ISAIAH 7:1-14 THE IMMANUEL SIGN

 

Isaiah 7 contains the prophecy of the virgin birth of a son called Immanuel (7:14)[1].  The name of Immanuel and the circumstances under which he was conceived are as mysterious and unique as was the life of king Melchizedek,  who is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days or end of life…”  cf. Genesis 14:17ff cf. Hebr. 7:3. The mystery   is thankfully lifted when we read Matthew 1:20-23. But more about that in a moment.

We may be somewhat surprised when reading and meditating on this text. It does not come across very “Christmassy”[2]  at all when we consider the historical picture. Sadly,  many Christmas sermons are sentimentalized and rarely ever recognize the historical context and prophetic profundity of these texts.

HISTORICAL CONTEXT

Isaiah’s commission begins with a great vision of God  (6:1-8). It ends with a very difficult commission and message  from God in 6:9,10. There, God said to Isaiah,

“Go, and say to this people: “‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ 10 Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”

Let us consider the basic facts. 

Isaiah was commissioned to preach the Word of God to a proud and stubborn people.  He is called to speak to a people who do not want to hear or see the Word of the Lord – in fact, in addition to their own rebellious spirit, God has added judicial blindness, so that they are actually twice hardened: they hardened their own hearts and God hardened their hearts! The concept of judicial hardening in also found in 29:9-13. In New Testament language, these  are a people handed over (Rom. 1:18ff) 

On Isaiah’s very first assignment, God called Isaiah to speak to king Ahaz in Jerusalem. He found king Ahaz at the upper pool near the Washer’s field (7:3). Ahaz was concerned that the water supplies were going to be cut off by the invading armies of Syria, allied with the Northern kingdom of Israel. The message from God in  7:4 was this,

 “And say to him, ‘Be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands, at the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria and (Pekah) the son of Remaliah, the current king of the Northern  alliance.”  

Isaiah’s message  to Ahaz in a nutshell: Call him to trust in me – His God!

Ahaz, although he was a descendant of David (and mentioned in the covenantal line of the Messiah – Matt. 1:9), he wasn’t a godly, spiritual man who trusted in the Word of the Lord.  In 2 Ki.16:3 we read that, “he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel. He even burned his son as an offering, according to the despicable practices of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel.” 

So, Ahaz trusted more in an alliance with the Syrian king than in the God of his father David.  And it’s going to bite him: “Within 65 years, Ephraim – the Northern kingdom  would seize to be a nation (7:8). This is exactly what happened. Indeed, within 65 years the Northern Kingdom and their Allies, Syria would be destroyed by Assyria (2 Kings 15:29; 16:9). All this happened, just as God said it would.  The study of the prophecies and their fulfillments in history are a great testimony to the reliability   and authority of Scripture. 

ASK FOR A SIGN (7:10–17)

Against this terrible background we find a God who is good, and kind to rebellious and ungrateful people.

He sends Isaiah to Ahaz at the upper pool (7:3), worried about the water supply which may be cut off by the invading armies. Isaiah comes to him with words that we would not have expected to be spoken to this godless, faithless king. Isaiah comes with an encouraging (good news) message from God. BUT along with this he also brings a warning: “If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all” [7:9]

Isaiah finds king Ahaz apathetic to this positive challenge. So, God in His patient mercy says to king Ahaz in 7:10-11: 

“Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” 

He is saying,  Ahaz, you don’t believe me? Ask me to confirm this to you via a miraculous sign.

God is surely patient with this faithless son of the covenant, and there is the key! Why does God do this? He does this for the sake of His covenant and for the sake of the throne of David, and for the sake of the Messiah, and not because Ahaz deserves God’s patience.

God tells Ahaz to choose a sign as evidence that the  message  from Isaiah is true: 

“Make it as difficult as you like – make it as deep as Sheol, or high as heaven" (7:11).  

What an offer – what an opportunity to see God at work. Imagine you were given that opportunity!   What would you have asked for?

Astonishingly we read in 7:12: 

“But Ahaz said, I will not ask, and I will not put the LORD to the test.”  

Some think here that Ahaz is being merely   humble or modest - perhaps he is thinking about Deut. 6:16, “You shall not put the LORD your God to the test”.  But, as others have pointed out correctly, when God invites us to ask for a sign, we are not putting God to the test. If the truth be told, Ahaz response actually masks a very stubborn unbelief. We need no reminder that some of the strongest unbelief hides behind religious language[3]!

