Hebrews, as I have said repeatedly, is actually one long sermon.  I’m not sure if it was originally delivered in one sitting or not. I have a feeling the early church had a bigger appetite for such things than we do today.  Today we are told a sermon should be only about 20-25 minutes long.  That people cannot pay attention longer than 25 minutes.  I’m not sure, from my experience at least, that some people can even manage to pay attention that long.  

But in any respects, it’s difficult, especially considering today’s culture, to divide up the book of Hebrews into segments that are capable of being preached as stand alone passages.  And one of the reasons it’s so difficult is that when you reach a new passage, the author always ties it back to the preceding passages with phrases like, “for this reason” as we encounter today in vs 15.  So we always have to go back and review somewhat in order to begin a new passage.

A simple review of what we have been talking about lately can be summarized in three points, that God has given us a new high priest, governed by a new covenant, conducted in a new sanctuary, and now a fourth point, which is it is based on a better sacrifice.  So as we begin in vs 15, we see all those things referred to in the phrase, “for this reason.”  And if you read from vs 11-15, you will find mention of the new high priest in vs11, the new sanctuary in vs 11, the better sacrifice in vs 12-14, and now in vs 15, the new covenant. But particularly in this passage from vs15-28, we are going to look at the aspects of His superior sacrifice.  And to do this I am going to forego trying to come up with a three point outline and for the most part just do a verse by verse exegesis.  That way I can follow the pattern of the sermon that is before us, rather than trying to make a sermon out of part of a sermon.  

I will say though, that in the last few verses of this chapter there is what may be a familiar outline to some of you.  Many preachers have preached a sermon on vs24-28 called the Three Appearances.  And I will point them out just so your recognize them.  In vs24 Christ has appeared in heaven for us. In vs 25 He has appeared, or as some translations give it, has been manifested, to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.  And then in vs28, He will appear a second time, which actually is the third appearance spoken of in this chapter.  So He appeared the first time to take away sin, the second appearance is in heaven to be our mediator, and the third appearance is the second coming of the Lord.

But as I said I am going to stick with a basic exegesis of the verses and trust that you are capable of following along.  Notice in vs15, he says “for this reason.”  The reason he speaks of is the sacrifice of Christ for the forgiveness of sins in vs14. So what he is saying is that the basis of Christ’s mediatorship of the new covenant was His sacrificial death.  His death was the redemption, the payment of the penalty for sin under the law.  His death, that payment, qualified  those who are called to salvation to receive the inheritance of the covenantal promises.  

The promises of the covenant are called here an eternal inheritance. So the new covenant was made with the believers on the basis of Christ’s death.  And the inheritance of the new covenant was eternal life.  A covenant, you will remember was a promise, in this case a unilateral promise made by God to us on the basis of Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf.

Now the author goes on to explain further this covenant in vs16.  And he says that Christ’s death was necessary because a covenant cannot be ratified until someone dies.  A covenant can be correlated to a last will and testament, which is what this author is indicating in the use of this analogy.  

And in vs 17 he explains further that a testament doesn’t go into effect until a person dies. A covenant is related to a testament in that under ancient covenants, such were sworn to by a punishment of death, and often an animal was slain to ratify the agreement in blood as an example of what would happen to the one who should break the covenant.  So in time a covenant became synonymous with a testament, and the same Greek word was used for both.  Thus, he says a person who made the testament must die in order for the inheritance to go into effect. Just as in our day, a will is not in effect until the person dies who made the will.  And then after his death the estate  is divided among the inheritors.

Therefore, he says in vs18, that even the first covenant, which was the Mosaic covenant, was not inaugurated without the shedding of blood, or without death.  The blood was a sign, a ratification of the agreement.

Then in vs19, he gives the historical example; after Moses had received the law from God, he read to the people all the book of the covenant, and then he shed the blood of calves and goats and sprinkled all the people as well as the book of the law, signifying that both parties were obligated under the covenant. 20, saying, “THIS IS THE BLOOD OF THE COVENANT WHICH GOD COMMANDED YOU.”  You can read this in Exodus 24:3-8.  And all the people answered him saying, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.” It was a binding covenant, ratified by the shed blood of oxen.

Now as a side note, the author of Hebrews mentions the ashes of a red heifer.  The account of the ashes of the red heifer is found in Numbers 19, which was a reference to the purification ritual of the temple.  Ironically many people are today looking for a red heifer to be born, which is considered a great  rarity, in order that the 3rd and final temple can be constructed, supposedly as a precursor to the coming of the Christ. Many people believe that when Christ comes back, the third temple will be standing on the temple mount in Jerusalem. 

In fact, just yesterday I saw an article that was originally from a news source in the UK called 

The Daily Star.  In the article it said that a Jewish organization called The Temple Institute had announced the birth of an entirely red female calf that “brings the promise of reinstating Biblical purity to the world”.  Rabbi Chain Richman, director of the Temple Institute, hailed the red heifer’s birth as suggestions the time could be right for the Third Temple. 

However, it is my belief that such a temple is not necessary for Christ’s return.  Hebrews makes it clear that the sacrificial ceremonies were abolished by the sacrifice of Christ for all time.  Those looking for a reinstatement of the temple and the sacrificial rites are seeking to make the cross of Christ to no effect.  The greater tabernacle which Hebrews speaks of has taken the place of an earthly temple.  We that believe are the temple of the Holy Spirit.  There is only one way to draw near to God, and that is through the blood of Jesus Christ.  The blood of bulls and goats was merely a picture of what was to come, but now that the perfect has come, the partial picture is done away with.  Jews are saved by faith just as Abraham was saved by faith.  Never could the earthly sacrifices provide eternal redemption.

Thus, in the new covenant, there is a perfect sacrifice, an eternal sacrifice, that has eliminated any need for any further sacrifices of animals.

The author of Hebrews goes on to say in Vs23, since the earthly tabernacle was a copy of the heavenly tabernacle, then it made sense for the earthly things to be consecrated with earthly sacrifices.  But the in the heavenly tabernacle things had to be sanctified with better, (spiritual, heavenly) sacrifices.

We emphasized earlier that the people of God are the temple of God, who dwells in their midst. So they need inward cleansing, not just external cleansing, so that they may draw near to God  without defilement, in order to be a fit habitation for God.  Even as the earthly tabernacle had to be cleansed and consecrated in order for God’s presence to dwell among them, so the new temple, the church, must be sanctified with Christ’s blood so that we might become a dwelling place of the Spirit of God. 1Peter 2:5, “we are being built up to become a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”

Now in vs24 we are told of one of the appearances of Christ, the second appearance. “For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.”   Not into an earthly tabernacle which is only a copy, but into the presence of God in heaven, Christ has gone as our high priest.  Notice that it says he appears in the presence of God FOR US. At this very moment, Jesus Christ is in the presence of God for us! For you! For me! Our representative High Priest, who is interceding for us! What assurance that should give us. What confidence that that great High Priest, the Son of God, is my representative in the presence of God at this very moment.  On our behalf, as our representative.  We that were sinners have been brought near by Christ.

The author goes on to say in vs25 that Christ has also entered once for all time.  As contrasted by the old covenant priests who came in yearly by the blood of animals.  He has entered once, by his own blood,  and remains there continually as our intermediary.  Since his sacrifice is perfect, perfectly fulfilling all requirements for holiness, then it is is perpetually effective and need not be repeated.

26.  It would be absurd to imagine that his sacrifice would have to be repeated, since that would require him to suffer death again and again.  But as it is written, it is appointed unto man once to die and after that the judgment, then Christ only had to die once, and the resulting judgment was that He was righteous and spotless, and therefore sufficient for all time.  Thus He was manifested at the consummation of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

Christ has been manifested at the end of the ages, what Matthew calls the consummation of the age, and Paul calls the end of the ages, and Peter, the last days, all synonymous and referring to the last age in which Christ has appeared, the time of fulfillment of the first covenant, and the beginning of the new covenant.  He has come to remove sin, to set the captives free, to announce the favorable year of our Lord.

And He has accomplished that by putting away the stain of sin, having paid the penalty of sin, that we might be considered righteous in the presence of God. Thus his sacrifice is eternally effective for all who put their trust in Him.

Now, we see, we read here, “He has been manifested to put away sin.” Let’s think about that for a moment. “To put away sin.”  Let me try to explain that by saying what it is not.  He did not come to deny sin. He did not come to soften the penalty for sin. He did not come to redefine sin. He did not come to call it a mistake.

We have a tendency as human beings to try to redefine sin.  To soften the injury of our sin.  To call it something else, a disease, a mistake, an error, or whatever.  But Christ called sin sin. In fact, rather than winking at sin, He raised the standard of righteousness so that we might see sin as God sees it.  But thank God, Jesus came to put away sin. 

Now how did He do that?  It says He put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. He knew full well what the wages of sin was, and what we deserved for our sin.  And so He offered Himself as the payment for sin, that it might be removed from us.  There was no other way to take away our sins.  Religion can’t take away sin.  Rituals cannot take away sin.  Ceremonies cannot take away sin.  Only by death can sin be taken away.

In vs27 we read one of the great doctrinal texts of the Bible: “And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment…”  There is a lot of theological truths that can be extracted from this statement, but there is one aspect of it that bears pointing out in particular at this point.  And that is, that though a man dies once, there is yet a judgment of that man to come.  So the question is then what is indicated by his death.  It must be that death is the death of the body, but in the spirit will still face the judgment of God.  Man’s spirit is going to live forever somewhere.  But where his spirit lives is determined by the judgment of God upon the death of the body.  The tragic truth is that  when I hear of someone who committed suicide, presumably because the burden or stress of life is too much for them, is that there is no escape in death, but there is only a transition to another plane of existence, which will determined as this verse indicates by God’s judgment which comes upon every man and woman.

For those of us that believe, our judgment has been exacted upon Jesus Christ.  And God being just, cannot punish twice for the same sins.  That would be what is called double jeopardy.  That’s not legal in our courts, and it certainly is not possible in God’s court.  Because God has afflicted Christ with our punishment.

Isaiah 53:4-6 “Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted.  But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being [fell] upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.”

We often sing the song “Hallelujah What A Savior, and in that song is the verse speaking of Christ, “Bearing shame and scoffing rude,In my place condemned He stood; Sealed my pardon with His blood. Hallelujah! What a Savior! Guilty, vile, and helpless we; Spotless Lamb of God was He;“Full atonement!” can it be? Hallelujah! What a Savior!”

So even as man is appointed to die once, so also Christ as our representative died once, the just for the unjust, bearing our sins on the cross that we might be reconciled to God. Even as the ancient Israelites rejoiced to see the high priest emerge from the tabernacle on the day of atonement, knowing that they had received forgiveness from God, so we might rejoice even more knowing that God has counted our sins upon Christ, and credited His righteousness to us, and now Christ has sat down in the heavenly tabernacle, having finished his sacrificial work, and now is our eternal mediator on our behalf to God.

But that is not the end of the story, for Hebrews tells us in vs 28 that He is going to appear on earth a second time, this time not to atone for sin, because that has been taken care of, but the second time he comes to reclaim His people who await Him for the consummation of their salvation. Linguists tell us that the word used for to appear in this instance carries with it the meaning of to be seen.  The Bible tells us that at the second coming of Christ, every eye will see Him coming in the clouds.  And some will rejoice, and some will mourn, seeing Him whom they rejected.

Two appearings have taken place. Christ has been appeared at Calvary to take away our sin. And at the present moment, he appears at the right hand of God to intercede on our behalf as our great High Priest. One more manifestation remains – when He appears at His second coming for the saints. And the question, of course, is, are we really looking for him? Are we eagerly looking for him? 

 I trust that because of our confidence in Him and our confidence in His sacrifice on our behalf, we too are eagerly awaiting His return.  And not in dread of the coming judgment as others who have no hope.  We that have trusted in Him look forward to receiving our inheritance as sons and daughters of God. Therefore let’s not grow weary in well doing, but with patience and faith persevere until He comes again.

In the book of Romans, chapter 2, Paul says that Gentiles, who did not know the law, were none the less guided by their consciences, showing the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them.

God implanted in man a conscience to make him seek for forgiveness, to guide him into righteousness.  But man’s conscience, though a God given tool, is not perfect, because men are sinful and their sin acts to harden their hearts, and sear their conscience.  Many of the problems of people in our society today, often attempted to be corrected by psychiatrists and therapists, are due to a troubled conscience.  Unfortunately, they rarely are able to really deal with the root of the problem, because they deal with external circumstances, and they fail to understand the sin problem of the heart.  

Our consciences are implanted in us by God, but they are supposed to be instructed by the truth of God.  The Bible tells us in 1 Timothy 4:2 that the conscience can be seared by sin.  Titus 1:5 says that the conscience is defiled by sin.  And in Hebrews 10:22 it says that our consciences are evil.  So we know that our conscience, though designed to instruct us and guide us by God, is not perfect, because our sin corrupts it.  There is still a measure of guilt in the conscience though, which is the reason that many hate the Bible and Christianity and all that it stands for.  For their conscience condemns them, and they want to escape that condemnation.  So they hate the truth, and are haters of God.

Nevertheless, in His mercy God has designed a way for man to have a pure conscience. God has made a way for our conscience to be cleansed and useful to us again.  And in the text we are looking at today, we find that our conscience can be made clean through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ, that we might be useful in service to the living God.

Now this service to God is important, because that is what we are saved for.  That is the desired result of salvation, according to God.  We are given a clean conscience not to live for ourselves, so that we might have no guilt while we live in the world and partake of worldly lusts.  But we are saved unto good works, by which we work for a kingdom which is eternal, whose ruler and Lord is Jesus Christ.  And we do that, as a new creation, in our new position, which is as priests to God. 

When Hebrews says here in vs 14, that we are to serve the living God, it uses a Greek word which is  latreuo, which speaks of religious or ceremonial, priestly service.  Peter describes this as a royal priesthood, in 1 Peter 2:9.  Charles Spurgeon said that in this priesthood we echo the things which the priests of old did in the tabernacle, offering “a worshipful service such as priests render unto God. We that have been purged by Christ are to render to God the worship of a royal priesthood. It is ours to present prayers, thanksgivings, and sacrifice; it is ours to offer the incense of intercession; it is ours to light the lamp of testimony and furnish the table of shewbread.”

Now for a lot of us, the ceremonies of the old covenant are something that we know very little about.  And perhaps you think such things are not relevant to evangelical Christianity today.  But I would suggest that as Hebrews points out, such things were given for our instruction, that we might better understand what Christ does on our behalf, and thus, our response of worship to Him.  Paul said in Rom. 15:4 “For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”

So it behooves us to know what the priests did in the old covenant, and what such things signify concerning our salvation.  And to that end the author of Hebrews in this passage is attempting to show us that the new covenant, it is founded on better promises, conducted in a better sanctuary, and providing a better sacrifice.

He starts by describing for us the old sanctuary or what was called the tabernacle, which was the sacred tent where the presence of God dwelled among the Israelites.  It’s important to remember as we said last week that God designed the earthly tabernacle corresponding to the tabernacle in heaven. Chapter 8 vs5, [the priests] “who serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, just as Moses was warned [by God] when he was about to erect the tabernacle; for, ‘SEE,’ He says, ‘THAT YOU MAKE all things ACCORDING TO THE PATTERN WHICH WAS SHOWN YOU ON THE MOUNTAIN.’  So the earthly tabernacle represented the corresponding heavenly tabernacle. Not in size or appearance, but in symbolism it reflected a heavenly reality.

I find it interesting that when you consider the dimensions of the first tabernacle, they are approximately the size of a small, two room house.  Those of you that have attended Bible study at my house can maybe imagine how big our living room and dining room is where we meet, and use that to sort of picture the tabernacle.  The tabernacle was a tent 45 feet long by 15 feet wide. And it was divided into 2 rooms, the first being 30 feet by 15, and the second being 15 feet by 15 feet.  The first room was called the Holy Place, and the second room which was separated by a veil, was called the Holy of Holies.  So all in all it is a rather small tent, and the Holy of Holies is really a small square room, much the size of a typical bedroom.

And the author says, when you went into the first room, called the Holy Place, there was a lamp stand which was the only source of light in there. It had seven lamps, produced by burning oil. And the priests job was to daily tend to the lamps, trimming their wicks, and filling the lamps with oil. They did this twice a day.

The other piece of furniture which he describes is the table which was 3 feet long, and which held the showbread.  12 loaves of bread which were laid out there represented the 12 tribes of Israel.  And every Sabbath day, the priests would remove the showbread and put out fresh bread.  

There was one other item there which he mentions, and it was the golden altar of incense.  It stood just before the veil which separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies and was used to offer up the smoke of incense before the Lord.  The veil, of course, was a thick curtain separating the two rooms.  And behind the veil, in the Holy of Holies, there was only once piece of furniture, and that was the Ark of the Covenant. It was a small chest made of acacia wood covered with gold, 3¾ feet  long, 2¼ feet wide, and 2¼ feet high, with rings for poles along its side to carry it without having to touch the ark itself.  And inside the ark were the golden pot that had the manna , Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant.

