The Psalmist David, speaking
prophetically of our Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior and our
Redeemer, makes the statement, His glory is great in thy salvation. Honor and majesty hast thou laid
upon him. For thou hast made him most blessed
forever." In the book of Hebrews, the Holy Spirit gives us something
of the revelation of the great glory of Jesus Christ as our
Savior. All the glory of God is revealed
in and is wrapped up in the salvation of his people by Jesus Christ. I said that exactly as I wanted
to say it. All the glory of God is revealed
in and is wrapped up in the salvation of his people by Jesus Christ,
our Lord. Let's look at the book of Hebrews
and let me show you. Here is a magnificent statement
of our Redeemer's glory. God, who at sundry times and
in diverse manners they can had by himself purged our sins,
sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high, being made
so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained
a more excellent name than they. Truly his glory is great in God's
salvation. May God the Holy Spirit now show
us something about it. We're not told who wrote this
epistle. It really doesn't matter. We're
not told when it was written. It really doesn't matter. We're
not even told to whom it was written. It really doesn't matter. These things are not left out. They are not hidden from us accidentally,
but on purpose. because it is the intent of God
the Holy Spirit that we understand this word from God is written
to us. It is given specifically to us. Now, obviously, the epistle was
written to Jewish believers in general, where they were, or
whether it was folks like Peter wrote to, scattered here and
there, we're not told. But these Jewish believers were
being induced by Judaizers to return to their Jewish traditions,
to return to law observance, to return to the sacrifices and
ceremonies of the Levitical law, to return to the old days of
keeping holy days and Sabbath days and such as that. They were
being pressured on every hand by friends and family. They were
being pressured with constant opposition, harassed continually. And this epistle is written to
encourage them to hold fast the beginning of their confidence,
steadfast to the end. To hold fast the faith of the
gospel. Like the saints at Galatia, Judaizers
were trying to get them to go back to Moses, and this book
is written telling them to stay firm with Christ. In a word,
they face the same pressures, the same difficulties, that God's
Saints face in all times, in all ages, and in all places in
this world. The religious world around them,
the religious world in which family and friends were involved,
was set in direct opposition to the gospel of God's free grace
and the worship of Christ. And for them not to engage in
the religion of Judaism, was for them to, as it were, though
they didn't do a thing, they didn't say a thing, though they
didn't stand around and fuss and fight with folks, but just
the fact that they would not worship at the altar of Jewish
sacrifices anymore, was for them to stick their thumb right in
the nose of family and friends and declare, your religion is
worthless. And that creates a little rile. That creates a little opposition. That creates continual, continual
harassment, belittlement, and accusation. Now, this book is
written to inspire relentless devotion to Christ, no matter
who opposes us, no matter what entices us to turn aside from
him, no matter what opposition we may face. As we read these
13 chapters, describing the greatness of Christ's glory in the salvation
he accomplished for us, we shouldn't be at all surprised to see that
the focus of the entire epistle is the person and work of our
Lord Jesus Christ. The focus of the whole 13 chapters
is that which Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has accomplished
for us as our surety, our substitute, and our mediator. Now, preparing
this message today, I picked up some things in this book that
I want to share with you by way of introduction, then we'll give
a brief overview. Here are four great facts clearly
set before us in this book. First, everything that the Lord
Jesus Christ did for us as our substitute, everything he did
as our Savior while he walked in this world. Everything he
did as our representative before God, he did just one time. Just one time. Just one time. Let me show you. Look at chapter
7. You see, there was no need for anything he did to be done
twice. Once was enough. He lived once. He obeyed God's law once. He
established righteousness once. He died once. He arose from the
dead once. Once is enough, because his sacrifice
is infinitely meritorious and infinitely efficacious. For such an high priest became
us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, made higher
than the heavens, who needeth not daily," not any need for
him to make a daily sacrifice, as those high priests offer up
sacrifice first for his own sins, then for the people's. For this
he did once, when he offered up himself. No repeated sacrifice. No more need for atonement, no
more need for righteousness to be established. He did it once,
chapter 9, verse 11. But Christ being come and high
priest of good things to come, by a greater, more perfect tabernacle,
not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building,
neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood,
that is, by the merit of his own blood, he entered in once
into the holy place," watch it now, "...having obtained eternal
