True Faith: Unity and Violence

It's great to be with you all again. I know some of you may have heard This is. I think it's with a fifth or sixth sermon. I've done in this series on holy violence. It centers around Matthew 11 12 Which says from the days the John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence.

The violent take it by fourth force. So I want to pick up in that series. Miss Linda has printed out an outline in your bulletin. So if you open it up to the insert right here You'll see the outline along with the text we talking about.

Thank you, Miss Linda for doing that. The title this sermon is true faith unity and violence. We're focusing on three verses from Matthew right after Matthew 11 12. There was so a young man graduated from high school in 1904 for graduation.

He received the uncommon gift of a trip around the world. Little did those who gave him this trip realize what it would do to him. While on this trip He began to feel a burden for those who were less fortunate and those in need of Christ around the world.

He wrote home and said I want to give my life and service to Christ as a missionary. Though his friends and relatives stood in disbelief. This man wrote two words in the back of his Bible. He wrote no regrets.

He returned to America and there he enrolled in Yale University where he was a model student. Though others might have thought his college life would quench his desire for the mission field. In fact, it only fueled it.

He started a Bible study and by the end of the first year a 150 students were meeting weekly to study the Bible and pray. By the time he was a senior 1 ,000 of the 1 ,300 students at Yale were in the discipleship groups meeting for weekly Bible study and prayer.

He did not limit his evangelistic efforts the up-and-out around Yale's pristine campus. His heart was equally stirred for the down-and-out. He founded something called the Yale hope mission. He ministered to those in the streets of New Haven, Connecticut.

He shared the ministry of Christ with orphans widows the homeless the hungry offering them hope and a refuge. A Visitor from overseas once was asked what impressed him most during his time in America.

And he responded the sight of that young millionaire kneeling with his arm around a bum in the Yale hope mission. When he graduated from Yale, he was offered many lucrative jobs, but to dismay of his friends and relatives.

He refused. Instead he wrote two more words in the back of his Bible. He wrote no retreats. He entered Princeton Seminary and upon graduation he set sail for China in China. He wanted to serve Christ among the Muslim population on route to China.

He stopped over in Egypt to study and learn Arabic. However, while there he contracted spinal meningitis and he died. He lived only a month after that at the age of 25. He was dead in his life. This man counted all things as lost for the sake of knowing Christ and making him known.

He refused to be taken with the futility of life inherited from his forefathers, but instead he said I'm gonna live out my life as To the glory of God and the ransom of Jesus Christ. When his Bible was discovered after his death, it was found that he added two more words to the back of his Bible.

Those two words were no regrets. This man's name was William Borden and he gave up a vast familial inheritance. He was a millionaire back in the 1800s, which translates to you know, two or three hundred million today.

He said he truly understood that the Christian life consists of unity with Christ and it consists of violence of purpose. In my sermon today I want to outline how true faith must be united with knowledge and acceptance of the truth as well as an unyielding trust in the promises of God.

Please turn to Matthew 11 where we're gonna read verses 13 through 15 today. Or if you prefer, it's also printed in your bulletin. And I'm ready for the New King James Version. Matthew 11 13 through 15.

For all the prophets in the law prophesied until John and if you're willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come. He who has ears to hear let him hear. There are three main ideas that we're going to see in our text today.

You must know the truth. You must accept the truth and you must trust the truth. Jesus taught the Jews these lesson and these three components are always present in the faith of true believers. So starting at point number one, you must know the truth.

This point is going to come mainly from verse 13. It says for all the prophets in the law prophesied until John. Matthew's gospel is very interesting here because Matthew Reverses the chronological order and he puts the prophets before the law if you think about the Bible.

It's the law and the prophets. Matthew reverses that. Most verses the New Testament which mentioned the law and prophets placed them in the order revelation was given. So first the law than the prophets.

Moses reverses that. I'm sorry, not Jesus reversed that rather I believe in this sense. She's trying to show the Pharisees that John's ministry did not Contradict the law was found in the Old Testament.

Most of the common people acknowledge John was a prophet but what they'd accuse him of breaking the law. But instead what John's ministry was it was a fulfillment of it. Well, John was universally acclaimed as a prophet the Pharisees most likely.

