The Unchangeable Glory of Christ - Tim Conway

I know we're going to
read through it quickly,

so it's not going to be like

when you're sitting with an open Bible

and you're reading all by yourself

and you can actually stop and think.

But as we go through this,

try to make sense of this.

Try to follow the flow of thought.

Hebrews 13:7

"Remember your leaders,

those who spoke to you the Word of God.

Consider the outcome of their way of life

and imitate their faith.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday,

and today, and forever.

Do not be led away by diverse

and strange teachings,

for it's good for the heart

to be strengthened by grace,

not by foods which have not benefitted

those devoted to them.

We have an altar from which those who

serve the tent have no right to eat.

For the bodies of those animals

whose blood is brought
into the holy places

by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin

are burned outside the camp.

So Jesus also suffered outside the gate

in order to sanctify the people

through His own blood.

Therefore, let us go to
Him outside the camp

and bear the reproach He endured.

For here we have no lasting city,

but we seek the city that is to come."

Now, in my opinion,

this is the most difficult portion

of the entire epistle to the Hebrews

as far as just figuring out how it all

fits together.

I mean, what's the flow of thought?

How does v. 7 fit with v. 8?

How does v. 8 fit with v. 9?

I was checking an online
Hebrews commentary

the other day,

and one of the commentators -

PreceptAustin.org -

I recommend that to you for study

in any book.

It's a tremendous online resource.

But I was reading that,

and one of the commentators

had this to say about these very verses.

His name is Steven Cole.

Mr. Cole says this,

"I confess (I'm quoting him)

that the first twenty or so times

that I read our text,

it seemed to me to be a disjointed

random bunch of verses.

I could not see any unified theme."

This guy's a pastor.

He's a contemporary man.

He is alive today.

Twenty times through

it was just disjointed.

But, you have to hear in that,

after twenty times, he
began to see something.

But you just look at the flow here.

I mean, think with me here.

What do we have?

V. 7: Remember your leaders.

These guys are speaking the Word of God.

Imitate their faith.

And then, bang, you get this abrupt

doctrinal expression.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday,

and today, and forever.

And then in v. 9, you get hit with this:

Diverse and strange doctrines.

Don't be led away by them.

Then you get this comparison,

this contrast of grace over against foods.

And then in v. 10,

you get an altar.

Those who serve the tent?

In v. 11, you get this idea about

outside the camp.

You get these sacrifices that are burned

outside the camp.

V. 12: Outside the gate.

V. 13: Outside the camp.

In v. 14, no lasting city.

I mean, you can see

that we have a lot of
different thoughts here;

a lot of different ideas.

Now here's one thing that I want

you all to think about,

we're wrapping up Hebrews.

This is the last stretch

before you get some closing remarks.

One thing that's interesting

about the end

is that the author is assuming

that you've read the first 12 chapters.

Here's the problem.

We started - I looked back at my notes -

we started the first message in Hebrews

a little more than three years ago.

But the epistle of Hebrews was not

meant to be read in three years,

so that by the time you get to chapter 13,

you totally don't remember
what's going on in chapter 1.

On Thursday, I sat down

and I said you know what,

these are difficult verses,

and I feel like I need to get a feel

for all of Hebrews again,

so I sat down,

I read Hebrews in about 32 1/2 minutes.

And that's how it's meant to be.

Not necessarily 32 1/2,

but typically you are going to read

chapter 1 and chapter 13

within approximately the same hour.

So you have an idea when you're reading 13

what went on in 1.

But when we preach
through it at the rate

we've been preaching through it,

you tend to forget what's back there.

And so I think we're going to need to

bounce around.

Your faces are going to need to be

in your Bibles today.

We're going to spend the whole time

in the book of Hebrews,

but what I want to do
this morning is this:

We can't cover all of this.

There's just too many thoughts here.

What I want to try to focus on

is v. 7,8 and 9.

Remember your leaders.

Those who spoke to you the Word of God.

Consider the outcome of their way of life

and imitate their faith.

And then it's right here where you get

the real abrupt change.

Because trying to figure out,

well, is there anything about

these leaders in teaching the Word of God

and outcome of their way of life

and imitating their faith

that would lead us into a statement

about Jesus Christ being the same

yesterday, and today, and forever?

I mean, where's the transition?

Or should there be?

Maybe when the guy who made up -

this is not inspired where
verse divisions are

and where chapter divisions are.

Maybe there should be
a chapter division there.

Maybe that's the end of a thought

and now you get something

totally new.

That's possible.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday,

and today, and forever.

And then, you get maybe not as much

of an abrupt change,

but do not be led away

by diverse and strange doctrines.

Ok, is Jesus Christ being the same

yesterday, and today, and forever

contrasted over against diverse

and strange teachings?

Perhaps.

But you don't see immediately

what that connection is necessarily.

And then he goes on not to say

because some believe that Jesus Christ

is changing, and you don't want to

fall into those.

He actually goes on to say,

it's good for the heart to be strengthened

by grace, not by foods.

It's like why?

You're telling us Jesus Christ

is the same, but then it seems like

the thing that is confronting grace

is food;

not the idea that Jesus can change.

It's good for the
heart to be strengthened

by grace, but by foods,

which have not benefitted those

devoted to them.

