Kirkcaldy Free Church

Sermon: Sunday, 28th May, 2023
Speaker: John Johnstone
Scripture: Isaiah 53:1-6

Sometimes we look at something and assess its value and we get it totally wrong. For example, you buy a second hand car and it looks really good on the outside, but actually, the head gasket is badly damaged and the whole engine might need replacing. You thought you made a good evaluation when the nice man sold it to you, but because you didn’t look deeper, under the bonnet, you got it wrong.

Perhaps your kids grow up and you decide to take all their books to the charity shop- they’re worthless anyway. Unbeknown to you, one of the books is a 1st edition Harry Potter hardback worth at least £300 now, and if one of the 200 rarer 1st editions it’d be worth £30,000. However, in your ignorance, you get rid of it.

We can also evaluate people and get things badly wrong. So often we judge people by their appearance or by what job they do or if they have a good sense of humour and are light-hearted and easy-going and make you feel good about yourself. We don’t bother getting to know someone who dresses a bit differently, seems a bit serious, and doesn’t chat about sport. But if only we’d stopped to get to know that person, perhaps we’d find them amazingly kind, generous, wise and full of integrity. We’ve got it wrong about that person.

Here’s a more serious example – based on a true and recent story. A man in Vietnam is arrested and taken to the police station. He’s a poor man without any influence in the community. The police want him to renounce his faith in Jesus but he refuses. The police officers despise his stubbornness. He’s tortured for two days but refuses to renounce his faith in Jesus. The police mock him. Their assessment is that he’s a fool. Eventually they send him home but he is no longer able to eat or drink and dies two days later. Is he a fool?

What’s God’s assessment of him? What’s our assessment of him as fellow Christians? He is a courageous martyr. ‘Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.’   (Psalm 116:15) All over the world, Christians are praying for his family. Imagine, one of those police officers on duty becomes a Christian. Would he change his mind about this man, whose name is brother Khan? Yes, he would. He would begin to see the whole situation in a different light; he’d see he got it wrong about brother Khan.

1. A wrong assessment of Jesus

That’s what’s going on here in Isaiah 53. The people are assessing Jesus and at first, they get it totally wrong. They think he is worthless. For a start, Jesus grows up in an obscure place called Nazareth. That’s why verse 2 says: ‘He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.’   In other words, Jesus just looked so ordinary – nothing special. He was easy to ignore. He wasn’t particularly fashionable or good-looking.

And when Jesus was being crucified, people didn’t just ignore him. In fact, they despised him. ‘He was despised and rejected by men, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.’   (Isaiah 53:3) Jesus was tortured so badly, whipped and beaten, that ‘Just as there were many who were appalled at him his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being and his form marred beyond human likeness…’   (Isaiah 52:14)

Remember what happened to Jesus as he was crucified. All kinds of people joined together to mock him. ‘He saved others but he can’t save himself.’ Some said, ‘Why don’t you come down from the cross if you are the Christ.’ The soldiers mocked him. The passers by mocked him. The other men being crucified mocked him. Almost everyone was mocking him.

‘…yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted.’   (Isaiah 53:4) What does this mean? They looked at Jesus and they thought this – his great suffering must mean that he is a great sinner. That was their evaluation of Jesus. They couldn’t have been more wrong. Jesus was the innocent and perfect one. He never harmed anyone. He never acted selfishly. He always did the right thing. But because he was crucified, they assumed he must have deserved it. He got what was coming to him, they thought.

He must have rebelled against the Romans – insulted them. He’s getting what he deserved. This idea was shared by Job’s three friends – Job must have sinned greatly against the Lord. The people are wrong. Jesus is not suffering for his own sin. They assess him and get it so wrong. ‘He’s under the judgment of God for his own sin’ – so they thought.

Have you made a wrong assessment of Jesus? Perhaps you think that’s he just a special human and nothing more. Perhaps you think he makes no difference to your life. Perhaps you’ve ignored him. Or perhaps you judge him and say, ‘If God allows this to happen, then I want nothing to do with him’.

2. A right assessment of Jesus

But, some of the people did not remain in a state of spiritual blindness. God opens their eyes. They now have a right assessment of Jesus and of themselves. Now they understand the truth of Jesus’ suffering: ‘Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering.’   (Isaiah 53:4b) Yes, he was cursed by God, but not because of his own sin: he was a substitute who in love, carried their guilt – and our guilt – the guilt of all of his people.

And they come to understand their own condition rightly: that we are sinners who deserve the punishment of God. ‘But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities.’   (Isaiah 53:5) Jesus was pierced – given a deadly wound – and crushed – ground to dust. Why? For our transgressions that is our rebellion against God the King. Doing what we know to be wrong.

The truth about each of us in this room is this: sometimes we deliberately and wilfully do things we know God is displeased with. We know, but we do it anyway. We know we should use the resources we have to help others who are hungry and without the basics – but we keep hoarding up for ourselves. We know we should forgive the person who’s apologised to us, but we don’t, harbouring resentment instead. We know we’re married and shouldn’t flirt with someone else – but we do it anyway.

