Turn back to Hebrews chapter
8. Hebrews chapter 8. When writing or speaking, there
comes a time to make your point. What's the use? You're just rambling. You're just rambling if you don't
make the point. Get to the point. Everybody says that. Well, just
get to the point. And this is what he's doing.
You see, from chapter 4 up through 7, he's been talking about the
priesthood of Christ. And so what he's going to do
now, he's going to draw the conclusion. This is the main point. That's what it means. This is
the main point. The Greek word for main point means this. It
can be translated principle thing. This is the principle thing that
I have been talking about. That's what the apostles say.
This is the principle thing. We have such a high priest who
is set on the right hand of the throne. He is set on the throne
with God. Aaron never sat on a throne. Aaron never sat on a chair because
his work was never finished. But this high priest that we
have is seated on the right hand of the throne of the majesty
or the majestic God in heaven. You start this out by saying
we have. Who are the we spoken of here? Is he speaking of every
son of Adam, is he saying that every son of Adam has this high
priest seated on the throne? No. No. Who was the high priest for
in the Old Testament? Who was Aaron and that whole
Levitical priesthood, who was that for? It was for God's Israel,
for God's people. That's who it was for. It was
for the elect of God. Christ is a particular high priest
for a particular people. He's seated there. We, the apostle
says, we have. We have a high priest. Now, if
we are to have any real comfort out of this, any real assurance,
need to get a hold, we need to lay a hold of this main point,
this principal point. We have a representative. We
have a high priest. You know, the Jews knew, they
knew how important that was. You see, being Gentiles, unless
you were raised under Catholicism or something, but being Gentiles,
we really don't have that real concept of the necessity, the
importance of the high priest. But now these Hebrews knew it.
They knew the necessity of the high priest. They knew they could
not come before God without a high priest. And he's telling them
here, we have a high priest. We have one. He's not in Jerusalem. He's in heaven. He's in heaven. He's seated there at the throne. He's enthroned at the right hand
of the majesty in the heavens. He is not only the priest, he's
the king. As Frank so ably spoke of this
morning. He's the king priest. Aaron and
all those after him were never a king. But this king sits on
the throne and he reigns and he rules over all things. And
he's there on our behalf. If God be for us, who can be
against us? He's the king priest after the
order of Melchizedek, not after the order of the Levitical priesthood.
It's a different order. It's a different order. Look over in chapter 7, in verse
1, for this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most
High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings.
and blessed him, whom also Abraham gave at tenth part of all, first
being by interpretation King of Righteousness." Well, that
can only be the Lord Jesus Christ. That's a pre-incarnated appearance
of him. It has to be. He's the only King of Righteousness
there is. And after that, also King of Salem, which is King
of Peace, without father, without mother, without descent, having
neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like unto
the Son of God, abideth the priest forever. That's his priesthood. It's an eternal priesthood. Eternal
priesthood. And notice where he ministers.
He's a minister, a minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which
the Lord pitched and not man. A minister of the sanctuary. in heaven, in God's presence,
in the holy of holies. None of the Levitical priests
ministered in that place. No, this one does. This one does. He's a minister of the sanctuary.
He's a minister in the presence of God in the very holy of holies. And listen, of the true tabernacle.
which the Lord pitched, and not man." What is that true tabernacle?
There was a tabernacle in the wilderness. God gave Moses the
pattern, and they made the tabernacle, and it represented God's presence,
which kind of glory was in that tabernacle. God was with them
in that tabernacle. But here he says, a minister
of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle. which the Lord pitched,
and not man. Our Lord said this, a body hast
thou prepared for me. That's the true tabernacle, his
body. His body. Where do we see the
glory of God? Where do we see it? Does it not
say in the scripture, in the face of Jesus Christ? That's where we see it. We worship
God in Christ. We offer gifts and praise and
thanksgiving to God where? In Christ. In Christ. Don't look for God in a building. Look for God in Christ. God was
in Christ. Reconciled the world unto himself.
The true tabernacle is Christ himself. He's Christ himself. Now he also here, I want you
to see this, how that this priest who's seated on the throne, at
the right hand of the throne of the majesty in the heavens,
a minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle, which
the Lord pitched and not man, he has a better sacrifice than
what Aaron had, what the old Levitical priesthood had. For
every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices.
Wherefore, it is of necessity that this high priest, this man,
this high priest spoken of here, have some want also to offer. You see, a priest must have something
to offer to God or that God can accept. What was it that Aaron
and those other priests, what did they have that God could
accept? Nothing. God did not accept the blood
of bulls and goats on our behalf and forgive us because of them.
