Truth or Consequences - Isaiah 48:1-22

Copyright July 3, 2022 by Rev. Bruce Goettsche

Freedom is dangerous. We live in a country that prides itself on the freedom we have been given. The reason freedom is dangerous is that freedom carries consequences.

· If you choose to live here, you will have to pay taxes for infrastructure.

· If you choose to break the law, you may get thrown in jail.

· If you choose to drive recklessly, you may end up in an accident.

· If you choose not to do your homework in school, you may get the opportunity to repeat that grade for another year.

· If you choose not to work at your job, you may lose that job.

· If you choose to spend your money in one area, you won’t have it for something else.

· If you choose to live outside of God’s instructions about sex and marriage you will create scars that will impact future relationships.

· If you treat your friends in a disrespectful way, you will soon have fewer friends.

· If you choose not to discipline your children, you should not be surprised when your children are always in trouble.

Real freedom has real consequences. Let me illustrate this from one of the hot-button topics of the day. I understand the abortion debate is a nuanced and complicated topic, I understand that there are some exceptional situations. But in most cases the issue of abortion rights is not about personal choice, it is about sidestepping personal responsibility for the consequences of the choices already made. In other words, people want to use abortion as a way to negate the consequences of the free choice they made to engage in acts that risk pregnancy.

It is the same issue as people who engage in criminal behaviors and then are upset when they are arrested. If they resist arrest, they will be restrained, and then there are cries of police brutality. It is another effort to sidestep the consequences of the choices the person made. Many of the protests in our day come from anger at having to live with the consequences of choices. I realize there are some real issues out there that need to be addressed, but trying to shrug off the results of our free choices is not freedom, it is the anthesis to freedom.

What is true in everyday life is also true in our relationship with God. He gives us the opportunity to choose whether we want to worship Him, obey Him, follow Him, and trust Him for eternal life. Each of these choices has temporal as well as eternal consequences. We will see this written out in Isaiah 48 this morning,

God’s Faithfulness and Love (1-16)

1 “Listen to me, O family of Jacob,

you who are called by the name of Israel

and born into the family of Judah.

Listen, you who take oaths in the name of the Lord

and call on the God of Israel.

You don’t keep your promises,

2 even though you call yourself the holy city

and talk about depending on the God of Israel,

whose name is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

3 Long ago I told you what was going to happen.

Then suddenly I took action,

and all my predictions came true.

4 For I know how stubborn and obstinate you are.

Your necks are as unbending as iron.

Your heads are as hard as bronze.

5 That is why I told you what would happen;

I told you beforehand what I was going to do.

Then you could never say, ‘My idols did it.

My wooden image and metal god commanded it to happen!’

6 You have heard my predictions and seen them fulfilled,

but you refuse to admit it.

The Lord began his message to Israel with a comparison between His faithfulness and the faithfulness of the people of Israel. His faithfulness is enduring. God has consistently provided for His people. He has faithfully warned them of the consequences of rebellion. Israel’s faithfulness, however, was sporadic at best at best. They made promises they did not keep. They acted in religious ways, but they never backed these things up in their daily living which is the real test of faith. As a result, when God delivered on His promise to bring Babylon against them, they cried out, “Unfair!” or maybe today it would be “God Brutality.” When they were simply receiving the stated consequences for their choices.

Is this how God sees much of contemporary Christianity? Does He see us as only going through the motions; looking religious on the outside but refusing to follow God in our daily living? Does He see us as mere pretenders? Do we rant and rave about God’s indifference when we are receiving exactly what we chose?

We should be grateful God has not treated us as our sins deserved immediately. If God had not been patient, we would now be in Hell. God will judge the wicked (which is all of us) but He delays that judgment to give time for people to repent and believe. We are followers of Christ today because of God’s love and His patience. It is not because we finally “got our act together.”

In verses 12-16 He continued the comparison between His faithfulness and the faithfulness of Israel.

12 “Listen to me, O family of Jacob,

Israel my chosen one!