Where does food come in?

What's food go to do

with diverse and strange teachings?

And so these are the things

I want to try to unpack this morning.

First, let's check out v. 7.

You see there at the beginning,

remember your leaders.

Now, if you let your eyeball sort of drift

down the page to v. 17,

you find the same word again.

Obey your leaders

and submit to them.

Now, we're going to deal
with that text later.

Obviously, the leaders in the church

don't have authority outside

of the Word of God.

Our authority has been handed us

by He Who has authority over us,

and that authority comes through

the Word of God.

It's not for us to make up our own rules

as far as the church goes.

Obey your leaders.

And then you see this word again

down in v. 24.

Greet all your leaders.

Now, I think that's probably
obvious to everybody

that the leaders spoken of in v. 17

and those spoken of again in v. 24,

they're living leaders, right?

I mean, if you need to
be submitting to them;

if they're keeping watch over your souls,

they're alive to do that.

If you're going to greet them,

they're alive.

It's not walking out to their tombstone

and saying something to them.

These are living leaders.

But, it's not so obvious that the leaders

spoken of in v. 7 are living.

And I think if we look at the text,

we can see that.

Do you see in v. 7 where it says,

"outcome?"

Some of your Bibles may say "the end,"

or "the result."

The NAS says result.

The King James says the
end of their conversation.

Conversation doesn't mean
what they speak

with their mouth.

It's their whole life.

The ESV says, "Consider the outcome

of their way of life."

It's the outcome.

It's the end.

It's the completion of the way of life

of these leader-teachers

that we're called upon to consider.

Now, listen to this.

Thayer's Greek Lexicon -

it's just a Greek dictionary -

says this about this word for completion

or end:

Thayer says, "it is
used of the end of life,

and it's not merely just the end

of their physical life,

but it has that idea of the manner

in which they closed their life.

The manner of which they closed

a well-spent life

as exhibited by their spirit in dying.

And you know, obviously,

if we're called to imitate them,

the author is assuming what

about the outcome of their life?

That it was good!

Not that it was bad.

He's not wanting us to imitate

bad examples.

He's calling us to imitate
that which is good.

Our author is assuming that the outcome

of these guys' lives was victorious,

it was successful.

The idea is that they held firm

to the faith until the end.

Now, look, that is not a new idea

in Hebrews.

Right?

Remember with me.

Here's where I want you to do

a quick survey.

Go back to Hebrews 3.

This is not a new idea.

The idea that we should look at somebody

and consider the outcome

of a whole life.

This idea of looking at those

who made it to the end.

Well, the idea of Hebrews of making it

to the end - firm to the end.

Holding our confidence to the end.

Being one who endures

all the way.

One that makes it.

That is a theme.

Running well, but running all the way

to the finish line.

That is an emphasis in Hebrews

that just hits us again and again.

And I'm just going to
hit on a few of these.

Hebrews 3:6

Christ is faithful over God's house

as a Son, and we are His house

if what?

We are His house.

A house is a place you live.

We are the dwelling place of God.

If what?

If we hold fast our confidence

and our boasting in hope.

Our hope is in Him.

We boast in Him.

Our confidence in Him.

We have to hold fast to it

all the way to the end.

How about Hebrews 3:14?

Hebrews 3:14 says we have
come to share in Christ.

Sharing in Christ means

we share in what He did.

The salvation He wrought.

The death He died.

We share in the victory that Christ has.

We share in His salvation

only if what?

We hold our original confidence.

Just for a week?

Firm to the end.

That's what this book is about.

Remember how it starts?

That we need to pay much closer attention

to the things we have heard,

lest what?

Lest what?

Lest we drift from them.

Drifting from Christ is perilous.

That is the danger that
these Hebrews were in.

Drifting from Christ

for anything else.

That's why food shows up there.

Food has to do with false religion.

Food has to do with religions

that are just lists of rules.

What you eat; what you don't;

what you celebrate;

the liturgy - everything
that's just mechanical.

You do this and you don't do that.

It's a set of rules.

That's not what true
religion is all about.

True religion is found in Christ,

and hope in Christ,

and hoping in what He has done.

And that's got to be firm to the end.

You don't want to let go of that.

And as we see,

if there's ever a book
in the New Testament

that is full of warning,

that if you let go of Christ,

it will end most miserably.

Fearful destruction.

Fearful fury of God.

Beware, Hebrews says.

Our God is a consuming fire.

God and in His hands is
the safest place to be

if you're trusting Christ,

but His hands are terrible

if you are outside of Christ

and you put your hope in anything else.

Look again at Hebrews 4:14.

Since then, we have a great high priest

Who has passed through the heavens.

Oh, don't you love that imagery?

Can you see Him?

A great high priest.

He is victorious!

Passing through the heavens.

That is a picture of Him ascending

up to the right hand of Majesty on High.

Can you see Him?

I mean, He goes forth triumphant;

scepter in hand to sit down,

after having made purification for sins,

at the right hand of the Majesty on High.

That's the picture.

Passing through the heavens.

He's ascending to take His throne.

He's victorious.

He has conquered sin.

He has conquered death.

But here's the thing,

we have a great high priest

Who has passed through the heavens -

Jesus, the Son of God.

