I'm going to bring a message
from Ezra chapter 9, if you want to be turning there, Ezra chapter
9. And as you're turning, let me just make a few comments by
way of introduction. You know, in this life, this
life that's so full of uncertainty, we all naturally crave for some
degree of security, something we can hang our hat on. We have
so many troubles and trials. We have so much, and you know,
as you think about the global financial crisis that we're still
weathering today. It's a stark reminder to us of
how there's really nothing certain in this life, apart from the
gospel of God's grace, that pertains to a life hereafter. We all desire
security in this life and stability, things we can depend on. And
there are countless examples that we could give of things
of the illusion of security, things that we think we can depend
on that can't. There are simple examples such
as I know when Susan and I were building our house years ago,
would go around and visit construction sites where other houses were
being built to get ideas. Sometimes they'd be in the process
of being framed up and everything wouldn't necessarily be nailed
down. You could walk in, for example, there might be a staircase
with a rail, or what appeared to be a rail, a board laying
there. But if you leaned up against it, you might find out it's not
been nailed down yet, and you would certainly fall if that's
the case. Well, while this may have served some purpose by way
of introduction, you know, here at Eager Avenue Grace Church,
we don't major on that truth. That is, that in this life, we
all desire security. And we want stability. We want
something we can hang our hat on, so to speak. But our main
purpose here is to preach God's gospel. And in stark contrast,
we find therein a sure and a certain eternal security. It's sure and
certain because it's found exclusively in the person and the work of
the Lord Jesus Christ, who cannot fail, did not fail and does not
fail. And yet, even when it comes to
where we're going to spend eternity, all of us initially by nature,
we consider that, we think of our own mortality, as men like
to say, knowing that we have a certain death to die, a maker
to face, to meet, so to speak, and we naturally seek salvation. That is, we want to go to heaven
and to gain all of its blessings But we do so by nature in a way
that is anything but secure. Now, we wouldn't do that except
it has the illusion of being something we can bank upon. But
in reality, it's a way that's absolutely insecure and contrary
to God's way. It's contrary to our natural
religious inclinations. That is God's way of salvation
is for his way. Unlike what seems to be right
to us is a certain way, it's a secure way, it's nailed down,
count on it, cannot fail way of salvation. And that's part
of the great news of the gospel. You often hear me and others
here quote from Proverbs 16, 25 or the identical verse in
Proverbs 14, that there's a way that seems right to a man, but
the end thereof are the ways of death. And accordingly, We
know that apart from God's intervention then, we will persist in trusting
in a way that seems right to us. It will just continue to
seem right to us. That is a gospel of sorts that
is more than just untrustworthy. It's a way, as this verse teaches
us, that ends in certain failure. It's described by our Lord in
the Sermon on the Mount as a popular way, but a broad way that leads
not to eternal life, but to destruction, to eternal death. And yet, as
much as we crave security, and in particular when it comes to
our eternity to spend somewhere, upon our first serious consideration
of spiritual things, of wanting to go to heaven, we all say,
OK, well, what do I need to do now? The I there, the me and
you, as we ask ourselves that question, we're speaking of a
fallen, sinful creature. You know, the word creature.
