[0:00] of the book of Hebrews, and we're in verses 1 through 10, and we're continuing that theme in which we looked at last week when we came together, and we began to see the great high priesthood of Jesus Christ. If you remember, the theme of the book of Hebrews is that Jesus is better. He is greater. He is far above and exceeds everything else. He is, as the Bible would tell us later on, the anchor for the hope of our soul, the anchor of our hope, and that it is the thing which holds us firm in the midst of the most difficult of days.
[0:29] And the reason is, is because when we place our hope and faith and trust and confidence in Christ, we are placing it in the greatest thing and greatest person which we could ever find. And the author of the book of Hebrews is writing to the Hebrew people who have trusted in an order, or trusted in a religion, or trusted in rituals, and trusted in plans and programs, and they have trusted in actions, and they have trusted in self-works, and they have found them being void. And many would agree that the author is writing to those who had left the practice of Judaism. They had left the faith, but they had not completely committed to Christ. They were kind of caught between. And I say that there are a number of believers, and I use that term loosely, who are in much the same way. They have found that what they used to trust in did not really do what they wanted it to do. So they felt maybe they would try Jesus, or try the church. And the author of Hebrews is writing, saying it's not something you need to try, it's something you need to understand, that he is greater and better than anything else that we could ever trust in. So over and over, we see this repetitive theme throughout the book of Hebrews, that Jesus is greater. The greatest person in the Jewish society would have been the high priest, because the high priest was the one who, one time a year, could go before or into the Holy of Holies and make intercession for the people's sins. And they were dependent upon that. They were dependent upon that one person, one time a year, going into the presence of God and atoning for their sins for that year until the next year.
[2:01] And it was this repetitive dependency. Now, all of that fell apart in AD 70, when Jerusalem fell and the temple was destroyed. And ever since AD 70, there has not been a presence or a place where they could go and rely upon. But it is still the expectation and the hope of the Jewish people that that will come. We're not here to get into that. So they're still looking for that high priest.
[2:26] And that priest has probably the greatest position of anyone else. And it is the one they depend on. Think of the dependency. Now, let's just put ourselves there. Think of the dependency. If we depended upon one person, one person, one time a year on Yom Kippur to go into the Holy of Holies and to offer an acceptable sacrifice for our sins for that year. No wonder we would blow the trumpets that day because it would be a pronouncement of not only a new year, but a new beginning.
[2:57] And the hope that next year, that same person would be worthy to go to that same place and to do it again. All hope, all expectation, all desires were intended to be focused on this one purpose. Now, on this one person, God did that in his planning so that man would have a very narrow focus. In the time of Christ, that had been hijacked per se because the Roman Empire had put it up for bid and the highest bid attained a position. It became more of a political position than it did a religious position. And therefore, it was kind of construed during the times of Christ. But anyway, we're kind of out of context. So last week, we were going to look at the great high priest, but the high priest had very specific qualifications. It had to be this person. And now we're going to make that transition in Hebrews chapter five, because I love what scripture does. Scripture always answers the argument before the argument is ever posed. You ever thought about that? God always answers the argument before man comes up with the argument, because the argument would inevitably be with Jesus is not qualified to be the high priest because he's from the wrong tribe. He is a lion from the tribe of Judah. And the high priest was to be a descendant of Aaron from the tribe of Levi. So the author, understanding by the divine hand of God, being moved by the spirit of God to write the word of God, answers the argument before the argument is ever posed. So we see this morning in Hebrews chapter five, verses one through 10, that Jesus is not just a great high priest, the only person that that word great is ever connected to, by the way. He is, as we will see this morning, a more qualified high priest. He is a more qualified high priest. If you are physically able and desire to do so, would you join with me as we stand together and we read the word of God found in Hebrews chapter five, verses one through 10. The author says, for every high priest taken from among men is appointed on behalf of men and things pertaining to God in order to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. For he can deal gently with the ignorant and misguided since he himself is also beset with weakness. And because of it, he is obligated to offer sacrifices for sins as for the people. So also for himself. And no one takes the honor to himself, but receives it when he is called by God, even as Aaron was. So also Christ did not glorify himself so as to become a high priest. But he who said to him, you are my son today. I have begotten you.
