Feeling much to need the help
of the Holy Spirit, both physically and spiritually this evening,
I venture to speak to you from the chapter that we have read
together, the 10th chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews, considering
verses 12 and 13. Hebrews chapter 10, verses 12
and 13. But this man, after he had offered
one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of
God, from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his
footstool." The epistle to the Hebrews is that epistle which
exalts the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Of course all scriptures
do this, but I believe the Apostle especially wants to set before
the Hebrews that Christ is the central sum and subject of all
true religion. And if the apostle in his day
would have the church to consider that, how much more do we need
it today? Looking unto Jesus, as the author
and finisher of our faith. He, who for the joy that was
set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is now
sat down on the right hand of God. But this man. Then the first thing we need
to consider is exactly who the Apostle is speaking of. And it is very evident from the
context, right from the beginning of this epistle, that Jesus Christ,
the Eternal Son of the Eternal Father, is the one being set
before us. as he opens this epistle, God,
who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in times past unto
the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken
unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things,
whom also he made the worlds, who being in the brightness of
his glory and the express image of his person, and upholding
all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself
purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty
on high." Goes on to speak of the preeminence of the Lord Jesus
Christ over angels Angels worship and adore Him. They are interested
in looking into those things which the Lord Jesus Christ has
now accomplished. Much they do not understand why
this great God of heaven should leave His ethereal throne, His
great throne on high and come down to be a man and die. Why
would he do this? Was it for saints that he did
it? No, it was for sinners. He speaks also of his supremacy
over Moses. Moses was God's instrument in
bringing the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt and
bringing them into the Promised Land, which is a type of heaven. Moses was a servant in God's
house, but the Lord Jesus Christ is Master. He is the Son unto
whom all power, might, majesty and dominion has been given. But this man, we need to understand
that Christ, as we are told in Proverbs, was in the bosom of
the Father from before the world began. That is, from all eternity,
He ever was and ever will be God. There is, in many churches today,
a disagreement with that very statement. They do not believe
that Christ is God. They believe He's a good man.
Some believe that He's a prophet. But who say ye that I am? And Peter was not hesitant in
his answer. Thou art the Son of the living
God. Thou art the God. One in the heavens. The majesty
of the Trinity. Three persons yet one God. One God yet three persons. We use the word persons because
there's probably not a better word to describe. There's three
entities, there's three diversities and yet there's no diversity.
It is a great mystery. It's something that I cannot
explain to you, nor can any other person explain to you. Many have
tried, many have sought, out of a right motive, to set forth
the glorious Trinity of God. But we fail miserably. Who can
understand these things? God the Father? God the Son,
God the Holy Spirit, three persons yet one Almighty God. And there the Lord Jesus Christ
as God was with the Father and with the Spirit. And in the great
councils of Jehovah, I say before the world began, it was decided
that God should make man after his own image. After his own
image made he him. But he knew that Adam would fall. He knew that man would enter
into sin. He knew that he would be found
in a lost condition, a hopeless state and condition, that He
could not deliver himself. He could do nothing to extricate
himself from the awful position that he found himself in. Enemies of the Most High God. Man by wicked works. There is none righteous, no not
one. We are all fallen creatures. All have sinned, says the Scriptures.
