WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:10.400 There was a time that I think probably a fair number of you can tell from here will remember 00:00:10.400 --> 00:00:18.440 ! that VHS video was the way in which you watched the film in the luxury of your own home. You 00:00:18.440 --> 00:00:29.760 ! would go to the video library and check out the selection, take your pick, hire 00:00:29.760 --> 00:00:36.240 a video and go home. For those that don't know what I'm talking about, there was a large 00:00:36.240 --> 00:00:44.740 plastic, typically black rectangle that had some tape inside it and you would either stuff 00:00:44.740 --> 00:00:49.439 it into a slot on the top of a machine that you would kind of have to lean on to close, 00:00:49.439 --> 00:00:54.540 but then as it got more technical you'd stuff it in the front and it would kind of mechanically 00:00:54.539 --> 00:01:06.340 go in, you take your seat on the sofa and enjoy the film. Nobody does that anymore. And nobody 00:01:06.340 --> 00:01:13.900 does it anymore because VHS has been succeeded. It worked at a time, it did serve at a time 00:01:13.900 --> 00:01:18.539 to enable us to watch films at home, but it has been succeeded. We don't do that anymore. 00:01:18.540 --> 00:01:28.340 And trying to go back to VHS won't work because it's now obsolete. There'll be some quirky person 00:01:28.340 --> 00:01:32.340 somewhere who has a YouTube channel about how they still produce the films and all that kind 00:01:32.340 --> 00:01:37.580 of thing, but for most of us in the regular run of things, people that aren't stuck in 00:01:37.580 --> 00:01:44.340 the past, we don't use it anymore. It has been succeeded. VHS actually won't work. If you own 00:01:44.340 --> 00:01:50.740 VHS tape, chances are you won't have the machinery to make it work. It has been discontinued. The 00:01:50.740 --> 00:01:59.700 whole system is now obsolete. The point of the book of Hebrews is that this is how it is, 00:01:59.700 --> 00:02:06.820 with the old order of religious worship and living in relation to God. Now we're passing 00:02:06.820 --> 00:02:11.219 the halfway point of the book this evening, so to recap, the book is written or preached. 00:02:11.219 --> 00:02:15.219 It's described as a word of exhortation. It is a sermon that is preached to an audience 00:02:15.219 --> 00:02:20.659 who were ready to walk away from their Christian faith. They had come from a Jewish background, 00:02:20.659 --> 00:02:25.620 and although they had professed faith in Jesus Christ as the Messiah, they are being drawn back 00:02:25.620 --> 00:02:32.180 to the life of the temple and old religious practices. Now the reason for this, the reason 00:02:32.180 --> 00:02:36.939 that there is this attraction, this drawback to all that was in the past, is because being 00:02:36.939 --> 00:02:43.020 a Christian is now costly and painful. It's a struggle. It's difficult. They were facing persecution. 00:02:43.020 --> 00:02:49.659 They were facing cultural opposition, having their property stolen and vandalized. It was costly for 00:02:49.659 --> 00:02:55.500 them. And the temptation to slip back into the lifestyle that was acceptable culturally, that didn't 00:02:55.500 --> 00:03:01.340 bring these things about, and didn't get the opposition from their families and those closest to them, 00:03:01.340 --> 00:03:08.460 them was significant. Now we know what that's like. We know what it's like to be humiliated among our 00:03:08.460 --> 00:03:14.620 peers because we follow Jesus. We know what it's like, in some cases, to lose our jobs simply because 00:03:14.620 --> 00:03:19.900 we name the name of Jesus. And because we name the name of Jesus, we can't go along with certain things 00:03:19.900 --> 00:03:27.099 that are expected of us. We know what it's like to be rejected by our families because we have come to 00:03:27.099 --> 00:03:32.780 Christ. There is always pressure in some form or other for us to turn back from Christ and to return 00:03:32.780 --> 00:03:40.060 to older, easier ways. And this letter of Hebrews is written to plead with those who are struggling in 00:03:40.060 --> 00:03:48.139 this way not to drift away. And the reason that the author returns to over and over again, all the way 00:03:48.139 --> 00:03:56.459 through, don't go back, don't go to anything else, because Jesus is better, way better than anything 00:03:56.459 --> 00:04:03.259 that you may turn to, especially as it was for this first audience, the old structures of old Israel. 