Verse 12, For the word of God is quick,
or living, life, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged
sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit. and of the joints and marrow,
and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature
that is not manifest in his sight, but all things are naked and
opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do." Now, the
last part of verse 13 could just as easily be translated, him
with whom we must give account. That's what that means. He with whom we must give account. Now here is an accountability
that we cannot refuse nor escape. Paul put it this way in Romans
chapter 14 verse 12, so then every one of us shall give an
account of himself to God. That's a sobering thought, isn't
it? Every one of us shall give an account of himself to God."
Now, giving an account to God is a constant theme of the scriptures. Several of the parables are built
around this idea. A king calls his servants to
give an account, and one owes enormous debts. A landowner calls
his tenants to render up the fruits of his vineyard. A master returns from afar and
his servants must account for their actions during his absence. Paul said in 2 Corinthians chapter
5 verse 10, we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ
that everyone may receive the things done in his body according
to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. We all must give account to God. You see, there will be evidence in the things done in our bodies
whether or not we really love Christ or not. There will be
evidence by the things done in our bodies whether or not we
really believe the gospel. We must all give an account to
him. Now, verse 11 of this same passage
of scripture, he says, let us labor therefore. Give every effort
to enter into that rest, lest any man fall. after the same
example of unbelief. You know, that's almost doesn't
make sense. Labor to enter into rest? Yes,
I am to labor to enter into His rest. What do you do when you
rest? You don't do anything. Labor to do nothing. Labor to simply rest in the Lord
Jesus Christ. lest any man fall after the same
example of unbelief. And he's talking about this crowd
in Hebrews chapter 3, where it says in verse 17, But with whom
was he grieved forty years? Was it not with them that had
sinned, whose carcasses fell in the wilderness? And to whom
swear he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them
that believe not? So we see that they could not
enter in because of unbelief. I don't want to be in that group.
I really don't. I want to be somebody who enters
into His rest. Somebody that believes. I want
to believe God. I want to believe God. I want to believe everything.
This is my personal greatest goal. I want to be somebody who
believes God. How about you? That's the greatest
thing in this life we can be enabled by grace to do. simply
believe God. I wonder how many of us really
believe that? We can think of greater things, I suppose, but
every thought we have that would be greater than that is a wrong
thought. The greatest thing we can be enabled to do is to believe
God. Now he goes on to say, after
giving us this warning of laboring to enter into his rest, lest
any man fall after the same example of unbelief. I don't want to
be like that crowd in Hebrews 3. Now he says four. Four. This is both an encouragement
and this is a warning. Four. The Word of God is quick,
living, and powerful. And sharper than any two-edged
sword. Now, what is meant by the Word
of God? The Word of God is quick, living,
and powerful. I love that description of the
Word of God, but what does he mean by the Word of God? Some
have argued that this means the Scriptures, the Holy Bible, the
Word of God. Others have said it means the
Gospel message, like What Paul said to Timothy, preach the Word. Being born again, not of corruptible
seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth
and abideth forever. Others have said this means the
Divine Word, the Lord Jesus Christ, who in the beginning was the
Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same
was in the beginning with God. Now, I have no doubt that when
he speaks of the Word of God here, he's speaking of all three. He's speaking of the Scriptures.
The Scriptures are living. I love in Romans chapter 9 where
it says, For the Scripture saith to Pharaoh, even for this same
purpose have I raised thee up. Now, when that Scripture hadn't
been written yet, And yet, he says, when the Scripture saith
the Pharaoh, wait a minute, God was the one who spoke to Pharaoh.
I know. When the Scripture speaks, God speaks. When God speaks,
the Scripture speaks. You know, there's a Scripture
in Psalm, I can't remember which one it is, but it says, Thou
hast magnified thy word above all thy name. He's talking about
the Holy Bible. It is living. It's quick. The Word of God is powerful. The Lord said, the words that
I speak unto you, their spirit and their life. So he's talking
about the Scriptures. I have no doubt about that when he says
the Word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any
two-edged sword. But he's also talking about the Gospel message.
The Gospel message lives. It's of God. It's living. It's powerful. It breaks hard
hearts. It gives life. It's quick, it's
powerful, and it's sharper than any two-edged sword. Oh, what
work the gospel does. I love that passage in Scripture.
