Well, good morning to everyone. It's a beautiful day outside going out into the nice cool morning this morning, sun shining. It's gonna be a good time of year, and the bugs are waning off a little bit, so we can enjoy that and be thankful.

The text before us this morning we're gonna look at is Hebrews chapter 9, and this really is so profound and so essential to our understanding of the gospel of Salvation, of the necessity of the death of Jesus Christ to accomplish the will of God, the propitiation of sins, and the salvation of men. But I have to tell you that in my study of these words, my head just really began to swim. There's so much here concerning the refutation of so many false religions and teachings and the essence of the gospel message—the way to a right relationship with God. There's so many directions to go, so many sermons to preach, so many things to say, and I'm tempted to go off in all these directions and preach several sermons on this text.

But I find it best in the course of study and teaching to be constrained by the words, by the context, the intent, and the flow. So I will attempt to set these words in the context of chapter 9 in the broader context of the book of Hebrews and let them settle into the flow and the intent of the author this morning. But I think you will see, as we go, that there are many applications for the amazingly succinctly clear words before us this morning, and these truths absolutely capture the essence of the gospel of God's plan for salvation and the necessity of the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ to satisfy the wrath of God on our behalf in our place, so that we might receive the promise of eternal life with him.

What we will see this morning is that God's way—the only way to life—is by means of death, and that's so important for us to understand. Let's look at our text together. I was listening to Pastor Krenz read there, and he came to this word "Testator," and I told my wife, now down south I would have said testator, but she told me pastors are right, so I'm gonna try to say Testator here.

Okay, verse 15. Hebrews 9: "And for this reason, He is the mediator of the new covenant by means of death for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. For where there is a testament, there must also of necessity be the death of a testator. For a testament is in force after men are dead, since it has no power at all while the testator lives. Therefore not even the first covenant was dedicated without blood. For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, saying, 'This is the blood of the covenant which God has commanded you.' Then likewise, he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry. And according to the law, almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood, there is no remission."

Therefore, it was necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us. Not that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the most holy place every year with the blood of another. He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world. But now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment. So Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him, He will appear a second time apart from sin for salvation.

Well, I have six points for you this morning. I'm sorry; we don't have an outline. We ran out of toner in the copier, but I have six points for you this morning. First, we're going to recap: "See an Inside Job in the New Covenant." Second, "For This Reason." Third, "By Means of Death." Fourth, "Will and Testament." Fifth, "Purified with Blood." And last, "Once for All."

Last week we looked at the first part of chapter 9 in the time of Reformation when Jesus came and instituted the new covenant in His blood and accomplished our salvation. He fulfilled all that the old covenant had pictured, and the great implication of the new covenant was that, unlike the old, which is external, it is an inside job. It is an internal recreation.

Look at verse 12 in chapter 9. It says, "Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood, He entered the most holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling the unclean sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the Living God?"

We have studied in depth the new covenant promises found in Jeremiah 31 and Ezekiel 36 and the truth of regeneration in the new covenant time—the salvation that Jesus provides—the fact that we died with Him, that we were buried with Him, and raised to newness of life to become new creations, new men with a new heart and a new spirit. The Holy Spirit—even Jesus Himself—coming to live in us permanently.

These great truths give us the foundation, the logical basis, the "why" we can live a new life. These are part and parcel of the salvation that Jesus provides—the promises that are now in effect in the church age of the new covenant in His blood. 

It is true that we are justified by grace through faith in Jesus’ one-time sacrifice, but the salvation that He provides is so much more than just the positional forgiveness of sins, the removal of the fear of death and the wrath of God for our sins. As great and awesome as this truth is, that there’s now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, the salvation that Jesus provides is so much more. 

It is actually, as we saw last time, a dealing with the problem of indwelling sin and freeing us from the controlling power of indwelling sin, as well as empowering us to live a new and holy life as a witness in this world and to bring glory to God. All of this comes along with a great promise of the eternal inheritance with the salvation that Jesus provides.

And verse 15 explains that it is for this reason that He is the mediator of the new covenant by means of death. For this reason, to accomplish and implement this full salvation in those who believe. For this very purpose, Jesus is the mediator of the new covenant.

Now, remember, the author of Hebrews is building his argument that Jesus is better, and in this ninth chapter, we're all wrapped up in His better priesthood and His better sacrifice in order to show that the new covenant is better than the old and that it is fully and finally replaced it. 

