WEBVTT 00:00:01.229 --> 00:00:06.929 Amen and let's take the word then and open up 00:00:06.929 --> 00:00:13.449 to the New Testament book of Hebrews Hebrews 00:00:13.449 --> 00:00:23.769 chapter 1 verses 1 and 2 Really really what we're 00:00:23.769 --> 00:00:26.210 gonna look at is chapter 1 in the first half 00:00:26.210 --> 00:00:30.239 of verse 2 if you're looking for Hebrews, it's 00:00:30.239 --> 00:00:33.340 in the New Testament following the letters of 00:00:33.340 --> 00:00:36.399 Paul. And so as you're turning, you'll probably 00:00:36.399 --> 00:00:40.759 see 1st and 2nd Timothy and Titus and Philemon. 00:00:41.460 --> 00:00:44.280 If you see James or 1st and 2nd Peter or the 00:00:44.280 --> 00:00:49.899 Johns, you've gone too far. Hebrews chapter 1 00:00:49.899 --> 00:00:53.700 verse 1 and the first half of verse 2. And this 00:00:53.700 --> 00:00:56.100 is the beginning of our new sermon series through 00:00:56.100 --> 00:00:59.200 this wonderful book. Would you follow along with 00:00:59.200 --> 00:01:06.200 me? Long ago, at many times and in many ways, 00:01:06.700 --> 00:01:11.319 God spoke to our fathers by the prophets. But 00:01:11.319 --> 00:01:16.719 in these last days, He has spoken to us by His 00:01:16.719 --> 00:01:21.200 Son. The grass withers and the flower fades, 00:01:21.620 --> 00:01:24.939 but God's Word stands forever. Let's pray together. 00:01:25.730 --> 00:01:30.150 Oh Lord, as we now open up Your Word, we pray 00:01:30.150 --> 00:01:33.530 that the eyes of our hearts would be illumined 00:01:33.530 --> 00:01:36.170 so that we may be able to comprehend with all 00:01:36.170 --> 00:01:38.150 the saints what is the breadth and the length 00:01:38.150 --> 00:01:41.170 and the height and the depth, and to know the 00:01:41.170 --> 00:01:46.109 love of Christ which surpasses all. It surpasses 00:01:46.109 --> 00:01:49.790 all knowledge. So Lord, would You be our guide 00:01:49.790 --> 00:01:53.090 through this book. We pray for Christ's sake. 00:01:53.769 --> 00:02:04.500 Amen. If you could ask God one question, and 00:02:04.500 --> 00:02:07.340 indeed you can in prayer, but if you could ask 00:02:07.340 --> 00:02:12.360 God one question specifically related to the 00:02:12.360 --> 00:02:15.659 faith, related to something in scripture, related 00:02:15.659 --> 00:02:19.919 to some doctrine, maybe you might ask, well, 00:02:19.919 --> 00:02:24.300 Lord, really, who are the Nephilim? Or maybe 00:02:24.300 --> 00:02:27.909 you would ask, Lord, Truly, what's going on at 00:02:27.909 --> 00:02:31.370 the end of the book of Daniel? Or maybe you might 00:02:31.370 --> 00:02:34.949 ask God, when is Jesus coming back? I know that 00:02:34.949 --> 00:02:38.889 we have questions that we want to see answered. 00:02:39.330 --> 00:02:41.770 But if you could just ask God one question and 00:02:41.770 --> 00:02:43.870 be assured of the answer, I wonder what it would 00:02:43.870 --> 00:02:49.870 be. R .C. Sproul had a question that he wanted 00:02:49.870 --> 00:02:54.030 to ask God in glory. And his question was this. 00:02:55.370 --> 00:03:01.270 Who wrote the book of Hebrews? That might be 00:03:01.270 --> 00:03:05.550 your question as well. Who wrote the book of 00:03:05.550 --> 00:03:10.389 Hebrews? Throughout church history many have 00:03:10.389 --> 00:03:12.849 sought to answer this question and many have 00:03:12.849 --> 00:03:19.129 landed upon the Apostle Paul. Indeed the 1611 00:03:19.129 --> 00:03:22.689 King James Version says the title of the book 00:03:22.689 --> 00:03:26.789 the Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Hebrews. 00:03:30.590 --> 00:03:35.789 Many fine theologians and pastors and just disciples 00:03:35.789 --> 00:03:38.770 of Christ have said the Apostle Paul wrote this 00:03:38.770 --> 00:03:41.870 book. To me that's a little bit like when I ask 00:03:41.870 --> 00:03:44.770 my children where do you want to go to dinner 00:03:44.770 --> 00:03:48.000 tonight and they just Shout out, we want Mexican 00:03:48.000 --> 00:03:51.960 food. Because what we do is we gravitate towards 00:03:51.960 --> 00:03:54.719 the things that we know. And we've got all of 00:03:54.719 --> 00:03:58.740 these letters from Paul that precede this. And 00:03:58.740 --> 00:04:02.000 so we might be inclined to say, well, I think 00:04:02.000 --> 00:04:04.919 the apostle Paul wrote this book. And indeed, 00:04:05.039 --> 00:04:07.599 there might be some good reasons to think that. 00:04:08.159 --> 00:04:11.759 After all, the end of this book is very Pauline. 