00:04:04.699 --> 00:04:11.179 And the reason Jesus is better, quite simply, is because his ministry is the only one that actually 00:04:11.179 --> 00:04:16.779 works. Now I don't mean that the old covenant with the sacrifices and the offerings and the forms of 00:04:16.779 --> 00:04:21.419 worship that were there didn't work. They did. The people drew near to God through the sacrificial 00:04:21.419 --> 00:04:29.739 system. But like VHS video, that system has now been succeeded with something better. In this case, 00:04:29.739 --> 00:04:35.179 it's someone better, namely Jesus Christ, the anointed king, boys and girls. 00:04:37.339 --> 00:04:42.539 And so the old is no longer effective. In the coming of Jesus Christ, the old has passed away. 00:04:42.540 --> 00:04:48.700 And there isn't any sort of quirky, you can still do it on its sort of works version. It has passed away 00:04:48.700 --> 00:04:56.220 completely. The new has come. It has succeeded the old, and the old is obsolete. And this evening, 00:04:56.620 --> 00:05:03.020 in this chapter 7 of the book of Hebrews, the author draws our attention to how this works in relation 00:05:03.020 --> 00:05:09.180 to the priesthood. Now I mentioned a couple of weeks ago when this topic came up in chapter 5, 00:05:09.180 --> 00:05:16.060 that the whole idea of priest feels a bit out of step with our day and age. Whether our experience 00:05:16.060 --> 00:05:23.340 is of a kindly but a bit out of touch gentleman or something more sinister, we don't have a place for 00:05:23.340 --> 00:05:28.699 priests in our modern life. Typically, they are irrelevant or dangerous. Either way, we don't need them. 00:05:29.740 --> 00:05:35.420 We think we've moved on from the need for a priest. However, as we saw back in chapter 5, 00:05:35.420 --> 00:05:42.220 and we will again this evening, if any of us will see God, if any of us will experience cleansing from sin, 00:05:42.540 --> 00:05:49.740 know the peace of a clear conscience, if any of us will know the hope of renewal internally and joy in this 00:05:49.740 --> 00:05:59.580 life and beyond, we need a priest. We need a priest. Not a mere man, but one who will do all that is needed 00:05:59.579 --> 00:06:07.419 on our behalf to bring us to God and make us acceptable to Him. And that is what Jesus' priestly ministry does. 00:06:09.419 --> 00:06:15.579 In order to understand more about that, our author has mentioned this enigmatic figure of Melchizedek. 00:06:16.060 --> 00:06:21.579 And here in chapter 7, we're told why this comparison is made. Melchizedek appears 00:06:21.579 --> 00:06:31.659 in three places in the Bible. In Genesis 14, in Psalm 110, and here. And because our author, 00:06:31.659 --> 00:06:38.060 chapter 5, verse 6, has used Psalm 110, if you look back to chapter 5, verse 6, you'll see there that 00:06:38.060 --> 00:06:44.459 he has quoted Psalm 110, that quotes the name of Melchizedek. He then goes on to explain what this 00:06:44.459 --> 00:06:50.299 means. Chapter 5, verse 10, he mentions his name again. And by this stage, we're thinking, who's that? 00:06:51.659 --> 00:06:57.019 Who's this? Okay, go on, tell me more. Tell me more about this shadowy figure from the Old Testament and 00:06:57.019 --> 00:07:03.659 the relevance for what we're talking about here as it relates to this issue of priesthood. But then the 00:07:03.659 --> 00:07:08.699 author took the detour that we went on last week. He mentioned Melchizedek. We're thinking, oh, 00:07:08.699 --> 00:07:15.579 interesting. Come on then. But then he says, no, you've become dull of hearing. Remember? Willfully 00:07:16.620 --> 00:07:22.060 