Now, Isaiah 45. Isaiah 45 is
our text this evening. I'm taking a title from this
very, very familiar and prominent statement that's given in the
last part of verse 21. There is no God else beside me,
a just God and Savior. A just God and Savior. That's the title of the message.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the only just God, and He is God
our Savior. At least six times in this chapter,
that phrase is repeated. Look at verse 5, I am the Lord,
there is none else. There is no God beside me. I girded thee, though thou hast
not known me. The last part of verse 6, I am
the Lord and there is none else. The last part of verse 14, Surely
God is in thee, and there is none else, there is no God beside
God who is God. Again, down to the last part
of verse 18, I am the Lord, that is Jehovah, the everlasting God,
and there is no other God. And then in the last part of
verse 22, let's read the whole verse, look unto me and be ye
saved, all the ends of the earth, I am God, there is none else. Now, it's pretty plain, the message
of all scripture, God is God. We can be assured then by the
record of God's holy word that there is only one Savior, who
is God our Savior. There's only one way God saves
sinners. There's only one way of salvation. There is only one gospel. It is a gospel of God concerning
the Lord Jesus Christ. One Lord, one faith, one way,
and one gospel. And the Lord Jesus Christ identified
himself as I am the way. He said, I'm not a way, I'm the
way. Now in this chapter, Isaiah 45,
the Lord our God declares unto us that God is God alone, the
absolute sovereign over all things. Of Him, through Him, and to Him
are all things, Romans 11 declares. He is a sovereign creator of
all things. Did you notice verse 12? He said,
I've made the earth. In the beginning, God said, let
there be light. I've made the earth. Now, what's
involved in creating the heavens and the earth? I mean, if there's
a heaven and an earth and the universe created, the one who
creates that must be the almighty eternal God. I made the earth
and I created man upon it. I, even I, my hands have stretched
out the heavens and all the hosts have I commanded. He speaks and
it's done. He commands and it stands fast.
He is a creator of all things. Look at verse 18, For thus saith
the Lord, that created the heavens, God Himself that formed the earth,
and made it. Not only made it, but He establishes
it. All things consist by the word
of His power. Did you ever notice how this
universe, our seasons, our time, has an exact order? Exact order. How does all that happen? It's
not Mother Nature. It's God Almighty that rules
and controls. He controls all things. He formed
all things. He established all things. He
created it not in vain. Heaven declares the glory of
God. He formed it to be inhabited. He's going to make a new heaven
and a new earth too, wherein dwelleth righteousness. I am
the Lord, and there is none else." So He is the Sovereign Creator.
He is the Sovereign Ruler of all things. God raised up this
pagan king by the name of Cyrus and declared 200 years before
he was born, what his name was and what he would do, how he
would deliver Israel from bondage, and how they would go back and
reconstruct the temple. Remember, we studied that in
the book of Ezra and Nehemiah. He is the sovereign over all
things. Look at verse 28, Isaiah 44. He is my shepherd and shall perform
all my pleasure. Even saying to Jerusalem, thou
shalt be built, and to the temple thy foundation shall be laid. Notice again, verse 5, 6, and
7, Isaiah 45, I am the Lord, there is none else. There is
no God beside me. I girded thee, though thou hast
not known me, that they may know from the rising of the sun from
the west that there is none beside me. I am the Lord, there is none
else. He's a sovereign over all things. I form the light. I create
darkness. How does God create darkness?
