to thee. I do want to thank Reverend Tomasian and the session for asking me to come and preach for you today. It's always a privilege to be in the church in Greenville. obviously many memories of my Bob Jones days and seminary days being here in this congregation and Now it's round two with my son here and he says you all are taking care of him So I'm glad for that. Thank you very much Make sure he stays in shape Miss any services But we are very glad to be here. Also, as I mentioned in the prayer, very thankful for this congregation and the leadership that this congregation has had for so many years. And thankful for prayers for you all, for the mission team to Jamaica. We had a very wonderful time. I know Caleb gave a presentation, I believe the Wednesday after we returned during your prayer meeting. and we're already making plans for the next one. Stay tuned. We have a mission board meeting next Monday night, and Lord willing, that will be hammered out and finalized where and what the next mission team will be. So stay tuned, and you'll get that information in due course, Lord willing. I wanna ask you to take your Bible, please, and turn with me to Hebrews chapter 10. Hebrews chapter 10. Our Bible reading is going to start at verse number 19 through to the end of verse number 25, Hebrews chapter 10. And we'll begin reading in verse number 19. 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 a 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 and to 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. Amen. We'll end the Bible reading there at the end of verse number 25. Let's seek the Lord in prayer and come and ask his help before we come to consider these verses this morning. Let's pray. Father, this morning as we have our Bibles open before us, we pray for that ministry of the Holy Spirit to come and present Christ before us We pray that in all that is said, he would be high and lifted up in our midst, and that our hearts would be drawn out after him. We ask it in Jesus' name, amen. At the very foundation of biblical Christianity is the teaching that the work of Jesus Christ is a once and for all finished sacrifice. That central truth stands in stark contrast to the legalistic works-based religions of our day that put the weight of salvation on your shoulders instead of Christ's. The Bible's teaching that Christ's work is a finished work really is in contrast to every other world religion because they all teach that ultimately salvation is your responsibility. but the Bible teaches something very different. If you look up to verse number 12 in Hebrews chapter 10, we read there of Christ that after he had offered up one sacrifice for sins forever, he sat down on the right hand of God. And what Christ did by that final sacrifice for sin, you see in verse number 14, was that he perfected or he completed forever them that are sanctified. And by Christ's sacrifice, He has secured the forgiveness of his people's sins so that we can come to verse 17 and read, and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. And so after establishing these truths at the very beginning of chapter 10, the writer of Hebrews goes on to encourage and instruct us as believers that because of this finished work, we can have boldness to enter in to the holiest. Now, verse 20 makes it clear, I believe, that the reference here, at least the reference that would have immediately come to mind of the original Hebrew readers of this book, was that place of the temple, the tabernacle system, the temple system, called the Holy of Holies. It was that place that the Ark of the Covenant dwelt. And you remember from the Old Testament sacrificial system, and specifically the Day of Atonement, that the Ark of the Covenant was kept in that most holy place, and one day of the year, and only the high priest, and only with blood, could go into that special place and sprinkle that blood. It was the place that the Lord himself revealed to the people that he dwelt. We refer to that Shekinah glory or that dwelling, that abiding glory of God between the cherubims there at the Ark of the Covenant. But you remember when Christ died on the cross, The veil of the temple was torn in half. It was rent in two. And that middle wall of partition, as it were, is gone. It is torn away. And so now every true believer has access to God because of the blood of Jesus Christ, because of his finished work. And so in these verses that we've read this morning, specifically starting in verse number 22, Paul gives us three admonitions that flow out of the logical conclusion that we come to that Christ has finished his work and we have boldness to enter into this holy place. And so there's three logical conclusions, or there are three results that are given to us as a result of this finished work. And you see them just on the surface of the text there in verses 22, 23, and 24. And they begin with that phrase, let us. And so that's my outline for this morning. Nothing that's a big secret. You can follow the outline just very clearly there in the text. If you're one prone to take notes during a sermon and you want a sermon title, I would give you the title, Because of Christ, Let us. Because of Christ, let us. And so we begin at verse number 22. 