Hebrews 7.22. And I want to remind you that
the New Testament cannot be understood without the Old Testament. I hope that we have some understanding
of that. The Old Testament Scriptures
are inspired by God without error and there is no understanding
of the gospel without some understanding of the Old Testament Scriptures.
And the writer to the Hebrews is talking about things that
took place in the Old Testament Scriptures that make the New
Testament. And look in Hebrews chapter 7
verse 22, by so much Was Jesus made a surety of a
better Testament? Speaking of the New Testament,
by so much was Jesus made a surety of a better Testament. I've entitled
this message, A Surety of a Better Testament. Now, surety is a guarantee,
a guarantor. And I think the best present
day illustration is that of a cosigner. I go to get a loan, and if the
loan officer doesn't think that I have the ability to pay, he
won't give me the loan. Now, if I get somebody to cosign
for me, They are responsible for that loan if I can't pay.
Let's say I become short and can't pay the loan. Well, that
person who co-signed has responsibility to pay that loan. Now that is
probably the best way we can understand that with the exception
of this. The Lord Jesus Christ standing as a surety is not a
plan B if I can't do my part. When he became surety, the surety
of the Better Testament, he became completely responsible 100% for
my salvation. Now this is the surety of the
Better Testament. Notice it says he was made surety. Who made him surety? his father
did. You see, this is of God. This
is not something man made. This is of God. And his father
made him surety. And he made himself surety. He willingly took this on himself. Lo, I come in the volume of the
book it's written of me. I delight to do thy will, O God."
His father made him surety before time began and looked completely
to him for everything he requires of every believer. And he willingly
took upon himself this responsibility. Now, like I said at the beginning
of this message, the New Testament cannot be understood without
the Old Testament. You realize that? There's no
understanding of the New Testament without some understanding of
the Old Testament. And in the book of Genesis, we're
given a story that lets us know what this means. that Christ
was made a surety of a better Testament, that God made him
surety, and that he willingly took this obligation upon himself. Now turn with me to Genesis chapter
42. Jacob had two wives, and two concubines. And through
these four women, he had 12 children. And his favorite wife was Rachel. And through Rachel, He had two
boys, Joseph and Benjamin, and these were his favorites. Now, you can find fault with
Jacob for being that way, and indeed, he was wrong. I have
no doubt about that. This was a very dysfunctional
family. You read the history of these boys, and they were
something else. But at any rate, Jacob's two favorites were Joseph
and Benjamin. And you remember how the brethren
betrayed Joseph. As far as Jacob knows, he's dead. He doesn't know that God has
made him the ruler of Egypt. And all he has now is Benjamin. And in this story, The brothers
had come to Joseph. They didn't know who he was.
And he said, you're not going to get to come back and get more
food, except you bring your brother, Benjamin. Now they tell their
dad about this. He's in the dark about Joseph. He has no idea. Joseph's still
alive. He certainly doesn't have any
idea that Joseph is the ruler of Egypt. And the only way you
get food is from him, but pick up in verse 37 of chapter 42. Let's make a verse 36. And Jacob
their father said unto them, me have you bereaved of my children?
Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and you'll take Benjamin
away? They said, you know, we're going to have to bring Benjamin
if we're going to get him more food. All these things are against
me. And Reuben spake unto his father, saying, slay my two sons. If I bring him not to thee, Deliver
him into my hand and I'll bring him to thee again. And he said,
and I can almost hear the way he says this. My son should not
go down with you. I don't have any confidence in
you. As a matter of fact, when he spoke of Reuben, what did
he say? Unstable as water. Thou shalt
not excel. He says to his son, Reuben, and
Reuben was a, he was a bad person. He said, I'm not going to send
him down with you. I don't have any confidence in you. I don't
think you can bring him back. You're untrustworthy. I don't
trust you is what he's saying. My son should not go down with
you. For his brother is dead and he's left alone. If mischief
befall him by the way in which you go, then shall you bring
my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave. I'm not going to entrust
my precious son with you. Chapter 43, and the famine was sore in the
land. And it came to pass, when they'd eaten up the corn, which
they'd brought out of Egypt, their father said unto them,
go again, buy us a little food. And Judah spake unto him, saying,
the man, he didn't know it was his brother, he thought it was
the ruler of Egypt, the man did solemnly protest unto us, saying,
you shall not see my face, except your brother be with you. You're
not gonna get any food, you're not gonna get any corn, unless
your brother, Benjamin, is with you. You're gonna bring him down. If thou wilt send our brother
with us, we'll go down and buy thee food. But if thou wilt not
send him, we'll not go down. For the man said unto us, you
shall not see my face except your brother be with you. And
Israel said, wherefore dealt ye so ill with me so as to tell
the man whether you had a brother? And they said, the man asked
us straightly of our state and of our kindred, saying, is your
father yet alive? Have you another brother? And
we told him according to the tenor of these words, could we
certainly know? He would say, bring your brother
down. And Judah said unto Israel, his father, send the lad with
me. Now, Reuben, no. Now Judah speaks. Of what tribe
did Christ come from? Judah. This is given to give
us the gospel and to teach us what a surety is. And Judah said
unto Israel, his father, send the lad with me and we will arise
and go that we may live and not die. Both we and thou and also
our little ones. I will be surety for him. of my hand, shalt thou require
him? If I bring him not unto thee
and set him before thee, let me bear the blame. The sin is
the way this word is most often translated, forever. I assume full and complete responsibility
for him. All that you require of him,
you look to me for. Of my hand, whatever it is that
you require of him, you look to me for. I will bear complete
responsibility for him. If I bring him not before thee
and set him before you, let me bear the blame forever. Now here's
what I love to think about, and there isn't anything that I find
more amazing and glorious than this. The Lord Jesus Christ,
before time began, said, I will be surety. Yes, for the whole
church. Yes, for all the elect. Yes,
for Todd Nybert. Every believer, I want you to
think about this. Before you were even born, Christ
said, I'll be surety for them. I will take on the complete responsibility
of their salvation. Everything you require of them,
you look to me for. I will be surety for them. I don't know of anything that
I'm more amazed by than that. Jesus Christ, the Lord, took
complete responsibility for my salvation before I was even born. And said, everything you require
of Todd Nybert, you look to me for. I'm going to bring him back
and set him before you. So when they came to Joseph with
Benjamin, he gave him food and he put their money back in their
bag. But let's read about Judah being
surety in chapter 44. And he commanded the steward
of his house, this is Joseph speaking now. saying, fill the
men's sacks with food. Remember, they brought him Benjamin.
Fill the men's sacks with food, as much as they can carry. And
put every man's money in his sack's mouth. He's not gonna
take any money from them. You see, he's a type of Christ. You
don't pay Christ anything. You don't buy anything. You don't
work for anything. Anything you're gonna have, if
you're gonna be saved, it's gonna be given to you. And it's gonna
be given to you freely for Christ's sake. And put, he says in verse
two, my cup, The Silver Cup in the sacks mouth of the youngest
talking about Benjamin. and his corn money, and he did
according to the word that Joseph had spoken. As soon as the morning
was light, the men were sent away, they and their asses. And
when they were gone out of the city and not yet far off, Joseph
sent unto his steward, up, follow after the men. And when thou
didst overtake them, saying to them, wherefore have you rewarded
evil for good? Is not this it which my Lord
drinketh? And whereby indeed he divineth,
you've done evil in so doing. He was being accused of stealing
Joseph's cup. He took Joseph's cup, put it
in Benjamin's Sack said, go get him and accuse him of stealing
my cup. Verse six, and he overtook them
and spake unto them these same words. And they said unto him,
wherefore, my Lord, these words? God forbid that thy servant should
do according to this thing. Behold the money which we found
in our Sack's mouth, we brought again unto thee out of the land
of Canaan. How then should we steal out of thy Lord's house
silver and gold? With whomsoever of thy servants
it be found, both let him die, and we also be my Lord's bondmen.
And he said, now also let it be according unto your words.
He with whom it is found shall be my servant and you shall be
blameless. Then they speedily took down every man's sack to
the ground and opened every man's sack. And he searched and began
at the oldest and left at the youngest. And the cup was found
in Benjamin's sack, planted there by Joseph. Then they rent their
clothes and laid at every man's ass and returned to the city.
