Hebrews and the third chapter. Now, we come to this service
this morning, and we come to this message after a week in which there has
been much discussion about our nation's decline, the
world's problems, and it seems that they have been
so vividly impressed upon our minds. If they do not concern
us, then we must be blind in every
sense to what the reality is. And we watch as the ungodliness
and the anti-godliness seems always to increase. And this really should not be
a surprise to any who have read or studied or heard the Scriptures. Hold your place right here in
Hebrews 3 and look back in 2 Timothy. 2 Timothy chapter 3. Because here is the Apostle Paul
led by the Spirit of God to tell us something. He says, "...this
know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come." Now,
the last days are those days between the first coming and
the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. For men shall be
lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers,
disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection,
truth-breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers
of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of
pleasure more than lovers of God. having a form of godliness,
but denying the power thereof. From such, turn away. For of this sort are they which
creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins,
led away with diverse lusts, ever learning. and never able
to come to the knowledge of the truth. This should be no surprise
to any who believe the Word of God. And so, with every passing
day, we have to be filled in a way with a sense of wondering
What is going to happen tomorrow? What in the world will take place
tomorrow? Or what in the world will we
or our children have to face in the future? But it seems like that the Lord
has laid on my mind and my heart to talk to you this morning about
today. Today. In other words, to turn
our hearts and minds from looking back at the past, and certainly
to turn our hearts and minds from looking and fearing the
future and to think about today, this actual day in which we're
presently living. You see, the truth is, all throughout
the New Testament, God calls us to do that, to think about
today. And maybe to ask ourselves this
question, what time is it? And not so much for a nation,
or not so much for a world, but for us personally. What time is it for me? And what time is it for you? And the apostle in our text here
in Hebrews 3 brings that to our mind by first
comparing and speaking of and contrasting two individuals. One is Moses and the other is
the Lord Jesus Christ. And he's doing here what he does
all throughout this book of Hebrews when he compares and contrasts
Christ to these other things or other individuals in order
to show us the superiority of Christ. Look at what he says
beginning in verse 1. He says, "...Wherefore, holy
brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the apostle
and high priest of our profession, Christ Jesus." He always has
to call us back to remember and to think about the Lord Jesus
Christ. Because there are so many things
that naturally distract us. He says, "...who was faithful
to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all
his house." For this man was counted worthy of more glory
than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath built the house hath more
honor than the house. For every house is built by some
man, But he that built all things is God. And Moses verily was
faithful in all his house as a servant for a testimony of
those things which were to be spoken after." but Christ as a Son over His
own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence
and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end." In other
words, set in contrast and compared to each other, is first one house,
which is national Israel, that house over which Moses won, the
nation of Israel. And then also contrasted to that
is the other house, or household, And that is the church of the
Lord Jesus Christ. That is spiritual Israel. And so Moses is shown to us,
or we are reminded that Moses was over one household, which
was really only a picture and type of another household, which
is the household of the Lord Jesus Christ. And while he says
that Moses was an example of faithfulness to his household,
Christ is a far greater example of faithfulness over his household. And then he reminds us of who
it really is that built both houses. They are both built of
God, but they are distinct, as are these two heads of the house,
because Moses was a servant in his house. But the Lord Jesus
Christ is distinguished as the Son in His house, and therefore
Christ as the Son, as the Builder, as the Foundation of this house
is worthy of much, much, much more glory. And what Moses was
speaking of, and what Moses was writing about, and what God was
using him to tell us about, was that which was yet to come. If you notice what it says, it
says in the last part of verse 5, that he was a testimony of
those things which were to be spoken after. In other words, those things
simply pictured the Lord Jesus Christ and His house, which was
the household of faith. the household of those who are
brought to believe on Christ. So what we read at the hand of
Paul when he writes to the church at Galatia, is that he admonishes
these believers in Galatia saying, as we have therefore opportunity,
Let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are
of the household of faith." But notice now what he begins to
say at verse 7. He says, "...wherefore, as the
Holy Ghost saith, or hath said today, if you will hear His voice."