Again, the final conclusion, the exhortation, the main point is for these Hebrews to hold fast to the new, to Christ, forsaking and leaving behind the old entirely. So as he explained that this new covenant has better promises, that it brings full salvation and is the consummation of God's plan to save men, to conform them to Christ's likeness for Him, His will and purpose on this earth, and to bring them to glorification to spend eternity in heaven with Him, all of these great truths and facets of describing the salvation that Jesus provides are building his argument.

But in our text today, he really hones in on one truth, and that is that all of this is accomplished only one way, and that is by means of death. This is such an amazing truth, and it really stands all alone by itself as a study, as a profound explanation of God's plan, as an explanation of the problem of men since the garden, of the holiness and just character and nature of God as the essential element of the gospel—and how a man can be made right with God. 

There's so much meaning, so much to be said, and so many edifying truths wrapped up in this phrase "by means of death." But again, we let the words guide us in their context and take out the meaning that God has put in here in His word to help us more fully understand the New Covenant and the fullness in Christ.

Well, the intent of the author in the context is to show these Jews, these Hebrews, that the death of the Messiah was necessary in order to accomplish God's plan to fulfill His new covenant promises to Israel. You see, this was greatly problematic for the Jewish mind—a crucified Messiah. We see this clearly in the minds and actions of the Apostles, the twelve men that Jesus chose, even up to the end of their time with Jesus and His steady march towards Calvary.

Turn over to Matthew 16 with me, please. I'd just like to get a glimpse inside the Jewish mind of this time. Matthew 16, verse 13. 

It says, "When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, 'Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?' So they said, 'Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.' And He said to them, 'But who do you say that I am?' Simon Peter answered and said, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.' Jesus answered and said to him, 'Blessed are you, Simon bar Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter (Petras is the Greek word for stone), you are Peter, and on this Petra, this rock, this rock bed Foundation, which is the confession that Peter just made, on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.'"

Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ. From that time, Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, 'Far be it from You, Lord! This shall not happen to You!' But He turned and said to Peter, 'Get behind me, Satan! You are an offense to me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but of the things of men.'"

The Jews had looked for—they had longed for—anticipated throughout their entire history the coming of their Messiah. They loved the Golden Age prophecies, the promises of deliverance and of the Messiah ruling on David's throne and setting all things right in this world—the release of the millennia of oppression over the Jewish nation by the Gentile kingdoms. They longed for the day that God would lift them up and bring to pass the salvation of the nation and fulfill all those great promises in the Old Testament. 

What they did not see was a suffering Messiah. They only saw a conquering Messiah, and the death of the Messiah was not in their plans. They missed Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53 as applying to God's anointed. They only wanted political difference and a kingdom, and they did not realize that all of this could only come by means of death—the death of their own Messiah—that life could only come from death, and that salvation of Israel and the fulfillment of the promises could only happen if Jesus died as the perfect sacrifice to satisfy the wrath of God.

So this is a very important truth for them to understand, and we see the Holy Spirit build the argument here flawlessly to show these Hebrews that the whole of God's salvation plan could only be accomplished by means of death. 

Look at verse 15 again, please, in our text. "For this reason, He is the mediator of the new covenant by means of death for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance." 

"For where there is a testament, there must also of necessity be the death of a testator." For a testament is enforced after men are dead, since it has no power at all while the testator lives. Ezekiel 18:4 says that the soul that sins shall surely die. This is a paramount truth.

You see, the heart and mind of man wants to rebel against the way of God. We see this clearly in Romans 1, where man holds down, suppresses the truth of God, and exchanges it for a lie. He creates his own religion, his own way to God, and it is always invariably related to his own righteousness and works. But we see clearly in the scriptures, even all the way back in Ezekiel 18, that man's righteous work cannot make up for his guilt and his sin, and the soul that sins shall surely die.

Verse 24 of Ezekiel 18 clarifies further: listen to this. "All the righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered because of the unfaithfulness of which he is guilty and the sin which he has committed; because of them, he shall die." James 2:10 says, "For whoever shall keep the whole law and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all."

I want you to think through this with me. This is a fundamental truth that we all live by every day. Yet concerning salvation, religion, and heaven, it is a fundamental truth that every lost man rejects and every religion of man contradicts. We live under a great system of laws in our country, in our world. And the idea that we can bank up credit by doing good is ridiculous. The idea that our good can outweigh our bad is silly.

We could use a simple illustration of speeding. You can go the speed limit every day for 1,000 days. But if you speed once and are caught, then you are guilty, and you will receive a fine, a penalty, a judgment against you for that one transgression. Or let's say you live peaceably with your neighbor for years. You maybe plow his drive, help him move his furniture in when it's delivered. You share some good food from your garden, express various kindness and good works over the course of your life in relationship with your neighbor. You do all kinds of good works concerning him. And then one day, in a fit of rage because of some argument gone wrong, you strike him and kill him. 

