Hebrews 7. We're going to just
be in Hebrews today, both messages. Look at verse 22. It says, By
so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament. And then look at chapter 8, verse
6. Look at this. Now hath he obtained
a more excellent far excels anything, anyone else, by how much also
he is the mediator of a better covenant which was established
upon better promises. Now this is where we're going
to dwell this morning. We couldn't get past this, and
if the Lord blesses it, I don't think you'll find that there's
anything better. Christ is better. The word better
is used twelve times throughout this book of Hebrews. Twelve
times, comparing Christ to anything and everything else. It says
he's better than the angel. He's better than the angel. He's
better than Moses. He's better than Aaron. He's
better than Abraham. He's better than the law. He's
better than all else. Look at chapter 7, verse 19.
It says, "...the law made nothing perfect, But the bringing in of a better
hope did, by the witch, that is, by this hope, by Christ.
We draw near unto God Himself. Better. Better hope, he goes
on to say, is a better covenant, better sacrifices, better things. Just everything concerning Christ
is better. And I thought about this. It
might be a good thing to tell people. or even give them this
CD if the Lord blesses it. Tell them when the subject of
religion comes up or any issue, just tell them Christ is better. He's better. Don't talk about our church.
Our church is not better. Our choir is not better. Our people aren't better. Our
programs aren't better. We don't have any. But our God,
the God we preach, is better than the God that men pray to
that cannot save. Our Christ, our gospel is better. Why? It actually saved people. Our Christ is better. Like Moses
said, Brother Stan loves this verse, Moses said of all other
religions and gods and things that they hope in and hope to
be saved by, he said, is not like our rock. Ours is better. Unmovable. Unshakable. Sure. Solid rock. Our God is God. So He's better
than those, than their God who can't be God unless people let
Him. Our God's better. Our Christ is better. Better
than this poor Jesus who can't even get in the door, you know.
He's just outside and can't even come in out of the rain. Now, our gospel is better because
it's the good news, and it doesn't get any better than that, of
a full, free, final salvation by victorious, sovereign Savior. Our salvation is in the hands
of one who cannot fail, who did not, cannot, will not, and nobody
can pluck us out of his hand. Now, that's better. And that's
a better gospel. Better. You know, everybody's
looking for better things. We all do. We all look for better
things. You know, get a better car. Although,
Brother Henry, I kind of think the ones back in the 50s and
60s and all, In my opinion, we're better. It didn't last as long. Better. Better house. We're looking
for a better house. Better medical coverage. Better
insurance. Some look for a better husband,
better wife. What about religion? That's what people do. They shop
around with religion. We're looking for a church. I
hear that all the time. We're looking for a church. What
are you looking for? We're looking for something better. program, better singing, better
entertainment. Well, if you're looking for salvation,
if you're looking for the truth, if you're looking for forgiveness
of sin, if you're looking for the good news of mercy, if you're
looking for how to get to heaven, get to God, know God, this is
it. No better. So he said there in
verse 19, he said, The law made nothing perfect. But a better
hope did. The law. Paul once said, Tell
me you who desire to be under the law. Don't you hear it? The
law can't make anybody... By the deeds of the law, no one
will be justified before God. And people who desire to be under
the law? My, my. We've got people in our community
that go back to the Levitical law. That's where they get how
they wear their hair and so forth. They go back to the Levitical
law. Paul was a Pharisee one time.
Paul thought he kept the law. Paul trusted that he was righteous
by keeping the law. And you've got some real strict,
go back to the Levitical law, they think they're better because
they actually keep and even look like Levites when they don't
understand the law at all. You don't just keep what you
want to. And our Lord said, it shall be
perfect to be accepted. Every jot to offend in one point,
you broke it all. Isn't that what the law says? Paul thought that, didn't he?
He said, I was a Hebrew of Hebrews, a Pharisee of Pharisees, studied
the law, the Biblical law. And he said, I lived after the
strictest sect. A Pharisee. The strictest man.
