to the book of Hebrews chapter
7. Hebrews chapter 7. Let's read verses 11 to 19. And then after I read verses 11 and 19,
Brother Neal, would you lead us in prayer after I read? Hebrews
7 verse 11, If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood,
for under it the people received the law, what further need was
there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchizedek
and not be called after the order of Aaron? For the priesthood
being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of
the law. For he of whom these things are
spoken pertaineth to another tribe, of which no man gave attendance
at the altar. For it is evident that our Lord
sprang out of Judah, of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning
the priesthood. And it is yet far more evident
that after the similitude of Melchizedek there ariseth another
priest, who is made not after the law of a carnal commandment,
but after the power of an endless life. For he testifieth, Thou
art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. For there
is verily a disannulling of the commandment going before for
the weakness and unprofitableness thereof. For the law made nothing
perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did, by the
which we draw nigh unto God. And all men are going to. All vague notions, man-centered
speculation about salvation, all man-centered, self-centered,
self-righteous notion is going to be shown to be empty Tonight,
I want to consider what was spoken of in that last verse we read,
a better hope, a strong hope. That's what it
means, a real hope, a noble confidence, a confidence, a hope, that no
man, no woman is able to produce. It's a better hope. A better hope than you and I
could ever do. The Hebrews, to whom the apostles
spoke, struggled with something. It started in verse 11, If therefore
perfection were by the Levitical priesthood. That word perfection there means
that which is able to accomplish what is promised. Perfection,
that's what it means. That which can bring about the
accomplishment. That which can get the job done. If perfection were by the Levitical
priesthood, For under it the people received the law. What
further need was there that another priest should rise after the
order of Melchizedek and not be called after the order of
Aaron? If perfection or the accomplishment
of God's promise or purpose or will If God's will could have
been accomplished by the Levitical priesthood, what need was there
to have another order after the order of Melchizedek? Well, now,
here's what we'll ask ourselves. What was the promise? Well, here
it is, Ephesians 1-4. We've read this so many times. that He has chosen us in Him
before the foundation of the world that we should be holy
and without blame before Him in love." Now there's the will
of Almighty God. God has a people chosen before
the foundation of the world, chosen in Christ, given to Him. Now if the Levitical priesthood
could accomplish what God purposed, what need was there to have another
priesthood? Now the question is how is God's promise going
to be brought about? Well, I know it's not going to
be brought about by carnal man. If it could, if it could be,
If perfection and fellowship with Almighty God and justification,
declaration of innocence, justification. The law looks, the law scrutinizes,
the law declares, no guilt. I've told you about that illustration. That was made so clear to me
one day. I told you about the shootout there in Franklin. I've
used this illustration numerous times, but this has got to be
one of the best I've ever seen. Cops and robbers shooting it
out right there in Brentwood, Tennessee, just north of Franklin.
And a police officer shot and killed that bandit. And it said
the judge looked at the account of the shooting of that and he
ruled it justified. It was justified. No guilt. They shot a man. They killed
a man. No guilt before the law. It was justified. If justification
from sin had been attained under the Levitical priesthood, that
order under which the law was given, why was another priest
of another order given." Here was the reason. Turn over just
to Hebrews chapter 10, verses 1 to 4. Here's the reason. Here's the reason why, as I told
you I think last time or time before, for those 1,500 years,
all of those sacrifices, Hebrews 10.1, for the law having a shadow
of good things to come, and not the very image of the things,
can never, with those sacrifices which they offered year by year
continually, make the comers thereunto perfect. For then would
they not have ceased to be offered, because that the worshipers once
purged should have had no more conscience of sins? But in those
sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year.
For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats should
take away sins. On the day of atonement, the high priest would go in. He killed an animal. He took
the blood from that animal. And one time, one time a year,
that high priest would go behind the veil. This is that veil.
That veil was not gone behind but one time a year, one day.
And he would go in behind the veil. Scripture says, not without
blood. He would walk in and he would
take that blood and he would sprinkle it on the mercy seat. And then after he sprinkled that
blood on the mercy seat, he had to exit and go out. And 365 days later, he had to
go in there again, walk and stand in it, sprinkle the blood. He who is after the order of
Melchizedek entered into the heavenly, holy of holies, into
the very presence of God one time with his own blood and sat
down. and he ever liveth to make intercession
for his people, if the blood of bulls and goats could have
put away sin. What was the need? God gave the
law. There was nothing wrong with
God's law. The Apostle Paul says in Romans 7, 12, Wherefore, the
law is holy, the commandment holy, and just, and good. The
Lord gave the law to exhibit his demand for righteousness,
justice, and obedience, to show us his character. The law was our schoolmaster.
