"I, I am He"

Overview

God's Resolution: "I, I am He"

As a new year approaches, our minds turn naturally to resolutions—eat better, exercise more, be happier, stay motivated. But human resolutions have a poor track record: studies show roughly a third are abandoned within two weeks, and 90% are forgotten by midyear. Scripture turns our attention away from the resolutions we make to the resolutions God has made—promises He always keeps, because He is God and He cannot fail.

Isaiah 43 sets the scene like a courtroom. Speaking through Isaiah some seven centuries before Christ, God addresses His people about the exile to come—an act of judgment for their disobedience and immorality. The charges are real: "You did not call upon me, O Jacob; but you have been weary of me, O Israel" Isaiah 43:22. God had not burdened them with excessive demands; He desired what Hosea 6:6 describes—"steadfast love and not sacrifice." Instead, the people had wearied Him with their iniquities. There is no case for their innocence; they are guilty.

And yet, right in the middle of the accusation, God speaks His resolution: "I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins" Isaiah 43:25. Notice who the actor is. Unlike our resolutions, where we must do the work, here God Himself acts. The image is striking: in the ancient world, ink on papyrus had no acid, so a written record could be wiped clean. God says He alone has the power to erase the record of our transgressions—and He does it for His own sake, not waiting on our efforts to earn what we never could. His forgiveness is a free, sovereign act.

How can a holy God simply blot out sin? Isaiah 53:5–6 answers prophetically: "He was wounded for our transgressions… and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all." Spoken in the prophetic perfect tense, the cross is so certain that Isaiah describes it as already accomplished. In ancient practice, when a debt was paid, a creditor would drive a nail through the certificate of debt to mark it canceled. Colossians 2:13–14 draws on that very picture: God "forgave us all our trespasses, erasing the record that stood against us with its legal demands… nailing it to the cross." On the cross, Jesus bore the debt we could never pay, and God declared it: paid in full.

So as we consider our resolutions this year—knowing how easily we abandon them—take heart in the One who keeps 100% of His. God has resolved to blot out your transgressions, to remember your sins no more, and He has done it through the cross of Christ. That promise will not fail.