00:04:13.390 --> 00:04:18.269 Certainly the author of Hebrews knew his Old 00:04:18.269 --> 00:04:21.029 Testament Bible very well. It was written, it 00:04:21.029 --> 00:04:23.870 appears, by someone who was Jewish. And so for 00:04:23.870 --> 00:04:26.250 these reasons, we might say, yes, it was the 00:04:26.250 --> 00:04:29.250 Apostle Paul. But at the same time, there are 00:04:29.250 --> 00:04:32.870 other just elements of this letter that don't 00:04:32.870 --> 00:04:36.529 sound like the Apostle Paul. For one thing, he 00:04:36.529 --> 00:04:40.009 doesn't say that he wrote it. Meanwhile, the 00:04:40.009 --> 00:04:43.519 letters of Paul he does. assign himself as the 00:04:43.519 --> 00:04:48.160 author. Additionally, there's not really an introduction 00:04:48.160 --> 00:04:51.160 to this book like you find in the other letters 00:04:51.160 --> 00:04:54.079 from Paul. It just jumps right into this kind 00:04:54.079 --> 00:04:59.019 of action going on, right? And maybe even more 00:04:59.019 --> 00:05:01.660 convincing is that I think it's in chapter two 00:05:01.660 --> 00:05:04.240 where it seems that the author of the book of 00:05:04.240 --> 00:05:09.360 Hebrews is a second generation Christian. He 00:05:09.360 --> 00:05:13.779 says that he learned of Christ through the Apostles. 00:05:13.939 --> 00:05:16.500 Now we know this about Paul. He didn't learn 00:05:16.500 --> 00:05:20.120 of it firstly from the Apostles, did he? No, 00:05:20.379 --> 00:05:23.160 the Apostle Paul had a direct encounter with 00:05:23.160 --> 00:05:26.600 the Lord Jesus Christ on the Damascus Road. You 00:05:26.600 --> 00:05:29.060 remember that he is blinded by this light. He 00:05:29.060 --> 00:05:32.079 falls to the ground and he hears these words 00:05:32.079 --> 00:05:37.199 from Jesus, Saul, Saul. Why are you persecuting 00:05:37.199 --> 00:05:43.550 me? And thus, Saul becomes Paul, just like I 00:05:43.550 --> 00:05:46.910 said last Sunday. Saul becomes Paul. The persecutor 00:05:46.910 --> 00:05:49.750 becomes the preacher. And with that encounter 00:05:49.750 --> 00:05:54.170 with the Lord Jesus Christ, he lays claim to 00:05:54.170 --> 00:05:58.379 being an apostle. So it doesn't come through 00:05:58.379 --> 00:06:01.379 other believers. It comes through Jesus. And 00:06:01.379 --> 00:06:03.879 so for these reasons many have said it's got 00:06:03.879 --> 00:06:06.959 to be somebody else. And so other people have 00:06:06.959 --> 00:06:09.540 suggested throughout history the following names 00:06:09.540 --> 00:06:16.879 as authors of Hebrews. Luke, Apollos maybe, Barnabas, 00:06:17.319 --> 00:06:22.389 Clement of Rome, Apaphras, Silas, Philip. But 00:06:22.389 --> 00:06:25.829 I think ultimately where I land on the authorship 00:06:25.829 --> 00:06:30.490 of Hebrews is with the Church Father origin who 00:06:30.490 --> 00:06:35.310 ultimately said, but who wrote the epistle? In 00:06:35.310 --> 00:06:40.750 truth, God knows. God knows who wrote this, even 00:06:40.750 --> 00:06:44.730 if we're not entirely sure. But isn't it interesting 00:06:44.730 --> 00:06:48.519 that in a book, that has drawn so much curiosity 00:06:48.519 --> 00:06:51.860 about authorship, the beginning of the book is 00:06:51.860 --> 00:06:57.720 all about divine authorship, isn't it? The beginning 00:06:57.720 --> 00:07:03.139 of this book is all about how God speaks. And 00:07:03.139 --> 00:07:05.860 so here's what I want you to see today. The author 00:07:05.860 --> 00:07:10.259 of Hebrews contrasts the time, the recipients 00:07:10.259 --> 00:07:14.360 and the means by which God speaks. that we would 00:07:14.360 --> 00:07:18.879 look unto Jesus as the Son of God and know of 00:07:18.879 --> 00:07:22.899 His preeminence. And so that's kind of the theme 00:07:22.899 --> 00:07:27.220 of this book. But some other themes that people 00:07:27.220 --> 00:07:29.519 have suggested, we're going to see this as we 00:07:29.519 --> 00:07:32.160 go along through this book. But ultimately all 00:07:32.160 --> 00:07:35.879 of the themes center around the second person 00:07:35.879 --> 00:07:38.899 of the Trinity. The big theme of this book is 00:07:38.899 --> 00:07:42.629 Jesus Christ Himself. The way this is written 00:07:42.629 --> 00:07:46.790 is to connect Jesus to the Old Testament to show 00:07:46.790 --> 00:07:51.829 that he is the fulfillment of the promises and 00:07:51.829 --> 00:07:54.689 the events of the Old Testament that Jesus is 00:07:54.689 --> 00:07:58.389 the yes and the Amen to all of the promises of 00:07:58.389 --> 00:08:06.290 God But who needed to hear this Certainly we 00:08:06.290 --> 00:08:08.730 need to hear this but let's think of the original 00:08:08.730 --> 00:08:11.839 audience here The original audience was likely 00:08:11.839 --> 00:08:15.839 a mixed bag of Jewish Christians and Gentile 00:08:15.839 --> 00:08:19.879 Christians. But but where this letter is going 00:08:19.879 --> 00:08:23.579 to what church we are not entirely sure on that. 00:08:23.879 --> 00:08:25.540 Just like we don't know the author, we don't 00:08:25.540 --> 00:08:29.360 know exactly where this letter was meant to go. 00:08:30.079 --> 00:08:34.179 Some have said Rome. Some have said Jerusalem 00:08:34.179 --> 00:08:39.679 and others have. sought to explain other places, 00:08:39.840 --> 00:08:44.340 right? But we can also say this, that the individuals 00:08:44.340 --> 00:08:47.659 receiving this were undergoing persecution. And 00:08:47.659 --> 00:08:49.700 we're gonna see that as we go along through this 00:08:49.700 --> 00:08:52.440 book. The recipients of this letter, some of 00:08:52.440 --> 00:08:54.879 them were being tempted to depart the faith. 