By definition is something that was not that was created, that
was made, and so it's it's by definition a changeable, mutable
thing, and it certainly did change for we fell in our father, Adam,
and yet our Inclination is to depend on something that we mutable
creatures can do to make the difference in our eternal salvation. That is our decision. We may
say it's all of Jesus. I'm trusting in Jesus. But when
you peel it back and you ask yourself, well, what distinguishes
those who go to heaven from those who go to hell? We'll say, oh,
well, I must believe, or I must receive Christ, or I must accept
Jesus. And you see, if that's the determining
factor in your salvation, you need to know that that's just
grasping at a straw that's not going to stand up. It's much
like leaning against that rail that has not been nailed down,
and it will surely fail you. In sharp contrast to that, though,
there's good news. The good news of God's gospel,
we find there a salvation that is set forth that has been nailed
down. You see, it was nailed down for
a people when their substitute was nailed to the cross. And
that brings me to the title of today's message, We Need a Nail. That may seem like an odd title. But it's actually, I chose that
based on the phrase found in verse 8 of our text in Ezra 9. There, Ezra is praying to God
and he makes note of God's bountiful grace in having given unto the
Israelites what he calls there a nail in his holy place. Before we start looking at these
verses, let me give you a little background on the book of Ezra,
and in particular, chapter nine. Some of you know that there were
three stages to the deportation of the Jews when they were taken
into captivity in Babylon. Likewise, there were three stages
to their return to their homeland. And the book of Ezra records
the first two of these three stages of the Jews return from
Babylonian captivity. The return of the first group
from exile is recorded in the first six chapters of Ezra, and
that was led by King Zerubbabel, who was a descendant of King
David. There were some 50,000 Israelites
and their servants who returned to the land of Israel under the
leadership of Zerubbabel. And under his leadership and
with the influence of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah, they eventually
completed the rebuilding of the temple. And that's recorded in
Ezra chapter 6. Then when we move to Ezra chapter 7 through
10, which is where our text for today is found, There we have
the record of the second return from exile, and it was under
the leadership of a priest and a scribe named Ezra, Ezra himself. Ezra descended from the first
anointed priest, Aaron. And from my study, it appears
that just under 1500 returned in this second group from Ezra.
And if you read about how they were gathered together to return,
you'll see that they came to be able to worship God according
to the law of Moses, the temple having been rebuilt in Jerusalem. But as so soon after their return
at the beginning of chapter nine now, Ezra is informed that many
of these Israelites had already intermarried with the Gentile
idolaters, and that was an action that was strictly forbidden under
the Mosaic law. God had commanded them to remain
separate. This is consistent with his purpose,
as many of you know, to maintain their purity, their national
purity, so that he might bring the promised Messiah through
them, through specifically the tribe of Judah. Well, in hearing
that news at the beginning of chapter 9, Ezra, he reacted very
strongly. And he, in great sorrow, began
to pray. And we're going to look at part
of that prayer. He reacted as he did because, you see, this
was the same kind of sin and disobedience that had brought
Israel into bondage in the first place. There were consequences
to their disobedience. And in Ezra, chapter 9, beginning
in verse 5 to the end of the chapter, We have the record of
his prayer to God, and in it he expresses his great sorrow
and his ashamedness over the sins of the people, and particularly
notes how shameful it is, what ingratitude they had to so soon,
after having been a recipient of God's undeserved goodness
toward them, had so soon reverted back to disobedience to him. Well, I encourage you to read
the entire broader context that includes and surrounds chapter
9, but today I want to focus on just two verses there in the
middle of this prayer, verses 8 and verse 9. So, picking up
in the middle of Ezra's prayer, beginning in verse 8, we read,
And now for a little space, that is, for the moment, grace hath
been showed from the Lord our God to leave us a remnant to
escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place. That our God
may lighten our eyes and give us a little reviving in our bondage,
for we were bondmen. Yet our God hath not forsaken
us in our bondage, but hath extended mercy unto us in the sight of
the kings of Persia to give us a reviving, to set up the house
of our God and to repair the desolations thereof and to give
us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem. There in verse 8, that word that
is translated, nao, it refers to a pen, a constant and sure
abode. You may have those notes in the
margin of your Bible as I do. Clearly, Ezra is referring there
to the rebuilt temple and the holy sanctuary inside that temple
where the sacrifices could be made. in accordance to God's
command under the law of Moses. And, of course, the scriptures,
the New Testament scriptures, are very clear that they're keeping
that ceremonial law. All that was in the ceremony,
as well as the moral law of Moses, the sacrificing of those animals
all pointed to Christ and his sacrificial death on the cross.