disinterested. You don't want to learn. And so he's rebuked us for that. He's rebuked the audience for 00:07:22.060 --> 00:07:25.899 that. He said, you won't be able to understand what I've got to say about him because you're kind 00:07:25.899 --> 00:07:33.899 of willfully rejecting what's going on here. But the good news is, in the course of a week since last 00:07:33.899 --> 00:07:39.339 Sunday and this Sunday, we've got our act together. So now he's ready to explain. Verse 1, this Melchizedek, 00:07:39.339 --> 00:07:44.219 king of Salem, priest of the most high God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings 00:07:44.219 --> 00:07:50.939 and blessed him. And to him, Abraham apportioned the 10th part of everything. Melchizedek is introduced 00:07:50.939 --> 00:07:57.899 here in order to make two points about the priestly ministry of Jesus. That's what he's doing here. 00:07:57.899 --> 00:08:07.179 And those two points are this. Jesus is a different order of priest. He is a different order of priest. 00:08:07.179 --> 00:08:12.139 When you think of the old covenant priests, Jesus is a different order of priest. Point number one. 00:08:12.139 --> 00:08:17.179 When his hearers heard that Jesus was a priest, chapters 4 and 5 of the book of Hebrews, there would 00:08:17.179 --> 00:08:26.219 have been a problem with that. Priests in the old covenant had to be descended from the line of Levi. 00:08:26.220 --> 00:08:33.420 Aaron and Moses were descended from Levi. But Jesus was from the line. He was from the tribe of Judah. 00:08:33.980 --> 00:08:39.019 That was not a priestly line. Look at 7 verse 14. For it is evident that our Lord was descended from 00:08:39.019 --> 00:08:47.340 Judah. And in connection with that tribe, Moses said nothing about priests. Also, when Psalm 110 talks 00:08:47.340 --> 00:08:53.259 about the Messiah as both a king sending forth his scepter, ruling in the midst of his enemies, 00:08:53.259 --> 00:09:02.860 but also as a priest, these two offices were normally kept separate. The idea of a priest king was unheard of. 00:09:02.860 --> 00:09:08.779 Indeed, Saul was judged by God in the Old Testament for trying to combine those two offices. They didn't go together. 00:09:09.819 --> 00:09:17.179 So the author is explaining here how this is possible in the person of Jesus. And he points to Melchizedek to make the point. Look at verse 2. 00:09:17.179 --> 00:09:24.620 He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness. And then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace. 00:09:24.779 --> 00:09:29.500 He is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life. 00:09:29.739 --> 00:09:38.199 But resembling the Son of God, he continues a priest forever. See how great this man was, to whom Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of the spoils. 00:09:38.200 --> 00:09:47.800 Here is a man, he is a priest, who was both the king of Salem, that is, Jerusalem, and priest of the Most High God. 00:09:47.800 --> 00:09:52.200 He was king and priest. He is a different order of priest. 00:09:54.200 --> 00:09:58.600 And the way that he is described is supposed to be a picture of the Son of God. 00:09:59.080 --> 00:10:03.940 Even the way that the text works in the Old Testament is supposed to point us to the Son of God. 00:10:03.940 --> 00:10:07.660 But the language here has led to confusion about who Melchizedek really is. 00:10:08.240 --> 00:10:10.360 Some in the early church said that he was an angel. 00:10:11.720 --> 00:10:14.760 Others suggested that he was an incarnation of the Holy Spirit. 00:10:15.760 --> 00:10:19.300 Still others said that he was a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ. 00:10:19.620 --> 00:10:24.980 But when the author of Hebrews tells us that Melchizedek was without father or mother or genealogy, 00:10:25.240 --> 00:10:29.460 having neither beginning of days nor end of life, 00:10:29.460 --> 00:10:35.820 he is referring to how he appears in the biblical text, in the Old Testament. 