A New High Priest and a New Covenant - Wow!

The writer of Hebrews continues his emphasis on the superior priesthood of Jesus. In chapter 8, his focus is on the foundation of Jesus’ superior priesthood which is a superior covenant proclaimed in Jeremiah 31:31-34. Take a moment to savor this most precious passage, “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

The New Covenant is much superior to the Mosaic Covenant because it is based on grace not works. The old covenant was tied to obedience but was not able to effect a change in the hearts of people. The New Covenant can change hearts because God’s promises are unilateral. God effects change through the finished work of His Son, our great Savior and High Priest.

The promises are almost too good to be true but they are! They work on the inside instead of the outside. They empower the people of God to live like people of God. Carefully consider the better promises of the New Covenant revealed by Jeremiah:

• An inner desire to obey God - Charles Spurgeon, Is it not a wonderful thing that God shall ever make it as natural for us to be holy as once it was natural for us to be unholy, and that then we shall find it as much a joy to serve Him as once we thought it a pleasure not to serve Him, when, indeed, to deny ourselves shall cease to be self-denial?

• A personal relationship with God - Donald Hagner, The law is internalized, and a new intimacy of relationship between God and his people becomes possible.

• A personal knowledge of God - Douglas Mangum, No longer would any of God’s people need to seek out an expert or someone from an elite class of society to experience intimate, personal knowledge of God. All from the least to the greatest are able to know him.

• Forgiveness of sins - Ray Stedman, Any sin called to our attention by our conscience needs only to be acknowledged to be set aside. Provision for God to do so justly rests on the death of Christ on our behalf, not on our sense of regret or our promise to do better.

These are wonderful promises made by God to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. Some believe the New Covenant is not for the Church while others believe the Church is spiritual Israel. I believe Warren Wiersbe rightly declares that the New Covenant is for Jew and Gentile, All who are "in Christ" share in the New Covenant which was purchased on the cross. Today the blessings of the New Covenant are applied to individuals. When Jesus comes in glory to redeem Israel, then the blessings of the New Covenant will be applied to that beleaguered nation.

Jewish Christians were starting to wonder if Jesus Christ was worth the threat of persecution, why not turn back to Judaism and the Mosaic Covenant? The writer forcefully declared that the New Covenant is worth it. Jesus, the superior High priest of the New Covenant, alone can take one beyond religion and into personal relationship with the living God. Amazing promises were made by God and they are being experienced every day by those who have placed faith in Christ alone.

I encourage you to join the study of Hebrews under the Books of the Bible tab. We have a better priest and better promises. We are blessed!

What a Priest - Perfect Intercessor and Sacrifice!

The writer of Hebrews was concerned that the readers were not ready for deeper truths of the faith. In chapter 5, he warned them not to be satisfied with milk when they should be eating meat. He mentioned Melchizedek but chose to wait until chapter 7 to explain his importance. This is passage reveals the beauty, the majesty, the all sufficiency of Jesus as our High Priest after the order of Melchizedek. Here, we see the importance of Melchizedek as one who helps us more fully understand the greatness of Jesus our Savior Who is beyond compare.

We all need to savor the majesty of Jesus. The more we understand Him, the less likely we will turn away. When many think of Jesus, they think of the cross which is such an important place. But, Hebrews 7 gives us a picture of our Savior from eternity past to eternity future. Too many people are not secure in their faith because they are not certain Jesus can do what He says. Read chapter 7 and see that Who Jesus is determines what He can do!

I encourage you to prayerfully dig into chapter 7. For now, I will focus on the last 3 verses, 26, For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. 27, He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself. 28, For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever. The force of these verses is that Jesus, our High Priest, has a superior sacrifice because it is based on His person, it was the sacrifice of Himself, and His priesthood was based on an oath.

We should revel in Jesus’ nature. R. Kent Hughes, . . . it seems that the author stands back in awe as he celebrates the superior character of Christ the high priest. He is holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens. The word for holy means devout in contrast to another word translated holy which means set apart. Innocent means literally, without evil. Unstained means pure in a religious and moral sense. William L. Lane, Taken together, these three adjectives describe the sinlessness of the high priest . . . In contrast to the Levitical high priest, of whom there was demanded only ritual purity (Lev 21:11) and bodily integrity (Lev 21:17).

