Welcome to our program. Now,
the title of today's message is Christ Our Able High Priest. I'm going to be preaching from
Hebrews chapter 7. The message will actually begin
in verse 17, but I want to just say something about verse 16. This issue here, Christ Our Able
High Priest, goes to the very heart of the gospel. In order
for us to be assured of our salvation, In order for us to have any real
godly assurance, not just presumption now, but real assurance, we must
be assured that whoever our salvation is conditioned on, whoever is
responsible for it, is able to save us. For example, if you
believe that salvation is conditioned on what you do, then you need
confidence in what you do. You have to know that you're
able. Now, that's a bad, bad assurance. That's presumptions,
what that is, because the gospel is not salvation conditioned
on me and what I do for God. Paul wrote it this way. He said,
we rejoice in Christ. That means our confidence is
in Christ, Jesus, and we have no confidence in the flesh. I
don't have any confidence in my abilities or my works or my
goodness. I have none. I'm a sinner. We
have only one hope of salvation, and that is to fall at the feet
of Christ and beg for mercy. And we sing that hymn, My hope
is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus'
name. On Christ the solid rock I stand. All other ground is sinking sand.
My assurance, my hope, is not in my ability, but in Christ's
ability. And he is able. Now, he mentions
Melchizedek here in verse 17, for he testifies. What he's talking
about here is that Moses, in the Old Testament, back in Genesis
14, he wrote and testified of a man named Melchizedek. And
David, in Psalm 110, he mentions Melchizedek, thou art a priest
forever after the order of Melchizedek. Now, last week I went into detail
in the first 16 verses of this chapter about Melchizedek, who
is a type of the Lord Jesus Christ, his priesthood. Melchizedek was
king of Salem, king of peace. His name, Melchizedek, means
king of righteousness. And Christ is our peace. He is
our righteousness to everyone who has come to him, to every
believer. And Melchizedek had no recorded genealogy, no pedigree,
no recorded mother or father. It's not necessary that he didn't
have a mother and father, we just don't know who they are
or who they were. No birthday, no death day, none
of that's recorded because his priesthood typifies the priesthood
of Christ, which is forever and ever and ever. Christ, our eternal
priest. If you want to know more about
Melchizedek, I urge you to get last week's message on Christ,
our eternal high priest. But here in verse 17 of chapter
7, he continues on with the subject of Christ's priesthood, and the
thought that I want to bring to our attention today is Christ
our able high priest. He is able. Now, back in verse
16, he says that Christ is made a priest, not after the law of
a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life. That's eternity. And that's power. Christ was not made a high priest
according to the carnal, earthly, fleshly commandment under the
law of Moses, like the tribe of Levi, that had a beginning,
had an end. But his priesthood is forever. And his priesthood is after the
power of an endless life. So he says, he testifies, verse
17, thou art a priest forever, forever after the order of Melchizedek. Now look at verse 18. He says,
"...for there is verily, or truly, a disannulling of the commandment
going before, for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof."
Now, what he's saying is there's an abolishment of the law of
Moses, the Old Covenant, and its priesthood because it was
weak and unprofitable in this sense alone. It could not give
life. It could not bring forth righteousness. It could not save the sinner
from his sins. It could not bring about eternal
forgiveness. The law, John the Apostle wrote
that in John 1 and verse 17. He said the law came by Moses,
but grace and truth comes by Jesus Christ our Lord. You see,
the law of Moses could show them their sinfulness and their guilt
and their depravity and their lostness, but it could not provide
the remedy. Only Christ could do that. The
law could show them what righteousness is, but it could not give them
righteousness. It could not make them righteous.
You see what I'm saying? The law could not give eternal
life. That's the weakness and the unprofitableness
thereof. The law was good for its purpose. Its purpose, its main purpose,
was to expose their sin and to drive them to Christ for righteousness
and life, eternal life. But it is abolished now. It's
done away. He says in verse 19, for the
law made nothing perfect. The law did not save any sinner.
The law could not make a sinner perfect or complete or eternally
saved. It made nothing perfect. But
the bringing in of a better hope did, by the which we draw nigh
unto God. The law made nothing perfect.
