We may get back to Job, I don't
know. Hebrews chapter 7. One verse. This has arrested
my attention before, I'm sure. And I couldn't get past it again. Verse 25 of Hebrews chapter 7. He is able also to save them to
the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing
He ever lives to make intercession for them. He, Christ, is able to save them, sinners,
his church, the elect, to the uttermost that come unto God
by or through Christ, seeing Christ ever lives to make intercession
for these whom he saves. Now, the word that just amazes
me, it's one word that ought to be Just absolutely a joy to
those who are wayward, those who are on the path, on the narrow
road. Those who do not have strength
to carry on. Those who have been knocked down
by the world and the religion of the world. Uttermost uttermost. Uttermost this one word. includes
all that can be said when considered with the context of this verse
and the passage or the whole verse. It brings instant and
overwhelming joy, peace and amazement to those to whom meet the qualifications
within the verse. What do you mean qualifications?
This is what I mean. What are the qualifications or
conditions I speak of? Well, I didn't think there was
any conditions of salvation. Yes and no. There's God's qualifications,
there's God's conditions, we can't meet them. So people today
says, well, these are the conditions you have to do and God will save
you. You gotta walk an aisle or you
gotta confess your sins to someone or you make a decision for Jesus,
all these things. No, those are man's qualifications. Those are man's conditions. The
qualification I speak of is in this one verse, He's able to save them to the
uttermost that come unto God by Christ. There's the qualification. If you come any other way, other
than through the work worth satisfying conditions that the Lord has
done, you're not coming in the way prescribed by God. God saves
them, whoever they are, who come to him by Christ Jesus. Yes, there is conditions unto
salvation. There's God's requirements. There's
God's must do's. There's God's qualifications.
There's God's prescriptions. You don't just, you know what?
This is my, my denomination or my religion says this is how
I come. Well, it better jive with what is in this book. And
we know what's in this book is he tells us how to come. Namely,
anyone who seeks salvation, redemption, or peace from God must, and I
use that word correctly, must do so by and through and because
of Christ Jesus. Any other answer? Well, when
I was a kid, my mom told me I needed to make a decision for Jesus.
That's not, that's not, that's your condition. That's your mom's
condition. That's not the conditions in the scripture. God will not
accept our best. That's Cain and Abel. Cain brought
the best. He was a hunter. He brought the
best. The best. The Pharisees, the
scribes, they were the most religious people in the world at the time.
That's what the center of religion was still over there, I suppose. but he will not accept our best.
He will not accept our want-tos. I wanted to do this. The Lord
knows my heart. He knows my desires and I wanted
to, but just couldn't do it. He will not accept our petitions
or anything to do about us, except it be done for us. By God the
Son, and initiated by God the Holy Spirit. Somebody said something,
we love him, yes we do, because he first loved us. Yes, what
God requires of us, he only will accept in Christ Jesus. The precious for the vile, the
just for the unjust, the clean for the unclean. We can't even
believe, Philippians 1.29, we can't even believe without the
warrant or sanction of the precious spirit of grace and supplications. We can't even believe unless
he gives us the ability to do so. Turn to me, one of the clearest
passages, or a clear passage, turn with me to Zechariah. Zechariah chapter 12. How does God save a sinner? Well,
this is all they had when Paul was writing half of the New Testament
in Christ and the Gospels. This is all they had. Zechariah
chapter 12, starting in verse 9. And it shall come to pass in
that day that I, God, will seek to destroy all the nations that
come against Jerusalem. I, God, will pour upon the house
of David. It's a specific people. It's
his church. It's the church in the Old Testament.
And upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem. It's his elect. This is what
he will do. He initiates the whole thing,
God the Father, through God the Son, through God the Spirit,
the Spirit of grace and supplications. Well, the Holy Spirit didn't
talk to him. Yeah, the Holy Spirit's talked about in the Old Testament
very, very often. He will do the, I will pour the
Spirit of grace and supplications and they, what's gonna happen?