Well, He withholds the light. I make peace. I create evil. I the Lord do all these things. He's absolute sovereign over
all things. Now God is not the author of
sin. How is it said that he creates evil? He simply withholds his
goodness and men go their wicked ways. He is a sovereign savior
of his people. Look at verse 17. But Israel
shall be saved in the Lord with an everlasting salvation. You shall not be ashamed nor
confounded world without end. He is sovereign in salvation. He will have mercy on whom he
will have mercy. Jacob have I loved, Esau have
I hated, that the purpose of God according to election might
stand. He said, I will have mercy on
whom I will have mercy. There's also given in this chapter,
like the warning that was given back in Isaiah 44, a strong warning
given to those who are makers of idols. Notice, if you will,
look at verse 16. Isaiah 45, 16. They shall be
ashamed that confounded all of them, they shall go to confusion
together that are makers of idols. Again, in verse 20, he gives
a warning. Verse 20, Isaiah 45. Assemble
yourself and come. Draw near together, ye that are
escaped of the nation. They have no knowledge that set
up wood of their graven image, and pray unto a God that cannot
save. Now, you remember Elijah on Mount
Carmel? How they cried unto Baal, O Baal,
save us. They prayed into a God that could
not save. Elijah uttered 63 word prayer
and fire fell from heaven and consumed the sacrifice. Now to
preach an impotent God and to trust an impotent God is nothing
short of idolatry. To trust a Savior that is not
God our Savior, God Almighty and sovereign is nothing but
Idolatry. Idolatry is a useless religion,
vain religion, inspired by Satan and promoted by his ministers
who parade as angels of light and ministers of righteousness
who would tell you to go about and establish a righteousness
by your doing. Now we know from reading The scripture, we had it last
Sunday, 1 Corinthians 8, where Paul says an idol is nothing.
But to us, there was one God, the father of whom are all things,
and we in him are for him, and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom
are all things, and we by him. In Him dwells all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily, and in Christ we stand complete. Now
the Lord Jesus Christ is the almighty God and Savior, and
eternal life is knowing the only true God, Jesus Christ, whom
God has sent. Eternal life is not being religious. Eternal life is not turning over
a new leaf and reforming your life. Eternal life is not joining
up with the local congregation. Eternal life is not found in
the baptistry. Eternal life is found in Christ. He is. Salvation. He is the Savior. This is life
eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true God, Jesus
Christ, whom Thou hast sent. John puts it this way, in 1 John,
we know the Son of God has come, and He's given us an understanding
that we might know Him that is true, and we're in Him that is
true. This is the only true God, our
Savior. Now, with that introduction,
I wanna take a look at verse 21, and we'll try to get down
through verse 25. Tell ye, verse 21, bring them
near. Yea, let them take counsel together. Excuse me, who hath declared
this from ancient times? Whose message is this anyway?
Whose message is this, that there is just one God, one Savior,
one way of salvation? Who hath declared this from ancient
time or from everlasting? Who hath told it from that time?
Have not I the Lord? And this is God's gospel. This is his message. There is
no God else beside me. I just God. and the Savior, there is none
beside me." Now, let's work on that for just a minute. The gospel
of God is the ancient gospel. That is, the gospel of God is
an eternal gospel. It's an everlasting gospel. It
has been ordained. from the foundation of the world. The gospel of God is older than
the fall. Salvation is older than sin. Before Adam ever fell, the Lord
Jesus Christ stood as a surety. The gospel of God is the everlasting
gospel. It's older than the fall of Adam,
the sin of Adam, older than creation itself, before God even created
the world or created man in it. The Lord Jesus Christ stood as
the mediator, surety, as the Lamb of God slain from the foundation
of the world. He already had the remedy, and
in the purpose and decree of God, Christ had already been
slain, risen from the dead, seated in the heavenlies, before Adam
ever sinned. We read about that, about the
lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Now, Second Timothy
said, God who saved us, God saved us and called us with a holy
calling, not according to our works, but according to God's
own purpose, given us in Christ before the foundation of the
world. God saved his people with an
everlasting salvation. And then one day in time, he
tells us about it, and reveals the gospel unto us. Now, look
at verse 21 again, the last part of this, so the gospel of God
is the ancient gospel, it's the old gospel, as old as God, older
than creation, older than Adam's ruin. Who had told it from that
time? Have not I, the Lord? Now here's
the message. There is no God else beside me,
a just God and Savior. Now here's the key to the gospel
and the central theme of the gospel. The Lord Jesus Christ
is just, holy, righteous, and yet He's a merciful, loving Savior. He is holy and just, no doubt
about that. He is a just God because God
is holy. God must punish sin. God will not and cannot compromise
His holy character. He will not bend His holy law
to save one sinner. God will not bend His holiness,
His righteous justice, to set one guilty sinner free. Cannot do it. Why? God is just,
and God is holy. Exodus 34 declares, God will
by no means clear the guilty. He can't, and be God. He's just,
holy, must punish sin. His law must be honored, His
justice must be satisfied. For the wages of sin is death.