You know it’s interesting to think about the ark of the covenant.  It is not mentioned in the Bible any more after the Israelite temple was destroyed for the first time.  A lot of speculation has given rise to many theories of where it is or what happened to it.  Just think what it would mean if one day it was found in a cave somewhere in Israel.  Imagine seeing the actual tablets of stone that God wrote on with His finger. Or seeing actual manna from heaven.  But as helpful as we think that might be to the cause of the gospel, none of the Jews that lived during that time ever saw those items. It was in the Holy of Holies which only the High Priest could enter, and when the tent was taken down, the curtain and a special covering was placed over the ark so that the people could not look upon it.  Those items were placed in there to remind God of His covenant with Israel, and of His mercy towards them.  The Israelites believed in it by faith, not because they had it available to look at.  Only the high priest could enter into the Holy of Holies, and that only once a year.  And I can assure you, that they didn’t linger in their longer than they had too.  They were happy to finish their service and get out alive. In fact, the rabbinical literature indicates that the High Priest would hold a celebration afterwards for the fact that he had survived being in the presence of the Spirit of God.

But nevertheless, the manna was a reminder of God’s provision and Israel’s ungratefulness;

Aaron’s rod was a reminder of their rebellion against God’s authority; and the tablets of the covenant was a reminder of Israel’s failure to keep the Ten Commandments but at the same time a reminder of God’s promises to Israel.  But there was another feature of the ark, which was the mercy seat between the wings of the cherubim.  As God looked down into the ark, He saw the symbols of Israel’s sin, rebellion, and failure. But when the blood of sacrifice was applied to the mercy seat on the day of atonement, God saw that blood covering over the sin of Israel, and He considered the blood instead of the sin of Israel.

Hebrews 9 vs 6 then tells us, that when these symbolic things in the tabernacle were thus prepared the priests entered the Holy Place daily serving the temple.  But only once a year the high priest went into the Holy of Holies, and then he had to go in by the blood, not only for the people, but also first offering sacrifice for himself.  The main point being this, that access to God was severely restricted.  In spite of all the preparations, the sacrifices, and the rituals, only one man had direct access to God, and that was limited to once a year.  And even when he could enter, it wasn’t for real fellowship with God, but was limited to applying the blood and then leaving.  

So the author asks, what is the significance of all of this that the Holy Spirit is teaching us?  Vs8, “The Holy Spirit indicating this, that the way into the Holiest of All was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was still standing. It was symbolic for the present time in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience; concerned only with foods and drinks, various washings, and fleshly ordinances imposed until the time of reformation.”

What that verse indicates is that the old covenant had to pass away before the new covenant could be revealed.  And the reason was that the old covenant was symbolic.  The rituals, the ceremonies and even the furnishing were symbolic of what would be fulfilled in Christ.  In the Greek, the word is parabole, which is the word we get parable from.  So the old covenant symbols were intended to teach something about the nature of the covenant to come, which was fulfilled in Jesus Christ. 

For instance, I don’t have time to go into every facet of the priestly service or the tabernacle, but let me tell you briefly what these symbols described here represent of Christ.  The golden lamp stand represented Christ,  who is the light of the world, and the light of life. He is the only light there, as He is the only way to God.  Jesus said, “No man comes to the Father except through Me.”

Then in the table of the shewbread, Jesus is represented there as the bread of heaven.  Jesus said, “I am the bread of life.”  He is our sustenance. The priests ate of the shewbread.  It was their food.  So Christ is our sustenance for our spiritual life. He is the word of God, which is our daily bread, which gives us life.

And then we come to the altar of incense which pictures the sacrificial coals placed there and the incense smoke rising, and this is Jesus interceding for us. The perfect sacrifice became the intercessory. “He ever lives to make intercession for us.” And so all three picture Jesus’ work in heaven for us by which we have access to God. 

Then behind the veil, which was torn into at the cross from top to bottom, we see the ark of the covenant, which is a picture of Jesus Christ as the mercy seat, by which atonement is made on our behalf.  His sacrifice is once for all time, and He doesn’t need to first offer a sacrifice for Himself, because He is the spotless Lamb of God. As the Son of God, His sacrifice is sufficient for all, for all the ages, and for all nations.  And by His blood we are ushered into the very presence of God.  The veil separating us from God has been torn in two at the cross.  Jesus has gone in before us with a better, perfect sacrifice.  And by His blood we are given full access to God as the people of God, and even as the children of God.

So the author says that the symbolic services of the old covenant could not make the conscience clean because it was only dealing with external, fleshly, temporal things in the ceremonies and symbols.  But he speaks of a time when the partial will be done away with, at the time of what he calls the reformation.  And that simply means a time of correction, a time of restoration.  And I believe that refers to the time when Christ fulfills all those symbols and pictures through His death, resurrection and ascension to the Father’s right hand.  That is when the symbols were made clear and that which is perfect has come.

Now that earthly tabernacle was replaced by a superior tabernacle through Jesus Christ.  Vs.11 “But when Christ appeared [as] a high priest of the good things to come, [He entered] through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation;  and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.”

Jesus, as our High Priest, ministers in a superior sanctuary – in the very throne room of God. This is obviously a sanctuary greater than anything human hands could make.  It is the heavenly tabernacle where He ministers continuously in heaven in the presence of God.  And we know that is in heaven because Vs24 says, “For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.”

And not only does He serve in a superior sanctuary, He supplies a superior sacrifice.  The sacrifices of goats and calves was sufficient only for a temporary covering of sin, but the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ obtains eternal redemption.  And if under the first covenant the blood of goats and calves was considered sufficient, then how much more should the sacrifice of Christ, the very God in flesh, be considered as sufficient for our sins. The holy, spotless Son of God, the Lamb of God, has died in our place, and paid the penalty for our sin by His death on the cross.

Notice also that the superior sacrifice of Christ not only sanctifies the flesh, but it also purifies the conscience from dead works, so that we might offer service to God. Under the old covenant there was a continual need for atonement because the old nature wasn’t done away with, but just our continual disobedience was dealt with.  But in the new covenant, there is given a new nature, a new heart, and we serve the Lord now out of love and not out of obligation to the law.  In the new covenant, we are given a new heart, that is new desires.  And so our desire is to serve the Lord because we love the Lord.  So the sacrifice of Jesus is superior not only in substance, but in that it changes our nature, it changes our hearts, and not just provides for disobedience.  We have become by Christ’s atonement a royal priesthood, children of God, designed for doing good works.  No longer governed by a guilty conscience, but by the royal law of love.

So then, because our sins have been fully atoned for by faith in what Jesus Christ has accomplished for us, because we have been given a clean conscience, because we have been given a new nature, because we are the children of God, beloved by God, we can draw near to God in full assurance.  Permit me to skip ahead to chapter 10 and I will read a few verses there as our closing benediction. 

Heb. 10:19-25  “Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus,  by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh,  and since [we have] a great priest over the house of God,  let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled [clean] from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.  Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful;  and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds,  not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging [one another;] and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”  

I pray that you have drawn near to God by faith in what Jesus Christ has accomplished on your behalf.  I hope that you have appealed to God for a clean conscience, for the forgiveness of your sins, and for a new nature, and a new heart, that you might live in the light of His presence, and have life everlasting.  If you are here today and you do not have that assurance, then I invite you to come to Christ today and receive Him as your Savior and Lord.   

You have come here today, I presume, to worship the Lord God.  Our signs invite you to  worship with us on the beach.  And we want to encourage you to worship God today.  However, Jesus said that God is Spirit, and those that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.  And to that end, we must be sure that our worship is according to the way God has intended for us to come to Him.

Not long after  Creation, just after the fall of man from the Garden of Eden, two brothers came to worship the Lord. Their names were Cain and Abel.  And according to the account in Genesis, God accepted Abel’s worship but He did not accept Cain’s worship.  Now that account was given for our instruction, so that we might know that God has a way that He has ordained for man to approach Him, to draw near to Him, and we must fit our worship to accommodate Him.  

The Bible teaches us from the very beginning that God is holy, He just, He is righteous, He is the Creator of all things, He is the source of all life, and in Him all things live and have their being.  The Bible also teaches us about man, that man is a fallen creature.  That the original man sinned, and as a result we have inherited a sinful nature, and thus are by nature sinners.  Our sin has separated us from God.  In fact, our sin has caused our spiritual death, which will bring about physical death.  Just like a plant that is cut off from sunlight will eventually die, thus all men that are cut off from God will die, not only physically, but spiritually.  

Our hope then is that our sin that has estranged us from God may be forgiven that we may once again draw near to God.  That we might be reconciled to the source of life, the giver of life, the source of righteousness and holiness.  If we can enter into the light of God,  we can experience spiritual life, and even have eternal life.

The Bible reveals God’s plan to reconcile man to God, that we might have that life; that we might escape death.  And so from the first book of the Old Testament to the last book in the New Testament, God’s plan for mankind to be reunited with Him is laid out.  Someone has well said, that the Bible is like a two act play.  The Old Testament is Act One.  And the New Testament is Act Two.  You cannot fully understand the play without reading both acts. But the theme of both acts, is the theme of redemption; God bringing man back into fellowship wth Him.  And the theme of redemption is a person, who is Jesus Christ.  He is the thread throughout the whole of scripture.

In Act One, or the Old Testament, the plan of redemption was presented in types.  The temple, the law, the sacrifices, the rituals and ceremonies all were all intended as pictures, or types, or shadows, or copies given by God in order to teach about the fulfillment that was to come in Jesus Christ in the future.  Thus in the Old Testament we see Jesus Christ predicted not only in prophecy but in the law and ceremonies. In the gospels, we see Jesus Christ revealed.  In the Acts, we see Jesus preached. In the epistles, of which Hebrews is one, we see Jesus explained.  And in Revelation, we see Jesus expected.  But in all the scriptures, we see Jesus Christ as the way in which we draw near to God.

Today in this passage of Hebrews, we are at a midway point in the epistle in which the author is attempting to explain Jesus in light of the Old Testament pictures.  And to do that, he has been contrasting Jesus to various Old Testament figures, showing that in every respect Jesus is superior and He is the fulfillment of all the Old Testament shadows or types.

So in vs1, he says that here is the main point of what has been said so far. The main point that has been established in Hebrews so far is that Jesus Christ is our Great High Priest, far superior to that of the priesthood of the old covenant, which was the governing instrument of worship in the Old Testament.  Now a covenant simply means a promise, or contract, made between two parties.  Many of you, I’m sure own property that is governed by a covenant, entitling you to certain rights and privileges.  That is what is being talked about here, a covenant which was made by God to man.  God made such a covenant with Abraham, He made another through Moses, there was a covenant made to David, all of which in the Old Testament were conditioned upon the law and man’s obedience to the law;  and then in the New Testament we are told of a new covenant.

And so he says the chief point is that now God has opened up a new way to Him.  And in this new way to worship Him we have a new priesthood, with a  new High Priest, which involves a new covenant, and a new sacrifice.  In the preceding chapter, chapter 7, he has talked extensively about the new priesthood, which is different than the old priesthood of Aaron, and which is a better priesthood.  Now in chapter 8 he is going to talk about the new covenant, which is enacted on better promises.  And then next week, in chapter 9, we will look at the new and better sacrifice in great detail.

Now as I alluded to earlier, access to God, or drawing near to God, is the goal of our worship, that we might have spiritual life.  And the writer of Hebrews has made it clear that under the old covenant, such access to God was limited, and thus imperfect.  Look at 7:19 “For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did, by which we draw nigh to God.”   So our access to God is made possible now by a better priesthood or mediator, a better covenant, or promises, and a better sacrifice. 

All of those things find their ultimate consummation in vs 12 of this chapter, when God says, “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousnesses and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.”  When our sins are dealt with completely in the new covenant, then we can be reconciled to God.

So since the new priesthood has been discussed in chapter 7, he now begins to expound on the new covenant in chapter 8.  This new covenant has already been alluded to in chapter 7:22, when he said, “By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament,” or a better covenant.

It’s interesting that in the original language, I’m told that the sense of the word for covenant as it’s used in the New Testament indicates more of what we would think of as a will, rather than an agreement between two parties.  In other words, this is God’s will towards us, independent of our will towards Him. It’s not predicated on our responsibility, but on His obligations towards us by His promises to us. And that should be of great encouragement; that His promises are not contingent upon us fulfilling some requirement.  But His promises are unilateral.

In expounding upon the superiority of the new priesthood, the author says first of all that Christ mediates in a superior sanctuary.  The temple of Solomon, and then the refurbished temple of Herod, was considered one of the great architectural marvels of the ancient world.  The Jewish temple was made of huge white marble stones and covered in gold panels and it sat high upon a hill, where the reflections of the sun made it shine like a jewel above Jerusalem. It was the place where the priests ministered, and the presence of God dwelled in the Holy of Holies behind the veil.  

But this new High Priest, Hebrews tells us in vs 1, “has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; a minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched  and not man.”  So this new covenant has a superior sanctuary.  A superior temple. It’s not an earthly tabernacle, but a heavenly tabernacle.  The idea of the true tabernacle does not indicate the other was false, but that it was merely a copy of the heavenly one which is the true tabernacle.

And notice especially that it says Jesus has taken His seat at the right hand of God in the sanctuary.  This was different than the priesthood in the earthly tabernacle, because their work was never done.  They stood in the temple daily, chapter 10:11 tells us,  ministering for the sins of the people.  But Christ has finished His work on earth by HIs sacrifice once for all, and sat down, having fulfilled perfectly the propitiation for mankind.  The satisfaction of the holiness and righteousness of God has been completed and, on the basis of the value of that sacrifice, he is ministering in the true sanctuary.  He is ministering directly in the presence of God for us. He is our perfect, holy representative, by which we are able to draw near to God through Him. We are able to enter the presence of God through Him, because of His righteous sacrifice applied on our behalf.  That’s how Ephesians 2:5 can say that we too are even now seated in the heavenlies, or the spiritual realm, in Him.  We have access to God and to His promises through Christ’s mediation on our behalf.

Now this mediation, or this ministry, of the high priesthood is further elucidated in vs3, “For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices; so it is necessary that this high priest also have something to offer. For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest at all, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law.”

You will remember that it has already been discussed in chapter 7 that Jesus did not come from the line of Levi, and so He was not qualified to be a priest in the temple service on earth. He was of the tribe of Judah.  But Hebrews goes on to say in vs 5 that those earthly priests only “serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, just as Moses was warned [by God] when he was about to erect the tabernacle; for, “SEE,” He says, “THAT YOU MAKE all things ACCORDING TO THE PATTERN WHICH WAS SHOWN YOU ON THE MOUNTAIN.”

He is quoting, by the way, from Exodus 40:5, in which God showed Moses the pattern, or the blueprint of the heavenly tabernacle, and he was instructed to make a copy of it for the Israelites.  In contrast though, he says, Christ ministers in a better sanctuary, as the mediator of a better covenant, established upon better promises.  And as a priest, Christ must offer a sacrifice, albeit a better, permanent sacrifice, a once for all sacrifice,  as compared to the continual copies which the earthly priests offered.

Now this ministry of Christ is based upon a better covenant, or better promises  Vs6, “But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, by as much as He is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises.”  So let’s examine what promises God has made to us that are superior to the old covenant.

First of all, he says that the old covenant was faulty.  Vs 7, “For if that first [covenant] had been faultless, there would have been no occasion sought for a second.” The fault in the old covenant was not in the insufficiency of the promises of God, but in the weakness of those to whom it was given.  Paul said the law was good, in and of itself.  But the flesh is weak. We had no strength to keep the law. That is indicated in the beginning of vs8, where he says, “But finding fault with them, or with the people…”  The fault was not in the covenant, but in the ability of the people to meet the requirements of the covenant. 

To illustrate this point, he quotes from Jeremiah 31:31, “BEHOLD, DAYS ARE COMING, SAYS THE LORD, WHEN I WILL EFFECT A NEW COVENANT WITH THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL AND WITH THE HOUSE OF JUDAH; NOT LIKE THE COVENANT WHICH I MADE WITH THEIR FATHERS ON THE DAY WHEN I TOOK THEM BY THE HAND TO LEAD THEM OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT; FOR THEY DID NOT CONTINUE IN MY COVENANT, AND I DID NOT CARE FOR THEM, SAYS THE LORD.”  So  the fault with the old covenant was in the inability of the people to keep the covenant. And even in the old covenant, we see that God has already planned for and promised a new covenant which was still in the future.

So then to this new covenant, what is so different about it?  Well, for starters, the new covenant was not made to make it easier to keep God’s law, but it was made to make it possible to keep God’s law.  And to accomplish that, God promises to change His people from the inside out, by giving them a new heart.

Vs10, “FOR THIS IS THE COVENANT THAT I WILL MAKE WITH THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL AFTER THOSE DAYS, SAYS THE LORD: I WILL PUT MY LAWS INTO THEIR MINDS, AND I WILL WRITE THEM ON THEIR HEARTS. AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE.”

Now this new covenant is founded on three things which I want to explain briefly.  First, there is as I just mentioned, God implants HIs law into their new heart.  Now understand that when God speaks of your heart, He is not talking about the muscle that pumps blood throughout your body, but He is talking about the soul of man, which is the seat of the will, the seat of the emotions, and the seat of the intellect.  And so God is going to implant new desires, a new mind, a new way of thinking, new emotions, new knowledge, a new way of life, by which we may be a people who belong to God.  This is what we are seeking, to be able to draw near to God, to be reconciled to God, to have the life of God in us.  And what Jeremiah prophesies is that it can only happen by a transformation from God of our heart.

Ezekiel speaks of the same new covenantal transformation in Ezekiel 36:26, ”Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.”

