Audio of Sermon:
Sermon Notes: Isaiah 3:10-11 (KJV) Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. [11] Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him.
When we find divisions among mankind we divide along the lines of economy, or skin color, or gender, or persuasion. But when God looks at humanity He divides according to His Kingdom:
The Righteous
The Wicked
God’s People Are To Be Righteous Like God Is Righteous
Not long after Adam lost the Garden we find two brothers, one righteous and the other wicked. Cain was wicked. His brother Abel was righteous. Abel was righteous because he sought to please God, whereas Cain was wicked because he sought to please himself. When Cain brought his offering to God the Lord refused it. The Lord spoke to wicked Cain saying:
Genesis 4:6-7 (ESV) … “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? [7] If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.”
The righteous “do well”.
The wicked “get by”.
The righteous seek the image of God in their lives.
The wicked seek their own image.
The righteous do what God says because they love God.
The wicked do what they want to do.
The Scripture declares in 1 John 3:10-12 (KJV) In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother. [11] For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. [12] Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.
Cain refused to do righteousness, and refused to love his brother.
Cain was of the wicked one, a child of the devil.
Rather than repenting and aligning himself with God he murdered his brother Abel. The wicked despise the righteous. The darkness hates the light. And yet the darkness cannot silence the light, for the Light lives on forever with God Who is light. We are told in …
Hebrews 11:4 (KJV) By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.
Even though Cain took Abel’s life, Abel lived on with Christ. Why? Because God has made a precious promise to those that are His:
It Shall Be Well With The Righteous
Isaiah 3:10 (KJV) Say ye to the RIGHTEOUS, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings.
In all of our lives – whether righteous or wicked – we have times where we are in the valleys. Pain takes the child of God and the child of Satan. We age. We hurt. We have times that are bad along with the good times. But God has promised to those who are His:
… It SHALL be WELL with him …
God watches over His people, those made in His image. Though a Great Flood takes all of the earth Noah and his family rise above the disaster. Why? Because Noah was righteous. The righteous “shall eat the fruit of their doings”. The righteous DO righteousness. God looked over the world and throughout all the world He found only Noah. The Bible says:
Noah found Grace in God’s eyes (Genesis 6:8)
Noah was made in the image of God, and though all around him people chased after their own image Noah loved God. God came to Noah.
“Noah, build Me a boat.”
“Noah, make it this size.”
“Noah, do exactly as I say.”
How did Noah reply?
If he were WICKED he would have said:
“Lord, that seems a little too much for me.”
“Lord, my friends will laugh at me”
“Lord, does it need to be that big?”
Noah didn’t do any of those things.
Noah did not argue with God.
God’s Word came to Noah, and God bestowed Grace on Noah.
Genesis 6:22 (KJV) Thus did Noah; according to ALL that God commanded him,
SO DID HE.
Noah was righteous, and enjoyed the fruit of his righteousness. When the rains came, the world died, the wicked drowned, but Noah and his family rose above the disaster.
Say ye to the RIGHTEOUS, it SHALL be well with him!
God had told Pharaoh to “Let My people go, so that they can worship Me in the wilderness”. Pharaoh refused. He is the King of Egypt, a God unto his people. He will not let them go. So God’s Word came to His people.
“Take a lamb without spot or blemish.”
“Bring it in your home the 10th of this month.”
“Kill it on the 14th of the month.”
“Put it’s blood on the doorposts and lintel of the home.”
“Eat the lamb roasted, and prepare unleavened bread”
“Be ready to go, for the Destroyer is coming”
How did Israel respond?
If Israel were WICKED they would have said:
“Why does it need to be without spot or blemish?”
“Any lamb will do.”
“Why keep the lamb in the home?”
“Blood is messy – let’s not put it on the doorway”
No, Israel did not debate with God. The righteous do as God says do.
Exodus 12:23 (KJV) For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the LORD will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you.
Isaiah 3:10 (KJV) Say ye to the RIGHTEOUS, that it shall be well with him:
for they shall eat the fruit of their doings.
Though it may seem at times as if the wicked is winning, God has promised those who love Him that it “shall be well with them”. There is a crimson line that stands between the righteous and the wicked. The righteous have faith in God. The wicked have faith in themselves, in their abilities, in what they can do. The Bible says:
1 Corinthians 5:7 (KJV) PURGE OUT therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:
God’s people realize that they are made in God’s image, and realize that only God can give light and life.
2 Corinthians 4:3-6 (KJV) But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: [4] In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. [5] For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake. [6] For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ is the very image of God. When we see Him, we see what God wants us to be. We were saved the day we realized we were wicked sinners, deserving of eternal damnation. But then we saw Jesus. We saw Jesus perfect and holy. We saw Jesus born of a Virgin, entering into humanity for us. We saw Jesus, Eternal God made flesh, coming to earth to save us because God loved us. We saw Jesus high and lifted up, suffering and bleeding on Calvary’s Cross. Jesus died, not because He had sinned, but because we had sinned. We had departed from the image of God but Christ, the expressed Image of God, died for us.
1 Peter 3:18 (ESV) For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God …
The Image of God became the Image of Man so that He might bring us to God. The Righteous died for the unrighteous, the Christ for the wicked.
Romans 5:6-10 (CSB) For while we were still helpless, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For rarely will someone die for a just person—though for a good person perhaps someone might even dare to die. 8 But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 How much more then, since we have now been declared righteous by his blood, will we be saved through him from wrath. 10 For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, then how much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life.