Now you can hear Isaiah’s frustration beginning to manifest in 7:13: 

“Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also?   

It is very likely that Isaiah was saying this not only to the king but to a multitude assembled at the upper pool at the Washer’s field.  Many may have heard this word that now came to Ahaz (7:14): “Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” 

 A VIRGIN SHALL CONCEIVE AND BEAR A SON?

The Hebrew word used here for virgin is ‘almah’. This refers to a marriageable young woman of unblemished and pure character. Many have a problem with this because virgins (by definition) cannot conceive or give birth! And yet this is not a grammatical mistake. Many years before Christ was born, Jewish scholars translated the OT into the Greek language (the Septuagint or the LXX).  When it came to translating this word “virgin” they used the word “parthenos”.  The Greek language here is precise and unambiguous.  A parthenos is a virgin! They did not use the word, “young woman” or another equivalent.

That makes this prophecy is truly astonishing.  Yes, virgins do not conceive; and they do not give birth. So, this was going to be something extraordinary.  Ahaz would be given the opportunity to witness the pregnancy and birth of a son called Immanuel, born to a woman who had no man in her life. This sign was impossible beyond the deepest depths of Sheol and the highest heights of heaven (7:10).

But here is the greater miracle: Hidden deep within Israel’s darkest history and unbelief there is the prospect of a light shining (cf. 9:2). Isaiah, employs prophetic perspective, far above that which even he could understand or fathom, and by which God would be true to His promises to David the covenant king.  A virgin would give birth to a male child. The male child would be called “Immanuel”, meaning “God with us”.   Immanuel is mentioned again in 8:8 & 10. Concerning Him we learn,

• The land which was under the rule of the House of David was His land.
• He is addressed in prayer (8:8). Therefore  Immanuel  must be the LORD. He is the Lord who frustrates the plans of His opponents in 8:10.

All this would have remained a mystery had we not received the interpretation  in  Matt 1:20-23 :

20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).

 And Luke 1:30-37 reads:

30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

Please note the deliberate language used here by Mary in  Luke 1:34  And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since a man I have not known? (i.e. I am a virgin) ?” 

From this follows the fact that  this birth is going to be an extra-ordinary birth! 

35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born  will be called holy—the Son of God. 36 And behold, (here is an extra sign and a confirmation!)  your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.”

APPLICATION 

1.      Much of the OT (the prophecy of Isaiah by way of application) does not make much sense without the revelation of Christ, our Immanuel. The light of the New Testament  illumines  the Old Testament, which is richly furnished, but dimly lighted. The introduction of light  brings into it  nothing which was not  in it before, but  reveals it in full clarity (B.B. Warfield) 

2.      The Christian faith  rests upon the foundation of this prophecy in Isaiah 7. Immanuel defines  our  Christian faith.

3.      The deliverance of Judah’s hopeless position at the time of king Ahaz comes not by human might or power, but by God‘s miraculous intervention – and that despite the deafness and stubbornness of king and people (or if you like – government and nation). There are simply no human alliances that will get the world out of this sticky mess, this entanglement of sin.  We need the gospel of Jesus. He is the same Saviour that must now come and deliver us from  our messy world. Thank God that, with the help of the NT we know Immanuel. We must boldly appeal to Him in prayer.      

4.      This story of Isaiah and Ahaz proves to us once again, that the gospel comes to us utterly undeserved and unsought.  It comes to us because God is faithful to His covenant. In that covenant He has given a people (a bride) to His Son. The Son has prayed for that bride in John 17.  All that the Father has given to the Son will come.   His  sheep know Him and they follow Him (John 10: 14, 27).  Evil, unbelieving, faithless people like Ahaz will not stand in the way of God’s gospel – in fact, evil people like Ahaz are sometimes overwhelmed by the gospel and brought into submission of the gospel.  The apostle Paul was a spiritual Ahaz before the grace of God overwhelmed him. 

5.     May God would be pleased to pour out His great gospel grace   into the heart of many an Ahaz today.  May God be pleased to turn the spiritual coldness, apathy and blindness of this present age   once again into a profound love for Immanuel. May His kingdom come. May His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.

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[1]  For the name Immanuel: See Isa 7: 14; 8:8,10

[2] Every now and then we must invent a word to explain ourselves!