They were just types and pictures. That's all they were. They were
just types and pictures. But this high priest, this one,
he has somewhat to offer. And what is it that he has to
offer? His own blood and his own body. That's what he has. He must have
something to offer that God will accept. I want you to turn over
to chapter 9 and verse 11. But Christ, being
come and high priest of good things to come by a greater and
more perfect tabernacle. There it is, his body, not made
with hands, that is to say, not of just building, neither by
the blood of goats and calves. Here's his sacrifice, here's
his offering, here's his offering, but by his own blood he entered
in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption
for us. for if the blood of bulls and
goats and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled in a clean sanctified
to the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood
of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without
spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the
living God?" This priest must have somewhat to offer also, and he does. He does. His blood Himself. He offered up Himself as a sacrifice
for our sins. And He did it one time. You see,
they offered up the blood of bulls and goats every morning,
every evening, telling us it doesn't work. It's like, it didn't
work. So we've got to do it again tomorrow.
But Christ did it one time. And now there's no more offering
for sin. He's the one offering. He's the only one who can put
away sin. Now, it says here, if he were
on earth, he should not be a priest. Now, why is that? Well, first
of all, they had all the priests they needed. But if he were on
earth, he would not need to be a priest, or he couldn't. Listen,
he could not be a priest. He's from the tribe of Judah.
If he were on earth, And if he was going to follow that Levitical
priesthood order, he had to be from the tribe of Levi. So if
he were on earth, he's saying he couldn't be a priest. If his
ministry was an earthly ministry, he couldn't be a priest because
he's of the wrong tribe. He doesn't have the pedigree
for it. But this was of another order after Melchizedek. Not after Aaron and the Levitical
priesthood. Not at all. Now listen, the old
Levitical priesthood served unto the example of a shadow of heavenly
things. How much substance does a shadow have? Zero. This priest, the Lord Jesus Christ,
is the substance of the whole Word of God. He's the whole substance
of our salvation. He's the whole substance of that
new covenant. He is the real. These were just
shadows and types. A shadow has no substance. If the light's shining this way,
you can just see my shadow, but you walk through my shadow. Shadow
can't save anybody. You don't need to be afraid of
a shadow. It's the substance. He's the
substance. You see, this is the main point.
This high priest is the substance of our salvation. He is our salvation. "...who served unto the example
and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished, warned
of God when he was about to make the tabernacle. For see, saith
he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shown
to thee in the mount." He said, don't change anything. It's a
pattern, but it's a pattern of someone. It's a shadow of someone. It represents someone, but it's
not that someone. It's not the substance. Christ
is the substance. But now hath he obtained a more
excellent ministry. That word excellent, it can be translated, for me,
it means different. But now hath he obtained a different
ministry. It's also translated superior.
He has obtained a superior ministry than that old Levitical priesthood,
far superior and different. And the covenant which he's the
mediator of is a far superior, far better covenant based on
far better promises, much better promises. Because they're all
based on Him and not us. Based on His doing, not my doing.
Like the old covenant was based on their doing. It's based on better promises,
the eternal promises of God that was established in that covenant
in Christ before the world began. Better promises. Better promises. For if that first covenant had
been faultless, if it had been faultless, then should no place
have been sought for the second." What was wrong? What was the
fault of that old covenant? What was the fault? Here's the
fault of that old covenant. It could not save. It could not save. It was a covenant
of works and no one, no one ever obtain salvation by keeping it,
because no one kept it. They were not able to keep it.
I'm in fault. It could not save. Look over
in Romans chapter 8. Here's the fault. Let me read
you the fault. In verse 3, Romans chapter 8, for what the
law could not do, in that it was weak through what? The flesh. You and I are the fault. You
and I are the problem. The problem is not with God's
law. God's law is holy. God's law is perfect. The fault
is with us. It is weak through the flesh.
God sent in his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and
forced sin, condemned sin in the flesh. The fault was on our
part. On our part. And then he says here in verse
8, we're finding fault with them. And I wrote over top of that,
us. Us. Finding fault with us. The old
covenant, the law. And speaking of here, the old
covenant could only find fault with us. That's all it could
find. It could find no good with us.
Scripture says there's none good, no, not one. That old covenant
could find nothing good in us. It could find nothing there.