And Judah and his brethren came to Joseph's house, and he was
yet there, and they fell before him on the ground. And Joseph
said unto them, What deed is this that you've done? What ye
not that such a man as I can certainly divine? I can see what's
going on. And Judah said, What shall we
say unto my Lord? What shall we speak, or how shall
we clear ourselves? God hath found out the iniquity
of thy servants. Behold, we are my Lord's servants,
both we and he with whom the cup is found. And he said, God
forbid that I should do so. This is Joseph speaking again.
But the man in whose hand the cup is found, he shall be my
servant. As for you, get you back in peace unto your father.
Then Judah came near unto him, the one who said, I'll be sure
for him. Then Judah came near unto him and said, O my Lord,
let not thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my Lord's ears
and let not thine anger burn against thy servant, for thou
art even as Pharaoh. My Lord asked his servant saying,
have you a father or a brother? And he said unto my Lord, we
have a father, an old man and a child of his old age, a little
one. And his brother is dead, and he's alone, is left of his
mother, and his father loveth him. And thou saidst unto thy
servants, bring him down unto me, that I might set mine eyes
upon him. And we said unto my Lord, the lad can't leave his
father. If he should leave his father, his father would die.
And thou saidst unto thy servants, except your youngest brother
come down with you, you shall see my face no more. And it came
to pass when we came up unto thy servant, my father, we told
him the words of my Lord. And our father said, go again
and buy us a little food. And we said, we can't go down
if our youngest brother be with us. Then will we go down, for
we may not see the man's face except our youngest brother be
with us. And my servant, my father, said unto us, you know that my
wife bear me two sons, and that the one went out for me. And
I said, surely he's torn in pieces, and I saw him not since. And
if you take this also from me and mischief before him, you
shall bring my gray hair with sorrows to the grave. Now therefore,
when I'm come to thy servant, my father, and the lad be not
with us, seeing that his life is bound up in the lad's life,
it shall come to pass when he seeth that the lad is not with
us, that he'll die. and thy servant shall bring down
the gray hairs of thy servant, our father, with sorrow to the
grave. For thy servant, Judas speaking of himself, for thy
servant became surety for the lad unto my father, saying, if
I bring him not unto thee, then I shall bear the blame to my
father forever. Now, therefore, I pray thee,
let thy servant abide instead of the lad. a bondman to my Lord. Let me take his place and bear
complete responsibility as his sheriff, and let the lad go up
with his brethren, set him free. For how shall I go up to my father
and the lad be not with me? Lest peradventure I see the evil
that should come upon my father." And that's when, as you go on
reading in the chapter, Joseph is just moved and he makes himself
known to his brethren. after this glorious surety ship
of Judah, where Judah said, you put everything on me, let me
take his place and let him go free. Now, isn't that a beautiful
type of the Lord Jesus Christ? I will be surety for him. Now go back to Hebrews chapter
seven. By so much was Jesus made a surety,
a guarantor, a guarantee of a better Testament. I want to be talking
about a better Testament. We'll look in verse 11 of chapter
7. If therefore perfection, And
that's what I need to be saved. That's what you need to be saved.
Perfection. God will accept nothing less
than perfection. It will be perfect to be accepted. Now, if therefore perfection
were by the Levitical priesthood, for under it the people received
the law. Now he's talking about the Levites. The representatives
of the priests and the law, the ones who offered the sacrifices,
the one who took care of the tabernacle, the ones who took
care of the temple, the Levitical priesthood. If perfection, if
salvation were by the Levitical priesthood, for under it the
people received the law, what further need was there that another
priest should arise after the order of Melchizedek and not
called after the order of Aaron? Now he brings up Melchizedek. If anyone could be saved under
the Levitical priesthood, under the law, why was there a need
for this man named Melchizedek? Now, you probably remember from
Genesis 14, would you turn there real quick? Remember, you can't
understand the gospel without the Old Testament. And here we
have the story of Melchizedek. Abraham has just rescued Lot. And we read in verse 17, and the king of Sodom went out
to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorah,
and of the kings that were with him at the valley of Sheba, which
is the Kingsdale, and Melchizedek, king of Salem. brought forth
bread and wine, and he was the priest of the Most High God."
