But it may be Hebrews 11. I was so blessed in reading that. What a good series of messages
it would make to take each one of these examples
of faith. I thought about that. By faith, Enoch. By faith, Noah. And so on. It would be difficult
to do them all in one message. My dad could do it. He can preach
all the way through Romans 8 in one message. And anybody. And he can do it. Hebrews chapter 10 is our text
this morning. Hebrews 10, and I sure hope that
this will be some help to someone this morning. Paul said he wanted to be a helper
of your joy, for by faith you stand. That's what he said in 2 Corinthians,
I'm a helper of your joy. That's what we spoke of in the
early morning hour, and he said, for by faith you stand. That should have been my text,
I guess, because that went along so well with everything so far. I want to be a help to you this
morning. I know this should be. Because what helps me helps you.
I'm a man of like passions as you are. Similar troubles and
trials. Hebrews chapter 10 and 11 deal with faith. These chapters deal with the
struggles, with the trials of many people. many people who lived before
us who lived by faith. That's how they lived. That's
how they survived. They lived by faith. Look here
at Hebrews 10, verse 38 is my text. It says, Now the just shall
live by faith. The just shall live by faith. This is vital. So much so, the Scripture quotes
this four times, this one short phrase, four times. Now, back
at 2.4, Romans 1.17, Galatians 3.11, and now here, The just shall live by faith. What does that mean? What is
faith? What does it mean to live by
faith? You want to know? All right,
let's look over at Romans chapter 3. Now, keep your place in Hebrews
10. We'll come back in a moment.
Romans chapter 3 tells us what faith is. Romans chapter 3. He said, the just shall live
by faith. The just, what does that mean,
the just? Well, it means the justified. That's what it means, the justified. Those who have been justified
shall live by faith, justified. What that mean? And you know
what that means. But I'll tell you again, it means
to be declared holy. It means to be declared righteous,
not guilty. It's a simple way to remember
the word, but it's a good one. Just as if I'd never sinned. It is God that justified. as
if I've never seen God declares all believers. In Christ. Just as if I've never seen. Hold it. Harm undefiled. We look at Romans 3 verse 19. He says here now we know whatsoever
things what things whoever the law say if it say to them who
under the law. and every mouth may be stopped
and all the world may become guilty before God. Whatever God's
word says, that's the law, not just the Ten Commandments. But we're guilty of breaking
it all, aren't we? Don't you find that whenever
I or any other man preaches messages that call on us to do our duty. And we do have duty. Believers
ought to do things. But don't you find yourself feeling
more guilty than anything? Huh? Don't you? When we talk
about what we should do and how we ought to be and so forth,
then we do. Scripture does. Don't you find yourself feeling
guilty. That's what the law basically
does to us. Makes us feel guilty. It says
we are guilty. Look at verse 20. Therefore,
by the deeds of the law, no flesh shall be justified in his sight,
but by the laws and knowledge of sin. By the deeds of the law,
nobody is going to be declared holy. Why? Because God looks
on the heart. That's why the scripture says
in Romans 7, the law is spiritual. Now that means, I'm going to
lose you if you don't stay with me. I'm trying to make this just
as simple and as easy to listen to as possible. I know you've
heard these things before, but there's somebody in here who
hasn't. I guarantee you. Maybe you have,
I don't know. But the law, the scripture says,
is spiritual because God looks on the heart. God looks on the
motive. God looks on the thought. And
you know, we know that we've never thought perfection. Our motives have never been perfect.
That's what God demands, all right? So he says, we know now
that by the deeds of the law, no flesh will be justified. Why?
Because God first looks at the heart, doesn't he? Doesn't matter
how good it appears on the outside, God's looking first at the heart
of it. And that's the reason Paul says
in 1 Corinthians 13, if I give my body to be burned, I might
as well have burned something else. It availeth me nothing without love to faith in Christ. Vicki, what's worse than faith
is sin, right? All right, read on, verse 21
and 2. Now the righteousness of God, but now the righteousness
of God, holiness with God, without the law, or that is, without
us keeping it, is made clear, manifested. And it's witnessed
by the law. Even the law says, this is how
you're going to meet me, this is how you're going to be accepted.
Even the law says that. Isn't that what he says, Rick?