I'm sure they accused him of being a lawbreaker. They accused us of being a lawbreaker. So chances are high. They accused John of the same thing. And the main reason they accused him of that is because he didn't follow their rabbinical regulations.

The law and the prophets occurs ten times in the New Testament of almost half those of those occurrences are found in the Gospels and In the gospel account she is usually presenting himself as the fulfillment of the Old Testament.

Let's read a few of them together. Matthew 5 17 says do not think that I came to destroy the law and the prophets I did not come to destroy but fulfill them.

Luke.

2444 then he said to them These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you that all things may be fulfilled. Which was written the law Moses and the prophets and the Psalms concerning me.

And finally then he said to them Oh foolish ones and slow of heart to believe all the prophets have spoken. Ought not the Christ have suffered all these things and enter into glory and beginning in Moses and the prophets He expounded them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

It's Luke 24 25 to 27. The capstone of the Old Testament was a ministry of John the Baptist. But the glory of the New Testament is the person and work of Jesus Christ. The prophets and laws were precursors to John and John was the Messianic Herald.

The Mosaic Law had 613 commands. The Mosaic Law is not just the Ten Commandments. All the laws. The Old Testament's numbers. Leviticus are all there 613 total. Those range from the moral law of God. There's laws regarding diet clothing livestock.

If you've ever read through him, you know, there's a lot. To this list the Pharisees added 1 ,500 man-made laws so they almost doubled it or Tripled if you count the total overnight and they thought they they forced the Jewish people to observe these.

Jesus mentioned the reason I mentioned believe that Jesus mentions the prophet and law is because he's saying only the laws of the Bible are Binding on the conscience of believers, right? He didn't say the prophets and the law and the rabbinical law.

He said the prophets in the law, so he left it there. Additionally the Sadducees they believed only the Pentateuch was inspired. So they only believed in the first five books the Bible. They would have disregarded the prophets right and this is also a rebuke to them because Jesus is saying no.

I accept the entire canon of the Old Testament all the prophets in the law. The Sadducees were like the liberals of the day the Pharisees were the conservatives. It's actually want to throw out everything but the Pentateuch and Jesus said no the whole Old Testament is the Word of God including the prophets.

Jesus may never have used the phrase sola scriptura. We have it hanging up on the wall right here. But in his verses he insists on the primacy of Scripture. That's what he's doing. He says along the prophets.

In Atlanta, we have a very famous pastor called Andy Stanley and he suggests that Christians should unhitch their beliefs from the Old Testament. In saying this he opposes Jesus Christ and he preaches the devil's gospel.

There's no one hitching from the Old Testament. The Old Testament is Christ. And if you don't hit from the Old Testament you reject Christ, too. He's a false teacher he was never ordained by God and the reason why is because he opposes the Word of Scripture.

God's Word must be protected from man's encroachment whether it come from the religious right or the religious left. Because both the Sadducees and Pharisees opposed Jesus and we to resist both of those extremes.

The Bible is very clear about the punishment for taking away. But the Sadducees did or adding to what the Pharisees did in Revelation 22. It says for I testify to everyone who hears the words the prophecy of this book if anyone adds these things God will add to him the plagues that are written this book and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy God shall take away his part in the book of life from the Holy City and from the things are written in his book.

That's the punishment for people that add to or take away from Scripture. Shifting gears a little bit. What event do you think marks the beginning of the New Testament era? There's a lot of answers you could put there if you study history.

You'll generally notice our dates are gonna come with one of two common prefixes. You're either gonna see BC or you're gonna see a D attached there. BC means before Christ and AD is Latin, which is Anno Domini.

It counts upward from zero, which is the year Christ was born to modern-day where we tour here in 2024. So the year zero is the year Jesus was incarnated and born into this world. If you've ever heard anyone mention the terms BCE or CE, right?

That's the secular world's attempt to take Christ out of the but out of the center of history. So instead of saying BC or 80 they'll say before the common era or the common error. But here's the funny thing year zero is still Christ's birth so they can relabel it all they want.

But Christ's birth is still the center of history. So zero AD or zero CE is the center of Christ here on earth. If not, so but if not Jesus birth. What else could be the the BN New Testament era. Some might say when Jesus emptied himself, you know I mean came down.

Some said may see the crucifixion the crucifixion be a popular one because that's when the new covenant was ushered in. Or what about his resurrection? His resurrection is vitally important to Christians.