In other words, although these things concerning Moses and that
house, that nation, although they are things that were pictures
and types, You and I do not live in that day. And as it is right
now, you and I do not yet live in a future day. So all things
as they pertain to God with regard to our standing and relationship
to God have to do with today. Today. And we are so prone by
nature to be deceived of our own heart and to be deceived
by the devil himself into thinking that we have some other day in
which these matters of great importance can be looked at more
closely. But he says, that we are to consider
these things in the light of today. Wherefore, as the Holy
Ghost saith, today if you will hear His voice, harden not your hearts, as in
the provocation in the day of temptation in the wilderness,
when your fathers tempted Me, proved Me, and saw My works forty
years." wherefore I was grieved with
that generation, and said, they do always err in their heart,
and they have not known my ways." They saw lots of miraculous things. They were the recipients of many
open revelations at the hand of God. But even in light of
all those things, God lays this charge to them, to that whole
generation that came out of Egypt, He says, they have not known
My way. In other words, all these things
that were a picture of God's people and God's salvation and
the way of salvation, all these sacrifices, all these priests,
all these things that pointed to Christ, he says, they have
not. They did not know my ways. So I swear in my wrath they shall
not enter into my rest." Take heed, brethren, lest there be
in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the
living God, but exhort one another daily while it is called today."
Today. Lest any of you be hardened through
the deceitfulness of sin, for we are made partakers of Christ
if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the
end. While it is said, today, If ye will hear his voice, harden
not your hearts, as in the provocation. For some, when they had heard,
did provoke, howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses."
He says, not all. Because even in the midst of
that whole company, that whole nation that was brought out of
the Egyptian bondage, even though the great masses of them and
majority of them, they did not believe, yet there were two men,
Caleb and Joshua. So he goes on and he says, "...but
with whom was he grieved forty years? Was it not with them that
had sinned, whose carcasses fell in the wilderness? And to whom
swear he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them
that believed not?" that could be said of that whole
generation who for all those forty years wandered in that
wilderness of all that could be said without a doubt of the
lies that they might have told, with the adulteries and fornications
that they might have committed, with the thefts that they might
have done betwixt each other, not one thing of those things
are mentioned. But what is? The fact. that they believed not. So we see that they could not
enter in because of unbelief. And what he's saying here, and
using the apostle to tell us, is that although they are already
dead and gone, Although all those things are already past, God
calls them to our mind and gives us this Israel as a warning,
that is, a warning considering unbelief. Unbelief. And the distinction that is made
here by the Apostle is simply this. Those that are in Christ's
house, in contrast to all the majority of these Israelites
in that house of Moses, all that are in Christ's house, they believe
God. They don't believe simply as
the devils believe, which James said is this, they don't just
believe that there is a God. James said, you believe that
there is one God, you do well. But the devils believe that and
they tremble at that thought. So unbelief is not simply a matter
of believing whether or not or not believing that there is a
God. You see, you and I, and every
other person in this world, irregardless of whether we believe there's
a God or not, that won't change the fact that He is. We could
say, I don't believe in gravity. That won't change gravity. Or
I don't believe in light, and that won't change light. So it's
more than a matter of simply believing that there is a God,
but it is rather believing not only that there is a God, but
believing God. And believing God. is to believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ. Believing God is to believe the
gospel of God. The gospel of God being described
as news to sinners. The gospel of God, he says, wherein
the righteousness of God is revealed. It is to believe the truth of
God. Paul said, how can you believe
on Him of whom you have not heard? And there are lots of people
in this world who, claiming to believe that there is a God,
live in a constant denial of the Word of God and even deny
the true gospel of God. And he says, that's what we're
to believe. Not someday in the future. Not at some time of our
choosing. This is what we're to believe
today. We don't even know if we have
tomorrow. In this same epistle, he tells
us this, that it is appointed unto man once to die, and after
this, the judgment. How many died this week? And
they did not know that at the time that they died, or the hour
that they died, or the day that they died, that that was the
day that was appointed. So we are always called back
to think about and to consider the things of Christ and His
gospel, the things of God, today. Today. Because unbelievers, they have not entered into this
present rest that the apostle is talking about here. And not
only that, unbelievers, those who do not know, those who do
not believe the truth as it is in Christ Jesus, not only have
they not yet entered into this rest, They don't have any hope
of future rest. Absolutely not. Because Christ
is the only rest. He is not only the only rest
with regard to the matters of our soul and the matters of our
sin, But He's the only rest there
is anywhere. He's the only rest there is in all this trouble.