The law is our schoolmaster. That's what we were rejoicing
over, wasn't it, John? The law takes a whip and says,
You'd better run to Christ now. That's all the law says to the
believer. It keeps saying, You'd better
get out of here and get to Christ just as quick as you can. It's
the schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. Even the law, it says,
and the prophet, verse 22, the righteousness of God, read on,
and the word which is, is in italics. Let's leave that out. Even the righteousness or holiness
of God, justification with God, by faith of Jesus Christ unto
all and upon all them that believe." There's no difference. It doesn't
matter who it is. It doesn't matter who it is. But I'm the
chief of Senate. No difference. They've all sinned
and come way short. But you don't know what he does
and he says. It doesn't matter who it is.
It makes no difference. It makes no difference. I will declare righteous and
holy whoever comes to me by Christ. It doesn't matter. Look and read on. Verse 24, "...for
all have sinned," verse 23, "...and come short of the glory of God,
being justified I love that word, freely declared. If Martin Luther were sitting in
here this morning, he'd be shouting, Amen, because he'd lived thirty-some
years trying to do penance, trying to work his way to God, to the
point of crawling up steps, kissing steps, crossing himself each
time, living a monk's life, trying to appease God, trying to please
God. When the verse of Scripture came
to his mind, that just shall live by faith, it says he He
said that scripture came to his heart as if somebody spoke it
out loud. The just shall live by faith. He said he jumped up, quick kissing
stamps, and crossing his chest, and ran outside into the glorious
liberty of Jesus Christ. Oh, he was dead in religion. justified freely. That means
without money, without price, without condition. I told you
that illustration that somebody called you, you know, and they
said, you've won something. It's never, you've never won
anything, have you? You ever won anything? We won
a trip, didn't we, to Paris. No, we didn't. She worked hard
for that, and I worked a little bit. No, we didn't. No, we didn't. We weren't forced.
We don't ever win anything. There's nothing free, his or
Henry's. Free. Buy this, get this one free.
No, that's not free. You ain't about to buy something.
That's not free. Being justified freely. When God says free, He means
free. He says, come without money,
without price. But don't I have to freely?" Ask the thief on the cross. He'll
tell you what free means, freely, justified freely. He'll tell
you. Ask him. That dying thief rejoiced to
see that fountain in his day. We're going to be able to ask
him someday. He's going to be up there. Now, wait a minute. What did you do for Jesus Christ? I'd lived all my life against
him. Even almost to my dying breath
I was cursing him, cursing him to his face. But
God, who is rich in mercy, evidently loved me, and opened my blind
eyes that I might see Christ. And I wouldn't have seen him
if he had not opened. I would not have called on him
if he hadn't called on me. Oh, I'm here by the free grace
of God, that's why. Ask that publican in the temple.
Huh? He went into that temple and
said all he could do, all he could say was, oh, oh, oh. That's all he could say. And Christ
said, this man went down to his house justified. He didn't win one soul to Jesus.
He didn't straighten his life out. He didn't turn over a new
leaf. He didn't do anything. He walked out of there justified,
just as if he'd never been a publican. I love this, I love to say that.
See, he's a publican defender. He's an advocate, court-appointed
lawyer, a publican defender, a publican defender, or publican
offenders. How about you, Barbara? What have you ever done your
whole life for God but sin? I say unto you, it makes no difference. You believe Christ, it's just
as if you've never sinned. He said there's sins iniquity
I'll remember no more. No more. Believing Christ. Believing Christ. Oh, my. Just looking to him. That's faith. Justified by Christ. All right, it says, "...the just
shall live." All who believe Christ shall live. Just look
at verse 24. I've just about left this out.
It says, "...justified freely by his grace." It's all by his
grace, isn't it? It's all of grace. It's all a
gift, everything from repentance to calling to faith, especially
this unspeakable gift. through the redemption that is
in Christ Jesus. That's how we're justified. That's
why we're justified. Who is he that condemns us? God does justify us. Who shall
I explain to the charge of God today? It's God that justifies
us. Who is he that condemns us? Can't. Why? Because Christ died. sentence has been carried out.
