Isaiah chapter 43. Let's read the first four verses. But now, thus saith the Lord
that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel,
fear not, fear not, for I have redeemed thee, I have called
thee by thy name, thou art mine. When Thou passest through the
waters, I will be with Thee, and through the rivers they shall
not overflow Thee. When Thou walkest through the
fire, Thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle
upon Thee. For I am the Lord Thy God, the
Holy One of Israel, Thy Savior. I gave Egypt for Thy ransom,
Ethiopia and Seba for Thee. Since thou wast precious in my
sight, thou hast been honorable, and I have loved thee. Therefore,
therefore will I give men for thee and people for thy life."
Two weeks ago, the last time I was here and preached to you,
my text was from chapter 42, where God exhorts us to behold
his servant. His servant shall not fail. And here in chapter 43, that
one who cannot fail. I mean, that's just impossible
for Christ to fail. He tells his people, fear not. Fear not. Man, that's a tall
order. Isn't it? That's a tall order. One hymn writer, Charlotte Elliott,
I believe was her name, put it this way. Just as I am, though
tossed about, with many a conflict and many a doubt, fightings and
fears within, without." So many fears. But the Lord God says,
our Savior, our Redeemer, says, fear not, fear not. He spoke
these words even to the father of the faithful, Abraham. He
had to speak them to Jacob, to Moses, to Daniel, to the shepherds
that night in the fields of Bethlehem, to the disciples, even to the
great apostle Paul. Our Lord said, Paul, don't be
afraid. Fear not. And to so many others,
indeed to all of His people, to all of His chosen, His redeemed,
He says, fear not. God would not have us to be anxious. Our Lord, didn't He, in His Sermon
on the Mount said, don't be weary, don't be fretful, don't be anxious.
Your Heavenly Father knows. Your Father knows that you have
need of all these things. He who made us, The creator and
the ruler of all things, without whom not a sparrow falls to the
ground without his permission. He who knows the very hairs of
our head, he bids us not to fear. Whom do we have to fear? What
do we have to fear if he says, if he says, fear not? But he just doesn't say that,
does he? Here again in verse 1 of chapter
43. He gives us good reason not to fear. Fear not for or because
I have redeemed thee. Now that must mean something.
That must carry a lot of weight. Redemption must be more than
an offer. It must be more than an attempt
on our God's part to save his people. No, it means that he
obtained, as we read a moment ago in Hebrews 9, eternal, everlasting
redemption for us. Fear not, for I have redeemed
you. God has redeemed us by the death
of his Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. None who really feel
themselves to be sinners can be without fear. until they believe
in Christ their Redeemer. They might believe in God's power,
in His holiness, but that will only make them more afraid. It's
only when they're enabled to believe in his redeeming love
that fear is taken away because then our guilt is taken away. For it is sin that makes the
awakened conscious feel his guilt and his sin. Oh, but when he
looks to that one who took away his sin upon the cross, That
one who laid down his life and offered himself without spot
to God, atoning for his sin and upon righteous grounds, God forgives
that sinner. Oh, then he fears not. The words then have true meaning
because that one great God and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
came on a mission. A mission of mercy to give his
life a ransom for many. That's what he told his disciples
shortly before his death, shortly before he went to the cross,
shortly before he trod the winepress alone. He said, the Son of Man
came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give his
life a ransom, a payment to make atonement for many. How many? As many as God gave him. as many
as God entrusted unto his hands, the many a multitude that none
could number. Galatians chapter 4, but, but,
love that word, don't you? But when the fullness of the
time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made
under the law to redeem, to redeem. them that were under the law
that we might receive the adoption of sons. Now Christ didn't come
to make his people redeemable. Do you find any comfort in that?