Transcript

Let's open our Bibles, please. 2s

To Isaiah, the 43rd chapter for our study today, 4s

Isaiah chapter 43. 10s

It has come to that time of the year in which perhaps 14s

our minds start to drift. 18s

Drift to resolutions that we might make for the coming year. 21s

An interesting study was done involving 275,000 Americans. 27s

They asked them, what were your new year's resolutions 34s

for the last four years? 37s

They compiled all of that data. 40s

And from that data, they then made a projection 43s

of what the resolutions would be going forward. 47s

They came up with a list of 10 resolutions. 53s

Here's the first. 60s

Actually doing my new year's resolution. 62s

What's an interesting one, isn't it? 66s

Where the resolution, what you resolve to do, 68s

is to do what you resolve to do. 73s

Here's number two. 77s

Trying something new. 79s

Number three. 82s

Eat more of my favorite foods. 84s

And then I think number four is interesting, 89s

especially following number three, 92s

eat more of my favorite foods, 94s

because number four on the list is, 97s

lose weight and diet. 100s

And then you've got number five, 102s

going to the gym. 104s

Number six, be happier. 107s

Better mental health. 110s

Number seven, be more healthy. 113s

Eat. 116s

Be a better person. 117s

Nine, upgrade my technology. 119s

And ten, stay motivated. 123s

So that was the list that they came up with, 127s

projecting of what might be the new year's resolutions. 129s

Today we began a new sermon series. 135s

And in the month of December and January, 140s

Pastor Maloneck and I, 143s

well, we're going to talk about resolutions. 145s

We're not going to talk about the resolutions 150s

that us humans might make. 153s

No, we're going to talk about the resolutions 156s

that God has made. 159s

So the title of this sermon series is quite simple. 163s

Resolutions, parentheses, 169s

gods, resolutions, parentheses, gods. 173s

To begin this sermon series, 181s

I'd like to turn to Isaiah, 182s

chapter 43. 185s

This is a rich, rich, well for us. 186s

And in fact, we're going to return to it 189s

in this series two more times. 190s

But I want to start here in Isaiah 43, 194s

as we kick off this new series. 197s

And just a little bit of a background, 199s

so that we can have a greater appreciation for this one 202s

verse that we're going to focus in on today 206s

from the 43rd chapter of Isaiah. 208s

The prophet Isaiah considered one of the major 212s

prophets in Holy Scripture. 214s

The prophet Isaiah began his ministry 216s

seven hundred and forty years before 219s

the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 223s

And in chapters one to 39 of Isaiah, 229s

most of the events that he talks about 234s

occurred in his lifetime. 236s

One of the things he also talks about 241s

is what is called the exile, the exile, 248s

the 39th chapter of Isaiah. 256s

Then Isaiah said to his Akaya, 259s

here the word of the Lord of hosts, 263s

days are coming, when all that is in your house, 267s

and that which your ancestors have stored up 271s

until this day shall be carried to Babylon. 274s

Nothing shall be left says the Lord. 280s

This is a word of prophecy about this exile to come. 287s

This would be an act of judgment upon the people. 293s

God's act of judgment upon the very people that he had 299s

formed because of their disobedience and their 303s

immorality. 307s

And so there's this word of prophecy then from Isaiah. 309s

When you move into chapters forty to fifty five, 314s

what you have then is the revelation of God's plans 318s

including the return of the people from their exile. 322s

So you've got forty to forty five, 328s

God's plans including the return from this exile 332s

that was birthed because of this act of judgment 337s

coming upon the people because of their disobedience 340s

and their immorality. 344s

Now this is some important dates for us to understand. 347s

There were three deportations of the people. 351s

605, 597, and 586. 359s

So three deportations of the people. 364s

So the Babylonians come. 368s

Now you've got the deportations. 369s

The people are led away from their homeland for seventy years. 371s

And I remember. 378s

When was it that Isaiah began his ministry? 381s

It was seven forty, B.C. 385s

That means that Isaiah was prophesied to the exiles to come 389s

in the sixth century. 397s

So when we come then to the forty-third chapter of Isaiah, 403s

what we're reading is this word of prophecy 407s

to the exiles that will one day come. 412s

Long after Isaiah's life, this side of heaven concluded. 417s

The picture that we get in Isaiah chapter forty-three, 425s

it's the picture of a courtroom. 428s

God is putting his people on trial. 431s

God is the judge and he is the jury. 436s

And his people, there is no case for their innocence. 441s

They are guilty. 445s

They're guilty of the disobedience and immorality. 447s

Look with me please, at verse 21 of chapter forty-three. 453s

The people whom I formed for myself 458s

so that they might declare my praise. 463s

And these are the people that were born of that promise. 469s

That goes all the way back to Genesis. 472s

That promise to Abraham and Sarah, 474s

that from then would come with this nation 476s

and out of this nation would come the Messiah, 479s

the Savior of the world. 483s

This people were formed to give praise to God. 486s

But the charge is now that are given as the people are on trial. 493s

Look at verse 22. 499s

Yet you did not call upon me, O Jacob, 502s

but you have been weary of me, O Israel. 506s

You have not brought me your sheep for burnt offerings 511s

or honored me with your sacrifices. 515s

I have not burned you with offerings or weary you with frankincense. 520s

In other words, God did not put excessive demands on the people. 526s

Verse 24. 532s

You have not bought me sweet cane with money 534s

or satisfied me with the fat of your sacrifices. 538s

But you have burdened me with your sins. 543s

You have weary me with your iniquities. 548s

I'm reminded of Hosea, the sixth chapter. 557s

For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, 561s

the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. 565s

That's what God desired out of this people. 570s

He desired steadfast love. 573s

He desired obedience from the people. 575s

And yet what he got was disobedience. 578s

What he got was immorality from the people. 581s

But right in the midst of the accusations of God, 588s

regarding his people, right in the midst of the accusations, 595s

comes, God's resolution, 604s

God's resolution. 609s

It's interesting, isn't it? 614s

That when you reflect on the resolutions that we make, 616s

we're the actors in them, right? 621s

So for example, if you resolve, along with, 625s

it sounds like quite a few other people. 630s

If you resolve to eat more of your favorite foods in 2021, 633s

you're the actor, right? 638s

You're the one then that prepares that food. 640s

You're the one then that consumes the food. 644s

You have decided that that's what you're going to do. 646s

You're the actor. 650s

Or having perhaps consumed too much of your favorite food, 654s

and you have the resolution that you're now going to lose weight, 660s

well, you're still the actor, right? 664s

Or go to the gym, or you're still the actor. 666s

Whatever the resolution is that we make, 669s

we're the ones making it, 673s

and we are the actors. 675s

Acting out then, that resolution. 677s

When it comes to the resolutions that God makes, 684s

that which He resolves to do, 688s

God is the actor. 692s

Let's come now to our verse for study today, verse 25, 697s

God says this. 702s

I am he. In other words, God alone is going to take an action. He is determined it. He is 707s

the actor. This is his resolution. And so what is it that God has determined? What is 723s

it that he has decided to act out? I am he who blots out your transgressions. There is 730s

a picture here that I think can be so helpful for us. In ancient day, people would write 746s

on papyrus. But the ink that they would use, it didn't have acid in it. So someone 752s

could write on the papyrus and then very quickly they could just erase that ink. They 761s

could remove that ink. That's the image here that's being communicated. When God says 769s

