If you would, turn with me to
Hebrews 4. Hebrews 4. Hebrews 4, and I'm just going
to read one verse for now. Hebrews 4. Verse 12, for the word of God
is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing
even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and of the
joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of
the hearts. We read here of judgment. That's
what the word of God does, it judges. Paul says that God will
judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ and his gospel. In Romans
2.16 he says, in the day when God shall judge the secrets of
men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel, he says. So the
gospel is important, isn't it? Either someone is lying or they
are telling you the truth when they're preaching you the gospel,
when they say I'm preaching the gospel. If you're telling the truth,
then you're saying the same thing that Paul was saying, because
he was saying what God was saying. Pretty simple. So if you're telling
the truth, then it's not you that's saying it, but it's God
that has said it. Scripture says, let God be true
and every man a liar. God is true. It says of Jesus Christ, he is
the truth. The truth, the way, and the life. And we read here in our text
that the word of God is quick. That means it is life. And we
don't disagree with that here. How many of us can live without
eating or drinking anything? We can't. We have to have food
and water, that sustenance, if you will, for the believer, is
the gospel. Christ told Peter, feed my sheep. They need food and it's their
life to hear the gospel. And Jesus Christ is the gospel. He is the word of God. His word
speaks of him and he himself tells us this. He told those
Pharisees, he said, search the scriptures for in them you think
you have eternal life, but they are they which testify of me.
So when you hear the word of God, the gospel, they testify
of him who is the word of God. And Christ makes that distinction,
not me. But this gospel is our judge. He has made his judgment
already. The question is, do we believe
the record God gave of his son? It is either in Christ or outside
of Christ, one or the other. But the gospel to some is good
news. It is good news even though in
that gospel it reveals and judges me for who I am and what I am
by nature. If I reject that gospel, I'm
rejecting good news. So it's all bad news to me then
if I reject it. But it also says his word is
powerful and that means it's effectual. It gets the job done. Scripture tells us it pleased
God through the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
But it is the gospel that will be preached and not a lie. We
also read here that it's sharper than any two-edged sword. One
cut from his word and it'll open everything up. It's so sharp
that it can divide soul and spirit, it says. And I cannot really
explain that. But although this might sound
bad, it's good if you hear in this life and the gospel does
this to you. But the gospel goes even further.
It gets down to everything you are, the bone and the marrow.
And it discerns the thoughts and intents of the heart. Jesus
Christ even tells us in Matthew 10, 34, think not that I am come
to send peace on the earth. I came not to send peace, but
a soul. Jesus Christ came and he has
given us his word. These are words he has spoken
and they are judgment. It is the king's word that we
publish abroad. We're like those people who were
sent forth before the king to announce the king is coming,
that's what we are, that's what we're doing. Some will hear us
and some will not. And I wanna talk about this from
the viewpoint of the gospel of Jesus Christ and him crucified,
the truth of God. So what is the truth and what
is the lie? Simply put, the truth is what
God has said in his word, and the truth is Jesus Christ. That's simple as it is, as it
can get. For a lot of people who will
say they are saying what God says. When we see, that is understand,
and when we truly hear the gospel, it will reveal who and what we
are. You can see what's crooked by
laying something straight down beside it. That's what Earl used
to say all the time. The gospel is that straight stick. We can
see what it took to save sinners. You have a savior and you have
sinners. Knowing that Jesus Christ had
to come down, we read in Galatians 4, 4 and 5, but when the fullness
of the time was come, God sent forth his son, made of a woman,
made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law,
that we might receive the adoption of sons. He caused this. He done this. Turn over with
me to John 8. John 8. I just preached on John 8 up at Ashland. But John 8. And I want to read just for now,
I want to read this first part of verse 31. And this is amazing in this passage,
but verse 31, the first part of it says this, then said Jesus
to those Jews, which believed on him. They believed on him, but they
did not believe him. And there is a difference. And that's quite evident when
you read on. Go on down to 31 and 32 there, let's read all
of that. Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, if
ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed. And
ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. Jesus Christ was talking about
freedom, but they did not believe him. And we know why, because
Christ tells us. His word had no place in them,
even though they believed on him. A lot of people believe
on Jesus. They responded this way in rebellion
against Jesus Christ, verse 33. They answered him, we be Abraham's
seed and were never in bondage to any man. How sayest thou ye
shall be made free? They did not know the bondage,
that they were under as it pertained to other men, and they could
not understand or see the bondage they were under of themselves. Verse 34, Jesus answered them,
verily, verily, I say unto you, whosoever committeth sin is the
servant of sin. Jesus Christ tells us the bondage
we're in. We are in bondage to sin. Sin
is the transgression of the law. And what did we read in Galatians?