Now, this was way before Levi was ever born. Melchizedek was
the priest of the Most High God. And he blessed him. Melchizedek blessed Abraham and
said, blessed be Abram of the Most High God, possessor of heaven
and earth. And he blessed, and blessed be
the Most High God, which hath delivered thine enemies into
thy hand, And he gave him, Abraham gave him tithes of all. Now this is before the law, way
before the law. Abraham saw that Melchizedek
was God's priest before there was ever such thing as a Levitical
priesthood. And he gave him tithes of all. Melchizedek is not mentioned
again until Psalm 110, thou art a priest forever after the order
of Melchizedek. Now, Levi had not yet been born,
nor the Levitical priesthood instituted. Now let's go back
to Hebrews chapter seven. The writer to the Hebrews speaks
of Melchizedek. Verse one, for this Melchizedek,
king of Salem, priest of the most high God who met Abraham
returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him.
We just read about it. To whom also Abraham gave a tenth
part of all, first being by interpretation king of righteousness, and after
that also king of Salem, which is king of peace. Now this Melchizedek
didn't have a father, didn't have a mother, had no descent,
having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like
unto the Son of God, abideth the priest continually. Now there's
no doubt in my mind that Melchizedek is Jesus Christ. a pre-incarnate
appearance of Jesus Christ. No father, mother, no descent,
no pedigree, but he abides a priest continually. Now consider verse
four, how great this man was, under whom even the patriarch
Abraham gave the 10th of the spoils. And verily they that
are the sons of Levi who received the office of the priesthood
have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the
law that is of their brethren, though they come not out of the
loins of Abraham. But he whose descent is not counted from them
received tithes of Abraham and blessed him that had the promise.
And without all contradiction, the less is blessed of the better.
Melchizedek's better than Abraham. And here men that die receive
tithes, but there he received them of whom it's witnessed that
he liveth. And as I may so say, Levi also who received tithes,
he paid tithes in Abraham. For he was yet in the loins of
his father when Melchizedek met him. Now if therefore perfection,
were by the Levitical priesthood, for under it the people received
the law. What further need was there that another priest should
arise after the order of Melchizedek and not be called after the order
of Aaron? For the priesthood being changed, there is made
of necessity a change also of the law. The Levitical priesthood
will not save. It won't do you any good. Now
let's go on reading what he says. For he whom these things are
spoken pertains not to another tribe, of which no man gave attendance
to the altar. For it's evident that our Lord
sprang out of Judah, of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning
the priesthood. And it's yet far more evident
that after the similitude of Melchizedek, there rises another
priest, not a Levite, who is made not after the law of a carnal
commandment, but the power of an endless life. For he testified,
thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek, for
there's verily a disannulling of the commandment going because
of the weakness and the unprofitableness thereof, for the law made nothing
perfect. Now here he calls God's law weak
and unprofitable. And he calls the Levites weak
and unprofitable. Now, how can he say something
like that? Because they can't say. That's
the problem. As good as they are, they cannot
say. Verse 19, for the law made nothing
perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did. By the
witch, that better hope, that better testament, we draw nigh
unto God, not in our obedience, but in the obedience of Christ.
Not because of anything we've done, but because he stood as
our surety. And insomuch as not without an
oath, he was made priest. So those priests were made with
an oath, but this was 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. Now by so much was Jesus made
a surety, a guarantee. of a better Testament. And he's talking about the New
Testament. Now let's consider this better
Testament of which the Lord Jesus Christ is the surety. He's the
guarantee. Verse one of chapter eight. Now the things which we have
spoken This is the psalm. We have such a high priest, not
like the Levites, but like Melchizedek. We have such a high priest who
is sent on the right hand of the throne of the majesty in
the heavens, the Lord Jesus Christ. a minister of the sanctuary and
of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched to not man.