00:10:37.080 --> 00:10:40.100 Melchizedek had parents. He was born and he died. 00:10:40.340 --> 00:10:42.960 But we're not given that information in the text. 00:10:43.720 --> 00:10:45.879 He comes out of nowhere in Genesis 14. 00:10:46.379 --> 00:10:47.560 There's no genealogy. 00:10:48.120 --> 00:10:50.840 We don't know where he's come from, who his father and mother are. 00:10:50.980 --> 00:10:54.200 There's a sense, therefore, in which he doesn't have father and mother. 00:10:54.200 --> 00:10:59.240 And we move on from him without any mention of where he goes after that. 00:11:01.879 --> 00:11:04.460 He can't be an Old Testament appearance of Christ, 00:11:04.540 --> 00:11:08.420 because here in verse 3, 7 verse 3, he is compared to Christ. 00:11:08.500 --> 00:11:10.820 Do you see that? He is resembling the Son of God. 00:11:11.820 --> 00:11:16.820 Plus verse 15, he is described as another priest in Melchizedek's line. 00:11:16.820 --> 00:11:22.379 Again, the point that Hebrews is making is that Jesus is a priest in a different order. 00:11:23.580 --> 00:11:25.300 And it is a superior order. 00:11:26.060 --> 00:11:27.960 That's what the author is at pains to show here. 00:11:28.360 --> 00:11:30.040 Melchizedek is greater than Abraham. 00:11:31.040 --> 00:11:33.280 Even though Abraham was given the promises of God, 00:11:33.400 --> 00:11:36.060 because, verse 6, Melchizedek blesses Abraham, 00:11:36.480 --> 00:11:38.940 and verse 7, the greater blesses the lesser. 00:11:39.500 --> 00:11:43.260 This is why Abraham paid tribute to Melchizedek in the tithe. 00:11:44.560 --> 00:11:46.620 Melchizedek is greater than Abraham. 00:11:46.820 --> 00:11:52.420 So do you see, Jesus belongs to a different order of priests. 00:11:53.740 --> 00:11:55.520 And he is the true Melchizedek. 00:11:56.620 --> 00:11:59.840 The one who really is without father, according to his humanity. 00:12:00.300 --> 00:12:03.620 He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, 00:12:03.740 --> 00:12:06.000 and without mother, according to his divine nature. 00:12:06.860 --> 00:12:09.840 He is eternal, before and beyond all things. 00:12:09.840 --> 00:12:15.160 And his priestly work is carried out by one who is a true king of righteousness. 00:12:16.160 --> 00:12:18.360 And who brings us real peace. 00:12:18.360 --> 00:12:23.399 The question is, do you know this man? 00:12:24.320 --> 00:12:25.460 Do you know him? 00:12:26.879 --> 00:12:29.419 Do you know the righteousness that he offers? 00:12:30.000 --> 00:12:34.419 That is a status before God that you cannot earn, but that he freely grants. 00:12:34.419 --> 00:12:42.719 So much of the ambition that drives how we live our day-to-day lives flows from a desire to make ourselves acceptable. 00:12:42.939 --> 00:12:46.539 Whether it's to our bosses, or our peers, or to the world around us. 00:12:46.639 --> 00:12:47.899 We want to be acceptable. 00:12:48.639 --> 00:12:51.699 We want people to say, yes, I want to be with you. 00:12:51.799 --> 00:12:52.679 I accept you. 00:12:52.679 --> 00:12:57.579 And that is a relentless thing that drives us, and drives us, and drives us. 00:12:57.620 --> 00:12:59.379 Because we always have to measure up. 00:13:00.059 --> 00:13:03.359 There is always someone else that we have to be acceptable to. 00:13:03.539 --> 00:13:06.279 In Christ, we are accepted. 00:13:07.659 --> 00:13:09.199 Not by mere mortals. 00:13:09.579 --> 00:13:14.939 Not by bosses, peers, or the world around us necessarily, but by the God of all the earth. 00:13:14.940 --> 00:13:26.720 Because at the cross, all of our failure and unrighteousness that marks our lives is taken by Jesus. 00:13:28.160 --> 00:13:33.100 And in this great exchange, his righteousness is credited to us. 00:13:34.380 --> 00:13:40.280 At the cross, we have the king of righteousness, bearing the curse of the unrighteous, 00:13:40.279 --> 00:13:45.299 so that we could receive his righteousness, and be reconciled to God. 00:13:46.980 --> 00:13:54.480 Our eternal priest, who is on a different order, goes into the presence of God on our behalf. 00:13:54.779 --> 00:13:57.199 He covers our sin and our failure. 