and come short of the glory of God there is none righteous no
not one and if there's not one righteous that means that you
and I are not righteous in and of ourselves we have no righteousness
we have nothing that we can give to God which is acceptable unto
Him nothing but sin I thee can give says a poet but this man this man Christ
Jesus well he became man that holy thing that was implanted
in the womb of the Virgin Mary and she brought forth and thou
shalt call his name Jesus and the name Jesus the Old Testament
name of Joshua of course Jesus means Saviour and it is a faithful
saying and worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the
world for this express purpose and to save sinners even the
chief of sinners but this man and we have another glorious
doctrine set before us that he was made in all points like as
we are with one only exception and those who try and bring other
exceptions in have no scriptural warrant so to do one thing that
he was not guilty of one thing that he was free from from his
birth through his life, in his death, in his resurrection, there
was no sin found on him. This man, a man there is, says
the first hymn, a man there is, a real man, with wounds still
gaping wide. It is this man. If the angels have been given
a task, to bring man to God, all eternity would not be long
enough for them to discover a plan whereby man might be saved. But God had so ordained that
Christ should take flesh of our flesh and bone of our bone, should
be found a man and die. And there We see the purpose
of this man coming into the world and we want to try and discover
as it were, although many have discovered this, how this man
saved his people. Let us be utterly clear. that there was a people, an elect
people, chosen in Christ, says the Apostle, before the world
began. God the Father made choice of
a certain number of men and women throughout the ages of time from
the beginning to the very end. whom were laid upon the heart
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Yea, he says to his people, I
have loved thee with an everlasting love, therefore this is why in
loving kindness have I drawn thee. and as a hymn writer says
the appointed time rolls on a pace not to propose but call by grace
to change the heart renew the will and set the feet to Zion's
heel but this man this man but what was the office of this man
and we must realize that an office was created for him an office
which he was willing to take up although it meant that he
must greatly humble himself he humbled himself and made himself
of no reputation look at the circumstances in which the Lord
of life and glory was brought into this world Look at that
lowly manger, look at the poor couple, the virgin and her to
be husband. In a stable, no room in the inn. There came the Lord. Not in Jerusalem, as many would
have thought. Not surrounded by glorious circumstances
in a palace. but in a manger. Oh, think of
the humility of the Lord Jesus Christ and should we not be humble
in the sight of this man. But then, consider who this glorious
matter was shown unto. Firstly, It was shepherds abiding
in the field watching over their sheep by night. Shepherds were
somewhat despised in their day. These were uneducated people. They were simple souls. They
had nothing to boast of, nothing to achieve. they simply had the
task of protecting the sheep and yet it was to them that the
Lord Jesus Christ came in the first instance by the message
of the angels who sung glory to God in the highest and on
earth peace, goodwill unto men. For unto you, unto you in particular,
you shepherds, you simple souls, is this glorious gospel brought
unto you it is revealed that God's Son has been born born
in these circumstances and when the angels had departed the shepherd
said one to another let's go and see this thing which has
come to pass and how they come to that lowly stable There they
see the Lord Jesus Christ wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in
a manger. Are they offended? Do they turn
their backs? No, they bow down and worship
Him. They worship Almighty God because
it has been revealed to them. They would never have known this
apart from the revelation. and then we have the account
of the wise men Gentiles from the East which followed this
star and went to where the star led them first it took them to
Jerusalem but he was not there and then it took them to Bethlehem
and the star hung as it were over the place where the young
child lay and again through revelation they acknowledge that this man
is true almighty God but they have no doubt no hesitation that
they offer their gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh this
was the beginning then of the life of the Lord Jesus Christ
but then if we can looked to the time when he was to preach
the gospel first John says of him behold the Lamb of God which
taketh away the sins of the world and these words really agree
with our text in a wonderful way the Lamb of God What is the
significance, historically, of the Lamb of God? Well, we look
back to Abraham. Abraham and Isaac. And Abraham
is told by God to take his son, his only son, there to the place
where he would show him and offer him up as a sacrifice. By faith, Abraham is the father
of the faithful. It needed faith to be able to
obey the will of God. Can you imagine? You mothers,
you fathers that have children and when you think of your children
in their infancy and in their youth, how precious they are. And yet if God were to tell you
to go and sacrifice them you couldn't do it unless he gave
you the faith to be able to do it but they go up the mountain
and there Abraham prepares the sacrifice and takes a knife is
about to plunge into his heart when the Lord prevents him he
shows him a substitute and here we have the great doctrine of
substitution how that one stands in the room of another and so
this ram caught in the thicket stands in the place of Isaac
and Abraham offers him up to God an offering which is acceptable
to God and perhaps while we're upon this theme we may look right
back to the beginning to Cain and Abel. Cain offered his sacrifice
