I want to begin our study on
Hebrews chapter 10 by underlining something that may not be evident
here, but is certainly present in the text. And that is that
the salvation that we're talking about, or that God is talking
about, is a common salvation. It's for the congregation. the
congregation of God's people who are called his people because
he chose them in Christ. And they're called his people
because Christ, the Lord Jesus, redeemed them by his precious
blood. And it is for them that the Lord Jesus is High Priest. It is for them that he prays.
For example, in John 17, 20, he says, I pray not for the world, but
for them which thou hast given me, for they are thine." That's
actually in verse 9, but in verse 20 he says, I don't only pray
for these, these 12 here now, but for those, actually it was
11 then, but for those which thou hast given me, and those
which would believe on me through their word. So the congregation,
the church, the brethren, the children of God, the sons of
God, those chosen and ordained to everlasting life, that's who
is being addressed in the book of Hebrews. And the name Hebrews
makes us immediately think, well, it was delivered to the people
who were nationally or physically born to Abraham. But if you understand
scripture then you see that it's not a Jew which is one outwardly,
that's not the true Jew, it's the one who is inwardly a Jew,
one God has given his spirit to in the new birth to see and
believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as all in their salvation. They're
the true Hebrews, the true Israel of God, so it's written to us.
So I emphasize that because it's necessary for us to see that
this is written to the church. And that makes it all the more
powerful. Because as the people of God, I want to take you to
a scripture to show you this. If you turn to Ephesians chapter
four, hold your place here. As the people of God, we have
a relation to one another established by God himself. God put us together. This is not a social group, although
we are socially active, but it's not a group formed by social
like-mindedness. It's a group formed by the Spirit
of God through faith in Christ. We share a common salvation,
which means we also have one faith, one object of our faith. In Ephesians chapter 4, look
at this in verse 25. He says, wherefore putting away
lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor, for we are
members one of another. That's what I wanted to emphasize
there. So it's written, the book of Hebrews is written to God's
people who are members one of another, of partakers of this
common salvation. All of us are partakers of this
one body of Christ. We not only live, We're not only
saved because of the broken body of Jesus and by our faith given
to us by God in Him, but we also have the same Spirit of God,
the Spirit of Christ in us. We have the same life. And having
the same head, Him, the Lord Jesus Christ being the head of
the body, we're members of His body, members of one another.
In fact, this is what marriage signifies. God has given us a
shadow, something that represents this, it's marriage. In marriage,
the husband is a shadow, a representative of Christ. And in marriage, the
wife is a representative of the church, the congregation, the
brethren, the people of God. All of the love of Christ is
for his people. He gave himself for her. The
Lord Jesus Christ loved the church, he gave himself for it. And so
the love of a husband is towards his wife, not for another woman. All of his life he gives for
her. That's God's will for husbands.
The shadow is so strong in the marriage relationship that God
gives them children out of this bond of love. And those children
are also representative of the fact that in the church, through
the preaching of the gospel, God blesses that seed of the
gospel and multiplies that seed in bringing many children, many
sons to glory through faith in Christ. And just like in the
marriage, I mean in the church, the people of God are subject
to Christ in everything, so in the marriage, the wife is to
be subject to her husband in everything, in love. Not out
of fear, not out of some kind of imposed duty, not out of rules
like the law, but out of love. She wants to, just like the believer
wants to be subject to Christ. But the shadow is so strong in
marriage that God enforces it with many, he hedges it in with
many barriers that a man should not leave his wife and a wife
should not leave her husband. What God has joined together,
let not man put asunder. So that's a very strong thing
because the truth that that shadow points to is so strong. Now I
say all this as a preparation for what we're about to read
here in Hebrews chapter 10, because he's going to drive us to that.
We all have the same need. Our sins are great. We cannot
come to God except God provide the way, as Ramel so clearly
pointed out. I love the fact that children
ask questions like his daughter asked the question, the only
way. There was a woman that I had interactions with when we had
put our messages on the radio station, and she wanted to argue
with me, and in those days she was asking me, she said, what
do you think about Buddhists or some other religion? The people
there, surely they're not going to hell, God's going to consider
them too, won't he? And I said, for me to say that
God would consider access to himself by some other way would
bring dishonor to God and dishonor to Christ. It would make God's
holiness insignificant, his justice absolutely nothing, and his grace
a cheap thing. No, God doesn't have another
way. He offered up his son. If there had been another way,
God would have taken it. Jesus said, Father, if there
be any other way, nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done.