Take us to Christ, the teacher, the Savior. As I've said before,
the law is not the teacher. The pedagogue, the schoolmaster,
he was the escorter. That's what he did. He brought
to the teacher. That's what the law did. The
law stopped every claim for justification before itself because of man's
inability. The law stopped us. The law. Now we know that what things
soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law
that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may become
guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the
law there shall no flesh be justified in His sight. For by the law
is the knowledge of sin." The purpose of the law was to bring
us to Christ. The law had a purpose. It showed us our need of our
Savior. It showed us our inability. This is why. This becomes, I
think, more and more clear to me as the days go on. I think it does. But you have
to understand, any time... I grew up. I grew up. thinking,
sitting under a free will, free will religion, free will religion. Everybody got a free will. I
mean, that's what they told me. I grew up believing that. And
in my mind, this is what I thought. Okay. All right. I've accepted Jesus as my personal
Savior. The only thing that nobody ever
told me was the absolute, if that was going to be my righteousness,
if that was going to be the establishment of righteousness for me, my free
will, God wanted to save me if I let Him, then the only thing
that they failed to tell me was that everything before and everything
after and during had to be perfect. I had to have exhibited absolute
holiness. If I was going to stand before
God on my merit of my free will, then I'm going to tell you something,
brother. You better make sure that everything else was perfect
before and after. You see how ridiculous this is?
You think that I'm I. Some I that you do. is going
to merit righteousness before God? No, no, no. By the deeds of the law shall
no man be justified. Why? The weakness of the flesh. It had to be another order. It
had to be other than Aaron for perfection to be accomplished
for God's people. What the law, this is what I
just quote, could not do in that it was weak through the flesh.
God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and
for sin, condemned sin in the flesh. Verse 12 says, Neither
by the blood of bulls and goats, but by His own blood He entered
in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption
for us. I'm sorry, I read the wrong verse. I was back where I was. Turn
back to Hebrews 7, verse 12. For the priesthood, here we go,
for the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a
change also of the law. For the priesthood being, the
word changed there, exchanged is what that word is. For the
priesthood being exchanged, There is made of necessity, that next
word changed there means a disestablishment. The priesthood being exchanged
from one order to another order. Then is made of necessity a disestablishment
also of the law. This is what he said, because
the temporary order of errands. could not bring about perfection
in the accomplishment of salvation and justification before God's
law for the Lord's elect because the order of Aaron couldn't do
it. It was a shadow. It was a picture
of good things. But it could not because of the
weakness, the blood of bulls and goats not going to put away
sin. Because it could not do it. The Levitical priesthood
was going to have to be set aside. And this declaration of a change
or an exchange is what the unregenerate Jews were just struggling with.
Paul was setting forth that the Levitical priesthood was put
away. No more. And see, they thought. that they had established a righteousness
before God by keeping that law. Paul, Saul of Tarsus, read the
account in Philippians. He was, according to himself,
he was blameless. According to the law, blameless.
That rich young ruler came to the Lord. Good Master, what must
I do to inherit eternal life? What says the Scriptures? I've kept all of those from my
youth up. And now Paul the Apostle is setting
forth that that order of Aaron, the Levitical priesthood, is
going to be put away, exchanged. You mean that was null and void? You mean it has no merit? None? There was nothing about
it? In Acts 6.14, a priest concerning the stoning of Stephen said this,
We have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy
this place and shall change or exchange the customs which Moses
delivered unto us. Oh, whoa! Moses delivered this
law. from God. This shadow man by
nature hates having his self-righteous works condemned. If you wonder
why men, women hate what you believe, it opposes the righteousness
that they think they've established. And I'm telling you, They hate
the God that you serve, and they hate you for it, too. You say,
is it that bad? The Lord said it was. Law and grace doesn't mix. Turn
to Mark 9. Let me show you that. Mark 9. Mark 9, verse 5. Peter answered and said to Jesus,
Master, Mark 9, 5, it is good for us to be here. This is on
the Mount of Transfiguration. It is good for us to be here.
