Well, good morning. It sure is wonderful to be back with you this morning. I'm very excited to be here and excited to share in really the overflow of what I've been studying this week. With that being said, I invite you to turn with me in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews chapter one. Hebrews chapter one. And if you would please join me in a word of prayer. Father, we come before you in Christ's name. And Father, we ask that he would be lifted up in our minds and hearts this morning. That our affections would grow for him this morning. Father, may I please Be able to glorify Him this morning through the preaching of the word. May He be lifted up in our hearts and minds. Please, we pray these things in Christ's name, amen. Again, we're gonna be in Hebrews chapter one, and this morning specifically, we're gonna be focusing on verses one through four. It has been one of the greatest joys of my life to exalt the Lord Jesus Christ. And over the last five to six years, I've had the opportunity to preach on many different passages of scripture. But those mountaintops, those high points for me have been expounding upon what is known as the great Christological passages. these gems of scripture that really give us a very beautiful portrait of our Lord Jesus Christ. Those can be found in John chapter one, Philippians two, Colossians one, and then this morning in Hebrews chapter one. Now there's been many people over the years that have debated and have ideas about who wrote the book of Hebrews. Some say Paul, some have said Apollos, and even many other ideas have been thrown out there. But I think the one thing that we can all agree on is that it was ultimately written by the Holy Spirit. It is believed to have been written to a community of Hebrew Christians. These were Jews who had been born and raised under the Old Testament economy. under the ceremonial and dietary laws that had come out of legalistic Judaism. The fact that this letter has a strong emphasis on the Levitical priesthood and sacrifices would support this claim. And with the exception of perhaps a few proselytes, It wouldn't make sense to most Gentiles because they didn't know anything about Judaism except maybe what they had observed some other Jews doing. And there's also no reference and there's no correction that addresses any kind of Gentile or pagan practices within this letter. And it would also appear that this letter at some points was meant to address some unbelieving Hebrews in this particular community. These were Jews who had given a mental assent, a mental acknowledgement as to who Christ was, but they had not yet surrendered their hearts and their lives to him. And if, upon studying this letter, you would find some passages that would be very difficult to accurately understand and interpret outside of that context. Because some of these passages are passages that would only fit a non-believer. In other words, these were professors, but they were not possessors of the Holy Spirit. But the overarching theme, the overarching message of the book of Hebrews was that it shows the contrast between the imperfect and incomplete system of the old covenant. And it contrasts that with the perfect and new covenant under the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, while this passage is only four verses out of the 13 chapters of this entire epistle, it is absolutely packed full of rich and deep doctrine. I could literally spend weeks just on these four verses, but I'm not here for four weeks, so you have to get the condensed version. But I pray that it will be very profitable and rich and deep for you this morning. But these four verses, they sum up the central overarching idea that Christ is superior. And that is the title of my sermon this morning, is the superiority of Christ. The supremacy, the preeminence of Christ. And what we will see this morning is that Jesus is superior to any Old Testament person, whether it be Joshua or Moses or anyone else. He's superior to any Old Testament institution. He's superior to any Old Testament ritual or sacrifice. There is now something far better and superior to all of these things, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. So if you would, please follow along with me as I read Hebrews chapter one, verses one through four. God. after he spoke long ago to the fathers, in the prophets, in many portions, and in many ways. In these last days has spoken to us in his son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the world. And he is the radiance of his glory, and the exact representation of his nature, and upholds all things by the word of his power, When he had made purification of sins, he sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high, having become as much better than the angels, as he has inherited a more excellent name than they." Now the writer, he does not waste any time. He gets right to it. He doesn't give a formal greeting, he does not introduce himself, but he begins immediately with some extremely rich and deep doctrine. This book is front-loaded with the glories and magnificence of the Lord Jesus Christ. So look there at verse one. He begins by saying, God, after he spoke long ago to the fathers, in the prophets, in many portions, and in many ways. What we see here in this very first verse is how God wrote the Old Testament. The Old Testament's purpose was to prepare for the coming of the Messiah, to prepare for the coming of Christ. It was to point to him. The Old Testament was a progressive revelation of God's redemptive plan for humanity. Jesus said in John chapter five, verse 46, for if you believe Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. In Luke 24, verse 27, when Jesus appears to the two men walking on the road to Emmaus, they're talking about all these things that had happened, and Jesus said, or it says that beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, he explained to them the things written about himself in all the scriptures. So the Old Testament scriptures, again, it was a progressive revelation that pointed to Christ. It prepared for Christ. It laid the way for Christ to come and be our Savior and Lord. But the first thing I want you to note here in verse one is that it was God who spoke. Do you see that? God spoke. It is very critical for us to understand that this wasn't simply men just writing something on a whim. They didn't just wake up and decide to start writing things, or just work on this whenever they felt like it. They did not come up with these Old Testament scriptures on their own. It was God who spoke long ago to the fathers, in other words, to their ancestors, the Jewish ancestors, even some Gentile ancestors. He spoke to them in or through the prophets. And it says it was given in many portions there in verse one. That could be through the 39 different books of the Old Testament. These books were written by different men over a different period of time of nearly 1800 years in different cultures, different places. It was given in many ways, whether it was given by prophecy or type or commandment, whether it was poetry or a parable, it made preparation for Christ. But the amazing thing is that even though these were written over such a large span of time by so many different types of people in so many different places, they all seamlessly tie together and point to Christ. Now there's countless people, as we well know, who reject Christianity and they reject the Bible. But often the excuse not to believe in Christ is their claim is that Christianity is simply a man-made religion. That God, or excuse me, that man just came up with the Bible all on his own. It's just simply men writing things. Man could not come up with this on his own. Man would never write these things about himself and his depravity, but let alone, man could never even dream up that the God of the universe would send his perfect son to die in the place of wretched sinners. Man would never make this up. It was God who spoke through divine revelation to the writers of all 39 books of the Old Testament, as well as those of the 27 books of the New Testament. Yes, they were penned by men, but they were inspired, they were motivated by the Holy Spirit as to what they would write. God would even use their personalities. He would use their writing styles, because we see the different things from the different authors. 2 Timothy 3, verse 16 and 17 says, all Scripture, not just the Old Testament, not just the New Testament, Pick what you want. All scripture is inspired by God. In other words, it is God-breathed. It's profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. Peter said in 2 Peter 121, no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will. but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. It was God who spoke. Now the writer continues his statement in verse two, saying, in these last days, God has spoken to us in his son. So he shifts the focus from God speaking long ago in verse one to God speaking in these last days in verse two. And many would say, well, when are the last days? Well, I'm glad you asked. The last days refer to the time from Christ's first coming, from his incarnation to a future time of his second coming. the moment of Christ's incarnation started the clock ticking that is counting down to the end of human history. First Peter 1.20 says, for he was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you. First John 2.18 says, children, it is the last hour. And just as you heard that Antichrist is coming, even now many Antichrists have appeared. From this we know that it is the last hour. There is nothing else that needs to take place prophetically for Christ to return. He could come right now. It could be a year from now or 10 years from now, but there is nothing else prophetically that must take place for Christ's second coming. We are living in the last days, the last times, the last hour. This should give us an urgency to share the good news of the gospel of God. Now in verse two, we see a contrast also between what has taken place long ago with the fathers and prophets, and what has taken place in these last days in his son, Jesus Christ. You see, this is a picture of promise. and then fulfillment. It is all the promises of the Old Testament being fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Jesus is the climactic conclusion to the progressive revelation of God that has been unfolding for thousands of years. Now, there are six main points to the superiority of Christ found packed within the remaining verses of this rich text. But don't worry, they'll be somewhat brief. Or you could also use them to count down towards the end of the sermon. The first thing I want you to see in verse two is that Christ is heir of all things. Christ is heir of all things. And we see that in verse two. It says, Christ was appointed heir of all things. The Psalms predicted that Christ would one day be heir to all that God possesses, and that's in Psalm 2, verses 6 through 8. But as for me, I have installed my king upon Zion, my holy mountain. I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord. He