00:08:55.299 --> 00:08:58.159 Some of them were being tempted to deny Christ 00:08:58.159 --> 00:09:01.080 as the Messiah. Some of them were being tempted 00:09:01.080 --> 00:09:05.120 to return to the old covenant system amidst this 00:09:05.120 --> 00:09:11.200 persecution. maybe that persecution is a help 00:09:11.200 --> 00:09:14.820 to us in understanding the dating of this book. 00:09:15.720 --> 00:09:18.539 So as we look at this book and we want to know 00:09:18.539 --> 00:09:22.179 when it was written, there is no mention of the 00:09:22.179 --> 00:09:25.940 destruction of the temple in AD 70. We might 00:09:25.940 --> 00:09:28.600 expect that in a book that has to do at least 00:09:28.600 --> 00:09:32.080 on some level with persecution, but there's no 00:09:32.080 --> 00:09:34.909 mention of the temple's destruction. There's 00:09:34.909 --> 00:09:37.850 also no mention of the Apostle Paul and yet there 00:09:37.850 --> 00:09:42.470 is mention of Timothy. And so in light of these 00:09:42.470 --> 00:09:44.929 things, I think we can say that this is before 00:09:44.929 --> 00:09:50.970 AD 70, but this is after the time of Paul's death. 00:09:50.990 --> 00:09:54.870 And so some have said early into maybe the mid 00:09:54.870 --> 00:10:00.509 60s here. Let's dive a little bit further though 00:10:00.509 --> 00:10:03.450 into the time. Because this is one of my main 00:10:03.450 --> 00:10:07.350 points. Look at the first words of this text 00:10:07.350 --> 00:10:09.990 I'm reading from the ESV. You might be reading 00:10:09.990 --> 00:10:13.110 from something else But I think they're all gonna 00:10:13.110 --> 00:10:17.230 say about the same thing mine begins long ago 00:10:17.230 --> 00:10:20.590 Right the first words long ago. And so what this 00:10:20.590 --> 00:10:24.049 what this is doing is contrasting what happened 00:10:24.049 --> 00:10:29.970 long ago with the present time of this letter, 00:10:30.669 --> 00:10:33.809 right And all of the action that's happening 00:10:33.809 --> 00:10:36.149 in just this verse and a half, all of it has 00:10:36.149 --> 00:10:40.289 to do with God speaking. And so let's understand 00:10:40.289 --> 00:10:45.909 how God spoke long ago. Many of the most pivotal 00:10:45.909 --> 00:10:50.450 moments in scripture are when God speaks. Indeed, 00:10:50.649 --> 00:10:54.490 all of scripture is God speaking. God spoke the 00:10:54.490 --> 00:10:58.299 world into existence, didn't he? Or think about 00:10:58.299 --> 00:11:01.940 how God speaks when he cuts a covenant with his 00:11:01.940 --> 00:11:06.259 people. We can look at this through the covenant 00:11:06.259 --> 00:11:08.279 of grace, the administration of the covenant 00:11:08.279 --> 00:11:12.980 of grace, to see how God structures things, the 00:11:12.980 --> 00:11:15.519 speaking of his word to his people in this covenant 00:11:15.519 --> 00:11:18.740 of grace. We'll start with Adam and Eve. You 00:11:18.740 --> 00:11:22.860 remember that after Adam ate the fruit, Adam 00:11:22.860 --> 00:11:27.159 and Eve disobeyed and they plunged all of the 00:11:27.159 --> 00:11:31.360 world into sin in Genesis chapter three. We also 00:11:31.360 --> 00:11:34.379 know what else happens in Genesis chapter three. 00:11:34.779 --> 00:11:40.340 God speaks and he speaks sharing the promise 00:11:40.340 --> 00:11:46.059 of the Son. He speaks of the promise of the Redeemer 00:11:46.059 --> 00:11:49.740 to come. And so this is the first administration 00:11:49.740 --> 00:11:53.539 of the covenant of grace. the promise of Christ. 00:11:53.940 --> 00:11:56.700 But what else happens within the covenant of 00:11:56.700 --> 00:12:00.700 grace? The promise spoken to Noah. You remember 00:12:00.700 --> 00:12:04.039 the flood. You remember what happens after the 00:12:04.039 --> 00:12:08.139 flood, right? There is the promise of common 00:12:08.139 --> 00:12:13.919 grace, never to destroy the world again by a 00:12:13.919 --> 00:12:18.019 flood. God speaks that, and then he shows it 00:12:18.019 --> 00:12:21.659 in the rainbow in the sky. What about Abraham? 