Now I know that some of you hearing all this talk about law and ordinances are starting to squirm, because you suppose that the law of God is in opposition to the grace of God.  But I tell you, they are not, but law and grace are merely reconciled through Jesus Christ.  And I would remind you that when Jesus was asked what was the most important law, HE said, “you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength and with all your might.”  Now if we are truthful, then we must confess that all of us here today fail in that law.  On the basis of that law alone, we are sinners.

But that is precisely why in this new covenant God first changes  our hearts.  He changes our hearts so that we might love the Lord, and if we love the Lord, then we will obey Him.  But we cannot Him if we do not love Him.  Furthermore, that is how we find power over sin.  If I tell my children to eat their spinach, but they hate spinach, then I will have trouble with obedience. But if I tell them to eat ice cream, I have no problem getting to be obedient to eat ice cream because they love it.  

When God gives you a new heart, He gives you new desires. It’s still possible for us to sin, but incongruous for us to sin that love God. If you have been transformed by Christ, then the result should be that you hate sin, because God hates sin.  You want to please God.  And so because you love God, you want to please God.  If you hate your sin, then sin has no more power over you.  And if you don’t hate sin, then you need to repent of it to God and ask God to cleanse your heart and renew a right spirit within you, that you might have the right attitude towards those things of the world.  A new heart is the secret to a new life.

Secondly, the new covenant founded on the knowledge of God as a result of personal relationship with Christ.  And this corresponds to some extent with the previous point, because as we come to know God more fully, through our relationship with Christ, then we come to love God more completely.  To know Him is to love Him.  That is true of earthly relationships as well.  When we date someone, we learn about them.  We are curious about their past, what they like or dislike.  We come to know their character.  And we come to know God through Christ.  For He is the exact representation of God according to chapter 1 vs 3. 

We know God more completely, because we see Him more clearly in Jesus.  Thus, Jeremiah said, “AND THEY SHALL NOT TEACH EVERYONE HIS FELLOW CITIZEN, AND EVERYONE HIS BROTHER, SAYING, ‘KNOW THE LORD,’ FOR ALL WILL KNOW ME, FROM THE LEAST TO THE GREATEST OF THEM.”

Now that is not to say that there is no need for preachers or teachers of the word of God, but that whereas a lot of the plans and purposes of God were not clear in the old covenant, but as the writers said, we see through a mirror dimly, or they spoke of things which they did not understand, now in the new covenant, and especially in the incarnation of Jesus Christ we see God manifested  in the flesh in the person of Jesus Christ.

Such knowledge of Christ by whom we are known, increases as we progress in our sanctification, until it attains the consummation of knowing even as we are known.  We are being continually conformed to the image of Christ, until one day we see Him face to face and we become like Him in all respects.  That is the “perfection” or completeness that Hebrews urges us towards.

Thirdly, the new covenant is based upon the forgiveness of sins.  This is essential to our knowing God.  God is able to forgive us our sins, not on the basis of a daily offering for sin, which could not of itself atone for sin, but He is able to forgive us completely and permanently on the basis of the exceeding sufficiency of Christ’s sacrifice.  

But forgiveness of sins must be consistent with His holiness. A just God requires justice. And to accomplish that we see the fulfillment of the principle of the innocent for the guilty. That was what the sacrifices of the first covenant represented.  In the old covenant an innocent lamb died in the place of sinners.  So it was that when John the Baptist saw Jesus walking towards him, he said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.”  In the new covenant, the holy, innocent, spotless Lamb of God suffered the penalty for our sin, that we might be forgiven by God. As 2 Cor.5:21 says, “God made Jesus who knew no sin, to become sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.”  

These then are the three better promises on which the new covenant is established.  1, I will put my laws upon their hearts, 2, they will know Me because of a personal relationship with Christ, and 3, I will remember their sins no more. And our great High Priest, Jesus Christ is the guarantor of these promises, having sealed God’s covenant with His own blood. And because of this great covenant, we are no longer strangers, alienated from God, but we are His own people, His own children, the temple of His Holy Spirit.  

True worship in spirit and in truth then, is no longer dependent upon our faithfulness to fulfilling all the requirements of the law, but it’s a result of a transformation from within, which is accomplished by faith in what Jesus Christ has accomplished on our behalf.  He has made it possible for us to be the sons and daughters of Christ.

Then, almost as an addendum for the sake of the Jews that were still holding on to the old covenant restrictions and ceremonies, the author adds in vs 13, When He said, “A new [covenant,]” He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear.”  It’s likely that the temple of Herod was still standing when this was written.  But Jesus Christ had already made it obsolete by His atonement.  It was further attested to by God when He rent the veil separating the Holy of Holies into from top to bottom, signifying that a new way to God had been established.  And within one generation, even as Jesus prophesied in His Olivet Discourse, the temple would be destroyed in 70AD. The services and ministry of the priests and the sacrifices would be done away with.  And even today, 2000 years later, the sacrificial service has not been reinstated, because God has determined that something better would take it’s place.  

In this new covenant, however, it is not just Judah and Israel that will benefit, but all the world can draw near to God through the sacrifice and mediation of Jesus Christ.  In fact, as Jesus Himself said, “No one comes to the Father except through Me.” 

I was on an airplane yesterday coming home from California after taking Melissa to college, and a man on the seat beside me started questioning me about a commentary I was referring to on the book of Hebrews.  And during the conversation, he said he was raised Catholic. And I offered no objections to that.  But what I did object to as the conversation continued was his claim that all that really mattered in the end was if you had been a good person.  And yet, he concluded that everyone was going to go to a better place when he died.  

I think a lot of people have that sort of view of theology.  That in some way or another, if there is a God, then He is going to save everyone from death.  That no one really needs to be saved.  But I would ask you to consider this, if that were true, then why did God need to punish Jesus with such a torturous death?  How can God be good and merciful if He required that Jesus be tortured and punished unto death?

No, regardless of what your sensibilities of right and wrong or fair or unfair might suggest, God’s standards of holiness and what is acceptable to Him is far different than what you or I might come up with.  And as I told the man next to me, I would rather trust in what God says than what man may say. 

Our faith is founded not upon wishful thinking on our part, but upon the promises of God.  And in this new covenant, Jesus Christ has offered Himself as our sacrifice that we might have forgiveness of sins, and that we might be transformed into people of God by virtue of receiving a new heart.  And the Bible tells us that all of that is possible only through faith and trust in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.  

On the basis of that covenant, on the basis of God’s promises I offer to you today the invitation to accept Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord, that you might be transformed and receive a new heart and find forgiveness of your sins.  That you might draw near to God and have eternal life in Him.  If you want to receive this new life in Christ then call on Him today to save you, to forgive you, and to give you a new heart, that you might become the people of God. 

Last week i told a story about a Porsche 911 that I had my eye on. And that story was intended to illustrate a truth about Biblical faith, as opposed to name it and claim it faith. But that story also illustrated another truth; that is, of all the things I spoke of in my message, the predominant thing most people remember is the story of the Porsche 911. The rest of the sermon was quickly forgotten. That’s why I rarely tell stories. And if I tell stories, I tend to use Biblical illustrations.

But stories or illustrations do serve a purpose. And the author here, in endeavoring to teach us some of the meatier doctrines of the gospel, uses an illustration to teach us about the nature and ministry of Christ. And the illustration he gives us is about a man named Melchizedek, and his relationship with Abraham.

Now this man Melchizedek is an extraordinary man, as we shall see in a moment. But what is also extraordinary, is that the story of Melchizedek is only presented in three verses in Genesis 14, and then 1 verses in the Psalms 110. And yet the writer of Hebrews manages to extract so much doctrine from it. Another interesting thing, is that he spends as much time on what was not said in those verses, as he does on what was said. And so if nothing else, it teaches us the value that he places on every word of scripture, and the importance that we should give to scripture as the inspired word of God.

I believe it was the great 19th century English preacher Charles Spurgeon who said, “For my part, I am far more afraid of making too little of the Word than of seeing too much in it.” The apostle Paul says in Romans 15:4 that “whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” And so we will look carefully at this section today, which is admittedly a difficult subject matter for so early in the morning, but I hope that you have come today to learn what the Lord thinks is important for us to learn, things that are beyond the elementary principles of the word, in hope that it will aid you as you grow into spiritual maturity.

Now the author launches into the illustration of Melchizedek, presuming that he was a familiar figure to the Hebrew Christians who were the primary recipients of his epistle. However, I realize that not all of you know who Melchizedek is, so I would like to look at the story about him in Genesis chapter 14 and quickly review that, to bring you up to speed.

The story begins actually near the kingdom of Sodom where Abraham’s nephew Lot was living. You will remember that Abraham and Lot had separated and went in opposite directions because their flocks and families were too much for the land to be traveling and living together. And Lot looked towards the land which was good and well watered, and he chose to live near Sodom and Gomorrah.

Eventually, there was a rebellion by the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah, as well as three other kings in that region, and they were rebelling against another king by the name of Chedorlaomer. Chedorlaomer had three kings allied with him, and they fought in the Valley of Siddim. And Chedorlaomer and his forces conquered the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah and their allies, and so they took the citizens and possessions of that area as trophies and spoils of war. And Lot, Abraham’s nephew, along with his wives and children were taken captive.

However, a fugitive escaped the battle and came to Abraham who was living quite some distance away and reported to him the outcome of the battle and that Lot had been taken captive. So Genesis tells us that Abraham led out his own trained men, 318, and it would seem he recruited some of his neighbors to help, and he pursued the armies of the four kings led by Chedolaomer and when he found them, he divided up his forces at night and attacked them, and defeated them. So Abraham and his small, homegrown force defeated 4 kings and their well trained army.

Now as the saying goes, “to the victor go the spoils.” So Abraham got the spoils of the battle, which was all the people and property of the five kings that Chedoloamer defeated, plus the spoils from Chedoloamer and his three kings. And of course that included Lot and all of his family and all their belongings.

Then in vs17 it says, that as Abraham was returning, he was met by the King of Sodom and also another previously unmentioned king, who was the King of Salem. And it says in vs 18 that Melchizedek, King of Salem brought out bread and wine, and he was a priest of God Most High. And Melchizedek blessed Abraham, and Abraham gave Melchizedek a tenth of all the spoils of war.

Then the King of Sodom approached Abraham, and he said you can keep all the spoils of war, but give the people to me, referring I presume to the people of Sodom. And Abraham said to the king of Sodom, “I have sworn to the Lord God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth, that I will not take a thread of a sandal thong or anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’”

Now in all of that story, there is very little mention of Melchizedek, just three short verses, and yet Hebrews makes much of what is said, and much of what is not said. There is a lot that can be learned from this story, there are many good applications to be made, and yet the writer of Hebrews focus our attention on just a few attributes of Melchizedek which are for our encouragement and edification.

So let’s consider Melchizedek, King of Salem in light of our text in Hebrews. The author tells us that his name is important, because the name Melchizedek means king of righteousness. And furthermore, his title is important, because he is king of Salem, which is an ancient name of Jerusalem, and the meaning of the name Salem is peace, which is derived from the word “shalom.” So he is king of righteousness and king of peace.

And this order illustrates an important principle, that righteousness always comes before peace. Righteousness is the only true path to peace. People look for that peace in escape, in evasion, in drugs or alcohol, but they will only find true peace in righteousness. And righteousness is a gift of God through faith in Jesus Christ. Spurgeon said that “Peace without righteousness is like the smooth surface of the stream before it takes its awful Niagara plunge.” Lot’s of things in this world promise peace, but they don’t deliver lasting peace. The most important peace is first peace with God, and that is made possible only when we become children of God through the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Righteousness results in life, as opposed to death by sin, and peace is the fruit of righteousness. And a fruitful life is the mark of maturity.

It’s interesting to note also that in the Mosaic covenant, there was a separation between the office of priest and king. A person could not hold both offices. Melchizedek precedes the Mosaic covenant, of course, and he holds a dual office of priest and king. And in so doing, he very aptly pictures the ministry of Jesus Christ, who is offspring of the royal line of David, the Messiah, thus the King of Kings, but also is declared by God to be of the order of Melchizedek, as our the Great High Priest in Psalm 110 vs 4.

Secondly, in vs 3 it says, Melchizedek was “without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, he remains a priest perpetually.” Now some commentators have taken this to mean that Melchizedek was a preincarnate visitation of Jesus Christ. And we know that happened in other places in the scriptures, like with Abraham and the three visitors, or with Joshua and the Captain of the Lord of Hosts.

But I would point to the text in vs 3 which says that he was “made like the Son of God.” Notice that it doesn’t say he was the Son of God, but “made like” the Son of God. And the point isn’t that Jesus has Melchizedek’s kind of priesthood. Instead, Melchizedek has Jesus’ kind of priesthood. Melchizedek is a type of Christ, just as the Passover Lamb was a type of Christ. The fulfillment of the type is found in Jesus.

So I think that Melchizedek is a man, as it says in verse 7, “observe how great this man was.” Spurgeon, whom I seem to be quoting from a bit more than usual today, wrote a great message where he reiterates that phrase over and over again, “Consider how great this man was.” He was referring to Jesus, but I would emphasize that Melchizedek was a man, albeit a great man.

The text then says, “without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days or end of life” I believe this is not a reference to immortality, but a commentary on the silence of scripture. Genesis is a book of genealogy. And invariably it records the birth and death of the people of God, generation after generation. But of Melchizedek there is no previous mention, there is no genealogy, no mention of who he descended from. And from that silence of scripture, from what the scripture does not say, the writer of Hebrews uses to illustrate the typology of Jesus Christ.

Jesus, as the Son of Man, had a mother, though not an earthly father. But as the Son of God, He was in the beginning with God, without a beginning, and without an end. And Melchizedek, holding the office of priest and king, from the silence of scripture regarding his heritage typifies the eternal office of Jesus Christ as our priest and king.

Next the greatness of Melchizedek in comparison to Abraham is shown according to our text, by Abraham giving a tithe to Melchizedek. Notice that Melchizedek blessed Abraham, and Abraham gave a tenth of his spoils to Melchizedek. This illustrates the principle of submission. Submission is a bad word today in our culture. And yet through submission to God, represented by the priest of God, Abraham received a blessing. We all must submit to someone, but in so doing we ultimately submit to God. Paul said in Romans 13:1 “Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.” God has established certain authorities in society that we are to submit to. And when we do not, then we bear the consequences of that rebellion. So whether we submit to parents, or to our husband, or to our government, or to the church, we submit ultimately to God.

And that is what the tithe represents. A tenth or the tithe was practically a universal means of showing respect or submission to the governing authority in the ancient eastern world. At this time there was not any Mosaic law written concerning tithing. Yet Abraham, when he met the priest of the Most High God, recognizes him as God’s representative, and submits to him by giving him a tenth, showing that he recognized that ultimately all that he had acquired as the spoils of war came from the blessings of God and so all that he had belonged to God. The tithe just showed that he recognized God owned all of his wealth, because God’s blessings gave him the victory.

There is another principle that is presented in Genesis which I feel I want to point out here, though the author of Hebrews is not concerned with it at this point. And that is this; Abram has a choice; to receive the blessings of material things from the king of Sodom, or to receive the blessings of spiritual life from Melchizedek, king of Salem. Abram rejects the offer of riches from the king of Sodom, and instead chooses the blessing of Melchizedek, and as a testament to his commitment, he gives him his tithe. And this is an important principle for us as Christians in this world. The world offers the enticement of riches for our allegiance and subjection to the lusts of this world, but we choose instead the blessings of life which come from God.

In Hebrews 11, the great faith chapter, we see many examples of men of God who forsook the pleasures and riches of this world for the sake of being God’s people. For instance, Moses, it says in vs 26 considered “the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward.”

Notice also that Melchizedek meets Abraham with bread and wine. Many theologians see in this a reference to the Lord’s Supper, which may be so. But at the very least, it is symbolic. And I think the bread and wine are symbolic of life, and of sacrifice. And in that respect they are a precursor of communion, in that it represents that by our Lord’s sacrifice we are given life. And then the blessing of Melchizedek upon Abraham represents the blessing of spiritual life from God which comes to us on the basis of the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

Now the author has a lot to say about the tithe of Abraham, and how the Levitical priesthood, which descended from Abraham, means that even the Levitical priests who came many generations later, had paid tithes to Melchizedek. The point being, that the Levitical priesthood submitted to the superiority of Melchizedek, through Abraham. And in return, Melchizedek blessed Abraham, which illustrates according to vs 7 the principle that “the lesser is blessed by the greater.”

Now all of that has been said to illustrate the superiority of Jesus Christ as our great High Priest. But not only the superiority, but also the necessity for a better High Priest. And so to do that, he shows us another priestly order, one that precedes that of the Levitical priesthood, and one that continues on forever far after the Levitical priesthood was done away with. As he says in vs. 11, “if perfection was through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the people received the Law), what further need was there for another priest to arise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be designated according to the order of Aaron?”

Well to answer that question, the need arises because the first priesthood was only intended to be temporary, it was insufficient, as it was only a picture or a type of the perfect which was to come. It amazes me, and I think it was disconcerting to the apostles as well, that so many people want to go back to the rituals or ceremonies of the first covenant. There are denominations today that say you must go back and keep the ceremonies and rituals and the sabbaths of Judaism.

Yet right here, as well as in many other places, it says in vs 12, “For when the priesthood is changed, of necessity there takes place a change of law also. For the one concerning whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no one has officiated at the altar.”

