They also may appear above me, I'm not sure. But Hebrews chapter 9, and we'll be reading beginning with verse 26 and down through chapter 10 and verse 23. So Hebrews 9, beginning with verse 26. He then would have had, and that he is Jesus Christ. He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world, but now once At the end of the ages, he, who is Jesus, has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for him, he will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation. For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never, with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year in the temple, make those who approach perfect. For then, would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers once purified would have had no more consciousness of sins. But in those sacrifices, there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sin. Therefore, when he came into the world, he said, Sacrifice and offering you did not desire until the body you had prepared for me. Burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin you had no pleasure. Then I said, Behold, I have come, the volume of the book it is written of me, to do your will, O God. previously saying, sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings and offerings for sin you did not desire, nor had pleasure in them, which are offered according to the law. Then he said, Behold, I have come to do your will, O God. He takes away the first, that he may establish the second. By that will, we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this man, that is, Jesus Christ, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till his enemies are made his foes. For by one offering, he has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us For after he had said before, this is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts and in their minds I will write them. Then he adds, their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more. Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin. Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which he consecrated for us through the male, that is, the flesh, and having a high priesthood of the house of God, let us draw near the true heart and full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our own without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. Let us pray. Father in heaven, we ask you to bless us as we consider the promise contained in these words from your word. We pray, Father, that you would speak to our hearts according to each one's need. Lord, where revival is needed, you would give it. A fresh commitment is needed human supply, but where a first turn to truth is required, the human graciously can move on us. All this we ask in Jesus' name. Amen. For many people, the New Year represents an artificial twin slate, as it's called. They envision it as an opportunity to start over, a time when all past shortcomings and offenses and transgressions fall away with the old year and a fresh opportunity occurs to open and get things right. Declaring that old crimes against God and mankind are now, by the turn of the calendar, in the past, and that they're ready to move forward, supposedly washing away the responsibility of guilt with those now famous words, what difference does it make now? It's a new year. Let's forget the past. Let's move on. And that's how people want to approach the new year, and the problem of their sin. The problem is, of course, with this way of dealing with past transgressions, this idea of taking down the old calendar and putting it in the bin and hanging up a new one. The problem with it is it doesn't take away guilt. It doesn't do anything about responsibility for the consequences of sin. Nothing is dealt with by this process. The turning of the year merely provides a fresh file for the recording of offenses that continue to fill the folder that is already mushrooming with the account of one's sinfulness from days before. God says that rather than fading away, the sins of former years map out to form the just evidence for the Day of Judgment for everyone. Thus Moses says in Psalm 90 verse 8, you have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of repentance. The Lord himself declares through his prophet Jeremiah, and this is Jeremiah chapter 2 and verse 22. Jeremiah 2, 22. For though you wash yourself with wine and use much soap, yet your iniquity is marked before me, says the Lord God. You go ahead and you try to wash it off and get it free. You do that, you use wine, you use much soap, you do many washings. but your sin remains marked before me. In Ezekiel, the Lord explains that it is because there is no covering for the sins of men and women that they remain sort of an open book. That is, the sins remain part of an open book that judgment is then required to answer. There's this open record, and judgment is demanded by that record itself. Ezekiel 21, 24. This is a prophecy of Ezekiel, chapter 21, the 24th verse. Therefore, thus says the Lord God, because you have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are uncovered, in that your transgressions are uncovered, so that in all your doings your sins appear. Because you have come to remembrance, you shall be taken to me. Sheds are uncovered, they're out there, they're undealt with, therefore you'll be taken in hand. When Jesus met with the woman of Samaria, Goel, his familiarity with her sinful life was the very thing that convinced her that he was indeed the Messiah. Remember that was his familiarity with her sins. We read in John 4 that the woman then left her water pot, went away into the city, and said to the men of Samaria, come see a man who told me all things that I ever did. Did this mean Christ? I say to you, Christ, who else can do this? Hell, all that I ever did. And in the prophecy of Hosea, the Lord speaks of this fatal error. in the thinking of men and women regarding their sins. This is Hosea chapter 7, verse 2. They do not consider in their hearts that I remember all their wickedness. Let me repeat that for you. Hosea 7, 2. They do not consider in their hearts that I, God, remember all their sins, all their wickedness. Now our own