redemption for us." Verse 26. For then must he often have suffered
since the foundation of the world. But now, once in the end of the
world, hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of
himself." Look at chapter 10, verse 9. Then said he, Lo, I
come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that
is, the first covenant that he may establish the second, by
the which will, God's will, we are sanctified through the offering
of the body of Jesus Christ once for all, one time with finality. Everything our Lord did as our
mediator, he did one time, one time. Second, everything the
Son of God did as the God-man, our Savior, our substitute, everything
he did for the salvation of God's elect, He did for all God's elect
alike. What he has done for one, he's
done for all. What he's done for me, he's done
for you. What he's done for you, he's
done for me. We're told in chapter 2, verse
9, that he tasted death for every man. That is, he tasted death
for all God's elect. The Son of God died to bring
every one of God's elect into glory. He entered into heaven
for us, as a forerunner for us, we're told in chapter 6, verse
20. He sanctified every sinner for whom he died by his blood,
and perfected us all forever by his one sacrifice for us,
we're told in chapter 10, we just read it. In chapter 10,
verse 20, the Lord Jesus made a way for all of us. for every
one of us. He made a way for every sinner
whose sins he bore away. He made a way for every sinner
for whom he made atonement. He made a way by his blood for
you and I to approach God Almighty and find acceptance with him
and be confident that we are accepted. How on this earth can
a man, knowing his sin, mourning for his Come to God Almighty
in his holiness, and be confident that God smiles at you and accepts
you. There's one way. Come by the
blood of Christ, and God smiles at you and accepts you. Come believing on the Son of
God by this blood-sprinkled way, and the God of glory declares
himself reconciled to you. The Lord Jesus, we are told in
chapter 11, verse 40, has prepared for all God's elect the same
inheritance. Those Old Testament Saints shall
not without us be made perfect, Paul says. Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob, Peter, James, and John, all, and you and I, shall all
be made perfect together in Christ. Here is the third thing. Everything
that our Savior did for our salvation He has done perfectly. Perfectly. Did He come to bring in righteousness?
He did it by Himself perfectly. Did He come to put away sin?
He did it by Himself perfectly. Did He come to save His people
from their sins? He did it by Himself perfectly. Look at chapter 10. We're told
in chapter 10 verses 10 through 14, Get down to chapter 10, verse
14. We are told that our Lord Jesus
Christ, our perfect God and perfect man, the God-man, our Savior,
the perfect Son, the perfect priest, the perfect sacrifice,
the perfect altar, the perfect tabernacle, the perfect captain
of our salvation, our perfect surety, He has perfected forever
them that are sanctified. Done once, done by himself, done
for all his people, and done perfectly. Here's the fourth
thing. Because everything Christ did, he did perfectly. Because
he is the perfect God-man, Because all that he did as our representative,
he did as our representative substitute and charity, not for
himself but for us. He did everything and it was
of infinite value and efficacy. That simply means everything
that he did has everlasting consequences. everlasting consequence. His
redemption is everlasting redemption. His forgiveness is everlasting
forgiveness. His righteousness is everlasting
righteousness. It is forever. His throne, the
throne that he possesses now, by virtue of his obedience, is
called an everlasting throne. His priesthood, the priesthood
which he exercises for our salvation, is called an everlasting priesthood.
He has perfected forever them that are sanctified. And the
covenant by which it was all done is called an everlasting
covenant. In chapters 1 and 2, we have
a description of our Savior in his person as God and man which
is perhaps the clearest explanation of our Lord's eternal deity and
his perfect manhood to be found in the entire Bible. Remember,
the purpose of this epistle is to show us Christ's greatness
as God our Savior, the greatness of his glory in accomplishing
God's salvation on behalf of his people. It is to encourage
us to remain faithful. to continue believing him, to
continue trusting him, looking to him alone as our Savior. What
better way could that object be accomplished? How can we better
be assured and made to see his greatness as our Savior, and
inspired to continue believing him, than to understand that
he who is our Savior is a man, just like we are, in all things,
sin alone except. a man who is touched with the
feeling of our infirmities, that means he knows what we need all
the time. He knows what we need all the
time. But that really wouldn't be much
help with him, unless he is also God Almighty, and that means
he meets our need all the time. He is man able to know our need,
God able to meet our need, and because he is the God-man, our
Mediator and Savior, our High Priest who is indeed touched
with the feeling of our infirmities, this great God-man who is constantly
moved by what moves us will constantly supply our need according to
his own riches in glory and in grace. The central doctrine of
this epistle is our Lord's eternal priesthood, his finished, efficacious
sacrifice for the redemption and salvation of his people.
