Would you turn back to the book
of Hebrews chapter 13? Let me read verse 22 once again. And I beseech you. Brethren. Suffer. The word of exhortation. For I have written a letter unto
you in a few words." While this is one of the longer
epistles in the New Testament, the book of Hebrews, the writer
calls it a letter in a few words. They were few in comparison to
what he could have said. When can you ever cease speaking
of the glory? and the excellency of Christ.
In Hebrews chapter 11, he said, time would fail me to tell of
the different persons who would believe the gospel. And the words
were shortened because of the condition of the people. He said,
you're dull of hearing. I have many things to say to
you, which can't be uttered because you're dull of hearing. That
scares me. I don't want to become dull of
hearing, but he said to these people, you become dull of hearing. Now, he calls this letter a word
of exhortation. I hope I learned something about
this, this word exhortation is also translated comfort. Or consolation. Or entreaty. It means literally to call to
one side. The preaching of the gospel is
authoritative. In the sense we're preaching
God's word. It's authoritative. This is not
my word. This is God's word. The Bible is the inspired word
of God. And when we preach the word,
we preach authoritatively. And yet the manner of the delivery
of the message is one of exhortation and beseeching. It's not preaching
down at someone. Now, you know what it means to
be preached down to. You know what it is for someone
to speak down to you. It's irritating, isn't it? That's
not the way the gospel is to be preached. It's one of exhortation,
of beseeching, of intrigue. True preaching is one beggar
telling another beggar where he got bread. He's not preaching
down to the people he's preaching to. If he is, it's not true preaching. It's a word of exhortation. And notice he says, I beseech
you, suffer this word of exhortation, for I've written In these few
words, the word suffer is also translated endure or bear with. See out this word of exhortation. Paul warned of those in 2nd Timothy
4.3 where the time will come where they shall not endure sound
doctrine. And that's the same word. They
shall not suffer. They shall not put up with sound
doctrine. In 2nd Corinthians 11.1, he used
this word, bear with me a little in my folly. When he said, I'm
going to speak like a fool. You can read that chapter. He
starts talking about all the things being done. He said, these fellows
say they've done this. Well, I've done that. He says,
and all this is is foolishness. Bear with me in my folly. Carry
this out with me. Ephesians 4.2, forbearing one
another in love. Colossians 3.13, forbearing and
forgiving one another. Suffer, endure, forbear, see
out this word of exhortation. And he's talking about the entire
book of Hebrews. Now, if you study the book of
Hebrews, it was written to the Hebrews. It was written to Jewish
believers, not Gentile believers, but Jewish believers who were
being persecuted and they were being tempted to go back to their
old way of religion or at least tone down a little bit to keep
the persecution from taking place. And he was writing them warning
them of this. They were tempted to compromise
some of their principles to avoid the troubles they were having,
and the entire book of Hebrews is filled with warnings about
drawing back. Now let me show you one of them.
Turn to Hebrews chapter 10, verse 32. talking about the Old Testament
figures who didn't draw back. He says in verse 32, And what
more shall I say? For the time would fail me to
tell of Gideon, and Barak, and of Samson, of Jephthah, of David
also, and Samuel, and of the prophets, who through faith subdued
kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the
mouths of lions, quench the violence of fire, escape the edge of the
sword. Out of weakness were made strong,
waxed valiant in fight, turning to flight the armies of the aliens.
Women received their dead raised to life again, and others were
tortured, not accepting deliverance that they might obtain a better
resurrection. And others had a trial of cruel mockings and
scourgings, yea, moreover, of bond and imprisonment. They were
stoned They were sawed asunder. They took saws and cut them in
half. They were tempted. They were slain with the sword.
They wondered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute,
afflicted and tormented. Of whom the world was not worthy,
they wandered in deserts and in mountains and in dens and
caves of the earth. This is what these people did
for the gospel sake. Look back in chapter 10. He says to these same people
who he appears there falling back, but called a remembrance
the former days. I want you, by the grace of God,
to call to remember the former days when you first believed,
when you first saw the glory of Christ, when you first saw
His sufficiency, that He is all you need. You call to remember
the former days in which after that you were illuminated You
endured a great fight of afflictions, partly whilst you were made a
gazing stalk, both by reproaches and afflictions, and partly whilst
you became companions of men that were so used. For you had
compassion of me and my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling
of your goods. You had your goods confiscated,
and you praised the Lord for it. You took it joyfully. It
was a thing of great joy. Knowing in yourselves that you
have in heaven a better and an enduring substance, cast not
therefore Your confidence? Cast not away, therefore, your
confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. For you
have need of patience, that after you have done the will of God
you might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and he
that shall come will come and will not tarry. Now that just
shall live by faith. But if any man draw back. Now that is a nautical term.
