The Scrutinizing Word Of God - [Hebrew 4:12-13]

The Sharpness of God’s Word and the Need for Christ

Well yesterday i went out to get the mail and uh... brought the mail in and was just opening up some of the letters. And i opened up one of the letters or bills and i put my finger in to try to pull it out.

And my finger uh... underneath the fingernail got cut by one of the pieces of paper inside the bill. I thought what's worse than getting a bill. It's the paper cut underneath your finger. Something so sharp like a piece of paper.

I thought to myself thinking of sharp things. I wonder what the sharpest knife in the world is. As a kid we loved to have knives and put them on our belt and kind of play tarzan and other things. What's the sharpest.

If you had to guess you can answer out loud. What's the sharpest knife in the world. And i like you also thought i knew it wasn't true but i also thought of ginsu knives. Some of you said that ginsu knives were sold directly a direct marketing program back in the late seventies and early eighties they were called quick cut.

But they realized that nobody really wanted more knives. And so they thought let's have a different advertising campaign. Uh... the leader said to palm beach post in two thousand eleven. We were mindful that the last thing anyone wanted was another set of knives.

The challenge was to position the product so that it made every other knife you owned obsolete. And they would have these tv commercials selling ginsu knives. How much would you pay. Don't answer. Call now operators are standing by.

But wait there's more. That's where that came from ginsu knives. One man called it the greatest pitch of all pitches to sell knives to people. The inventor was asked years later. What does ginsu actually mean.

How do you translate it. He said. Here's how i translate the word ginsu. I never have to work again. But they're not technically the sharpest knife in the world. Volcanic glass is the sharpest knife in the world.

And it's called obsidian. Obsidian knives don't just tear things like a surgeon's scalpel. Actually they're five hundred times sharper than a surgeon's scalpel and they actually divide on a molecular level.

It's a good thing to have because it heals faster. But there's something even more sharp than an obsidian knife. It's a different kind of surgeon's scalpel and it's called as we know from last time the word of god instead of cutting just at the micro level at the nano level at the molecular level at the cell level at the atom level.

The word of god can't judge thoughts and intentions motivations. And the writer of hebrews wants this for his congregation. He knows they're all sinful like he is. And he wants them to believe on the lord jesus christ so that when they die they'll stand before god and not get examined by the sharpest sole surgical scalpel that's ever existed.

He wants them to be believers. And that is my desire for you. There are some young people here and old people here. Some are believers some are not. The pastoral exhortation if you get your bibles and turn to hebrews is simply trust in jesus christ.

Or this word of god will perform surgery on you one day and it will be bad for you. There's only one hope for you is to rest completely in christ jesus. How about turning to hebrews 13 for a moment trust in christ jesus so that he pays the penalty that we deserve if our lives were examined.

Certainly we've fallen short of the glory of god. I met somebody this week and uh... i was talking to them and they're doing some great humanitarian things. But they're still sinful. And i said even though you do this wonderful humanitarian thing doing more good than you've done evil in your life if that's possible still doesn't make you perfect.

When god the holy god looks at you and has that day of accounting for you you're gonna need to answer for every one of your sins. And you can't hide from this god because he can look down into your soul and your spirit and your thoughts and your intentions.

So what do you do. The only hope the writer of hebrews says is this not just try to do good works. Not just try to be circumcised not try to offer a lamb or a goat or a different sacrifice. But trust in christ jesus to believe on him.

That's the only hope. Today's a good reminder that the object of our faith he's worthy of our faith and that he's also able to protect us when we're in christ. Because that x-ray that mri that cat scan is going to examine you.

And then what will be the response. You see his pastoral thinking if you take a look at hebrews chapter thirteen verse twenty two this whole book is really a sermon. I thought one sunday i would just read all of hebrews for the sermon.

It would take me about forty minutes to read and it reads like a sermon. You listen to it like a sermon. And you can see his pastoral advice. Hebrews thirteen twenty two i appeal to you brothers bear with my word of exhortation or encouragement.

For i have written to you briefly by the way there's lots of that i could say about that. Isn't that wonderful. Thirteen chapters. Just a small little note. This is just a post-it on the greatness of jesus.