The writer continues by describing Jesus as separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. Separated from sinners can mean the contrast between mankind’s sinfulness and Jesus’ sinlessness. Some believe it is tied to exalted above the heaven. William L. Lane, . . . his actual entrance before the divine presence, where he accomplishes the ministry of intercession. That is a beautiful separation since our High Priest is at the right hand of the Majesty on high, always concerned about those who place faith in Him alone.

Because of Jesus’ sinless nature, He not only represents us before God but was our sacrifice. Levitical priests had to offer daily sacrifices for their sins but for Jesus there was no need. In addition, Jesus’ sacrifice was once for all time. Hebrews 9:12, he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. Raymond Brown, Jesus was not only the perfect priest; he was the perfect sacrifice. In this letter Christ is priest, sacrifice, altar and even the ‘curtain' which was rent on that first Good Friday so that everyone might have direct access to God.

Jesus’ sacrifice is superior because it is based on God’s oath. Zane Hodges, Thus the Law appointed as high priests those who were weak, but the oath, which came after the Law, appointed this kind of Priest. Accordingly the readers could go to Him at all times, fully confident of His capacity to serve their every need. Ray Stedman, Such then is our Melchizedek, God’s provision for help in our daily life, incomparable in greatness, inexhaustible in resource, infinite in patience, infallible in wisdom and interested in all that concerns us.

I encourage you to join the study of Hebrews 7 under the Books of the Bible tab. Who He is determines what He can do!

A Christian Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic

As of July 7, 2021, four million people have died from COVID-19. Positive results from vaccination are being offset by a new variant which has been described as COVID-19 on steroids. It seems that COVID-19 can strip away almost any underpinning of life. In the past 16 months, millions of people have lost their health, even their lives, millions have lost their jobs and billions have lost freedom to live the way they were accustomed.

For some time I have been praying that people would turn to that which can’t be taken away-abundant life today and eternal life in the future through the finished work of Jesus Christ. As the pandemic has continued, I have been deeply concerned about how I should be praying. It is easier to know that our society has spiritual needs than to know how to make a positive impact. Some think we are entering the judgment phase of Revelation, others think that COVID is God’s way of punishing this generation for flagrantly rejecting God’s Word. This is a difficult time but it is not a time for Christians to despair. Our God is sovereign and in control. The issue is how should Christians respond in light of the truth we have.

We may be close to end-time judgment but we are not there, yet. The Word of God declares in Romans 8:1, There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. The Bible clearly proclaims that Christians will not go through the Tribulation. We will be caught up to be with the Lord Jesus and serve with Him. Yet, this is a generation that has turned away from God and turned to itself. Is COVID God’s punishment on those who have died from COVID? Consider the words of Jesus in John 9:1-5, As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

I believe Christians should not be pointing fingers at unbelievers but at ourselves. Jesus declared that we must work the works of Him who sent me. Do we who have the truth, live the truth? This time is a wake-up call for Christians. The longer this pandemic continues, the more I believe Christians should bring back a word from the past, revival. That word has been missing in our conversations for a long time. It may seem like an old fashioned word but it points to our need to major on majors. Christians are called to be light in the darkness, even the darkness of COVID-19. Churches are called to be lighthouses leading people to an institution founded by Jesus Christ where He is head. I am not surprised that unbelievers live like the world. I am concerned when Christians live like the world.

Throughout the history of the church, there have been moments when the light of eternity has shone on our society. It has been too many years since there has been a nationwide revival. If ever there was a time we need revival, it is now. I encourage you to consider revival as something worth considering, not necessarily for others, but for you.