It means you slacken the sail. You take them down so you don't
drive through the water quite so fast. You draw back. If any man draw back, my soul
shall have no pleasure in him. And the primary word of exhortation
in this book of Hebrews, you find the word 13 times, is the
word better. Better. Don't draw back because
Christ is better. Christ and a life of trouble
and persecution and problem is infinitely better than a life
of ease and prosperity and riches and no trouble without Christ. Christ is better. Now you hear this word of exhortation
out. Christ is better. Look in Hebrews chapter 1. Verse 4. Being made, Hebrews 1.4, being
made so much better than the angels. as he hath by inheritance
obtained a more excellent name than they, Christ is better than
the angels. Now the angels, we know very
little about them, but they were the highest order of created
beings. The scripture tells us, with regard to us, they're greater
in power and might than us. You remember when the Lord was
being crucified and Peter Cut that fella's ear off, and the
Lord said, put your sword in your sheep. Don't you know that
if I want to, I can call twelve legions of angels right now,
and they'll just wipe everybody out. Angels are powerful. They're
the highest order of created beings. But Christ is infinitely
better. What would you rather have? A
guardian angel, or the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior? Christ is better. Look at this
description of the Lord Jesus Christ in Hebrews 1. God, verse
1, who at sundry times and in diverse manners spake in times
past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last
days, we're still in, spoken to us by his Son, whom he hath
appointed heir of all things. By whom also He made the worlds. Jesus Christ created the universe. Who? Being the brightness of
His glory. And the express image of His
person. And upholding all things by the
word of His power. The only reason you're breathing
right now is because of the will of the Lord Jesus Christ. You're
in His hand right now. I'm in His hand right now. When
he had by himself purged our sins, washed away our sins. He did it by himself with no
help. When he said it is finished, the salvation of every one of
the elect was accomplished, their sins were washed away, and he
did it without help. When he had by himself purged
our sins, he sat down. Why did he sit down? Because
his work was finished. He sat down at the right hand
of the majesty on high, the place of all power and authority, being
made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance
obtained a more excellent name than they." Christ is better
than angels. Look at Hebrews chapter 7. Now this is talking
about Melchizedek and the Levitical priesthood. And he tells us in
verse 7, and without all contradiction, first back up to verse 6, that
he whose descent is not counted from them that received the tithes
of Abraham, that's talking about the Levites, and blessed him
that had the promise. And without all contradiction,
the less is blessed of the better. Melchizedek blessed Abraham. Who was in Abraham's loins? Levi. So what he's telling us of is
the superiority of the priesthood of Christ over the Old Testament
Levitical priesthood. It's superior. Now, what's a
priest? A priest is someone who represents me before God. He brings my name before God.
And why is a priest necessary? Let me give you two reasons.
Because God is holy and because I am sinful. And God can't accept
me the way I am. And the only way I can come into
God's presence is if somebody comes into his presence for me
and represents me. And what good would it do if
Aaron represented you? You look at the life of Aaron.
What was he? He was a weak, sinful man. That's all he was, just like
me and you. a weak, sinful man. And if all the only kind of priest
I have is a priest like that, it will do me no good at all. Look what he says in verse 11
of Hebrews chapter 7. 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
rise after the order of Melchizedek and not be called after the order
of Aaron? This is the Lord Jesus Christ.
Look in verse 23 of this same chapter. And they truly were many priests,
because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death.
They died. They couldn't do you any good.
But this man, the Lord Jesus Christ, because he continueth
ever hath an unchangeable priesthood. Wherefore, he is able also to
save them to the uttermost. that come unto God by him, seeing
he ever liveth to make intercession for them. He's the superior priest. You come to God by him, he's
able to save you. I don't care what your condition
is. I don't care how ignorant and sinful you are. It doesn't
matter. You come to God by him. He's able to save you to the
uttermost. And this is what a believer is.
