Isaiah chapter 28. And my text would be taken from
verse 16. Therefore, thus saith the Lord
God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation, a stone that's
tried. It's a tried stone. Precious
cornerstone. A certain and sure foundation
The sinner that believes on Christ shall not perish. That's what
he's saying. The sinner that believes on Christ
shall not perish. I'm interested in that because
I'm a sinner. I'm ungodly. Born that way. Born in sin. Shapen in iniquity. And I know by nature man will
not seek the truth. He'll seek anything but the truth. Because of my condition by nature,
I'm totally dead, spiritually dead, have no spiritual appetite
for the true bread of heaven. Not to say that man is not religious,
because he is. But if God doesn't do something
for me and in me, I will stay in that dead state, hiding in
a religious refuge of lies and claiming all the time, I know
God. I'm saved. My friend, there is
no salvation apart from the truth of God that is revealed in the
Word of God that describes unto us the true foundation of salvation. These people here, they were
quite competent in what God is doing through God's prophet.
God's prophets are sent to warn people, don't go that way. They're also sent to declare
the way the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's what Isaiah is doing
here. He's plainly warning these folks that said, he said, hear
the word of the Lord, verse 14, you scorners, because you have
said we've made a covenant with death. They thought everything
was all fixed up there for sure. They were for sure of heaven
as if they were already there. They said, we've got a covenant
with death. They didn't say we have a covenant
with Christ. And the blood of the covenant
is our only hope. They said, we have an agreement
with the grave, with hell. We have an agreement with death.
Remember what Satan told Adam and Eve? You'll not surely die. You know, lost religious men
today believe the same thing. They don't think they're going
to die. Certainly, they don't think they're going to face God
in judgment. They said, we made a covenant. With hell, we're
in agreement. When the overflowing scourge
of God's wrath comes through, it won't come near to me. We
have a refuge. It is a refuge of lies. And we've
hid ourselves, not under the truth, not in Christ who is the
truth, but it says here in a falsehood, have we hid ourselves. Not in Christ, but in a falsehood. Because men have not changed
since Adam's fall. You remember what Adam did? Fallen
Adam? He had a refuge of lies before God taught him the truth.
Fig leaf aprons. To hide from God. Crazy. That's nonsense. That's insanity.
To hide from God under fig leaves. False religion is no different.
Men hide themselves, wrap themselves up in a feeling and experience
a decision and out walking, praying through the mourner's bench,
all those things. That's not salvation. If you're looking
to some time and place for comfort and insurance, you're looking
to the wrong place. Salvation is in a person, the
Lord Jesus Christ. Now, I've talked to a lot of
people over the years, and I've never talked to anybody that
didn't have some refuge that they were hiding in. You don't
even hear religious people. How many times have you heard
this statement? Well, you know, those folks down at church down
there where you preach, you know, I'm just as good as they are.
Well, I'm sure you're right. On the basis of one worm comparing
himself to another worm, we're all worms. You're just as good
as my worm. We're all worms. But you see,
I'm not the standard. God's the standard. How do you
compare to Him? That's the problem. Men try to
hide themselves and justify themselves. Our Lord exposed the Pharisees,
didn't He? He said, you or they would justify yourselves before
men. And that's what we do, naturally. We try to justify ourselves.
