STUDY THEME: QUESTIONS ABOUT GOD:               9-24-00
HOW DOES GOD SAVE US?    ISAIAH 43: 1-4, 10-13, 18-21,25
PLEASE OPEN YOUR BIBLE TO ISAIAH 43.

Everyone needs to be saved, for the Scriptures says in Luke 13:3 "Unless
you repent, you will all perish." For the wages of sin is death , but the
gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Rom. 6: 23. But in
Rom. 10:9 it is written, "If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is
Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you
will be saved." Rom. 10:13  For  "whoever calls on the name of the Lord
shall be saved." "For God so loved the world that  He gave His only
begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have
everlasting life."  For God did not send His Son into the world to
condemn the world, but that the world  through Him might be saved." John
3: 16-17.

I think everyone wants to be saved, but not in the way you and I use the
word saved. Think about the non-Christians you know. If you were to say
to them, "You need to be saved; they would probably respond,  What do you
mean? What danger am I in? I'm reasonably healthy, have a decent job, pay
the bills, and enjoy life with my family. What else could I ask for? I
know God exists.  I guess I believe He is personal enough to take an
interest in me, but I do not see how I need God to change anything in my
life."

Today's lesson addresses the life question, "Can God save me?" The
biblical truth examined is God is the only Savior; His salvation is
complete, including spiritual and physical aspects. The intended life
impact of the lesson is to help each of us depend on God as our Savior. 

Many people do not think of God's protection and deliverance as part of
the salvation He offers. Many also never consider the spiritual bondage
they are in and he deliverance they need. Some believe they will fact
nothing they cannot handle on their own. Others are aware of the many
things from which they need deliverance, but they are afraid that
nothing---including God--will be able to save them from these dangers. 

In the biblical worldview, God's salvation, which includes both physical
and spiritual aspects, is available for all who will receive it.  People
of genuine faith in God do  not expect to be exempt from life's troubles,
crises, sickness and death. Being human, they also wonder at times about
how they will handle deep troubles when they come. However, they trust
God to save them from and through life's dangers and to deliver them from
the greater dangers of sin and death. 

Although Isaiah live and preached in the eighth century B.C., the latter
chapters of his prophecy seem to have been directed to the Jewish exiles
in Babylon, of  the 6th century B.C. Isa. 43:14 , for example, mentions
Babylon by name. The message of divine deliverance in the chapter seems
to fit the situation of the exile, when many of the Jews had become
discouraged and did not believe God would deliver them from their plight.
Isaiah's message proclaims God's salvation from earthly dangers such as
the exile and also salvation from the sin that was at the root of their
trouble.
The messages of these later chapters of the Book of  Isaiah, however,
should not be limited in application to the exiled Jews. The messages are
timeless in application. 

1. PLEASE READ ISAIAH 43: 1-4. 

Some people have called Isaiah Ch. 40-66 "The Book of Comfort." In Ch. 42
God reminded His people how they caused their present difficulty. He
wanted to make sure they  understood their responsibility and His part in
their predicament before He talked about salvation.

Many believe Judah's predicament God addressed in Ch 42-43 was the exile.
In 597 B.C., in 587/86 B.C., and again later, the Babylonians took people
from Judah and exiled them, settling them in Babylon. God gave His
message of salvation to the people who had received His judgment. Babylon
was the instrument that humbled Judah but God reminded the people that He
had given the Babylonians the victory.

In Ch. 43 God intended to speak good news. The words but now in Vs.
1signaled a change--but not in God. He had not changed. He still insisted
that His people be faithful and righteous. God still hated hypocrisy and
injustice; but His intention always had been grace, not wrath. God was
giving Judah a new opportunity. He had punished His people, but He had
not abandoned them. They still belonged to Him. Yet God began by
introducing Himself elf. In Babylon Lyon the people of Judah had heard
about many gods and goddesses who supposedly spoke through priests and
prophets. God reminded the people that He had created and formed them.
They knew that God had created human beings. In the O.T. only He was said
to create. Yet God emphasized that he had created...Jacob and had
formed...Israel--the nation, God's people.  