A believer is someone who comes to God by Him. I'm coming to
God by Him right now. I wouldn't dare come any other
way. I wouldn't dare come in my own name or in my own righteousness. I come by Him. And He's able. Oh, He's able. With no help from
me, He's able to save them to the uttermost that come to God
by Him. Look in verse 19 of Hebrews chapter
7. For the law, salvation conditioned
upon your act of personal obedience, for the law made nothing perfect
but the bringing in of a better hope. A better hope did. Now, the hope of the law is this.
If you keep the law, you'll be saved. If you never disobey God,
if you never sin, if you keep God's law perfectly, if you never
have a bad thought, if you never have a bad motive, if you're
perfectly righteous, you'll be saved. That's God's promise. If you're perfect in and of yourself,
you'll be saved. That's the law. And here's the
gospel. It's a better hope. You see,
the hope of the law gives me No hope. No hope. If salvation is dependent
upon me in any way, to any degree, I have no hope. God must send me to hell. His justice would demand it. No hope there. But oh, this better
hope. What is hope? It's a confident
expectation with regard to the future. And I have a hope that
when I stand before God on judgment day, he's going to look at me
and he's going to say, well done, thou good and faithful servant. And somebody says, how can he
say that about you? Was Christ a good and faithful
servant? Could he look at the Lord Jesus
Christ and look at his life and say, well done, thou good and
faithful servant? Well, what he did, he did for
me. My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest
frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name. What a hope. Somebody says, here's my hope.
I've got a hope that I'm assured for heaven if I'm already there.
My hope's better than that. I'm already there. In the person
of my representative, in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ,
I'm already there. My complete salvation is already
history. Now, that's a better hope, isn't
it? That's a better hope than any hope that is of the law. Hebrews chapter 7 verse 22. By
so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament or a better
covenant. Look in chapter 8 verse 6, but
now have he obtained a more excellent ministry by how much also he
is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better
promises. Now, the better covenant. What is it? Well, let's go on
verse seven. For if the first covenant, salvation
by law, had been faultless, there should no place have been sought
for the second for finding fault with him. He said, Behold, the
days come, saith the Lord, when I make a new covenant with the
house of Israel, 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. You
see, there's a problem with God taking you by the hand. I mean,
you can see there's many benefits. He took them by the hand and
brought them out of Egypt. But what about the heart? The
heart was still bad. Didn't do anything for their
heart. They changed geographical locations, but nothing more. But here's the new covenant.
Verse 10, for this is the covenant. This is the better testament.
This is the covenant that I'll make with the house of Israel
after those days, saith the Lord. I'll put my laws into their mind. I'll write them in their hearts.
And that's not talking about the Ten Commandments. Ten Commandments
are already written on everybody's heart, even unbelievers. They
know the difference between right and wrong. He's talking about
the new birth. He's talking about the new heart. And I will be
to them a God. And they shall be to me a people,
and 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. For I will be merciful. I will be propitious to their
unrighteousness and their sins and their iniquities. Well, I
remember no more. That's a better testament. God says this is what
I'm going to do. I'm going to be propitious. I'm
going to be at peace. The blood of my son is going
to wash away their sins, and I'm going to be satisfied with
them, and I'm not going to remember their sins because there's nothing
there to remember. That's a better covenant, isn't
it? What covenant do you prefer? A covenant that's up to you or
up to Christ? That's a better covenant. Then
we read Hebrews 8, 6. Back to Hebrews 8, 6. Read this
once. But now hath he obtained a more
excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a
better covenant, which was also established upon better promises. Now the better covenant was established
on better promises. Why are they better? Why are
they better? Turn to Titus chapter 1 for a
moment. Just a few pages back, Titus chapter 1. Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, a
servant of God, an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the
faith of God's elect, the acknowledging of the truth, which is after
godliness, in hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot
lie, promised when? Before the world. Before the
world began. And this promise was made before
the world began. You know what that means? That
means you and I were really not in the picture at this time.