Finally a less popular one. How about the Ascension right when he ascended to heaven and sent the Holy Spirit down? That's another very common point. You may say started it. But at that point the Holy Spirit was an abiding presence the life of every Christian because you just said when I leave I'm gonna send the paraclete or helper with you and he's gonna dwell in you and tell you all things.

You know after when this happened the Holy Spirit became a permanent force it pretty much there's no more in the Old Testament. You're everyone the only the Holy Spirit was only given to those that were positions of authority in the New Testament comes in every Christian.

If you have the Holy Spirit You will not live in ignorance of God's Word because the Holy Spirit empowers you and pushes you to study and learn about God. However, all these events while they were great Jesus did not mention any of these events as the inflection point where the Old Testament Judaism became New Testament Christianity.

Instead he said all the Old Testament prophets in law prophesied until John. So Jesus gave John as the beginning point of the New Testament. As some theologians have noted and I've said before in previous servants John was the last of the Old Testament prophets.

He was very much an Old Testament prophet, even though he preached in the New Testament Jesus. John preached repentance. He held up God's law as the supreme standard that sinners must meet. Additionally John had the zeal and courage of an Old Testament prophet.

He was not a scare. He was not a scared guy. He was sold out for the Lord. There was nothing in his life, but preaching the gospel and baptizing people that believed. He lived a very simple life an aesthetic life.

He had very few material possessions. He had no shelter. He didn't eat fancy food. Both the message and his lifestyle showed that John was an alien this world. He was not of he was not a prince of this world.

He was not a permanent dweller. He was just an alien. The Bible mentions this motif or theme of Christians as heavenly citizens very frequently. Here's some examples if you look at first Peter 2 11, it says beloved I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul.

Hebrews 1113 says these all died in faith not receiving the promises but having seen them afar off. They were assured of them. They embraced them. They confessed them and here's the most important part that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth, right?

That's what a true Christian is. You're a pilgrim here. The Old Testament to New Testament transition had another watershed moment as the demographic composition of the church has shifted, right? Frequently Old Testament believers were men with a lot of possessions power or prosperity.

If you look at the Old Testament, you'll see that.

Job.

Abraham Isaac Solomon Joseph and Jacob they all had a lot of you know, they had power they had money. They had a position of prestige. The New Testament believers were not like this. New Testament believers are much more likely to be poor persecuted and educated that is a very significant shift between the Old and New Testament.

John the Baptist led the groundwork for Christ and Ultimately the New Testament believers such as ourself the vast majority of which would be materially poor but spiritually rich. Please flip back with me to Matthew chapter 10 and let's read what Jesus said when he sent the disciples out.

So, please turn to Matthew 10 and we starting in verses 7. Verse 7. Matthew 10 bar starting verse 7. He said it as you go preach the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick cleanse the lepers. Raise the dead cast out demons freely.

You have received freely give provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts. Nor bag for your journey nor two tunics nor sandals or staffs for a worker is worthy of his food. Now wherever whatever city your town you go into inquire who is worthy and stay there till you go out.

Do you see the gospel urgency and aversion to materialism of John the Baptist in these verses? If not, let's take a closer look. Traveling light as the disciples did it removes the ability of the world to slander disciples as greedy and it communicates.

The mission is more important the comfort of the messengers. It's not important to be comfortable. What's it come? What's important is the message they're sending out. These commands were Jesus of Jesus were a metaphorical girding up of the disciples loins for gospel ministry.

If they moved from one's friend's house to another in the same town the citizens would view their trip as a vacation. Oh, they're just here to you know, have fun. They're just moving from place to place instead this would then what this would do this would hurt their gospel business and it would make Satan's tactic of encouraging people to defer their Salvation much more effective.

Oh, they're just here to party. They're not here to just tell something important. You know a royal herald was not chosen for his ability to couch sir between houses. If you had a royal herald, he just went slept on a bunch of people's.

No. He's he's what is he chosen for to get in town to deliver the message with authority and urgency and then leave that's your job. It's really not possible to be too devoted to the Lord. I like what JC Ryle says here.

He says in following the things that make up true religion and serving Christ. There can be no extreme. So if someone tells you you're too extreme and serving the Lord you tell them that's wrong. It's not there's no two extreme.