We just read Isaiah 55, where God said, My word, my message,
my gospel, it won't return to me void, but it shall accomplish
the thing whereinto I sent it. God's word never fails. The gospel
message. And you found this to be life. You found this to be powerful. You found this to be sharper
than any two-edged sword. It shows the difference between
soul and spirit. It shows the difference between
that which is of the flesh and that which is of the Spirit of
God. The Lord Jesus Christ, the Word of God is living. The Lord Jesus Christ is powerful. The Lord Jesus Christ is sharper
than any two-edged sword. You see, the Word of God is a
trinity, like God Himself. The written Word, this book,
is God-breathed. The Gospel message, and the Lord
Jesus Christ Himself. The written Word, the living
Word, and the Gospel message, and they cannot be separated. All we know of the living word
is from the written word. When we preach the message, it's
from the written word and it reveals the living word. So this
is glorious, it's mysterious, the word of God, the Bible, the
gospel message, the Lord Jesus Christ. He's quick, and He's
powerful, and He's sharper than any two-edged sword. The Word
of God is quick. The Scriptures are life, not
merely alive, but life, the very Word of God. I love what our
Lord said regarding His words. Over in John chapter 6, some
people said, these are harsh words, these are harsh sayings.
We don't like hard words. And he said, the words that I
speak to you, they're spirit and they're life. And that is
how every believer finds the words of the Lord Jesus Christ
to be. There is no spiritual life apart
from the scriptures of truth. Christ is the word of life. You know, I've heard people say
Jesus is alive and well. You know, that's akin to blasphemy.
Jesus Christ is not alive. He is life. He has life in himself
and his life is my life before God. The word of God, the Lord
Jesus is quick and he's powerful. Oh, the power of the Lord Jesus
Christ, his power is such that whatever he wills comes to pass. And the gospel message has divine
life-giving power, being born again, not of corruptible seed,
but of incorruptible by the Word of God, that liveth, I love that
description of God's Word, that liveth and abides forever. And the Word of God is powerful.
The Scriptures, oh, they do their work. I made an allusion to this
this morning. Preachers and churches say we're
making the Bible relevant for everyday life. You don't make
the Bible relevant. The Bible is the eternal word
of God. In any attempt to make it relevant,
it's just watering down and taking away the message. We preach God's
word. We don't explain it away. We
declare it. We declare what God's word is. I don't try to make
the Bible relevant for everyday life. This is the word of God.
That's God's work. That's what God does. He takes
His Word and He blesses it in whatever way He sees fit. Oh,
the Word of God is powerful. And the Gospel message is powerful
and effectual. Preach it and see what happens. Just preach the Word. Whatever
the Word says, preach it. I read an interesting story this
week. I read it in a Spurgeon sermon. He was telling about
a fellow, and I can't remember what the fellow's name was, But
he was a member of what was called the Hellfire Club in England. You say, what in the world's
that? Well, it was a club where they made fun of the gospel.
And he was the president of the Hellfire Club. And they would
like to listen to sermons back during those days in the 1700s,
1750s, 1760s. They'd listen to sermons and
go back into their club to recite them and make fun of them. And
this one fellow was listening to George Whitefield preach.
And he got down what he said because he was going to take
it back into this club and recite it where they could tear it apart
and make fun of it and everything. So he stood up before that club
and he started reciting this message by George Whitefield
very accurately in order to make fun of it. And while reciting
it, he paused. He sat down. brokenhearted and
confess the power of the gospel to save. Spurgeon said he converted
himself. Well, God converted him, but
he was converted through listening or saying back this message that
Whitefield had preached. The club was soon dissolved and
he became a man greatly used of God in the salvation of others.
Now that's just an example of the power of the word. How many
times have you heard the gospel preached and the Word of God
came in power to you? You knew it was God's Word. Set
you free. Oh, the Word of God is powerful.
And the Word of God is sharper than any two-edged sword. It
has a miraculous cutting power. It cuts and kills self-righteousness
and pride. It's a cutting that divides.
