Beauty and Glory

Today, we finish the rest of Isaiah’s second sermon. Just as in the first part of his sermon which we looked at last week, this part is divided into two sections. The first section is dark and deals with the ugliness of sin. In this section Isaiah gives us two examples of what Jesus’ punishment looks like. It’s in the second section of our text that Isaiah points to the beauty of Jesus. It’s this contrast between the ugliness of sin and the beauty of Jesus that I want you to see more clearly the morning.

Now, please listen as I read Isaiah chapters three and four.

I will be spending most of our time on the daughters of Zion. But before we get there let me offer a few thoughts about Isaiah’s first example of punishment. When it comes to the discipline or even the punishment of Israel, the prophets often opt for the big three: sword, famine, pestilence. That is, the prophet warn about death by war, by starvation, by disease. But in the first section of our text the punishment is different. Here, it is the lack of good leaders. To judge the rebelliousness of His Church, Jesus removed the leaders of Israel. In their place we find those who are in no way capable of leadership. The result of this kind of situation is always chaos. The role of a leader – whether we’re talking about the Church, the family, the business realm or the civic realm – is to be a shepherd to those whom he leads. That means things like guidance, protection, correction. Without a good shepherd those being led, the sheep, are confused, easily misled and ultimately scattered. Jesus removed the leaders of Israel and the people felt the consequences. Punishment for rebellion. Jesus is not limited in how He will punish His people.

Now let’s take a look at the other example of judgment in our text, the punishment of the daughters of Zion. It’s easy to simply see them as a group of faceless people, and then to forget that they were, and still are, real people. Their names might not be anything like Brittany, Madison or Taylor, but they do have names. And they had hopes and dreams and disappointments. And they have souls. We will miss the reality of Jesus’ punishment if we neglect the reality of these people. Jesus punished not some imaginary people who lived long ago and far away. No, Jesus punishes real people.

So, who were these women, and why does Isaiah single them out? One thing that certainly stands out is Isaiah’s list of the contents of their closets and dressing tables and jewelry boxes: ‘… the anklets, the headbands, and the crescents; the pendants, the bracelets, and the scarves; the headdresses, the armlets, the sashes, the perfume boxes, and the amulets; the signet rings and nose rings; the festal robes, the mantles, the cloaks, and the handbags; the mirrors, the linen garments, the turbans, and the veils.’ This certainly says something about them. It gives you a feel for what was important to these people. And Isaiah’s description of these leaves no doubt. ‘… the daughters of Zion are haughty and walk with outstretched necks, glancing wantonly with their eyes, mincing along as they go, tinkling with their feet…’ Here are some women who are strutting their stuff. The theme of their lives is clear. ‘Hey! Look at me. Yes, ME!!’ This is where the clothing, accessories and all the rest come in. These women’s lives – defined merely in terms of their bodies – were always on display. They want to be noticed.

But why? And that’s always the important question, no? It’s never just what you do, but why you do it. Isaiah tells us why. He calls them ‘haughty’. There is an air of superiority about them. They want to be noticed so that they can look down on everyone else. ‘Hey, look at me! Do you see how I am so much better than you are?’ Isaiah also points out how they walk, ‘glancing wantonly with their eyes’. Or to put that into plain English, they’re flirts. And what’s a flirt? It’s someone who wants to enjoy what I’ll call ‘marriage-lite’. It’s not real marriage that she wants, just some parts of it. And parts of marriage separated from the rest get all twisted up. Now, which twisted parts of marriage a flirt wants depends on where she draws the lines. She might just want the part labeled, ‘Give me your undivided attention so that I can feel good about myself’ or she might want some impersonal sex, the kind without any strings attached. But a flirt is not interested in giving herself as a whole person, body and soul, to another whole person. She’s not interested in real marriage, so she flirts. Marriage-lite.