[3] Think for instance of the parable of the tax-collector and the Pharisee in Lk 18:9-14. The Pharisee hides his unbelief behind strong religious language

Isaiah 7:1-9 “Be careful, Be quiet, Do not fear …”

 

This is the season in which we remember the birth of Christ. 

Our thoughts are directed away from the commercialism commonly associated with this season. 

Our desire is to  see Jesus again for who He is – Our Immanuel – God with us.   

Our focus in this Christmas season will be upon Isaiah 7- 9. 

The Lutheran commentator H.C. Leupold gives Isaiah Chapters 7-12 the title “Immanuel book”[1], because of the references to Immanuel  in 7:14; 8:8,10. This prophetic section foretells the conception and birth of Immanuel. The gospel of Matthew 1:21-23 links Immanuel to the Lord Jesus Christ.  The NT solves the mystery of this   mysterious Immanuel.

ISAIAH - A Brief Biographical Sketch

His name (Yeshayahu) means “God saves”. Not much is known about Isaiah.  

• He was the son of Amoz (1:1). 
• He was married (8:3). 
• He had at least two children (7:3,8:3). 
• Isaiah 6 contains   his call   and commission to the prophetic office in the year that king Uzziah died (740 B.C.). 
• He lived in Jerusalem. 
• His prophetic activity lasted approximately from 742-701 BC  
• The greatest political event of his prophetic career would have been the fall of the Northern kingdom (Israel) to the Assyrians in about 722 BC. 

No other prophet in the Scriptures has said more concerning Israel’s Messiah than Isaiah.  He foretells the Messiah’s birth in Isaiah 9. He also presents us with a most graphic picture of the Messiah as the suffering and martyred servant who was wounded for our transgressions (Isaiah 53).  

 ISAIAH 7

Chapter 7 contains the prophecy of the virgin birth of a son called Immanuel (7:14). This Immanuel is as mysterious and unique as Melchizedek who is “without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days or end of life…” (Genesis 14:17ff; Hebr. 7:3).  

Here God commands Isaiah to speak to king Ahaz of Judah[2], who is   presently in a real quandary.  We read in 7:1,2 [3] 

“In the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah, Rezin the king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah the king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to wage war against it…  King Ahaz and the people of the Southern kingdom were clearly very afraid… “the heart…shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind…”.  A very graphic picture of fear!

Isaiah was commanded to speak to Ahaz and the people about this fear in 7:4-9: 

“And say to him, ‘be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands…, at the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria and the son of Remaliah... 5 Because Syria, with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has devised evil against you, saying, 6 “Let us go up against Judah and terrify it, and let us conquer it for ourselves, and set up the son of Tabeel as king in the midst of it,” 7 thus says the Lord God: “‘It shall not stand, and it shall not come to pass.8 For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin. And within sixty-five years Ephraim will be shattered from being a people. 9 And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all.’”

Isaiah found king Ahaz at the upper pool. At that time Jerusalem’s water came from the Gihon Spring in the Kidron valley, outside the city. [4] Ahaz was worried about the water supply. It could be easily cut off by an enemy. Isaiah was sent by God to give Ahaz   courage and hope.

Now keep in mind that in Isaiah was warned by God that, “the hearts of this people would be dull…. Their ears heavy and their eyes blind…” (Isa 6:9, 10).   

That would be the mindset of a man like Ahaz.  

He would not hear or believe any word from God through a prophet.  

We must never accuse God of not being patient with His rebellious people. He sends His servants into His vineyard time and again (e.g. the parable of the tenants – Matt.  21: 33-46).  

As Isaiah approaches king Ahaz, he finds a man who had his mind made up. He believed that only Assyria could help him now. To that end he would even give up the temple treasury (the things devoted to God) to Assyria to save his neck.

In 2 Kings 16:7–8 we read 

7 So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son. Come up and rescue me from the hand of the king of Syria and from the hand of the king of Israel, who are attacking me.” 8 Ahaz also took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the Lord and in the treasures of the king's house and sent a present to the king of Assyria.

This mindset is disturbingly habitual among God’s people. We are inclined turn to anyone for help before we turn to our God. In Isa. 30:1-3 we find the same mindset.  Israel wanted to trust in Egypt rather than in their God:

“Ah, stubborn children,” declares the Lord, “who carry out a plan, but not mine, and who make an alliance, but not of my Spirit, that they may add sin to sin; 2 who set out to go down to Egypt, without asking for my direction, to take refuge in the protection of Pharaoh and to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt! 3 Therefore shall the protection of Pharaoh Turn to your shame, and the shelter in the shadow of Egypt to your humiliation.

