Welcome to our program. I'm going
to be preaching from Hebrews chapter 2, beginning at verse
14, and the title of the message is, The Fear of Death Removed. Now, when we speak of the gospel,
we're talking about the words of life, the words of eternal
life. The Bible says that life and
immortality is manifest through the preaching of the gospel.
Well, the preaching of the gospel is the presentation, the proclamation
of the Lord Jesus Christ, Christ in him crucified, and in him
is eternal life. He's the author and he's the
giver of life. Now, last week I dealt with the
subject of for whom did Christ die. And we saw the identifications
of the objects of his death in Hebrews chapter 2, beginning
at verse 10, where they were identified as many sons who will
be brought unto glory. In verse 11, they are identified
as those who are sanctified, that is, set apart by God, and
then actually washed clean from their sins by the blood of Christ,
made righteous in him. They are also called his brethren.
He's the first-born brother of those for whom he died. He substituted
himself for them. He represented them. He is their
sin-bearer, the Lamb of God, which takes away the sins of
the world, the sins of his people all over the world. And then
they are identified also as the church, the called-out ones,
redeemed by the blood of Christ. called out by the Spirit, given
life. And then lastly, in verse 13, they are identified as the
children which God has given him. And the Lord said in John
6 and verse 37, All that the Father giveth me shall come to
me, and him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out.
Well, now we're going to take up the subject of death. Now,
in order for the Lord Jesus Christ to save these children, the children
which God had given him, God's elect, his sheep, that's what
he calls them. He said, my sheep, I lay down
my life for the sheep. In order for him to save his
children, to save his people from their sins, he had to die. The soul that sinneth must die. He didn't sin, but the children
were sinners. And they're flesh and blood.
And only flesh and blood can die. You see, God cannot die.
Therefore, in order to save his people from their sins, God the
Son, very God of very God, he had to become man. He had to
unite with humanity, body and soul. in order to taste death
for them, in order to die for their sins. You see, without
the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness, no remission,
no pardon of sins. Therefore, he had to have blood
to shed. He had to be made flesh and blood. That's why the Bible says that
the Word, Christ, the eternal Word, was made flesh and dwelt
among us. Well, here in verse 14, through
the end of this chapter, in chapter 2, we learn some things about
this issue. Christ identifying with his people,
Christ actually being numbered with the transgressors in our
name and in our nature, and then how the fear of death is removed. And I want to talk about that
a little bit, and I hope you're interested in that subject. He
says in verse 14, then, speaking of the children, And speaking
of their substitute, our representative, the Lord Jesus Christ, it says,
for as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood,
he also himself likewise took part of the same, that through
death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that
is, the devil. So in other words, because Christ
in the everlasting covenant of grace because the Father chose
him to be the Savior of sinners, the second person of the Trinity
now, because Christ agreed in that covenant to be the Savior
of his people, to be their representative and substitute, and because God
laid upon him all the conditions and requirements of their salvation. Therefore, it was necessary that
he take part of their nature, He had to become man, he had
to become incarnate, because the children he represented are
partakers of flesh and blood, their flesh and blood. These
many sons that are to be brought unto glory, these ones whom he
sanctified, these ones to whom he declared God's name unto him,
his brethren, his church, his children, their flesh and blood,
created by God. Well, in order to save them from
their sins, He had to be made flesh and blood. He had to identify
with them. He had to be able to take our
place. And mostly, He had to be able to die. I've said it
before, God cannot die. But this person who is God, He
did die. And that's to be attributed to
His flesh and blood, humanity. Now, the Bible teaches that when
Christ became a man, that he didn't become man by the agency
of man. He was not born of man, born
of Adam, as you and I are, or were. You see, when we were born,
we were born in sin. We were born depraved. We were
born condemned in Adam. We were born with a nature of
sin. Sin was in us, in our nature. It's not just what we did. No, we weren't born and then
later on become sinners by what we did or what we would do. We
were born sinners. But Christ, when he was born
into this earth, he was born of a virgin. It was a miraculous
birth. It was a virgin birth. And he
was conceived, his humanity was conceived in the womb of the
Virgin by the Holy Spirit without the agency of man. You see, sin
comes through the man, not the woman. So he was born holy, this
holy thing. That's what the angel told Mary,
that holy thing, that unique person. He's both God and man. So the Bible teaches that Christ
was made human flesh and blood made like unto us, yet without
sin, so that he's the sinless substitute. When he died for
sins, it was not for sins that he committed. It was not for
sin in him. It was for sins imputed, charged,
legally accounted to him, the sins of his sheep. Now, he went
through soul suffering. We'll see some of that just in
a moment here. But it says, because his children,
his sheep, his church, God's elect, these many sons that are
going to be brought unto glory, because they were flesh and blood,
for Him to save them, for Him to represent them, He had to
be made flesh and blood. Now why? He had to take part
of the same without sin. Well, He did it that through
death, through His own death on the cross for their sins,
He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is the
devil. Now here it says the devil has
the power of death. But now we know from other scriptures
that that does not mean that Satan is the all supreme power
over life and death. You see, Satan does not have
any power to kill and to make alive. The Bible says, Job said
it this way, he said, the Lord killeth, the Lord maketh alive,
blessed be the name of the Lord. The Bible says in Hebrews chapter
9, it is appointed unto man once to die. Now, who appoints that?
