Well, I'll add my welcome to
Winston's. It's good to see you out on this
Lord's Day to hear the preaching of the gospel. As you can see,
my text will be Joshua chapter 1, verses 1 through 9. I told
somebody I'm not used to preaching nine verses now, so if I keep
y'all a little bit longer today, y'all have to understand that
I'm usually shorter than these other men, but I don't know about
today. It's nine verses. Let me remind you of a few things
that we looked at when I introduced this book a few weeks ago. First of all, you know the book
of Joshua is going to be about Israel, the nation Israel, inheriting
this land of promise. That's what it's all about, and
Joshua leading them into this land. And we're going to see
the land of promise as a type of that eternal rest that Christ
brings each of his elect into in each generation. And we'll
see Joshua as a type of Christ leading them into that land and
a type of Christ leading his people into that rest in each
generation. So those are just a couple of
things I'll remind you of. The title of the message today,
as you can see, is Now, Therefore, Arise. And I think you'll understand
that title as we look here in a few minutes. But Israel is
now. This nation Israel is now ready
to enter into the land of promise. They were not ready before now.
Now they're ready. They weren't ready when they
were in bondage in Egypt. They weren't ready during their
wilderness experience. They weren't ready until their
rebellious fathers who refused to enter this land by promise
died off in the wilderness. And they weren't ready while
Moses lived. Moses was not to enter this land
nor to lead this nation into it. You know who Moses was. Moses
was their leader up to this point. They weren't ready while Moses
lived, but now Moses is dead. Now all these things have been
settled, their bondage, their wilderness, and the death of
Moses. Now Israel is ready to enter
into this land of promise. Let's read these first two verses
of our text here, Joshua 1, verses 1 and 2. Now after the death of Moses,
the servant of the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord spake unto
Joshua, the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying, Moses, my servant,
is dead. Now, therefore, arise. Go over
this Jordan, thou and all this people, unto the land which I
do give to them, even to the children of Israel. It seems
that the last thing standing between Israel and their entrance
into the land of promise was Moses. Now that may seem a little
strange to you. I don't think it was Moses personally.
I think it was what Moses represented to this nation. Moses was God's
servant. It says, the servant of the Lord.
He was God's servant in the law. Moses was the man of law. It was through him that the nation
had received that first testament, those ten commandments, that
old covenant. It was through Moses that the
strictness and the specifics of the law had been given to
this nation. That was all recorded in the
book of Leviticus. Moses' whole history with this
nation was law. He's the man of law. Even in
Christ's day, the Jews were still trusting in Moses. They were
trusting specifically in that law which he gave this nation.
Look at John chapter 5 and verse 45. Christ said, Do not think
that I will accuse you to the Father. There's one that accuses
you, even Moses, in whom you trust. You see, the Pharisees
of Christ's day, most people of Christ's day probably, they
thought that Moses had given them a way in that law to gain
acceptance with God. But what did Christ say? Moses
wrote to me. That law spoke of Christ. Well, what about today? When you hear the name Moses,
or when anybody hears the name Moses, what do you think of?
Ten Commandments, probably, right? That's usually what people would
say. Maybe that movie that was made by Charlton Heston about
the Ten Commandments. So Moses is still thought of
and connected. That name is inseparably connected
to the law. But Moses, the man of law, was
dead. God would have it understood
that mercy and not law gave Israel this land. God would have it
understood that it was by his grace that Israel inherited the
land of promise and not by works. In other words, God would have
it understood that Israel's entrance into this land had no connection
whatsoever to a sinner's obedience to the law. Look back with me
at Joshua 1 and verse 2. Moses, my servant, is dead. Now,
therefore, arise, go over this Jordan unto the land, which I
do give even to the children of Israel. Moses, the man who
represented the law in Joshua's day, Moses, the man who represented
the law in Christ's day, and Moses, the man who represents
the law in our day, was dead. Now, Israel is ready to enter
the land they were promised. Now, how does all this apply
to you and me? Remember, the land of promise
is a type. We're looking at a physical land
inherited by a physical people, the nation Israel, but it's a
type. It's a type of the eternal rest that God brings each of
his elect into in each successive generation. No sinner has rested
in Christ. No sinner is ready to rest in
Christ until the law has been settled in his or her mind. And
the law has not been settled until we see some things, until
we learn some things that none of us know by nature. You see,
by nature, we're like the Pharisees. We see the law as a tool. something for us to obey in order
to gain or at least maintain some measure of our acceptance
with God. So we see the law amiss by nature. We don't see it aright.
