This morning we left off in 2 Peter and we are dealing here with the issue of the transition between the old Mosaic covenant and the new covenant in the blood of Jesus Christ. And the transition issue now is what happens with the hell that existed in the Old Testament compared to now what it is in the New Testament. We talked about the Bible's teaching regarding Sheol, which is an Old Testament word, Hebrew word for hell. The Greek word for hell is Hades. And it says Christ descended into hell. We see as well that thief on the cross. And Christ said, today thou shalt be with me in paradise. And we read in Ephesians chapter, of course, four, verses eight through 10, that when Christ descended into hell, the upper compartment of Sheol, the places where Abraham's bosom and paradise, he led all the Old Testament believers there to glory with him. He led captivity captive. And of course, that is because There was only imputation of righteousness in the Old Testament. We've said the Old Testament believer was saved on credit and put on layaway. And the Old Testament believer had the imputation. Otherwise, the righteousness of God was on his account. He was credited with it, but he actually hadn't received it yet. Actual imputation, or the impartation of righteousness, is in the person of the Holy Spirit. He is the righteousness of God, and he is the righteousness of Jesus Christ. And we read here from this text this morning that we are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises, that by these you might be partakers, literally sharers, partners, associates, of the divine nature. We are joined. It's called theentropic union. There's a theological truth for it. Theos, God. Anthropos, man. Theentropic union. God is now joined in man again. And in doing so, we have the impartation of righteousness. We have God hath breathed into us the breath of life. It is what 2 Corinthians 5.17 says, if any man be in Christ, that's the baptism with the Holy Spirit. He is a new creature, or a new creation. All things have passed away, behold, all things have become new. And that become new is perfect tense in the Greek. It's already, as far as God's concerned, complete. and never to be repeated. It can't be changed. It is once and for all, forever, a reality. Everything that's happening is the same tense that's used in Colossians chapter 2 and verse 10, where it says, you are complete in Jesus Christ. And so that is a reality. That is the impartation of the divine nature. Now, we're going to go over to Romans chapter 3 tonight. The Old Testament place for the holy place of the lost remains the same. Otherwise, the rich man that we read of in Luke this morning, he's still in that same place. He's there. He will be there until the Great White Throne Judgment. Abraham's bosom doesn't exist anymore. Paradise. The lost or the saved that were there now have been taken to glory with the Lord Jesus Christ. The lost will not be resurrected until they appear before the great white throne at the end of the kingdom age. And only the souls and spirits of the lost are presently in Sheol. Their bodies remain in the graves until the final day of God's great judgment. And then they'll be resurrected and given a different body. Not a body like this one, but a different body. that we'll be able to suffer in the torments of hell and not be consumed. But they'll be given a different body. Now look here in Romans chapter 3 verse 21, I invite you to stand if you are able. I'm gonna read down through verse 26. 21 through verse 26. And it says in verse 21, but now. Okay? Those words tell us of a dispensational transition. This is from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant. This is when the Old Covenant looked to the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, and now the New Covenant looks backward to it. So now, under the New Covenant, the righteousness of God without the law, apart from the law, is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets. The law and the prophets had testified to the coming of the Messiah and the righteousness of which would be by grace through faith in the finished work of the Messiah. All the law and the prophets testified to that. Then in verse 22, even the righteousness of God, God kind righteousness, which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe. Now the word faith here, can be translated singular, or it could be the idea, the concept is faithfulness. So this happens to us by the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. Notice it says, unto all, and upon all, them that believe. Now this is impartation. For there is no difference, of course, between the Jew and the Gentile, for all have sinned. Jews and Gentiles, all have sinned. All need to get saved, and come short of the glory of God, deserving God's favor. Being justified, what? Freely, by his grace. That's completely contrary to what the law taught, or what the Jews taught the law taught. The law didn't teach that. The law was never for salvation. It was for a redeemed people and it was for sanctification, never salvation. So being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, that's the new Genesis, whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through what? Faith in his blood. That's a sacrifice of Christ. That's a propitiation of God. Without the shedding of blood, there's no remission of sin. He says, to declare His righteousness, not your righteousness, not my righteousness, but His righteousness, the righteousness of Jesus Christ, for the remission of the sins that are, what? Passed. And this word remission here is uniquely used in the New Testament. It's the only time this Greek