deeds have surrounded them. They are before my face. The flip of a date isn't sufficient to take away the guilt of sin. And the truth is that it may even add, not only to the remembrance, but to the very guilt of sin. If one persists in sin in the new year, despite the warnings of conscience and words of admonition that have been given in the past, the offense becomes more insidious, it becomes uglier, more deserving of judgment, and undoubtedly the consequences may well be more damaging as you move into a new year. That was certainly true for David in his sin with Bathsheba. His persistence in that sin His refusal to confess it and acknowledge it only made the circumstances worse and worse. And then the consequences went out into his family, down into the other generations. Rather than things being forgiven or forgotten, as many women suppose, by the passing of time, the turning of the year actually brings things closer to the typical. This point is referred to in different contexts, but it's evident throughout scripture. The point where men and women, resisting every warning, every condemnation of Satan's practice, are left to themselves. And the ruin that comes from their persistence in those things, which God has promised in His holiness, He will judge. If we go again to the prophecy of Isaiah, this is Isaiah chapter 47, we give you verse 10. For you have trusted in your wickedness. You have said, no one sees me. Your wisdom and your knowledge have warned you. And you have said in your heart, I am, and there is no one else beside me. Therefore, evil shall come upon you. You shall not know from where it arises, and trouble shall fall upon you, you will not be able to put it off, and desolation will come upon you suddenly, which you shall not know. There's the heart of man, I am alone, there's no God, no one sees me, no one's holding me accountable, nobody judges me. The Lord says, you're wrong. You're warped in your thinking. And the consequences of that. The Lord commanded that Ether be left to itself. have enjoined themselves unrepentantly and habitually, year by year, to idolatry. And in Romans 1, Paul says, by God the Holy Spirit, that men professing themselves to be wise became fools, and they changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image they meant the corruptible man, birds and forfeited animals and creeping things. Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, they came to a tipping point. God gave them up to uncleanness in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, to exchange the truth of God for a lie and worship and serve the preacher more than the creator who is God blessed forever. For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. Even though women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature, likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned from their lusts for one another. Men with men committing what is shameful and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error, which was doom. They came to the tipping point in their sin, and now they were allowed to indulge in that sin and come under the judgment that was promised. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do things which are not fitting, being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness. They are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, vibrant, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents. undeserving, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful. You know the righteous judgment of God that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same, but also approve of those who practice them. Above all, this is true. The idea that sins and transgressions pass and are forgotten that guilt, shame, and the consequences of sin melt away with the passing of an old year and the beginning of a new calendar is sheer self-delusion and foolishness. It's also true, on the contrary, that sins and wickedness are built up and kept in account against the day of judgment, that last year's sins are more likely to mature into tragic consequences in the new year and to be washed away by the mists of time. Proverbs 22, verse 8 says, He who sows iniquity will reap sorrow, and the robe of his anger will fade. In Isaiah 3, verse 11, the Lord says, Woe to the wicked, it shall be ill with him, for the reward of his hands shall be given him." All that being true, nevertheless, many of you, and I hope all of you here this morning, sit here today, thankful that your sins have not been forgiven. Your sins of the past, your offenses, your transgressions have not been remanded. Guilt isn't plaguing you, and you're truly concerned with finding in the new year the grace to serve God more carefully and more thoughtfully, anxious to know the fresh work of sanctifying mercy in your life. As you sit here, feeling no concern over the sins of 2020 and on back, why is it that you can do that? Why is it that you have that privilege when all the things I just said are true? Why are you here this morning without that concern? Why is it that you're not here trembling before the Lord and fretting over your sins of ownership and your sins of governorship? When you look back on the past year, how many things that God commanded have you left undone? How many things that God has forbidden have you indulged in? And yet here you sit, unconcerned. Why is it that you're not worried about how you didn't conform to the law of your creator or how you broke out from that law? Now when I say unconcerned, I'm not saying that you don't have a sense of it and you haven't repented of it and you haven't given God thanks for the forgiveness of it. What I mean is, you have no trembling concern of falling under judgment because of it. We're not even three days into the new year, yet many things have been fanned out. Nevertheless, here you are, not haunted by your sins, unless you refuse to confess them. Not even the sins of 2020, though the years are barely over. This peace that you have with God is not the result of the changing of the year. We've already established that that artifice is useless. So why are you so complacent? And I don't mean that in a bad way. I mean it in a good