Much more could be said. But the word there in english in your esv is exhortation. It really is an encouragement. He wants to encourage them. It's like when a little child one of my children would waddle up to me when they were little and they would say daddy i trust in jesus.

I would say what. Don't bother me. I'm watching sports center. No we didn't have cable tv. What would we do. We would want to encourage that and your face could almost get bigger. Good job. That's right way to go.

Keep trusting in jesus. There were some hebrews who were trusting in jesus. And now trouble comes and he's trying to open his face as it were. Keep trusting in jesus no matter what comes. It's very applicable for us in two thousand eighteen as well.

But for others who aren't trusting in jesus it's like the people that come in for pastoral counsel and they say we will not trust in jesus. It's the jay adams principle. And he would say before you go my friend i just want to put a little burr under your saddle.

The way of the transgressor is hard. It will be not only a hard life here but when you stand before god on that day judgment day it'll be much harder. So this whole letter i don't want you to think it's some only.

It's a theological treatise. It is a theological treatise theology just talking about who god is. But it's designed. It's almost like a grandpa who comes along to a grandson and he puts his arm around him and says grandson this is how we do things in life.

Let me encourage you. Let me show you. I've learned the hard way. It's a book of encouragement. So where are we in this book. We're in chapter four. So let's go back to hebrews chapter four. Since jesus is going to return revelation 22 says he is coming soon and he's bringing his recompense with him to repay each one for what he has done.

Then we need to be trusting in christ. Because if you have to pay for the sins that you have done you'd be undone. So we need to trust in christ jesus. And the whole book is about that trusting in christ jesus.

I did not say hoping that your decision you made when you were in eighth grader works. That your baptism works that your walking the aisle works. No trusting in jesus right now a preserving a persevering faith in jesus christ who this book says is greater than any angel.

If you saw an angel you'd fall in your face greater than moses. If you saw moses with a little glory on his face coming down from sinai you would probably fall in your face greater than aaron and everyone else he is the object of our faith.

There are two ways to get to heaven. Way number one perfectly obey the law. Obey and live. If you don't perfectly obey and live you disobey you'll die. And because of adam's fall we're unable to do that.

And because we have sin in our past it's proven that we can't. So now we need someone who can perfectly obey the law to the letter of the law and then die for all our law breaking. And that is the lord jesus christ.

Of course the resurrected our contribution is nothing. We're just needing to trust in him. And that's what this chapter is about. Hebrews chapter four. Here's what i'm going to do today. I'll give you a little review.

And then i'm going to give you seven reasons you should trust in christ so that the word of god and god himself will not examine you on judgment day. It's a long proposition but i'll repeat it again seven reasons you should trust in christ so that the word of god god himself will not examine you on judgment day.

It's simply the rest in christ. Or get judged on judgment day. Now before we get into those seven by the way some of you i know want to have these these outlines very particular outlines. And so today i'm granting you what you'd like.

Sometimes i don't want to do outlines. But today i'm going to do an outline seven reasons you should trust in christ. Let's just go back to verse eight before we get to the seven reasons to see where we left off two weeks ago.

And by the way wasn't it wonderful to have evan here last week i was so encouraged to think about gospel ministry through frail people around the world. Very very encouraging. For if joshua verse eight of hebrews four if joshua had given them rest god would have not spoken of another day later.

It's super simple. Joshua brings the young people into the land of promise. Those who didn't believe god they got killed along with moses because of moses disobedient. And finally joshua brings the young people into the promised land.

Well david hundreds of years later talked about another future rest. How can joshua's rest resting physically in the land be the ultimate rest. When later on in history david talked about another rest.

The land of israel can't be the ultimate rest. There's got to be another kind of rest. What kind of rest would that be. And isn't it i think very neat that he uses the word joshua because that's the word for jesus.

And you're starting to think already this kind of language that the hebrews would understand. And and here's this type. And joshua as he got his people into the promised physical land the later joshua jesus will deliver his people into a spiritual rest.

Come unto me all who are heavy laden and i will give you what rest for your souls. Jesus gave spiritual rest where joshua could only give physical rest. You could answer the question this way. Wait a second.

