How God Saves the World When Everything Has Failed

Introduction

Look at the world around you: wars, injustice, the destruction of the planet, personal problems that keep coming back no matter how hard you try. What do you do when you've tried to save the world and nothing has worked? That's the question the Bible raises at the time of Israel's exile. And the answer is stunning: faced with a world we cannot save, God says "I will handle it myself, completely and once for all." This is the fourth step of the most beautiful story ever told.

Message Outline

1. The reality of exile: death and sin, two constants

Since Adam and Eve, two realities have never changed: death, and sin that stirs up God's wrath.
Psalm 90 sums it up: "The length of our days is seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures." The mortality rate since the fall has been constant: one out of one.
Yet God had tried many things: the law of Moses, kings, sacrifices. None of it was enough. Sin persists, and so does death.
Israel is defeated, Jerusalem destroyed, the temple burned, the people exiled to Babylon. God's plan seems to have failed.

2. To save the world, God must put an end to this world

In Isaiah 24, God announces that he will devastate the earth and judge everyone, from priest to slave, from seller to buyer. No one escapes.
In a world marked by death, deliverance can only ever be temporary. The pandemic barely ends, and the war in Ukraine begins. It's always the same cycle.
God's response is radical: throw it out. This world must be replaced with another one. Radical problems demand radical solutions.
Caring for the environment matters, but God has already stamped this creation with a "discard" label. It will be replaced.

3. The complete package: the prophets' glorious promises

In Isaiah 25, God promises a feast of fine wine on his mountain, and he will swallow up death forever.
In Isaiah 65, he creates a new heaven and a new earth: no more weeping, no more infants who die, a long and blessed life.
In Ezekiel 37, he promises an everlasting covenant and his sanctuary in the midst of his people forever.
Every consequence of the fall will be undone. It's even better than the garden of Eden: there is wine, God is explicitly present among his people, and it never ends.

4. The road to the new creation: what God promises at the exile

A new Exodus (Isaiah 43): God will set his people free, no longer from Egypt, but from sin and death.
A promised king (Isaiah 61): anointed with the Spirit, he will proclaim good news to the poor and set the captives free.
Salvation for all (Isaiah 49): to the ends of the earth, French, Malagasy, Cameroonian, Australian, even the English.
A better sacrifice (Isaiah 53): the suffering servant will bear our wrongs, and his death will deliver us forever.
A new covenant (Jeremiah 31): forgiveness will be guaranteed forever, no more fear of never being good enough.
A new heart (Ezekiel 36): the Spirit will replace our heart of stone with a heart of flesh that can finally obey.

5. Jesus accomplishes what we could not do

In Luke 4, Jesus is the one who comes to bring about a new Exodus. In Luke 22, he promises a new covenant. In John 1, he is the lamb who takes away the sin of the world.
In 1 Corinthians 3, the church is the new temple. In 2 Corinthians 3, we read of the new heart given. In Galatians 3, salvation is for all.
In Revelation 21, the new creation is described. Through his cross and resurrection, Jesus closes the gap between our broken reality and God's glorious promises.
It's the complete package, a solution that cannot fail because God does it all himself, from A to Z.

6. Already and not yet: our situation between two worlds

Our sins have already been forgiven, we have already been declared righteous, we already have a new heart, the Spirit has already been poured out.
But we do not yet see the King reign, we do not yet have new bodies, we keep on sinning, the mission is not yet finished.
This tension explains why you feel grieved when you disobey (your renewed heart pulls one way, your body the other) and why suffering feels abnormal to you (you already belong to the world to come).
If you forget the "already," you grow discouraged about your salvation. If you forget the "not yet," you start believing a true Christian never gets sick, and that's dangerous.

7. Three marks of life on the journey: hope, faith, love

Hope (1 Peter 1): an inheritance that can never be destroyed, defiled, or lose its brilliance awaits you. Looking ahead is what produces joy even in trials.
Faith (Hebrews 12): fix your eyes on Jesus, who endured the cross and sat down at the right hand of God. Mission accomplished. Your righteousness is in heaven.
Love (Hebrews 10 and Matthew 28): we don't travel alone. Giving of yourself so others reach the destination with us, encouraging one another and inviting those who don't yet know Jesus.

Key Takeaways

Death and sin have been two constants of our world since Adam and Eve. Every human attempt at a solution has failed.
To save the world once and for all, God must put an end to this world and create a new creation better than the garden of Eden.
At the time of the exile, God promises the complete package: a new Exodus, a new king, a new covenant, a new sacrifice, a new heart, salvation for all, a new creation.
Jesus is the fulfillment of all these promises. Through his death and resurrection, he does for us what we could not do on our own.
Today you live between the "already" and the "not yet." Walk toward the new creation through hope, faith, and love.

Personal Application

What problems in the world (war, climate, injustice) or in your personal life seem impossible to solve today? How does the promise of a new creation change how you see them?
Take 5 minutes this week to list 10 things you're looking forward to experiencing in the new creation. Return to that list in difficult moments.
Are you clear on what Jesus has already accomplished for you (forgiveness, righteousness, a new heart)? Do you get discouraged because you're expecting from "now" what will only come in the "not yet"?
Does your joy depend on what you're experiencing today, or on the inheritance that awaits you? How can you more regularly fix your eyes on what lies ahead?
Who around you has not yet joined this journey toward the new creation? How will you concretely, this week, give of yourself to invite them?

Verses Cited

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does God have to destroy this world in order to save it?

Because in a world marked by sin and death, deliverance can never be more than temporary. Since Adam and Eve, God has tried many things (the law, kings, sacrifices), but sin has always remained a constant. In Isaiah 24, God announces that he will devastate the earth in order to replace it with a new creation better than the garden of Eden. Radical problems demand radical solutions.

What are the "already" and the "not yet"?

This is how the Bible describes the Christian life between Jesus' first coming and his return. Some promises have already been fulfilled: forgiveness, righteousness, the new heart, relationship with God, the Spirit poured out. Others not yet: the new body, the end of suffering, the completed mission, seeing the King face to face. Understanding this tension guards against two dangers: discouragement about your salvation, and the illusion that a true Christian should never get sick.

How do you live concretely while waiting for the new creation?

The Bible describes three marks of the Christian life on its journey. Hope: fixing your eyes on the inheritance that awaits you, which produces joy even in trials (1 Peter 1). Faith: looking to Jesus, who accomplished everything and is seated at the right hand of God (Hebrews 12). Love: giving of yourself so that others reach the destination with you, encouraging your brothers and sisters and inviting those who don't yet know Jesus (Hebrews 10, Matthew 28).

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