The book of Hebrews stresses the infinite importance and the
infinite efficacy and power of Christ's sin-atoning blood in
obtaining eternal redemption for us. This book stresses the
infinite, infinite value and merit and efficacy of his blood
to purge our consciences and to open for us heavenly glory. The key word in the epistle is
the word better. It's used just throughout these
13 chapters. The one purpose of the book is
to show us that Christ is better than all who came before him,
and better than all who come after him. He's better than the
prophets, better than the angels, better than Moses, better than
Joshua, better than Aaron. He is the maturity of a better
covenant established upon better promises with better sacrifices.
He gives us a better hope. All these things are set before
us in the succeeding chapters of the book. Let's look at them
each briefly, and I mean just briefly. And you'll have to sort
of follow along as we go along, and I won't get done. Chapter
1, verses 1-4, Christ is better than the prophets, all of them,
all of them. Oh, how the Jews claim to revere
the prophets. They claim Moses, Jeremiah, and
Elijah. Oh, how they revered the prophets,
Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel. They revered them and studied
them and recited them. This epistle began by telling
us Christ is indescribably better than the prophets. You see, the
prophets gave us a partial revelation of God, his purpose, and his
salvation. When you read Moses, or you read
Isaiah, or you read Haggai, or you read Ezekiel, or you read
Jeremiah, any of the prophets, when you read them and study
their message and understand that their message is speaking
about the Christ, the Messiah, the Redeemer, and God's salvation,
when you get done reading everything they've said, you get to the
last page and you say, it's not finished yet. There's something
else to be said. This prophecy is not complete.
The word is not complete. We're left with a cliffhanger
at the end of every prophecy. We're left with a cliffhanger.
Something else has got to happen, because this story is not fulfilled.
But when we get to the final revelation given by Jesus Christ
in his person and work, written out by his apostles by divine
inspiration, You just read it. David back there in the back.
That's the finished work. No cliffhangers now. Everything's
done. The message is finished. The
revelation is finished. This is all that God has to reveal. This is all that God has to say.
This is all we need to know concerning God and his salvation. It's revealed
in Christ Jesus the Lord. Now, that ought to tell you something
about this modern charismatic movement invokes having prophetic
visions, a prophetic word, seeing things. It's always got something
to do with your pocketbook. Always got something to do with
what you can do for them. No, no, no. Christ is the final revelation
of God. Those prophets, all of them,
were mere messengers. Christ is the message. They were
all mere men. Christ is the Creator, the Ruler,
the Redeemer, and the Savior of men. The prophets were sinners
in need of atonement. Christ is their atonement. By
one sacrifice he purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of
the Majesty on high, and he did so because his work was finished
and our redemption was accomplished. Then we're told in chapter 1,
beginning at verse 4, going all the way through chapter 2, Christ
is better than the angels. I have books in my library, rather
large books, men who've written. When I was in college, I had
to take a course studying on angeology. The more I studied the subject,
and I've been occasionally looking at it for a few years The more
convinced I am, this book says very little about the angels,
because God wants us to know very little about them. Very
little. But whatever and whoever they are, the angels are God's
creatures, we're told in chapter 1. And the Son of God is that
one whom the angels were commanded to worship, not just from everlasting,
but commanded by God, we're told in chapter 1 and verse 6, they're
commanded to worship him when he came into the world. That
is, they're commanded to worship God the Son as God when he came
through the virgin's womb into this world as a baby, and the
angels of God, looking on that baby, said, This man is God Almighty,
and we worship him as such. They're commanded to worship
him. The angels, we're told, were
to worship him, the Son of God. And when he finished his work
of redemption, The Lord God said to his son, Set thou, verse 7,
set thou on my right hand, until I make thine enemies to be thy
footstool." Because he is one with the Father and equal with
the Father, he sets upon the Father's throne. But the angels
of God, look at verse 14, they don't sit on the throne of God.