It could not find righteousness in us. It could only find fault
with them, with us. And he saith, Behold, the days
come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the
house of Israel and with the house of Judah. He's going to
do away with that old covenant. This is a quote from Jeremiah
31, 31. Not according to the covenant.
Listen, this is not an amendment. This is not an additive. We're not going to adjust this.
It's like how we go along, we make laws, and they start adjusting
as they go along, and they make new laws, and they make amendments. No, God's not trying to amend
that one. He's doing away with it. He's doing away, completely
away with it. And He's given us a new covenant.
A new testament. That's what He's doing. I never
fought with them. He said, behold, the days come,
saith the Lord, but I will make a new covenant that has no connection
with that old covenant. No connection with that old covenant. With the house of Israel and
with the house of Judah. Not according to the covenants
that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by
the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, because they continued not in
my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord." God did
what he said he would do, didn't he? He said, I'm going to bring
you out. Did he? Did he bring them out
of the land of Egypt? He did. Did they keep his covenant
that he made with them? Absolutely not. God did His part. They did not do their part. And
that's the way it is if you're going to believe in works. They did not do what they said
they'd do. You remember one place, I didn't
look it up, but there was one place when Moses read the law
to them, and the Lord said to keep all his covenants, and they
said, we'll do it. They said, we'll do it. Well,
they didn't do it. They did not do it. God did His
part. They didn't do their part. So
finding fault with them, with us, the law couldn't do anything
for us. All it could do was find fault.
So God said, behold, the day is coming when I'm going to make
a new covenant. I'm going to do away with that old covenant.
And it's not going to be like the one I made with your fathers.
It's not going to be like that one I made with your fathers.
They continued not in it. I did my part, but they didn't
do theirs. But here's what I want to do. Here's this new covenant. Totally different from that old
covenant. Totally different. He said back over here in Hebrews
chapter 8. Well, this is a covenant that
I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith
the Lord." Now, I want you to notice here, this is all God's
doing. It's not, I do this, you do that. You see, under that old covenant,
they received temporal blessings for their obedience, and then
they were punished for their disobedience. I will put my laws into their
minds, and write them in their hearts, and I will be to them
a God, and they shall be to me a people. And they shall not teach every
man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the
Lord, for all shall know me from the least to the greatest. For
I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities
will I remember no more. And that he saith a new covenant,
he hath made the first whole. Now that which decays and waxes
old is ready to vanish away, perish. There's four things here
that God will do in that new covenant that the old covenant
absolutely could not do. It could not do. First of all,
he says here, I will put my laws, and that's plural, my word. My Word. This is the whole Word
of God. All that God is. All that He
has to say. And I tell you this, if He puts
them in you, they're in you. And they're a part of you. I
will put my laws into their mind and write them in their hearts.
Here's the first thing that He's going to do in this new covenant.
He's going to do a work of grace in you. The old covenant could
not do that. That old covenant of works did
nothing in you whatsoever. But in this new covenant, God's
going to do a work in you. He's going to create a new man,
a new nature. And in that new man, he says,
I'm going to write my laws, and I'm going to put them in their
mind, and I'm going to write them in their hearts, and I'm going to be to
them, here's a new relationship. I'm going to be to them a God,
and they shall be to me a people. The law couldn't accomplish that.
The law could not accomplish that. But this covenant of grace,
God is able in Christ to accomplish this relationship, this union, this union between God and His
people. I'll be their God, and they should
be my people. Not just in name only, but by
real experience. By real experience. I'll be their
God. You'll know me. You'll know me, and I'll know
them. And they shall be to me a people, and they shall not
teach every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying,
Know the Lord. Listen, for all shall know me
from the least to the greatest. Here's that new relationship.
All shall know me. All my children shall know me.
All my people shall know me. You know, the law can educate
you. You know, we take like these children, we take them back here
in their classes and we teach them the gospel. But you know
what? We can't make them know God.
We cannot give them a relationship with Almighty God. But he said,
I'm going to do that. There's going to be a real living
relationship between me and my people. It's not going to be
written on paper. It's not going to be cold letters,
cold dead letters. It's going to be a real living
union between me and my people. It's like you have with your
children. It's real, it's living, it's warm, it's loving, you're
connected. The law couldn't do that. The
law said do this or don't do that. The law could not enable
you to know God. It can enable you to know some
things about God, but not know God. But in this new covenant,
in this new covenant, he says, you're going to know me. You're
not going to have to go teach every man his neighbor, you know,
and just read like, like I'm standing here reading this like
a textbook. He said, this is, this is who just, no, you're
going to know me. There's going to be a real living
union between me and my people. A real union. They shall know
me. And then he says, for I will
be merciful. Here's a new experience. And you'll experience this. I
will be merciful to their unrighteousness and their sins and their iniquities.