Jesus Christ came down to free some that were in bondage under
the law. The law kept them in bondage.
They had no way of escape. None have any way of escape on
their own. And the law cannot make you free
either. It's what holds you in bondage.
But we read next from Jesus Christ again, telling us how we are
to be freed, and that is made free, not set free, made free. Verses 35 and 36. And the servant
abideth not in the house forever, but the son abideth ever. If
the son therefore shall make you free, you shall be free indeed. So we see from Jesus Christ's
own words that he spoke, and that is the gospel. We see that
it is Jesus Christ who can make some free indeed. And that's
what the gospel tells us. Free to worship Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ has all the glory,
we have none. He gets all the glory because
of what he has done and who he is. We were the servants of sin,
but now we are made free indeed to be the servants of Jesus Christ. If you understand a little of
what you are and who he is, this is good news to you. If you love
this gospel, then you don't want to hear anything else, because
anything else other than Jesus Christ and him crucified is certain
death, and we'll see that a little later on. So next we have, what
is a lie? And simply stated, anything that
gives glory to anyone or anything other than Jesus Christ is a
lie. Free will, that is a lie. That doctrine puts man in God's
place. God says he kills and makes a
lie. God said he chooses and has mercy
on whom he wills. He gets all the glory because
he does it all. Here is a line, I cannot help
but keep coming back to this, but this is a lie. And listen,
some will say this. Jesus Christ saved us by his
grace and completed the work, but. Anything you add after that
is a lie and it makes the whole thing a lie. Because there's
no but after Jesus Christ and what he's done. Jesus Christ did it all and he
is all. I do not look to that which held
me in bondage because Jesus Christ made me free from that. Some might tell me that the law
was their guide to life or in life. You're spitting in the
face of Jesus Christ when you do that. Just like those soldiers
did at Calvary. You're wanting to stay under
bondage, Galatians 5.1. Stand fast therefore in the liberty
wherewith Christ hath made you free. And be not entangled again
with the yoke of bondage. This is not just talking about
circumcision. Any law you want to put yourself
under, you are putting a yoke upon yourself. There you can see the will of
man. Man loves to be in bondage. That's what man's will does.
He puts himself under bondage. But God bethinked, Jesus Christ
made us free and we have liberty. That liberation calls us to want
to praise his name for who he is and what he's done. He does
not want to cause us to want to go out and break God's law,
even though we do break it all the time. It causes us, it forces
us to look to Jesus Christ alone to have made me free. Now there's one more verse that
I want to point out when we're talking about the sword, God's
word. Ephesians 6, 17, we read, and
take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit,
which is the word of God. It is the Spirit of God who wields
this sword. We wield the word too, but it's
the Spirit of God that matters, that makes the difference if
He wields it. We proclaim His truth, but it is the Spirit who
must wield that word onto those to whom He is pleased. I cannot
do this. The Spirit of Jesus Christ does
what He wields with His word. And this word may condemn some
even further. And the Spirit of God doesn't
have to do anything with that because it says if you believe
not, you're already condemned. It just condemns you further
hearing the truth and not believing it. Or by His Spirit in grace, it
will save you. You hear folks talking about
the five solos. You all have heard that, right?
Scripture alone, Christ alone, faith alone, grace alone, to
the glory of God alone. I don't necessarily disagree
with that, but I like to say it better this way. The gospel
which we proclaim says this. This is the solo. Salvation is
of the Lord. All those solos go together because
none of them are done by man. He saved us by His grace, sending
us His gospel, and by the Spirit of God, we believe that gospel. He does this through faith. That
faith, believing His word, which He breathed and said. All of
this being possible because of what Jesus Christ alone did on
that trail. Because He's done it all, He
gets all the glory. Salvation is of the Lord alone. We cannot and we dare not add
anything to that. What did John write by inspiration
of God in Revelations 22, 18? For I testify unto every man
that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, if any
man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues
that are written in this book. And what else do we read in the
next verse in Revelations 22, 19? And if any man shall take
away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take
away his part out of the book of life and out of the holy city
and from the things which are written in this book. By taking
away or adding to, salvation is of the Lord alone. You are
trying to take glory from God. And as Greg said in his message
at Kingsport, you're trying to ascend to the throne of God just
like your father the devil did. The gospel that the people of
God believe, the gospel they must believe, gives all the glory
to God because it is his. I cannot boast in anything because
there's nothing in this flesh that's worth boasting in. If
I do something in the Spirit, then that is God working in me,
so He gets all the glory. John 16, 13 and 14 we read, how
be it when he, the spirit of truth, this is Christ speaking,
how be it when he, the spirit of truth, is come, he will guide
you into all truth, for he shall not speak of himself, but whatsoever
he shall hear, that shall he speak, and he will show you things