It's serving in serving Jesus and God. It's noteworthy in this verse too if you look back at it. The law was said to prophesy in the same way as the prophets did this has two very important lessons to it for us.

When we tell people the law of God and exhort them to obey it. We are prophesying if you tell them thus says the Lord that's a form of prophecy, right? That doesn't excite the carnal mind. That's not gonna excite an unbeliever.

It doesn't thrill the imagination. It's not as cool as I know when the Lord's coming back or I have a secret message from the Lord, right? But the effects of this prophecy aren't miraculous because God uses these ordinary means to bring people to himself.

Additionally, you know the law does not predict the future or give us insight a major life decisions. If you think about the law of God, does that predict the future? Does that give you insight major life decisions?

It doesn't but rather it tells us we should obey how we should obey the Lord in the presence. So many people get caught up with God's will for their future life and they neglect to obey him and they're right here in their present circumstance.

We are called to live a day-by-day Christianity and trust the Lord as the lilies of the field and the birds of the air. Rely on God for their sustenance if you knew a major event of your life before it happened.

How would you exercise faith in God? How would you do that? Discernment it's a spiritual discipline. The reason we have to practice it is because we have to build it up. We read the Bible and then we apply the Bible to our lives.

That's what the sermon is. God gets greater glory when Christians make godly decisions by the help of the Holy Spirit. Then if we had the correct answer fed to us if someone just gives you the correct answers to a test and you pass.

It's like it's a computer. You're like a computer. That's not what God wants us to do. We're to take the Bible apply it to our sick lives and live it out. Let's hear what the Holy Spirit had to say about this through the pen of Moses.

This is one of Miss Lillian's favorite verse verses. She says a lot. I always think about her when I read this one, but Deuteronomy 29 29 says the secret things belong to Lord our God. But those things that are were revealed belong to us and our children forever that we may do all the words of this law.

So the secret things the Lord don't worry about those the revealed will this is what you study. Show yourself an approved worker and study it. I urge you study this today. This is your this is right here is what God wants you to study this these scriptures.

Don't put it off till tomorrow. Felix told Paul to come back and talk about the gospel later. He said come back at a more convenient time and guess what later never came for Felix. He died in his sins and he went into eternity without Christ and the devil laughed at it because he didn't trust the Lord.

He was foolish. Don't put your salvation off. Felix is now serving endless sentence in hell. Let his let that warning of his life be an example for all of you. My second point is Coming from verse 14.

Verse 14 is you and the main point of verse 14. You must accept the truth. What is verse 14 say and if you were willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come. This verse kind of reminds me of an onion, right.

If you look at it, it looks like a simple thing. But if you peel back the layers, there are many layers below the surface of this verse. Let's read the first clause of the sentence. The first clause ends with that first comma.

It says and if you are willing to receive it, right the truth of the Bible. It's not dependent on the world's acceptance of it, right? That doesn't indeed we go even further from that and say, you know.

What the world's ignorance of the truth is no obstacle to Scott sovereign will. What does Paul say in the third chapter of the epistle to Romans? He said certainly not indeed. Let God be true. But every man be a liar as it is written that you may be justified in your words and you may overcome.

When you're judged, that's Romans 3 4. The ending of these verses is a perfect explanation. I think of what's occurring here in Matthew 11 14. Concerning the topic of Elijah Jesus not soliciting input.

He's not seeking approval and he's not selling a narrative. Rather he's saying you know what? He's pronouncing judgment because the Jews did not accept his word as final if you're willing to receive it.

It's still true or not, but if you're not willing to receive it, it's gonna be on you. When Jesus speaks no more evidence is necessary. It should be enough for all Christians to say God says it that ends it.

Salvation requires we would go beyond just mere knowledge and we accept God's Word is authoritative over our lives. This word is authoritative over everything we do. I want to briefly list three lessons that we can glean from this text and apply it to our lives.

Lesson number one or point or I say sub point a in the outline. The truth does not rest on the world's acceptance or even the religious world's acceptance. This may seem like an obvious statement, but in our godless post modernistic culture, we can no longer take this as a given.

Have you ever had a person come up to you and say well, this is my truth. This is your truth that person. There's a third truth, right. If you've ever had that that's a crash course in a in a theory. What's known as post-modernism?