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. And so first I want you to see because of Christ, let us draw near. Because of Christ, let us draw near. We draw near to God in prayer, we draw near to God in our praise. The desire to be near to God is one of the distinguishing marks of a true Christian. As I am standing up here watching all of you sing Nearer Still Nearer, not a few, were wiping away the tear. Because as you sing that hymn, it resonates with everything that is in your heart. You want to be near to Christ because you're a believer. You love Jesus. Mr. Carper could probably correct me. I don't think there was ever any official committee meeting with the youth camp that the question was raised, what is going to be our theme song? But I think, I may be wrong, but I think just organically, over the years and years and years of the youth camp, that hymn, Nearer Still Nearer, that's the theme song. You asked for favorites on Sunday night at youth camp, and almost inevitably, somebody's got their hand raised with 464 on their lips. The desire of the believer is to draw near to his or her savior. Matthew Henry put it this way. He said, the greatest ingratitude to the work of Christ is to keep at a distance from him. to show that you don't really care in your heart of what Christ has done is to keep it a distance. But Paul here, when he's finished describing to us the finished work of Christ, the so what of that is, well, let us draw near to him with a full assurance of faith. There is a simplicity and a sincerity of heart faith as we draw near to the Lord. We draw near with a clear conscience. Our consciences are, well, in verse 22 it says, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience. A clear conscience, if you are familiar with your catechism, you'll know is one of the benefits of redemption. What are the benefits that flow from justification, adoption, and sanctification? Well, those benefits are assurance of God's love, peace of conscience. Joy in the Holy Ghost, and so on it goes. But having a peace of conscience is one of the results of being a child of God, being a believer in Christ, because you have full assurance of faith. You have full assurance that your sins are forgiven. Your heart is sprinkled from this evil conscience. You wonder how unbelievers sleep at night. Really, the only way that they can sleep at night is a seared conscience. When they lay their head on their pillow and their mind is bombarded with all the evil and wickedness of their own heart, because they know they're sinners, they reject that truth, they suppress that truth and unrighteousness, we know, but it's just a seared conscience. But it's a gift of grace to be reminded of your sin and to immediately be reminded the Lord's forgiven that. It's happened to you just like it's happened to me. You lay there. And where does it come from? But you remember some sin from 20 years ago. You think, where did that come from? I haven't thought about that wicked thing I did for 20 years. but it's forgiven. It's under the blood. Satan can attack your mind all he will, but it's a gift of grace to have your conscience sprinkled, cleansed, because you know that your sins have been forgiven. Satan will try to discourage you with your past over and over and over again. but it's a mercy to know that your sins have been forgiven. That sprinkling would have reminded these readers of that sprinkling of blood that was done with the hyssop. That was part of the ceremony of the Old Testament. The sprinkling of blood, picturing the forgiveness of sins. And verse 22 carries on the imagery. Our bodies washed with pure water, Again, carrying on this idea of cleansing, of being clean from our sins, our sins being forgiven. You no longer have this wall and this barrier of sin between you and God. It's gone because of what Christ has done. And the gospel makes that clear pathway between you and God. You have boldness to enter, so let us draw near to him. And so we draw near in prayer, obviously. I think that's much of the context. Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, that obviously pictures in our mind, conjures up those thoughts of prayer. But it's interesting, Paul uses this exact same word back in another verse in Hebrews that you know quite well, Hebrews 4.16, let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. That come that is in Hebrews 4.16 is the same word that he uses here in Hebrews 10 of drawing near. So let us draw near boldly unto the throne of grace is really what he's saying in Hebrews 4. And the context here is obviously of prayer. And as Christians we can come and we can pray with that full assurance of faith. There's no other religion that offers you this full assurance of faith. Because you can never really have full assurance that you've done enough. You can never have full assurance that you're obedient enough, that you have satisfied God enough. In the Roman Catholic Church, they actually teach that it is a mortal sin to claim full assurance of faith. To say out loud, I am positive that when I die, I will go to heaven. That's a sin in the Roman Catholic Church. How can it be? But no, Paul says we have this full assurance of faith. Because we have boldness to enter in because of all that Christ has done for us. The gospel tells us over and over that it's not about what you have done, but it's about what Christ has done for you. And so we have boldness to pray to the Lord, but also boldness to pray, to praise, I'm sorry. God accepts our worship. not on the basis of our good works, but he accepts our worship based on the blood of Christ that is shed for us, based on what Christ has already accomplished. And so we come to worship in the beauty of holiness, we come in faith, we come with a clear conscience, we come with a forgiven heart. We can't draw near to God in true praise without these things. We see the examples in scripture, do we not, in places of those that seek to draw near to the Lord by their own efforts. The very first one was Cain. He came with the fruit of his own hands. He sought to draw near to God and he was rejected. But yet Abel comes with the blood of the sacrifice and he is accepted. It wasn't because of Abel. that he was accepted. It was because he came in obedience with the blood of the sacrifice. When we praise the Lord, we are entering into the holiest. We are coming before the God