1 00:00:01,666 --> 00:00:04,833 Guarantee you that wasn't sung in too many places this morning. 2 00:00:07,366 --> 00:00:10,533 But if you understand it, You 3 00:00:10,533 --> 00:00:13,000 are absolutely thoroughly blessed. 4 00:00:16,133 --> 00:00:19,899 Well, you have your Bibles turn to Hebrews 2. 5 00:00:23,366 --> 00:00:24,500 And there is a lot here. 6 00:00:26,866 --> 00:00:31,733 I've done my best to condense for you, and your hearing, 7 00:00:33,299 --> 00:00:37,500 But there's so much here that 8 00:00:37,500 --> 00:00:41,333 you're gonna have to listen a little faster than I preach. 9 00:00:42,466 --> 00:00:47,399 for us to get through this in any type of timely fashion. 10 00:00:49,366 --> 00:00:52,433 We just completed a, I think 11 00:00:52,433 --> 00:00:56,866 you would agree with me a staggering chapter one that 12 00:00:56,866 --> 00:01:00,399 gives us the absolute supremacy and preeminence 13 00:01:00,399 --> 00:01:02,500 of Jesus over everyone and everything. 14 00:01:04,366 --> 00:01:08,200 And today, we're turning our page to Hebrews 2. 15 00:01:09,700 --> 00:01:13,433 And I will be delivering an exposition of 16 00:01:13,433 --> 00:01:16,500 verses one through four, which 17 00:01:16,500 --> 00:01:21,900 is the exact text 18 00:01:21,900 --> 00:01:26,033 of the very last sermon that R.C. 19 00:01:26,033 --> 00:01:29,933 Sproul ever preached in his life at St. 20 00:01:29,933 --> 00:01:33,099 Andrew's Chapel, this exact text right here. 21 00:01:34,900 --> 00:01:38,066 And I understand the issues that 22 00:01:38,066 --> 00:01:41,500 we have with, so called, celebrity pastors, 23 00:01:41,500 --> 00:01:45,333 and there are issues, but at 24 00:01:45,333 --> 00:01:48,500 the same time, I don't believe that it's 25 00:01:48,533 --> 00:01:51,900 wrong to recognize 26 00:01:51,900 --> 00:01:55,400 the most gifted expositors of church history 27 00:01:55,433 --> 00:01:59,500 for what they are, and he certainly was. 28 00:02:01,366 --> 00:02:05,266 And with words, I can't explain to you how I don't ever mind 29 00:02:05,266 --> 00:02:08,266 recounting what a special, absolute blessing 30 00:02:08,266 --> 00:02:11,633 from God it was for me to meet R.C. 31 00:02:11,633 --> 00:02:14,633 Sproul, and to shake his hand, and 32 00:02:14,633 --> 00:02:16,366 to even have him crack a joke with me. 33 00:02:16,900 --> 00:02:19,599 I will never forget that as long as I live. 34 00:02:19,900 --> 00:02:23,433 That was God blessing me. 35 00:02:24,833 --> 00:02:27,400 Go to liganeer.org and look up this sermon. 36 00:02:27,766 --> 00:02:30,766 It's on there on the app, and I promise you, it'll far 37 00:02:30,766 --> 00:02:33,866 exceed whatever you hear from me today down 38 00:02:33,866 --> 00:02:34,933 here on Hooper Road. 39 00:02:36,699 --> 00:02:39,699 Now, I want you to think back to where we've been, an earlier 40 00:02:39,699 --> 00:02:44,933 message, I've given you the three types of people that 41 00:02:44,933 --> 00:02:48,533 the writer of Hebrews addresses at 42 00:02:48,533 --> 00:02:52,733 different times throughout this epistle, and 43 00:02:52,733 --> 00:02:55,900 it really, not only were these people in that 44 00:02:55,900 --> 00:02:58,900 Jewish congregation that he's writing to, but they've been in the 45 00:02:58,900 --> 00:03:00,633 church for all time. 46 00:03:01,199 --> 00:03:04,599 First, you had the true, genuine Jewish 47 00:03:04,599 --> 00:03:05,733 believers, gen 48 00:03:05,733 --> 00:03:07,699 genuinely regenerate people, 49 00:03:09,033 --> 00:03:12,333 Then, secondly, you had absolutely Jewish 50 00:03:12,333 --> 00:03:15,466 unbelievers who absolutely rejected 51 00:03:15,466 --> 00:03:16,833 Jesus as Messiah. 52 00:03:18,166 --> 00:03:21,533 And for today, in this little passage, Paul 53 00:03:21,533 --> 00:03:24,566 is going to zero in on that third group that I told you 54 00:03:24,566 --> 00:03:27,566 about, these verses 55 00:03:27,566 --> 00:03:31,000 will be aimed directly at those who 56 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:35,699 know the truth, who've heard the gospel, 57 00:03:35,699 --> 00:03:39,400 who believe the truth, but 58 00:03:39,400 --> 00:03:42,866 who have never truly surrendered to Jesus 59 00:03:43,966 --> 00:03:45,766 in Bible repentance and saving faith. 60 00:03:47,633 --> 00:03:49,300 They just drift on through life. 61 00:03:51,166 --> 00:03:54,233 With an intellectual assent, like the 62 00:03:54,233 --> 00:03:57,833 demons have, to believing in Jesus, they 63 00:03:57,833 --> 00:03:58,866 may even attend church. 64 00:04:00,833 --> 00:04:04,000 They may even make a public profession of faith, but 65 00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:07,300 they never really surrender to 66 00:04:07,300 --> 00:04:10,366 possessing faith as evidenced 67 00:04:10,366 --> 00:04:12,933 by the marks of the new birth in their life. 68 00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:19,433 Let me remind you that some 69 00:04:19,433 --> 00:04:22,600 of the overall motives that this writer has in 70 00:04:22,600 --> 00:04:25,766 addressing all three of these groups in 71 00:04:25,766 --> 00:04:28,833 this first century community of Jewish 72 00:04:28,833 --> 00:04:32,266 people, he wants to show, all 73 00:04:32,266 --> 00:04:35,500 of them, at the same time, that Jesus 74 00:04:35,500 --> 00:04:39,566 has brought a tremendous new 75 00:04:39,566 --> 00:04:42,766 covenant into the human reality on 76 00:04:42,766 --> 00:04:44,800 earth called the New Testament. 77 00:04:46,866 --> 00:04:50,666 That he died on a cross, that he is the Messiah, that 78 00:04:50,666 --> 00:04:53,833 he rose from the grave, and that he shed his blood on 79 00:04:53,866 --> 00:04:57,833 Calvary's tree for the forgiveness of sins of all who believe. 80 00:04:59,933 --> 00:05:01,566 From the start of this book to the end. 81 00:05:02,966 --> 00:05:07,233 The writer is continually proving that 82 00:05:07,233 --> 00:05:10,300 the new covenant is better than the 83 00:05:10,300 --> 00:05:11,433 old covenant. 84 00:05:12,766 --> 00:05:16,233 That the new mediator, namely, Jesus, 85 00:05:16,233 --> 00:05:19,300 is better than anybody connected with 86 00:05:19,300 --> 00:05:20,633 the old covenant ever. 87 00:05:20,933 --> 00:05:22,800 And you can go from Moses on down. 88 00:05:24,100 --> 00:05:27,466 And he wants to show these Jews not that 89 00:05:27,466 --> 00:05:29,033 the old covenant was wrong. 90 00:05:29,366 --> 00:05:31,166 I want to keep repeating that to you. 91 00:05:31,600 --> 00:05:34,233 It's not that it was wrong. 92 00:05:34,300 --> 00:05:35,566 It was just incomplete. 93 00:05:37,066 --> 00:05:40,133 It hadn't been fully fulfilled God's 94 00:05:40,133 --> 00:05:43,199 covenant with man in a big general sense, until 95 00:05:43,199 --> 00:05:46,899 the new covenant, and that is only made complete, 96 00:05:46,899 --> 00:05:50,133 as we've been learning, in Jesus Christ. 97 00:05:51,866 --> 00:05:52,866 He fulfills it all. 98 00:05:55,533 --> 00:05:58,666 And that they needed to learn and accept 99 00:05:58,666 --> 00:06:01,733 that this new covenant of shed blood and 100 00:06:01,733 --> 00:06:05,199 sacrifice for their sins, and accept Jesus as 101 00:06:05,199 --> 00:06:06,333 this mediator. 102 00:06:07,366 --> 00:06:11,266 They needed to accept him his way. 103 00:06:12,766 --> 00:06:14,333 Not the way that they think about it. 104 00:06:15,100 --> 00:06:18,100 But in Bible repentance and saving faith, the only way you 105 00:06:18,100 --> 00:06:20,433 properly come to Christ. 106 00:06:22,000 --> 00:06:25,366 Thus verses one to 3 of chapter one, the brighter 107 00:06:25,366 --> 00:06:28,466 is proving, as we saw, that Jesus, as I said, 108 00:06:28,466 --> 00:06:31,466 is superior to everybody, and to everything 109 00:06:31,466 --> 00:06:34,933 in existence, and because of this high esteem, 110 00:06:34,966 --> 00:06:37,966 think back, this high esteem that the Jews had 111 00:06:37,966 --> 00:06:39,033 for angels. 112 00:06:39,533 --> 00:06:41,333 And remember, they had some pretty crazy views on angels. 113 00:06:41,433 --> 00:06:42,199 We went over those. 114 00:06:42,266 --> 00:06:44,300 You have to go back and look at those in previous sermons. 115 00:06:44,800 --> 00:06:47,966 The writer starts in chapter one verses 4 to 14 to 116 00:06:47,966 --> 00:06:52,033 demonstrate that Jesus is superior to all the angels. 117 00:06:53,000 --> 00:06:54,100 That's what we've been going through. 118 00:06:55,466 --> 00:06:58,833 You can go back in the last 2 sermons and watch those sermons to get all those details. 