Accountability to the Living Word

Transcript

GR 1681
03/10/2013
Accountability to the Living Word
Hebrews 4:12-13
Gil Rugh

We're going to Hebrews 4 in your Bibles. Hebrews has been talking about the Word of God and the response to the Word of God. The Bible is clear, in the Old Testament and the New Testament alike, God has spoken. This book called the Bible is His Word. Let me give you some examples from the Old Testament, things I've shared with you on other occasions, just to remind you. This is how the Old Testament emphasizes that it is the Word of God. Over 2,000 times expressions like “thus saith the Lord” and “the Lord spoke” are used, over 2,000 times. If we were going to try just to read through each of those, it would take more time than we would have in a service like this. Isaiah, 20 times declares that his writings are the Word of the Lord. Jeremiah says almost 100 times, “the Word of the Lord came to me.” It's almost an average of two times a chapter. Jeremiah is declaring, the Word of the Lord came to me, and thus he gives it forth. Ezekiel makes the same claim 60 times. These prophets, Hosea, Joel, Jonah, Micah, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah all being with the statement, the Word of the Lord came unto me. Malachi, small book ending our Old Testament, uses the phrase, saith the Lord 25 times. Just saturating the Old Testament is the declaration God is speaking, this is His Word.

When we open the book of Hebrews in chapter 1 we began with the statement, “God after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets.” That's what I just referred to, those thousands of times God reminded them He is speaking. This is My Word, these men are My spokesmen, it is My Word given through them. “God after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in these last days,” verse 2, “has spoken to us in One who is the Son.” He continues to speak but now He has spoken in a climactic and fuller way than He ever has before. What we have with our Old Testament and our New Testament as our Bibles are divided, we have the Word of God. And this opening section of Hebrews reiterates that emphasis again and again.

When you come to Hebrews 2:1, “for this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard.” What have we heard? “God speaking through the prophets in the Old Testament and now in these last days in the One who is a Son.” That requires us giving very close attention to what we have heard. Verse 2, “for if the word spoken through angels, remember that was the word given on Mt. Sinai to Moses.” God gave His Word to angels who gave it to Moses who gave it to the people. It was a word that must be believed, it must be obeyed. And every transgression received a just penalty.

You come down into Hebrews 3 as he begins a quote from Psalm 95 written by David. He begins it in verse 7 saying, “therefore just as the Holy Spirit says.” David was the one who wrote that but it was the Holy Spirit guiding and directing David in his writing. Remember Peter wrote, “holy men of old spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” It is God's Word being communicated to men. Down in Hebrews 3:15, “today if you hear His voice,” repeating from Psalm 95, “do not harden your heart.” You see you are hearing His voice as God's Word is read, as it is spoken. We are hearing the very voice of God. You know it's easy for us to become rather casual and indifferent because we have our Bibles, each of us has copies, probably multiple copies of the Bible. And we read it and it becomes just words to us and we forget this is God speaking just as much as if Jesus Christ would step from heaven today and stand here and speak. That would be no more the Word of God than what you have before you in your Bible. So the warning is solemn. “When you hear God's Word, don't harden your heart against it.”

Verse 16, “who provoked Him when they had heard? You see it's a constant emphasis. When God speaks those who hear have one of two responses—they believe and obey or they refuse to believe and they disobey. There is no middle ground. Every time you share the Word of God with someone, something happens. Every time you hear the Word of God, something happens. Sometimes we'll share the Gospel with someone, doesn't seem to be any kind of response. They are not hostile and they are not positive, they are just indifferent. And some will say, what happened? And we'll sometimes say, well, really, nothing. That's not true. Every time the Word of God is presented something happens. Either a person hardens his heart and refuses to believe or a person opens his heart in faith, trusting what God has said. There is no middle ground. There is always a response to God's Word.