Now go to court, go before the judge and the jury, and plead your case based on all those good works, those kind deeds done towards your neighbor. How far do you think that will get you in a court of law? And yet every religion of the world bases their hope of eternal life before the perfect and just judge—the one true God of the universe—on this futile thinking. 

What is the basis of salvation in Islam? What is the basis of salvation in the Mormon, Jehovah's Witness, or Seventh-day religions? What is the basis of salvation in most so-called Christian denominations? Works, good deeds, keeping the law, sacraments, rituals, being a good person. All of these miss the vital point that the soul that sins will surely die, that all of our righteousness cannot make up for even one sin. 

As Isaiah said, "All of my righteousness is as filthy rags before a holy God." God is holy and just, perfectly, purely. He cannot wink at sin. He cannot look upon it, let it slide. And here's the salient point, my friends: God must punish sin. And the punishment He has designed within His creation for every single sin from Adam on through the generations of men is death.

This is the picture of the sacrificial system, of the old covenant law. Sin requires death. All that sin will die. And atonement can only come by a substitutionary death by an innocent sacrifice. But the penalty for death for each and every sin must be paid. If a man does not understand this basic truth—and the vast majority of religious men do not—then they can never come to God's salvation. They can never be made right with Him because they persist in trying to establish their own righteousness rather than submitting to the righteousness of God through faith.

This was the problem for Israel. Turn over to Romans 9 at verse 30. Paul makes this so clear. Romans 9:30, and we'll read down through chapter 10, verse 4. 

"What shall we say then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith. But Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness. Why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were by the works of the law, for they stumbled at that stumbling stone. As it is written, 'Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense, and whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.' Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they, being ignorant of God's righteousness and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes."

What was the problem for Israel? They did not understand the way of righteousness. They did not understand that the law was to show them their sin, to lead them to faith in Christ, and that in this way and only this way, they could be made righteous by imputation, by receiving God's righteousness, and that not by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ.

So these Hebrews, as well as every man, needs to understand the truth that the way of salvation, the way of righteousness, is by means of death—the death of the spotless lamb of God who never sinned, who did not owe the debt. You see, we had a debt we couldn't pay—the debt of sin before a holy God. But Jesus didn't owe the debt. He was sinless. He never committed one sin. And it is for this reason that He, being the perfect sacrifice, the spotless lamb, could stand in my place.

He could take my punishment and satisfy the wrath of God for me. And He did this by His one-time death on the cross. And we see that God was satisfied with His payment—His propitiatory sacrifice—because He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavens. The whole point of our text this morning, my brothers and sisters, is that salvation from sin and wrath requires a substitute—someone who could die for me in my place. And Jesus is the only one who could do it, and only by means of death.

So we see the author's intent here in our text to show the Hebrews the necessity of the death of the Messiah to accomplish salvation. Now, I just want to lift out three phrases in our remaining text to see how he proves this point. 

First, we see the will and testament, verse 16: "For where there is a testament, there must also of necessity be the death of a testator. For a testament is in force after men are dead, since it has no power at all while the testator lives." The word that's used here for testament speaks of a will. It's an inheritance that he's talking about, related to the promise of God in Christ. And his argument is simple. A will and testament is of no force, carries no benefit to the recipient named, until the testator dies. And we know this. They knew this.

You might have a rich uncle, and maybe he puts you in his will, but you can't go take his stuff until he dies. It's when he dies that the will and testament goes into effect. So God made a will, a testament, a promise of eternal life, promises to Israel. And what the author is saying is that for the will to go into effect, the testator must die.

The promises go into effect only by means of death. Now in verse 18, we see a different word used—the word for covenant. Actually, the word covenant is supplied here. The literal Greek just says "first," the first, which of course refers to the first covenant of law. And notice what he says here: "Not even the first was dedicated without blood." 

The first covenant was ratified with blood. Blood is tied to death—the shedding of blood, the letting of blood. This always refers to death, for the life is in the blood. So even the first covenant required death, even from the dedication of it at the very first. We see this in Exodus in a quite graphic and bloody affair where Moses reads the whole book of the law—all the requirements of God, and then he took blood and sprinkled the blood on all the people. He literally spattered them, covered them with blood—a graphic picture of the necessity of death. 

And this was so tied to the old covenant, so clearly a reminder of the penalty of death for sin as they sacrificed those animals day after day continually for atonement, for the covering of the people's sins. Now, some of you are hunters, or maybe you've participated in butchering an animal before. I've done a great deal of this in my life, and I have to tell you that it's not a pretty picture. 