119 00:06:58,899 --> 00:06:59,666 I won't go back over them. 120 00:07:00,466 --> 00:07:05,266 But then, right in the middle of 121 00:07:05,266 --> 00:07:09,533 this treatise on angels, as we've been studying, because 122 00:07:09,533 --> 00:07:13,766 he's going to pick up with angels again later, as we're going to see, the 123 00:07:13,766 --> 00:07:16,833 writer just all of a sudden, right here, starting in chapter two, he just 124 00:07:16,833 --> 00:07:20,866 stops that discussion to interject an invitation. 125 00:07:22,733 --> 00:07:25,966 All along, he's been proclaiming, again, 126 00:07:25,966 --> 00:07:29,133 the absolute supremacy, and pre minutes 127 00:07:29,133 --> 00:07:32,133 of Jesus over everything, that Jesus is God, 128 00:07:32,133 --> 00:07:35,266 that Jesus alone can cleanse your sin, that Jesus is 129 00:07:35,266 --> 00:07:38,266 the creator of all things, that Jesus is worthy of 130 00:07:38,266 --> 00:07:41,500 your worship, and he's exalted over everything in the universe, 131 00:07:41,500 --> 00:07:45,333 and now, starting in chapter 2 and verse one, he just stops that conversation. 132 00:07:47,566 --> 00:07:51,566 And all of a sudden, he gives this personal 133 00:07:51,566 --> 00:07:52,699 invitation. 134 00:07:53,733 --> 00:07:56,899 And it's first for these first hearers and that Jewish 135 00:07:56,933 --> 00:08:00,000 little congregation, and then branch it 136 00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:04,000 out for the readers of all of human history, 137 00:08:04,000 --> 00:08:07,066 including us here today, and what he's wanting, 138 00:08:07,066 --> 00:08:10,066 what he's getting at, is, hey, you need to be responding 139 00:08:10,066 --> 00:08:12,233 to what I've just been saying in chapter one. 140 00:08:12,533 --> 00:08:13,666 That's what he's getting at. 141 00:08:14,866 --> 00:08:17,966 Because the word of God always demands a response, 142 00:08:17,966 --> 00:08:19,533 always. 143 00:08:20,733 --> 00:08:24,266 And let me add that this is the first of 144 00:08:24,266 --> 00:08:27,800 five great warnings that 145 00:08:27,833 --> 00:08:31,733 we are going to encounter that are sprinkled throughout the book of Hebrews. 146 00:08:32,066 --> 00:08:32,966 This is the first one. 147 00:08:34,966 --> 00:08:37,966 It's almost kind of like, as you read this, that he could only 148 00:08:37,966 --> 00:08:40,966 go so far, giving you the supremacy of 149 00:08:40,966 --> 00:08:44,033 Jesus and how magnificent and glorious and wonderful 150 00:08:44,033 --> 00:08:46,299 Jesus is over everybody and everything. 151 00:08:46,899 --> 00:08:50,200 It was like he could only go so far, telling you that before 152 00:08:50,200 --> 00:08:51,233 stopping and saying, 153 00:08:52,366 --> 00:08:56,333 Now, what are you going to do about this that I'm telling you, with your life? 154 00:08:58,000 --> 00:08:58,766 How you going to live? 155 00:08:59,933 --> 00:09:01,366 based on what I've been telling you? 156 00:09:02,700 --> 00:09:06,466 And again, is specific, target, 157 00:09:06,466 --> 00:09:09,633 audience, in today's text, are 158 00:09:09,633 --> 00:09:12,700 the intellectually convinced that believe in 159 00:09:12,700 --> 00:09:15,933 Jesus, as we're going to see, but they've 160 00:09:15,933 --> 00:09:19,466 not really truly yet completely surrendered to 161 00:09:19,466 --> 00:09:23,299 Jesus in Bible repentance in 2nd and their life shows it. 162 00:09:24,600 --> 00:09:27,933 And there have been people like this in the church, all down through church 163 00:09:27,933 --> 00:09:31,000 history, and they exist right up to this very day. 164 00:09:32,433 --> 00:09:34,966 Now, let me demonstrate this for you. 165 00:09:35,500 --> 00:09:39,266 This text can't be a warning to Christians, because I want you to look at verse three. 166 00:09:40,666 --> 00:09:41,766 Look what verse 3 says. 167 00:09:43,133 --> 00:09:47,333 How will we escape if we neglect so 168 00:09:47,333 --> 00:09:48,600 great a salvation? 169 00:09:48,933 --> 00:09:52,100 Well, Christians can't be in danger of neglecting salvation 170 00:09:52,133 --> 00:09:55,366 in the way that it means here in the context, 171 00:09:55,366 --> 00:09:57,000 because they've already got salvation, right? 172 00:09:57,399 --> 00:10:00,033 So we can rule that group out that we're not talking to. 173 00:10:00,166 --> 00:10:03,299 And this also can't be directed at people who have never heard 174 00:10:03,299 --> 00:10:07,033 the gospel because they can't neglect what they don't know exist, right? 175 00:10:07,433 --> 00:10:08,766 So what does that leave us with? 176 00:10:08,866 --> 00:10:11,966 That leaves us with the intellectually convinced about the 177 00:10:11,966 --> 00:10:14,966 truths of Jesus and his gospel, but not yet truly 178 00:10:14,966 --> 00:10:16,899 committed to him with their life. 179 00:10:18,633 --> 00:10:22,233 Notice those words, we, and us. 180 00:10:23,399 --> 00:10:26,266 And of course, the writer's not saying that he is not a Christian either. 181 00:10:27,633 --> 00:10:30,866 This, right here, is a general use 182 00:10:30,866 --> 00:10:33,866 of these words directed 183 00:10:33,866 --> 00:10:37,899 towards any of us who have heard the truth. 184 00:10:39,233 --> 00:10:40,200 If you've heard the truth. 185 00:10:40,533 --> 00:10:43,100 This is directed at you, no matter how you've responded to it. 186 00:10:43,733 --> 00:10:46,733 And this is a warning, a warning 187 00:10:46,733 --> 00:10:49,966 now, to those who have heard the gospel, know 188 00:10:49,966 --> 00:10:53,266 the facts about Jesus, know that he died on the cross for them. 189 00:10:54,166 --> 00:10:57,233 Know that he can forgive all of their sins, that he can 190 00:10:57,233 --> 00:11:00,633 really come into their life, and they can change their life, 191 00:11:00,633 --> 00:11:03,799 but they are just not willing to come to Christ fully 192 00:11:03,833 --> 00:11:05,399 and completely on his terms. 193 00:11:06,100 --> 00:11:07,666 That's who this is a warning, too. 194 00:11:09,633 --> 00:11:13,100 This right here, these people, are the most tragic 195 00:11:13,133 --> 00:11:16,133 category of people in existence 196 00:11:17,066 --> 00:11:18,133 that live on the earth. 197 00:11:19,899 --> 00:11:23,666 Let me give you a quick story, 198 00:11:23,666 --> 00:11:26,966 a true story, from John MacArthur himself that 199 00:11:26,966 --> 00:11:29,966 tells us a dramatic example of this. 200 00:11:32,066 --> 00:11:33,833 He had a prostitute come into his office. 201 00:11:35,200 --> 00:11:36,533 And she needn't help. 202 00:11:37,799 --> 00:11:38,566 She was desperate. 203 00:11:40,200 --> 00:11:41,799 He gave her the only thing that could help her. 204 00:11:42,700 --> 00:11:43,666 He gave her the gospel. 205 00:11:45,166 --> 00:11:46,299 Then he asked next. 206 00:11:47,700 --> 00:11:50,966 Would you like to trust in Christ, for your salvation? 207 00:11:52,366 --> 00:11:53,766 And she said, Yes, I would. 208 00:11:54,399 --> 00:11:55,666 I've had it with this life. 209 00:11:57,299 --> 00:11:58,466 She'd been on drugs. 210 00:12:00,100 --> 00:12:02,366 She'd been living at the bottom end of society. 211 00:12:03,100 --> 00:12:04,000 They prayed together. 212 00:12:05,133 --> 00:12:09,233 And then he asked her, Do you have 213 00:12:09,266 --> 00:12:12,433 the little book with all your contacts in it? 214 00:12:13,600 --> 00:12:14,500 And she said yes. 215 00:12:15,933 --> 00:12:19,666 And he said, well, let's just take out a match right now, and 216 00:12:19,666 --> 00:12:20,733 let's just burn that book. 217 00:12:22,666 --> 00:12:24,600 And she said, What do you mean? 218 00:12:26,266 --> 00:12:28,066 He said, just what I said? 219 00:12:29,500 --> 00:12:32,966 If you're going to believe in Jesus, and 220 00:12:32,966 --> 00:12:36,033 you're going to live for him, then 221 00:12:36,033 --> 00:12:39,200 you've got to burn that book, and you've got to be completely 222 00:12:39,233 --> 00:12:40,566 done with that life. 223 00:12:41,700 --> 00:12:44,333 And she said, well, that's worth a lot of money. 224 00:12:45,200 --> 00:12:46,433 And he said, Well, good. 225 00:12:48,600 --> 00:12:51,399 And she said, I don't want to buy my book. 226 00:12:52,899 --> 00:12:53,966 She put it in her purse. 227 00:12:55,299 --> 00:12:59,266 She looked him right in the eye, and she said, I 228 00:12:59,266 --> 00:13:01,500 guess I don't really want Jesus, do I? 229 00:13:03,233 --> 00:13:03,899 And she left. 230 00:13:06,266 --> 00:13:07,633 That's the classic. 231 00:13:07,766 --> 00:13:08,500 I'll give her this. 232 00:13:08,566 --> 00:13:09,333 At least she was honest. 233 00:13:10,600 --> 00:13:10,899 Right? 