00:12:22.480 --> 00:12:26.080 This is the promise of offspring too numerous 00:12:26.080 --> 00:12:29.259 to count, right? You can read of this in Genesis 00:12:29.259 --> 00:12:34.759 12 and 15 and 17. And if you'll let the New Testament 00:12:34.759 --> 00:12:37.620 interpret the Old Testament, you'll see that 00:12:37.620 --> 00:12:41.539 those who truly are the offspring of Abraham, 00:12:42.200 --> 00:12:44.539 these are the ones who are truly the offspring 00:12:44.539 --> 00:12:49.399 of God, right? What's next in the covenant of 00:12:49.399 --> 00:12:53.149 grace? You've got Moses. You've got the giving 00:12:53.149 --> 00:12:56.809 of the law, right? God chooses a people for himself 00:12:56.809 --> 00:13:01.009 and then he gives them rules, laws, by how they 00:13:01.009 --> 00:13:04.669 should live, right? But they must live it in 00:13:04.669 --> 00:13:07.889 faith, again, part of the covenant of grace. 00:13:08.070 --> 00:13:13.490 And then finally, to David, the promise that 00:13:13.490 --> 00:13:18.779 exists in 2 Samuel 7 of a king. to be enthroned 00:13:18.779 --> 00:13:22.559 forever, a greater king beyond David, King Jesus. 00:13:22.820 --> 00:13:25.379 And that's actually a very important point, friends, 00:13:25.679 --> 00:13:29.019 because as you read the book of Hebrews, we might 00:13:29.019 --> 00:13:34.059 say it like this. Hebrews is kind of a commentary 00:13:34.059 --> 00:13:39.240 on Psalm 110. Psalm 110 begins like this. The 00:13:39.240 --> 00:13:43.059 Lord. And that in your Bibles probably in all 00:13:43.059 --> 00:13:47.279 caps meaning Yahweh says to my Lord to David's 00:13:47.279 --> 00:13:52.159 Lord sit at my right hand until I make your enemies 00:13:52.159 --> 00:13:58.299 my footstool. Again Hebrews acts like a commentary 00:13:58.299 --> 00:14:04.080 on that because you see that passage quoted four 00:14:04.080 --> 00:14:08.700 times and alluded to five other times all referring 00:14:08.700 --> 00:14:15.590 to Psalm. 110. Now, again, we're talking about 00:14:15.590 --> 00:14:19.990 timing here. And so the contrast is long ago. 00:14:20.129 --> 00:14:23.669 But look in verse two, long ago. And then here 00:14:23.669 --> 00:14:29.009 we have in these last days, in these last days. 00:14:29.470 --> 00:14:32.690 So we need to think, how would the original audience 00:14:32.690 --> 00:14:38.509 have understood these last days? How do you interpret 00:14:38.509 --> 00:14:41.980 it? How do you understand this? Well, a Jewish 00:14:41.980 --> 00:14:45.000 audience, at least if not the Gentile Christians, 00:14:45.320 --> 00:14:49.000 would have understood that this is talking about 00:14:49.000 --> 00:14:53.179 the present age. And I can prove that to you 00:14:53.179 --> 00:14:56.860 if you'll allow me to. Consider Acts chapter 00:14:56.860 --> 00:15:02.460 2 verse 17. It's a very important moment in Scripture 00:15:02.460 --> 00:15:06.919 because Acts 2 17 is quoting Joel 2 when it says, 00:15:07.230 --> 00:15:12.169 In the last days it shall be, God declares, that 00:15:12.169 --> 00:15:16.450 I will pour out my spirit on all flesh. Did you 00:15:16.450 --> 00:15:21.350 catch that? The last days. It was predicted in 00:15:21.350 --> 00:15:24.389 the past, in the time of Joel, and it comes to 00:15:24.389 --> 00:15:28.789 fruition at Pentecost. Also, here's another one. 00:15:29.190 --> 00:15:33.090 Second Timothy three, verse one. Understand this, 00:15:33.629 --> 00:15:37.620 that in the last days, there will come times 00:15:37.620 --> 00:15:43.360 of difficulty. Paul is writing to Timothy, and 00:15:43.360 --> 00:15:46.080 is he saying, Timothy, there's something that's 00:15:46.080 --> 00:15:49.559 going to happen way off in the future, or is 00:15:49.559 --> 00:15:51.980 he saying there is something that you are in 00:15:51.980 --> 00:15:57.179 the midst of right now? Friends, the last days 00:15:57.179 --> 00:16:03.320 began when Jesus ascended up into heaven and 00:16:03.320 --> 00:16:07.649 the church began at Pentecost. But also notice, 00:16:08.350 --> 00:16:12.129 if we can go just a tad bit deeper, how it words 00:16:12.129 --> 00:16:17.710 this in verse two, in these last days. Again, 00:16:17.710 --> 00:16:19.610 you may have a different translation, but this 00:16:19.610 --> 00:16:21.450 is going back to the Greek, and I believe this 00:16:21.450 --> 00:16:25.529 is an accurate translation, in these last days. 00:16:25.789 --> 00:16:28.129 And so the recipients of this letter would have 00:16:28.129 --> 00:16:33.779 understood they were in the last days. And these 00:16:33.779 --> 00:16:37.440 last days are everything in between the first 00:16:37.440 --> 00:16:41.240 advent of Christ and the second advent of Christ. 