Down in Hebrews 4:1, “let us fear if while a promise remains any of you may seem to come short.” We have a promise, what is the promise? The Word of God. He promises rest to those who believe and obey Him. Indeed we have had good news preached to us that God is a Savior, that He promises blessing, joy, and rest to those who will trust in Him. That was a message of good news proclaimed in the Old Testament, but it didn't benefit them because they didn't believe it. So they were closed out from the blessing that God had promised to those who heed. Down in Hebrews 4:6, “those who formerly had good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience.” You either submit and obey the Word of God or you rebel and disobey. Down to Hebrews 4:11, “therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest so that no one will fall through following the same example of disobedience.”

Hundreds of years have gone by, 1500 years have gone by, but we are confronted with the same decision. The Word of God is presented, you either believe it and obey it or you will refuse to believe, you will disobey it. If you refuse to believe, you follow the example of those who went before you who wouldn't believe. And you will be closed out from all of God's promised blessings and the salvation He bestows on those who hear and believe.

That leads us to verse 12 and you'll note we begin with the preposition for, an exhortation based on what he has said. “Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest so that none of us will fall following their example of disobedience. For the Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of the soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow and is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.” We often have memorized verse 12 and quoted it, and rightly so. But important that we see it in the context. It's a context of threatening judgment that you can't escape the judgment of God. His Word reveals us as we are and there is no one who escapes the seeing eye of God Himself. There is no one who is not laid open, if you will, by the truth of God's Word. The danger that these Hebrews in this local congregation that he is writing to face is that they think they can hide things from God. We all come, we sit as they would have, professing faith, hearing it, pretending in their heart. But you understand you can cover things up from the person next to you, from others. But the Word of God reveals you as you are. That's the message that he has given.

Verse 12 begins with the word living. Back in the Greek text, in the Greek language as we have talked about before, you can rearrange the words in the sentence because each of the words has its own ending that will tell you how it fits and what part of the sentence it has. The word living in the Greek text is the first word in verse 12, the preposition for is the second word. And in Greek when you wanted to make a word have emphasis, you just moved it up to the front. Or maybe sometimes you would put it at the very end. That drew attention, put emphasis on it. He is emphasizing here that the Word of God is living, present participle. We're talking about God's Word, the Word that God has spoken, the Word that is from Him. That includes the first word of Genesis and everything up to the last word of the book of the Revelation. That's what Timothy was told.

Back up to 2 Timothy 3, some of these verses we quote but I want you to see them as well. Verse 16, “all Scripture is inspired by God.” And you are familiar, literally God-breathed, is breathed out from God. In other words He spoke it out. And so it is profitable. You'll note it is all Scripture. This becomes crucial, we'll see more of this emphasis. It is somewhat popular in our day to talk about, we're just going to emphasize the essentials. And churches try to become more broad. You understand all Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for accomplishing God's work and to equip God's people to be everything He wants them to be. What is the source of Scripture? God. This is a remarkable book, it's different than any other book that has ever been written or ever will be written. This is the very Word of God, breathed out from God. We say, if only we had a word from God, if God would only speak. He has. Here it is. Isn't it amazing? People have the very Word of God, now we're blessed to have a copy of it in print. We'll take it, lay it on the shelf, not open it from day to day and fuss and fret about life, wonder about decisions, wonder what God would have us do. I wonder what . . . Open it up, it's the instruction book, it tells you how.

I was working on something the past week, and I'm not very handy with my hands and that is an understatement. And so I looked it over, I fussed and fretted, I looked all around. I couldn't even figure how to get it apart, let alone put it back together. But I got an idea, I got an instruction book and I opened it up. It wasn't so difficult, even for me. It took me step by step, step #1, do this; step #2, do this; step #3, do this. Now I still haven't gotten to the part where I put it back together but the instructions help. Read what God says. “All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable.”