Not the devil, but God does. So what does it mean when it
talks about the devil has the power of sin? Well, now listen
to me very carefully. Now, we know, first of all, the
devil seeks to usurp God's authority, and God has for a time allowed
him to do certain things until his time is up. But the devil
has power over sin in these two senses. Number one, he's the
one who brought sin into the world by deceiving Eve and enticing
Adam to take sides with him against God. He was the agent that brought
sin into the world. You see, the Bible says, for
as by one man sin entered into the world and death by sin, well,
it was Satan who enticed that one man, Adam. So Satan has that
power because he brought sin into the world. Now he did it
by the permissive will of God. We have to believe that. Listen,
Satan didn't sneak up on God and take him by surprise. If
he did, he's not God, you see. God is not God. But you see,
this was all within the permissive will of God. Christ is called
the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. So Satan was the
agent that brought sin into the world. Secondly, Satan has power
over death because Satan is called the great accuser. In other words,
he's like a prosecuting attorney who accuses the sinner of sin. Well, sin demands death. Now,
here's the point. If Satan accused someone who
was innocent, he'd have no power at all of death. Do you understand
that? It's like this. If somebody just
walked up to you and said, now I'm accusing you of robbing a
bank, but you had no part in robbing that bank. Well, their
accusations would be empty. They would have no legal power
over you because you're innocent. And this is Satan's power. Now,
when Satan accuses the sinner, if the accusations are correct,
then the law would pronounce death. But if he accuses a person
who's innocent, then that's another matter. He has no power over
them whatsoever. In the Bible, in the book of
Revelation, he's called the accuser of the brethren. Now that's the
brethren that Christ died for here. What does the Bible say
about the brethren? It says that the brethren have
been washed clean from their sins in the blood of the Lamb
of God. Their sins have all been taken
away. God says, I'll remember them
no more. That means he legally has put
them away. Christ died for them, and Christ
gave them a perfect robe of righteousness to be imputed, legally accounted
to them. So that when Satan accuses them,
he's accusing the innocent. Now you see, I'm a sinner, but
my sins are not charged to me. Christ died for my sins. He died for my past sins, He
died for my present sins, and He died for my future sins. The
Bible says this, Who can condemn us? It is Christ that died, yea
rather, that is risen again, who is seated at the right hand
of the Father, making intercession for us. And what does that intercession
mean? He's our mediator. Christ is our defense attorney.
As Satan accuses the brethren, Christ defends them by presenting
the evidence of their innocence, their being not guilty. What
is that evidence? His blood applied to them. 1
John chapter 2 says it this way, that when we sin, we have an
advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, who is
the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but for
the whole world also. That is not just the Jewish people,
but for all who believe in Christ. So, Satan has no power over death
when it comes to the children of God. So, look at verse 15.
Now, here's the proof of it. Now, here's the fear of death
removed. It says, "...and deliver them
who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to
bondage." Now, he's talking about a fear of death that is removed. Now, listen to me very carefully
here. We all have a natural fear of death. These bodies, we love
life, we cling to life. The only instances that I've
ever seen where people desire to die is those who are in such
an emotional, depressed state, or those who are so sick that
the pain is unbearable. But that's the result of sin.
That's what it is in all of us. Aging, disease, this is all the
result of sin. Death is the result of sin. Sin
is the wages of death. You see, that's why the gift
of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. So we
all have a natural fear of death. We want to live forever. That's
part of the image of God that's been stamped upon the soul and
the spirit of man. We have a desire for eternity. This is what physical science,
medical science, they're trying to extend the lifespan. You say, keep people alive. Because
we all have a natural fear of death. That's not what it's talking
about here in Hebrews 2 and verse 15. The fear of death here that's
removed is that legal fear of punishment and hell that keeps
sinners in bondage. And that is a satanic power.