234 00:13:11,500 --> 00:13:14,733 At least she was honest, and not fake, and didn't, oh, baptize 235 00:13:14,733 --> 00:13:17,733 me and pretend, while she was continuing to 236 00:13:17,733 --> 00:13:20,799 live the life she lived before Christ, not being really regenerate, 237 00:13:20,799 --> 00:13:22,533 obviously, or she wouldn't have been able to live that way. 238 00:13:24,566 --> 00:13:25,566 She had to count the cost. 239 00:13:27,166 --> 00:13:28,033 As all of us do. 240 00:13:29,799 --> 00:13:32,866 As I did when I was living completely opposite of the way that I live 241 00:13:32,866 --> 00:13:34,366 now, had to count the costs. 242 00:13:34,833 --> 00:13:35,566 live that way anymore. 243 00:13:36,333 --> 00:13:38,266 Not if you're going to truly come to Jesus. 244 00:13:39,266 --> 00:13:40,466 She believed in Jesus. 245 00:13:40,600 --> 00:13:42,833 If you asked her, do you believe in Jesus? 246 00:13:42,866 --> 00:13:46,166 Yes, I believe in Jesus, but she wasn't willing 247 00:13:46,166 --> 00:13:49,333 to let go of her old life and to begin 248 00:13:49,366 --> 00:13:52,366 a new life living for the glory of God every 249 00:13:52,366 --> 00:13:53,633 day in Christ. 250 00:13:54,799 --> 00:13:58,066 Now, the writer of Hebrews knows there 251 00:13:58,066 --> 00:14:01,200 are kinds of people, right 252 00:14:01,200 --> 00:14:04,466 here in this congregation, and the Holy Spirit also 253 00:14:04,466 --> 00:14:07,600 knows, who inspired the writer, that these type of people 254 00:14:07,600 --> 00:14:10,466 are going to be in the church until Jesus returns. 255 00:14:11,066 --> 00:14:12,733 That's why these words are in here. 256 00:14:14,033 --> 00:14:15,833 And so here we have this warning for them. 257 00:14:17,733 --> 00:14:21,733 And in this text, he gives us three great 258 00:14:21,766 --> 00:14:24,866 reasons for us not to neglect so 259 00:14:24,866 --> 00:14:26,066 great salvation. 260 00:14:26,200 --> 00:14:27,100 You ready for them? 261 00:14:27,700 --> 00:14:30,166 Number one reason is the character of Christ. 262 00:14:32,666 --> 00:14:36,033 Number two is the certainty of judgment. 263 00:14:37,466 --> 00:14:40,833 And number three is the confirmation of 264 00:14:40,833 --> 00:14:43,399 God, and that's going to be our outline for today. 265 00:14:43,466 --> 00:14:45,266 So let's start with number one, the character of Christ. 266 00:14:47,866 --> 00:14:51,100 Simply put, you are a fool to neglect the 267 00:14:51,100 --> 00:14:54,466 salvation that is offered in Christ because 268 00:14:54,466 --> 00:14:57,033 of who Christ is. 269 00:14:58,100 --> 00:14:59,033 Look at verse one. 270 00:15:00,399 --> 00:15:01,466 For this reason. 271 00:15:03,566 --> 00:15:07,333 We must pay much closer attention to 272 00:15:07,366 --> 00:15:10,433 what we have heard so that we do not 273 00:15:10,433 --> 00:15:12,299 drift away from it. 274 00:15:14,266 --> 00:15:16,799 Now what does that verse have to do with the character of Christ? 275 00:15:17,333 --> 00:15:19,066 One phrase keys the whole thing. 276 00:15:19,600 --> 00:15:22,833 First phrase is for this reason. 277 00:15:23,500 --> 00:15:27,766 You know what that phrase is also translated in other translations, therefore. 278 00:15:27,866 --> 00:15:30,799 And you know, when we come to, therefore, we got to know, what's it there for? 279 00:15:32,000 --> 00:15:33,399 And, of course, what does it always do? 280 00:15:33,700 --> 00:15:36,700 It takes us back to what was said, right 281 00:15:36,700 --> 00:15:39,866 up to the therefore, right up to this for this reason. 282 00:15:40,966 --> 00:15:44,500 Everything that we just learned about Jesus, in 283 00:15:44,500 --> 00:15:47,666 chapter one, everything that we studied, now, 284 00:15:47,666 --> 00:15:50,666 for this reason, because you now know that, 285 00:15:50,666 --> 00:15:52,533 all those tremendous truths. 286 00:15:52,600 --> 00:15:56,500 So because of that, for this reason, of who Jesus is 287 00:15:56,500 --> 00:15:59,666 that we just learned about in the prior chapter, we must 288 00:15:59,666 --> 00:16:02,733 pay much closer attention to what we 289 00:16:02,733 --> 00:16:06,566 have heard so that we do not drift away from it. 290 00:16:08,399 --> 00:16:09,566 What do we hear in chapter one? 291 00:16:10,533 --> 00:16:11,500 Jesus is the son. 292 00:16:12,266 --> 00:16:13,899 Jesus is the heir of all things. 293 00:16:14,366 --> 00:16:16,166 Jesus is the one who made the world. 294 00:16:16,666 --> 00:16:19,433 Jesus is the radiance of the glory of God. 295 00:16:19,600 --> 00:16:23,266 Jesus is the exact representation of his glory. 296 00:16:23,366 --> 00:16:27,433 Jesus upholds all things by the word of his power. 297 00:16:27,533 --> 00:16:28,666 There's nobody like Jesus. 298 00:16:29,066 --> 00:16:31,100 There's nobody that comes close to Jesus. 299 00:16:31,866 --> 00:16:33,299 He purged our sins. 300 00:16:33,333 --> 00:16:36,333 He's seated at the right hand of the majesty on high, and 301 00:16:36,333 --> 00:16:39,766 he's better than and far superior to all 302 00:16:39,766 --> 00:16:41,700 angels holy and demonic. 303 00:16:42,466 --> 00:16:43,366 This is who he is. 304 00:16:46,000 --> 00:16:49,899 And so the writer is saying, for this reason, you now all heard that. 305 00:16:51,966 --> 00:16:52,066 How? 306 00:16:52,899 --> 00:16:53,966 Can you reject? 307 00:16:55,133 --> 00:16:56,166 God incarnate. 308 00:16:57,466 --> 00:17:00,466 Who came in the world to pay the penalty for your sins and forgive your 309 00:17:00,466 --> 00:17:03,566 sins and to bridge an unbridgeable gap between 310 00:17:03,566 --> 00:17:06,633 you and God and give you peace and purpose and 311 00:17:06,633 --> 00:17:10,233 joy beyond imagination in your life, how can you neglect him? 312 00:17:11,366 --> 00:17:14,266 How can you neglect so great a salvation with your life? 313 00:17:16,766 --> 00:17:19,833 Jesus, by virtue 314 00:17:19,833 --> 00:17:25,033 of his character alone, makes rejection, 315 00:17:25,066 --> 00:17:28,866 the most foolish act that anyone can ever commit. 316 00:17:30,833 --> 00:17:33,900 Jesus was, God, in the world, in human flesh, 317 00:17:33,900 --> 00:17:37,033 when he was here, to reject Jesus, is to reject 318 00:17:37,066 --> 00:17:41,633 God, to reject God, is 319 00:17:41,633 --> 00:17:44,666 the reason to reject the reason 320 00:17:44,666 --> 00:17:46,633 for your whole existence. 321 00:17:47,900 --> 00:17:49,666 You don't exist apart from God. 322 00:17:51,166 --> 00:17:54,799 Now, let's zero in on some more, 323 00:17:54,799 --> 00:17:57,866 on these words in verse one, after he 324 00:17:57,866 --> 00:17:59,433 says, for this reason. 325 00:17:59,566 --> 00:18:00,166 Look next. 326 00:18:01,133 --> 00:18:04,133 We must pay much closer attention to 327 00:18:04,133 --> 00:18:05,633 what we have heard. 328 00:18:06,099 --> 00:18:09,166 Now, that phrase is very emphatic in the Greek, on 329 00:18:09,166 --> 00:18:12,466 the basis of who Jesus is, we must pay 330 00:18:12,466 --> 00:18:15,233 much closer attention to what we have heard. 331 00:18:15,700 --> 00:18:18,700 We cannot just hear these things, and 332 00:18:18,700 --> 00:18:20,033 just let them slip on by. 333 00:18:21,566 --> 00:18:24,700 We've got to give serious attention to what 334 00:18:24,700 --> 00:18:26,866 we are hearing about Jesus. 335 00:18:28,000 --> 00:18:29,066 And we have to do that. 336 00:18:29,366 --> 00:18:30,099 Look next. 337 00:18:30,266 --> 00:18:33,700 We have to do that so that we do 338 00:18:33,700 --> 00:18:35,633 not drift away from it. 339 00:18:35,933 --> 00:18:37,599 Now, this is terribly interesting. 340 00:18:38,566 --> 00:18:41,799 The Greek words for pay much closer attention, and the phrase 341 00:18:41,799 --> 00:18:43,000 drift away from it. 342 00:18:44,000 --> 00:18:45,833 It's actually nautical language. 343 00:18:46,500 --> 00:18:47,966 It's used in nautical language. 344 00:18:48,266 --> 00:18:49,299 What I mean by that. 345 00:18:49,733 --> 00:18:52,433 It has to do with ships and sailing in boats. 346 00:18:53,733 --> 00:18:57,500 And so, there are multiple commentators that 347 00:18:57,533 --> 00:19:00,666 make the following kind of examples of the meaning, and I 348 00:19:00,666 --> 00:19:03,866 kind of, what I did is I kind of compiled a summary of 349 00:19:03,866 --> 00:19:06,866 different commentators, and it 350 00:19:06,866 --> 00:19:10,233 comes out like this, and what they mean by using this kind of language. 351 00:19:10,766 --> 00:19:11,433 Listen to this. 352 00:19:12,866 --> 00:19:16,133 For this reason, we must 353 00:19:16,133 --> 00:19:19,299 pay much closer attention to 354 00:19:19,299 --> 00:19:22,666 anchor our lives, to 355 00:19:22,666 --> 00:19:25,733 what we have heard, so that the ship of 356 00:19:25,733 --> 00:19:28,733 life does not drift away past the 357 00:19:28,733 --> 00:19:31,666 harbor of salvation and be lost forever. 