The Way Of Holiness

Isaiah’s Prophetic Context and the Coming Way of Salvation

Amen.

Please remain standing while you turn to Isaiah 35. In Isaiah 35 today we'll be looking at the last three verses of the chapter. And these are the, this chapter is the last in this major section of Isaiah.

It's probably pretty evident as you look to the next few chapters that we change here from poetry, from prophetic poetry to historical narrative. And this historical narrative that will come next marks the end of the first half of the chapter of Isaiah.

So Isaiah has been talking about the folly of trusting in the nations. And then after this he will speak specifically about the folly of trusting in, folly of trusting in the nation of Egypt when Assyria is coming against the people.

And they will follow Hezekiah and not trusting in Egypt but rather trusting in God and God will save them. But here we have at the very end of this section a statement about salvation, that we should trust in the salvation of God that really sets the framework for the historical narrative that we'll be seeing subsequently.

So I hope you have that there, Isaiah 35, I will just begin reading here in verse 8. And a highway shall be there and it shall be called the way of holiness. The unclean shall not pass over it. It shall belong to those who walk on the way.

Even if they are fools, they shall not go astray. No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come on it. They shall not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk there. And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing.

Everlasting joy shall be upon their heads and they shall obtain gladness and joy. And sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

You may be seated.

Dear Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your Word. We ask that it would give us great confidence on the road of salvation that You have placed.

Us on.

We thank You for Your kindness in this way, and we pray that You would increase our trust in You in order that we might have the courage that is needed in the Christian life. In Jesus' name, amen. So as I've just explained, the people of Israel, the people of Judah, face a challenge in front.

Of them.

Assyria is coming after them, and Egypt is a source of help that the people have gone back to many times, and so you see them trusting in the horses of Egypt and trusting in the power that Egypt could give them.

But rather, they must trust in the Lord. And so while much of this prophecy has entailed things much later, things dealing with Babylon rather than Assyria, that is the historical context in which the prophecy is given to a people who are being assaulted by Assyria.

Likewise, we are assaulted by an enemy. We are assaulted by a great spiritual enemy known as Satan, the accuser. We are assaulted by the world. In the Christian life, there are many things that we must do, many temptations that we must bear up against.

And so these different forces in the world, both directly spiritual, some visible with spiritual powers behind it, works against us. And so it is important to have confidence in the salvation that God has provided in order to be able to endure such things.

Why would someone endure if they did not think that it were likely that they could be successful in the battle? Why would someone with confidence do the things that God has required if they have no confidence that will produce good results?

But God has assured us that this path of salvation that He has placed His people on is one that is protected, is one that is secure. It does not matter how bleak the wilderness around us looks, but God is faithful.

The Way of Holiness as the Christian Life

So let us begin here in this passage in verse 8. And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the way of holiness. The unclean shall not pass over it, it shall belong to those who walk on the way.

Even if they are fools, they shall not go astray. So what is this highway that is spoken of? What is this way? And all these are referring to the same thing when it says in verse 8, and a highway shall be there, it shall be called the way of holiness.

And later on it says, it shall belong to those who walk on the way. These are the same way, the highway, the way, the way of holiness. These are all the same thing. And what is this thing? Different people imagine different things when they read this.

Some see, oh, well, this is talking about Judah being able to return from the land of Babylon and return to the city of Jerusalem. And while indeed that is the prophetic imagery that is being used, and indeed these prophecies have some relation to that affliction, that oppression that they will have in Babylon, some of the things that are said here are just too high, too high for that.

It says that there will be no fools on the way, and yet we know that many people who came back from Babylon were foolish. Additionally, some people think that this refers to the streets of gold in Revelation, the streets of gold in Revelation that we've got this way of holiness there.

But keep in mind, these are going to Zion. They are not coming from Zion. The streets of gold that we see described in Revelation are streets of Zion. They're not streets coming from somewhere else or a wilderness.

And so it is only reasonable to understand this, especially given the way the New Testament talks of this passage. And the New Testament talks of the way as being the Christian life, as being the way that God has prepared for His people, as being the highway even proclaimed by John.

The Baptist.

Matthew 7, 14 says, enter by the narrow, excuse me, it says, for the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. The way is hard that leads to life. This is the sort of way that this prophecy has in mind.

In addition, we see in Acts, Luke frequently speaks of the Christian life or the Christian community as being people who are followers of the way. This is vocabulary that the early church uses to describe this new covenant life as being on the way.

And even in this passage here, consider some of the things that are said and where you might remember these things from the New Testament. Verse 3 says, strengthen the weak hands and make firm the feeble knees.

Say to those who have an anxious heart, be strong, fear not. Now where do you recognize that from, this call to be strengthened while you're going on the way? That is coming from, or you might recognize that from Hebrews 12, which is citing this passage.

So Hebrews 12 is even interpreting this passage as referring to the Christian life and the need for strength on the Christian life, and much of that strength comes from simply knowing what it is that God has called us to, simply having confidence in what God has prepared for us.