It shows the difference between soul and spirit, what is of man
and what is of God. It is discerning. It shows the
difference between law and gospel, grace and works. It's got a mighty
cutting power. And you think of the division
the Word of God causes. Turn with me for a moment to
Matthew chapter 10. Matthew chapter 10. The Lord says in verse 34, Think not that I am come to send
peace on earth. That wouldn't sound right to
this religious generation, would it? Think not that I am come
to send peace on earth. I came not to send peace, but
a sword of division For I came to set a man at variance against
his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law
against her mother-in-law. And a man's foes shall be they
of his own household. He that loveth father or mother
more than me is not worthy of me. And he that loveth son or
daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh
not his cross and followeth after me is not worthy of me. He that
findeth his life shall lose it, and he that loses his life for
my sake shall find it." The Word of God is a divider. The Word of God is a discerner.
It's where we get the word critic from in the original. The Word
of God is a critic. You've heard of higher criticism,
maybe you haven't, maybe you haven't, where people sit in
judgment of the Word of God and they critique it and they say,
well this part is probably inspired, that part's not, that part's
probably added there by a scribe, but this is probably real, you
know, and they'll critique the Word of God. You don't critique
the Word of God. The Word of God critiques you,
doesn't it? The Word of God The Scriptures
expose a man's innermost thoughts and intentions. Look what it
says. For the word of God is quick and powerful and sharper
than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder
of soul and spirit, and of the joints and of marrow, and is
a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Now, the
Scriptures, they're a discerner of the thoughts and intents of
the heart. When that scripture was being
read, for instance, this morning out of Psalm 39, and it said,
surely every man walketh in a vain show. And I said, yep, that's
me. That's everybody. Every man walketh. It's a discerner of the thoughts. The Lord Jesus Christ, I love
those passages of scripture where it talks about the Lord. He knew
their thoughts. He knew their thoughts. He knows what you're
thinking right now. It's all naked and open to him. And I
like this thought. I like this thought. The gospel
message is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
You know, you really don't know what a man's really like until
he hears the gospel. He may seem like a real nice
person, just a great guy, just real nice, real easy going, but
you never know what somebody's really like until they hear the
gospel of God's grace. And there you can find out what
they're really like. There you're going to see what
they really think about God and about themselves. I think of
that group in Luke chapter 4 after they heard the Lord preach. What
did they want to do? They went up on to the top of the hill
and they were getting ready to throw him down and kill him after
hearing the gospel. It's the gospel that makes known
what a man is really like. And you don't really know what's
on their inside until they hear the gospel. Now isn't that a
majestic verse? The Word of God. It's living,
powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing
asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and
it's a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Now
let's read verse 13. Neither is there any creature
that is not manifest in his sight, but all things are naked. and opened unto the eyes of whom
of him with whom we must give account him with whom we have
to do now the Lord Jesus Christ the word of God the gospel message
like I said they can't be separated they can't be separated the Lord
Jesus Christ sees things as they really are he sees what we do
he sees why we do it It's all naked and open to him. This is
the one that we must give account to. The one who sees all things
as they really are. Now let me show you this in the
scripture. Turn with me to Matthew chapter 7 for a moment. Matthew chapter 7. Verse 21. Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord,
shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth
the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many, not just a few,
many will say to me in that day, that day in which we must give
account, Lord, Lord, Have we not preached in your name? And in your name have cast out
devils? And in thy name done many wonderful
works. Note their estimation of their
own works. Many and wonderful. Man, we've done it all. We've
preached in your name. We've been greatly used. We've
cast out devils in your name. We've done many wonderful works. And look how our Lord is going
to answer them. And then will I profess unto
them, I never knew you. Depart from me, ye that work
iniquity. Now they thought they had all
kinds of things about them that would commend them to God. They're
standing before God. Many will say to me in that day,
these very things. And our Lord says, Then will
I profess to them, I never knew you, I never loved you, I never
knew you as being one of mine. Depart from me, ye that work
iniquity. Now what is this thing of doing
the will of God? Not everybody that says, Lord,
Lord's going to enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that
doeth the will of God. Now I can tell you exactly what that's
a reference to. That's a reference to believing the gospel. It's
a reference to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you believe
God? Do you believe the gospel? That's
what he's referring to. Like I've already said, faith
is the greatest thing we can be enabled to do. Simply to believe
