In his name we pray and give
thee thanks. Amen. All right, we'll pick up here
in Hebrews 8 verse 10. Hebrews 8 verse 10. This is the covenant, Hebrews
8 verse 10. This is the covenant that I will
make with the house of Israel After those days, saith the Lord,
I will put my law into their mind, and write them in their
hearts, 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 to their
unrighteousness and their sins and their iniquities will I remember
no more." The title of the message this
morning is, I Will. You may have noticed that as
we read through that passage, how many times those two words
appear, I will. And the first is, he said, a
covenant. He said, I'm going to make a covenant with them,
a new covenant, a better covenant, built on better promises. If you look over in the book
of Jeremiah, hold your place there in Hebrews. The book of
Jeremiah, chapter 31, We pretty much read the same
words here. Old Testament, New Testament,
Jeremiah 31. Look beginning with verse 31. Behold, the days come, saith
the Lord. These are the words of the Lord.
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord. 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 that I took them by the hand to bring them out of
the land of Egypt, which by covenant they break, although I was a
husband to them, saith the Lord, but this shall be the covenant
I will make with the house of Israel. After those days, saith
the Lord, I'll put my law in their inward parts, I'll write
it in their hearts, and will be their God and they shall be
my people. And they'll teach no more every
man his neighbor and every man his brother, saying, know the
Lord, for they shall know me. From the least of them unto the
greatest of them, saith the Lord, for I will forgive their iniquity,
and I will remember their sin no more. I look at this passage
and I just want to get to that last verse. Their sins and iniquities
will I remember no more. But let's look here. Let's look
here at this passage together in Hebrews 8. He talks about
an old covenant. Listen, the problem was not with
the covenant. The problem was not with the
promise. The problem was with the people. We read that the law, it could
not save in that it was weak through the flesh. That's us. Romans 8 verse 3 says, For what
the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh,
God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and
for sin, condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteousness
of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the
flesh, but after the spirit. Salvation, deliverance, is not
by what a man does or does not do. Salvation is of the Lord. Salvation
is a work for us. Salvation is a work done in us. That old covenant, it couldn't
make man righteous. Not in the sight of God. Those
Pharisees, and we're all Pharisees by nature, they thought they
could make themselves righteous by an outward appearance of keeping
that law. But that's not going to get it
done. That law could only do one thing, and that is condemn
us. It could only shut us up to faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Scripture says, by the deeds
of the law shall no flesh be justified in
his sight. For by the law is the knowledge
of sin. I will make a covenant. You know,
men make agreements all the time. Men make promises to do things
all the time. Rarely do we keep those. And it could be for lack of effort,
but it could be that we just don't do it. We just don't keep
promises. They don't carry them out. They
don't fulfill them. But listen to what we read here
in this passage of Scripture. What we read here in the Word
of God. This is the Word of God. God spoke this. God who cannot
lie. Take that. This is the Word of
God. He says this, I have spoken it. I will bring it to pass. I have purposed it. I will also
do it. What is this covenant? What's
involved in it? I want to look at just the rest
of this passage here in Hebrews 8 this morning. But listen to
the first, this is the first I will that we read here. He
said, I will put my law into their mind and write them in
their hearts. Again, not an outward appearance,
not any work of the flesh here, but this refers to the mind and
to the heart. The mind and the heart. In the
book of Ezekiel, we read, a new heart, a new heart also will
I give you. and a new spirit will I put within
you. Who's gonna do that, me? No.
It's the work of God. I'm gonna do this. I will take
away the stony heart out of your flesh and I will give you, I
will give you a heart of flesh. In the New Testament we read,
be not conformed to this world. but be ye transformed by the
renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and
acceptable and perfect will of God." You know, the disciples
of old, we read that the Lord, He had to open their understanding.
He did that. A knowledge that must be revealed
in the mind and in the heart. And this law, listen, there's
the moral law which can be summed up in two things, two commands. Love the Lord thy God with all
thy heart and love thy neighbor as thyself with all thy heart. Love thy
neighbor as thyself. Would that ever be possible?
Well, I tell you, if we loved our neighbor as much as we loved
ourself, we would truly love them, wouldn't we? The commandments, this law, it
refers to the commandments of the Lord. Repentance, faith,
godliness. And then it refers to the whole
word of God. All the scripture, we should
believe her, were to love and to cherish. And these things
aren't written on tablets of stone, but rather on the heart,
on the heart and on the mind of the believer. All that we wouldn't just merely
think on them, think on these words, but that we would love
them. Written on the heart, written
not with ink, but by the Spirit of Almighty God. Again, not on
tablets of stone, but on this heart, fleshy tables of the heart.