The Lord declares the guilty must die. But that's not the end of the
statement. No doubt God is just. No doubt God is holy. But it
also says there, and a Savior. Now that's the good news of the
gospel. He is also God our Savior. He's the only Savior. Call His
name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins. Neither is there salvation in
any other, for there is no other name under heaven, given among
men, whereby we must be saved. In Isaiah 43, 11, you can turn
there if you want to, I, even I, am the Lord, beside me
there is no Savior. Now that's pretty clear, is it
not? Now, this is why the Lord Jesus Christ came into this world. This is why God Almighty was
manifest in the flesh. In the fullness of time, God
sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem
them that were under the law. God was manifest in the flesh
to satisfy His own holy law. Our blessed Savior said, I cannot
destroy the law, I came to honor the very law of God that we have
violated. The Lord Jesus Christ came to
satisfy his own holy justice. He came to pay our sin debt in
full with the sacrifice of himself, shedding his own blood to put
away our sin, to enable God to be a just God and Savior, to
be holy and not compromise His holy character, and yet show
mercy upon us. As we read in Romans 3, verse
25 and verse 26, God set Him forth to be the propitiation,
the mercy seat for our sin, that God might be just and the justifier
of those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Now this fact is
demonstrated all through scripture how God is both a just God and
a Savior. I'll give you four examples.
Adam sinned and was punished, right? God said the day you eat
you're going to die. Adam disobeyed God and he died. But one man Disobedient sin entered
into the world by one man. Sin and guilt passed upon all
men. Adam sinned and was punished. Why? God is just. God is holy. But we also see
in Genesis 3, before Adam was put out of the garden, God gave
him a gospel promise concerning the coming of the Messiah, the
Lord Jesus Christ. You remember Genesis 3.15, where
the Lord said the seed of woman would bruise the serpent's head,
and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is that seed of woman. And
then, not only did he give him that gospel promise, he actually
did something for him. Remember what he did? He clothed
him with a covering that He provided from a substitute. Why did He
do that? Because He is God our Savior. I wrote this down. Genesis 3,
verse 21, unto Adam also and to his wife did God make coats
of skins and clothed them. This was his doing. What is all
that a picture of? Turn to Isaiah 61 10. You see,
there was a promise given of the seed of the woman. And then
God demonstrated how he would clothe sinners with the righteousness
of Christ in that animal sacrifice. Isaiah 61 verse 10, I will greatly
rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God, for
he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered
me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself
with ornaments, as a bride adorns herself with jewels. So, even
way back in the Garden, God demonstrated, He gave the promise, and then
He demonstrated how He justifies sinners by a covering from a
substitute, a justifying righteousness, all that points to Christ, the
Lord Jesus Christ. Now, here's a second thing, second
illustration from the Word of God, demonstrating that God is
a just God and Savior. The world was flooded in Noah's
day, right? Why? Because God is just, God
is holy, God must punish sin. Remember his testimony of the
human race? Genesis 6, God saw that the wickedness
of man was great in the earth and that every imagination of
the thought of his heart was only evil continually. Now that hasn't changed. What God said of mankind in that
day is still true in this day. Noah found grace. But Noah found
grace in the eyes of the Lord." Why? God is a just God and Savior. God sent a tremendous flood and
killed I don't know how many people. Everybody but Noah, Noah's
wife, and his family in that ark. Noah found grace in the
eyes of the Lord. That ark is a type and picture
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Outside that ark was nothing
but wrath and judgment. He's a just God. Inside that
ark, provided by God, He is a Savior of sinners. You see, that demonstrated
a just God and Savior. Here's a third example. The holy
law of God was given at Sinai's mountain. You remember we studied
that? The mountain quaked and thunder
and lightning and the people cried, don't let God speak to
us. They were terrified by the giving
of that law. The holy law of God was given.