But the bringing in of a better hope did. Now, what is the bringing
in of that better hope? It's Christ and Him crucified. It's Christ. It's His blood to
forgive us of all our sins. It's His righteousness to justify
us before God. It's all that He accomplished
on behalf of His people. He is our hope. You see, what
did I say in that hymn? My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus' blood and righteousness. He is our hope. What is that
hope? It's the certain expectation
of eternal life and glory in Christ. And it's by Him that
we draw nigh unto God. Sinners draw near to God into
the very holiest of all, the very presence of God, by the
blood of Christ. So the law could not do that. Animal blood could not do that.
For the blood of bulls and of goats could never take away sin,
but the blood of Christ did. So the law is abolished. The
old covenant system, all of that is abolished by way of fulfillment,
the bringing in of a better hope by which all who believe in Christ
draw nigh unto God. In verse 20, he says, And inasmuch
as not without an oath he was made priest. Now, what he's talking
about is the priesthood of Christ. And Christ was made a priest,
but not without an oath. Now, several chapters ago, I
talked about the oath of God. What is an oath? Well, you know
what it means to swear an oath. Back in the old days, when people
struck an agreement, They didn't have to have as many contracts
and written contracts done with lawyers and small print as we
do today, but they bonded with their word. They made a promise,
and a man's bond was his word. And they would swear oaths. Now,
what would they do when they'd swear an oath? They would swear
by something greater than themselves. And that was an end of all strife,
debate, and argument. The deal was sealed. A man was
a man of his word, and if he wasn't, he was known to be a
liar, and nobody ever struck an agreement with him again.
Well, God, when he made Christ priest, he swore an oath. But God could not swear by anything
greater than himself, because there's nothing greater than
God. So what did he swear by? He swore by himself. Now, that's what the Scripture
says. He interposed himself. So, in other words, God swore
and engaged by oath himself, everything that he is. He put
all of his power behind the promise of salvation in Christ. He put
all of his love, all of his mercy, all of his grace, all of his
justice, everything that God is in his very nature, is engaged
on behalf of sinners who come to him through the promise of
salvation by Christ. So Christ was made a high priest
with an oath, the oath of God. But now look at verse 21. He
says, for those priests were made without an oath, those old
covenant priests They were made priests, but without an oath.
You see, they were made priests simply by a carnal commandment,
not by an oath. In other words, God never put
himself and engaged himself completely behind that priesthood so that
it would last forever. You see, they were made priests
after a carnal commandment, not like Christ. He was made priest
not after a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless
life. So God didn't swear an oath and
engage himself behind that old covenant priesthood. Why? Because
it could never bring about eternal salvation. It was never intended
to last forever." So he goes on in verse 21, "...for those
priests were made without an oath, but this, Christ's priesthood,
with an oath, by him that said unto him, The Lord swear, and
will not repent, the Lord swore an oath on this, and he will
not change, thou art a priest for ever." After the order of
Melchizedek. So what we see there is that
Old Covenant is abolished. It did not have the ability to
save sinners from their sins. It had the ability to set aside
that nation in a civil ceremonial way, temporarily, but it could
not bring about eternal life. But Christ is able. He is our able High Priest. He
has the power of an endless life. He has the power of resurrection
behind Him. He has the power of eternal life. He engaged himself to save his
people from their sins. So in verse 22 he says, By so
much, that is, by that oath, was Jesus made a surety of a
better testament, a better covenant. Christ is the surety. He is the guarantee of a better
covenant, a covenant that will not fail. And it will not fail
because it's not conditioned on sinners. You see, that old
covenant had many conditional promises in it towards sinners.
And later on, God's going to show that they broke that covenant.