Will I remember? No more. A new experience. God is going to take his laws. That's more than just ten commandments
here that he's speaking of. He's not speaking here of ten
commandments. He's speaking of all that he is. Of his whole
world. You know, God speaks of his law,
his statutes, his word. It's all the commandments. They're
all the same. They're all one and the same. And I'm going to write them.
I'm going to write them on their minds and their hearts. It's
going to become who you are. I'm telling you, when God saves
a man, when He saves a woman, a sinner, when God saves a sinner,
He does a mighty work inwardly. And that person is changed forever.
Yes, we still have sin. I know that. We still have it.
I'll show you this. Then I'll wind this up. I'm going
to give you six laws written on the heart. Turn over to Romans
7.3. Turn over to Romans chapter 7. There are six laws written on
the heart. Paul speaks here in verse 19. He says, for the good that I
would, I do not. But the evil which I would not,
that I do. Now if I do that I would not,
it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwells in me. I find
in a law that when I would do good, a law, now listen, I find
a nature, a principle. That's what he's talking about.
There's a principle in me. There's a nature in me that when
I would do good, he was present with me. For I delight in the
law of God after the inward man. But I see another law in my members. warring against the law of my
mind and bringing me into captivity to what? The law of sin. That's what we're born with.
Now, we're born with this. That is in us. He says, which
is in my members. It'll be in us and with us till
we die. You say, oh, I wish I hadn't
have said that. I wish I hadn't have thought that. I wish I had
not done that. And we make no excuse for it.
But Paul gives us the reason for it. There's a law, there's
a nature, there's a principle that we are born with, and it's
called sin, the law of sin, and you can't keep from it. You just tell a natural man,
don't sin anymore. It's natural for him to do it,
it is to drink water. Now let's look at another one.
Turn over to Romans chapter 3. Look at verse 19, Now we know that
what thanks to whoever the law saith, is said 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. But now the righteousness of
God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and
the prophets. Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus
Christ unto all and upon all then that believe, for there
is no difference. For all have sinned and come short of the
glory of God." being justified freely by his grace through the
redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God has set forth
to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare
his righteousness for the remission of sins that are passed through
the forbearance of God." To declare, I say at this time, his righteousness.
He might be just and a justifier of him which believes in Jesus.
Where is boasting then? Where is it? It is excluded. By what law? By what law? Of works? Nay, by the law of faith, by
the nature of faith, by the very principle of faith. Listen, when
God writes that on your heart, you can't help but believe. It's a part of you. It's the
nature of that new man to believe God. It's a part of, you can't help
it. It's a law. By the law of faith you believe
God. Now look over in Romans chapter
10. Here's another law we're given. It says here, Brethren, my heart's
desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be
saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God,
but not according to knowledge. For they, being ignorant of God's
righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness,
have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.
For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone
that believeth. For Moses describes the righteousness
which is of the law, that the man which does these things shall
live by them. But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on
this wise, Say not in thine heart, who shall ascend into heaven? That is, to bring Christ down
from above. Or who shall descend into the deep? That is, to bring
up Christ again from the dead. But what saith it? The word is
nigh thee, even in thy mouth and in thy heart, that which
is the word of faith which we preach." We have here in verse
4, for Christ is the end of the law for righteousness, the law
of righteousness. His righteousness, now not mine,
is written on that heart. It's written on the heart. And
the tenor, the tenor of a believer, the tenor of his life or her
life, is one of righteousness. It's written on the heart. His
righteousness, but it's one of righteousness, and that's the
tenor of your life. It's after righteousness. And
then turn over to James chapter 1. Look in verse 25. Verse 25. into the perfect law of liberty,
and continues therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a
doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. Here
is the law of liberty. Paul said in Galatians, Stand
fast in the liberty, for with Christ hath made you free. That's
written on the heart. You know, you know that in Christ
you are free. that in Christ all debts are paid. All debts
are paid. No debt. That's the law of liberty. And that's written on the heart,
that new heart. That's written on that new heart. You know that.
You know that in Christ that you are free from the curse,
from the power of sin, the curse of sin, the curse of the law.
You know you're free from these things. You're not trying to
work. You're not trying to produce.