Now, what I mean by that is this. There are people who are so afraid
of hell, so afraid of condemnation, that it stirs them up in false
religion, trying to work their way into heaven, trying to work
their way into God's favor. That's that legal fear of condemnation
and death over which Satan rules people. He keeps them condemned
by making them fear condemnation. But the fear of death is removed
when that legal fear of condemnation is removed. Now, when is that
removed? When we turn to Christ. When we see Him whom to know
is life eternal. When we see that God no longer
charges our sins to us. The Bible says, Blessed is the
man to whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity. When we see that
God has justified us based on the righteousness of Christ,
You see, I cannot be condemned because in Christ there is no
condemnation. There is therefore now no condemnation
which is in Christ. I have a natural fear of death.
I don't know how I'm going to live this life. It may be in
a car wreck. It may be by some strange illness. It may be by cancer. It may be
by heart disease. I don't know. And I have a natural
fear of those. But here's a fear that's been
removed. I cannot be condemned under God. in his court of justice,
because Christ has died and paid for my sins." That's the fear
of death that's talked about here. Christ has delivered his
children, who through fear of death were all their lifetime
subject to bondage, trying to work their way out of condemnation,
get out from under the wrath of God by their works. We don't
have to do that anymore if we've turned to Christ. He's taken
care of that. He's finished the work. He tasted
death for me. He was condemned so that I don't
have to be condemned. He became a curse for me. And
as I said, Romans 8 and 1, there is therefore now no condemnation
to them who are in Christ Jesus. We've been delivered from that.
So even though we retain that natural fear of death, and I
honestly believe that God even relieves that fear as we grow
older and we're weaned away from this world, we become stronger
and grow in the grace and knowledge of God, and God gives us dying
grace. But even now, those who are in
Christ, those who trust Him, who believe in Him, who see that
His blood alone cleanses them from all sin and unrighteousness,
who see that His righteousness alone clothes them and justifies
them and entitles them to the whole inheritance of grace and
glory, so that God will not impute sin to us, that fear of death,
that legal fear of death that kept us in that bondage, is gone. We have Christ. Well, look at
verse 16 of Hebrews 2. Now, he closes this chapter out
by going on and describing this even further. He says, For verily,
or truly, he, Christ, took not on him the nature of angels,
but he took upon him the seed of Abraham. Now, there's another
identification for the ones for whom Christ died. They are the
seed of Abraham. Now, who is the seed of Abraham? Well, back over in the book of
Romans, chapter 9, he tells us plainly who these are. Now, we know that Christ is the
one seed of Abraham, the representative of his people, the Savior of
sinners. But all of his children are also
called the seed of Abraham. And let me show you this. He
talks about Israel here. The majority of national Israel,
who were the physical descendants of Abraham, rejected Christ. But Abraham has a spiritual family,
the spiritual seed of Abraham. And it says here in verse 7 of
Romans 9, neither because they are the seed of Abraham are they
all children. Now, you remember what we read
back there in Hebrews 2? These are the children. For as
much as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, Christ took
part of the same. Well, he says, neither because
they are the seed of Abraham physically, born in the land
of Israel, of the Jewish descendants, are they all children. But in
Isaac thy seed shall be called. Now, Isaac was the child of promise. So here comes the promise. So
he says in verse 8, that is, they which are the children of
the flesh, these are not the children of God, but the children
of the promise are counted for the seed. Now, who are the children
of the promise? They are those who believe the
promise of salvation in Christ. And that's the seed of Abraham
here. That's who Christ died for. It is to those who look
to Christ by promise all of salvation in Him, because in Him all the
promises of God are yea and amen. You see, He's the promised Messiah.
He fulfilled all the promises. He gives us all the promises.
And in Him all those promises are sure and certain. So the
seed of Abraham are all who look to Christ for salvation by promise. That means if you believe in
the Lord Jesus Christ, if you know Him, If you trust him, if
you're submitted to him, serve him and worship him, you're a
spiritual child of Abraham. Well, he goes on in verse 17
of Hebrews 2. He says, Wherefore, or for this
reason, in all things it behooved him, it was necessary for him,
it was on him, his responsibility, to be made likened to his brethren.