Because that's true,

let us hold fast our confession.

There it is again.

Hold fast. Hold fast. Hold fast.

How about turn over to Hebrews 6:11?

Hebrews 6:11 - you jump in right there.

"Show the same earnestness

to have the full assurance of hope

until the end."

There you have it again.

Until the end.

Before in Hebrews 3:14,

firm to the end.

You have this "hold fast our confidence."

Hold our original confidence

firm to the end.

Let us hold fast our confession.

We are to have the same earnestness,

to have the full assurance of hope

until the end.

How about Hebrews 10:23?

Again, you get this idea again

about holding, holding, holding fast;

let us hold fast.

Hebrews 10:23, Let us hold fast

the confession of our hope

without wavering;

for He Who promised is faithful.

I'll give you one more.

Hebrews 12:1

Right there towards the end of the verse.

"Let us run with endurance

the race that is set before us."

Here the word is endurance.

But that's the same thing:

hold fast, keep enduring,

keep going.

So when it comes to those

who taught us the Word -

here's what the author
of Hebrews is doing.

He's saying those who taught us

the Word of God -

think about what the Word of God is.

The Word of God is the Gospel.

This is the message that
Christ is set forth in.

The very message of Christ.

The message that we are to continue

holding on to by faith

until the end.

We ask ourselves,

how did those who taught us run?

Did they hold fast?

Did they continue themselves?

Convinced of what they taught?

Did they hold their original
confidence firm to the end?

You see, this is a picture of those

who have gone before us.

Now, we're a young church.

You guys don't have elders who

aren't here anymore.

But there are people -

you sit under the teaching of Spurgeon,

many of you.

Yeah, he died over a hundred years ago,

but you sat under him.

Read his autobiography.

Read what was said about him.

Read how he died.

I just this morning and yesterday,

I pulled up that message.

It wasn't long ago when Bob Jennings

stood right here and gave the last message

to our church that he would ever give.

And I went back and I listened

to his preaching.

You know what the problem is with those

who are living?

What's the problem with
those who are living?

They haven't made it all
the way to the end yet.

You don't know if they're
going to fall out.

David mentioned Bill Gothard.

How about Doug Phillips?

I mean, we see guys fall out of the race.

We see guys fall into sin.

We see guys that don't make it to the end

all the time.

And sometimes they have big names.

Sometimes they're at the high end

of circles where you think
the doctrine is good

and it looks orthodox.

And these guys make shipwreck.

It happens.

You know what?

There are lots of things you can imitate

in those who are living.

But there's something that those

who made it successfully to the end

have that the living don't have.

They have a testimony all
the way to the end.

They made it.

They did well.

They got through.

The thing about men like Bob Jennings,

they shined right to the end.

Was he perfect? No.

But his hope was in Christ.

I pulled up that message.

As he was closing the message,

do you know what Bob was saying?

This was just two months before he died.

He says, "I'm going to
keep on with Christ.

I'm going to stay away from sin.

I'm going to abhor the world.

I'm going to live for Christ

and for eternity.

I'm putting my eggs in one basket.

I want to do all for Him.

I want to finish well.

Blessed are the dead
who die in the Lord.

That's it. That's the ultimate."

Here's a man. He's at the end.

He's run his race.

And that's his testimony.

He believed what he
taught all those years.

And that's what we're
being told to imitate.

Now, here's the thing that we need

to understand about making it to the end;

persevering; keeping on in the race.

The perseverance itself
is not what saves us.

It's not like we're being told

persevere because persevering saves you.

Jesus said that if you make it to the end;

you persevere to the end;

you keep going to the end,

you'll be saved.

But the merit in our salvation

is never in the perseverance.

It's never there.

The warrant for our salvation

is found in Christ alone.

The perseverance doesn't
earn salvation for us.

It doesn't earn forgiveness for our sins.

Christ alone saves.

But listen,

those He saves,

He saves well.

And He pours His grace

that their faith might
maintain to the end.

The proof that you have truly been saved

by this God Who saves well

is that you make it to the end.

The fact is that if you fall out,

you're showing that your salvation

is not of God's making.

It's something of man's making.

It's some religion that you've dreamt up.

God puts power in His people

that their faith might make it to the end.

He saves people.

And you know what?

Perseverance proves that
the saving power of God

is behind a person's being a Christian

so that they finish well.

That's the question.

That's the question on the table.

The one who endures to
the end will be saved.

And look, this isn't the first time

this idea of imitating those -

just jump back to Hebrews 6 very quickly.

V. 11 - you see this sort of language

found there as well.

This idea about imitating.

Hebrews 6:11

"We desire each one of you

to show the same earnestness,

to have the same assurance
of hope until the end."

Now, I know we just looked
at that a few moments ago,

but keep reading.

We need to have full assurance

of hope until the end,

so that you may not be sluggish,

but imitators of those who

through faith and patience

inherit the promises.

So here's that idea again.

Imitate. You have faith.

Until the end.

That's the idea.

Until the end.

Imitiate those who through faith

gain the fulfillment of the promises.

They make it.

So that's the idea there in 13:7.

Now, let's transition.

Go back to chapter 13.

Look at v. 8.