unto God and it was rejected. Abel offered his sacrifice and
it was accepted. Why? Why is there the difference? They're both men and no doubt
genuinely would take their gifts and offer them. But this man
after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever. What is a sacrifice? A sacrifice is something which
is holy but it is also something that is a curse. It must die. Now, in Cain's offering, there
was nothing to die. There was no living sacrifice. And this is why God rejected
it. But Abel brought a lamb, a firstling
of the flock, and offered him before God. So, blood was shed,
a life was taken, substitution is made. God accepts of the sacrifice
of Abel. And there we see the great difference. This man, after he had offered
one sacrifice. But if we look at the old economy,
there were many sacrifices that were made throughout the history
of the Old Testament. A sacrifice of beasts and thousands
upon thousands throughout that whole testament economy were
put to death were slain for a sacrifice and this sacrifice had to be
a right sacrifice not any animal would do not an old animal not
an injured animal but one of the first year perfect in all
its ways but life had to be taken and this is a very essence of
the sacrifice that a life had to be the blood of the beast
had to be shed the life had to be taken for God to be able to
accept it but we find in the Old Testament the high priest
entering in once every year into the holiest of all in the tabernacle
that Moses had reared up under God's instruction and as they
offered up they first offered for themselves because they were
sinful men and then on the behalf of the people. But this institution,
this ceremony, had to be taken every year. There was no end
of sin. Men were still sinners. They still needed a sacrifice
to be made on their behalf. But this man after he had offered
one sacrifice for sins forever. And so we find as you read through
the Old Testament, time and again, that which points to the person
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now what understanding did the
Old Testament saints have in their day? Well, more than perhaps
we would realise, because we know the Lord Jesus Christ said
concerning Abraham, Abraham rejoiced to see my day, he saw it and
was glad. So Abraham had some comprehension
of the need of that one perfect sacrifice for sin. He looked
forward to the day of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. and
throughout the Old Testament economy again and again the prophets
prophesied of the coming of the Messiah. It seems incredible perhaps to
us, looking back upon that scene, how was it that he was not accepted,
not received? As John tells us in the first
chapter of his Gospel, he came unto his own and his own received
him not. The Scriptures pointed to the
Messiah. And the more you study the Scriptures,
the more you will see of Christ defined there in the Scriptures. He was set forth in all his life I think if you
search the scriptures adequately, you can find every part of his
life set forth, perhaps especially in the book of Psalms and in
the prophecy of Isaiah, often described as the fifth gospel,
his virgin birth, his life, his ministry, his miracles, his sufferings,
his death, his resurrection, his ascension, his session before
God. All these things are to be found
there and yet you see they have no eyes to see, no heart to understand. they remained sadly ignorant
of these great truths and how many throughout the ages and
even today we've had the King James Bible we've had the Bible
in our English language a good and faithful translation of the
Scriptures for over 400 years. You would think by now, man studying
these things would come to a knowledge of the truth. But man is without
knowledge. He doesn't understand, let alone
receive the truth of God's Holy Word. They do not see why the
Lord Jesus Christ should lay down His life for his people
and they have no interest that Christ should die for them. You
can only feel sorry for such poor souls who remain in ignorance. We were mentioning this morning
that the wisdom of this world is such that it only considers
the things of this world whereas the Lord's people are brought
through grace to consider beyond this world the heaven and the
hell that awaits all creatures after he had offered one sacrifice
and we're told why the sacrifice was made it was made for sins Sin is the
very seat upon which the discovery of the sacrifice can be made. But who are sinners? As I mentioned
already, all have sinned. were all sinners and yet how
many people know themselves to be sinners? How many people have
had imparted to them the gift of the Holy Spirit, the grace
to be able to discover their lost and wretched condition? How many would recognize and
acknowledge that they are fallen creatures in the sight of God? and that they have nothing that
they can offer unto God that is acceptable in his sight. It is a work of God's grace to
convince us of our sins. People talk about sin And I'm
sure there are many natural people who have no religion, who understand
that they have sinned in various ways. The thief knows that he's
a sinner, that he shouldn't do the things that he does. The
murderer must be aware that there are consequences for the offence
of taking another man's life. These things then are known unto
people. They know that they are wrong,
but they don't know themselves to be real sinners. They've never
had this laid with weight upon them. And it's a very solemn
exercise. In many evangelical type churches
today, sin is something, well, if you come to the front of the
church and confess your sin, say a few words, then you're
saved. What a lie. is being perpetrated
in these churches. People are so foolish to accept
what a man says without any knowledge. And the reason is that people
do not know the Scriptures. They don't examine the Bible,
read, mark, learn and inwardly digest the truth that is set
before us on these pages. I think we live in a day of the
greatest education that has ever been known in the world, and
yet man is in the greatest ignorance, probably, that he's ever been.