There was no other way. There is no other Savior. So
I love the way that children ask those questions, because
they set it up for us, don't they? It shows how children hang
on every word, and how our words should be carefully chosen. It
also reminds me of the proverb, which says that the words of
the wise parents, are heard more in quiet than the cry of Him
that rules among fools. It doesn't matter how loud your
volume is, it's what you have to say and who says it. Those
children and whoever God gives us to speak to, the words of
the wise, the words of Christ and Him crucified, those words
have power, the power of God to salvation. And so all of this
is leading us to what the writer to the Hebrews is saying here.
He has just given us the apex, the highest point in the gospel,
that Jesus Christ actually obtained eternal redemption. That completely
annihilates every claim that Christ died for everyone, because
not all are redeemed. It completely supports the fact
that because he sits down, that our redemption has been obtained. We are justified. All of our
sins have been forgiven by God for Christ's sake, alone. And these things are certain.
The promises that God made in the new covenant in the Old Testament
by the Spirit of God, those have been fulfilled. The Spirit of
God spoke in prophecy what would be done by Christ, and now he
brings that to bear to show us it's done, whereof the Holy Ghost
also is a witness to us. This is what he says here in
verse 15. So he brings to bear the fact
that what Christ did is certain, it's done, it's finished, it's
complete, it's perfect. Nothing can be added to it. God
requires nothing else and will not tolerate any attempt to bring
anything else. And that's what faith is. Faith
abandons everything else. and lays hold on Christ alone. And it comes to God that way.
Faith is not just, well, I recognize that must be so, that makes a
lot of sense. Faith compels us to come to God on that basis. If we don't seek him diligently,
then we don't have faith. And if we don't seek him through
Christ, then we don't have faith. And let us therefore cry to God
that he would give us that saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. So he has clearly laid out here
that by one offering the Lord Jesus Christ has sanctified his
people by his own blood and by one offering he has perfected
all those that he sanctified by his blood. The law made nothing
perfect, Christ made all for whom he died perfect before God. Nothing can be added. God requires
no more sacrifice. Only one, and Christ is seated
on the right hand of God, the right hand of glory, the highest
reward imaginable, never given to any but him, and God would
never have rewarded him with that great reward unless he had
actually finished the work God gave him to do, which he did.
And so he brings this in, whereof, verse 15, the Holy Ghost also
is a witness to us. He's going to connect it all
with a covenant. God made promises. He put it
in a covenant. The way those promises were put
into force was the conditions were met, and the conditions
were all hinged on God. the performance of the Lord Jesus
Christ. He is our high priest. He entered
into the holiest. He offered himself to God for
our sins and he obtained our complete freedom from our sins,
from the condemnation of God's law. And so now we're free. And
he goes on in verse 16 of Hebrews 10. This is the covenant that
I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord. I will
put my laws into their hearts and in their minds will I write
them. What he's talking about here
is the truth of how God's law Though it demands from us everything
and we can pay nothing, has all been fulfilled in Christ alone. That's the only way God's law
can be satisfied and magnified and fulfilled. And the covenant
promises of God puts that in our heart. The gospel by the
Spirit of God is written on our hearts, not with ink, but with
the Spirit of God. 2nd Corinthians chapter 3, you
can read about that. So he talks about that here.
That's part of the promise. Verse 17, and their sins and
iniquities will I remember no more. There's going to come a
time, according to God's promise, the words of the Spirit of God
spoken in prophecy, when God will no more remember the sins
of his people. How can that be? Amen. Praise
God. How can that be? Only one way,
if God really put them away. If there's nothing there to remember. A preacher said, it is as if
our sins are no more. It is, it's not just as if, they
are no more. And you can see this throughout
scripture. These amazing truths are stated in prophecy in ways
that are memorable and delightful and comforting and instilling
of peace and joy in believing. Let me read this one to you in
Jeremiah. In chapter 50 and verse 20, this
is the words of the Holy Ghost. In those days and in that time,
saith the Lord, speaking of this gospel age, the iniquity of Israel,
in other words, the elect of God, chosen in Christ, redeemed
by his blood and who would be given his spirit, the iniquity
of Israel shall be sought for and there shall be none and the
sins of Judah, and they shall not be found, for I will pardon
them whom I reserve." God has a remnant, he reserved them.