For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices,
whereof it is of necessity that this man have someone also to
offer. For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest. Seeing
that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law, he
wouldn't be a priest because he's not a Levite. who served
unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was
admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle,
for sayeth he that you make all things according to the pattern
shown thee on the mount, but now he, the Lord Jesus Christ,
the surety of the better testament, but now hath he obtained a more
excellent ministry. by how much also he is the mediator
of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. For if the first covenant had
been faultless, the law, the Levitical priesthood, if the
first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been
sought for the second. What was the fault? It couldn't
say. what the law could not do, in
that it was weak through the flesh. It could not save. For if the first covenant had
been faultless, there should no place been sought for the
second. For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days
come, saith the Lord, when I make a new covenant. This is that
better testament of which the Lord Jesus is the surety. I will
make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the
house of Judah, not according to the covenant that I made with
their fathers, in the day when I took them by the hand to lead
them out of the land of Egypt, because they continued not in
my covenant." Now, here's what I did. I took them by the hand. I'd like to have the Lord take
me by the hand, wouldn't you? I took them by the hand and led
them out of Egypt and brought them into the promised land.
He took them by the hand, but their heart was the same. Now, if the Lord takes you by
the hand and yanks you back and forth, you're going to go where
he intends for you to go, aren't you? You're going to be in the
place he puts you. When he takes you by the hand
and yanks you back and forth, if he takes you by the hand and
brings you from this place to that place, you'll be there.
But what about your heart? What about your heart? That is
the critical issue. What about your heart? It's not enough for the Lord
to take you by the hand. He says, they continue, even
though I took them by the hand, they continued not in my covenant
and I regarded them not, saith the Lord, for this is the covenant. that I'll make with the house
of Israel after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws
into their mind and write them in their hearts. I'm not just
gonna take them by the hand and pull them out. I'm gonna write
my laws in their mind. I'm gonna put them in their heart. Now, what laws is he talking
about? Is he talking about the 10 commandments?
I'll write the Ten Commandments in their hearts, so they'll,
by my grace, seek to be obedient to the Ten Commandments. I'm
going to write them in their hearts. Is that what the writer
of Hebrews is talking about? Now, the answer is no, because
the Ten Commandments are written on unbelievers' hearts. Everybody
born into this world is born knowing that it's wrong to murder,
that it's wrong to lie, that it's wrong to commit sexual sin,
that it's wrong to just on and on. Let me show you this in the
scripture. Turn to Romans chapter 2. Hold your finger there in
Hebrews 8. Turn to Romans 2. Verse 14, for when the Gentiles,
which have not the law, they didn't have the law given to
them, they never saw a copy of the Bible. They never read a
copy of the Ten Commandments. They didn't know what a Levitical
priest was. They didn't know the necessity
of sacrifice. They didn't have this revelation
from God. For when the Gentiles, which
have not the law, do my nature, the things contained in the law,
These having not the law or a law unto themselves would show the
work of the law written in their hearts. We need to be taught how to live.
You already know how to live. Everybody in this room, you know
you ought to obey God. You know you should never lie. You know you should never murder. You know you should never steal. You know sexual sin is wrong. On and on with the commandments
of the law. That's written in everybody's
heart. When people say we need to be
taught to live, what they're saying is it's your fault I'm
not living right. You haven't taught me right. That's what
people mean by that. I've seen that so many times
over the years. You haven't taught me right. My problems are your
fault. If you would have taught me properly, this would have
never happened. That's the way natural men excuse their sin. Blame it on somebody else. which
show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience
also bearing witness, and their thoughts the meanwhile accusing
or else excusing one another. Now here's what the natural man
does. He feels guilty, he feels condemned, or he comes up with
an excuse. It's your fault. If you would have taught better,
this wouldn't have taken place. That's the law written on everybody's
heart. So that's not what the Lord's
talking about, is it? A lost man has a law written
on his heart. Now go back to our text in Hebrews
chapter eight. Now, like I said, it's not enough
for God to take me by the hand and pull me. My heart is still
the same. For this, verse 10, is a covenant
that I'll make with the house of Israel after those days, saith
the Lord, I will put my laws. Notice plural. I will put my
laws into their mind and write them in their hearts. Now, what
this is a reference to is the new heart that God gives. The heart given in the new birth. A new heart also will I give
thee. That means you're given a heart
and you're given a nature that you did not have before. A new heart and a new nature,
one and the same that you did not have before. In the New Testament, we read,
for instance, of the law of sin. I put my laws into their hearts. We read of the law of sin. When you have a new nature and
a new heart, you see sin for what it is. A natural man, someone
who has not been born again, has no understanding of sin at
all. He doesn't really understand.