He's the only rest there is in all this fearfulness. And we
will never have any rest in our souls or any rest in our minds
and our hearts except the degree of rest that we find through
believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. Because that's the only rest
there is. As a matter of fact, that's the only good news there
is. An old preacher said this, he said, the gospel is good news,
but I know of no other good news in this world besides it. You see, we look to Christ because
He alone is the Sabbath rest of believers. These that he speaks
of here and uses as a warning, God says, they never entered
into my rest. They never knew my ways. In spite
of all the revelation, in spite of all the outward favor, in
spite of all that I did, in spite of all that I gave them, in spite
of all my demonstrations of power, They never entered into rest. And my friend, as one said a
long time ago, he said, the sole of man's foot never rests until
it rests in God. And it never rests in God until
it rests in the Lord Jesus Christ. That is, here is all these people
With all these pictures, with all these examples of the Lord
Jesus Christ and Him crucified, they never entered in that rest.
He pictured how that the whole generation that came out of Egypt,
they did not actually enter into the land of that promised rest
except for two, Caleb and Joshua. What happened to the rest of
them? God said they died in unbelief. If you'd have talked to any of
them, they'd say, well, we believe in Jehovah God. We're the people
of God. Let us tell you what we've seen. Let us tell you what we've experienced. Let us tell you of the God-sent
messengers we've had. They died in unbelief. And you
see, part of the warning here is this. that here they are died
with this revelation and we have a greater revelation. We have
the pictures defined and displayed in Christ. Are we going to die in unbelief
too? Are we going to take that revelation?
They lived in that former day, we live today. They live trying to put off something. They live trying to do this and
that and the other. We're called to today. You see,
Israel as a nation didn't enter into that rest, but some will. Those in this household of Christ,
they're going to enter into this rest. He's the only rest, and they
will each and every one because Christ is faithful in His house. Not only as a servant, He certainly
was there, but as the Son. And they're going to all enter
into His rest. It doesn't matter what's going
on around in this world. It doesn't matter how bad it
gets. It doesn't matter the turmoil
or the trial or whatever it is, the persecution. These are going
to enter into this rest because God brings them to believe on
His Son. And even in light of the turmoil,
And most especially, even in the light of their own sinfulness,
they're going to enter into a rest today. Today. Look at what he continues to
say in chapter 4. It's just a continuation of the
same text. He says, as the apostle often
does, speaking as one with the people in this house. Let us
therefore fear, not fear all this stuff that's going on, Not
fear all this turmoil and all the enemies of God and all this
kind of stuff. Therefore let us fear, lest a
promise being left us of entering into His rest, any of you should
seem to come short of it." That's what the Lord's people
fear. all this stuff that's going on.
They may fear it in the flesh, but when they stop and think
for a minute and meditate on what God has told them and what
God has done and has promised to do, they don't fear. But if there's
one thing they fear, and they only fear it because it's a holy
fear God put there, is that we should not enter into this promise
of rest." Because look at what he says,
"'For unto us was the gospel preached as well as unto them.'"
You mean to tell me that the gospel was preached to these
Israelites that came out of Egypt? Why, yes. They hadn't even been
brought out of Egypt before they had the gospel preached to them.
