Thank you. Thank you very much. Let's go back to Hebrews chapter 5. Let me give you a little bit of background to this portion of scripture. In the first four chapters of this epistle, the Spirit of God has shown us the superiority of the Lord Jesus Christ over angels, over Moses, over Joshua and over the Sabbath day. He tells us in the first chapter that our Lord is greater and superior and better than all of the angels. The angels were created beings. Our Savior, He's the Son of God. He is the Eternal One. He's the one who died for us and therefore He's the one who's seated upon the throne in glory.

In chapter 1 we read, the Lord never said to any of the angels, sit here at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool. He said that to the Son of God. He said that to that one who established righteousness for all of His people. And then he continues in the second chapter and mainly in the third chapter with the superiority of Christ over Moses. Moses was a great man, there's no question about that, but not worthy to be named in the same breath as the Lord Jesus Christ. Moses was the servant of God, raised up by God, no question about that. And He led Israel from their captivity in Egypt and led them right to the border of the promised land. But our Lord Jesus is greater than Moses. And the gospel of God's grace is greater than the covenant that God, through Moses, made with the children of Israel.

God, through Moses, entered into a conditional covenant with those people. which amounted to this, if you obey me, I'll bless you. And what do you think about a covenant like that? Does that interest you? Would you like to be under a covenant where God said, if you'll obey me, if you'll live for me, if you'll go by all the commandments that I gave you, if you'll do that, if, then I'll give you land and riches and So forth and so on. How does that sound to you? Well, it don't sound good to me. It doesn't sound good to anybody who has any spiritual understanding. Because neither Moses nor the law of God that came through Moses can save us. The law came through Moses, but grace and truth, John tells us in John 1, came by Christ Jesus.

We need somebody better than Moses, because he lost his temper. First time they were thirsty, Lord said, you take your rod, you smite the rock, and water will come out. He did that. Boy, water came out, just gushed out of the rock. Bible says that rock was Christ. The water of everlasting life flows from him because he was smitten by the rod, not of man, but the rod of God's justice. And then later on in their wilderness journey, they got thirsty again. And Moses said to those people, must I fetch you bunch of rebels water again? Boy, he thought he was something, didn't he? Must I fetch you water? The Lord said not to get water for them this time, just speak to the rock. Speak to the rock. You see, I say to you, are you interested in the water of life? Are you interested in salvation? Are you interested in forgiveness of sins? Are you interested in righteousness? Acceptance with God? Speak to the rock. He's the rock that is higher than I. He's the rock of ages. He's already been smitten.

See, that's what's wrong. I don't want to get too far off course here, but that's what's wrong with the Catholic mass, the Roman Catholic mass. That's what's wrong with that. They're smiting the rock Christ Jesus all over again. He's been smitten one time, satisfied God, put away the sins of his people, brought in everlasting righteousness. You thirsty? Speak to the rock. He shows mercy. He's friend of sinners. But Moses, he's upset. He got mad at the people. Sometimes preachers get mad at people. We kind of forget The people we preach to are just sinners. That's what we all are. The preachers are sinners and the people we preach to are sinners. And sometimes preachers kind of lose their temper and start fussing at people. Fussing at people. Well, that's not a good thing to do. Because you don't belong to me. You're the Lord's.

And Moses in a fit of anger, he took that rod. He hit that rock again. And you know what? In spite of his disobedience, the water come out again. And the Lord pulled him aside and said, that's going to cost you. That little bit of anger. Because you spoiled a very important picture. The Son of God is going to be smitten one time. by the rod of God's justice. And justice will be satisfied. But Moses, you lost your temper. So you're not gonna be able to lead the children of Israel into the land of promise. That'll cost you. Thank God we have a prophet much greater, infinitely greater than Moses. And that's Christ our Lord. He is the rock who's been smitten. And the water of life still flows from Him.