He said, I was blameless. But he said, finally, when God
Almighty sent the law, he said, it killed me. It slew me. It
showed me I was guilty. It showed the exceeding sinfulness
of sin. And Paul went on to say that
the law was never given. Paul went in great detail, didn't
he, in Romans and in Galatians, to show that the law was never
given to make somebody perfect, to make people righteous. It's
given to show us that we're not righteous. He said it's a schoolmaster. It tells us, teaches us plainly,
you can't keep the law. It's too perfect. God's too holy.
And it's a schoolmaster to point us to Christ. Now, the law is
shadows, types, symbols, pictures and emblems. We know salvation
is by Christ. We know it by the law. You understand what I'm saying.
But the law is a schoolmaster to point us to Christ. Show us
you can't keep it. He's the only one that can and
did. Now, you go to Him. He'll free you from the law. He's the one that kept the law
for His people. You go to Him, He'll make you
righteous. How? By saying the word. Imputing it. Charging it to you. Paul said the law is spiritual.
I'm carnal. I'm flesh. The law demands perfection
not in just word, but in thought. David said, Thou understandest
my thoughts. Well, you can't condemn a man
for his thoughts, can you? God does. God says, You look
on a woman. You've already committed adultery.
Or a man. God says, You called somebody a fool. You've killed
him. You're guilty of murder. Isn't that what God said? That's
what God said. That's what Christ said. The
law giver said that. So the law made nothing perfect.
Here's something better. A better hope. If anybody hopes
to keep the law, forget it. Here's something better. Christ
came and said, I kept it. Now, just come unto me. You're
laboring heavy and laden to keep the law. Come unto me. Some of
you, Jeanette, always pick on you, don't you? But you thought you were moral
and upstanding, keeping the Ten Commandments, didn't you? Thought
you were righteous, good, wholesome woman, you know? But when God
Almighty showed you His holiness, He showed you your sinfulness,
didn't you? Within. And you thought yourself
worse than the worst harlot, didn't you? Yes, you did. Even
now you think that. So what's your hope, Jeanette?
Jesus Christ. He's the only hope of any sinner. There's no hope for anybody who
tries to keep the law. But a better hope, a sure hope,
because he's a surety. Surety. Where am I? Grace is better than law. Grace
is better than law. Christ is better than Moses.
They said the law made nothing perfect. Christ did. Christ is
better than Moses. They brought a woman in one time
guilty. She knew it. Everybody knew it. Guilty. As
charged. And cast her at the feet of Christ. They said Moses says she's to
be stoned. That's what the law says. That's
all the law can say. Guilty! What the law saith, it saith
to them that are under the law, Romans 3, 19, that every mouth
may be stopped, and all the world become guilty. And every one
of us, like that woman, are guilty. And bless God, we've been cast
at the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ. And they said, Moses
said, here's what Moses said. Stoning. Stoner. She used to
be stoned. What do you say? Christ said,
I say. He started writing, you know, on the floor. It was all over. Everybody in there was guilty,
but one person. And Christ said, I say unto you,
her sins which are many are completely forgiven. You can't do that.
Oh, yes you can. And that's what he does. All
that come unto God by him, every guilty sinner, he completely
absolves them of all their guilt for all eternity. He completely
blots out their record. That's because he's a lawgiver.
And that's my next message to Isaiah. But Christ is better
than Moses, better than the law. Christ is merciful. The law is
not. Go to Christ. He'll give you
rest, freedom from the law. If the Son shall make you free,
you're free indeed. Free indeed. Christ is better. Better. You know, like we say,
if somebody is really looking for salvation, peace, this is
better. This is better. They'll quit holding on to anything
else and they'll latch on to Christ and never let go. Their
only hope. That reminded me, you've heard
this story, A preacher friend of ours was in a restaurant one
time and there was a couple with a young girl that had been eating
an ear of corn, corn on the cob. And it was time to leave and
that little girl would not let go of that ear of corn. And they
threatened her, like modern parents do, you know. I counted one, two, you know,
I'm out. She would not let go of that
ear of corn. And our brother overheard this going on. And
they had to leave. She just would not let go of
that. He went up to the counter. And in the counter, they had
some candy bars and he bought one of these, what was it? It's just like caramel on a stick.
