Bret Wehrly
LUTCF, FSCP, Series 6, 63, 26, 51
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John 12:31-33 (NKJV) 31 Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. 32 And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself." 33 This He said, signifying by what death He would die.As He anticipated the triumph of the cross, Jesus rejoiced in three significant victories it would accomplish. First, His death would bring judgment... upon this world. As it does frequently in John's writings, the term world designates the evil, satanic system and all who are in it, who are in rebellion against God (cf. John 7:7; 8:23,44; 14:17; 15:18-19; 17:9,14-16; 1 John 2:15-17; 3:13; 4:4-5; 5:4-5,19). The world's apparent victory over Christ at the cross was in reality its own death knell; the doom of the unbelieving world was sealed by its rejection of Jesus Christ (cf. Acts 17:31). Though Jesus came to save, not to judge (v. 47; 3:17; cf. Luke 19:10), those who reject Him through all of history since then condemn themselves to the eternal judgment of hell (3:18,36; 9:39; 12:48).Not only would Christ's death bring judgment on the evil world system, but also at the same time on its wicked ruler, Satan (cf. 14:30; 16:11; Luke 4:5-6; 2 Cor. 4:4; Eph. 2:2; 1 John 5:19). Scripture reveals several times when Satan will be cast out. Here he is cast out in the sense that he loses his authority and influence. If his domain (the world) is judged and destroyed, he will have nothing left to rule. During the tribulation Satan will be permanently cast out of heaven, to which he has had access to accuse believers (Rev. 12:10). At the end of the tribulation, Satan will be cast into the bottomless pit for the duration of the millennial kingdom (Rev. 20:1-3). Finally, at the end of the millennium, Satan will be cast into the lake of fire, where he will be punished for eternity (Rev. 20:10). As was the case with the world, Satan's apparent victory at the cross in reality marked his utter defeat. In the words of the writer of Hebrews, "through [His] death [Jesus would] render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil" (Heb. 2:14; cf. 1 Cor. 15:25-26; Rev. 12:11).In contrast to the first two, the final victory accomplished at the cross is couched in positive terms. When He is lifted up from the earth (a reference to His crucifixion, which everyone understood as John's footnote in verse 33, But He was saying this to indicate the kind of death by which He was to die, indicates [John 3:14; 8:28], Jesus declared that He will, by means of that sacrifice for sin, draw all men to Himself. The all men are those who will be drawn to salvation from all types and classes of people. The phrase also stresses that all who are saved are saved by believing in the work of Christ on the cross. There is no access to God apart from the cross, because only through Christ's death is sin satisfactorily atoned for and divine forgiveness granted.MacArthur New Testament Commentary, The - John 12-21.
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Bret Wehrly
LUTCF, FSCP, Series 6, 63, 26, 51
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Isaiah 6:9-10 (NKJV) 9 And He said, "Go, and tell 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 shut their eyes; Lest they see with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their heart, And return and be healed." Isaiah was commissioned by God, to warn the people about hearing God’s Word but never understanding it. But their repeated hearing was not leading to understanding. Instead of truly listening, their minds were wandering about, focused upon their own affairs or problems. They occasionally witnessed God working in the lives of other people, yet they never perceived that they themselves needed a work of God in their own hearts. Simply stated, when they attended worship service or heard the Word of God being taught, they became sleepy eyed, groggy, and inattentive. Second, Isaiah was to warn the people against having hard hearts, deaf ears, and blind eyes. Repeatedly rejecting the Word of God and His work in their hearts had a terrible impact upon the people. It hardened them and rendered them incapable of receiving and responding to God’s Word. Time and again the people refused to hear the Word of God. Consequently, the more they rejected God’s Word, the harder their hearts became and the more deaf and blind they became. Constant resistance resulted in less interest in the Lord. Thus the people were less able to receive Him. They became more and more callous toward God. Third, Isaiah was to warn the people against continuing to resist to the point of no return. The people could reach a point of never being able to repent, the point of never being able to escape the coming judgment. People must be warned: the Lord is not playing a game with the human race. His Word must be taken seriously, not trifled with, ignored, neglected, and certainly not disobeyed. Yet despite God’s warnings, history has shown that people do harden themselves toward the Lord and His Word. They even deny God’s existence and exalt man as lord over his own destiny. These individuals often harden their consciences to the point that they no longer sense conviction of wrongdoing. In doing so, they reach a point of ultimate resistance, a point of never being able to return to the Lord. In other words, a person can become so hardened toward the Lord that he will never repent. The result is sad and tragic, for the person will never be able to escape the coming judgment. He has doomed himself to spending eternity separated from God. It is not God who deliberately hardens the hearts of people, making their ears deaf and their eyes closed. Rather, it is the people who continually resist God’s truth. It is the stubbornness of people’s hearts, their repeated refusal to hear the Word of God and to surrender their lives to Him that dooms them to never accept the wonderful salvation God offers. Preacher's Outline and Sermon Bible - Commentary
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Bret Wehrly
LUTCF, FSCP, Series 6, 63, 26, 51
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Isaiah 55:6-7 (NKJV) 6 Seek the LORD while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near. 7 Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the LORD, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon. To seek means to look for and search for, inquire about, investigate, pursue, strive after. It also means to plead and cry for something to the point of struggling. Only a person who senses a deep need will seek the Lord with such urgency. And this is exactly the objective of God’s invitation. There is an urgent need for every human being to seek the Lord. This second invitation includes a warning: people can wait too long. They fail to seek the Lord while He is near and still can be found. Opportunities are not always available to seek the Lord. Throughout the day, people’s minds have to be focused on their work and other duties. A far greater opportunity to seek the Lord is found in the quietness of one’s home or in the setting of the church. It is far easier to sense the Lord’s presence in a quiet atmosphere than in the hustle and bustle of noisy surroundings. It is also not always easy for people to find God. People can harden their hearts to such a degree that they feel God is far off, completely out of reach. Add the fact that people are creatures of conditioning, which means the more they misbehave, the more acceptable their sinful behavior appears. For example, if people repeatedly commit immoral acts, their consciences can become dead, insensitive to sin. In that frame of mind they will naturally not seek the Lord as readily as they would if their hearts were not hardened but instead were open and sensitive to God. More important, God will have nothing to do with sinful behavior. He is holy and cannot look upon sin; therefore, if people continue in their sinful ways, the Lord is forced to withdraw His presence. Thus, God gives this strong exhortation: “Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him while He is near.” Do not wait too long. Do not wait until your heart becomes hard and insensitive to the convictions of God’s Spirit. God’s warning is clear and it is directed to the entire human race: Do not wait until it is too late.Those invited to seek the Lord are the wicked of the earth. No matter how much wickedness people commit, the Lord still reaches out to them, encouraging them to seek Him. What is involved in seeking? Repentance. Simply and plainly, repentance means to forsake an evil way of life to turn to the Lord. People who truly repent turn away from their wicked behavior, banish evil thoughts from their minds, and turn to the Lord. They believe Him and obey His commandments. When people truly repent, the Lord has mercy upon them and forgives their sins. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 Jn.1:9).Preacher's Outline and Sermon Bible
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