Series: Isaiah
Title: Reprobation and Salvation
Text: Isaiah 65: 1-7
Date: January 3, 2016
Place: SGBC, New Jersey
Our subject is “Reprobation and Salvation.” Our text: Isaiah 65: 1-7. Our divisions will be two points:
SALVATION IS THE GIFT OF GOD’S GRACE, JUSTLY GIVEN BECAUSE OF CHRIST’S WORKS—Isaiah 65: 1: I am sought of them that asked not for me; I am found of them that sought me not: I said, Behold me, behold me, unto a nation that was not called by my name…
REPROBATION IS THE WAGE EARNED BY THE SINNER, JUSTLY GIVEN FROM GOD, BECAUSE OF THE SINNERS WORKS—Isaiah 65: 2: I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts; 3: A people that provoketh me to anger continually to my face; that sacrificeth in gardens, and burneth incense upon altars of brick; 4: Which remain among the graves, and lodge in the monuments, which eat swine’s flesh, and broth of abominable things is in their vessels; 5: Which say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou. These are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day. 6: Behold, it is written before me: I will not keep silence, but will recompense, even recompense into their bosom, 7: Your iniquities, and the iniquities of your fathers together, saith the LORD, which have burned incense upon the mountains, and blasphemed me upon the hills: therefore will I measure their former work into their bosom…
In verse 1, God declares that he would call out his elect from among the Gentiles by his free grace. In verses 2-7, God declares that he would turn political Israel, the natural sons of Abraham, over to reprobation due to their iniquities. The Holy Spirit tells us this is the meaning in Romans 10 & 11. Paul said in Rom 10:
Romans 10: 20: But Esaias is very bold, and saith, I was found of them that sought me not; I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me. 21: But to Israel he saith, All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people.
I want us to understand salvation and reprobation according to the scriptures.
Salvation is God’s work of justly saving his people from our sins by God’s free grace, by Christ’s work of righteousness on our behalf, by the call of the Holy Spirit. We will see this in God calling his elect from among the Gentile nations.
Reprobation is God’s work of justly hardening a sinner in his sins due to the sinner’s willful rejection of God. We will see this in God’s reprobation of those who wilfully rejected him in political Israel.
Proposition: “The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Rom 6: 23) Reprobation is the just payment because sinners earn reprobation. But eternal life is the gift of God and is just because Christ earned it for his people.
We will begin with reprobation, beginning in verse 2.
REPROBATION
Reprobation is the wage earned by the sinner, justly given from God because of the sinners works. God shows us five reasons for reprobation.
One, the fault for a sinner’s reprobation does not lie in God but is solely due to the sinner’s insistence on doing things his way—Isaiah 65: 2: I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts; God does not prevent anyone from coming to him. God’s hands were spread out to those in political Israel—to the natural sons of Abraham. Yet, they would not seek God nor believe on God to save them because they were by nature and by choice “a rebellious people—which walketh in a way that was not good--after their own thoughts.”
By nature, sinners boast in their free will and hate to be told their will is useless to save them. Therefore, the Spirit of God said Isaiah declared these things in great boldness. One reason is because this truth declares that every unregenerate sinner’s will is only obstinate rebellion against God. It is the sinners will to walk in a way that is not good, after his own thoughts. Here is the warning. Sinner, if you go on in your rebellious will, eventually, God will let you have your way. Reprobation is God giving a man over to his sin-depraved will.
Two, God gives sinners up in reprobation because they will not worship Christ, believing on Christ alone to save them from their sins—Isaiah 65: 3: A people that provoketh me to anger continually to my face;
God established one place he would meet with them—over the mercy seat in the temple—a picture of the one place God will meet with a sinner, in Christ alone. God declared the sacrifice must be his sacrifice offered by his high priest in their room and stead—a picture of Christ our High Priest and our Lamb. Yet rebellious sinners sacrifice what they will where they will—Isaiah 65: 3…that sacrificeth in gardens.
God declared their offering was to be offered upon God’s altar, which was to be made of earth or if made of stone it was not to be hewn with a hammer or a chisel: a picture of Christ our Altar, who willingly served God for his people, whom we trust to represent us to God. But the rebellious sinner willfully offers upon the altar of his own making—Isaiah 65: 3:…and burneth incense upon altars of brick;
Idolatry comes in many forms. But no matter the form, idolatry is looking to yourself, your vain ways and your vain offerings rather than to God’s way, Christ Jesus his Son.
Three, God turns sinners over to reprobation due to their vain superstitions and curiosities—Isaiah 65: 4: Which remain among the graves, and lodge in the monuments,…Rather than looking to God for true revelation by the Spirit of God, they attempted to communicate with the dead, with the spiritual world themselves. How so? They sought to find out the future by going to witches, sorcerers and astrologers, by reading horoscopes and so on.