One of those old, this was years ago. Huh? One of those old candy
bars, you know, on a stick, taffy. I used to eat them all the time.
Anyway, he got that and brought it over and stuck it in front
of that little girl and she had that corner caught and she just
dropped it. That's better. That's better. People will not let go of all
this stuff that they are so taken up with that something better
comes along. And this is better. Christ is
better. The gospel is better. If anybody
is really looking for good news, this is better.
In the context here of this, talking about the priesthood.
So much is said about the priesthood. And that's why we're dwelling
on this so long. Paul said, I have many things to say. Hard to be
uttered. But the priesthood, Aaron and
the Levites, the tabernacle. services with all the washings
and ordinances and the sacrifices and all of the various things. Brother Ed one time had printed
out for me all the Jewish ordinances that they have now. Today, even
today, most of them made up. But some of them they've taken
from Scripture. How many was it, Brother Ed?
I forget how many it was. Thousands. that they have to keep. It's
a thick book that they have to be so careful to keep. Every
jot and tittle. My, my, how miserable. How miserable. What fear. And let me say this
though. The law is very exact. Our Lord
made the law, and He said, See that you make everything after
this pattern. It must be perfect. Why is the
law so strict? Remember that one time a fellow
was picking up sticks on a Sabbath day? And the law said, Don't pick
up sticks. Don't build a fire. Don't do anything. Don't move.
Don't go out of your houses, except to go to the temple. to
go to the tabernacle. Why? Why is it so strict? Because it's such a clear picture
of salvation in Christ alone. Every shadow, every type shows
the perfection that's in Christ. Every type, every symbol, every
picture of Christ shows absolute perfection of God, the holiness
of God. And Isaiah 53 says, by His knowledge,
By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many." By his
knowledge? By his knowledge of the law. You know, just because you don't
know the law doesn't mean you're not guilty, does it? You can't
plead ignorance, can you? Going through a town, the speed
limit is 35. I know this from experience.
You go through a town, the speed limit is 35, you're doing 45
and they pull you over and and write you a ticket. Like me,
I said, well, I didn't know. Well, sorry. You're guilty. The sign, I didn't see it. Well, it doesn't matter. You're
guilty. You've got to pay the fine. By
his knowledge, Shall my righteous servant justify his knowledge
of the law? The law made nothing perfect,
but a better hope did. Look at chapter 6. Look here. Chapter 6, verse 18 through 20. It says, By two immutable things,
which impossible for God to lie, we have a strong consolation
who fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us.
Which hope? We're talking about a person.
which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, sure and steadfast,
that entereth within the veil, Jesus Christ, the High Priest
after the order of Melchizedek." Better hope. Christ is better. He's a sure hope. Christ is referred to throughout
Scriptures. I wrote something down, I want
to forget it. Christ is referred to in Scriptures as everything
you can think of that you need. Isn't it? Everything necessary for life.
He's called the way. We know the way. If you're lost, you don't. He's
the truth. Pilate said, what is truth? Everybody's looking
for truth, aren't they? He's the life. He's the bread. He's the water. He's the door. He's the refuge. He's the hiding
place. He's an anchor. He's a rock. He's surety. He's wisdom. He's righteousness. He's sanctification. He's redemption. He's the prophet. He's the priest. He's the king. He's the Lord. He's the Savior.
He's a mediator. He's an intercessor. What do
you need? He's all. He's all. And find one of those anywhere
else, Christ is better. He's better. Christ is all. Better than all. Christ is all
we need. That's why we say over and over
again, Jesus Christ is all the religion anybody needs. Because
He's all. All the fullness of the Godhead.
