Latest / Teachings On This Day On FerventWord / On Oct 15, 2014: Hebrews 6-9 Jesus Is Better Part 2

Transcript

On Oct 15, 2014: Hebrews 6-9 Jesus Is Better Part 2 · Teachings On This Day On FerventWord

• You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2014. And as I said, we are here in Hebrews. We'll be looking this evening at Hebrews chapters 6 through 9, going through the chapters that we read as we read the Bible in three years. We're kind of in that final stretch, you know, just a couple more months. We'll be finishing up the New Testament and completing our journey through the Bible in three years, which is really exciting. But here we are in the book of Hebrews, and we don't know who the author is. We don't know exactly the timing or the context of the writing of the book of Hebrews, but we learn from the book itself that the purpose of Hebrews is to explain to Jewish believers that the new covenant that we have in Christ is far superior to the Old Covenant, or we often refer to them as the New Testament and the Old Testament. And so he's explaining that what we have in Christ is far better than what they had under the Mosaic law or under the Levitical law. And so also along with that, he warns them against falling away from this new covenant and the dangers that are there. Now we finished up last week looking at Hebrews chapter 5 and we talked about those past or the last few verses of Hebrews chapter 5. where the writer deals with this issue of immaturity. And he's talking about immaturity amongst these Jewish believers, and he's calling them to go on to greater maturity. And I wanted to start here because it flows into the things that we'll be looking at this evening. And so let me remind you of Hebrews chapter 5 verse 12. Here the author says, for though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God and you have come to need milk and not solid food. Here the author of Hebrews gives this comparison between milk and solid food. And it's the idea of, you know, the way that a person receives nourishment, spiritually speaking, is relatable to the way a person receives nourishment physically. And a baby receives nourishment by milk. It's food that has been processed. It's food that's been processed and is presented to the child in a way that they're able to receive it and benefit from the nourishment. But then as a child grows up physically, there is a progression and they advance to not only include milk, but also to learn to be able to eat solid foods and to be able to chew on some of the food themselves. And their body learns to process it and there's the nourishment that is received as the child develops. And the author of Hebrews is saying there's a parallel to that in the spiritual realm. And that is that as babes in Christ or as infants in the Lord, there is the need for milk. That we receive what others have processed. And God speaks to us in simple ways and plain ways. And we have the milk of the word of God. The milk of... of other people teaching us the things of God. And that's appropriate for a season as we grow. But as a child grows and that development increases, so spiritually there should be this development where there's the solid food. In verse 14 of Hebrews 5, he said, solid food belongs to those who are of full age. That is those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. And so the idea here is that those who are mature, those who partake of solid food, are those who engage in the Word of God themselves. And by reason of use, because they've spent a lot of time in the Word of God, they are growing and they are maturing and they're able to partake of solid food. And this is really important because as we look at the book of Hebrews, we I mean, if you look at the New Testament, there's a lot of books that are really simple, straightforward, you know, and very easy. But the book of Hebrews is one of those books that you kind of have to chew on. And it is a book that, you know, brings us to maturity but requires us to do some work. And there's some efforts on our part. And one of the reasons for that is because throughout the book of Hebrews, we see some very serious warnings. And one of the reasons for that is because throughout the book of Hebrews, And these warnings can be very troubling for people and it's something that people get tripped up on. And again, it's something we have to work on and chew on and seek to understand what the Lord is saying. We saw these last week in Hebrews chapter 2. He warned against drifting away from the things that we have heard. He warned in chapter 3 against having an evil and a hardened heart. And then in chapter 4, he warned against not entering God's rest. And I'm not going to go into all the details of those things. But these are warnings with real dangers, with real exhortation to stay away, to protect yourself from these things. And these are things that we need to chew on, to meditate on, and to allow God to speak to us through these things. But it's not all bad news. He also gives exhortations. And let us is repeated throughout the book of Hebrews. He's calling the Hebrews and calling you and I to go forward in a relationship with God. And so in Hebrews chapter 4, he says, let us be diligent to enter his rest. It's the other side of that warning. Be careful. Make sure that you don't miss out on the rest. And then on the other hand, be diligent to make sure that you partake of the rest of God. Then in chapter 4, the latter part, he says, let us hold fast our confession of Jesus. He's writing to Jewish believers who were Not so sure if they wanted to hold fast. They were kind of loosely holding on to Jesus. Maybe we need to go back to Judaism. Maybe we need to go back because there's less persecution. Maybe we need to go back because we had it better back when we were following the sacrifices and the Levitical system. And the author of Hebrews is saying, no, hold fast our confession of Jesus. Hold fast to who we have believed in Jesus Christ. And so these are some things to chew on. And then as we go forward now into chapter 6 this evening, there's some more things to chew on. And again, these are not things that are milk. It is definitely solid food. And so don't be surprised if you have to kind of chew on it a little bit. Don't be surprised if it causes you to choke a little bit and you kind of go, how am I supposed to eat this? How am I supposed to devour this? How am I supposed to, you know, receive anything from this? Because it is