Four, they willfully disobeyed God’s law—Isaiah 65: 4:…which eat swine’s flesh, and broth of abominable things is in their vessels; These were God’s dietary laws by which made the children of Israel to be different from all other nations. It pictured how God alone makes his people to differ, by sanctifying us himself by his grace. The rebellious sinner understands nothing God’s law declares, nor will he or can he submit to what God’s law declares because his mind is enmity against God.
Five, God turns men over to reprobation because the chief way they willfully break God’s law is to exalt themselves over other sinners in self-righteousness—Isaiah 65: 5: Which say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou. Sinners are sanctified by the triune God in Christ. Christ is our Sanctification. Every chosen, redeemed, regenerated child of God is holy—not more, not less.
This is the one place scripture speaks of sinners being holier than other sinners. It is not God declaring it of his saints. God never declares any of his saints more holy than another. These are sinners declaring themselves holier than others. This is the declaration of those who imagine they are making themselves more and more holy and less and less sinful. This is depraved man’s vain, false doctrine but it is not according to God’s word—In verse 5, God says “These are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day.
Lastly, listen to God as he declares that when he turns sinners over to reprobation is the just recompense of the sinner’s willful rebellion against God—Isaiah 65: 6: Behold, it is written before me: I will not keep silence, but will recompense, even recompense into their bosom, 7: Your iniquities, and the iniquities of your fathers together, saith the LORD, which have burned incense upon the mountains, and blasphemed me upon the hills: therefore will I measure their former work into their bosom…
They hardened their hearts in willful rebellion against God. God says, “Therefore, will I recompense—I will pay them their wages—into their bosom, hardening their hearts even more.”
Sinner, please heed this solemn warning! All who insist on having your way, who refuse to trust Christ alone, who go on in vain superstitions, who willfully thumb your nose at God and his law and who exalt yourselves in self-righteousness shall be justly turned over to reprobation by God because you earned it! “The wages of sin is death!”
Proverbs 1: 22 How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge? 23 Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you. 24 Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; 25 But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: 26 I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; 27 When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. 28 Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: 29 For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD: 30 They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. 31 Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices. 32 For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them. 33 But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.
SALVATION
Salvation is the gift of God’s grace, justly given because of Christ’s works—Isaiah 65: 1: I am sought of them that asked not for me; I am found of them that sought me not: I said, Behold me, behold me, unto a nation that was not called by my name…
The Lord God says, “I am sought of them that asked not for me; I am found of them that sought me not:” According to the apostle Paul, this speaks of God’s elect among the Gentiles—God’s elect outside of Isaiah’s nation, outside of political Israel—you and me who God has called and those he shall call.
This was our natural born state while dead in sins. “We asked not for God; we did not seek God.”
Ephesians 2: 12…at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
We were not asking for God nor seeking God because we sought not after righteousness because we did we think we needed a righteousness. In fact, we were no different than the natural sons of Abraham that we just read about who God turned over to reprobation because of their sins.
Rom 3: 9…we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; 10: As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: 11: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
Yet, now God says, “I am sought of them; and I am found of them.” Who made the diffence? We certainly did not change our nature and our rebellious will.
Jeremiah 13:23: Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.
1 Corinthians 2: 14: But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
Only God made the difference by his grace—Isaiah 65: 1…I said, Behold me, behold me, unto a nation that was not called by my name…”
In Romans 10:20, Paul quotes Isaiah like this- “I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me.” Through the preaching of the gospel, by a God-sent preacher, Christ himself, through the Holy Spirit of God, speaks into the hearts of God’s elect, and he says, “Behold ME, behold ME.”
Beholding Christ, we behold that the triune God in Christ made all the difference, the only difference between us and other sinners, and he did it by his grace! It was in Christ that God the Father chose us and ordained us to eternal life looking to Christ and the works he would accomplish for us. It was in Christ, that God the Son, Christ Jesus, justified us from our sins and made us the righteousness of God in him when he laid down his life on the cross. It was in Christ, that God the Holy Spirit quickened us and gave us eyes and faith to behold Christ in all this, from whom we received all the blessings of God’s grace freely bestowed upon us for Christ’s sake.
Then, beholding Christ, we sought Christ and we found Christ. And we have been beholding him and seeking and finding him more and more by the same sovereign and free grace. And we want only to be found in him in his righteousness not our own.
REVIEW
Now what have we seen here?
First, if sinners perish in our sins, we have no one to blame but ourselves. Reprobation is God’s just recompense for our own transgressions.
Secondly, if sinners are saved, we have no one to praise but God. Salvation is God’s just gift because of Christ’s obedience on our behalf.
Three, God does not save or condemn unjustly. All was ordained before the foundation of the world. But “The wages of sin is death”;--the just payment for our own willful rebellion. “But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ.”—the just gift by his own wilful obedience on our behalf.
Do not waste time ignoring or treating God’s word lightly. God will turn sinners over to reprobation. May Christ speak into your heart now, saying, “Behold me, behold me!”
Amen!