All of Isaiah’s Good News

In Eugene Peterson’s helpful rendering of the Bible called The Message, he introduces the book of Isaiah as having a threefold emphasis of judgement, comfort and hope. He writes that you can find each theme on every page. In other words, this trio of truth is unavoidable. Yet somehow in our thinking, discussions and prayers, we manage to avoid one aspect of Isaiah’s theme.

 

Our language and longing drift to the comfort and hope found in Isaiah. Our weariness calls out for the strength of God’s renewal (Isaiah 40:31). In times of crisis, we lean upon His promise that the flood and flame will not overwhelm us (Isaiah 43:2). We anticipate the day when the earth will be filled with the knowledge of God, like oceanic waters (Isaiah 11:9). All of this is understandable; we hunger for God’s relief and crave a world made perfect. It is equally understandable that we are not drawn to the reality of God’s judgement. And yet, as Peterson says, it is on every page of Isaiah.

 

A Missing Lyric in Our Song

The judgement of God’s wrath is diminished in our worship, missing in our outreach and barely on the radar of our conversations. Pronouncements of judgement are thought to be “old school”, belonging to the hellfire and brimstone approach. We have replaced “wrath” with an emphasis of mercy, love and grace. And of course, these attributes of God are infinite and impossible to exaggerate. We rejoice in His favour, and His love is an invitation to everyone. We are not wrong to highlight the love of our God. Our mistake is in creating a distortion of God, bordering on a division of His attributes.  We portray God with one colour as if the darker shades didn’t exist. But every artist knows that beauty is found in the full spectrum of light. God’s righteous wrath is not a flaw to hide nor an awkward bump to a gospel presentation. In fact, we need to understand judgement if we are going to understand comfort and hope.

 

What’s So Good About Wrath?

The Gospel is defined as good news, and so it is. It is good news because it addresses the bad news, which is worse than we could ever imagine. Here is the hard truth. We arrive in this world “dead in sin” and “children of wrath” (Ephesians 2:1-3). While we were getting an education, forming a family and building a life, apart from Jesus, we were hostile to God and already under condemnation (Romans 8:7, John 3:18). On our own, despite our best efforts, we were facing God’s judgement, certain and just (Hebrews 9:27). To grasp the depth of God’s mercy, we must look unflinchingly at the depth of our need.

 

Paul did not shy away from the fact of God’s wrath. The first chapters of Romans teaches that God’s judgement is upon all, the obvious sinners and those who pose as saints. Paul was not ashamed of the Gospel because in it, God’s righteousness is revealed (Romans 1:17). The cross reveals God’s love and astounding grace. But the cross proclaims with equal force that God’s justice is absolute and unwavering. God will judge sin, even at the cost of His Son. By the sacrifice of Jesus, sin is atoned, and sinners are welcomed. God is both just and our justifier (Romans 3:26). Love and wrath are not contradictions. They are melded into glory through Jesus Christ.

 

All of God for All of Me

For the reader who has hung in there through these paragraphs, allow me a personal confession. Grace has been both the flavour and longing of my life. It’s not that I have learned or practiced it well. It is just central to me. Grace was so large in my thinking, that it blocked perspective of its cause. I recall one of the first times I read through the Psalms and was confused by all the talk about judgement. I gravitated to verses about loving kindness. It took time for me to recognize that “either or” thinking about God’s love and wrath is faulty. Grace is tied to wrath. Only as I contemplated my debt and judgement did I appreciate the payment and deliverance offered to me.

 

So, turn back to Isaiah. The prophet declares that “Zion shall be redeemed by justice, and those in her who repent, by righteousness” (Isaiah1:27, ESV). He doesn’t say that redemption comes by love and grace – although it certainly does. But God’s favour is rooted in justice and His holiness gives expression to His love. And by both, we are saved.