And those are those that he pardoned through the blood of Christ.
And this is an amazing consequence, an amazing grace, declaration
of God's truth here, that God will remember their sins no more.
This is the words of God, and it was fulfilled by what? the
sin-renetting blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Numbers chapter
23 and verse 21 says the same thing. He hath not beheld iniquity
in Jacob. But Jacob's name means cheat,
it means scoundrel. How could he not behold iniquity
in Jacob? Because he beheld it in his son. and he dealt with it in his son.
God's law is not put away and abolished. It's not unsatisfied
or unfulfilled by Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ established
the law in his death and in his obedience in that death. He has
made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be
made the righteousness of God in him. He actually fulfilled
the law. He's the end of the law for righteousness.
And so the Lord says here, he hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob,
neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel. The Lord his God is
with him, and the shout of a king is among them. That's Christ.
Our God and our king is among us. And one more verse along
these lines that is most endearing is found in the Song of Solomon.
I love to think about this verse. Song of Solomon, I mention this
whenever we have a wedding. Listen to these words. These
are the words of Jesus Christ, the Holy One of God, spoken in prophecy of his people. He says in Song of Solomon, chapter
four, verse seven, this is his estimation. Thou art all fair,
my love, there is no spot in thee. What is the Lord Jesus, how is
he able in truth to say that? Because it is true. He cannot
lie. What he describes here is the
fact. Because his blood actually cleansed
us from our sin. And his obedience in shedding
that blood actually made us righteous. God credited us, he accounted
to us the blood and obedience of his son as our righteousness.
That's why he says in Hebrews 10, they're made perfect. And
so he says back in Hebrews 10, where remission of these is,
there's no more offering. Where remission is, there's no
need for offering. And since offering ceased in
Christ, one offering of himself, then we are, God's covenant is
fulfilled. He remembers our sins no more. amazing grace, verse 20 of the
same chapter, Hebrews 10, by a new and living way which he
hath consecrated for us through the veil, that is to say his
flesh. This is the access that Rommel was talking about in Ephesians
chapter 2 and verse 18. Access to God by Jesus Christ. We dare not come to God on our
own. We dare not come to God on our
own. We dare not think that we can stand before God in the day
of judgment or at any time but especially in the day of judgment
and somehow give an account of ourselves to God that God can
accept. We need a high priest. We need
an advocate. We need an intercessor. We need
an offering, a sacrifice made by that high priest. Christ is
all of those things. It is Christ that died. That's
the believer's only consideration. The only one he looks to when
he comes to God. It's by Jesus Christ. He is our
access. The veil that separated the holy
from the holiest place has been torn by God from top to bottom
because the truth of it has been brought to pass. Christ's body
was broken for us. He laid his life down for us,
and he didn't do that without achieving the purpose for which
he did that. He made access to God for us. He presents us in the presence
of God's glory, without spot and without any taint of sin,
unblameable, unreprovable, holy in his sight, just as he predestined
us in Ephesians 1 and verse 4, that we should be. It's all in
Christ, it's all in our high priest. He enters into the holy
place, and in Exodus 39, you can read about this in your own
time, Exodus 39, the priests were to go in to do the service
of God, and they had on their shoulders these gems, and on
their breastplate these gems, and on those gems were inscribed
the names of the children of Israel. All the tribes were named
there on those gems. Why? Why did they come into the
presence of God? Why did the high priest come
into the presence of God with the names of the children of
Israel on the gems on his shoulders and on his breastplate? Because
we have no access. He came by his own strength.
The strength of the Lord Jesus Christ brings us into the presence
of God in spite of our sin and our weakness. We have no understanding,
we have no wisdom, no righteousness. He brings us. It's His strength.
And on His breastplate, because His concern is for us, He comes
with love for His people and He presents us with His own blood
in love to God. It's his strength, it's his love
that makes us acceptable through his blood. Amazing grace. And
so it's a new and living way which he hath consecrated for
us through the veil, that is to say his flesh, and having
in high priest over the house of God. Over the house of God,
one who represents who? The congregation, the church,
the body, his own people, his brethren, the sons of God. the
nation, the holy nation, that generation, that chosen generation.
