Consider Christ

0:00Good morning.

0:00Hey, preacher.

0:01Good morning, to you. Open your Bibles. I just, man, it's such a good crowd today. I just love it. So good. Open your Bibles to Hebrews. Chapter 3. We're going to be covering 1 to 6, 1 through 6 this morning. For those keeping count, this is our ninth week in Hebrews. Current pace of about four weeks per chapter in Hebrews. And if those of you who are really quick and good at math, 4 times 13 chapters in Hebrews means we've got 52 weeks through Hebrews. That might seem daunting, but we're already one-sixth of the way through. So we're basically almost done at this point. The way time has been flying by, I'm praying that the Lord actually slows us down a little bit through this book, not speeds us up. And either way, we're going to continue to march and pray that God is faithful to open our minds and our hearts to receive his word. We can say amen to that. Looking at today's passage by way of introduction, this is one of those places in Scripture where the chapter markers break the flow of the text in a somewhat of an inconvenient way. We should, generally speaking, pay less attention to those chapter markers when reading and do our best to flow through the thoughts as opposed to breaking at the chapters. And this is the last time I'll make this joke or say this. Maybe that's why Stephen always wants to start at the beginning of every book, right? Right? It's a valid point, and I tease, but it is a valid point. We have to see these books, and I'm using books as they're not really books. These are letters written to people, right? And they they follow a very continuous thought and theme. And we really do these books or letters a disservice when we chop them up into these little small pieces that we generally do. So in that respect, we should read them as a full flow of thought. So we're going to consider Jesus this morning. We're going to consider Jesus as our text tells us to do, but we're going to do so in light of what we have read up to this point, specifically what we saw last week. Our text begins with this morning a therefore, which is our immediate clue that what follows this therefore is going to be referencing what was previously said. So remember the primary reason then why the book of Hebrews was written. Why was the book of Hebrews written? It was written to encourage Jewish Christians to persevere in the temptation to turn back to their old ways and to their old religion, right? To encourage Jewish Christians not to turn back under the temptation of their old ways and their old religions. Turning back to all that we left behind is a terrible idea. Because Christ is better than all that we left behind. He's better than the prophets, he's better than the angels, he's better than all the high priests. He has called us into a better family and into better relationships. Even more, he became like us so that he could save us. That is, atone for our sins. Christ is worth considering because in him God took on flesh. Christ is worth considering because as a result of his incarnation, not only did he reconcile us to God, but he proves that he is able to help us through every season and every second of life. And because he is able, we can persevere. We can fight sin. Because he is able, we have received everlasting forgiveness and eternal life in him. And keep those things then in your mind as context leading up to this morning, and we'll continue to talk about that a little bit more. Stand with me then as we read verses 1 to 6 of chapter 3. Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God's house. For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God. Now Moses was faithful in all God's house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later. But Christ is faithful over God's house as a son, and we are his house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in hope. This is the word of the Lord. Let's pray. Lord, you have told us that the flower withers, the grass fades, Lord, but all else remains. But your word remains, Lord. We trust in that this morning, and we pray and we ask now, Lord, that you would please speak for Christ's sake. It is in his name that I pray. Amen. Okay, we need to begin this morning in our consideration of Christ by seeing him as the greater Moses, right? We need to see him as the greater Moses. We don't often think of Moses as a foreshadowing of Christ, but that is exactly what our text points us to this morning. Moses as a foreshadowing of Christ. Moses is the only Old Testament figure who fulfilled a dual role while serving God and leading Israel. Moses functioned as both a prophet and a priest, and in that way he points forward to Christ, of whom the text says is the apostle and high priest of our confession. So we need to look then at what Moses mediated, right? If Moses was a foreshadowing of Christ, and his mediation was a foreshadowing of Christ's mediation, what did Moses mediate? Moses mediated the law and the sacrificial system and the temporary yearly atonement of sins, right? So when we say that Christ is a better Moses, what we are saying is that the covenant that Christ mediates or mediated and mediates is far superior. This was an encouragement for the Jewish Christians and certainly still for us today not to fall back again to the law and certainly the sacrificial system as a means of justification. Because Christ has given us a much better way to be reconciled to God. Why would you desire to be justified through a far inferior method and an ineffective one at that? Further, as Christ being the mediator of something better, we see that the old was to serve as a shadow of that something better. Not that it was bad, not that the law was bad. It was only the blueprint of the thing, not the thing itself. Fair warning this morning. There's going to be plenty of building analogies. Don't blame me though. God used them first. So I'm just doing what the text is doing. We see this in the words of Christ when he came, and he said that he came not to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. This is what he said. Christ's purpose was not to tear everything down, certainly not to tear everything down that Moses had built and start over, but rather to actually begin building by way of the fulfillment of the blueprints that Moses gave. The law and the sacrifice were fulfilled by Christ so that the actual building of the house could begin with Christ as the cornerstone. We know this because Christ himself says that Moses was always looking forward to him and the true prophet on whom God's people would be built. These are the words of Christ from John 5, 43-47. I have come in my Father's name and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. How can you believe when you receive glory from another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you, Moses, on whom you have set your hope. For if you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words? So Jesus says that Moses wrote about him, right? Looked forward to him, Christ. And I hope you're curious as to what Moses wrote about Jesus, that Jesus says that Moses wrote about me, and I'll give you that answer. It's in Deuteronomy 18, 15 to 18. And Moses wrote this The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers. It is to him you shall listen. Just as you desired of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God, or see this great fire any more, lest I die. And the Lord said to me, They are right in what they have spoken. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers, and I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I have commanded him. So from that we see that there should never be, nor was there ever any intent for there to be a conflict between the law and the gospel or the old and the new. Moses was faithful in the mediation of his covenant over the house of God, and Christ came to fulfill that covenant and to continue the building project based upon his new covenant. So the law isn't bad, it has just been fulfilled. And as such, we do not need to return again to it or to Moses. A greater prophet, a greater priest has been raised up from among us, and it is to him, Christ, that we shall listen. Okay, it's also appropriate to note once again, and I know this is a point we've made before, but that we don't just see the law and Moses as shadows to be fulfilled in Christ. It's not just the law and just Moses that are shadows to be fulfilled by Christ. In fact, the whole Old Testament, the law, the prophets, the Psalms, they all lead us to and foreshadow Christ. Remember when Christ is on the road to Emmaus and he walks with the two men who are questioning, they have questions about Jesus, right? It says in verse 27 of Luke 24 that Jesus, beginning, this is a quote, beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, he explained to them the things concerning himself in all the scriptures. So Jesus essentially opens their eyes by showing them that everything, that is, all of the scriptures, are fulfilled in him. Brian Borgman, the same Brian Borgman, who wrote the book that Stephen has been doing an extensive book review on, says that passages like ours today in Hebrews, along with the words of Christ that we just read, recorded in the Luke, do much more for us than just explaining Old Testament passages. This is the word of God and specifically the word himself, establishing a Christological hermeneutic, right? This is a bigger word of saying something more simply put, that we are to see everything in light of Christ, pointing to Christ and fulfilled in Christ as part of this historical redemptive plan of God. Everything, it all points towards Christ. And there are many reasons why that is important for us. That's not just me saying that, right? There's something to say about that. One of those, as it pertains to our text this morning, is that the same idea of fulfillment and expansion of the old to the new also applies to the people of God, right? The house of God. And this is what I really want to get to. Just as we see with the law and the fact that Christ came not to abolish or to separate, right, but to fulfill and expand, so too we see this with Israel. The house of God, as our text says. This is not a conflict, or there is not a conflict between Israel, the nation, and the Gentiles. But rather, Christ expands his house to include not just a nation, but all nations. Dr. Phillips says, quote, Old Covenant Israel is the bud of which new covenant church is the flower. End quote. So Scripture doesn't teach that there is a separation from the nation of Israel and everyone else in terms of this house of God. But rather there is unity or a grafting together of all people under the new covenant Christ, the new house. And I have love and respect for