said to me, you are my son, today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will surely give the nations as your inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as your possession. Psalm 89, 27 says, I also shall make him my firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth. Now the term firstborn that the psalmist uses there, it's viewed from a legal standpoint with regard to inheritance or authority. In Matthew 28, 18, just before Jesus gives the Great Commission, he says, all authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. And at the end of the last days, God's kingdom will be finally and eternally given to Jesus Christ. In Revelation 5, Christ is given what could be called the title deed to the earth in the form of a book or a scroll. And that's in Revelation 5 verse 1 and verse 9. It says, I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a book written inside and on the back, sealed up with seven seals. And they sang a new song saying, worthy are you to take the book and break its seals, for you were slain, and purchase for God with your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. Christ and Christ alone is worthy to take that scroll. He alone has the right to take it because he has inherited all things. Paul said in Romans 11, 36, for from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever, amen. Everything that exists, exists for the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ has been appointed heir of all things. Now not only is Christ heir of all things, but secondly I want you to see that Christ is creator of all things. Continuing in verse two, he's creator of all things. Because there in verse two we see that the world was made through Christ. And it wasn't just that the world was made through him, this physical world that we live on. He created the universe and all that it contains. And Jesus is not only responsible for the physical heavens and earth in which we live, he's also responsible for creating time, for creating space and energy and matter. In one of the other great Christological passages, Colossians 1 verse 16, it says, for by him, by Christ, all things were created, both in the heavens and on the earth, both visible and invisible, in other words, the physical and the spiritual, were the thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things, not some things, but all things have been created through him, through Christ, and for him. And of course, John 1.3, all things came into being through him. And apart from him, nothing came into being that has come into being. In other words, there is nothing that exists that Christ did not create. Proverbs 30, verse four, it asks a rhetorical question. Who has ascended into heaven and descended? Who has gathered the wind in his fists? Who has wrapped the waters in his garment? who has established all the ends of the earth. What is his name or his son's name? Surely you know. Of course, that is the Lord Jesus Christ. Proverbs 8.30 talks about Christ being a master workman at the Father's side at the time of creation. It says, then I was beside him as a master workman, and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him. It is Christ who is creator of all things. So Christ is the heir of all things. Christ is the creator of all things. Next he is the manifestation of God. Christ is the manifestation of God. Look at verse three. It says that he is the radiance of his glory. In other words, God the Father's glory, God's glory. Now the Greek meaning of radiance is to send forth light. And this represents Jesus as the manifestation of God. In other words, Christ expresses God to us, he reveals God to us, he shows God to us. John MacArthur said, no one can see God, no one ever will. The only radiance that reaches us from God is mediated to us from Jesus Christ. just as the rays of the sun light and warm the earth, so Jesus Christ is the glorious light of God shining into the hearts of men. But you see, Jesus doesn't just simply reflect God's glory. Jesus is the second person of the Godhead, the second person of the Trinity, so the glory that he reflects is also his own glory, one and the same. And if we continue looking there in verse three, in regards to him being a manifestation of his glory, it says that he is the exact representation of his nature. Now exact representation translates to Greek term used for making impressions with a die or a stamp on a seal. It's like a coin that has an image stamped onto it or a brand that is used on cattle. Jesus Christ is the exact reproduction of God. He is a perfect image, a perfect copy. Colossians 115 says that he is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. Colossians 2.9 says, for in him all the fullness of deity dwells in bodily form. 2 Corinthians 4, verses three and four, it says, even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the God of this world, that being Satan, has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, and here it is, who is the image of God. We had the interaction between Jesus and Philip in John chapter 14, where Philip was like, just show us the Father, and that will be enough for us. But Jesus said to him in verse nine, have I been with you for so long a time, and yet you have not come to know me, Philip? The one who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, show us the Father? He is the perfect manifestation of God. So Christ is the heir of all things. He is the creator of all things. He is the manifestation of God. But next I want