Come back to Hebrews, it is God's Word, it is living, it is active. The completeness of God's Word, the thoroughness of God's Word. When we talk about God speaking we want to be clear. It is clear, God's Word is clear. The technical word we use and you'll see it in some theological writings is perspicuity, the perspicuity of Scripture. A word that means clarity, clearness. The Word of God is clear. Since all Scripture is God-breathed, all Scripture is clear. In other words God spoke with the intention He would be understood. If we say, well, God's Word is not clear, what are we saying? He mumbled? He didn't quite get it out right? Now this is important because we live in a day where it becomes common, and we usually start with eschatology. We talk about the doctrine of future things. We say, “well, there are people who have a variety of opinions on this.” There are a-millennialists, there are post-millennialists and there are pre-miillennialists and there are pre-tribulationalists and post-tribulationalists. And there are good people on all sides and we probably just don't need to make an issue of it. You know what they are saying there, God has not addressed it. No, God has said but it's not clear enough for you to understand. Wait, stop. I think it is an attack on the character of God to say God spoke but He mumbled, God spoke but He didn't explain Himself very well. So everybody has a different view.

We have just come through the opening chapters of Hebrews and we have been talking about the promised rest that was given to Israel as they came up to the land of Canaan. You know there was disagreement over what God had said, that was a prophecy. God promised them rest, they could go into a land flowing with milk and honey, enjoy His blessing and so on. But the majority in Israel didn't think that was correct. We have studied the consequences—because they refused to believe God, they couldn't enter the rest. Now was the problem God hadn't been clear? No, He was very clear. But you understand that was a prophetic statement, they hadn't entered into the land. They hadn't enjoyed the blessings of the land and the peace from enemies and so on. But they had God's promise. All prophecy of the future is God giving a promise. But we decide because a lot of people have different views, we shouldn't have a view. And when we do, then we're viewed as narrow and closed minded. Let me say, what the Word of God imparts is difficult, but the Word of God is always clear. There are portions of the Word of God that take more study to be understood, but it is never true that the Word of God is not clear.

Come to Revelation. If there is one book in the Bible that people say is hard to understand, and many people say it is just not clear. And so they don't think you should be dogmatic on the book of Revelation because there are a lot of good people who have different views. It doesn't matter what a lot of good people's views are, it matters what God has said. I'm interested how the book of Revelation closes in Revelation 22. Jesus speaking, verse 18, “I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book, if anyone adds to them God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book. If anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the Holy City which are written in this book.” Now he is not just saying, don't take any words, just put this portion of your Bible on the shelf and ignore it, because he pronounced special blessing as the book began on those who hear and obey this book. Isn't it interesting that the book that people more often say, we can't be sure, is the very book that God promises blessing on those who hear it and obey it and gives as strong a curse as you find anywhere in the Bible on those who alter it in any way? God believes He has been clear. That doesn't mean it is not difficult, and sometimes that is our excuse for not wanting to do the hard work of studying it.

When I started to study Hebrew in a previous life it seems, when I was in seminary. This is such a muddled, confusing language, how are you ever going to learn it? They don't even know how to write, they go from right to left instead of left to right. I mean, if they are writing backwards what hope is there to understand them? And then the professor said, “you are going to think there are some things in this language that are like the English language. Forget it, there is nothing like it. It is a totally different family of languages.” Then I was really convinced, you talk about a hopeless language. But you know, the more you studied it, the more sense it made, and then it becomes clearer. You know, your kids come home and they are learning new things, how to read a book when they start school or add and subtract and multiply and divide. But none of that is understandable, they think it is not clear. But it is very clear, it's just difficult at the time and takes more work.

Come back to 2 Timothy, Paul's letter to Timothy, 2 Timothy 2:15, strong command here. “Be diligent, be zealous, be earnest to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed.” What does that involve? Accurately handling the Word of truth. This is what we are talking about, this book. Jesus said to His Father, Your Word is truth. Do you know what God expects of us? To apply ourselves with the diligence, the earnestness, He requires us to handle it accurately. It is an offense and an act of rebellion against God, we say we're just going to close that out, we don't think it's clear enough to have a position. And if we have a position you ought to take it as a personal conviction because a lot of people have a different view. But you know where they've gone now, the opening chapters of Genesis supposedly aren't clear anymore either. So you shouldn't be taking a strong position because there are “good men” who have other views. But we haven't stopped there. Now there are those who say it's enough to believe that Jesus is the Savior, but you don't have to believe in substitutionary atonement. Well, where does it stop? The Word of God is clear. Every portion of the Word of God is necessary for us.