It can be done well and respectfully and in a way that values the life of the animal and the gift of God, but the bottom line is that death is never pretty. When we have people at our farm—particularly young people—and we're doing some slaughtering, butchering chickens maybe, I always try to use the opportunity to preach the gospel because the fact is, my friends, God never intended for things to die. It is man that brought death into the world by sin. 

And thus death is a graphic picture of the penalty for sin and the means of atonement. And the fact is if you’ve ever slaughtered a pig or a cow or a lamb, the reality is there’s a lot of blood. I can’t imagine what it must have been like in the tabernacle—all those sacrifices, all that blood. And it was continual. It was a reminder, a graphic picture of the penalty for sin—the need for death. And even the first covenant, when God gave the law and Moses read it to the people, he ratified it, he confirmed it by spraying blood all over the people in the book. 

There are two words that are used for covenant. One is a covenant that’s negotiated between two parties. So you and I can make a negotiation, and we can write a document, and we can make a covenant. But the word in our text here speaks of a covenant that’s given by one party. In other words, conditions are given by the one in control who’s offering the covenant, and the other party can then take it or leave it. 

God made the covenant. He set the rules. He demanded obedience. And the people accepted it. They took it. They agreed, saying they would keep the law, and God ratified it by sprinkling them with blood. We see a very important truth in verse 22 of our text. Look at verse 22. It says, "According to the law, almost all things are purified with blood." I think this phrase is an allusion to the exception. If you were too poor to buy an animal, you could bring a grain offering. But all things are purified with blood. 

Now, look at this important phrase: "And without shedding of blood, there is no remission." There’s no forgiveness. There’s no expiation of sin without the shedding of blood, without death. Salvation requires death, the shedding of blood, and an unbloody sacrifice is of no value in forgiveness of sins. Yet we have religion today with a mediating priesthood, a prevalent religion in our communities that depends on a continual sacrifice. 

And ironically, it’s in an unbloody manner. Listen, I’d like to read you official doctrine from the Roman Catholic Church concerning the sacrifice of the mass, and this is important for us to understand. The mass is the absolute core of salvation in that church. 

Listen to this doctrine: "The mass is the sacrifice of the new law in which Christ, through the ministry of the priest, offers himself to God in an unbloody manner for the remission of sins. The mass is the sacrifice of Christ offered in a sacramental manner. The reality is the same, but the appearance differs. The sacrifice is the offering of the victim by the priest to God alone." 

End quote. The church teaches that expiation of sins, payment for sins, is accomplished in the continual re-sacrificing of what they call the sacred victim in an unbloody manner. The whole of their system rests on this point. And that's why the mediating priesthood and the sacrifice of the mass are the core of the religion. But let me respond to this with some biblical truth.

First of all, Jesus is no victim. He is victor. He’s no longer on the cross, my friends. Take your crucifix off your wall. He is risen alive, sitting on His throne in heaven, having accomplished our salvation in His one-time sacrifice. He was never a victim. He offered Himself willingly, and He gave up His spirit when He chose to, when He cried out, "It is finished."

It’s such an amazing thing to see in false religion because the core of all their doctrine is that forgiveness of sins can come through a sacramental sacrifice where there is no blood. And right here in Hebrews 9, we see that without the shedding of blood, there is no remission. 

Now, I’ll tell you, two things that are different are not the same. This is an important truth at the heart of the gospel message. All things are purified with blood. Salvation only comes by means of death. We have to be clear about these things because we’re the ones who are ambassadors to take this message to the lost and dying world so that they might believe and be saved. 

We’ve seen this morning an inside job, we’ve seen for this reason, we’ve seen by means of death, we’ve seen a will and testament, we’ve seen purified with blood, and our last vital truth this morning is once for all. Look at verse 23 with me, please. It says, "Therefore, it was necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these." 

"For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us." Not that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the most holy place every year with the blood of another. He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world. 

But now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. And to those who eagerly wait for Him, He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.

Well, the author says a mouthful here, but the core point is in verses 25 to 27, and the truth that Jesus' sacrifice was a one-time all-sufficient sacrifice, putting away sin and satisfying the wrath of God. He reiterates that the law and the tabernacle and sacrifices were all shadows; they were pictures of the true, of the substance found in Christ. 

And Jesus has not entered the tabernacle made with hands, but He’s entered into the most holy place in heaven, where He now ministers for us as high priest. Notice those words at the end of verse 24, "for us." He has entered there, and He intercedes for us. His sacrifice was not like those of the Old Covenant—an endless repetition, which could never make those who approach perfect, could never deal fully or finally with the penalty or the power of sin. 