[5:31] Just as he says, also in another passage, you are a priest forever, according to the order of Mechizedek. In the days of his flesh, he offered up both prayers and supplications without crying and tears to the one able to save him from death. And he was heard because of his piety. Although he was a son, he learned obedience from the things which he suffered and having been made perfect. He became to all those who obey him, the source of eternal salvation being designated by God as a high priest, according to the order of Mechizedek. Let's pray. Well, we thank you so much that we have this great opportunity, this great privilege of reading your word together. And we pray that as we have read it, Lord, that we would be captivated by it. Lord, that we would not be held captive by the things of this world or the busyness of this life, but rather we would be held captive by your hand and your leading and your moving. We would be captivated by you, Lord Jesus, and that we would stand amazed at who you are and all that you have done and all that you have fulfilled. And Lord, that that fascination and captivation would turn into a transformation in our lives, that it would lead us to become more like you in this world where you have put us. We ask that in all things you would be glorified and honored, and we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. You may be seated. We see from the text this morning that not only is Jesus a great high priest, because we can throw that term around, or people could throw that term around very loosely, not necessarily in Jewish society, but really in our society, we could just say, yes, he's a great high priest. He is that. He is awesome. He is amazing. But we not only see that he is a great high priest, he is also a more qualified high priest, and we see it from our text. Now, I'll just go ahead and tell you on the outset that we're not going to spend a lot of time discussing the man Melchizedek.
[7:16] And the reason we're not going to spend a lot of time right now discussing the man Melchizedek is because the author of Hebrews opens that discussion up for us in a latter chapter. We will get into chapters 7 and 8 and really start getting into Melchizedek and the priesthood which he offers.
[7:29] So we will kind of hit it a little bit this morning, but we will really get into it where the author does, because really what we are looking at is his qualifications, the qualifications that Jesus has to be the high priest, not only of the Jewish people, but of all people. The qualifications which Jesus possesses to be the high priest in which we trust and lean upon, the one that we are dependent upon to be the one who goes into the presence of God and atones for our sins, not once every year, but once for all time. Again, something we will see later in the book of Hebrews, that Jesus is such a great high priest. He made one sacrifice for sins and then sat down at the right hand of the Father. That phrase ought to amaze us and ought to cause us to worship and to declare his glory, because the one article of furniture which you would never find inside the tabernacle or the temple was a chair. There was no stool, there was no chair, there was no place for the priest to sit down because their work was never finished. As a matter of fact, the only priest that we have spoken of in scripture sitting down in the temple died because he was sitting down. That was
[8:37] Eli who was sitting upon the stool and we heard that his son had died in battle and the Ark of the Covenant had been taken captive. He fell backwards off the stool he was sitting at and he broke his neck and died because Eli was a heavy man. Okay, that means he was eating things he shouldn't have been eaten. He was overeating from the sacrifices given at the altar and he should have never been sitting down to begin with because there was no stool, there was no chair, there was no place for rest inside the tabernacle or the temple because the work was never finished. But when Jesus went into the tabernacle or the temple made not with hands but to the ones in the presence of God, he sat down because his work is finished. And he is more than qualified to be that person to go into the presence of God and sat down.
[9:19] And he's not just qualified in the eyes of God by the way, he is qualified in the eyes of human history. And we see this as the author displays it for us in Hebrews chapter 5. Number one, we see this qualification is one that meets the expectation of man. It is a qualification of the expectation of man because look at what the scripture says. For every high priest taken from among men. Just stop right there. One expectation that man has is that the one who would represent them before a holy God would be one of them. Right? It would be someone taken from among them. Job himself declares, oh I wish that a man would arise who could put his hand upon God and put his hand upon man and stand as an umpire between the two of us. The expectation of Job is the earliest expectation we have in scripture because it is the earliest writing we have in scripture of what man was longing for. And man's great longing is I wish there was someone like me who could stand between me and God. Because there is something inevitably in every one of us that says that God is other than us. Not just greater than us. He's not just one who is superior to us. But he is other than us. That is he is nothing like us. He is so far above us that we could never attain. This is why we have so many religions around the world by the way and a multitude of those religions seek to bring God down to their level because they understand that it would be impossible for them to reach unto God. So the easiest thing would be to bring God down to them. Because the only time man ever sought to reach into the heavens, God confounded their speech and distributed them. And we see that in Genesis chapter 11, the tower of Babel. When man sought to make themselves a ziggurat, it would reach up into heavens and put themselves in the position of God.