solid food and there is this need for maturity. And so we want to go forward and wrestle with some of the things that the author of Hebrews is dealing with here in Hebrews chapter 6. And so we get started this evening in Hebrews chapter 6, verse 9 is the key verse. He says, Here he tells us in verses 1 through 3, let us go on to perfection. Having just finished this discussion about milk versus solid food, he says, so let's go on to perfection or maturity. He says in verse 1, leaving the discussion of elementary principles of Christ, let's go on, let's move forward, let's progress in our relationship with God. He goes on to say, And so again, he's dealing with this issue of immaturity amongst the Jewish believers. And it's something that we continue to see to this day where there are some Christians who get kind of stuck in a cycle. Repentance. repeating the basics over and over and over again. And they never grow beyond the basics of Christianity or basics of salvation. They are Christians who do not know the Bible for themselves. They know what other people have taught them. But anytime they have a question about, you know, life or a question about the Bible or a question about what God thinks, they they go ask somebody else because they've never learned to look into the word of God for themselves. They've never learned how to devour those things or hear from God themselves. They know what they've been told, but then they forget what they've been told. And so they ask the same questions over and over again, you know, in different seasons. And so there's this perpetual immaturity that happens amongst some believers. And so what the author of Hebrews is saying is let's get beyond that. Let's go beyond those elementary principles. And what are the elementary principles? Well, he talks about repentance. He talks about faith, the doctrine of baptisms. And we can look at the scriptures and see there's different kinds of baptisms. The doctrine of laying on of hands or of resurrection and the judgment of God. And these are kind of the basics of the Christian faith. Pastor Chuck says these are, you know, evangelistic messages that are there that he was teaching for many years. And it's the basic elements. But he says let's go beyond that. That's the foundation. Now let's build upon that. There's much more in a relationship with God than just these basic elements. Maybe you could think about it like learning to ride a bike. They say that when you learn to ride a bike that you never forget. But... If you've not ridden a bike for many years, it wouldn't be surprising if you needed a little bit of a refresher, right? But can you imagine teaching somebody to ride a bike? And so you get them going, you get them up and running, and they're going and they're able to ride the bike. But then the next day, they come and ask, well, where do my feet go again? Where do I put my feet? Do I put them on the handlebars? Oh, okay, on the pedals. Okay, I get it. Okay, now how do I stop? If I'm going and I don't want to hit somebody, how do I stop the bike? Or how do I turn? And so you work with them again. And then the next day they come back. Where do my feet go again? And how do I stop this once I get going? And how do I turn? It's this idea of repetition. And hey, this is the basics. I mean, you should be able to get beyond this and have these, you know, well understood by you and in the same way these doctrines that he lists here should be well understood by you you should be able to have a firm grasp on those things and then build on top of them well then he goes on in verses four through eight and here we see that if the enlightened fall away it is impossible to renew them to repentance And here in Hebrews chapter 6 verses 4 through 8, we have a much debated, much discussed, difficult package or passage and package. It's a difficult passage that many people wrestle with and struggle with and I'm sure that we will and should as well. It brings up the question of eternal security. Or the discussion of once saved, always saved. Or the discussion of the perseverance of the saints. Different kinds of ways of referring to this wrestling with these elements of these verses. Many people will read this and begin to wonder, can a Christian lose their salvation? Is that what the author of Hebrews is talking about? Or others will look at it and say, well, once a person has been born again, they're always saved no matter what. So what is this passage talking about? Well, I'd like to pay attention to a couple of things. First of all, the type of person that the author of Hebrews is talking about, he lists there in verses 4 through 8, someone who's been enlightened, someone who has tasted the heavenly gift, someone who has been someone who has partaken of the Holy Spirit, someone who has tasted the Word of God, and also tasted the powers of the age to come. And so he gives all these aspects of this person that he's talking about, and he says if that person falls away, it is impossible to renew them to repentance. And there's a lot of wrestling about, okay, so what exactly does that mean? Is it impossible to be saved once you've backslidden? Is it that What exactly is he saying? And so let me just walk you through some of the possible meanings of these verses. Again, this is some solid food, so let's chew on it together, okay? The options are, now these are just a few of the main options. There's also other things that people have thought and shared throughout the years. But these are kind of the four main ones. Number one, those who fall away refers to believers who lose their salvation. So that's one thought. Another option is those who fall away refers to people who seem to be believers but were never actually saved. Option number three is that the author is presenting a hypothetical situation that is impossible. It can never actually happen. But hypothetically, if it were possible, then it would be impossible. The fourth option is that the author is addressing a situation which only applied to Jews while the temple was standing because they had the option to go back to the sacrificial system and now that no longer exists because the temple has been destroyed. So it was a limited thing for only those people for only that particular time period. Now options three and four. uh, I think are kind of a little bit less likely, uh, to be the, the actual meanings of Hebrews 6. If you feel differently, then you can tell Jake after the service and he'd be glad to discuss that