00:13:57.879 --> 00:14:02.779 And so then, he gives us the peace that our hearts are longing for. 00:14:04.939 --> 00:14:06.279 Do you know this peace? 00:14:06.279 --> 00:14:13.679 Do you know the peace of God that flows from peace with God? 00:14:14.459 --> 00:14:18.639 You see, when we have received his righteousness, we are reconciled to God. 00:14:18.740 --> 00:14:20.159 We are at peace with God. 00:14:21.120 --> 00:14:24.939 The hostility that exists between us and our maker is gone. 00:14:28.000 --> 00:14:31.339 And so we receive his peace. 00:14:31.799 --> 00:14:34.579 It is a peace that transcends all understanding. 00:14:34.580 --> 00:14:41.080 Because the truth is that we can experience it when the circumstances of life suggest that we really shouldn't experience peace. 00:14:43.100 --> 00:14:44.400 When you get the diagnosis. 00:14:46.840 --> 00:14:48.280 When you lose a loved one. 00:14:49.560 --> 00:14:51.300 When you get the redundancy call. 00:14:52.900 --> 00:14:57.800 Now, in Christ, these things will still be shocking, but that shock will often be accompanied by a peace. 00:14:57.799 --> 00:15:01.659 And we find it hard to understand. 00:15:02.120 --> 00:15:04.479 And we find it hard to describe or to explain. 00:15:04.699 --> 00:15:06.659 But it is undeniably our experience. 00:15:06.759 --> 00:15:09.979 And I know that many of us this evening know what that feels like. 00:15:11.539 --> 00:15:13.059 But that is what's on offer. 00:15:14.339 --> 00:15:16.039 Through this priest of a different order. 00:15:19.539 --> 00:15:23.699 Christ brings us righteousness and peace because he is a different order of priest. 00:15:23.700 --> 00:15:28.480 Reading on, that means also that he belongs to a different level of priesthood. 00:15:28.660 --> 00:15:29.840 A different level of priesthood. 00:15:30.020 --> 00:15:31.180 That's 11 to 22. 00:15:31.520 --> 00:15:36.320 Here the author shows how the Melchizedekian is superior to the Levitical. 00:15:38.120 --> 00:15:41.560 The Melchizedekian priesthood is superior to the Levitical priesthood. 00:15:41.620 --> 00:15:42.340 Look at verse 11. 00:15:42.340 --> 00:15:48.660 Now, if perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood, for under it the people received the law, 00:15:49.540 --> 00:15:54.519 what further need would there have been for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek, 00:15:54.800 --> 00:15:57.340 rather than one named after the order of Aaron? 00:15:59.420 --> 00:16:02.360 The recipients of this letter were considering going back. 00:16:02.360 --> 00:16:10.700 But if perfection, if men and women, boys and girls, could be changed to be fit for God, 00:16:11.000 --> 00:16:15.320 if that were to be found back in the Old Covenant with its priests and its forms of worship, 00:16:15.680 --> 00:16:20.940 why then did David in Psalm 110 speak about this other order of priest? 00:16:21.980 --> 00:16:28.600 Because, our author argues, the Levitical system was always designed to be temporary. 00:16:28.600 --> 00:16:36.000 Just as Aaron's priesthood is superseded, so the laws associated with it have been changed as well. 00:16:36.080 --> 00:16:36.680 Verse 12. 00:16:37.920 --> 00:16:40.659 This priesthood couldn't bring people to perfection before God, 00:16:40.740 --> 00:16:44.259 so the point he's making is that it must have been intended to be temporary. 00:16:46.360 --> 00:16:50.060 The Old Testament speaks again and again of the necessity of the New Covenant. 00:16:50.180 --> 00:16:51.560 It was always looking forward. 00:16:52.019 --> 00:16:53.060 One author has said this. 00:16:53.059 --> 00:16:58.839 If someone who knew nothing of the Christian faith, or Judaism, or the history of the church, 00:16:58.899 --> 00:17:01.759 were given a copy of the Old Testament and they read it carefully, 00:17:02.339 --> 00:17:05.299 their first question would be, well, where's part two? 00:17:06.940 --> 00:17:08.679 It's always pointing forward. 00:17:09.720 --> 00:17:12.859 And part two is the new and better priesthood of Christ. 