Sunday, July 21, 2024 PM

God’s Rejection of Unrepentant Worship

...inventory of their entire religious system, both the altar and the assembly, and then even considering their appeals to him in prayer, how he rejects all of them because of their continued wickedness, the lack of repentance in their lives.

They hold on to their pet sins, their evil ways, their iniquitous ways of thinking and acting towards each other, and they just continue on with the sacrificial system. They continue on with the religious calendar.

They continue on with the customs of prayer, but nothing has really changed in their lives. And God has stated in more than one way throughout the Old Covenant that he does not desire sacrifice. He desires mercy, meaning chesed, meaning covenant faithfulness.

He's looking for a covenant partner who's going to be faithful. Now God certainly is going to be faithful. He always keeps his promises. He always does what he says he will do. The real question is whether or not the person he's in covenant with, the people he's in covenant with, will they do it?

You recall that God tested Abraham, and he told him to take his son Isaac and go up to a mountain, Mount Moriah, and there to offer his son Isaac this seed of promise upon an.

Abraham, Isaac, and the Faithfulness of Covenant Testing

Altar.

And Abraham went so far as to place Isaac on the altar and to have the knife in his hand elevated above his own son's heart before the angel of the Lord stopped him, provided a substitute sacrifice, the ram caught by his horns in the thicket.

And God said very clearly, now I know. He tested him. He put Abraham to the test to see whether or not Abraham was a faithful covenant person. Was Abraham going to do what God said? Was he going to follow through?

Did he really believe God or not? But the problem with Israel is that they are not faithful. They are not following through. They are going through some of the motions, but they're not really being faithful.

They'd rather offer up a few sacrifices and go through a few ceremonies than actually follow the Lord and put away their idols and put away their immorality and be faithful to Him. But after God says all these things about their worship, He tells them to change their ways in verses 16 and 17.

Seeing that their hands are full of blood, they do have a need to wash themselves and make themselves clean, to put away the evil of their doings and to change the way that.

They live.

So He's calling for repentance. But what's their main problem? Their main problem is that every avenue of their approach to the Lord has been shut down. God has just said, no more sacrifices, please. I don't want any of these assemblies again.

And I'm not going to hear you when you pray. So how will they be in fellowship with their Lord? How will they be as Adam was, walking in the cool of the garden? How will they be living as the image of God with the One who made them if they're completely cut off from Him and separated from Him?

They were made in His image, made for His Word, made for His glory, made to be in right relationship with Him. And He's just told them that the entire process that you've engaged with in your sacrificial ceremonial systems, He says, I don't want any of it because you're unrepentant.

He's told them they need to repent. And now we come to a very critical moment in verse 18. In verse 18, it begins this way, come now and let us reason together, says the Lord. And we remember this metaphor, these words, though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.

Though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool. It reminds us of a few hymns, reminds us of some Christian poetry. As we look at this, let's remember in the context of God saying, no more of this, no.

More of this.

Stop coming before me, stop, stop gathering before me. But now He's saying something. Notice the Lord is saying, come. Now after you hear so many ways in which the Lord says, stop, we should be surprised when we hear the instruction, come.

Now, we've already talked about this a little bit, but the hope for rebellious children is rooted in the goodness, loving kindness, and faithfulness of God. The very one whom they have rebelled against, the very one whom they have treated so offensively compels them to return to Him.

He's telling them to agree with Him. He is calling them to be content with the covenant arrangements He has made for them. But first we have the issue of their sins, their transgressions, their many acts of rebellion.

Now verse 18 comes in three parts. The second two parts you see are in parallel, building the metaphor of cleansing, of forgiveness. But the first third of the verse should occupy our attention this evening.

Confession Before God’s Holy Standard

This is about confession. We recall from the previous passage that it's God's eyes that give the perspective that matters. It's not about whether we're pure in our eyes. It's not whether or not we have done enough in the eyes of others.

It's God's eyes that matter. It's His definition of sin that matters. Sin isn't sin because we think so or somebody else thinks so. Sin is sin because God thinks so. It's His perspective that matters.

It's His standard that matters. He's our maker. He's our judge. Remember the passage in Hebrews chapter 4 that reminds us that the word of God, which is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, that cuts right to the heart of the matter.

The very next verse says, it lays us open before the God with whom we have to do. So He's the judge. He's the one who sees to the very heart of every matter and exposes who we are by His word. And so, with His glorious name as the standard that matters, as He is the one who is the good who has been forsaken, it is also the Lord who spares them as a remnant, it is the Lord who's pleading with them as one would with a rebellious child in a forceful manner.

He says, come. God didn't go anywhere. God didn't move. God didn't change. He didn't drift. He didn't make it harder. They were the ones who left. They were the ones who strayed. They were the ones who became far off so that God had to say to them, come.