God, to trust the Lord Jesus Christ. Here's who's going to
be accepted by Him in that day, those who believe the gospel. Do you believe God? Do you believe
the Word of God? Do you believe the Bible is living
and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword? Do you believe
that regarding the Lord Jesus Christ? Do you believe that regarding
the gospel message? Do you believe God? That's what
it is to do His will. It's to believe the gospel. This
is the will of Him that sent me, that everyone which seeth
the Son, and believeth on Him, should not perish, but have everlasting
life. Now, notice again in this verse
of scripture, neither is there any creature that is not manifest
in his sight. But all things are naked and
opened into the eyes of him with whom we have to do. God sees
me, the Lord Jesus Christ sees me, the gospel sees me as I really
am. I love what Brother Mahan said,
we're all three different people. where the people we say we are,
where the people others think we are, and then where the people
God knows we are. He sees all the way through. Now, believer, how does God see
you? Now, all things are naked and
open to Him. There's no point in trying to hide. I mean, He
sees things as they really are. How does he see you? Now, I know how you feel. You
feel as though he sees nothing but sin. That's how you see yourself. Nothing but wounds and bruises
and putrefying sores. You say with Daniel, when I saw
him, my comeliness turned to corruption. Another scripture
in Psalm 39, thou makest, when thou with rebukes, rebukes man
for his iniquity, you make his beauty, his comeliness to consume
like a moth. When's the last time you touched
a moth? I mean, they're so fragile, you just touch them and they
turn into powder. That's how you feel about yourself. You
say with Isaiah, woe is me, I'm undone, I'm a man of unclean
lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of an unclean You
say with Paul, I'm the chief of sinners, but listen to this,
listen to this scripture. He hath not beheld iniquity in
Jacob, nor seen perverseness in Israel. The Lord his God is
with him, and the shout of the king is among them. Turn with
me for a moment to Jeremiah chapter 50. You see, the thought of God seeing
everything actually is comforting to a believer. It terrifies an
unbeliever, but it's comforting to a believer. I'll show you
why. Jeremiah chapter 50, verse 20. In those days, and at that time,
saith the Lord, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for. This is talking about that day
of account. that day of giving and account. In those days, and
in that time, saith the Lord, the iniquity of Israel shall
be sought for, and there shall be what? None. And the sins of Judah, and they
shall not be found, for I will pardon them whom I reserve. Now, how is it that the Lord
can look for my sins? He's got real good eyesight.
All things are naked and open to Him. How is it that He, with
His all-piercing eye, can look at me, looking for iniquity,
looking for sin, and find none? That's an attractive thought,
isn't it? I'll tell you how there's none,
because there's none there. That's what the Lord did when
He died on the cross. He put away my sin. It's separated from me. It's
gone. I do not have any sin. Now listen to me. You say, that's
a hard thing to get hold of. You mean when God looks at me,
He sees me as without sin? Yes. Yes. Before the eyes of him in
whom all things are naked and open, he sees with regard to
every believer somebody that doesn't have any sin. And listen
to this, the way God sees things is the way it really is. But I don't feel that way. I don't care whether you feel
that way or not. The way God sees things, is the way they
really are. You see, in the Lord Jesus Christ, He looks at me and says, Behold,
my love, thou art fair. There is no spot in thee. That's what He says to every
believer. And that's how I really am. If
God sees me that way, you see, God's not like me and you. You
know, we see things according to the outward appearance. We
see things according to our prejudice and our preconceived notions
and all. I mean, I could go on and on talking about the way
we see things. The fact of the matter is we don't see very well,
do we? I know what we think. I know
what... But the way God sees things,
that's the way they really are. And he sees the one who all things
are naked and open to him. He sees regarding every single
one of his children, there's no spot in thee. Perfect through
my comeliness. How beautiful is every believer? Well, how beautiful is Jesus
Christ? I've been thinking that wonderful song we heard, how
beautiful. It's the Lord Jesus Christ. You know, however beautiful
the Lord Jesus Christ is, that's how beautiful I am. Really? Really. That's the truth about me. That's
the truth about every believer. Turn with me to Colossians chapter
2. Chapter 1, I'm sorry. Verse 21, And you that were sometimes
or before time alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked
works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through
death to present you holy and unblameable and unapprovable
in his sight. Now that is what the blood of
the Lord Jesus Christ does. It makes me. My sin became his. He put it
away. He suffered untold wrath. None of us have any idea what
he suffered. And just as truly as he died,
as a sin-bearing substitute, his righteousness becomes mine
to this point. It's not just a paper. It's not
just a document that makes me legally clean. Listen, somebody
preached recently. They said justification is a
legal standing before God. Well, it is that, but it's a
whole lot more than that. It's a whole lot more than that. It's
me being holy and unblameable and unreprovable in the very
sight of God. Now, that's how every believer
is. And the only way we can get a
hold of that is by faith. Because we sure can't see it.