If God was instrumental in sending the people of Judah into exile and if
they knew He was addressing them, they had reason to be afraid. So God
said, "Fear not." The people may have been afraid of what their
Babylonian masters might do. Whatever the reason for the people's fear,
God was equal to it. He already had begun His saving work. He had
redeemed His people. God's use of the word redeemed reminded the people
of His work in the past. In Moses' day, in the face of Egypt's
overwhelming strength, God had redeemed the Israelites and made them His
people.

Israel belonged to God, as do the redeemed of every age. His presence was
to be with her and his help constantly available. Yet she was not to
assume that she would be delivered from all perils and trials. This
lesson was a hard one for Israel to learn. It is equally difficult for
God's people of this century. We are prone to think that because one is a
Christian he should be delivered from suffering and sorrow. But such a
deliverance would be contrary both to the natural laws of the world and
to our own good. That Israel was to pass "through the water," "the
rivers," and even "the fire" in her future course is not denied. It may
even be inferred by the phrase ,"when she passeth," that such experiences
would be inevitable. But she would  pass through these trials, not be
consumed by them. The Christian can face his suffering and trials with
equal assurance.    

The Lord's first promise is I will be with thee. He promises to be with
us in our troubles. "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow
of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me" (Ps. 23:4). Jesus
said, "In the world ye shall have tribulaiton; but be of good cheer; I
have overcome the world (John 16:33). The Lord's second promise is, "when
thou passeth...through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when
thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned." This sounds as
if He is promising to rescue us from dangers; and He is, if we define
rescue more broadly than earthly deliverance. 

The story of the three Hebrews in Daniel 3 illustrates how the Lord was
with them in the midst of the flames of the fiery furnace. In their case,
the Lord also chose to rescue them from the fiery furnace. This does not
mean that no believer will ever be drowned in water or burned to death in
fire. History contains too many examples of this happening during time of
persecution. Many of the early Christians were burned to death by Nero. 

And in the 16th century a favorite way of executing Anabaptists was to
drown them in water. The point is that God is with us at all times and
that even death only releases us to be with the Lord forever. Jesus
foretold the persecution and death of many of His followers; yet He
added, "But theres hall not an hair of your head perish" (Luke 21:18).
This obviously did not mean that they would be spared death.  It meant
that death is not a defeat. Nothing, including death, can separate us
form the love of God in Christ (Rom. 8: 35-39). 

2. PLEASE READ ISAIAH 43: 10-13. 

Every ancient nation or city had its own god. So what was unique about
Judah's God, especially in light of Judah's exile? God addressed the
question in vs. 9 as if Judah and the nations were involved in a legal
hearing--a court scene. The nations were to bring witnesses for their
gods, and the people of Judah would be God's witnesses. The hearing would
pivot on which God could tell the future and interpret the past. If a god
could not do that, it was not really a god. God used this drama technique
to remind His people that His plan always had been for them to display
His character. So before stressing His uniqueness, God identified His
witnesses. They were His chosen people. However little they thought of
themselves, God was still on their side.   

Yet in Isa. 42:18-22 God said His witnesses were blind and deaf because
they did not understand what He was doing. Also, although they had
experienced  judgment for their sins, God loved and honored them. He
called them my servant as a title of honor. Calling Judah God's servant
implied that the nation was associated closely with God and that He
honored it. That was high status. The use of servant instead of
"servants" implies God chose the nation as a witness.

To what were they to witness? Vs. 10b-13 stress that the Lord is the only
God and only Savior. There was none before him nor will there be any
after Him. "I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no savior. "

People today consider such statements to be unfair to other religions.
They like to think that any religion, or even no religion, is just a
matter of personal preference. They ask, "Doesn't each religion contain
truth and offer a way to God and to heaven?" Not according to the Word of
God. Our Lord claims to be the one and only God. Other gods are
nonexistent; therefore, those who trust in them are trusting in nothing
real.  