Our Lord, in John chapter 7, it was the last day of the feast, the great day of the feast. On that day, the high priest came out before all the people and he poured out water on the ground. And that pictured what happened back in Exodus when Moses smote the rock and the water came out of the rock. Our Lord Jesus poured the water out because that water typified Him. And He cried out with a loud voice. If any man thirst, you thirst for God? Do you thirst for everlasting life? Do you thirst for righteousness? Do you thirst for forgiveness? Do you thirst for the living God? Let him come unto me and drink. That's what he said, drink. May God give you a thirst. A lot of people that I preach to, I fear that they just don't have a thirst. The water that comes forth from the gospel that flows out through the preaching of the gospel, that doesn't quench their thirst. They want something else. They want something they think is better. Your only hope is that the God of grace and glory will give you a thirst, a thirst for Christ. A thirst for Christ. And if you have a thirst for Christ, all the benefits that go with him, they'll come to you.

But see, Christ is better than Moses, and the gospel of God's grace is better than the law that Moses gave. Because that law that Moses gave was a conditional, it was a conditional law, a conditional covenant. God said, if you will, I will. And they said, well, we will. Everything God says, we'll do. And it's as though they just shook hands with God through Moses and said, everything God has said, we will do. What fools. They should just cast themselves upon the mercy of God and say, Lord, we can't do these things you require of us. You say, well, I'm trying to live by the Ten Commandments. Let me tell you something, that law of God curses you. Here's what the Apostle Paul says, it's a ministration of death and judgment, condemnation. You go running to the law of God and, well, I'm trying to live for you, Lord. I'm trying to do what's right. That law will condemn you. Because here's what the law of God demands, absolute perfection. You got that to give? Anybody in here or anybody out there foolish enough to think, well, if I try to live right, I'll do better, then God will accept me. He will damn you. That's what he'll do. There is no life in the law of God. The law of God is good and it's holy. It's good because it exposes our sinfulness, but it can't do anything about it. And you can't do anything about it. The only one who can help you and me and anybody else is Christ, the savior of sinners.

So our Lord Jesus, he's better than the angels. He's better than Moses. He's better than Joshua. Better than Joshua. Great leader. Took over from Moses. But Joshua was a sinful man. Christ is the only sinless man.

And they had, there was something in the fourth place that they really honored, sought to honor, it was very, very, very special to them the Sabbath day. They were Sabbatarians. And we get in the fourth chapter of Hebrews, and in the fourth chapter of Hebrews, it tells us that Christ is better than the Sabbath day.

Our Lord having finished His work as God finished the work of creation, And I'll just say this, when God finished the work of creation in the six days, what did he do on the seventh day? Huh? Anybody? He rested, didn't he? He rested. Well, our Lord Jesus finished the work of redemption. Everything detailed for him in the covenant of grace before the world began. He fulfilled it all. And having completed the work of redemption and reconciliation and the putting away of the sins of his people and the bringing in of everlasting righteousness, having finished that work, he rested. He entered into his rest. By the grace of God, let us therefore enter into his rest.

I'll rest in a day. The Sabbath day was given to the Jews. Actually, you want to get real persnickety about it, so were the Ten Commandments. That was given in a covenant made between Israel and our God. The law's good, but it really wasn't made with us. And the Sabbath day was good. But we have a Sabbath. We have a Sabbath and he's in heaven and we rest in him. He has rested from his labors.

Hear me now. Rest from your labors too. Stop trying to please God. Stop trying to do something that you think will merit the blessings and the mercies of God. Just stop that now. Just stop it. Rest. Our Lord is better than the Sabbath day because he is our Sabbath. That's right, isn't it? He is our Sabbath. We rest in him. Cease from your works.

