Let's take our Bibles and turn
with me to the book of Hebrews chapter 10. Hebrews chapter 10. I would like to look at two verses
tonight as we continue in our study in this precious book. Verses 21 and 22. I'd like to
just read them And then we will ask our Lord's blessing. And having an high priest over
the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full
assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil
conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let's pray together. Our Father, we ask You this evening,
would You bless this word to our hearts. Lord, help us. Help
us to hear. Help me, I pray, as I preach. O Lord, may Christ be magnified. These things we pray in His name.
Amen. When it comes, to the message
that we preach. We preach the glorious gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ. And in the preaching of the gospel
of our Lord, the Good News, the entire fiber of our message magnifies
the glorious truth of our Lord's crucifixion. The Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians
2, 2, For I determined not to know anything among you save
Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I have read these two verses
of Scripture that we are going to deal with tonight. And again,
and as I read those verses of Scripture, this thought went
through my head. Lord, help me. I know this is
so. I know it's so. Lord, help me
to see that. Lord, teach me this by Your Holy
Spirit. I want to know something. about drawing near to God. That's
what he said. Having a high priest over the
house of God, let us draw near with a true heart. Isn't that
a sweet thought? That we can, on the assurance
of His Word, draw near to God. Now, the subject of God's preachers
the subject of God's honor in Christ, the subject of salvation
through the glorious, precious Lord Jesus Christ is concerning
His obedience in the establishing of the righteousness that is
imputed to all that believe Him and His substitutionary death.
That's what Paul is saying. We preach Christ crucified. Unto
the Jews, a stumbling block. Unto the Greeks, foolishness.
But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ,
the power of God and the wisdom of God. Brother Henry Mahan said
this on that passage. He said, we preach a crucified
Christ. The one bearing our sins in His
own body on the tree. Forsaken of God and rejected
of men. He said to the Jew, this message
is a scandal and it's an offensive stumbling block to the Greek.
He said to them, it's sheer nonsense. But to those called of God, regenerated
by the Holy Spirit therein in the crucifixion, there is the
power and the wisdom of Almighty God. There we behold in the substitutionary
death of our Lord, we see the attributes, all the attributes
of Almighty God magnified. Think of this. His love. The
Scripture says that God so loved the world. God loved the arrangement. God loved the order of man. What's
it going to take for Almighty God to redeem His elect? His Son is going to have to be
made sin. How about the mercy of Almighty
God? That God Himself would provide
Himself a Lamb, His goodness, His grace, His faithfulness,
His holiness, His sovereignty by the crucifixion. Here is the
wisdom of God set forth. God is just in dealing with sin. There at the crucifixion, Christ
being made sin, Almighty God is absolutely just. We do not preach that Almighty
God forgives sin arbitrarily. Just say, well, I'm just going
to sweep it under the rug. It's just okay. Don't worry about
it. No. The soul that sinneth is
going to die. Wages of sin, death. Somebody is going to die. God
is just. And the wisdom of God is exhibited
in the crucifixion. God can be just and justify the
ungodly. God Almighty can declare those
born in Adam Rebels against God. Sinners in themselves. And their
justification before God is totally apart from anything that they
would do. Justified totally by the grace
of God. Almighty God takes their guilt. God takes their guilt. And God
Almighty made His Son to be that which they are. A divine exchange. And God Himself dealt with sin. Oh, the wisdom of God. How should
God be just and justify a sinner? Only in the person of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Paul said in Galatians 6.14,
But God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our
Lord Jesus Christ by whom the world is crucified unto me and
I unto the world." Paul will say, my chief glory and rejoicing
is in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, not in myself,
not even in what Almighty God is pleased to do through me in
the preaching of the gospel. My glory is in Him alone. Now, Scripture says in this Hebrews
chapter 10, in verse 14, by one offering at the crucifixion,
at the cross, by one offering, He hath perfected forever them
that are sanctified. After the days of the ceremonies
and types and promises, the Messiah has come. He has fulfilled all
things. He has absolutely satisfied and
honored God's law put away. And now God's people have made
kings and priests unto God, and they offer right now regenerated
sinners in your heart offering the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving
and devotion, nobody sees it save the Lord. But within the heart of every
believer, God's people, they wonder at the miracle of God's
grace. Lord, thank You. Thank You that
You would teach me something, that my sins, my iniquities,
that You would remember no more. And now with the debt of our
sin being paid and robed in the glorious, imputed righteousness
of the Lord Jesus Christ, God's beloved and the beloved of His
people, and having boldness or liberty to enter into the holiest
by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ by a new and living way,
that is, through His flesh, not in the Old Testament, not in
the Law, no more. At this time, we as God's regenerated
people are dead, paid, washed in His blood, we can enter into
God's presence by the precious sacrifice of our Savior. Now, verse 21, having a high
priest over the house of God, oh, the joy and the peace and
the comfort that we have, knowing that right now every struggling
child of God, frail in themselves, that we realize that by His blood
that we can enter into the very presence of God. How can that
be? We have a high priest that is
