Hebrews chapter 10. I want to begin reading in verse 16. It says, This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord. I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them. Their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin. Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which he hath consecrated for us through the veil, that is to say his flesh, and having an high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a 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 profession of our faith without wavering, for He is faithful that promised. And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as ye see the day approaching. For if we sin willfully, after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, There remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses. Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden underfoot the Son of God, and have counted the blood of the covenant wherewith he was sanctified an unholy thing, and have done despite unto the Spirit of grace. For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord, and again the Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Now, we're not going to actually be able to even cover all of that, so I'm not going to read the rest of the chapter. But these are sobering words to be sure. But I believe as we look at the context of this passage of Scripture, it becomes clear what it is that the writer is getting at and the point of emphasis that he is making. Now, I believe that the The point of emphasis which is being made in the whole book of Hebrews is the superiority of Christ over that which was given to Moses, which would be a necessary thing to teach the Hebrews because of the fact that they were taught from their youth from the very moment of their being brought into the world, being circumcised the eighth day, they were inundated as children and raised up with the concept that the law of Moses was the basis upon which the promises of God would be brought unto the people of God. There was only one problem, of course, with the law, which a man apart from the grace of God can never see, and that is that the law could not do anything for him. All it can do is minister condemnation. And so when men go about to establish their own righteousness, they have a view of the law as though it is a a moral code that it is something that has been given that is a good thing for men to do. And some people pat themselves on the back and say, I do it. In fact, I would venture to say that if you ask the majority of people, do they keep the Ten Commandments, they'd tell you they do. Now a man that's been enlightened as to what the Ten Commandments are about, and is spiritually taught in his heart and mind about what the law of God says, would have to confess, no, I don't keep the Ten Commandments. And so while we judge the law to be just and good, we know that the law is weak. It can't help us. It can't minister life to us. It can't do anything but remind us of our sin. That's what it was for. I mean, the Lord sent the law for that purpose. And so it is as he brings that to our awareness. So in contrast to that, he is setting forth the superiority of what Christ has done over that which was given in Moses. And he's pointing out the fact that all of those sacrifices that were made under Moses' law were simply types. They were simply illustrations. They were simply something that was given as that which would point to the more perfect sacrifice that would be given, which is given in Jesus Christ. For He said those sacrifices which are offered daily could never take away sin. Now how do we know that? Because they were offered daily. I mean, if you've got to keep doing something, there's nothing finished about that. You know, I remember the old fellow that I used to work with, he used to think this was really funny, and it is kind of humorous, but he would always be talking about somebody calling himself a finished carpenter. And, of course, that usually is reference to somebody that does finish work in a house. You know, they actually, instead of just nailing two boards together, they put up the trim and that sort of stuff. But he says, I don't want to be a finished carpenter. Because a finished carpenter, he's done. I mean, he's not going to do any more. When you say a carpenter that's a finished carpenter, he's in the grave over there. in the graveyard. I mean, that's what a finished carpenter is. So we know what it means to be finished. I mean, if something's finished, you don't need to add anything to it. I mean, if something's really finished. Now, very few things that we know of in life can't be improved upon. But there are jobs that we finish, and everybody knows what that means. And that's what he's saying here when Christ did the work that he did, he finished the work. And this is in contrast to that which the Aaronic priesthood did when they were just going continually offering up offerings day by day, year by year, on and on and on. But Christ, being come that perfect sacrifice, He has made one offering forever. And when he had made that one offering forever, he sat down at the right hand of God, thus signifying that the work was done. Nothing left to be done. Now, knowing that, and knowing that Christ threw the offering up of Himself as the substitute for sinners, and making his people completely righteous as is described here in the covenant that God said he would make with his people. There's not one condition given in this covenant that he said he would do. He didn't say, I will do this if they will do this. No, the covenant of God, the promise that was made to Abraham was not conditional. The promise that was made to Christ was not conditional, and the promise that results from that that is brought to us is not conditional because it is dependent on one thing, and that is the will and purpose of Almighty God. And he said, I will do this. And this is what he said. We just read it. This is the covenant that I will make. I'm going to make a covenant. Now a covenant normally is an agreement between two people. You agree to do one thing and I agree to do another thing. But you see, God made this covenant. It's not an agreement that was ever needed to be ratified by anybody because God said, I'm going to do this. Now if God says, I'm going to do this, you can be sure of one thing. That's what's going to be done. When God says, I will, He will. Now you say, I will, and you may, or you may not. You may not even be planning on doing it and tell somebody you will. You may be just outright lying to them. You ever had anybody lie to you and say, I will do this, and they don't do it? Well, yeah, you have. And you've probably done it yourself. Maybe