This just seems abrupt.

Now look, I don't think -

you tell me.

If I was talking to you and I told you

that you were to imitate

the outcome of the life.

You were to look and study and remember

the outcome of men's life

and imitate their faith -

men who made it to the end.

For me to go right in
to what that faith is,

wouldn't be unusual.

There'd be a connection.

There'd be a flow there.

Because faith isn't just
some obscure thing.

Faith is my eyes set on Jesus Christ

and my full hope is set right there.

So to have something about the object

of our faith to follow immediately after

is not strange.

To me, what's strange about it

is not that something
is said about Christ.

It's what is said about Christ.

Christ is the same

yesterday and today and forever.

How does that fit?

What does the sameness of Christ

have to do with what he just said?

Perhaps these guys have died;

these leaders, these guys that have

taught you the Word of God,

they've died. Jesus doesn't die.

Perhaps that's the connection.

Let's look at it.

As far as flow goes,

if you look at the next verse - v. 9,

it starts out with not being led away

by diverse and strange teachings.

It doesn't seem strange to me either

that you would get the author

giving us that which is not strange,

and then constrasting it

with that which is.

But again, what's unusual to me

is what is said about Christ.

Jesus Christ is the same

yesterday and today and forever.

I mean think about this.

The author is really wanting

to encourage us to hold fast to Christ

the way that our teachers
held fast to Christ.

But how does this
statement help us do that?

I mean, when you hear that,

does that really...

Oh yeah, that makes me

really want to trust Him more!

He's the same.

How does knowing that Christ is the same

help me not be led away

by diverse and strange teachings?

I mean, think about this,

was there a prevalent error?

Anywhere in the New Testament,

do you come across a prevalent error

in that day in the early church

that said that Jesus Christ changes?

I mean how does that statement help us?

Where is that statement coming from?

Jesus Christ is the same.

Well, the same as what?

What is He the same as?

I mean, clear, the text tells us

He's the same today as He was yesterday,

and He's the same yesterday

as He is today,

and that the way He was yesterday

and the way He is today

is the way He's going to be

through all the ages.

It literally reads:

Jesus Christ yesterday and today the same

and through the ages.

That's literally how it reads.

But how is it applicable

to imitating the faith of our teachers?

How is it applicable to not being

led away by diverse and strange teachings?

Do we know of any error

that said that Jesus Christ changes?

When we're told that Jesus Christ

is the same - the same as what?

I know He's the same

yesterday, today, and forever,

but what does the sameness apply to?

Sameness.

(Incomplete thought)

In an of itself, if you think about it,

if you tell me that something is the same,

it isn't necessarily good news to me.

I mean, you think about it.

The devil was the devil yesterday.

And the devil is the devil today.

And the devil is going to
be the devil forever.

Just because there's an aspect

about somebody that doesn't change,

doesn't necessarily make
it good news to us.

What is it in this book of Hebrews

that is really prompting the author

to want to go here as he's

shutting down this letter?

And you know what the thing is?

I can actually think of ways

that Jesus Christ has changed.

I mean, let's be honest about it.

Yes, if we're talking about His deity,

He doesn't change.

He's the eternal Word of God.

In the beginning, He was with God.

In the beginning, He was God.

That's how He was in the beginning.

We know that as God,

He has equality with the Father.

We know that as divine,

He doesn't change.

But the truth is,

there are a lot of things
about Jesus that do change.

Right?

The Word became flesh.

Think about that word "became."

He became something

that He wasn't before.

That's what became means.

He became flesh.

He took on Himself

the likeness of sinful flesh.

He didn't have that before.

I mean, that's one of the things

in Hebrews that we find out about Christ

is that for Him to become

the perfect high priest,

He had to become like His brethren

in every respect.

He had to become something

He wasn't before,

in order to become that
perfect high priest.

There was a time before which

He rose from the dead.

There was a time before which

He made atonement for sin.

There was a time before which

He ascended to His Father.

You see, there is a work Christ did

that at one time wasn't done.

A change took place

in that it was accomplished.

He became man when He was not man.

He took upon Himself humanity

and He will be humanity forever more.

You understand this.

His nature as man at one time

did not exist.

Now, I know in the mind of God,

God might count certain things

true about Him before they happened,

but the truth is, in time,

many things happened.

And one of them is

He took upon Himself

the nature of mankind.

That's a change.

I mean, we're not being honest

with ourselves if we say it isn't.

It is.

And Scripture everywhere tells us

He became something He wasn't before.

He became...

The Word became flesh.

I'm just wanting to be
honest with Scripture.

These are questions we have.

When we come across:

Jesus Christ is the same

yesterday, today, and forever,

we need to be thinking about

what this really means.

Well, let me tell you what
I believe this means.

I think this has everything to do

with what he's been talking about

in the book of Hebrews.

I'll tell you this right off.

When it says the same yesterday,

today and forever,

a lot of people like to reach in

and pull it out.

They give you no context in Hebrews.

They just pull it out.

And they typically apply it to His deity.

And I don't believe that's right.

I don't believe that yesterday

means eternity past.

I don't believe that.

Because I don't believe that's a message

we've been getting in Hebrews,

and I want to show you this.

Listen.

Hebrews is all about what changes

and what does not change.