00:17:14.099 --> 00:17:16.059 And here, in this complicated passage, 00:17:16.480 --> 00:17:19.379 the author is showing this by contrasting old and new, 00:17:19.379 --> 00:17:22.960 making different points from Psalm 110, verse 4. 00:17:23.559 --> 00:17:24.559 So look at verse 15. 00:17:24.679 --> 00:17:27.099 Christ's priesthood has superior power. 00:17:27.659 --> 00:17:28.220 Verse 15. 00:17:28.339 --> 00:17:32.539 This becomes even more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, 00:17:32.579 --> 00:17:37.079 who has become a priest not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent, 00:17:37.460 --> 00:17:40.079 but by the power of an indestructible life. 00:17:41.000 --> 00:17:46.079 For it is witnessed of him, you are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. 00:17:46.079 --> 00:17:50.159 Jesus arises in the likeness of Melchizedek. 00:17:50.240 --> 00:17:56.419 And in contrast to Aaron, his power doesn't come from a law concerning his ancestry, 00:17:56.839 --> 00:17:59.539 but from an indestructible life. 00:17:59.539 --> 00:18:04.879 The Levitical priests served for a while and then they died. 00:18:05.639 --> 00:18:08.799 That's why, verse 23, there needed to be so many of them. 00:18:09.519 --> 00:18:10.920 Jesus is a priest forever. 00:18:11.839 --> 00:18:13.000 His priesthood is eternal. 00:18:13.000 --> 00:18:19.700 And so he annuls the weak and powerless commandment of the old VHS priesthood. 00:18:21.460 --> 00:18:22.240 Superior power. 00:18:22.339 --> 00:18:25.799 But it's also founded, do you see, verse 20, on a superior promise. 00:18:25.799 --> 00:18:28.460 It was not without an oath. 00:18:28.919 --> 00:18:32.220 For those who formerly became priests were made such without an oath. 00:18:32.559 --> 00:18:36.539 But this one was made a priest with an oath by the one who said to him, 00:18:36.619 --> 00:18:40.720 The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, you're a priest forever. 00:18:41.079 --> 00:18:44.779 This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant. 00:18:47.399 --> 00:18:49.119 The Levitical priesthood. 00:18:49.740 --> 00:18:55.139 The old order of things as regards priests receive no special affirmation from God 00:18:55.140 --> 00:18:57.240 apart from what it said in the law. 00:18:57.900 --> 00:19:00.580 But Christ was made a priest by an oath. 00:19:01.980 --> 00:19:08.080 The Lord, verse 21, swore an oath to his Messiah King, his eternal Son, 00:19:08.400 --> 00:19:12.360 who having risen everlastingly from the dead is a priest forever. 00:19:13.000 --> 00:19:16.740 And he put his word of promise on this appointment. 00:19:17.620 --> 00:19:20.920 For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, 00:19:20.920 --> 00:19:24.640 but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, 00:19:24.920 --> 00:19:28.360 appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever. 00:19:30.440 --> 00:19:32.340 God won't change his mind about this. 00:19:33.759 --> 00:19:39.360 This priesthood will last forever because the unchanging God has put his word on it. 00:19:39.359 --> 00:19:45.779 The righteousness that he brings, the peace that he brings, 00:19:45.879 --> 00:19:49.259 you can have confidence that they can be yours and they can be yours forever 00:19:49.259 --> 00:19:53.479 because God has put his unchanging word on it. 00:19:53.639 --> 00:19:56.659 Jesus is the guarantor of a better covenant. 00:19:56.819 --> 00:19:58.679 We'll hear more about that next week, Lord willing. 00:19:58.939 --> 00:20:01.279 But for now, we need to understand the security, 00:20:01.799 --> 00:20:04.240 the security that this gives the follower of Christ. 00:20:04.240 --> 00:20:08.859 This is the pastoral point, I think, that's being made 00:20:08.859 --> 00:20:11.019 by taking us back to this ancient priest king. 00:20:12.480 --> 00:20:16.819 What is the point of telling us all about the details of this priesthood 00:20:16.819 --> 00:20:17.839 and about Melchizedek? 00:20:18.059 --> 00:20:22.160 It is in order that we know the security of being in Christ. 