358 00:19:34,000 --> 00:19:37,733 The idea is of a boat, that 359 00:19:37,733 --> 00:19:40,966 is not anchored, and it's just drifting past 360 00:19:40,966 --> 00:19:44,200 the harbor that it was supposed to stop at in the current, 361 00:19:44,200 --> 00:19:45,566 and it just keeps on going. 362 00:19:47,433 --> 00:19:48,700 The idea is this. 363 00:19:50,866 --> 00:19:54,333 Most people don't go head first, 364 00:19:54,333 --> 00:19:56,966 diving into hell with great gusto. 365 00:19:58,733 --> 00:20:02,066 Most people don't have the Satan horns on 366 00:20:02,066 --> 00:20:05,366 and slaughtering goats in the backyard and saying, 367 00:20:05,366 --> 00:20:06,400 Hail Satan. 368 00:20:06,466 --> 00:20:10,233 That's a very small percentage of our population. 369 00:20:13,000 --> 00:20:14,633 Most people just drift into hell. 370 00:20:16,466 --> 00:20:17,466 That's what they do. 371 00:20:18,333 --> 00:20:22,299 Like an unanchored ship, drifting past the harbor. 372 00:20:22,666 --> 00:20:24,866 Oh, they don't curse God, ever. 373 00:20:26,133 --> 00:20:29,366 They just slip on slowly 374 00:20:29,366 --> 00:20:32,799 past the harbor of salvation, and where do they wind up? 375 00:20:32,866 --> 00:20:34,900 They wind up on the rocks of eternal destruction. 376 00:20:36,033 --> 00:20:36,866 as they drift. 377 00:20:38,666 --> 00:20:39,166 That's why. 378 00:20:40,433 --> 00:20:44,200 The writer right here is imploring, imploring 379 00:20:44,200 --> 00:20:47,266 that we pay much closer attention to what we 380 00:20:47,266 --> 00:20:49,000 have heard about Jesus. 381 00:20:49,533 --> 00:20:51,500 Many of these Jews have heard. 382 00:20:51,700 --> 00:20:52,299 Think about it. 383 00:20:52,366 --> 00:20:54,633 They had heard the gospel from apostolic missionaries. 384 00:20:54,766 --> 00:20:55,233 Remember? 385 00:20:55,299 --> 00:20:55,900 I told you that. 386 00:20:56,133 --> 00:20:58,766 Actual apostles had come and planted it. 387 00:20:58,833 --> 00:21:01,599 You'd realize what a small group of people that is in world history? 388 00:21:02,566 --> 00:21:03,833 I ain't branch that out. 389 00:21:03,866 --> 00:21:07,333 I mean, really, comparatively speaking to how many people have lived on planet art. 390 00:21:07,433 --> 00:21:10,599 A small group of people actually saw Jesus and encountered him. 391 00:21:11,866 --> 00:21:13,566 And he's addressing these people. 392 00:21:14,866 --> 00:21:19,166 that had heard the gospel explained from apostles, 393 00:21:19,166 --> 00:21:22,733 but they had not yet made personal application of 394 00:21:22,733 --> 00:21:24,400 what they had heard in their lifestyle. 395 00:21:26,333 --> 00:21:30,700 The emphatic seriousness of this is 396 00:21:30,700 --> 00:21:33,833 comparable to what Jesus started off saying in 397 00:21:33,833 --> 00:21:35,200 Luke 9:44, 398 00:21:35,266 --> 00:21:36,766 Look at what Jesus himself says. 399 00:21:38,799 --> 00:21:41,933 Let these words sink into 400 00:21:41,933 --> 00:21:43,066 your ears. 401 00:21:45,166 --> 00:21:45,966 That's Jesus. 402 00:21:47,900 --> 00:21:49,000 It's not enough to hear it. 403 00:21:51,233 --> 00:21:53,500 Let it sink into your ears. 404 00:21:54,933 --> 00:21:58,166 Let it get down in your bloodstream, as RC used to say. 405 00:21:59,666 --> 00:22:01,599 so that it makes a change in your life. 406 00:22:03,466 --> 00:22:04,433 Drifting is easy. 407 00:22:06,000 --> 00:22:06,566 It's quiet. 408 00:22:08,733 --> 00:22:12,033 All you need to do to go to hell is don't 409 00:22:12,033 --> 00:22:14,133 do anything with Jesus, with your life. 410 00:22:14,633 --> 00:22:15,766 Just live secular. 411 00:22:16,299 --> 00:22:17,866 and say, Hey, I believe in Jesus. 412 00:22:19,266 --> 00:22:22,333 Don't act upon what you've heard about Christ. 413 00:22:24,033 --> 00:22:27,500 And many people drift along, trusting 414 00:22:27,533 --> 00:22:30,533 in their good deeds, trusting in their church attendance, 415 00:22:30,533 --> 00:22:33,766 their religiosity, their intellectual belief, and guess what? 416 00:22:33,833 --> 00:22:37,366 They drip just as strongly into destruction as the rest. 417 00:22:38,733 --> 00:22:39,166 Why? 418 00:22:40,766 --> 00:22:43,866 Because they are not coming to Christ and 419 00:22:43,866 --> 00:22:47,299 what they have heard about Christ on his terms. 420 00:22:48,466 --> 00:22:49,900 Instead, whether are they doing? 421 00:22:51,299 --> 00:22:52,900 Well, I'm just going to have Jesus my way. 422 00:22:54,566 --> 00:22:56,833 Look, Jesus said, if you love me, keep my commandment. 423 00:22:58,700 --> 00:23:01,299 I'm not talking about absolute sinless perfection. 424 00:23:01,900 --> 00:23:04,666 Just talk to Christie about my sinless perfection afterwards. 425 00:23:04,733 --> 00:23:06,366 You find out in about five minutes. 426 00:23:07,366 --> 00:23:09,533 But I'm talking about the direction of your life. 427 00:23:11,766 --> 00:23:12,833 How are you living your life? 428 00:23:13,833 --> 00:23:15,400 Are you living it for the glory of God? 429 00:23:15,533 --> 00:23:18,000 Is that the most important thing to you in your life? 430 00:23:18,533 --> 00:23:21,766 Do you speak the language of Zion easily when you get with 431 00:23:21,766 --> 00:23:24,833 other people, and talk freely and easily about Jesus and his 432 00:23:24,833 --> 00:23:26,466 gospel and what he did for you? 433 00:23:27,933 --> 00:23:30,933 Is it more important to you than anything else that you be here on 434 00:23:30,933 --> 00:23:32,066 Sunday with the saints? 435 00:23:34,066 --> 00:23:37,066 Church attendance can be legalistic, and you can think, oh, 436 00:23:37,066 --> 00:23:39,099 going to church, check the box off. 437 00:23:39,233 --> 00:23:40,299 I guess I'm a Christian. 438 00:23:40,433 --> 00:23:43,666 You can be one of these intellectual believers, do that, and account for nothing. 439 00:23:45,066 --> 00:23:48,700 But a genuine believer wants more than anything to be here, 440 00:23:48,700 --> 00:23:51,766 with the motivation of wanting to worship God and bring glory to God 441 00:23:51,766 --> 00:23:53,566 and fellowship with other believers. 442 00:23:53,633 --> 00:23:57,166 That's what I'm talking about, evidences of the new birth, 443 00:23:57,166 --> 00:24:00,933 and how you live, and how you think, how you speak. 444 00:24:04,799 --> 00:24:06,833 A lot of people like to just have Jesus their way. 445 00:24:08,099 --> 00:24:09,700 When in reality, there's only one way. 446 00:24:11,966 --> 00:24:12,666 is his way. 447 00:24:13,766 --> 00:24:15,266 And no other way will do. 448 00:24:15,466 --> 00:24:15,933 Sorry. 449 00:24:17,266 --> 00:24:19,333 I'm just a mailman. 450 00:24:19,866 --> 00:24:21,166 I'm not writing this mail. 451 00:24:21,233 --> 00:24:22,566 I'm just delivering it to you. 452 00:24:22,966 --> 00:24:23,400 OK? 453 00:24:25,166 --> 00:24:28,233 So it's foolish to reject 454 00:24:28,233 --> 00:24:31,299 so great a salvation because of the character of Jesus. 455 00:24:31,433 --> 00:24:34,966 Now, secondly, I want you to see it's foolish to reject 456 00:24:34,966 --> 00:24:38,566 salvation because of the certainty of judgment. 457 00:24:38,633 --> 00:24:39,466 And oh, it's certain. 458 00:24:41,033 --> 00:24:42,233 Look next at verse two. 459 00:24:44,099 --> 00:24:46,433 And this gets a little thick, but hang in there with me. 460 00:24:47,433 --> 00:24:50,799 Now, if the word spoken through angels proved 461 00:24:50,799 --> 00:24:52,299 unalterable. 462 00:24:52,466 --> 00:24:53,599 Now stop right there. 463 00:24:53,966 --> 00:24:55,099 What in the world is that? 464 00:24:55,966 --> 00:24:57,133 Well, I want you to think back. 465 00:24:57,566 --> 00:24:58,333 We learn. 466 00:24:58,366 --> 00:25:01,900 In chapter one, the old covenant was mediated 467 00:25:01,900 --> 00:25:04,133 to men by angels. 468 00:25:05,133 --> 00:25:08,266 Somehow, they played a role at Mount Sinai, 469 00:25:08,266 --> 00:25:11,366 and bringing God's law to His people, Deuteronomy 331, 470 00:25:11,366 --> 00:25:14,233 Psalm 68, 17, Acts 738. 471 00:25:14,433 --> 00:25:17,799 Remember, we don't get the specifics about exactly what 472 00:25:17,799 --> 00:25:20,799 they did, but they were there, 473 00:25:20,799 --> 00:25:24,166 and they did play some kind of role in 474 00:25:24,166 --> 00:25:25,666 delivering the law. 475 00:25:25,833 --> 00:25:27,266 So that's what it's talking about here. 476 00:25:27,333 --> 00:25:30,466 So let's read verses 2 and 3 together, and you'll 477 00:25:30,466 --> 00:25:32,033 make more sense of it when we read it together. 