He was crushed for our iniquities that is our twisted. crooked and warped hearts. There’s something radically wrong with us as humans. Sin permeates every area of our lives. There’s a rottenness about us. This is God’s assessment of us! Do you accept this? Or are you too busy assessing God? Imagine our inner thoughts were displayed on the screen – the worst things you’d ever thought and done – you’d be deeply, deeply ashamed.

All of these sins we commit have a massive impact on our relationship with God. Our long list of sins is a barrier between us and God, and actually means that God is our enemy and not our friend, until something can be done about our record, which is full of black marks. Until that record is dealt with, we have no peace with God. What we need is a peacemaker. And that’s what the Servant is. ‘The punishment that brought us peace was on him.’  (Isaiah 53:5) Only through Jesus can we have peace. And without Jesus, there is no peace with God. Why is that? Because God cannot ignore our sin; it must be paid for, either by us in Hell, or by Jesus on the cross.

And so, God explains the need for the cross by explaining our sin. If it wasn’t for your sin and my sin, the cross would not have been necessary. It’s because of my selfishness. My pride. My lust. My greed. ‘We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way.’   (Isaiah 53:6) Do you believe this about yourself? It says: ‘we all’. That means you! If you’re not yet a Christian, you’re like a sheep who’s wandered off and in great danger. And you cannot save yourself. Sometimes I think I know better than God, and head off in my own direction, ignoring God’s commands. I love asserting my independence. I can do what I want! It’s my life! I think I’m being clever. However, the truth is, I’m being stupid, like a wandering sheep. I’m heading into great danger.

‘… and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.’   (Isaiah 53:6) Why was Jesus crucified? ‘But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities.’ Christ died in our place, in the place of sinners. He had no sin of his own. He wasn’t getting what he deserved, but rather what you deserve and what I deserve. This is the language of sacrifice. Jesus is our substitute, who dies instead of us. This is the love of God!

It’s the great swap. He suffers what we should suffer. What did it cost Jesus to save us? The fury and righteous anger of God is placed upon him. It’s not just the physical suffering he endures but also the spiritual suffering. Christ is forsaken by his Father. He takes our sin upon himself and we receive his perfect obedience and goodness.

And it was no accident. ‘The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all…’   In the Old Testament, on the Day of Atonement, the High Priest would get two goats. One would be sacrificed as a sin offering for the people. The other was called a scapegoat.

When Aaron has finished making atonement for the Most Holy Place, the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall bring forward the live goat. He is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites — all their sins — and put them on the goat’s head. He shall send the goat away into the wilderness in the care of someone appointed for the task. The goat will carry on itself all their sins to a remote place; and the man shall release it in the wilderness.   (Leviticus 16:20-22)

The High Priest places his hands on the head of the scapegoat and confesses the sin of all Israel. And it was the goat and not Israel who died. All of these things might seem just weird to us. But they are pictures of what was going to happen to Jesus on the cross. At the cross, it is as if God the Father is placing his hands on the head of his eternal Son and it is Jesus who dies and not us.

“In the most dramatic way this pictures the work of atonement which Jesus was to do. The two goats represent his experience. One shows him carrying our sin and its terrible consequences: loneliness, lostness, and desolation. Sin causes us to be cast out from God’s presence, so the one goat is sent away, showing how Jesus was cast out for us. The other goat experiences death, picturing Jesus’ death in our place.” (Jerram Barrs)

God sees perfectly, and has given his assessment of you. We’re rebels. We’re like wandering sheep. We need a peacemaker. Do you have a right assessment of Jesus? Is he your Saviour? Have you trusted in him? Have you closed your eyes, prayed to Jesus, and asked him to forgive you? If you have, you can say in a very personal way: ‘But he was pierced for my transgressions, he was crushed for my iniquities; the punishment that brought me peace was on him, and by his wounds I am healed.’

You can get it wrong about a second-hand car, and that’s not the end of the world. But if we get it wrong about Jesus, we’ll ignore the only one who can forgive our sins. We’ll ignore the one who, in love, offers himself to us.

Sermon: Sunday, 21st May, 2023
Speaker: Geoff Murray
Scripture: Matthew 1:18-25

We’re going to look at the meaning of the name of Jesus in Matthew 1:21. This name gets to the heart of the deepest problems in us and our world. The problem of sin. We read that the angel appears to Joseph and says, ‘You are to call his name Jesus for he will save his people from their sins.’ That is the meaning behind the name. The Lord saves. In other words, as a Bible commentator put it, it’s like his name is ‘God to the Rescue!’

Jesus has, in his very name, the answer. He will save his people from their sins. Jesus saves his people from their sins in three very specific ways. He saves from the penalty of sin, he saves from the power of sin and lastly, when Jesus comes again or we die, whichever happens first, he saves us from the presence of sin.

Jesus saves from the penalty of sin

We can go online and find out answers for most things, but the question you might get various different answers on is: how can I be saved? You might be thinking ‘Saved from what? I don’t need to be saved!’ In the same way that there are penalties to pay in life when we break the speed limit, misbehave in school, or consistently turn up late for work, it’s no different with us and God.