… And these following words in Isa 30: 12-16

12 Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel, “Because you despise this word and trust in oppression and perverseness and rely on them, 13 therefore this iniquity shall be to you like a breach in a high wall, bulging out, and about to collapse, whose breaking comes suddenly, in an instant; 14 and its breaking is like that of a potter's vessel that is smashed so ruthlessly that among its fragments not a shard is found with which to   take fire from the hearth, or to dip up water out of the cistern.” 15 For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.” (There is the call  to have faith in God). But you were unwilling, 16 and you said, “No! We will flee upon horses”; therefore you shall flee away; and, “We will ride upon swift steeds”; therefore, your pursuers shall be swift.

Isaiah’s message to Ahaz was simple: “Stop worrying! I am in control of these events! Be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands.”  See how much God is for Ahaz! He sends a prophet to him with a sure and faithful word. Truly, God does not withhold His word from us. That word says: Be quiet! Trust in me!

Another fact:  Ahaz, the son of Jotham, was a son of David.  Pekah of the breakaway northern kingdom was not of the line of David. Of him we read in   2 Kings 15:23-38 that he had murdered the previous king Pekahiah and seized the throne of the northern kingdom (generally referred to as Israel). The point is that the Lord had no covenantal dealings with the kings of the northern kingdom.  Pekah was merely the son of Remaliah (7:9). 

In contrast to this, Ahaz was born into the Davidic line - the covenant. He could have rested in God’s promises, “… I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever” (2 Samuel 7:14).   But very sadly, this king could not see that a great and mighty God was committed to fight his battles for David’s sake – for His own glory’s sake. 

Instead of looking to His God, he saw these two earthly kings, who from God’s perspective, were   described as smoldering stumps (7:4). Their fire had died and all that was left was the smoke!   Ahaz should have been comforted by Isaiah’s message.  He should not have been intimidated by their threatening words (7:6). He should have remembered the truth expressed in Isa 40:15-17

“Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales; behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust. 16 Lebanon would not suffice for fuel, nor are its beasts enough for a burnt offering. 17 All the nations are as nothing before him, they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.”

Ahaz had to do nothing but to stand firm in His faith in the God of his father David. It was not a leap in the dark. It was a faith in a dependable God. It was a faith that was tested and tried by his many godly predecessors.  Not to stand in faith in this situation would mean the downfall of the nation.  And so it was!

In the course of history, it was not only so that the Northern kingdom would be taken into captivity by the Assyrians in 722 BC, but 150 years later the Southern kingdom would share the same fate, being taken into captivity by the Babylonians.

See how much God is for Ahaz!  See how much grace is extended! Next time (Isa 7: 10- 25)  we will consider an incredibly generous offer from the LORD God to this spiritually weak king, Ahaz. God says to Ahaz through the prophet “Ahaz, ask for a sign to prove that I am the faithful God that will protect you and sustain you…”  (7:10). 

We shall find  that Ahaz fails to make an opportunity of this. 

And we shall see that despite his unbelief God Himself will give a sign – “Immanuel” to prove that He is the faithful God who will deliver His people from their trials and tribulations. But, that will be the subject matter for our next sermon. 

