All right, if you'll take your
Bibles and turn back with me to Isaiah chapter 58. Isaiah chapter
58. Titled the message this morning,
Pretenders and the Genuine. The Pretenders
and the Genuine. We know this, that our Lord Jesus
Christ, when He preached on the earth, said this, that when He
comes again, He will separate the goats from the sheep. He
will divide the wheat from the tares, and He will call the righteous
into everlasting life, but sinners, the wicked, shall go off into
eternity, under the punishment and wrath of God. In other words,
there's going to be a great division. One day there's going to be a
great division. And God is going to separate the true believers
from the pretenders. The pretenders. And as we go
through this, I would have us keep this in mind. as we go through
this text this morning. In chapter 58, Isaiah was commanded
by God to do something that is contrary to popular preaching,
the modern preaching. And he says this, cry aloud and
spare not. In other words, have no pity,
don't take any pity on them, you cry out And you tell my people,
you show my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their
sins. And this transgression that he
was to show them was their own self-righteousness. They outwardly
sought God. They daily sought God. They did
not forsake His ordinances or His worship service, the reading
of His Word. They even delighted in approaching
the Lord in the temple where He dwelt above the mercy seat.
You can read that in verse 2. He said, Yet they seek Me daily. They delight to know My ways.
nation did righteousness and forsook not the ordinance of
their God they asked of me that of the ordinance of justice and
they take delight in approaching to God they outwardly did these
things these people went so far as to
neglect their daily food in order to show their devotion to God. Listen to verse 3. They ask this
question. These sinners, these men that
God would have their sins exposed, they say this, We have fasted,
and you didn't see it. We fasted, Lord. We neglected
our bodies of food, and yet you didn't take notice of us. We
afflicted our soul, and thou did take no knowledge. Behold,
in the day of your fast you find pleasure in exact all your labors.
In other words, God says your fast that you anointed, that
you are doing, that is your own will. That's not mine. You did
that on your own. These people neglected their
daily food, not because God told them to, but because they thought
it would bring them, bring God down to them. They thought that
it would move God by their outward fasting. They say, Lord, behold,
behold us. Show us favor because we fast,
because we afflict our souls. Why have you not come to us?
Why have you not delivered us? Look at what we're doing for
you. We're fasting here. We're suffering here. You know
what God said? I didn't tell you to. Why are
you doing it? Why are you doing it? God says,
why do you fast? Did I command you to fast? Therefore
you afflict your souls for nothing but to be seen of men and to
be pious and self-righteous. This was their sin. They did
this to be seen of men. They did this to be seen of men.
You remember, our Lord Jesus exposes these people as hypocrites. As hypocrites. As pretenders. Jesus, in Matthew's gospel, says,
when you fast, fast not as the, what, hypocrite. What is a hypocrite? It's a pretender. It's a play
actor. It's someone who's pretending.
When you fast, don't do it as a pretender. Don't do it as a
hypocrite. "...that make sad their countenance
and disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, they have
their reward." Listen, if you only seek to put
on a show of religion, if you're here to impress men or because
you feel, you feel it to be some morbid
duty, are you here because you have to be? Are you putting on a show If you think in some way this
wins you favor with God, you're only deceived. God is not impressed
by your acting. He's not impressed. You're only a pretender, an actor. And if you seek the praise of
men, Jesus said you'll have it. Why? Men are easily deceived. I'm easily deceived. You put
on a show in front of me and I'll believe every bit of it.
I'm just that way. We're all that way. We're just
easily fooled. You can fool me if you want to. You can put on
a good show. But listen, you will never deceive
God. Your acting will only go so far. And it will win you the favor
of men. It will. You have your reward. If you desire to win the favor
of your family, who are true worshipers of God, your wife,
your husband, or to appear religious, surely we can be fooled, but
God, listen, God is not mocked. He's not fooled by such actors
or pretenders. This is because God does not
look on the outside, but upon the heart. The prophet said this,
the prophet Samuel, man looketh upon the outward appearance on
the surface of things, because that's all we can see. You know,
that's why we're easily fooled, because we can only see one aspect
of you. I can only see one aspect of
you, that's what you show me. What you choose to show me is
all I'm going to see. And you know what? Same thing
with me. You're only going to see what I want you to see. God's not that way. God looks
on your very motives, your heart, the thought and intents of your
heart. He looketh on the inside. This
is how Jesus looked upon those self-righteous men of His day.