And so all these different things confirm that this way is the Christian life. In fact, John 14, 6, we learn that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. The way is secure because Jesus is the way, and Jesus himself is secure.

There's nothing that changes about him. There's nothing uncertain about Jesus Christ. He is a perfect Savior who saves perfectly. And looking at this passage, you see these different aspects of salvation.

You see these people who are in desperate need of salvation, and there's no reason that they should have salvation. You know, if you're in a desert, if you're in a wilderness, and you need to get to safety, you need to get to the city safely, how can you do that without some kind of pathway?

This is not the day hiking that you might be familiar with where, well, if you don't have a pathway, you just kind of cut through the mountain, and then eventually you'll get.

There.

No, this is, you will die in the desert in the kind of situation that this is talking about, and it's not guaranteed that there would be a way. Chapter 34, verse 10, speaks of Edom, and it says, "'Night and day it shall not be quenched.

Smoke shall go up forever. From generation to generation it shall lie waste. None shall pass through it forever and ever.'". None shall pass through it forever and ever, meaning there will be no way to find it.

There will be no way through it. It's not guaranteed that there is a way, right? There's no, there's nothing that says that God needs to give everybody a way. A way just exists. In fact, so many people believe that all ways lead to God, that all ways lead back to his city.

Not only is it the case that not all ways lead to a city, it's not even guaranteed apart from his promises, apart from his kindness, that there would be a way, but he has given a way to his people, and that way is called the way of holiness.

And one of the first things we notice here is that even if they are fools, they shall not go astray. There's a correction on the way of holiness. You know, we are foolish people. This whole passage has really focused on the blindness of mankind.

While this has been said many times throughout this section in Isaiah, verse 5 said, "...then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, the ears of the deaf unstopped, and the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.".

This is who we are in our natural condition, through sin, apart from God. We are people who are blind to truth. We are people who are deaf to truth. We are people who are lame. We are people who are mute because we are unable to speak the truth.

We are lame because we are unable to do the truth. This is us in our natural state. Those who think that they can do what is truly right are very mistaken about what right and wrong even are. To do right and wrong is not to do things that people think are right and wrong, it's to do what God thinks right and wrong is.

And to do what he thinks right and wrong is, is not merely to go through the motions, but it is to do it with faith. Hebrews 11, 6 says that apart from faith, no one can please him. And the true faith that one must have, the true God-honoring trust in him that one must should have, is one that can only come through Jesus Christ.

So it is not something that we can achieve naturally, it's not something that we can do, but God has, in his mercy and kindness, given us a way, he has given us Jesus Christ who is that way. And he has given it to us in a way that even though we are fools, even though we are blind, lame, deaf, dumb, we may have our senses restored and then moreover we can be corrected so that we are no longer fools, no longer thinking thoughts that do not honor him, but rather thinking true thoughts that honor him as they ought.

And thoughts that, and see what the danger is for the fool. What's the problem for the fool? The fool is going to go off the way of, the fool is not going to, he's going to miss the next blaze, I think that's what, is that what you call it?

So on the East Coast, the Appalachian Trail, they've got these markers, sometimes there's one, sometimes there's two, and I think they're called blazes, on the trees that let you know you're still on the trail.

You know, the fool is going to miss this and he's going to end up somewhere else, but in God's mercy, this way that he has given us such that even the fool will be so corrected that he will not miss that trail.

And by the way, if you ever hike the Appalachian Trail, there will be a few times you miss these and you have to backtrack and go find them again. So you know, just even a smart camper might miss these things, but a fool, what hope is there for him?

Well, there's hope in Jesus Christ. And so thinking of this in the, what is known as the Ordo Salutis, the order of salvation, we might think of this in terms of regeneration, you know, given a mind that is dull, doesn't think of spiritual things, just focused on what's right in front of us, but being opened up to truly understand the things of God and no longer be a fool as such.

This is speaking of that salvation that begins in regeneration. But it doesn't end there. It also speaks of sanctification, that holiness that the believer grows in through his life. In fact, this is even called the way of holiness.

Because those who are in it walk in a holy manner, and they grow in holiness. If you've ever been discouraged in your Christian life because you're suffering from temptation, you've given in to something that you thought you had conquered, you know, there's a lot of people who do that and they think, oh man, this is a sign that maybe I was not even saved to begin with.

Maybe this is, maybe this is it. Well, certainly, sin is a reason for introspection, it's a reason to ask ourselves whether we are truly in the vine, but the answer of whether or not we are truly in the vine is not the answer of whether or not we ourselves are meritoriously living up to God's standard.

Rather, we should look to the mercy of Christ, the same mercy that saved us when we first believed, the same mercy that can save you over and over, not as though one would need justification or forgiveness again and again, but to continually correct you as you begin to veer off the path or engage in behavior that would be veering off the path were he not so kind to have given us a way that no one can veer off of.

Romans 8 .30 says, and those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. This is, this is how this way works. Once one is on it, once Christ has put one on it, they do not need to fear, they do not need to lack courage in what they're dealing with, they do not need to constantly go back and fret every time they fall into some sin because Christ is good, His way is good, and it saves perfectly.