The Bible tells us that all have sinned against God, broken his laws and his standards and that the penalty for that is God’s judgement. Now of course we have done good in our life, but that doesn’t cancel out our wrong. It would be like receiving the penalty notice for speeding and replying to the authorities, ‘But think of all those times I kept the speed limit.’ Or being docked wages for always being late and saying, ‘Well, I suppose if you think about it, I always get my work done in the end.’

Think of it, if we have sinned against God and the penalty is judgement and we reply, ‘But I’ve done good as well though.’ It still doesn’t remove the penalty for your offences.

What are the offences we are supposed to have committed against God? It doesn’t take long to establish that when we go through the most basic of his commands: the ten commandments. As we can see, even going through a few of the commandments, we have found ourselves on the wrong side of God’s law. The penalty for that is God’s judgement.

‘But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. God will repay each person according to what they have done… ‘But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.’ (Romans 2:5–6, 8)

But Jesus steps in and he will save his people from their sins. As we’ve just seen recently at the end of Luke’s gospel where Jesus was crucified, this was not a general symbol of his love, nor a moral example of laying down your life for others, but primarily as a payment of the penalty that stood against us.

‘God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood – to be received by faith.’ (Romans 3:25)

For those who don’t think they’re good enough to be accepted by God. Who see that the penalty for sin was looming but it was taken by Jesus for them and they therefore trust in Jesus’ sacrifice in their place to pay the penalty for their sin, it is them for whom the penalty of sin is taken away.

If you see you sin and your need of a saviour, and you put your trust in that saviour Jesus as one who paid the penalty for your sin, that penalty is removed. You’re no longer to pay the penalty of eternal and everlasting judgement. You’re free. Do you believe that Jesus died to pay the price for your sin? That He died to save you from your sin? If you believe that, you are free from the penalty of sin.

Notice the emphatic wording of the sentence. Not that he might save his people from his sin, or he could save his people from their sin, but that he will save his people from their sin. If your trust is in him, it is no gamble, it is not a case of ‘hit and hope’, he will save you from your sins.

There have been some new faces at church over the past wee while, perhaps you are a Christian, perhaps you’re not sure where you lie with Jesus, you’re unclear maybe what Christianity is all about. Here being a Christian is brilliantly summarised by a guy called Michael Green

Christianity is not good advice about morals. Christianity is about God and what he has done for us.

It’s the common misconception isn’t it? Christianity is about being good, and as a consequence, people in society look down their noses at Christians because ‘They think they’re so good.’ Or as someone I know often says of Christians, ‘That’s not very Christian of them.’

Though following Jesus means we seek to obey what he says, it doesn’t mean Christianity is about being good, it doesn’t mean we think we’re good people. Christianity at its utter core is all about Jesus Christ, it’s in the name.

What do you think of Jesus? How will you respond to him? Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved from your sins! There’s no two ways about it. Not that Jesus might save you or he could, if your faith is in him, he will save you from the penalty of sin which is judgement because he took that judgement for you. Put your faith in him then! Trust in him and he will save you from your sins.

Jesus saves from the power of sin

As Christians, in order to function well, we need the right fuel and that fuel is Jesus. Jesus didn’t just save us from the penalty of sin by taking our judgement on himself, he also saves us from the power of sin and the sway it holds over our lives.

Why obey God? Why do what he says? If your answer is ‘Simply to keep God happy with me’ or ‘because it’s the right thing to do’ or even ‘because God told me to’, sin will continue to have power over you. You will not be able to break free from destructive sinful patterns of life, your joy will be shattered, and you will hate God.

Instead, as Christians we seek to obey God, we seek to honour him with our lives, not to keep him happy, not because he said so, but because he saved us and we are grateful! He saved you not because you deserved it, not because he looked to you and thought how worthy you were, not because of anything in us, but because of his free, undeserved kindness! God have his only Son to pay the penalty for your sin so you could be free from that!

And then out of gratitude and love for God we seek to live for him because he has saved us and so our joy is in him! When our joy and gratitude is in him for all he has done we no longer obey in order to keep God sweet, we no longer obey because its the right thing to do, we obey because we love him and because we love him we want to obey, we want to follow, we want to give our lives for him!

‘Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.’ (Colossians 2:23)

The law cannot set you free from the grip of addiction, nor set you free from destructive habits built up over time. The law cannot remove your envy, nor take away your bitter anger. The law cannot heal division and strife. It can tell you not to sin, but it has no power to remove our desire for sin in our hearts.

It is when our joy is in Jesus that our obedience flows and that the power and dominion of sin no longer holds sway! If we want freedom from the grip and dominion of sin in our life, we must replace our warped sinful love for sin and as we see Jesus in the gospel, instead love him. It is love for him which will remove the power of sin over our lives.

Are you finding yourself in repetitive habits that you want to break? It might be the grip of people’s opinions and you’re always fearful of what people think so you bend over backwards to appease them but just end up feeling empty.

It might be that you keep losing your temper with your family and you just wish that temper wasn’t there. Your short temper flares up in a moment and then instantly you regret it, you’re too ashamed to even say, ‘Sorry.’