Let us make three tabernacles. One for Thee, one for Moses, the Law, one for Elijah, He wist not what to say, for
they were sore afraid. And there was a cloud that overshadowed
them, and a voice came out of the cloud saying, This is My
beloved Son. Hear Him." Law, grace don't mix. Let's build three tabernacles.
Let's build one to You, Lord. Let's build one to Moses. Let's
build one to the prophets. Back in Hebrews 7 verse 13, For
he of whom these things are spoken pertaineth to another tribe,
of which no man gave attendance at the altar. The Aaronic order
of the priesthood, it was by divine appointment given to the
tribe of Levi. Let me read this to you. Exodus
38, 21. This is the psalm of the tabernacle. That was an amazing word to me,
the word sum, S-U-M. This is the sum. This is the
muster. That's what the word means. This is the muster. Here's
the roll call. Here's the sum of the tabernacle,
even of the tabernacle of testimony as it was counted according to
the commandment of Moses for the service of the Levites. This is who's going to come out
of the muster. for the serving of the temple.
It's going to be from the tribe of Levi. Nobody else. So severe was God's Word concerning
the singleness of the priest coming from the tribe of Levi
that when Uzziah, the king, went into the temple of the Lord to
bring incense and to burn it. on the altar of incense. The
priest, the Scripture says, withstood him and said, It appertaineth
not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incense unto the Lord. And Uzziah was mad. Uzziah was
angry. And the Scripture says that God
struck him with leprosy and he died a leper. Now, you try to
put your hand upon that which God said is His. You try to add
your so-called worth to God's glory. And if Almighty God does
not have mercy and give you a new heart to show you that by the
deeds of the law and by your own self-will and your rebellion
against God that you're not going to be justified before Him unless
the Lord gives you a new heart, you're going to die. You're going
to perish. Verse 14, back in Hebrews 7,
For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Judah, of which
tribe Moses spake nothing concerning the priesthood. It's clear from
the Scriptures that our Lord came from the tribe of Judah. And there was no one from the
tribe of Judah that pertained to the administering at the tabernacle. Genesis 49. Genesis 49. I'll read this for you. If you
want to turn there, you can. Genesis 49, verse 8. Genesis 49, 8. Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren
shall praise. Thy hand shall be in the neck
of thine enemy, thy father's Children shall bow down before
Thee." Judah is a lion's wealth from the prey. Let me tell you
what that is. You probably know. Everybody
here probably knows what that is. I've read that before, a
lion's wealth. Actually, the Word sets forth
this thought. The lion, the king of the jungle,
And he doesn't owe anybody an explanation. He goes in, takes
his prey, and he's not concerned about somebody coming back for
revenge. He's settled. He's the boss. He's in control. That's the basis
of it. The word actually means the cub.
But that's what he's talking about. He does as he will, whom
he will, how he will. Judah is a lion's welt from the
prey, my son. Thou art gone up. He stooped
down. He crouched as a lion, and as an old lion, who shall
rouse him up? The scepter shall not depart
from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet till Shiloh
come. To him shall the gathering of
the people be, binding his fold upon the bind, his asses Upon
the choice vine he washed his garments in wine, his clothes
in the blood of grapes." Our Lord, out of the tribe of Judah,
this is what revelation, one of the elders saith unto me,
Weep not, behold the Lion. Boy, that ought to tell us something,
shouldn't it? The Lion, the boss, the mighty
one, the king. The lion of the tribe of Judah,
the root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, to loose the
seven seals thereof." Back in Hebrews 7, verse 15-16, it is
yet far more evident, for that after the similitude of Melchizedek
there ariseth another priest who is made not after the law
of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless
life. The Apostle Paul had just made
the observation that was evident. Here's what's evident. The Levitical
priesthood could not put away sin, and that Christ came from
the tribe of Judah. But he says here in 15, and it
is yet far more evident, for that after the similitude of
Melchizedek, there arises another priest. What was far more evident
was that the priesthood of the Lord Jesus Christ was not a temporary
priesthood, just to kind of supply the deficiency of the Levitical
priesthood. The Lord, after the order of
Melchizedek, didn't come in just to kind of fill in the blanks
and chalk up the Levitical priesthood. Christ's priesthood took the
place of The Levitical priesthood was done away with. The Levitical
priesthood is not enforced. Today it's not. I know people
still talk about having the Passover and Rosh Hashanah and Hanukkah