Those are the ones over which Christ is as the high priest. And he enters into the presence
of God, representing them with their names, as it were figured
by the breastplate and the shoulder where they put the names, carrying
them in care and tender concern and love. Casting all your cares
upon him? Why? For he careth for you. This is testifying to Christ's
representation of us before God, his tender concern for his people,
and his strength to make us acceptable by what he does for us. Over
the house of God, high priest. Verse 22, then, knowing this,
having these things constantly in our minds, a conviction of
them in our heart, a persuasion of them so that our conscience
is actually changed to think about God and our coming to God
on the basis of what God has said concerning Christ. We have
no regard, we have no consideration other than the Lord Jesus Christ
and our coming. In fact, we abandon all. Think about coming into the presence
of a potential employer. How do you come in your interview? you get your best clothes on.
You don't come in with your, what do they call them, shorts? You don't come in with your bare
legs showing, if you're a man. Not in today's tradition. You don't come with your t-shirt
on with words on it like provocative words, political words. No, you
come with a nice shirt, probably a tie, maybe even a suit. You want to put on your best
face when you come in to the employer, right? Would you ever
consider coming to the employer with your vomit or something
else from your body? The Apostle Paul says, I count
all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus. In
fact, I count my own righteousness as dung. I would never consider
coming to God that way. What a horrible thought. But
that's the way we come in reality when we come in consideration,
viewing, considering, regarding something about us as a reason
why God would accept us. You may even think because I
have a subjective faith that God would accept me. He can't
accept us for our subjective faith. He can only accept us
for what Christ has done, and that's the object of our faith.
Not the strength of our faith, but the one we believe. He accepts
us for his sake. And so when we talk about faith
and being justified by faith, it's always with reference to
the one God declares to us, the one we say, yes, it's him, it's
his cause. We come that way, so we come.
He says, having a high priest over the house of God, let us
draw near with a true heart, not a duplicitous heart, not
a heart entertaining two different trusts, one single trust, a single
eye, a simple, an only trust, the Lord Jesus Christ. Lord,
if you don't answer for me, I have no answer. Lord, if you are not
my propitiating sacrifice before God, then I must be condemned. That's the way we come. I am
corrupt, filthy, wretched, a sinner. You must condemn me, but have
mercy, considering only Christ. Accept me only for Him. When
I stand in judgment, consider Christ alone. Don't consider
anything about me. Look to Him only. That's the
way we come in faith, having a true heart. a true heart. In Romans chapter 4 and verse
4 and 5, it says, to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned
of grace, but of debt. Remember those words? The one
who comes to God and tries to obey in order to obtain acceptance
with God, not recognizing that he's already a sinner and condemned
justly by God's law, but he comes thinking that he's going to undo
all of that by working, by doing something, by being sincere,
or shedding tears, or bloodying his knees, or whatever he does.
That worker, that work for that man is counted not for grace,
is not rewarded for grace, but of debt. Because he comes to
God thinking to make God his debtor. Now think about that
for a minute. I was thinking about this the
other day. You know what it's like to be in debt. I hate debt.
I hate debt. I get my credit card bill, and
I immediately want to just pay the whole thing off every month.
That's the way I try to do it. I don't like debt. I don't like
to get a bill the next day. Let's pay that off. I hate debt. Why? Because the debt, the creditor
then can control the terms. This is what you owe me. Oh yeah,
you only borrowed this much, but I'm going to charge you that
much. And now you've got to pay. Now. I want it now. Get busy. Go to work. Pay me back. That's
what a creditor does. But a man who works in coming
to God, he comes with his works expecting that God now, that
he is entitled to receive from God, that God is somehow his
debtor. He is God's creditor. I get to
demand the terms and I get to say how much is paid. That's
what he's doing when he's working. such wickedness, what an evil
heart that is, that we would think, and by our working, that
God will somehow reward us for our work. God is no one's debtor.
He needs nothing. He doesn't need anything from
us. He finds no value from us. God gives to all life and breath
and all things, Acts 17, verse 25. So we can't come that way. To him that worketh is the reward
not reckoned of grace, but debt. He comes thinking to make God
his debtor and he actually incurs more debt because such a wicked
thought is a damnable thought. But, the next verse in Romans
4 verse 5 says, To him that worketh not, I abandon all hope in my
own defense. I put no trust in what I do.