over the house of God, ordained for men in the things pertaining
to God. And because we have one in whom
we stand, one that has paid our debt, one that has lived for
us, died for us, ascended for us, and in the presence of Almighty
God right now, and in Him. Lord, teach me this. Having a high priest, let us
draw near. with a true heart, in full assurance
of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our
bodies washed with pure water. Drawing near to God. Now, I know this. That is a priestly
act. And it is a priestly act that
is common. to all God's people, regenerated
by the grace of God. It's an act of the heart. It's an act by faith under the
direction, the influence of God's Holy Spirit whereby the regenerated
object of God's mercy and grace willingly, lovingly, thankfully,
returns to His Father. In Christ, who is our rest, right
now, by faith, with a true heart, we can approach God. Accept it
in the Beloved. that eye hath not seen, ear hath
not heard, neither hath entered into the heart of man that which
God has prepared for those that love Him." But I'm telling you
based on this Word right here, Lord, can it be that you can
allow one such as I to approach you in Christ absolutely, approaching
God Almighty A believer draws near, the Scripture says, let
us draw near with a true heart. What does that mean? Not pretending.
Not a counterfeit. We come with a true heart in
full assurance of faith. Not of works. Not even trusting
in our faith. We trust in Him. We come with
a true heart in full assurance of faith in Christ, the grace
by which Almighty God bestows upon us that precious gift of
faith given unto you to believe. This is not a fairy tale to us.
This is so when we pray. When we think, when we muse upon,
we are assured by His Word that we are actually able to come
into His presence. And the very thought of that,
coming in with full assurance of faith, always looking away
from ourselves. How many times have I said this? I think to myself. We begin to
try to pray. You know, the thing that I notice
is the older someone gets, and the more they're trying to
hear, and Scripture says forth, growing in grace and in the knowledge
of our Lord and Savior, It just seems like to me the more they
struggle, the more they struggle. They see some more of the frailty
of their flesh. And the more that they see of
Him, the more they see of their own wickedness, that evil. that resides, the presence of
that sin. Full assurance of faith that
my guilt and my debt has been eternally put away by the blood
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Having your hearts sprinkled
from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. In the Old Testament, they had
these sprinklings, these washings. You know, they'd take the water
sprinkled the blood. And it was a picture. It was
a type of what we truly need to be clean before God. To be
purified. To be cleansed. And that was
a ceremonial cleansing. Well, we need an actual cleansing. Clean. Now that ceremonial cleansing,
it couldn't make the conscience perfect. Hebrews 9, 9, which
was a figure for the time then present in which were offered
both gifts and sacrifices that could not make him that did the
service perfect as pertaining to the conscience. That, the
Old Testament, the law and the cleansing ceremonies and the
pictures and types, it didn't, didn't make the conscience clean
before God. But the sacrifice offered, the
one sacrifice, provide one sacrifice, He hath perfected forever them
that are sanctified by His one sacrifice. The Spirit of God
teaches. And here's where we learn right
here, sitting under the Gospel. and listening and listening and
hearing and learning and being taught. The Spirit of God takes
the things of Christ and brings back to our memory, to our conscience,
Almighty God has put away my guilt. My conscience clean before God,
having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience. And the Scripture
says, and our bodies washed with pure water. Now that word, bodies,
there, it actually means the complete man. That's what it
means. The whole man. And our bodies,
our complete man, washed or bathed with pure water. Now this last
part of that verse right there, you can understand we draw near
to God with a true heart. A new heart. Not a false heart. Not an old heart. Not a counterfeit
heart. Not a deceitful heart. But a
true heart. One made new by the grace of
God. in full assurance of faith. Not approaching on our merit,
not approaching on anything we've done, not approaching on any
works of righteousness that we've done, but full assurance of faith. Having our hearts sprinkled by
the Spirit of God bringing back to our memory that which Almighty
God has done for us The Lord has put away my guilt. There's
no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus,
who walk not after the flesh, after the dictates of the flesh,
after the thoughts of the flesh, the thought that thinks that
I can justify myself, but walks after the Spirit, taught by the
Spirit. Believe in God. Almighty God. has put away the guilt of His
people. They will never perish. I give unto them eternal life
and they'll never perish. Now that's good news. That's
good news. But then He says, and our bodies,
our whole man, our entire man washed with pure water. What's He talking about? Well,
truly, we do know our conscience is settled by that which the
Lord accomplished at Calvary in our redemption. But here the
Spirit of God is setting forth. We need a daily cleansing. You know, we've studied this
same thing that was talking about the red heifer. to be washed and washed and washed
because of the presence of sin. I need to have my old man washed
afresh. My conscience is clear. Paul
said in Romans 12.1, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the
mercies of God that you present your bodies a living sacrifice,
holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. Present your bodies. Lord, I desire to have my tongue employed
in praising You. Lord, forgive me where I don't. desire that my ears hear of You
and that I would, by faith and love and appreciation for that
which You've done for me, oh Lord, cleanse me by Your precious
blood. Lord, I believe, help my unbelief. I know this. My conscience. Our conscience has been sprinkled. God has put away your guilt.
