why God saves

I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins. 

Isaiah 43:25

There is a rather incorrect theology floating around in the evangelical church that doesn't fully represent the gospel. The corruption of God's love looks something like this: "God loves you SO MUCH, that if you were the only person who ever sinned, Jesus would have died for you." It wants to emphasize our "special" nature to God. But I am afraid it misses exactly why God saves anyone at all. It puts a sinful focus upon ourselves.

God told a sin-filled Israel that He saved them not because they were so lovable, but because He was so holy and active on their part. He saved them for His sake. And in this passage God shines the spotlight on Himself in at least three clear, undeniable ways. First, there is an emphatic "I" at the beginning: "I, I am he". There is no doubt that God alone does the transaction of forgiving sin. Secondly, God blots out sin "for my own sake". He has His interests and glory in mind... not our own exclusively. Thirdly, God chooses not to remember sins because the offense is against Him. Only He can forgive. We do nothing. This is important to remember: We would have no salvation if God did not save us exclusively for HIS glory.

So what started this selfish man-centered, misdirected evangelism we sometimes see today? I think evangelicals were eager for a response. And appealling to our "felt need" for love and acceptance was one way to soften the scandal of the cross where a wrathful God sent His Son to die for filthy sinners. The truth is, our sins offend a holy God. Yes, He does indeed love the world. Yes, He sent His Son to die for our sins. But it is all so that we can worship Him and He did it to bring glory for His own sake. That is the salvation that we have. It helps us humbly see ourselves and rightly see our God Who is mighty to save. Yes, you do matter to God, but not more than His own glory. He saves people FOR HIS GLORY, not for theirs.

above and beyond it all

I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols. Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.

Isaiah 42:8-9

God does not tolerate any thought of pluralism. Time and again He reminds Israel in the Law and Prophets that He is a jealous God. That does not mean He holds a sinful jealousy like mankind knows. It means that He is holy, unique, and the only being worthy of worship in all of creation. And His holiness guards that uniqueness. He will not stand for humans to replace Him with idols.

This is sort of like the "Shema" from God's point of view. His very name is the LORD. He is THE Lord.

There is no other. He is the LORD and no one else rules above Him. His sole existence as God demands worship from all that He has made. Lordship is rulership. Rulership demands respect. Respect is worship.

The Lord also reminds us that all times (past, present, and future) are His seasons and He directs them. He has created our pasts and in the now He can declare what our futures will be. And with the gift of revelation to mankind (profoundly seen for us now in the Bible), He declares to us what will happen before it ever does. He is sovereign over everything that happens, has occurred, or ever will take place in the universe. From galaxy formation to the smallest subatomic particle vibration, everything that springs forth is by His intimate knowledge and design. This reality takes my breath away as I think about it.

Envisioning this great God is not a small mental exercise. God is bigger than a universe we cannot see across. He is stronger than a billion burning suns going supernova all at the same time. We may idolize these creations of His, but He is greater and must demand our praise far above all that exists.

faith facing fears

For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, "Fear not, I am the one who helps you." 

Isaiah 41:13

This is a promise from God that stems from relationship with God. To have access to the promise, one must be a worshiper of God. There is no other way to enjoy the help of The Lord in our fears. God must be trusted and worshiped to be of the heart's benefit.

The Lord gave this promise to Israel as they flirted with idolatry. They struggled to stay faithful. They often disobeyed God. But The Lord made it clear that in relationship with Him they could find the necessary strength to face their fears and find their help.

There is an image of comfort and strength found in God describing Himself as the One Who will "hold your right hand". When we worship God and follow Him, we find Him as near as a strengthening Father in our moments of deepest difficulty. He holds our hand and we are never alone.

God also alleviates our fears by making the difference that helps us. He holds our hand and reassures us that we have nothing of which to be afraid. And He sovereignly works in our lives to help us. He will be with us right through it all. Like David said: "I will fear no evil, for You are with me." That is the strengthening reality of faith. Why do we need this? Because life is hard and we were made to walk with our Creator.

Everlasting God

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. 

Isaiah 40:28

Everlasting God

lyrics by Chris Tomlin

Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord

We will wait upon the Lord

We will wait upon the Lord

Our God, You reign forever

Our hope, our Strong Deliverer

You are the everlasting God

The everlasting God

You do not faint

You won't grow weary

You're the defender of the weak

You comfort those in need

You lift us up on wings like eagles

Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord

We will wait upon the Lord

We will wait upon the Lord

the fool's bargain

Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, "The word of the LORD that you have spoken is good." For he thought, "There will be peace and security in my days."