They are all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for them
who shall be the heirs of salvation. They minister for those who shall
be the heirs of salvation, but Christ is the Savior. In chapter
2, verses 6 through 18, we are told that our Lord Jesus, being
mindful of man, has visited us. And that prophecy from which
this is taken is referring to our Lord's incarnation and the
accomplishment of redemption. He visited the earth in human
flesh. made a little lower than the angels, that he by the grace
of God should taste death for every man." That word, every
man, of those two words, you'll notice are in italics. It's because
they were added by our translators, as you know. In this case there
is no corollary word in the text for every or man. But rather
the text would end like this, that he by the grace of God should
taste death for. That's kind of an awkward way
to end a sentence. But really he's not ending the sentence.
It's just going on. And the words every man added
here refer to everyone spoken of in the context. Who's he talking
about? He tasted death for his elect.
They are every man numbered among the many sons he shall bring
the glory. This every man, they are every
one of his elect, those who are sanctified by him, whom he is
not ashamed to call his brethren, in verse 11. These words, every
man, again they refer to his elect. They are the children
the Father gave him, verse 13, to redeem and save by his grace
and by his blood. In verse 16, they are the seed
of Abraham. We're told in verse 16 that our
Lord Jesus Verse 14 and 15, he came here to set us free from
the fear of death that held us in bondage all our lifetime.
He said this because he took not on him the nature of angels. He didn't come down here to save
angels. The angels that did the same thing we did. The angels
that sinned against God. The angels that said, God get
out of the way, we'll take over. The angels who lost their first
estate. He left them in chains of darkness.
Gave them no grace, no mercy. But it took hold on the seed
of Abraham. He didn't save the seed of Adam,
did he? He didn't die for Adam's seed. He didn't die for Adam's
sons. He didn't die for Adam's race.
He died for Abraham's seed, Abraham's sons, Abraham's race. That is,
he died for God's elect, represented in the chosen people of old,
called the seed of Abraham. He took hold of Abraham to redeem,
to save, and to justify Abraham's seed. Then in chapter 3, we're
told that Christ is better than Moses. I wonder why he spends
a whole chapter talking about that? Because folks need to hear
it. Moses represented and represents
God's law, the whole of it. The commandments, the ceremonies,
the sacrifices, the holy days, the Sabbath days. Moses was a
servant in Christ's house. We are told in this chapter that
we are that house. We are that house. We are the
house in which Moses was a servant. God's elect, his church, his
kingdom, all who believe on his Son are the house of God. Christ
is the builder of the house, and he's the master of the house.
Moses just served for a little while, and his time of service
had to end. And because Moses represents
the law, Moses, though he was chosen of God to bring Israel
out of Egypt, chosen of God to be that one in whose hands he
would give the commandments and give them to the nation of Israel,
chosen of God to lead his people for 40 years, this man Moses,
because he represents the law, has got to die before Israel
possesses the land of Canaan. And so Moses dies in the wilderness.
Because the law cannot bring us into rest. The law can never
bring us into the possession of God's promise. The law can
never bring us into everlasting glory and everlasting salvation. But Joshua is raised up. Joshua
comes on the scene. Joshua, whose name means Jehovah
saves, whose name really is the same word in which we get our
word Jesus in the Greek language. Jesus, Jehovah, Joshua. Joshua is that one who was raised
up to bring Israel into the land of Canaan. But you'll notice
in chapter 4, even Joshua doesn't measure up. Chapter 4 tells us
Christ is better than Joshua. Better than Joshua? But Joshua
brought Israel into the land of Canaan. Yes, but that was
just typical. They didn't really have rest
in Canaan, did they? it was only a typical rest. They
didn't really possess heavenly glory and the boundless bounties
of God's grace and covenant in the land of Canaan. Oh, no. No,
no. And they didn't possess it forever.