with you. But, but I want to just take a moment to consider options one and two. Option one is that those who fall away refers to believers who lose their salvation. That is, this or this understanding or interpretation of these verses looks at this and says, okay, the person has been enlightened and they have, you know, tasted of the heavenly gift. They've received the Holy Spirit and so they've been saved. But then if they fall away, then it's impossible for them to to repent and come back so they they were saved they've lost their salvation and now they can never come back and that's one way of looking at these verses and as a result these verses have been used many times to tell backslidden people that they can never be saved again I had a teacher back in Bible college and he was saved as a young man but then fell back into drugs and alcohol and sexual relationships outside of marriage. So he fell away from the Lord but when he came back to the church where he was saved they told him you can never come back and you can never be saved and you will never be in heaven because these verses here in Hebrews chapter 6. And so he believed them and continued to live on in sin until many years later when the Lord got a hold of his life. And so that is, you know, one understanding of these verses and it's used that way many times. But to believe this first view that those who, you know, that it's talking about those who are believers who lose their salvation doesn't always result in that. John Corson shares another perspective about this, which is interesting. Corson says, this is a believer and it is saying that they lose their salvation, but repentance is impossible, he would say, in the same way that salvation is impossible. Remember in Matthew chapter 19 verse 25 and 26, as Jesus is talking about the righteousness required for salvation, the disciples exclaimed, well, who then can be saved if we have to be righteous? And Jesus says, well, it's impossible with men, but it's possible with God. And so Corson kind of looks at this and says, yeah, it is believers who fall away and it is impossible for them to repent. But the things which are impossible with men are possible with God. And so God is able to overcome that and there is the opportunity to repent. You have to kind of jump over some hurdles and wrestle with that, you know, in order to hold that position. But that's one possible option. Option number two, again, is those who fall away refers to people who seem to be believers but were never actually saved. And so they were enlightened, you know, they tasted of the heavenly gift and they partaken of the Holy Spirit. They began to experience the things of God. They experienced a little bit of what it's like to be a believer, but they were never actually born again is, you know, what those who hold this option would say. Brian Broderson usually presents it this way. And he refers to these things and he says, look, all of these things... could be said of Judas Iscariot. You think about Judas who is with Jesus' disciples for, you know, three and a half years or so. And he got to participate in miracles. He got to be used by God to heal people and to do, you know, these amazing works. He got to hear the teachings of Jesus and participate in all of those things. But in the end, he was not saved. He was not a believer in Jesus. And so, Those who fall away, what the author of Hebrews is saying, were never believers to begin with, just like Judas Iscariot. And so these are the different options for interpreting and understanding Hebrews chapter 6. There's a few more that we could discuss later on perhaps, but it comes down to another warning. Here in Hebrews chapter 6, we have the warning against falling away. And Now as I look at this passage, you know, of course, I would love to be able to provide for you this evening. Here's the clear in one sentence exact meaning of this passage without question and you never have to wrestle with it again. But that's not what I'm going to be providing for you this evening. And if I would attempt to do so, it would be at my own peril. But as we wrestle with these things, I want to encourage you and ask you to consider as you wrestle with this, Consider with me our biggest problems. One of the biggest problems that we have in approaching a passage like this is, well, whatever interpretation that we come up with, we do so to try to fit The logical framework that we have established in our minds. And there's a need for logic. And we need to have reasonable reasons or reasonable understandings of the scriptures. But sometimes we take interpretations to a conclusion that the scripture never does. And that's one of the big problems that we have. We're trying to figure these things out and make them fit what we understand. And sometimes we have to wrestle with these things and recognize at the end that we don't understand all things. For example, one of the reasons why this passage is so troubling is because we use it to try to judge other people. And so, okay, well, here's the story of, you know, this guy and he was like this and like that and then he got saved and then he went backslidden into this other life and and we try to evaluate okay well let's see where does he fit you know in this passage but there's a big problem with that because as we try to evaluate this to fit what we see in real life of some other person well we are very limited in the information that we have All we have is information on the surface about other people. Well, we know they were saved because they went forward at the Harvest Crusade. Well, just because a person goes forward at a Harvest Crusade doesn't actually mean that they are saved. I mean, if they pray the prayer and if they're sincere, you know, if they really turn their lives to Jesus, then they really are saved. But from our perspective, we can't tell that. We can't tell whether a person is genuine or not. We can't tell. Until later on and the fruit bears witness with the decision that was made. And so we're very limited. If we were looking at Jesus and his 12 disciples, we wouldn't have recognized Judas Iscariot. We wouldn't have been able to spot him and say, yep, that's the one who's going to betray Jesus. We are limited. We don't get to see the heart. Only God sees the heart. And so one of our problems is we try to use this to evaluate other people, but we're operating on very little information. Even though we're always convinced we have all the information, we need to