be scattered. Isn't that
God's people right now? They're scattered. But He says
this, to you who are scattered, I will turn My hand to you. I
will turn My hand to them. What is He going to do? He's
going to save them. That's what He's determined to do. Look at
Isaiah. Go back to Isaiah. Look at Isaiah
63. Isaiah 63 and verse 4. Isaiah 63 in verse 4, he said,
For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my
redeemed is come. I looked, and there was none
to help. I wondered, and there was none to uphold. Therefore
mine own arm brought salvation unto me, and my fury it upheld
me. Behold God's resolution, the
year of the redeemed is come. This is the time of salvation.
God determines a time of salvation. The year of my redeemed is come. And God at this time looks in
pity and mercy. And what does He find? When He
looks upon His people at the time of their conversion, what
does He find? He finds none to help them. He
finds none to intercede for them. None. They cannot help themselves,
and those around them cannot help them. He finds none to help,
but this is what He's determined to do. My arm shall bring salvation
unto me. Because there's none, my own
arm brought salvation. What arm is that? Who is that? That's Christ. That's the Lord
Jesus Christ. He is the arm of God that brings
salvation. This is the will of God that
by Christ all his people should be saved. Why do you think Christ
came into the world? Was it not the resolution of
God? Behold, I come to do thy will,
O God. By the witch will we are sanctified
through the offering of the body of Christ. Isaiah 59, I'm going
to read it to you. Verse 16 is the same thing. He
says, And I saw there was no man, and wondered that there
was no intercessor. Therefore his arm brought salvation
to him, his righteousness, and it sustained him. All the elect
of God are purposed to be saved, had no intercessor, no mediator
in themselves but Christ. And that was by the divine will
of God, that Christ should be our intercessor, our mediator,
our high priest. And it was the will of God that
Christ should merit our righteousness and redemption by His own obedience
and blood. It was the will of God. So what
does it take to save? It takes the will of God to save
a man. And at the appointed time of
salvation, He's going to come and He's going to save. And at
that time, you know what's going to happen to the will of man?
He is going to be made willing. It's not willing by nature. He
could never be willing by nature. But now, he is willing. Scott, why are you willing? Because God willed it. Because
of a divine resolution, we were saved and we were made willing
in the day of His power. Oh, the grace of God's omnipotent
hand of salvation. And who is this salvation for?
It says, I will turn my hand upon Thee. Thee. Who is Thee? These are the elect. If God ever turns His hand of
salvation on you, and you believe, you believe on Christ alone.
This is the only manifestation and proof of your election. You
realize you could study about election and not be elect? Just because you understand election
doesn't mean you're the elect. The only way we know we are the
elect is if we believe on the Son of God. If we trust in Him
alone and have no confidence in our flesh, no confidence in
our religion, no confidence in ourselves, all our confidence,
we rest totally on the Son of God. This is the proof. This
is the evidence of our election, that we are the thee mentioned
in this chapter. So then, that's my first thing,
is by divine resolution. His resolution. His resolution,
but that's not all that's needed. It's not all that's needed to
save you. Why? Because sin must be really punished. God cannot divinely decree redemption
without actual redemption. Therefore, you need a divine
redemption. A divine redemption. That's what
you need to be saved. A divine redemption. No man can
be accepted unless he is holy as God and unless his sins are
purged. That's why God says, I will turn
my hand upon thee to save thee. How? He says, I will purely purge
away thy dross and take away thy tin. This is the prophecy of the redemptive
work of Christ. Isn't that what Christ came to
do? He came to take away your sin. Go to Malachi chapter 3. Malachi
chapter 3 and verse 1. Malachi chapter 3 and verse 1. He said, Behold, I will send
my messenger, and he shall prepare thy way before me. And the Lord
whom you seek shall suddenly come to his temple. Even the
messenger of the covenant, that's the divine will of God. That's
the resolution of God, the divine covenant. Whom you delight in, behold,
he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. And who shall abide
the day of his coming? Who shall stand when he appeareth?