What about this rest. What was written first. Joshua the book or psalm ninety-five. And of course psalm ninety-five is second. And that's talking about another rest. Verse nine. So then there remains a sabbath rest for the people of god.

Not just the jews but gentiles too thinking about the people of god. There's more rest than just israel's getting into the promised land of cana. There's rest for the people of god. Even gentiles. What kind of rest.

It's a spiritual rest. What does verse ten say. For whoever has entered god's rest spiritually trusting in jesus' works. So you don't have to work has also rested from his works as god did from his see.

They're bringing three things together now. And we're talking about god on the seventh day he rested. And now we're talking about believers. They also can rest because they don't have to work anymore.

I've told you maybe on my my ornery days when people come to my door and they knock on my door. And when they sell me solar panels i say no thank you. When they sell me a jesus who isn't god i tell them how do you get to heaven.

You know this is my nice this is nice. Mike i too am interested in spiritual things. Could you please tell me how to get to heaven. Do this. Do that. Do this. Do that. I said i can't do it. I've already tried.

And plus i'm sinful. I can't do it even though i want to do. You have any hope for me. Well no. Then you have to do this. And then you have to do that. And then you have to do this. I cannot physically do it.

I want to say you know what. I've fallen and i can't get up. For i've sinned and fallen short of the glory of god. You know that's a present tense. I continually fall short. I continually fall short. Please do you have some good news for me.

Here's good news. You rest from your works. Work implies work. Work implies energy. And now how do i get to heaven. I can't get to heaven. But god loves sinners. And so how do i get to heaven. He gets us there by christ's work rested from his works.

That's a great definition of a christian. We rest from our work because we're resting in the one who perfectly worked. That is amazing. And it's just amazing to me. Let us therefore strive to enter. Very pastoral here.

Let us he includes himself to strive to enter that rest. Do whatever it takes to be a believer so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. Yes. But i'm going to get kicked out of my family.

Strive. I'm going to get kicked out of synagogue strive. Yes. My muslim parents might try to kill me. It's an honor shame killing. Strive. It's worth it. Make every effort. The greek word is spudadzo.

I like that to be striving and to be diligent and to sweat. Nothing could be more important than you trusting in christ jesus. And now we come to the examination. Seven reasons to trust in christ. So this word won't examine you.

And you notice the very first word as we looked at two weeks ago. Four. This is not a word about the bible although that's true. This is primarily a word about judgment. What's the context. Four. The word of god is living and active.

Sharper than any two-edged surgeon scalpel. Really piercing to the division of soul and spirit of joints and marrow and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Never read twelve without reading eleven.

Never read twelve without reading thirteen. The word of god. The written word of course in the hands of the the surgeon jesus. The incarnate word is going to judge. There are two options. And the options aren't go to heaven or be annihilated.

Go to heaven and have conditional mortality. Trust in jesus. Go to heaven or be judged. We saw last time the first reason you should trust in christ. So you're not judged. It's because the word of god is living.

The Word Is Living and Active

Number one. The word is living. This is emphatic in the greek position. The first word in greek isn't for f-o-r. It's living. It's front loaded living. Look back at chapter three verse twelve. Do you see it.

The living god has a living word. Take care brothers. Hebrews three twelve. Lest there be in any of you an evil unbelieving heart leading you to fall away from the living god. This is not a dead god. This is not a dead idol.

Remember those idols that you could see in the old testament in isaiah. They have mouths but they don't what. They have eyes but they don't. They have ears but they don't. This god is a living word. It's a.

It's a. It's an energetic word. It does its work because it comes from god. If god is dead his word is dead. What's that old t-shirt. God is dead. Nicha on the back of the shirt that you can get at the christian bookstore.

This is better than bench press this kind of thing. By the way with the cross of jesus on the back nicha is dead god. If god is dead his word is dead. But since god is living three twelve then his word is living.

And so on judgment day i either trust in christ and tuck myself underneath the righteous robes of christ so that i'm in christ by faith alone. Are these living things going to examine me. I just had an MRI.