remember that we don't. I think another problem that we have in trying to evaluate this passage and match it up with real life and what it means is we're evaluating or we're trying to do this way too soon. First of all, we have way too little information, but then also we're trying to do it too soon. You know, God can see all of history. And so you might look at somebody who has fallen away from the Lord, we might say, and you might wrestle with, well, does that mean they could never come back? Does that mean, what does that mean? How should I minister to them? Or should I minister to them at all? Should we just write them off? God can see all of history. The story's not over yet. And he gets to see, he knows what's going to be happening for the rest of their life. And a lot of times we try to come to conclusions about situations, about people, and try to fit it into this passage, and it's way too soon. We don't have... the whole story yet. We don't have all the information. We don't have the whole story and it really affects our ability to understand and recognize what is going on. But we're trying to take these verses and fit it into, you know, hypothetical situations that we come up with or real life scenarios that we've seen and it doesn't exactly fit because we don't have the whole story and because we don't have all the information. So how do we evaluate these verses? How do we come to an understanding? What do we do with them? I would encourage you, and I think it's my preference, to just take things at face value. Rather than try to, you know, fit it in some person or some situation, let's just take it at face value and understand and recognize here the author is giving us a warning. And as a warning, it's real, it's meaningful, it's useful, and so we should be warned. But we also need to pay attention to how the author used this passage, right? What was his intent as he wrote this? It wasn't to tell the Hebrews, you've fallen away, don't ever try to come back. It wasn't used, you know, in a way that would be abusive towards people or to keep people away. He gave this warning with the intention for the purpose of That the Hebrews would go forward in their faith. That they would go on to maturity and on to perfection. Let me remind you of Hebrews 6.1. Again, he gives these exhortations throughout Hebrews. And in 6.1 he says, let us go on to perfection. That's the purpose of this warning. It's to spur us on. It's to inspire us and encourage us to go forward to maturity, to press on into what God has called us to. And you can see that as we go on now in chapter 6 verses 9 through 12. He says we are confident of better things concerning you. So although we're speaking like this about these things and about this, you know, situation, we're giving this warning. We're not giving this warning because we're saying that you have fallen away. We're not saying that you should never try to come back. What we're saying is you should go forward. You should press on to maturity. In verse 11, he says, we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end. That you do not become sluggish but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. Here's the intention. Here's the motivation behind giving the warning that the author gave. That you would show diligence until the end. That you would intentionally go forward. That you would intentionally grow in your relationship with God and holding on to your hope until the end. Not becoming sluggish. there is a danger of becoming sluggish. There is a tendency for us to become sluggish in our relationship with God. And so he says, our desire, the reason why we're giving this warning is so that you don't become sluggish, but instead that you imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. Make sure that you progress in your faith. Make sure that you hold on in your patience. Until you inherit the promises, make sure you progress, you hold on until the very end. Go on to perfection. And that is what we should learn from this passage. That is what it should cause us to do. To keep going forward, to determine, to be diligent, to not remain in immaturity, but to grow up and develop in our relationship with God. Well, then in verses 13 through 20, he says, Jesus became high priest according to the order of Melchizedek. Now, here he's talking about the promises of God. And it's a continuation of what he began talking about in chapter 5. And then he kind of took a break to deal with this whole issue of immaturity. And I liken it to a medical condition. he gave the symptom in hebrews chapter 5 verse 10 he says you've become dull of hearing and then he diagnosed their condition from that symptom he says you're immature and so he provided a treatment plan go on to maturity mature progress but he also gave the prognosis or the warning without treatment this is fatal Your condition is fatal if it's not treated. The goal then is to live a healthy eternal life. And so it's a kind of a little sidetrack he goes down to deal with as he realizes, I want to talk more about Melchizedek, but you're dull of hearing because you're immature. You need to pay attention to that because that's a dangerous position to be in. Here's what you need to do. Go on to maturity so that you can live a healthy eternal life. In verse 19 he says, this hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the presence behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus having become high priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek. Now talk about solid food. Man verse 19 and 20. You got to chew on that a little bit. And I'm not going to break it down all right here. Because we're going to be continuing on in this discussion. In the following chapters. But those are some solid verses for you to. And I would encourage you to pay attention to those. Take some time later on to meditate on those. talking about this anchor that we have and then entering behind the veil, the forerunner Jesus, a high priest in the order of Melchizedek. There's so much in there that God would have for you if you would take the time to receive it from him. But let's continue on because we do have a few more chapters to get through this evening. Hebrews chapter 7 now verse 25 is the key verse. He says, Therefore... Now here in chapter 7, the author is going to be dealing with this man named Melchizedek found in the book of Genesis. In verses 1 through 10, he says, "...the priest Melchizedek received tithes from Abraham." Now he's