Now, why does she do this? Why the flirting and superiority complex? We do what we do because we believe it will make life work for us. So, why do the daughters of Zion act the way that they do? How do the haughtiness and the flirting make life work for them? Because of other things I see in the text – and I’ll get to that in a moment – I think that these women do what they do because it makes them feel attractive and it makes them feel important – not world-wide important, but important enough to feel that they matter, that their lives are worth living. These are the goals that they are pursuing. And there is nothing wrong with those goals. There is nothing wrong with wanting to feel attractive, wanting to feel that your life matters. Or to put those things into more familiar terms, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to know that you’re loved and wanting to know that your being here will make a difference. These are good goals. God has made us for such things. So the goals are great, but it’s all in how you get there. These women chose the wrong route to the right goals.

A bit ago I said, ‘We do what we do because we believe it will make life work for us.’ We all choose this or that route to our goals because of what we believe. Every day we hear all kinds of messages about how to make life work. They range from the trivial, like the old TV ad that told us, ‘Use our toothpaste because it will give you sex appeal’, to popular proverbs, such as, ‘All you need is love’, to well-intended but misleading affirmations like, ‘You can do anything you set your heart on’. In different ways these women were told, ‘If you strut your stuff and not let anyone get too close, life will work.’ And they chose to believe that message. They chose poorly.

Every message that they heard – and that you hear – has its source ultimately in one of two people. It’s back to the Garden. Adam and Eve also heard messages, and they had to choose. ‘You shall not eat.’ ‘Has God said?’ These women – and remember that they were members of Jesus’ Church – believed the lie of Satan. And as always happens in such cases, his lie led to evil, to ugliness and then to death. Their lives were evil. Look at them as they strut down the street. Consider their attitudes toward others. There was also an ugliness in them. It was hidden for a time. But Jesus made it visible. ‘Instead of perfume there will be rottenness; and instead of a belt, a rope; and instead of well-set hair, baldness; and instead of a rich robe, a skirt of sackcloth; and branding instead of beauty.’ And their desire for marriage lite continued but in a way far different from before. ‘And seven women shall take hold of one man in that day, saying, “We will eat our own bread and wear our own clothes, only let us be called by your name; take away our reproach.”’ ‘We don’t require a real marriage from you. Just give us a part of marriage, the part that removes our shame.’ These women were among those on their way to death. The invading armies would enter the city soon enough. And that’s how Satan’s lies always work. They lead to evil, to ugliness and to death. Jesus condemned these daughters of Zion who believed the lies. They chose and their choices mattered. Their choices determined their destiny.

Please understand. This is not a rant against the bad habits of women. These women were just convenient examples of what was and is true of so many people, men as well as women. That’s why Isaiah singled them out. The goals were right, but it’s all about how you get there: whom you believe, how you choose. Satan’s lies will work for a while. I’m sure that these women were knock-outs – but only for a while. Life, real and lasting life, is only found in Jesus.

And that brings us to the next thought, what Isaiah has to say about Jesus. ‘In that day the branch of the LORD shall be beautiful and glorious…’ For reasons that I’m not going to go into now, this term, ‘the branch of the LORD’, refers to Jesus. What I want you to notice is how Isaiah describes Jesus here. He talks about beauty and glory.

Glory is another church word that needs to be translated. The Hebrew word that Isaiah used here has to do with heaviness. Or to say it slightly differently, glory is all about weightiness. Don’t think pounds and ounces. Think about significance. Many people live lives that are weightless. There is no substance to who they are or what they do. Their lives are an empty shell. But there are those who make a dent. There is heft to their lives. They are weighty. Glory. Jesus’ life was weighty. He made a dent – a huge dent. Glory. This isn’t about gaining the approval of the world. It doesn’t matter if other people think that your life matters. It’s about gaining Jesus’ approval. He decides what qualifies as a dent.

Then there’s beauty. This isn’t a church word, but it still needs to be translated. To most, beauty is the right kind of nose, straight teeth, hair in the latest style and proper body proportions – things that fade with time. But true beauty lasts. True beauty is about the person not the body. It’s about things like character and virtue and a winsome personality. It’s about an attractive inner person engaging the world around him. Beauty is a word that describes Jesus.