I alone am God,

the First and the Last.

13 It was my hand that laid the foundations of the earth,

my right hand that spread out the heavens above.

When I call out the stars,

they all appear in order.”

14 Have any of your idols ever told you this?

Come, all of you, and listen:

The Lord has chosen Cyrus as his ally.

He will use him to put an end to the empire of Babylon

and to destroy the Babylonian armies.

15 “I have said it: I am calling Cyrus!

I will send him on this errand and will help him succeed.

16 Come closer, and listen to this.

From the beginning I have told you plainly what would happen.”

And now the Sovereign Lord and his Spirit

have sent me with this message.

God has chosen His people; we did not choose Him. He alone is God! He is the One who laid the foundations of the earth and rules over all creation. All of creation responds to His command. The Lord has revealed the future hundreds of years in advance.Many of the gods in the nations around Israel had a narrow dominion. They were gods of seas, soil, the sun, and various localities. The Lord was drawing a distinction between Him and these gods. He is the Lord over ALL creation. He made all there is, and He rules over all that takes place. As Rick pointed out last week God predicted the rise of Cyrus as many as 100 years before Cyrus was even born! The point is . . . This is no “ordinary god.” The Lord God Almighty is THE one and only true God.

From time to time someone will ask, “Who made God?” The answer is “no one!” God has always existed. In fact, if someone HAD created God, then whoever created Him would be the true and living God. God has ALWAYS existed.

The Choices Before Us and the Consequences of the Choices

17 This is what the Lordsays—

your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:

“I am the Lord your God,

who teaches you what is good for you

and leads you along the paths you should follow.

18 Oh, that you had listened to my commands!

Then you would have had peace flowing like a gentle river

and righteousness rolling over you like waves in the sea.

19 Your descendants would have been like the sands along the seashore—

too many to count!

There would have been no need for your destruction,

or for cutting off your family name.”

The choices before Israel (and us) are spelled out in these verses. First, God teaches us what is good for us and leads us along good paths. He has provided all we need to know to enjoy fulfillment and joy in living. It is up to us to decide whether we will follow these paths or not. We must choose between God’s path and our paths, between righteous living and living according to our own whims. Contrary to public opinion – Serving the Lord does not keep us from peace and joy . . . it is the very source of peace and joy! He does not rob us of life, He reveals it to us.

Notice the consequences spelled out. For those who follow His path they will find peace and righteousness. This is not an absence of trouble; it is confidence in the midst of even the hardest things in life. And our righteousness is not perfection, it is moving ever closer to the character of Jesus.

But there is more! Choose His path and God will also bless your descendants. In the case of Israel, if they had chosen to walk in His ways, they would have been an established and growing nation long before 1947 when Israel was once again considered a nation. I think the promise is: if you will sincerely and consistently walk with Him, then your family will be blessed because of your example. They will more likely benefit from your godly leadership and example.

When we follow the Lord, we reveal a clear path for those who are following. We show the way to contentment is walking with the Lord . . . even in the middle of trying times. We show them the way to hope, confidence and certainty for the future. These are things you cannot find apart from the Lord.

Those who do not choose His ways . . . The Lord says he disciplined Israel, and in some cases, cut off the family name. All the pain Israel had endured was because of their rebellion against the Lord. And one would be wise to conclude that much of what is going on in our world today is due to the spiritual apathy and rebellion of our society. The impact of faith or unbelief on our children and grandchildren is significant.

We see this all the time. People who are raised in “the system” often stay in the system. Those who come from abusive families often learn abusive traits. Those who were raised in military families often go into the military. Those who were raised in a particular political party often remain in that political party. And sometimes . . . pastors have children who are active in ministry. Choices have consequences and sometimes those trickle down to our families.

The wonderful thing about the Lord is this: even though we may have made many bad choices all our lives, we can still turn things around. We can leave the old life and run to the Savior.

20 Yet even now, be free from your captivity!

Leave Babylon and the Babylonians.