referring back to Genesis chapter 14. And he's going to be reviewing some particular aspects of this person we find in Genesis named Melchizedek. This again is the continuation of what he began to share in Hebrews chapter 5 verse 10. But then in verse 11 he said, We have much to say but it's hard to explain since you've become dull of hearing. And so he's like, you know, address that, you know, deal with that. You need to grow up. But let me go back to Melchizedek and let's talk about him for a little bit. As he gives this strong warning to grow, then he gives them some material to chew on. Here's some solid food to wrestle with. Learn this. Understand that as you look at these things regarding Melchizedek, it's meant to be solid food. It's not something you just put in your mouth and swallow and, you know, you're done. But it's something you have to chew on. It's something you have to work at. It's not surprising if you have to chew on it for a little bit, you don't get it the first time. It's something you have to wrestle with. Here in verses 1 through 10, he says Melchizedek was like Jesus in a few different ways. He was a king and a priest. He was a king of righteousness and And the king of peace, that's like Jesus. And like Jesus, number three, he had no beginning or end. And so there's some interesting aspects to this man Melchizedek. It wasn't normal for there to be a king and a priest in God's plan. That happened in pagan cultures. But in God's plan, it wasn't normal. Kings and priests were different roles. Fulfilled by different people. Never by the same person except for Melchizedek. And then later on Jesus. Melchizedek had no beginning or end as far as history is concerned. He just comes on the scene. Nothing is mentioned about his beginnings. Nothing is mentioned about his end. And Jesus also has no beginning or end. In a similar way. And so there's some similarities here. And that's why the author is taking us back to Melchizedek. But the point here is not so much about Melchizedek. But how the order of Melchizedek or the priesthood of Melchizedek. Is the kind of priesthood that Jesus has. In verses 11 through 19 he says, The priesthood being changed required a change of the law. You have to take yourself back to and remember the Levitical system. If you've been with us as we've gone through the Bible over these past three years, you know, rewind the tape back to Exodus, back to Leviticus, and all of the laws and the system that God established. And it was a great system and we spent a lot of time looking at God's laws and what he had set up for people to approach him. But notice verse 11 here in Hebrews chapter 7. He says, The Levitical priesthood was the order of Aaron. Aaron, the brother of Moses, was the first high priest... And then his sons were priests. When he died, the eldest became the high priest. And his sons were priests. And then when he died, the eldest was the high priest. And so on and so forth. And so it was passed on. They were descendants of Aaron. And they were the priests. You had to be descendant from Aaron to be priests. And every male descendant of Aaron was a priest. That was the order of Aaron. That was the Levitical order. priesthood. But if perfection was attained through the order of Aaron's priesthood, then why would God speak about another priesthood or another order? That's the question that the author is dealing with. Now the priesthood is changed. There's a priest in the order of Melchizedek. And that also requires a change of the law. The whole system has to be changed because the Levitical system, Moses' law, revolved around the priesthood of Aaron. And so if it's a different priesthood, it's a whole different system of approaching God, of knowing God, of pleasing God. It's a whole different system if it's a different order in the priesthood. Now the Levitical priesthood was the best order of priests that was possible here on earth. The Levitical system was the best system for approaching God that was possible here on earth. The problem with the Levitical priesthood was that it was limited to the earth. It was limited to the shadows of the things that are in heaven. And that's what the author of Hebrews is addressing here in chapter 7. In verse 19 he says, So the Levitical system was established by God but it was never meant to be permanent. It was the best possible solution for the time and in order to bring in the real deliverance, the real salvation through the Son of God, Jesus Christ. But in the meantime, the law was there. It didn't make anyone perfect, but it was there to bring in a better hope. And then notice he says, through which we draw near to God. And that's important to catch on to. It's through this better hope that we have in Christ that we get to draw near to God. So don't get so caught up in, well, the Levitical system and then this system and this order of priesthood and this order of priesthood. You can get caught up in all this and then forget to draw near to God. And that's the ultimate objective. That's the purpose. That's what the author of Hebrews is challenging us to do. Draw near to God. And we'll see that even more as we go forward. In verses 20 through 22, he says, Jesus has become surety of a better covenant. The Levitical priesthood was established by God, but it wasn't with an oath. It wasn't with a promise. God did not swear them in. But the establishment of the order or the priesthood of Jesus was given with an oath, with a promise from God. And we'll see that in just a moment. And then verses 23 through 28, it says, He lives forever to save those who come to God through him. One of the ways that Jesus is far better as a high priest is that he's because he lives forever, to always provide intercession, to always save those who come to him. Before Jesus, under the Levitical system, there was many different priests. Aaron was a high priest and then his sons were priests, but they all died and then the next generation were the priests and then the next generation and the next generation. There was many different priests because they died. But Jesus died. Although he died, he's resurrected to never die again. And so he is always able to provide salvation, to bring people into right relationship with God. He's able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through him. There's a couple key references to the Old Testament here in chapter 7 that I'll review pretty quickly. In verse 1, he refers back to Genesis chapter 14. Again, this is dealing with