 APPLICATION

• This is the month and time of the year when we remember the birth of our Immanuel – the Living Word, who   was given for our release from   fear and anxiety – and from our own darkness.  The message of Christmas is a message of comfort and joy!
• We too are currently living in a very fearful and anxious age. Many people are fearful and stressed.  Because of this, the modern mental health industry is flourishing. This is nothing new in the history of mankind. In Jesus day, He saw many sick, distressed, demon oppressed, harassed people. These were beset by all sorts of fears and phobias and emotional ailments leading to all sorts of psychosomatic diseases. Many are like the woman who had exhausted her finances to find a cure to her ailment (Mk 5:26). They crowd the consultation rooms of doctors and psychologists. Many of them are religious. They go to church, but their demons of fear and anxiety remain.  Christ (the Wonderful Counsellor- Isa 9:6) appears to be of no help at all.  And the main problem is this:  They hear but do not understand; they keep on seeing, but do not perceive …” (Isa.  6:9).  Like Ahaz and the people of His day they do not respond to the word of the Lord because their fears are great and their God is small.  We cannot hear the Word of the Lord speaking into our fears.  We do not want to believe these words from the Immanuel book, because we are preoccupied with man made solutions,  and  with the words  of   false prophets more than this WORD.  We do not hear these words: ‘Be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smouldering stumps of firebrands…”. There is too much noise in our souls!
• Our generation is not firm in the faith (7:9b).  We may not be professing atheists, but we are practical atheists. We trust our purses, and will rob our treasuries to pay for the opinions of secular, man- centred opinion or to find soul deadening medications, drugs, alcohol, spending our money on endless forms of escapism.    We are not a generation that   listens to God.  We accumulate for ourselves teachers to suit our own passions, and we easily turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths (2 Tim 4:3, 4)
• We are not committed worshippers. We are not inclined to work from a God- centred faith. We do not disperse from our churches full of faith and confidence in the power in God.  By nature, we are inclined to be Ahaz’s.  We are easily intimidated by people and their opinions. But when it comes to hearing the Word of God, calling us to faith and obedience, it appears as if we are deaf and blind.
• We need Immanuel to restore us. This whole passage begs for a divine solution.  Next time we will consider God’s solution in Isa. 7:10-25. This is the answer to the counsel offered in 7:4

Turn to Him in prayer now as we beg the Father through the Lord Jesus (God with us) by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, to take away any such blindness and deafness as there may be.  

May He enable us to look with biblical faith to God, and learn to interpret various intimidating situations before us, not at face value, but with biblical wisdom and insight.  

The Grace of God be with you!

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[1] H.C. Leupold: Exposition of Isaiah (One Vol. ed.) Baker Book House, p.144

[2] See the list of kings  in whose reign Isaiah  prophesied in  Isaiah  1:1

[3] The historical background is found 2 Chronicles 28 and 2 Kings 16 .The time frame is roughly about 735 BC.

 [4] Under Hezekiah (715-686 BC) a 533 meter underground tunnel was built  to divert   Gihon’s water to the pool of Siloam, within the city walls

Acts 2:38 “Believer’s Baptism – A Simple Appeal “

 

Our text is simple – easy to understand, and I aim to make the same appeal which our text issues,  to you!

“Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the Name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38).

This statement was made by Peter the apostle. 

It was made to a great crowd gathered in Jerusalem, after the promised Holy Spirit – that mighty rushing wind, had descended on a gathering of disciples. This event issued in a mighty filling with the Holy Spirit, enabling those present to speak in other languages, so that Jews that had come from far away nations (cf 2:8-11) for the feast  (Shavuot) would hear about the mighty works of God (2:11) in their  OWN language.

This happened 50 days after Resurrection Sunday, on the weekend of the Jewish Passover. Hence it is called Pentecost (fiftieth in Greek). Jews had been celebrating the Feast of weeks (Shavuot)  for at least 1500 years by the time this  event in  Acts 2 happened. 

Word got around very quickly.  Some were amazed and perplexed: What does this mean? (2:12). Others mocked and said – they are drunk (2:13). 

Peter, the spokesman of the 11 apostles had some explaining to do. He had to explain what had happened on that marvelous and amazing day.  He did this by way of an impromptu sermon:

 (i)                 Acts 2:17-21 He tells the crowd that this outpouring of the Spirit was a prophetic fulfilment, a promise spoken by the prophet Joel (Joel 2:28-32). This promise tells of a time when many that call upon the Name of the Lord will be saved. That time had now come. The purpose of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit  was to bring salvation – cf.  2:21 (not to bring tongues- a misplaced emphasis!).  And now Peter explains how that would come about … This is how they will be saved… THIS IS THE GOSPEL!

(ii)              Acts 2:22-28 He tells the crowd that this event follows the coming of Jesus of Nazareth (Jesus born in Nazareth). Jesus  is the Gospel. He worked in Israel with mighty works and wonders and signs. Then He was delivered up to the purposes of an evil humanity – BUT according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God. We learn that in God's economy nothing is out of control. Peter  tells them that God allowed His Son to be crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. But again, since this is the Divine Son of God, death could not keep Him in the grave.  God raised Him up. Peter explains this with the help of Psalm 16:8-11.  