00:16:41.620 --> 00:16:45.379 Theologians have called this the church age. 00:16:46.139 --> 00:16:49.879 And friends, what that means is that as this 00:16:49.879 --> 00:16:52.519 book was written to people in the last days, 00:16:52.960 --> 00:16:59.860 so it is written to you in the last days. You 00:16:59.860 --> 00:17:05.960 are in it right now. And as the recipients of 00:17:05.960 --> 00:17:11.880 this letter now, let's understand it again, contrasting 00:17:11.880 --> 00:17:16.799 the former recipients of God's word and the recipients 00:17:16.799 --> 00:17:21.160 here and the recipients now. And so look here 00:17:21.160 --> 00:17:28.400 as it says, God spoke to our fathers. God spoke. 00:17:28.670 --> 00:17:32.289 To our fathers, our ancestors, our predecessors, 00:17:32.470 --> 00:17:36.529 we are reminded that God took a people for himself. 00:17:37.329 --> 00:17:40.670 Even before they were a people, God made a people 00:17:40.670 --> 00:17:44.730 out of them. But then the contrast is this. Something 00:17:44.730 --> 00:17:50.650 new has happened in these last days. Now, God 00:17:50.650 --> 00:17:58.910 speaks to us. Now, God speaks to us. He is reminding 00:17:58.910 --> 00:18:03.190 them, they, these people here, they're sending 00:18:03.190 --> 00:18:06.170 us a letter, are God's people, but they're not 00:18:06.170 --> 00:18:08.890 a God's people simply because they're Jewish, 00:18:09.349 --> 00:18:11.789 they're God's people because of Jesus Christ. 00:18:12.049 --> 00:18:16.230 Perhaps you remember 1 Peter chapter 2, verses 00:18:16.230 --> 00:18:21.650 9 and 10, and it reads, but you are a chosen 00:18:21.650 --> 00:18:28.220 race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people 00:18:28.220 --> 00:18:31.960 for his own possession, that you may proclaim 00:18:31.960 --> 00:18:35.140 the excellencies of him who called you out of 00:18:35.140 --> 00:18:39.039 darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were 00:18:39.039 --> 00:18:43.259 not a people, but now you are God's people. Once 00:18:43.259 --> 00:18:46.380 you had not received mercy, but now you have 00:18:46.380 --> 00:18:52.279 received mercy. How are they God's people? Because 00:18:52.279 --> 00:18:56.200 they have been adopted into God's family. by 00:18:56.200 --> 00:19:01.220 Jesus Christ. How have they received mercy? It's 00:19:01.220 --> 00:19:07.000 in Jesus Christ, isn't it? And so we see this 00:19:07.000 --> 00:19:11.079 word of Christ is for all who would believe in 00:19:11.079 --> 00:19:14.259 Him. The word of Christ isn't simply for the 00:19:14.259 --> 00:19:18.500 smartest people or the best -looking people or 00:19:18.500 --> 00:19:20.990 the most talented people. The word of Christ 00:19:20.990 --> 00:19:23.730 isn't for just a people over there or a people 00:19:23.730 --> 00:19:27.549 over there. It's not for just one type of people. 00:19:27.789 --> 00:19:31.029 It is for all who would believe in the Lord Jesus 00:19:31.029 --> 00:19:34.670 Christ, who would repent of sin and trust Him. 00:19:35.390 --> 00:19:38.670 And ultimately, when I see these words to us, 00:19:39.529 --> 00:19:44.690 I can't help but think of the promise of the 00:19:44.690 --> 00:19:50.930 incarnation in Isaiah chapter nine. To us a child 00:19:50.930 --> 00:19:57.569 is born and to us a son is given To us is everyone 00:19:57.569 --> 00:20:04.549 who believes in Jesus That is for you and that 00:20:04.549 --> 00:20:08.869 is for them But also let's look at the means 00:20:08.869 --> 00:20:13.210 by which God speaks Okay, it says long ago at 00:20:13.210 --> 00:20:19.500 many times and in many ways The King James Version, 00:20:19.500 --> 00:20:22.480 I like how it puts it. It says, at sundry times 00:20:22.480 --> 00:20:26.059 and in diverse manners. Talking about how God 00:20:26.059 --> 00:20:28.319 speaks, what are these diverse manners? Well, 00:20:28.319 --> 00:20:32.920 you'll remember how God spoke to Moses through 00:20:32.920 --> 00:20:37.680 a burning bush. You might remember how God spoke 00:20:37.680 --> 00:20:41.619 to the prophet Elijah through a whisper that 00:20:41.619 --> 00:20:44.829 came after a storm. You might remember how God 00:20:44.829 --> 00:20:47.589 spoke to the prophet Ezekiel through visions, 00:20:48.470 --> 00:20:52.950 or how God spoke to Daniel through dreams. These 00:20:52.950 --> 00:20:55.470 are the ways in which God used to speak, but 00:20:55.470 --> 00:20:59.789 also secondly, look at this, God spoke to our 00:20:59.789 --> 00:21:05.480 fathers by what? By the prophets. God spoke through 00:21:05.480 --> 00:21:08.420 the prophets as they delivered oracles or by 00:21:08.420 --> 00:21:11.519 his spirit as his word is recorded. And this 00:21:11.519 --> 00:21:15.160 is where we return to this discussion of authorship. 