We sure can't see it. But you know, I believe, I believe
the gospel. I believe, by the grace of God,
I believe that Jesus Christ makes me holy, unblameable, and unreprovable
in the very sight of God. And we can take great comfort
from the fact that He sees all. He sees us as we really are. Aren't you thankful? A believer
can look at the omniscience of God and take great comfort. Because God sees me as I really
am. He sees me in the Lord Jesus
Christ. And I'm not afraid to give an
account of myself before God. Believing the gospel, I'm not
afraid to stand before God And having looked me over, through,
and through, because I believe that Jesus Christ is my righteousness
before God. And I'm not afraid. I'm going
to give an account of myself to God. And I'm going to come
out smelling like a rose to the Lord Jesus Christ. Isn't the
gospel beautiful? However beautiful Jesus Christ
is, that's how beautiful every believer is. Now let's close
by looking at Psalm 139. Now I know these are the words
of the Lord Jesus Christ, but they're also the words of a believer. Remember when you read the Psalms,
every Psalm, every Psalm. First, it's the Word of Christ. It's Him speaking. But it's also
the believer speaking. And let's remember it in both
of those lights. O Lord, Thou hast searched me. and know me. Thou knowest my down-sitting
and mine up-rising. Thou understandest my thought
afar off. I love thinking about that. You
know, I don't understand my thoughts. I don't know where I'm going
or where I'm coming from. I confuse myself. I'm amazed. But He understands them all together. That's comforting, isn't it? Thou compass'd my path and my
lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there's
not a word in my tongue, but, O Lord, Thou know'st it altogether.
Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid Thine hand upon
me. Such knowledge is too wonderful
for me. It's high. I cannot attain into it. Whither
shall I go from Thy Spirit? Or whither shall I flee from
Thy presence? If I send up into heaven, Thou art there. If I
make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the
wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the
sea, even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall
hold me. If I say, surely the darkness
shall cover me, even the night shall be light about me. Yea,
the darkness hideth not from thee, but the night shineth as
the day. The darkness and the light are
both alike to thee, for thou hast possessed my reins. Thou
hast covered me. in my mother's womb. I will praise
thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvelous are
thy works, and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was
not hid from me when I was made in secret and curiously wrought
in the lowest parts of the earth. That's talking about the Lord
Jesus Christ. That's talking about every believer. Thine eyes
did see my substance, yet being unperfect, and in thy book all
my members were written. which in continuance were fashioned,
when as yet there was none of them. How precious also are thy
thoughts unto me, O God! How precious are the thoughts
of God to His Son! Can you imagine the thoughts
of God toward His Son? That's his thought toward every
believer. How precious are thy thoughts
unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them!
If I should count them, they're more in number than the sand.
When I awake, I'm still with thee. Surely thou wilt slay the
wicked, O God. Depart from me therefore, ye
bloody men, for they speak against thee wickedly. And thine enemies
take thy name in vain. Do not I hate them, O Lord, that
hate thee? And am not I grieved with those
that rise up against thee? I hate them with a perfect hatred.
I count them mine enemies. Search me, O God, and know my
heart. Try me, and know my thoughts,
and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the
way everlasting." Now because of his shed, his precious blood,
his broken body, that's what we're getting ready to observe.
The Lord said, this dude remembers of me. But as you take this,
may God give us grace to truly do this in remembrance of Him
and realize what His precious blood and His broken body has
done. It's made Him who sees everything
as it really is. It's made Him to see me as holy
and unblameable and unreprovable just like His blessed Son. And what a reason to celebrate
the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's pass out the elements.