But a new man sees in himself nothing but sin. How about you? Paul spoke of the law of sin,
which is in my members. I find in a law that when I would
do good, evil is present with me. The only man who sees this
law is the man who has a new nature and sees sin for what
it is. He really believes he is that
bad. He really believes it. Why? Because he's got a new heart
that recognizes it and sees it. We read in Romans 9 of the law
of righteousness, this new heart where God writes on the heart,
you can't be satisfied with anything but a perfect righteousness before
that law. You can't feel any rest, any
peace, unless you know that you personally possess a perfect
righteousness before that law. Isn't that amazing? You see yourself
as nothing but sin, and yet you see the very righteousness of
Christ as your personal righteousness before God, and you can't be
satisfied with anything short of that. You can't be satisfied
with band-aid religion, patching up the holes that you've made
and trying to make yourself, you can't be satisfied with the
filthy rags of human righteousness. You can only be satisfied with
the perfect law of righteousness fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ,
no other rest. That's God writing his laws in
your heart. I love the passage of Scripture
in Romans 14, 23, the law of faith. Now, it's the law of a new nature,
a new heart to believe the gospel. You can't not believe. Now, what
do I mean by that? You can be fearful that you're
not a Christian. You can be fearful that you're not saved. You can
be fearful that you've missed salvation altogether. Might happen
to you at some point every day. Oh, I'm afraid I'm not saved.
I'm afraid I'm not saved. But here's something you can't
do. You cannot not believe that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son
of God. You cannot believe that He is
not that Christ, the Son of the living God. Whatever becomes
of me, He's God the Son. He's the Creator. He's the Lord
of glory. He's the God-Man. He's the only
Savior of sinners. I don't know if I'm saved, but
I know He's the Savior. Now, the only reason you say,
I don't know if I'm saved, is because you're looking to yourself.
I should be better. I should be, well, sure you should.
Nobody's going to deny that. Sure you should. But what do
you got to do with salvation? No, nothing. He is the Savior. We read in James 2 of the law
of love. Every believer, because of this
nature, this new heart that's in him, that God has written
there, he can't help but love God as he is. Love God as he's
revealed in the scripture. I love all this glorious attributes.
Don't you love his sovereignty? Don't you love the fact that
you're in his hands and he's an absolute control of everybody
and everything that he's the first cost behind it Don't you
love that? Don't you love his holiness that he's other? He's separate He's God, there's
nobody like Him. Don't you like His justice, how
He will never be unjust? Shall not the judge of the earth
do right? Don't you love His power that
He can create the universe and He can make your sin to not be
through His work on the cross? Oh, every attribute of God we
love. And you know what? We love everybody
that he loves. Somebody that God loves, somebody that loves
God, we love them, don't we? He that loveth him that begat
loveth also him that's begotten of him. There's a law of love. We also read in James 2 of the
law of liberty. The law of liberty, and the gospel's
called the law of liberty. I love that name of the gospel.
Everybody that has this new heart must have liberty. Now what is liberty? That means
I don't owe anything. If you give me some kind of debt
that I need to come up with to pay God, I'm in trouble. I can't
get any peace. The only thing that gives me
peace is to know that all debt has been paid and I'm free. A
true child of God cannot handle bondage. They cannot handle works
in any way. It's the law of liberty, the
law of love, the law of liberty. And I love in Galatians 6, 1,
the law of Christ. If any man be overtaken in a
fault, you, which are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit
of meekness. Considering yourself, lest you
also be tempted. bear one another's burdens and
so fulfill the law of Christ. Isn't that a beautiful law? The
law of Jesus Christ. Now God says, I'm going to write
my laws in their hearts and write them in their minds. And then
he says in verse 10, I'll be to them a God and they shall
be to me a people. Not I will, if I'll be to them a God if they,
no, I'll be to them a God and they shall be to me a people
if God be for us. Who can be against us? Verse 11, they shall not teach
every man his neighbor and every man his brother, saying, know
the Lord, for all shall know me from the least to the greatest.