of heaven. We don't come casually, like we come to a picnic. We don't come unrestrained, like we're at some kind of concert. But we also don't come morbidly like we're at some kind of funeral. We come with our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience. We come in full assurance of faith that we're accepted when we come because of what Christ has done for us. And so we come to a holy place knowing that our sins are forgiven. And so we draw near. And so in light of the work of Christ, let us draw near to God. But we move on to verse number 23. Because of Christ, because of that finished work of Christ, let us hold fast. Let us hold fast. Paul, like he did before in verse number 22, has already brought up this theme in the book of Hebrews. and he uses the same language earlier, actually also back in chapter four, Hebrews 4.14, seeing then we have a great high priest that is passed into the heavens, Jesus, the son of God, let us hold fast our profession. And so Paul's already dealt with this. He's already covered this ground to a degree. And if you remember the setting in the original audience of this book of Hebrews, I believe it sheds a lot of light as to why Paul would speak this way. This book was written to believing Jews that were scattered, but believing Jews that were living among their unconverted countrymen. So they were living among Jews that were still practicing Old Testament ceremonial Judaism. And there was a lot of pressure on these believers to go back to the old way of doing things, to go back to the sacrifices, to go back to what the Old Testament was teaching. A lot of pressure. They were accused, many of these, of forsaking the monotheistic religion of their fathers by worshiping Christ. They had rejected Christ. They did not believe Christ to be the true Messiah. but these believing Jews, they had turned to Christ. And the whole point of the book really is to show that Jesus Christ is the fulfillment, he is the better of all of that Old Testament shadow. The Old Testament ceremonial system served its purpose in object lesson form to teach the people who Christ would be, what Christ would do. Christ came and did all that the Old Testament pictured. And now these were laying hold. And so Paul tells these believers in verse 23, hold fast the profession of your faith without wavering. Well, why would he say that? Well, first, because there is a temptation to fall away. You know that temptation in your own heart. Paul knew his readers knew that temptation in his own heart. There is a real temptation to fall away. And so Paul says, don't fall away, but hold fast to this profession. Look at how the chapter ends. Go to verse number 38 of Hebrews 10. Now the just shall live by faith, but, If any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition. But if I could add this, but instead, we are of them that believe to the saving of the soul. And so Paul was very well aware of this temptation to draw back. The temptation from family and friends coworkers, whatever, is real. And Paul reminds them of their own experience in these things. Look at verse 32. He's putting himself in their sandals, as it were, and communicating with them in terms of, I get it, I understand what you're wrestling with, And so he plays on this, verse 32, but call to remembrance the former days in the which after you were illuminated, you endured a great fight of afflictions. So if I can put this in 2024, remember back right after you were saved, how you faced so much backlash right after you were converted? Verse 33, partly, while she were made a gazing stock, both by reproaches and afflictions, and partly while she became companions of them that were so used, for ye had compassion on me and my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourself that ye have in heaven a better and enduring substance. Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. And so Paul is reminding them, even of their own experience, that is general, caricature perhaps, but this is what they went through. And he says, don't cast away the confidence that you have in Christ. Hold fast to this profession. Nothing in this world, nothing of this world is a friend to grace to help you on to God. So much of what's around you is to pull you away, to cause you to loosen your grip. That's what this world system is seeking to get you to do, to loosen your grip. And they would say that trying to really be careful in obedience to the scriptures is just silly. It's outdated, it's unnecessary. It's 2024. You gotta get with the new times. You're a fuddy-duddy. You're weird, you're out of touch. And that would be the world's pressure. There is a real temptation to fall away. But if you look back at verse number 23, he gives us this admonition, hold fast the profession of your faith without wavering. Because the temptation is real, yes, but I want you to see secondly here, because he is faithful to keep us. We have that little parentheses there in the authorized version at the end of verse number 23, for he is faithful that promised. What has he promised? Well, he's promised that him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out. He's promised come unto me all you that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. He's promised open thy mouth wide and I will fill it. He's promised I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. He's made all these promises. And the promises of God come from one who is infinite, eternal, and unchangeable. And so we can hold fast to our profession without wavering because God does not waver in the promises that he's made to us. His promises are sure, his promises are steadfast. And once you're saved, I tell you what you come to realize, some of you here I know have been saved for over 50 years. Some of you here may have only been