But just like when the Lord Jesus Christ told Peter, the Lord took
that basin of water and girded himself. And Peter said, Are
you going to wash my feet? He said, You're clean everywhere. The only thing that needs to
be washed is your feet, your walk. And by the mercy of Almighty
God, by the grace of God, God pardons, forgives for Christ's
sake. We're still in this world. And
I'm telling you, God Almighty has provided the precious blood
of the Lord Jesus Christ that our bodies, our whole man, with
pure water, the blood of Christ applied. Paul said in 1 Corinthians
6, 24, you are bought with a price. Therefore, glorify God in your
body and in your spirit with your gods. We are exhorted to
walk, to have our manner of living as children of life, but oh,
how we need to be cleansed daily. because of our frailty. One day, this tabernacle, this
earthly tabernacle is going to be put off. And there will be
no more doubting God forgetful. There will be no more dishonoring
Him. And how God's people hate the thought of when they stumble,
fall. But thanks be unto Him that Almighty
God forgives us for Christ's sake. Our need to have our bodies,
our complete man, washed with pure water, the Holy Spirit's
daily, every moment application of the Word of God to our heart,
By the grace of God, thank you. If we say, John says, that we
have no sin, we deceive ourselves. He said, but if we confess our
sins, if we confess what we are, and only a believer is going
to do that. Unbeliever, he doesn't think he's got anything to confess.
Not that bad. I don't know, unbeliever. They're
just like that Pharisee. He prayed thus with himself,
God, I thank Thee that I'm not as other men are. Oh, I fast. I tithe. I'm not like that publican. The publican that Scripture says
would not even so much as lift up his eyes toward heaven. And
he said, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. A sinner is one
who needs mercy. Lord, have mercy on me. Forgive
me. Can you imagine that we are able
to draw near to God with a true heart, full assurance, having
our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience? God has put
away your guilt and for Christ's sake, forgives you, your daily
walk. He, the Lord said, and this is
what I quoted, that is washed, John 13, 10, needeth not save
but to wash his feet. But he is clean everywhere. Let us draw near. And in drawing near, Let it be
with a sincere heart of faith, knowing who has answered God's
demand for God's law to be satisfied, for our conscience to be clean,
taught by the Holy Spirit of God. May the Lord teach us. There's no condemnation. It's
like when David Confessed. I thought about that when I was
preparing this. It was David, a man after God's
own heart. And Nathan, the prophet, came to him. And he told him,
he said, you're the man. And David said, I have sinned
against God. And Nathan told David, the Lord's
forgiven you and you're not going to die. Boy, what good news. May the Lord teach us tonight.
There's some good news for God's people. How's the good news? They see something of what they
are every day, every moment. You know the struggles you have
when you try to pray. You know the struggles you have
when you try to hear. If you're like me, you've struggled through
this whole sermon. Your mind has wandered. Mine
has too. Isn't that sad? You've been at
work. You've been somewhere tomorrow.
You were somewhere yesterday. I'll get that thing taken care
of and hear the glorious gospel of God's grace. And I'm talking
about somebody that was doing it too. And here's the glorious
gospel of God's grace being preached. And where was I? Lord, thank
You for forgiveness. Lord, help me. Teach me. Wash my complete man in the precious
blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. And forgive me for His sake.
Amen.