[11:15] So ever since then, man has been in such a work and an effort to bring God down to them. But man's expectation is that there would be someone from among them who was like them who could represent them. This is what man longs for. It says, for every high priest taken from among men. This is the reason why God designated the tribe of Levi because the tribe of Levi was from among the descendants of Abraham and he was like unto the people of Abraham because he was one of the 12 tribes.
[11:48] They could relate to him because they had the same history. They could look back. The tribe from Levi could look back and have the same problems and the same struggles and the same trials and the same difficulties and all these things that the tribe of Judah had, that the tribe of Manasseh had, that the tribe of Ephraim had, that the tribe of Dan had. He could say that I too have walked where you have walked. I have been in the same place because I have been taken from among you. By the way, when did God designate the tribe of Levi, it was after the Egyptian slavery, right? It was after the Exodus event so that he too had been from among them. Here is the expectation. As a matter of fact, when we go all around the world, the great expectation of man is, I wish that there was someone that I could relate to who could bridge the gap. This is why we see the predominance of so many different religions and so many different faiths because people are wooed and led astray and held captivated by someone who seems to be like them, but has closed the gap between them and God. And they say, oh, I want to know this person. This is the expectation of man. The expectation is for every high priest is taken from among men and he is appointed on behalf of men and things pertaining to God in order to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. Here is the expectation. Not that he would be one from them, but that he would be one who would go to him, that is God. And in his going to God, he would offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. So let's boil it down. Here is the expectation. Man says, I wish that there were someone other than me who was like me, who could go to God and give something that God would accept for my faults. Okay, let's boil it down to the simplest terms. We don't want to get too confusing.
[13:31] It was like when we was a child, we wish that I wish that someone other than me would go get the spanking I deserve and then everything would be forgiven. Can I find someone who is better?
[13:42] I remember when I was growing up and I'm not going to call him out. He was my best friend growing up. He is in this building and he knows full well who he is. We were very close growing up. Not that I took any spankings he deserved, but I sure took some beatings from my brother that we probably both deserved.
[13:56] And the reason being is because he was much smaller than me and he had a tendency to hide in places, which my brother could not get to. So if we ever did something to make my brother mad, who was older than me, and my brother decided to have it out on the two of us, one would hide and the other one would get beat up. I was not called fat boy for no reason at all growing up. You are not to call me that. Okay. He could hide in places that I could not hide and I would take the beating that we probably both deserved. And to him, that was okay. To me, not so much, but it was okay.
[14:25] It just happened. But in our heart, we long. Do we not? Man longs and has this expectation. I wish there was someone I could relate to who would go for me into the presence of God and give something to God he would accept so that I would be okay. This is man's expectation.
[14:48] And friend, I want to tell you something. Jesus meets that expectation. It blows our minds, but he does.
[15:00] Because look at this. The reason we want it, verse 2, is so that he can deal gently with the ignorant and the misguided. Let's go ahead and put ourselves there. It is not wrong to be ignorant.
[15:11] It is not wrong to be misguided. But man and their sinful nature are both ignorant and misguided. Paul himself would say the things that I want to do, I cannot do, the things that I know that I should do.
[15:24] I can't find myself doing the things I don't want to do, I seem to be doing. There seems to be this miserable body of sin within me. And in all of our actions, all of our righteousness, Paul would say, is like filthy rags. We are ignorant and we are misguided. As a matter of fact, the Bible says that there is no sacrifice that is offered for the intentional sin. It is only the sin offered in ignorance. The Bible is resplendent with that. In the Old Testament, that if we intentionally sin, there is no sacrifice that remains any longer. By the way, that is a prelude. We will get to that in Hebrews chapter 6. So we see here this reality that we want this man who can deal gently with us, not just one who will be like, God, you know, they're messed up people. You know, we understand it.