He said of them, Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites,
for you're like a whitewashed tomb. Which indeed appears beautiful
on the outside, but within is full of dead men's bones and
uncleanness. You see, men like to wash up
the outside. You can paint up the outside
with all kinds of religious things. But see, God doesn't look on
the outside. He looks in the heart. He knows
what's in your heart. So, there is no pretending with
God. May God the Holy Spirit, even
now, shine the light of His Word on our hearts. I hope that's
your desire this morning, that He would shine the light of His
Word on your heart, so that you would not be a pretender, a hypocrite,
but that you would know what you are. If there be any
such people as this in our text, hypocrites, outward pretenders,
false professors of faith in Christ, listen, God is not fooled. He sees the very core of your
soul and knows the truth of man's hypocrisy. Are you one that is
washed only on the outside, pious and religious and sincere in
a vain show of self-righteousness, but have no inward love or affection
or delight for the Lord Jesus Christ? Do you love Christ? Are you just putting on a show? Do you truly rest your soul on
the blood and righteousness of Christ, or are you just pretending? That's a question that, I tell
you, would pierce the heart only of God's people. That's a question
that's only entertained by those who are truly God's people, who
desire no hypocrisy. I want to know. I want to know
Him. I want to love Him and I want
to serve Him and I truly desire with all my heart to rest my
soul completely and absolutely on the Son of God without any
merit in the flesh or any leaning of my works or anything. I know
what I am. I'm a sinner. And I know what
I need. I need the righteousness of Jesus
Christ. I need to be found in Him. And
I don't want to be found in the end to be a pretender. I don't
want to be deceived. Is your religion one of cold,
dead heart and only outward show or inward life? May God give
us such light on our soul to confess it. Not to men, for there
is no help in the flesh. There is no help in more outward
rules or laws. Surely this is the message of
false religion to bind you to works. To heap upon your flesh
more laws, more outward show, more hypocrisy. This is what
they were doing in our text. They pretended to enjoy the ordinances
of God. They daily sought God. And then
what did they do? They added something. They added
their fasting. They added something to it. That's
what man would have for your soul is that they want to heap
on you more rules, more laws, more regulations. But when God
opens the tomb of a man's heart, not all the perfume of religion
Not all the potpourri of law can make the stench of death
go away. When God opens our heart, the
stench of our corrupt nature billows out. And there's nothing
that can cover it. Nothing. Are you such in one
as this? Are you so foul in your soul
that the smell of your guilt reaches heaven so that it cannot
be hid any longer? Isn't that what God tells his
prophet to do? He says, you tell them of their
hypocrisy. You tell them of it. And behold the word of God, and
look to the light of God's word, for this same word of God that
expresses our guilt also reveals to us a remedy. That's what I
like. That's what I need. Oh, what
a horrible word it would be if he just says, reveal the sin
and leave them alone. No, he doesn't say that. He says
expose their sin and then what does the prophet do? He gives
the remedy. The remedy, which is the gospel
of Jesus Christ. The same word of God that reveals
the death of one's soul is also the word that gives life. Because
it is used by the powerful spirit of God in regenerating the souls
of men. Behold, you sinner, you hypocrite,
dead sinner, the Lord's hand is not shortened. That's our
text. Behold, in verse 1 of chapter
59. Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that He cannot
save. That He cannot save. Neither His ear heavy that He
cannot hear. Sinner, consider what God says
by His prophet. God is saying this, I never lack
any power to save whom I will. God is not lacking in power to
save anyone. He said, My hand is not shortened
that I cannot save. There is no sinner who God is
willing to save that is too far gone, too far beyond His reach
of omnipotence that He cannot save. The Lord Jesus Christ,
who surely is the arm of salvation, says this, All that the Father
giveth me shall come to me." This is the
arm of omnipotence. That if God has willed to save
a sinner, there is no sinner too far in hypocrisy that he
cannot reach them and bring them to himself. No sinner too far.
No sinner too far. God is not lacking in power.
