I invite you to turn with me tonight to Hebrews chapter 2, Hebrews 2 as we read together, beginning at verse 5 through 18, the end of the chapter, with a particular focus on verses 14 through 17 in connection with Lord's Day 5. So at the same time, if you would turn in the back of the Psalter hymnal to page 12, Lord's Day 5, which is the first Lord's Day in the second section of the Catechism regarding man's deliverance. So Hebrews chapter 2 and Lord's Day 5. Shall we bow together in prayer before we turn to the Word of God? Father, again we thank you for the privilege and the opportunity that you give to us to open your Word. We are anxious, O Lord, for what you have to teach to us. We confess, too, that we are weak, but you are strong. We are blinded to the truth of your Word, apart from the power of your Holy Spirit, removing the blinders from us. Illumine us in this evening hour, Father, that indeed we might be vessels through which you will flow, fill us with your Holy Spirit, with your Word. Indeed, Father, for this life's journey ahead of us, In Jesus' name we pray these things. Amen. Hebrews 2, beginning at verse 5. Hear now the Word of God. It is not to angels that He has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking, but there is a place where someone has testified, What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the angels. You crowned Him with glory and honor and put everything under His feet. In putting everything under Him, God left nothing that is not subject to Him. Yet at present, we do not see everything subject to Him, but we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because He suffered death, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone. In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers. He says, I will declare your name to my brothers. In the presence of the congregation, I will sing your praises. And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, he says, here am I. and the children God has given me. Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity, so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death, that is, the devil, and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham's descendants. For this reason, he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. If you would turn with me to page 12 in the back of the Psalter, Hymnal Questions and Answers 12, 13, and 14 as we recite together the answers to these questions. Question 12 asks, According to God's righteous judgment, we deserve punishment both in this world and forever after. How then can we escape this punishment and return to God's favor? God requires that His justice be satisfied. Therefore, the claims of His justice must be paid in full, either by ourselves or by another. Can we pay this debt ourselves? Certainly not. Actually, we increase our guilt every day. Can another creature, any at all, pay this debt for us? No. To begin with, God will not punish another creature for man's guilt. Besides, no mere creature can bear the weight of God's eternal anger against sin and release others from it. What kind of mediator and deliverer should we look for then? He must be truly human and truly righteous, yet more powerful than all creatures. That is, He must also be true God. Beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, often when one has a drastic change in their life, when a turn has been taken for the better, we say often that the reason for the better is because that person finally hit bottom. Things finally got so bad, they couldn't get any worse, and that person finally figured out that things could get a whole lot better if a change was made. That's what we considered somewhat this morning with the younger son in that parable. And again, this is the truth of our spiritual lives. We, mankind, won't seek deliverance from our sin and misery until the Holy Spirit of God witnesses to our hearts and causes us to hit bottom with the knowledge of our sin and misery and admit our problem. Only when we truly realize our sinful predicament that we have severely offended the Almighty God, Creator of heaven and earth, and that we are on a collision course with eternal damnation, and that all of this is our own fault, we are to blame. Then and only then, by the grace of God, will we cry for deliverance. Only when we hit bottom will we cry, Is there a way out? Now, Lord's Days 2, 3, and 4 told you and me the truth of Scripture about our sin and misery and that we are to blame for it. But in a sense, on our way to the bottom, we kicked and screamed all the way trying to justify ourselves. But didn't God create me this way? Isn't it His fault? The Bible teaches no. It's your fault. But then isn't God being unfair by requiring of me to do something that is simply impossible for me to do? The Bible teaches, no. God created man able in the beginning. It's your fault. Well, does God really have to punish me? Can't He just look the other way and give me another chance? I mean, what about His mercy anyway? The Bible teaches, no. God is just. If he just looked the other way and let it go, he wouldn't be God. It's your fault. You get what you deserve. What could be more fair than that? Congregation, our arguments