the person Melchizedek. Many believe, as you go back to chapter 14, that Melchizedek is actually Jesus who appears in the Old Testament. It's called a Christophany, an appearance of Christ, you know, before he is born of the Virgin Mary. Because, of course, Jesus has always existed. So he was capable of appearing in the Old Testament. And many people believe that that is the case and he appeared as Melchizedek. But also, it might just be that Melchizedek was a real person and God used him to be a picture of Jesus and to establish, you know, these principles that we're looking at here in the book of Hebrews. In Hebrews chapter 7 verse 17 says, He refers back to Psalm 110 verse 4. And here's the oath that God gives in bringing Jesus as the high priest. The Lord has sworn and will not relent. You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. And so here Jesus has an unchanging priesthood confirmed by an oath from God who cannot lie. And so he's determined to make sure that we understand this is the only way of salvation. He is the only way to the Father always and forever. He is the priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. As I said, lots of meat, some things to chew on. I'm not getting into a lot of the details, but I'm sure your mind is going there and that's good. Wrestle with those things, chew on them, and allow God to speak to you. Chapter 8 now in verse 1 is the key verse. He says, now this is the main point of the things we are saying. We have such a high priest who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the majesty in the heavens. In verses 1 through 6, he tells us that Jesus is mediator of a better covenant established on better promises. Here in verse 1, he says, look, here's the main point of what we're saying. Jesus is a high priest who is seated on the right hand of God in heaven. As opposed to verse 5, the Levitical priests who serve a copy and a shadow of Now, which is better? The real thing or the shadow of that thing? For example, maybe think about it this way. I could introduce you, let's say, to this famous person, this superstar, whoever it is that you want to meet. I could introduce you to them or I could show you their footprint in Hollywood. Which is better? Which would you prefer? You want to meet the person or you want to see their footprint? Right? That's kind of the idea here. He's saying the tabernacle, the priesthood of the Levitical order, that was the footprint. It was just the copy. It was a shadow. But the real thing, the real deal is in heaven and that's, well that's where Jesus serves. That's where his priesthood is focused. And so verse 6 he says, "...that Jesus has obtained a more excellent ministry inasmuch as he is also mediator of a better covenant which was established on better promises." You can see the author of Hebrews wants to make sure it's better, better, better. We understand what Jesus has, what Jesus offers is something far superior to what once was. He has a more excellent ministry. It's a better covenant with better promises. And so this is what we have in Christ. And so there's no need to run to something else. There's no need to run to Judaism or to any other religious system because what we have in Christ is far superior. In verses 7 through 13, he says, if the first covenant had been faultless, no place would have been sought for a second. And here he pulls a quotation from Jeremiah chapter 31 to talk about this new covenant that God had promised us. Now the point that he's making here is that the old covenant was faulty because, well, it depended on the people doing their part. But the problem is we as people are sinful and we fall short and we can never do our part. If we could live perfectly, then the Levitical system would work fine. But the problem is us. We're the faulty part of the law. It's not that the law was wrong or faulty, but it's us who are faulty. And so instead, what God has done is sent his only son to accomplish what the law could never accomplish. There's a couple key references to the Old Testament here in chapter 8. In verse 5, he talks about the copy and the shadow of the heavenly things. And he reminds us that Moses was divinely instructed when God said, see that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain. It's a reference back to Exodus chapter 25 verse 40. God gave him a pattern. He says, make sure you follow it in exact detail. And we went through that exact detail. And it was pretty tedious detail. Exodus chapters 25 through 30, God gives him all the instruction. And there's all this detail about all the different elements of the tabernacle. And then Exodus chapters 36 through 40, they actually build the tabernacle. And all those same details are repeated again. There's a lot of detail because God said, make sure that you match the details. Make sure that you match the pattern that I've given to you. Why was it so important? Well, here's why. The author of Hebrews says, because they were building a model of what actually exists in heaven. And so they had to follow the pattern that God gave to them. Well, then in Hebrews chapter 8 verses 8 through 12, he references Jeremiah chapter 31 where God talks about this new covenant. Now again, he's pointing out the faults with the first covenant is us. But this new covenant, God says, here's the covenant I'm going to make with the house of Israel. That I'll put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God and they shall be my people. No longer is it conditional. If you do this and if you do that and if you do all those things, then I'll be your God and you'll be my people. That was the old covenant. But now God says, I'm going to do it. I'm going to do the work. And that's the covenant that we have in Christ. That as believers in Jesus, it's God's promise under this new covenant that he is going to do the work. He's going to write the law in our hearts. He is going to accomplish everything. What he began in us is the way that Paul says it in Philippians chapter 1. Now, we have to understand that this doesn't necessarily happen overnight. So it doesn't mean that the next day after we've been born again, we're perfect. We have the law in our hearts and we do everything flawlessly. But that he is doing this work. We're in the process of having this be fulfilled in us as believers in Jesus. And he's doing the work in us from the inside out. And so this new covenant is about God's work in us while we have a firsthand personal experience with God. He says, I