Redemption, Protection, and Perseverance on the Way

It continues on here and it says, no lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it. They shall not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk there. Redemption referring to those who have been bought out of slavery.

We heard this morning about being bought out of slavery to Egypt, later there will be slavery in a sense in Babylon and people in a similar sense to that salvation from Egypt will be redeemed from it and restored to this land of Judah, and that in the New Testament will become the picture of our salvation, trapped in this other kingdom where we are in bondage, being saved out by a greater and mightier kingdom.

And so if we are saved out of it, we are saved out of it not just to be eaten up, not just to be destroyed by some other nation. A lot of situations where one is saved, they are saved just to be saved for a different kind of destruction, out of the frying pan and into the fryer or however exactly the phrase goes, but that is not the kind of salvation we see here.

Whatever work God begins, He finishes. In fact, He protects from the ravenous beast. Of course, this should bring to mind what Peter says, be sober-minded, be watchful, your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. Now it would be very easy to be discouraged and think that, oh, this is something only I'm experienced, not something experienced by the brotherhood throughout the world.

Moreover, this beast is something that's so powerful that it could truly overcome one who is Christ, but no, that's not the case. First of all, this is common among the brotherhood to experience these things.

God has not given us a teleporter, He has given us a way, and that way includes the wilderness around it, the experiences of being in that wilderness, and it includes the struggles of being afflicted by Satan, experiencing temptation.

Now why is it that you should be sober-minded, et cetera, because there are real consequences for sin, but why is it that you should resist temptation knowing that it will produce good results, and that is because this way is one of protection.

This way is divinely protected by God. He is protecting us from all things. So it doesn't matter what the case may be, it doesn't matter if it's a personal battle with sin that you're experiencing, it doesn't matter if it's a relationship that you're struggling to reconcile, anything that involves sin that might seem impossible, any kind of situation that would seem impossible is possible with God, and why is it possible with God?

It is possible with God because He has provided salvation in His Son, and because He has provided that salvation in such a way that is guaranteed to bring about that completion all the way to the end.

So, here if we're thinking about this passage in terms of the order of Seleutus, not only have we seen regeneration and sanctification, but we've also seen perseverance of the saints, that God protects His people as they walk through danger.

Joy, Zion, and the Finished Work of Christ

And then it says in verse 10,. And the ransom of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing, everlasting joy shall be upon their heads, and they shall obtain gladness and joy and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

And so, it talks about their arrival in Zion with singing and everlasting joy being on their heads. You know, the idea of joy being on their heads is that the joy is the actual, is like a crown.

That they wear.

It's something that other people see to see that they have this regal status. The New Testament speaks of us as a royal priesthood, you know, we do have a regal status, and how is it that people should see that regal status, that status of being kings under the great King, Jesus Christ?

It is through that joy that should crown our heads. And so those who have come to Zion have that joy. Now there are two things that are often spoken of in these passages, and as we've been going through Isaiah, hopefully it's clear how frequently the passage is doing this.

But it is not only speaking of that final end when we're all gathered together, but it speaks of a time that we experience now having been brought together to what the New Testament so frequently refers to as Zion.

In Hebrews 12, 22, it says, but you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God. This is a place where, on one hand, this passage alludes to glorification, to that final day when we have an everlasting joy that is not threatened even by visible manifestations.

But we are in a place now where our joy, while it may be threatened by visible things, there's no, there's nothing that has, there's no valid threat against it. One day there will be no threats at all.

Right now there are no valid threats. And the reason there are no valid threats, once again, is because God's way of salvation is safe and secure in Jesus Christ. And so my encouragement for you today would be to have that confidence.

Have that confidence when you go about the way. Have that confidence when you fight sin. Have that confidence when you are dealing with relationships that seem too impossible to deal with. Have that confidence when you go about evangelism and you do not think that your words are going to make much of a difference.

Know that God has a way that fools can find because He moves the fools and He opens their minds and their eyes and their ears and He places on them that, them in it so that they will not go off of it.

And also know that you should have all this with joy, not just the joy later, but even a joy now as we have, as Hebrews 12 says, we have come to Zion. And so let your head be crowned with joy. Do not despair about the work that is at hand, but rather be joyful knowing how safe and secure this way is that we're on, that the fact that we are on it has guaranteed that we will end it.

And the fact that we are on it means that it is as good as done. It is as good as done. In fact, Jesus has already said, it is finished, it is finished. The work has been done. And so even though we are in this world of suffering and there is sadness and there's much reason to grieve, there is also a reason to be joyful because the victory is already accomplished.

So let your head be crowned with joy. Let that be the sign to the world that Christ is working in you. Let's pray. Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for the way of holiness that you have given. We thank you for Jesus Christ who is the way, the truth, and the life.

And this is an exclusive way that belongs to none but your people. We thank you for that assurance that you have given us that once we are on it, no one will.

Move us off of it.

And we thank you for that great assurance that we have in Jesus Christ. In his name we pray.

Amen.