00:20:24.019 --> 00:20:25.960 Because of his superior priesthood, 00:20:26.700 --> 00:20:29.779 Jesus is the guarantor of our salvation. 00:20:30.240 --> 00:20:32.500 That is, he underwrites the cost of it all. 00:20:32.500 --> 00:20:36.920 In fact, he is the guarantee of it because he has paid the price in full. 00:20:39.640 --> 00:20:42.180 And describing how far this salvation reaches, 00:20:42.299 --> 00:20:45.500 do you see the author uses this lovely word, verse 25. 00:20:45.740 --> 00:20:49.839 He says that Jesus is able to save to the uttermost. 00:20:51.759 --> 00:20:56.180 Jesus saves utterly, completely, perfectly. 00:20:56.640 --> 00:21:00.380 When Christ saves us, there is nothing left to be done. 00:21:01.180 --> 00:21:01.619 Nothing. 00:21:02.500 --> 00:21:04.559 He does it all. 00:21:06.460 --> 00:21:10.640 And because he lives, verse 24, he can intercede for us. 00:21:10.920 --> 00:21:13.240 He's interceding for us now in the heavenlies. 00:21:13.700 --> 00:21:15.119 He is our eternal priest. 00:21:16.619 --> 00:21:17.859 The living Lord. 00:21:18.339 --> 00:21:20.640 He stands in heaven in the presence of God 00:21:20.640 --> 00:21:22.180 and he pleads our case. 00:21:22.500 --> 00:21:24.579 When we sin, he says to the Father, 00:21:24.900 --> 00:21:26.259 I have dealt with that sin. 00:21:26.259 --> 00:21:31.480 And he says that on the basis of his perfect sacrifice. 00:21:31.480 --> 00:21:38.380 26, for it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, 00:21:38.779 --> 00:21:43.920 holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens. 00:21:44.099 --> 00:21:48.660 He has no need, like those high priests in the old order of things, 00:21:48.660 --> 00:21:52.680 to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, 00:21:53.059 --> 00:21:55.400 since he did this once for all when he offered up himself. 00:21:55.400 --> 00:22:00.500 Christ doesn't need to offer sacrifices daily. 00:22:00.620 --> 00:22:01.040 Why not? 00:22:01.100 --> 00:22:02.940 Not for himself because he has no sin. 00:22:03.040 --> 00:22:08.540 And not for us because he did this once for all when he offered up himself in our place. 00:22:08.539 --> 00:22:16.960 Our salvation is secure because no sacrifice for sin remains. 00:22:19.659 --> 00:22:22.539 If you are in the Lord Jesus through faith this evening, 00:22:23.099 --> 00:22:24.859 you have received his righteousness, 00:22:25.079 --> 00:22:27.500 you are at peace with the God of all the earth, 00:22:27.700 --> 00:22:30.639 and you are secure, and you are secure forever. 00:22:30.640 --> 00:22:39.280 On the cross, as Jesus died, 00:22:40.360 --> 00:22:43.600 the wrath of God was satisfied for every sin. 00:22:44.320 --> 00:22:45.500 On him was laid. 00:22:46.540 --> 00:22:47.960 And that's why we can say, 00:22:48.140 --> 00:22:50.759 here in the death of Christ, I live. 00:22:52.480 --> 00:22:53.420 Look at 25. 00:22:54.280 --> 00:22:56.240 This is the song of those who, do you see, 00:22:56.640 --> 00:22:58.280 who draw near to God through him. 00:22:58.279 --> 00:23:04.539 If you haven't come to God in repentance for sin and faith in Christ, 00:23:04.619 --> 00:23:05.700 your mediating priest, 00:23:06.359 --> 00:23:07.259 you have none of this. 00:23:07.599 --> 00:23:08.599 You don't have the righteousness, 00:23:08.819 --> 00:23:09.680 you don't have the peace, 00:23:09.859 --> 00:23:11.200 and you don't have the security. 00:23:13.759 --> 00:23:15.399 You'll be looking to other things, 00:23:15.859 --> 00:23:16.559 to experts, 00:23:16.799 --> 00:23:17.440 to techniques, 00:23:17.639 --> 00:23:18.379 to trends, 00:23:18.660 --> 00:23:21.460 to fix the problems that beset your life apart from God, 00:23:21.519 --> 00:23:22.940 the God who made you for himself. 00:23:24.639 --> 00:23:26.960 We know that our lives don't quite work. 00:23:26.960 --> 00:23:28.160 Or when they do, 00:23:28.259 --> 00:23:30.360 they don't work the way we want them to for long enough. 00:23:30.460 --> 00:23:32.519 That's because we have a fundamental problem. 00:23:33.519 --> 00:23:36.000 It's not that our lives aren't ordered enough. 