will be their God and they shall be my people. That's the work that God is doing. That's what we have in this new covenant. We have access to God. And there's nothing that can take the place of you spending time with God personally, getting to know him, studying his word, seeking him in prayer, worshiping him. There's no Levitical system. There's no sacrifices. There's nothing that can compare to that. What we have in our ability to access God and walk with God is, well, it's the ministry of Jesus. It's a more excellent ministry based on a better covenant with better promises. Well, finally, Hebrews chapter 9 verse 23 is the key verse. He says, In verses 1 through 10, he says, Here the author of Hebrews says something pretty radical. He says, look, the whole construction and design of the tabernacle was a message from the Holy Spirit. All these details in this layout, it was a message from the Holy Spirit. And what was the message? The message was that the way into the holiest was not yet revealed. Now again, this is some meat. You have to chew on this. It's okay if you don't get this message. Right now, this moment. If you don't understand it completely. It's going to take some work. You got to chew on this a little bit. But he's referring back again to the Old Testament. In Hebrews chapter 9 verse 2. Talking about the tabernacle. The first part where the lampstand and the table and the showbread was. He's referring to Exodus chapter 41. Where Moses raised up the tabernacle. He set it up and he put all the things in their place. The walls, the coverings, all of those details were established. And then the priests began to serve in that tabernacle. And they would only serve in the first part of the tabernacle. Now, as we look at these things and try to wrestle with these things, you may feel like you have a little bit of a disadvantage because you're not able to see the tabernacle. But I want to remind you, this was the normal case for the Jewish people. They could not enter into the tabernacle, the first part or the second part. They didn't get to go inside. Only the priests got to go inside. And so the normal Jewish person like you and I never got to see the inside of the tabernacle. So that's not essential here. But the understanding, the layout of the tabernacle is what he's saying. This is a message from the Holy Spirit. Well then in verse 7, he talks about the second part of the tabernacle. And there the high priest went into the second part, but only he, and only once a year, he had to do it by offering blood for himself and for the sins of the people. And it's a reference back to Leviticus chapter 16. Here's a quick look at The tabernacle and what it probably looked like. This is a picture of the tabernacle that Moses erected in the wilderness. And it's been preserved. No, it's not. Okay, this is a model, you know, that people have put together after the fact. It's in Israel. And so this is what it probably would have looked like. So you would have had the coverings there. And you can't really see them, but underneath the coverings, there's walls here on both sides. And then this would be the entrance. And so you'd go into the entrance, and that would be the first part of the tabernacle. And then inside, there would be another entrance into the second part of the tabernacle. And we'll look at that in just a second. Okay. Here in front of the entrance to the tabernacle, you have the altar where the sacrifices would be offered. And then you have the laver where the priests would wash before they would enter in to serve at the tabernacle. So here's what a diagram of that would look like. This is, again, things that we looked at back in Exodus and Leviticus, so I'm not going to go through all the details. You had the courtyard around the outside. You had the altar, the laver. But here's the actual tabernacle. And it was divided into two. You had the first part, which is the holy place, and then the second part, which is the holy of holies, or also referred to as the holiest of all. In the holy place, you had a lampstand, you had a table where the bread would be placed, and then you had an altar where incense would be offered. And in the Holy of Holies, you had the Ark of the Covenant, which had the tablets of Moses and such that would be there. And so this was the design of the tabernacle. And the author of Hebrews is saying this was a message of the Holy Spirit. And the message was that the way into God's presence was not revealed yet. Because where God's presence was in the tabernacle was in the Holy of Holies, between the wings of the cherubim, above the Ark of the Covenant. So right here, God said, that's where I'm going to dwell with my people. Now, the majority of the Jewish people never got to be in the presence of God. They never got to go into the first part of the tabernacle or the second part of the tabernacle. Some of you were wondering why there's blue tape on the ground and on the wall. It's interesting. This room, lengthwise, is the length of the actual tabernacle, the dimensions that God describes. 45 feet from that wall to that wall. It's about the exact size of the tabernacle. So this line here, this blue line, from this way forward, this would have been the size of the tabernacle. So all these guys are in the tabernacle. Sorry, you guys are out. This line here is the division of the holy place from the most holy place or the holiest of all. And so this is the way it would have been laid out. And God said, okay, the priests come in here. They work at the table of showbread, you know, and put the bread out there and light the lampstand. They have the altar of incense here and they're burning incense to God. But nobody could go past this line. into the presence of God, except for the high priest. Once a year on the day of atonement, I can't get into all those details, but once a year he would get to go in and he would offer atonement there in the presence of God. So only the priest could enter in this far. Only the high priest could go into here only one time a year. The rest of the Jewish people were outside, outside, outside, and never able to come close. And through that, the Holy Spirit was saying, look, there's a way to get into the presence of God to have relationship with God, but it's not available yet. It's closed off. As a normal person, you can't come into the holy place. And you definitely can't come into the most holy place. You can't have any connection with God and his presence. This design, the