The Gospel According To Isaiah

Feature 2 – April 2009 – Grace & Truth Magazine

The Gospel According To
ISAIAH

From early Christian times, the prophet Isaiah, whose name means “the salvation of the Lord,” has been described as an Old Testament evangelist. His prophecy contains more than 80 references to salvation, redemption and justification. He also makes distinctions in respect to being saved from the penalty, the power and the presence of sin. We’ll focus our attention on these three as seen in Isaiah 40-66. These 26 chapters deal with the forgiveness and restoration of a disgraced and oppressed Israel. They also speak of salvation for the Gentiles. But above all they pre-eminently foretell the coming of our Savior, Christ the Lord.

Salvation From The Penalty Of Sin
While God is willing to pardon the offender, He is uncompromising in His condemnation of those accused of sin, and tells His people that their religious devotions “are as filthy rags” (Isa. 64:6 KJV ). Because they see themselves as right in their own eyes, God tells them, “your iniquities have separated between you and your God” (59:2). This means that all men and women everywhere without faith in the Redeemer “are all as an unclean thing” (64:6). God demands repentance for forgiveness, and good works are no solution. Candidates for salvation must abandon their old ideas and ambitions, as a token of sincerity. God says, “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts” (55:7). God demands total surrender from sinners. This is no trivial matter because the consequences are eternal. For God has prepared a place of punishment for unbelievers where “their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched” (66:24).

Present And Eternal Salvation
The prophet also anticipates the truth of our receiving salvation in this life sealed with the promise of eternal security – those justified by faith can never perish. To reinforce this, God tells everyone who believes Isaiah’s message that He “will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon” (55:7). God also indicates that those who believe are numbered among His favored and chosen ones. These persons who comprise the redeemed of God’s chosen people are described as “Mine elect” (45:4).

In effect, those chosen will never become unchosen, for God has committed Himself to the eternal remission of sins. As He says, “I, even I, am He that blotteth out thy transgressions for Mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins” (43:25). In this regard let us also note that the old-fashioned singular pronoun “thy” indicates individual and personal salvation! For if God will forget our many sins forever, His promise to every soul saved is that “thou shall not be forgotten by Me” (44:21).

In other words, because we are not saved by personal merit, we cannot perish through personal failure. God again teaches that salvation is a gift, not a reward. Thus God cries through His prophet, “Everyone that thirsteth, come to the waters, and he that hath no money; come, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price” (55:1). In addition, Isaiah teaches that those saved through faith have received the seal of the Holy Spirit. Thus the evangelist states, “I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring” (44:3).

To fully enjoy this we must compare it with Paul’s exhortation to “grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, by whom ye are sealed unto the day of redemption” (Eph. 4:30). Here again we see that even those capable of grieving God cannot forfeit their eternal salvation. Therefore God describes those justified by faith as “the preserved” (49:6). It is not presumption to claim that even now we are forever saved through faith. Rather it is a sin of omission if we fail to confess that we have been saved by the blood of the Lamb (Isa. 53:7,11-12). For God assures His saints, “I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, like a cloud, thy sins ... for I have redeemed thee” (44:22).

But if salvation has cost us nothing, Isaiah 53 reveals how much it has cost God and His Son. The Good Shepherd of John 10:11 is the same one of whom Isaiah says, “He shall feed His flock like a shepherd: He shall gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young” (40:11). Christ has promised this to His sheep: “I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand” (Jn. 10:28).

Salvation From The Power Of Sin
Those who think that salvation by faith is a license to run wild in the wilderness of sin are sorely misled. First, those who return to their old ways should consider whether they were born again in the first place. Second, unfaithful disciples will have forfeited undreamed of glories in the eternal kingdom. For whereas in the first instance Isaiah 9:1-2 presents the Christ as the forerunner with the gospel to the Gentiles, yet Isaiah 49 reveals that those sent by Christ would also become a light to the heathen nations. Therefore He cries, “I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be My salvation unto the end of the earth” (Isa. 49:6; Acts 13:47). While the age of the apostles is past, every soul who knows the Lord is obliged to tell of his Savior to all who will listen. Therefore God demands, “Declare thou, that thou mayest be justified” (43:26). This principle is the substance of Paul’s famous text where each one is instructed to confess the Lord Jesus with his mouth seeing that “with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Rom. 10:10). In so doing, we shall also be committing ourselves to a new way of life. And so we return to the text where God commands His people, “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts” (55:7).

Salvation From The Presence Of Sin
We live in a world of trial, tribulation and temptation. Though by faith we can overcome every circumstance, yet unforgettable tragedies inflict physical and mental scars. Salvation is not a safety certificate against pain, injury or persecution. While we are on our way to Heaven, the paths of righteousness are not paved with pleasures and delights. We live in a wicked world, where our righteous souls are vexed every day. And if we are not of this world yet we are in it to live at peace with those whom, despite all, we respect and love.

So God tells us this through Isaiah: “Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy” (65:17-18). In its ultimate form this will be what John terms “New Jerusalem” (Rev. 21:2). In that shadowless city of irreversible immortality there will be no place for the last enemy. There will be no “valley of the shadow of death” (Ps. 23:4) nor the “darkness ... of death” (Ps. 107:14) in the celestial city where the glory of God is all in all. There will be no tears arising from the sorrows of troubled times. For as John records, “He that sat upon the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new... Write, for these words are true and faithful’” (Rev. 21:5).

The Savior
Whereas we have defined the three-fold aspects of salvation, the latter cannot be achieved without a Savior. If He is “the Savior of the world” (Jn. 4:42), then He must treat all nations and peoples equally without discrimination. This does not mean that all the world will be saved, for the pre-condition of “whosoever believeth” (Jn. 3:16) prevails at all times. So in Isaiah 42:1, the Lord reveals the universal Savior who will also take up the cause of the Gentiles as He saves Jews and non-Jews without distinction. He is also seen as the Savior who will make no difference between classes of people. For not only will He save Gentiles (42:1), but also He will rescue the poor and underprivileged whom the world in its wisdom and power despises. This salvation will also result in the whole world’s coming under His power and blessing when He reigns on earth for a thousand years.

In this regard, Isaiah 42: 6-7 is particularly sweet as Christ is described as “a light of the Gentiles, to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and those who sit in darkness out of the prison.” And dare we pass over chapter 53 when we consider this wonderful Person who has deigned to come to our aid and rescue? Who else is this Man of Sorrows but Jesus Christ, the Mighty God and Son of the Father as revealed in Isaiah 9:6?

Also, who else but the one born of “the virgin” (Isa. 7:14) could be God with us and for us in our plight? He is none other than Christ Jesus, our Lord, our God and our Savior. And why did He become human, except that as a sinless man bearing “the iniquity of us all” (53:6), He might suffer our punishment, so that all who believe in Him should escape the “everlasting burning” (33:14).

So the same prophet who saw Christ as Jehovah enthroned in Isaiah 6, saw Him as the Man of Sorrows hanging on the cross in Isaiah 53. These are indeed the glorious truths enshrined in Isaiah 53 and heard by thousands as set to music by Handel in his famous oratorio “Messiah.” But speaking spiritually, do those who know this music really know the “score” regarding Christ as Savior? Pray that all heed Isaiah’s invitation: “Seek ye the LORD while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near” (Isa. 55:6).

By Tom Summerhill