some of our dispensational brothers like John MacArthur and there's others. But just being honest, I don't see God's house the way he sees it. Scripture seems quite clear that Israel, under the old covenant, while a nation, consisted of those who looked forward in faith to Christ. When we get to Hebrews 11, we're going to talk about that. Sorry. But the church now, right? The church now, though, also consists of all those who look back into the finished work of Christ and then forward into his second coming and final consummation of his promise. But either way, it's always been the same tree, the same house, centered around Christ by faith. Okay? The house of God. Again, scripture from the old to the new demonstrates that God's plan was always to build a unified house, one house, unified house, consisting of redeemed people by faith in him in whom he would dwell. 2 Corinthians 6, with reference to Leviticus and Exodus, says this, for we are the temple of the living God. As God said, I will make my dwelling among them, and I will walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. You yourselves, like living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Ephesians 2, 19 through 22. So then you are no longer strangers or aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure being joined together grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. Okay, so the house of God. That is the people of God. That is the church. God is not dwelling in a temple anymore. He's not behind a curtain. He is dwelling in you. I'll say that again. He is dwelling in you. In his people, his living house. And the gathering of his people or the building of his house is the most important and precious work that there is. The church is the most important collection of people in your life because they are the collective dwelling place of our holy God. And this is a longer quote from a commentary I read. I think it's important enough to share, and this leads into another further conversation and our consideration of Christ. And this is, I'm just going to read this quote. Quote, there is therefore no greater privilege than membership in the church. There's no greater calling than a Christian's calling to offer his gifts, his talents, his time, his money to the work of the church. A Christian who gives all his energy to his job, uses her talents only for personal gain, who spends his money all on himself, neglecting the work of the church, which will last forever, is simply a fool. Such a person does not realize that the church is the body, the temple, the bride of the exalted Jesus, Christ, who even now reigns on high and soon will come to rule the earth forever. In the end, it is what Christ is doing through the church that matters most, will most shine in glory, and will have been most worth the offering of our lives. Therefore, a Christian who is not involved in the ministry of the church, who does not pray regularly for the church's work, who is taking from but never giving to the church, should ask himself if he really understands what this life is about and is if and if he is living for the things of eternity. End quote. If I am being honest, as much as I agree with those words, they coupled with verse six from our text have the potential to lead us to despair. Quote, and we are his house. This is from verse six, and we are his house. If indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting and our hope. No one in this room appreciates church membership to the degree that we should. No one alive today fully grasps the gift of being a part of God's house. And in that respect, do we really even understand what life is about? Further, our text tells us that we are his house if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting and hope. Is salvation conditional upon our confidence and our hope? Are we really only God's house if we use 100% of our energy, time, and money and talents for his purpose? Are we only saved if all our free time is spent serving the church? I hope not. Because if so, I feel pretty confident no one here is getting to glory. Praise be to God, we are saved purely on faith. Faith, which is a gift from him, and true faith always perseveres. Saving faith will never fully lose its confidence or cease in boasting in hope. So we hold fast. We have confidence. We persevere. We hope not to save, but because we are saved. It is for this reason that we must see Christ in everything. More specifically, his gospel in everything. Because otherwise we would despair. We would be forced back again to the law. We consider Christ and who he is and what he has done so that when the commands come, and they do, we're not discouraged or turned off by them. We embrace them as a joyful expression of gratitude. I would not be helping you out if I stood up here and said, you guys, man, y'all are all a bunch of wicked sinners. You don't appreciate God's house, you don't appreciate God's people, y'all are selfish, y'all are greedy, and unless you get your mess together, I'm not even sure if you're saved. I suppose Jonathan Edwards would argue that there are times when that may be warranted. But certainly our text this morning says something different. Holy brothers, it says. And that in and of itself is an indicative of us, right? He's calling us holy. Because of Christ, we are called holy. Because of Christ, we have a heavenly calling, our text