So, you see, Jesus was – and is – all about beauty and glory. And there is one place where His beauty and glory shine the most. It’s the Cross. This is the climax of His life. Jesus was – and is – attractive and weighty because of the Cross. And His message is clear. ‘If you want to be beautiful and glorious, if you want a life that is attractive and weighty, follow Me.’ Understand what Jesus is saying by that. ‘Do what I do.’ That’s following Him. So, Jesus’ call to beauty and glory is a call to take up the Cross as He did. It is His call to die, to die to the haughty and the superficial. He calls us away from what leads to evil and ugliness and death. He calls us to bear the Cross and to die to these things. This will take time and it will be hard, very hard. It will hurt. But as you bear the Cross and die to the foolish things of this world, life will blossom. You will gain true beauty and true glory, attractiveness and significance, things that will continue with you into eternity.

Now, understand where all this places you. It’s back to the Garden. Jesus says, ‘Die so that you can live, really live. Take up the Cross. Trust me on this.’ But at the same time Satan says, ‘There’s no need for all of that. You can enjoy life without any cross. Trust me on this.’ The daughters of Zion heard both messages and chose poorly. It wasn’t one big decision for them. It was lots of little decisions, day by day, leading them in the wrong direction. And the same is true for you. Everyday you also hear both messages. And everyday you make choices. And, just like those women, your choices determine your destiny.

Let me tell you my goal for this sermon. I want to scare you. I want to scare you by telling you the truth. Your choices matter – for now and for eternity. In light of that let me ask a question. Does anyone here really think that he or she can make consistently wise choices day after day? Are you sure that you can do a better job than those women? Are you craftier than Satan? I want to scare you with the truth so that you would do the only thing that makes sense: cry out to your faithful Savior, Jesus. He is your only hope for each day. Each day you need His guidance: ‘This is the way, walk ye in it.’ [Isaiah 30.21] Each day you need His protection: ‘Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail.’ [Luke 22:31-32] Each day you need His correction: ‘My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.’ [Hebrews 12:5-6]

Those who see the dangers of this life and fear them, will find sweet comfort as they run to Jesus. He keeps safe all who cry out to Him. He enables them to make wise choices. And He also restores them when they choose foolishly. It is these who are then able to face those dangers and overcome them. Guided by the Spirit, they make Satan look bad as they make Jesus look good. Take to heart the warning of the daughters of Zion lest you become like them. Work at following Jesus and live.

No Condemnation

Romans 8.1

There are many benefits that have become ours because of Jesus. Many benefits. What I'd like to do this morning is to look at just one of them, the one stated in our text, 'There is now therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.' First, I'm going to explain some of what's involved in this striking statement. But then I'm going to pose a simple question. This question, and its answer, will be the heart of the sermon. It is my hope that how I answer that question will help you to experience more deeply the glorious benefit of the Gospel that our text is all about.

Paul's letter to the church in Rome is his detailed explanation of the Gospel. Our text is a climax to that explanation. To feel something of the force of what Paul is pointing to, you need to understand God's attitude toward sinners. He is out to destroy them. What else would you expect? Sinners are in rebellion against the King of all creation. It only makes sense then. God is out to destroy sinners. If you think that that is a bit too strong then listen to this from the Psalms. 'God is a righteous judge, and a God who feels indignation every day. If a man does not repent, God will whet His sword; He has bent and readied His bow; He has prepared for him His deadly weapons, making His arrows fiery shafts.' This anger of God against sinners shows itself now but only partially. It will show itself fully later. So, Paul writes that sinners 'will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might...' So, you see, God is out to destroy sinners. We dare not forget this. But – and thanks be to God for this! – at the same time He yearns to rescue them. You can hear the longing in God's voice when He says, 'Why will you die? ... I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, ... so turn, and live.' And the same longing is reflected in the familiar, 'For God so loved the world...' God yearns to rescue sinners. And so, in order that He might do that, He did what no one could have expected. He destroyed His Son. How else can we understand the Cross? The destructive rage of God against sin – your sin and my sin – was vented, full force, at Jesus. As a result, for all those who repent and believe, we have the stunning declaration of our text. 'There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.' This is the heart of the Gospel.