Who is he speaking of? Well, it’s true of both Melchizedek and Christ. Neither came from the tribe of Levi. Melchizedek proceeded the Levites by several generations. And Jesus came from the tribe of Judah of which there is no mention of priesthood. And this principle of a greater priesthood, a new priesthood is made even more clear by the fact that Jesus is declared to be our priest, not on the basis of His earthly pedigree, but on the basis of an indestructible, immortal life. So this new priesthood, which is not according to the law, must then have a new law, or a new covenant, to support the new priesthood.

As God said in Psalm 110, vs 4, “YOU ARE A PRIEST FOREVER ACCORDING TO THE ORDER OF MELCHIZEDEK.” This quote is the only other mention of Melchizedek, by the way in the Old Testament. Such a brief testament, and yet such great doctrine is to be learned from it. Jesus Christ, the Messiah, prophesied and promised of God that His priesthood would be an eternal priesthood that would never end.

Now I’m going to summarize part of this text in the interest of time, but notice four things he says are true concerning this new priesthood and the ensuing new covenant. First, there is a setting aside of the commandment because he says, the law never made anything perfect, in fact it is weak and useless. In other words, the law could never achieve righteousness on it’s own. It could merely point us to Him that was righteous. Paul said the law was a tutor, to lead us to Christ. It merely points out our worthlessness, and points us to Christ.

Secondly, it ushers in a better hope. A better hope is simply a more sure hope. We have hope made sure in the advocacy of Jesus Christ, and in His atonement, which is much greater than the blood of bulls and goats. Heb. 6:19 “This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a [hope] both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil.” Our hope is more sure because Jesus has entered into heaven for us, within the veil, as the forerunner of the saints. And because He is there, we can be confident that we will one day be with Him.

Thirdly, we have the sworn promise of God. God has sworn and will not change His mind, Jesus is a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek. And fourthly, Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant. He is the deposit, the guarantee, that where He is, there will we be. That as He overcame death, so death cannot touch us. That as His blood was the complete atonement, we that were sinners have become righteous through faith in Him. His resurrection and ascension to the right hand of God is our guarantee that His sacrifice was sufficient, our debt is paid in full, and His righteousness is applied to our account.

Then once again, the author emphasizes the eternality of Jesus’s priesthood, because it is the basis of the better hope of our salvation. He says the earthly priests were great in number because they were prevented by their eventual death from continuing in that ministry. But Jesus, because He is immortal, holds his office of priest permanently. Though we perish in the body, His ministry never ends, and so He is able to guarantee that we will never die.

These poor people that are having their bodies frozen when they die in hope that they will one day be thawed out and live again, are putting their hope in other finite men who will also die, in hope they will be their deliverers from the ice. What folly that is, to put your trust in finite men, who will die, who will forget, who will not have any memory of who you were. I have things in my freezer that I have no idea what it is anymore. But we put our trust in the living God, who has written our names upon his hands, who has said that nothing, not even death, shall separate us from the love of God.

Rom. 8:38-39 “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Vs. 25 “Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.” What a magnificent promise! What a blessed covenant that God has made with us. He has sworn that He would not change His mind, He has sworn an oath that Jesus would be our eternal High Priest, continually making intercession for the saints, forever! And He has sealed His covenant in the blood of His precious Son Jesus Christ, that we might have a more sure hope and have encouragement in the truth.

So the author says it was fitting, that means it was proper, it was good, that this new covenant would be certified and guaranteed by a greater High Priest than those priests of the old covenant. Because those priests were weak, they were human, and they sinned themselves and thus needed to have forgiveness for their own sins before they could help us with ours.

But in the new covenant, we have a Greater High Priest, who is innocent, undefiled, holy, separate from sinners, and exalted in the heavens and His sacrifice is sufficient once for all time and all people who trust in Him. And by His perfect offering, He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

I hope that you have committed to draw near to God today through faith in Jesus Christ as your Savior and your Great High Priest. You can have the blessings of life, even as Abraham did, when you submit your life to Him and trust Him as your Lord and Savior. Jesus’s sacrifice is sufficient to bring you to God, to the source of life, even eternal life, if you will just believe and trust in Him as your Savior, Lord, and Priest. You can have peace with God, through the righteousness of Jesus Christ applied to your account. Won’t you bow down to Him today?

As we look at this section of scripture before us today, it is important, as I underscored last week, that we keep these verses in context. That is, that we make sure we study this passage within the greater framework of what has been said so far.

And as I indicated last week, the context of this passage, I believe, is the spiritual maturity of the believer. Spiritual maturity so far in Hebrews has been likened to a house that is built up on a solid foundation, or a plant that has grown to produce fruit, or a person that has grown from a student to a teacher, or from drinking just milk to eating solid food.

Part of God’s purpose and plan in saving us is that we become spiritually mature and bear spiritual fruit. We are not born again to stay babies, and just receive the same instruction again and again but never grow. God has saved us and left us here on this earth that we might bear fruit, and that our fruit should remain.

In vs 7 the author makes reference to that fruitfulness or lack thereof as the two sides of spiritual maturity, saying, “For ground that drinks the rain which often falls on it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God; but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned.” The application there is that we might be good soil, which drinks the rain, which is tilled, which brings forth fruit, and then receives the blessings of God.

Jesus said in John 15:16 “You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and [that] your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.” You can see by that verse that even our prayers being answered are tied to our fruitfulness. A lot of people question God’s justice and faithfulness by whether or not they think He is answering their prayers. Their attitude is that God doesn’t answer my prayers, therefore I don’t have much faith in God. But in fact, the opposite attitude is the appropriate attitude. “I believe in God, therefore, God answers my prayers.” The just shall live by faith, not by sight. Faith in God produces fruitfulness for God which results in answered prayers by God.

In vs11 we are urged to apply diligence to our faith, that we might imitate those who went before us, so that we might inherit the promises. (11) “And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”

And as a supreme example of someone who lived by faith and not by sight, someone who matured spiritually, someone who received the promises of God, and someone who entered the rest of God, the author of Hebrews reminds us of Abraham, the illustration of faith and patience, two great virtues of spiritual maturity. In fact, Abraham is the father of us all, both Jews and Gentiles, in that He is the father of all who believe by faith.

Romans 4:9 says, “FAITH WAS CREDITED TO ABRAHAM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.” … 11 and he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while uncircumcised, so that he might be the father of all who believe without being circumcised, that righteousness might be credited to them, and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also follow in the steps of the faith of our father Abraham which he had while uncircumcised.” So Abraham is the father of us all, both the circumcised, that is the Jews, and the uncircumcised, that is the Gentiles, though they are circumcised in their hearts. And Abraham was a certain symbol of maturity, who through faith and patience, Hebrews tells us, inherited the promises; the promise of blessing and fruitfulness.

So in what respect are we to imitate Abraham? Abraham lived a long life, and did a lot of things, and so we need to consider the text to determine exactly what God is indicating is worthy of imitating in the life of Abraham. Well, let’s look at vs 13 “For when God made the promise to Abraham, since He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, ‘I WILL SURELY BLESS YOU AND I WILL SURELY MULTIPLY YOU.’ And so, having patiently waited, he obtained the promise.”

Now if you look at your margin of your Bible, you should notice that this is a quote from Genesis chapter 22. Now that’s important, because God made promises to bless Abraham and multiply his descendants many times prior to this incident. But specifically this quotation is made after Isaac has already been born. So the promise that God is making at this point is not in reference to Isaac being born, but rather the people who would come about as a result of Abraham’s faith. And as we have already pointed out, that is a reference not only to the Israelites, but to Christians throughout the world. But at the time of Abraham’s death, that had not come to pass. The only grandchildren that he had prior to his death were Jacob and Esau.

So how was the promise fulfilled to Abraham? Because it says, “having patiently waited, he obtained the promise.” Well, the promise was fulfilled partially when Jacob had 12 sons, and they went to Egypt to escape the famine, and then they were there in Egypt 400 years, and by the time that Moses arose to lead them out they were a great multitude, numbering as the sand on the seashore.

But the promise did not reach it’s ultimate fulfillment until the incarnation, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And Jesus said that Abraham, though he was long dead, rejoiced to see His day. John 8:56 “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw [it] and was glad.” He rejoiced because the promises that God had made to him while living upon this earth, the promise that from his seed would come one through whom all the families of the earth would be blessed, was finally fulfilled in Jesus Christ. He was the promised seed of Abraham through whom the world would be blessed. He was the promised seed of Eve, who would crush Satan’s head. And so Abraham, though he was dead in the body, but alive in the spirit, rejoiced to see that day because that was the fulfillment of the promise made hundreds of years earlier.

So we see that Abraham was patient, not just patient in that he waited 25 years since the promise that he would have a son, named Isaac. But he waited 1260 years to see the promise fulfilled. (Matt.1:17)

Now that is an important principle that this is teaching; that not all of the promises made to us as Christians will be fulfilled on this earth. But as Jesus said in John 11:26 “everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die.” Some of the promises made to us will be fulfilled at the resurrection, on the other side of the veil. But we that are saved have received eternal life, so that even now we have a life that will never end, but some promises are not going to be fulfilled until some point in eternity.

Let me make this point clear as well, and that is this; our faith is founded on the promises of God. Abraham did not conjure up this idea of nations of people coming from his loins on his own. He did not dare to imagine that all the nations of the earth would be blessed by his offspring. No, rather God had a plan to redeem the world, and he chose Abraham to come out from a pagan land, and go to a land that he would show him, and He promised Abraham a son, and the blessings that followed. It was God’s eternal purpose which prompted God’s promises, and Abraham believed God’s promises, and He counted it to him as righteousness. Abraham, the forefather of faith, believed in the promises of God.

For many, many years, I have had a school boy fantasy that I would own a Porsche 911. I think it started in 1978. Over the years that dream ebbed and flowed, sometimes stronger, sometimes more faint, but always there in the back of my mind. A couple of years ago, I guess I was going through a series of mid life crisis, and I reignited that fantasy by watching countless you tube videos about vintage Porsche 911’s. One day, my wife and I were at the gas station by our house, and an older man pulled up in a 1978 white Porsche 911 with a for sale sign in the window. It was all I could do to try to contain my enthusiasm. I think the guy felt sorry for me or something, so he offered to let me take it for a drive. My wife agreed, thinking that maybe that would get this fantasy out of my system. It didn’t work. I loved driving the car and it became even more a dream of mine to own it.

Now long story short, there was no way I could afford to buy the car. And yet, for some reason, the man still has the car, but has taken it off the market. I drive by his house once in a while and check to see if it’s still there. I sometimes park outside of his house and pray that God would give me that car. I feel a little guilty about praying for it, but I do it anyhow.

Now a lot of people would say that if I just have enough faith, God will give me that car. But listen, as much as I want that car, God hasn’t promised me a Porsche 911. No amount of faith, no amount of tears, no amount of pleading, is going to get the Lord to give me that car unless he wants to give it to me. But no matter how much I want it, I know that God has not promised to give it to me. There is not one scripture verse that I can point to as a promise of God. I might like to make some verse apply to that, like “he will give you the desires of your heart.” But that is a classic example of taking a verse of scripture out of context.

I tell you all of that silly story to illustrate something very serious. Our faith is founded on God’s promises. Not vice a versa. God’s promises are not founded on our faith. We aren’t driving the car, God is driving the car. We must trust in God’s word, and we dare not try to manipulate God according to our desires.

Speaking of men using God to accomplish their desires, the author says in vs 16 “For men swear by one greater than themselves, and with them an oath given as confirmation is an end of every dispute.” In other words, men make promises and to give themselves credence, they swear by God. They realize perhaps that their word on their own is unreliable, so they add God’s name as a witness to try to convince men of their truthfulness.

But God isn’t like man. God cannot lie, because it is not in His nature to lie. But nevertheless, for our sakes, God added an oath to His promise to Abraham, and because He could swear by no one greater than Himself, for He is above all things, He swore by Himself. Vs 17 “In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us.”

In as strongest of terms possible, God has given His promises. He says God desired to show us, the heirs of the promise, that His purpose is unchangeable. He then adds, superfluously perhaps, it is impossible for God to lie. And he says all that, so that we may have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us.

What is that hope then that he is speaking of? Notice it says that there are two things, two unchangeable things sworn by God, by which we might lay hold of our hope. Now what two things has God sworn? Vs14, “I WILL SURELY BLESS YOU AND I WILL SURELY MULTIPLY YOU.” But aren’t they just promises to Abraham? No, for in the original text of Genesis 22 we read that the promises are made to the seed of Abraham. Genesis 22:17-18 “indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.” The promise to Abraham extends to his seed, to those who will be born in the future. So because we are the seed of Abraham, children of faith, we inherit the promises of blessing and fruitfulness.

Notice back in our text, in vs 17, it says that God wished to show the heirs of the promise. See that? Who are the heirs of the promise? According to Romans 4 which I quoted from earlier, it is those of us who have faith in Jesus Christ. Notice that the writer changes the subject from Abraham, singular, to the pronoun “we” in vs 18 and 19. The promises are to us, the promises of blessing and fruitfulness.

We are promised blessing from God, that is all the benefits of salvation; eternal life, having the Spirit of God with us, having the righteousness of Christ, having victory over sin and death, and we are promised that God will multiply us. That simply refers to fruitfulness. God’s blessings of salvation on our life causes us to come to maturity, which produces fruit in our life, causing us to bring others to salvation.

So our hope is our faith and trust in the promises of God for blessing and fruitfulness. And we are strongly encouraged to take hold of that hope, and hold on to that hope, and persevere in that hope. Paul said in Romans 8:24-25 “For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he [already] sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.”

Folks, this is the way of sanctification, this is the way of maturity, that we persevere, we lay hold of our hope and do not waver, do not let go, do not drift away. We continue to be obedient to that hope until the end, through life’s ups and downs, through trials and tribulations, knowing that our hope is not in this world, nor even in the resolution of life’s circumstances to our satisfaction now, but in hope we follow the Lord in obedience and faith and in the light of His word, trusting in Him to bring all His promises to fulfillment.

Vs. 19 says, “This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”

This hope we have as an anchor of the soul. Our soul is our mind, will, and emotions. Our soul is the tempest in a teapot. It’s the battleground of our faith. Our soul is where our faith finds it’s footing. Our soul must be tethered to an anchor to keep us from reeling to and fro like a ship without a sail in the midst of a blowing gale. Our soul is where doubts arise from the deep and cause us to harden our hearts. Our soul is where passions rise up from the depths and try to sink us. Our soul is where false doctrines blow here and there and toss us like the waves of the sea. If our soul is going to be preserved, to be kept from falling, to be kept from drifting away, then it must be anchored to a firm hope, which is our faith in Christ.

And we can be sure that our anchor holds, because it is tethered not to just empty philosophy, but it is anchored to the Rock, Christ Jesus. And He is unchanging, He has been shown victorious sin and death, He is eternal, He is standing at the right hand of the Father as our mediator, as our intercessor, as our great High Priest. He remains there as our High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. And because He has overcome the world, we will overcome the world. Because He is blessed we will be blessed, because He is fruitful, we shall be fruitful.

Notice that it says He has entered into the Holy of Holies, that is what behind the veil refers to. He has gone into the holy place where the priests went to make atonement for the sins of the nation. Jesus has gone into that Holy of Holies, and He remains there, because His sacrifice was sufficient for all time. His blood avails for us there continually. He doesn’t go out again and have to come back next year. But once for all He shed His blood for the remission of sins, and our faith is in His continual, perpetual sufficiency as our atonement.

And finally, notice it says He has entered there as a forerunner for us. He has gone before us into heaven, into the presence of the Father. He has gone before us through the veil that separates the physical from the spiritual. And where He has gone, He will one day bring us. Jesus said in John 14:2-3 “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”

That is the anchor of our soul, the promise of Jesus Christ, the eternal, immortal, Lord of All, to return for His bride, and to take us to be with Him to live forever. The promise of eternal life with the Lord is the anchor of our soul. That is where we find our rest. We find our rest in Him and by trusting in His promises.

Let me ask you this question. Do you have that anchor of the soul? Have you placed your faith and trust in the promise and atonement of Jesus Christ? Have you trusted Him as your Savior and Lord? The scripture says, that Abraham believed God and He counted it to him as righteousness. Faith in Jesus Christ transfers your sins to Jesus, and His righteousness to you, so that you can be saved and know the hope and peace of His salvation. The invitation is open and available for everyone who hears; believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved.

When studying the Bible, it’s important that you keep the passage that you are looking at in context with the preceding passages. That’s an important principle regardless of which book you may be looking at, but it’s particularly true in the study of Hebrews. Hebrews is really one long message, or sermon. And so the chapter separations are not our friends. Fortunately, the author repeatedly reminds us to keep it all in context by the use of the word “Therefore.”

As someone once said, when you see the word “therefore” it’s important to see what it’s there for. And in this case it points back to chapter 5, particularly the last few verses, starting in vs 11. “Concerning him, that is Jesus Christ, we have much to say, and [it is] hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes [only] of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant.”

Then in vs 1 of this 6th chapter, it says leaving the elementary, or foundational principles of the Christ, let’s press on to maturity. So now virtually all that he has to say from this point on is in context with spiritual maturity. Keep that in mind, and it will help tremendously with the interpretation as we go forward. Don’t fall into the trap which so many have fallen into, which is to look at the verses ahead out of context, or on their own. Many well meaning people have gone astray in trying to decipher these verses not only without considering the immediate context, but also by not interpreting scripture with scripture. Scripture will never contradict itself. If it seems like it does occasionally, but then you must prayerfully reconsider your interpretation in light of other scripture. And as I said, in today’s passage that is especially true.