I am he. In other words, I alone have the ability to take this action and then he reveals 779s

the action who blots out your transgressions. The image here is this papyrus with the ink 786s

on it and God simply removing the record here, removing it. The record of transgressions 797s

is plotting it out. So it is no longer seen on the record. Then he says, for my own sake. So 808s

he says, I am he. In other words, I am the actor here. I am determining what I am going 824s

to do. This is what I am going to do. I am going to blot out your transgressions and then 829s

he says, for my own sake. In other words, God is not waiting for the efforts of us humans 834s

before he acts. God isn't saying, well, I am going to blot out your transgressions because 845s

you have gone about an earned it from me. Oh God knows that that is impossible. We can never 854s

learn his forgiveness. So God says, I am doing this for my own sake. There was not, I am 862s

not dependent upon you humans here for my action. Now this is an action that I freely 871s

choose to do. I have the power to do it. I am going to blot out the transgressions. I am 878s

going to do it for my own sake. I am not dependent upon you and then he says, and I will not 883s

remember your sins. In other words, I am not going to hold them against you. I will not 894s

remember them. I will not hold them against you. Amit's the accusation comes his resolution 910s

to forgive. How can this be? Turn a few pages with me. Would you please to Isaiah chapter 930s

53. Isaiah chapter 53. We are going to pick up in this chapter in verse 5. This is a prophetic 948s

word with regard to the Messiah, the Lord Jesus. Verse 5, Isaiah 53. But he was wounded for our 961s

transgressions. Crushed for our inequities. Upon him was the punishment that made us hold. In 976s

by his bruises, we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray. We have all turned to our own 988s

way. And the Lord has laid on him the inequity of us all. This prophetic word is written. 1000s

In what is called the prophetic perfect tense? The prophetic perfect tense. And what 1018s

that tense does is it communicates something that has not yet happened, it communicates it as if 1031s

it's already happened. It's a way to communicate so sure is this to happen. So sure is it to happen 1039s

that we're going to talk about it as if it already has. Obviously here the Lord Jesus Christ 1050s

has not been born in Bethlehem. The second member of the Trinity has not become 1059s

infleshed what we celebrate at Christmas. That is yet centuries in the future. And yet in this 1065s

prophetic pronouncement it is communicated the actions of the Lord Jesus Christ as if. 1075s

The Lord Jesus Christ has already been born. He ministered. He went to the cross. He was raised 1084s

out of the tomb. It's communicated in the prophetic perfect tense communicating. So sure is this 1092s

to happen. We can even talk about it as if it already has. Let me give you another image. 1102s

In ancient day quite often, what a dead had been paid, a creditor would take a nail and would 1114s

drive a nail right through that certificate of debt. And so doing and so taking that action that 1124s

was a communication when that nail was driven through that the dead had been forgiven. 1134s

Forgiven, no more. Listen to this. From Colossians the second chapter. 1143s

And when you were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, 1155s

God made you alive together with Him when He forgives us all our trespasses. 1162s

Erasing the record that stood against us with its legal demands. That's the that's the 1172s

nailing it to the cross. When Jesus Christ went to the cross, he took upon Himself, 1191s

all of our sin. He took upon Himself the debt for our sin that we could never ever pay. 1207s

And they drove nails into Him on the cross. So there on the cross, the second member of the 1219s

Trinity become flesh bearing the sin of the world, paying the debt that we could never pay. And the 1232s

nail driven through the one who bore the debt. And what does God say? 1243s

Payed in full. Payed in full. The debt has been cancelled. It's been paid. 1259s

You know when it comes to our resolutions, when it comes to our resolutions and the keeping of them, 1281s

well, the statistics aren't too kind about us. For example, 1291s

you know that studies say that two weeks after New Year's Day, that one third of our 1297s

New Year's resolutions will have been by that point already abandoned. The stats also tell us 1309s

that by the end of the month, 70% will be gone. By March, 80% of all the New Year's resolutions, 1319s

those will be just history. And by the end of June, halfway through the year, 1336s

90% of the resolutions that have been made will be long forgotten. Only to resurface again, most likely, 1348s

when the year starts to turn into December, and we start to think about our New Year's resolutions. 1361s

We see there's another statistic. There's another statistic about one who keeps 100% 1372s

of his resolutions. And that's God. God keeps 100% of his resolutions because God cannot fail. 1382s

God is God. And God keeps his promises. 100% of the time. 1395s

So in the weeks ahead, we're going to study quite a few of God's resolutions. 1409s

How about starting here with this resolution? I am he who blots out your transgressions 1416s

for my own sake. And I will not remember your sins. Thanks, Peter God, who keeps his 1433s

resolutions. 1452s