It might be that you are finding it hard to be a Christian witness at work, you find too often that you’re getting dragged into things that you wish you weren’t. It feels good at the time joining in with the banter, it’s a good laugh, but then you get home and you slump on the sofa feeling a failure in your inability to be a consistent witness at work.

Or maybe your friends are gossiping about someone and you know its wrong but sometimes you find yourself joining in. It’s fun to have a chuckle at someone else’s expense, it takes your mind off all of your shortcomings. But the niggling feeling in the back of your head is, ‘I shouldn’t be doing this…’ and that niggling feeling gives way to guilt and then shame.

The good news of Jesus Christ is that you’re exactly the person Jesus came to save. Those sins are exactly the types of sins that the angel said Jesus would save you from. Isn’t that the best news ever? Doesn’t that make you want to sing for joy?

Friends, it is that right there that removes the power of sin over your life! That knowledge that…. ‘For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!’ (Romans 5:10)

Do you feel the weight, the guilt, the regret of sin, addiction, destructive patterns of life? In steps Jesus who will save his people from their sins. That’s how you and I are enabled to follow Jesus. That’s how you and I are able to obey God. Not out of obligation, not out of duty, out of a joyful gratitude, thankful for the fact that Jesus never gave up on you, he’s never given up on you, and he never will give up on you. You who feel so inadequate, you who feel so guilty, you who don’t measure up, it is you that Jesus came to save.

And because he hasn’t given up on us, how can we give up on living for him? No, because he hasn’t given up on us, our response is one of joy, gratitude, and loving obedience! In the face of Jesus and his grace, the power that sin holds over us has to go. Sin is no longer the dominant love in your heart, Jesus is. Sin is no longer the dominant power in your life, the Holy Spirit is!

So if your default position, as mine is, is to think of obedience in terms of just keeping God off your back, or just because it’s the right thing to do, sin will not go. But friends, we have a saviour who has saved us from the penalty of sin, let that good news free us from the power that sin has over us and lets live for him!

Jesus saves from the presence of sin

How often we look on at our world in disbelief and sadness at the brokenness of this world and we just wished things were different. How often we can look at our own lives and see things that aren’t right and wish things were different. How often we let out that sigh when we realise we’ve sinned and that sigh says, ‘I’m so done with this!’

Jesus will save us from the presence of sin when we die or when he comes back, not right now. Sin will always be present in this life. Right now we wait with sighs, with frustration because sin is present, but there will be a day where Jesus will save us from the presence of sin, where sin will be no more. How can I be so sure?

‘But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.’ (2 Peter 3:13)

‘Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. 15 Outside are the dogs, those who practise magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practises falsehood.’ (Revelation 22:14-15)

Sin will literally be shut out. There is no space in Heaven for sin. Sin will be removed forever. No more wars, no more greed, no more pride, no more hate, no more injustice!

That sin you have always struggled with, GONE!
That addiction which has a strong hold on you, GONE!
The jealousy, GONE! The anger, GONE!
The bitterness, GONE!

Friends, if your faith is in Jesus, he has saved you from the penalty of sin, he is saving you from the power of sin, and one day, praise to his name, he will save you from the presence of sin!

We’ll no longer look on at the world and ourselves in horror, sadness and dismay, we will look on him in wonder, worship, and delight! We will no longer suffer because of the sin of others, we will no longer sin against God ourselves. Sin, evil and wickedness will be no more, paradise restored! And all made possible by Jesus who will save his people from their sins.

Sermon: Sunday, 14th May, 2023
Speaker: John Johnstone
Scripture: Isaiah 6:1-8

If we want to change our physical health for the better, we all know that there are certain things we need to do. We need to take regular exercise and get our hearts going. We need to eat a nutritious and balanced diet. In short, we need badminton and broccoli, or walking and watermelon. It takes time and effort. But if we exercise and eat well, over time, our bodies will change for the better. However, we’re not in church to think about fitness today, and I’m no physical trainer. I want us to think instead about what brings about spiritual change. Because the transformation which Isaiah goes through in this passage is one which we can experience too. What is it that transforms him? What is it that he needs? Isaiah is changed by seeing who God really is, and by seeing God’s glory and majesty and holiness, he comes to see his own sinfulness, inadequacy, and then experiences God’s mercy. Here’s the thing- in order to know ourselves properly as people, we need first to know God- who he is and what he has done. God must be the starting point of our thinking, and if he is not, we will have a distorted view of reality.

1. Measure yourself properly

“Nearly all the wisdom we possess consists of two parts, the knowledge of God and the knowledge of ourselves.” (John Calvin)

In order to know ourselves properly, we need to see God. Only when we see God do we really see ourselves. When we see how utterly different he is: purer, higher, more loving, we might then see how in comparison, we are sinful and limited creatures, undeserving of his good gifts. Let me illustrate this. When we play the guitar, we might at first think that we are pretty good players. But then we hear someone else with a surpassing ability. They are a virtuoso. And when we hear them playing, we realise that actually, we can’t play very well at all. It is a reality check.