as the unblemished lamb of God, as John the Baptist referred
to him. As Galatians 3.24 reads, wherefore the law, speaking of
that old covenant, old Mosaic law, was our schoolmaster to
bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith,
that is, justified by the object of our faith, the one that that
moral and ceremonial law pointed to, the Lord Jesus Christ. And just as Ezra, he made note
of the nail that was given to these Israelites in his holy
place, likewise, spiritual Israel, not national Israel, but spiritual
Israel, that is, God's chosen people unto eternal deliverance,
they have a nail that is given to them, a nail that all sinners
desperately need. We need a nail. And, friends,
that nail we need, the nail that is given to all who God saves
is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ, as I've mentioned, who
was nailed on the cross to provide for a people a salvation that
they did not deserve and that they could not merit for themselves,
but one which He alone could, did, and does provide for them. And it's a full salvation, a
free, a certain, a nailed-down eternal salvation. Just so you
understand that I'm not taking excessive literary license in
suggesting that the nail spoken of here in Ezra, based on his
temporal circumstances, is truly representative of Christ, I want
you to turn to the book of Isaiah, Isaiah chapter 22. And here we're
going to see that the same device, this nail, is used in a prophetic
referral to the promised Messiah. In Isaiah 22, beginning in verse
20, we read, And it shall come to pass in that day that I will
call my servant Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, and I will clothe
him with thy robe, and strengthen him with thy girdle, and I will
commit thy government into his hand, and he shall be a father
to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. And
the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder.
So he shall open, and none shall shut, and he shall shut, and
none shall open. And I will fasten him, listen,
as a nail in a sure place, and he shall be for a glorious throne
to his father's house." Many of you may recall we heard a
message from this passage in Isaiah 22 not too long ago during
our 10 o'clock hour, and as we heard from that, this language
we know In addition to referring to the current circumstances
regarding Eliakim, we know that it also pertains to Christ, that
it's a prophetic passage concerning him. You may recall from that
message that we learned the name Eliakim means God will raise
him up. So we see that Eliakim is a type
of Christ who would be raised up nailed to the cross of Calvary,
this pointing to the promised Messiah, who would be fastened,
as he said here, as a nail in a sure place. Now, to show you
for sure this is the speaking of the Messiah, I want us to
compare the language of Isaiah 22 with the language of Isaiah
9, verses 6 and 7, which we know points to the Savior. Keeping
in mind what we just read in Isaiah 22, in the latter part
of verse 21, it says, And I will commit thy government into his
hand. He shall be a father to the inhabitants
of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah, and the key of the
house of David will I lay upon his shoulder. Now, compare that
with Isaiah 9, 6, where we read, For unto us a child is born,
unto us a son is given. That's speaking of the God-man,
a son given, a child born, Jesus Christ. And the government shall
be upon his shoulder. And his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father,
the Prince of Peace. And then in verse 7, he says
of the increase of his government and peace, there shall be no
end. Now, we know for sure he's speaking of an everlasting kingdom
here upon the throne of David. Notice the similarity with Isaiah
22. and upon his kingdom to order it and to establish it with judgment
and with justice from henceforth even forever after the order
of the zeal, excuse me, I'm thinking of another verse, the zeal of
the Lord of hosts will perform this. When you rely on your memory,
it's a pretty bad place to rely on. Anyway, before we leave Isaiah
chapter 22, I want you to notice the certainty of salvation in
and by Christ that is also expressed there. Again in verses 22 and
23. And the key of the house of David
will I lay upon his shoulders, so he shall open and none shall
shut. And he shall shut and none shall
open. And I'll fasten him as a nail
in a sure place. And he shall be for a glorious
throne to his father's house. You see, he has the key. And
he shall open the kingdom, and those for whom he opens it, all
those for whom he lives and dies, they cannot be shut out. If God
be for us, who can be against us? It's God that justifies. It's Christ that died. And likewise,
no one else can open that door for themselves. It's a nail in
a sure place. Well, I think we've established
the validity of the nail as a metaphor for Christ. So let's consider
now more about the text here in Ezra 9 and look at it from
its spiritual significance, speaking of the eternal deliverance of
spiritual Israel. And that again is referring to
all those that God chose from the foundation of the world to
this sure and this certain salvation in Christ. Notice the beginning
phrase of Ezra 9a. It says, And now for a little
space, grace hath been showed from the Lord our God. In reading
that, I was reminded of the truth, I think, of the common grace
that is afforded all mankind. We all have a little space. We
have a time to live on this earth. And the Scripture is clear that
all who in their respective lifetimes, in this little space of time,
All who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, who trust in him alone
for all their salvation, they shall and are indeed eternally
saved. Hebrews 9, 27 and 28 tells us,
And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the
judgment, and that's not a decision that will be made, but a declarative
judgment that takes place after having been granted this little
space of time. And he goes on and he says, There's
a judgment, so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many.