sometimes, maybe you didn't mean to, but maybe you did. I don't know. But nonetheless, Nonetheless, those things that we do are very conditional. But the things that God says I will do, they will be done. Now, you can count on that. Now, it's very necessary that we have that ingrained in our mind and written there with an iron pen, as the Scripture speaks about. That is, it's etched in stone. It's put right there, and we cannot forget it. Whatever God says He will do, dear brethren, It will be done. Now, that forms the basis of all that we stand upon. Because if what God says might or might not be done, then, brethren, I mean, we're just floating around out here. I mean, anything can happen, really. I mean, if God says, I will do something and He may not, what are we going to do then? I mean, that's what When Paul writes, he says, God who cannot lie, says he's saying, what does he mean? He means that whatever God says is going to be done. And that's the basis upon which we recognize Him as God. Because whoever... You see, there can be no God that doesn't do what He wills do. He wouldn't be a God. He would be just some kind of figurehead. He might be a God with a little G like men think of what God is because most people actually believe that the God that they say is the God of the Bible is running around out here hoping something gets done, hoping things happen. I sure want people to do this and I want people to do that. Dear brethren, the God that made the heavens and the earth, He formed things to be as He sees fit to do it. He will do what He says He will do. And he said, I will make this covenant. I will put my laws in their hearts. I will write them in their minds. And then the seventeenth verse sums it up. And he says, And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now write that down. God said that. He said, I will remember their sins no more. Now it's very important that you remember that because we're going to read a verse here. We already read it in verse 26. And if it means what some people say it means, then you can throw that out over there, what God just said. God said, I will remember their sins no more." Now if we understand that, then we can begin to understand what it is that the writer is going to be talking to us about. So he says, now if all these things be true, If we have a new and living way, if Christ has made an offering for sin so that there is no more need for any other offering, if he has went into the holy place in our behalf, he has made that way into the presence of God, having a high priest over the house of God, what now? All right, he says in verse 22, let us draw near with a true heart and full assurance. You see, that's what the purpose of the preaching of the gospel to the sons of God is, is that we might draw near with a true heart, with a sincere mind, with a conscience void of offense, with assurance that if Christ died, then a way is made into the presence of God in our behalf. In full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience. What is that sprinkling? It's a washing. The sprinkling has to do with more than just put a few drops, but it has to do with a washing, a pouring, a cleansing. Our conscience is void of offense before God if we understand what it is that Christ did. And that's the whole purpose of what he's writing this book for. is say, this is what Christ did. Our bodies washed with pure water. And then He's going to give us three things that He wants. Well, actually, there's four things, but after He says, let us draw near, there's three things. But there's actually four things that He said we ought to do. One is draw near with a true heart. And then having drawn near with a true heart, He says this. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering." Now that's an exhortation to the people of God. He said, don't be wishy-washy on this. Don't be thinking one day the Lord did this and the next day, well, maybe He didn't. He said, let's hold fast the profession of our faith, dear brethren. If we believe Christ finished the work, then He finished the work. We're not going to be wishy-washy about it. We're going to say this is it. This is where we stand. This is that upon which our hope is built. We're not going to come around on the back door and say, but we've got to add something to it. But that's where we're going to stand. We're going to stand there or nowhere else. See, a lot of people, they want to stand on the finished work of Christ, but then they want to kind of, well, maybe we need to be doing this, or maybe we need to be doing that. Now, brethren, if you're looking at whatever it is you may be doing as something that might be enhancing your position before God, then you have wavered in your faith, because the faith that we have is this, that Christ finished it. There's not one thing you could add to what Christ has done. There's not one thing you could do or anybody else could do to take away from what Christ has done. And so the exhortation here is for us to recognize what it is that Jesus Christ has done and stand upon it. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering. Why? I mean, are we going to just stand because we've got power to stand? No, you'll waver from this tomorrow. I mean, if the ability that you had to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven was based on whether or not you wavered or not, you'd already be done for. Because our faith is weak and we are pitiful. Sometimes we don't believe the promises of God and we get bowed down and weighed down under this condemnation and that. And think, well, we've got to do this and we've got to work our way back into the favor of God. Brethren, that's wavering. That's wavering. And we'd already be done for if I were standing with Him dependent on whether or not we wavered. Now, a lot of people present this as, oh, don't waver. Well, I'm here to tell you that you'll waver tomorrow. You may be wavering now. But, dear brethren, that's not the basis upon which our hope and our confidence is built. It's not on whether or not I won't waver. But it's on this. What does he say? For he is faithful. That promised. Oh, my hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest thing but holy lean on Jesus' name. Now what is Jesus' name but His Word? And what did he say? He said, I will remember their sins no more. Now brethren, that's the only basis we have to approach to it. Whether you feel like you're saved or not. Whether you feel like you've lived up to the lofty standard that's set forth in the Scripture for the people of God to walk in. He will do what He said He would do. Oh, what a glorious thing, dear brethren, that it does not depend on what I do. It does depend