I think we live in a day when society, generally speaking,
knows nothing about the Scriptures. These things are not taught to
our children. People don't come into contact
with them. Countless thousands, the greatest
majority, never enter into a place of worship. And so they know
nothing of the teaching of Scriptures. And if at some time they look
into the Word of God, it's a closed book to them. They cannot receive
it. They will not receive it. they
do not receive it. It's only as the Lord gives us
light, gives us understanding, gives us true spiritual meaning,
that we may come to acknowledge, Lord, I have sinned against heaven
and before thee. I am no longer worthy Here we
see man's complete and utter unworthiness to come before God. And if we recognize anything
of our awful, filthy, vile condition, how can we come before a holy
God? How is it possible that we could
ever be saved? You see the person comes into
an exercise. An exercise regarding themselves. They come perhaps at times to
nigh despair. The Lord doesn't leave them to
despair. But they come nigh unto it. For
they see themselves in such a place that there is none to help. There's
none to whom they can go. None with whom they can communicate. that will help them because vain
is the help of man as the psalmist tells us but this man see the great plan
of salvation but this man we need to be directed by the Holy
Spirit He came not to speak of Himself the Holy Spirit. He came
to lead sinners to the Saviour. And it's a wonderful thing when
we are made willing in the day of God's power to forsake all
that we might follow Him. The Lord is good to all those
that trust in Him. to the soul that waits upon him
after he has offered one sacrifice for sins forever. Then to understand
what the Lord Jesus has accomplished. When upon the cross he could
cry, it is finished. Lo, in the volume of the book
it is written of me. I come to do thy will, O God.
Thy law is within my heart. The Lord Jesus complied. He kept perfectly the whole law
of God. He did not transgress in one
single point. He was the holy, harmless, innocent
Son of God. And even His accusers could find
no fault in Him. Why could they find no fault
in Him? Simply because there was no fault
in Him. He offered one sacrifice for
sin. those beautiful words, "'Tis
Jesus in the sinner's place." And if those words should fall
not only into your mind but into your heart and greatly affect
you, what a blessing it would be. But this man, after he had
offered one sacrifice for sin. You see, not all the blood of
bulls and goats that was slain upon those Jewish altars could
save one soul. The law never saved anyone. The Apostle tells it, it was
our schoolmaster to lead us to Christ and being led to Christ. We fix all our hope, all our
confidence upon Him. But what a sacrifice the Lord
Jesus Christ made. And I don't believe we can ever
overemphasise the great heights which were with the Son of God
before the world began. he dwelt in highest glory. As the father spake of him, this
is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. We think of the
high priest before his offering would wash himself in the lava
that he might enter into his work undefiled, clean from all
the things that had transacted upon him. Well, look at the Lord
Jesus Christ being baptized of John and the Lord says to John,
suffer it to be so now. Why? Because it fulfilled all
righteousness. So the Lord Jesus Christ is washed
as in the lava by his baptism in the river Jordan. Secondly,
the high priest in his inauguration was anointed with holy oil. Well, when the Lord Jesus Christ
came up out of the water, the Holy Spirit descended upon him. The Spirit that was given to
him without measure. And then came the words of the
Father, the authority that Christ had as the mediator of his people. This this man this one to whom
we look this man is my beloved son in whom I am eternally well
pleased and it's a very solemn consideration when we read those
words in the prophecy awake O sword against my shepherd It was the Lord who laid on him
the iniquities of us all, that is, of all God's people. He bore
the punishment instead. He took the shame that was with
sin. You know, sin is ever a shameful
thing. whatever way you look at it it
is sinful and if you notice the words of our text I'm often looking
at the little things as it were in the Word of God sometimes
we have a sacrifice for sin but in this verse it is in the plural
So we don't only have to look at the hideous type of sin, we
have to also look at the multitude of sins. We're not guilty of
just one sin. It can't be said of any person.