(iii)            Acts 2:29 -35  Peter  tells the crowd that this Jesus is the Greater Son of David- the expected Messiah, who though He died, He was not abandoned to Hades. God the Father raised Him up, and not only raised Him up, but took Him up to where He is now seated at the right hand of God (This we call the  Ascension). This is the One of whom David spoke in Psalm 16.  David did not speak here of himself. He could not have referred to himself here.  Peter says that David died, and his tomb is there for all to see. And  moreover, David did not ascend to heaven (cf. Psalm 110:1àActs 2:34,35). No! David is speaking here  prophetically about His greater Son!  

(iv)            Acts 2:36 And to crown it all, Peter now reminds the crowd … so THIS is the ONE whom you crucified!

 The Response was profound (2:37)  

“When they heard this, the crowd was cut to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 

Peter’s hearers were stunned at what they saw and heard.  

They were deeply convicted by Peter’s message. And they profoundly understood their corporate guilt in crucifying the Messiah!  The dread of God and all the consequences of their sin fell upon them. You hear it in their collective voice:  Brothers, what shall we do? 

This is true conviction. 

This is the work of the Holy Spirit (cf. John 16:8-11)

 2:38,39 : And Peter said, 

"Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for who are far off, for all whom the Lord our God will call." 

 5 OBSERVATIONS

 1.     He calls them to repent – literally to turn around, to walk away from their sin and to walk into the arms of this Lord Jesus whom they had crucified. It represents a turning from the old life, embracing a new life under the rulership of Christ.

2.     He calls them to signify that repentance in baptism i.e. by immersion in water – that is its plainest meaning.   

    NOTICE THE ORDER! REPENT  and then BE BAPTISED 

For this reason, baptism ought not to be applied to infants or babies.  The reason for that is twofold:

(i)                 Infants are not yet capable of expressing repentance

(ii)              The idea of infant baptism by virtue of being born into a Christian family, and to be presented for baptism through the faith of a Christian parent is not taught at all in the New Testament. Rather this is inferred from the OT practice of infant circumcision. Those who defend the practice of infant baptism maintain that, just as in Israel circumcision was applied to eight-day-old infants, so in the church baptism should be applied to the infants of Christian parents.  

         But is this analogy credible? 

       We cannot disagree that there is a relationship between circumcision as a sign of belonging to the Old covenant community and baptism as a sign of belonging to the new covenant community.  

         However, there is also a great difference between these two signs

a. Circumcision was administered to all the physical sons of Abraham, who made up the physical Israel.

b. However, the baptism of the New Covenant is only administered to the spiritual sons and daughters of Abraham, those who repent and are baptized by immersion.  

Paul makes it clear that this baptism does not automatically apply to every Jewish infant born into a Jewish household. No! He considers Abraham’s offspring as those who are “in Christ” ( see Gal. 3:29;  see vv. 23-29 for context). These who are baptized into Christ (Gal. 3:27) are the true sons and daughters of Abraham – and as such accordingly they make up the Church. Galatians 3:7 says: "Know then that it is those of faith, who are the sons of Abraham (see context in Gal.  3:7-9)

 3.     He calls them to do this in the Name of Jesus Christ, whose atoning death would take away their sin. 

Baptism is identification with Christ in his death, burial and resurrection. 

The picture is plain. Paul puts it like this in Romans 6:3,4: "Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ were baptized into His death? We were buried therefore with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life

4.     He calls them to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit i.e. SALVATION.  

    The same Holy Spirit who convicts us of sin also directs us to the Saviour - He is Jesus  Christ our Lord.  PLEASE NOTE - This is not a series of steps –  receiving the Holy Spirit is not another step in  receiving the gift of salvation. This  is ONE work of SALVATION and these are the VITAL ingredients included in the 'package' of salvation 

5.     Peter urges not only them, but entire families to believe – even those who are “far off “ -  everyone, far or near, who hears and responds to the call of God.

 APPLICATION

 ·      Are you hearing the voice of Peter, speaking here by the inspiration of the            Holy Spirit, to your own heart?

·       Have you ever come to a point in your life where you have repented of your     sin, following which you have declared this by being  baptized by immersion   into Christ?

·       Some of you are not making any spiritual progress, because you have not       yet  obeyed these plain words.

·      AND THEN THIS: To become a church member is by repentance and faith in Jesus Christ ALONE. The sign of that entry should only be administered to those who believe ALONE. 