word is ever used in the New Testament. And it's referring, of course, to the setting apart or setting aside of those Old Testament sins of those believers which had not yet been propitiated. Now those Old Testament sins now are actually remitted. They were saved on credit, put on layaway. Now, those sins are actually remitted. Now they were saved on the promises of God, just exactly the same way you and I are. We only look backward to it, they look forward to it, but now it is actually done, it's completed. That's the last words of cross. What were they? It is finished. So, he says, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, for those that were saved before the cross. Through the forbearance of God, God forbear them and did not annihilate them, to declare, I say at this time, his righteousness, that he might be just and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. Now, if God is not propitiated, If there's no propitiation for the sins, otherwise the satisfaction of God's wrath, God can't be just. And if He can't be just, He can't be the justifier. So there's great truth for us here in regard to the issues of hell and the issues of our redemption and the issue of the gift of God-kind righteousness by Grace to Faith. I pray tonight that you'd help us grasp on to these great truths that you've given us in the scriptures and understand them. Lord, we know these are meaty and mighty truths, and that they are difficult and hard to be heard. And yet, Father, we pray for this understanding of your spirit, the illumination of your scriptures to our sinful hearts. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. You may be seated. Now, from that text, I want you to go over to Hebrews chapter 9 with me. Hebrews chapter 9. Now clearly, Hebrews chapter 9 and verse 8. Okay? What verse? Chapter 9, verse 8, details a dispensational distinction between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant about access to the presence of God. Right? The very nature of the Mosaic Covenant Tabernacle and the Holy of Holies represents what? An unapproachable God. He was unapproachable. His grace in that sense that we have it today, we take so for granted. We could not approach the throne of grace. The renting of the veil that separated the sanctuary from the Holy of Holies at the crucifixion of Jesus Christ signifies a new kind of access by believers to the throne of grace. And that's of course told us by verse 14. We can come boldly under the throne of grace where we can find as much grace as we need without limitations. Now look here to Hebrews chapter nine and look at verse one. So then verily the first covenant, what is the first covenant here that's referred to in this text? It's not the Adamic covenant, not the noadic covenant. What's he talking about? Talking about the Mosaic covenant. Okay? The first covenant. That's why we don't say all the different covenants in the Old Testament. We don't call the first part of Genesis the Adamic Testament. Then we go to the Noahic Testament. We call all the books prior to Matthew the Old Testament. That's a broad encompassing term. But here he's talking about the Mosaic Covenant. And it had also ordinances of divine service and a worldly sanctuary. That's why we know it's talking about the Mosaic Covenant. For there was a tabernacle made, the first, wherein was the candlestick, the table, the showbread, which is called the sanctuary. That was just outside the Holy of Holies. By the way, we don't call this room a sanctuary. If there's a sanctuary here tonight, it's your body. Right, R.J.? Mr. Tess read us that text tonight, didn't he? That's where the sanctuary of God today is. It's in your body. And where the church is gathered, that can be a sanctuary, but it's not the fact that it's a building. That's the gathering place. God says where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst. That's a meeting place where we meet God, and that can be anywhere. You want to call this room a sanctuary, you're welcome to do that. I personally prefer to call it an auditorium. But of course it's all just terminology. So there was this candlestick, the table, the showbird was there, and it was called the sanctuary. That was just outside the Holy Holies. And after the second veil, There was a first, there was a veil that separated the sanctuary from the Holy of Holies, and the inner court was separated from the sanctuary by another veil. Only the priesthood were allowed inside the sanctuary. Tells you something there, doesn't it? Think about it a little bit. Tells you something. And it goes on and he says in verse four, or verse three, the tabernacle which is called the holiest of all, which we know is the Holy of Holies. which had the golden censer, the Ark of the Covenant overlaid roundabout with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron's rod that budded in the tables of the covenant, or the Ten Commandments. And over it, the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercy seat of which we cannot now speak particularly. Otherwise, this is really hard to understand. The cherubim, this is an important thing because this is a very significant issue regarding the doctrine of salvation. The Bible tells us that the cherubim are what they are, seraphim are what they do. The word seraphim, same thing, seraphim means the burners. And these are the angels of God's judgment. They will execute the wrath of God. And in the tribulation time, Of course, and after these angels are the fiery judges of God, and they will, of course, execute that's God's wrath upon the world. Right now, in this picture on the Ark of the Covenant, the cherubim are on the mercy seat, and