The only thing that the Lord has against them is because of
this or that. No, we sin in many different
ways. sins of commission, sins of omission
and as the hymn writer goes on to say sins as deep as is the
sea hide me oh Gethsemane. Another type that is set before
us here is that of the children of Israel coming out of Egypt. With a high hand, the Lord will
bring them out. But think of that last night.
They must take a lamb, a perfect lamb, and there slay it in the
doorways of their dwellings. And they must take the blood
and sprinkle it upon the lintel and upon the doorposts. and I've
often made this remark that the blood shed would fall also to
the ground and so if you can imagine it there was a complete
trail of blood all around that dwelling and what did the Lord say and
when I see the blood I will pass over you Our only safety, our
only security is the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. But this
man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, One
sacrifice. One perfect sacrifice. One sacrifice
that was acceptable unto God. If it wasn't a perfect sacrifice,
He could never have risen from the dead. But we read on the
third day, He rose again according to the Scriptures. He rose from
the grave. Sometimes it says the Father
raised him from the dead, sometimes it said by his own power he was
raised from the dead. We think of the concert of the
three in one God, all involved in this wonderful action that
he might justify his people, that he might clothe them with
the robe of his righteousness. And so one sacrifice, one acceptable
sacrifice was necessary for God's people to be set free and at
liberty. And I see the blood, I will pass
over you. Those words ring true even today. Are we beneath the blood of the
Lord Jesus Christ? Do we have a covering for our
sins? Do we believe that the blood
of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth us from all sins, not one left,
no defilement, not one mark, blot or blemish to be found? He paid the price of all sins
from the beginning to the end, from the top to the bottom, from
the inside to the outside, in every way. all your sins are
forgiven you and what a mercy if the Lord should speak that
with divine power to our never dying souls son thy sins are
forgiven thee be of good cheer thy sins are forgiven thee as
Christ forgave the sins of one and another that were brought
to him or to whom he came so it is in every case to everyone
that has faith and confidence in the Lord Jesus Christ in the
action that he took in the work that he performed that finished
work at Calvary and there he paid the price that awful price
the mountain of our sins the sins of all his people forever
and ever one sacrifice forever sat down on the right hand of
God. Remember when he led the disciples
to Bethany and there he was taken up and the clouds hid him out
of their sight. What happened next? Well the
psalmist tells us in those wonderful words, lift up your heads, O
ye gates, and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors, and the
King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The
Lord of hosts, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the King of glory. He sat down on the right hand
of God. I'm sure you know what the significance
is of sitting down. In the Scriptures, it means a
completed work. When a person stands up, they
have something to do. When they sit down, they are
at rest, they are at peace. And so the Lord Jesus Christ
sat down, but where did he sit? He sat down on the right hand
of God. the hand, the right hand is a
hand of power, might and dominion and the Lord Jesus sat down there
a man, this man, the same dear man in heaven now reigns who
once died for the sins of his people who gave himself and notice
this, he didn't give of himself He gave himself wholly and completely
to the work that the Father gave him to do. But this man, after
he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on
the right hand of God. All power is given unto me, says
the Lord Jesus. in heaven and in earth, the power
to save, the power to deliver, the power to preserve, all the
power that is necessary for the safety, security and blessing
of his own covenant people. Remember when he was about to
leave the disciples and be crucified? He assured the apostles that
he would come. The hymn writer takes it up,
I believe, in a beautiful way. Our blessed Redeemer, air he
breathed, his tender last farewell, a guide, a comforter bequeathed,
with us to dwell. Christ is in heaven, but his
people are written as a high priest had the names of the tribe
of Israel written upon his heart. There we see those names, the
names of God's covenant people on the heart of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Also, those names were written
on the shoulders of the High Priest. What does the shoulder