you to see that Christ is the sustainer of the universe. He is the sustainer of the universe, continuing in verse three. Because not only did Christ make all things, not only will he one day inherit all things, but the scriptures teach us here that he upholds all things. It says he upholds all things by the word. of his power. Now the word uphold here, it's a present tense, implying that this is a continuous, ongoing action. It's not that he held up, or will hold up. He is right now, at this very moment, upholding every atom, every molecule, every bit of the entire universe. Can you just imagine, have you ever thought about this? What would happen if Christ simply just let go? If he just let go of that control, if he let go of the laws of gravity but for an instant, we'd be destroyed. What would happen if the Earth's rotation slowed down just slightly? If our planets orbited ever so differently? If we were just a few light years closer to the sun or further away, we would burn up or freeze to death. If our moon was at a different distance, It would be complete chaos. The universe could not sustain life. So how does the universe stay in this kind of order? The stars and the planets hung in a perfect balance and rotation. It's incredible, it's mind boggling for man to try to fathom the power that it takes to hold all this together. But it is Christ who upholds it all by the word of his power. in his wisdom, and he does it with absolutely no effort whatsoever. Even when dying a horrific death upon the cross, in agony, he didn't loosen his grip of control for even a fraction of a second. Colossians 117 says that he is before all things, and in him all things hold together, all things. Let me bring it down to an even more personal level for us this morning. Do you realize that Christ upholds your life? Your very next breath, your very next heartbeat is upheld by the Lord Jesus Christ. And imagine he is doing this for every person that is living right now, at the same time. Because Christ is the sustainer of the universe. And I am praising God that it is Christ that holds that next breath and that next heartbeat. So Christ is the heir of all things. He is the creator of all things. He is the manifestation of God and he's the sustainer of the universe. But next I want you to see that Christ is the supreme sacrifice, verse three. It says, when he had made purification of sins, he sat down at the right hand of majesty on high. Jesus made purification for our sins by living a substitutionary life, a perfect substitutionary life, in perfect obedience to his father. It's so important that we understand that a lot of times the church focuses so much on his death, which we rightly should do. But we need to understand that He could not have that sacrifice on the cross without living in perfect obedience to His Father. We are saved by His life as well as His death. This qualified Him to die as a substitutionary death on the cross for everyone who would ever believe upon Him. Romans 6.23, it says, the wages of sin is death. In other words, eternal death is what we all deserve. It's what we should all get. But when Jesus Christ went to the cross, he took our disgusting, vile, putrid, rotting sin upon himself. He had the wrath of almighty God, his father, poured out upon himself instead of us. He bore the penalty and punishment that we all should have had to face. And by doing so, he satisfied his father's wrath. He made propitiation for our sins. But it's very, very important to understand that this is not a blanket atonement for sin. It doesn't just apply to everyone, whether they believe in Christ or not, no matter how they live their lives or not. This is not a blanket atonement. We're not talking about universalism here. We have to repent and believe that he died for our sins. We have to trust in his atoning work on our behalf. And it is only when we do this that God will free us from the penalty of sin and he'll purify us from the stain of sin and also free us from the power of sin in our lives. We're able to choose not to sin. But only God through his grace can give us that ability to trust and believe. Now this next passage here in Hebrews, if you would flip over to Hebrews chapter nine, because I don't want to just read this to you, I really want you to see this also as I read it. Hebrews chapter nine, verse 11. Hebrews nine, verse 11. If you're there with me, say amen. Amen. All right. But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, he entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation, and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through his own blood, he entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscious from dead works to serve the living God? Is this not wonderful? Is this not amazing that he did it once for all? through his own blood, that more perfect tabernacle. He made purification for the sins of all those who would ever believe. And you can turn back to Hebrews 1. But in doing so, by making this purification of sin, he took care of the greatest dilemma man has ever faced, separation from God's favorable presence, and eternal damnation. And notice I said favorable presence. Because many people think that if someone goes to hell, that God will not be there. He will be there in his full vengeance and wrath and fury for an eternity. You will not enjoy his favorable presence. And as we just read there in Hebrews 9, Jesus dealt with this problem once and for all. And he did it because we could not. We could not communicate with God or enter into fellowship with