Let’s become more familiar with revival. Christian History magazine presented a pattern for revivals. First, they are usually preceded by a time of spiritual depression, apathy and gross sin. Nominal Christians are hardly different from members of secular society. Churches seem to be asleep. Second, an individual or small group of God's people becomes conscious of their sins with vows to forsake all that displeases God. Third, there is an awakening of Christians who desire to experience God's power as a result of their awareness of God's holiness, resulting in deepened spiritual lives. Fourth, revival may be God's means of preparing and strengthening His people for future challenges or trials.

America has been impacted by a number of revivals, the three most prominent are called Great Awakenings. The First Great Awakening was led by Jonathan Edwards who in 1734, stressed evangelism with a series of sermons on justification by faith. Also, he promoted personal holiness. He not only proclaimed the Gospel of Christ but illustrated the power of Christ in his life. This is evident in the following selected resolutions.

• I will do whatsoever I think to be most to God’s glory.

• To study the Scriptures so steadily, constantly and frequently, as that I may find,

and plainly perceive myself to grow in the knowledge of the same.

• To do whatever I think to be my duty, and most for the good and advantage of

mankind in general.

• Never hence-forward, till I die, to act as if I were any way my own, but entirely and

altogether God’s.

As I consider the life of Jonathan Edwards, I am reminded of a saying from Professor Howard Hendricks of Dallas Theological Seminary. When he was impressed with an individual, Prof would say, May his tribe increase. May the likes of Jonathan Edward's tribe increase in our day. May we be people of God with a passion for evangelism and hearts for God. May a Great Awakening start in the midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The Second Great Awakening began in 1801 at the Cane Ridge camp meeting in Kentucky, where as many as 3,000 were converted. A key leader of this revival was Timothy Dwight, grandson of Jonathan Edwards. He became president of Yale in 1795 and revival broke out under his administration and direction in 1802, 1808, 1812, and 1815. Also, revivals occurred at Princeton, Williams, Amherst, and Hampden-Sydney. The Benevolent Empire is another term which described this revival. It emphasized abolition of slavery and the need to clean up society. This pursuit led to the development of volunteer societies which included the American Bible Society, American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, the American Sunday School Union and the American Tract Society.

The Third Great Awakening was also called, The Layman Prayer Revival and began in New York City in 1857. It was characterized by prayer and lay leadership. There was an almost universal lack of emotional excesses that so deeply characterized the Second Great Awakening. Large prayer meetings took place in major cities. Estimates of conversions were listed at one million in the United State and another million in England and Ireland.

Revival has been a wonderful tool used by God in our country. Can it happen again? I believe it is God’s will throughout the Church Age. The issue is with us. Revival means a renewal of interest after spiritual neglect. It is a heartfelt return to God and His commandments. Take time to consider the following passages, 2 Chronicles 7:14; Psalm 51:10; Psalm 40:3; Isaiah 40:31.

Revival, or spiritual renewal, should be the norm. Jesus gives an open invitation to renewal in John 7:37-38, . . . If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” It demands no more than what our triune God deserves. It is loving God who loves you. It is submitting to the Holy Spirit who indwells you. It is pursuing spiritual disciplines which encourages conformity to the image of our Lord Jesus Christ. Take heart by heeding the words of ones who have gone before us.

• Pray - Only pray that our life may be ordered to the advantage of our soul,

Basil (4th C. A.D.)

• Pore through Scripture - As in paradise, God walks in the Holy Scriptures, seeking

man. Ambrose (4th C. A.D.)

• Be Passionate - The core problem is not that we are too passionate about bad

things, but that we are not passionate enough about good things. Has the Word of

God become your passion?, Howard Hendricks

• Persevere - Never despair of finding Him...Seek Him by desire, follow Him through

action, and in faith you will find Him, Bernard of Clairvaux (12th C. A.D.)

• Prioritize - Husband, love your wife; wife, love your husband; parents, love your

children; elders, love your flock.

May spiritual renewal be a daily passion so that revival may spread from your heart and mine to family, friends and neighbors, here and around the world.

I encourage you to visit www.crimsonministries.org and read of the great revivals in more detail. Look for Revival - God Rocking Our World, under Topical Studies and The Great Awakening - Stories of Revival under Topical Studies and then in Twelve Points of Light (Point 12).