Isaiah 39:8

Hezekiah did not learn what God wanted him to learn. He was one of Judah's good kings, but still struggled to let God change his heart. After his recovery from a deadly illness (a situation in which God intervened with divine healing), he proudly received a diplomatic envoy from Babylon and gave them the full tour of the treasures of Jerusalem. Hezekiah is proud and foolish.

God wanted the king to think towards the future of the nation. But Hezekiah had a tendency to be short-sighted. When he fell ill, God's message through Isaiah was for the king to "set his house in order" (Isaiah 38:1). This was a call to reorder priorities. It involved preparing his sons to lead well and entrusting the kingdom to their stewardship. But Hezekiah's thoughts in this incident show he paid no attention to the warning God gave him. He was content for the nation to thrive only in his lifetime. He gave no thought to the future, but was content to live "in the moment". He sold his future at a bargain price at the first opportunity that came his way.

Ironically, the Babylonians to whom Hezekiah had just issued the "back stage pass all access tour tickets" would one day return in the very near future to burn Jerusalem to its foundations. The would plunder the treasures of the city and take the people captive away from it. The king's sons would be castrated and led away as eunuchs to serve the Babylonian king. Hezekiah's line would end because of his nearsighted contentment with the politically expedient NOW. Selfishness will make us short-sighted. And a good future found in obeying God can be lost by present satisfaction with a mediocre status quo. It is a stupid mistake to make.

the shadow on the stairs

Behold, it was for my welfare that I had great bitterness; but in love you have delivered my life from the pit of destruction, for you have cast all my sins behind your back. 

Isaiah 38:17

Hezekiah's praise for deliverance comes from God's saving him from death. He was suffering some sort of deadly infection from a boil. He was told his death was imminent. He wept before the LORD, praying for deliverance from death. God was gracious to the king and answered his prayer. Isaiah came to the king with good news. The king would live fifteen more years. God would save him.

And The Lord provided a miraculous sign to him, even as servants took Isaiah's medicinal advice and applied a folk remedy to the boil. The shadow of the sun retreated back down the staircase. The sun did not just stand still. It moved in reverse. The world changed direction briefly for Hezekiah and God to have a moment of grace. God will turn back time to show us His love.

The effect on Hezekiah was a song of praise. His thanksgiving is recorded for us. And we can sing it with him today because God is still the same. God still delivers us from destruction. He still teaches us the value of our sufferings as we trust in Him. He still delights in forgiving His children, casting all our sins behind His back.

I wonder if Hezekiah ever approached any staircase the same way ever again. Any shadow had to remind Him of God's powerful love and mercy. Perhaps every staircase in Jerusalem became a symbol of new life to him. After all, the God who turned back the shadow on the stairs had turned back death as well.

the empire shaker

So now, O LORD our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone are the LORD.

Isaiah 37:20

Hezekiah's faith drove him to intercede for the nation of Judah. He was most interested in God's reputation and not his own personal political needs. The king of Assyria sent a missive promising invasion and demanding surrender. In that letter the Assyrians mocked the God of Israel. Assyria was an unstoppable military monster, swallowing up nations in a quest for empire. Even mighty Egypt had capitulated to Assyrian control. It did not look good for Jerusalem.

Hezekiah had no plan to thwart this invasion militarily. The army of Assyria had the city surrounded. There were no military manuevers possible to save the nation. Hezekiah's response was to worship and to trust God. He appealed to the highest power possible. He fervantly prayed to God to save His people for the greatness of His own name. He wanted the world to see that God was a God of salvation. And that prayer would bring down an empire.

The Lord answered Judah's king. And in the process an empire was humbled. The world saw what the true God did. Not one arrow flew in attack against Jerusalem. The next morning, the citizens of Jerusalem awoke to find 185,000 dead Assyrian soldiers outside their city. One angel sent from God had struck them down. The king of Assyria quietly returned home and in pagan worship in his capital was assassinated by his own sons. Assyria would threaten no one in Judah ever again. God answered the wildest request in Hezekiah's prayer: the world found out that God alone is The Lord.