By contrast, God delivers on His promises. No other god or no other power
can deliver out of His hand. No other god or power of any kind can hinder
or change the work of the Lord. He promised, "I will work, and who can
reverse it." "What my hand holds, non can shatch away; what I do, none
can undo." This is a timeless promise. If we belong to the Lord, we are
safely held in His hand. Our assurance is not based on our ability to
hold on to His hand but on the promise that He has a hold on us that will
never slacken. 

God chose the people of Judah to witness to the world; so they had to
know, believe, and understand His ongoing work. Maybe God chose these
overlapping words to reflect some progression in His people's
relationship with Him. Had  God's people discovered His nearness in their
exile? If so, they could witness concerning His reality. Did they believe
God instead of believing in Him? Believing in God simply meant
recognizing that God is real. God wanted witnesses who believe what He
said. 

Had His people come to believe what He said about the consequences of
righteousness or of sin, about the future, and about the meaning of the
past? If so, they could understand what God had been doing with and
through them. To understand they had to remember God's great works and
His announcements about the future. If he people knew, believed, and
understood, they could tell others that God is the only God. 

God had shown His plan to develop witnesses. He had identified Him self:
"I even I, am the Lord." Now He emphasized His ability by referring to
Himself a second time as Israel's Savior. In Vs.3, God had stressed His
relationship with His people. Here His point was that He alone could
rescue them. No other God existed. The world had not other Savior. from
the N.T. perspective, God acted in Christ to provide salvation. The truth
of no other Savior is important because people are tempted to turn to
other avenues for help. 

Throughout history God has used many means to rescue His people, but
still He was the One who saved them. In. Vs. 12 He had revealed and saved
and proclaimed.  No foreign god could take credit for what God had done.
Yet who would know? If God's people would be the witness God expected
them to be, the world would know. That  was their calling, and they
uniquely were qualified to fulfill it. 

In Vs. 13 God again stressed His power. Were these words a threat or a
promise? God expected His people to remember what He had done and to know
His capabilities. Should they comfort themselves with this or be
concerned? The answer depended on whether or not they trusted God.

Before the first day of creation when time began and throughout all
periods of history, God exists and manifests His will and purpose. God's
actions are irreversible and can never end in frustration. 

God maintains His purpose: to save His people. He still chooses, reveals
and calls witnesses to show the world that no other God---no other
Savior--exists. Being God's witness begins with recalling what God has
done and moves to what He wants to do in people who are open to Him. 

3. PLEASE READ ISAIAH 43: 18-21. 

Vs. 14-15 promised a deliverance from he Babylonians. Vs. 16-17 reminded
the Israelites of God's deliverance of their forefathers from Egyptian
bondage. hen the Lord said something unusual. Ordinarily, the Israelis
were admonished to remember the past deliverances. Here they were told,
"Remember ye not the former   "things." Why would God tell them to
"forget" His past deliverances? 

The first part of Vs. 19 gives the key to answering the question. "Behold
I will do a new thing." The Lord was not telling them to remove all
memory of past deliverances. These deliverances in history provided the
foundation for present faith and future hope. However some people
confined God to the past. They failed to be open to fresh and new ways in
which He would reveal Himself and redeem His people. The past is a great
teacher, but we must not use it to restrict God. God knows what He will
do and calls us to trust Him.

Vs. 19-20 figuratively describe a new exodus the Lord would bring to
pass. The old exodus included deliverance from the Egyptians at the Red
Sea. Vs. 16-27 describe how God made a path through the waters and
delivered the Israelites from the pursuing Egyptian army. The new exodus
would provide deliverance from the desert of captivity. This is pictured
as the Lord  making a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert. .
Those who had faith and hope based on the God of past, present, and
future should praise Him. Wild animals find water and food. If I provide
for them, surely I will provide for the people I have chosen to witness
for me and to sing my praises. 