have been refuted, and our excuses have been proven ineffective. We have dug our own grave, and there is no place to look except up. Question 12 is the question of one who has hit bottom. According to God's righteous judgment, we deserve punishment both in this world and forever after. How then can we escape this punishment and return to God's favor? In this question, beloved, notice the believer confesses his guilt. I deserve. He prays for deliverance. Is there any way to escape this punishment? And he desires to have fellowship with God. is there any way to be returned into favor with God? In other words, I am completely guilty, but is there any way out at all? Is there any way at all that God will look upon me once again with His favor? You see, the child of God who comes, who is brought to a knowledge of his sin and misery and desires to be delivered from it by God, wants that relationship with God restored. You see, it's not enough to simply escape punishment. In this life, with many things, that's all we want, isn't it? If we have done something wrong, boys and girls, if we have stolen something from someone, if we have offended someone in some way, and we've gotten caught for it, all we really want is to escape the punishment. Oftentimes, we're not really concerned about the offense being corrected, the wrong being righted. It's not enough to simply escape punishment. it would not be enough for God to simply say, I won't punish you, but I want nothing to do with you. How terrible that would be. Restoration for the believer is necessary. He realizes that it would be better to be in the hot, dry desert with God than to be in the land flowing with milk and honey without God. A child who is disciplined with the rod by his father is not satisfied until that rod is put away, until it's put back in the closet out of sight, and everything is okay again. That child wants favor with his father. Jesus said to the thief on the cross, with regard to this favor in essence, today you shall be with me in paradise. That's what makes heaven so wonderful. Not first of all, the streets of gold, the gates of pearl, or the sea of crystal, but the fact that God is there in His love. not in His wrath. Well, the good news, beloved, is that there is a way out. But the bad news is that you and I can't open that way. That way is the way of satisfaction. Beloved, there is deliverance from sin's penalty by satisfying God's justice. And first of all, this deliverance requires a full satisfaction by man. Now, the Bible teaches There must be atonement for sins. Payment must be made for sins. From cover to cover, thinking about the Old Testament sacrifices which pointed to that very truth. And in Hebrews 2, verse 17, He Himself suffered, or to make atonement for the sins of the people. Atonement is necessary. The answer to question 12 reads, God requires that His justice be satisfied. Therefore, the claims of His justice must be paid in full either by ourselves or by another. You see, congregation, God has been violated. He's been wronged. In answer 6, we learn God created man good and in His own image that is in true righteousness and holiness so that he might truly know God His Creator, love Him with all of His heart, and live with Him in eternal happiness for His praise and glory. But man, tempted by the devil in reckless disobedience, robbed himself and all of his descendants of these gifts, as answer 9 says. And as we considered in connection with Lord's Day 4, if man had continued to love God with all of his heart and soul and mind and strength, if he had remained perfect, God's justice would see to man's life in eternal blessedness and fellowship with God. But man failed. He sinned. He blew it. So God's justice must see to His punishment and His death. And this is for every single one. Paul says all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. And in Romans 2, he makes it clear that God shows no favoritism. He holds all men accountable, each and every one the same. Man's misery is the fact that he lost his original righteousness and therefore sin is a natural part of who he is. And He is miserable because of the punishment of sin, both in this life and forever. And this is what we need to be delivered from. You see, you can't really understand what being delivered means unless you have been imprisoned. In this life, those who have been at one time locked up tight in a prison cell or those who maybe were prisoners of war and then were set free, They really understand what it means to be delivered. But you and I must understand that by nature we are also prisoners. Prisoners of that spiritual war. And we're locked up tight in the bondage of sin with the fear of death. Hebrews 2, verse 15. You see, when you really understand that, beloved, that is, when you hit bottom by God's grace with the knowledge of your sin and misery, then you will understand what it means to be delivered from that. See, man owed God perfect love and obedience and faith and holiness. That is what was to characterize man's relationship with his Creator. But man failed. You and I failed. We continue to fail. Sometimes, boys and girls, it helps to think of it in money language. When we sinned, we became in