He didn't come to enable them to redeem themselves, to do only
a part and leave them to do the rest. No, he came to redeem them
back to God by offering himself a ransom for their souls. And
blessed be his name, He did not fail. He did not fail. I know he didn't. I know he didn't. Because after offering himself
to God, God Almighty proved his satisfaction with the death of
his son. He proved that he accepted the
payment made and the ransom put down by his son when he raised
him from the dead and exalted him as a prince and a savior
at his own right hand. In our hymn book on page 222,
I believe it is, there is William Cowper's probably most famous
hymn. He wrote many, but he wrote this
one, There is a Fountain. There is a fountain. Do you know
when he wrote that hymn? He was in an asylum, suffering
deep depression. He had even tried to take his
life. A relative visited him while he was there and told him
about the Lord Jesus Christ, who's mighty to save. Told him
that Jesus Christ was able to save to the uttermost all that
come unto God by him. Calper, upon hearing this blessed
good news, burst out in tears and said, that is the first time
I've seen a ray of hope. That gives me hope. Christ Jesus
came into this world to save sinners. And when his friend
was gone, he opened the Bible, and in the providence of God,
his eyes fell on these words in Romans chapter 3. whom God,
speaking of Christ, whom God has set forth to be of propitiation
through faith in his blood. And then he wrote his famous
hymn based on the words of Zechariah, chapter 13, verse 1. In that
day there shall be a fountain open to the house of David and
to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness. and you remember how it goes.
There is a fountain filled with blood, drawn from Emmanuel's
veins, and sinners plunge beneath that blood, lose all, all their
guilty stains. The dying thief, Cowper wrote,
rejoiced to see that fountain in his day. And there may I,
though vile as he, wash all my sins away. Thank God there is a fountain.
The redeemed are held and secured by a threefold cord, which can
never be broken, which can never be severed. Each of the three
persons in the blessed trinity, the triune God, God the Father,
God the Son, God the Holy Spirit are concerned in the salvation
of His people. With the Father, it's election.
A lot of people don't like that word. Oh, I rejoice. God Almighty chose a people. Chose a people to salvation. With the Lord Jesus Christ, His
Son, He redeemed those people, those same people. He laid down
his life for them. He loved the church and gave
himself for it. I laid down my life for the sheep.
You're not my sheep, he said. And with the Holy Spirit, it's
regeneration. Bringing those sinners chosen
by the Father, redeemed by the Son, and giving them life and
faith. God the Father, who has loved
them with an everlasting love, has chosen them in Christ, and
has secured them in the covenant of grace and giving them saving
grace. He keeps them by His power and
He will give them eternal glory. There's no question about that.
God the Son undertook the work of salvation for them. He has
redeemed them. Remember what our text said?
Fear not. Fear not because I've redeemed
you. I didn't offer to redeem you.
I didn't attempt to redeem you. I didn't partly redeem you. I've
redeemed you. When he bowed his head upon the
cross, he said, I've done my best. I hope something comes
of all this. Oh no, he said, it is finished. Glory to his name. He has redeemed
and purchased them. And he prays now in heaven as
we read in Hebrews 9. He represents us. He appears
for them in the presence of God and intercedes on their behalf.
and they're built on Him, they're united to Him, and they're His
forever. And God, the Holy Spirit, His
grace, like the Father and the Son, is incorruptible. His indwelling
is with them forever. He Himself is the pledge and
the seal of their heavenly inheritance, and having begun the good work
in them, He'll finish it until the day of the Lord Jesus Christ. Listen again to what Paul wrote
in Ephesians chapter 1. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual
blessing in heavenly places in Christ, according as he has chosen
us before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy
and blameless before him in love. having predestinated us to the
adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself according to
the riches of his grace, to the praise of the glory of his grace,
which he had bestowed on us, accepting us in the beloved."
Child of God, upon this solid ground, upon this blessed foundation,
God says, fear not. upon redemptions accomplished. Dismiss your doubts. By grace, put away your fears.
Jesus said, don't be afraid. You're mine. You're mine. You're mine. My Father gave you
to me. He put you into my hands. And nobody can pluck you out. You're mine. You belong to me. You're bought and paid for. Don't
be afraid. I've redeemed you. You're mine
by creation. You're mine by redemption. You're
mine by right. You're mine by purchase. You're
mine by choice, God's choice. You're mine for life and you're
mine in death. your mind for time and your mind
for eternity. Paul said, with such a blessed
challenge, he said, who shall separate us from the love of
God which is in Christ Jesus? Can anything? Can death? Can
heartache? Can despair? No. By the grace
of God, he leads his dear children along. In all seasons and under
all circumstances, we belong to Christ. as a father speaking
to his child, as a husband to his wife, as a brother speaking
to his brother, as a friend speaking to a friend, as the potter speaking
to the clay that he made, as a buyer speaking to the thing
that he has bought, Jesus says to you and I, fear not your mind. You belong to me. Look at verse
2 again here in Isaiah chapter 43. When thou passest through
the waters, and we will. It doesn't say if you pass through
the waters, there's no if about this. When thou passest through
the waters, I will be with thee. And through the rivers, they
shall not overflow thee. When thou walkest through the
fire, thou shalt not be burned. Neither shall the flame kindle
upon thee." As Bobby just sang, some through the waters and some
through the flood. Some through the fire, but all
through the blood. Some through great sorrow, but
God gives a song in the night season and all the day long. You see, when our Savior says
to each of his children, fear not because I have redeemed you,
It's obvious that the redemption of Jesus Christ makes a difference. It makes all the difference.