The following passage has sometimes been called “one of the Devil’s favorite passages” for the way in which certain persons have preached it out of context and end up condemning a young believer, or perhaps the struggling believer. Many Christians feel like giving up after hearing Satan “preach a sermon” on this text. Now that is not going to be the case today, I would hope, if we remember that he is talking about spiritual maturity. You cannot talk about spiritual maturity without prefacing the fact that it applies only to believers. Spiritual maturity is not possible in an unbeliever. And so we’re talking about a Christian’s spiritual maturity.

I can tell by the white hair, or lack of it here this morning that there are probably more than a few grandparents present. And of course, there are many parents here as well. And when our children were born, and in those first couple of years as they are learning to roll over, then take a step or two, and say a few words, we think that they are the cutest thing ever. I’ve seen some of you practically start drooling yourselves as you watch your grandchild do simple little tasks. And that’s normal, I suppose, for parents or grandparents to make over the cute little things that our children do.

But if our child was to not advance beyond that stage, and in ten or fifteen years they were still at the maturity level of a toddler, that would be something that we would be very sad about. We would realize that while we still love them, of course, they would never be able to experience all the things that they were meant to enjoy. And that would be a tragic thing.

That is what this author feels as he writes to these Hebrews There is a dark cloud hanging over these people due to their immaturity. But unlike a child with arrested development, it’s not a biological deficiency on the part of these believers that is the cause of it, it is a sin problem. It’s a lack of diligence. It’s a lack of obedience.

We have seen a repetition of the same theme many times so far in this book. He said in chapter 2, be careful of drifting away, then he warned against hardening your heart, then the exhortation against falling away. All speaking of the same condition. Growing lethargic. Growing calloused. Becoming hardened. Being stagnant. Becoming distracted and drifting away. Now, he adds to that, the danger of immaturity.

The author makes the point in the previous chapter that age alone does not produce maturity. By this time, he says, you should have been teachers. They had been saved a long time. But they needed milk and not solid food because they were still babies spiritually. Just a quick review indicates that their immaturity was evident because 1, they could not, or would not instruct others. 2, Because they were unable to discern good and evil. They aren’t interested in doctrine, so they are back and forth like the waves of the sea in their faith. They are up and down. I think that includes those that are emotionally unstable. They are governed by their feelings, rather than by their reason. “Come let us reason together, says the Lord.” And the third thing is that they lose so much valuable insight into the gospel, which robs them of their blessing. They have become dull of hearing, and so they miss out on what the Lord has to say, which would be of great benefit to them if they would listen.

So the author says in relation to all the negative things about their immaturity, therefore, let’s move on to maturity. Let’s grow up! Let’s get a move on. The RSV says, “let us press on.” It’s an active engagement. It’s exercising your faith. It’s putting feet to your faith. The KJV says “let’s press on to perfection.” That’s a poor choice of words. It’s maturity that is being spoken of. Completion. No one is ever going to be perfect on this side of heaven. But we can be mature. And maturity, according to chapter 5 vs 14, comes about through practice. Putting the word of Christ into practice. “But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.” Maturity is produced not by age, as we have already seen, nor by a repetition of elementary principles, what he calls milk, but it is produced by practicing obedience to God’s word.

Now these elementary principles of faith are not to be dismissed. He is not saying that these things are unimportant. On the contrary, he is saying that such things are foundational to your maturity. They are the foundation that we are to build upon. Back during the housing crisis we had here at the beach a few years ago, there were a number of places where you could see that the foundations had been laid, but then they had run out of money, or become bankrupt, and the foundation was laying there unused, and soon the lot grew up with grass and weeds. That’s sort of what is indicated here. The foundation is essential for growth, for building a proper house for the Lord, but it’s not enough to just have a foundation. You must build on it. Far too many Christians want to just focus on the elementary principles and not go on beyond that to maturity.

However, he names 6 of these foundational principles, or elementary principles of our faith. And it behooves us to look at them briefly, because they are essential to our faith, and you cannot build on the wrong foundation. Six things, and they can be divided up into three pairs which go together. The “A, B, C’s” if you will, of salvation.

A, is “faith and repentance.” He actually lists repentance first, “repentance from dead works.” Repentance is the first step in salvation. Recognizing you are a sinner, hopelessly lost, without God, and without hope, and confessing that to God. Dead works, according to chapter 9 vs14, are those things which the conscience needs to be cleansed of. They are works of the flesh, things which in the end, bring forth death. Thus they can be called dead works. Even religious works can be dead works if it is not done in Christ.

The second part of that is faith in God, which is the means of righteousness. Faith in what Christ has done on our behalf, results in righteousness. Romans 10:10, “for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.” Now these two inseparable principles, repentance and faith, form the first part of the foundation, which is our justification.

Next, the letter B, is “instruction about washings and laying on of hands.” After salvation comes baptism, or washings, as it’s translated in the NASB. There were other ceremonial washings that were done by the Hebrews in the early church. But such things are given as a sign, a figure of salvation. We are going to have a baptism today after the service. And it’s a living metaphor of salvation. We are buried under the water, signifying death to the old way of life, and are raised from the water signifying being raised to new life in Christ.

Then, laying on of hands symbolizes identification or association with the body of Christ. Baptism as well is identification with the church. Jesus was baptized, not because He needed to, but because He wanted to identify with sinners. And in like manner, laying on of hands is the way we identify with the church. I remember when I grew up in the church, and someone came forward and wanted to join the church, they spoke of extending the right hand of fellowship. Its agreement with, identification with other believers.

Then consider quickly the letter C, which he calls, “the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment.” Once again you see how these two are related to one another. Both of them are essential principles; our hope is in the resurrection of the dead, and the judgment of the world is closely associated with that event. But it’s interesting that these elements of what we call eschatology, or end time theology, are so much the focus of many preachers and churches. Hebrews is saying that these are important fundamentals, but we must not make that sort of thing our priority. Some people are just consumed with the end times, but they are still immature in regards to their faith.

So as the author says, let’s move on. Let’s press on towards the meatier, heavier things of God, things that lead to maturity. And with that he introduces one of the most difficult passages of scripture in all of the New Testament. Vs4 “For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and [then] have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.”

Now no matter how you interpret this passage, it is a sobering text. And as I said earlier, many preachers have taken this verse out of context and caused many a young Christian to be discouraged or to become confused about his faith. But as I said at the beginning, the context is about spiritual maturity. Spiritual maturity must by definition be something that only pertains to spiritual people. Thus it must be in relation to Christians, but immature Christians. And the danger of immaturity is that they might not advance to maturity, but rather fall away, or drift away, or become hardened and calloused and unfruitful. So I think we can rule out that this is a reference to unsaved people who have played church, or made a profession, but never really were saved. That seems to be one popular interpretation.

In fact, the author’s description of these people clearly indicates a believer, one who has been saved. He gives five characteristics of these people that I can’t see how you can apply to anyone who is not a Christian. Notice; “Those who have once been enlightened.” That means, to have the eyes of their heart opened to their own desperate need of the Savior, to realize the truth of the gospel. That is being enlightened. “And have tasted the heavenly gift.” What is the heavenly gift? Obviously, it is the gift God gave from heaven. Salvation is a gift of God. These are those who have known a personal encounter with Christ, they have “tasted of the heavenly gift.” Then “Become partakers of the Holy Spirit.” When we are saved, we receive the Holy Spirit to dwell in us. Next, ”They have tasted the goodness of the word of God.” That means to experience the transformative power of the word of God. “And the powers of the age to come,” i.e., they have already experienced the miracle of eternal life.

So these people, he says, who have been converted, who are saved, and then have fallen away it is impossible to renew them again to repentance…” This is the problem. What is indicated in the phrase, “fallen away?” The Greek word is parapiptō, which means to fall away, or wander away, to slip aside, to turn from the right path. Now the problem is that many want to see this as a condemnation of apostasy, to condemn them to eternal hell. But as I indicated earlier, this is the same thing he has been talking about all throughout the book. Who here has been a Christian for a number of years and not slipped up? Who here has never gone through a state of backsliding, of wandering away from the truth?

I think it’s a progression of what he has been warning of the entire book. In chapter 2, he talked about the danger of drifting away from what we have heard, the word of truth. Then in chapter 3 he talked about hardening your hearts. It’s a progression, from drifting away to becoming comfortable in your sin. He says the Israelites who hardened their hearts fell in the wilderness, that means they died, because of their disobedience. Then in chapter 4 he talks about losing the rest that God has promised, because of that continued disobedience. The way of sin is hard. The yoke of Christ is easy. We think the opposite is true. We think that God’s way is hard, it’s no fun, but the way of the world is easy and great. But that’s not true, and if you go that way you will forfeit the rest that God has promised. The rest is contentment in Him and His provision and care.

Then in chapter 5 we see that this hardening results in dull hearing, which produces immaturity, which falls short of the full maturity in Christ, which is where we find that rest that God promises. And that is what is being talked about here. You end up with a believer who has become stale and cold and indifferent to the things of the Lord. You end up with a Christian who goes through the motions, but they have lost their first love. They have fallen into an adulterous relationship with the world again. They’ve become ineffective in the kingdom of God. They are clouds without water, plants that don’t bear fruit. They have become almost worthless for the kingdom of God.

Now what is to be done with such a person? Well, the author says, they can’t be saved all over again. You can’t lay the foundation of salvation, which is faith and repentance, all over again. That’s what he is saying here; “it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.” In other words, you can’t crucify Jesus for them again, you can’t save them again. Salvation is eternal. Jesus sacrificed himself once for all. And that sacrifice has already been applied to them by grace. And the fact that they are living as if they have never been saved puts Jesus Christ to open shame and ridicule among the watching world. Listen, your half hearted Christianity brings shame on the Lord Jesus Christ. The world looks at you and says, “see, it doesn’t really work.” “They are just a bunch of hypocrites down at the church. I know what John or Charlie is really like.”

He gives a further analogy to illustrate what kind of person this is. Vs 7 “For ground that drinks the rain which often falls on it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God; but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned.” Now this analogy must be looked at closely, or if you’re not careful you end up reinforcing the idea that such a person is going to hell, and there is nothing you can do about it. But I don’t think this is talking about hell at all, but rather about vegetation that has become unfruitful, and is close to being destroyed.

Notice that he’s giving two examples here. This is closely related to the parable of the soils which Jesus gave. But remember that Jesus gave four possible types of soil. Matthew 13:3-8 And He spoke many things to them in parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow; and as he sowed, some [seeds] fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. “Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. “But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. “Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. “And others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.”

Now if you compare Hebrews and the parable of the soils, you will see that Hebrews choses only two of the four. I believe the two he chose are those who represent those who are saved. In the parable, I think the first two are not saved; one the birds of the air, which represent Satan ate up the word of God before it could take root. The second, it sprang up but quickly died out. It was only temporary. But the third illustrates someone who Jesus said believed, and began to grow but then the worries and cares of the world choked out any fruit. The fourth is again represented in Hebrews, the good soil, which bears good fruit.

Notice though something Hebrews says about the third soil, the thorny soil. vs 8 “but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned.” It doesn’t say that it is cursed and then ends up being burned, but that this worthless vegetation is CLOSE to being cursed. To me, that is a great distinction. Jesus, in writing to the seven churches of Revelation, warns that if they don’t do the works that they did at first, He will come and take away their lamp. When David was almost killed near the end of his life by a giant, his people said do not go out to war anymore, lest your lamp be extinguished. It’s a manner of speaking of life. I believe that the Lord is speaking of taking the life prematurely of a believer who has turned aside from practicing the truth, and has no interest in progression of his faith, and has no evidence of fruit in his life. That is physical life. You can’t take away spiritual life because that is eternal life. If you have eternal life, then it must be eternal, it can’t be taken away.

Later on, in chapter 12 vs 6, Hebrews is going to say that if you are the Lord’s child, then He is going to chastise you and discipline you when you go astray. Jesus talked about the pruning the was sometimes necessary in order to make the tree more fruitful. So Hebrews is saying that such a person is close to receiving a curse instead of a blessing. They are an unfaithful steward, and as such he may even remove what they have and give it to another who will make proper use of it. God designed us in salvation to become fruitful. And when we continue in being unfruitful, as a Good Father, as a Good Husbandman of the vine, He will prune as necessary or He may even remove the vine altogether.

Now that is a dire warning. However, I don’t want to leave it on a dour note, and neither does the author of Hebrews. So he continues in vs 9 “But, beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you, and things that accompany salvation, though we are speaking in this way. For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints. And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”

The author of Hebrews is convinced that these people he is writing to, though immature, yet have shown signs of spiritual growth. There had been a true birth, he thinks, for he has seen unmistakable evidence of love and concern for others, expressed in deeds of compassion. Not simply words but deeds, participation in ministry of the church.

But he urges them to show diligence, to not be sluggish, so that they might realize the full potential of the promises that God has intended for us. We are to imitate those who have gone before us, most especially being imitators of Christ, who practiced obedience even while suffering, and that being found in conformity with the image of Christ, we might experience the full blessings of our inheritance in Christ. Let us press on to maturity. Let us hold fast our faith. And let us love one another and share in the ministry which God has called us to participate in. The world is looking for what we have, and they are looking for someone who can show them by their life the evidence that the gospel is real. Let’s show them Christ in us. Let’s press on in obedience to the word of God, and in so doing, we will grow in maturity, and inherit the promise of rest in Christ.

I’m going to try to do two things today that are probably inadvisable.  The first is that I’m going to attempt to cover the entire chapter in this sermon.  It’s only 14 verses, so it’s not impossible, just probably not advisable.  The second thing I’m going to do is attempt to exegete it in reverse.  I’m going to start with verses 11-14 and then afterwards I will do 1-10.  Now I do that because even though I may not be following the text chronologically, I think I am honoring the sense of the text.  I think that the author of Hebrews has been giving this great theological treatise, a sermon really, on the superior merits of Christ above every other institution or agency, and perhaps he senses a danger at this point that his audience is starting to get bored.  And so in vs 11, he suddenly diverges from his message, and gives a word of exhortation, that they need to sit up and listen and learn.

Now I echo that sentiment today, because I think that this is tremendously important material that we need to know if we are going to have the full effect of our salvation in operation in our lives.  I think there is a dumbing down of the gospel in our age, in an attempt to make it relevant, in an attempt to hold people’s attention, or in an attempt to be entertaining, and the end result is that the average Christian doesn’t really understand neither his salvation, nor God’s purpose in saving him, and consequently has no clue as to what he is supposed to do now that he believes.  I’m afraid many people don’t even know what they believe.  They just have been told to believe in Jesus, that he died on the cross, that He loves us, and so we just believe, and now we don’t have to worry about going to hell anymore, and we can have a good life because God loves us and wants us to have a good life.  That’s the sum total of most people’s doctrinal understanding.

But the author of Hebrews is spending a lot of time and effort in the inspiration of the Holy Spirit  to tell us about the magnificence of who Jesus is, and what He came to do, and what He continues to do.  And it’s important to know all we can know about who Jesus is, because that is the basis for our belief, for our faith.  Also it’s important because the more we know about Jesus, the more we will love Him, and the more we love Him, the more we will be moved to live lives that are pleasing to Him.  It’s just like a relationship with a man and a woman when they are dating.  They start to spend time together.  She wants to know all about you.  She wants to know your past, your future, your plans.  And as you learn more and more about each other, your love grows for one another.  Thus it is important that we learn all we can about who Jesus is and what He did and continues to do.  Because that knowledge is what we base our faith on.  And our faith is the basis for being granted salvation and all the attendant benefits of salvation.  And our knowledge for God produces our love for God, which is the motivation for our obedience to Him.

So the Holy Spirit in vs 11 interrupts the theological treatise to reprimand the audience for their ignorance. And by extension, He is upbraiding the present audience here today as well for our ignorance.  Notice, He says, “Concerning him we have much to say, and [it is] hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.”  Concerning Him, I believe, is speaking of Jesus.  It could be that he is saying, concerning Melchizedek we have much to say.  And of course, he does have a lot to say about Melchizedek in the upcoming chapters. But this book is not about Melchizedek, it’s about Jesus. And so I think he saying we have a lot to say about Jesus, but you’ve become dull of hearing.

As I’ve gotten older, I have become dull of hearing.  I blame it on years of surfing.  There is something called surfer’s ear that affects us guys that spend too much time in cold water.  The ear canal builds up cartilage to protect itself from the cold water and wind, and eventually it closes up the ear canal.  So you can’t hear very well.  That’s my excuse, at least.  

But I don’t think the author has in mind surfer’s ear.  I think he’s talking about lazy listening.  I think we are not tuned to the things of God because it’s much easier to listen to music, or some sort of entertainment or a nice sentimental story.  The opposite of dull hearing would be sharp hearing.  It’s like Maggie my dog.  She hears some things a lot better than others.  She can hear me open a package of bread from the other side of the house and be there in a flash with her tail wagging.  She loves bread.  But she can’t seem to hear me when I tell her to get off the couch.  She seems deaf as a post then. 

I wonder if some of you have the same problem.  You can hear a couple of measures of the beginning of a song and tell me immediately what the name of the song is and who the author is, but you can’t find a verse in the Bible with a concordance. You’ve become dull of hearing because you haven’t trained yourself in the things of God. To use another analogy, you haven’t developed a taste for spiritual food.  That is what is said there in vs14, “But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.”  The key is training.  The more you train your voice, the better sense you have of being on pitch or in tune.  The same is true of spiritual things; it involves practice, training your senses so that they are not dulled by the things of the world, but trained in the things of God, so that we may be in tune with God.