People will insist with a straight face to you that all of these belief systems that are diametrically opposed. They'll say they're all correct at the same time and this is not only a front law of God, but it's illogical as well.

When people reject God his word and it's any more restraints on their lives. You know what the end result of that is. It's always madness and to insist. There's three forms of truth is simply that it's just madness.

There's no three forms of truth. There's one truth you can have in logic. You can have three things be legally wrong, but three opposing beliefs cannot be equally true. It's madness to insist. Otherwise.

When you reject the peace of God, what do you get you reap confusion in your life? What does Paul say in first Corinthians? He said for God's not the author of confusion but of peace in all as in all the churches of the Saints.

Imagine if people live their lives the way they treated God and his laws, right? You can ignore you can scoff you can revile gravity as much as you want to but if you jump off a high bridge What's gonna happen?

You are gonna die. Does the president of the United States and the governor of our state only exist if you believe them to? No, you're their presence and their power are totally independent of your desire to believe them or your antipathy.

Antipathy or hostility to them or if you're indifferent to them try breaking the law. See if the power of the state and the federal government has is still an invisible thing. It's not. Likewise those that use God's patience as license to scoff at his existence are playing Russian roulette with their eternal souls and as the stakes Russian roulette is it's really stupid game where people take a revolver and put one bullet in flip the chamber and go click.

Click if you scoff at God's Word and say well, he's patient. I'm not dying in my sins. You're playing Russian late your soul as you're doing. I mean think of how stupid it is to sit there clicking with one bullet in the empty chamber.

That's how stupid it is to use God's patience as license for continuing your sin. I love what HB. Charles says. He's actually his church is down in Jackson. I'm gonna try to go visit one time. I visit my mom.

He says truth is truth whether I experience it or not. The Lord does not need my experience to validate his word. Your experience is inconsequential and not relevant to the Word of God. So the Word of God is here put your experience below it.

Question so point number point two or sub point B rather. Sub point be up to truth does not change to accommodate different belief systems. We are to hold up the mirror of the law and preach the gospel to everyone.

Regardless of their views to God the Bible in his first epistles the Corinthians Paul reminded his hearers that we preach the same gospel to All men. 1st Corinthians 23 verse 25. He says this. But we preach Christ crucified to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness.

But to those who are the cold or the elect both Jews and Greeks Christ is the power of God and Christ is the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

The Jews had the oracles and promises of God the Greeks had neither but guess what? They're both accountable to God for their actions. In our culture We might consider these to be those groups that know Christian doctrine and those are ignorant of any knowledge of God.

Like you can use different openers when you talk about their soul. But ultimately it always comes down to the law says this and you must obey. If someone says they're a Buddhist the law says this if someone says I'm a Catholic the law says this if someone says I don't Believe them God.

I'm an atheist. The law says this we don't change our gospel for different people. We may change our approach how we get to it, but the gospel should be the same. If you don't if you if you know Christian doctrine, you do have an advantage.

But if you don't act on the knowledge you have your punishment is much greater than those that have gospel light, right? Think of the leaders the Pharisees the Sadducees. Herod came to them and said, where's the Messiah born?

And what did they say in Bethlehem of Judea? Did a single Pharisee or Sadducee take the trip down a single one? So what did their knowledge do?

Nothing.

However their knowledge, you know their head knowledge never resulted in repentance or changed heart. It was all up here never got to down here and they're now paying the consequence for their unbelief.

I love what Thomas Watson said. He said knowledge without repentance will be a torch to light men's way to hell. If you have knowledge and you're not repentant and it doesn't cause you to submit yourself and repent to the Lord.

It'll just be you'll you'll have a brighter pathway to hell. That's it. I like what Stephen Sharnock said to a lot of times. As humans we tend to elevate verbal denials of God above practical denials.

So if someone says outright I hate God versus I know got to live a life that denies him. He said Stephen Sharner said a practical denial of God is worse than a verbal. Because deeds have more deliberation than words.

Words to be the fruit of a passion. You may say something in anger. But a set of evil actions is the fruit and evidence of a predominant evil principle in the heart. So someone can say something in a passion.

But if your life if you can say, you know God, but you live contrary to his laws. That's worse because it's premeditated versus accidentally saying God's name in vain or yelling it out somehow. In our pluralist pluralistic society.