His sacrifice was once for all. It was fully propitiatory, which means it satisfied God, and His burial and resurrection and ascension into heaven, where He is seated at the right hand of God, proves that there never need be another sacrifice to pay for sins—never anything to add to what Jesus accomplished, but rather, He is our full, sufficient sacrifice. 

And my friends, He is able to save to the uttermost. Now, it’s important to note that anyone who would deny the sufficiency of the sacrifice of Christ, anyone who would teach that we need to continue to sacrifice Christ, anyone who would instruct a man that he must add anything to Jesus Christ and his one-time death on the cross in my place for my sins is preaching a false gospel. 

In Galatians 1:6, Paul said, "I marvel that you’re turning away so soon from Him who called you into the grace of Christ to a heteros—a different gospel—which is not another," he says; it’s not good news. "But there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than that which we have preached to you, let him be anathema, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be cursed to hell."

Paul was a little bit concerned about a false gospel. Jesus was a little bit concerned about a false gospel. Read John 8 or Matthew 23 sometime. We, as believers in Jesus Christ, as ambassadors for Christ, as witnesses in this world, must be clear in our own minds about the truth. Because if we are not clear, then who will bring the message to the world? We must know the gospel; we must preach it clearly in order for men to hear and believe and be saved. When Paul wrote to the Colossians, he asked them to pray for him that he might preach the gospel as he ought. 

Let me tell you something: if Paul needed help in preaching the gospel as he ought, then I need help. We have to be clear. And the author of the book of Hebrews wants his readers to know and understand completely and fully the truth that Jesus’ one-time sacrifice of Himself on the cross was the end of all sacrifices. It was sufficient for salvation, and that He, in the offering of Himself, bore the sins of many. And my friends, I’m here to tell you today the good news of verse 28 that to those who eagerly wait for Him—who believe Him—He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.

In His first coming, in His death, burial, and resurrection, Jesus dealt with sin. He paid the penalty of sin that we owed. He saved us from the wrath of God to come. He also dealt with indwelling sin in man and released us from the controlling power of sin, that we might live a new life of holiness for His glory. But when He comes again, it’s not going to be to pay for sin. It’s going to bring us to be with Him to complete salvation, to glorify Him and glorify us. 

If it were not so, He would have told us. Jesus is coming again. What a good news promise we have in the person and work of Jesus Christ. He’s our Savior. He’s accomplished our salvation. As the author began this epistle in chapter 1 saying, "when He had by Himself purged our sins, He sat down at the right hand of God." 

By Himself, He purged our sins—past tense, already done—and He sat down because the work was finished. And so we see here in our text again the emphasis of one sacrifice, one-time accomplished, done. Let me ask you as we close, why do those Jewish priests—why did they in this time continue to offer sacrifices in the temple during the writing of this letter before 70 AD? Why do the priests in our communities continue to come to the altar and immolate—literally kill—Christ again and again, over and over, often sacrificing Him for the expiation of sins? I’ll tell you why, my friends, because they do not believe what this book says. They do not believe that Jesus’ death was once for all sufficient and complete. They do not believe in Him.

As Paul said in 2nd Corinthians 11, they believe in another Jesus—one who’s not sufficient, one who’s not finished the work, one that is impotent to save us without our help. Our works, our suffering, His continual re-sacrifice—this is false. This is a denial of Jesus and His work on the cross, His death in our place for our sins. This is not the gospel. 

Thanks be to God that His word is so clear, His message is so good, and His salvation that He provides through Jesus alone is so full and complete. Thank you, Lord, that it is finished by means of death—His one-time death on the cross of Calvary, His burial, and His resurrection. And thank you, Lord, that you now live in heaven, interceding for me, washing me, keeping me clean—that you’ve given me promises that my salvation is wholly dependent on you and that you’re coming again to take me to be with you forever. 

Let's close in prayer. 

Father, we thank you for your clear word, your truth. We thank you for telling us the truth. We thank you for Jesus, our salvation. Thank you that He’s accomplished that work, that by means of death, He’s paid our debt and that you’re satisfied. And thank you for telling us that it’s by grace through faith alone in Him that we can receive your righteousness. Thank you for the promises of eternal life. Thank you for your sufficiency today and every day and the Holy Spirit living in us to guide us and teach us and empower us to live for you. 

Thank you, Father, that you’re our Father and we can come to you, we can believe you, trust you, depend on you each and every moment of life, come boldly to your throne to find help in time of need. In Jesus’ name, we pray.