him unless sin was dealt with. And we wouldn't want to were it not for God. We would never want to have fellowship with him. We would never want to communicate with him. Yes, as I can remember as an unbeliever, I would pay lip service to God. I would even supposedly pray to God. But I realized that God did not hear those prayers. The prayer that he heard from me was when I cried out to him genuinely for salvation. Habakkuk 1.13 says, speaking of God, your eyes are too pure to approve evil. and you cannot look on wickedness with favor. This is why we had to have Christ's righteousness applied to us. Otherwise, God could not, he cannot look upon us with favor apart from the righteousness of Christ. But Romans 5a, Paul says, God demonstrates his own love toward us, that yet while we were still sinners, While we were at enmity with God, while we were at war with God, while we raged and hated and shook our fist at God, Christ died for us. This is the type of thing that man could never write on his own. So Jesus went to the cross, he bore the penalty of sin for all who would accept his sacrifice, all that would believe in him and receive him. Oh, I love this next part of this verse three. because we see the exaltation of Christ. You know, as genuine believers, we should want Christ to be glorified and exalted at all times in everything that we do. So for me, when I read this verse, it just thrills my heart. It gives me goosebumps. Look at verse three. He, Christ, sat down at the right hand of majesty on high. Now the wonderful significant thing about this is that Jesus, who is the perfect high priest, sat down. Well, Brother Kevin, what's the big deal? We sit down all the time. Why is it a big deal that he sat down? This is one of the greatest contrasts to the priestly procedure under the Old Covenant. It is so important that we understand the gravity and the significance of him simply sitting down. You see, there was no seats in the temple for the priest to sit because the work of sacrificing would never be completed by men. The sacrifices would never end because the ones offering the sacrifices were sinners themselves. The priests were to offer sacrifices over and over and over and over again. It was a perpetual cycle, day in and day out. So the priest offered sacrifices daily and never sat down. But Jesus offered himself as the one perfect sacrifice on the cross, right before he gave up his last breath. before he gave up his spirit, he said, it is finished. It was done once and for all. He had done what he came into this world to do, to save sinners. He had carried out his father's will. The ultimate, perfect, and pure sacrifice. So he went and sat down at the right hand of his father because it was done. There was no longer any need to make sacrifices. That whole economy was done, it's over. What could not be accomplished for centuries under the old covenant was accomplished once and for all by Jesus Christ. Hebrews chapter seven, verse 26 and 27. For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, and exalted above heaven. We see the exaltation there. Who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices. First for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. Because this he did once for all, when he offered up himself. Praise and glory and honor to the Lord Jesus Christ. But to be seated at the right hand is a sign of honor and authority. To sit at the right hand of an earthly king was a place of honor denoting a special trust. You had a special authority from that king. To sit at the king's right hand meant that you acted with his authority. Those that would come to you would treat you as though you were the king. They would have to give you that kind of respect as if you were the king yourself. But in the case of Christ sitting at the right hand, This is the highest position of favor and honor with God the Father. John Calvin said, Christ was invested with lordship over heaven and earth, and solemnly entered into possession of the government committed to him, and that he not only entered into possession once and for all, but continues in it until he shall come down on judgment day. But not only, this gets better, not only did he sit down because his work was done, but we also see that he sat down to intercede for us as our high priest, Hebrews 4, verses 14 through 16. Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore, let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace in prayer, so that we might receive mercy and find grace to help. in time of need. Paul said in Romans 834, who is the one who condemns Christ Jesus as he who died? Yes, rather, who was raised. And here it is, who is at the right hand of the Father, who also intercedes for us. How wonderful, how comforting and encouraging that should be to us as believers that the Son of God is sitting at the right hand of the Father, interceding on our behalf. Praise the Lord. So Christ is heir of all things. He is creator of all things. He is the manifestation of God. He is the sustainer of the universe, and he is the supreme sacrifice. The last point I want to point out to you is that Christ is superior. to angels. Now, I think there would probably be almost no one in this room that would think that angels are superior to Christ. So why bring this up? Well, it's because the writer of Hebrews had to bring it up. You see, many of the Hebrews of this time were wrongly worshiping angels and giving them a status higher than Christ. Peter addressed this in 1 Peter 3.22 where it said, Jesus, who is at the right hand of