478 00:25:32,433 --> 00:25:35,866 For if the word spoken through angels proved 479 00:25:35,866 --> 00:25:39,033 unalterable, that's the delivering of the law, and 480 00:25:39,033 --> 00:25:42,500 Old Testament, and every transgression and disobedience 481 00:25:42,533 --> 00:25:45,533 received a just penalty, that's 482 00:25:45,533 --> 00:25:48,400 talking about the Old Testament, how will we escape? 483 00:25:49,599 --> 00:25:52,666 If we neglect so great a salvation after 484 00:25:52,666 --> 00:25:55,766 it was at the first spoken through the Lord, 485 00:25:55,766 --> 00:25:58,833 it was confirmed to us by 486 00:25:58,833 --> 00:26:00,033 those who heard. 487 00:26:00,466 --> 00:26:01,799 And that's talking about the apostles. 488 00:26:01,833 --> 00:26:03,166 We're gonna get to that in a minute. 489 00:26:03,266 --> 00:26:04,033 But here's the point. 490 00:26:05,966 --> 00:26:09,133 If nobody got away with breaking the old covenant in Old Testament 491 00:26:09,166 --> 00:26:13,233 times, brought my angels, by the way, you 492 00:26:13,233 --> 00:26:17,266 don't think you're going to get away with breaking the new covenant, brought 493 00:26:17,266 --> 00:26:19,200 by the Lord Jesus himself, do you? 494 00:26:22,233 --> 00:26:25,000 The writer is arguing from the lesser to the greater here. 495 00:26:26,166 --> 00:26:26,933 Two Testaments. 496 00:26:28,466 --> 00:26:31,466 Two covenants, the old, that angels were 497 00:26:31,466 --> 00:26:34,466 used to bring to the people, and any breaking of 498 00:26:34,466 --> 00:26:37,633 that law, followed by strict, severe, 499 00:26:37,666 --> 00:26:38,799 just punishment. 500 00:26:39,666 --> 00:26:42,966 Hey, you committed adultery, stung to death outside the camp. 501 00:26:43,166 --> 00:26:44,533 I mean, we can go down the list, right? 502 00:26:45,266 --> 00:26:48,200 Lots of stone to death penalties they had, and they did it. 503 00:26:50,400 --> 00:26:53,266 And then the new, which came through Christ. 504 00:26:54,766 --> 00:26:55,233 Why? 505 00:26:55,299 --> 00:26:59,066 Because he was a greater mediator than those angels, with 506 00:26:59,066 --> 00:27:02,233 a better covenant, but with a better covenant, 507 00:27:03,066 --> 00:27:06,000 it carries with it a greater punishment. 508 00:27:08,066 --> 00:27:11,366 Simply put, you are a fool, if you think you 509 00:27:11,366 --> 00:27:14,533 are going to escape the punishment of the new covenant, if 510 00:27:14,566 --> 00:27:17,566 nobody ever escaped the punishment of 511 00:27:17,566 --> 00:27:20,666 breaking the old, because this new covenant is 512 00:27:20,666 --> 00:27:23,733 an ever greater covenant, how in the world will you 513 00:27:23,733 --> 00:27:26,733 escape judgment if you neglect so great 514 00:27:26,733 --> 00:27:30,400 a salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone? 515 00:27:30,700 --> 00:27:32,933 People today have this idea. 516 00:27:33,166 --> 00:27:35,200 Oh, well, God is love. 517 00:27:36,033 --> 00:27:37,700 And God is a God of grace. 518 00:27:39,166 --> 00:27:39,766 He is. 519 00:27:42,000 --> 00:27:42,866 But that's not all. 520 00:27:44,766 --> 00:27:47,700 They don't even like to think about the fact that he's holy. 521 00:27:49,766 --> 00:27:52,366 And that he's a holy God of perfect justice. 522 00:27:54,266 --> 00:27:57,266 If, in your one short life that you are living right 523 00:27:57,266 --> 00:28:00,333 now, you decide not to come to Christ 524 00:28:00,333 --> 00:28:03,633 on his terms of repentance and faith, God's 525 00:28:03,633 --> 00:28:06,700 holy, perfect justice cannot 526 00:28:06,700 --> 00:28:09,933 do anything for you, but condemn you. 527 00:28:10,900 --> 00:28:13,966 That's all it will do when you stand before your maker when he makes 528 00:28:13,966 --> 00:28:15,333 your heir quit breathing. 529 00:28:16,233 --> 00:28:17,599 Because we're all guilty. 530 00:28:19,700 --> 00:28:20,200 We're all guilty. 531 00:28:21,466 --> 00:28:25,366 Of breaking God's law, many times over, 532 00:28:25,366 --> 00:28:28,966 God is holy, and His holy justice 533 00:28:28,966 --> 00:28:32,033 requires punishment for that, just 534 00:28:32,033 --> 00:28:35,099 like if I go next door, and I murder the next door 535 00:28:35,099 --> 00:28:38,366 neighbor, and it's on video, the state of Louisiana 536 00:28:38,366 --> 00:28:40,833 requires punishment for me. 537 00:28:42,166 --> 00:28:45,466 That I either go life in prison, or death by 538 00:28:45,466 --> 00:28:47,433 lethal injection, that's the law. 539 00:28:48,033 --> 00:28:51,566 Well, the law of God says, I have a standard to 540 00:28:51,566 --> 00:28:55,633 be right with me, and if you don't mean it, the 541 00:28:55,666 --> 00:28:58,233 punishment is outer darkness forever. 542 00:28:58,700 --> 00:28:59,366 Same principle. 543 00:29:00,533 --> 00:29:03,066 Perfect justice though, compared to man's justice. 544 00:29:05,033 --> 00:29:06,466 And as I've explained many times, 545 00:29:09,599 --> 00:29:11,333 There's only two choices here, folks. 546 00:29:12,833 --> 00:29:16,233 And whether people believe what I'm fixing to say or not does 547 00:29:16,233 --> 00:29:19,299 not affect the reality of what I'm fixing to 548 00:29:19,299 --> 00:29:20,366 say one little bit. 549 00:29:21,766 --> 00:29:25,233 You can either bear the punishment and penalty 550 00:29:25,233 --> 00:29:28,299 for your lawbreaking in front of God in 551 00:29:28,299 --> 00:29:32,633 the outer darkness of hell, yourself, or choice number two. 552 00:29:33,400 --> 00:29:34,833 You can come to Christ his way. 553 00:29:35,799 --> 00:29:40,000 He will pay your penalty, and he will absorb your punishment 554 00:29:40,000 --> 00:29:43,299 as your substitute on Calvary's tree. 555 00:29:45,266 --> 00:29:48,466 Notice again, verse 2, referring back to the Old Testament times, 556 00:29:48,466 --> 00:29:51,933 and every transgression and disobedience received 557 00:29:51,933 --> 00:29:53,666 a just penalty. 558 00:29:54,299 --> 00:29:58,299 I want to say, again, there was absolutely no escape from the law of the Old Covenant. 559 00:29:58,433 --> 00:29:59,266 In Old Testament times. 560 00:29:59,366 --> 00:30:02,799 If you blaspheme God out loud, stung 561 00:30:02,799 --> 00:30:04,966 to death was going to be your end. 562 00:30:06,533 --> 00:30:07,799 Why was it so severe? 563 00:30:08,799 --> 00:30:10,233 Because God likes to make examples. 564 00:30:11,933 --> 00:30:15,066 God wanted to make sure that Israel's purity 565 00:30:15,066 --> 00:30:18,933 remained amongst all the pagan cultures and Molech 566 00:30:18,933 --> 00:30:21,566 burning kid nations that were all around them. 567 00:30:22,666 --> 00:30:25,799 So any false prophet and blasphemer in Israel, 568 00:30:25,799 --> 00:30:28,933 they were dealt with immediately and severely. 569 00:30:30,233 --> 00:30:32,166 In numbers, you can look this up. 570 00:30:32,266 --> 00:30:35,500 There was a man who was caught picking up sticks on the Sabbath day. 571 00:30:35,633 --> 00:30:36,066 What? 572 00:30:36,099 --> 00:30:37,166 He was only picking up sticks. 573 00:30:37,433 --> 00:30:39,533 What was the penalty, stoned to death? 574 00:30:41,433 --> 00:30:41,900 Why? 575 00:30:43,233 --> 00:30:44,133 God is holy. 576 00:30:46,166 --> 00:30:49,466 This man was willfully, outwardly, in 577 00:30:49,466 --> 00:30:51,866 public defying the law of God. 578 00:30:52,433 --> 00:30:55,466 They brought him to Moses, Moses goes to 579 00:30:55,466 --> 00:30:57,200 God, and what does God say? 580 00:30:57,333 --> 00:30:58,099 Put him to death. 581 00:31:00,900 --> 00:31:01,599 That's an example. 582 00:31:02,500 --> 00:31:05,066 That's an example given to us for all time. 583 00:31:07,599 --> 00:31:08,333 Let me ask you. 584 00:31:09,933 --> 00:31:14,066 What if that law was still in effect today about Sunday church attendance? 585 00:31:14,799 --> 00:31:16,299 Would you be live or dead right now? 586 00:31:18,233 --> 00:31:19,466 Ask yourself that question. 587 00:31:19,466 --> 00:31:20,233 Saying God. 588 00:31:21,566 --> 00:31:22,599 Same holy God. 589 00:31:24,400 --> 00:31:25,400 God's in charge! 590 00:31:27,466 --> 00:31:28,333 That's what you have to get. 591 00:31:29,866 --> 00:31:32,700 He's revealed himself clearly in his word what's important to him. 592 00:31:33,866 --> 00:31:35,166 It's his world. 593 00:31:36,000 --> 00:31:38,799 It's his law, whether you like it or not doesn't matter. 594 00:31:40,066 --> 00:31:42,766 People of Israel knew this far better than anybody else did, right? 595 00:31:43,766 --> 00:31:45,433 They saw it on a regular basis. 596 00:31:47,066 --> 00:31:50,066 All of God's laws moral, judicial, ceremonial. 597 00:31:50,566 --> 00:31:53,799 Again, they were put in place to maintain Israel's 598 00:31:53,799 --> 00:31:56,966 purity and their uniqueness and being different from 599 00:31:56,966 --> 00:32:00,133 any other nation around them on the earth. 