Sing out this message!

Shout it to the ends of the earth!

The Lord has redeemed his servants,

the people of Israel.

21 They were not thirsty

when he led them through the desert.

He divided the rock,

and water gushed out for them to drink.

22 “But there is no peace for the wicked,”

says the Lord.

As long as you have breath in your lungs, it is never too late to turn to Him. It may be tempting to wait and “have some fun first” but that is a foolish way to think. Life WITH God is far greater than life without Him. God gives us purpose, fulfillment, and introduces us to a joy that cannot be attained apart from Him.

The consequence of delaying is “there is no peace for the wicked.” No one thinks of themselves as “wicked.” However, anyone who refuses God’s offer of forgiveness and new life remains unforgiven or . . . “wicked.” This doesn’t mean they won’t have moments of joy in life, but they will never be at peace with God; they will never know their real purpose and value in life. They will never know what is going to happen to them after they die. They will never be at peace in these ways.

It is like the difference between someone who is enduring marriage and someone who is deeply connected and in love with their spouse. They both may look the same on the surface, but they are not the same. The one who is connected and strongly attached to their spouse will enjoy life, endure trials, and generally be more hopeful than their counterpart who is merely enduring.

God is a loving partner. When we come to Him, He does not kick us out the first time we make a mistake. He is wonderfully patient and gracious. Ray Ortlund writes

If you are in Christ, whatever God is doing in your life right now is not an experiment that he might abandon if he gets fed up with you. You need to know that God would have to stop being God before he’d quit on you. And why is God devoted to you? It’s not because you risk looking like a failure. You already do. So do I. It’s because God will never let his purpose fail. The defeat of grace to sinners would be the defeat of God.[1]

Conclusions

How much of your life right now is the consequence of some choice you made in the past? Is it seen in the job you have? The quality of your marriage? The amount of money you possess? The position of influence you hold (or don’t hold) in the lives of those around you?

There is an old Proverb (once published by Benjamin Franklin that says,

“For want of a nail, the shoe was lost.

For want of a shoe, the horse was lost.

For want of a horse, the rider was lost.

For want of a rider, the battle was lost.

For want of a battle, the kingdom was lost,

And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.”

This old poem reminds us that even little decisions have consequences. We need to face this and accept the responsibility that comes with our choices.

The most important choice we will make is how we will respond to Christ. What choice will you make regarding the Lord? Will you choose to turn to Him to save you? Will you trust Him as the reliable guide for your life? Or maybe a better question is: what consequences do you want from the choices of your life? If you wish to live a life filled with God’s favor and blessing, if you want to be sure of eternal life, if you want to give your family the best opportunity to connect with God then you must choose Christ as your Lord and Savior.

Before you can do that, you must recognize that you are facing many of the problems you are facing right now because of earlier decisions you have made. We must be honest about the bad choices and confess our sin and foolishness before the Lord. Bad choices, when confessed, can be redeemed by the Lord.

Maybe you have made a series of really bad decisions. Stop that pattern right now. Admit your sin, take responsibility for your life and your decisions, and ask for His forgiveness. This won’t erase the bad decisions or their consequences, but it can chart a new path for your life. In fact, it may allow you to repair some of the damage you have caused. Stop making bad decisions and make the most important decision (the one with eternal consequences) wisely right now.

Freedom is dangerous. Freedom is not freedom from consequences, it is freedom to choose your path and ultimately the consequences you will live with. People all around us are angry that they must live with the consequences of their choices. If we set up a system where there are no consequences, we will live lives that have no real freedom. To eliminate consequences is in essence to say that your choice doesn’t mean anything. A choice that does not mean anything, is to make freedom itself meaningless.

This weekend we will celebrate what we call freedom. Let’s celebrate a freedom that is genuine rather than just a sham.

[1] Raymond C. Ortlund Jr. and R. Kent Hughes, Isaiah: God Saves Sinners, Preaching the Word (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2005), 314–316.