Welcome to the 2008 Shepherds
Conference. General Session Number 7 Steve
Lawson It's been a great privilege this week for me to fellowship
with you and to get to know some of you, and to fellowship with
some of my favorite preacher friends who have shared this
pulpit this week. And it's a delight this morning
to introduce to you someone you probably don't need to meet for
the first time because you know his ministry well, Steve Lawson.
Steve is an alien preacher. There's no question about it.
He preaches an alien message. And there are certain characteristics
of Steve that are also somewhat alien, but we don't need to get
into those kinds of things. However, however, what I love
about him so much is... that He is willing to proclaim
a message that is alien to all of the expectations and desires
of the unregenerate. I am convinced that you never
are to preach a message that appeals to anything innate in
the sinner's fallenness. Think about that. We preach an
alien message. We preach a message that finds
no welcome reception in the lust of the flesh, the lust of the
eyes, or the pride of life, which is what dictates the desires
of fallen men and women. We're not trying to find some
place in their fallenness. We're not trying to find some
locus in their unregenerate longings that we can attach the gospel
to. We preach an alien message. We
preach a message which they will not desire. What Al was saying
last night was very, very important, clear and profound. We talk to
people to whom God gives ears to hear. And apart from God opening
the mind and the heart, we're talking to the dead and the blind
and the deaf. But when God in His mighty power
opens the heart, that message once alien becomes the most cherished
word of all. And Steve understands this and
for many years has declared faithfully the Word of the living God without
hesitation. He's one of us, one of those
alien preachers. that the world doesn't understand,
but that the people of God love because He brings the truth of
God. writer of many books, a new series
that is, I think, going to define his life, a five-volume set,
a long line of godly men. Volume 1, Foundations of Grace,
he traced the doctrines of grace from Genesis to Revelation. Volume
2, which he's working on now, Pillars of Grace, traces the
doctrines of grace through the early church fathers. After Pillars
comes something else of grace and five volumes getting into
the modern era. You certainly have read the expository
genius of John Calvin. You will also find coming out
sometime in the near future a similar treatment of Jonathan Edwards'
preaching. He's made great contributions
to all of us and is a dear and treasured friend personally and
here in our church. Senior pastor at Christ Fellowship
Baptist Church, which you can read, of course, in your program.
Wife, Anne. Children, Andrew, James, John
and Grace, Anne. He actually told me one time
that he named his daughter after this church. Was she okay with
that? Good. It's a broad enough term. She's a sweet girl who has much
of the grace that her name possesses. Let's welcome Steve Lawson. STEVE
LAWSON Well, thank you, John, very much for those alien remarks. It is such a joy to be here,
if I was thinking on the front row, if I could just preach one
sermon this year to one group of men, it would be to you men
this morning. And to be able to stand in this
pulpit, which to me is the most dignified and the most sacred
pulpit in the world, is quite a humbling experience. There
is a cloud of witnesses that have surrounded me who have brought
great influence to my life. John MacArthur has been the Moses
of that cloud of witnesses. And I thank the Lord for how
He has used you, not only in what I believe, but also in shaping
my character and my life. And I know that we are all here
in one way or another because we are drawn to the excellence
of this pulpit and for what it stands and for what it has stood
for the last 40 years. So in our lifetime, I don't believe
that we will ever experience or come in contact with a more
distinguished expository pulpit than this pulpit. I invite you
to take God's Word and turn with me to the book of Hebrews, Hebrews
chapter 4. And this morning, I want to bring
you a message entitled, The Preacher's Invincible Weapon. Hebrews chapter
4. I want to begin by reading verses
12 and 13, verses with which no doubt you are very familiar.
But may God wake up the echoes within our own heart and soul
as we reconsider the invincible weapon that God has placed into
our hands as we minister His Word. Hebrews chapter 4, beginning
in verse 12, this is the reading of the Word of God. For the Word of God is living
and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing
as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and
marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the
heart. And there is no creature hidden
from His sight. But all things are open and laid
bare...open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we
have to do." Somewhat hidden below street
level in the old town of Geneva, there stands a monument that
pays lasting tribute. to the dramatic change in world
history that occurred in this city some 500 years ago. This memorial is known as the
Reformation Wall. Standing 30 feet tall and extending
over 300 feet long, the Reformation Wall visually portrays the global
influence of that history-altering movement in the 16th century. In the middle of the wall stand
the four key figures, the leading influencers of the Reformation
in Geneva. These four individuals stand
together as one because of their singular commitment to the Word
of God. On the left is William Farrell,
the man who first came to Geneva and helped turn the city to the
cause of the Reformation. The two men on the right are
Theodore Beza and John Knox, the two men who would help carry
the Reformation to the next generation. But standing resolutely in the
center is the great theologian, the great expositor, the chief
influencer himself, the man whose ministry was the very heartbeat
of this dynamic movement. His name is John Calvin. Calvin
stands dominantly among the four men as the most influential figure,
standing slightly taller, leaning forward, poised, erect, ready. Both hands are on the Bible.