He is like a refiner's fire and like fuller's soap. He will sit
as a refiner and a purifier of silver, and he shall purify the
sons of Levi and purge them as gold and silver, that they may
offer unto the Lord an offering of righteousness." You see, the
dross and tin represent iniquity, transgression, and sin. Before
God can or will save a man, his sins must be purely, completely,
eternally purged. This this word in our text and
that were their purge it's is you take the gold and you put
it in the fire and The fire burns away all the impurities and then
they're wiped away they're wiped off the top the gold then is
poured back into a mold and It's pure You see the fire was God's
justice as Christ bore our sins in His own body on the tree.
He was what? Purging our sins. He was purging
them. Oh friends, our spiritual disease
is impossible for us to cure. It's impossible for us to purge
our sins. Our sins cannot be removed by
religious deeds or works. No matter how sincere or zealous
we may be, because there's only one thing to remove sin, blood. Death is the only thing. Without
the shedding of blood is no remission. Price of sin is death. Because
we are full of sin, none of our offerings are worthy of anything
but eternal death. Much less, the blood of bulls
and goats, the offerings of the Old Testament, the law. Paul
said this, it's not possible the blood of bull and goats should
take away sin. No works of man can remove sin, for all our righteousnesses
are as filthy rags and no amount of suffering would ever suffice
or deserve God's acceptance. You know, there's that lie of
purgatory. What a horrible lie that some
men are going to be cast into purgatory and they could just
work their way out, or they have people praying for them and praying
them out. No, the scripture says, he that
believeth not shall be damned. And that's eternally damned.
But our Lord Jesus Christ, you listen to this, He has completely
purged the sins of His people. according to the will of God.
He hath come and purged our sins. How? By having our sins imputed
to Him. For God hath made Him to be sin
for us who knew no sin. for this purpose that we might
be made the righteousness of God in Him. This is how He purged.
This is a divine redemption. It's something... I love this
thought. It's done outside of me. It's done without me. Without
my help. God made Him to be sin for us
without our help. Without our permission. By divine
will he made him to be sin, and as he was made sin, the scripture
says, Awake, O sword, and smite the man that is my fellow. And
he did. And our sins were fully punished. Everything your sins
and my sins deserved, Christ really suffered. You know, we're
chastened. We're not suffering for sin.
You know that? You're not being punished for
sin. You're being chastened so that you might not sin, so that
you should not sin, so that you should know it's not good. As a Father chastens His children,
so our Heavenly Father chastens us in love and in mercy. Only Christ was punished. for sin. And what did he do? He fully
purged away as far as the east is from the west, so that he
removed our sins from us. You know where my sin is? It's
gone. It's gone. It's been punished. Your sin,
you who believe in Christ, your sin has already been punished. And it's removed from you. And
God says, I am He that blotteth out your transgressions. Listen. Why does He do it? For my own
sake. And will not remember thy sin. You know what? He cannot remember
our sins. Because it's part of the covenant.
God says, I will remember their sins no more. Therefore, he cannot
remember our sins anymore. And he justly does so because
they are punished. They are redeemed. He said, I
blot out your sins as a thick cloud. A thick cloud. Return unto me. Why? For I have
redeemed thee. Where's redemption come from?
Is it not a work of God? a divine redemption is what we
need, and the Lamb has accomplished this. Behold the Lamb of God
that beareth away the sin of the world, the elect. Behold
the great victory that He has accomplished at Calvary for all
the elect of God. For Jesus in a covenant of grace
was purposed of God to be our surety, and He was made responsible
for our salvation. He was made responsible in a
covenant Scripture says the government shall be upon his shoulders. And Christ said in that covenant,
I will be surety for them. And when justice could demand
no more, Christ said this, it's finished. It's finished. What
was finished? A divine redemption. A perfect
redemption. He said this, I will purely, perfectly, completely purge away
thy sins. And now all of these sins of
the elect are removed by the crimson blood of Christ. But
listen to this, there's still more. There's still something
needed to save a sinner. You have a divine resolution
to save a sinner. You have a divine redemption
that accomplish the salvation of the sinner. But you must,
of necessity, need a divine regeneration of the sinner. In other words,
it needs to be applied to the sinner. Applied. In redemption, Christ purged
and blotted out our sins according to the will of God. But the act
of divine regeneration purges us from the guilt and
the dominion of sin, listen, by the power of the Holy Spirit.
