NCF Sunday Worship Livestream - October 1, 2023

Isaiah and Psalms are the OT books most quoted and referred to in the NT. Some Bible scholars call Isaiah the 5th Gospel. Jerome said Isaiah is not just a prophet but an evangelist. It is because Isaiah is a book which contains both judgment and hope. He reveals who God will send to forgive us of our sins. God reveals through Isaiah’s vision the sins of His people and His coming judgment on those sins. God does not play favorites when it comes to judging sin nor in forgiving sin. In these first 9 verses, Judah and Jerusalem are warned of their sins. God pleads in 1:5 with his people not to continue in such foolishness: “Why will you still be struck down? Why will you continue to rebel? The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.” Though God in his righteous judgment could have wiped Judah from the face of the earth, Isaiah speaks of God’s grace in 1:9: “If the LORD of hosts had not left us a few survivors, we should have been like Sodom, and become like Gomorrah.” God always spares a remnant who plead for His grace and receive it.