All that the Father giveth me shall come to me, and him that
cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. He is declaring that
these the Father purposed to save from eternity He gave to
His Son. And His Son surely has redeemed
them by His blood, obtained for them the righteousness of God. Therefore Jesus plainly declares
that they all will come to Him. That He will save them and nothing,
nothing will stop Him from doing so. Nothing. His arm is not shortened or hindered
in any measure from plucking them as brands from the fire. Listen, no matter how far you
have fallen, God's arm is not short that he
cannot save you. You're not too far gone that
he cannot reach you. Does this not instill hope in
the hypocrite? Does this not instill hope in
the dead? Those who are dead in sins. This hope extends to
them. That God, if He had purpose to
save them, He will save them. And there is nothing in heaven
and earth that will stop Him. My arm is not short of power
to save. It's not short. Behold what power and grace that
belongs to God. that no object of his love, no
one that he has ever purposed to save, will fail to be perfectly,
completely, and absolutely saved. You who do truly believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ, are we not daily surrounded by
foes, enemies, enemies, the world, the flesh, Satan, every one of
them oppose us daily. What a comfort then it is to
know this, God's arm is not ever short to save you from all your
enemies. Does not the world and its treasures
allure us? Does not Satan accuse us? Does
not the flesh constantly prick our hearts because of its sin? Yes, they do. But shall these
hinder God from saving us? No. No. This is not going to
hinder God in one aspect. All the accusations of the enemy
are nothing because Christ has died for our sins. Remember,
it was our sins that separated us from God, and surely we were
once, like all hypocrites, trusting in the vanity of our religion,
And we spoke lies and believed lies, and all our works separated
us from God and were nothing but serpents' eggs and spiders'
webs. Let's read that in our text.
He said, But your iniquities have separated between you and
your God. Your sins have hit His face from you that He will
not hear. For your hands are defiled with
blood, your fingers with iniquity, your lips have spoken lies, your
tongue has muttered perverseness. None call it for justice or pleaded
for truth. They trust in vanity. They speak
lies. They conceive mischief and bring
forth iniquity. They hatch adders eggs and weave
spiders webs. He that eateth their eggs dieth,
and he that is crushed breaketh out into a viper. Their webs
shall become as garments. Neither shall they cover themselves
with their works. Their works are of iniquity and
their acts of violence are in their hands. Does that not describe
us by nature? Does that not describe man completely?
We who are believers, we recognize those things because that's our
nature. Our nature, what did it do? It
only produced serpent eggs. It only produced poisonous works
that could ruin our soul. It only was a spider's web to
try to cover our nakedness, and it could not do it. Our works
separated us from our God. They didn't bring us to our God. Is this not the heart of a pretender?
Yes. To try to cover his sins by his
works? Sinner, then, where will you
go? You who try to cover your nakedness before God, your sin,
where will you go? Will you go to the law? No. The law can only expose our guilt. It can't save us. The way of peace you know not.
and there is no judgment in your path consider that all who try
to approach unto God by merit or obedience of the law they
shall never find peace they shall never find peace I remember a
preacher one time a gospel preacher riding on a plane set down next
to a Muslim and he asked the man concerning his religion how
is it that you suppose you will Be able to stand before god and
the muslims said this well, I don't know I don't know. I won't know until I get there
If he's done enough Because he trusts in his works. He's trusting
in his works and that gives him what no peace There's no peace
in trusting in your works Even so it is with the legalist
who confesses to believe on Christ plus their works. You will never find peace in
that. You will never find peace because
you'll never know when enough is enough. You'll never know
it. Therefore, those who trust in
their works have no peace. And he will have no judgment.
He will bend and skew the law of God's holiness to make it
appear as though he is accepted. But God said, there is none righteous,
no, not one. And by the deeds of the law shall
no flesh be justified in his sight. If God is going to use the law,
it is only going to be this, to expose your sin. That's the purpose of the law.