·         Those that are being  baptised  in accordance with this conviction are               therefore  saying to you:

o   I have believed in Jesus as my Saviour. I celebrate in baptism today the mighty work of God in my life.

o   I have repented and I have laid my sin burden at the foot of the cross.

o   I want to tell you (i.e. these witnesses here before me) that Jesus has died for me ... that I have been buried with Him… that I have been raised to newness of life in Christ.

o   I am saying to you that I am a son/ daughter of Abraham.

o   I belong to the new covenant community. Therefore, I must receive the sign of the new covenant community. This is not the old mark of the Jews, which was circumcision.  This is the new mark administered to all who profess true repentance from sin and faith in Jesus. This is my confession issued in water baptism - a pictorial statement proclaiming, “I have died with Christ, I have been buried with Christ; I have been raised with Christ”.  Jesus' disciples continued in this practice and baptized those who believed. To that end Jesus clearly commissioned His church at the end of his earthly ministry to "make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit" (Mt. 28:19). 

 This is the meaning of  of biblical covenantal baptism.  

 Amen.

 

ROMANS 7:1-6 Law and Grace

 

THE ARGUMENT SO FAR IN PAUL’S LETTER TO THE ROMANS

 1.       1:1-17 Introduction

2.      1:18 - 3:20   Here Paul shows us how the whole world is guilty before God.  All of us have sinned.  All of us are sinful by nature and sinful in practice.  “There is no-one righteous, no not one” (3:10). We all have belittled His glory (3:23). We all have exchanged His glory for the things that He has made. All of us are idolaters. All of us treasure the things made by God more than we treasure God (1:23).  Therefore, a holy, just, good God is now revealing His wrath against this substitution of His glory. This leads to God’s righteous “wrath and fury” (2:8).   This is  where we all are heading. This is the bad news!

3.       In 3:21 we find a radical announcement, and from here to the end of Romans 5 Paul shows us that there is a way to get right with God.  It is called justification by faith. We are taught to look by faith to Jesus, whom God put forward (on the cross) as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.  All our guilt is absorbed in Christ's suffering and death (3:24-25). Those who look by faith to Him are justified. All it takes is to look and believe. Nothing more! No law of works needed (3:28). We receive our salvation as a free gift (5:17-19). This is the doctrine of free grace. Jesus plus nothing is everything!

4.      In Romans 6:1 & 6:15 this doctrine of free grace raises a great objection: "What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may abound?"(6:1) Someone was arguing, "If I, sinful being that I am, am justified simply by looking to Jesus – an act of sheer grace – well then let me  go on sinning. Does your doctrine of free grace not imply that the more I sin, the greater the grace of God will appear to be?“  The same reasoning is found again in Romans 6:15:  Paul shows us that this is warped logic. His response to this objection is both times, “No!“ [1]  Why not? Because people who are justified (freed from sin) have died to sin (6:10). That means that they will not continue in sin! “Sin will not have dominion over you, since you are not under law, but under grace.“ (6:14).

5.      Romans 6:2-23: The fruit of free grace (trusting in Christ) are superior:   they lead to sanctification and ultimately eternal life. The fruit of trusting in the law is that the law will not be able to make you righteous. The purpose of the law is not to save you. It can at best only expose you and shame you  for who you are – and this leads to death (6:23)

 Romans 7

We are now going to learn that living under grace provides us  with  far greater power and  motives for abstaining from sin, than  we can obtain from living under the law.  

Our relationship to the law should now be clear. We are free from the law in the sense that we do not need to keep it to be saved from the wrath of God. That does not mean that we can now ignore the law. We can’t! It remains God’s holy law, and the 10 commandments remain God’s holy standard. And if  you love Jesus, you will keep His commandments.  

But, thank God, you will not have to rely on your keeping of the law to make it to heaven.   And now Paul explains a little more about the Christian’s new relationship to the law. He does that by using an illustration from marriage.  

Paul is still essentially answering the objection found in Romans 6:15 -”Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace?"

In Romans 7:1-3 he uses marriage as an illustration. When two people are married they make a legal vow before God. 

• As long as they live that married couple is bound by the law to remain together.
• When a spouse dies, that law is no longer binding.Their partner is free from that vow.
• They are free to remarry if they so choose. Their remarriage will not be considered adultery (7:3). 

7:1-3  can be summarized like this:  legal obligation ends with death.  Before Christ took us as His own, we were bound to the law. The law held us accountable before God. It was the standard by which God was judging us. Breaking that law is  sin, and here are the consequences:  the wages of sin is death” (6:23). 

