THE MAIN IDEA
We are saved by the grace of God, through faith in Jesus Christ. 

GOD’S GRACE COMES THROUGH HIS WORD
As the people of God became more and  more corrupt, by His grace and grace alone, God sent a word of correction again and again. But  the people preferred a life of corruption again and again, which resulted in their condemnation. We must never feel superior to them in any way. Especially since Christians today have unprecedented access to the word of God by His grace and grace alone. The word of God is at  our fingertips. And maybe we have such free and easy access to the word of God, that it has  completely lost its true value, even among Christians. But not everyone has such free and easy  access to the Bible. There are still about 100M Christians who are not able to freely read their  own copy of the Bible in their own language without significant challenges. Even so, the word of  God will never be restrained (Deuteronomy 32:1), and the word of God will always accomplish  its purpose (Isaiah 55:11)! Direct access to His word is direct access to our Lord Jesus Christ  Himself. Being faithful to engaging with the word of God may be the most fruitful discipline for  your spiritual growth. 

GOD’s GRACE COMES THROUGH HIS DISCIPLINE
God sent a word of correction repeatedly, but the people rejected His message. And so, the wrath of God was aroused against  them (verse 16). They did not receive the grace of God given through God’s word. So the only  option for God was to exercise His grace through His discipline. The wrath of God is not punishment for our disobedience, but rather the path that we choose to take through our  disobedience. Obedience and disobedience is about faith. If we believe, we will strive to obey  God’s word. We will not obey perfectly, because we live in a broken world. But our hearts and  our minds should desire to please God. We might suspect that we do not really believe that  God’s word is true if the things that God tells us to do make no sense to us or if we make excuses  for why God’s word doesn’t really apply to our circumstances. God does not want to see His  people continue on that path toward His wrath, and so He will intervene with His discipline. God’s discipline is God’s grace (Proverbs 5:23; Hebrews 12:11); Revelation 3:19). 

GOD’s GRACE COMES THROUGH HIS SON
Cyrus is the Persian king who overthrew  Babylon, and verse 23 comes from an edict that he issued shortly after Babylon fell. But the  first mention of Cyrus by name comes from a prophecy given by Isaiah about 200 years  before Cyrus actually issued his edict (Isaiah 44:28). Some people might assume that  someone wrote that prophecy into the Isaiah scroll after Cyrus actually issued that edict. But  the scribes of ancient Israel were extremely serious about the holiness of their Scriptures.  They would protect the integrity of the Scriptures to death, and only those prophecies that  came true were considered to be holy Scripture. Because Isaiah’s prophecy about Cyrus  came true, the scribes, the people who studied the law, called Cyrus a messiah. But Cyrus  wasn’t THE Messiah. Because Isaiah also prophesied about THE Messiah, who would be  “pierced for our transgressions” and “crushed for our iniquities,” so that “by His wounds  we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5). And that by God’s grace and God’s grace alone. 

DISCUSSION QUESTION
By God’s grace and through faith, all your sins are forgiven, and there is absolutely nothing  that you need to do to earn His forgiveness. What should our response be to such grace?