I have no other plea but what God has done and thinks of Christ
for me. That's it. And I stand naked
before God unless God clothed me in His righteousness and washed
me from my sins in His precious blood. And that's the way we
come at all times. Not just once, daily. This is
the conviction of our heart. I'm a filthy corrupt sinner and
don't pretend to be anything more when you come. I was reading
Daniel chapter 9. I encourage you to read that
chapter. There must be 15 different ways in that confession that
Daniel made there where he described, we have disobeyed. We have not
listened to your prophets. We have done what your law said
not to do. We have failed to do what it
said to do. Your law said that you would
bring judgment upon us. That judgment has come. It testifies
against us. We deserve this. We have transgressed. We have trespassed. We have done
iniquity. We've done everything you told
us not to do. That's the way we come. I'm a
sinner and I can't say anything more, nothing better about myself. I have to admit my corruptions
and I'm totally dependent not only for cleansing grace from
all the guilt of my sin, but a new heart to believe Christ
and see it all fulfilled in him. And I need grace to continually come
for grace. I need grace from God. I won't
hold on unless he holds me fast. We're constantly in need of grace,
so we come that way. We draw near with a true heart
in full assurance of faith, because Christ is our coming. He's the
one by whom we come, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil
conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. What is this
talking about? How is our conscience clear?
God sprinkles, he applies, what Christ has done to make us acceptable
before God on our very conscience. Notice he says here, our hearts
sprinkled from what kind of a conscience? An evil conscience. Doesn't that describe us? Our
minds, the heart of man is deceitful above all things and desperately
wicked. Who can know it? But in God's
grace, he sprinkles our evil conscience. We have hostile thoughts
towards God because we see his holy, just, and good law and
what he declares for us to do and condemns us for what we fail
and deliberately don't do. We violate it and we have hard
thoughts of God. We think God is bad because he
doesn't acknowledge us. He doesn't treat us with kindness. doesn't accept us the way we
are. That's an evil conscience. God has to purge our conscience
of these dead works. These works done in thinking
that God can somehow consider me and accept me for what I am. He cannot. He must condemn me.
His justice demands it. His law requires it. but Christ's
blood has taken away my sin. That's what it's about. And our
bodies washed with pure water because in the Old Testament
the priests would wash themselves in water to prepare themselves
ceremonially under the law to be clean to do the service. And
so how are we clean? By the continual application
of Christ's precious blood to our conscience That faith in
His blood, it cleanses us all throughout. Our minds, our conscience,
our bodies. We're dedicated now to the purpose
of Christ. The love of Christ constrains
us. Where hostility once ruled, now
love to Christ rules. And so we come for the grace
in order to have that faith, that love, and everything to
God. We come for His washing. John
13, where Jesus washed the disciples' feet. That's what this is about.
Christ's blood fulfills everything for us. Remember that. The answer
to every question in Scripture for us is Christ. If we just
remember that, everything will be easy. But considering this,
he says this in verse 23, let us hold fast the profession of
our faith. That's us, the congregation,
the church of God. Let us hold fast the profession
of our faith without wavering. Because it's Christ's blood.
It's Christ that died. For he is faithful that promised. My faithfulness is not the issue
in my coming to God. It's Christ's faithfulness. My
confidence is not my confidence, it's Christ. That's my confidence
in coming to God. I come with a true heart, holding
fast the profession of my faith because Christ and him crucified
is my answer to God. Therefore I have everything because
of him. And I do it without wavering
because I'm convinced this is the way things are. Remember
Abraham? In Romans chapter 4, God said that Abraham was strong
in faith. He wasn't wavering in faith.
Let me read that to you. He had waited for 25 years for
God's promise to him and Sarah that he would have a son, Isaac.
And it didn't seem like it was going to happen. Sarah was 90.