[16:06] Let me just come up here and appease that. That can deal gently with us in our ignorance, and our misguided behavior, since he himself is also beset with weakness. Now, some of you say, wait just a moment. Jesus is not weak. He is meek, but he is beset with weakness. You say, there's no way, because he is sinless. And exactly right, because verse 3 does not apply to Jesus, it applies to the men serving as high priests. Because of it, he is obligated to offer sacrifices for his sins for the people, so also for himself. Here is the expectation that there would be a high priest who would offer the sacrifices for himself and others, because he knew what it was like to be weak. But I want to go ahead and tell you, we see here later on in the scripture, and we'll get to it in just a minute, to be beset means to be overcome or to be tempted with weakness. And in that aspect, Jesus absolutely fulfills it, because Hebrews chapter 4 tells us he was tempted in every way we have been as well. He knows what it is like to be overcome with that weakness, and yet he alone knows what it's like to experience that weakness, but not fall in that weakness. He is more qualified, because when he goes into the presence, he meets every expectation, but this one thing. He is not offering a sacrifice for his sins. Jesus is qualified, friend, listen to me, in his humanity.
[17:40] And I told you the book of Hebrews speaks of the humanity of Christ. In his humanity, he knows what it's like to be weak. We'll get to that in just a moment, okay? Stay with me, but we'll get to that.
[17:53] And he is more than qualified, more than any individual, to be the one who was taken from among us to go into God's presence and to be able to relate to us. Now you begin to see why God put all this emphasis on one man in the Old Testament is because he was not pointing to the descendants of Aaron, but he was pointing to the one man who would meet every expectation. Here is the expectation of man. Number two, we see the exaltation of God, that it has to be God who exalts this man, not man who promotes himself. Because look at what the text says, verse four, and no one takes the honor to himself. Now, all of a sudden, here we find the sin of Annas and Caiaphas, who were high priests in the year when Jesus was crucified, because they had taken the honor to themselves. They were of the descendants of Levi, but they were of the party of the Sadducees. It is kind of ironic that the people who were Sadducees, who did not believe in the resurrection, they did not believe in the angels, they did not believe in hell, they did not believe in heaven, yet they were serving in the position of high priest. And the reason they served in high priest is because the Romans had made it a political office. It was a great fundraiser for the Roman empire, said we're going to let you have your religious practice, but we're going to put the most prominent position of your religious practice up for bid. And the Sadducees were a little bit more fluent in society, because since they didn't believe in all those things, they thought really, yolo, you only live once and you need to make the best of it now, and you make your way. By the way, this is a predominant theme. I think the Bible says in the book of Ecclesiastes, there is nothing new under the sun. What has been done will be done again, right? So they said, well, you need to make your way now, make your fortune now, make your money now, attain to your high position now, and live it to the best you can. So they did that in the Roman empire. They were businessmen. So when the Romans put the position of high priest, a free auction, the Sadducees, who were all about this life, had more money than the Pharisees, who lived all for the next life. And all of a sudden, they bid on it, and they got it, and they promoted themselves. But the scripture says, no one takes this office or this honor for himself. It's not a position to be chosen.
[20:09] Jesus never came in his rightful authority, in his rightful glory, and in his rightful domain, and never said, I am assuming the office of high priest.
[20:23] You ever notice that? Did you ever notice the humility of the creator? When Jesus himself says to pay attention to what the high priest says, but don't follow their example. And why did Jesus say that? Because of the position they hold.
[20:41] Jesus said to honor the high priest because of his position, not because of who he was personally. Jesus did not take this honor upon himself, because this position was to be one that was an exaltation of God. Because it says, but he receives it, verse 4, no one takes the honor to himself, but receives it when he is called by God, even as Aaron was. So here it is. There are qualifications for the high priesthood. Number one is they had to meet the qualifications that man expects ever since Job had this expectation. Jesus does that. The second qualification is it had to be someone who was God called and God appointed. Now the reason the lineage from Aaron could serve as high priest is because they would go back to the book of Genesis. They would go back to the law as they refer to it, or the Torah, and they would say, see here, the Bible says that because I am of the lineage of Aaron, God has called the descendants of Aaron to serve in the priesthood.