But our Lord stuck His finger right in their heart and said,
That which is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in
the sight of God. Religious giving, religious doing. God says away with it, it's filthy
rags. You see, Isaiah came to warn
these people and to expose that which is false by exalting that
which is true. You know, our thinking, naturally,
our thinking is totally wrong. Totally wrong. The Bible, God's
Word, was given to us to correct our thinking. There's a way that seems right
on the men. There's a way that seems right. Do the best you
can. Clean up your act. Join the church. I talked to a man just the other
day. He said, well, you know, I belong
to church. Well, who doesn't? But that's not salvation. The
Bible was given to correct our thinking and to point us to the
Lord Jesus Christ, the only true refuge. There's a way that seems
right under man, but the end of that way is death. Don't go
that way. I'm telling you, don't go that
way. Look to Christ right now and saving faith, it is real. And God-given is continuously
looking to the Lord Jesus Christ. We're not looking back. Talbot
is not back there. Forgetting those things which
are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
we look to Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ. Now, in
verse 16, God describes for us How safe and how certain is this
refuge that God has provided? Anything we provide will not
cut the mustard. That is, it won't stand in the
day of God's judgment. It won't stand. Not at all. But what will? I want to know
what will. Well, He tells us what will stand
in the day of God's judgment. Because in the Lord Jesus Christ,
there is no judgment. It's already passed. No condemnation
to those who are in crime. Now, look at verse 16. Therefore,
thus saith the Lord God. Now, this is what God says. Now, we're not talking here about
a peanut God. We're talking here about God
who is God. It says throughout the book of
Isaiah, I am God, beside me there is none else. He's the only just
God and Savior. And He is sovereign, absolute
God over all things. And you can't take that too far. God, either He's absolute God
over all things, or He's not God at all. Paul declared in
Romans, "...of him, and through him, and to him are all things,
to whom be glory." God, this is the foundation. This is the
refuge of the Lord God that He has provided. He is Jehovah Jireh. The Lord will provide. He will
provide. You can be certain and sure that
which He provides, He will accept. You see, I'm accepted in the
beloved, the Lord Jesus. Now, several things here about
this foundation. First of all, the designer of
this foundation, he said, Behold, I lay in Zion. This is the foundation
of the Lord God's providing. Almighty God is the architect. He designed the intricate details
of all of salvation. He designed it. He provides it. He's the builder of this foundation. And you know what? Notice this.
Behold, I lay in Zion. That's God's church. That's God's
elect for a foundation. Just one. You see what he's saying
there? A foundation. There's not many
ways. One. There's one way. There's
one foundation. There's salvation in no other
name but the Lord Jesus Christ. He said, I am the way, I am truth,
I am life. And then he says, no man, no
person comes unto the Father but by and through the Lord Jesus
Christ. It's not like my brother tried
to describe to me when I went, flew out, when my dear daddy
passed away three years ago, and I flew back out to the land
of Mormonism, that refuge of lives that I grew up in, and
when we had buried my dad, who died without a hope, he died
in his sin, without God, without hope, and without Christ, although
he was most religious, he had a refuge of life. You say, well,
that's awful hard and cruel. It's the truth. It's the truth. He didn't believe the truth.
He hated what I what I preach and believe. He hated that. Hated
God. But when my brother was taking
me back to the airport, he said, and I tried to tell him about
the one way. And I stood in that Mormon chapel
and was presented an opportunity to preach the gospel to 300 some
people. in a Mormon chapel, never ever
dreamed that would have happened. But I preached the gospel of
God's grace, and a lot of folks, including my family, got right
mad, got right upset. And my brother, as he took me
back to the airport, he said, well, you know, salvation's like
this. God's on a big high mountain,
and we're all taking these different trails and roads up this mountain,
and we're eventually going to get to the top. We're just coming
different ways, different ways, And I said, my friend, salvation
is not that way. There's just one way of salvation,
and it is found in the gospel, the true gospel. Not another. The true gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Salvation that's all of God's
saving, sovereign, particular, redeeming, electing, redeeming,
saving grace alone. You see, there's just one foundation.
One foundation. Notice, he says, a foundation.
Christ is the only foundation upon which sinners can hide safely
and find salvation and righteousness. All the prophets of the Old Testament
and all the apostles of the New all pointed to this one foundation. Know of the name under heaven
given among men. whereby we must be saved. They
all talked about this foundation. Acts chapter 4, verse 12. John
chapter 14, verse 6. Ephesians chapter 2. Acts 10,
verse 43. To Him give all the prophets
witness. Leviticus. Who wrote that? Second? Third? It's called the third
book of Moses. Genesis. Exodus. Leviticus. Numbers. Deuteronomy. Our Lord
said to those Jews, you search the scripture and you think you
have life, but you know what? They testify of me and you will
not come to me that you might have life. And then he said this,
he said this, if you had believed Moses, you would have believed
me because he wrote about me. Leviticus 16 is all about Christ.