600 00:32:00,233 --> 00:32:02,933 So God's judgments on Israel were so severe. 601 00:32:03,700 --> 00:32:04,433 You know why else? 602 00:32:04,833 --> 00:32:05,799 Because they knew better. 603 00:32:07,266 --> 00:32:07,966 They knew better. 604 00:32:09,333 --> 00:32:12,500 They had the most light from God of 605 00:32:12,533 --> 00:32:13,966 any other people group on the earth. 606 00:32:16,266 --> 00:32:19,433 And so when they got out of line, because they 607 00:32:19,433 --> 00:32:21,233 knew better, it was severe. 608 00:32:22,700 --> 00:32:24,466 They were being held accountable. 609 00:32:24,466 --> 00:32:27,533 As you well know, the more light you receive, 610 00:32:29,400 --> 00:32:31,066 the more accountable you are. 611 00:32:31,133 --> 00:32:33,599 That's why it's dangerous to come to Providence Baptist Church. 612 00:32:34,733 --> 00:32:36,466 Because we're flashing the light. 613 00:32:37,000 --> 00:32:38,733 Here, all right? 614 00:32:39,066 --> 00:32:39,766 Brightly. 615 00:32:41,266 --> 00:32:44,566 You're accountable to respond to this light that's being shined brightly 616 00:32:44,566 --> 00:32:48,033 from this pulpit in the way that God wants you to. 617 00:32:48,099 --> 00:32:49,066 Don't worry about me. 618 00:32:49,666 --> 00:32:50,766 I'm just the messenger boy. 619 00:32:52,599 --> 00:32:54,099 How God wants you to respond. 620 00:32:54,833 --> 00:32:57,966 And in the same way, there's no escape from judgment in the new covenant. 621 00:32:58,000 --> 00:32:58,766 What do I mean by that? 622 00:32:58,833 --> 00:33:00,566 Well, what is the issue? 623 00:33:02,299 --> 00:33:03,266 In the new covenant. 624 00:33:04,366 --> 00:33:06,599 Well, there's just one issue in the new company. 625 00:33:06,633 --> 00:33:07,400 You want to know what it is? 626 00:33:08,266 --> 00:33:09,833 What do you do with Jesus? 627 00:33:12,233 --> 00:33:13,266 Boil it all down. 628 00:33:15,099 --> 00:33:18,233 If you believe on his terms of repentance and faith, that 629 00:33:18,233 --> 00:33:21,599 secures you to the new covenant as 630 00:33:21,599 --> 00:33:25,233 well as remarkably freedom from the wrath of God. 631 00:33:25,666 --> 00:33:27,533 Romans 8, verse one. 632 00:33:27,866 --> 00:33:28,900 You know it well. 633 00:33:29,366 --> 00:33:32,733 Therefore, there is no condemnation 634 00:33:32,733 --> 00:33:36,566 for those who are in Christ Jesus. 635 00:33:37,066 --> 00:33:37,733 None. 636 00:33:38,033 --> 00:33:39,366 Jesus took your wrath. 637 00:33:39,700 --> 00:33:41,066 Jesus paid for all your sins. 638 00:33:41,200 --> 00:33:43,966 It's Jesus righteousness is put on your account. 639 00:33:47,066 --> 00:33:48,266 I believe that, brother Philip. 640 00:33:48,333 --> 00:33:49,166 Okay, well, how you living? 641 00:33:52,299 --> 00:33:56,633 One old preacher said, used to say, what are you doing about it? 642 00:33:57,566 --> 00:33:58,333 What your life? 643 00:34:00,099 --> 00:34:03,166 Do you give evidence that you live, your 644 00:34:03,166 --> 00:34:06,333 life, that shows and 645 00:34:06,333 --> 00:34:08,366 demonstrates, yeah, he's in Christ Jesus. 646 00:34:08,566 --> 00:34:09,766 She is in Christ Jesus. 647 00:34:10,433 --> 00:34:12,300 Those are the things that are most important to them. 648 00:34:14,266 --> 00:34:15,166 Now go back to our text. 649 00:34:17,066 --> 00:34:20,199 If a man could not neglect the revelation 650 00:34:20,199 --> 00:34:24,199 that came through angels in the Old Testament, 651 00:34:24,199 --> 00:34:27,266 how much more should he not 652 00:34:27,266 --> 00:34:29,966 neglect the revelation that came through Jesus himself? 653 00:34:30,266 --> 00:34:33,733 This is pointed out again very clearly, very clearly later. 654 00:34:34,199 --> 00:34:38,966 Some years from now, we'll get here in Hebrews 10, verses 28 29. 655 00:34:39,166 --> 00:34:39,633 Let's look at it. 656 00:34:42,033 --> 00:34:45,266 Anyone who has set aside the law 657 00:34:45,266 --> 00:34:48,333 of Moses, dies without mercy. 658 00:34:49,533 --> 00:34:51,633 on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 659 00:34:51,699 --> 00:34:52,366 That's what happened. 660 00:34:52,433 --> 00:34:55,900 They had to have the two or three witnesses, and, boy, if they did, you died without mercy. 661 00:34:56,199 --> 00:34:58,833 The stones were popping you upside the head till you died. 662 00:34:59,333 --> 00:35:00,166 Verse 29. 663 00:35:01,133 --> 00:35:04,466 How much severer punishment 664 00:35:04,466 --> 00:35:07,466 do you think he will deserve, who is trampled 665 00:35:07,466 --> 00:35:10,933 under foot, the Son of God, and 666 00:35:10,966 --> 00:35:14,199 has regarded as unclean the blood of 667 00:35:14,199 --> 00:35:17,266 the covenant, by which he was sanctified, 668 00:35:17,266 --> 00:35:18,900 and has insulted? 669 00:35:19,599 --> 00:35:21,033 the spirit of grace. 670 00:35:22,266 --> 00:35:22,666 That's pretty clear. 671 00:35:23,866 --> 00:35:27,599 In other words, if you think it was bad for those under Moses law. 672 00:35:31,066 --> 00:35:34,233 How much worse will the punishment be for those who 673 00:35:34,233 --> 00:35:37,533 know the truth of Jesus Christ, who 674 00:35:37,533 --> 00:35:40,366 make a mental assent to believing the truth of Jesus Christ? 675 00:35:41,433 --> 00:35:43,833 And they still trample him underfoot with their life. 676 00:35:45,033 --> 00:35:47,666 and still insult the spirit of grace anyway. 677 00:35:49,433 --> 00:35:52,599 Any person who knows the gospel, who has intellectually 678 00:35:52,599 --> 00:35:57,099 understood it, and even believed the facts of it, and still drift away. 679 00:35:59,366 --> 00:36:00,166 Let me tell you something. 680 00:36:01,133 --> 00:36:05,033 They will experience the most severe punishment possible. 681 00:36:05,800 --> 00:36:09,033 in hell, because there's degrees, as we've 682 00:36:09,033 --> 00:36:12,166 seen, a punishment in hell knows what the most like, or 683 00:36:12,166 --> 00:36:15,633 at the most extreme intense form, of 684 00:36:15,633 --> 00:36:17,866 outer darkness, because they were given the most light. 685 00:36:19,699 --> 00:36:20,500 Gospel light. 686 00:36:22,066 --> 00:36:25,366 Which America has been full of, since its founding. 687 00:36:26,699 --> 00:36:29,800 There are still, even in this depraved nation that we're 688 00:36:29,800 --> 00:36:33,833 living in, there are still plenty of people in this nation that can give you the gospel. 689 00:36:34,966 --> 00:36:37,966 There's still enough churches left that are preaching the 690 00:36:37,966 --> 00:36:41,333 Word that you have no excuse in America not to believe. 691 00:36:44,033 --> 00:36:47,266 Look, nobody likes to think about it. 692 00:36:48,300 --> 00:36:49,300 I don't like to think about it. 693 00:36:52,000 --> 00:36:53,333 But hell is a very real place. 694 00:36:55,966 --> 00:36:58,966 And the consequence of breaking God's law, 695 00:36:58,966 --> 00:37:05,166 and his perfect holy justice being meeting out, happens 696 00:37:05,166 --> 00:37:09,866 in a place called a place of everlasting fire, where 697 00:37:09,866 --> 00:37:13,900 the worm dies not, and the fire is not quenched. 698 00:37:15,166 --> 00:37:18,400 Again, it's called outer darkness, and 699 00:37:18,400 --> 00:37:21,533 Jesus Christ, the Lord Jesus, King Jesus 700 00:37:21,533 --> 00:37:24,599 himself said that people there are weeping 701 00:37:24,599 --> 00:37:27,800 and wailing, and gnashing of teeth. 702 00:37:29,433 --> 00:37:30,866 gritting or tears like this. 703 00:37:36,166 --> 00:37:38,099 Said more about hell than he did about heaven. 704 00:37:41,199 --> 00:37:42,400 I'm just telling you the truth. 705 00:37:44,566 --> 00:37:46,833 Nobody can really wrap their mind around hell. 706 00:37:46,966 --> 00:37:47,733 I don't even try. 707 00:37:48,966 --> 00:37:49,666 I don't even try. 708 00:37:50,500 --> 00:37:52,133 But if we believe the Bible. 709 00:37:54,400 --> 00:37:57,400 And the words of Jesus himself, we simply cannot 710 00:37:57,400 --> 00:38:01,133 get around it or pretend like it's not there, 711 00:38:01,133 --> 00:38:04,000 as so many people do, sadly even in the church today. 712 00:38:05,666 --> 00:38:07,099 And what our text is saying. 713 00:38:07,533 --> 00:38:09,566 This is what our text is getting at right here. 714 00:38:10,599 --> 00:38:13,666 How can a man or a woman escape judgment if 715 00:38:13,666 --> 00:38:16,833 he rejects the new covenant in Jesus Christ? 716 00:38:17,033 --> 00:38:18,533 And the answer is he can't. 717 00:38:19,900 --> 00:38:20,633 He can't. 718 00:38:21,566 --> 00:38:23,533 There's no way to escape. 