[21:39] And since I am of the lineage of Aaron and I can trace my lineage through all these names, I have the right to this God called, God ordained position of high priest. Now the requirement was to serve as high priest, you could not come after it yourselves. You had to be called of God. Now the argument from the Jewish thought was Jesus is not a descendant of Aaron. And see, he's not a descendant of Aaron. He has no right. But that's not what the, what the law says. The law says that no man could take it unto himself, but he had to be called or appointed as Aaron was, or in the same way. So the scripture is going back to, remember if I've told you this, especially if you've been with me on Sunday nights, and I know it's been, it's been five years, so you probably scratch your head and say, well, I can't remember this. There is this theme in scripture, not this theme. There's this law of biblical interpretation called the law of first mention that the very first time something is mentioned, it has to stay true to that throughout the rest of your interpretation of scripture, right? That the law of first mention that whenever God says this is it, then it is a consistent.
[22:55] That's what God intends for this thing to be. This is how we deal with marriage, by the way, because the first time marriage is listened to it. For this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother, and the two shall be joined together, and they shall no longer be two, but be one, right?
[23:07] So it's the law of first mention, a man and a woman together. And then we get to those hard Old Testament passages where they had multitude of wives, and they had all these concubines, and people say, well, what about that? What about that? We say, well, that's not God's intended purpose, because we go all the way back to the law of first mention. This is what God's purpose is.
[23:23] Man always construes and messes up God's purpose, in case you haven't figured that out. So we always have this law that we go back to the first mentioning. The first mentioning of a priest is not Aaron's descendants. So the author, knowing this, because even the Hebrew people would interpret the Old Testament this way, wants to show how Jesus is qualified to serve as high priest, and he is more than qualified than the descendants of Aaron. Now, this should matter to us, because we are standing on something that has to be accurate. If Jesus has no biblical right to the position of high priesthood, then he has no right to be our Savior, because the Bible will never contradict itself. If the Bible ever contradicts itself in any part or any portion, or if the Bible is ever wrong, if God can be wrong, then he cannot be God. Right? That's why these things matter, because I know you're telling, what difference is, why does this matter? Jesus has to be according to the calling and the choosing of God. He cannot take that honor upon himself. So verse 5 says, so also Christ did not glorify himself so as to become a high priest. But he, that is God, said to him, that is Jesus, you are my son. So we have these two phrases that God says. God makes this proclamation, right?
[24:48] Because the high priest had to be someone who was appointed by God, even as Aaron was. And the way Aaron was is God said so. So here we have the argument for this. You are my son. That's direct reference to Jesus Christ. Today I have begotten you. We're not going to get into the word begotten there. It doesn't mean he has an origination. That just means he has an exaltation, that he has this place where he, he doesn't, that's not a beginning point. This is a, a manifestation point. This is where he is seen. Just as he also says in another passage, God also says this, by the way, these are quotes from the Old Testament, the book of Psalm. You are a priest forever. Who said that? God said it.
[25:30] Just as God told Aaron, his descendants would be priests, but he did not say they would be priests forever. He says that Jesus would be priests forever, according to the order of Melchizedek. Law first mentioned the very first priest of the Lord God most high ever mentioned in scripture. Genesis 14. Abraham met Melchizedek, the priest of the Lord God most high.
[26:00] So where did he come from? Good question. We'll get to that later. Very first one. Aaron wasn't even born yet. Levi wasn't born yet. And we meet a priest. So Jesus is called by God and exalted to the position of high priest by God, according to the order of Melchizedek. Here we see that Jesus meets this qualification. He has been exalted by God. Number three, we see the experience of Christ. This goes back to the expectation of man. I want man. I want a man who can relate to me. So we see the experiences of Christ. Experience of Christ says in the days of his flesh, one who was taken from among them in the days of his flesh. Jesus lived in the flesh, right? Flesh and bone, just like us. He felt, he felt pain. He felt misery. He was fully man and fully God. Never let that escape your notice.