and all that. Christ is our Passover. What they're doing is fulfilling
the truth that is set forth. They don't believe Him. They
don't believe that the Lord Jesus Christ has come in the flesh
and has fulfilled all the types and pictures and put away the
law. They're still living by the law. Verse 17, for He testified, Thou
art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. That was
out of Psalm 110. from that. God Almighty has given
His oath that Christ is God's priest forever. No more temporary
priest. God's Word doesn't change. Christ
is the King priest. Verse 18 and 19, For there is
verily a disannulling of the commandment going before for
the weakness and the unprofitableness thereof for the law, made nothing
perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did, by the
which we draw nigh unto God." Paul has been dealing with a
very delicate truth. He's dealt with that a lot in
this book, in the book of Hebrews, teaching, setting forth that
God Almighty who instituted the law and the order of Aaron, that
same God discarded. It is absolutely put away. He put away that order as being
dead, unable. No perfection by. You might ask,
why did Paul labor so much on this point? How long have we
been going over this point? Christ in the order of Melchizedek,
after the order of Melchizedek. Why? His continuance in dealing with
the abolishing of the Aaronic priesthood was for the good of
the Lord's church. We've got to hear of our better
hope. The Jews held dear the closing
words of Malachi. And Paul is dealing with something
showing them the fulfillment of what Malachi... I want you
to look at the last words of Malachi. We've read this. Let's
read it again. Here was the way that the prophet left. This was the last word from the
prophet, and for approximately 400 years there was no word from
God. Malachi 4, verse 4 to 6, Remember
ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in
Horeb for all Israel with the statutes and judgments. Behold,
I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great
and dreadful day of the Lord. He shall turn the heart of the
fathers to the children and the heart of the children to their
fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." Now
here's what the Lord told them. Remember the law. The law of
Moses. I'm going to send Elijah. The
Lord revealed that Elijah here was John the Baptist. The Lord
said he was. We don't have any question about that. Somebody
said, well, who was Elijah? The Lord said John the Baptist
was this Elijah. that he spoke of. And now Paul
is saying, the Lord told you, remember the law of Moses. But
Paul is telling them now, say, we're remembering the law of
Moses in that Christ, after the order of Melchizedek, He fulfilled
all that the order of Aaron could not accomplish. The order of
Aaron could not perfect you. The order of Aaron could not
put away sin. The order of Aaron could not
put away one sin with the blood of bulls and goats. The law did
not make anything perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope,
a strong hope, a strong confidence could. The hope that we have
tonight, we have a better hope. We have a real hope. We're still
on this earth. And the hope that we have is
a hope that we rest in. We're standing here this evening,
if you know Him, with a hope, with a confidence whereby we
can draw near to God because the blood of our Lord put away
our guilt. One time. One sacrifice. He saw the blood. And as the
substitute and the sacrifice of His people, He Himself was
the sacrifice upon the altar. He was the altar. I told you
this last week. Remember when the Lord told them,
He said, build an altar, but don't you put a hammer to it.
Don't you try to straighten it up. You build it out of the rocks
just like they come out of the ground. Because if you put an
iron to it, you put a hammer to it, you polluted it. Christ
is our altar. He is the altar. We don't put
a hammer to Him. We don't make Him anything. God
Almighty has made Him the Lamb. He is the altar. He's the sacrifice
on the altar. It's His blood, it's His body,
and He's the priest that laid down His own life willingly. Now, there's a better hope. That
blood right there, the Scripture says, put away our guilt. There's not been one bull that's
ever been raised from the grave, not one goat, not one sheep. has ever been raised from the
grave, accepted by God Almighty, and entered into the very presence
of God, and God Almighty said, accept it. It took a man. It took the perfect
man. It took the man, Christ Jesus,
who came into this world and as a man obeyed God. and earned
a righteousness that God would accept and laid down His own
life. Now, there's a better hope. And
based on the Word of our Lord, God Almighty accepts His people
in Him. Now, that's what Paul was telling
them. He said, resting in all of the
shadows and the tithes and the pictures of the Levitical priesthood,
Perfection came not by the law, but the bringing in of a better
hope did. May the Lord bless these words
to our heart. For Christ's sake, amen.