OUR LIFE OF SANCTIFICATION
Sermon Text: Isaiah 58:6-12. “Is this not the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; when you see the naked, that you cover him, and not hide yourself from your own flesh? Then your light shall break forth like the morning, your healing shall spring forth speedily, and your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, if you extend your soul to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul, then your light shall dawn in the darkness, and your darkness shall be as the noonday. The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in drought, and strengthen your bones; you shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. Those from among you shall build the old waste places; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; and you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, the Restorer of Streets to Dwell In.”
Lord, this is Your Word, and these are Your words. Sanctify us by the truth. Your Word is truth. Merciful Lord, teach us by Your Holy Spirit to have compassion on all people, covering our neighbor’s faults and frailties, being always ready to forgive and showing forth everywhere the fruits of faith; for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
Dear fellow redeemed in Christ: I bring you grace and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Sanctification refers to how God makes sinners holy in His sight. To “sanctify” means “to make holy.” This is the Holy Spirit’s chief work. We speak of sanctification in the wide sense and in the narrow sense.
Sanctification in the wide sense is all that the Holy Spirit does to make us holy in God’s sight. The main part of this is that He works faith, forgiving our sins – through faith – so that we’re holy in God’s sight; but it also includes the good works, the fruits of faith, that our faith leads us to do.
Sanctification in the narrow sense is our life of good works. Our life of sanctification in this sense is equated with just our life of good works – how we live the faith in our life with others. It’s living a godly life, a holy life.
This is what we’re thinking about today as we consider Isaiah 58. This passage is speaking of our life of sanctification in the narrow sense. This is about our good works, what God says about it. What are truly good works, in God’s sight, and how they aren’t optional.
This text brings us into the middle of a conversation God was having with His Old Testament people about their worship. It centers on what kind of “fasting” they are doing. In the holiness laws from Leviticus, God ordered them to fast – for spiritual reasons, not dietary – at specific times.
In the first 5 verses of this chapter, right before we come into it, they complain to God that they are doing what He commands – fasting – but “You take no notice.” God responds that they fast – do the worship – and then exploit their workers the same day; they fast – do the worship – and then don’t hesitate to harm someone physically. God says: “Is this the fast that I have chosen? Would you call this an acceptable day to the Lord?” God says that their fasting is only outward; their worship is just to keep laws and get it over with; it’s not in the heart or from the heart. They separate their faith from their deeds. They profess their faith, but they act opposite to their faith.
That’s the background for what God says at the beginning of our text: “Is this not the fast that I have chosen,” He says, so God is about to say what is His will for how His people are to live, how to not separate your faith from what you do, how to profess the true faith and not act opposite to it.
God says it’s “to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free … to share your bread with the hungry, and that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; when you see the naked, that you cover him?” In each case, the action is preceded by seeing something wrong, seeing a need of another person. Here God’s command is: where there are chains of injustice, loose them; where a person is oppressed, work to free them from it; where there’s a poor, hungry or homeless person, to share with them. The world calls this social justice.
Because this is a political discussion in our day, it may feel uncomfortable. But one of the attributes of God is justice, that He is just. God is against injustice, which is part of the fallen sinful world. In fact, obeying what God says here is what impelled many Christians in our country to work to abolish slavery. It’s what led Charles Dickens to write Oliver Twist and A Christmas Carol, and Harriet Beecher Stowe to write Uncle Tom’s Cabin, to expose injustices so people will be moved to do something about it.
While these seem like huge causes, the solution of which might seem beyond the individual person, God also speaks to the little, easier things. He also says: “If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness, if you extend your soul to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul, then your light shall dawn in the darkness,” etc. God addresses the sins of blaming others, speaking evil of others or to them, and just feeling or showing compassion to the poor and the suffering.
God is addressing our life of sanctification. But before we talk about that, this is about our justification. First He speaks the Law to show us our sins; this is the chief function of the Law, to show us our sins so we repent. He wanted His Old Testament people to repent; He wants you to repent. Much of this addresses our “sins of omission,” the good that you fail to do. Our sinful flesh treats these things as optional. God doesn’t. He condemns the failure to care that someone’s suffering – He addresses the sinful heart. He condemns the failure to do as the opportunity to help lies in your path – He addresses what we think, say, and do. His Law pronounces you guilty.
But if you’re sorry and confess these sins to God, what does God do? “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1Jn 1:9). He forgives you for Jesus’ sake. In Isaiah 58 this was in the future but it was promised. In Isaiah 53 God speaks 700 years ahead of time seeing it all done by Jesus: “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement that brought us peace [with God] was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.” This is about being justified, how God takes away your sins.
Something like that is said here in Isaiah 58 too: “Your healing shall spring forth speedily, and your righteousness shall go before you.” This healing and righteousness come to you through what Jesus did for you. The righteousness you have isn’t from the Law, “but that which is through faith in Christ” (Phil 3:9). Again, this is about our justification.
This brings us to our life of sanctification, in the narrow sense, which is the real point of God’s words in Isaiah 58. This is how God uses the Law as our guide. It is God’s will for you to do such things as He says here: “to undo the heavy burdens … to share your bread with the hungry … [to] take away the pointing of the finger,” etc. So He is speaking these things to Christians, to repentant Christians, to those who believe in Jesus and want to do better.
This is a specifically Christian use of the Law. This isn’t for the world. Although politicians have used Isaiah 58 to get support for their programs, even quoting verse 12 – “and you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, the Restorer of Streets to Dwell In” – if the world uses this apart from faith, it would only be outward righteousness such as God condemns here. The sinful nature won’t ever agree to this selfless love that comes from God. These words are directed to Christians who hate their sin and have a guilty conscience, then are comforted by the Gospel – which is the cleansing work of the Spirit – and then are moved, by the Spirit, to want to do better.
The key verse here is where God says: “The Lord will guide you continually.” This is the Holy Spirit’s work of using His Law with you, the forgiven Christian, to guide you. He guides you to do good works which He has prepared beforehand for you to walk in them (Phil 2:13).
The good works in our life of sanctification are the “do’s” of the Ten Commandments, the things that it’s God’s will for you to do for others. If you want to know what good works God wants you to do, the commandments tell you. If you’re looking for some good to do, He points to your neighbor, to someone in front of you or next to you who has a need.
The good works don’t save you and don’t contribute to your salvation. You don’t become better in God’s sight for doing it. You can’t get any better in His sight; you’re completely holy and righteous by faith, for Jesus’ sake. But your life of sanctification, is simply the way you give thanks to Him.
And the picture God gives isn’t a gloomy, dark picture. He says “your light shall dawn in the darkness.” He says your life is bright as the noonday sun. That’s how God sees you, in Christ, struggling to do His will. He pictures you as a “watered garden,” fruitful in good works. If we don’t see how beautiful our works are to Him, well, what do you think happens when Jesus forgives your sins? He purifies your works, removes all sin from them, even removing faulty motives so that all that’s left is your thanks and joy.
This is what the Lord’s Supper does: purifies you and all your works. It strengthens you not only in faith, but in love toward others. It’s one more reason to come to the Lord’s Supper: not only for your faith and justification, but for your sanctification and to grow in good works.
If you want to remember anything from all this about our good works, remember this one promise from Isaiah 58 speaking about your life of sanctification: “the Lord will guide you continually.” Amen!