Both hands are in the Bible. One hand is in the Old Testament.
The other hand is in the New Testament. And he is ready to
turn to the appointed text and to preach the Word of God and
the full counsel of God. Where are men like this today,
whose hands are in the book and ready to open it and bring it
to their generation? To be sure, it is the Bible that
marked Calvin's ministry for the entirety of his stay in Geneva. Calvin preached the Word, he
taught the Word, he expounded the Word. The fact is, Calvin
had no weapon but the Bible. And from the very first, his
entire emphasis was upon biblical preaching and biblical teaching.
And Calvin preached from the Bible virtually every day, and
Geneva was transformed, the Reformation was ignited, and Western civilization
was altered. The Bible proved to be in Calvin's
hand what it claims to be a superior supernatural weapon. The Bible
is an invincible weapon in the hands of God's servant. And when
ministered in the power of the Holy Spirit, it is the Word of
the Lord that brings about life-changing and history-altering effects. This passage is precisely what
we read in Hebrews 4 verse 12 and 13. We see that the Bible
is the supernatural weapon that has been put into our hands.
The author of Hebrews in these two verses gives us one of the
most dramatic and one of the most graphic pictures of the
power of the Word of God that is found anywhere in Scripture.
The author of Hebrews in these two verses likens the Word of
God to a sword, a sharp, two-edged sword, one that is living and
active, one that cuts and pierces and penetrates and divides and
exposes and judges and saves. This is the preacher's invincible
weapon. And we must unsheathe it, we
must wield it, and we must use it. And today in our time together,
I want to give you seven distinguishing marks of the sword of the Lord
that has been put into our hand, that our hearts might be bolstered
and be reminded of this invincible weapon, this superior weapon,
this supernatural weapon that has been put into our hands. As we look at verse 12, I want
you to note first that the Word that we preach is, number one,
it is the divine Word. Notice how verse 12 begins, for
the Word of God. It begins at the most basic level. The Word that we preach is the
Word of God. This is God's Book. This is God's
message that we bring. And we say rightly so, that there
is the dual authorship of Scripture. But let us remember there is
only one primary author, capital A. And there are over 40 plus
secondary authors who are the human instruments whom God used
to record this book, but standing behind all of the human authors,
there is but one primary author, it is God Himself. Hundreds of
times there appears in the Old Testament this signature phrase,
thus says the Lord. That is what the Word of God
is. And when the prophets said, thus says the Lord, and it became
recorded in written Scripture, they were claiming to be dispatched
messengers of the sovereign King of heaven and earth, bringing
the Word of the Lord to those who would hear them. David was
abundantly clear about this in Psalm 19. Six times in this psalm,
we hear him refer to the written Word of God as the Word, excuse
me, the law of the Lord, the testimony of the Lord, the precepts
of the Lord, the commandment of the Lord, the fear of the
Lord, the judgments of the Lord. Each of these titles for Scripture
makes a direct claim that this book is the Word of God. Jesus Himself asserted the divine
origin and divine authorship of this book that we minister.