to come. He shall glorify me, Christ says,
for he shall receive of mine and shall show it unto you. So if anything's showing you
that you can do something, it's not the Spirit of God. Because
the Spirit of Jesus Christ glorifies Jesus Christ. I praise God for
making the right judgment, causing me to take my place as guilty
before him so that I might be continually be able to hold in
my bosom his truth and his gospel. Turn over with me to 1 Kings
3, 1 Kings 3. This is the passage I started
with and it's very familiar to you, 1 Kings 3. 1 Kings 3 and this is Solomon when
he was young. He was just made king and these
two women came before him. These two sinners came before
the king. Verses 16 through 21. 16 through
21. Then came there two women that
were harlots unto the king and stood before him, and the one
woman said, O my Lord, I and this woman dwell in one house,
and I was delivered of a child with her in the house. And it
came to pass the third day after that I was delivered that this
woman was delivered also, and we were together. There was no
stranger with us in the house, save we two in this house. And this woman's child died in
the night because she overlaid it. And she arose at midnight
and took my son from beside me while thine handmaid slept, and
laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom. And
when I arose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it
was dead. But when I considered it in the
morning, behold, it was not my son which I did bear. These two women said the very
same thing. If you go on down to the next
verse, you can read the other woman said the exact same thing
as this woman did. It might sound like both are
saying the same thing, but one is lying. To some, it may sound
like this world is speaking the truth. They sound like they're
saying the same thing. But we see here a picture of
the holy, righteous judgment of God. The king, and I'm talking
about Jesus Christ when I talk about Solomon here, his judgment
knows how to expose a liar. I see in this passage, as it
concerns the gospel, this thought. Is this real to you? Does this
gospel mean anything to you? Can you take it or leave it?
Or can you divide it up? which we can see here leads to
certain death. It will expose you for what you
are, but you will want that gospel as it is, not half of it. Verse
24 and 25. Verse 24 and 25. And the king
said, bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before
the king. And the king said, divide the
living child in two and give half to the one and half to the
other. Part truth is no truth at all. I don't want half truth. I want
the whole truth as it is. Because half the truth ends in
death. The woman whose child it was
cherished the child. So she said, give it to her.
The child of God wants to hold truth as it is. They do not want
to add or take away from it. But just as it is, and that is
as it is when they hold it in their bosom. That's what they
want. They know this is what I hold in my bosom. We're told
in Matthew, he shall save his people from their sins. And we
know he accomplished this because he told us he did. He said, it
is finished. You know, the gospel, salvation,
all of it is profound as it concerns who it is that came and what
he did when he came. And just the simple fact that
he actually did it. With men, all things are impossible. But with God, all things are
possible. The question is, is he willing? But although it is
very profound in thinking of a God that is so separate from
his creatures, it is as simple as this. You either believe Jesus
Christ or you reject Jesus Christ outright. There's no middle ground. You either believe Jesus Christ
accomplished salvation for his people fully and completely,
or you think man has some part in his salvation. You think that
what Jesus Christ did was not good enough, so you add your
part in. That's what some people do. As
simple as that is, it is impossible for us to believe apart from
the work of God to us and in us. When He works that work,
we will bow down to His truth, which is Jesus Christ. We will
bow down to His way, which is Jesus Christ. And we will bow
down to His life, which is Jesus Christ. We will hold His gospel
as our gospel. We will cling to it, giving praise
and honor and glory to who it belongs, and that is Jesus Christ
and Jesus Christ alone. Now let's just go back to our
text for just a few minutes. Back to our text in Acts, Hebrews. I just want to read some of the
surrounding text here. Let's just go back to verse 9
there. Verse 9 of Hebrews 4. There remaineth
therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered
into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did
from his. Let us labor therefore to enter
into that rest. lest any man fall after the same
example of unbelief. For the word of God is quick
and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing
even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and the joints
and morrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of
the heart. Neither is there any creature
that is not manifest in his sight. But all things are naked and
opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. I pray God
that he sends his word to me and he cuts me and lets me know
what I am and who I am by nature. But I thank God he allows me
to see Jesus Christ in that gospel because that's my only hope.
He's my only hope, amen. Dear old God, thank you for allowing
us to preach words of you and to hear words of you, dear Lord.
You are our only hope, dear Lord. Keep us from this flesh thinking,
we do, dear Lord. We think that we can do something,
but we can do nothing without you, dear Lord. Cause us to always
just look to you, to rest in what you have done and what you've
accomplished, dear Lord, because you accomplished it all. and
all these things we ask in your name, amen.