719 00:38:24,866 --> 00:38:25,666 If we neglect. 720 00:38:26,733 --> 00:38:28,099 So great a salvation. 721 00:38:29,199 --> 00:38:30,466 That's what Hebrews is teaching us. 722 00:38:31,000 --> 00:38:34,166 So to treat the gospel of Jesus Christ, of neglect is 723 00:38:34,166 --> 00:38:37,233 foolish, first of all, because of the character of Christ, 724 00:38:37,233 --> 00:38:39,933 secondly, because of the certainty of judgment. 725 00:38:40,066 --> 00:38:43,133 Lastly, for today, because of 726 00:38:43,133 --> 00:38:44,333 the confirmation of God. 727 00:38:46,000 --> 00:38:47,966 And this starts as we continue in verse 3. 728 00:38:49,000 --> 00:38:52,366 How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? 729 00:38:52,366 --> 00:38:56,199 After it was at the first spoken 730 00:38:56,199 --> 00:38:57,833 through the Lord. 731 00:38:58,000 --> 00:38:58,900 Now stop there. 732 00:38:58,966 --> 00:39:01,066 Who was the first preacher of the gospel, Jesus? 733 00:39:01,866 --> 00:39:03,300 He came preaching repentance. 734 00:39:04,800 --> 00:39:06,699 Remember that great scene in his own hometown? 735 00:39:08,133 --> 00:39:11,199 He goes back to the synagogue in Nazareth, 736 00:39:11,199 --> 00:39:14,199 where he grew up as a boy, and he's on debt 737 00:39:14,199 --> 00:39:16,233 for the public reading of scripture at the service. 738 00:39:17,366 --> 00:39:18,933 And look at Luke 4, 18. 739 00:39:20,266 --> 00:39:23,533 He quotes straight out of Isaiah 61, The Spirit of the Lord is 740 00:39:23,533 --> 00:39:27,266 upon me, because he's anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. 741 00:39:27,333 --> 00:39:30,400 And remember, that's not just the physically poor, that's the spiritually poor. 742 00:39:30,633 --> 00:39:33,800 And he sent me to proclaim, release to the captives and recovery 743 00:39:33,833 --> 00:39:34,900 of sight to the blind. 744 00:39:35,033 --> 00:39:38,266 That's also the spiritually blind, to set free those who 745 00:39:38,266 --> 00:39:39,333 are oppressed. 746 00:39:39,466 --> 00:39:40,300 And then he sat down. 747 00:39:41,566 --> 00:39:44,400 And then, look what he said in verse 21. 748 00:39:45,866 --> 00:39:46,533 Today. 749 00:39:47,599 --> 00:39:51,533 The scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing. 750 00:39:52,699 --> 00:39:55,233 And by the time he finished talking, what did they do? 751 00:39:55,300 --> 00:39:58,733 They drove him out to a cliff, and they wanted to throw him off the cliff for what he said. 752 00:39:59,666 --> 00:40:02,733 But he escaped from their midst, the Bible says, because it wasn't 753 00:40:02,733 --> 00:40:04,833 yet his time, because he's God. 754 00:40:06,199 --> 00:40:07,133 Hebrews 2.3. 755 00:40:09,866 --> 00:40:12,099 Says the Lord Jesus was the first one that spoke the gospel. 756 00:40:13,466 --> 00:40:16,566 After it was first spoken through the Lord, then look next. 757 00:40:16,599 --> 00:40:18,766 Look next, in the verse, Hebrews 2.3. 758 00:40:19,300 --> 00:40:23,433 It was confirmed to us by those who heard. 759 00:40:23,500 --> 00:40:27,033 Now, just remember, this small Jewish congregation, this letter is written to, 760 00:40:27,033 --> 00:40:29,000 they didn't hear the gospel straight from Jesus himself. 761 00:40:30,033 --> 00:40:32,000 They were the second generation hearers. 762 00:40:32,633 --> 00:40:36,966 They heard it first from those apostolic missionaries, those apostles. 763 00:40:37,133 --> 00:40:40,366 Jesus preached it first, but it was confirmed to us by 764 00:40:40,366 --> 00:40:42,400 them who hurt him. 765 00:40:42,800 --> 00:40:44,666 The apostles heard him first. 766 00:40:44,800 --> 00:40:45,466 Preach it. 767 00:40:45,533 --> 00:40:47,199 And that's what's being said here in this verse. 768 00:40:47,366 --> 00:40:48,566 And then verse 4 is the key. 769 00:40:50,266 --> 00:40:53,266 God also testifying with them, 770 00:40:53,266 --> 00:40:56,433 both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and 771 00:40:56,433 --> 00:40:59,866 gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to his own will. 772 00:40:59,966 --> 00:41:03,433 Now, remember this from our study of the gospel of John when Jesus preached the gospel. 773 00:41:03,766 --> 00:41:06,766 He also did some other unbelievable, quite wild 774 00:41:06,766 --> 00:41:10,466 things to make it believable, 775 00:41:10,466 --> 00:41:14,066 namely, jaw dropping, no way to be faked miracles. 776 00:41:15,500 --> 00:41:17,333 What were their miracles there for? 777 00:41:17,633 --> 00:41:20,800 They were there for to confirm the word 778 00:41:20,800 --> 00:41:22,966 that he was preaching and who he was claiming to be. 779 00:41:24,833 --> 00:41:28,133 And that was part of the message that Peter preached on the day of Pentecost. 780 00:41:28,166 --> 00:41:29,500 Look what he said in Acts 2.22. 781 00:41:30,033 --> 00:41:32,433 Men of Israel, listen to these words. 782 00:41:32,666 --> 00:41:36,133 Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you, by God, 783 00:41:36,166 --> 00:41:39,166 with miracles and wonders and signs, which 784 00:41:39,166 --> 00:41:42,266 God performed through him in your midst, just 785 00:41:42,266 --> 00:41:43,900 as you yourselves know. 786 00:41:44,266 --> 00:41:44,933 And guess what? 787 00:41:46,366 --> 00:41:49,599 Do you know that the same thing was true from the apostles? 788 00:41:51,699 --> 00:41:54,766 Listen, even during the time of the early church, there were false 789 00:41:54,766 --> 00:41:55,800 prophets running all around. 790 00:41:55,900 --> 00:41:58,366 There were false Messiahs claiming to be Messiah. 791 00:41:59,400 --> 00:42:02,500 So how were Jesus' apostles 792 00:42:02,500 --> 00:42:05,633 going to be believed as opposed to all the 793 00:42:05,633 --> 00:42:08,333 rest of those false prophets that were out there preaching? 794 00:42:08,733 --> 00:42:11,733 Well, God gave them the ability to do the same things 795 00:42:11,733 --> 00:42:13,233 that Jesus had done. 796 00:42:13,733 --> 00:42:15,599 Signs, wonders, and miracles. 797 00:42:16,000 --> 00:42:18,099 They even raised the dead. 798 00:42:18,833 --> 00:42:19,733 Like Jesus did. 799 00:42:21,599 --> 00:42:25,133 So this is not some pie in the sky, reality here. 800 00:42:25,233 --> 00:42:26,566 This is historical truth. 801 00:42:26,966 --> 00:42:30,133 God's gospel was substantiated by signs 802 00:42:30,166 --> 00:42:33,533 and wonders and miracles that were performed by the apostles 803 00:42:33,533 --> 00:42:35,699 after Jesus went back to heaven. 804 00:42:36,033 --> 00:42:39,466 Just look for yourself starting Acts 5 and reads all the way through Acts 19. 805 00:42:40,233 --> 00:42:44,400 You'll see it over and over and over, one after another of these miracles, 806 00:42:44,400 --> 00:42:47,433 in the ministries of these men, leaving no 807 00:42:47,433 --> 00:42:51,566 doubt that the true preachers of God's truth really were true. 808 00:42:52,966 --> 00:42:55,966 Not only did God testify with them, as verse 809 00:42:55,966 --> 00:42:59,800 4 says, by signs and wonders and various miracles, look next, what else? 810 00:43:01,000 --> 00:43:02,800 And by gifts of the Holy Spirit. 811 00:43:03,833 --> 00:43:07,466 And then lastly, very importantly, according 812 00:43:07,466 --> 00:43:08,900 to his own will. 813 00:43:11,333 --> 00:43:14,966 Now, I want to emphasize that signs, 814 00:43:14,966 --> 00:43:18,133 wonders, and miracles, and gifts of the Holy 815 00:43:18,166 --> 00:43:21,400 Spirit were given according 816 00:43:21,400 --> 00:43:24,833 to God's will. 817 00:43:26,366 --> 00:43:29,666 Now, some of you might know why I am emphasizing that. 818 00:43:31,833 --> 00:43:35,366 And without taking you into another hour on this particular subject, 819 00:43:35,366 --> 00:43:39,500 I just want to say that this is just another solid demonstration 820 00:43:39,533 --> 00:43:42,866 that all of the apostolic signed 821 00:43:42,866 --> 00:43:45,866 gifts of the early church, of which, I believe, there were 822 00:43:45,866 --> 00:43:49,233 four healing, miracles, tongues, 823 00:43:49,233 --> 00:43:52,400 and interpretation of tongues, were God's 824 00:43:52,433 --> 00:43:55,433 will, and only God's will for 825 00:43:55,433 --> 00:43:57,099 the apostolic age. 826 00:43:57,099 --> 00:43:58,599 And this is proof of it right here. 827 00:44:00,166 --> 00:44:03,599 They were not for forever throughout the rest of human history. 828 00:44:04,733 --> 00:44:06,366 They were not for today. 