Matthew 4, verse 4, man shall not live by bread alone but by
every word, every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. Paul
wrote in 1 Thessalonians 2.13, when you receive the Word of
the Lord which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the
Word of men but for what it really is, the Word of God. Romans 3 verse 2 identifies it
as the oracles of God. Mark 7 verse 8, the commandment
of God. Revelation 1 verse 2, the Word
of God. It speaks to the divine origin,
the divine authorship, the divine message and the divine authority
of this book. And before I go any further,
this first truth begs me to say. that because the Bible is the
Word of God and not the mere collection of the wisdom of this
world, it requires certain things of us as men who pick up this
sharp two-edged sword. Number one is humility. Our entire
lives and ministries must be yielded under the supreme authority
of Scripture. We are men under authority, and
we have nothing to say apart from the Word of God. We say
what Scripture says. We speak what Scripture speaks. We warn of what Scripture warns. We promise that of which Scripture
promises. But we go no further than the
Scripture, and as the Reformers said, not only sola Scriptura,
but tota Scriptura, all of Scripture must be proclaimed. This is the
humility that is required of us as we are under this authority. I believe it also speaks to the
dignity that is required of us because it is the divine Word. We are men who have been commissioned
by the High King of heaven to carry His Word. And as we minister
His Word, it is incumbent upon us to do so in a manner that
is befitting the one who has issued this book and that we
would stand in congruence with the tone and the message of this
book. Because this is the Word of the
Sovereign King, then we are not free to be court jesters in His
ministry. There is a certain dignity that
is required because we are speaking the Word of God. It also requires an authority
as we speak because the Bible itself is the Word of God. When we speak, we are to speak
in an authoritative manner. We are to speak the truth in
love. But nevertheless, as we speak, we are to do so in an
imperative manner. Titus 2 verse 15, these things
speak and exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one
disregard you. And the reason is, is because
we minister the divine Word, the Word of the Lord. So this is the first distinguishing
mark. It is the divine Word. Oh may God raise up a generation
of men, even out of this conference, men who will minister the divine
Word. How greatly this is needed. But I want you to note second,
not only the divine Word, but it is also the living Word. Because the Bible is the Word
of God, it is therefore like no other book. Because it is
the Word of the Lord, it is not a mere natural book, it is a
supernatural book. And verse 12 begins, for the
Word of God is living. Every other book is a dead manuscript.
Every other book has an existence, but this book alone has life. It has the life of God in it. This Word living. is in the emphatic
position in verse 12. It is front-loaded at the beginning
of this verse. It is the finger of God pointing
at the word living that it might receive the emphasis. Verse 12
really begins this way out of the original, For the Word of
the Lord is." This is what is so extraordinary about this book.
All other ancient books are dead manuscripts, but this book is
alive. Listen, this book speaks to me. This book pleads with me. This
book has power to save. This book has power to sanctify. Martin Luther said, this book
is alive, it speaks to me. It has feet, it runs after me. It has hands, it lays hold of
me. Listen, this book is after us
and it must have its way in our hearts. Moses said, take to your
heart all the words with which I am warning you for it is not
an idle word. Indeed, it is your life. The
Word of God is not an idle word. It is a living Word, and it has
life, and it imparts life. Jesus said in John 6 verse 63,
the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. Stephen said in Acts 7 verse
38 that Moses received, quote, living oracles, unquote. And Peter said in 1 Peter 1 verse
23, hear it again. For you have been born again,
not of seed that is perishable, but imperishable, that is through
the living and enduring Word of God." This is the living Word. Charles Haddon Spurgeon said
of this living nature, the book has wrestled with me. The book
has smitten me. The book has comforted me. The
book has smiled upon me. The book has frowned at me. The
book has clasped my hand. The book has warmed my heart.
The book weeps with me. The book sings with me. The book
whispers to me. It preaches to me. This is a
living book, Spurgeon said. Listen, I've read other books.
This is the only book that has ever read me. This is a living
book. No book is more relevant. No
book is more up-to-date. No book is more fresh and more
contemporary than this book. Some pastors are wanting to have
a contemporary service, great. Be an expositor of the Word of
God. There is nothing more contemporary, nothing more up-to-date, nothing
more living, nothing more relevant than the Word of the living God. If you preach cultural trends
and current events, you are old news before the words even come
out of your mouth. You are a has-been. But when
you preach this book, you're more up-to-date than tomorrow's
newspaper. I was in England not long ago,
and I mentioned at a pastor's conference that on Wednesday
evenings, I'm preaching through the book of Ezekiel. You talk
about an out-of-body experience preaching through Ezekiel. Every
Wednesday night, I go home from church, I get in bed with my
wife. She goes to sleep. I pull out
the flashlight. I get under the covers. And I
read the next chapter, what can be more bizarre than what I just
preached tonight? It's unbelievable. And I remember a man came up
to me afterwards and he actually said this, oh, Dr. Lawson, how are you going to
make the book of Ezekiel relevant? I've waited twenty years for
that question. I said, sir, I do not have to
make the Bible what it already is. I do not have to make the
Bible relevant. It is relevant. It is living.