Only to expose your sin, never to make you acceptable with God. This is the idea of modern religion. That Jesus Christ saves you,
but you somehow, by your obedience, become more holy by obeying the
law. Every time someone mentions that
to me, I say, well, how's that working out for you? And if they have any honesty
at all, they must confess it's just worthless. It's not making
them closer to God. They're just further and further
away, if they know Him at all. There is no peace to the wicked,
saith the Lord. Surely, the lost man may grope
in the dark for some kind of light, some hope in themselves. Say, surely, I'm not completely
hopeless, preacher. Surely, there's something I can
do. Nope. Nothing you can do. There's no
hope in your power. There's no hope in your works
or religion. There is no peace. There's only
groping in the dark. That's what lost men do, is they
grope in the dark, grasping at something. They roar like bears,
they mourn like doves, even because salvation is afar off, because our sins testify to this truth. But herein is the hope. The Lord's
power to save is not shortened. The Lord's hand is never short
to save even us who are afar off. Look at verse 16. And he saw that there was no
man. God saw the sin of man that there
was no hope for him, no intercessor. He wondered there was no intercessor. Therefore his arm brought salvation
unto him, and his righteousness it sustained him. Behold, now God declares, there
is no man of Adam's race able to intercede, no man who is able
to intercede because we have all been polluted by sin. Our intercessor before God, there
is no intercessor for man. No sinner can plead the case
of another sinner because both are under condemnation. You remember
the thief on the cross, he recognized this. When that other man was
railing on the Lord Jesus Christ, he said, don't you fear God seeing
we are both in the same condemnation? He recognized they were both
under the condemnation of God. And so how could one man rail
or intercede for another? We're both under the same condemnation. Friends, Jesus Christ was the
only righteous man. Even because He was not of Adam's
seed, but He was God manifest in the flesh. He was the seed
of the woman. And behold, now you that are
far off because of your sins, the arm of the Lord is not short,
but rather has brought salvation. Brought salvation. I like this. He has not offered
salvation. He's brought it. Obtained it. Earned it. Merited. He has brought salvation
unto Himself. Jesus Christ is the mighty arm
of God who brought salvation, opened the way of victory. Salvation. He brought it, listen, unto Him. Unto Himself. Sinner, do not think too highly
of your own value. For the Lord brought salvation,
listen, not for your sake, but for his own. Did you understand that? That
God willed the salvation of his elect, not for them, but for
himself. Go over to Ezekiel chapter 36.
Ezekiel chapter 36, verse 22. Therefore say unto the house
of Israel, thus saith the Lord God, I do this not for your sakes,
O HOUSE OF ISRAEL, BUT FOR MY HOLY NAME'S SAKE, WHICH YOU HAVE
PROFANED AMONG THE HEATHEN WHETHER YOU WENT, AND I WILL SANCTIFY
MY GREAT NAME, WHICH WAS PROFANED AMONG THE HEATHEN, WHICH YOU
HAVE PROFANED IN THE MIDST OF THEM, AND THE HEATHEN SHALL KNOW
THAT I AM THE LORD, SAITH THE LORD GOD, WHEN I SHALL BE SANCTIFIED
IN YOU BEFORE THEIR EYES. For I will take you from among
the heathen, and gather you out of all the countries, and will
bring you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water
upon you, and you shall be clean. From all your filthiness and
from all your idols will I cleanse you. A new heart will I give
you, and a new spirit will I put within you. And I will take away
the stony heart out of your flesh. And I will give you a heart of
flesh. And I will put My Spirit within
you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and keep My judgments
to do them. And you shall dwell in the land
that I gave your fathers. And you shall be My people, and
I will be your God. I will also save you from all
your uncleanness. And I will call you for the corn,
and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you. And I will
multiply the fruit of the tree, and increase of the field. And
you shall receive no more reproach of famine among the heathen.
Then shall you remember your own evil ways, and your doings
that are not good, and shall loathe yourselves in your own
sight. for your iniquities and for your
abominations. Not for your sakes do I this,
saith the Lord, be it known to you. Be ashamed and confounded
for your own ways, O Israel. Do you not see this? God says,
I will save you. I will take that old heart out
of you and put in a new heart. I will and you shall be my people. Why? Not for your sakes do I
this. I do this for my own glory. That's what God says. God's arm
of salvation is not short because it is in union with his own glory. God says, I'll save you to magnify
my name and glorify myself. See that the election, redemption,
the quickening and calling to faith and life in Christ, the
keeping of us unto the end is according to His own glory. That's why God saved you. That's
why God called you. Remember, you and I by nature
are hypocrites. We're pretenders. On the outside
may be beautiful, but the inside was full of wickedness and sin.