Do not sin. Why? God is holy. God demands
holiness. He is just. But we know by the
deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified. But God in that
giving of the law also provided a mercy seat. Now isn't that interesting? He's
a just God and Savior. There is a mercy seat in that
holy of holies in the tabernacle upon which atonement, blood atonement
was made, pointing to that propitiation that we read about. In Romans
3, atonement was made, appointing to the Lord Jesus Christ, here
in His love, not that we love God, but He loved us, and sent
His Son to be the propitiation for our sin. Why? God is merciful. He's the Savior of sinners. So
there are three good examples of how God is just, and yet He's
merciful. He's the justifier. The prime example, or the supreme
example, and the fulfillment of all Old
Testament pictures and types, that God is just and the justifier
of the ungodly, that He is a just God and Savior, is seen at Calvary. It's seen at Calvary. That's
what's taking place upon the cross. Why is the Lord Jesus
Christ dying such a horrible death under the wrath of God? God's holy. God is holy. And when he finds sin being laid
upon Christ, being imputed and reckoned to him by the will and
decree of God, when sin was found upon the Lord Jesus Christ, the wrath of God was displayed,
and the holy wrath of God fell upon the Lord Jesus Christ. That's
what was taking place at the cross. Why is Christ dying? Well, He's dying according to
the determinate counsel of God. He's dying because our sin was
charged to Him, but He's suffering the wrath of God because God
is holy. No greater display. We see the
love of God displayed there as well, but we see the holiness
of God displayed there at Calvary. Sin demands a full payment. And
that's what the Lord Jesus Christ gave. He appeared once in the
end of the age to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.
But this is also the means in Christ and Him crucified to enable
God to be a just God and a Savior. Now this religious world doesn't
know a thing about what Isaiah is talking about. How God can
be a just God and Savior. God made him to be sin for us.
And who knows sin that we might be made the righteousness of
God in him. There's no other sacrifice for
sin, but the sacrifice that God has provided for himself. This is God's Lamb that takes
away the sin of God's people. That's why Paul said, I'm determined
to know nothing among you but Jesus Christ and Him crucified. He's the only just God and Savior. There is none else. Now, that
being established and that being so, and that's the message we
are to declare. how God can be just and justify
the ungodly through Christ and him crucified, and not compromise
one wit, not whittle down the law one bit, jot or tittle, satisfy
his own law, and yet honor his justice and show mercy at the
same time. And that's what happened at the
cross. Mercy and truth, righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
Psalm 85, 10. Now, that being established,
what does he say? Look at verse 22. And everybody
can understand this word. L-O-O-K. Look. Look where? Well, he tells us where to look. Look unto me. Now, if there's
only one God and one Savior, it would be insanity to look
somewhere else, would it not? He said, look unto me and be
you saved. And be you what? Justified, saved. All the ends
of the earth. Remember what our Lord told those
disciples as he departed to glory, going to all the world and preach
the gospel to every creature? all the ends of the earth. Why
did he say that? He has a people out of every tribe, kindred,
nation, tongue under heaven, all the ends of the earth, for
I am God and there is none else. The Lord says, look to Him. And
when you look to Him, you look away from self. Look to Him,
He says, and be justified. Look to Him and be reconciled.
Look to Him and be redeemed, justified. He didn't say, labor
for me and you'll be saved. He didn't say, serve me and you'll
be saved. He didn't say, go to work for
me and you'll be saved. He said, look. Now this is what
saving faith does. Saving faith doesn't look in
here. People are always looking for assurance. I had a young
man that came here about a year or so ago and he said, I don't
have any assurance. Yeah, I'm looking for assurance.
I said, you don't get assurance by looking for assurance. You
get assurance by looking to Christ. I said, look to him, look to
him. You know, he never came back.
I guess he's still looking for assurance and feelings or something. I told him to look to Christ.