We have to learn some things about it. Paul described a time
in his life when his understanding of the law was confused. Look
with me at Romans chapter 7 and verse 9. Now this chapter is
all about the law. This is where Paul said earlier
in these verses, he said, We are dead to the law. Brethren
are dead to the law by the body of Christ. But here Paul says,
in his confused mind, he said, for I was alive without the law
once. Now that's in his confused thinking
about the law. That's when Paul thought that
all those things he listed in Philippians, being a Pharisee,
being a Hebrew of Hebrews, touching the law, blameless, when he thought
all those things were gained to him, that he was gaining God's
favor through the law. He said, I was alive without
the law once, but when the commandment came, well, when is that? It's
when God sits the sinner down under the gospel and shows him
the strictness and the need for that law to be satisfied perfectly. When the commandment came, Sin
revived. Paul saw that all of his efforts,
all those things that he thought were recommending him to God,
he said those things couldn't recommend him to God at all.
He said, and I died. I saw that based on my best performance
under the law, I had no more worthiness to stand before God
and be counted holy than the worst of sinners. So I see four
things about the law that a sinner must have settled before they
can give evidence that they've rested in Christ. First, the
standard of law is perfection. In thought, in word, in deed. It's perfection. God demands
perfection. God taught Adam this standard.
He said, do, all you gotta do is do what I tell you and live.
Disobey and you shall surely die. Paul described this standard
quoting what Moses wrote in Leviticus. Look at, at, oh this is Romans
10 and verse 5. For Moses describeth the righteousness
which is of the law, that the man which doeth those things
shall live by them. If a man does what the law demands,
if a man obeys the law perfectly and continues, he'll live by
those things. The only problem with that is, who's done that?
None of us have done that. The law recognizes one thing
and one thing only, and that one thing is obedience. Christ
taught this standard in the Sermon on the Mount. of Matthew 5 and verse 48. Christ
said, Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is
in heaven is perfect. The standard of law is perfection. No sinner has rested in Christ
until they've understood that the standard of law is perfection. Second thing we need to understand
about the law, no sinner has rested in Christ until they understand
that no sinner No sinner ever born into this world, no son
or daughter of Adam has ever measured up to this standard.
Look at Romans 3 and verse 23. For all have sinned and come
short of the glory of God. Now this is talking about our
sin in Adam and it's talking about our sin personally. All
did sin in Adam. And that second part of this
verse says, and themselves come short of the glory of God. Continually,
continue to come short. We never have, never will, never
can obey the law in such a way that God would be just to pronounce
us righteous based on our law keeping. We come short of God's
glory. The third thing, since the standard
of the law is perfection, and since none of us have ever measured
up to that standard, all that any sinner can deserve from God,
based on our best performance under the law, is his eternal
wrath. Now, like Randy said last week,
that's something I don't know whether you've really thought
about that or not. Have you thought that you really deserve the eternal
wrath of God? It's a pretty tough thing to
consider. But that's what we deserve based
on our best performance under the law. God says in Ezekiel,
the soul that sinneth, it shall die. And Paul reinforces that
statement. Look at Romans 6 in verse 23.
For the wages of sin is death, eternal death. But the gift of
God is eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord. No sinner has
rested or can rest in Christ until they've seen that all we
can deserve from God, based on our best obedience, is his eternal
wrath. Now based on all this, these
things, the standard is perfection. No sinner's ever measured up.