Some of you have been Christians a long time.  I hesitate to ask for a show of hands, but I assume that many of you have been saved since you were children, or young adults.  And so vs 12 says to you, “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food.  For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant.  But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.”

The problem with some of you is that maybe that your home church only gives you milk, and never feeds you solid food.  Some churches just serve whipped cream.   I love whipped cream.  I like it when my wife makes homemade whipped cream to go on chocolate cake. And it’s ok to have some every now and then.  But a steady diet of whipped cream is not good for you.  And furthermore, its not going to have the nutrition that you need to grow and maintain your body as it should be.  

Children, especially spiritual children, need to be fed milk at first, but then they need to move on to solid food, so that their body can mature and grow stronger.  And so it is with us.  Otherwise we remain “babes in the woods” so to speak.  And we cannot discern the difference between good and evil.  We end up being taken in by false doctrine, and by the deceit of the devil.

Now then, let us eat some solid food this morning, that we might move on towards maturity in Jesus Christ.  And one of the roles of Jesus Christ that we are considering is His position as High Priest of our faith.  And perhaps this is difficult because we can’t relate to this position of high priest.  We don’t see that sort of position in the church today and so we can’t relate to it.

But think about it this way for a moment.  If we accept the fact that God exists as He has disclosed Himself in His word; that He is the maker of the universe, the ruler of the world, the judge of the earth, in whom all righteousness and holiness dwells in inapproachable light, and we exist and live and breathe by His permission.  If we accept that premise, then what is our response?  To ignore Him?  That will hardly do.  To try to placate Him? How?  What are we to do? How do we approach Him?

Well Jesus gave us the answer in John 4:24  “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” So we must worship God.  He is Spirit, therefore He cannot be seen, so we must worship Him in spirit, and worship Him in truth.  We must worship Him as He wants us to worship Him, according to what He has revealed.  And in ancient times, God ordained priests to facilitate that worship.  They represented God to man, in revealing His truth, and they represented man to God, in offering sacrifices and gifts to God which was the way in which God wanted man to express his worship.  And among the priests, there was the office of the High Priest, who was the chief of priests, and He served a special function on the yearly Day of Atonement, in going before God in the Holy of Holies to offer the sacrifice for the sins of the people.

Now that’s what this author says in vs 1, “For every high priest taken from among men is appointed on behalf of men in things pertaining to God, in order to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins.”  Notice, the high priest is taken from among men, to act in the appointed role on behalf of men in things pertaining to God.  He is a man, appointed by God to act on their behalf.  And God appointed him to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins.

So Holy, Righteous God, required that priests act as intermediaries by offering sacrifices and gifts for the sins of man in order to be accepted by God. Man is a fallen creature, born in sin, with a sinful nature, and as such is estranged from God and cannot approach God.  The sacrifices and gifts could not of themselves atone for sin, but they showed man’s repentance over his sin, which God accepted, and He therefore provided a substitute animal to bear their punishment.  The priests facilitated this system of sacrifices and gifts to God.

Now such a priest had a dual responsibility.  To man he could, in vs 2, “deal gently with the ignorant and misguided, since he himself also is beset with weakness.”  In other words, since the priest also is a man, he has the same weaknesses and temptations that men have, and thus can have compassion on them.  

And because of his weaknesses, because he is a man born in sin, with a sinful nature even as they, vs. 3, “he is obligated to offer sacrifices for sins, as for the people, so also for himself.”  So he has to offer sin sacrifices for himself, and then for the people.  He is an intermediary, but a flawed one.  And if you were someone who went to a priest in those days, hoping to have him intercede for you to God, then you would have to hope that he had been faithful himself to offer sacrifices for his own sin, so that your prayers might not be hindered by his weakness.  

Another important characteristic of priests is that they did not designate themselves priests, but that designation came from God.  Now that’s important, because then as also now, many people are running around claiming to speak for God, when in fact, God has not appointed them.  I will never forget it was during Hurricane Sandy, I believe, which narrowly missed us here in Delaware but pounded New Jersey and caused more damage than any other storm to date in that state.  And I remember reading something just before the storm hit that a group of religious leaders from some sort of denomination that specialized in miracles and prophesying, had sent out a statement saying that all these preachers had been praying and formed a prayer chain or something like that around the Mid Atlantic region, and somehow God had told them that the storm would turn away and we would be spared of any sort of direct hit.  And I got an email from one of their followers to that affect as the storm was bearing down on us.  And I usually just bite my tongue and delete that sort of thing.  But I couldn’t help myself that day, and so I sent the guy an email reply with this quote from Jeremiah 14:14 Then the LORD said to me, “The prophets are prophesying falsehood in My name. I have neither sent them nor commanded them nor spoken to them; they are prophesying to you a false vision, divination, futility and the deception of their own minds.”  I never got any more emails from that guy again.

So God appoints those who truly speak for Him, and He appointed the high priests, not man, not some denomination, not some seminary, not some pastor search committee. And it says here that God appoints the priests. And now the Spirit uses that designation to extol the virtues of Jesus Christ as our Great High Priest in vs.5 “So also Christ did not glorify Himself so as to become a high priest, but He who said to Him, ‘YOU ARE MY SON, TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU’”.   So quoting from Psalm 2:7, God speaking to the Messiah, appointed Him as His representative, as His Son.  And then quoting from Psalm 110, vs4, “YOU ARE A PRIEST FOREVER ACCORDING TO THE ORDER OF MELCHIZEDEK.”

What greater appointment for man’s High Priest could be imagined, than God in human form, Jesus Christ incarnate, being made forever to be our High Priest after the order of Melchizedek.  Now there will be much more to be said about Melchizedek in the passages ahead.  But suffice it for now that you know that in Genesis 14:18 he appeared to Abraham as both king of Salem, which was an ancient name for Jerusalem, and also he was designated as priest of God Most High.  And Abraham recognized him as the priest of God and gave him his tithes.  Now this event preceded the law of Moses concerning priests and the order of Aaron, the High Priest of Israel by several hundred years.  Melchizedek seemed to appear out of nowhere, without any precedent.  And Psalm 110 is quoting God as saying that the Messiah is a priest forever, not after the order of Aaron, not of the Levitical priesthood, but after the order of Melchizedek.

So Jesus was appointed High Priest by God.  The other characteristic that you will remember though of priests is that they were taken from man.  And vs 7 speaks to His humanness, or the days of His flesh.   “In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety.”

Many commentators think this speaks particularly of His suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane, but I think it doesn’t have to be restricted to just that incident, but throughout His whole life, He was constantly in communion with His Father and dependent upon doing His will.  Some of the hardest trials you will go through, and some of the deepest sorrows you may experience are not always associated with suffering pain and injury, but in doing what is right.  Going against what the flesh calls for, going against what the world calls for, and the loneliness and sense of desolation that evokes is reason enough for loud crying and tears.  

What this is referencing is the qualification of a priest that He is able to sympathize with those whom He represents, that is mankind.  Christ suffered all the things that we suffer, and much more than we could ever suffer.  He did what was right before God, without sin, suffering even until death. His faithfulness unto death qualifies Him even more than any earthly priest, who shared the same weaknesses of the flesh as his fellow citizens, because though He shared in the sufferings and temptations and trials of men, yet He was victorious over them in righteousness.  And because of His righteousness, or as it says because of His piety, God delivered Him from the chains of death, and He rose again from the grave victorious with the keys of death and Hades in His grasp.

In vs8, it says, “Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered.”  Now this verse has caused a lot of confusion, because we can not imagine how Christ could learn obedience.  But I think it needs to be understood this way, “although He was a Son, (that is the Son of God, deity), even though He had a right to do what He wanted,  He learned obedience from the things He suffered in the flesh (that is in the things He suffered as a human.)  In other words, He humbled Himself and practiced obedience to the Father’s will in His flesh, in His humaness, even while suffering, which made Him qualified in experience to be our representative.  Even though He was omniscient, in His experience of suffering there was a sense in which He learned experientially what it was to be human.

And we learn to be obedient through suffering as well.  Unfortunately, we tend to learn more from our disobedience.  The way most of us learn is by learning the hard way.  We disobey, and suffer the consequences, and we end up learning through our disobedience.  It’s much smarter to learn though example.  It’s so much smarter to learn through obedience to what God has said in His word, rather than to think we have to figure it out for ourselves.  That goes back to the exhortation about being children that we looked at earlier.  Children learn through experience. And that’s why discipline is such an important part in a child’s upbringing.  But as you grow older, and more mature, you should be able to learn from other’s experience.  That’s wisdom.

And then vs 9 says, “having been made perfect…”  Once again, people have trouble with this idea that Christ had to become perfect.  But the best way to understand that word is to translate it as “complete.”  So He became complete by suffering in His flesh.  He became the complete, perfect High Priest because He was not only fully God, but fully man, and suffered all things in the flesh as a man, yet without sin, preserving His righteousness. 

Back in chapter 4:15 we read, “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as [we are, yet] without sin.”

So having suffered in the flesh, having been appointed by God, having been ordained after another order of priests, having been the righteous and Holy Son of God, we therefore have such a Great High Priest, who has became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation.

Listen, we just read that Jesus learned obedience from the things which He suffered and was saved from death through His piety. Is it not just as appropriate that the obedience of the redeemed results in their salvation? Is it so inappropriate to think that obedience and faith go hand in hand? Listen, you cannot have faith without obedience. Faith is not just a head knowledge, but a heart repurposed.  Remember the admonition of Jesus in Matt. 15:8-9  ‘THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME.  ‘BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.’”

Or perhaps we need to remember His warning in Matt. 7:21-23  “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven [will enter.]  “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’  “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’”  Notice the emphasis on doing God’s will, and then the opposite of practicing lawlessness which is a hallmark of lip service.  So then, practicing righteousness, obedience to God,  is hallmark of true worship.

The final qualification of our Great High Priest is that to all who obey Him,  He is the source, or the author of eternal salvation, being designated by God as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.  Peter said in Acts 4:12 “And 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.”

He is not only the author of our salvation, but also the finisher of our salvation.  Hebrews 12:2 “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of [our] faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

The fact that He is eternal, sitting eternally on the throne of God, interceding for His people, means that our salvation is eternal.  It’s eternal because the source of our salvation is eternal.  It’s eternal because HIs sacrifice is eternally effective, once for all accomplished, never to be repeated and permanently valid.  And it’s an eternal salvation because Jesus Christ, our Great High priest ever lives to make intercession for us, to help us in our time of need.  He is always available, ever working on the behalf of those who have put their trust in Him.  

I hope everyone here today has become a child of God through faith in Jesus Christ. Are you trusting in the sacrifice of Himself on your behalf for your acceptance with God?  There is no other way to God, and no other source of eternal life.  Trust in Him today as your Savior, Lord and King, and in HIs work as our Great High Priest. 

As we begin this study today in Hebrews, I think it may be important to ask the question, what is a priest?  Practically all religions utilize a priesthood.  And yet in the Protestant Evangelical tradition we don’t use priests.  We have a pastor.  We have certain officers such as deacons.  But we don’t have priests officiating in the sanctuary.  And so it might be necessary to explain why, and explain what the Bible says about priests, as a precursor to our study today.

According to the common understanding of both Greeks and Hebrews of the time when this epistle was written, priests were men who offered sacrifices and in general  busied themselves with sacred rites in a temple or sanctuary.  They were considered go betweens, or mediators between man and God.  They were considered holy in that they were consecrated to their work.  They were not concerned with profane things, but holy things of God. In Judaism especially, the religion of the Israelites, it was considered a sacred profession that was the birthright of the Levites. In other words, you had to be born a priest.   And they worked in the temple daily, performing their sacrifices and sacred rituals.

In addition to that position, you also had a high priest.  These were men who came from the ranks of the Levites, who originally were  selected by God to officiate as a priest, but as the leader of the priesthood, and who would enter once a year into the Holy of Holies to offer the sacrifices on the Day of Atonement.  He was often called the chief priest, because his position was foremost of the priests.

Now as I said, we don’t have priests officiating in the church today at least in most Protestant evangelical churches.  And the primary reason is that we no longer have sacrifices to offer.  Hebrews 7:27 tells us that Jesus has offered one sacrifice for all time.  On the day He was crucified, you will remember that God tore in two the veil separating the temple from the Holy of Holies, rending it from top to bottom, signifying that the way to enter the Holy of Holies was open to all through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.  Thus, we no longer need a priest, or even a high priest from the order of the Levites, to act as an intermediary for us.

But on the other hand, the book of Hebrews is going to spend a great deal of time telling us that Jesus is our great high priest.  And so if we are to understand Jesus, then we need to understand the function of the High Priests among the Jews, but particularly we need to understand how Jesus fulfills that office.

And by the way, in this new covenant, we that are saved are the new priesthood.  Peter said in 1Peter 2:9 “But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR [God’s] OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”  That’s what our job is now that we have become saved, to function as priests of God, as Romans 12:1 states, “presenting our bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, which is your reasonable service of worship.  John declares the same thing in Revelation 1:6 “and He has made us [to be] a kingdom, priests to His God and Father–to Him [be] the glory and the dominion forever and ever.”

And what the author of Hebrews is telling us in this passage is that we have a Chief Priest over us, who has gone into the heavenly holy of holies, and is officiating at the heavenly altar, so that we might have access to God and find help in time of need.

Now in chapter 3, vs 1 we were told to consider Jesus.  And so we have been doing that, considering Jesus in contrast to angels, to prophets, and to Moses, He is superior in every respect.  And today we are considering Jesus in light of His office as a High Priest, that we might better understand our position and the promises that we have in Him.

I could focus on a variety of human problems today with hopes that I might engage at least a few of you folks’ attention, in that you share a similar situation in your life.  But in the wisdom of God, I prefer to follow the teaching of this book, to fix our eyes on Jesus, and when we do that, we might find that he is sufficient to meet every need, whatever the need may be. Rather than focus on the problems, let us consider the solution to every need, which is Jesus.  And it is in His office of Great High Priest that we see Him most sufficient.

Now this idea of a Jesus as our Great High Priest has already been introduced to us in two other places.  The first was in chapter 2, vs17, “Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.”  The second mention is in chapter 3, vs1, which says, “Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus.” 

Now then let us consider Him as our Great High Priest. In chapter 4, vs 14, it says, “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.” 

But before we parse the rest of the verse, I want to point out the words, “we have.”  Let’s not overlook the little words in scripture.  It’s not that we just know about, but we have, we possess, or we belong to, such a great high priest.  We have a part in Him.  We have appropriated His work on our behalf.  That is really what constitutes our faith in Him, and what makes our faith efficacious. He has become our Lord and Savior and our Great High Priest by virtue of our faith and trust in Him.  He is ours, and we are His.  So let’s not overlook that important distinction.

A good illustration of that proprietary relationship to  the high priest is that in ancient Israel the high priest wore the names of the tribes of Israel on their breastplate, as part of their priestly garments.  They were identified with those who they were representing.  So it is with Jesus as our High Priest.  Our names, the Bible says in Isaiah 49:16, are written on His hands.  So He has become a man like us, one of His brethren, so that He might be our representative, our faithful high priest.

So now we have learned what it means to be our high priest, but what is indicated by “Great” High Priest? There were many high priests after the order of Aaron, but none of them were ever called great.  So what is meant by that title?  Well, I believe if we follow the order we have seen so far in Hebrews, it is quite simply that He is superior to every previous high priest. He is greater than every high priest that has ever come before.

And if you turn ahead a couple of chapters to chapter 7,  starting in vs 16, we see some characteristics of His greatness.  First it says that He became a priest not on the basis of ancestry, He was not of the tribe of Levi, but of Judah. He was appointed by God and not by man. And furthermore it says that He became a priest forever because of His indestructible life.  In other words, all Levitical priests eventually died and were buried, and thus their ministry ended.  But Jesus’s ministry continues forever, because He rose from the dead and as our text indicates, He ascended into heaven where He continues to intercede for us.

Secondly, He is our Great High Priest because His temple is greater.  In chapter 9 vs 24 we read that “Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.”  So He is greater because the earthly high priests officiated in an earthly holy place which was only a type of the one in the heavens, but Jesus has entered to the heavenly tabernacle, into the very presence of God’s throne, which is clearly greater.

And thirdly, He is our Great High Priest because He is not only human as all the other priests were, but He is also divine, as no other priest could claim.  And we see that illustrated back in our text, in vs 14, in HIs name and title.  Jesus is His human name.  It was a rather common name, Joshua in Hebrew, but Jesus in the Greek.  And it meant, “Jehovah is salvation.”  The angel said to Mary when he announced His birth, “And you shall call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins.”  So in His humanity, He is able to represent His people, and He is able to be the substitute for mankind.

But He was not only fully man, but fully divine, which is represented in His title, “the Son of God.”  John chapter 1 tells us that He was in the beginning with God, and that He was God.  Jesus claimed that He came from God and He was going back to the Father.  Jesus always called God His Father.  Only as the Son of God, equal in divinity, but separate in roles, could He atone for the sins of the world.  And only as God could He be the Great High Priest who passed through the heavens and sat down at the right hand of the Father.  

Now let’s just clarify that phrase, “passed through the heavens.”  Generally speaking, when the Bible speaks of the atmosphere, it refers to it as the heavens.  It includes the immediate atmosphere around the earth, as well as the sun, moon and stars.  But the passage is not so much describing a geographic location as it is describing the act of Christ entering or passing through the veil that hides the heavenly realm, or the spiritual realm.  Ephesians 2 says about us Christians in vs 5-6 “even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),  and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly [places] in Christ Jesus.”  