their heads are looking down. It says, their eyes are covered, right? Their eyes are covered with their wings. And what is the whole picture here before us? The mercy seat is the judgment of God. Underneath the Ark of the Covenant, under the lid, the mercy seat was the broken law. So the broken law brought curse upon the children of Israel because the law was already broken. But the mercy seat and the blood applied did what? It covered and hid from the cherubim, the sins of mankind, until the time of what we read in Romans, a time of setting things right. We'll read that here in this text as well, the time of reformation. And so this is a tremendous text. And it says, so now when these things were thus ordained, the priest went always into the first tabernacle, that's a sanctuary, accomplishing the service of God. But into the second, that's the Holy of Holies, went the high priest alone once every year. Christ suffered what? Alone. Not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the heirs of the people. So he offered a sacrifice for himself, and then he offered blood for the people. A blood offering. So, of course, Christ did not need to be redeemed. He just simply offered one sacrifice forever, and he sat down at the right hand of God. Romans 10. This text goes right into Romans chapter 10, right? What follows after chapter 9? It's a redundant question, rhetorical. Chapter 10, right? So chapter 10, 10, 12, 14, and 18 follow right after this text and will build upon it quite extensively. So, he says in verse 8, the Holy Ghost, this signifying that the way into the holiest of all would not yet be made manifest. Now, we quote John 14, 6 all the time, don't we? But we do not quote it from the context of what said here in Hebrews chapter 9, verse 8. Jesus says, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father, but by me." Early Christians were called the followers of the Way. They would later be called Christians at Antioch. But the Holy Ghost thus signifying that the Way into the Holiest, the Holy of Holies, was not yet made manifest. While as the first tabernacle was yet standing. Eventually God had to take it down, right? And you know it's been down since then? It's not been restored. Now look at verse 9. Which was a figure, a type, for the time then present in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices that could not make him that did the service perfect as pertaining to the conscience. Otherwise, we would be constantly haunted if we were trusting in the law for our salvation or the works of the law for our salvation, we'd constantly be haunted by this one question, have I offered enough? Have I done enough, right? But now, since the Christ has been offered, we know that that heir of Judaism, the priesthood of Israel, which taught that the law was a means of salvation, has been corrected. He says, which stood only in meats and drinks and divers washings and carnal ordinances imposed upon them until the time of the Reformation. Now, right in the margin of your Bible, Reformation here. Deorthosis is a Greek word. It means to straighten something thoroughly. In a physical sense, the word can refer to a setting a broken bone. Something that has been broken so it's no longer functional. That's what had happened to the law. The law was never a means of salvation, never intended for that purpose. But the Jews had what? They not only had broken it in the sense of sin, they had broken it in the sense of its purpose. And now they had made it a means of escaping the judgment of God. Never intended for that way. So in a spiritual sense, it refers to the restoration of fallen mankind by grace through faith in Christ's finished work to enter the presence of God, because through Christ's work, God is propitiated, the believing sinner is justified, imparted righteousness has taken place. Justified today means imparted righteousness. Justified in the Old Testament meant imputed righteousness. Remember those two differences. I teach this in a lot of different places, and I watch, especially when I preach to preachers about this, and you know, you might have a hundred preachers there, and you look around and there's a few back over here, and a few going, what? Imparted righteousness? Where did that come from? And then you begin to teach it and open up the Scriptures, what the Scriptures say, and it's almost like the lights turn on, you know? They can see the dispensational transition. So this is a very important text. So although all believers under both the Old Covenant and the New Covenant still await the redemption of their bodies after the death, after resurrection, Romans 8.23, their spirits and souls are immediately brought into the presence of the Lord in heaven. That's the great truth. 2 Corinthians 5. Second Corinthians Chapter 5, by the way, Second Corinthians Chapter 5 is what we call a loaded text. I could probably preach for six months on Second Corinthians Chapter 5. That's how much is in Chapter 5 of Second Corinthians. Now, you got four chapters that build up to it and a number of chapters afterwards that it's kind of the mountaintop of Second Corinthians. And you go up and then you come down to the practical realities in the next few chapters. But verse 1, it says, for we know, okay, we know that idea here is there is a perfect knowledge, something we can rest in, something that has foundations. We know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle, this present body, We're dissolved. We have a building of God. We have another body coming. A house not made with hands. A glorified body. Not going to be a physical body in the sense that we know it today. What is it? It's