Your way over there, you should be over here. Wasn't God who moved? They're the ones who moved. The command to come is striking after so many complaints that God has lodged against them. I think we, at this point, are prepared for the Lord to say, depart.

How often are we prepared for the Lord to say, depart? How can we fathom the grace of the Lord saying, come? We deserve for Him to say, depart. But He says, come. And so the grace of God shames our petty pride and leaves us shaking our heads in wonder that this God against whom we have made so many complaints and transgressed against so often and in so many ways that He would say to us, come.

The Call to Come Now in Isaiah 65 and Isaiah 55

In Isaiah 65, and Isaiah is interesting in the sense that many of the themes that we hear early in Isaiah, he returns to at the last part of Isaiah. At the beginning of Isaiah, we hear him calling heaven and earth to witness.

In the end of Isaiah, we hear about the new heavens and the new earth. The beginning of Isaiah, he's proclaiming judgment against Jerusalem. At the end of Isaiah, we hear about the new Jerusalem. In Isaiah 65, listen to the long-suffering grace of God.

Isaiah 65 verse 2, I have stretched out my hands all day long to a rebellious people who walk in a way that is not good according to their own thoughts. So what's a really bad way to walk? According to your own thoughts, right?

I think Proverbs talks about that a little bit, doesn't it? Verse 3 describes these people, a people who provoke me to anger continually to my face. God would stretch out his hands all day long to this kind of people. He's God.

He is glorious. He is perfect.

He is pure.

He is holy. There's every reason for those made in his image to glorify him and praise him, and every reason for him to immediately judge in all righteousness those who would rebel against him. But all day long, he stretches out his hands to rebels like this.

The instructions to come are also heard in Isaiah 55. Isaiah 55 verses 1 through 3, God gets their attention. He says, Oh, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters, and you who have no money, come buy and eat.

Yes, come buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend money for what is not bread and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance.

Incline your ear and come to me here, and your soul shall live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, the sure mercies of David. Of course, the sure mercies of David are realized in Christ. You see in the instructions to come, he's talking to those who are far off and can't get back to him without his grace.

He's saying, buy to those who have no money. He's saying, drink to those who are thirsty. He's saying, eat to those who are hungry. He is not calling them to do something that they can in and of themselves accomplish.

The command to come acknowledges their distance. It acknowledges their need. It includes their problem. And so he says, come. Come and notice the word now. So, when's a good time? When God says. And he says now.

He says now. The command is matched with urgency. And no wonder, given their situation, they language in disaster, verses 5 and 6. They live like Sodom, verse 10. The word now pleads as much as it demands.

This is the force of the word. Can they truly wait any longer? Their religious calendars can wait, but God's timetable is what matters. He says, come. Come now. When God says, come now, that's where and when without question.

We know where to go and when to go. He says, come now. He does not want them trampling his courts. He's not saying, hey, I want you to have another rowdy assembly in the temple with a bunch of livestock.

And you running around and doing all that stuff. He's already said, don't do that. I don't want you to do that. But he's still saying to come to him now. Don't wait to a new moon. Don't wait on your calendar.

Come now. Approach him now.

Coming Through Christ and the Meaning of “Let Us Reason Together”

Now, how?

Well, we have that hope in Jesus Christ, don't we? We have that hope in Jesus Christ. In Isaiah 49, where God is revealing the glories of his son, Jesus Christ, as the promised servant. In verses 8 and 9 of Isaiah 49, we read this.

Thus says the Lord, in an acceptable time I have heard you, and in the day of salvation I have helped you. I will preserve you and give you as a covenant to the people. He says this to the servant. He's giving the servant, Messiah, as a covenant to the people to restore the earth.

To cause them to inherit the desolate heritages. As you may say to the prisoners, go forth. To those who are in darkness, show yourselves. And this passage features prominently in 2 Corinthians 6, verse 2, where Paul says, today is the day of salvation.

And he reflects on Isaiah 49 to underscore his point. Come when? Come now. Are you far away from God? Are you far away from God? Are you rebellious in your religious routines? Are you like the Israelites here who have their heads down doing their thing, but they need to have their heads up.

To commune with the Lord. To rejoice in his truth. If that's the case, come now. By Jesus, come now. How do we do that? God says, come now. Let us reason together, says the Lord. Now this word, this phrase that we have in our English translation, let us reason together, that's one word in the Hebrew.

One word. And the root word in the Hebrew is used throughout the Old Testament. And it's translated most often as rebuke. Rebuke. That's how it's used most of the time. But it's constructed in a certain way here, where we have the phrase let us, and then you have the qualifier together.

So it's not rebuke on its own, but it's somehow us together, the Lord and those who are far away. He's saying, come now. How do we come? It's by reasoning together with him. And the term reason doesn't refer to logical algorithms.