debt to God. Boys and girls, I think most of you know that a debt is something that you owe to someone. If you borrow $1,000 from the bank, then that $1,000 is a debt that you owe the bank. You have to pay it back. Or you will be punished. We did not give to God perfect love and obedience, but we still owe it to Him. And since we can't pay our debt, we face eternal punishment in hell. The catechism answer says, God requires that His justice be satisfied. The older version of the catechism is a little more pointed. I like it better. It says, His justice will be satisfied. It will be, in some way, satisfied. The Lord says in Ezekiel, So behold, all souls are mine. The soul of the Father as well as the soul of the Son is mine. The soul whose sins will die. The Bible clearly teaches of man's requirement. And Hebrews 2 points to this when it says He, namely Jesus Christ, helps Abraham's descendants. The point being, He helps us by taking care of our requirement. God will have His justice satisfied. If you think back to the Old Testament, God's people, let alone the nations, but God's people alone. It was proved over and over throughout the Old Testament. Whenever they turned away from Him. Think of Achan. Think of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Think of Aaron and Miriam when they spoke out against Moses and Miriam became leprous. Think of David and his sin with Bathsheba. God will have His justice satisfied And this requires a full satisfaction by man. A satisfaction means basically to make things right. To fix what is wrong. To pay the debt. When you are satisfied, that means that you are content because everything is fine and nothing is out of place. God's justice must be and will be satisfied. Everything, as it were, must be put back into place. Now, there must be complete payment down to the last penny, down to the last bit of obedience. Full satisfaction. Wow. Now, beloved, that's a blow to you and me. That's a blow because that's like pushing a drowning person back into the deep water. Because in the previous Lord's days, we were reminded of Scripture's teaching of our total depravity, of our total inability to do any good, that we are guilty of the crimes committed against God, and that God's justice requires everlasting punishment of body and soul. And now we are told that the only way out is that the claims of His justice must be paid in full, either by ourselves or by another. Well, what is it that satisfies God's justice? Well, again, God required perfect love and obedience, but this is what man failed to give Him, and therefore there must be a punishment sufficient for the sin committed. The punishment must fit the crime. Blood had to be shed. Life had to be given. But what's more is that this punishment must be taken on by one who has given to God perfect love and obedience. Very simply, who can satisfy God's justice? Only one who can voluntarily, in perfect obedience of love, bear the wrath of God and suffer the curse to the very end. Catechism says, either by ourselves or by another. And of course, that question, With that question, what immediately comes to our mind is the same as question 13. Can we pay this debt ourselves? Ah, there's a little bit of glimmer of hope, either by ourselves or by another. Well, can we do that then? Can we do it? If you understand the clear teaching of Scripture, if you understand the first part of the catechism, you realize right away that this deliverance involves an impossible satisfaction by man. With regard to man's participation, answer 13 says, Certainly not. Actually, we increase our guilt every day. That, again, is what the Bible teaches. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Paul talks about our sinfulness from inside out, rotten to the core. In Romans 7, he talks about the good that he wants to do, but he doesn't do it. The evil He doesn't want to do, that He does. Isaiah says clearly that even our best works are as filthy rags. In Hebrews 2, we read that this is true of us all our lives. That it's not angels who need the atonement, but man. But man cannot do it. The day we are born, we already have a debt to God. We are already considered guilty before God. We already owe Him because, as the Bible says, we are conceived and born in sin. Boys and girls, we are guilty even before we are born. Psalm 130, verse 3 asks, If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand? And we know that the expected answer is no one, not one, could stand. And Jesus also told the parable of the king who wanted to settle accounts with his slaves. in Matthew 18, and he said, but since he did not have the means to repay the one who owed the 10,000 talents, his Lord commanded him to be sold along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment to be made. And the point we know here is that he did not have the means to repay the king. Not now, not ever. First of all, beloved, think of perfect love and obedience. We have not given that to God as we said, And therefore, we are in debt to Him. Even if you were perfectly obedient and were able to love God completely from today on to the rest of your life, you still couldn't make up for what you failed to do up until today. Why? Because if you