way. Why are you so complacent, or content, and peaceful? Why are you so unafraid? And the answer is, for all of you who believe this morning, because of the work of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary. That's why you have this piece. The memorial elements of that event are spread here before the tables, before some of these tables. It's because you sit here in a covenant relationship, by faith in the Son of God, that you have this piece. You sit there free of the guilt and the threat of the punishment of your sins of 2020 or any other year because Jesus Christ, by one offering, has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us. For after he had said before, this is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write and their lawless deeds I will remember no more. It's not the passing of time or the flip of the calendar that brings the forgiveness of sins, but it was the one offering made by Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary that has forever perfected those who are being sanctified. And it is sitting here before God in the terms of the new covenant that gives you peace in regard to all your sins. The book of Hebrews here is referring to the words of Jeremiah in Jeremiah chapter 31 beginning in verse 33. In Jeremiah we read, But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord. I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord. For they all shall know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity and their sin, and will remember no more. This is the covenant spoken of in the Old Testament, which is quoted again here in Hebrews chapter 10, and it was more fully revealed in the whole of the New Testament. It's a covenant involving, as John Brown says, an innumerable multitude among mankind of all nations and all ages. They become the God's people in a peculiar and much higher sense and the covenant secured for them much more exceedingly great and precious blessings. It declares that it's through all the Lord Jesus Christ has done and is doing, beloved, that these blessings come to you today. And look at that 17th verse there in Hebrews 10. Look at it once more because it's the very best news of any year. for those who believe, and as the publishing of hope to those who are still in their sins, but who seek to be forgiven those sins. The promise of God to you in Jesus Christ is that by faith in Him and His work at the cross, God will forget and never in the farthest future ever remember your sins again. that in Him, by your faith in Him, you will forget your sins and never remember them, not in the farthest future ever again. And as we reflect on this at the beginning of the year, and we come together to Christ's table, here are a few things to remember. First of all, who is it that makes this promise? It is your God. It's the one who has given you life, and the one who has given you his law for life. He knows what he has made, and he knows what he requires of you. It is the one whose righteousness, as God, is offended by every one of your sins. That's the one who makes this promise to you. It's the one who is offended by every careless use of his name. Every moment of fear, doubt, unbelief. It's that one. It's the one whose righteousness is offended by all your sins against him, and against each other, and against mankind as well. It's the one who makes this promise to you, who is mindful of all your sins. Do you remember what he said in the Prophecy of Zach, year to year, or tonight? You think you're all alone, but I'm telling you, all your sins are before you. He's the one who now says to you, because you've come to Christ, I've forgotten all those sins. And I will never remember them again for the farthest time. God forbid. The one who knows exactly what judgment each sin of yours requires before you is wholly well is the one who promises you in another day's time. On occasion, I've had advice from lawyers. And I can remember one particular patient who was quite serious. They told me I had nothing to worry about. And when the judge brought down his $700,000-plus fine against me, I looked at the lawyer, thinking, what? I have nothing to worry about. He, in his mind, looked at her as, look at this, it won't be a big deal. But he didn't understand the complexities of what was taking place. Your God knows exactly what is required for every offense. And yet, he's the one who tells you, in Christ, it's all for God. All of it. And it never, ever, ever. Secondly, he promises this full and absolute pardon. He says that your sins will be forgotten and never ever remembered. And that's the language here, full and absolute pardon and forgiveness. That's the very nature of it. It's not just forgotten, but it's never remembered. It's as if you never sinned. In Psalm 103, verse 11, the psalmist says, for as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward those who fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. It's an absolute and complete pardon that you have in Jesus Christ. They have forgotten those sins and they will never be remembered, not even in the farthest future. Thirdly, this promise was secured by one complete and sufficient sacrifice, the death of the Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, and Calvary. That's what paid the debt for all your sin. The value of the sacrifice gives confidence in the hope of the promise. I might wonder myself, knowing myself, is it possible? that all of my sins are forgotten, and that none of them will be remembered, and I might doubt that in myself. But when I reflect back on the sacrifice, I can't doubt it. This privilege is mine because of the one who offered himself for my sins, the sinless son of God, who gave himself as a sacrifice for my sins. And when I consider the value of what was paid for my sins, I can look back on that promise and see, yes, not because I haven't sinned so much, but because He has loved so much and given so much for me. Its sufficiency is found in the fact that it was made once and for all. Earlier, chapter 10 of your Hebrews, you read about the sacrifices that were offered in the tabernacle of the temple. And we're reminded that those sacrifices under the law