00:21:15.279 --> 00:21:20.059 We don't know who humanly penned Hebrews, but 00:21:20.059 --> 00:21:25.519 we do know this. The primary author of all of 00:21:25.519 --> 00:21:29.900 Scripture is God Himself. For evidence of this, 00:21:30.059 --> 00:21:36.230 if you want to, flip ahead. To Hebrews 3 Hebrews 00:21:36.230 --> 00:21:45.950 3 7 through 11 For it reads Therefore as the 00:21:45.950 --> 00:21:50.049 Holy Spirit says Today if you hear his voice 00:21:50.049 --> 00:21:52.549 Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion 00:21:52.549 --> 00:21:55.049 on the day of testing in the wilderness where 00:21:55.049 --> 00:21:57.789 your fathers put me to the test and saw my works 00:21:57.789 --> 00:22:01.460 for 40 years Therefore, I was provoked with that 00:22:01.460 --> 00:22:04.660 generation and said, they always go astray in 00:22:04.660 --> 00:22:08.339 their hearts. They have not known my ways. As 00:22:08.339 --> 00:22:11.819 I swore in my wrath, they shall not enter my 00:22:11.819 --> 00:22:18.019 rest. Friends, this is citing Psalm 95. But who 00:22:18.019 --> 00:22:20.980 is the primary author of it? Did you catch verse 00:22:20.980 --> 00:22:27.599 seven? As the Holy Spirit says. And so, yes. 00:22:28.919 --> 00:22:34.160 Yes, this is all written by God Himself, and 00:22:34.160 --> 00:22:36.660 this should give us great encouragement to press 00:22:36.660 --> 00:22:40.880 on, trusting Scripture, knowing that it is literally 00:22:40.880 --> 00:22:47.359 God breathed. Many of you know that before I 00:22:47.359 --> 00:22:50.680 went into pastoral ministry, I used to work for 00:22:50.680 --> 00:22:53.700 different newspapers in the area as a reporter. 00:22:54.599 --> 00:22:58.019 And one time I was in the newsroom of one of 00:22:58.019 --> 00:23:01.819 these newspapers and we are all talking about 00:23:01.819 --> 00:23:05.900 the authority and the authenticity of scripture. 00:23:06.759 --> 00:23:10.119 And so it was the writers, it was the photographers, 00:23:10.339 --> 00:23:12.220 it was the page layout people, we're all having 00:23:12.220 --> 00:23:16.380 this big great discussion on the Bible. But some 00:23:16.380 --> 00:23:20.519 of the staff were having trouble understanding 00:23:20.519 --> 00:23:25.089 how God could speak through people to deliver 00:23:25.089 --> 00:23:30.329 His Word. I reminded them of the unity of God's 00:23:30.329 --> 00:23:34.829 Word. That even though we've got 66 books by 00:23:34.829 --> 00:23:38.970 like 40 authors or so across a myriad of years, 00:23:39.609 --> 00:23:42.470 authors who differed in all sorts of ways and 00:23:42.470 --> 00:23:46.369 yet at the same time there is this unity, this 00:23:46.369 --> 00:23:49.470 consent of all of the parts of Scripture that 00:23:49.470 --> 00:23:55.680 as you read Genesis, or as you read Esther, or 00:23:55.680 --> 00:24:01.880 as you read Zephaniah, or Matthew, or Titus, 00:24:01.980 --> 00:24:06.799 or Jude, there is this unity that exists all 00:24:06.799 --> 00:24:11.200 throughout as God is telling us the story of 00:24:11.200 --> 00:24:15.880 redemption in Christ alone. The Westminster Confession 00:24:15.880 --> 00:24:20.740 of Faith says it beautifully. We may be moved 00:24:21.000 --> 00:24:24.660 and induced by the testimony of the Church to 00:24:24.660 --> 00:24:28.059 an high and reverent esteem of the Holy Scripture, 00:24:28.839 --> 00:24:32.099 the heavenliness of the matter, the efficacy 00:24:32.099 --> 00:24:36.079 of the doctrine, the majesty of the style, the 00:24:36.079 --> 00:24:38.779 consent of all the parts, the scope of the whole, 00:24:39.140 --> 00:24:41.880 which is to give glory to God, the full discovery 00:24:41.880 --> 00:24:45.359 it makes of the only way of man's salvation. 00:24:45.640 --> 00:24:48.960 and the many other incomparable excellencies 00:24:48.960 --> 00:24:52.839 of the entire perfection thereof are arguments 00:24:52.839 --> 00:24:57.380 whereby it does abundantly evidence itself to 00:24:57.380 --> 00:25:02.920 be the word of God. There's an excellency about 00:25:02.920 --> 00:25:06.680 it. There's a majesty. There's that unity that 00:25:06.680 --> 00:25:09.519 I was talking about that runs all throughout. 00:25:11.740 --> 00:25:16.160 But friends, it's incomplete. without the Son. 00:25:17.359 --> 00:25:20.759 The Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, is the complete 00:25:20.759 --> 00:25:26.460 and final word. Sadly, though, there are many 00:25:26.460 --> 00:25:29.680 who call themselves Christians who intentionally 00:25:29.680 --> 00:25:32.900 ignore parts of the Bible. There are what are 00:25:32.900 --> 00:25:36.059 called New Testament Christians who completely 00:25:36.059 --> 00:25:39.539 disregard the Old Testament. They scrap it and 00:25:39.539 --> 00:25:42.980 they only read the new. It's not a new heresy. 