The Savior’s Specific
Mission to The Whole Human Race:
To Warn Each Person to Fear the Lord & Obey the Savior
10Who among you fears the Lord and obeys his Servant? If such men walk in darkness, without one ray of light, let them trust the Lord, let them rely upon their God. 11But see here, you who live in your own light and warm yourselves from your own fires and not from God’s; you will live among sorrows.[1] (Isaiah50:10–11)
The Savior’s Mission Demands a Decision from Every
Person.
Being the very Servant of God and the Savior of the world means that Jesus Christ is a Person of unparalleled importance. Since He has come to the world as the Savior, people cannot avoid making a decision concerning Him. People either accept or reject the salvation offered by the Savior. In fact, a person’s avoidance is his decision to reject Christ. By sending the Savior into the world, the Lord God has shown that He longs for every person in the world to be saved from the bondages of this life, from discouragement, and from weariness. Because of so great a salvation, God demands that people fear and obey the Word of Christ. As the Scripture points out, God gives two words of warning:
A. The Person Who Walks in Darkness Must Trust the Lord and Persevere in Him.
V “And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that
endureth to the end shall be saved” (Mt. 10:22).
V “For God so loved the world, that he gave his
only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life” (Jn. 3:16).
V “Then said they unto him, what shall we do,
that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, this is
the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent” (Jn. 6:28–29).
V “As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved
you: continue ye in my love” (Jn.
15:9).
V “Therefore, being justified by faith, we have
peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ro. 5:1).
V “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about
with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin
which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is
set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set
before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right
hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of
sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Ye have
not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin” (He. 12:1–4).
V “Blessed is
the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the
crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him” (Js. 1:12).
V “Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be
sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the
revelation of Jesus Christ; As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves
according to the former lusts in your ignorance” (1 Pe. 1:13–14).
V “And this is his commandment, that we should
believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave
us commandment” (1 Jn. 3:23).
V “Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown” (Re. 3:11).
B. The
Person Who Is Self-Sufficient and Self-Reliant Will Face God’s Judgment.
All who reject the light of the Savior and walk by their own light will lie down in torment, a picture of eternal punishment due to their unbelief and rejection of the Savior.
V “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord,
Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my
Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we
not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy
name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew
you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Mt. 7:21–23).
V “When Jesus heard it, he marveled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto
you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And I say unto you, that
many shall come from the east and west and shall sit down with Abraham, and
Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom
shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of
teeth” (Mt. 8:10–12).
V “Then said the king to the servants, bind him
hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him
into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Mt. 22:13).
V “And these shall go away into everlasting
punishment: but the righteous into life eternal” (Mt. 25:46).
V “He that believeth on the Son hath
everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the
wrath of God abideth on him” (Jn.
3:36).
V “Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming,
in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice and shall come
forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that
have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation” (Jn. 5:28–29).
V “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation,
which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord and was confirmed unto us by
them that heard him” (He. 2:3).
V “Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye,
shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and
hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy
thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?” (He. 10:29).
V “For if God spared not the angels that
sinned, but cast them down to hell,
and delivered them into chains of
darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; And spared not the old world, but saved
Noah the eighth person, a preacher of
righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly.… The Lord
knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust
unto the day of judgment to be punished” (2 Pe. 2:4–5, 9).
V “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death” (Re. 21:8).[2]
God promised
to fight for Israel, but Israel sold itself into sin. Israel had caused its own
problems. The people of Israel forgot God and trusted in other countries to
help them. God had not rejected Israel, but Israel had rejected God.
If we walk by our own light and reject God’s, we become self-sufficient, and the result of self-sufficiency is torment. When we place confidence in our own intelligence, appearance, strength, or accomplishments instead of in God, we risk torment later when these strengths fade.[3]
[1] Taylor, Kenneth Nathaniel. 1997. The Living Bible,
Paraphrased. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House.
[2] Leadership Ministries Worldwide. 2005. Isaiah: Chapters
36–66. Vol. II. The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible.
Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide.
[3] Life Application
Bible Notes. 2007. Tyndale.
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