The Lord Jesus Christ. So is Genesis. So is Exodus.
So is Numbers. The whole book of God is all
about the Lord Jesus Christ. So there's just one foundation
for Zion that God has laid, and that's Christ. The Lord Jesus
Christ. He is the foundation. Now turn
to 1 Corinthians 3. 1 Corinthians 3. 1 Corinthians chapter 3. 1 Corinthians 3 verse 11 says this,
For other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid,
1 Corinthians 3 verse 11, For other foundation can no man lay
than that which is laid, which is Christ the Lord. Which is
Jesus Christ. So there's just... Have I convinced
you I hope I haven't. I hope God will convince you
in your heart that there's just one Savior. One. There's just one gospel.
There's one faith. One. Foundation. There's just one church. Had just one church. He loved
the church and gave Himself for it. What does that word church
mean? You know what it means? It means those who are called
out. The called out! I'm one of those called out ones. He loved the church and gave
Himself for it. And there's just one. Salvation
is not in a sect or a denomination. I'm a Ginnett. Salvation is in
Christ. You don't mind if I talk that
way in Tennessee, do you? Again, I know that's not good
English, but it's good theology. So there's just one foundation.
This foundation that God has laid, and He asks us to behold
it, gaze upon it, think upon it, meditate upon it, rest in
it, behold. This foundation says, He says
it's a stone or a rock. And that stone and that rock
is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. He's the Rock of Ages. Now, I
want you to find Isaiah 32, real close here, Isaiah 32. In Genesis
chapter 49, He's called the Stone of Israel. The Stone of Israel. But here in Isaiah 32, verse
2, Isaiah 32, 2, A man shall be a hiding place from the wind.
Who is this man? What's the God-man? Mediator.
The Lord Jesus. He's a hiding place. There's
that refuge, a refuge of God providing one God, one mediator
between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. He's a hiding place
from the wind. He's a covering from the tempest
as rivers of water in a dry place, as a shadow of a great rock in
a weary land. He's that great rock in this
weary land. He's that great rock. Our Lord
told Peter, upon this foundation, upon this rock, I'll build my
church and nothing, not even the gates or power of hell can
prevail against this foundation. So this is a stone. This is a
rock that God has laid. And then notice again in the
text here, Isaiah 28, 16, it's called a tried stone. A tried
stone. When you build a building, and
when builders build a building today, they always use something
that's tried, proven, and tested. A tried stone. You wouldn't want
to invest all your money to build a house on some experimental
thing that's never been tried before. You wouldn't venture
that upon something that's not proven and tried, would you?
You wouldn't do that. You would seek something that
was proven and tested and certain and sure, and invest in that,
wouldn't you? God uses proven material to construct
His temple, His foundation, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ.
Our Lord Jesus was tried and tested and proven and tempted
in every conceivable way, yet never failed in any aspect at
all. You know the law of God tried
Him? Turn over there in Isaiah. We'll stay in Isaiah here, Isaiah
42. The law of God tried the Lord Jesus. That is, he was tempted
and tested in all points like as we are yet without sin. He's
a tried, proven stone. The law of God came at him. And
you know what? He honored the law of God for
us. Look what it says here in Isaiah 42 verse 1, Behold my
servant, whom I uphold, my elect, and whom my soul delighteth.
Isaiah 42 verse 1, I put my spirit upon him, he shall bring forth
judgment, in a better word, there is righteousness to the Gentiles.
He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard
in the street. A bruised wreath shall he not break, a smoking
flask shall he not quench. He's a tender, merciful Savior. He shall bring forth judgment
unto truth, righteousness unto truth. He shall not fail. Now,
I like that. I like things that don't fail.