Those who perish were obviously not redeemed. If so, what difference does redemption
make? What hope does it give a believing
sinner? If one sheep that Christ redeems
perishes, what hope or comfort does any child of God have? If one should perish, then all
may perish. If the blood of Jesus Christ
applied to the heart of a believing sinner proves to be ineffectual
after all, and that sinner is cast away after all, what hope
or comfort does any believer have? Would God disrespect his
son so? Would he disrespect his sons? Would he allow his son to bear
the sins of his people? Would he allow his son to endure
his righteous wrath? Would he demand payment two times
first at my bleeding surety's hands and then again at mine? Oh, no, no, never, never, never. God is faithful and just to forgive
us of our sins. Mr. Owen, John Owen, many, many
years ago, hundreds of years ago, laid this down. He asked the question, for whom
did Christ die? For whom did Christ die? The
father imposed his wrath due unto and the son underwent punishment
for either all the sins of all men, or all the sins of some
men, or some of the sins of all men, in which case it may be
said, if the third one is true, that he died and bore some of
the sins of all men, then none will be saved. None will be saved
because there are still sins to be accounted for. And if the
second one be true, that Christ in the room instead of his people
suffered for all their sins, all the elect in the whole world,
then this is true. They must be saved. Glory to
God, they must be saved. I cannot believe people say,
well, universal redemption honors God. It exalts God's love and
God's mercy that Jesus Christ bore all the sins of everyone. Really now, does it really? Stop
and think about it. It really does the opposite.
It robs God of His glory and of His love. What kind of love
is that? that allows those for whom Christ suffered and died
to perish after all. What kind of love is that? God
can love me today enough to send his son for me and then cast
me into hell forever? No, that's no love. No. All but
the first Mr. Owen went on to say is true,
that God made his son to be sin for us. And in doing so, the prisoners
must go free. Like that night in the garden,
when they came for our Lord, whom do you seek? Who do you
want? As he stepped out in front of
his fearful disciples, as the faithful and good shepherd about
to lay down his life for his sheep, he stood in front of that
bloodthirsty mob and said, who are you looking for? Jesus of
Nazareth. Well, I'm here. You found me.
I'm not trying to hide. I'm not trying to hide. I'm here.
Take me. Take me. I voluntarily give myself
to you. But if I do, glory to his name,
what a beautiful picture of substitution. These sheep got to go free. You
take the shepherd. A Waco sword against the man
who is my fellow. Smite the shepherd, the prophet
said. Oh, but in doing so, the sheep
have got to go free. Fear not. Fear not. I have redeemed
you. You know, this is the theme of
the song they sing in glory. The glorious theme of redemption. Redemption by the Lamb. They
sung a new song, Revelation 5, saying, Thou art worthy. Thou
art worthy. because you attempted something. Oh no. You're worthy because
you made something possible. Oh no. You're worthy to take
the book and to open the seals thereof because you were slain.
You were slain and you have redeemed us to God. buy thy blood out
of every kindred and tongue and people and nation." Man, that's
worth singing about, is it not? Revelation chapter 7. And he
said to me, these are they which came out of great tribulation
and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood
of the Lamb. Therefore, therefore, know of
the reason No other cause but this. They were redeemed with
the precious blood of Christ. Therefore, are they before the
throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple. And
he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. Chapter
14 of Revelation. These are they, those that appear
on Mount Zion with the Redeemer, the bride with her bridegroom,
the sheep with their shepherd, the body with their head. These
are they which were not defiled with women. They are virgins. These are they which follow the
Lamb, whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among
men, not with all men. They were redeemed from among
men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. And in their
mouth was found no gout, for they are without fault before
the throne of God. Fear not. I have redeemed thee. If you're a true believer, God
says to you, fear not. You belong to Christ. In belonging
to Christ, the law can't condemn you. It can't condemn you. There's no condemnation to those
who are in Christ Jesus. Sin cannot have dominion over
you. Satan cannot claim you, death
can't destroy you, and the grave can't keep you, and hell can't
receive you, because Christ has redeemed you. Fear not. Once,
true, true, once we were the slave of the devil, the servants
of sin. We lived in the land of darkness,
and our inheritance was the pit of hell. Our soul was ruined,
and we had nothing to do to reclaim ourselves. But fear not, you
have a Redeemer. You have a Redeemer. The Lord
God Almighty is his name. Now he says, fear not, the ransom
has been paid. Divine justice is satisfied. Satan is forever vanquished.