I hope you've seen this. I hope
you can see this, that salvation is a work of God. All of God. Remember, it was the Father's
resolution. It was the Son's redemptive work. And in regeneration, it is the
Spirit's work. It is the Spirit's work. The
work of the sovereign Spirit of God. Paul says in Hebrews
9, 14, How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through
the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot, purge your conscience
from dead works to serve the living God? Who purges a man's
conscience? who frees a man from guilt. It
is the work of the Holy Spirit in regeneration. Jesus said this
to Nicodemus, you must be born again. The wind bloweth where
it listeth, you can hear the sound thereof, but you can't
tell whence it cometh or whither it goeth. So is everyone that
is born of the Spirit. Born of the Spirit. Even though
the work of redemption has been accomplished, it must be applied.
Conversion must take place. Regeneration of the elect must
take place. And so I ask you this morning,
are you born again? Are you born from above? See,
that's important. I remember that time I heard
this preacher, he stood up and he said, you need to be born
again. Now let me tell you how to be
born again. And he just couldn't. See, that's
it. You can't be born again by something
you do. It's a work of God. Regeneration
is just as much a work of God as resolution and redemption.
It's a work of God. You must be born again. You must
have faith in Christ. Have you? Do you have faith in
Christ? Well, there's the evidence of the new birth. This morning,
are you breathing? Well, that's evidence you're
living, isn't it? Because you're breathing, you're living. Now
listen, in spiritual terms, if you are believing, you are living. Now, the faith did not give you
life. The faith is a result of life. Because faith itself, we know,
is a gift of God and not of works, lest any man should boast. And
therefore the Holy Spirit, if you believe in Christ, listen
to this, it's because He's given you a nature to believe. A new nature. Paul says, put
on the new man. That's that man that wasn't there
before. You had that old man. He was there from the beginning.
But now we have a new man. A new nature which is created
after God in righteousness and true holiness. Now we know this
who have believed that the old man is not removed. Matter of
fact, he is not affected. He is still just as old and corrupt
and vile as he always was. The old man is not removed. That
vile nature that dwells in us, Jesus said, that which is born
of flesh is flesh. It will live flesh. It will die
flesh. But that which is born of spirit
is spirit. It will live in the spirit. It
will never die. That spirit will never die. When
the body dies, the spirit will rise and be with God. So we have that old man that
burdens us daily, so we cry, O wretched man that I am. But what a divine regeneration
has accomplished is the removal of guilt. Listen, I know you feel guilt. When we sin, we do feel conviction. As well we should. John said,
if we confess our sins. Listen, you're not going to confess
something you don't feel guilty about. You feel guilt about your
sin, and you confess your sin, and this is His promise. He is
faithful and just to forgive us all our sin. If a man says
he doesn't have sin, he's a liar, and the truth is not in him.
But we know we have sin, we know we have this old man still. But
I know this, we are all real guilt. You see, the guilt before
God is removed. That's not the guilt of our conscience.
Remember, the Holy Spirit, He removes the guilt from our conscience
through the preaching of the gospel, through the power of
His Spirit. We are made free from that guilt
constantly. But really, our guilt is gone.
We are no longer under the law, but under grace. The law could
only convict of our guilt, but Christ is the end of the law.
That's how we're free from guilt. It's because we're not under
the law, but under grace. And not only this, but the Spirit,
when He comes in regeneration, purges us from the power of sin. Paul says, for sin shall not
have dominion over you. Now, how is that? I mean, you
and I are overcome with sin, aren't we? Lot of times we we
are tempted about something and all of a sudden we react is the
old nature just reacts and sins Before you even know what you've
done. It would maybe even be Unconsciously you do it How is
it that we're free from the dominion of sin? How can you say that
I? Could say that because of the
answer for Because here's the cause of your freedom. You're
not under the law You're not under the law, but
under grace. Gil says, all iniquity is ceased,
is caused to pass from them. They are clothed with the change
of raiment, even the righteousness of Christ, by which they are
justified from all things, and are pure and spotless and without
fault before the throne of God. You see, that's how things really
are. How you feel is not how things really are. What God says they are is how
they are. And when God comes in power and
removes sin from us, and shows us Christ as all our righteousness,
so that the ten of self-righteousness is removed. Isn't that one of
the ten that's removed? Self-righteousness. The ten of our religion is removed.