It is active. My responsibility is to explain
it and to show its relevance to those who are there. The Bible
is never flat. Many times I enter into the pulpit
empty, I enter into the pulpit tired, but this book is never
tired, and this book is never empty. This book is alive. This is the preacher's invincible
weapon. It is the divine Word. It is
the living Word. Third, I want you to note, it
is the powerful Word. Because the Bible is living,
it is therefore active and it is dynamic. Notice what verse
12 goes on to say, for the Word of God is living and active. Do you see it there? It is active. That is a Greek word, energes,
from which we derive the word energy. This book is energetic. This book is dynamic. This book
is powerful. It's not just that it has life,
but it has all of the essentials of life and it has the power
of God within it. It is active. It has power to
convict. It has power to convert. It has
power to conform. It has power to console. This
book is active. And it is energizing in its effect. It is full of life-changing power. The Word of God is unceasingly
active and it is relentlessly effective. It is fully able to
carry out all of God's saving purposes here upon the earth
as it is accompanied by the power of the Holy Spirit. Isaiah 55
verse 10 says, for the rain and the snow come down from heaven
and do not return there without watering the earth and making
it bare and sprout and furnishing seed to the sower and bread to
the eater. So shall my word be which goes
forth from my mouth. It shall not return to me empty
without accomplishing what I desire and without succeeding in the
matter for which I have sinned." It is an invincible Word. It
is a triumphant Word. It will carry out and fulfill
all of God's sovereign purposes here upon the earth. It is an
undefeated book. How powerful is the Word of God?
Well, it has power to save, does it not? 1 Peter 1, 23, which
I just read, for you've been born again through the living
and enduring Word of God. It has power to sanctify. John
17, 17, sanctify them in the truth. Your Word is truth. It has power to satisfy, Psalm
119 verse 103, how sweet are Your words to my taste. Yes,
sweeter than honey to my mouth. It is powerful to strengthen,
Joshua 1 7, only be strong and courageous. Be careful to do
according to the law which Moses has commanded you. It has power
to steer. Psalm 119 verse 105, your Word
is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. It has power to sustain. Matthew 4, 4, it is the very
sustenance of our soul, it is living bread that has come down
from heaven. Listen, if you want a dynamic
ministry, if you want a ministry in which the power of God is
unleashed in your efforts, if you want a ministry in which
God will carry out His sovereign purposes here upon the earth,
then pull forth the sharp two-edged sword for it is living and it
is active. Number four, I want you to think
with me, not only the divine Word, not only living, not only
active. Number four, I want you to note,
it is the razor-sharp Word. No instrument is as sharp as
this sacred tool, for we continue to read, for the Word of God
is living and active. Now watch this. and sharper than
any two-edged sword." That is a superlative. It is sharper
than the sharpest instruments in this world. The Bible is the
sharpest weapon available in any arsenal in the world. No
surgeon's scalpel can even compare with the razor-like edge of this
sword. That this sword is two-edged
means that it is all edge. A sword has only two edges, or
two sides, and it is saying every way this book cuts, it cuts with
razor-like precision. There are no dull verses in the
entire Bible. Every book is razor sharp. Every chapter is able to cut. Every verse, every word, every
jot, every tittle is razor sharp. There's not a blunt chapter in
the entire canon. of this word sword. Do you see
it here in verse 12? Makarion. It is the chief offensive
weapon of the Roman foot soldier, some 6 to 18 inches in length,
and it was used in hand-to-hand combat. It was not the larger,
broad sword that was swung in an indiscriminate way. but it
is used with razor-like precision, always at hand, always ready
for close combat. Any passage of this book, when
ministered rightly, cuts deeply into the very soul of man. Ephesians
6 verse 17 says that it is the sword of the Spirit which is
the Word of God. Notice it says, two-edged sword.