Why are you not trying to do that? Because that perfect law
of liberty is written on your heart. You know in Christ, even
though you know you're a sinner and you know you sin and it troubles
you and it bothers you, but you know in Christ that you've been
set free. It's written on your heart. And
then over in James chapter 2, look in Verse 8, if ye fulfill the royal law according
to the Scripture, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself,
ye do well. Ye do well. What's this law? What's this royal law here? It's love. It's love. Love thy neighbor
as thyself. Love God with all your heart
and your neighbor as yourself. It is the nature of every believer
to love the brethren. It is the nature of every believer
to love God. It is the nature of every believer
to love all men in general. You can't help it. These laws,
these principles are written on your heart. You don't have
to read the book and say, well, it says here I'm supposed to
love you. So I'm going to. No, you're not. No, you're not. You're going to love me because
you can't help it. You're going to love all men because you can't
help it. You're going to love God. You're going to love Christ
because this law is written on your heart. The law of righteousness
is written on your heart. You're going to seek after righteousness. You're going to seek to live
a life that's pleasing to God. Not to be saved, but because
you are saved. It's written on the heart. And
then look over in Galatians. Over in Galatians chapter 6.
Here's another law. Galatians chapter 6. Let's see here. Verse 1, Brethren, if a man be
overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such a
one in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself, lest thou
also be tempted. Bear ye one another's burdens,
and so fulfill, what? The law of Christ. What is that
law? Bearing each other's burdens. Did he not bear ours? Did He
not bear ours? He took ours all the way to the
grave. Now, to fulfill the law of Christ is to bear one another's
burdens. And it is written on that new
heart. It is written. It's a part of
us, is what I'm saying. It's a part of us. It's written
on the heart. It's who we are. We desire to bear one another's
burden. It's not like you see a troubled
brother coming down the road and you say, oh no. What does he need? Does he need
a cup of sugar or something? No, you naturally. This is what
I'm trying to get across. I don't know if I'm getting it
across or not. But you naturally bear one another's burden. You
naturally love one another. You naturally follow after righteousness.
You naturally do these things because it's written on the heart.
It's a law that's within you. It is a law that's within you.
The old covenant could not do any of these things. That old
covenant did none of these things. But that new covenant that Christ
is the mediator of accomplishes all these things. I turn over to 2 Corinthians
and I'll close. 2 Corinthians chapter 3. 2 Corinthians chapter 3. Let me start reading in verse
4. For such trust have we through Christ to God. Not that we are
sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves, but
our sufficiency is of God, who also hath made us able ministers
of the new covenant, the new testament, not of the letter. This is not a cold, dry message. The gospel is not a cold, Dead
letter? It's living. It's living. But of the Spirit. For the letter
killeth, but the Spirit giveth life. But if the ministration
of death written and engraven in stones is glorious, so that
the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face
of Moses, for the glory of his countenance, which glory must
be done away, how shall not the ministration of the Spirit be
rather glorious? For if the ministration of condemnation
be glory, and had some glory to it, much more doth the ministration
of righteousness exceed in glory. For even that which was made
glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory
that excelleth." There's no comparison between the old and the new.
That old covenant and the new covenant, there's no comparison
in their glory. For if that which is done away
was glorious, and that old covenant, It had some glory to it. It was
of God. God gave it. Much more, that which remains
is glorious. How much more of that new covenant?
Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness
of speech. Not as Moses, which put a veil over his face that
the children of Israel could not steadfastly look to the end
of that which is abolished, that old covenant, but their minds
were blinded. For until this day remains the
same veil untaken away in the reading of the Old Testament,
which veil is done away in Christ. When we look to Him, when we
turn to Him, we understand the gospel. We understand how God
saves sinners. We see the glory of God in the
face of Jesus Christ. Nevertheless, when it shall turn
to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away. Now, the Lord is
that Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. There was no liberty in that
old covenant. The Spirit of the Lord is in that new covenant. But we all, with open face beholding
as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same
image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord."
Now back over here, let me finish off chapter 8. In that he saith, in verse 13,
in that he saith, a new covenant he hath made the first Now that
which decays and waxes old is ready to vanish away. There is
no connection between the two. This is not an amendment. This
is not a repair. It's totally done away with.
Totally done away with. We are saved by grace through
Christ and Christ alone. And in that new covenant, God
said, I will write my laws in your mind, your hearts, I'll
be to you a God, you're going to be to me a people. I'll be
merciful to you, unrighteous. I'll remember your sins no more."
That can only happen in the New Covenant, that covenant of grace,
where Christ is King-priest. He's the King-priest.