Ten of our works. Paul said this, Yea, doubtless
I count all things lost, for the excellency of the knowledge
of Christ Jesus my Lord, whom I suffer the loss of all things,
for whom I suffer the loss of all things, and do count them
but dung that I may win Christ, and be found in him not having
my own righteousness, which is of the law. See, there's no righteousness
to be had there, is there? Not in the law. But I want this. righteousness which is through
the faith of Christ I want that righteousness his faith earned
and now that righteousness which he earned I receive by faith
in him I receive by faith in him all sinners would you give up all hope of
self-salvation I pray God, open your eyes and
expose your sin and need of Christ. If you ever have a need for Christ,
then come to Christ. You have a need for Christ. You
know, that need is something the Spirit of God puts in a man.
And then that man, knowing his need, is able then to reason. Though your sins be as scarlet,
they shall be as white as wool. How? How? By divine resolution,
by divine redemption, and by divine regeneration, being born
again by the will of God. Now, do you believe? Then you
are saved by divine resolution, a divine redemption, and quickened
by a divine regeneration. And fourthly, this is of necessity,
this last thing here, we need a divine restoration. Look at
verse 26 in your text. God says, And I will restore
thy judges as at first, and thy counselors as at the beginning.
Afterward thou shalt be called the city of righteousness, the
faithful city. Zion shall be redeemed with judgment,
and her converts with righteousness. If you compare that to Hosea,
God says this, I will betroth thee to me forever. Yea, I will
betroth thee to me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness,
and in mercies. I will even betroth thee unto
me in faithfulness, and thou shalt know the Lord. Whereas
once we were rebels, ignorant, laden with sin, When God restores
a man by the application of the redemption that is in Christ
Jesus, He causes us to be called something. What are we called? The city of righteousness. Afterward,
after I restore you, this is what happens. You're righteous. You're righteous. And notice
this. You're not only righteous, but
you're faithful. It is a marvelous mystery how
God could ever see us like that. But this is His work. This is
His work. It's not your faithfulness. It's
Him who made you faithful. It's not your righteousness.
It's Him that made you righteous. He restored you unto Himself. He brings you in and makes you
acceptable. And I know it is the heart of
every believer to be righteous and faithful. I want to live
up to that. If that's what He calls me to
be, Should not that be what I am? Righteous and faithful. We desire
to live without sin. And we long to be faithful. And
I know this. Every believer will be faithful
to the end. Everyone. Because He that hath
begun a good work in you, by divine resolution, by divine
redemption, and by divine Listen, He will restore you completely. This means that none of the elect
shall fail to receive the full measure of what God purposed,
the full measure of what Christ earned, and the full measure
of what the Spirit has begun in us. I haven't received the
fullness of that yet. But I know this, all Zion, all
Zion, now you pay attention, all Zion will be redeemed. Look at that last verse. Zion
shall be redeemed. Without question. Jesus said, I know my sheep. I know them, and they follow
me. And I give unto them eternal
life, and they shall never perish. Neither shall any man pluck them
out of my hand. For the Father which gave them
me is greater than all." All Zion will be redeemed. How?
By the judgment of God that he had on Christ. And by the righteousness
of Christ, by the righteousness, they shall be redeemed with judgment
and are converts with righteousness. How are you redeemed? You're
redeemed by Jesus Christ. Oh, what a great salvation, because
it's not of me. I have nothing to do with this,
neither do you. God willed it. Christ earned it, the Spirit
applies it, and keeps it until we're all restored. Isn't the Word of God wonderful?
Now listen, all of that was right there. All of it was right there. It's been there for a long time.
It's been there for a long time. I pray God will open your heart
to see it. Open your heart to receive it.
Believe it. Find safety in Christ. Refuge. Gracious Father, thank you for
your will, your work, your redemption, your regeneration, your restoration. I'm so thankful that Christ carries
us. And we need not carry our God. And you will carry us. You will
deliver us. Because we are redeemed by the
blood of thy son. Thank you. Bless us this day
in Jesus' name. Amen.