I wouldn't be afraid to know what the MRI's results were if the MRI was broken. But since it's working that's the idea. There's a there's a power even in act seven thirty eight. Steven talked about the bible as living oracles.

Not kind of like the old school. Not. You know king james english we can understand what it says. Not this language that no one ever knows. It's a dead language. No it's living first. Peter chapter one.

Through the living and abiding word of god. Jesus said in john six the words i have spoken to you they're full of the spirit and life. The pastor says to these dear persecuted people i know you're tempted to go back and run from jesus.

But this word will judge you. It's living. Don't. Secondly it's active. The second reason you should trust in christ so that the word won't judge you on judgment day is it's active and tied here together.

If it's living it must be active living and active. It's where we get our english word energetic. It has energy. It's powerful. It can accomplish what god wants to accomplish. And here's what he wants to accomplish.

Judgment. Examine the person. See what's inside of them. And it's not one of these fake things i had for a long time on my iphone app. That x-ray app. And i could put it on my hand. And if i tilt it a little bit it seemed like i moved my hand.

You could see like my iphone. What were the first iphones? Were they iphone ones? Okay an early iphone. It looked like i had an x-ray app. But it was all fake. Because if you put it on your face it would also show a hand.

It was just a gimmick. This is the x-ray of your soul. How are you going to do that day? I know i would be undone. This is not some kind of dead app. This is the living word of god. It's energetic because it's alive.

Alive things are active. Your character will be judged on judgment day examined if you will not trust in christ. On a side note for christians i love it that the word of god is living and active. Why?

Because it helps me. And when i think about the lord is my shepherd i lack nothing. I think you know what. If it was a dead word it might have been good for david. But it's alive. And it's energetic and it even encourages me.

And i read the word and i read proverbs three and i think trust in the lord with all your heart lean not on your own understanding in all your ways acknowledge him. He'll make your path straight it. For the christian the word of god is alive and it's active to encourage and to direct and to guide.

But here the context is it will examine you on that day. Thirdly it's sharp. The third reason you should trust christ is because the word of god is sharp. It's living. It's active. It's sharp. Sharper than what your texts say than any two edged sword.

What does it do. What does this sword do i mean if the text went on to say lopping off head and limb i think sword. If the text went on to say dividing shoulder from arm i think a sword. But what does the text say piercing the division of soul and spirit joints and marrow.

He's not talking about some huge sword that you've got a hold with a big kind of with two hands and you're kind of swinging it like you would a big huge club. This is talking about precision. That's why many will translate it sharper than any two edged surgeon's scalpel.

Why. Because this god who is going to do judgment surgery on people looking for things can really get down not just to the course aspects but fine-tuning aspects the details the minutia the particles the thoughts like no jinsu knife could ever do it says sword.

But it's used in the context. And some have translated this rightly surgeon's scalpel. We don't really know how it was used in the old testament per se. Exactly. Some will say it's like the knife that was used to perform circumcision.

Others will say it's like the knife that the butcher used excuse me the priest used to slaughter the animals. They had surgeon's knives back then. And this particular surgeon's scalpel is what two edged double-mouthed as it were.

Why. Because it emphasizes how well it can penetrate. You've got two sharp sides on the front and at the bottom. This is a short little surgeon's scalpel. And of course it's figurative language just so we can understand it.

That does its work. Then david said to him ahimelech then you have not here a spear or a sword at hand. For i have brought neither my sword nor my weapons with me because the king's business required haste.

And the priest said the sword of goliath the philistine whom you struck down in the valley of elah behold it is wrapped here in a cloth behind the ephod. If you take that take it. For there is none but that here.

And david said there is none like that. Give it to me. I need a sword. I don't have a weapon. I'll take goliath's sword. And then spurgeon said the word of god is like the sword of goliath which has been laid up in the sanctuary of which david said there's none like it.

Give it to me. Why did he like it so well. And now spurgeon makes a conjecture. I think he liked it all the better because it had been laid up in the holy place by the priest. But i think he liked it best of all because it had the stains of blood on it.