This was not a promise God made to me individually. This is a promise he made to
his son. If you represent them, if you keep the law for them,
if you pay for their sins, I'll save them. I promise. And this
promise he made with Christ before time began. This wasn't a promise
he made with me, where he said, if you do this, I'll do that.
No, this is a promise he made with his son. So it's better. What's better? God making a promise
to you, if you do this, I'll do that? Or the promise he makes
to Christ, if you represent them, I'll save them. Which is better?
Do you want your salvation to be in your hands or in Christ's
hands? Oh, that's a no-brainer. This is a better promise, the
promise of the gospel. Look in Hebrews 9, verse 23. It was therefore necessary that
the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with
these, but the heavenly things with better sacrifices than these. Better sacrifices. Better sacrifices
than the blood of bulls and goats. Look in Hebrews 10, verse 4.
For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should
take away sin. Now, all those sacrifices that took place in
the Old Testament, they were pictures and nothing more. They
didn't do anything to put away sin. And the only sacrifice,
any sacrifice you bring, if you bring your faith, I believe,
if you bring your repentance, look out, sorry I am, if you
bring your good intentions, If you bring your works, anything
you bring, it won't do you any good. That won't put away sin.
The only sacrifice that will put away sin is the sacrifice
of the Lord Jesus Christ. His precious blood actually put
away sin. Look in Hebrews 9, verse 26. Verse 25, Nor yet that he should
offer himself often, as the high priest entered into the holy
place every year with the blood of others, For then he must have
often suffered since the foundation of the world, but now once, only
took once, in the end of the world, hath he appeared to put
away sin by the sacrifice of himself." Now, that's a better
sacrifice. No sacrifice that you and I offered
up. This is the sacrifice that he offered up to God, and this
is what he did. He actually put away sin by the
sacrifice of himself. Now, that is a better sacrifice.
Hebrews chapter 10, verse 34. For you had compassion of me in my
bonds, and you took joyfully the spoiling of your goods. What
if somebody confiscated your goods? What if you went home
and you found that everything you owned had been stripped and
taken away from you because of your faith in Christ and because
of your stand for the gospel? That happened to these people.
And you know what? They counted it a privilege. Well, everything's
been taken for Christ's sake. Praise the Lord. What a blessing
to be enabled to suffer for His sake in any measure. What a blessing
this was. He said, and this is why you
felt that way, knowing in yourselves that you have in heaven a better
and an enduring substance. Let's say you draw back. Let's say you take the sail down
and don't go quite so fast. You draw back and make things
a little bit easier for yourself. And let's say in doing that,
you become a millionaire. Let's say you become enriched
with goods. Let's say all of a sudden you
don't have any troubles. All of a sudden your marriage
is better. Kids are doing better. I mean, everything's great. Everything's
great in drawing back. What should it profit a man if he should gain? the whole
world and lose his soul. For what will a man give in exchange
for his soul? That stuff will not endure, but
Christ will. He is the substance you have
in heaven. He is your greater possession.
If you have Him, you have all. Christ is better than any earthly
substance. Oh, He's infinitely better. Even if you lose everything and
you have Him, what have you lost? Nothing. And if you have Him
and lose everything else, what have you lost? Nothing. Christ
is better than any earthly substance. Hebrews chapter 11, verse 13. These all died in faith. Don't you want to die in faith?
My soul, I want to die in faith. I want to die believing the gospel.
That's the one way I want to die, is I want to die in faith.
These all died in faith, not having received the promises,
but having seen them afar off. They were persuaded of it and
embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims
on the earth. For they that say such things
declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they
had been mindful of that country from which they came out, they
might have had opportunity to return, but now they desire a
better country. A better country. That is, an
heavenly. Wherefore, God is not ashamed
to be God, for he hath prepared for them a city, a better country,
a better city. Now this city, the city of God,
the New Jerusalem, the heavenly Jerusalem, they paved the streets with gold
to show how unimportant that stuff is. It's a better country. Let me
tell you why it's better. It's a place wherein dwelleth
righteousness. No sin will be there. No unbelief
will be there. Everybody that's there worshiped
the Lord Jesus Christ here on earth, and now they're worshiping
Him in a way that you and I can only imagine. Can you imagine
the worship that takes place there? Oh, it's better than anything
here. I mean, infinitely, infinitely
better. And they desire a better country. Now, I'm thankful for the life
I have here right now. I tell you what, I look forward
to dying. I look forward to being done
with sin. And I look forward to being in the direct presence
of the Lord Jesus Christ, beholding his face. David said, as for
me, I will behold thy face in righteousness. I'll be satisfied
when I awake in thy likeness. And that's what we're waiting
on. And indeed, this is a better country. And there's better speech. Stay there in Hebrews chapter
12. Hebrews chapter 12. Verse 24,
And Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood
of sprinkling that speaketh better things than that of Abel. Now, do you remember what God
said to Abel? He said, Where's your brother?