And then I'll tell you something else that's really important. There was a high priest. In fact, the priesthood altogether, but especially the high priest. And you know, in the book of Hebrews, back in chapter two and verse 17, look at this. The writer of the book of Hebrews, I presume was the Apostle Paul, but really it was the Holy Spirit. The writer of the book of Hebrews has already mentioned the priesthood of our Lord. Chapter 2, verse 17. Wherefore in all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful, High priest. A merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God. What did the high priest do? He dealt with God on behalf of the people. How does that sound to you? Somebody to deal with God in your stead, in your name, somebody else to deal with God who's qualified to do that, who's not only a perfect man, but is God also. How's that sound to you? You don't want to do business with God, do you? As I think about God in His holiness, in His purity, in His righteousness, our God is a consuming fire. That fills me with fear. That fills me with dread. And then somebody comes along and preaches the gospel and says, listen, there is a way to God, but you got to go through this way. And this way is the man, the God man, Christ Jesus. And I said, that's good news right there. There is the way to God. Christ is the high priest.

Look in chapter three in verse one. Here he mentions them again. Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider, think about, observe, fix the eyes of your mind and of your heart. Holy brethren, consider the apostle and high priest of our profession, Christ Jesus. You may say, preacher, you know, we're looking to you. Well, you can look to me to tell you the truth, but don't look for me for salvation. I'm nobody's high priest. I gotta have a high priest. I have a high priest. He's the apostle and high priest of our profession, Christ Jesus. He's the one by whom I come to God. How do you come to God? If you try to come to God through Mary, you'll never make it. She is not a mediator. If you try to come to God through St. Christopher or St. Michael or St. whoever, even St. James, if you try to come to God through me, you ain't gonna make it. Let's just get right down where the rubber hits the road. There's only one avenue, one road, one way, one door, one person through whom you can come to a holy and righteous God, and it's the God-man. Christ Jesus, the Lord, through his wounds, his bruises, his nail-scarred hands and feet, he's the only way to God. We come to God through him.

And in chapter 4, Paul continues to talk about this high priest. Now, I read to you about him in verse 14, chapter 4, seeing then we have a great high priest. He's a whole lot greater than any high priest of the Old Testament. Let me tell you something. He's the only high priest that could actually, actually, really, literally take care of the sin problem. Not Aaron, not the high priests who followed after him. Those guys couldn't put away sin. I don't care how many sacrifices they offered, because in Hebrews chapter 10, it says the blood of bulls and goats could never put away sin. That's why when Aaron died, one of his sons took over as high priest, and when he died, somebody else took over as high priest, and somebody else took over right on down through the years because their work was never done. But this man, this high priest I'm talking about, Christ Jesus, he did put away the sins of his people. Not by offering a lamb or a turtle dove or a bullock or a goat. He offered himself to God. He's, after all, the Lamb of God. He's the Lamb whose sacrifice God accepted. No other way to be approved of God except through our Lord Jesus Christ.

And here's what he did in verse 9 of chapter 5, this great high priest. He was made perfect. He completed his obedience. See, when our Lord Jesus came into the world, he came to do a work that had been assigned to him from old eternity, but also a work for which he volunteered to do. God called him to this work and he is glad to do it. And being made perfect, having completed the obedience that God demanded for the salvation of sinners, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him. He became the source of salvation, the origin of salvation. It originated in him.

That song we sang to begin the service, I authored that, which meant it originated with me. I mean, not inspired, and others can make some improvements on it, I'm sure, but I was the author of that. being concerned about writing hymns, writing some lyrics that people would find easy to sing, and since I knew something about music and all of that sort of stuff, then I wrote it down. I authored it. It originated somewhere in this brain of mine.

You see, Christ Jesus, this salvation originated with Him. He's the author of it. He's the origin of it. He's the origin of it in that He purposed it before the world began. And He's the author of it in that He Himself not only wrote it in His last will and testament, and you can read later on in the book of Hebrews chapter 9, that our names were written down in the Lamb's book of life before the world began. That's His last will and testament. But He ever lives to execute His will. He's the origin of it. He's the author of it. He's the author of eternal salvation.