The blood of goliath. I like my own sword spurgeon said because it is covered with blood right up to the hilt. The blood of slaughtered sins and errors and prejudices. The dark and purple tint the slain of the lord have been many by the old gospel.

And spurgeon was saying the word of god is so powerful because it convicts every person of their sin and god uses that to save them. But here we're not talking about salvation. We're talking about judgment surgery.

There's everything in the world different from when i used to go to the operating room and see patients. And they would be cut open with a surgeon's scalpel. That's the first thing that happens after they put the patient out.

They get everything put properly. I shouldn't say the first thing but everything's ready. And then the first instrument that they asked for every time that i was in surgery that i can remember scalpel.

And then they would cut that patient open. And there's everything in me that says you know what. That was kind of hard to take but at the end they they sewed him back up. They put stitches on there they woke the patient up.

I didn't see very many patients die in the operating room table. A few but not many. Ninety nine times out of a hundred they wake up and then off to recovery. But the one day when i went to the autopsy at LA county medical center and saw the autopsy i realized that after they cut the brain open and after they cut the sternum open after they cut the heart out they didn't put it back in.

This surgeon's scalpel isn't to cut open and then excise the cancer. This is to cut open your soul and it will find sin. So flee to the cross. What's worse than an autopsy being examined by the word of god.

Well you know what i'll believe later. And you know this is for for adults. And i've got my own life to live and i've got this girl i want to meet. I've got this guy and all these other kind of things.

Friends there's an urgency here when moses told these words to all the people of israel the people mourned greatly and they rose early in the morning and went up to the heights of a hill country saying here we are we will go up to the place that the lord has promised for we have sinned.

But moses said why are you now transgressing the command of the lord when that will not succeed. Do not go up for the lord is not among you lest you be struck down before your enemies. For there the amalekites and the canaanites are facing you and you shall fall by the sword because you have turned your back from following the lord the lord will not be with you.

But they presumed to go up to the heights of the hill country although neither the ark of the covenant of the lord nor moses departed out of the camp. Then the amalekites and the canaanites who lived in that hill country came down and defeated them and pursued them even to hormah.

Numbers fourteen. Some scholars think that as these israelites didn't think god was you know gonna protect them from all the they realized they went up by themselves without the lord's help. They were slaughtered by the sword.

Don't be slaughtered by the sword of judgment. Number four. Piercing. Piercing. The fourth reason you should trust in christ and rest in him. So you don't get examined by this word that's living active sharp and piercing to the division of soul and spirit joints and marrow.

Here's the greek word for piercing. Quite a neat word. It comes from two separate words. One means through and the other means to come. And so you come through something. It pierces. You go through the pulpit.

It pierces. Calvin said there is nothing so hard or firm in a man nothing so deeply hidden that the efficacy of the word does not penetrate through to it. And then the words of jesus come to my mind. And i think to myself if you even look at a woman with adultery with lusts with desires you've committed adultery.

And we're gonna be examined by this god and this god and his word. First corinthians 4 and 5 the lord comes who will bring both to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men's hearts.

God knows everything and he doesn't have to learn it. He just knows perfectly instantaneously. Really my first computer was a IBM 386. I'm sorry to admit it SX. I plug that thing in and i click on something and it would grind.

It was like i was trying to shift gears in my bicycle and just never shifted. The derailer is broken. It would grind and grind and grind and grind. I don't think it had any random access memory. To be quite honest when we think we think you know what i learned this then this happened.

Then a flow chart. If then A then B and follow. And how much information can i process. And what will my memory be. And random access memory. And to god it's just known. It's just known whatever you do here on earth or whatever you've thought.

It's like you just shot up to the thrice holy god and just did it in his presence. Anger and sin and envy and pride and unrighteousness and self-righteousness. It's like in your face god he knows everything.

He doesn't have to learn. I mean it's built into us. We want to hide right in adam and eve everything was fine. They were naked and not ashamed when there was no sin. But the second the sin happens. It's hide and cover with the fig leaves and run into the dark.

He said there's no darkness with god. He doesn't recall information. It's instantaneous and he never forgets. Hannah said that god is a god of knowledges 1 samuel 2 not even singular knowledges. He just knows everything.