were perfectly obedient for the rest of your life, you would simply be fulfilling what God requires of you. There is no extra to pay off what you failed before. And the blood of bulls and goats is no good. Good works, no good. In the time of the Reformation, indulgences and worshiping relics, no good. And I'm afraid that many today may have the same false sense of security that simply participating in the life of the church in any way, in some way, even have your name on the membership rolls might be just enough to give you the edge you need with God. Students in school, if you are tottering between a B-plus and an A-minus, the teacher might consider your behavior. Your teacher might consider your class attendance and your class participation. And if all of these things are in your favor, the teacher might give you the A-minus. If not, the teacher might give you the B-plus. But that's not how it works with God. The catechism says that we increase our guilt, our debt, every day. We're not tottering, you see? We're not even close. You and I, we never get caught up. By ourselves, we are more in the hole every day when it comes to our debt with God. Again, Paul makes it clear that he was in bondage to sin. And he says, For that which I am doing, I do not understand. For I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. For the good that I wish, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not wish. Congregation, if you never stop offending, you can never satisfy the offended one. If you never stop borrowing money from the bank, you will never get your debt paid off. But the Catechism, answer 12, also says, buy another, buy another. And since we daily increase our guilt or our debt, then in question 14 we ask, well, can another creature, any at all, pay this debt for us? God's creatures include man, angels, and animals. And first of all, man sinned, therefore man must pay for his sin. Verse 14 said, since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death, that is, the devil. Man sinned, therefore man must pay for his sin. God is just and fair and it would not be just and fair if He would punish another creature in man's place. And as well, man sins with body and soul with his thoughts and words and actions and motives and desires and intentions. He must suffer with body and soul. And on the one hand, angels do not have bodies, so sins committed with the body could not be satisfied by angels. On the other hand, animals do not have souls, therefore they could not satisfy for sins of the soul. The Bible says sacrifice and offering you did not desire. In the Old Testament, the offering of bulls and goats did not satisfy God or pay the punishment they covered in His sight for a time the sins of the people. Hebrews 10, verse 4 says, it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. But the blood of bulls and goats looked forward to and pointed forward to Calvary, to the shed blood of the Lamb of God. God will not punish mere creatures like angels or animals, and He will not punish another mere man or woman in your place or in my place. Another person might be willing to take your place or my place, but that person also increases their guilt every day. And again, the Catechism says, Besides, no mere creature can bear the weight of God's eternal anger against sin and release others from it. You see, beloved, the weight of God's wrath against sin is too great. The load is too heavy. God's wrath is eternal, so is His punishment. Mere man would simply be crushed. So what then? Well, again, this is the first Lord's Day of the section on deliverance talking about the way out. But so far, it looks hopeless for you and me. And you know what? That's the purpose of questions and answers 12, 13, and 14. That's the purpose of Scripture. The Gospel message can only be understood when we first understand how far we have fallen, how far down our God has reached to pick us up. It's that purpose, because you and I haven't truly hit bottom until we fully understand that salvation and deliverance is completely, 100% out of our or any mere creature's hands. So many throughout history, and even today, are living the lie, they're being taught the lie that we can somehow pay the debt and satisfy God in some way, even in some small way. We have a little part to do with it. We must. And so many others don't even realize they have a debt. They don't realize they are guilty. You see, just being a good person in the eyes of the world doesn't mean, as many would believe, that God is satisfied with that person. Maybe you've heard upon the death of someone that someone else will say, ha, that person was such a good person. If anyone is going to be in heaven, that person will. That's not how it works with God. So what then? Question and answer 15 brings us that ray of hope and prepares us for the rest of the second part of the catechism in God's teaching on deliverance. What kind of mediator and deliverer should we look for then? He must be truly human and truly righteous, yet more powerful than all creatures. That is, He must also be true God, beloved. This answer, answer 15, says Christmas was necessary. This answer says that God had to become man, incarnate, God in flesh, to