In  Romans 7:4ff  we read of another death: “you have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you belong to Him who has been raised from the dead…”. Now, if you become a believer in Christ you die to the law. You die to your old life regulated by the law; you now live under Christ.   And so we  read in 7:4:  "Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God."  

Death to the law happened when you were joined to Christ. The old contract or legal obligation is over.  The moment you  meet Christ you die to the law and you enter into  another marriage. Christ is, so to speak your new "husband".  

In the Bible He is frequently  spoken of as the bridegroom (Mk 2:19-20; Jn 3:29; Matt 25:1-13; Rev 21:2, 9-10).

And the aim of this "marriage" (as is true of any marriage) is that you "bear fruit for God." (7:4). There it is. That means that when you are converted you have new desires, a new attitude, you make new choices, and your actions produce God glorifying fruit!  It is inevitable!  You have been planted in new soil, and you must produce fruit in keeping with your repentance. 

So, being set free from the law does not mean that we can do as we please. Yes, we  were released from legalistic, joyless service, but we  were not released from service!   

7:6 says that we now serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.

 In this way Paul answers  the objection posed in   Romans 6:15. 

So then we find that it is impossible for those that are under grace to love lawlessness!  

Also, the indwelling Holy Spirit renewing you through His sanctifying power cannot produce bad fruit in you.  What is inside must come out.  You must bear fruit for God to prove your attachment to Christ. Spiritual fruit prove that you are a Spirit filled Christian.

And we shall see, as we make progress through Romans 7 that this does not mean that Christians won’t sin. We will, but it does not make us happy. Paul will confess that he does struggle with sin. This is something that makes him unhappy, when it happens.  But thank God that his salvation is not grounded in his perfect keeping of the law, but it is grounded in Jesus’ finished work on the cross.  And for that Paul is eternally grateful. And he loves the Lord Jesus because of that, and he serves them with a full heart because of that, notwithstanding his faults, sins and shortcomings

A further illustration[2] 

This  illustration will help us to clarify the relationship between law and grace, between our former life under the law and our present life under Christ:  

There one was a man, a bachelor, to whom all his domestic chores became very tedious. So, he decided to employ a housekeeper. In her work contract he drew up a long list of rules   and expectations and to make a point, he stuck his rules to the kitchen wall, as a perpetual reminder to her :  

·       Meals are to be served at eight, at one and at six

·       Dishes were to be done immediately after each meal

·       The house was to be kept spotlessly clean at all times

·        Linen was to be changed once a week  

·       He even went into minutest details:  don’t pour tea leaves or coffee grains down the kitchen sink        Etc.

Needless to say, the housekeeper didn’t always stick to his rules. In fact, she soon began to resent them, and the more she thought about all the rules the more resentful she became, because she knew that she wasn’t that perfect someone. And to be spiteful, and in sometimes in rebellion   she even  secretly poured the tea leaves or coffee grain down the kitchen sink…

She knew that there was precious little point about challenging him for all his rules, for he was after all her employer, and he was a strict man. 

And then, after some time, the unthinkable happened … he asked her to marry him!

And things became very different from that time. She grew to love him. He even took down the rules from the kitchen wall. She became his bride- the queen of the home. Their relationship  had changed drastically. Because she loved him, she wanted to do that which she knew he would appreciate. She did it freely and willingly. And he loved her because of  her love for him – and not because she did things always perfectly.  There was a distinct difference between her past and her present experience  

This illustrates the believer’s relationship with the law.

The law in itself, though it is fair and just, it doesn’t please us. 

We know that we are not perfectly inclined to keep it, and because of that we begin to resent it. And often we are discouraged because of that.  

But when we are converted, we love the One who has taken our burden caused by the law away.

We love Him because He has given us new life, new hope and a new destiny.

And we do not find his commandments burdensome (1 John 5:3).

There is a different quality about this relationship – and it comes from the heart (6:17).

The former comes from a sense of coercion, but there is no joy in it.  The latter  comes  from a heart of love.

And now let me ask you … why do you do the things that you do ?

Because you feel you have to?

Or because you love Him?

 

---

[1] Gr. mē genoito  (μη γενοιτο)  - may it not be!  – Vocative;  [Romans 3:4; 3:6; 3:31; 6:2; 6:15; 7:7; 7:13; 9:14; 11:1; 11:11]

[2] I have adapted this story from Stuart Olyott’s commentary on Romans, p.65ff