What does it do? Number 5. It discerns. It's living, active, sharper than any two-edged surgeon's scalpel piercing and discerning. Now we move from slaughter language from sacrificial language to the judge language to legal terminology to a courtroom it says to discern.

This is when the judge has the evidence and he finds you guilty. Friends, if you're a christian here i know many of you are maybe most of you are. This should help you evangelize. When i study the doctrine of hell two things happen.

I become joyful. I don't have to go. I should go but i don't have to go. And i think to myself i have to evangelize more. Every single person i meet will die and go to heaven or hell. I need to evangelize more.

Not because God will save more people if i'm zealous but with this zealousness that Paul knew to evangelize. This verse should help you evangelize. You get examined by God. Here's what i think. It's going to sound really stupid.

You go to the carnival and you stand in front of one of those mirrors. And it just makes you look better. It makes you look thinner. It makes you look more shapely or whatever. Or we get the apps and you can kind of just hit that little thing on your iPhone.

It's got like a wand and you hit the wand. It makes your picture look better. This is what we think all of our own little works. Righteous things do before God. Yet He sees us should help us to evangelize.

Our friends will never withstand judgment day. And additionally, Christian can you imagine when i first got saved i thought this. I thought, wait a second. God not only knew everything i've done. He knows everything i sinfully will do in the future.

And He still says i love you. I'll send my son to die for you. You're the object of my affection. I've given you to my son in eternity past to go rescue and to die. For it's like the x-ray vision was already there because His knowledge is instantaneous that God would know you so well and still love you.

That's a praise from all eternity. God knows everything you do and He loves you. Some writers say He loves you better than you know you. It's true. And it unveils or reveals. Number 6 found in verse 13.

And now we're moving from the word of God to God Himself. There's no real difference but that's the movement of the passage. And no creature is hidden from His sight. But all are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give an account.

Sixly it unveils trust in Jesus. Because there will be an unveiling. Job said Sheol is naked before God. Job 28 it says. For he who looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens.

Psalm 33 the Lord looks down from heaven. He observes everyone. So therefore what's the text. Say. No creature is hidden from His sight. God declares the end from the beginning. He knows everything we used to say things like I'm going to slip something by someone.

Nothing gets slipped by God. Does anything escape God's notice? There are things that are going on in the world now. Principalities and powers of darkness and invisible spirits that are zooming hither and thither.

We see nothing. They're invisible to us. God sees those. Was anybody there observing Cain when he murdered his brother. God saw. David did everything he could to try to cover his tracks with Bathsheba and Uriah and the army God saw.

And on judgment day if you will not trust in Christ. If you'll be so stubborn not to trust in Christ it's like the word of God held by God Himself will say like Nathan did to David. You are the man. Depart from me.

You who practice lawlessness. Proverbs 15 the eyes of the Lord are in every place beholding the evil and the good. No wonder liberals want to do this. We will take God as loving. We will take God as forgiving.

We will take God even as righteous. But please don't let us have a God who's omniscient because then He sees us and we're undone. I mean before we even talk God knows it. There is not a word in my tongue but lo O Lord you know it all together.

Since God is so infinite in His knowledge then hypocritical unbelief must be repented of. No creature is hidden from His sight. Nothing in all creation. No created being. If you're a created being He sees you His eyes don't miss anything Jesus taught His disciples in Matthew 10.

There is nothing concealed that will not be revealed or hidden that will not be known. We have people in this sex scandal in the media now and they are some especially some lawmakers have killed themselves because they did not want to have their lives exposed in front of everyone let alone.

It's going to be exposed before God. The only hope is trusting in this great high priest. That's the only hope Achan thought he got away with it. He didn't. The word uncovered there means or open or naked means we get the word gym J-Y-M gymna.

And instead of meaning gymnasium it just means without clothes. And in the old days of the gymnasium you wore no clothes. It could be used of a body without clothing a kernel of grain without the shell or the husk.

And the imagery here is simple. God just sees you for what you are naked before the eyes of God. Nothing covered. No armor no Teflon no Kevlar naked just as God could see Adam after he sinned he can see us.