do for us what we needed to have done, but we couldn't do ourselves. Again, in Hebrews 2, verses 14, 15, and 17, we read, Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity, so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death that is the devil, and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. And the writer says in verse 15 of chapter 4, For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way just as we are yet was without sin. This makes it clear that our deliverance is accomplished by a divine satisfaction by one who is more than man. Again, man's sin, so man must pay. But this man must be perfectly righteous, he must render perfect obedience and love to God, And the only way this is possible is if He is God Himself. Beloved, this is the amazing grace of God. In His mercy, He does not give His children what they deserve. Instead, by His grace, He endured the punishment that His own justice required and stamps paid in full all over our debt, removing our guilt. Our God satisfied Himself through our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, boys and girls, again, as we've been talking about this season of the year, we've sung of it tonight, in our song service especially, as we celebrate the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, born as a baby, laid in a manger. We must not stop there, boys and girls. We must not disconnect the manger from the cross. But when we consider the manger, we must see the cross. He was born to die. Born His people to deliver. To be our mediator and deliverer, as the catechism speaks of. A mediator is one who stands between two parties who are in conflict with each other, working to bring them back together. And only Jesus could stand between God and us as the perfect God-man and come before God in our behalf. And a deliverer or redeemer, as some catechism versions have it, is one who buys back a captive person by paying the ransom price. Jesus Christ, both human and divine, God and man did both as our merciful and faithful high priest. As both the sacrifice and the sacrificer. He paid the price for His people. He paid the debt with His blood. That was Paul's confidence. He says in chapter 7, Wretched man that I am, chapter 7 of Romans, Wretched man that I am, who will set me free from this body of death? Thanks be to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Beloved, praise God that there is a way out. Only one way. Not by you. Not by me. But by the only one who is able to satisfy God's justice, Jesus Christ is the only way. He said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me. In the book of Acts, the gospel of Jesus Christ and of the Christian faith is often called the way. When Paul was still Saul, He was hunting down those who belonged to the way. In Acts 16, the possessed slave girl followed Paul, Silas, and Timothy and cried out, These men are servants of the Most High God who are telling you the way to be saved. In Acts 18, we read about Apollos who had been instructed in the way of the Lord. In Acts 24, Felix the governor, we read, knew much about the way. there is only one way to escape eternal punishment and return to God's favor. Now, beloved, for many of us, as I thought about this for myself and thought about the fact of hitting bottom with the knowledge of sin and misery, I have a hard time considering that for myself. Having had the privilege of being born and raised in a Christian family, being taught from a young age, Never knowing a day when I did not believe that Jesus loves me. This I know, for the Bible tells me so. And therefore, many of you are the same. And therefore, it's hard sometimes to consider this. We know this stuff. Why do we have to hear it again and again and again? We must hear it again and again and again, beloved, because we have short memories. And we become complacent. And even the most faithful among us at times might slip into the idea that, Well, you know, I'm really not so bad. I really don't do all that bad. Maybe there is a reason for God to love me. We need to be reminded of the depths where we were. How far down, indeed, that God reached down to pick us up and bring us to the height of glory. We need to be reminded, beloved, lest we forget such a great salvation. If you're still looking for another way tonight, stop looking. Because the way has been presented to you. Jesus Christ, of whom we sing, veiled in flesh the Godhead see, hail the incarnate deity, has made full satisfaction of God's justice for all of His people. It is the truth. There is salvation in no one else. For there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved. Jesus Christ is the only way out. If you have hit bottom, then praise the Lord and sing boldly of your Redeemer. Amen. Shall we pray? Father, we thank You and praise You for Your truth, which hurts at times. but also which restores us and gives to us such great joy. Father, again we pray for strength, strength of spirit, strength of faith, confidence in Your work through Jesus Christ our Lord, confident of what we have in Christ Jesus. Father, may we go from day to day with this confidence, looking unto you for your strength. Hear our prayer for Jesus' sake and in his name alone. Amen.