saved for three or four years, I don't know. But I'll tell you what you do eventually come to learn once you are saved, is that it is really not so much you holding fast to Christ, as it really is Christ holding fast to you. That's what's really happening. We sing that hymn, it's in our hymn book. I sought the Lord, but afterward I knew. I was seeking him, but he was seeking me the whole time. You have a responsibility, the Bible makes it clear, you have a responsibility to hold on to Christ as tightly as you can. You grip Christ, and if I can put it this way, you hold on for dear life, and don't let go, knowing the whole time that he is the one holding on to you. If you look at me, you would probably be shocked to know that I've ever gone mountain climbing and rappelling. I don't have the physique of a mountain climber, I understand that. But I used to, back in the day. If you've ever rappelled off the side of a mountain, you know the very first time you do it, it will scare you to death. And you have a Swiss seat. Sometimes there are other kinds of harnesses that you put on around your waist. And you have gear, carabiners, figure eight, and the rope goes through this in certain ways. And you back up to the back of the mountain, and you're standing on the edge. And the scariest part is to lean back and put all your weight on that rope. And so you have one hand behind your back, you're holding the rope, another hand in front, and you lean back and you have to trust the rope. Well, the first time you ever rappel, it's wise, to have down at the bottom a man, he's called the belay man. That belay man is holding the rope at the bottom of the cliff. And as you start going down the mountain, and you think you're doing this fine, wonderful job, and you get to the bottom and you're so proud of yourself that you're not dead, you made it to the bottom and you're still alive, you don't realize that the whole time you were going down, scared the whole way, what was really happening is that belay man, who was the skilled teacher in this whole thing, was letting you down. Because when you get to the other side and you become the belay man, then you realize, oh, I've got all the power. If even at my size, my daughter, who is less than half my size, could be the belay person at the bottom, and she could lean back on that rope, and it's impossible for me to go up or down. I cannot move. The belay man is the safety. And they put tension on the rope in such a way that you can't move, you can't fall anymore. They're the safety feature. But the first time you repel, that belay man is actually just kind of letting you down slowly. And then as you get more skill, you're doing a little bit more. But all that long drawn out illustration, just to say, and I don't mean in a flippant way, but God is the belay man. He's the one doing all the work. He's doing all of it. And you hold onto that rope for everything you've got. but your safety is not in your grip of that rope. Your safety is in the belay man letting you down slowly, safely to the end. And that's what Christ does. And so we can hold fast because we are being held fast. by this one who has finished his work. The third admonition is in verse number 24. Let us consider one another. So again, let's make sure we understand the context here. It's because we have boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by this new and living way, we can draw near to God, we hold fast our profession, and then this third admonition, let us consider one another. How should we consider one another? Well, two ways I would submit to you. First of all, we consider one another as sinners. And what I mean here is that when we have dealings with one another, we consider the fact we're sinners. I'm a sinner dealing with you. And you're a sinner, dealing with me. We are weak vessels. And so we deal with one another with a genuine spirit of humility, realizing our faults and our failures. Matthew Henry, again, puts it this way. Christians ought to have a tender consideration and concern for one another. They should affectionately consider what their several wants, weaknesses, and temptations are. We're weak vessels. Each one of us are weak vessels. Each one of us are subject to like passions as the other one is. We may not face the same temptations. We may not be prone to the same types or categories of sinful behavior. but yet we are prone to sinful behavior, each one of us. And so when I consider you, I must do so understanding you are a sinner. And so in some ways, your actions shouldn't be all that surprising to one level. You are a sinner, and sinners sin. And so I consider that. And so to apply this a little bit, why should I get angry and lash out at you for your sin against me when I stop to consider and know good and well I've probably done worse to you? I'm not any better I'm a sinner too. Why should I gossip about your sin when I know I've got plenty for you to gossip about me? Now the irony is we have our blind spots and we don't see our own sin as other people see our sin. And we see sin in other people that they don't see. It's the blind spot kind of nature of that. But we consider one another as sinners, but we also consider one another as saints. Yes, we're sinners, but we're redeemed. We're sinners bought with a price. We're sinners saved. by and partakers of the same grace. Turn with me to Hebrews, I'm sorry, to Ephesians chapter four. Look at a passage here in Ephesians chapter four. It illustrates what I'm trying to communicate here. Ephesians four, look at verse one. Paul says here, I therefore the prisoner of the Lord beseech you, that you walk worthy of the vocation wherewith you're called. Vocation there, not you're an accountant or a doctor or whatever, but the calling wherewith you're called. With