Death is overcome. The ransom was accepted. And
never shall your heavenly inheritance be taken away. Never shall the
change of sin be riveted back to you again. Jesus says, fear
not, I have redeemed you. And he will, as we said earlier,
not demand payment twice. He got payment in full when Christ
was to make sin for his people. And he does not demand it again.
I was listening to a message not long ago by Brother Donnie
Bell. He was preaching at Todd's Road
in Lexington, Kentucky. And Donnie said he could recall
that at one time. He said, I was on the brink of
ending my own life and trying to figure out how to make it
look like an accident. But God. But God. Donnie said, but God
said deliver his soul from going down to the pit because I found
the ransom. Not let him end his life. Not
let him perish. Oh, no, no, no. God won't allow
that. God won't allow that. Because
that's one for whom Christ laid down his life. That's one that
was bought with the precious blood of Christ. He's not going
to perish. They're going to be called, as
we read in our text, verse 1 here in Isaiah, they'll be called
by the grace of God. deliver his soul from going down
to the pit, I've found the ransom." Donnie said, the last thing I
think of when I go to bed at night is this, I'm not guilty. That ought to help you sleep.
I'm not guilty. Before the throne of a thrice
holy God, I'm not guilty. Donnie said, I can't tell you
the last time I felt guilty. Now, think about that. He said,
my last sin is as much paid for as my first one. Therefore, it
must be well with my soul. And I rejoiced in that message
and I thought, amen, Donny, that's exactly right. Let us witness
to that love, that everlasting love of God that never stops. Let us witness to that purpose
that never falters. Let us witness to that deliverance
that never disappoints. In the light of the previous
chapter, as it ended, where Israel refused to obey God, we might
think this chapter, chapter 43, would begin with God rejecting
them. After all, they deserved it.
But thank God. Aren't you thankful, child of
God, that He doesn't treat us as we do Him? The chapter begins
with not man's merit, but God's everlasting, unchanging mercy. Paul said, I was once a blasphemer,
a persecutor, injurious, but I obtained mercy. And what can be better than that? I obtained mercy. But God, what
blessed words of grace, he broke my stubborn will. Throughout
the great eternal age, I'll chant His praises still. For I am the
Lord, I change not. If He loved me yesterday, He'll
love me today. And He'll love me tomorrow. And
He'll love me all through every day of this life. And He'll love
me forever in glory, because He changes not. Therefore, ye
sons of Jacob are not consumed. Once we're His, we're His forever. Nothing, nothing from His love
can sever. Christ didn't die to win our
sympathy so that we would feel sorry for Him. He didn't die
to win our friendship. He died so that a holy God could
save our souls. He died so that God could be
just and justify the ungodly. His death is not a pattern but
a payment. His death is not an example,
but an atonement. His death is not to revive us,
but to redeem us, and He did not fail. And on the solid rock
of redemption obtained, God says to us, fear not. Christ redeems
us from all sin and all the consequences of sin. He endured the wrath
of God to the uttermost, and by this redemption, His redemption,
justice is satisfied, wrath is pacified, grace is procured,
and all spiritual enemies are vanquished. Each child of God
is redeemed from the love of sin, the guilt of sin, the dominion
of sin, the damning power of sin, the curse of the law, hell,
and wrath to come. Oh, the work of redemption is
a great and mighty work, and the greatness of that redemption
is exemplified in the person who was necessary to accomplish
it. That proves how great it must
be. Behold, John, the land of the
tribe of Judah hath prevailed. The great and invaluable price
which was paid down for our redemption speaks as to the great Redeemer
that procured it. The price that we are bought
with is a price beyond all computation. The redemption that we have in
Christ is a free and gracious redemption. All the rounds in
this ladder of redemption are made up of free, rich, and sovereign
grace. Though our redemption costs Christ
dearly, yet to us it is most free. Freely redeemed by the
Lord Jesus Christ. Christ completely did the work
of redemption. He does not redeem us from some
of our sins and leave us with the rest. Oh no, Christ made
a most complete work of it. He redeems us from all our iniquities. He delivers us out of the hands
of all our enemies. He paid all our debts. He delivers
from all wrath. He takes off the whole curse.