No matter how much I feel guilty, it's been paid
for. And no matter how much the accuser
levels at me, and it's all true. It's all true. It says that Satan
is the accuser of the brethren. Everything he says is true. But Christ stands in the gap. between me and the accuser. And when the accuser points his
finger at me, he's pointing at Christ and says, guilty. Christ
is paid. It shows that the receipts paid
in full. Death paid. The redemption that's
in Christ, verse 25, whom God set forth, foreordained to be
a bloody covering through faith in his blood. Now, I've said
it so many times, and it bears saying again, that it took nothing less and
nothing more. But nothing less than the bloody,
torturous death of God's Son on a cross to pay for one of
my sins, let alone all of them. Nothing will suffice but that. So we dare not bring anything
else, never. Scripture says if righteousness
come by the law, Christ died in vain. Why did God put his
son on that tree? Why did it please the Lord to
bruise him, make him a bloody piece of meat? If there was another
way, there is no other way. That's whom God set forth as
a bloody covering. I remember reading, I used to
like when I was a boy to read survival stories or mountain
men, early frontiersmen who'd go up. I read every one I could
get my hands on. And there was some instances,
true stories of men who were just about to freeze to death. And they were without warmth.
And the only thing they could do was kill their horse. And
they'd kill their horse and they'd slit or shoot a deer or something
and slit that animal's belly open and crawl inside of that
bloody dead animal and wrap themselves up to get warm. And they survived. They lived. Isn't that gory? Can you imagine? That's just
what I wanted to do. That's the only way I'm going
to survive. But that bloody man hanging on
that tree, I know it's grotesque and I know modern civil people
don't like to talk about it or think about it. They're too civilized
for that. Buddy, I need to be in him, covered
by that bloody carcass. Don't you? Where the carcass
is, that's where the eagle's going to gather. feed on him,
in him. Now, that's a good illustration.
All right, and that's faith. That's faith. To be found in
him. You're going to be left out in
the cold if you're not. To be found in him. Not having my own
righteousness, it won't cover, will it? It is a thin sheet. It's too short to cover. Sherry,
and you know what the Scripture says? The bed's too short. It won't cover. But God's arm's
not too short. And his robe wraps all the way
around there. And it warms my cold heart. In him. In him. Justified by
faith. That's what faith means. That's
what faith means. Be found in him, believe him,
trust him. All right, back to Hebrews 10.
Hebrews 10. All who believe Christ, look
to him, believe in his blood, trust his blood to save them
are justified by God Almighty. Justified freely by his blood,
freely. Declared holy. All right, but
just shall live. We're going to live before God.
We're going to be with God someday. alive in the land of the living
with God. Why? Because Christ died and
now ever lived. Here's the next meaning of this phrase. The just
shall live, live before God by faith in Christ. But the just
shall live in this world, this life, this conversation, or this
sphere. We're going to live. We're going
to make it. We're going to survive by faith. And that's the only
way. Now, you need this. I know you
do, because I did, and I tried it on. It wears wet. All right,
look at it with me. Hebrews 10. Now, this means that
we're going to live here. Look at verse 23. Hebrews 10,
verse 23, he says, now, let us hold fast the profession of our
faith without wavering. What is the profession of your
faith? What do you hold to? Well, I hold to the doctrines
of grace. You better not. Well, they won't help you on
the deathbed. You can't, like Maurice said,
hug up to the doctrine, a doctrine. But you can a person. A person. What's the big, what's your,
the profession of your faith? Huh? It ought to be, it better
be one word. What's the profession of your
faith? Christ. Christ. Christ. Like Ellen said, you know, the
last thing I remember her being able to intelligibly say to me
when I said, what's the gospel? What's your hope? Jesus Christ
and Him crucified. That's all you need to know.