And all we can deserve, based on our best, is God's eternal
wrath. Where's a sinner to find hope? Well, there's one more
thing we need to know about the law. The fourth thing that we
must understand if we would find our rest in Christ is that Christ
alone has met the standard of law. Christ alone has satisfied
the law in its precept, that means in its demand for obedience.
And Christ alone has satisfied the law in its penalty, in its
demand for punishment. Christ alone attained the goal
of the law. What is that? It's righteousness.
That's what the goal of the law is. He alone established the
one righteousness based upon which God can justify ungodly
sinners such as we are. And in so doing, he ended the
law for righteousness for every believing sinner. Look at Romans
chapter 10 and verse 4. For Christ is the end of the
law for righteousness to everyone that believeth." Now, Christ
is not the end of law. He's the end of the law for righteousness. And He's not the end of the law
for everyone. He's the end of the law for those
who find their hope of salvation, their hope of standing before
God and being declared just in His imputed righteousness alone.
In other words, to everyone that believeth. To the nation Israel,
the land of promise was a land of rest. But it's also typical
of the eternal rest that every believing sinner finds in the
doing and dying of Christ alone. And no sinner has found their
rest in Christ until they've understood the necessity of being
found in Christ's imputed righteousness alone, and not in our own righteousness
in any way to any degree. Paul said he wanted to be found
in Christ's righteousness and not in his own. Moses my servant
is dead, now therefore arise. The death of Moses, the man of
law, preceded Israel's entrance into the land of promise. And
a right understanding of the law precedes every sinner's rest
in Christ. In other words, no sinner has
rested in Christ until they've seen the standard of law met
and satisfied in the doing and the dying of Christ alone, and
not in any way to any degree in our efforts at obedience under
the law. Next, let's look at Joshua, chapter
one, verses three and four. Joshua writes here, every place
that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given
unto you, as I said unto Moses, from the wilderness and this
Lebanon, even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all
the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the
going down of the sun shall be your coast. Every hill in that
land would be taken. Every valley would be settled.
Every city would be occupied. Every square inch within those
geographical boundaries that he outlines there in chapter
four belonged by promise to the nation Israel. These verses speak
of the completeness of Israel's inheritance. There are boundaries
to this land. It's not like some Israelites
today think that anywhere their foot touches, well, that's their
land. No, there are geographical boundaries. But everything inside
those boundaries was the inheritance of the nation Israel. Every part
of that land was their promised possession. It was given to them
by God's providential goodness and mercy alone. It wasn't because
of who they were. He said, I didn't choose you
because you were a great nation or the greatest of nations. I
chose you simply because of my mercy, my intention to show you
mercy, and that alone. Moses described the fullness
and completeness of this land back in Deuteronomy chapter 8
and verses 7 and 9. He said, for the Lord thy God
bringeth thee into a good land. A land of brooks, of water, of
fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills. A land
of wheat and barley and vines and fig trees and pomegranates.
A land of oil, olive, and honey. A land wherein thou shalt eat
bread without scarceness. Thou shalt not lack anything
in that land. A land whose stones are iron,
and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass. Thou shalt not lack
anything in that land. See, this is describing a land
of abundance. And I understand from those that
have been there that that's still the way Israel is in that part
of the world today. It's still a fertile land. It's
still green when all around it are dry and wilderness. This
was a land without want, not lacking. Remember what Winston
preached from the 23rd Psalm here just a couple of weeks ago,
the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. The abundance of this
land is typical of that rest that sinners find in Christ alone. It's typical of the completeness
that every regenerated sinner finds in Christ. There's no want
in Christ for those in him. There's no lack in his provision.
