Having had all the condemnation of Jerusalem, there comes the certain promise of deliverance. We see this pattern again and again in the Bible. The problem of sin is absolutely real, the effects of sin are terrible, the salvation is certain. How can this be? We know that the solution to this lies in Jesus, and the prophet Isaiah reveals a lot about how this would come about.
The most common, and probably most powerful, arguments against God are based on the suffering and evil in the world. They essence of the arguments are: there is terrible suffering and evil in the world, if there was an all powerful good God He would not allow this; therefore there cannot be an all powerful good God. But stop for a moment, and suppose we accept the conclusion, suppose we accept that there is no God, where does that get us? The evil and suffering still exists. So do we just despair at the situation? Do we just shrug our shoulders, hope not too much of the suffering comes our way, and get on with life? We still have no answer to the problem, the problem has not gone away. It is only in the cross that we find the solution. The cross faces up fully to the problem of suffering and evil.
The penitent ones are the ones who will be delivered. Repentance is crucial to salvation. Unless we are willing to humble ourselves before God we cannot be saved.
Those who refuse to do so may boast and act proudly, but they will come to nothing, and will burn in ever lasting fire. You may object that this is harsh, but it is what we are warned will happen. Perhaps we would be wiser to heed the warning, than to argue about whether or not God has the right to do it.
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