Latest / The Daily Word / July 8 – Obedience Follows Salvation
Transcript
- Cory Barnes: Well hello there, it's Pastor Jenny and we are on July eighth. We are in Hebrews chapter five today. And as we continue in our journey of Hebrews, I want to remind us that we're of course hearing from an author who's talking to a Christian audience naturally. But remember that early audience ⁓ had come up out of Judaism. And so not only had they come up out of Judaism, but they were considering returning to that. So a lot of this book is really kind of talking about doctrine and reminding them of, you know, helping them to see through the lens of this is what you've known and this is how it how what Jesus has done takes what you've known. It doesn't I'm not going to say nullify, but really fulfills because Jesus was really the fulfillment of a lot of what they had known. Although a lot of their traditions of men were replaced. So that leads us to chapter five, because I think some of us that read chapter five might be like, what in the world do the qualifications for high priesthood, what are the qualifications for priesthood, have to do with me today? Don't really feel like that matters that much to me today. But want to encourage you, it matters a ton. The more you study the scriptures, the more you read. ⁓ and for those of you that have already done a lot of study, you know the value and significance of this passage. so I'm not gonna get too much into the theological depth and value and significance of the high priesthood. I really want to lean into a little bit more of the, I'm gonna say the humanity of Jesus and where even his humanity leads to his connection with us. But I don't want to demean his godliness and ⁓ the significance, I'll say, of his priesthood. So ⁓ I'm gonna kind of bounce around in this this passage. chapter five, Hebrews chapter five, verse one, it kicks off with this. It says, For every high priest taken from among men is appointed for men in things pertaining to God that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. I think it's important to kick off with that, just to remind us all, in case you haven't read today, the kind of the purpose of a priest. So remember, priests were taken in the Old Testament, had to offer a sacrifice, had to atone for the sins of the people. And so it was definitely not only an important role, but it was a necessary and essential role that the people had to have. Verse two says, He, referring to the priest, can have compassion on those who are ignorant and going astray, since he himself is also subject to So basically, you know, it's saying, hey, the priest is also a man. So he can, you know, relate to what people are going through, the sacrifices that he's offering on behalf of the people for their sins and their shortcomings. He can relate to because he's also a man. So while he might not be doing the same things, he understands what they're navigating and what they're going through. But ⁓ verse three, because of this, he is required as for the people, so also for himself to offer offer sacrifices for sins. So again, that's where we see it it wasn't just a this is for fun, this is because we think this is a good idea, but it absolutely had to happen. And thus the reason we know Jesus had to come to be the ultimate sacrifice. so it goes on to say, cap picks up in verse five, talking about how now Jesus has become a priest forever. And it sets up what Jesus did. So also Christ did not glorify himself to become high priest, but it was he who said to him, referring to God, You are my son, today I have begotten you. And so ⁓ it's just saying that God's the one who set Jesus in this position, set him up. Now, all that to give a little context, because I really want to lean in to verses seven through nine, ⁓ where we really lean in and are reminded. Of Jesus' humanity right before, ⁓ really in that passion hour, right before he was taken to the cross. And it says this, who in the days of his flesh, referring to Jesus when he was man, when he had offered up prayers and supplications, so remember the Garden of Gethsemane, with vehement cries and tears to him who was able to save him from death. So remember when Jesus was in the garden and he was crying out to God, praying over and over. kept going back to his disciples, why are you sleeping? Don't you know? ⁓ you know, pray with me, pray with me. I need you to watch and pray with me. ⁓ so this is the time that it's referring to. He says this, ⁓ I'm just reminding you, who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to him, who was able to save him from death, so God could have intervened at any time. It says Jesus was heard because of his godly fear. Though he was a son, yet he learned obedience. That's really the key phrase here. He learned obedience by the things which he suffered. Verse nine, and having been perfected, he became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey him. So remember at the very beginning where it said the high priest is taken from among men, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices. He can have compassion because he understands he he understands what they're navigating. Thus Jesus He's the same thing. J Jesus was taken from among men. He could understand the our weaknesses. He can understand. He