That’s talking about something that happens upon salvation. Upon salvation we are vicariously seated in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus.  But for that to be true of you and me it must be true spiritually.  And it is in that spiritual realm that Jesus has passed through.  That was typified in the earthly high priest who once a year went into the Holy of Holies, by passing through the veil.  And so Christ has gone before us, passing through death, being raised incorruptible, and passed into the heavenly realm, the spiritual realm,  into the very presence of the Father. In that spiritual realm, He is above all power and authority, outside of time and space, and not confined to earthly limitations.  Thus He is greater because the scope of His ministry is spiritual, and not limited to the physical.

Now this faith in Jesus Christ, as the Son of God, this faith in HIs work of atonement, this faith that appropriates His office of High Priest over us, is called in vs14 our confession.  And the Spirit says through Hebrews that since Jesus is our Great High Priest, we must hold fast our confession.  Now what does it mean to hold fast?  It means to secure it.  To make something fast is to secure it.  It actually refers back to that idea of possession.  We appropriate these truths and secure them, trust firmly in them.  To have unshakeable faith in who Jesus is, and what He has done, and what He ever lives to do.  It’s the same idea as standing firm in your faith.  Be confident, be assured in who He His and what He will do.  So we must stand firm in our confession of our faith, holding fast to His promises.  “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen,” according to Hebrews 11:1.

And faith is the means by which all that Christ has done and will do is appropriated by us.

Now vs 15 says that we can have that confident confession of our faith because Christ  sympathizes with us, in all our weaknesses, in all our temptations and trials, because He has been tempted and tried in all points like we have, yet without sin.  Jesus, in His humanity has suffered in every thing that we suffer.  Vs. 15 “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as [we are, yet] without sin.”  To sympathize is to relate to, and have compassion on, and He does so because He has shared similar experiences.

But our confidence comes not just because He has suffered the same things that we suffered, but that He did so without succumbing to sin.  A fellow human can commiserate with you in your suffering, but offer little help in overcoming temptation and trial.  Jesus, suffered in all things as we have, yet He triumphed over them, by not succumbing to sin.  I believe it was the theologian FF Bruce who said, “Such endurance involves more, not less, than ordinary human suffering.”  In other words, the suffering that Jesus endured without sin, is far greater than our suffering.  Thus, in overcoming it, He shows that He is able to help us in our suffering. Jesus withstood all temptation, He withstood all the strategies of Satan, all the pitfalls of the world, He withstood all the weaknesses and indulgences of man, and emerged the victor.  And because He is the victor over death and sin and the world, He is able to save to the uttermost those that trust in Him. We can hold fast our confidence because He overcame the world, and He is able to come to our help and defense.  Because He was sinless.  HIs sinlessness is an important attribute of His effectiveness as our Great High Priest.

I need to speak to something at this point that may offend some people here.  And I would say that I do not go out of my way to be offensive.  But just the other day I picked up a  silver medallion and chain.  I bought it just because it was in the junk jewelry section of a thrift store and I saw it was marked sterling silver, so I knew it was worth more than what they had it marked for.  It was a good deal.  But the medallion was commemorating the Virgin Mary. And around the outer band of the medallion was engraved the words, “O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.”

Now folks, I must tell you that in no place in scripture is it indicated that Mary was conceived without sin. Romans clearly states that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. They have taken one of the essential attributes of Jesus, the Son of God, that qualifies Him to be our Great High Priest, and given it to someone else.  Mary was blessed among women for she was chosen to bear Jesus as her child.  But sinlessness is the attribute of God, not any man or woman. And Mary was only a woman who had the same weaknesses that we have.  She had the same need for a Savior that all men have.  Mary was a sinner just like you and I are sinners.  Mary was saved by faith in Jesus Christ. But in no way was she born without sin. And the scripture no where teaches that.

Then, on the reverse of the medallion is a large letter M, which symbolizes that Mary is the Mediatrix, which means she is the mediator between man and salvation, and that Jesus bestows graces through her.  Once again, this false doctrine is taking away from Jesus the characteristic that He only provides.  He, and He alone,  is the mediator between God and man.  1Tim. 2:5 says “For there is one God, [and] one mediator also between God and men, [the] man Christ Jesus.” 

And furthermore, to show how insidious this doctrine of Mary is, it is based on the idea that she was assumed into heaven, bypassing death, because she had never sinned.  So once again, the fact that Jesus passed through the heavens has been appropriated to Mary as well, which puts her on the same plane as Jesus Christ.  I would just encourage you to see for yourselves if there is any mention of such a thing in scripture.  There is none. It is a false doctrine that leads to a worship of Mary, and a perversion of the intercessory doctrine of our Lord Jesus Christ.  The whole point of this passage before us today, is to say that we have a Great High Priest, Jesus Christ, who has passed through the heavens, who was tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin, and now lives to make intercession for us, to help us in our time of need, because He has experienced what we experience, and because we are His people, and He is our High Priest, who represents His people before the Father.  And as such people, who belong to Christ, we are to body enter into the throne of grace to find help in time of need.  We don’t need to go through other human intermediaries. In fact, such people can never help us.  We don’t need to appeal to other humans who have passed into death to speak on our behalf.  Jesus performs that role for us, and He performs it perfectly, because He is the Great High Priest.  And to try to put another person in HIs place, or to make you go through another agency to get to Jesus, is to put a stumbling block before you, and diminish the work of Jesus Christ by saying that it was not sufficient.  Let me assure you, Jesus is sufficient. He and He alone is able to save. He alone is able to know our hearts.  He alone is sinless.  Consider Jesus!  Don’t be deceived into looking at any one else but Jesus.  He is sufficient.

Now the last verse in our text sums up our response to our confession of faith in all that Jesus has accomplished and will accomplish as our Great High Priest.  It says in vs. 16, Therefore, [since all these things are assured concerning Jesus as our Great High Priest,]  let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

Therefore, since all these things are assured concerning Jesus, we can come boldly to the throne of grace. A throne speaks of authority and power, while grace conveys the idea of compassion and provision. These two thoughts are combined in Jesus Christ. He is the God of infinite power, Creator of the Universe, Judge of the Earth, sitting on His throne after all authority in heaven and earth have been given to Him.  And, yet He welcomes us in complete and utter sympathy with us. Because He is one of us, and we are one with Him. We can come boldly because we are confident that He is ours, and we are His, by virtue of the atoning sacrifice which He made on our behalf.  His sacrifice for us is more than sufficient so that we may be bold to enter the throne of grace.

Notice what He provides to those who come to Him; mercy and grace.  Mercy is not getting what we deserve.  Grace is getting what we don’t deserve.  Christ doesn’t just give us mercy, but He gives us grace.  He not only forgives the penalty of our sin, but He gives us His righteousness and eternal life. He gives us complete and perfect access to God. Mercy and grace, and they are offered by our Great High Priest, who offered Himself as an sacrifice for our sin.  No other priest could make such a sacrifice, because no other priest was without sin.  And furthermore, because no human priest could take away sin.  Only Jesus Christ can forgive sins.

The author concludes that we might find help in time of need. I don’t know what needs you may have today.  But one primary need I know is applicable to every man and woman here today.  We all need to receive Jesus Christ as our Savior for the remission of sins.  Only through faith in Jesus Christ can we have eternal life.  As I quoted earlier, there is only one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus.  Jesus said, no one comes to the Father except by Me.  Jesus became our Great High Priest so that those who believe in Him would find mercy and grace in time of need.   I hope that no one comes short of the grace of God by not accepting Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.  Only through faith in Christ can we say that He is our Great High Priest, and only by His intercession can we find help in our time of need.  He stands ready to help you in your need.  Come to Jesus, He is mighty to save.

I hate to give the devil his due, but I think it was the Rolling Stones who said, “You can’t always get what you want, but you get what you need.”  That statement is true here this morning in regards to our subject before us.  It’s perhaps not what we would want to hear, or would want to consider on this Sunday morning, but it’s what we need to hear. It’s like when we feed our children, we don’t always give them what they like to eat,  we sometimes need to give them what they need.  What is good for them. 

In the next chapter of Hebrews, the author accuses the Christians there of having a nutritional deficit.  As it says in chapter 5:12-14 “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food.  For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant.  But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.”

Now I think that sentiment is behind a lot of what the author of Hebrews is writing in the passage before us today. He’s writing to Christians, I believe, but Christians who are lagging in their spiritual development. 

Some commentators distinguish between the intended recipients as either Christians, or in some passages, non Christian Jews.  But I think that it actually is written to all Christians, but perhaps particularly to immature Christians, who might stop short of entering into all that their salvation was intended to produce.  And in that respect, I think it is very contemporary.  Because I think there are a lot of Christians today who are at risk of falling short in terms of spiritual maturity.  

And so far the epistle has given three warnings to Christians.  The first was a warning against drifting away in chapter 2.  The second was a warning against hardening your hearts in chapter 3.  And now we see a third, which is the possibility of not entering God’s rest in chapter 4.  All of which are speaking primarily to believers.  I think the author is exhorting Christians to continue to be strong in their faith and not come short of all that God has designed our salvation to produce in us.

Now  one of the great benefits of our salvation is peace, contentment, and rest.  That is one of the promised blessings of salvation.  Jesus said in Matthew 11:28  “Come unto Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.”  And again in John 14:27  “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”

That sounds like something that we could all use, doesn’t it?  Peace and rest.  I suppose that’s why many of you came to the beach, to seek rest, to try to find some peace out of all the hustle and bustle and stress of the world that you may have been caught up in all year.  Peace and rest are great blessings that God has promised to His children, and yet if we are honest, most of us would probably admit that is not our daily experience.  And so this passage we are looking at today is dealing with rest.  How we can enter that rest that God has promised us.

The passage starts on that premise in vs1, “Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it.”  That is something to be feared- that we should come short of this rest that God has promised.  That would be a tragedy, that we might have rest available, but yet fail to appropriate it and experience it for ourselves.  The good news is that it is obviously intended for us to have it now.  It’s not something that  was only available to the early church, or as the preceding chapter indicates, it was not a rest exclusive to the ancient Israelites who had been wandering in the wilderness for 40 years, waiting to enter the promised land, the land of rest.  But God’s rest is available to us today.  It is a blessing of salvation, and furthermore, it is an essential element of salvation.

Let me explain it in regards to salvation this way. Salvation is composed of three elements, all of which are necessary.  First is justification, second is sanctification, and the third is glorification. Justification is the defeat of the penalty of sin.  Sanctification is the defeat of the power of sin. Glorification is the defeat of the presence of sin, and that happens when we are resurrected to new life with a glorified, sinless body.  

But it is in fully realizing and appropriating all the victory that is available in Christ that we are truly set free. It is only when we appropriate all that salvation offers, that we truly can have peace and be truly at rest.  

I think this idea of rest is best illustrated by the idea of a flock of sheep that are under the care of the shepherd.  Jesus likened Himself to a shepherd, even the door of the sheepfold, and he who enters in by Him will go in and out and find pasture.  Rest is not sleeping, nor some sort of eternal bliss, but it is a life under the care and comfort of the Good Shepherd, a life that has peace knowing that He is guiding and providing all that is good in life.  That life in Him is abundant life, fruitful life.  Fully trusting and following and living under the authority and direction of the Shepherd produces the rest that the sheep must have if they are to grow and mature and have the abundant life that God wants for them to have.  Sheep must have that rest if they are to be healthy and flourish.  They can’t survive on their own outside of the care of the flock. So this rest which is provided by the Shepherd is essential to their life.  All the comfort and security and peace that the sheep need in order to thrive is found in complete submission to the Shepherd’s care and direction.

What Hebrews is warning against, and exhorting us to, is for Christians to fully enter in to all that their salvation promises.  So many Christians come short in that they are happy to receive justification, but they come short of sanctification.  And without sanctification, they will fail to receive the rest and blessings and spiritual development that their salvation is designed to produce..  They want  justification, but then they want to live in the flesh.  But sanctification is learning to live in the Spirit’s control. 

Now the author goes back to the former illustration which he used in chapter 3, which is that of the Israelites who wandered in the wilderness for 40 years, and were not able to enter God’s rest because of unbelief.  He says, in vs2, “For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard.”   The disobedient Israelites then are to be a warning for us, in that they had the good news preached to them, they had the promises of God, and yet they failed to enter all that God had promised them.  In the same way, he is saying we have had the good news preached to us, we know the promises of God for rest and peace, but if we are not careful we will forfeit them by failing to continue in our faith.

I want to make sure that you know what he is talking about here though.  He uses some words or phrases almost interchangeably.  For instance, in vs2 he says their hearing the gospel wasn’t profitable because it was not united by faith. In chapter 3:19 it says they were not able to enter His rest because of unbelief.  In vs18 it says they were unable to enter because of disobedience. In chap.4 vs 6 it says they  failed to enter because of disobedience. In vs11 we’re warned “let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience.”  So it’s clear that unbelief and a lack of faith and disobedience are all ways of speaking of the same thing. A lack of faith is a lack of believing in what God has promised, and because you don’t really believe the promises that results in disobedience to the truth of God, which prohibits you from experiencing the rest of God.

When the Israelites refused to enter the land, it was an act of disobedience, as well as fundamentally a lack of faith.  So we see that disobedience is a lack of faith, and a lack of faith results in disobedience.  Faith is not just an intellectual thing, or an emotive quality. Faith is action.  Faith is doing what God says.  Disobedience is acting on your own wisdom, according to your instincts.  Faith is never inactive, but active.  Thus James says, faith without works is dead.

We sometimes camp out so strongly on salvation is by grace and not works, which is true, but in so doing often neglect to emphasize that faith produces works.  James says in chapter  2:20-22, 24 “But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?  Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; … 24 You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.”  

Now if James can say that man is justified by faith and works, then it certainly is true that man also is sanctified by faith and works.  It’s not just the hearing of the gospel but by the appropriation of it,  the doing of it, by which we receive the profit of our salvation.

So, he says in vs3, we who appropriate the promises enter that rest.  We who act on the promises in faith, enter into the rest of God. But what exactly is this rest of God? Some people have traditionally thought of the rest as referring to the hereafter, the rest of heaven.  But I believe that what is really meant here is the rest that God promises to His people is the rest that He himself enjoys.  And that’s illustrated by the author’s reference to Genesis 2:2. , where God is said to have rested on the seventh day from His work of creation.

I noticed something about creation in studying this that I have never seen before.  In each day of creation, the Bible is careful to say about every day that it is an actual 24 hour period.  And in each case it says, and it was evening and morning, the first day, or the second day, etc.  Evening and morning is given for each day, until you come to the seventh day.  And no mention is made of evening and morning.  And the reason for that is because it symbolizes that God’s rest is continuing. It is a rest that is meant to be shared with His people who respond to Him in faith and obedience.  

That’s why in the previous chapter the author quoted from Psalm 95, in which God warns that they shall not enter His rest. He says today do not harden your hearts in disobedience, and thus forfeit the rest that God has promised.  That was a promise and a warning to the Israelites under Joshua, and it was a promise and a warning to the Israelites under David who were by then living in the land of promise, but still had not come to that rest, and it’s a promise to us, who are Christians under the Lord Christ, who are being warned not to come short of that rest.  God’s rest has been open to His children since the time of creation, but it can be forfeited by disobedience.

Therefore, it says in vs6, it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly had the gospel preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience.  But the rest of God remains open for us to enter.  The promises of God are still in effect. And in fact, the Holy Spirit urges you to enter it today.  Today, He says, do not harden your hearts. To put it off is to harden your heart.  Today is the acceptable day.  Do not harden your hearts by the deceitfulness of sin.  That’s from vs 13 of the previous chapter.  That’s what it means to harden your hearts.  To follow your own wisdom, to reject the word of God, to think that you know better than the Lord.  That’s the deceitfulness or the lie of sin, and it ends up hardening your heart to even further disobedience against God.  Today repent of your rebellion, repent of your unbelief, and God will give you His rest as you follow Him in faith and obedience.

Vs.8 says, “For if Joshua had given them rest, He would not have spoken of another day after that. So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.” Now what day is that? It’s not Saturday, it’s not Sunday, it’s not sometime in the future, it’s Today.  It’s not sometime in the past, or in the future, in the sweet by and by, but it remains available, and it is today.  Today do not harden your hearts, but enter into His rest. God’s rest is available today.

So what is the rest, that God promises to us?  I believe it is the rest from our works, and allowing Christ to work in us.  It is the rest from our purposes, and allowing God’s purposes to work in us.  It is the rest from the insistent desires of our flesh, and Christ living in us through the Spirit. It’s not relying on our strength, but relying on God’s strength. It’s not confidence in our wisdom, but confidence in God’s wisdom.  Here it is in a nutshell; vs10 “For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His.”  

It says in Psalms 46:10, “cease striving and know that I am God.”  The peace of God is found in peace with God.  Cease striving against Him.  And allow Him to be Lord of your body, soul and spirit.  Matt. 11:28-30 “Come unto Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.  “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS.  “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

In our flesh we say, “Oh, the way of God is too hard.  It’s not much fun to be a Christian.  I have too many things I want to do.  I want to live life to the fullest.”  But God says the way of the sinner is hard, but the way of the Lord is easy.