That covenant was broken. But now this new covenant, this
eternal covenant, is not conditioned on sinners. It's conditioned
on Christ. Therefore, He's able, He's the
guarantee, the surety, of a better covenant. It's a better covenant
because it has better promises. It's not the promise of an earthly
land, but it's the promise of a heavenly land, heavenly life,
eternal life. It's not the promise of temporal
deliverances from enemies. It's the promise of eternal deliverance
from all our enemies, from sin, from Satan, from the curse of
the law. It's a better covenant. And it's
in Christ, all the promises of God in Him are yea, and in Him,
amen. They're sure and certain. He's
our surety. You see, if you believe that
salvation is based on what you do for God, if you believe that
salvation, that being saved or being kept saved, is conditioned
on what you do for God, then you have to become your own surety. And you can never sin. You see,
that's why salvation is in Christ. He's the surety of the believer. And him being our surety, then
we have to be convinced that he's able to do what he set out
to do. Well, in verse 23, he says, "...and
they truly were many priests." Under the Old Covenant, there
were many priests, because they were not suffered or allowed
to continue by reason of death. Those high priests, they were
men, they were born, they lived, they died. And they were not
allowed to continue in their priesthood because of death. When they died, somebody else
took their place. But, verse 24, this man, Jesus
Christ, our surety, because he continueth forever, he continueth
ever. Now, this is part of his ability,
you see. He doesn't die and stay dead. He did die because of the sins
of his sheep. He said, I laid down my life
for the sheep. Jesus Christ came into the world to save his people
from their sins by his own death. That by means of death, you see,
he should give us all that he accomplished. But he didn't stay
dead. You see, the grave couldn't hold
him. God wouldn't allow his holy ones to suffer corruption because
His death was an accomplishment. His death was a satisfaction
to God's law and justice for the sins of his people. His death
was the establishment of righteousness that demands life. His death
enabled God to be just and justify the ungodly. You see, so this
man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. Now, does he have the ability
to be our great High Priest? Yes, he does. Why? Well, because
God's sworn oath, everything that God is in his very nature,
is engaged in the person and work of Christ to save his people
from their sins. For in him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily, and ye are complete in him. Secondly,
because he continueth ever. He continueth ever. He died,
but he was buried, and he arose again the third day. He's seated
at the right hand of the Father, making intercession for his people.
His priesthood continues forever, and his priesthood is unchangeable. You see, there was a change in
that old covenant priesthood. He talked about that. over in
verse 12 of chapter 7, for the priesthood being changed. Well,
that changed. It was a time of reformation,
he says in Hebrews chapter 9, a time of change. When did it
change? Well, it changed in many ways. It changed down through the ages
because there was a high priest, and he died, and then there was
another. But it changed permanently when Christ came into the world
and did his work of redemption for his people. When Christ obtained
redemption, when he purged the sins of his people by burying
them on the cross, and when he brought in everlasting righteousness,
that old priesthood changed forever. It was abolished. It's never
to be brought in again. We'll never see under God's command,
another high priest on this earth. Christ is our one high priest.
And he's all we need. If we have him, we have all.
Because he is all. If we have him, we have everything.
Because he is everything. And his priesthood will not change.
He's a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek. Now
look at verse 25. Now here's the mainstay of this. For this reason, because of God's
oath, because of his continuance, because of his immutability,
he will not change. For this reason, wherefore, he
is able. He is able. Now, that's our hope. If you know Christ, if you have
any assurance of salvation, here's the key. He is able. Well, what is he able to do?
It says he is able to save. Christ is able to save. He's
able to save sinners from their sins. Sin demands death. And if I don't have a substitute
who's able to save me from those sins, sin will make an end of
me. It will finish me off, and that
means death. I can't fight sin myself. I can't have victory
over sin. I hear these preachers talking
about having victory over sin. My victory over sin is Christ. He's able. He's able to save
me from my sins. He's able to save me from the
curse of the law. My friend, without Christ, without
His blood and righteousness, the law can only curse me, and
that based upon my best efforts to keep it. Without Christ, I
have no hope. Satan is my great enemy. He's
my accuser. Without Christ, his accusations
will meet their mark right here, because I'm guilty. But with
Christ, he turns back the arrows of Satan's accusations, and he
stands in my place as my advocate. Jesus Christ the righteous. who
is the propitiation for all my sins." So he is able to save,
to save sinners. And how, what kind of salvation? How much is he able? Well, it
says he's able to save also, to save them to the uttermost. To the uttermost. That's evermore. This is not a temporary salvation.
This is not a salvation that you can have one day and lose
the next. This is a salvation to the uttermost. This is complete salvation. This
is evermore salvation. Well, how can you say that, preacher?