Come back to Deuteronomy 8. You know I've noticed something as I from time to time have a reason to check doctrinal statements of churches. I find churches are going to shorter and briefer doctrinal statements, half a dozen statements, single line. We believe in the Bible. We believe Jesus is the Savior. We believe . . . We believe . . . Just a couple statements. When I get all done I say, I really don't know for sure what. What do they mean He is the Savior? Is there any Protestant or Catholic who wouldn't subscribe to that? What do they mean by it? We believe Jesus is coming again. Well, that's nice, what do you mean? Do you mean He is coming again literally to this earth to set up a kingdom? Do you believe He is coming spiritually to change things? I mean, what do you mean? But we get the idea we don't want to be too specific.

Look at Deuteronomy 8:3, Moses reminding Israel of God's dealing with them in the years of wandering. Verse 3, “He humbled you and let you be hungry and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know.” Now look at this last statement, “that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” You see the Word of God is living, it is active, it is working. You must be dependent on every word of God.

Come to the New Testament, Matthew 4, in the temptation when the devil was tempting Christ. In Matthew 4:3 he said, “if you are the Son of God command these stones become bread. And Jesus answered and said, it is written,” quoting the verse we just read in Deuteronomy 8:3, “it is written man shall not live on bread alone but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” Every word, ponte, every, all, every word. Old Testament, New Testament, doesn't matter, it's the Word of God. It is our life, it's the means by which God accomplishes His purpose, works His purpose. It partakes of His very character as the living God. Every word. We ought to be offended that those who claim to be believers, claim to believe the Bible is the Word of God but mark off some of it. We don't want to disagree over that, we don't want to make an issue of this.

This is not new. Let me read you, this is from Charles Spurgeon. As you know I like to read Spurgeon. He said this in 1888, that's even before I was born. And you know Spurgeon was going through a battle, he had just been voted out of the Baptist Union in England. Here is the most renowned Baptist preacher of perhaps the largest Baptist church and they voted him out, 2000 to 2 that he ought to be removed because he thought they ought to have clarity in their doctrinal statement. And they opposed that. And he said, “so far as I am concerned, that which I believe I am not ashamed to state in the plainest possible language. And the truth I hold I embrace because I believe it to be the mind of God revealed in His infallible Word.”

That's what I think when I look at some church doctrinal statements and they don't say anything. What are they hiding? What are they ashamed of? I want our doctrinal statement to be as clear and specific as possible. Can somebody come who doesn't believe that? Sure, as long as they don't make trouble. But this is what we believe as a church. We believe this is God's Word, what it says is clear. We are explaining to you what we believe and what we are committed to.

Spurgeon goes on to say, “But let no man imagine that I shall cease from my protests against false doctrine or lay down the sword of which I have thrown away the scabbard. I shall not cease to expose doctrinal declension wherever I see it.” Very unpopular today, let me tell you, you cannot stand for the truth of God's Word if you do not stand against those things that oppose God's Word. This idea that you can stand here for the truth but not be negative, not oppose error. You must oppose and expose error. That is required of Scripture. Men creep in unnoticed, denying doctrinal truth. Sometimes they put a cover over it. It's just not clear. It is clear. The inerrancy of Scripture was denied by those who thought, that's not clearly taught in the Bible, as though God could speak and make a mistake, not be historically accurate, scientifically accurate. Well, it's not clear. It was clear. They didn't want to believe it. So in denying it they could just say it is not clear. And Christians get confused and say, if it's not clear we shouldn't make an issue over it.