So now we know what God’s rest is, the next question is how do we appropriate it? How do we enter it? Well, we’ve established it’s through obedience, but obedience to what?  The answer is obedience to the word of God.  Vs.12. “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

The word of God, the word that I am preaching, is not the word of man, but it is a living, effective, diagnostic, cleansing agent of God, which probes into the inner parts of man, to his very soul and spirt, to discern the thoughts and intentions of the heart.  The word of God reveals our motives.  The word of God is like a cleansing agent which scrubs away the sin which darkens our understanding and veils the light of God.  It is the living agency of the Holy Spirit which brings us to repentance, which reveals the secrets of the heart.  In Isaiah 55 God says that HIs word will not return void, without accomplishing His purpose.  It is the path of sanctification.  It is the way of life, it is the source of truth. In it we find rest.

And the word of God, likened to a two edged sword cuts and pierces the hardness of our heart. It is the tool that God uses to circumcise our hearts.  And when this agent of God is employed from hearing the word preached, from reading and studying the word, then we can start to experience the rest that God has promised, as it informs our faith, and encourages our faith, and washes our hearts and minds in the word.  This is where we get God’s perspective.  The world hammers it’s perspective at us relentlessly, through media, entertainment, advertisements and all sorts of daily activities.  But the word of God is powerful. Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”  The word of God is the power of salvation to everyone who believes.  You want the power of God to work out your salvation in your life?  Then spend time in he word of God and follow it’s instructions and live according to it’s direction.

And just as the word of God distinguishes the thoughts and intentions of the heart, so God knows our hearts.  There is nothing hidden from Him.  He knows our motives.  He knows how we really feel.  He knows when we have sin in our heart that we are holding onto.  Vs.13, “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.”

Since God knows our hearts, then why don’t we then open our hearts to Him, and ask Him to come in, and take all the rooms of our heart as His own.  To occupy all of our heart.  That’s the secret to sanctification.  Our loves, our life, our devotion, our feelings, our minds, all of our being we surrender to the Lord.  And when we do that, we will enter into His rest.  He will cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  He will change our hearts, and renew in us a right spirit, that we might do the things which are pleasing to Him. 

There remains available a time for us, a day for you, to enter that rest. And today is the appointed day that God wants you to come to Him.  Come to Jesus today, and enter that rest.  Jesus says, “Come unto Me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” 

I would like to ask you a rhetorical question today, but one nonetheless I want you to consider carefully in your hearts.  The question is this; does God care about orthodoxy?  Now a few churches that perhaps are no longer really orthodox may have co-opted that word as part of their title.  And that is not the kind of orthodoxy I am referring to.  What I mean by orthodox is that which is right, or true.

So the question is does God really care about what is right or true, or does He just want people to think about Him in some sort of generalized way, with some sort of sentiment or affection, and He likes it when we bring up HIs name and He gets especially happy when we say nice things about Him.  And that is all that really matters to God.  All the other stuff, such as truth, righteousness, justice, holiness, doctrine and so forth is not really what’s important to Him.

Well, I said it’s a rhetorical question because I am going to give you the answer.  And the answer is found in the words of Jesus in Matthew 15:8-9 “THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME. BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.’”  

Now I could give you dozens of other texts to support this argument, that God cares about orthodoxy, but I will just give you one more, one that I probably quote every week, which John records Jesus as saying in John 4:24  “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”  So clearly, there is truth, and God wants us to worship Him in truth, that is, in orthodoxy.  

As I said last week, God is not obligated to accept worship that is not in alignment with His truth.  Cain and Abel are good examples that are given right at the outset of the scriptures, in which both offered up worship to God, and yet Cain’s offering was rejected and Abel’s offering was accepted.  

Our text that we are looking at in Hebrews is part of an ongoing sermon or message that we are just looking at a part of today.  And it proposes a difficulty because each segment is built upon the preceding passage, and so it helps to have knowledge of what was said previously.  However, I don’t have the time to review everything up to this point.  I will say though by way of context that in this passage, there is a contrast, or comparison between Jesus and Moses.  And the author is saying that Jesus is superior to Moses in every way as the spokesman of God, and as the minister of God.  And in continuing that comparison, he is giving a warning to those who have heard the word of Jesus and turned away, and he uses an illustration of the Israelites who rebelled against Moses as an warning for us.

Now it’s interesting that in regard to the question of orthodoxy, in regards to our worship being in Spirit and in truth, the author gives us in vs7 a quote from Psalm 95, which he attributes as authored by the Holy Spirit. Vs. 7 begins, “Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says…” He is going to quote from Psalm 95, but we know that David is the human author of Ps.95, but Hebrews is saying that the author of this scripture is from the Holy Spirit.   This fulfills Jesus statement concerning worship perfectly, doesn’t it. Scripture is of the Spirit, so we can be assured that it’s the truth of God.  So we find the truth about God, the truth about worship, from the word of God.  

And that’s such a basic doctrine of Christianity that it should go without saying, but unfortunately in this day and age there is a tendency to think that God reveals himself in other ways, and they often take precedence over the word.  But Jesus said in John 17:17, “Your word is truth.”  We need to be on guard against people that are speaking as if they speak for God, as well as those people who think that God speaks to you in an audible voice in your head.  God has spoken in His word.  Back in chapter 1 vs2, it says that in these last days God has spoken to us in His Son.  And we have the word of God made more sure in the inspiration of the scriptures, as 2 Peter 2:21 says, men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.  

So first and foremost, if we are to know the truth about God, so that we may worship the Lord God in Spirit and in truth, then we must go to the source of truth, which is the Holy Scriptures. 

Notice also that vs 7 says, “The Holy Spirit says, present tense. Not said 2000 years ago, though He did speak then, but He also speaks now, present tense.  He says to you now, ““TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS AS WHEN THEY PROVOKED ME, AS IN THE DAY OF TRIAL IN THE WILDERNESS, WHERE YOUR FATHERS TRIED Me BY TESTING Me, AND SAW MY WORKS FOR FORTY YEARS. “THEREFORE I WAS ANGRY WITH THIS GENERATION, AND SAID, ‘THEY ALWAYS GO ASTRAY IN THEIR HEART, AND THEY DID NOT KNOW MY WAYS’;  AS I SWORE IN MY WRATH, ‘THEY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST.’”

Now as I said this is a quote from Psalm 95.  And it’s interesting that there are two parts to this Psalm, the one quoted here is preceded by a call to worship.  Just to give you a sense of it, in verse 1,2 and 6 it says, “O come, let us sing for joy to the LORD, Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. … Come, let us worship and bow down, Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.”  So Psalm 95 is clearly a call to worship the Lord.  And in that context, the Psalmist continues under the direction of the Holy Spirit to call God’s people to worship and then warns against disobedience as illustrated by the Israelites in the wilderness.  So worship and disobedience are contrary to one another.  

Notice also the emphasis on “Today.” “Today if you hear His voice…” Today emphasizes the urgency of the word of God.  Today is the acceptable time.  Today while it is still today.  He equates putting off until tomorrow or until a more convenient day is the means of hardening your heart.  Today is the day God calls you to repentance.  Tomorrow may never come.  Some of you here today may never again hear the gospel presented to you as you have heard today.  Last Friday a family was on Route 1, I believe, heading home from vacation and a car came across the median and hit them and 5 of the 6 family members were killed.  So there is an urgency to the message because we do not know the day or the time when we will die, but also there is an urgency to answer the message because to resist it, or put it off until tomorrow is the means of hardening your heart against God. And that is exactly the purpose of this illustration, as it says “TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS.”

Now we can identify the exact situation the Spirit is referring to here, by the use of the words, “WHEN THEY PROVOKED ME, AS IN THE DAY OF TRIAL IN THE WILDERNESS, WHERE YOUR FATHERS TRIED Me BY TESTING Me, AND SAW MY WORKS FOR FORTY YEARS.” He is referring to two events, one at the beginning of the exodus of the children of Israel, and the other at the end of their journey, when they were ready to enter the Promised Land, the land of Canaan. The first is recorded in Exodus 17, when the children of Israel came from the wilderness of Sin, and they complained and grumbled against Moses because they were thirsty and said, and said, “Why, now, have you brought us up from Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?”  God told Moses to strike the rock, and water came out.  But what they did was displeasing to the Lord, so that Moses named the place Massah and Meribah, which means test and quarrel, because they tested the Lord there.

So they grumbled, they complained, and they were even ready to stone Moses. Many people who have become Christians have feelings like this. Sometimes there are problems in the family. Sometimes there are problems in the business. I’ve heard Christians say, and I can sympathize with them, “Ever since I’ve become a Christian. My whole life is turned upside down. And now I’m really suffering and going through all kinds of trials.” And sometimes they wonder if “maybe I made the wrong decision.”  

The problem a lot of times is that we have the wrong perspective as Christians.  We have a temporal perspective instead of an eternal perspective.  We expect as Christians that God is going to take away all the earthly trials and tribulations so we can enjoy an abundant life.  The problem is the same as that of the Israelites.  Our focus is not on how we may serve God, but on how He needs to serve me.  So when God doesn’t meet my temporal, fleshly expectations in the time and manner that I want to be served, then I lose patience with Him.  We’re ready to disown God, because we are convinced that He must not love us if He allows us to go through difficulties.  We even go so far as to think God is a liar, that He doesn’t keep His promises.  And that’s exactly what the Israelites did in the wilderness.  That pattern of rebellion continued, and culminated in their refusal to enter into the land of Canaan.  And so God brought judgment against them and said this generation would not enter the land, but they would wander in the wilderness for 40 years until they all had died.

Then 40 years later, the Israelites do the same thing all over again.  This time it’s found in Numbers 20.  The entire generation of their fathers had died in the wilderness.  This is the second generation. And they come to the very same place, Massah and Maribah, that their fathers had complained about, and this time they do the very same thing.  They complain and say, “If only we had perished when our brothers perished before the LORD! Why then have you brought the LORD’S assembly into this wilderness, for us and our beasts to die here? Why have you made us come up from Egypt, to bring us in to this wretched place? It is not a place of grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, nor is there water to drink.” And once again God brought water from the rock to supply their need, but again God was displeased.

I found myself just the other day comparing my life with those who don’t even know the Lord.  And from my perspective at that moment, it seemed that the unrighteous lived lives of ease and plenty.  But the lot of my life was learning to do without, and facing all sorts of trials.  And I think it’s very common for us to start to compare ourselves with others when things don’t go exactly as we would like them to.  And we become disgruntled in our faith. Even worse, in our hearts we start to turn away from the Lord.

So because of their hardened hearts, their testing of God, and provoking God to anger, He says in vs 10, “THEREFORE I WAS ANGRY WITH THIS GENERATION, AND SAID, ‘THEY ALWAYS GO ASTRAY IN THEIR HEART, AND THEY DID NOT KNOW MY WAYS’; AS I SWORE IN MY WRATH, ‘THEY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST.’”

Notice that God is concerned about the heart.  He said first, “Do not harden your hearts.” Now He says, “they always go astray in their hearts.”  The heart is the soul of man, the seat of the will, the intellect and the emotions of man.  The scriptures say that the heart is deceitful and wicked and unknowable. But God will disclose the secrets of the heart.  Man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart.  Thus, as we said at the beginning, Jesus who knows the hearts says “THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME. BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.’”  

David said in Psalm 51:17 “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.”  The essential necessity then for worshipping God in spirit and in truth is that we first have the right heart.  Salvation is an appeal to God for a new heart and it is promised as a result of our conversion in Ezekiel 36:26-27 “Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.”  When we receive a new heart, that is a new mind, new attitudes, and a new will, we will find that we have a desire to be obedient to the Lord, and the old things will pass away, and all things become new.  That’s the essence of salvation that is missing in many church goers today.  They may intellectually believe in God, but they have not had a transformation from God, a new birth that results in their conversion.  And that is a supernatural act of God to give you a new heart.  

Without that transformation of the heart, you cannot please God.  You cannot enter the rest that God promises, because your heart is not aligned with God.  And so the author of Hebrews says in vs12, “Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God.”  Notice now there is a further progression of a hardened heart, and that is an evil, unbelieving heart.  

Now that word used for falling away is the same word we get apostasy from.  I won’t try to pronounce it in Greek, but it sounds very similar to apostasy.  Apostasy is a serious sin.  It’s a sin of renouncing God.  And there have been many people that perhaps were brought up in a Christian home, or a Christian church, and then have gone on to renounce God altogether and become an atheist. That’s becoming apostate.  I’m not sure that is what this verse is talking about.  I think it has to be taken in context with the next two verses, and in that regard I think it’s talking about someone who is withdrawing from church, they have drifted away from fellowship with God.  After all, that is what chapter 2 vs1 warned of, the danger of drifting away. That tendency to go astray leads to a second danger, that is the danger of hardening your heart.  And I think it’s saying that happens by withdrawing from the fellowship of believers.  

That’s why the next verse, 13, says, “But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.”  The antidote to falling away is to get together with other believers day after day and encourage one another. The enemy is always trying to get the Christian alone.  But like an ember in a fire, when you draw it out of the fire pit and put it off by itself, it begins to go out and grow cold. 

But to come together in assembly, to fellowship with one another, we stimulate and encourage one another so that hardness of the heart does not happen.  A few chapters later, in Hebrews 10:24-25  we read, “and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds,  not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”  So the falling away He is warning us of comes often through isolation, where the enemy is able to wear us down through trial and temptation, and thus get us to sin against God.

And that idea of harboring sin is endemic to hardening of the heart.  Notice it says in vs.13, “so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.”  Sin results in hardening your heart.  Sin is deceitful.  The enemy tells us that a little sin doesn’t matter.  That God will forgive you.  That you’re just human.  That a man (or a woman) has to do what a man’s gotta do.  That’s the deceitfulness of sin.  It’s the lie that your sin will have no consequences.  But don’t forget the verse that I quoted last week from Galatians 6:7 “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.”   Do not think that you can live in unrepentant sin and not have to worry about it because God doesn’t care about it.  That’s a lie of Satan.  God is not mocked.   God will not be tested as the Israelites tested God in the wilderness of Sin.  God reproves and chastises those who are His. 

So a hardened heart is that heart that holds onto sin. And true worship of God is impossible if we continue in sin.  But the evidence of our salvation, the evidence that we are children of God, is that we continue in our faith.  And that continuance of our faith is what our sanctification is all about. That perseverance in faith is the means by which we are able to participate in all that Christ has promised us. Vs.14, “For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end.”  To become partaker of Christ is to partake of His nature first, and His ministry, and then His inheritance.  That’s our goal, to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. A heart that is cleansed and holy through faith in Christ, receives the fullness of the indwelling Spirit of Christ, who helps us to live like Christ, so that we might one day be raised like Christ, to be like Christ because we shall see Him as He is, and then to reign with Christ.  That’s what it means to be partakers with Christ.  That’s what it means to be sanctified through Christ.

And that perseverance of faith in trials, that continuance of faith to the end, is something that happens day after day, even today, as long as it’s today.   I like that quote from Winnie the Pooh, in which he asked, “What day is it?”  And Piglet squealed, “It’s today!”  And Winnie the Pooh squealed in return, “My favorite day!”  I think Today is God’s favorite day as well.  Today is the acceptable day of salvation.  Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as when they provoked Me.”  No matter which day of the week it is, if you’re alive it is always today.  Today is the time to turn to the Lord in repentance and faith.  Tomorrow may be too late, but there is time today.  Do not harden your heart today.  But call upon Him today while He may be found. 

Isaiah 55:6-7 “Seek the LORD while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way And the unrighteous man his thoughts; And let him return to the LORD, And He will have compassion on him, And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.”

So”TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS, AS WHEN THEY PROVOKED ME.” Then the Spirit asks in vs16 “For who provoked Him when they had heard? Indeed, did not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses?” In other words, it was those who had come out of captivity.  In the church age that would indicate that we who are Christians who have been brought out of captivity can provoke the Lord to anger by hardening our hearts.

Then the Spirit asks another  question in Vs. 17 “And with whom was He angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness?”  To continue the parallel with the New Testament church, then that would correlate with Paul’s admonition to the church at Corinth, who were coming to church to eat the Lord’s Supper with unconfessed sin and the indication is that God put them to death.  Listen to 1Cor. 11:29-32 “For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly.  For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep. But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged.  But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world.”  God will bring discipline to bear on His children that harden their hearts in disobedience.  And that discipline can even progress to the point of God taking your life, so that you are judged in the body, but saved in the spirit. (1 Peter 4:6) (1Cor.5:5)

And then one final question in vs18 “And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient?  So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief.”  So there is a progression here which the Spirit warns starts with a hardening of the heart, which leads to going astray in your hearts, which results in an evil, unbelieving, disobedient heart, which brings about the judgment of God. 

Now I pray that no one here today hardens your heart against what the Holy Spirit is saying.  I’m not saying it.  Roy Harrell doesn’t know your heart.  I may see some outward evidence that indicates a condition of the heart, but I don’t know your heart.  But God knows your heart.  The good news is that God is willing and able to give you a new heart, to replace that heart of stone with a heart of flesh. To put His Spirit within you, so that you will keep His statues and walk in HIs ordinances.  So that you might walk in the truth, that you might walk in the Spirit.  And it’s available to all who call upon Him in faith and repentance.  David called out to God after His sin, and prayed, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”  Pray that prayer today, while it is still today, that  you may know the forgiveness and cleanness that God can give.  If you confess your sins, God is faithful and just to forgive your sins, and cleanse you from all unrighteousness.  Today you have heard His voice. Do not harden your heart.  Call upon Jesus today and enter into HIs rest.