depict? It depicts strength. He upholds,
by his own strength, his people that they might endure to the
end, that they might be saved. Also, they are written on his
hands. Those blessed hands that were
nailed to the accursed tree that he shows to Thomas. Be not unbelieving,
he says, but believe. Believe that it is I and what
I have done for you and for all my people, this sacrifice that
I made for your sins. Then shall we not praise and
bless and magnify the name of the Lord our God for all that
he is and all that he has done for the salvation of our souls the right hand of God from henceforth
expecting he waits in expectancy and he will not be disappointed
until his enemies be made his footstool we've begun upon a
new year An uncertain future lies before us. The turmoil that
is in the world today. The opposition to Christianity. The wickedness that is being
now openly perpetrated. All these things will bring fear
naturally into the hearts of God's people. We wonder at times
where the scene will end. But remember this. The Lord God
omnipotent reigneth and he reigns forever and ever and will not
be content until his enemies be put down and his people gathered
in. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me and him that cometh unto me I will in no wise
cast out. Again he promises his disciples,
I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place
for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, but
where I am, there ye may be also. Are we contemplating heaven?
Do we have a good hope through grace? that the day will come
when we will be delivered from this mean spot earth carried
up by angels into the bosom of Abraham that is into the bosom
of Christ and there to dwell with him forever and ever now
if there are any here tonight who do not have a sweet assurance
do not have even a desire after these things let me both warn
you and exhort you, warn you that God is angry with the wicked
every day. You may not think yourselves
to be wicked persons but if you don't love the Lord Jesus Christ
then you are among the wicked and whatever sins will be charged
against you forever and ever. then an exhortation. Call upon
the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Yes,
we need grace. We need God to give us all that
we stand in need of. We cannot even pray without the
Holy Spirit's aid. We need real prayer. We need
a real religion. We need a real union with the
church's living head. We need Christ. Give me Christ
or else I die. Is that your desire tonight?
Do these things touch you? Do they affect you? Or will you
go out of this building tonight having heard the gospel perhaps
most of you preached twice at least today unaffected? As a door upon its hinges, those
doors, they swing. They never get anywhere. They never come to anything.
Is that you? Will you be found at last among
those who are condemned to eternal hell, to eternal misery, to eternal
separation from God? O God forbid. O may it please
the Lord to appear. to come and make one in our midst,
to come and reveal himself to poor, erring, hell-deserving
sinners, to show himself a God of mercy and a God of grace. And may there be those tokens. Pray especially that your pastor
may be given tokens to his ministry, souls to his hire. May there
be those ruled upon by the Holy Spirit, forced as it were out
of their dead state and condition to come out from among this world
to separate themselves and identify themselves with the people of
God the natural person does not have courage to do this but when
the power and influence of the Holy Spirit is upon us then nothing
will stop us we will call and the Lord will answer and there
will come a time when you're able to come before this church
and identify what the Lord has done for your never-dying souls
and the members of this church will rejoice in the fact that
one sinner is brought to the Saviour and we read also that
there will be joy in heaven over your conversion. May it be so. May the Lord appear. We live
in a day of small things, but we're not to despise them. And
your pastor knows, the ministers here know, that we have to continue. Whether we see signs and evidences,
we still have to be faithful. It's not well done, good and
prosperous servant, but rather well done, good and faithful
servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord. We must leave
it there. May the Lord bless His own word
to us and pardon anything that may have been said amiss, for
we desire all to the honour and glory of our Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ, even so. Amen. These singers are concluding
hymn number 482. The tune is Brookfield, 310. In heaven my choice is treasured. My hopes are placed above the
skies. It is Christ, the bright and
morning star, that draws my affections from afar. Hymn number 482.