And I want to show you this.

Go back to chapter 7.

I think you'll get a feel for this.

If you want to interpret Scripture,

we interpret Scripture with Scripture.

And if you want to interpret Scripture,

the best way to interpret it

is to look at the same author

in other places

and preferably in the same book.

Listen, Hebrews is a package.

Hebrews has a message.

Hebrews flows.

The author starts somewhere

and he's going somewhere.

It's not just disjointed.

It's not just random.

There is a cohesiveness about Hebrews.

And so when we get to
a statement like this

at the end of a book,

you really want to go back and look

throughout the book to see

is there anything that leads us

to be able to determine and define,

to discern where this is coming from.

So if you go back to Hebrews 7.

Look at this.

V. 11

I'm going to tell you,

I don't believe this statement
has to do with Christ's deity.

I believe it has to do

with His priesthood,

and with His sacrifice,

and what was accomplished by it.

The high priestly capacity

of our Lord Jesus Christ

is certainly a prominent message

throughout Hebrews.

Here we are right in the heart of it.

But, watch this, Hebrews 7:11.

"Now, if perfection had been attainable

through the Levitical priesthood..."

Now think about that.

The Levitical priesthood
was the priesthood

you found in the Old Testament.

Was perfection available through it?

Was anybody perfected
through that priesthood?

No.

And because of it,

it was changeable.

It needed to be replaced.

It changed.

"For under it, the people
received the law."

The whole idea here

is if under that priesthood

people would have been made perfect,

what further need would there have been

for another priest - that's Christ -

to arise after the order of Melchizedek?

Who's Melchizedek?

Well, he's this really mystical,

strange guy that shows up,

just fleeting.

Has this run-in with Abraham.

But the thing about him

that our author of Hebrews is gleaning

is you never even know
where he comes from.

And he comes and he goes.

And there's no indication of genealogy.

There's no indication of
who he's related to.

There's no indication that he ever died.

And the author of
Hebrews picks up on that.

In fact, God brought him

into the biblical record,

and took him out on purpose,

so that later he could say

about His own Son:

You are a priest forever.

Forever!

Not after the order of Levi,

but after the order of Melchizedek.

And what was it about Melchizedek?

There's no record of a death.

He lives forever.

And that's where he's headed here.

"What further need would there have
been for another priest to arise

after the order of Melchizedek,

rather than one named after

the order of Aaron?"

And by the way, Aaron and Levi -

they're the same family.

Aaron was the high priest.

The Levites were the underling priests.

They were priests - they
were not the high priest.

They could not enter the holy of holies.

Now watch this,

"when there is a change..."

now think with me there.

Jesus Christ is the same.

Here there is a change.

We don't have time to do this,

but if you meticulously
walk through Hebrews

and look for every place

where change over against

what's being said about Christ.

He doesn't change.

His ministry is permanent.

His sacrifice is once for all.

His priesthood is forever.

But there's a change.

"Where there is a
change in the priesthood,

there is necessarily a change in the law."

And you remember,

there was a change in the old covenant.

It was weak.

It was imperfect.

It's replaced.

But what's the New Testament called

in Hebrews 13?

We haven't gotten to it yet,

but what's it called?

It's an eternal covenant.

You find in Hebrews eternal salvation,

eternal redemption.

But here, you see things being replaced.

"For the one of whom
these things are spoken,

(Christ)

belong to another tribe

from which no one
ever served at the altar.

Not under Moses.

They were all from the Levitical line.

Never from the line of Judah.

"For it is evident that our Lord

was descended from Judah,

and in connection with that tribe,

Moses said nothing about priests."

In other words,

Jesus Christ does not have

His authority to be a priest

coming from Moses.

It came directly from God Himself

Who pronounced Him a priest

after the order of Melchizedek.

And we'll see that.

V. 15 "This becomes even more evident

when another priest arises

in the likeness of Melchizedek."

And what was Melchizedek like?

Well, we see it earlier in Hebrews 7.

No genealogy.

No death.

V. 16 "Who has become a priest,

not on the basis of a legal requirement

concerning bodily descent."

He's not a priest because He
was descended from Levi.

"But by the power of
an indestructible life."

Do you see that?

The other priesthood changes.

It's law changes.

It's covenant changes.

But here, it doesn't change.

Why? Because it's built

on an indestructible life.

Was the old priesthood built

on an indestructible life?

No.

They died all the time.

You'll see that.

V. 17 "For it's witnessed of Him,

'You're a priest forever.'"

When you think of Jesus Christ

the same yesterday,
and today, and forever,

think here.

He is a priest forever

after the order of Melichizedek.

"For on the one hand,

a former commandment is set aside."

Again, change.

That which was former is set aside.

"Because of its weakness and uselessness.

For the law made nothing perfect.

But on the other hand,

a better hope."

Wow.

Why is it better?

Because it's based on
an indestructible life.

Because it's forever.
He doesn't change.

He's the same.

When it says yesterday,

I believe what he means

is not necessarily looking
into eternity past.

I think he means yesterday

in the days that those who have gone

before us that taught you the Word of God;

the One they put their trust in.

They put their trust in Christ

and yesterday that was
good enough for them,

and today, He is no different.