Every sinner in him is complete. Look at Colossians 2 verses 8
and 9. All rights beware, lest any man
spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition
of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
For in Christ dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily,
and you are complete in him, which is the head of all principality
and power. No sinner in Christ lacks for
anything to stand before God and be counted just and righteous
in his sight, and that eternally. What every sinner needs is to
be brought to the knowledge of this completeness that's in Christ
alone. What every sinner needs is to
be brought to the Christ who's done everything to make every
sinner in Him stand complete. Faith doesn't complete a sinner
standing before God. That kind of faith is a work. It's really a deed of law. Faith
sees a sinner standing complete in Christ alone. True faith is
the evidence that a sinner stands complete in Christ alone. The command of the scripture
is believe on him whom God has sent. In other words, rest your
whole salvation in the Christ of the gospel. And Christ promises
rest to any sinner seeking such rest. Look at Matthew chapter
11 and verses 28 and 29. Christ said, come unto me all
you that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn of me for I am meek and lowly
in heart and you shall find rest unto your souls. The rest spoken
of is rest from a sinner's efforts to please God. Rest from your
attempts to make yourself acceptable to God. That's what every sinner
is doing before we see the completeness of Christ's work for his sheep.
All of us are laboring under this heavy load of effort to
gain or either maintain God's approval and favor before God
brings us into this rest. These commands in these verses,
come, take, learn, they're not conditions sinners meet in order
to obtain or improve their acceptance with God. These are evidences
that a sinner has found his or her completeness in the finished
work of Christ alone. They're evidences that a sinner
has rested their whole salvation, not in works, but in Christ's
work alone. We are to work. There's still
work to be done. We are to labor, but we're not
to labor to obtain or improve our acceptance with God. That's
legalism to do that. We're to labor to enter into
that rest found in the doing and dying of Christ alone. Look
at Hebrews chapter four, verses eight and nine. He said, for if Jesus, that's
Joshua, had given them rest, if he had given the nation Israel
rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. There
remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. He's speaking
of Joshua giving Israel temporal rest in that land of promise. Their rest was typical of that
eternal rest found in Christ alone. Look at Hebrews 4, verses
10 and 11. For he that is entered into his
rest, that's speaking of Christ, he also has ceased from his own
works as God did from his. Christ entered his rest. When
he had purged by himself, purged our sins, he sat down. He rested. He rested from that work of putting
away the sin of his people. He rested from that work of establishing
the one righteousness by which God justifies his people. So,
verse 11, let us labor, therefore, to enter into that rest. Let
us rest where Christ rested, lest any man fall after the same
example of unbelief. When the Spirit brings a sinner
to Christ and gives them rest in Him, that rest is complete. That rest lacks nothing. There's
still plenty to be done. but there's nothing lacking for
every sinner in Christ to be saved and to be kept in God's
eternal favor. Salvation is of the Lord, and
the completeness of that salvation is in Christ, in Christ alone.
Every sinner in Christ is complete in Him alone, and He alone is
that completeness. So that land It was a land of
abundance. It was a land that had no lack,
typifying that rest in Christ, which has no lack for those that
find their rest in Him. The next thing we'll see is the
certainty of Joshua delivering to every Israelite the inheritance
they had been promised. Look at Joshua 1, verses 5 and
6. There shall not any man be able
to stand before thee all the days of thy life. As I was with
Moses, so I will be with thee. I will not fail thee, nor forsake
thee. Be strong and of a good courage,
for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the
land, which I swear unto their fathers to give them. Joshua
was encouraged here by God himself to be strong and have a good
courage. Not necessarily within himself.
He's not talking about physical strength here. Joshua would pump
some iron or go out and get strong. I mean, that's okay, and he was
a warrior, so he probably was strong that way. But God is encouraging
him to be strong toward God's willingness and power to fulfill
his promise to give Israel this land. In other words, he's commanding
Joshua to be like Abraham. Be fully persuaded that what
God has promised, he is able also to perform. Look at Romans
4, verses 20 and 21. It says, he, that's Abraham,
staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, and
he's talking about the promise of a seed, the promise of the
Messiah, the promise of Christ to come, but was strong in faith. That phrase is strengthened in
the faith. He was strengthened in God's
declaration of Christ, giving glory to God, and being fully
persuaded that what God had promised, he was able also to perform. Be strong in God. Be strong in
what he's promised. That's what God is commanding
Joshua here. God had promised Israel this
land and now he promised Joshua, he's the one appointed to cause
everyone in this nation to inherit their rightful portion in this
land. God's command and encouragement to Joshua was be strong and of
a good courage. not necessarily in himself, but
toward God's faithfulness to fulfill what he promised for
this nation. And Joshua was strong. He was
of a good courage. Like Abraham, he believed and
he acted upon God's promise. Not one Israelite household failed
to inherit their portion in the land of promise. Joshua didn't
rest until that was a reality. He didn't rest until every household
in that nation had received the inheritance they had been promised.