all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love. And so that forbearing one another in love, that phrase there kind of encapsulates what I'm trying to communicate. We consider one another as sinners, but sinners saved by grace. And so we forbear one another in love, endeavoring, seeking everything that's in our power to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. There's one body and one spirit, even as you're called in one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and father of all who is above all and through all and in you all, but unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. And so what Paul is summarizing there in those early verses of Ephesians 4 is that spirit of unity that we are to have in the body of Christ with one another. We're all in this together. We're all fighting on the same team. We're fighting the same battle. We're on the same team. We're for the kingdom of God going forward. And there's a considering one another in a spirit of unity as we deal with one another, a spirit of humility in loving one another. And so that's how we consider one another, but why? And we go back to Ephesians 10, and he addresses that. Why are we considering one another? Well, it's for this purpose, to provoke unto love and to good works. That word provoke is used only one other time in the New Testament. It's used in Acts 15. when there's the description of that contention, that irritation that existed between Paul and John Mark. There was something between the two of them. There was an irritation, there was a provocation between the two. So it's used in the negative sense there in Acts chapter 15, but here it's used in that positive sense. We are to provoke one another unto love and to good works. We are to irritate one another. to love and to good works. Now, some Christians misunderstand this and they think that they're supposed to be irritating. Well, you're not supposed to be irritating. But we are to irritate one another. We are to provoke one another to love and to good works. In Philippians, Paul puts it this way. that ye stand fast in one spirit with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel. You're striving together for the faith of the gospel. You're provoking one another unto love and to good works. So we're to encourage one another, if I can put it this way, in the context of what we're dealing with here, we're to encourage one another to an outward display of the fact that we have boldness to enter into this holiest of places. Now, let's step back from this just a moment and really think about what is going on here and what's being said. So, these admonitions, to draw near, to hold fast, and to consider one another. So let's think of these three. You can draw near to God all by yourself. You can hold fast the profession of your faith all by yourself. So, to put it in a ridiculous illustration, if you were stranded on a desert island, and you were all by yourself, you could draw near to God and hold fast to your profession. By yourself. But I would submit to you, it's much more difficult, nigh on impossible, to all by yourself demonstrate love and good works to your neighbor, if you have no neighbor. And so since we have neighbors, here we are, we're to provoke one another to love and to good works. These can be thought of, if you will, as the public acts of religion. And so again, let's think about this in some very practical terms. Can you obey this part of Paul's admonition with someone you have no relationship with? So let you just stew on that for a moment. Can you do this with someone you have no relationship with? And I would say to a degree, sure. You could meet a Christian for the very first time and in the first minute of your interactions with this new believer that you've met, encourage them to do the right thing. Rebuke something you see wrong and encourage them to do right. And if they're a humble, sincere believer, they'll take that rebuke, they'll seek the Lord, and amend their ways, and everybody lives happily ever after. Theoretically. But you know that it's much more effective to provoke one another into loving good works with those that you have some relationship with. You have some interaction with. You have some friendship with. You have some history with. You know one another. You love one another. You care for one another. Why am I going to listen to you if I don't even know who you are? Be it if I know you love me, and I know that you have my best interest before the Lord in mind, well, I'm going to take that rebuke, I'm going to take that admonition with far more weight, and it's going to give me much more pause to consider Lord, in light of what I've been rebuked with, search my heart and see if there'd be any wicked way in me and make me right. And so, here's verse 25. Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is. Here's how it all fits in this context. If I'm to provoke one another unto love and to good works, If you're not consistently and faithfully assembling yourselves together with the Lord's people, then how are you gonna find yourself encouraged, provoked, irritated to love and to good works? Your wicked coworkers are not gonna do it. You sit in the break room with them cussing and telling dirty jokes over here, they're not provoking you to love and to good works. Sunday afternoon, as you listen to the NFL commentators, they're not provoking you into love and to good works. Your ungodly neighbors are not provoking you into love and to good works. The TV shows that you're watching on Wednesday night are not provoking you and encouraging you into love and to good works. They're not, they're not doing that. To have this happen, you assemble yourselves together. Now, Paul is acknowledging the fact there were believers in that day that were not doing it. They were discouraged. They