00:23:36.259 --> 00:23:38.160 It's not that we aren't exercising enough, 00:23:38.240 --> 00:23:39.319 or eating the right way, 00:23:39.420 --> 00:23:40.960 although those things are good things to do. 00:23:41.200 --> 00:23:45.160 Our fundamental problem is that we are separated from the God of life. 00:23:45.160 --> 00:23:54.540 And the only way to be reconciled is through someone who has the power and authority to bring us into his presence 00:23:54.540 --> 00:23:56.820 and make us acceptable to him. 00:23:57.960 --> 00:23:58.519 Jesus, 00:23:59.019 --> 00:24:00.800 and only Jesus, 00:24:01.560 --> 00:24:02.519 is such a priest. 00:24:02.519 --> 00:24:07.619 if you haven't come to Jesus, 00:24:08.160 --> 00:24:09.240 come to him this evening. 00:24:10.940 --> 00:24:12.339 You can do it in your seat. 00:24:15.559 --> 00:24:16.319 You can say, 00:24:16.480 --> 00:24:19.639 sorry for the way that you've lived your life in his world. 00:24:21.299 --> 00:24:22.920 Ask him to forgive your sins. 00:24:22.920 --> 00:24:28.720 And he will credit his righteousness to your account. 00:24:29.680 --> 00:24:31.900 He will give you peace with the one who made you. 00:24:33.720 --> 00:24:35.720 And you will be secure in his hands. 00:24:35.720 --> 00:24:40.100 And if you have come to him, 00:24:41.240 --> 00:24:42.539 many of us, 00:24:42.620 --> 00:24:43.279 most of us, 00:24:44.000 --> 00:24:49.420 allow this chapter to remind you this evening how secure you are. 00:24:51.940 --> 00:24:54.579 When you fear your faith will fail, 00:24:54.720 --> 00:24:58.019 remember that you're not saved because of the strength of your faith. 00:25:00.160 --> 00:25:01.559 All the way through the passage, 00:25:01.720 --> 00:25:02.920 the focus is on Christ. 00:25:02.920 --> 00:25:07.880 His priesthood is permanent because he continues forever. 00:25:08.279 --> 00:25:10.120 He makes intercession for you. 00:25:10.420 --> 00:25:14.200 His sacrifice is a once for all offering. 00:25:15.060 --> 00:25:17.120 When you fear that your faith will fail, 00:25:17.380 --> 00:25:19.060 it is his work that keeps you. 00:25:20.960 --> 00:25:23.539 And it is his work that picks you up when you fall. 00:25:23.539 --> 00:25:28.220 And his work that will see you through to perfection and glory. 00:25:30.820 --> 00:25:32.400 There are lots of things. 00:25:32.920 --> 00:25:36.360 That face us all tomorrow morning, 00:25:36.880 --> 00:25:38.640 even this evening when we leave here, 00:25:38.759 --> 00:25:40.860 even in the context that we're sitting here now, 00:25:40.960 --> 00:25:43.740 and our minds are elsewhere because we're worried about things, 00:25:43.800 --> 00:25:44.340 we're anxious, 00:25:44.860 --> 00:25:46.539 we're stressed. 00:25:48.820 --> 00:25:49.840 In Christ, 00:25:49.980 --> 00:25:50.820 whatever it is, 00:25:51.060 --> 00:25:52.640 in Christ you are secure. 00:25:52.640 --> 00:25:56.780 don't go anywhere else. 00:25:59.080 --> 00:26:03.259 However hard the wind might be buffeting in your life this evening, 00:26:04.540 --> 00:26:07.480 he really will hold you fast. 00:26:07.480 --> 00:26:12.680 let's pray together. 00:26:12.680 --> 00:26:12.759 Let's pray together. 00:26:12.759 --> 00:26:12.759 00:26:12.759 --> 00:26:16.579 Let's pray together. 00:26:16.579 --> 00:26:16.579 00:26:16.579 --> 00:26:16.579 00:26:16.579 --> 00:26:16.579 00:26:16.579 --> 00:26:16.579 00:26:16.579 --> 00:26:16.579 00:26:16.579 --> 00:26:16.579 00:26:16.579 --> 00:26:16.579 00:26:16.579 --> 00:26:16.579 00:26:16.579 --> 00:26:16.579 00:26:16.579 --> 00:26:16.579 00:26:16.579 --> 00:26:16.579 00:26:16.579 --> 00:26:16.579 00:26:16.579 --> 00:26:16.579 00:26:16.579 --> 00:26:16.579 00:26:16.579 --> 00:26:16.579 00:26:16.579 --> 00:26:16.579 00:26:16.579 --> 00:26:16.579 00:26:16.579 --> 00:26:16.579 00:26:16.579 --> 00:26:16.579 00:26:16.579 --> 00:26:16.579 00:26:16.579 --> 00:26:16.579 00:26:16.579 --> 00:26:16.579 00:26:16.579 --> 00:26:16.579 00:26:16.579 --> 00:26:16.579 00:26:16.579 --> 00:26:16.579 00:26:16.579 --> 00:26:16.579 00:26:16.579 --> 00:26:16.579