[27:02] He offered up both prayers and supplications without crying and tears to the one able to save him from death. Here again is the, some of the, the expectations from a priest to offer up prayers and supplications without crying to be interceding. Look at what it says. He was doing it to the one able to save him from death. And he was heard because of his piety. Some would say, well, Jesus wasn't heard.
[27:26] I remember I had an individual tell me one time with even Jesus lost one battle. I was very young in the faith and I've always kicked myself because I haven't had, I didn't take the opportunity to rebuke this gentleman because he was much older than me. And his reference was to the battle, which Jesus apparently lost in his eyes on the cross that he died. And we can point to this passage.
[27:46] And some would say, well, if he offered up both prayers and supplications to the one who heard him and he was heard, why did Jesus die? Well, it's a misunderstanding of what's going on in the text here because the text says he offered up prayers and supplications without crying and tears. That's the garden of Gethsemane, right? Remember that great sweat drops of blood coming off of him to the one able to save him from death. Our misinterpretation comes from this word from. He wasn't asking that God would save him from the experience of death. It is supposed to literally read asking him to save him or save him through death.
[28:26] Through death. As he walked through death. This is different. Here's his experience.
[28:48] He went through the one thing man dreads more than anything else. And he went through it victoriously and with joy.
[28:58] Because in the flesh, he knew God had heard him and God was saving him through death. Not from the experience of death, but through the experience of death.
[29:09] So we see this and look at verse eight. This is again where we scratch our head. Although he was a son, he learned obedience from the things which he suffered. So I said, well, now how can Jesus learn anything?
[29:20] And that is a great question because he is fully man and fully God. Now God knows everything, right? He is omniscient. There is nothing that he does not know. He is omnipotent.
[29:31] He is all powerful. So he knows these things. One thing we have in Jesus. Now we need to be careful how we interpret it. We do not mean that he learned it theoretically. That he learned of suffering.
[29:42] We are not saying that Jesus learned of suffering. Or he learned of obedience. Or he learned of these things. He learned experientially.
[29:52] He experienced suffering. Now think about this. This is a God who is other than us.
[30:05] Who took on flesh to become like us. Not that he would know of the things that we walk through. But so that he could experience the things we walk through.
[30:18] And if we fully comprehend that, each one of us would go, wow. Because it is a big difference having a God, a big great God in the sky who knows it is hard for us.
[30:34] Than it is in that God coming down and experiencing what's hard for us. He learned it experientially. He learned it experientially.
[30:46] He walked through the suffering. He walked through the pain. He walked through the levels of obedience. So that when he walked into God's presence.
[31:03] He would have the experience to match the offering. In their ignorance. And in their misguided behavior.
[31:14] What misery it must be. Big difference. Here is the experience of Christ. He has walked through. And having been made perfect.
[31:27] Verse 9 says. Again. This is not speaking of the character of Christ. It is not that anything was lacking in Jesus Christ. That he had to be filled up to perfection. This is really just human terms being applied to Christ.
[31:40] That he was made our perfect high priest. Because he experienced everything we experience. And yet did not fall. And he is the perfect one.
[31:53] Who has met every qualification. Needed to serve as our high priest. So here. Let me give you one more thing. Since he has met the expectation of man.
[32:05] Since he has met the exaltation of God. And it was God who put him in that position. Since he has walked through every experience. We have walked through. And we see the experiences of Christ. In his flesh.
[32:17] Fourth and finally. We see the extended offer of this high priest. The high priest of the tribe of Levi. Who would come of the descendants of Aaron.
[32:28] Each year would come to the temple. Or the tabernacle. And they would have the blood of the bull. And they would put on their clothing. And they would tie the rope around their foot. And they would go into the presence. And the one thing they were offering the nation.
[32:40] Was that I am going to go in that presence. In such a way. And in such a manner. That God will welcome me. And he will pardon you. For the things you have done this year. That was the invitation he was given.