You know why? Because I'm a failure. You are
too. I failed to honor God. I failed to honor the law of
God. But this one that's God's servant,
His elect, he shall not fail nor be discouraged till he has
established judgment, righteousness in the earth. And we'll wait
for his word. We'll wait for his gospel. Now,
stay right here in Isaiah 42. I'm talking about the tried stone,
and I'm saying the law of God tried the Lord Jesus, and He
honored God's law in every precept of that law. Seven or eight hundred
precepts of that law, He honored and exalted every one of them. And the penalty of that law,
the penalty of that law was death. He redeemed us from the curse
of that law being made a curse for us. Now, Isaiah 42, look
at verse 21. The Lord is well pleased for
His righteousness sake. He will magnify the law and make
it honorable. Now, you know what? You know
what the good news of this is to this sinner? He honored God's
law. as the God-man mediator, and
he did that for his people. That is the very righteousness
that he gives to me. You see, my substitute honored
God's law, satisfied God's justice, and he freely gives that to his
people. It's a word we use down in Romans
chapter 4 that's used several times, imputed, counted, and
reckoned. Blessed is the man to whom God
would impute, Give righteousness without work, without any contribution
on your part. I have a righteousness that honors
God's law. Think of it! That's Christ. This is a tried stone. Satisfied
the law of God, tried Him. He satisfied it. Satan tried
Him. He said, the prince of this world
has come and he's found no agreement. There's nothing ally in the Lord
Jesus Christ that agreed with the Prince of Darkness. He's
light. As a matter of fact, he crushed Satan's power at the
cross. This is the seed of the woman
that crushed his power, crushed his dominion. The law of God
tried him. Satan tried him. The Father tried
him. He said, this is my beloved Son
in whom I am well pleased. Our Lord prayed in John 17, Father,
I've glorified you on earth. I've finished the work you gave
me to do. Honor God. Satisfy God. And you know what? Every believer
down through the ages that have trusted and believed the Lord
Jesus Christ have found Him to be a proven, safe, certain refuge
to rest in. Isaiah 41. Let me show you this.
This is one of my favorite verses. Isaiah 41, verse 10. Isaiah 41,
10. Fear thou not, for I am with
thee. Be not dismayed, I am thy God. Isaiah 41, 10. I will strengthen
thee, yea, I will help thee, I will uphold thee with the right
hand of my righteousness. We can trust the Lord Jesus Christ
without any reservation. Fear not. That message rings
throughout the book of Isaiah. Isaiah 43 says, Fear not. Fear not. I am God. Beside Me
there is none else. So this is a tried stone. Now
look back at Isaiah 28.16. You see how he describes this
refuge for us to rest in? The one foundation. It's a stone,
a rock. Certain insurers try. And then
he says here, it's precious. It's a precious cornerstone,
a precious cornerstone. Now, back years ago, when they
used to construct these big buildings out of stones. The cornerstone
was the centerpiece in the building that knitted the building together.
It was the most important stone in that structure. It knitted
the building and held the building together, and it was considered
very precious. If you took that stone out, the
whole building would crumble. And what he's saying here, the
Lord Jesus Christ is precious. We read in 1 Peter 2, verse 7,
to you who believe, the Lord Jesus Christ is precious. To those who are going about
to establish their own righteousness, the Lord Jesus is not a rock
to hide in. He's called the rock of offense
and a stone of stumbling. They stumble like Christ crucified.
Christ alone. But to you, oh, to you who believe,
He's precious. He is precious. He is called
the pearl of great price. He is the pearl. He is precious. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
only thing that's truly precious to the believer. Christ is all
and in all. We often look at little babies
and we often say those newborn babies, they say, oh, so precious. Well, it is to us. But that pales
in comparison as we view and look upon the Lord Jesus Christ.
He's altogether lovely. He's precious. He's precious. You see, if you look at this
word precious, jot that down and look it up in the Scripture
sometime and see what God calls precious. Precious. We're redeemed
with the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. We're not
redeemed with silver and gold, or our tradition, or our ceremony,
but with the precious blood of Christ. We are saved with an
everlasting salvation, and we are saved and we receive salvation
by God-given faith. And you know what faith is called?