When you compare yourself to other people in your family or those who live on your street, you might think that you are a pretty good person. But that’s not who we are supposed to measure ourselves against. If we measure ourselves against God’s standards, we have to agree with Paul, who says, ‘for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…’   (Romans 3:23)

This happens to Peter in Luke chapter 5 after the miraculous catch of fish. Peter is so impacted by Jesus’ power and greatness that he begins to see his own spiritual condition. ‘When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, ‘Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!’   (Luke 5:8) And when Isaiah receives this wonderful vision containing true knowledge about the extraordinary holiness of God, it gives him insight to see himself as he really is, a man of unclean lips: ‘Woe to me!’ I cried. ‘I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips….’   (Isaiah 6:5)

2. The greatness of God

Isaiah is so privileged to see this vision of God.

“In vision, Isaiah is elevated to the throne-room of Heaven.” (J L Mackay)

It’s a magnificent vision for us to reflect on and chew over this morning. So often our minds are caught up with trivial things like hobbies or sports or celebrity gossip or just the mundane things of life. This morning, we get to think about what God is really like. And we don’t have to guess. Knowing God isn’t about each of us making up our own ideas about what God is like and believing those. To know God properly, God must tell us what he is like. We need revelation from God. And that’s exactly what we have here.

Isaiah begins by telling us (verse 1) that King Uzziah has just died. That might not seem significant to us, but it is. Because Uzziah had reigned as King for 52 years, and most his reign had been great. There had been victories in battle, huge and successful building projects, and progress in agriculture. However, his long reign ends on a sad note. ‘His fame spread far and wide, for he was greatly helped until he became powerful. But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the Lord his God, and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense.’   (2 Chronicles 25:15-16)

With all his power and wealth, Uzziah grew proud and ended up doing something which greatly angered the Lord. He did what only the priests were allowed to do, and entered the temple to burn incense. He ignored God’s clear commands about how he was to be worshipped, thinking he could do as he pleased. The Lord punished Uzziah for his pride. ‘King Uzziah had leprosy until the day he died. He lived in a separate house—leprous, and banned from the temple of the Lord.’   (2 Chronicles 26:21)

So, when Isaiah comes to the temple, Judah’s king is now dead. What’s going to happen in the nation? It must have been an unsettling time, especially with the king ending his reign separated from the people, and under the punishment of God. It is a time of national mourning. Perhaps Isaiah himself was disillusioned. I’m sure the nation felt uneasy. It must have felt like the end of a successful era. What now? It is as if the Lord directs Isaiah’s eyes away from the empty human throne, and lifts them to the real place of power, the throne of Heaven. Human rulers come and go. In the end, they all succumb to death. But the true King of Kings is eternal. He does not die. It reminds me of the words of the Psalmist: ‘Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save. When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing. Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God.’   (Psalm 146:3-5)

Sometimes we get disillusioned with the politics in our own nation, especially when decisions are made which flout the clear commands of God. We too need to remember and be encouraged by the great fact that Christ remains upon the throne. He is the one with ultimate power.

Where is the Lord’s throne? It is ‘high and exalted’, far above all human power. God’s sovereign rule is totally supreme and unmatched. He is in complete control. He is so vast that even the train of his robe fills the temple. In other words, God cannot be contained. He has no limitations. Remember Solomon’s prayer as he dedicated the temple: ‘But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you.’   (1 Kings 8:27)

Next, we’re introduced to angelic creatures called seraphim, or ‘burning ones’. They are flying – ready for action, ready to obey the command of their master. Now, these seraphim are perfect creatures; they are not sinful as human beings are. Nevertheless, they must cover their faces with their wings in the presence of God. What does this tell us? It tells us of the great divide there is between the eternal Creator and the creatures he has made. He is worthy of our worship and respect as the only eternal one. He alone is God. God is so glorious, that even these perfect heavenly creatures need to protect their eyes from the blazing light of God. Is this the God you worship? I still remember going out and buying six pairs of special glasses for the solar eclipse. We cannot look directly at the sun. It damages our eyes. It is just too bright. God is far more glorious than the sun.

The seraphim are calling to one another, perhaps in antiphonal singing – back and forth. Imagine hearing this heavenly choir! ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.’   When we think of holiness, we often think of moral purity – there is no sin in God. And that is undoubtedly true. But it also speaks of God as the ‘separate one’, set apart from all the creatures he has made. He is the unmade one. He is infinite, eternal and utterly unique. He is ‘other’.

Friends, God’s holiness is a central part of his character. That’s why the angels repeat the word, not just twice but three times. There’s no other quality of God repeated three times in all of the Bible. Just his holiness. Repeating something was the main way Hebrew writers would emphasise something. Remember Jesus would say, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you…’   to underline just how important something was. Well, God is holy, holy, holy. And we see the glory of this great God in the wonder of his creation. We see it in the stars and the rivers and the mountains. And we see the glory of this great God in the way he comes in Jesus Christ to save lost humanity from their sins by dying on the cross.

The temple is filled with smoke.

” [This smoke] fills the divine presence with the aura of mystery and wonder. Much had been revealed to the prophet’s eye. But more remained elusive, hidden from view.” (J L Mackay)

I think this is an important point. God is revealing to us what he is really like. But we can never have full understanding of God. There are still areas of mystery and that’s ok. At our Christianity Explored course, we were thinking about how the teaching of the trinity falls into that category. We worship a God we cannot fully understand. If we could fully understand God then we would be God.