00:25:42.980 --> 00:25:46.019 It actually is an ancient one, but it's not logical 00:25:46.019 --> 00:25:50.839 because if you don't have the Old Testament You 00:25:50.839 --> 00:25:53.940 don't know the problem and you don't have the 00:25:53.940 --> 00:25:57.640 promises of the Sun to come But if you don't 00:25:57.640 --> 00:26:02.779 have the New Testament What don't you have? You 00:26:02.779 --> 00:26:05.819 don't have the solution and so the Old Testament 00:26:05.819 --> 00:26:08.259 is pointing us to Christ and the New Testament 00:26:08.259 --> 00:26:12.440 is showing us Christ and promising us that Christ 00:26:12.440 --> 00:26:16.019 will come again. Friends, we need the entirety 00:26:16.019 --> 00:26:20.819 of Holy Scripture. We need all of God's counsel. 00:26:21.039 --> 00:26:24.299 And now that we have Jesus, we have the final 00:26:24.299 --> 00:26:28.140 word, and you must trust in the whole thing. 00:26:29.180 --> 00:26:32.519 This text reminds us that God spoke through prophets 00:26:32.519 --> 00:26:37.720 like Moses and Isaiah. and Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, 00:26:37.779 --> 00:26:39.960 and Daniel, and the minor prophets who aren't 00:26:39.960 --> 00:26:44.660 really minor at all. The Word of God came through 00:26:44.660 --> 00:26:51.460 them. And if it came through them, how much more 00:26:51.460 --> 00:26:55.319 are we to trust the fact that it came through 00:26:55.319 --> 00:26:59.720 God's one and only begotten Son, who according 00:26:59.720 --> 00:27:05.309 to John 1 .1 is the Word. Listen to this from 00:27:05.309 --> 00:27:09.069 Martin Luther. If the word of the prophets is 00:27:09.069 --> 00:27:13.549 accepted, how much more ought we to seize the 00:27:13.549 --> 00:27:17.450 gospel of Christ, since it is not a prophet speaking 00:27:17.450 --> 00:27:22.289 to us, but the Lord of the prophets, not a servant, 00:27:22.490 --> 00:27:29.109 but a son, not an angel, but God. You see, formerly 00:27:29.109 --> 00:27:32.710 God's word spoke of the son, but now God's word 00:27:32.710 --> 00:27:38.829 speaks the Son. In the incarnation, suddenly 00:27:38.829 --> 00:27:41.569 there was the Son, just as promised and right 00:27:41.569 --> 00:27:45.130 on time. And since God has finally and fully 00:27:45.130 --> 00:27:50.150 spoken in His Son, there is no need for further 00:27:50.150 --> 00:27:55.009 revelation. You remember from last Sunday, Ecclesiastes 00:27:55.009 --> 00:27:58.509 chapter 12, one of those verses says, of the 00:27:58.509 --> 00:28:02.289 making of many books, there is no end. It's telling 00:28:02.289 --> 00:28:08.680 us to trust. God and His Word. Friends, we have 00:28:08.680 --> 00:28:18.039 the Word, and the title is Christ. Now, as Reformed 00:28:18.039 --> 00:28:22.720 Christians, we have a high view of Scripture, 00:28:22.920 --> 00:28:26.380 don't we? We have a very high view of Scripture. 00:28:28.059 --> 00:28:31.519 But does our practice line up with our beliefs 00:28:31.519 --> 00:28:35.460 here? Think about it this way. How would your 00:28:35.460 --> 00:28:38.700 life look different if you trusted the Bible 00:28:38.700 --> 00:28:41.680 completely as the Word of God? How would your 00:28:41.680 --> 00:28:44.180 life look different if you trusted the Bible 00:28:44.180 --> 00:28:46.660 completely as the Word of God? And how would 00:28:46.660 --> 00:28:50.140 your life look different if you recognize Christ 00:28:50.140 --> 00:28:53.220 as the final word? Friends, we can admit this 00:28:53.220 --> 00:28:55.480 about ourselves that sometimes we don't give 00:28:55.480 --> 00:28:58.980 ourselves fully or very much to the reading and 00:28:58.980 --> 00:29:02.819 the studying of Holy Scripture. But what if we 00:29:02.819 --> 00:29:07.420 did? How would our lives look different? Five 00:29:07.420 --> 00:29:10.299 very brief points of application. One, we would 00:29:10.299 --> 00:29:14.480 read it. And if our eyes have grown too dim to 00:29:14.480 --> 00:29:17.660 read it, we would love to hear somebody else 00:29:17.660 --> 00:29:21.440 read it or have somebody explain it to us. Friends, 00:29:21.720 --> 00:29:26.220 we would hide it in our hearts in times of need 00:29:26.220 --> 00:29:30.779 and in times of prosperity. Secondly, we would 00:29:30.779 --> 00:29:34.599 share it. How many of you just within the last 00:29:34.599 --> 00:29:38.559 week have read an article or seen a mean meme 00:29:38.559 --> 00:29:42.259 or a gift or whatever they're called Online how 00:29:42.259 --> 00:29:44.339 many of you have shared within the last week 00:29:44.339 --> 00:29:47.920 something that you read online. I See some hands 00:29:47.920 --> 00:29:51.440 going up and that's that's proper. Okay How much 00:29:51.440 --> 00:29:54.900 more should we share the Word of God than those 00:29:54.900 --> 00:30:00.680 memes or gifts that we see online? thirdly we 00:30:00.680 --> 00:30:05.599 would trust it. Hebrews 6, 18 says, it's impossible 00:30:05.599 --> 00:30:09.000 for God to lie. And yet if we know this about 00:30:09.000 --> 00:30:12.059 ourselves, sometimes we're not truthful in everything, 00:30:12.079 --> 00:30:16.980 are we? How much more should we trust God's word 00:30:16.980 --> 00:30:23.480 that is truth at all times? For we would repent. 