It Shall Be Well With The Righteous ALWAYS
There are times when darkness threatens us. Our loved ones may betray us, as Joseph’s brothers betrayed him. But is SHALL BE well with the righteous. Thrown into prison, Joseph was enslaved in Egypt. Falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife because he would not sleep with her, Joseph was thrown into prison for 13 years. I am sure those were dark and terrible years. Yet Joseph knew that God loved Him. God loves His Children. God protects His Children. When the time was right, God brought Joseph out of prison, and made him vice-ruler of Egypt.
The darkness may come, but God has promised us that it SHALL be well with the righteous.
It shall be well in sickness.
It shall be well in suffering.
It shall be well in betrayal.
It shall be well though the darkness toss us in a pit of lions,
Or in a fiery furnace.
It shall be well.
It may not seem well now, but it shall be well. Has not God said:
Romans 8:28-32 (KJV) And we know that ALL THINGS work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. [29] For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. [30] Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. [31] What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? [32] He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
If you have received Christ as Savior and Lord, all things work together for good.
If you love God, all things work together for good.
The Bible does not say that all things are good,
but that they all WORK TOGETHER for good.
God delivered His Son to death for you, dearly Beloved – how shall He not freely give us ALL THINGS.
Lazarus may lie on a dunghill and eat the crumbs that fall from the table of the master. He may lay in dirt, with only the tongues of the dogs nursing his wounds. But when Lazarus dies the angels carry him to Heaven, to where he rests in the arms of Abraham. The rich man who had not Christ lifted up his eyes in hell, being in torments.
Oh Beloved, you may suffer now, but look up and trust Him Who loves you. It SHALL be well with you. Though Job suffered he trusted God, saying ….
Job 5:19-27 (KJV) {God} shall deliver thee in six troubles: yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee. [20] In famine he shall redeem thee from death: and in war from the power of the sword. [21] Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue: neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction when it cometh. [22] At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh: neither shalt thou be afraid of the beasts of the earth. [23] For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field: and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee. [24] And thou shalt know that thy tabernacle shall be in peace; and thou shalt visit thy habitation, and shalt not sin. [25] Thou shalt know also that thy seed shall be great, and thine offspring as the grass of the earth. [26] Thou shalt come to thy grave in a full age, like as a shock of corn cometh in in his season. [27] Lo this, we have searched it, so it is; hear it, and know thou it for thy good.
The Bible tells us that Job’s ending was more blessed than his beginning.
What a great testimony this is! Praise Him forever!
Walk WITH God, IN God, and FOR God. Don’t be as the wicked.
Do NOT be a pebble in God’s shoe!
It Shall Be Well With The OBEDIENT Righteous
Salvation is all of God. Disobedient Jonah cried out from the belly of the Great Fish:
Jonah 2:9 (KJV) But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. SALVATION IS OF THE LORD.
He was in the belly of the fish because, though righteous, he behaved as if he were wicked. God called, and he ran. Salvation is a free gift of God, but once saved you must do as He says if you wish to be blessed. The Bible tells us who are His that we are
Romans 8:29 … predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son …
We are to be like Jesus. We are to be like the One Who saved us.
Romans 12:2 (KJV) And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Our text tells us:
Isaiah 3:10 (KJV) Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him:
for they shall eat the fruit OF THEIR DOINGS.
The word “DO” is found 416 times in the New Testament.
Those who are righteous – saved by faith – DO as our Lord says.
Israel was in a bad state because they were NOT DOING what God told them to do.
If you read Isaiah 3 – the rest of the text – you’ll find it to be quite dark. For instance:
Isaiah 3:1-4 (KJV) For, behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water, [2] The mighty man, and the man of war, the judge, and the prophet, and the prudent, and the ancient, [3] The captain of fifty, and the honorable man, and the counsellor, and the cunning artificer, and the eloquent orator. [4] And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them.
Jerusalem is the city of David.
Judah is the tribe of David.
But God has said to His Beloved:
I will take away your bread.
I will take away your water.
I will take away your military leaders.
I will take away your law enforcement.
I will take away your preachers.
I will take away the wise, and the talented.
And I will put babies in charge of your nation.
Why was God not blessing His people? Their DOINGS were against God! God will support NOTHING that is not in His character.
Isaiah 3:8-9 (KJV) For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen: because their tongue and THEIR DOINGS ARE AGAINST THE LORD, to provoke the eyes of his glory. [9] The shew of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for THEY HAVE REWARDED EVIL UNTO THEMSELVES.
God promises to bless the righteous. He said “it shall be well with them … they shall eat the fruit OF THEIR DOINGS.”
The righteous are to DO righteousness, not evil. The righteous are to follow the Lord our God, to heed His Word, to lift His banner high. As C.H. Spurgeon said:
“The Christian has a bank that never breaks … the believer has an arm to lean on that is never weary, never feeble, never withdrawn …”
God loves us, but calls us to love Him, to commit to do for Him. What we sow we shall reap. The Scripture says:
Galatians 6:7-10 (KJV) Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. [8] For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. [9] And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. [10] As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.
Salvation is all of Christ, but once in Christ we are to DO for Christ. We are to be light in the Lord. Though we have not touched upon it, let us look at the second part of our text:
Isaiah 3:10-11 (KJV) Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. [11] Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him.
The righteous who do well will eat the fruit of their doings. You will one day be with Jesus in glory forever. But the wicked it shall be ill with them, for the reward of his hands will be given him. God gives to each person according to their doings. If you do wickedly, you will receive the curse of wickedness. The unbeliever may seem to prosper now, but it SHALL BE ILL with him. Judgment day is coming. When the righteous die, we receive the fruit of our doings.
If you did little, you will receive little.
If you did much, you will receive much.
If you did nothing, you will receive nothing.
If you did wickedness, you will receive wrath.
Oh Beloved, come to Christ. Give yourselves to Him. Live for Him, and let Him live through you. There will be a payday someday. Live for HIM!
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