were a shadow of good things to come and not the very image of good things. And in that shadow, we're told that as such, the priest could never, with those same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. For then would they now cease to be offered, for the worshippers once purified would have had no more conscience to save. This is at verse 3. But in those sacrifices, there is a reminder of soon death. For the Jews, under the law of the Old Testament, the new year began with a reminder of the Old Testament. under the law, the changing of the calendar, year by year, put their sins before them. But in the new covenant, we're not reminded of our sins year by year, but of our forgiveness and our pardon day by day. Because by one offering, he, Jesus, has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. So we come this morning to celebrate the Lord's Supper, not to remind us again of our sin day by day, year by year. but to remind us of the promise of the covenant, that your sins are forgotten and will be remembered no more if you are in Christ. Where there is a remission of these, there is no longer hell for those who sin. By the grace of God and through Jesus Christ, every believer today is called on to enter the new year in the presence of God with boldness, drawing near with a true heart and assurance of faith. That's what you're called to do. Not to hold back, not to stiflingly away, but to come with full assurance of whose presence. I want to say this to many who are carrying the guilt and weight of their sins into the new year. Your sins are not going to disappear by a change in calendar. The guilt won't fold away because your phone shows a fresh calendar to begin filling out in the new year. The consequences of last year's sins will not fade with the memories of the old year. An unrepentant sin left uncovered and unsatisfied in regard to God's justice will not fall silent. The passing of the old year is just a reminder that you were that much closer to the day of full accountability before the God who gave you life. The one who has mourned you about your sin and its consequences. The one who set before you his son as the only redeemer of men and women. I'm going to appeal to you this morning if you're in that state that there's only one way to retire the debt of sin from any of you, without suffering the just retribution of it itself, and that one lay us through faith in the one offering made for sin for your sin by Jesus Christ at the cross of Calvary. This is the day to come to Christ. Come to Him now. The Savior says to John, if we say that we have no sin, We deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and dethrones us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar and his words are not in us. But if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. He'll be forgotten and never remembered again. So the call of the gospel is to come around. And his promise is that God will forget and never in the farthest future ever remember your sins again. Now, it's you, our believers today, who have this blessed privilege of being able to sit here before the Lord, freely confessing your sin. We had that great privilege this morning. What a blessing it is to be able to sit there and say, Lord, please forgive me for my offenses. And to know that they are indeed forgotten. Listen to the word of the Lord. Therefore, thus says the Lord. This is Isaiah 65, verses 13 and 14. Therefore, thus says the Lord God. Behold, my servant shall eat, but you shall be hungry. Behold, my servant shall drink, and you shall be thirsty. Behold, my servant shall rejoice, and you shall be ashamed. Behold, my servant shall sing for joy of heart, and you shall cry for sorrow of heart, and wail for relief of spirit. That's a message that goes out. It's the message of the gospel. Amen. Those who have come to me, those who are my servants through Christ Jesus, they will drink, they will eat, and they will go out with joy. Why? Because their sins are forgiven, forgotten, and remembered no more forever. But if you're outside of Christ, you can't drink, you can't eat, and you don't have that joy. The call is to come and to join us as we eat, remembering his body broken for us, and as we drink, remember his blood shed for us. And rejoice with all of us, that's what we're calling for you to do, to rejoice with all of us and leave the old year behind and enter the new year, knowing that because of the love of God manifested toward us in Jesus Christ, The sins are forgotten by Him and will be remembered no more forever. Those who are Christ are the ones who can truly put the old year behind. And it's not because of the calendar change. And it's not because of our new resolve or our New Year's resolutions. Jesus Christ died for us, and He paid the penalty for our sins. And through His sheer blood, we have forgiveness now and forever. But even without that forgiveness, we don't enter another year dead and wandering. But come and see the truth that God promises through Jesus Christ. Come. Come to Christ. To all of us who are coming, as we eat and drink this morning, let's remember that as we eat and drink, our sins are forgotten, and we're never going to worry, because Jesus gave himself for us. Father in heaven, we ask you to bless these thoughts to our hearts as we move now to our sacred table. We're going to unlike the priests of old in the temple, reminding everyone of their sins and that they are not free. The Lord reminded us then of our own high priest, the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us. Through his shed blood, we might know forgiveness. Father Zane, who is listening or watching today, or who's here, who's not dealt with his heresy, Father, may they feel the ticking of the clock, and they feel the presence of your judgment for sin, and Lord, call out for that mercy, that mercy which promises that to those who come to you in Christ, his or her sins will be forgotten and not remembered ever again to the fathers of the future. Thank you, Father, for that promise. May it be heeded, and may all of us who have heeded be in peace and in spirit of thanksgiving this morning as we heed to it. We ask you in Jesus' name.