It is easy for us to limit what this means and in this way to miss the glory of the Gospel. So, consider this. The removal of God's just condemnation of you does not mean that He has become neutral toward you. He was enraged, now He's open to other possibilities, right? Wrong! There are only two categories for God. If He is not enraged at you then, as an expression of His profound love, He rejoices over you. There is no 'neutral'. Listen: 'The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.' There is no 'neutral'.

Do you see what Paul is saying in our text? No condemnation. Imagine what that means. God's just response to your sin – an anger that is so intense that we cannot comprehend it – is gone. Jesus was crushed by that anger instead of you. No condemnation. The hymn gets it so right. 'Bearing shame and scoffing rude, In my place condemned he stood, Sealed my pardon with his blood: Hallelujah! what a Saviour!' You now enjoy the Father's love. He smiles to Himself when He thinks about you. Out of your experience of this amazing love flows a profound sense of joy and peace. Life is bright with the anticipation of what the Father will do next in your life. Jesus has come. He has rescued you by His agonizing death. The Spirit has applied this to you and thus: no condemnation. Only His smile. This is the Gospel.

Now, the question. If this is true – and it most certainly is! - then why is it that so many of you struggle so with feelings of guilt, feelings of being condemned? The default assumption is, 'I must have done something wrong. God must be at least a little upset with me – and probably more than just a little.' And the result of this, all too often, is an emotional nosedive. Life simply falls apart for a while. There are variations on the theme. Some of you think, 'I haven't done anything wrong yet, but I might. So, I had better be very careful about the things that I do and especially about decisions that I make. I don't want the Father to be upset with me.' No wonder then, that you are so afraid to act, that there is this sense that you had better be oh so careful. Controlling as much of life as you can becomes critical. Emotionally, there looms this sense of always needing to look over your shoulder. 'Have I done anything wrong yet? Is God mad at me for something I've done?' And then, there's this variation that won't seem to be related to the promise of the text, but it is. Some of you are afraid of other people. 'What will they think about me and this choice that I've made?What are they going to say?' The fear of man. And so, you are so very careful around people. Do you hear my question? How can such thoughts of guilt and fear before God and then also before others exist side by side with a Gospel that says, 'There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus'?

There are several possible reasons. Let me mention a few. The first is rebellion. A Christian who is rebelling against the Father will not have any lasting sense of His approval. Any sense of God's smile will be removed. A Christian in this situation is still deeply loved by the Father. It's just that he won't feel it. Now, let me be clear. When I say 'rebel' I don't mean 'sinner'. We are all sinners, but we are not all rebels. By 'rebel' I mean someone who knows about some sin that the Spirit has clearly exposed and who refuses to repent of it. We're past the gentle nudges that the Spirit brings. We're at the point where the Spirit is almost shouting, 'YO! Yes YOU! Repent of THIS sin!' But the rebel still refuses. Such a Christian will not feel God's love. Life will get dark. To those of you who are asking yourself, 'Is he talking about me?', evaluate your situation. Is there some sin that the Spirit has made abundantly plain to you that you are refusing to repent of? I'm not talk about some sin that you are wrestling with. I'm talking about telling God, 'No, I won't repent of this! I just won't.' If that's not your situation, then I'm not talking about you. But if this is you, then you'd better deal with this – and quickly. To refuse to repent is not only foolish, it is also dangerous.

A second possible reason for feelings of guilt and fear might be a heart that just isn't grasping the Gospel well enough. If this is you, then there is more to the Gospel than what you are enjoying. To get at this let me ask a question. What do you expect of each day? You wake up and another day starts. What do you expect? Jesus told us what to expect. 'I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.' Now, those are church words that we need to unpack. To be sure, life as a Christian includes wrestling with sin and dealing with the problems that come from living in a fallen world. But covering all of that is a sense of joy. Not necessarily happiness, but joy. And there's good reason for joy. The Spirit of Jesus is at work. He is at work out there and in you. He is in the process of changing everything, including you, and He won't stop until He makes everything beautiful, including you. The normal Christian life should ordinarily feel 'up' – not emotionally ecstatic but optimistic. That's what we can expect of each day. Don't hear that as a command, something that you need to bring about. That's slipping away from grace and back into a works mentality. This being 'up', being optimistic, is a blessing of the Gospel, a gift of God. The life that Jesus promised, abundant life, is yours. It is yours, and your experience of it is growing. And it's only a matter of time before this life of Jesus completely crushes death and all that goes with it. This is the Gospel that your heart must grasp. And as it does grasp more of this Gospel bit by bit that sense of guilt and fear dissolves. The reason? You are able to see more and more clearly that there is no condemnation. None. Only the Father smiling and the Spirit doing His powerful work of blessing you with more of this life Jesus promised.