And unto them that look for Him, now who looks to Him? It's the
many whose sins He bore. They, them that look for Him
shall He appear the second time without sin and desalvation.
The sins were put away before He ascended to the Father. He'll
come back without any sin. They've been paid for. And notice,
as Ezra 9, 8 continues, we have the phrase, he says, to leave
us a remnant to escape. Of course, that can be likened
to Romans 11, 5, where we read of the remnant according to the
election of grace. The remnant there is referring
to a people chosen unto eternal salvation in Christ. From every
nation and tribe, a spiritual Israel And it says their election
is an election of grace. It is by grace. So based on no
merit whatsoever foreseen to reside in them, but just due
unto God's sovereign choice of an likewise undeserving people,
no more deserving than the nation Israel was of the goodness of
having escaped their captivity. And all of this simply owing
to his own good pleasure. God choosing them to be represented,
covenanting with the Son to be their surety, to come as a substitute,
the one upon whose shoulders all the government of the heavenly
kingdom exists. And they, this remnant, according
to the election of grace, they, as the language of Ezra 9 says,
they escape. They escape God's just wrath
that is due unto their sins. But they escape it because, you
see, that wrath and strict satisfaction to God's justice was poured out
on their substitute, on their surety, the Lord Jesus Christ,
when he was nailed to the cross for their sins. And so thereby,
on that basis, they go free. And as you consider the rest
of verse eight, notice it reads, and to give us a nail in his
holy place. that our God may lighten our
eyes and give us a little reviving in our bondage. We've already
shown how that nail is prophetically speaking of Christ when we consider
its application spiritually to spiritual Israel. But notice
here the results of God's gift of this nail. And first notice
it's a gift. It's a nail that is given. But
it tells us that He gave this nail that, that our God may lighten
our eyes. And I think that can be likened
to the truth that all of God's elect who were given to Christ
and for whom He came and lived and died will in time have their
eyes opened spiritually so as to become enlightened to His
truth. You see, that is in accordance
with the achievement of God's design in all things. That is,
that he might be glorified. 2 Corinthians 4, 6 tells us,
For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, the
all-powerful Creator, who spoke this world into existence, who
said, Let there be light, and there was light, he hath shined
in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory
of God in the face of Jesus Christ. and the person and work of Christ.
And this enlightenment, we know, is a direct fruit and effect,
a product of his having been given to us as a nail in the
holy place. Speaking of Jesus' death on the
cross, there's a latter part of Hebrews 9, 12 puts it, but
by his own blood, that's referring to the shed blood of Christ,
he entered in once more into the holy place. having obtained
eternal redemption for us. And secondly, we see there in
Ezra 9, he gave us this nail that he may give us a little
reviving in our bondage. As the passage continues in Ezra
9, in the first part of verse 9, he makes further reference
to this bondage saying, for we were bondmen, we were slaves.
Yet our God hath not forsaken us in our bondage. Spiritually
speaking, we all come into this world in a state of spiritual
death. You see, death passed upon all
men when Adam sinned as our representative. We need a reviving. We come into
this world in a state of spiritual death in bondage to sin and to
Satan, but God does not forsake and leave his sheep, his elect,
in their bondage. As Romans 6, 17, and 18 reads,
but God be thanked that you were the servants of sin, you were
bondmen, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine
which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin,
ye became the servants of righteousness. Christ makes it clear that this
enlightenment and this reviving will take place in John 6, 37
when He says, "...all that the Father giveth Me shall come to
Me. And him that cometh to Me I will
in no wise cast out. All whom the Father gave this
nail to, all whose sins were nailed to the cross, they shall
be delivered from their bondage." It's God gives them spiritual
life, a reviving. You see, if He's going to enlighten
our eyes, We have to have spiritual life. We must really be born
again, because dead men do not see. As we often quote from Ephesians
2, 1, in you hath he quickened, that is, made alive who were
dead in trespasses and sins. He gave us Christ that we might
be made alive and thereby again his design to glorify himself
in the hearts of his people is achieved as we behold his glory
in Christ, how he can be both a just God and a Savior. As Ezra 9-9 continues, we observe
that this remnant to whom God gives a sure and certain salvation,
who he gives even access into the very presence of God in the
holy place, all based upon Christ, that nail given It says of these,
these who God doesn't forsake in their bondage, says that He
extended mercy unto us. Now, clearly in the immediate
context of Ezra's day, it's referring to that newfound freedom. Even
it says there in verse 9, I think in the sight of the Babylonian
kings of Persia, as they're called, And spiritually speaking, those
who are given a sure and certain salvation in Christ are likewise
objects of his mercy. In the New Testament, we know
Christ is referred to as the mercy seat, the propitiation.