The remainder of Joshua's life, 17 years from this point, was
consumed by that effort. Now this is typical of the certainty
of Christ bringing every air of grace into the rest that they
were promised in him before the world began. It's certain. It's
going to happen. His people are going to rest
in him. Can any sinner chosen by God and redeemed by Christ
fail to rest their whole salvation in Christ alone? Can any sinner
Christ died for arrive at final judgment, not knowing the Savior
who bought them with his blood? There's not a possibility. Christ
himself won't rest until that's the reality for everyone he redeemed. My sheep hear my voice, and I
know them, and they follow me. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me. Other sheep I have which are
not of this Jewish fold, them I must bring. These are Christ's
words concerning the bringing of his sheep and the certainty
of it. Each one of Christ's sheep will come to him because Christ
will not rest until he's brought them to faith and repentance.
In other words, until he's brought them to rest, in Him and in Him
alone. Look at Luke 15, verses 3 through
7. Jesus spoke this parable unto
them, saying, What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he
lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness,
and go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when he
hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And
when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbors,
saying unto them, Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep,
which was lost. I say unto you that likewise
joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than
over ninety and nine just persons which need no repentance. Notice
in this little parable, this is that parable of the lost sheep,
of course. And in this parable, Christ relates
his finding the lost sheep, to the sheep's repentance. In other
words, law of sheep who were lost, they were wandering, but
they've been found when they come to true faith in Christ
alone and repentance from dead works and idolatry. Found sheep
are those who have seen the wickedness of thinking that they were saved
by their efforts, they were saved by their obedience to some law
and not by Christ alone. The coming of every sheep to
this understanding, the coming of every sheep to faith and repentance
is a certainty. This world cannot end until Christ
has brought every sheep that he was given to this repentance. Look at 2 Peter chapter 3 and
verse 9. It says the Lord is not slack
concerning his promise. He's talking about the promise
of his return in this context. The Lord is not slack concerning
his promise, as some men count slackness, but is longsuffering
to usward. He's longsuffering to his elect. He's longsuffering to his sheep,
not willing that any of them should perish, but that all of
the sheep should come to repentance. Joshua, the type, spent his final
days making sure every Israelite inherited the land they were
promised. Christ, the anti-type, ever liveth
to make sure that his elect rest in the salvation that he worked
out for them by his obedience unto death. Look at Hebrews chapter
7, verses 20 through 25. Now this context is comparing
the priest of the Old Covenant to Christ's priesthood, that
priesthood in the Old Covenant to the priesthood of Christ.
It says, and inasmuch as not without an oath Christ was made
priest, for those priests under that old covenant were made without
an oath, but this Christ with an oath by him that said unto
him, the Lord swear and will not repent, thou art a priest
forever after the order of Melchizedek. By so much was Jesus made a surety
of a better testament. And they truly were many priests
under that old covenant, because they were not suffered to continue
by reason of death. They died and couldn't continue.