Don't seek assurance, seek Christ. Big difference. Look to Him. That's the look
of faith. This is what gospel faith does. Gospel faith, the faith of God
the elect, looks only, always, forever to the Lord Jesus Christ. It looks to the victorious Lord
Jesus Christ for all of salvation. Now, I quote this scripture all
the time, Hebrews 12, 2. Looking. Looking. looking unto the Lord Jesus Christ,
who is the author and finisher of our faith. You see, we continually
look to Him. We're continually coming to Him,
looking to Him, believing on Him because faith is alive. Now, Notice several things about
this command. He doesn't say to us, well, I
want to invite you if you're inclined to, and maybe if you
have time, or, you know, really, it'd be a good thing if you'd
look to me. God doesn't speak that way. He's
God. The command of God is to look.
Look to me. Look to Him. The command of the
gospel is to look to the Lord Jesus Christ. The command of
the gospel is to believe on Him and be saved. Now, what is the
hope or blessing of truly looking to Him? He said, look to me and
be saved. Well, that's a blessing, is it
not? What is the hope or blessing of looking to the Lord Jesus
Christ by faith? Being justified. He said, I'm
the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall never
hunger. He that believeth on me shall never thirst. Come.
Now, who may look? Who may look? All the ends of
the earth. Oh, everyone that's thirsty,
the Lord said, come. Whosoever shall call upon the
name of the Lord shall be saved. Jew, Gentile, rich, poor, every
sinner that they need. He said, look to me and be saved. Now you remember the story in
the wilderness, those 40 years when Israel was in the wilderness,
and they were complaining against God, and He sent those fiery
serpents among them, and those people who were bitten with those
fiery serpents, they died. They died. Well, God instructed
Moses to make a brazen serpent, like unto that fiery serpent,
and lift it up on a pole. And God gave this promise, those
who look to that brazen serpent lifted up would be healed. Now, who looked? Those who were
bitten. And those who know they are sinners,
convicted by God the Holy Spirit, they look to Christ. Our Lord
said in John 3, remember, as Moses lifted up the serpent in
the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
that whosoever believeth on Him will not perish, but have everlasting
life. Oh, for a blessed, blessed privilege
of looking to the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, who says that there's
salvation in a look? I didn't say that. I just repeated
what God said. God said, look to me and be saved.
The Lord our God, He said, look. Same thing the Lord says in Matthew
11, 28. Come unto me all ye that labor
heavy laden, I'll give you rest. Same thing He says in Hebrews
4, 16. Come boldly therefore unto the throne of grace that
you may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Now, when shall we look to Him?
When shall we look to Him? At all times. Trust in Him at
all times. When in the dark, He is our light. He's the light of the world.
When we're sick, He's our healing. With His stripes we are healed.
When we are weak, He is our strength. Look at verse 24. Surely shall
one say unto the Lord, I have righteousness and strength. When
in sorrow, He's our joy. We rejoice. in Christ Jesus. When in trouble, He's our help. Isaiah 41 10, Fear thou not,
I am the Lord. Be not dismayed, I am thy God.
I will strengthen thee, yea, I will help thee. Yea, I will
hold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. When in
sin, He's our redemption. His blood cleanses us from all
our sin. When in need, He's our justifying
righteousness. Blessed is the man to whom the
Lord imputes righteousness without works. None who look to him will
ever be disappointed or ashamed. Or it says here, verse 17 again,
Isaiah 45, but Israel shall be saved in the Lord with an everlasting
salvation. You shall not be ashamed nor
confounded. World without end. Same message
as Isaiah 28, 16, where it said, behold, I lay in Zion for foundation
of stone, a tried stone, A precious cornerstone, he that believeth
on him shall not be forced out. Never, never, never, never. Now, let me just read the next
three verses. I have sworn by myself the word
gone out of my mouth and righteousness shall not return unto me, shall
not return to him void, that unto me every knee will bow,
every tongue will confess. You remember Philippians 2? Jesus
Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Surely shall
one say in the Lord have I righteousness and strength. Even to him shall
men come and all their incensed against him, rebellion against
him is insanity. They shall be ashamed. In the
Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified. and they glory
in Him, they rejoice in Him. All the seed, the elect of God
shall be justified. Who is He that condemneth? It's
God who justify. Who can lay anything to the charge
of God's elect, it is God that justify. Yea, rather it's Christ
who has died for us. To enable God to be a just God
and Savior, to enable Him to be just and the justifier of
those who believe, in the Lord Jesus Christ.