And right out into eternity,

He is going to be the same.

Because His priesthood is indestructible.

But remember, His priesthood

was not from eternity past.

His priesthood is based on the fact

that He had to become like His brethren

in every respect - and He had to suffer -

in order to be this merciful

and faithful high priest.

He had to become like us in every respect.

And He had to suffer like us.

That's what the teaching of Hebrews says.

Go back to the text.

V. 19 Again, "(for the law

made nothing perfect,)

but on the other hand

a better hope."

Oh, brethren, have you ever

thought about Hebrews here too?

Christ is better than the prophets.

Christ is superior to the angels.

Christ is beyond His companions.

Christ is worthy of more glory than Moses.

He's greater than Levi.

He's greater than Aaron.

His altar is greater

than the one that those guys eat from.

His blood is greater - it's superior

to the blood of Abel.

It's a greater sacrifice.

It's a greater covenant.

Is He not the guarantor
of a better covenant?

It's built on better promises.

He has a ministry that's better.

All throughout this book:

better, better, better.

Here it is: a better hope.

Why?

Why is it a better hope?

Because it's based on
an indestructible life.

And you'll see it.

"Through which we draw near to God.

And it was not without an oath."

God made an oath.

"For those who formerly became priests

were made such without an oath."

They were made priests according to

bodily descent.

They were descended from Levi.

Not with an oath.

But this one was made
a priest with an oath,

by the One, His Father,

Who said to Him,

'The Lord has sworn and
will not change His mind.

You are a priest forever.'

This makes Jesus the gaurantor

of a better covenant.

The former priests were many in number.

Here's the thing,

their's was changeable.

Why?

Because those high priests
were many in number.

Why? Because they were

prevented by death.

There's change again.

They came. They went.

There was a high priest.

Yeah, but he was only
going to live so long

and then he died.

He was prevented from
continuing in office.

But, He (Christ) holds His
priesthood permanently.

Because He continues forever.

You see, here is the sameness of Hebrews.

Here is that upon which

the author of Hebrews wants our minds

locked in.

Can you imagine?

Remember when the Hebrews lived.

They're living at a time

when the Passover's going away.

They're living at a time when

the Day of Atonement is going away.

They're living at a time

when the temple is going to go away.

All the Old Testament system -

they're living at a time

when there's all this change,

change, change...

Well, how do we know
if that's all changing?

The Jews put their confidence

in that Old Testament system.

And now, you're telling us

it's going away?

I mean, what if this thing with Christ

is going away?

We put our trust there that one day

and our forefathers did?

And you're telling us it's gone?

You're telling us it's obsolete?

You're telling us that it's incomplete?

You're telling us that there's
some weakness about it?

Something isn't good?

It's useless?

You're telling us that?

Well, what makes us think

that this priesthood of
Christ is any better?

Because you yourselves know

that that Levitcal priesthood -

they couldn't continue in office
because they were dying all the time.

And if you remember your Bibles,

you know about who Melchizedek was.

And he didn't have an end of days.

And you know that the psalm says

that God swore to His Son,

to the Messiah,

that He was going to be a priest.

What do we need a priest for?

One Who is going to bring an offering

to His Father on our behalf.

That offering was one sacrifice.

He is the priest

and He is the Lamb.

He is in His own hands.

He offers Himself on that cross.

Once for all.

And the thing about the permanence here

is it's done.

It's complete.

Who He is - victorious,

passing through the heavens

to the right hand of the Father,

triumphant.

It's done.

And He doesn't change.

This priesthood is solid.

It's indestructible.

It's there.

And watch.

You'll see where he's going with this.

You are a priest forever.

V. 22

This makes Jesus the guarantor

of a better covenant.

Why? Because it's sealed in His blood

and it's never going to change.

The former priests, many in number,

they were prevented by death

from continuing in office.

He holds His priesthood permanently.

Because He continues forever.

Consquently, here's why it is so glorious.

Look, if you were reading this book

straight through,

you would have read this fifteen minutes

before you got to chapter 13.

This is what he wants our faith

to lock into:

The sameness of Christ.

Consequently, He is able to save.

Why?

Consequently. Consequent on what?

That He is a priest forever.

Because He is a priest forever.

And because His priesthood is permanent.

And because it continues forever.

And it's based on this:

Consequently, He is able
to save to the uttermost.

You see, whatever the
Old Testament priests did,

they couldn't save you to the uttermost

because their time came to an end.

Whatever they could do, it ran out.

But "He is able to save to the uttermost

those who draw near to God through Him

since..."

This is so important.

I don't think we grasp this.

"Since He always lives
to make intercession."

This is why.

This is why it's so important
that He doesn't change.

You know why?

If He once sets His love on you...

Remember what happened right before this?

In Hebrews 13?

"I will never leave you or forsake you."

Therefore, we can confidently say,

"the Lord is my helper."

You see, once He sets His love on you,

it's rock solid.

It's permanent.

It doesn't change.

The basis of His
priesthood - it's forever.

And because priests intercede

and He doesn't ever die,

He lives to make intercession for them.

"For it was indeed fitting

that we should have such a high priest -

holy, innocent, unstained,

separated from sinners,

exalted above the heavens."