But this man, because he continueth ever as an unchangeable priesthood,
wherefore he is able to save them to the uttermost that come
unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for
them. Joshua didn't fail to divide
foreign inheritance to land that Israel had been promised. And
Christ ever liveth to make intercession for his sheep. He ever liveth
to make sure that each one of those sheep receives every benefit
that he merited for them by his obedience unto death. He ever
liveth to bring each one to rest in his finished work alone. Rest
for his sheep is certain because Christ himself will not rest
until their rest in him is a reality. Alright, let's look at the last
point. Look at Joshua chapter 1 verses 7 through 8. God is
still commanding Joshua here and instructing him. He says,
only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest
observe to do according to all the law which Moses my servant
commanded thee. Turn not from it to the right
hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever
thou goest. This book of the law shall not
depart out of thy mouth, But thou shalt meditate therein day
and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is
written therein. For then thou shalt make thy
way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. You
see those phrases I underline, one in verse seven and one in
verse, well this is seven and eight. One in each verse, you see those
little phrases there underlined. They both mean to act wisely. God commanded Joshua to be zealous
toward the law. Now, why did he command him to
be zealous toward the law? Because the law is what pointed
Joshua to Christ. He didn't have the gospel preached
out like we have it today. He had the law, and that law
pointed him to Christ. Christ was typified in every
aspect of that Mosaic Law, from the unblemished lamb that was
slain, to the altar that set that sacrifice apart, to the
Holy of Holies, and even down to the color of the curtains
that surrounded that Holy of Holies. All of that, in some
way, to some degree, pictured and typified the person and work
of Christ. Paul, a natural-born Jew, as
was Joshua, said in Galatians, the law was our schoolmaster
unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. Joshua was
acting wisely when he considered that law. He was acting wisely
when he meditated upon it, when he turned not from the right
or to the left, because it was that law that taught him of Christ.
He was acting wisely when he meditated therein. For over 1,500
years, the law taught Israel of Christ through pictures and
types. When Christ came, he fulfilled
every picture and type, and he ended the law, the law as it
was given to that nation. He didn't end law. God's law
is an extension of himself, and it came in. But as it was given
to that nation, Christ fulfilled it all and ended it. Today, we
have the gospel. We have that gospel wherein the
righteousness of God is revealed. And what is righteousness? It's
perfect satisfaction to law and justice. It's the merit of Christ's
obedience unto death. Through the gospel, we still
consider the law. But it's not through our obedience
to the law. It's through Christ's perfect
obedience to the law. He alone magnified the law. He
alone made the law honorable. We act wisely when we consider
Christ and the gospel which reveals him. We act wisely when we consider
that his righteousness imputed alone enables God to be just
and justify the ungodly. Where would this world be without
law? Where would it be without a standard? When there was no
king in Israel, everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
That's where it would be. We'd all be doing exactly what
we saw as right. The gospel reminds us that there's
a standard to be met. Christ's death reminds us in
the gospel that God will not compromise that standard. God
commands sinners, be ye therefore perfect, even as your father
in heaven is perfect. And that's his command to sinners
in every generation. That standard hasn't changed
one whit since he gave it to Adam in the garden and since
he gave it to Moses in that law. God always demands perfection. He cannot demand less. But who
has such perfection? Certainly not any son or daughter
of Adam. That's why sinners like you and me have to look outside
ourselves for salvation. We have to look outside ourselves
totally. We have to look to Christ alone. Joshua meditated on the
law because that's where he learned of Christ. You and I meditate
on the gospel because that's where we learn of Christ. That's
where we learn of law and justice satisfied and of that righteousness
we need but can by no means produce. Now I'll conclude this lesson
with the last verse in our text. Look at Joshua chapter one in
verse nine. God says, have not I commanded
thee? Be strong and of a good courage.
Be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed, for the Lord thy God
is with thee whithersoever thou goest. under God's command to
enter in, enter into this land, and under God's promise to give
Israel that land, and in God's presence all the way, which he
promised right here in this verse, how could Joshua go wrong? He
couldn't. God was guaranteeing his success.
He was guaranteeing the success of that nation to enter into
that land of promise. And no sinner today can go wrong
who sees that God's standard has not changed, that he still
demands perfection, that God has provided salvation for the
chief of sinners in Christ and Christ alone, and that he is
with, he is right alongside, he is the one giving sinners
the courage and strength to rest in Christ's imputed righteousness
alone. Behold, now is the accepted time. Behold, now is the day
of salvation. So I urge you, whoever you are,
who are listening to this message, now therefore arise. Enter into
that rest that can be found in Christ and in Christ alone.