They shall look upon me whom they have pierced. That sounds
like the second person the Trinity God the Son God the Son was pierced
was bruised for our iniquities they shall look upon me by the
enabling of the Holy Spirit whom they have pierced and they shall
mourn for him not They will mourn for him what their sins did to
him as one mourneth for his only son and shall be in bitterness
for him as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. There's repentance,
there's humility, there's contrition. That's what David talks about
in Psalm 50, the broken and contrite heart he will not despise. Why?
Because he put it in us. Read on. And in that day, this
is the same day, the day of salvation, they are coming to God through
Christ. In that day, there shall be great
mourning in Jerusalem as a mourning of Hidad Ribban in the valley
of Midegon. And the land shall mourn every
family apart. You can't be saved for somebody
else. You're going to mourn for your own sins. Every family apart,
the family of the house of David apart, their wives apart, their
family of the house of Nathan apart, their wives apart, the
family of the house of Levi apart, their wives apart, the family
of Shimei apart, and their wives apart. All the families that
remain, every family apart, and their wives apart. It's a specific,
he's a personal, you always hear people say he's a personal, he's
a specific savior. When all this happens, turn over
to Zechariah 13. In that day, when these things
happen, God's initiated it. He's gonna finish it. Look at
chapter 13, verse one. In that same day, there shall
be a fountain opened to the house of David, the same people, the
heavens of Jerusalem, for sin and uncleanness. I love these
two chapters. That's what God does. That's what he initiates. That's
the qualification that he requires, and he gives us the ability. In other words, or contrastingly,
back to our text in Hebrews, in other words, or contrastingly,
if we approach God by our religious attainments, someone else's human
supposed attainments, tithes or orthodoxy, if we approach
God By our supposed goodness, we approach God by our mom and
dad's supposed goodness. If we approach God by our sacrifices,
our self-denials, our false decisions unto some deity, these are all
unacceptable in the eyes of the God of the Bible, which is whom
we have to do. There's not two or three gods.
Well, there is, they're little Gs, but there's only one God,
only one God. But you say, can he save? Well,
look back at our text in Hebrews. Can he save? Is he able to save?
He is able to save. That's what he says. Wherefore,
I didn't read that on purpose, because I started with he, Christ,
is able to save. Wherefore, well, let's go up
a few verses and keep it in context. Verse 22, by so much was Jesus
made a surety of a better testament. And they were many priests because
they were not suffered to continue by reason of death in the Old
Testament. They died, but this man ever lives. But this man,
Christ Jesus, because he continueth ever, has an unchangeable priesthood,
therefore he is able to save them. This man, this God-man,
this infinite one, this immaculate one, this holy one from God,
Why do we stand here doubting his ability? There is nothing,
the scripture says, that's too hard for him. So he, the Christ
child, is able, sure, absolute, to save. He says in our text,
wherefore he is able also to save them. Who's the them? Those
sinners, lost, unholy, defiled, suppressed by tragic transgressions,
blind by the fall of Adam, our father. undone, wayward, without
hope, aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from
the covenant of promise. Those are whom he saves. And
look, it will continue on. He saves them to the uttermost. Well, now we're right back to
where we started, the uttermost. That word, that phrase, what
an astounding sonnet. It's like a high note that just
keeps on going. It's just beautiful, lovely.
The word uttermost, if you have a margin reading in your Bible,
it's evermore. But in the Greek, it's he saves
entirely or completely. Now, if you and I would take
an honest view of ourselves, an honest view of our sins, even
after salvation, if we would take an honest view of our temptations,
our fears, our backslidings, and difficulties of every kind
that plague us, still, in Christ Jesus, under his sin-atoning
blood, we hear uttermost, entire. Yes, but I, uttermost. This man is able also to save
them completely, entirely. The qualification is if you've
come to God by Christ, not through anybody else, not a neighbor,
a friend, anybody. You come through Christ. He's able to save to the uttermost. To the uttermost. This word goes
above and beyond all malaise. All, any type of disease of the
soul. Jeremiah chapter 50 and verse 20. Jeremiah 50 and verse 20, listen to this.