Isn't it? Haven't you said a lot? I tell
you what, you've said it all. When you said that, you said
it all. Hold fast without wavering. The profession of our faith without
wavering. That means pause to and fro by
every wind of doctrine or trials. Read the next line. It's in parenthesis. What a wonderful parenthetical
phrase, huh? The parenthesis in God's Word
is worthy to be put on our church building. Huh? He is faithful, that promised. For he is faithful, that promised. Hold fast without wavering, because
he never lies. Look at chapter 12. Turn over
here to chapter 12. And we just read, Rick just read
for us chapter 11, a lot of people. It mentioned over a dozen people
by name. That's the reason it would be
hard to do one message. But the Scripture calls by name
over a dozen people, and a great cloud of witnesses, it says here
in verse 1. So he says in verse 1, look at
it, "...wherefore seeing we also are compassed to bow, surrounded
by a great cloud of witnesses, people who live by faith. So let us lay aside every weight
and sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with
patience." Remember that word. The race is set looking unto
Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. A great cloud,
a whole lot of people. Listen to me now, just a few
more minutes. A whole lot of people have lived
on this earth since you have, since I have. A lot of believers. And they have been people who
have never seen God. Just like you. Deborah has been
ladies working out in the workplace, mothers of children, just like
there was a Deborah in scriptures. She never saw God. She didn't
have a Bible. She worked. She had problems,
troubles, trials, heartaches, suffering, sorrow, temptations. severe trials, tests of their
faith. Many, many people. You think
you're the only one? We think we're the only one.
Don't we get that Elijah syndrome sometimes? I'm the only one.
No, you're not. There's a great cloud of witnesses.
Nobody's been through the troubles like I have. Oh, yes, I have.
Worse. But you don't know. Yes, I do.
Paul says it. Paul is the one who gives the
most comfort. He's the one writing this. He was doing it from a
jail cell. Nobody is troubled like he was.
Nobody has ever been as lonely as Paul, except Christ, and he
more so. Nobody has suffered physically
as much as Paul, except Christ, and he more so. And Paul is writing
this to comfort us, that just shall live by faith, trusting
Him, the Person, Christ. We have a great cloud of witnesses
of people who went through severe trials. Noah, well, let's just
go ahead and preach it. You say, oh, I've been working
a long time. When is a guy going to retire? That's what Henry
thought. For so many years, you know, when he was my age, earlier
than Matt, when he was in his thirties, oh, for retirement. Forties came, oh, I want to quit
this. Fifties, oh, it's never going
to end. Put yourself in Noah's place. There are countless houses of
you built, you thought. I remember that one in Roanoke, had all
those peaks and valleys and those different roof lines. And you
laid awake at night, didn't you, thinking about that. I'm never
going to do it. Didn't you think that? I'm never
going to get this done. Did it, didn't you? Try building
a boat with rubber mallets and chisels,
no nails, no dewalts. It takes you 120 years. 120 years.
I'm never going to finish this. People making fun of him. That's
not the illustration. The illustration is him believing
God. And the whole world. Can you
imagine the ridicule, the persecution? Henry, can you imagine? Nobody
believes like Ray. You know, at first, you know,
back years ago, somebody might have believed, you know, it's
going to rain. Yes, first year, you know, Noah
said that. Really? Well, a hundred and some
years later, it rained. I don't know why. All things
are continued as they always have. No, ain't nobody believes
like that anymore. It's a little passion. It's going to rain. And me and my family are going
to get in the ark. It's going to rain. No matter
what anybody says, no matter what the modern world says, it's
going to rain. And by God's grace, me and my
family are going to get in that ark, which is Christ. By faith. by faith, Abraham, an old man.
I thought about Sarah. When I read that, I thought,
I am preaching on this, aren't I? I thought about it urgently. How old was she when the ...
I've got to go on. I've got to preach this another
time. I'm in Hebrews 10 with all these people, a great cloud
of witnesses. Read it for yourself. Preach
it to yourself. A great crowd of witnesses went through the
same, Deborah, more difficult things than you'll ever go through.
You don't have to take Andrew up and put him on an altar and
take him out and get ready to stab him. You don't have to do
that. Abraham did. But he was going to do it. But God, who's rich in mercy, he went
down from that mountain singing, Abraham believed God. Try it! Get some peace. Abraham didn't have a Bible.
Abraham didn't see God, but he believed God. by the just shall
live by faith." Bobby, you're not going to make it unless you
trust the living Lord. For he hath said, all things
work together. For he is faithful who promised,
it's going to end soon, I'm coming. Oh, I'm way ahead of myself now.
Way ahead of myself. Look at verse 30. Where am I? Chapter 10, verses 24 and 25. Let us consider one another to
provoke unto love and to good works, not forsaking the assembling
of ourselves together as a matter of some end, but exhorting one
another. Do you think Noah needed those boys around? Or his wife? I think of poor Job,
he didn't have anybody. His wife was an unbeliever, and
she said,