I have to read you someone else, from 1888. I'm stuck in 1888. This is from a Presbyterian in the United States. “Be it therefore the inflexible purpose of every Christian, every church, every body of churches to cling with a grasp that will not be relaxed to the truth, the truth alone, to the whole truth, to the truth in doctrine and worship and practice. We can afford to be branded with old fogeyism. If old fogeyism can do what this history shows, and he's writing a book on history, has been done, we'll be proud of that name. We ought to tell those who are near the commencement of their course, cling to the truth pure and simple. To the truth, not to mere feelings, impressions, sentiments. To the truth. Not tampering with falsehood. To the truth, it is heaven borne. To the truth, it is from God. He knows best what we should believe, and what to do. To the truth, it is sure to bring rich blessings of its author.” That was from a man named Thomas Murphy.

It's always a battle over the truth. I'm concerned that we here in this Bible believing church will sit and read verses like the Word of God is living and active. And we say, amen, and we go out. But we're not careful with that. Do you know what that means? God has spoken, these are His words, He is holding us accountable to know it, to understand it. How can we obey it if we don't know what it says? How can we obey it if it's not clear? Do you think Israel ever would have an excuse before God, we don't think what You said through the prophets is clear so we don't think we're accountable. I don't think that's going to hold up, not at all.

I'm going to tell on my daughter. She's in Kansas in our truck. She called last night and said, “you know when you cross the bridge from Nebraska into Iowa? There were all kinds of cars lined up, we wondered why. Then this police car pulled up behind us with its lights on. Do you know what? The speed limit changed. Do you know what the policeman said? Do you know what the speed limit is? Um, I probably wasn't doing it. No, you were doing 15 miles over it. What state am I in? The policeman says, lady, you don't even know what state you are in. You've crossed into Iowa, the speed limit here is such-and-such. As far as he was concerned everything was clear.” Now don't Cheryl I told you, it will be a secret between the few hundred of us here. You are responsible, it was clear, to be known.

The Word of God is clear, every word is to be obeyed. I am offended by those who think, we don't make an issue of this. I've shared with you, years ago I was invited to a meeting of evangelical pastors in the city under the condition I agree not to talk about theology. I don't know what they think about me. Second thing was I not tell anybody what we talk about. Can't talk about theology, but what we do talk about is so secretive I can't tell anybody. I don't think this is a meeting I should be going to. I don't want to join the Masons, you know. It used to be in the early years of my ministry I would get together with pastors in the city and different churches and we would talk about our differences in theology. And we could go to the Word of God and explain to one another why we hold what we hold. Now that's considered something you shouldn't do. In Bible believing churches what are we going to talk about?

“Every word,” Jesus said, quoting from Deuteronomy, “man shall live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God, from the first word of Genesis to the last word of Revelation.” Does that mean I have perfect understanding of everything? No, but I am accountable to God to study the best I can, to search out with other believers the best I can and then stand for the truth that I believe is clear and for which I will be held accountable. Write off parts of it, well we don't think we have to take a position on that, we don't think we have to have a position on that. Read our doctrinal statement. That's why it is footnoted with details. It is important for people to know and for us to be clear.

All right, come back to Hebrews 4. God's Word is living and active. By that it simply means it accomplishes what God intends it to accomplish. Look at Hebrews 3:12, “take care, brethren, that there be not in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God.” You see the living God when He speaks, it is a living Word; it partakes of His character. Just like His Word is truth because He is truth. It is a living Word in that sense, it is living, it is active, it always is effective. It functions as God functions. It is a revelation of who He is.

Come back to the Old Testament, Isaiah 55:10, “for as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there without watering the earth and making it bear and sprout and furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so will My Word be which goes forth from My mouth. It will not return to Me empty without accomplishing what I desire, without succeeding in the manner for which I sent it.” You see it is living, it is active, energetic, powerful. It always accomplishes what God says. His Word reveals what He is like, what He is doing, what He will do, what He has done. And when He speaks, it is effective. It will happen. I believe the promises of God regarding the future are firm and fixed and it's important that I know them, that I understand them and that I am committed to live by them.