3. The grace and mercy of God

As we have already seen, Isaiah responds by confessing his sin. ‘Woe to me!’ I cried. ‘I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips…’   (Isaiah 6:5) Isaiah is a well-respected statesman with access to the royal court. To most, he would have been the paragon of virtue. But when he measures himself against the holiness of God, he is totally shattered. He comes apart at the seams. He pronounces a curse against himself: ‘Woe is me… I am ruined.’

‘If you, Lord, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand?’   (Psalm 130:3)
Job goes through the same experience: ‘You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.’ My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.’   (Job 42:4-6)

When Peter, Job, the Psalmist, and Isaiah consider God, and measure themselves against his standards, all they can do is admit their wrongdoing. They don’t make excuses. They don’t blame their circumstances or other people. They begin to understand the fact of the human condition – without God we are lost in sin!

“For the first time in his life Isaiah really understood who God was. At the same instant for the first time Isaiah really understood who Isaiah was.” (R C Sproul)

Here’s the good news: the holy God is also a God of grace. What is God’s answer to sin? God’s answer to our sin is sacrifice.

“God takes immediate steps to cleanse Isaiah and restore his soul.” (R C Sproul)

Isaiah cannot possibly clean himself up. That’s impossible. But one of the seraphs comes with a hot stone from the altar in his hand. A stone from the altar – the place of sacrifice. And he touches Isaiah’s lips and says, ‘Your guilt is taken away and your sin is atoned for.’

Your sin is atoned for; a sacrifice has been offered for your sin. Blood has been shed for your sin. The lamb has died for your sin and God’s anger has been turned away. Something has been done by God (you have had no part in this) which has dealt with your sin. You are now clean and your sin has been covered over. God had done it all.

How can a hot stone take away Isaiah’s guilt? Of course, a stone cannot really take away Isaiah’s sin. Nor can the death of an animal. These things are just symbols and signposts, pointing us forward to the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. He is the true sacrifice for our sins. His blood is what really covers our sin, when we come to receive Jesus as King and Saviour. ‘Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses.’   (Acts 13:38-39)

God saves sinners! He does take away your guilt and sin. If we trust in Jesus – what a truth – all our sins are taken away. No matter how many things we have done wrong and how great our guilt may be- in Christ our sins are forgiven. ‘For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.’   (1 Peter 3:18)

Think for a moment about the message the seraphim has for Isaiah: ‘Your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.’   Wouldn’t you like to hear those words from God today? You can! It is possible right now to experience what Isaiah does – if we admit our guilt and cry out to God to clean us.

Notice Isaiah’s willingness to serve his King. He moves from brokenness to mission. The Lord commissions Isaiah to be his prophet. In one sense, he is a pattern for us all. Like Isaiah, we are those broken by sin, but renewed by the atoning work of God, and commissioned with the Great Commission, to tell every man, woman, boy and girl that we have good news for them.

Sermon: Sunday, 7th May, 2023
Speaker: Alistair Donald
Scripture: Ephesians 2:8-9 and 2 Kings 5:1-14

People just don’t know about what the Bible means by grace. It’s a foreign word to them. It’s hard to define and, once defined, it’s hard to grasp or accept! So wonderful it is! So amazing! Why is that? I hope we’ll see by the end of this sermon!

‘For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no-one can boast.’ (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Paul wrote this to those who were already Christians. But they had to be reminded. How do we get right with God? Is it what we ‘do’ for God, as almost the whole human race believes? Or is it by grace – something wholly undeserved? A good way of illustrating grace is to look at this story from the Old Testament. It’s set around 850 BC in 2 countries (Israel and Aram, or Syria), with the River Jordan as the boundary between them. It contrasts 2 people – Naaman, a general in the army for Aram, and a servant girl there who had been captured from Israel. A very big contrast in every way!

Naaman healed of leprosy

‘Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through him the Lord had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy. Bands of raiders from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife. She said to her mistress, ‘If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.’ Naaman went to his master and told him what the girl from Israel had said. ‘By all means, go,’ the king of Aram replied. ‘I will send a letter to the king of Israel.’ So Naaman left, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold and ten sets of clothing. The letter that he took to the king of Israel read: ‘With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you so that you may cure him of his leprosy.’

As soon as the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his robes and said, ‘Am I God? Can I kill and bring back to life? Why does this fellow send someone to me to be cured of his leprosy? See how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me!’ When Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his robes, he sent him this message: ‘Why have you torn your robes? Make the man come to me and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel.’ So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha’s house. Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, ‘Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.’

But Naaman went away angry and said, ‘I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?’ So he turned and went off in a rage.

Naaman’s servants went to him and said, ‘My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed!’ So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.’ (2 Kings 5:1-14)

Naaman, we read, is a great man; he’s highly regarded. He walks and talks the language of greatness. He’s a ‘somebody’. He has status. He has a wife with servants. He is no doubt very rich. If he was with us today, he would no doubt live in a gated community. He would own a top-of-the-range car, with a chauffeur to drive him about. Maybe a private jet. Naaman is a ‘somebody’. But he has one big problem that he has no idea how to cure; he has an infectious skin disease: leprosy.