[32:53] You are putting your confidence and your hope in me. And what I am going to do. Is that what you have done in ignorance will be forgiven. You will get a new start today. We will blow the trumpets when I get out.
[33:03] We will have a celebration. Because you will be clean. Now next year I will have to give you the same thing. Next year I will have to come on the same day. Next year I will give you the same expectation. The one that I am extending to you.
[33:15] And they would say okay here is the bull. Here is the blood. We are accepting your offer. And we want you to be the one to make atonement for us. But let's see the extended offer.
[33:26] Which Jesus is offering as high priest. It says in verse 9. And having been made perfect. He is perfect. He is the one who offers us this. He became to all those who obey him.
[33:39] He became to all those who obey him. The source of eternal salvation. Being designated by God as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.
[33:52] He became to all those who obey him. The source of eternal salvation. Here is the offer which Jesus has.
[34:04] If we walk in obedience. I will offer you eternal salvation. I will be the source of eternal salvation. You say well wait a minute. I thought it is by faith you have been saved.
[34:14] And you are absolutely right. Because there are two interchangeable words which scripture use. Faith and obedience. Which means you cannot really be living in faith if you are living in disobedience. James would put it this way.
[34:28] You say you have faith without works. But you are dead. You cannot show me your faith without your works. But rather I would show you my faith by my works. It is impossible.
[34:39] It is an impossibility. A physical, spiritual impossibility. To have faith and walk in disobedience. Because we are not walking in faith at that point.
[34:52] We are walking in our works. Obedience and faith are interchangeable. Jesus says well if you have faith in me then you will obey me. Right? This is what he says.
[35:04] That if you obey me to those who come to me. And obey me. All who came to those who obey him. He offers the source of eternal salvation. Now this is what I want you to focus on.
[35:15] And you are going to have to hold on to this until next week. Okay? And I am going to remind you of this next week. But I want you to hold on to it right now. Because we are going to get into Hebrews chapter 6 next week. If the Lord allows us to.
[35:26] And the Lord tarries. And we are there. We will finish up the 5th chapter. And we will get into chapter 6. And I love chapter 5. It ends with this. Let's leave the elementary principles of the raising of the dead. And the laying on of hands.
[35:36] And all this stuff. Those things are elementary. Right? Those things are. The things that we go wow that is amazing. He said those are basic elementary principles. Let's leave that and go to the deeper things. And then we will get into Hebrews 6.
[35:47] And it will seem as if God is saying we can lose our salvation. And many people have read Hebrews 6 and said we see people losing their salvation. Before we get there the spirit puts this here.
[35:59] Jesus offers what? Eternal salvation. The offer of Jesus is not just salvation. He's not saying I'll save you today.
[36:11] And if you come back tomorrow I can save you again. And then if you mess up for a year we'll come back on Yom Kippur and I'll save you again. He's not offering a periodic salvation. He is becoming the source of eternal salvation.
[36:27] And then we get to the difficult passage of Hebrews 6. The offer of Jesus is this. He is more than qualified.
[36:38] Friend listen to me. He is more than qualified to be the person you trust and you obey to give you eternal salvation.
[36:49] Nobody else can. Nobody else meets every other biblical requirement but this one. And he is more than qualified to be the one we trust in.
[37:03] The only real question is. What are we trusting in to save us? Or who are we trusting in to save us?
[37:16] Because there are none other who meet these qualifications. Other than this one who is Jesus Christ. Our great high priest.
[37:28] Let's pray. Lord I thank you so much for this day. God I thank you for your word. For the glorious truths that it contains.
[37:40] Lord I pray that as we have heard them. That now we would respond to them. Lord each one of us. Individually. And as a church corporately. Lord that we would humble ourselves.
[37:52] And say you truly are. More than qualified. That we would lay ourselves open and bare before you. And say here we are oh Lord. Do with us as you wish.
[38:04] And we give you the glory for it. In Jesus name. Amen.
[38:15] Thank you.
[38:45] Thank you.
[39:15] Thank you.
[39:45] Thank you.
[40:15] Thank you.
[40:45] Thank you.
[41:15] Thank you.