says. Because Christ fulfilled the law of Moses, you don't have to fear your lack of perfection. Because Christ sacrificed himself. There are no more sacrifices to make. We can be assured this morning that God has planned to dwell in you and to make you a part of his house since the days of Moses and even before the ages began. We know this to be true. And we cling to this because the builder of all things is God. So won't you consider Christ this morning? Won't you rest in the reality that He has fulfilled every word of the old? He has secured every promise in the new. Won't you echo the words of Psalm 16, 11 that we read this morning? You make known to me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy. At your right hand are pleasures forevermore. When you consider Christ and all that he has done for you, out of the overflow of love and gratitude will you give yourself to him? Will you hold fast to your confidence in him because he has done everything for you? Will you boast in your hope because he has promised everything to you? Will you love his church and serve his people because he is dwelling in us and building us into a holy temple to praise him and serve him for ages and ages to come? And that's not me sidestepping those previous commands, more specifically, that long quote that I read. The still there. The commands are still there, but our motivation is not obligation or fear, it's love and gratitude. Those are far better motivators, right? Not to mention Christ-centered and gospel-centered motivators. Alright, so some specific applications then, and we'll close. First, the text frees us from the law and it frees us from legalism. I think I've made this point clear enough, so I'm not going to continue to belabor it, except to say, again, that in Christ we have been freed from the law. Because he fulfilled the law. And he fulfilled all of the law's demands. He also freed us from legalism, right? That is the gaining of righteousness through personal law-keeping. We don't have to be holy. And hear me when I say this, we don't have to be holy, nor do we even have to be good to be saved. Thanks again be to God, because no one is good. No, not one. But because of his grace to save us, we can echo David and we can delight in the law. We can aspire to and fight for holiness and goodness, not to be saved, but because we have been saved. And the difference there is no less than the difference between night and day. Secondly, the text does call us to consider our bodies as the dwelling place of God, right? We are God's house. We are the dwelling place of God. And this is where the imperatives or the commands come back in to say, how do we live knowing that the holy God of the universe is living in you? How do you live knowing that the holy God of the universe is living in you? Your God, your helper, and your friend is always with you. He shares in all your joys. He weeps with all your sorrows. And this also means that we are making him a present witness to all of our sins. Not in a weird, you better be good for goodness' sake kind of a thing. Because he is watching you when you're sleeping and when you're awake, which was very weird. But rather in the understanding that your holy God loves you so much that he sent his son to the cross for you. And now has made his home, sorry, his home in you, so that he will keep you until the day that you see him face to face. Let his love motivate you to joy and gratitude, and to honor his choosing you as his house, right? And finally, the text calls us to not let our sin discourage us, but to keep fighting. I know I've used this reference before, but Sinclair Ferguson said in a lecture, I think it was on prayer, that often the enemy attacks us by heaping condemnation on us, right? Look at all the wrongs that you have done. Consider all your faults and all your failings. How could God possibly still love you? The answer is that the gospel calls us to consider Christ. He is the great apostle. Christ is the great apostle commissioned by the Father to save us, and he did. He is the greatest high priest who by his own blood brought reconciliation between us and the Father. He is the one through whom everything was created and built, including you. Yes, your sins are great. But the love of Christ was greater. Romans 5, 8 to 11. But God shows his love for us, that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since therefore we now have been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life? More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we now have received reconciliation. So I ask again, won't you consider Christ this morning and every morning? And when you do, the only response, the only biblical response is confidence and hope. And by the grace of God, I hope we all leave with both this morning. Amen. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you again for the hope and the confidence that your word does give us. Lord, I pray and ask that you would help us every morning, especially this morning and especially these next few weeks leading up to the celebration of the incarnation. But every morning, Lord, may we consider Christ. May we consider what he has done for us. Lord, help us to continually consider Christ. And in that consideration, may we be filled with all joy, all confidence, and all hope in what he has done for us. Ask all these things in the name of Jesus. Amen.