All that was just typical. But Joshua led them into the
land of Canaan, and typically he brought them into the land
of promise, typically he brought them into the land that portrayed
heaven itself, typically he brought them into the land of rest, typically
he brought them to the fulfillment of God's covenant with regard
to all the promises he had made. In fact, Joshua said, this day
the Lord has fulfilled everything he spoke to your fathers back
yonder of old. He fulfilled it all. But Joshua was just typical. The enemies he conquered were
conquered not by his power, or even by the power of Israel.
How was it that Jericho's walls fell? They just marched around
them and blew a trumpet. That's all. Looks like God did
that. How was it that the Midianites
and the Gergesites and the Hivites and all of them were driven out
of the land? God did it. And he did it in such a way that
nobody could look and say, Gideon did that, Jephthah did that,
Joshua did that, Samson did that, everybody looked and said, well,
somehow or another, God Almighty did this. And we can't explain
it. That's because it was all typical. You see, our redemption
and grace, our salvation is the work of Jesus Christ alone. Our enemies were conquered by
him alone. We don't conquer them. We don't
conquer them. I hear preachers, preachers who
ought to know better, talk about you conquering your
enemies, your sins, your lust, conquering Satan. Would you tell
me which one you conquered? What have you conquered? You might have put a nice racking
on it, but you didn't conquer it. You might have squirted it
with some perfume, make it smell better, but you didn't conquer
it. You didn't conquer it. has conquered all our enemies
who would destroy us by his cross at one time. It's God's work
and God's work alone, and he brings us into rest. So another
message in chapter 4, verses 9 through 11, is that Christ
is better than the Sabbath. The Old Testament Sabbath was
just typical of Christ, who is our true The Sabbath vest of
faith in Christ Jesus was typified when God ceased from his own
works after he created this world and rested on the seventh day.
He ceased from his works. Oh, he was so tired, wasn't he?
I mean, he had made this whole thing. Everything. Everything. Oh, he must have been whipped,
wore out. No, he's God. He created all of it by his mere
will. He didn't break a sweat. What
does it mean he rested? He quit working. That's all. He just quit working. Now hear me. I'll tell you why
it is. You who yet are without rest
and without faith, I'll tell you exactly what the problem
is. You're still trying to do something to give yourself peace
with God. That's it. You're looking for
something in here. Something you can do with your
hands. Something you can do with your lips. Something you can do with
your heart. Something you can do with your emotions. Somehow
I've got to do something to make peace with God. When you quit
trying to make peace When you quit trying to make yourself
righteous and look to Christ alone as Savior and Lord, you're
going to rest. You're going to rest. Quit working. Just quit working. The Jews going
about to establish their own righteousness stumble over that
stumbling stone that God has laid in Zion because they're
ignorant of God's righteousness. They don't understand Christ
is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. Do
you understand that? Don't stumble over the stumbling
stone, fall down on him and rest. Then we're told, beginning at
verse 15 of chapter 4, and going through the 7th chapter, Christ
is better than Aaron. Beginning at the end of chapter
4, The Holy Spirit tells us that our Lord Jesus Christ is our
great High Priest, that he is a priest better than Aaron, with
a better priesthood than Aaron's typical priesthood in Israel.
Look at verse 14, Hebrews 4, verse 14. Seeing then we have
a great High Priest that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son
of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not a
High Priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities,
but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that
we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need."
We have a high priest, God in our flesh, who sits upon the
throne of the universe. He sits upon the throne of absolute
monarchy and dominion over all things, but bless God, his throne
is a throne of grace, and he bids many sinners come to him
in every time of need, and come unto him confessing freely their
need, and they shall obtain mercy and find grace to help in time
of need. His priesthood is an everlasting
priesthood, an unchangeable priesthood, after the order of Melchizedek.
Because he is our priest, accepted of God forever, the God of glory
has confirmed that everything he has done and he himself is
accepted for us, and he gives us assurance of our everlasting
acceptance in him. Look at chapter 6, verse 17. Wherein God, willing more abundantly
to show to the heirs of promise The immutability of his counsel
confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable things in which
it was impossible for God to lie. I read the commentators
and fellows, oh, they'll spend pages and pages and pages trying
to convince you what these two immutable things are. I'm more
interested in this next line. It's impossible for God to lie.