That is to say it cuts both ways. It's been well said that the
Word of God both comforts the afflicted and it afflicts the
comfortable. The Word of God both tears down
and it builds up. It both convicts and it converts. It both saves and it damns. It
both softens and it hardens. It both enlightens and it blinds. It both justifies and it judges. It is both law and it is grace. It both exposes sin by conviction
and covers up sin by forgiveness. Think of how this book was used
in the book of Acts. In Acts chapter 2, when Peter
stood up on the day of Pentecost, Peter stood up and wielded the
sharp two-edged sword. In verse 17 of Acts 2, he quoted
Joel 2. In verse 25, he quoted Psalm
16. In verse 30, he quoted Psalm
132. In verse 31, he went back to
Psalm 16. In verse 34, he held forth Psalm
110. And with each of these Scripture
citations, Peter thrust the sharp two-edged sword into the very
conscience and into the very soul of those who were listening.
And the result in Acts 2 verse 37, it says, they were pierced
to the heart, katanuso. It was like being stabbed as
with a knife. And their response was, what
must we do to be saved? And then three chapters later
in Acts chapter 5, Peter and John standing before the Sanhedrin
after they said, we gave you strict orders not to continue
teaching in His name, Peter said, we must obey God and not men. And then proceeded to preach
the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the one whom God exalted
to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior to grant repentance
to Israel and forgiveness of sin. And verse 33 says, they
were cut to the quick and intended to kill them. It cuts both ways,
does it not, in our ministry? What a strange thing that you
can be both the most loved man in town and the most hated man
in town at the same time. You can walk into a room and
it's either duck or pucker, one of the two. I tell you, it's because it's
a sharp two-edged sword. people will name their children
after you, and then they will curse their dog after you." That's
the way it is, though, when we minister this book. It is a sharp,
two-edged sword. And when we pick it up and we
wield it in the power of the Holy Spirit, it comforts the
afflicted and it does afflict the comfortable. Now there's
a fifth characteristic that I want you to note. And we have seen
that it is the divine Word, the living Word, the powerful Word,
the razor-sharp Word, fifth. It is the piercing Word. Because it is so razor-sharp,
it pierces and penetrates into the very depths of the inner
man. In verse 12, we continue to read,
and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit. The Bible,
when accompanied by the power of the Holy Spirit in the hand
of the man of God, it penetrates the outward facade of the listener
and plunges deeply into the heart. The Word of God, what this is
saying is it gets through to us, to the very depths of our
being. The Word of God penetrates all
the way down to the hidden recesses of the heart. When he speaks
of soul and spirit here, he is referring to the depths of one's
inner being, to one's innermost parts. Listen, if you do not
preach the Bible and you do not preach the Word of God, you will
have a very superficial ministry. And all you will be able to do
is massage egos and tickle ears. But when you pick up this book
and when you minister it rightly, oh, it begins to cut, and it
begins to penetrate, and it begins to pierce. And those to whom
we minister so often set up barriers against God and desire to remain
aloof from the truth. I've had them, and as I preach,
and they stare up over your head at the baptistry, or they begin
to count the bricks on the side of the wall, and there's a do
not disturb sign that hangs around their neck. And they try to cover
themselves with the thin veneer of mere religion, and they try
to hide behind their fig leaves of self-righteousness, and they
try to hide behind the mass of hypocrisy. But when the sword
of the Spirit is wielded and thrust with great power, it penetrates
the outward façade, it cuts and it pierces all the way down to
the division of soul and spirit, and not to harm but to heal. when he says the division of
soul and spirit. It's a figurative way of saying
to the very depths of the inner person, to the very core of your
being, to the very innermost Being of who you are and what
you are on the inside, it is only the Word of God that can
get down to the very bottom of one's life. And how it does so
with such precision, it alone in a figurative way can distinguish
and discriminate and to separate the division of soul and spirit.