Precious. Precious. 2 Peter 1 verse 4.
to you that have obtained like precious faith. Why is faith
so precious? It says in the book of Hebrews
that without faith it's impossible to please God. Oh, I must have
it then. I can't produce it. It's a gift
of God. A man who is without faith that's
called precious. A man who's without faith is
a man without Christ. Without life. Without a foundation. You see, Without faith. Faith
looks to Christ. True faith does. So we're redeemed
with precious blood. We're saved by the precious promises
of God. We're saved and united through
the Lord Jesus Christ by precious faith. And then He's given us
these precious promises. These exceeding great and precious
promises. That's 2 Peter 1.4. Precious faith in 2 Peter 1.1. to you who believe he is precious. It's a precious cornerstone.
And then he says, he says it's a sure foundation. You see that?
It's sure. You know, I like things that
are sure. Don't you? When I go to bed at night, I'm
sure, Lord willing, and time continues, that around seven
o'clock, it's going to be daylight. I'm sure. I can count on it. I can take it to the bank. It's
certain and sure. God says this foundation that
He has laid is a sure foundation. That is, it works. I like things
that work. Things that are real. This works. This is salvation. This is a
sure foundation. Now, I want you to turn and look
at this. 2 Timothy 2.19. 2 Timothy 2.19. 2 Timothy 2.19 says this, nevertheless,
the foundation of God standeth sure having this seal. The Lord knows them that are
His. You know, there may come a time in my life due to mental problems or due
to sickness and the frailties of his body. There may come a
time in my life when I don't know my own name, yet alone His
name. Does that mean I'm lost? No. That means that the hope of my
salvation is that He knows me. The foundation of God's standing
is sure, having received the Lord, knoweth them that are His. You see, he knows his sheep by
name. He died for those sheep, and in time, he calls them to
himself with the gospel, not just religious jargon, but with
the gospel of God's grace in Christ Jesus. It's a sure foundation. This foundation that God has
established will never be changed. Never be changed. He said, I'm
the Lord. I change not. This foundation will never be
replaced. You need a replacement? You know,
things in this life wear out, don't they? Our knee joints,
our hip joints, and they replace them. This foundation never wears
out. And you know what else about
this foundation? It'll never be changed. It'll never be replaced.
It'll never be improved. In Him dwells all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily, and in Christ we are complete. Never
be changed. It's founded upon His sure word
of promise. We have a sure word. Pastor Paul
preached from that text last week, didn't he? We have a sure
word of prophecy in Christ. It's founded upon the sure covenant
mercies God has made with me in everlasting covenant order
in all things, and it's sure. This promise of salvation is
sure to all His covenant people. Now, Isaiah 28, 16. Turn back
over there. And here's the last thing. Isaiah
28, 16. He gives us a description of
saving faith. Isaiah 28, 16. He that believeth shall not be forced out. will never be taken off this
foundation. Now, it doesn't say, he that
worketh, he that laboreth, he that believeth. Salvation is
not received by doing, by believing. And that is a glorious gift of
God. It is of faith that it might
be by grace, the promise might be sure to all the seed. Romans
4, verse 16. Believing. Believing God. The
Philippian jailer. You remember that story? What
was that, Acts chapter 16? Is that right? What must I do
to be saved? What did Paul say? He didn't
say, well, you've got to do this, you've got to do that. He corrected
his thinking. He said, don't do, believe on
the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. He that believeth
shall not be forced to flee, force that believing God, resting
in Christ. It's not something that we muster
up. Faith is not a product of the
flesh. Faith is given of God. Faith is giving up on everything
but Christ. Faith is committing everything
to the care and custody of the Lord Jesus Christ. As Paul says,
I know whom I have believed and I'm persuaded he is able to keep
that which I've committed unto him against that day. Now, hold
Isaiah 28. Because we're coming back to
Isaiah for one more reference, but I want you to find Romans
9.33. Romans 9.33. Because when Paul quotes this
in Romans 9, from Isaiah 28, this is Romans 9.33, as it is
written, Romans 9.33, as it is written, behold, I lay in Zion
a stumbling stone and a rock of a fence. To you who believe,
that's a stumbling stone. It's a rock of a fence. But look
at this. And there's not a stronger chapter
in all the Bible that declares a sovereignty of God in Romans
9. And yet, he declares here the
responsibility of the sinner to trust Christ. Whosoever believeth
on him shall not be ashamed. Now, I know a lot of people like
this. Take that word, whosoever, and preach man's freedom and
will. But that's not what's being said
here. Whosoever believeth. That's a miracle. Whoever believes
Christ is born of God. And whosoever believes on the
Christ of God shall not be ashamed. See the word there? Ashamed.