He saves to the uttermost and he will settle us in a state
of full and perfect bliss when grace shall be turned into glory. The redemption which we have
in Jesus Christ is an eternal redemption, a permanent lasting
redemption, an everlasting one, having obtained eternal redemption
for us. The satisfaction which Jesus
rendered to the justice of God was finished. The death Debt
was paid to the very last farthing. The atonement was made once for
all and forever, and by that one offering made in Jesus' body
on the tree. There was the cup. Hell was in
it. Father, if it be possible, let
this cup pass from me. But he drank it. He didn't take
a sip and then put it back down. He didn't drink a portion, but
he drained it. glory to his name. He took the
cup and he drained it and he left nothing in it for his people.
The great tin-thonged whip of the law was worn out upon his
back and there's not a lash left with which to spite one for whom
Christ died. The great cannon of God's justice
was exhausted with all its ammunition on him and there's nothing left
to be hurled against one of his children. The sword of God's
justice has been sheathed. Silence is forever. The law can no more thunder from
Sinaitis people. It's been silenced by the death
of Christ. There remains nothing now of
all the griefs, pains, and agonies which chosen sinners ought to
have suffered for their sins. For Christ has endured for all
of his beloved the wrath of God. Christ has done what all the
flames of the pit could never have done throughout eternity,
and that is put away sin. In Micah chapter 7, the prophet
said, who is a god like unto you, removing iniquity and passing
over the rebellion for the remnant of your people? He does not hold
on to his anger forever because he delights in love. He will
again have compassion on us. He will vanquish all our iniquities. I like that. He will cast all
our sins into the depths of the sea. This is one of the blessed
images that represents the completeness of God's pardoning mercy. He
cast our sins not into a brook or a river. They might be washed
up again and found again. or into the sea near the shore
where the tide might bring them back. When Robin and I were in
Orange Beach, she would go out every morning, early, early,
and pick up shells on the shore that had been washed up with
the tide. They could be found there. Oh, but our sins, our
sins, like a stone has been cast into the depths of the sea, and
they can never be fished up again. They lie forever buried and forgotten
at the bottom of the ocean and this is the divine forgiveness
that God gives his people, casting all of their sins into oblivion. I have redeemed thee, a personal
redemption, a particular redemption, an effectual redemption. I have
redeemed you by the price of my blood and by the power of
my grace. I may have told you the story
when I was a young boy growing up in West Virginia, someone
would come and tell us about a new swimming hole that they
found. So we would hike to it and find
it. Not being sure if the water was
safe to jump off of rocks into, someone would make their way
down, get out into the water, swim down, and then come up and
say, it's deep enough. It's deep enough. You can jump. You can jump. because I didn't
touch the bottom. In 1 Corinthians chapter 6, we
read these words. Know you not that the unrighteous
shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Don't be deceived. Don't
be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor adulterers,
nor adulterers, nor infeminate, nor abusers of themselves with
mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers,
nor extortioners shall inherit the kingdom of God, And such
were some of you. Such were some of you. But. But. We came to that fountain
filled with blood, drawn from Emmanuel's veins, and we jumped
in. And we jumped in. And look what happened. Now you're
washed You're sanctified, you're justified in the name of the
Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. You're not what you
once were. Dear dying lamb, thy precious
blood shall never lose its power till all the ransomed church
of God be saved of sin no more. E'er since by faith I saw the
stream, thy flowing wounds supplied, redeeming love has been my thing
and shall be till I die. Spurgeon wanted that on his tune,
and it is. When this poor lisping, stammering
tongue lie silent in the grave, then in a nobler, sweeter song
I'll sing thy power to save. But now, thus saith the Lord
that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel,
fear not, For I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy
name, thou art mine. God bless you.