Great Gospel Words - "Come Now..."

"Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord:
though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red like crimson,
they shall become like wool.
If you are willing and obedient,
you shall eat the good of the land;
but if you refuse and rebel,
you shall be eaten by the sword;
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken."

Isaiah 1:18-20 (emphasis added)

It is amazing how much profound truth the Lord can pack into three verses. I have always been intrigued by the economy of words that the Bible employs.

Today we concentrate on two one syllable words that present one of the greatest Gospel invitations spoken by our Lord: "Come now." To whom does the Lord say, "Come now." To those who are going in the wrong direction. This wrong direction is dangerous and deadly. Continue in your wrong direction and the result will be eternally disastrous.

Going in our own dangerous direction is graphically captured in Isaiah 53:6: "We all, like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way..." Astray, our way. Or as Jesus labels it in Matthew 7:13: "For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many."

So the words "Come now" are voiced with an urgency, a seriousness, a warning. These compelling words from the Lord call us to recognize our desperate and disastrous direction, causing us to stop in our tracks, not to take another step lest it be our last into eternal destruction. "Come now" and honestly face the seriousness of our sin, our rebellion against the Lord.

It is important to notice who takes the initiative in this encounter. God speaks these gracious words of invitation to us when we are His enemies, when we are spiritually dead in trespass and sin. The initiative of God in our salvation provides a vivid reminder that there was nothing that we could do to solve our sin problem. If the Lord had not taken the first step in initiating the invitation, we would have absolutely no hope.

There are only two possible responses to the Lord’s gracious invitation contained in the Gospel. Isaiah catalogs them:

Response #1 - If you are willing and obedient...

If you come now into the Lord's presence with repentance and trust, you shall eat of the good of the land. You will be saved and experience the benefits and bounty of God's gracious salvation.

Having now stopped and listened to the Lord, having recognized our wrong direction, we turn around to proceed in the right direction. This 180 degree turn is given the label repentance in the Bible.

Recognize...Repent...Receive...This is the Good News of the Gospel according to the invitation given by the Lord: "Come now!"

Response #2 - If you refuse and rebel...

You shall be eaten by the sword. This certainly is figurative language. It is a vivid, graphic description of the deadly destruction that awaits any and all who willfully ignore the Lord gracious invitation to "Come now..."

Refuse...Reject...Resist...This is the Bad News of the delusion decreed by the Devil himself. The last thing he wants you to do is to come to Jesus.

God's holy love, grace and pardon or God's holy justice, wrath and punishment. Both display the perfect righteousness of the Lord. Both declare the glory of the Lord.

If you have already responded to the Lord's "Come now" I encourage you to "Come now" with rejoicing for His salvation provided through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross as final and complete payment for your sin. Make this "salvation rejoicing" a daily occurrence in your personal prayer and worship.

If you have not yet responded to the Lord's "Come now!" I urge you to "Come now!" Respond to the Gospel and be saved!

Great Gospel Words

With this I am beginning a series of posts under the heading “Great Gospel Words.” I suspect that the list of words brought to mind with such a title would include salvation, redemption, adoption, justification, etc.

Well, this list is a bit different…in fact, quite a bit different. This list is comprised of all single syllable words.

Perhaps this unusual approach will help us to continue to marvel at the truth that despicable sinners like us, who deserve eternal separation from God in hell are, instead, now on the pathway that leads to an eternity is the Lord’s presence in heaven.

Great Gospel Words - “But God”

What is the next word in each of the following incomplete sentences? (Hint: It is the same three letter word for each sentence.)

• Friend to friend: “She had been recovering well from her surgery…”
• Coach to high school athlete: “Your football skills have improved…”
• Boss to employee: “You did a good job on that project…”

The short, three letter word I have in mind is almost always negative. At least in the way that we use it nowadays. \

• Friend to friend: “She had been recovering well from her surgery, BUT she now has an infection and is in serious condition.”
• Coach to high school athlete: “Your football skills have improved, BUT I am cutting you from the squad.”
• Boss to employee: “You did a good job on that project, BUT it was late and over-budget so I have no choice but to let you go.”

BUT, the word BUT is on my list of Great Gospel Words. That means it is positive! And, when you couple this word with one other word, it is supernaturally positive: BUT GOD…!! Here is the Gospel according to “But God…”

“But God shows His love for us in this, that while we were sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

• The bad news is that the righteous judgment of a holy God must be visited upon sin, and we are sinners. The Good News is that Jesus absorbed our deserved punishment when He died for us.

“But God raised Him from the dead.” (Acts 13:30)

• The bad news for those who were following Jesus was that His dead body was in the tomb, sealed by a massive stone. The Good News is that His payment for sin was validated by God raising Him from the dead.

“But God’s firm foundation stands.” (2 Timothy 2:19)

• The bad news is that everything this world offers to us upon which to build our lives is crumbling right before our eyes. The Good News is that God’s firm foundation of Christ, His Word, His presence in our lives and our promised entrance into heaven are eternally secure.

“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” (Psalm 73:26)

• The bad news is that you and I find again and again that our strength if feeble and frail, quickly drained away to near exhaustion. The Good News is that God’s strength is made perfect in our weakness, providing exactly what we need exactly when we need it!

“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.” (Genesis 50:20)

• The bad news is that too often evil and sin seem be winning. The Good News is that our God is powerful enough to take the worst that the enemy has to offer and turn it to His glory and our good!

In our use of this word, a positive is turned to a negative. In God’s use of this word, a negative is transformed into a positive.

“…we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved.” Ephesians 2:3-5

But God is rich in mercy!