You see, Romans 1.16, turn over there. Romans 1.16 says this,
I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. Are you? Are you ashamed of this thing
of sovereign grace? Sovereign mercy? Whosoever believes
on Him is not ashamed. As Paul said, I'm not ashamed.
This is Romans 1.16, I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ.
It's the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth to
the Jew and to the Greek, for therein is the righteousness
of God." The righteousness of God. Now, it's not talking about
God's righteousness here. It's talking about the righteousness
of God, the one that's provided for us, Lonnie, in Christ. Revealed from faith to faith
as it is written, the justified live by faith. Now that text
I read earlier, find 1 Peter 2, 6. 1 Peter 2, 6. Turn over here. And he uses the
word here, confounded. 1 Peter 2, 6. Wherefore also is contained in
Scripture, behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect and
precious. He that believeth on him shall
not be confounded. I'm not confused. I may sound
like it sometimes, but I'm not confused. I know whom I have
believed. Now, I want you to find in closing,
look at this, Isaiah 45. Back to Isaiah 45. So God's people
will never be forced off this foundation. Those who believe.
He that believeth now. He that believeth on Him will
never be forced off. He said, I'll never leave you.
I'll never forsake you. Never be ashamed and will never
be confounded. Isaiah 45, look at this, Isaiah
45, verse 16, this is Isaiah 45, 16. They shall be ashamed
and confounded, all of them, they shall go to confusion together
that are makers of idols. There's confusion, much confusion
in false religion. They don't know who God is. They
don't know who Christ is. They don't know what He accomplished.
But all Israel shall be saved in the Lord with an everlasting
salvation. You shall not be ashamed nor
confounded, world, without Him. That's good news. That's good news. Now, my closing
question is this. Stay right there in Isaiah 45.
Are you resting on God's foundation? Are you resting on God's foundation?
Or are you trusting something you've done, something you've
built, something you contributed? Did you ever go to the beach?
Lauren, do you like the beach? I'll bet when you mom and dad
took you to the beach, you took a bucket and a little shovel
and built a sandcastle, right? How long did it last? The tide came in and my little
boys used to love to build sandcastles. But boy, I tell you, we come
out the next day and after that tide rolled in and rolled back
out, it's gone. Don't build on the sand. Rest on the rock. Don't build
a sandcastle. Have you totally rejected all
of the foundations and refuge and experience of the flesh?
Or are you still resting on some refuge, some feeling that you've
constructed or that you have had? Or on Christ alone? True faith looks to the Lord
Jesus Christ. True faith. Now back to Isaiah
45. True faith looks to the true Christ. Looking, coming, repenting,
believing. It's an ongoing life. Look at
Isaiah 45.20 now. Assemble yourselves, come, drawn
near together, ye that are escaped of the nation. They have no knowledge
that set up wood of their graven image, and they pray unto a God
that cannot save. That's idolatry. Tell ye, bring them near, let
them take counsel together? Who hath declared from ancient
times? Who hath told it from that time? Have not I the Lord,
that there is no God else beside me, a just God and Savior?" He's a just God and Savior. Now
He said, look unto Me. Look to Christ. Look to Me. And
be ye saved. All the ends of the earth, I
am God, there is none else. I have sworn by myself the words
gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return unto me,
that unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.
Surely shall one say in the Lord, I have righteousness and strength.
Even to him shall men come, and all that are incensed against
him shall be ashamed. In the Lord shall all the seed
of Israel That's Christ, His people, shall be justified and
shall glory.