Whenever God ordained that they should take that lamb and slay
that lamb and catch His blood, that perfect lamb, and sprinkle
that blood on the lintels and doorposts of their houses so
that God would pass over them in judgment, that was Christ. Paul said, Christ
our Passover was sacrificed for us. They had in all these pictures,
even in Moses himself, or as in Aaron the high priest, or
in these lambs and blood and sacrifices and altars and all,
they had Christ pictured for them. Just like we have the gospel
preached to us plainly. But the word preached did not
profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard
it." It didn't profit them. As a matter of fact, it proved
their greater condemnation. He says, if the light in you
be darkness, great is that darkness. Because he says in verse 3, "...for
we which have believed do enter into rest." As he said, "...as I have sworn
in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest, although the works
were finished from the foundation of the world." Now wait a minute. Why? Or rather, how can any sinner,
such as you and I are, this day enter into rest? Well, he goes on and he gives
us the illustration and the reason. He says, "...for he spake in
a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, and God did
rest the seventh day from all his works." God rested? Was something out of control
with God? When He created all that He created,
let me ask you this, was He tired? Is that what this rest is all
about? Well, there's some measure of it true in our part. But what
does it mean when he's using God as an example of this rest? Why did he call that seventh
day the Sabbath? Guess what that means? Rest. Because it was finished. He didn't
rest because he was tired. He rested because it was finished. It was complete. There was nothing
left to add to it. And that's the way it is with
salvation. As long as you're working, instead
of believing, there's no rest. You see, our natural inclination
is to imagine that we can do something that will please God
and be accepted by God and that He will reward us accordingly. No. You see, rest must always
be in what is already finished. And that creation that God created,
it in itself is a picture and type of the new creation. And when that salvation, that
creation picture, when it's completed and it's finished, you can rest in it. And that's what the Lord Jesus
Christ is hanging on that cross, and dying in the place of His
people. Dying in the place of all those
in His house. And what does He say? It is finished. Is it? You see, like I said, the devil
knows how we are. He knows. We don't know, but
he knows. He knows this natural tendency
we have, this fallen nature that we have that is always receptive
of being told something that we're to do. And His preachers know that too.
And so they stand before men and women, and they tell them
what to do. They tell them how to live the
Christian life. Now, I realize that we're to
live in a way honoring to Christ. But the Christian life is Christ
Himself. But He knows how we are. how
to deceive. He uses this subtle, subtle message,
which is always, in one way or another, bringing men and women
back to law. These Israelites had it, didn't
they? What did they do? They died in unbelief. They looked
to the very doing of these things, instead of the one that these
things represented. And they died in their sins.
God says, they didn't enter into My rest. Why? Because His rest
is a finished work. And the worst, the most deceiving,
kind of message and confidence, which is really not a mixture
of faith and works at all, but it's all works, is to think about
that this is some kind of joint effort. This is not a joint effort. I've
often used the illustration as, suppose that you walk up to a
man who's a great artist. And he has just painted the most
brilliant masterpiece. And as an artist is, it's taken
him a long time to do it. And he's just about the time
you think he's not going to do anymore, he picks up that brush
and does one little thing or two little things, and finally,
after all, he puts it down. He said, it's finished. What's
the highest insult you could give him? It'd be to walk up to him and
pick up one of those brushes and dip it in a little paint
and say, well, it's okay, but I think it needs a little this,
or I think it needs a little bit of that. That's the highest
insult you could give him. Might make you feel good, but
I'm telling you, it's the highest insult to God to imagine that
we are in any way of ourselves or by anything we have done able
to be accepted by Him." You see, that work is never finished.
That's why there are a whole lot of tired religious folks
in this world. And bless their hearts, you say,
well, they're sincere. Absolutely, they're sincere.
They're working, as we say, their butts off. But all they're doing
is insulting the Lord Jesus Christ. He said it's finished. His work
is a whole work. John said, and now you are complete
in Him. You can't add anything to completion. And you can have momentary relief
sometimes in some of these things. But you never have rest. I see the things like have gone
on in this week, and for a moment, I get all stirred up. And I hear
all these people, some of them are supposed to believe grace,
Saying, what we need to do is this. What we need to do is organize. What we ought to do is respond
in kind. You do that if you want to. But
the commander-in-chief of this army says, our weapons are not
carnal, but mighty through God. Our weapon is the sword of the
Spirit, which is the Word of God. And so when I begin to feel
those stirrings like I ought to do
something, He reminds me that's the way that men try to do in
salvation. But I have rest. The Lord is
faithful in His household. He's never going to bring anything
on His people except that which will Do them good, and give Him
glory." He continues, "...and in this place again, if they
shall enter into my rest, seeing therefore it remaineth that some
must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached
enter not in because of unbelief, again He limiteth a certain day,
saying in David, Today." Now let me just, before somebody
listens to me and wants to show what a great theologian they
are, I know that generally speaking, today is that day of grace between
Christ's first coming and His coming again. I know it's that
whole time. It's that acceptable time. The acceptable year of the Lord
He speaks of in Luke 4. It's that time of love that we
read about in Ezekiel 16. But you and I don't live in that
whole period of time, do we? And yesterday is already gone,
is it not? And tomorrow we have no assurance
of, so where are we? We're right here in today. Today. Today, after so long a time,
as it is said, today, if you will hear His voice, harden not
your hearts. Oh, don't send away another day. Don't take the things of your
soul lightly. Don't hear about the Lord Jesus
Christ. and harden your heart against
Him, imagining that you have another day? He says, "...for if Joshua had given them rest,
then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. There
remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God." For he that is entered into his
rest, he also has ceased from his own works as God did from
His." You see, all around us, as well
as that fallen principle in us, always imagines that we can do
something. Do something for the Lord. This
race we're a part of has already done something for the Lord.