And you know, that creates turmoil for the child of God. Because
in the believer, there is a new man. God creates a new man. But as long as we walk this earth,
that old man exists as well. A new man with a new heart, a
new nature, a new man created by God according to righteousness
and holiness, and yet an old nature, corrupt, sinful. This body, he calls it a body
of death. We drag around a body of death. And this old man's scripture
says this, that it lusteth, this flesh, it lusteth against the
spirit and the spirit against the flesh. And they're contrary
one to another. He said, so you can't do the
things that you would do. But you know in time this flesh,
this old man, is going to be conquered. It's going to be put
in the grave, that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled
in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. The believer, God's sheep, going
to be justified, sanctified, made holy. And listen to this,
accepted in Him. Accepted in the Beloved. In Christ, just as He has honored
God's law and satisfied His justice, we're in Him. Isn't that an amazing
thing? That we're gonna be the believer. In Christ is gonna stand perfect
before Almighty God. Oh, that he would cause us to
bear the fruits of righteousness, that which is written in his
word of love and joy and peace and longsuffering and kindness,
faithfulness, meekness, gentleness, tenderness, his law. He said he's going to
write it in our minds and in our hearts. Well, second, He
says, I will, I will be to them a God and they shall be to me
a people. God is our father. That's how we're taught to pray. Our father, our father which
art in heaven. He says, I'm going to be to them
a God. He's the God of Christ. And He's
the God of His elect, which dwell in Christ. The God of Christ and every one
of His people. He's the God of all grace. I will be to them a God. But you know the surprising thing
to me from this verse is this, not that he's going to be God,
but they shall be my people. God has a people. The believer is a child of the
king. We're his people. He said, listen,
we could say this, I am his. And he is mine. A special people,
a chosen, this is how we're described in God's word, a chosen generation. Chosen in Christ from before
the foundation of the world. Aren't you thankful that he didn't
wait around to see if you would do anything good or bad? We know
what he would have seen. chosen in Christ before the foundation
of the world. A royal... This is a description. We're a royal priesthood. A holy
nation. His own special people in which
the Spirit of God is pleased to dwell. A people. A people whom Christ saved from
their sin. by His own blood. A people called
by the grace of God, called by the Spirit of God, a peculiar
people. A people made willing in the
day of His power. Sons of God. Sons of God. Not servants, but sons. Children. And Scripture says
this, if we're children, then we're heirs, heirs of God and
joint heirs with Christ. Do you remember when David, when
he sent down there to get Mephibosheth, he sent and he fetched him. There
he is down there lame on his feet. He's not going anywhere. He's not seeking David. David's
seeking him. He's not trying to find his way
to David, but David's going to find him. He's not going to make the first
step. He can't. He's lame on his feet. And David
sends his servant to go down there and fetch him and bring
him back. And he says this, David said,
Mephibosheth, He's going to eat at my table.
He's going to eat at the king's table. How? As a son. Not a servant, but a son. Like one of his own children. And then those people, if you
look in verse 11 of Hebrews 8, it says this, they're going to
know the Lord. His people are going to know
Him. Paul, writing to the Philippians,
he said, Yea, doubtless, I count all things, I count all things,
everything, but loss. For what? For the excellency
of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord for whom I've suffered
the loss of all things, and do count them but done that I may
win Christ and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness,
which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of
Christ, the righteousness which is of God, the very righteousness
of God. And he says this again, that
I may know Him. He's the only one it truly matters
to know. To know Him and the power of
His resurrection, the fellowship of His sufferings, and being
made conformable unto His death, if by any means, I may obtain
unto the resurrection of the dead." To know Him. To have a living, vital union
with Him. That union that exists between
God and the believer. God and His sheep. Hold your
place there and turn to John chapter 17. John 17. How important is this thing of
knowing Him? Look at John 17, verse 3. This is life eternal. What is it? that they might know Thee, the
only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent, to know
Him, to know the only true and wise God. And listen, this is
more than just an acknowledgment that there is a God. I don't
know how anybody walks out of their house in the morning and
looks at the sky and everything that God provides and doesn't
know that there's a God. It's not just to know some characteristics
about God. I could probably list off some
characteristics of Abraham Lincoln, but it doesn't mean I know him,
right? It's to know God, it's to believe
God, it's to receive God, it's to love Him as He reveals Himself
in Christ to us. That's the only way we will ever
know Him in salvation, to know Him, to know Him in His Son.