In those days, that's the day of salvation. That's the day
perhaps you hear the gospel for the, you've been hearing it for
years. You hear it for the first time. In those days and in that
time, sayeth the Lord, not the preacher. Not the priest, not
the Pope, not Joseph Smith, not anybody like that. But the Lord
says, the iniquity of Israel, that's the elect, shall be sought
for, and there shall be none. And the sins of Judah, and they
shall not be found. For I, God, will pardon them
whom I reserve. That sounds like uttermost. You
could stick uttermost in there. They'll be sought for, and there
shall be none. Why? Because he is saved. To the uttermost,
the scripture says he's thrown our sins behind his back. It
also says he's thrown it into the sea. He will remember our
sins and iniquities no more. Now, I know we do, and I know
Satan does, and I know our neighbors and friends are quick to point
out, and they're right. But this man, because he continues
ever as an unchangeable priesthood, He saves to the uttermost them
that come unto God by him. We sing, I haven't sang it in
a while, but we sing a hymn. I love this hymn. Dark the stain that soiled man's
nature, long the distance that he fell, far removed from hope
in heaven into deep despair in hell. But there was a fountain
opened, and the blood of God's own Son purifies the soul and
reaches deeper than the stain has gone. Conscious of the deep
pollution, sinners wander in the night. They that hear the
shepherd's calling, they steer fear to face the light. This
the blessed consolation that can melt the heart of stone,
the sweet balm of Gilead reaches deeper than the stain has gone. All unworthy we who've wandered,
and our eyes are wet with tears, as we think of love that sought
us through the weary wasted years, yet we walk the holy highway,
walking by God's grace alone, knowing Calvary's fountain reaches
deeper than the stain has gone. When with holy choirs we're standing
in the presence of the king and our souls are lost in wonder
while we, the white robe choir sing, then we'll praise the name
of Jesus with the millions round the throne. Praise him for the
power that reaches deeper than the stain has gone. Praise the
Lord for full salvation. God still reigns upon his throne.
and I know the blood still reaches deeper than the stain has gone. We sing another song, there's
power in the blood, there's power in the blood. Uttermost, I just
love that word, uttermost. I ask you and I ask myself, let
us apply to God in the anointed one for ourselves. Let us keep
pestering God Almighty. Lord, save me ere I perish. Lord, save me ere I perish. Or
as that one man said years ago, sink or swim, I'll trust in him. And we will see him as he is.
How do I know that? Well, in our last thought in
our text, Wherefore, Christ is able to save his church, them,
the sinners, to the uttermost that come unto God by Christ,
seeing he ever lives to make intercession for his people. He ever lives. He ever lives
to make intercession. And that words, it's an, he's
an entreator. He entreats. When you entreat
somebody for somebody else, you're in earnest. He's not just a one
and done savior, but he is our mediator, our covenant ratifier
at all times. That's whatever means, at all
times. And we need him every time. Christ, he's the one who
is always heard when he prays. His compassions fail not, says
the scriptures. They are new every morning and
he changes not. as we heard this morning, therefore,
you sons of Jacob are not consumed. It all hinges on the person of
Christ and what he has done for us. To quote another hymn, hallelujah,
what a savior. So I close with this, I ask you
to consider this, since the matter that is salvation to the uttermost,
since that matter that we've been discussing is comfortably
settled, I trust it is so with you and I, as we desire to see
our Lord and walk with him in glory, and we will one day, we
shall see him as he is, may we so walk with him now. as He prescribes. May we walk
with Him now. Because if you don't walk with
Him now, you're really not concerned about being with Him in glory.
But if there's a desire, make it known. Confess Him. Embrace
Him. Trust Him. He's able to save
entirely. Completely. What a Savior. What a Redeemer. We have. I pray that he would reveal himself
to all of us this morning. Nathan, would you close us?