Come over to Jeremiah 5. And this is in the context of those who claim to be prophets of God but were not speaking His Word. They are just blowing hot air. Look at verse 13. “The prophets are wind, the Word is not in them.” This is what will happen to them. They were prophesying, you don't have to worry about the future, there is no coming judgment, all that. But look what he says in verse 14, “thus says the Lord, the God of Hosts, because you have spoken this word, behold, I am, making My words in your mouth fire and this people wood. And it will consume them.” Jeremiah is going to go with a message of judgment. Most of Israel didn't believe it. Doesn't change the fact that it is a living, powerful, active Word. Do you know what's going to happen? God says, I'm going to send a nation that's going to carry you away into captivity. No, not us. That's a prophetic word, it's clear. Doesn't change because you don't believe it, you just come under the judgment of it. So My words are like fire and you people are like the wood because you are going to be consumed in the judgment that I send forth. That's a Word that is living and active, you know what is going to take place.

Come over to Jeremiah 23, there are a number of these kind of passages in Jeremiah. Look at verse 29, and you'll note the previous verse, “let him who has My word speak as My word in truth.” “What does straw have in common with grain?” You see we are obligated to the truth, I am obligated to be diligent so I can teach you the truth. That's why James warns, “let not many of you be teachers, you'll incur a stricter judgment.” That doesn't free every believer from responsibility to the Word, but those who are given the responsibility of explaining the Word and teaching the Word are held to a higher standard. Look at verse 29, “is not My word like fire, declares the Lord, like a hammer which shatters a rock? This is a living, this is a powerful Word. Nothing can hold it back. It shatters, it crushes anything in its path, in its way. Nothing can prevent God's Word from being accomplished, it will accomplish the purposes He sends it forth.

Go to Acts 7. Stephen on trial for his life, he will be stoned at the end of this for his boldness with the Word of God. He talks about Moses receiving the Word of God on Mt. Sinai. And just look at the last statement in verse 38, and “he received living oracles to pass on to you.” That Word from God on Mt. Sinai was living oracles, the Word of God from the first word of Genesis to the last word of Revelation is living and active. There is no other kind of word from God but a word that is living, that is active.

Come to 1 Thessalonians 2:13, “for this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the Word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but for what it really is, the Word of God,” now note this, “which also performs its work in you who believe.” You see this is an active, powerful Word that works in hearts and lives.

Back up to 2 Corinthians 3:18, “but we all with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror.” And the mirror is God's Word. He's been talking about the new revelation, the new covenant revealed in Christ and through the work of Christ. And so now as we are studying this revelation given by God in the One who is a Son, we are beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord. Something supernatural is happening, we are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord the Spirit. This is a living Word and it is taken by the living God, God the Spirit. And it begins to mold and shape us from the inside out, conforming us more to the glory of the God that we love and serve. It's a living Word, it's a powerful Word. This is why the work of the devil is trying to keep people from the Word of God. It's not our talks about the Bible that are powerful, it's not my preaching about the Bible. It is as we go into the Word of God that we study the Word of God, that we take it in that the power of God is unleashed in a life and we are transformed, undergo that metamorphosis from the inside out, bringing us into conformity to the character of Christ.

Come over to 1 Peter 1:22, “since you have in obedience to the truth, to the Word of God,” the message concerning Christ that he has unfolded earlier, “purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart. For you have been born again, not of seed which is perishable but imperishable through the living and enduring Word of God.” Then he quotes from Isaiah 40, “for all flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, the flower falls off but the Word of the Lord endures forever.” What else to be said? We have an imperishable Word. How sad it is that so much of the church today holds this Word loosely, is cavalier about it, talks about the fact that what's in Genesis doesn't matter. We can have different views on that. Eschatology, we can have different views on that. As though it really is not that important. It's very important, this is the eternal Word of God. The things of this life will pass on, the Word of God keeps on going.

Here we are, Moses was given the law on Mt. Sinai 1500 years before Christ. Here we are 2000 years after Christ. The Word of God still stands, it is still living and powerful. There is no other book, no other writing, no other message that compares in even a little bit of a way to the Word of God. It is unique, there is nothing like it. The most powerful thing you can do in the world is give forth the Word of God so that God's powerful Word can work. We have turned aside to methods of men and thinking of men and how we can attract more people, how we can be more whatever. Our concern is to be more biblical, present the clarity of God's Word clearly.