And yet God gives His Word that says, My arm is not short to
save even the worst of you. And this is why I do it. I do
it not for you, but for me. That's what God says. In Ephesians chapter 1, no less
than four or five times, God tells us why He does these things. He says it's according to His
own will and purpose for the praise of the glory of His grace. That's why He does it. He does
it for Himself. This salvation Christ has brought
by His coming into the world is our representative For His elect people, for the
full purpose of redeeming us and saving us, is truly for His own glory. And His righteousness sustained
Him. Jesus took our flesh, and it
was His own righteousness that sustained Him in His work. A
work that none of us could do. And yet he did it in full love
and faith toward God. Do you see why his arm is not
short to save you? Because you and I had nothing
to do with it. We had nothing to do with this
salvation. He did it all. In verse 17 of our text, the
prophet pictures the Savior. He says, in verse 17, For He put on righteousness
as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation upon His head. And
He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with
zeal like a cloak. He pictures Him as a warrior
set for battle. And I tell you, the Lord Jesus
Christ did do battle. He did do battle with our sins
as he bore them in his own body on the tree. The Lord Jesus Christ He is the warrior and righteousness
covered his heart. Salvation filled his mind so
that as God's servant, he faithfully bore our sins in his own body
on the tree. Behold how God can save the utmost
sinner to the uttermost. even because Christ endured the
full measure of God's wrath for our sins. This is the only hope
for you. This is the only hope for me,
is that Christ should bear my sins for me. That He should endure
the wrath of God in my stead. Sinner afar off, you who are
hypocrites, Look to Christ. He is the arm
of the Lord, and His arm is not too short to save you. Look to Him who bore our sins
in His own body on the tree, not for Himself, but for His
own people. He says this, I have trodden
the winepress alone. and of the people there was none
with me for I will tread on them in mine anger and trample them
in my fury and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garment
and I will stain all my raiment. Let me ask you this. Was the
Lord Jesus Christ successful in his work? Did He do what He said He would
do? Have you any interest in His
sacrifice? Are you weary of pretending? Have your sins separated you
from God? Then look to Jesus Christ. And all who look to Him, listen,
in verse 20 it says, And the Redeemer shall come to Zion,
and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob. The Redeemer shall come, even
because He has come. He will come to all of His elect. And who are they? They are the
ones who turn from their transgression. The transgression of self-righteousness. They are they that turn from
themselves to Him. Have you turned to Christ? Or are you just pretending? Has the Redeemer come to you? Has His arm reached into the
pits of death and raised you from the dead? They have if you have turned
from your transgression. And I'm not talking about turning
from one sin or this sin or that sin. People talk about repentance
as though it were just turning from one bad thing you do, changing
habits. No, that's not what it is. Repentance
is turning completely from self and turning completely to Christ. That's what repentance is. It
is rejecting all of my own righteousness and clinging only to the righteousness
of Jesus Christ. That's what it is to turn. That's
what it is to be saved. Believe on Him and be saved. Not by works and not even by
our feelings. We're saved by God's covenant
of grace. Verse 21, as for me, this is
my covenant with them. With all who turn to Christ,
this is my covenant. My spirit that is upon thee,
my words which I have put in thy mouth shall not depart out
of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor a mouth
of thy seed's seed, saith the Lord from henceforth and forevermore. Notice God's covenant's promise. He said, my spirit will I give
to who? He gave it to Christ. And you know what Christ has
done? He gives it to his people. And his word will not depart
from their mouth. What is this word? It is faith. Faith will not depart from my
people. My Spirit I give to them, and
it will not depart from them." This is God's covenant with you. With who? All who believe on
the Lord Jesus Christ. All who truly believe. Do you truly believe on Christ? Listen, one day He will separate
all pretenders from the true believers. Where will you be in that day? I know this, I shall be with
the righteous, not because of me, but because the arm of the
Lord was not shortened to save me. And I got this promise too. His
ear is not heavy. You who are parents, do your
ears get heavy? My ears get awful heavy. They
ask and they ask and they ask and they ask and they want and
they need and they need and they want and they want. And I sigh
and I moan. God never does that with you.
Not you who are his true children. His ear is never heavy. Ask what you will. And you know what he'll do? He'll
give you exactly what you need. He'll give you exactly what you
need. I tell you what I need. I need
more faith. I desire more faith to believe
in Christ. I desire more love for him. I desire to look more toward
my heavenly home than the things of this world. And we should pray for such things.
all the while recognizing that my Father's arm is strong enough
to carry me all the way to heaven. Remember, you who believe are
kept, kept by the power of God unto
salvation ready to be revealed. I pray that God would even open
your hearts to see what kind of person you really are. Are
you a pretender? Or do you truly rest on Jesus
Christ alone? May God himself reveal that to you. Let's stand. We'll be dismissed
in prayer.