had been admonished to hold fast the profession of their faith without wavering, and they're constantly being bombarded by family, by friends, by et cetera, and they're discouraged, and so they draw back. They stay home. They pout and wallow in their own misery. Rather than coming and assembling themselves together with the other believers that are gonna be a help to provoking them unto love and to good works. The confession of faith tells us that under normal circumstances, under normal circumstances, if you're not part of a church, you have no ground to claim that you are a Christian. A Christian draws near to God collectively with those that are drawing near to God. A Christian holds fast his profession of faith without wavering, collectively with those that are holding fast their profession of faith without wavering. And a Christian, collectively, is interacting with one another, provoking one another to love and to good works, collectively with others that are provoking one another to love and to good works. And we're all in this together. We're all growing in Christ together. As a college town, this illustration will fit. Many of you are teachers or have been teachers. You've all gone to school. Imagine taking a class in school and showing up for only one out of three classes. How well do you assume you'll do in that class? But yet there are believers that show up for one out of three classes, and they wonder, why is my life a wreck? Well, I have a suggestion. Forsake not the assembling of yourselves together as the manner of some is. So much the more, as you see that day drawing near, the day of the Lord approaching. Can I make another application? In the church, I'll say this to our church in Winston-Salem. I hope I'm not stepping on toes or going out of bounds saying it to you here. We in the church need to develop stronger relationships outside of the four walls of the church. There's some ways that churches grow and get to a size where you've never met people in this room. You don't know their name. You share a parking lot on Sundays, and they're down the aisle at the other end at Walmart or Publix, You have Publix here? I think you do. The grocery store. And you're like, oh man, I know that person. Who is that? And you can't remember their name. That's okay. You can't know everybody. And stages of life are different. Personalities are different. Interests are different. Hobbies are different. You know, we all have our differences of, we're different. We're different people. But we're all in this together, are we not? This whole unity thing, we're all in this together. I would challenge you just simply with old-fashioned hospitality. When's the last time you had a family that you don't know, you've never had them before, over to your house for Sunday dinner? Sunday lunch, Sunday night after the service, Friday night, just to get together, let's grill some burgers, let's have, you know, let's get to know one another. That, I would submit, is part of the not forsaking the assembling of yourselves together. That is part of the provoking one another unto love and to good works. It has to be more than 10 minutes after a Sunday service, standing between the pews someplace, hey man, you need to be a better Christian, right? How's that gonna go over? But you get in the weeds of life with one another. And you realize, man, I had no idea I needed to pray for you that way. I had no idea, I didn't even know you had a brother that's not saved. I'll pray for that. How much of that comes up? 10 minutes after a service. But the old-fashioned just being with one another, in this together, for the glory of God, it's by developing these deeper and stronger relationships with one another that we effectively can provoke one another unto love and to good works. And so all these things flow out of the logical conclusions from the fact that Christ's work, go back to the very beginning, Christ's work is a finished work. What Christ has accomplished for us makes it possible for us to draw near to God. He's torn down that middle wall of partition. Our sins are forgiven. We've been bought with a price. We can come near to God. And being there, We hold fast to this profession of our faith. We have a greater desire to draw near. We're encouraged and strengthened more to hold fast, knowing that it's not my holding, it's Him holding me. And I love you guys. We're in this together for the glory of God. And we want to encourage one another, to strengthen one another, as we seek to march forward for his kingdom and for his glory. And so may the Lord help us all in the doing of these things. Amen. Let's close our service this morning in prayer. Let's pray. Our fathers, we come before you this morning to close our service. We come and confess that we are so weak in these things. We're so caught up and just enamored by the things of this life that we don't draw near as we ought. We're so weak in faith that we We don't take the profession of our faith as a thing that's very serious sometimes. And we get caught up in ourselves and the busyness of life. We're so inward focused that we're not looking every man on the things of others. But it seems as if we're just struggling to get by ourselves and we don't take time for our brothers and sisters in Christ. And so we pray for help in these things. We pray as we come to a greater understanding of what we have in Christ and these gospel truths that our sins have been forgiven. We are part of a body of believers that have been purchased with precious blood, that these things would flow out as the logical conclusions and the logical manifestation of what it is to be a believer. And so we pray for help. Bless us as we have rest on this afternoon. Bring us back this evening again to worship in spirit and in truth. We ask in Jesus' name, amen. you