The root idea in the Hebrew is rebuke. So how does this work? Rebuke involves a judgment call. Involves a conviction. It is a judicial decision. You have to make a call about something. And to look at someone and to rebuke them, there has to be a standard.

There has to be a standard, and then there has to be the evident actions or words of a man. And when the man is out of bounds from that standard, he must be so informed to made aware that he's out of bounds.

The Word of God is profitable for doctrine, for reproof. There's the rebuke. For reproof, for correction, and instruction in righteousness. So the Word of God is good to tell us what's true, where we're wrong, how to get right, how to live God's way.

Well, when the Word of God tells us that we're wrong, that's a rebuke. And that's part of how Christians are to communicate. If there's a standard, who is Christ, and here's truth, and here's what love looks like, and here's the fruit of the Spirit.

We're going to be studying that in TAG this year. And so here's what the standard is. And then if somebody is out of bounds from that standard, they should be so informed. And that's what rebuke is. So it's like in football, in college football.

There's a standard. There's some rules. And when the player does something that's out of bounds of the rules, a flag gets thrown. That's a rebuke. That's a rebuke. In soccer, there's a yellow card or a red card.

A whistle is blown. A foul is called in basketball.

Why?

Because there's a standard, and somebody went out of bounds of that standard and messed up. And so then there's a rebuke. And that's where we see rebukes most often in public culture. But what happens with this word essentially is that God, as the referee, is calling the offender into the review booth with him.

Let's take a look at this together. And what he's seeking is that those who are far off will come near to him.

How?

By reasoning together, by agreeing together about his rebuke against them. This is what confession is, that the rebel would agree with God and take God's side against himself. That's what confession is.

And the Greek word for confession is homologeo, the same word. Say the same thing. I always say the same thing that God says about me. I always say the same thing that God says about my behavior. I say the same thing that God says about my motivation.

I say the same thing that God says about my words. That's confession. And so, yes, it's a rebuke where the Lord is saying to me that I'm in the wrong. I'm the one who's far off. But I'm going to say the same thing.

Yes, Lord, you're right. I agree. Come now, let us reason together. When he's saying that, he's seeking confession. He's saying to those who are in rebellion, come now, confess. Agree with me about what I've been saying about your conduct, about your iniquities.

And confession is essential to what repentance means. Let's think of a good example. Let's go over to 2 Corinthians 7. 2 Corinthians 7, verses 8 through 11. Paul writes to the Corinthian church. He says in verse 8,.

For even if I made you sorry with my letter, I don't regret it, though I did regret it. For I perceive that the same epistle made you sorry only for a little while. Only for a while. Though now I rejoice that not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance.

For you were made sorrow in a godly manner. Sorrow according to God's perspective. That you might suffer loss from us in nothing. For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation not to be regretted.

That's the same word for repentance. Meaning a repentance you don't repent from. But the sorrow of the world produces death. For observe this very thing that you sorrowed in a godly manner. What diligence is produced in you.

What clearing of yourselves. What indignation.

What fear.

What vehement desire. What zeal of vindication. In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter. Meaning that when the issue was made clear to them, they were in such agreement with God about it.

That they were sorrowful in a godly way. And their repentance was one that they didn't repent from. Because they're on God's side about the matter even over against themselves. Homework would be Psalm 32 verses 1 -5.

And also 1 John chapter 1 verse 5 through chapter 2 verse 2. That particular passage we'll pick up as the Lord wills next time. As we begin to look at the remainder of this verse in Isaiah. And what the connection is between coming to God through confession.

And then understanding that our sins are forgiven. How is it that God calls us to himself in confession. And that through that process on the other side of it. We know that our sins are forgiven. That though our sins be as scarlet now.

We understand them to be white as snow. I think that with that understanding. We will once again I think be affirmed in how precious this particular verse is to us as Christians. And has been to the church for a very long time.

Closing Prayer for Confession and Repentance

Let's go ahead and close in a word of prayer. Father we thank you so much for the time that you've given to us in your word. Lord I just want to ask that you would be at work in the lives of the people who hear this word.

And help us to know that we may come to you in confession. That you call us to yourself through confession. That we would come and be in agreement with you. And say what you have to say about who we are.

And I pray that you would give us hope and encouragement for those who we know who are far off from you. That there is not a long journey of many official steps that they would have to walk through. To come to you their maker and their creator.

But that we would encourage them to see themselves in the light of who you are. And to say what you say. And to agree with you. We ask for this grace in their lives. Where there are so many on our hearts right now.

As we think of people who are far off from you. Who are rebellious. And what hope is there for them. God I pray for this grace of confession. This grace of repentance in their lives. And that you would give us the grace of hope and courage as we pray for them.

And we pray these things in Jesus name. Amen.