829 00:44:07,733 --> 00:44:11,033 They were for conforming and confirming 830 00:44:11,033 --> 00:44:12,766 the word of God. 831 00:44:13,599 --> 00:44:16,599 So, here's what I believe, and what we teach 832 00:44:16,599 --> 00:44:20,566 here at Providence, that the apostolic, 833 00:44:20,566 --> 00:44:24,033 sign gifts, ended with the apostolic era. 834 00:44:24,833 --> 00:44:28,900 Doesn't mean God can't do miracles today because he does them all the 835 00:44:28,900 --> 00:44:32,333 time, but not the apostolic sign gifts. 836 00:44:32,566 --> 00:44:35,933 There is no need for the apostolic sign gifts today, because 837 00:44:35,933 --> 00:44:37,966 there's no need to confirm the word. 838 00:44:38,033 --> 00:44:38,766 It's complete. 839 00:44:39,266 --> 00:44:42,266 Because if somebody comes along, when we have to 840 00:44:42,266 --> 00:44:45,199 ask, well, how do we know if what he's preaching is for real? 841 00:44:45,333 --> 00:44:46,366 I don't need a miracle? 842 00:44:46,666 --> 00:44:49,833 I don't need a signed gift, I just take my Bible out and say, 843 00:44:49,833 --> 00:44:52,766 okay, what you got to say there, brother, and see if it matches up with the word. 844 00:44:52,900 --> 00:44:54,566 That's what we do in this time and age. 845 00:44:56,000 --> 00:44:59,500 The tremendous theologian, Benjamin Breckenridge 846 00:44:59,500 --> 00:45:01,000 Warfield, said this. 847 00:45:01,533 --> 00:45:04,599 These miraculous gifts were part of the credentials of 848 00:45:04,599 --> 00:45:08,266 the apostles as the authoritative agents of God in 849 00:45:08,266 --> 00:45:09,533 founding the church. 850 00:45:10,133 --> 00:45:13,566 Their function thus confined them to distinctively 851 00:45:13,566 --> 00:45:19,166 the apostolic church, and they necessarily passed away with it. 852 00:45:19,233 --> 00:45:20,599 I can't explain it any better than that. 853 00:45:21,800 --> 00:45:25,000 Let me give you a quick example with tongs, since that's the hot button deal. 854 00:45:25,966 --> 00:45:29,266 First, Corinthians 14:22 should settle the matter, 855 00:45:29,266 --> 00:45:31,233 but unfortunately, it doesn't for so many. 856 00:45:32,666 --> 00:45:35,900 So then tongues are 857 00:45:35,933 --> 00:45:37,300 for a sign. 858 00:45:39,233 --> 00:45:44,166 not to those who believe, but for unbelievers. 859 00:45:45,533 --> 00:45:47,766 They never had any relationship to believers whatsoever. 860 00:45:48,466 --> 00:45:51,433 They weren't far believers to be doing amongst believers. 861 00:45:51,533 --> 00:45:53,766 They were for unbelievers. 862 00:45:53,800 --> 00:45:57,466 They were simply a part of confirming these miracles 863 00:45:57,466 --> 00:46:00,933 in the early church to unbelievers to show them, Hey, 864 00:46:00,933 --> 00:46:03,633 these men, these apostles right here, they're speaking from God. 865 00:46:03,699 --> 00:46:04,233 Watch this. 866 00:46:04,300 --> 00:46:06,333 They can speak in your language, and they don't even know it. 867 00:46:08,199 --> 00:46:13,433 And when the word of God became complete, it's clear. 868 00:46:13,466 --> 00:46:13,900 That was it. 869 00:46:14,333 --> 00:46:15,099 They ceased. 870 00:46:15,166 --> 00:46:17,133 No, we don't need to sign gifts anymore. 871 00:46:19,433 --> 00:46:22,433 Now, that's why 872 00:46:22,433 --> 00:46:25,433 what we see in so many churches today is clearly false, 873 00:46:25,433 --> 00:46:26,500 clearly false. 874 00:46:27,766 --> 00:46:31,000 And not only are people babbling in 875 00:46:31,000 --> 00:46:34,233 unknown languages in churches when biblical tongues 876 00:46:34,233 --> 00:46:38,066 are always in identifiable language, not a babbling. 877 00:46:39,699 --> 00:46:42,866 They are also babbling within the context of a worship 878 00:46:42,866 --> 00:46:45,400 service, where supposedly there's not any unbelievers. 879 00:46:47,433 --> 00:46:50,666 And oftentimes, those babblings that are not even human language 880 00:46:50,666 --> 00:46:52,233 are not even being interpreted. 881 00:46:52,366 --> 00:46:54,166 So they're breaking the rules all over the place. 882 00:46:55,766 --> 00:46:56,900 And isn't it interesting? 883 00:46:58,599 --> 00:47:02,133 How if it's the Holy Spirit of God who 884 00:47:02,133 --> 00:47:03,400 makes this miracle happen? 885 00:47:05,066 --> 00:47:08,500 Why isn't it never one time ever 886 00:47:08,500 --> 00:47:11,500 that the Holy Spirit decides to do 887 00:47:11,500 --> 00:47:14,199 the gift of tongues in a reformed Baptist Church ever? 888 00:47:15,199 --> 00:47:18,099 Only in those churches where they teach the babbling tongues? 889 00:47:19,066 --> 00:47:20,433 Just a, hmm. 890 00:47:20,966 --> 00:47:23,500 What I say to that, that's interesting. 891 00:47:25,000 --> 00:47:28,966 And that connects us to the last point of our last verse. 892 00:47:30,933 --> 00:47:33,933 God also testifying with them both by signs and wonders 893 00:47:33,933 --> 00:47:36,466 and by various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit. 894 00:47:36,533 --> 00:47:37,500 Here's the kicker. 895 00:47:38,699 --> 00:47:39,633 Here's the kicker. 896 00:47:40,666 --> 00:47:41,733 Look in it, read it well. 897 00:47:42,333 --> 00:47:44,133 According to his own will. 898 00:47:47,199 --> 00:47:50,266 That's how the tongues, and the healings, and the raising 899 00:47:50,266 --> 00:47:52,533 people from the dead came about in the early church. 900 00:47:53,599 --> 00:47:54,233 Let me tell you something. 901 00:47:54,766 --> 00:47:57,833 No apostle ever had to take a class on how 902 00:47:57,833 --> 00:48:01,199 to speak tongues, as many people do in charismatic churches today. 903 00:48:02,333 --> 00:48:05,199 Just start saying, da, da, da, da, it'll come along. 904 00:48:05,966 --> 00:48:07,366 No apostle ever had to do that. 905 00:48:07,900 --> 00:48:08,433 Ever. 906 00:48:08,866 --> 00:48:11,933 They spoke identifiable languages that weren't theirs. 907 00:48:12,466 --> 00:48:13,933 That's the miracle of tongues. 908 00:48:14,633 --> 00:48:17,266 Not this insane babbling that they do today. 909 00:48:17,566 --> 00:48:20,800 True biblical tongues and all the rest of the apostolic 910 00:48:20,800 --> 00:48:23,933 sign gifts were empowered by God, according to 911 00:48:23,933 --> 00:48:27,300 the will of God, and God always does everything right. 912 00:48:28,466 --> 00:48:29,833 And what you see today is not right. 913 00:48:29,966 --> 00:48:31,533 Sorry, it's just not. 914 00:48:32,699 --> 00:48:33,699 All right, let's wrap it up. 915 00:48:34,500 --> 00:48:35,333 What have we learned? 916 00:48:36,033 --> 00:48:39,400 Three biblical reasons for why any person is 917 00:48:39,400 --> 00:48:42,633 a fool to neglect salvation. 918 00:48:42,699 --> 00:48:43,833 Number one, the character of God. 919 00:48:44,699 --> 00:48:46,466 Number two, the certainty of judgment. 920 00:48:47,433 --> 00:48:50,300 Number three, the confirmation of God. 921 00:48:50,633 --> 00:48:51,400 Make sure. 922 00:48:52,800 --> 00:48:56,133 Make sure, that it's never, ever said of you. 923 00:48:57,566 --> 00:49:01,233 that you neglected so great a salvation. 924 00:49:02,966 --> 00:49:04,466 Don't drift. 925 00:49:05,266 --> 00:49:08,266 past the harbor of grace, and 926 00:49:08,266 --> 00:49:11,433 land on the rocks of eternal destruction, 927 00:49:11,433 --> 00:49:12,500 because there's no return. 928 00:49:13,066 --> 00:49:16,300 There's not another ship that's going to come along for you. 929 00:49:17,966 --> 00:49:22,099 Put your anchor down, to day, 930 00:49:22,099 --> 00:49:26,099 into the solid rock of Christ Jesus, King Jesus, 931 00:49:26,099 --> 00:49:29,266 and his gospel, but not only that, then go out and 932 00:49:29,266 --> 00:49:31,500 live and give evidence with your life. 933 00:49:32,566 --> 00:49:33,066 that you have. 934 00:49:34,000 --> 00:49:34,433 Let's pray. 935 00:49:34,666 --> 00:49:36,300 Father, we thank you for Hebrews. 936 00:49:36,400 --> 00:49:36,833 Wow. 937 00:49:39,099 --> 00:49:40,966 Oh, I don't deserve to do such work. 938 00:49:41,800 --> 00:49:44,366 Some kind of way, you got this old fool up here doing it. 939 00:49:45,766 --> 00:49:46,966 And I thank you. 940 00:49:48,166 --> 00:49:49,933 I thank you for the clarity of your word. 941 00:49:51,266 --> 00:49:55,466 I thank you for the Holy Spirit that inspired the writer to write with such clarity. 942 00:49:56,666 --> 00:49:59,966 Take this word and seal it to our minds, and our hearts, 943 00:49:59,966 --> 00:50:03,133 and our thinking, and may we come away from this place today 944 00:50:03,166 --> 00:50:07,166 with a deeper understanding of who you are, 945 00:50:07,166 --> 00:50:10,166 and how you operate in our Christian lives, and in the lives of 946 00:50:10,166 --> 00:50:12,099 all people, all to your glory. 947 00:50:12,233 --> 00:50:13,300 In Jesus' name we pray. 948 00:50:13,533 --> 00:50:14,066 Amen.