And whatever they are, he did it that we might have a strong
consolation. Strong comfort. That's a strange
combination of words, isn't it? Strong comfort. That's comfort
that will bear up against weight and stress and trial. Strong
consolation. Who has it? We who have fled
for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us, which hope
we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, which
entereth into that within the veil. Now, I'm not a seaman,
but I've got enough sense to know that an anchor inside the
boat is useless. It's useless. What do you do
with an anchor? You throw it outside the boat.
And the anchor of our souls is not in here. The anchor of our
souls is in glory, and that's our strong consolation. Now read
on. Verse 20. Whether the forerunner is for
us entered. He entered in as a forerunner
for us. That means he's the first runner
somebody else is going to follow. And those who are going to follow
are the us for whom he entered in. Even Jesus made an high priest
forever after the order of Melchizedek. Now, all that Abram could do
was offer typical sacrifices. He could pronounce typical cleanness
or typical uncleanness. Ceremonial holy days, ceremonial
observances. He could ceremonially say to
the leper, you're clean. Or he could say to the leper,
you're unclean. But what he said really didn't amount to anything.
All it was was ceremonial. It didn't change anything. His
speech did not make a leper clean or make him unclean, it just
declared what he observed. It was all ceremonial. He couldn't
save anybody. He couldn't heal anybody. He
couldn't put away anybody's sins. But Christ is able to save unto
the uttermost all who come to God by him." Because you see,
Christ is not a priest like Abraham. As a matter of fact, God ordained
that he be a priest who is of the Lion, or who is the Lion
of the tribe of Judah. And Paul goes on to argue here
that there has never been a priest come out of Judah alive. No. No high priest come out of there.
because the law ordained that the priesthood be from Levi's
tribe, Aaron. So there's got to be a change
made in the law. And that's what it tells us in this 7th chapter.
A change must of necessity take place. It's got to take place.
Look at verse 11. If therefore perfection were
by the Levitical priesthood, for under it the people received
the law, what further need was there of another priest who should
arise 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." Well, what happened? You remember back in 1 Samuel,
a fellow by the name of Eli had two sons, two sons who defiled
and mocked God before all of Israel. And God Almighty said,
I want to take the priesthood from you. And he established
the priesthood in another And now the priest comes of the Lion
of Judah, so that the Lion of the tribe of Judah, our Lord
Jesus, legitimately and lawfully sits upon the throne of God,
and also bears the breastplate of the priesthood in the house
of God. And this priest, look at it,
verse 24, this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable
priesthood. nobody is going to take his priesthood
away. Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost
that come to God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession
for them. In chapter 8 we are told that
our Lord Jesus Christ is the surety of a better covenant,
founded upon better promises, with better sacrifices. The old
covenant was a covenant of law and works. It was a conditional
covenant. You can read it in many ways.
God said, do this and I'll do that, do this and I'll do that,
do this and I'll do that. And the whole weight of responsibility
lay on the shoulders of men. The whole weight of responsibility
lay on the shoulders of men. In the new covenant, everything
is free and unconditional. God says, I will and you shall. He doesn't say, you shall and
I will. Language is completely changed.
He says, I will and you shall. Because now the whole weight
of responsibility is laid upon one man, our mighty David. who stands before Goliath and
slays him, our great surety, help laid upon one who is mighty.
And he, having fulfilled all the stipulations of the covenant,
having put away sin, having brought in everlasting righteousness,
having satisfied justice, he has fully satisfied all the demands
of God's holiness, his law, and his justice, and now this is
what God declares. Look at chapter 8, verse 6. Now
he hath obtained a more excellent ministry, a more excellent service,
by how much he is also the mediator of a better covenant, which is
established upon better promises. For if that first covenant had
been faultless, then should no place have been sought for a
second. But finding fault with them, finding fault with those
who broke the covenant, they saith, Behold, the days come."
You can read it in Jeremiah 31. The days come, saith the Lord,
when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and
with the house of Judah, not according to the covenant that
I made with their fathers in the day that 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. Verse
10, For this is the covenant that I will make with the house
of Israel after those days, saith the Lord. I'll 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, not going to need a mediator other than Christ,
for they shall all know me. They shall all know me from the
least to the greatest, for I will be merciful to their unrighteousness,
and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more." And
in chapter 9, we're told that Christ is a better tabernacle.