The servant girl is different in every way possible: she’s a ‘nobody’ – we don’t even know her name. And as we’ll see that’s the point! This person who seems so insignificant plays an important part in God’s plans! Don’t you find that reassuring? I know that I do! It’s not fame, fortune and power that are important to God but, rather, faithfulness to him and willingness to speak and act for him. Those are the character traits that are important to God! So we have this little servant girl. She’s far from home. She’d been taken captive in a raid across the River Jordan, and she was now far from her native land of Israel. I’m sure she is lonely – different language, different customs. We’re not told that she’s being ill-treated, but life is not great for her.

But this little servant girl has one thing that Naaman doesn’t have; she has faith in the Living God, the God of Israel. She’s serving in the household of pagan worshippers. But like Daniel, many years later in exile in Babylon. she has kept the faith. She hasn’t let it all drift when she moves away from her home and family. That can happen, can’t it, when people leave home and move away? But this girl still worships the Living God. And she has faith that God will be able to cure her master Naaman, through the ministry of Elisha the prophet back home in Israel.

So she says to her mistress, ‘If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.’ (2 Kings 5:3) And Naaman is willing to give it a go. People generally are, aren’t they, when they get an apparently incurable disease? So he’s willing. But remember who he is: he’s a great man. He’s important! He knows how the world works! He’s not going to go directly to some nobody prophet or priest in a despised neighbouring country, some flunkey that no-one has ever heard of. Important people deal directly with each other – have you noticed that? So he gets his own king to write a letter – not to the Prophet Elisha, but to the King of Israel. King-on-King correspondence! He also packs a load of money. Surely money is the answer to everything? Money makes the world go round!

So off he goes, clutching the letter from his king, addressed to the king of Israel. ‘With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you so that you may cure him of his leprosy.’ (Not quite what the servant girl had said). Not surprisingly, the King of Israel thinks it’s all a provocation – his neighbouring king is surely trying to pick a fight, by asking him to do something that he knows that he doesn’t have the power to do. And he tore his robes – an ancient middle eastern way of signalling his utter despair and fear.

But the story doesn’t end there. We now hear from the Prophet Elisha (successor to the more famous Elijah). This is, of course, the prophet that the servant girl meant when she suggested that Naaman travel over to Israel in the first place! When Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his robes, he sent him this message: ‘Why have you torn your robes? Make the man come to me, and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel.’ So Naaman arrives with his huge entourage of horses and chariots at Elisha’s little house – probably just a hut, a rather humble dwelling, and certainly not the kind of place that an important man like Naaman was expecting to enter. And Elisha didn’t go out, but sent one of his own servants out to Naaman with a message that was quite unexpected: ‘Go, wash yourself seven times in the River Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.’

And Naaman’s response is like: ‘Whaaaat??? Is that it? You mean to tell me that I’ve come all this way to be told to go and bathe in that piddling little stream that you call a river? And he roared off in a fury, saying: ‘I thought he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot, and cure me of my leprosy! ‘And don’t even get me going about rivers’, he appears to say: Are not the rivers of Damascus in my homeland better than any of the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?’ So he stormed off in an absolute rage!

And friends: this is a perfect illustration of why the Grace of God is so hard for many people to accept today, as well as back then, as we’ll be seeing shortly. There must be more to it than just believing in Jesus, believing in his Cross, no? Hold that thought! So what exactly was Naaman’s problem? He was too proud to accept the solution to his problem. ‘Wash seven times in a little river? Is that it? Does he really expect me – great man that I am – to do something so demeaning as to humble myself in that way?’ It’s just as well that his servants chased after him and reasoned with him: ‘If a prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you to wash and be cleansed?’ So this great man, this general, went down and dipped in the Jordan seven times and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.

Eventually he swallowed his pride, and obeyed the simple thing that had been asked of him. He recognised his predicament, humbled himself, and obeyed. Why, then, is this ancient account from the Old Testament such a good illustration of what’s so amazing about God’s Grace? Here’s why: Our predicament is not that we have leprosy. Our predicament is different. More universal. The Bible calls it the problem of sin. Sin is not just doing bad things. It’s more deep-seated than that. Sin is a barrier between us and God. Instead of putting God first, others second and ourselves last of all, we humans by nature turn that on its head: Me first, others next and God often as an afterthought, if there at all. Time and again, we find ourselves not doing what we should do or not saying what we should say, or even not thinking what we should think. That is sin. And because we are all made in the image of God, and are intended to worship God and give glory to him – that’s the way we’re designed! – when men and women don’t do that, they direct their worship elsewhere.

We’re hard-wired to worship, so when we don’t worship God, where is worship then directed? To idols. To false gods. In the Bible, and in many cultural and religious traditions, that means worshipping something made of stone or wood. That’s what Naaman previously did, in a temple dedicated to false gods. But even when people don’t to that, they dream up imaginary idols. As John Calvin said, the human heart is an idol-factory! For some it’s money. For others it’s their job. For yet others it’s acceptance: what other people think about their social media posts. And that takes you down a route to nowhere, where you end up worshipping yourself. Look what happens if you dare to question, for example, someone else’s so-called gender identity. It’s treated as nothing short of blasphemy! Why is that? Because when we humans don’t worship the Living God as we were designed to do, we don’t stop worshipping – we can’t stop worshipping since that’s the way God made us! But we find other outlets for our worship.