on what I can muster up the faith to hold on to. But you see, we exhort one another to hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering. Why? Because he's faithful. See, we keep telling that to one another. He's faithful. He's true. He said he would do it. And then he says, and let us consider one another. The Scripture tells us, Paul writes in his letters, that we are to esteem one another better than ourselves, that we are to bear one another's burdens, that we are to love one another with a pure heart fervently. That's what he's talking about here. He says, in light of the fact that Jesus Christ has died for us, In light of the fact that He has made a way into the presence of God for us, in light of the fact that He has promised that He would do this, let's provoke one another to love and good works. Dear brethren, you see, because what Christ has done, I want to provoke you to love and good works in the knowledge that Christ has paid it all, not in the knowledge that you're going to enhance your position with God. Let's do this so we'll have a better reward in heaven. You know, some folks is just going to get in by the skin of their teeth, and some of us is going to just ride in Cadillacs. I mean, we're going to have all these different things, but you don't have to go far to hear stuff like that. I'm telling you, the world and the religion of this world is full of folks telling people what they can do to make themselves pleasing in the eyes of God. And I'm telling you, you ain't a thing in the world you can do about it if Christ has not performed it. in your behalf. But, dear brother, we're not wavering on that. There's no buts when it's attached to grace. It's not grace but. It's not God said He would but. It's God said it. Now, dear brother, are we going to exhort one another to believe that? Of course we are. We're going to provoke one another to love and good works? Why? Because we love one another. I don't want to see you walking in a way contrary to the way of Christ. I don't want to see you out here trying to add some work that you're doing as though you think this is somehow enhancing your position in the Kingdom of God. I want you to flee from such things. Not from the good works, but from the notion that the works are anything other. than those things that are brought about by love. You see, love is the motivation for the people of God. Our love to Christ. You see, I'm telling you, it's not a man's devotion in itself that will cause him to confess Christ in the face of those who would slave. It is the love of God which is wrought in his heart for the glory of God that is in Jesus Christ. Now, do any of us have the power to stand in a situation like that? Not a bit. Every one of us will turn tail and run, and we will do whatever it will do to promote and preserve our flesh apart from the grace of God. And we are exhorting one another to stand firm in that which we believe. Exhorting one another to love and to good works, to those things that would honor the name of Christ. And then he says, not forsaking. Now this is part of the provoking is not forsaking. the assembling of yourselves together." Now, he's not talking about here, don't miss church. I mean, that's not what he said. He didn't say, don't miss church. He said, don't forsake the assembling of yourselves. Don't regard it in a low fashion. See, there are people that go to church, pretty regular, that have a low regard to it. It's not about the number of times you come, it's what do you come for? See, when we have a right regard of what it is that we come together for, then we have a right regard to the assembling of the saints. What do we come together for, dear brethren? To provoke one another to love and to good works. Well, I don't feel like I'm going to go. I didn't get much out of that last time. It's not like I want it to be. What's that got to do with anything? We're not supposed to be gathering up down here because of what we like or what we want to do, but to provoke one another to love and to good works. Because we can't do that if we don't assemble together, can we? I mean, if we don't have any intercourse with one another in the things of God, in the gospel of Christ, if our conversation is not knit together in the things of God, how on earth can we do that? I mean, you can't provoke somebody to love in good words if you don't ever see them. That's what he's saying. Provoke one another to love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of yourselves together as the manner of some is. Because some people have no regard. And some of these Jews that he was talking about, they had slipped back and said, well, we're just going to meet down here at the synagogue because, you know, we're not so certain. that there's not maybe still something to do with circumcision and all these other things. Maybe there is still some benefit in the ceremonial law or whatever. But he said, not forsaking the assembling of yourselves together because it's a vital part of the lives of the children of God. We don't meet together just because it's the things expected of us. Dear brethren, we're to meet together because we love one another. Because we love the gospel of Jesus Christ and we want to see one another walking in the light of it. We want to remind one another that it's Christ and Christ alone. Oh, there's a thousand places you can go if all you want to do is just go to church. I'd just about be willing that everybody that came here this morning drove by at least once. Well, I know you did if you came from that way, that one place where you could just go to church if you want to go to church, and I don't know. You know, they may be standing there preaching the same thing I'm preaching. I don't have any idea. It doesn't make any difference. But I know this, that the Lord puts God's people where He wants them to be, and we are to provoke one another to love and good works. And what the gospel of Christ is, now I don't know how you can provoke one another to love and good works without declaring what it is that the writer of Hebrews has declared right here, that Christ is the sum and substance of our hope. Because all other stimulation to good works is nothing more than the establishment of the righteousness of men in their own eyes. May the Lord give us grace that we might be a people that love one another enough to provoke one another unto love and good words. That love one another enough that if we see a brother walking contrary to that which he professes, that we say something to him. You see, we're all in this together. The Lord put us together. What good is it going to do us if we neglect it, if we cast it off? Oh, may the Lord help us and show us His way.