You see, in this better Testament, it's not me trying to teach you,
because all I can do is try. It's God being your teacher.
And He always affectionately teaches. I hate it when people
say, God's trying to teach me something. No, He's not. God
never tried to do anything. If He teaches you, you're taught.
And you know who He is. In this better Testament, where
we're given this new heart that sees things totally different.
And God is our God and we're his people. God is the one doing
the teacher. You're gonna know the Lord. And
you're going to recognize when he is not being preached. You're
gonna know because God is your teacher. All shall know me from
the least to the greatest. Verse 12, for I will be merciful
to their unrighteousness. And that word merciful is propitious. Same thing that the public in
the temple cried, God be propitious to me, the sinner. I will be
propitious. And that propitiation means a
sin-removing sacrifice. I will. Now, what's better than
this? He doesn't say, I will if. He
says, I will be propitious to their iniquities. Now, child
of God, Jesus Christ himself has removed your sin and you
do not have any sin. Is that a better testament? That
Jesus Christ removed your sin. By the sacrifice of himself,
he put it away and it is gone. It's no more. Now, that's why
he says there are sins and iniquities I will remember no more. Now,
when we forgive somebody, we ought to forget. Right? Do you? No. You ought to. You ought to. But you're flesh. And yeah, we ought to never remember
somebody's sin against us, but we remember it. I wish it wasn't
that way. But God doesn't. Christ doesn't. He really does
not remember your sin because there's nothing there to remember.
He put it away. It is gone. God's got a perfect memory. and he doesn't remember any sin
in his people. Now, is that a better testament? The Lord Jesus Christ
being the surety, the guarantee. You see, all this is so sure
because it's Him that makes it sure. Look in Hebrews chapter
13 for a moment. Verse 20, now the God of peace
that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd
of the sheep through the blood of the everlasting covenant.
Now this is why it's so sure. This is how he became the surety
through the blood of the everlasting covenant. His blood has made
all this sure. Now, the surety of a better testament. Let's go to another scene. That's
why I'm gonna close with. Let's go to another scene. The
three crosses. Men nailed to each cross. The middle cross is the Son of
God. And the other two are thieves
cursing his name, blaspheming his name in hatred and in bitterness. And all of a sudden, one of the
thieves becomes strangely silent. The other continues to curse. But the one who became silent
rebuked his friend and said, Don't you fear God? This man knew that that one nailed
to a cross was God. Do you know that? He knew that one was God. Don't you fear God, seeing you're
in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we
receive the due reward of our deeds. Not only did he know this
one was God, he knew he was getting exactly what he deserved, and
so was his buddy. But this man who is God, hath
done nothing amiss. He knew of the sinlessness of
Jesus Christ. Do you? Do you know he's God
and that you're a sinner and that he's not? And then he looked upon the Lord
and said, Lord, you're the Lord. You're in control
of everything. Remember me when you come into
your kingdom. You're not gonna stay on this
cross, nor will you stay dead. You're gonna come back as a mighty
reigning king, the Lord of lords and the king of kings. Lord,
remember me. Now what he means is remember
me as my surety. Like David said in Psalm 119,
be thou my surety for good. Lord, would you take upon yourself
all the responsibility of my salvation? Do you know anybody who prays
that prayer? The Lord does it. If you pray from your heart,
and he put it there, if you do, Lord, remember me. That's all
I can ask. Remember me. What you're praying
is, Lord, remember me as one you represented, as one you became
my surety for, as one you saved. Remember me when you come into
your kingdom today. Thou shalt be with me in paradise. Let's pray. Lord, how we thank you for our
surety, the Lord Jesus Christ. And by your grace. Enable every
one of us to say with the thief. With the new heart you have given.
Lord. Remember me. When you come into
your kingdom. In Christ's name we pray, Amen.