He was 99. But in verse 19, it says, being
not, this is Romans chapter 4, 19, being not weak in faith,
Abraham considered not his own body, now dead, just like we
don't consider our own sinful selves. When he was about 100
years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb, he staggered
not at the promise of God through unbelief, but what? He was strong
in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully persuaded that
what he had promised, he was able also to perform. You see? It's all on you, Lord. Lord,
do what you have said. I'm confident that you can do
what you created this world, you can raise the dead, you can
save this center, all by the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what
we come, we come that way. Let us hold fast the profession
of our faith without wavering. Verse 23 of Hebrews 10, for he
is faithful, that promise. Remember this verse when you're
wavering. He is faithful. He is faithful
that promised. It was his promise, his covenant,
Christ's blood. That's why my sins are forgiven
for Christ's sake and come to God by him. So he says this in
verse 24, speaking to this congregation, let us consider one another to
provoke and to love and to good works. Now here's what seems
to be a new theme. What's the result of all this?
We've reached the climax of the argument, we're going down to
see the consequences in our own lives. What should we do? We
don't consider ourselves in coming to God, we consider Christ alone.
What else do we consider? We don't consider ourselves,
we don't put ourselves before others in the congregation, we
make ourselves a servant of all, just like Rommel read in Mark
10, 45. He came not to be ministered
unto, but to minister and to give his life a ransom for many. Not to serve, not to be served,
but to serve. That's what Christ did. So we
consider one another to provoke and to love and to good works.
You see how God builds it? Faith, love, good works. Never reverse those. Never preach
a sermon about good works without preaching Christ and him crucified.
It won't have any effect except to condemn and to make us feel
like we are hopeless and helpless. We are. But let us consider one
another. It means not just to say, yeah,
I remember the list, but to hold up and look upon and study one
another. You know, it's easy to be critical.
I'm very good at being critical. I was telling Denise the other
day. There's nothing in this world that I can't criticize.
I'm just constantly critical. And I don't say that because
I'm proud of it, because I'm ashamed of it. But here, God
says to hold up each one of us Each one in the body in the congregation,
you're members one of another. Christ died for that brother
or sister in the Lord. Hold them up. When you see their
weaknesses, hold them up and consider them to provoke and
to love and do good work. How do you provoke? Well, provoke
kind of carries with it the connotation of being an annoyance. But what's
the best way to provoke to love and do good works? Is it, let's
say for example, is it dad sitting on the big chair in the living
room, barking orders to his kids, get over there and do the dishes.
Those children will be provoked by that. But not to love and
good works, they'll be provoked to hostility and dead works. But the way we provoke one another
is by example, isn't it? That's the way a mother does
it. She doesn't follow her children around barking at them. She leads
them, and they, like little ducklings, follow her. That's the way it's
done. It's the word spoken in quiet
that has the greatest effect, not the word crying, the fool
crying. We can't turn up the volume to
get love and good works. We have to emulate it. And that
only happens as we live our lives on Christ by faith, because that's
the only way we will love Christ and love one another. So we endeavor
in all that we do to consider the weaknesses, the needs, the
growth of our brethren, and as members one of another, we speak
the truth in love. that we may all grow up by what?
By that which every joint supplieth. Let me read it to you in Ephesians
chapter 4. When the Lord Jesus Christ ascended
and took his place in glory at the right hand of God, he gave
gifts to his church. And those gifts show us how we
provoke one another to love and to good works. When he ascended
on high, he gave some, in verse 11, Ephesians 4, apostles, prophets,
some evangelists, some pastors and teachers. Why? For the perfecting
of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying
of the body of Christ, to build it up. Verse 13, till we all
come in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son
of God to a perfect man, the body of Christ considered as
one man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of
Christ. It's all about Him, isn't it?