can have compassion on us for what we ⁓ are the temptations we have gone through. Those are the s that's part of the sufferings that this passage is referring to. Though we know Jesus did not give way to those temptations, he understands those temptations. But Jesus, make no mistake, did not want to die this death. He did not want to go through these things, and thus we see the cries in the garden, we see the the hours of prayer that he ⁓ went through. And it says that God heard him. Now that's an interesting phrase to me because I can think when we're praying, when we would pray such a prayer to God, I think many of us would think, based on how it was answered, that we would think, ⁓ I don't know that did God hear him? Because Jesus was asking for it there to be any other way. Please take it from me. But if you remember, it doesn't say it here, but if you read through the gospels, what did Jesus say? Not my will, Lord, but your will be done. So God did hear Jesus, but as Jesus was praying, his prayer was not to get what he wanted, his prayer was that of obedience. Thus we see in verse eight, though he was a son, yet he learned obedience by the things of God. Which he suffered. He allowed, though there were temptations and things in front of him, he he did not allow those things to shape him. He allowed God to shape him. So he allowed, he was subjected to God, and he walked in obedience to what God was saying, to God's will. And having been perfected, he became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey him. And so Jesus' prayer being answered, what we would think was not necessarily an answer to prayer, although it was absolutely an answer to prayer. His agony and what he did not want, but he would but while what he didn't want on the surface, he didn't want to go through all that pain. But what he did want ultimately was for God's will to be done. That was because he f his godly fear, he he did fear God. He learned obedience. He learned ⁓ to obey the Lord. He learned to walk in that obedience and to not walk in, I'll say sin. ⁓ He became the author of eternal salvation for us. And the last key there, the author of eternal salvation, not for all of mankind, because there's still another step. So we see in Romans, you know, Jesus came for all that would Confess him, who would call upon his name, who would believe and confess. But also here it says to all who obey him, there is an obedience, there's a walking, and so what did we see Jesus did in the garden? He died, he literally would go and die, but in that moment before he ever died on that cross, we see very clearly he died to himself. What he wanted to do was he did not want to go on that cross. But he literally died to himself in that moment we see this exchange between him and the Father. And he says, But not my will, your will be done. And in these everyday moments we have, that is obedience to God. That as we walk in that God we he perfects us, he delivers us. And so what I want to highlight through these two scriptures or few scriptures in the very few seconds I have left, is that many of us, maybe many of you, think that it's your obedience that leads to your salvation. It's your obedience that's getting you saved. What I want to highlight for you is that it was Jesus' obedience that has brought us salvation, but there is a response that obedience does follow. So it's not salvation follows obedience. It's obedience follows salvation. Okay? So Old Testament was you obey, that's what saves you. New Testament, because of what Jesus has done. Salvation obedience follows salvation. We are saved, and then obedience comes. ⁓ we call, we confess upon God. But what is that look where does it where's the starting line? We have to just We die to ourselves. Thus when Jesus was he he literally showed that and he not only shows it to us internally through this exchange with God, he externally showed it when he laid down his life, he was he ri he was raised again to new life. And so when we make these decisions to die to ourselves and we're told we're new creations in Christ, all of this language and this verbiage, it's not just metaphors, but this is what we're doing. This is part of our walk with the Lord and how we're walking in salvation. So that's a little bit of my theology and encouragement today. But if you take anything, remember, obedience follows salvation. It's not obedience that's going to lead you into salvation. Obedience follows salvation today. So Lord, we thank you so much for Jesus. Thank you, Jesus, that you are the one who walked in obedience first. By the things which you suffered, you suffered all temptations, but you did not give way to those things. And having been perfected because you were perfect, you were not just a man, you were the God man. You became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey you. And so I thank you, God, that it is obedience that follows salvation, that it is a dying to ourselves, and walking in the will of God, ⁓ that You you pave the way for us to be able to do that. Thank you, Jesus, for being the example, for leading the way. And as we fix our eyes on you, we are regularly being formed into the image of Christ, day by day, faith to faith, glory to glory. And it's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.