He has no need like those high priests

of old under Moses

to offer sacrifices daily.

He doesn't have to come back and do it.

We don't need an offering over and over.

We do not need to offer Christ up

over and over and over and over.

We don't have to.

He's been offered once.

But you see,

we observe the Lord's Supper, right?

But Jesus said, "do this
in remembrance of Me."

We remember His death.

But in many religious circles,

it is believed that the bread

actually become His flesh

and the wine actually becomes His blood,

and He's offered afresh again.

And you know why that's
necessary oftentimes

in the mindset,

is because salvation is not complete

and resting on Christ.

More needs to be done.

More needs to be done.

And it comes back to the whole food thing

that gets compared to grace in 13:9.

Why the thing about food?

Well, because we have
to keep doing things.

There's always something incomplete.

We have this sin and
we just have this sense

that we have to keep doing something.

We have to keep doing something.
More and more and more is needed.

Why? Because we're never
sure if it's just right.

We're never sure if
enough has been done.

They were never certain
under that old covenant system.

Why?

Because they kept having to
bring these, having to bring these.

When you get to Hebrews 10,

he says the very proof that

it didn't accomplish anything

was the fact that it
had to be brought

again and again and again...

because if an offering was ever made

that truly washed away sin,

it would never have to be made again.

And that's why with Christ, it's done.

It's done.

(Incomplete thought)

What we have to do,

is all the way to the end,

we just hold on to Him.

Firm to the end.

We hold on to Him.

Why? Because all the merit is there.

He shed His blood.
He lived His life.

He is that high priest.

Not just a priest - He's a King.

He is the Priest-King.

He came from the lineage of David.

Melchizedek was a king and a priest.

And He is of the order of Melchizedek.

And He sits there triumphant.

He made purification.

Did you hear that?

In Hebrews 1, He made -

having made purification for sins.

He sat down.

The priests in the Old Testament

never were allowed to sit down

while they were at work.

They had no chairs in the temple.

They had no chairs in the tent.

They had no chairs in the tabernacle.

Why?

Because their work was never done.

But what the author of Hebrews says

is Christ offered Himself and sat down.

Done.

It's finished.

The work is complete.

And it doesn't change.

He is forevermore the same.

The victorious Priest-King.

His work is done.

But you can see the
changes with everything else.

The old priesthood - it just changes.

Everything changes.

Even at the beginning of this book,

it's like the heaven and the earth

are going to change.

They're going to be rolled up.

But You - You don't change.

There's so much change.

Change throughout this book.

Their leaders in 13:7 - there was change.

They used to preach to us
and they're gone now.

Bob stood in this pulpit before,

and he's gone now.

Men come and they go

and circumstances change.

But what we have is
this rock solid confidence.

"I will never leave you or forsake you."

It's unchangeable.

We have a priest Who has a priesthood

and He always lives

to make intercession for them.

And it goes on to say,

v. 28 "The law appoints men

in their weakness as high priest,

but the word of the oath

which came later than the law

appoints a Son Who has been made perfect

forever.

Forever.

What this is saying

is He is the same, perfect Savior

yesterday,

and He is the same perfect Savior today,

and He will be forevermore.

And I know that before He actually came

and poured out His blood

and poured out His life,

God looked forward

and applied that work backward

to men like Samuel and Moses

and Abel. I know that.

But Jesus Christ had to come

and be made like His brethren in time

to become this perfect high priest

that He might be superior -

Oh, His covenant is superior.

His covenant.

What a glorious better covenant it is!

Why? Because it's not
based on performance.

It's not based on whether I eat the bread

or don't eat the bread.

It's not based on what festivals I observe

or holy days I observe.

It's not based on that.

It's based on the merits;

it's based on Him.

It's superior.

You know that old covenant

said if you do this,

then I will treat you accordingly.

If you do good, I will treat you well.

If you do bad, I will treat you bad.

That's the old covenant.

You know how much of the world
lives on the old covenant still today?

That covenant is death.

You know why?

Because none of us has kept it perfectly

and that's what that covenant demanded.

If you don't keep everything written
in the book of the law and do it,

you are under a curse.

And yet, people come along and they say,

oh, well, I'm trying, I'm trying,
I'm trying to be good.

Yeah, but that law said,

do me and live; break me and die.

The wage of sin is death.

That doesn't mean ten.

It's like Ray Comfort says.

It's not like you tell a hundred lies

and a bell goes off.

Bing!

One sin and Adam and Eve fell.

One sin destroyed mankind.

One sin will put you in hell.

One unforgiven sin.

Jesus Christ came with a superior covenant

that's guaranteed by His blood.

And you see, it's a promise not made

between us and God;

it's a promise made

between the Father and the Son.

Where the Son says I will die for them.

I will pour out my blood

to unleash the power of the Spirit of God

into their life and to
allow them to be forgiven

for the sins that they've committed

against God.

And Christ says, I will come.

I will be their sin-bearer.

I will be their priest.

I will be their sacrifice.

I will purchase for them redemption.

I will purchase eternal life.

I will be crushed under the wrath of God.

I will drink the cup of punishment

that they deserve to drink.

I will take it on Myself.

And I will come under the law.