Our Lord said, no man cometh to the Father but by Me. Well, back to our text here in
Hebrews 8. Here's the third, the third I will. I will be merciful to their unrighteousness. I will be merciful to their sin. Moses asked God, he said, I beseech
thee, show me thy glory. And the Lord God spake to Moses,
and he said, I'll make all my goodness pass before thee. I'll
proclaim the name of the Lord before thee. And I will be gracious
to whom I'll be gracious, and I will be merciful to whom I'll
be merciful. I'll show mercy to whom I will
show mercy. In the book of Micah, we read
that Almighty God, he delights to do this one thing. What is
it? Show mercy. He delights to show
mercy. Listen to these words. Who is
a God like unto thee that pardoneth iniquity and passes by the transgression
of the remnant of his heritage? He retaineth not his anger forever
because he delighteth. He delighteth in mercy. Almighty God says, I will be
merciful. To who? What is man? What is man? Fallen, corrupt, sinful, dead
in trespasses and sin, we're spiritually blind, we're spiritually
dead, And if left to ourselves, that's where we'll stay. We'd
never come to him. We might try to cover our nakedness
unsuccessfully, cover ourselves with filthy rags, try to cover
ourselves as Adam did there in the garden with those fig leaves. And there's many other descriptions
written in God's Word to describe man. As a leper, you just go
on and on. But listen to this. He says,
I will show mercy to their unrighteousness. I ask, are you a sinner? Can
you take your place as a sinner? Are you in need? Are you in need
of mercy? It's funny, when we need something,
we go to the source, right? We go to where that's found. Mercy comes from the Lord. What
would stop us from going to Him? What would stop us from crying
out? God, be merciful to me, a sinner."
Maybe you sit here this morning and this thought enters your
mind. I'm guilty. I am unworthy. I'm not worthy
of His mercy. I am undeserving of His grace. Listen to these words again from
Hebrews. Does it say I will show mercy to those who deserve it? I'll show mercy to those who
have earned it. I'll show mercy to those who
I think are worthy of it. I tell you, if it did, none of
us would have any hope, would we? He says, I will show mercy to
the unrighteous. I will show mercy to their unrighteousness. If you're a sinner, and if you
know that, the Lord's revealed that to you. And if He has revealed
it to you, all the more reason to cry out to Him for mercy. Scripture says He came into the
world to save sinners. Isn't that so simple? We'll try anything in the world
rather than cry out for mercy. That's the purpose He came. He
came into the world to save sinners. That leaves but one thing to
do, and that's flee to Him. Flee to Him. That publican of
old, what did he cry out? He cried out for mercy, didn't
he? And what happened? I ask you, what happened when
he cried out for mercy? What's God's Word say? When he
sought mercy, what did God do? Scripture says this, this man,
Not that self-righteous man that had done all those things just
right in his mind. This man, this publican, went
down to his house justified. That means rendered righteous. It means declared righteous. It means pronounced righteous. It means to be just. It means
that man is righteous. Why do men refuse to come to
Him? Our Lord said this in John chapter
5. He said, you will not come to me that you might have life. Oh, let not conscience make you
linger. or fitness fondly drink, all
the fitness he requires, what is it? To feel your need of him. Oh, I must have him. I will show
mercy to their unrighteousness. And then fourth, the fourth I
will here, he says this, I will remember their sins and iniquities
no more, no more. You know when a man's sins are
set before him in light of God's countenance. When that's revealed to me, I
believe there's a fear, a fear that those things are
all together Unpardonable. Could He truly remember my sins
and iniquities no more? Sin is a great thing. We read,
sin, when it's finished, bringeth forth death. But I want you to just, in closing,
listen to a few passages of Scripture from God's Word. Isaiah 43, 25
says this, I, even I, am he that blots out your transgression
for my own sake and will not remember your sins. That's so foreign to us, isn't
it? I can remember a kid that stole
a pencil from me in kindergarten, right? We can all do that, can't
we? Things that happened 20, 30, 40 years ago that we will
not let go. Jeremiah 31, verse 31, for I
will forgive their iniquity and I will remember their sin no
more. No more. Hebrews 8 verse 12. We just read this. I'll be merciful to their unrighteousness
and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Hebrews 10 verse 17. Their sins
and their iniquities will I remember No more. There's forgiveness. Sin is remembered for God's sheep. For those for whom Christ died,
sin is remembered no more. Forgiveness is to be had. How is that? How is that? Through the sin-atoning blood
of the Lord Jesus Christ, How is it that God can forget our
sin? I know this. He looks upon His
Son. He looks upon the Lord Jesus
Christ who bore our sin. Consider what God sees. What
He sees in His Son, in that One who laid down His life for the
sins of His people, His only begotten Son, the Lord
Jesus Christ, as He hangs on the tree. Listen to the words of this hymn. When He sees me, He sees the blood of the Lamb. He sees me as worthy and not
as I am. He sees me in beauty as white
as the snow for the Lamb of God. Am I worthy? No. I am in Christ. The Lamb of God is worthy and
He washed me. He washed me this, I know. I'll put my law into their minds
and into their hearts. I'll be to them a God and they'll
be to me. They shall be to me a people. I'll be merciful, merciful to
their unrighteousness. and their sins and their iniquities. Well, I remember no more. Oh, what a great high priest.
All right.