God, here we are again with the right, he's sitting at the right hand of God the Father, having gone into heaven after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to him. So he has that supreme authority over the angelic beings, over the demons, over the devil, over everything. But beginning in verse five, which we're not going to cover this morning, we obviously don't have time for that, the writer of Hebrews spends the remainder of this chapter, 10 verses, quoting Old Testament scriptures to contend with this false teaching. But let's look at the introduction to Christ's superiority to angels in this final verse this morning, in verse four. The writer says, having become is much better than the angels. as he has inherited a more excellent name than they. Now what name has Christ inherited? It is the name Lord. It's a title that belongs to his father. But this does not mean that Christ was not divine up to this point. He has always been divine. He has always been God. He has always been the son of God. but he has been appointed as a reigning, ruling, and saving Lord. The Apostle Paul speaks on this in Philippians 2, verses 9 through 11. Being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, because of that obedience to die, to give us that purification for our sins, God highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow of those who are in heaven, those that have died and gone on to heaven, and on the earth, under the earth, even those in hell, before they're cast into Hades or the Lake of Fire, they will profess Jesus as Lord under the earth. And that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Acts 4.12 says, there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved. It is the Lord Jesus Christ. Now in just these first four verses of Hebrews, we see a portrait of our Lord. We see Christ as heir of all things. We see him as the creator of all things. We see him as the perfect manifestation of God. We see him as the sustainer of all things. We see him as the superior sacrifice and his superiority to even angels. We've seen all these reasons of why the Lord Jesus Christ is superior. But I submit to you this morning that this is still but just a glimpse of who Christ is. We've only just begun to scratch the surface. We haven't even begun to climb the mountain. To reject him, to reject who he is, means you will be shut out of his favorable presence. and experience eternal torment in hell. But to receive him is to enter into all that he is and has, to have eternal joy and fellowship with God as it was originally intended before the fall of man. So do you reject him this morning? Or do you receive him? Have you received him as Lord and Savior? You see, we cannot pick and choose the parts we want to believe about Christ and discard the others. There is no neutrality with God. We're either at war with God or we are friends with God. We must believe in and trust in all of Christ's attributes and character. Because again, there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved. What are you trusting in this morning for your eternity? Are you trusting in a baptism? Are you trusting in a membership in a church that you attend church every once in a while, Christmas and Easter or whatever the case may be? Are you trusting in a prayer that you may be prayed at one point or another in your life? Christ is all the things we have looked at this morning and so much more. but I would be remiss as a minister of the gospel if I did not give you a warning. Because scripture teaches that Christ is also the supreme judge of the universe. In Acts chapter 10, verse 42, Peter says, Jesus is the one who has been appointed by God as judge of the living and the dead. Acts 17, 31. Paul said, God has fixed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness through a man whom he has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising him from the dead. That, of course, is the Lord Jesus Christ. So when you are standing at the great white throne judgment, when you are standing before the supreme judge of the universe, what will be your defense? Only Christ's perfect atonement for sin will satisfy the judge. You won't even stand before the great white throne if you have the righteousness of Christ. But anything else will bring swift and final judgment. Finally, Romans 8.1, there's no condemnation at all for those who are in Christ Jesus. Let's pray. Father, we thank you, Lord, for your word, this portrait we have of our Lord. And oh, do we thank you for our Lord. I thank you that it is Christ who is heir of all things, that he has created all things and he holds his creation together, that he holds my life in his hands, that no one can snatch me out of your hand. Lord, we acknowledge him as judge this morning. We acknowledge how sinful we are. The darkness of our hearts compared to the brilliance, the radiance of your glory that Christ shows to us. I pray for my brothers and sisters here this morning that they would be encouraged, but Lord, that they would, oh, they would so glorify Christ even more today and from now on in their hearts in light of this passage. If there be someone here this morning within the sound of my voice that does not know your son, I pray that these scriptures would strike terror into them, that they would not be able to sleep at night, that their pillows would become stone, that they would wrestle with their eternities, that you would draw them unto Christ and save them. Thank you so much for your word and for our Lord. We pray these things in his name. Amen.