In the Old Testament, the center of worship was the tabernacle,
later the temple. All the furniture in that temple
and in that tabernacle was symbolic and typical. But we're told that
Christ is a greater tabernacle. Christ now is the place of worship. Christ is the place where God
meets with men. Christ is that one who was represented
in it all. And Christ, chapter 10, is the
better sacrifice. All the laws and holy days and
ceremonies and religious observances of the Old Testament were just
typical. They could never take away sin. They could never give sinners
acceptance with God. Christ did, and he does. Him,
rather, put it this way, not all the blood of beasts on Jewish
altars slain could give the guilty conscience peace or wash away
the stain. But Christ, the heavenly Lamb,
takes all our sins away, a sacrifice of nobler name and richer blood
than they. Believing, we rejoice to see
the curse removed. We bless the Lamb with cheerful
voice and sing redeeming love. Christ and his sacrifice, his
finished work as our substitute and our Savior, is the whole
of our acceptance with God, the whole of our peace from God. and the whole of our assurance
before God. Now get that and you got the
message of Hebrews. Christ and his sacrifice, his
finished work, is the whole of our acceptance with God. The
whole of our peace from God and the whole of our assurance before
God. Let's see if I can make good
on that. Verse 4, Hebrews 10. It is not possible that the blood
of bulls and goats should take away sin. Wherefore, when he
cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldst
not, but a body hast thou prepared me. He goes on to say, I have
come to do thy will, O God. And by his one sacrifice he has
perfected forever them that are sanctified. Now look at verse
15. Whereof the Holy Ghost also is
witness to us, For after that he had said before, This is the
covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith
the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their
minds will I write them, and their sins and iniquities will
I remember no more. Now where remission of these
is, there is no more offering for sin. The covenant is fulfilled. All the terms and stipulations
are met. Verse 19, having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into
the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which
he hath consecrated for us through the veil, that is to say, his
flesh, and having a high priest over the house of God, let us
draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having
our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies
washed with pure water, that is, having fulfilled in us and
for us everything typified in the law. In verse 11, we're told
that Christ is the better object of faith. No matter what men
look to, no matter what men trust, Christ is better because he's
the only true object of faith. Abel believed Christ, and God
accepted him. Enoch walked with God and had
this testimony before he was translated that he pleased God.
to what he did. Why? Brother Enoch, he must have
been something else. Man, he must have been a remarkable
fellow. I'm sure he was. I'm sure he was, but let me tell
you what Enoch did. Nothing to please God. Nothing. Enoch rested. Enoch learned to
cease from his works. Enoch trusted Christ, and trusting
Christ God gave him testimony. He pleased God. Bobby Estes,
do you trust Christ? Hear God's testimony in your
soul. You please Him. This is my beloved Son in whom
I am well pleased. You got that? Noah entered into
an ark, but he entered into more than that ark. He entered into
Christ, the ark of salvation, and rested in Him. Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob walked with Christ and died in Christ. Moses, Joseph
and Moses, and David and Samson, Jephthah and Gideon and Barak,
they believed God, they walked with God, and they died with
God, believing the Son of God. He's the only object of faith.
Well, the motive for all this, Christ is the motive. He's a
better motive than any can find anywhere. How do you get people
to consecrate themselves to God? How can I persuade you, my brother,
my sister, to devote yourself to the Son of God? How can I
inspire my own heart to give myself entirely to Him continually? The best motive. I've got lots
of examples, got a whole slew of them in those 40 verses of
chapter 11. The best motive is Christ himself. Looking unto
Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who endured the
cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of
the throne of God. Consider him. Consider him. To wrap the whole thing up, Christ
is a better Savior, and that's what we have in chapter 13. He's
a better Savior than any that men may invent, any you may choose
to look to. He is the same yesterday, today,
and forever, so don't be carried away from Him. He went forth without the camp
bearing our reproach. Let's go forth to him without
the camp bearing his reproach. Look in chapter 13 verse 20. What better way to send you home?
Now, the God of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord
Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood
of his everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good
work to do his will working in you that which is well pleasing
in his sight through Jesus Christ to whom be glory forever and
ever. Amen. Amen. You're dismissed.