Unlike Naaman in this Bible passage, our predicament is not that we have leprosy. Our predicament is different. More universal. The problem of sin. And sin estranges us from God and renders us guilty in his sight. We see the fruits of sin all around us; war, greed, anger, racism, the demeaning of women. But if we’re honest with ourselves, we know it’s not just a problem out there where other people do really bad things. There’s running down someone’s reputation behind their back. There’s borrowing from a colleague and ‘forgetting’ to repay the debt. Perhaps you are an exception?

Now if this all a bit depressing, too much like bad news rather than good news – then hang on! When it’s a dark and cloudy day, like it’s been in recent days, and then the sun bursts through and warms us, we appreciate it more than if there were no clouds at all! All this talk of sin only clears the way for the good news – that God sent Jesus into the world not only to show us how to live, but to die a sacrificial death, and to free us from the guilt of sin, and the power of sin. So those who trust in Jesus don’t face the judgment of God on our lives at the end of our days because Jesus has already done that on our behalf. As the most famous verse in the Bible puts it; ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life.’ (John 3:16)

Naaman just had to do one simple thing to be cleansed of his leprosy and we only have to do one simple thing to be cleansed of our sin: believe that Jesus died for you and for me. Like Naaman, that simple message is sometimes resisted. Is that really it? Something so straightforward? A clever person might be looking for something more grand to guide their life, a great philosophical system, that he or she can grasp with an advanced intellect. But here’s me saying, ‘Believe in Jesus’ death on your behalf?’ Is that it? Yes, that’s it.

Or someone may feel that they’ve just messed up their life too much. There’s such a mountain of bad decisions, of ignoring God, of hurting others (or of being hurt by others). It’s impossible for that burden to be lifted. It’s surely impossible to get a fresh start. But here’s me saying, ‘Believe in Jesus’ death on your behalf, and you’ll be reconciled to God?’ Is that it? Yes, that’s it. Another problem Naaman had (later in the passage in 2 Kings 5) is this: he wanted to pay. Remember how he’d brought all these horses laden with shekels of gold and fancy clothing? After he was cured, he went back up the hill to Elisha’s house and wanted to pay for his cure. But the prophet said no. Why? Because the gift of cleansing was free, without charge.

And that’s another reason why the Grace of God is so Amazing. Not only does it mean that God doesn’t condemn us, not only does it give us a fresh start – but it’s free! In our pride, we have this unfortunate tendency that we want to recommend ourselves to God in some way: ‘Hey, God, have you noticed that I’m not really such a bad person? I come to church most Sundays! I even give to good causes! Look at all that I’ve done – surely you must accept me!’ And this brings us straight back to those verses in Ephesians 2, where the Apostle Paul had to deal with the exact same issue: ‘For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.’

Jesus once told a story that shines a light on this very same issue. It’s in the Gospel of Luke. ‘Two men went up to Temple to pray: Pharisee (a religious man) and a tax collector (thought to be the lowest of the low). The Pharisee prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men – robbers, evil-doers adulterers – or even like that tax collector. I fast twice week and give a tenth of all I get.’ The Tax Collector: stood at a distance, looking down: ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ And Jesus said : ‘I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.’ (Luke 18:10-14)

Now please don’t misunderstand: there is a place for good works, but it’s as a loving response to what Jesus has already done for us. Good works are the proof that we have believed in Jesus. ‘For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.’ (Ephesians 2:10)

It’s important that we get this the right way round. It’s not that our good works are some kind of display to show God how worthy we are of his love (that’s what the Pharisee tried! Didn’t work!) People like this are saying in effect: ‘I may not be perfect, but I’m not like other people who are worse than me! I’ve often gone to church. I’m a good person really!’ Is that what you think? If so, then you’re relying on your good deeds, rather than on the cross of Christ! So we don’t do good works or good deeds to recommend ourselves to God, as Naaman tried to do, as the Pharisee in the parable Jesus told did. Rather, we do good works as a loving response to the Grace of God in Christ once we have humbled all our pride, and come to Jesus, believing that his death on the cross puts us right with God, in a way that we could never earn for ourselves. And we find a new peace in our lives. A new balance. A new purpose. A new love for others. And best of all – it’s all free!

Isn’t that amazing? Yes it is! That’s what’s so amazing about grace! Now, in closing – this may be very familiar to you. If so, then I’ll just say this: don’t let familiarity breed contempt. Let that familiarity lead you to do what the servant girl did; recommend the solution to others. You think you’re not equipped for that. Well, the servant girl had no special training. But she knew to point people to the source of amazing grace. But if this is a bit new to you, if you’ve seen how amazing God’s grace is, then I’ll just say this; don’t let the moment pass. God’s amazing grace is for you. Believe in your heart, and you too can be freed from the terrible disease of sin. And Jesus will come into your life to help you to change and to become more like him.