Now, there's another identification of those for whom Christ died,
and it's those in whom the fear of death is removed. The fear
of death, that legal bondage that kept them in subjection
all their life. It says here that it behooved
him to be made like unto his brethren. He had to be made like
them without sin. In order to die for me and pay
for my sins, in order to be buried and resurrected the third day,
in order to give me a righteousness that enables God to be just and
justifier, he had to be made like me without sin. And it says
he had to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a
merciful and a faithful high priest in things pertaining to
God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. Now there,
Christ is called a merciful and faithful high priest. Now that,
of course, is a reference back to the Old Covenant. There was
the priestly office, the tribe of Levi, the descendants of Aaron,
under the Old Covenant law of Moses, and they attended to the
tabernacle. There was one high priest at
any given time. And those high priests, they'd
have a high priest and he'd dine and they'd appoint another one
out of that tribe of Levi, the descendants of Aaron. And that
high priest was the representative of the people to go into the
Holy of Holies one time a year, and in order to be accepted,
he had to offer the blood of the sacrifice upon the altar.
He went in there where the mercy seat was, the Ark of the Covenant
covered by the mercy seat, but not without blood. John Bunyan,
the old Baptist preacher in England who wrote Pilgrim's Progress,
he said in order to have a complete atonement, Sacrifice for sins,
a reconciliation, what the Bible calls a propitiation. Three things
were required. Number one, an appointed, qualified
high priest. Number two, a proper altar to
set the sacrifice apart. And number three, the bloody
sacrifice. That's the three things that
were required. Well, the high priest of Israel, he had all
three. But he was just a type. He was
just a picture. He was just a shadow of someone
better, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is our eternal High Priest. He was appointed by the Father,
and he was equipped and qualified in that he is both God and man
in one person. He himself is the altar, and
he himself is the sacrifice that was offered. He offered himself
without spot. unto God, in things pertaining
to God. So he's a merciful high priest.
He can have compassion and mercy upon sinners in that he himself
suffered, and he's a faithful high priest. He did all that
the Father required him to do. He kept the law perfectly. He
suffered, bled and died on the cross of Calvary, shedding his
blood unto death. He was buried and rose again
the third day." And you remember when he gave up the ghost on
Calvary, you remember over in the book of Matthew it talks
about how the veil in the temple that separated the holiest of
all from the rest of the temple, how that veil was torn in two
from top to bottom, signifying that the high priest here, Christ,
our high priest, has finished the work. and made a way into
the holiest of all by his blood, a new and living way. So he did
this in things pertaining to God to make reconciliation for
the sins of the people. He died for the sins of his sheep. Verse 18 says this, for in that
he himself hath suffered, being tempted he is able to succor
or to comfort and help them that are tempted. In that Christ as
man, God and man in one person, he suffered, he was humiliated,
he was beaten, he shed his blood on a cruel cross and his soul
suffering, which we cannot describe, He was tempted. He was tested.
The devil, he was led up onto a mountain by the Holy Spirit,
and the devil met him up there and tested him. And he passed
every test. He had no sin. The devil had
no ally in him like he does us. But Christ, he was the victor. He was tempted all the way through
his life, even up to the cross. And in that he did that, he's
able to help all who come to the Father by him. He's able
to comfort them. Number one, He's able to save
them from their sins. He's able. Our high priest is
able to save to the uttermost them that come unto the Father
by Him. He's able to help them in anything they need as far
as their relationship with God. He's able to help them. He's
their provider. He's the bread of life. He's
the giver and sustainer of life. He's able to comfort them. You
see, when we come to Christ, And we learn of Him and see more
and more of His glory and more and more of His love. We learn
that the things we go through in this life, He experienced
those things without sin, but in all the infirmities of the
flesh. The Bible says in Hebrews chapter
4 and verse 15, it says, For we have not an high priest which
cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in
all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. I think
about when he was let up on that mouth and he went without food
for 40 days and 40 nights. In his humanity, in his flesh,
he was just as hungry, just as famished and weakened and sickened
as you and I would be if we hadn't eaten for over a month. But when
the devil tempted him, the difference is this. The devil tempted him,
he was just as hungry as you and I would be, but he had no
nature of sin, no corruption of mind or heart or thought that
would even cause him to think of denying his father in order
to relieve that hunger. We have that nature of sin. You
see that? But yet he was tempted and tested
like as we are, yet without sin. Well, in that he was tempted
like that, he's able to comfort. and to help and to have compassion
on those who are tempted, his children.