author of Hebrews says, is a message of the Holy Spirit, that it wasn't opened yet. But now... The author of Hebrews says, it is revealed. And Jesus has opened the way into the holy of holies. Jesus has opened the way into the presence of God. In other words, you, as a believer in Jesus, have access into the presence of God. It's pretty radical to understand that you, as a normal, ordinary, average believer, have have more access to God than the high priests of Israel had. You have access into the presence of God. And that's what the author of Hebrews is saying. The holiest was not, the way in was not made manifest. But now in verse 11 through 15, Christ came with a greater tabernacle. This was just the copy. This was just the shadow of the reality in heaven. He came dealing with that tabernacle and in doing so opened up the way. It says in verse 16 through 28, it was necessary that the heavenly sanctuary be purified with a better sacrifice. Jesus wasn't dealing with the earthly tabernacle. He was dealing with heaven. And so it required a better sacrifice than that of bulls and goats. That was appropriate for the earthly sanctuary, but it wasn't sufficient for the reality in heaven. That required a greater sacrifice, the sacrifice of the Son of God. And so Jesus offered himself and purified the heavenly tabernacle, offered the sacrifice that opened the way. Remember when Jesus died upon the cross, the veil in the temple was torn into from top to bottom. The Holy Spirit has a new message now. The way is not yet revealed, but the way is revealed. And so the author of Hebrews here is calling us To draw near to God. In chapter 10, we'll read starting tomorrow. He's going to say, so let's enter in. This is what Jesus has done for us. Let's enter in. This is not a book about doctrine just for the sake of here's, you know, so you can understand how it all works and fits together. This is a book of understand the doctrine so that you can do... what God has given you to do so that you can take advantage of what God has given to you so that you can go on to maturity and perfection that God has made available to you. What we have in Christ is far superior. The author of Hebrews has been saying that from the very beginning. It's been delivered by a better messenger. Before, God delivered the message through prophets, through various means and various ways to the people. But now God has spoken to us by his son, a better messenger we have in this new covenant with a better steward over the house of God. Moses was the steward of the old covenant and he was a faithful servant, but Jesus is the son far superior to a servant. And so what we have in Christ is far superior. The rest that was provided to the people of God, Hebrews chapters three and four, That was offered as they entered into the promised land. But there's still a rest. There's a better rest that God has for his people by Jesus Christ. A better high priest. A better priestly order than the Levitical order. A better hope in chapter 7 by which we can draw near to God. Because we have a better covenant now. Again, with this better high priest. In chapter 8, we see his better ministry. It's a more excellent ministry because he serves the reality, not the shadow. His ministry is the real ministry. It's a better tabernacle, which provides us better access to God because the sacrifice of Jesus was far better. It's better, better, better, better, better, better. Everything we have in Christ is far better than anything else. Final thought though. Better does not benefit unless you use it. There's no benefit to this better far superior covenant unless you enter in. Unless you go on to maturity. Unless you press forward in your relationship with God. If you stay out of the presence of God it doesn't benefit you to have such great access to the presence of God. And so the exhortation of the author of Hebrews is not just, here's a bunch of, you know, interesting facts and doctrine to wrestle with and know and be able to have trivia about and be able to give the final answer on. The whole objective is, look at what we have in Christ, so draw near to God. Dwell in the presence of God. The way has been opened. You can enter into the presence of God. You can walk with Him. You can talk to him. You can ask him questions. You can ask him for direction. You can ask him for blessing. You can ask him to work. You can seek him. And you have direct access to the Father, the creator of the heavens and the earth. So walk with God. Don't get distracted with other things. Don't go back to other things and trying to approach God or please God by other means. Approach God by faith in Jesus Christ and what he has provided for you is far better than anything that you could provide for yourself. So walk with God. Include him in every part of your life. Talk to him. Ask him for guidance. Ask him questions. Ask him to work. Seek him. Get to know him because you have better access than even the high priest had in the glorious days of Israel. You have direct access to God, full access to God. And if you stay out of God's presence because you have some guilty conscience, recognize that's because you do not believe. That's an issue of unbelief. You don't have to earn God's presence. You don't have to do good. Well, I have to sit in the corner for a while, you know, finish my time out. Then I can go into the presence of God. You have full access to the presence of God no matter what. And if you don't enter in, well, you don't progress. Enter in. Even if you've sinned, because you have, even when you haven't recognized it, you've sinned. Enter in. Even if you don't fully understand everything, enter in. Even if you're still trying to chew on these things and figure out what does all this mean, enter in. Ask God to fill you. Invite God into every part of your life. Walk with him. Get to know him. Spend time in the presence of God because that's what Jesus has accomplished for you. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for your amazing work on our behalf and we pray, Lord, that you would help us to not neglect it, to not drift away. Lord, that we would press on, that we would enter in, that we would be continually drawing near to you, crying out to you, allowing you to direct us and lead us and guide us. Help us, Lord, to be diligent to enter into your presence and to walk in fellowship with you by faith in Jesus Christ. It's in your precious name we pray. Amen. We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.