That is, that which would appease the wrath of God by way of satisfaction. You see, for it's by the satisfaction
that Christ alone made unto the Father, to his justice, by the
sacrifice of himself, that God extends mercy unto spiritual
Israel, those for whom Christ lived and died, as long as a
sinner persists in relying upon something, as we all started
out doing, that proceeds from him or from her. As long, no
matter how much their gospel may be camouflaged by words concerning
Jesus Christ and trusting in Him, as long as what makes the
real difference is what you're going to do, or what God even
is going to do in you, will you receive Him? Will you accept
Him as Savior? Will you walk this aisle? Will you say this
prayer? Will you persevere in the faith?
Will you just be serious about religion, whatever the various
denominations may promote? You see, as long as that's true,
you just don't need mercy. And it's not the mercy God extends
unto those that are enlightened unto salvation. While that's
the way it seems right to us, is what can I do? You don't need
mercy, you just need to cut your end of the deal, make the bargain
that you mistakenly and sadly presume God makes with a people
as if Christ didn't quite get the job done. Well, that's not
this sure and certain salvation. That's not the nail in his holy
place that God gives to those he saves. So why do we need a
nail? Well, hopefully you've already
seen that and what we've reviewed so far. You know, eternity is
a long time to spend, and we don't really spend it. It never
ends. And no one shall enter into the presence of a holy God
in heaven at the expense of His holy justice. God's immutable. He will not
change and decide, I'll just allow sin to be in my presence.
He can't. He would un-God Himself. He will
not lay aside his justice in order to show mercy, and to think
that he does is a denial of what Christ came to do. Now, we need
that nail that's given in the holy place to render all that
is due unto a just God. I did a study of that word nail,
and one of the things I came across is that many think it's
referring like to a tent stake that would keep a tent standing.
when buffeted by a strong wind. In their Babylonian captivity,
these Israelites, they were often dispersed about. They had no
constant abode, so to speak, where they could gather and worship
as God had prescribed. And Ezra's prayer here, he's
making note of God's mercy and how it had been extended to them
in providing that, a constant abode, a place, a nail. That
is, with the temple having already been rebuilt, where they could
worship in God's prescribed way. And likewise, you see, we need
a constant abode. We need something we can bank
on for all eternity. We need the one and sure certain
way of salvation that is found exclusively in the person and
work of Christ, in his finished work on the cross to which he
was nailed. You see, your salvation is by
Christ alone, based on his finished work of righteousness alone,
given or made yours by God's judicial imputation or accounting
of it to you, in the same way that the sins of his people were
accounted unto Christ, as 2 Corinthians 5.21 teaches us. Accept that. Apart from that, salvation is
not just uncertain, but rather there's a sad and truthful certainty
attached to such a false way of salvation. It's a certain,
and listen, it's a just, eternal banishment from the presence
of God in hell. Christ said in John 14, 6, when
He said, I am the way, the truth, and the life, that's singular.