00:30:24.400 --> 00:30:28.279 We would repent. For God's word shows us again 00:30:28.279 --> 00:30:32.309 and again how how central to prayer and repentance 00:30:32.309 --> 00:30:36.069 these things are in our lives. It shows us over 00:30:36.069 --> 00:30:38.390 and over again that we would go to God in prayer 00:30:38.390 --> 00:30:42.569 and say, God, I have grieved you by my actions 00:30:42.569 --> 00:30:45.390 or my words or my thoughts. Please forgive me 00:30:45.390 --> 00:30:48.910 and turn me back to Jesus. And so we would repent 00:30:48.910 --> 00:30:54.890 regularly of sin. Five. Lastly, we would worship. 00:30:55.950 --> 00:30:59.900 We would worship. If we truly gave ourselves 00:30:59.900 --> 00:31:02.319 more and more to the study, to the reading of 00:31:02.319 --> 00:31:05.099 God's Word, just studying it privately, but also 00:31:05.099 --> 00:31:09.759 with others, we would be moved and induced, as 00:31:09.759 --> 00:31:14.440 the Confession says, to worship. We have been 00:31:14.440 --> 00:31:18.380 placed here for the glory of God, and so we would 00:31:18.380 --> 00:31:21.660 seek more and more to do that in corporate worship 00:31:21.660 --> 00:31:25.519 and just in our lives during the week, for He 00:31:25.519 --> 00:31:30.630 alone It's praiseworthy. Friends, I don't give 00:31:30.630 --> 00:31:38.029 this to us to guilt trip us. I give this to us 00:31:38.029 --> 00:31:41.470 in order to encourage us. You all have people 00:31:41.470 --> 00:31:44.349 in your lives that you trust. You got a brother, 00:31:44.410 --> 00:31:46.990 a sister, a friend, maybe a grandparent, somebody 00:31:46.990 --> 00:31:49.950 that you just love to talk to when you're in 00:31:49.950 --> 00:31:53.609 need. God's word is even greater than those people. 00:31:53.960 --> 00:31:57.799 And it's totally trustworthy. And so let this 00:31:57.799 --> 00:32:03.059 be encouragement to you to read, to listen, to 00:32:03.059 --> 00:32:05.900 study, to memorize God's word and to appreciate 00:32:05.900 --> 00:32:08.720 because it is perfect in everything that it says. 00:32:10.200 --> 00:32:12.900 And friends, the way that I'm framing this with 00:32:12.900 --> 00:32:16.539 these comparisons, these contrasts, this is actually 00:32:16.539 --> 00:32:21.430 how the entire book really kind of goes. The 00:32:21.430 --> 00:32:23.849 way these two verses are written is a pattern 00:32:23.849 --> 00:32:26.549 throughout the book to show us that Christ is 00:32:26.549 --> 00:32:30.230 supreme. Christ is greater. Christ is better. 00:32:30.630 --> 00:32:33.829 Donald Guthrie says, this is the real theme of 00:32:33.829 --> 00:32:37.730 the letter. The past has given way to better 00:32:37.730 --> 00:32:40.609 things. And that's why this sermon series is 00:32:40.609 --> 00:32:44.309 called The Preeminence of Christ. Christ is before 00:32:44.309 --> 00:32:47.950 all things. Christ is above all things. And Christ 00:32:47.950 --> 00:32:52.309 is authoritative over all things. This book will 00:32:52.309 --> 00:32:57.190 say that Christ is greater than the angels. Christ 00:32:57.190 --> 00:33:01.289 is more excellent than Moses. Christ is greater 00:33:01.289 --> 00:33:04.430 than Joshua the high priest. And Christ is a 00:33:04.430 --> 00:33:10.509 better and final sacrifice for us. Christ is 00:33:10.509 --> 00:33:14.150 greater. Because Christ is to take first place 00:33:14.150 --> 00:33:17.890 in our lives for he is the image of the invisible 00:33:17.890 --> 00:33:22.450 God John 1 1 says it best in the beginning was 00:33:22.450 --> 00:33:26.809 the word and the word was with God and the word 00:33:26.809 --> 00:33:31.589 was God You see not only is Christ above and 00:33:31.589 --> 00:33:35.589 beyond all things Christ Jesus is the better 00:33:35.589 --> 00:33:45.589 word Let's pray Father, in heaven, we give you 00:33:45.589 --> 00:33:50.950 great thanks that you've given us this word and 00:33:50.950 --> 00:33:53.410 that you have given us the one who has called 00:33:53.410 --> 00:33:57.410 the word. Father, would we give ourselves more 00:33:57.410 --> 00:34:02.130 and more to the studying of Christ by your word, 00:34:02.710 --> 00:34:06.289 to sharing of the word? Father, to even praying 00:34:06.289 --> 00:34:10.130 and singing of the word, we thank you for this 00:34:10.130 --> 00:34:13.579 word. and we thank you in Christ's name. Amen.