It's considered a social faux pas. Which is French for or mistake to insist that Christianity is correct and all other religions are wrong. If you say that you're gonna make yourself very unpopular very quick, right?

What some may call politeness is essentially it's just the etiquette of the devil. That's the devil's etiquette is what that is. Does it matter the Jews accept John as the New Testament Elijah or not?

Does it really matter? Like let's just think about this. Can they hold a different view on this point and go to heaven? They don't think John is a testament Elijah. No, they can't. If John's not the New Testament Elijah, then Jesus is not the Messiah.

Biblical truths are always interlocking. You can't reject one without rejecting them all. Consider what's at stake here. Everyone that you or I meet is an immortal soul and they're gonna spend eternity without the Lord in Torment or with the Lord in unending joy.

Isn't it worth risking a little discomfort when the stakes are so high? I mean, can you have any higher stakes than that? Neglect this year the gospel. It'll lead you being cursed in hell rather than being praised in heaven.

Wouldn't you rather be praised in heaven than cursed in hell. Share the gospel to be forewarned as forearm though. You will encounter opposition when you share the gospel. Heaven is relentlessly pressing day by day in the devil's kingdom.

Although it seems our world gets darker and darker every time he every time you turn on the news or read anything. It seems like it's getting worse and worse. Heaven is slowly but surely encroaching though.

But as heaven encroaching the devil's kingdom, guess what the forces of darkness, they're always gonna push back. They're always gonna fight back. Martin Luther said this and I think it's a I think it's a great quote.

He said the gospel cannot truly be preached without offense or tumult. I mentioned at Sunday school this morning as well. That's a great quote finally. Force. I have sub point C under point to. Embracing the truth of the gospel gives us the same spirit and unites us with the Old Testament believers.

When the Jews asked John the Baptist in John 121, they said are you Elijah? What did he say to that? He said I am NOT right. Why does Jesus then call him that Elijah who is to come like why would you just say that?

And John says I am NOT. You know, I would say John the Baptist and Elijah they had a shared testimony of suffering sacrifice and submission to the will of God. All Believers who suit to live godly lives will suffer as they pursue one common salvation.

Both Elijah and John were fearless for the Lord and they preached with power and authority. Elijah rebuked the heathen kings and priests of Israel and Judah and John the Baptist condemned Herod for the adultery and he condemned the religious leaders for hypocrisy.

Both men had their moments of weakness. Who can forget Elijah's depression. The desert when he was like I'm the only one left take my life. Or who can forget John's despair. And here is dungeon both men lived a simple lifestyle.

They had few possessions. They had fewer comforts. John the Baptist saw many conversions in his ministry and Elijah saw very few. If any we don't really know if Elijah saw many conversions. But guess what?

Both of these men were effective servants of God because God rewards faithful servants. He doesn't reward successful servants. Elijah was just as faithful as John the Baptist even if he saw less converts.

What is the main thing that unites John and Elijah and all of us to them? It's the gospel thread. That's what unites us the godly men women that came before us and those who are yet to be born. It's the gospel thread throughout throughout the Bible as brothers in Christ.

What did both men look toward they look toward the advent of the Messiah? They had one eternal hope and they had one goal even though Elijah strained to see through a dim mirror like he was trying to get a glimpse of what the Christ would be like.

And John the Baptist saw Jesus in his flesh. They they both even though they had that their goal was the same. Does your heart burn with love for our Savior and Lord if so? You have the same spirit as the Old Testament Elijah and the Elijah who is to come namely John.

Their example should be an encouragement to all of us who are striving to enter the kingdom through the narrow way. I like the opening verse of Hebrews chapter 12. I think this sums up this point really nicely.

Hebrews 12 verse 1 says. Therefore we also since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses. Let us lay aside every weight and the sin which easily ensnares us and let us run with endurance. The race that is set before us.

Looking to Jesus the author and finisher of our faith. That's the gospel thread. Like when we look unto them, sometimes people read this verse and when I read it when I was younger to misinterpret it.

It doesn't necessarily mean that all the Saints are sitting here watching us at this very moment. But what it means is we have their examples in here. This is what we have the Bible. We should follow their examples and in a sense their lives still speak to us because we can read about them here.