All treasures of wisdom and knowledge. All things. And you know, this
book goes on. We're going to see as we go on. It talks about a better country.
We're going to a better country? Oh my. Better city? Better home, better climate,
better friends, better people, better. Everything better. Why?
Because Christ is better. He is better. Look at this, down
through here, verse 21. Look how much better He is than
everybody else. Verse 21 said, Those priests,
they were made without an oath. But this one, this priest, God
Almighty's swear from heaven. So this is Him. You know, Kelly,
there were a bunch of wicked fellows in the priesthood down
through the years. Still are, aren't they? Claiming
to be wicked. Remember old Jeroboam and Manassas
and some of them made the worst men priests. Made the lowest
of the people priests. Whoever wanted to be. Oh no, God made this man a priest.
Huh? Met her. They died. Verse 23 said they couldn't continue. Those true priests were many
priests because they died. Each one of them would die. You
know, a fellow would come along, he'd die. And another one would
come along, he'd die. Christ is better. Why? Well,
he died alright, but he ever lives. He's still living to intercede
for us. They died, he lives, verse 24.
This man, he continues ever. He has an unchangeable priesthood. He's always a priest. And none
of them could save anybody, verse 25. None of them could save anyone,
but he's able to save everyone. that comes to God by Him. They
couldn't save a, as we'd say, couldn't save a flea. He can
save the chief of sinners. That's my next message. Verse
26, it says, He is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners,
higher than the heavens. See, they were sinful. He's holy. They were harmful, these priests
today. can't do you any good, they'll
do you harm. Harmful. He's harmless. They
were corrupt. He's undefiled. They were no
better than the worst sinners on earth. They were the worst
sinners. Are! These usurpers. They're
the worst sinners. He's separate from sinners. In
Him, there's no sin. They were low. He's high. Their prayers won't get past
the ceiling. Brother John, his go all the
way to the ears of God. God hears every one of them and
grants everything he has. Now, that's the priest I made,
don't you? They needed to keep offering
sacrifices. Notice verse 27. He needeth not
daily to offer, as those did, sacrifices for his own sins,
and then also for the people, and many of them, they needed
to sacrifice for their own sins. He is the Sacrifice. Verse 28
says, these men have an infirmity. The law makes men high priests
which have an infirmity. He has none. They have weaknesses. He has none. No weaknesses. Why would anybody want anything
else? Anyone else? Anything better? Anyone else?
Look anywhere else. Why? Well, God Almighty, the thing
that God does when He begins to deal with someone is to make
them miserable. Make them miserable. Make them
see their sinfulness as nothing and no one can do anything about
it. Make them miserable where they are. Give them an issue
of blood. There's something in them that's
bad and they can't get rid of. Nobody and nothing else can.
Then he brings them to hear the gospel, which alone, Christ alone,
answers all their need. A need they didn't even know
they had. Brother Joe Parks, this is what
I wrote down. It just occurred to me. Nancy
told me this story. Some thirty-some years ago, Joe
and Nancy were attending one of these local places. John and
Earlene were there. Same place, right here in town,
that preaches this other gospel. All their children were small,
real small. And they had one Sunday a blow-up
at a business meeting or something. And it got bad, you know. Name-calling and just fussing
and fighting and all that. Brother Joe, you know what a
dear man he was. And he came home. Nancy said
they came home. And he just sat on the bed with
his head in his hands and he said, there's got to be something
better than this. Well, there is, isn't there? We've never had a fuss or a fight.
We've never had a business meeting. It's up to the Lord to make people
miserable. Everybody in here, he made you
miserable where you were. You didn't know what it was making
you miserable, but now you do, don't you? My pastor once said,
most people have just enough religion to make them miserable,
and everybody else around them. But then when he brings you to
Christ, it's just far better. Oh, there's peace in it. There's
comfort. There's hope. There's joy. There's freedom. It's like Brother John. He gives
you Christ in your bluegrass tent. Free. Nothing better. Okay.