What was this new thing? In the nature of the case, it is a work of
redemption. If Isaiah in the Spirit of prophecy is speaking to the people
in Babylonian bondage,  it would seem that the first beginnings of the
mighty redemption were taking place when the people were permitted to
return to their home. In itself, however, this is not the deliverance
intended, for it is not far superior to the deliverance from Egypt. 

Insofar as the return from exile marked a cessation of the period of
bondage and disgrace, it may perhaps be regarded as the beginning or
first stage of the new thing God would do for His people. The new thing
in itself, however, is the wondrous new redemption that was wrought for
His people when the promised Messiah died upon the Cross of Golgotha. 

4. PLEASE READ ISAIAH 43: 25.

This verse is probably the high point of grace in the O.T. In spite of
Israel's utter unworthiness the Lord in His grace has devised a way that
He can forgive their sins and grant righteousness without compromising
His holiness.

It is plain that Israel's problem is not solely, or perhaps even mainly,
physical captivity. A deeper problem than bondage must be addressed. What
about  the sin  that caused the bondage? The prophets all blamed the
exile on the Israelites' sins. Vs. 22-24 focus on Israel's sins. Clearly
their sins showed they did not merit salvation, yet God promised to
forgive their transgressions and sins. These two words often are found
together to describe human disobedience and guilt. 

Forgiveness is pictured in the words blotted out and not remember. The
Lord would cover their sins in the sense of not holding them against the
sinners. He would remove the memory of their sins in he sense of not
allowing them to remain as a barrier to fellowship with Him. All sin is
against God, and only He has he character and the authority to forgive
sin. 

For mine own sake shows God would do this not because they deserved  to
be forgiven but because of  His own character, which is merciful and
gracious. This kind of forgiveness is not given lightly and easily. True
forgiveness is always costly. The one who forgives in human relations
must be willing to absorb the hurt to offer reconciliation. So God 
forgives on the basis of the cross.

In the same way, our deepest problem, the one that lies at the heart of
the others,  is sin, which separates us from God. We need forgiveness
more than we need  to have our worst physical needs met   We can try to
deny our sins, atone for our sins, or ignore our sins; but the sins
remain realities that will bring us into judgment. Yet  God offers to
remove our sins if we will let Him.

Hugo H. Culpepper told this experience: "Several years ago a man off the
streets came into the seminary in South America where I was teaching, and
asked for me....He came to the point immediately. "Does God Forgive?" 
"Does God Forgive?" He repeated this piercing question several times."
The man told of his loving family--his wife and children. Then he
confessed he had fallen into sin and had become diseased. His doctor had
forbidden  him to live at home. His family did not understand. He was
depressed  and weighted down with a guilty conscience. His supreme
concern was the answer to his question, "Does God forgive?" Dr. Culpepper
said , "I preached the gospel to this one man. Only the certainty that
God is able to save such a man can help one to point him to hope and life
in Christ." 

The good news is that God is a redeeming God. His redeeming activity was
being revealed in the time of Isaiah, and it is still being revealed
today. Our God is a saving God.  

CONCLUSION: 
In today's lesson we have focused on four aspects of divine salvation.
The Lord is with us as we pass through all dangers. Our personal
relationship with Him provides assurance and encourages us to be
witnesses. Faith in the God of  the past, present and future calls us to
live with faith and hope. Our sins are at the heart of our human need.
Forgiveness of our sins by God's grace is at the heart of divine
salvation.

NEXT SUNDAY WE RETURN TO GENESIS 2 AND 3 TO ANSWER THE QUESTION "WHY
SHOULD I BE CONCERNED ABOUT MY SIN? WHO CARES ANYMORE ANYWAY?  A.V.
DAUGHERTY   9-24-00    

NOTE: I will not be preparing the lesson for Oct. 1 as I will be
attemption to reduce the fish population in the Lake of the Woods,
Ontario, Canada during the week of Sept. 23 thru the 30th and will not
have my commentaries to help me.  AVD