And one another, each member in the church, with God-given
measures of faith, each person is given a measure of faith and
gives according to that faith, Our goal here is to consider
one another and to exhort one another, to provoke, to emulate
what we learn in faith with words, but even more powerfully with
what we do. It's your faithfulness to Christ
that people see and are provoked by it. You can talk all day till
you're blue in the face, but when someone sees the way you
live, it makes a powerful message, doesn't it? And so he says here,
verse 14, that we henceforth be no more children tossed to
and fro, carried about with every wind of doctrine by the slight
of men and cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive,
but speaking the truth in love. That's the gospel. We speak it in love and we speak
openly with one another may grow up into him, Christ, in all things,
which is the head, even Christ, from whom from Christ, the head,
the whole body, fitly joined together and compacted by that
which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working
in the measure of every part, not just one part, every part,
maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. The apostles, the evangelists,
the pastors, the teachers, the prophets, all those things were
gifts, but not every gift is named here. We tend to think
of the one person. It's not just one person. The
body is many members. And you can see in the New Testament
over and over again, the hand can't say to the foot, I don't
need you, or the eye, I don't need you. It's foolish to think
that way. But God is saying here, we are
to provoke one another. And how can you do this? Well,
as I said, the best, most effective way is by your faithfulness to
Christ. Serving Christ, living upon him
by faith, confessing the struggles you go through, the comfort you've
been comforted with in your struggles. People, I think they go to the
pastor or the teacher or something, and they're always saying, what
about this, what about that, what about the other thing? And
they think that all they're doing is nagging and draining them.
They're actually helping them. Because when, it's like when
Brianna asked Rommel, is that the only way? See how it helped
her father and helped all of us. Asking questions is another
way. It all serves the building up
of the body of Christ. We provoke one another. It's
not asking questions or saying things, but it's talking about
Christ and asking questions about Him. How is it that God saves
a man? Can I be saved? Have I sinned
so that God can't save me or won't save me? Those are questions
we face, don't we? It seems like I go day-to-day,
week-to-week, month-to-month, sometimes I don't think about
Christ. What do I do? See, these are things that prompt
us to give a reason for the hope that lies within us, and so minister
to one another. So we have to communicate in
fellowship around and concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, and that's
the way we partakers of Him, that's why we have communion
with God in the Spirit, and that's the way we fellowship with one
another. So we consider. Therefore, he says in the next
verse, 25, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together.
How are you going to perform these things if you never see
one another? You can't. You have to actually make contact
with people. Do you have to pray and say,
Lord, is this your will for me? I'm not sure, you know. Well,
if you have to, then you're just denying the truth standing right
in front of you. That's just an excuse not to
do something, isn't it? Well, I'll have to see if God
really meant what he said, I'll ask him. No, it's plain. We know what it means. It means
that we consider one another We don't please ourselves, but
to please our neighbor, because love fulfills the law. Love is
the fulfilling of the law, so we seek to love one another.
That's the first, the commandment in 1 John 3, 23, that you believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ and love one another, as he's given
us commandment. And in loving one another, we
fulfill the law, don't we? Not for our righteousness, but
as an honor of Christ by this faith God has given to us. So,
not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the
manner of some is, but exhorting one another in so much the more
as you see the day approaching. It's what he said in chapter
3. I'll read that and then we'll close. He said the same thing.
He says in verse 13 of chapter 12, he says, Take heed, brethren,
lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing
from the living God. So we see our brother overtaken
with a fault or whatever. You that are strong, help the
weak, he says in verse 13. But exhort one another daily
while it is called today, lest any of you be hardened through
the deceitfulness of sin. So that's what we are to do.
In the body of Christ, we're a body, all of us receive the
same salvation, have the same faith, by the same spirit, redeemed
by the same blood, we are sons of the same father, we hold the
same gospel, we defend the same truth, we have this common confession,
is Christ and him crucified. He's my hope. He is my righteousness. I got a communication from somebody
who said, I just don't have the IQ. I can't understand it. It's
not about your IQ. It's about Christ's IQ. He is
our wisdom. He understood the precepts of
God. He saw the holiness of God in
them. He knew what God required and
wanted and delighted in. He knew the heart of God and
he did it. And he is our righteousness. Let's pray. Father, we pray that
you would enable us to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Give
us his mercy that we might be found in him alone and his faith
that comes only to you by him. Help us to trust none but Him,
forsaking all that we are or would put our trust in that's
not Christ, and trust Him alone. And so coming and finding peace
and rest and joy and gladness in this salvation that has relieved
us from eternal damnation and the guilt of our conscience,
and daily living upon Him, help us to provoke one another to
love and to good works, considering one another not to please ourselves,
but to please our brethren in Christ. that they might be built
up, that we all might together, as one body, members one of another,
be brought to a mature grace and faith in Christ. We pray
that you would bless us, Lord, with your spirit, unfold your
gospel to us in our heart, convince us in our conscience that Christ
is enough, that he's all, and help us to come by him. In Jesus'
name we pray, amen.