He then says of both joints and marrow, and that too is a figurative
expression, referring to the inward parts of the human body
as a picture of the inner soul. Joints and marrow in verse 12,
parallel soul and spirit. And what this is saying, when
this book is ministered in your hand and the power of the It
cuts into the depths of a person and it exposes secret thoughts. It unveils base motives. It reveals inner attitudes and
it is only the Word of God that can do this. It is only the Word
of God that can perform open-heart surgery. It is only the Word
of God that can perform brain surgery. It inflicts no mere
flesh wounds. It inflicts no mere surface cuts. But it comes with penetrating
precision and it cuts to the depths of the joints and marrow. This is the preacher's invincible
weapon. And with the Bible open before
Him, the preacher is always armed and dangerous. There's a sixth mark I want you
to note. It is the judging word. At the
end of verse 12 and then extending into verse 13, once the heart
is pierced, And once the soul is laid bare, then it begins
to judge what is exposed within a man. Let me set the context. The writer of the book of Hebrews
is addressing many religious Hebrews who have a non-saving
faith. They are under the sound of the
Word of God. They are in the midst of the
fellowship of the believers. But there are many who have not
yet come all the way to Christ. It is as if there is a veil over
their eyes. Their hearts are uncircumcised. And the hardest person to reach
with the gospel is someone who is religious but lost. And the
only way they can ever be saved is for the Word of God to pierce
down into their soul and to begin to administer judgment, and for
them to have a sense of their own condemnation before a holy
God. No one can be saved until they
know they're lost. And it is the ministry of the
Word of God to expose the lostness of a person that it might drive
them to the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and come all the
way to His saving arms. I want you to know that it is
only the Word of God that can reveal to someone whose eyes
are blinded to their lost condition, it is only the Word of God that
can penetrate and begin to get down into the depths of a person's
soul and expose them for who they truly are before their own
eyes. And to see my soul, I am lost
and I need a Savior. This is the ministry of the Word
of God. And so, in this context, we read
that the Word of God, once it penetrates and makes this division
of soul and spirit, then it is able to judge. Notice, it is
able. It's the sufficiency of Scripture.
It is fully sufficient and entirely capable. to judge, kritikos,
from which we derive the word critic or critique. The Word of God is fully capable
of rendering God's judgment to the heart that you have been
weighed in the balances and found wanting and you are under the
wrath of God. But there is set before you a
Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will receive sinners and
is the friend of sinners. But it first must be able to
judge. and to bring about the sentence
of condemnation. A critic is someone who sits
in judgment over another, and this is what the Word of God
is to do as we minister it in the heart of the one who has
not yet come all the way to Christ. Liberal critics of the Bible
want to sit in judgment on the Bible. Well, I want you to know
that the Bible is not on trial. We are. And it is the Word of
God that is able to judge. Now notice, the thoughts and
intentions of the heart, it judges and exposes and renders God's
verdict on the secret thoughts, the inner desires, the personal
ambitions, the driving motives, it gets behind It goes deeper
than just assessing the outward actions, but it alone is able
to judge the heart and the thoughts and the intentions that stand
behind that evil action. Look at verse 13, and there is
no creature hidden from His sight. Notice it begins with the word
and which means the continuation of the very same thought, the
continuation of the very same thrust. And what verse 13 is
saying, and there is no creature hidden from His sight, it is
saying this. that it is the Word of God that
uncovers everything and the secret thoughts of the unbeliever. God
sees into the heart whether the Word of God opens it up or not. But it is the Word of God that
opens us up and allows us to see what God sees when God looks
into the inner person. It allows us to see ourselves
as God sees us. That is what verse 13 is saying.
And there is no creature hidden from His sight as the Word of
God, the sharp two-edged sword is wielded. He says, but all
things. Referring to every thought, every
intention, every motive, every attitude, every action, but all
things, notice, are open, out in the open, exposed, made visible. This word open comes from the
root word from which we derive the English word gymnasium. The gymnasium is the place where
the man or where the athlete went to work out. And he would
strip down before he would begin his workout efforts so that there
would be no hindrance from his robe or from his clothing. It's
the very same word that is used here. And what it says, the ministry
of the Word of God, it strips down the conscience, it exposes
the inner heart. We stand naked and entirely uncovered
before a holy God. with no place to hide, no place
to hide behind. We stand stark naked before God
because the ministry of the Word of God has made us open and transparent
before God. And we realize that we see as
God sees us and we are sinners and have fallen short. And then
he says, and laid bare. Once the Word of God opens us
up and strips us down, we are then laid bare. The word from which we derive
tracheotomy, or the trachea, it refers to the neck. laid bare,
and it's the idea to seize by the throat or neck, to expose
the throat or neck of a victim for killing. means to take by
the throat this word, laid bare, to pull back whatever would be
covering up the neck in order that there would be a laying
bare of that neck. It was used for bending back
the neck of a sacrificial animal in order to administer the death
stroke. It was used in a wrestling match when one man would finally
pin down his opponent and put both hands on his neck and be
at the point of choking him to death. That is the very word
here laid bare. It means for the sword of the
Spirit, which is the Word of God, the very tip of that Word,
to be thrust into the throat or the neck of the one under
its influence and come under the deep conviction of sin because
their heart has been exposed before God. How many times after
a service have I walked out to the lobby and a man come walking
up to me with perspiration on his forehead and say in a mumbled
tone, you've been talking to my wife, haven't you? I'm always tempted to play along
with it. But what has happened is the
sharp two-edged sword has laid him bare and exposed him before
Almighty God. And for the first time in his
life, he begins to see himself as God sees him. Note at the
end of verse 13, to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. Literally, to whom is our Word? Or better, to whom we must give
an account. It is the Word of God that heightens
our sense of accountability to a holy God as we have been laid
bare, realizing that I must render an account to this God who is
speaking to me in His Word and through His Word. This is the
effect when the Word of God is ministered in the power of the
Holy Spirit. By the living and active, sharp,
two-edged sword. I want to pull this together.