To all of those that obey Him. You say, well, now there's obedience. To all those that obey His law. No, you're not talking about obeying the law. It's the obedience of faith. The obedience of bowing down to Christ Jesus. Well, you say, well, that is something I gotta do. Well, you will have to do that, but you can't do it. What do you think about that? God requires something of you, and you can't even do it. Now we're in a pickle. What are we going to do?

God says, except you repent, you shall all likewise perish, but we don't have the ability to repent. And we're told, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. And if your house believes, they'll be saved too. But we don't have the ability to believe. Boy, that sure enough backs us in a corner. Got no way out. God demands of me what I can't produce exactly right. Now what are you going to do?

Read the diary of David Brainard, ministered to the Indians in Northeast United States. It made him angry at first. He said, you mean God requires of me that which I cannot produce? Yeah. And the Spirit of God used that and brought him to his knees. And he said, I can do nothing apart from the grace of God.

By the grace of God, we repent. We give up all of our false ideas about religion. We just turn from them. Turn from the evil ways. Let me tell you something. Living by the Ten Commandments to be saved, that's evil. May God help you to repent of that. Believing a Christ who preachers say, some do, that He needs your help, that He can't do anything unless you let Him, repent of that because you've been believing the wrong Christ. Repent of believing the wrong God.

Oh, you know, my hands are the only hands God's got. My feet are the only feet God's got. That's a bunch of hogwash. Somehow or another, God managed to create the world in six days, and I don't believe you lifted a finger. I don't think anybody else did either. You can't do anything without God.

You say, well, I don't think that's fair. Well, I'd be careful if I was you about charging God with unfairness. He's God, he can do anything he wants to. Do you believe that? I believe God can do anything he wants to. Anything's consistent with his holiness.

Christ is the author of eternal salvation. Eternal, let me work on that. Eternal salvation. Give me just a few more minutes. Eternal salvation. You see the word eternal goes back that way. Back in eternity past. You got that? It goes back, as far back as you can go in your memory, whole lot further back than that. Go back to before time ever began. Go back further than that. Well, you say, well, that's as far as I can go. I know. Because nobody existed back then in eternity past but God. but his gospel is an eternal salvation.

And here's what that means, that this salvation of sinners goes all the way back into eternity past. So nobody had anything to do with it but God. That makes sense, doesn't it? Only the eternal God. And back then he had a covenant of grace. He chose the people under salvation. He predestinated a people to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. He laid out in His eternal purpose how this matter of the salvation of sinners would come about by the Son of God coming down here and taking flesh into union with His deity. He would live a life of perfection, die a death of substitution, the sacrifice of God to save sinners. He'd be raised from the dead. He'd go back to heaven. That's salvation. It's eternal.

Back out of the way. Somebody asked you what I preached on. Somebody asked that. Tamar just said he preached on salvation is eternal. Back out of the way. But it's also eternal out this way. Somebody said, don't you believe we can lose salvation? Absolutely not. That is a devil's lie. It's an eternal salvation. It reaches back yonder before time began and it reaches out yonder when time shall be no more. You got that, don't you? It's an eternal salvation.

To say that God will save you and then you lose your salvation by something you do is to throw mud in the face of God Almighty. It's to say He's not able to save, He's not true to His Word. Oh, He is true. Let God be true in every man and liar. And I'll say this, if any preacher stands up and tells you you can be saved today and lost tomorrow, he is an absolute liar. He speaks contract to the world, that's an eternal salvation.

The Savior said, my sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me and I give them, what does he give them? Eternal life, that's what Ron said, eternal life, you agree with that? Well, if you believe the Bible, you agree with that, he gives eternal life. That's a life that has no beginning, And it has no end. And read 2 Timothy chapter one in verse nine. It talks about he gives us eternal life. It's a life without beginning. It's a life without ending. That's the salvation I'm interested in.

Eternal salvation accomplished by the eternal son of God who loved us and who gave himself for us. Let's sing closing song.