Now in the context of Hebrews he's talking about this Word in the context of judgment. It's the “Word of Christ,” back in Hebrews 4:12, “that is a sharp two-edged sword. It pierces even to the division of soul and spirit and the joints and marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and bare before the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.” You see the Word of God lays us open down to the innermost recesses of our innermost being. I'm not able to distinguish and sort out the difference between soul and spirit. I read the different options but I don't think there is a clarity on that. It seems clear man has a material part of his existence and an immaterial part. In that immaterial part there is soul and spirit and I'm not able to unfold the details of the distinctions clearly. But the Word of God pierces down into the innermost recesses of a person's heart and life, even down to our thoughts and intentions.

You know in this Hebrew congregation there are some who sat and heard the Word of God but their thoughts were other places. You can sit here and hear the Word of God but your mind is someplace else. What is the text I'm getting? What am I going to do this afternoon now that I don't have to come back tonight? What will my week be like? And I have other things on my mind. God knows what's going through our mind, He knows what we are planning. His Word reveals us, that's why we don't like it. What happens when people get into sin? They don't want to be around the Word of God. Why? It's like a sword cutting in, it's unpleasant.

I had someone leave the church one time and they said, I'm leaving. Why? Every time I come you make me feel like I'm an unbeliever. If I make you feel that way, don't be concerned; if God's Word makes you feel that way, you better be very concerned. Whereas God's Word just drives into the innermost recesses of our very thoughts and intentions. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, everything is laid open and bare. He sees down in. You haven't had a thought since you walked in here, I haven't had a thought since I walked in that God hasn't seen. I don't have anything on my mind that I'm thinking about doing that He is not well aware of. Even planning sin. We think nobody else knows about it, nobody else knows what I am doing, nobody else knows what I am thinking. No one that matters knows, but God knows. He sees us exactly as we are down to the . . . There is no hiding anything. I can't even hide a thought from God, I can't hide an intention or plan I have. How silly that we think we can sin and we've covered it up. We covered it up for God? No. And His Word unfolds it, He tells us about sin, He tells us about what sin is, He tells us about rebellion against Him, He tells us about the consequences of sin. It reveals it and we will be brought into judgment by it. Jesus said, the words that I speak will be the basis of our judgment.

We can tell people about future things, there is coming a judgment. “It is appointed unto man once to die,” we'll get to Hebrews 9, “it is appointed unto man once to die and after this comes judgment.” I don't believe in judgment. Well, that's your choice. In choosing not to believe in judgment, you choose not to believe the Word of God. There is a heaven and a hell, well I don't believe in hell. That's a decision you can make, a decision not to believe the Word of God and to suffer the consequences. That's what he's writing in this context, unless these Hebrews who profess to be believers in Christ think that they can hide anything from God. I'm looking forward to turning to Judaism but I want them to know I'm not denying . . . We are laid bare as we are and we'll have to leave it there.

We need to examine ourselves in light of the Word of God because that is the purpose of the Word of God. That's why we come and consider it, so we can know clearly what God has said and allow Him to bring about the change in our lives. And only He can bring about a change in my heart. And when He does, it changes everything. That's why He starts on the inside and makes us new creatures in Christ so that now we can live new lives, lives that are honoring and obedient to Him.

Let's pray together. Thank You, Lord, for the riches of Your Word. We are in awe that You have spoken, that You have spoken clearly. Lord, how great is our privilege in the day in which we live that each of us has as our own precious treasure a copy of Your Word. Not just a portion but Your words from beginning to end. Lord, how blessed we are, how responsible we are. Lord, we would respond first in faith, trusting You, believing what You have said is true, submitting ourselves to it that we might live lives that manifest our faith by our obedience. I pray that the treasure of this Word will work its work in our hearts and minds today. In Christ's name, amen.