And I will keep that law in their place

so that they can be blameless

when their sin is charged to Me

and I suffer under it

and My righteous law-keeping

is given to them,

so that they might be counted righteous

in the courtroom of God.

That's what happened.

And Jesus said, I will give Myself.

A body You have prepared for Me.

And I need to become a man.

And though I am equal with God,

I count it not robbery at all

being counted equal with Him,

but He set His glory aside

and He came down

and He came down as a servant

and down as a man,

and He poured out His life

all the way to that obedience to the cross

and God crushed Him there.

And thereby He is a high priest now

that has done a work.

And we rest.

And we can rest.

Because this covenant says

that by faith in Him -

just Lord,

I trust that You have kept the law for me.

And You have paid what my sins deserve.

And I trust that You
will give me Your Spirit;

You will transform me;

You will give me a new heart.

My trust is all in Him

and what His blood has done.

And you see, I can rest on that.

And that's where this is coming from.

And I'll tell you this,

when our author moves into v. 9,

and he says you don't be taken away;

you don't be carried away.

You remember back in the
beginning of this verse,

we need to pay much closer attention

to these things, lest we drift.

You know why people drift?

Because other things attract them.

This whole book is about
the glory of Christ.

You know why people walk away?

They stop seeing Christ as beautiful.

They stop seeing Him as precious.

They see the Spurs are better;

my money's better;

the world's better; food is better.

Yeah, I'll have my religion,

but they begin to drift away from Christ.

And it says don't be carried away

by diverse and strange teachings.

It's good for the heart to
be strengthened by grace

rather than foods.

The food doesn't profit.

Grace profits. What's grace?

It means all that Christ has done,

I receive as a gift.

That's grace.

I don't deserve it.

I'm not being good enough
to get to heaven.

See, that's not grace.

That's falling in with the food.

Well, I'm trying to do the right things.

What about this food?

Yeah, it comes up all over the place.

Colossians: Therefore let no one
pass judgment on you

in questions of food and drink.

Why? Food is one of the basic elements

of this world that people get hung up on

and think they have to do certain things

with food in order to merit

some kind of look from God.

It's just one of the basic things.

It works out a thousand different ways

and other than food.

It's just things we've got to do

that we think that God's
going to be happy with,

and somehow it's going to get us

a good place.

It's going to get us
acceptance in the end.

But it's all grace.

Look, any other way -

do you notice what he says?

It doesn't profit them.

Which means what?

It doesn't save them.

It doesn't profit.

It doesn't bring any advantage to them

at all whatsoever.

None.

I mean, you don't want to trade

being saved by this Christ

freely by grace as a gift

for doing things that you think

are going to make you good

or clean you up.

That's the basic mentality

with the religions of this world.

I've got to do this little thing,

you know, to clean up.

I kind of lived out of control

last weekend,

and now I go to church

and it's going to set me right.

No.

No, the true religion of the Scriptures

is we have a high priest

and He doesn't change.

And He made an offering once

and it satisfied His Father.

Oh, it satisfied Him.

We'll just end by looking at this.

You look at Hebrews 2.

Hebrews 2:14

"Since therefore, the children share

in flesh and blood..."

He's talking about the children of God.

He's talking about Christians here.

"Since therefore, the children
share in flesh and blood..."

That means we're men; we're women.

We're sons and daughters of Adam.

We're human.

Since we're that, He Himself (Christ)

likewise partook of the same things.

He had to.

That through death,

He had to become man,

so that He could die as a man,

and in so doing, destroy the one

who has the power of death,

that is the devil,

and deliver us -

all those who through fear of death

and we do fear death by nature.

We were subject to lifelong slavery.

For surely it's not angels that He helps.

He helps the offspring of Abraham.

Therefore, He had to be made like

His brothers in every respect,

so that He might become

a merciful and faithful high priest

in the service of God.

Why?

To make propitiation.

That's the removal of wrath.

He removes the wrath for the sins

of the people.

Because He Himself has
suffered when tempted,

He is able to help those

who are being tempted.

And He doesn't change.

He is a help to those

who are being tempted.

And He is victorious.

He can help.

He's laid down His life.

He has help for the sinner.

You can be ever so vile,

ever so filthy,

have commited ever so grave of sin,

so many of them that you can't count

and they're heaped up on your shoulders,

and they're going to drop you
into the lowest parts of hell,

but this work that this
high priest has done

has made propitiation.

That means total removal of wrath.

It's all wiped away.

That's what forgiveness is all about.

All of it. All your sins.

Past, present, and future

are forgiven in their entirety.

Propitiation has been made.

But He had to become a man.

But having become a man,

His priesthood doesn't change forever.

You think about this.

He is going to wear His humanity forever.

He saves those who come to God

through Him to the uttermost

because He as a man

and as a victorious high priest

being made like us in every respect -

He's like that forevermore.

He has taken the nature
of humanity upon Him

forever.

That He might be a high priest forever.

To make intercession for us forever.

We'll we're going to press on

through those verses next week.

Father, we pray that You would

just help us to see the glories of Christ

in all of this as we wrap up

these last verses in Hebrews.

May we leave it going out

reminded of how this book

so exalts the supremacy of Christ;

the preeminence of Him

Who bought us with His blood.

Thank You.

Amen.