And he emphasizes it when he goes on to say, ìNo man cometh
unto the Father but by me.î It is not Christ plus what will
you do. Why is any other way of salvation
a way of peril? Well, at the end of Ezraís prayer
in chapter 9, there at the last part of verse 15, he said it
this way, ìBehold, we are before thee.î Heís praying to God. He
says, ìWeíre before thee, God, in our trespasses.î For we cannot
stand before thee because of this." There's no hope for any
of you based on the very best that we do to stand before God
because of our sin. King David put it this way in
Psalms 130 verse 3 when he said, If thou, Lord, shouldest mark
iniquities, if you're going to charge me with my sins, any who
you so charge, Lord, who shall stand? We often quote Acts 17,
31, where we learn that there's going to be a judgment, and that
standard of that judgment is the very righteousness of the
one that he raised from the dead, the Lord Jesus Christ. In other
words, we're going to have to have a perfection equal to that
which he rendered to God's justice, equal to that of the sinless
God-man, who in his life and death, he single-handedly defeated
sin and Satan, And he thereby merited life for us, as Romans
5.21 teaches us. Grace reigns through righteousness
unto eternal life. You see, he merited life and
overcame death. That's why he came out of that
grave. That's why Acts 17.31 says that he gives assurance
to all men that that's what you must have in that he raised him
from the dead. So here the extent of the perfection that we must
have is, Christ said in the Sermon on the Mount, Be ye therefore
perfect. We need a righteousness we can't produce. And that's
why we need a nail. We need a nail that also ever
intercedes on our behalf, all based on what he accomplished
at the cross. If you have time to read the
rest of Ezra's prayer, you'll see that much of it was an expression,
as I've already mentioned, of his grief and his shameness over
their blatant ingratitude. So soon after having been delivered
from captivity, by the goodness of God, but not because of anything
they earned, and they didn't even dispute that, they knew
it was by the goodness of God, being the sinful creatures that
we are, they did much like you and I would have probably done.
They quickly took for granted all of the mercies and grace
that God had shown them. In verses 13 and following, Ezra
makes note of that. He says this, he said, and after
all that has come upon us for our evil deeds, And for our great
trespass, seeing that thou, our God, has punished us less than
our iniquities deserve." You see, none of us are ever punished. We have consequences to our sin,
but it's nothing like we deserve. We're talking about sin before
a holy God. You know, you can't be punished
in accordance to what it deserves. That's why hell is everlasting
banishment from God. You see, no suffering you can
do can ever pay down the debt due to your sin before a holy
God. He goes on, he says, and has
given us such deliverance as this, he says then rhetorically
somewhat here, should we again break thy commandments and join
in affinity with the people of these abominations, that is,
speaking of their intermarriage with the idolatrous Gentiles?
Would it not thou be angry with us till thou hast consumed us?
He's saying, wouldn't that be reasonable, God, so that there
should be no remnant nor escaping? He's saying unto God here, acknowledging
the truth, that if God judges you on the very best you've got,
there's no as sinners who shall. We will sin till the day we die
and leave this body of death. It remains ever present with
us. God, we don't deserve anything other than condemnation if judged,
if he marks our iniquities, if judged by what we can do, the
very best we have to offer. But look at the beginning of
verse 15. He says, O Lord God of Israel, thou art righteous,
for we remain yet escaped in spite of all that. Ezra's lamenting
here over their ingratitude and having broken God's commandments.
And likewise, think of how, and I'm speaking now to those of
you who have been enlightened, to whom God has so graciously
given us an ale in His holy place. And like these Israelites, it's
so undeserving. There's nothing in us that would
cause them to do that. Well, think of how we continue
in our sin. Paul put it this way, when he
said in Romans, he said, wretched man that I am, who shall deliver
me from this body of death? He said, I do the things that
I wouldn't do and the things I would do I don't do. And then
he goes, but he thanked God for Christ. You see, that's what
that does. You know, you see how all things
work together for good to them that love the Lord, who are called
according to his purpose? Here's how they work together
for good. You think even in that, which we should and are ashamed
over, our continual sin, even in that, it brings about the
recognition that the only way we can escape the just deserts,
the only way we can stand, escape what we deserve based on all
our sins, is if they've been taken care of by a way of righteousness. O Lord God of Israel, thou art
righteous. That is, by satisfaction to God's
justice having been made for us, as those sins were imputed
and charged to Christ, who had no part in producing them, in
the same way that the merit of His work, His righteousness,
is judicially imputed or charged to the account of all those given
to Him by the Father, that they had no part in producing either.