eternal in the heavens. Then Paul says, for in this we groan. earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house, which is from heaven, a new heavenly body. If so be that being clothed, we shall not be found naked, not without a body." Now, presently, those who are in heaven with the Lord, they're without a body. They're naked. They are clothed with the righteousness of Jesus Christ, but not in the fullest sense of the new creation that's theirs in the new body there. They still have not received that. For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened, not for that which that we would be unclothed but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. That's completely different for those who are lost, where mortality is going to be swallowed up of what? Death! Eternal separation from God. Life is eternal, eternally having the God-life, the God-presence. And having the same life that God has. Now I'm not saying we're going to be gods. Don't get me mixed up here. But we're going to have the same kind of life that God has. That's eternal life. That will never end. He says, now, he that hath wrought us for the self-saved thing is what? Is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the spirit. You know what that word earnest means? It's a signature upon a contract. It's a stamp of the royal stamp upon a document that said, this has been signed by the king. And what is it? What is that sign upon your soul that God has put there? Which is the heart and soul of the doctrine of eternal security. What is it? The earnest of the Spirit. That we are always, therefore we are what? Always confident, knowing that whilst we are at home in this body, we are absent from the Lord. Now granted, there are a lot of tears. Amen? There are a lot of tears that Satan is sowing. And, of course, the way he does that through false gospel, false professions of faith, a lot of tears come in the body of Christ. And what did Christ say? Don't try to separate out the tears right now. You just preach the Word of God, preach repentance, and either the tears will get saved, or at the final day, I'll root up the tears and I'll take care of the tears. How's he going to do that? Well, what's he going to do? He's going to take the weed out. Right? He's going to take those who are generally born again out. They'll be gone. And imagine if you are a tare, and you're thinking you're saved, you prayed the prayer and walked an aisle, and got yourself dunked in a tank, and the trumps will sound, the dead in Christ will rise first, and everybody is gone out of the room but you. What is that going to tell you? You're a tear. You're a tear. You look like a Christian. You act like one. You do the things a Christian does. You give money. You come to church. You read your Bible. But you're a tear. You're just pretense. You're never born again. You say, well, Pastor, that's kind of scary. No, not if you know for sure you're saved. It's not scary at all. Now, he goes on and he says, Therefore we are always confident, knowing that whilst we are at this body we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, we're what? Confident, I say, and willing, rather, to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. I'm willing. I'm willing. It's a little bit scary, sometimes, when we don't know what's on the other side. But whatever it is, it's going to be wonderful. Not like hell. It's a little bit scary for those who are lost, I would think, if they believed in hell. It'd be a little scary not knowing exactly what hell is. But it's a little bit scary not knowing what heaven is. But I know that it's wonderful. And God has promised it's going to be beyond our comprehension. It's so far beyond our comprehension, He can't even describe it to us. Now, the holding place for the lost, Sheol, will continue until the Great White Throne Judgment. That's still in place, right there. This means the rich man of Luke Chapter 16 and all other lost people will remain in this temporary place of torment until after the completion of the Millennial Kingdom of Christ on Earth. And according to Revelation chapter 20, that's what we're going to pick up next Sunday, in verses 11 through 15, the present state of the torment of the lost, Sheol, is only a fraction of the eternal destiny of the lost that will exist in the lake of fire. That's forever and ever. That's what they have to look forward to. What have you got to look forward to? Heaven? The heavenly choirs, the presence of God. The hallelujah choruses as we stand around the throne of God. Don't you think it's a bit selfish to know of all of that and rejoice in it when we know lost people are going to go to hell? Or you say, but pastor, they won't listen to me. Keep talking to them. Don't quit. Keep reminding them that hell is real. It doesn't make any difference if you don't believe in it. It's real. Now what is God going to do with that truth? He's going to put them under conviction about it. I've actually heard of people, people have told me, I've told people after they've rejected the gospel and said, I don't really want to get saved. I said, here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to pray that God haunts you every night with the reality of hell. And it's been some time later they've come back to me and said, you know what, you prayed for that night, that's what God did. And some have gotten saved. Oh, not a lot. But some have gotten saved because they were haunted by the place of hell. It ought to haunt us. If we believe in a God, if we believe in the Bible, we must be haunted by the truths that we know that are therein, that it teaches. And we must be reminded that hell is real.