Because you're, you know, one day you're up, one day you're
down, one day you feel good, one day you feel bad. Well, you
see, He's able. You understand that? I'm not
able. You're not able. But Christ is
able. I'm not able. to have any wisdom
from God, but Christ is able. He is my wisdom. I'm not able
to produce the righteousness that God requires, but Christ
is able, and He is my righteousness. I'm not able to produce the holiness
that God requires, but Christ is able, and He is my holiness. And I'm not able to pay any part
of my sin debt, what I owe to God's law and justice for my
sins, but Christ is able, and He is my redemption. He is my
sin offering. Now, he's able also to save them
to the uttermost. Now, who are these that he's
talking about when he says, them? He's able to save them. Who are
the them in this verse? Well, he says, them that come
unto God by him. Now, you say, I'm going to go
to God. I want to get to God. Or sinners
are coming to God. How are you coming to God? It
says He's able to save them to the uttermost that come unto
God by Him. You see, Christ said it this
way in John 14, verse 6. He said, I am the way, I am the
truth, I am the life. No man cometh unto the Father
but by me. Are you seeking God? Are you
trying to come to God? Well, how? By whom, upon what
ground and basis are you seeking to come to God? If it's any way
but Christ and him alone, Christ and him crucified, you cannot
be saved to the uttermost. You see, you're on your own then,
and you're not able. And it cannot be Christ plus
anything. It cannot be Christ plus your
works. It cannot be Christ plus your
pedigree. It cannot be Christ plus your
tears or anything. Oh, we cry over sin, but that's
not what brings us to God. Christ does. Him alone. So we come unto God by Him. We
come unto God pleading for forgiveness by His blood. We come unto God
pleading for justification by His righteousness. We come unto
God through Christ. our high priest. He's our able
high priest. So he says, verse 25, seeing
he ever liveth to make intercession for them. You know, that's a
sobering thought there. Back over in Romans chapter 8,
this intercession, what does that mean? Christ is my intercessor. Well, we've talked about Christ
our high priest. We've talked about Christ our
mediator. Christ, our intercessor, is the
same thing. He intercedes. He stands in between
God and sinners, pleading the merits of his blood and righteousness,
his work, himself, as our only foundation and ground of eternal
life. And that is so powerful. He says
here, in verse 31 of Romans 8, He says, what shall we then say
to these things? Now, these things refer to God's
sovereign grace. If God be for us, who can be
against us? He that spared not his own son. If Christ died for me, God spared
not his own son for me, and God cannot be against us. But delivered
him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give
us all things? That's how able Christ is. In
him we have all things freely given. Who shall lay anything
to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who
is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea,
rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand
of God, who also maketh intercession for us." You see, having purged
our sins, he's seated at the right hand of God, interceding
for his people as our advocate. Now, back in Hebrews 7 and verse
25. Now he says in verse 6, now this is what we need. Christ
is what we need. For such an high priest became
us, was fitting to us. I needed a sin bearer, he's my
sin bearer. I need righteousness, he's my
righteousness. I need holiness, he's my holiness.
I need redemption, he's my redemption. And he's holy, harmless, undefiled,
separate from sinners. and made higher than the heavens.
I need one who is greater than me, who in himself is sinless,
but who can take my sins." Verse 27, "...who needeth not daily,
as those high priests under the old covenant, to offer up sacrifice
first for his own sins, and then for the people's. For this he
did once when he offered up himself." Christ had no sins. But he offered
himself up for my sins, for the sins of his people, and he did
it one time, not many times. One time was enough. Why? Because
he's able. He's our able high priest. Verse
28. For the law maketh men high priests
which have infirmity. The law of Moses appointed high
priests under that system, men who were weak, men who had infirmities,
men who had sins themselves, men who died. You see that? That's the kind of high priest
that the law made. That's not the kind of high priest
that we need, because they're not able to save us to the uttermost. They're not able to produce what
we need. They're not able to shed blood
that would forgive us of sins eternally. They're not able to
complete the righteousness that God requires. But he says, but
the word of the oath. which was since the law maketh
the Son, who is consecrated, or perfected forevermore." The
word of the oath. What is the word of the oath?
It's the gospel. It's the word of promise, the
word of salvation, the power of God unto salvation, in which
God engaged everything that He is in the fulfillment of that
promise of eternal life through Christ, who is able. And it made
him the son of God, the high priest, who is perfected. He finished the work, and he
did it forevermore. We don't need another high priest.
We don't need to look to any man on earth. We don't need to
look to ourselves. We have need to look to one,
Jesus Christ, righteous. Look at that verse again, Hebrews
7.25. Wherefore, he is able. also to save them to the uttermost
that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth, to make intercession
for them." He is able. My friend, do you count your
salvation, or do you ground your salvation upon your abilities,
what God has enabled you to do, or what Christ alone, by himself,
as the great high priest, the substitute, has done? Is it based
on your ability or His ability? Christ is our able High Priest.