Those, all those for whom he paid the sin dead and full. Boy,
isn't that a sure and certain salvation there? You see, there's
nothing but bad news for any who continue, as we all are inclined
to do, to look within for something they do or don't do or are unable
to do. Any who look anywhere other than
to Christ for all of their salvation. But there's wonderfully good
news for those who've been given a nail, to whom Christ was given. And that's the good news of the
gospel. To trust in Christ alone for all of your salvation, based
upon his imputed righteousness alone, is your only merit before
this righteous and holy and just God. It's not only just a sure
and certain way of salvation. It is the only way of salvation,
as we just read back in John 6, 37. It's the nail we need. Well, in closing, I want you
to listen to the description of this nail given elsewhere
unto God's people, a nail given in His holy place. It's put this
way in Hebrews 6, beginning in verse 17, wherein God, willing
more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise, their heirs,
they inherit it, they don't earn it, the immutability of his counsel. This is a God that you can bank
on. He changes not. Confirmed it by an oath. that
by two immutable things in which it was impossible for God to
lie, we might have a strong consolation who have fled for refuge to lay
hold upon the hope set before us. It's set before us even in
the gospel, isn't it? Which hope we have as an anchor
of the soul, both sure and steadfast, in which entereth into that within
the veil. Whether the forerunner is for
us entered, even Jesus made a high priest, an interceder, a mediator
for us forever after the order of Melchizedek. It holds forever. That sure and steadfast anchor
within the veil, you see, is the nail given in his holy place. Listen to the words of Colossians
2, beginning in verse 13, and you being dead in your sins and
the uncircumcision of your flesh. He's speaking there to the Gentile
believers at Colossae. He says, you hath he quickened
together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses, blotting
out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was
contrary to us, and took it out of the way. nailing it to his
cross. Now that's sure, that's certain,
nail down salvation there. And if you find your hope there,
and you don't find it anywhere else, if you need and must have
that nailed, then rejoice, you see, for to be so enlightened,
even as we've seen in today's text. That's an exclusive fruit
and effect, a product of the demerit of all of your sins,
your past, present, even the ones you haven't committed yet,
even your sin in Adam. having been taken away, charged
to a substitute, the Lord Jesus Christ, who was willing and able,
and he nailed those to the cross when Christ was nailed to the
cross. And if that's your hope, then
God's mercy has been extended to you as well. As occasion permits,
I'd encourage you to go on and read Ezra chapter 10. The story
kind of continues in Ezra 10 at the conclusion of his prayer.
And as you read that, you'll discover that the Israelites
who had intermarried in stark disobedience to God's command,
they made a covenant to change that, to put away all their wives
that they had taken from among those idolatrous nations. And
they followed through and did just that. And there we see a
beautiful picture of initial spiritual repentance that always
accompanies true God-given faith. You see, in turning away from
their strange wives, that's the language used in Ezra 10, they
were forsaking and separating themselves from the idolatry
that they practiced. And so, as it was said of those
Thessalonians in 1 Thessalonians 1, 9, it can also be said of
all who believe God's gospel that they turn to God from idols
to serve the living and true God. You see, those redeemed
who are revived as the bride of Christ, they're revived because
they're redeemed. Those redeemed ones will in time
put away the harlot, the strange woman, as Ezra 9 puts it, or
Ezra 10. And having been enlightened by
God's Spirit through the preached gospel, they turn from the broad
road of false religion that we all start out on. They turn from
the way that seems right to us by nature to Christ as he's set
forth in the gospel. That gospel, Paul said, was the
power of God unto salvation. And in verse 17 of Romans 1,
he said, For therein is the righteousness of God revealed as the only ground,
the only basis of a sinner's salvation. We all need this sure
and certain abiding place. We all need a nail. But how about
you? Do you truly see your desperate
need for this nail. You know, if you've been so blessed
with the God-given eyes of true faith, then it's because God
has graciously given you this nail in His holy place. And that's
sure, and that's certain eternal deliverance.