And he said, I mean, he said to Cain, he said to Cain, he
said to Cain, Where's your brother? And Cain said, Hello, am I my
brother's keeper? And God said, Your brother's
blood crieth to me. from the ground. What did he
cry? Guilty. Vengeance put him to
death. That's what the blood of Abel
cried to God. But the writer to the Hebrews
tells us that the blood of sprinkling. Now what is the blood of sprinkling? When God gave the law. The children of Israel said,
all that the Lord has spoken will do. You know what Moses began to do?
Sprinkle blood on them. Why did he sprinkle blood on
them? Because he knew they'd disobey. That's why he sprinkled that
blood. But in the sprinkling of that
blood in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, it cries to. It
cries for justice, just like Abel did justice, but. In crying for justice. It cries
for salvation. It says concerning Todd Naubert,
save him, he's justified his sins and he has no sin. The very
justice of God demands his salvation. Now that's better. That's better
than what Abel's blood cried to God from the ground, isn't
it? It speaks better things. Hebrews chapter 11, verse 32. And what more shall I say, for
the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak, of Samson,
of Jephthah, David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets,
who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained
promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence
of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were
made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turning to flight the
armies of the aliens. Women received their dead, raised
to life again, and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance.
that they might obtain a better resurrection. Turn with me for a moment to
John chapter Life as we know it is not going
to last. Everybody in here knows that,
don't you? We're going to die. Young people,
I know you're excited about life, and well, you should be, but
you're going to die. That is your heritage. Because we're
sinners, we're all going to die. There's no escaping of that. You will die. And after that, there will be
a resurrection. Look in verse 28 of John, chapter
5. Marvel not at this, for the hour
is coming in which all that are in the graves shall hear his
voice. And what a mighty voice that
must be, and shall come forth, they that have done good unto
the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil unto
the resurrection of damnation." Now, there are the two resurrections.
The resurrection of life and the resurrection of damnation. If you've done good, you're going
to be raised to eternal life. Now, if you're a believer, you
understand that your do-gooding is the do-gooding of Christ.
You understand that, don't you? If you've done good, you're going
to be resurrected unto eternal life. And if you've done evil,
if you have any sin whatsoever, you'll be raised up to eternal
damnation. That's what the word says. That's such a horrible thing
to think about. So there is a place called hell that God puts everybody
outside of Christ. Everybody who does not have his
righteousness. And it is eternal. Now, in Christ, we have the better
resurrection. If you believe on Christ, if you believe on Christ, what's
that mean? That means you're trusting Him as the only reason
you'll be accepted. You're not looking anywhere else.
You look to Him only. You believe on Christ, you're
going to be resurrected to eternal life. And if you don't believe
the gospel, if you say, well, I don't believe this, okay, That's
your choice, but you'll be resurrected to eternal damnation. Now, I
want this better resurrection, don't you? The better resurrection
he speaks of. Now, go back to our text in Hebrews
chapter 11, and I think this, or 13, and we'll see what the
writer meant. He said, I beseech you, brethren. I entreat you. Paul said, I beseech
you by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living
sacrifice. I beseech you, brethren, suffer,
endure, hear out the word of exhortation. Christ is better. Drawing back is not advantageous
in any respect. He's better than anything created.
He has a better priesthood. He's a better hope. He's a better
covenant. His gospel has better promises,
better sacrifices, better substance, better country, better speech
and better resurrection. And the writer says in Hebrews
chapter 10, verse 39, We are not of them who draw back unto
perdition. But of them that believe to the saving of the soul. May that describe everybody in
this room. Someone who believes to the saving
of the soul. Let's pray together.