Took Him in His humanity and hung Him on a cross and put Him
to death. But that's our rest. He is our Sabbath. So the apostle
says, let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest
any man fall after the same example of unbelief. And if we have entered into Christ
our rest, which means that everything has already been accomplished
by Him and is to be found in Him, because God has made Him
to be all our righteousness, all our sanctification, all of
our redemption, all our wisdom. So if you have all, you might
as well rest. He's finished it. Might as well
rest. Oh, there are things He commands
us to do, but none of them for salvation. And none of them for
comfort and assurance either. Because He gives His people rest. And He gives it to them today. If you turn back over to 2 Corinthians, In 2 Corinthians, he says in
chapter 5 and verse 18, "...and all things are of God."
Now that alone will stand right by itself. All things are of
God. Not just all things in salvation,
but all things at all times. But he says, "...and all things
are of God, who hath reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ,
and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation, to wit that
God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing
their trespasses unto them." Those in this house that he's
speaking of, God did not impute or charge them with their sins,
but rather He did so to Christ the Substitute. Now then, He
has committed unto us the word of reconciliation. What is that? The word of peace already made. Now then, we are ambassadors
for Christ. As though God did beseech you
by us, we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. For He hath made Him to be sin
for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness
of God in Him. as workers together with him
beseech you also that you receive not the grace of God in vain. For he saith, I have heard thee
in the time accepted, and in the day of salvation, have I
succored thee. Behold, now is the accepted time. Behold, now is the day of salvation." Today. Not looking back. Not looking forward. Today. And my prayer would be like An
old preacher a long time ago, he said, Lord, if I've not believed
before, if I've not truly believed before, grant that I might believe
right now. You see, yesterday's assurance
is no good for today. The rest, the hope, the salvation
in Christ is today. That's where we live. And God
has not changed, and His gospel has not changed, and His purpose
has not changed, His holy character has not changed, His promises
have not changed. So what do we really do as we
be the Lord's people in these days? What should we do today? I'm telling you this, it's a
good day to be alive. The psalmist said, this is the
day that the Lord hath made. Let us be glad and rejoice in
it. Not by what we see outwardly. But we know that this is the
day that the Lord hath made. And it's the day of salvation. It's the accepted time of the
Lord. So what do we do? We declare this gospel. We preach
Christ in Him crucified. We tell men and women of this
rest that's in Him. And we rest in Him ourselves. He makes us to lie down in green
pastures. What's that? His Gospel. His
Word. I don't ever lay down anywhere
else. My mind and my heart, my whole natural self, It stays
stirred up one way or another. And the only way I rest is in
the green pastures that the Shepherd leads in of His Word when He
brings us to remember that He's done all. That He keeps all. And then we do this. We pray
for all around us. We call on the Lord to have mercy. And as is the case in our text
especially, we continue to believe on Christ. We continue to rest
in Him. We continue to be undisturbed
by either false gospels or evil works. That's what we do. In Psalm 102
and verse 13, it says, the psalmist said, Thou shalt arise and have
mercy upon Zion for the time to favor her, the set time, is
come. And you know when it is? It's
today. It's today. May God help us to live today and to look to
Christ and Him alone today. Father, we thank You for Your
dear Son, our only hope, our only salvation, our only righteousness. We trust in Him and only Him,
and in the work He accomplished. Our Shepherd has led us into
rest. Help us to lie down in these
green pastures, in the midst of this dry and barren desert
of a world. He's led us to the green pastures
of Himself, and we rest. We think about our Shepherd.
We think about our glorious Savior. We believe on Him and we believe
Him. We thank You and we pray in His
name today. Amen.