The sinner will be stripped naked and entirely uncovered before
God. The sinner will be completely
exposed before God and see himself as God sees him. The sinner will
no longer be hiding under the dirty rags of self-righteousness. but is stripped naked before
God and exposed. He will have his head pushed
up and his neck laid bare, and the sharp two-edged sword is
pressed to the neck, and the throat is slit, and the heart
is stabbed, and the conscience is smitten. The sinner now stands
naked before a holy God and is hopeless and is helpless and
is exposed and is ready to give an account of himself to God
and to agree with God that I stand guilty before Your holy throne. This is the ministry of the Word
of God. But there's a seventh and final
mark that I want you to see. Only the Word of God can do this. Let me say these sentences before
I take you to the seventh point. Only the Word of God can convince
sinners that they are sinners. Only the Word of God can bring
sinners to the end of themselves. Only the Word of God can strip
off the garments of self-deception and self-righteousness and leave
them naked before Almighty God and under a sense of guilt before
Him who has sent the Holy Spirit into the world to convince men
of sin and righteousness and judgment. But seventh and finally,
the Word that we preach is the saving Word. It is the saving
Word. There is this final truth that
we need to see here. Not only does the word judge,
but it judges for a higher purpose. It is to bring sinners to Christ
that they might receive His forgiveness and His mercy. Notice the first
word of verse 12. It is the word for, it is a gar
clause which indicates the strong connection of this verse with
what has immediately preceded. And what has immediately preceded,
verse 12, that verse 12 would begin, for the Word of God is
living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword. And
immediately what precedes is one of the great evangelistic
pleas that we find in all of the Word of God. As you are aware
throughout the book of Hebrews, there are these warning clauses
that I believe are directed to those Hebrews. who have not yet
come all the way to faith in Christ, who are halting between
two opinions, who have one foot in the synagogue and one foot
in the church, and they're not yet willing to forsake their...their
dead testimony and their dead religion in Judaism, and they
are under the sound of the Word of God, and they hear the truth
of the Word of God, and these warning passages are calling
out to those to come to faith in Christ, to come all the way
to the Lord Jesus Christ. And so beginning in chapter 3
and in verse 7 is where the previous section begins, or this very
section begins, of which verse 12 and verse 13 are the caboose
of this section. Verse 12 and verse 13 are the
summation. Verse 12 and verse 13 are the
final plea. But it begins in 3-7, and it
tells us that God is speaking through His Word. And God is
calling, and God is pleading for those who are not yet committed
to Christ to come all the way to Christ. Earlier in chapter
2 and verse 3, he said, how shall we escape if we neglect so great
a salvation? Do not neglect the gospel of
Jesus Christ. Come all the way to Christ. And
now in 3 verse 7, notice what he says, therefore just as the
Holy Spirit says, and now he quotes Psalm 95 verse 7, today
if you hear His voice, it is God the Holy Spirit who is the
author of Psalm 95, who is speaking through His Word even in this
first century, and He is speaking to those to come all the way
to God by faith. So today, if you hear His voice,
do not harden your hearts as when they provoked me, how it
provokes God to hear the gospel and to halt between two opinions
and not to come all the way to Christ. He says again in verse
15, today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts. In chapter 4 verse 2, it continues
and He said, for indeed we have had good news preached to us,
but the word they heard did not profit them because it was not
united by faith in those who heard, and the thrust of his
argument is, it's not enough to be a hearer of the Word, you
must respond by faith and be a doer of the Word and come all
the way to Christ. And if you hear his voice today,
do not harden your heart." He says it again in verse 7, today
if you hear His voice, do not harden your heart and it is God
speaking through His written objective Word, pleading, calling
sinners to come to the grace of God in the Lord Jesus Christ. And then verse 11, therefore
let us be diligent to enter that rest. the rest of the finished
work of the Lord Jesus Christ to come all the way. Let us be
diligent to no longer by our own religious strivings and by
our own religious routines and our own religious efforts and
hanging on to our religious traditions that are contrary to the Word
of God. Let us be diligent to enter in to the rest of the Lord
Jesus Christ." Then the next verse, verse 12, 4, the Word
of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword.