This, of course, leads to another question, a practical one. How does the heart grasp more of this Gospel? This is something that the Spirit does. Remember, only the Spirit can change a heart. And also remember that the Spirit uses means, tools, to accomplish His work. So, consider this: your heart cannot grasp what your mind does not know. We're back to the Bible. You need lots of Bible. The Bible is filled with a multitude of ways of describing the Gospel. John 3.16 is the Gospel, but so is some verse in 2 Chronicles. And that verse in 2 Chronicles points to some aspect of the Gospel that John 3.16 doesn't have in view. Just as you need the Gospel according to John 3.16, you also need to Gospel according to that verse in 2 Chronicles. Your heart cannot grasp what your mind does not know. You need lots of Bible.

But the heart grasping the Gospel is not some academic exercise. It's more than just studying a book. Your heart is changed as you speak to the Father about this Gospel that you're learning. So, you encounter the Gospel according to Romans 8.1, and you say, 'Father, I see that I am not condemned – I am so grateful for that – but I still feel as if I am condemned, especially in certain situations. Please help my heart to get this. Change me so that I would believe this bit of the Gospel better.' Lots of Bible alone won't do it. There also needs to be lots of prayer. Lots of Bible and lots of prayer. The Spirit takes these tools and does His amazing work in your soul, His work of changing you. And the result? More life. A deeper experience of joy and peace and eager anticipation of what the Father will do next. All by the Spirit of Jesus.

There is another possible reason why someone might lack a clear sense of 'no condemnation'. I'm just going to touch on this. Jesus prayed these words to the Father. 'I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do.' It's such a good feeling to be able to say that. 'I accomplished the work you gave me to do.' But when you can't say that, especially when there are a bunch of tasks that you aren't accomplishing, then there's this cloud that hovers, a cloud that feels like guilt and fear, and that cloud stifles your sense of God's smile. Instead of blue sky and bright sun, life is gray. The only reason that Jesus was able to accomplish all that He did was first, that He knew what the Father had called Him to do and then He said, 'No', to everything else. My guess is that some of you need to work on both of those things, knowing what God has called you to do and saying, 'No' to all the rest. Progress here will do a lot to get rid of that cloud. Now, having said all of that let me remind you that even when you get this very wrong, even when you are accomplishing nothing, it's still true that, 'There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.' The Father still smiles at you. There's more here but it will have to wait for another sermon.

One last question. Why is all of this important? The answer is simple. Your understanding of the Gospel according to Romans 8.1 affects your understanding of the Father. It affects your enjoyment of the Father. It affects your enjoyment of life. And these things affect everything else: your relationships, your worship, your witness. If the Father is someone that you need to tiptoe around because you're afraid that He might get upset by something that you do – well, what kind of religion is that? The word, 'Father' won't arouse feelings of warmth and love and a sense of security. No, this god is always on the verge of a frown, if not worse. But if there is no condemnation, if the Father approves of you and rejoices over you, if, whenever He thinks of you, a big smile breaks out on His face, then that changes everything. 'But', you say, 'how can He do that? I am such a sinner!' First, rest assured that He knows that – better than you do. But then, Jesus dealt with all of that – didn't He? And that, of course, is the question your heart has to answer. Has Jesus dealt with all of that? If He has not, then we have some very serious problems confronting us. I, however, am convinced that Jesus has indeed dealt with all of that. And because He has, you are God's child. You are precious to Him. You give Him great joy. Yes, I know, you are a sinner – and what a sinner you are. But, 'There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.' Right?