That is why you must hear His voice today. That is why you
must respond in faith. That is why you must repent of
your sins. That is why you must come and
humble yourself under the Lordship of Jesus Christ and surrender
your life to Him today if you hear His voice. This is the saving
Word. And men, it is our greatest joy
to say to sinners, come, let us reason together, says the
Lord. Though your sins be as scarlet,
they shall be white as snow. Though they be red like crimson,
they shall be white as wool. We stand before sinners and say,
oh, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters. You who have no
money, come, eat, buy. We stand before sinners and say,
enter by the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the way
is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who find it.
But the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life,
and few are those who find it. Truly, truly I say to you, he
who hears these words of Mine and acts upon them is like a
very wise man who built his house upon the rock, and when the rains
came and the winds blew and beat against the house, it did not
fall because it was built upon the rock. He who hears these
words of Mine and does not act upon them is like a very foolish
man who built his house upon the sand. And when the rains
came and the winds blew and beat against the house, great was
its fall because it was built upon the sand. We preach this
saving Word. We say to sinners, if any man
thirst, let him come unto Me and drink and out of his innermost
being shall flow rivers of living water. whosoever shall call upon
the name of the Lord shall be saved." And when that seed is
scattered on the soil of hearts that have been tilled and prepared
by the sovereign working of the Holy Spirit of God, God causes
it to germinate and it brings forth life, some 30, some 60,
some 100-fold. This is our privilege to minister
the sharp two-edged sword and it cuts in judgment, but it also
cuts in salvation. and it brings sinners into the
glorious state of no condemnation before the Lord Jesus Christ.
If you are to be greatly used by God, then you must be a man
of one book. O man of God, O preacher man,
unsheathe the sword. No battle was ever won while
the sword remained in its scabbard. The sword must be unsheathed
if victory is to be won. Take this book. Open it. Read
it. Study it. Preach it. Proclaim
it. Never enter into the pulpit unarmed. Put down all other blades. They
are all dull and blunt. Too many ministers are attempting
open heart surgery with a butter knife. They have taken up inferior
weapons of pop psychology, of self-image improvement, of church
growth strategies, of corporate leadership principles. Put down
all those plastic utensils and pick up the sharp, two-edged
sword of the Word of God. Wield the sword confidently. No armor is thick enough to repel
its thrusts. No heart is so hardened to resist
it when accompanied in the great day of God's power. Never forget
the power and the purpose of the sword, for it alone has power
to save and power to sanctify. Take up the sword and wield it,
thrust with it, let it cut, let it pierce, let it penetrate,
let it cut both ways. Be a minister of death unto death
and life unto life, for we have nothing to say apart from the
Word of God. Let us pray. Our Father in heaven, rally our
hearts to Your Word. Bring us with renewed confidence
to the razor-sharp precision and power of the Word. We thank You that this book is
living. We thank You that this book is active, that this is
Your very Word and it pierces as far as the division of soul
and spirit. We thank You that this book still
has power to judge and power to lay bare and power to open
up the chest cavity that we might see into the very depths of our
own soul. Father, we praise You that it
brings us in our accountability to You as no creature is hidden
from Your sight as the Word is ministered. Father, I pray for
these men. I pray for myself. I pray for
all of us that with mounting confidence and renewed boldness
that we would minister Your Word. Unleash us, God. upon the world
and upon the churches. And we know that even those who
are religious but lost, who remain unconverted under our ministries,
Father, this book has power alone to expose them. for who and what
they truly are, that they might be brought to salvation and hear
Your voice and no longer harden their hearts and come all the
way to faith in Jesus Christ. Father, we long for this. Make
us all the more armed and dangerous with the sword of the Word. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. You've reached the end of this
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