Jesus Christ, Our One & Only High Priest

Transcript

GR 1682
03/17/2013
Jesus Christ, Our One and Only High Priest
Hebrews 4:14-16
Gil Rugh

We're in the book of Hebrews together in your Bibles, Hebrews 4. Hebrews is a book about the superiority of Christ. The finality of revelation given by God has been given in and through His Son, Jesus Christ. The record of that revelation is contained in what we call our New Testament. That with the Old Testament completes the revelation of God, there is nothing more, nothing else that God intends for us to know. The book of Hebrews focusing on the finality of revelation in Christ, the superiority of Christ to everything, and in particular His ministry as High Priest. The book of Hebrews is a very pertinent book for what is going on in our day, events that are of great concern to me and should be to you, particularly what is happening in what is called the evangelical church. In Paul's letter to Timothy in 1 Timothy 2, Paul wrote, “there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.” That truth is what is being unfolded in the book of Hebrews as we're going to be moving into the high priestly ministry of Christ.

Before we move into the particular verses I want to talk a little bit of what is going on in the world around us. Some of you may have known that there was a new Pope elected and it has gotten much news, and much attention even in the evangelical world. I use that term evangelical, it has become all but meaningless, but those who profess to believe the Bible, profess to believe that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. There is misunderstanding about the relationship of Protestants and Catholics and the differences. And there has been much written about the new Pope as there is every time a new Pope comes on the scene.

Let me just read you something, this came from the local newspaper this past week, just some comments from a more extensive article. Pope Francis began Thursday with an early morning trip in a simple Vatican car, maybe there are ‘un-simple’ Vatican cars, not a papal sedan. The point is we want to stress how humble this man is, how pious he is. He began the morning with a trip in a simple Vatican car to a Roman basilica dedicated to the Virgin Mary where he prayed before an icon of the Madonna. Like many Latin American Catholics, Francis has a particular devotion to the Virgin Mary. His visit to the Virgin Mary basilica was a reflection of that. Laying flowers on the altar, he then prayed before a Byzantine icon of Mary and the infant Jesus. One of the priests present says, “this pope has a great devotion to this icon of Mary and every time he comes from Argentina he visits this basilica.” Francis himself had foreshadowed the visit, telling the 100,000 people packed into rain-soaked St. Peter's Square after his election, that he intended to pray to the Madonna that she would watch over all of Rome.

You know sometimes what seem to be humility in the eyes of the world is arrogance in the eyes of God. Sometimes what is passed off as piety and devotion is nothing but an act of rebellion against God. There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus. To go and pray to the Virgin Mary is an act of rebellion against God. It is an evidence of an evil, unbelieving heart, turning away from the truth that God has revealed.

The thing that concerns me is this impact on those who call themselves evangelicals. This comes from a magazine that professes to be evangelical, Christianity Today. One of the articles from this past week, “A Pope for All Christians.” Now I'm just going to read parts of it. When the new pope is consecrated, he will inherit a troubled church. But the consequences of success or failure are huge for the church universal. The world's 2.1 billion Christians of every denomination . . . Wait a minute, that's not the church universal! People of every denomination who claim to be Christians are part of the universal church, that is not so. The church is comprised of those who have been born again through faith in the finished work of Christ, and that alone. Bothers me, this comes from an evangelical magazine supposedly written by an evangelical writer.

One consequence of globalization is that the walls that have long divided Catholics from orthodox, mainline Protestants, evangelicals and Pentecostals are eroding. That is true, but it is not good. Bryan Stiller, a global ambassador for the World Evangelical Alliance commenting about Catholic and evangelical relations wrote on his blog recently, “not in 500 years have the two sides been so close and friendly.” The Reformation made clear the differences between Catholicism and biblical Christianity, but now those differences are dissolving and we are back and supposedly on friendly terms.

This man writes, “we want to help Christians everywhere comprehend that a healthy and gospel proclaiming Catholic body benefits all churches and the cause of Christ.” How can the Catholic Church be considered gospel preaching when one of its foundational doctrines is if you preach that salvation is by faith alone, you are cursed to hell? Comes from the Council of Trent. When you deny the gospel, how are you going to be a healthy gospel preaching church?

Both the late Pope John Paul II and Pope emeritus Benedict exercised the teaching office in extraordinary ways. They championed the sanctity of life against a culture of abortion and mercy killing. They spoke out against the corrosive effects of secularism. Both convened urgent discussions between Christians and Muslims and between warring nation states. They encouraged ongoing theological dialogue between Catholic and Protestant scholars about justification, the authority of the church and proper understanding of the Virgin Mary.

None of this has to do with anything. Few Christian institutions have the historic scale and scope of the Catholic church in the arenas of healthcare, education and works of mercy outreach to the poor. This reality provides Protestants and Catholics a new context for collaboration in mission. We trust the new Pope will support such partnerships.

You realize the doctrinal differences have just dissolved and gone away. Roman Catholics have changed nothing in their doctrine, and those who claim to be evangelical pretend there are no differences. What really matters is that few Christian institutions have the historic scale and scope of the Catholic Church in the arenas of healthcare, education and works of mercy in outreach to the poor. Has nothing to do with biblical truth. You understand, the truth that is being unfolded in the book of Hebrews, the truth that God says if you turn away from it, you manifest an evil, unbelieving heart. We are replacing the truth and importance of the truth concerning Christ and the revelation given in Him with “do-goodism.” There is so much “do-good” that needs to be done that we need to set aside any doctrinal differences.

This is an evangelical magazine, at least it presents itself with an article written by one. Catholic-Protestant partnership, then, whether at the grassroots or the grass tops must be grounded in mutual commitments to the authority of Scripture, the atoning work of Christ, the need for individual salvation and conversion and the expression of the gospel through evangelism and social action. You understand everything in that sentence has been set aside but social action. The issues of individual salvation and conversion and how that is carried out, the expression of the gospel in evangelism, the atoning work of Christ is all passed over. What really is the focus is social action.

Given the monumental spiritual and social challenges of the 21st century, it is more important than ever that Protestants and Catholics figure out how and where they can work together. Getting Protestants as such to ramp up mission is not that easy since there are so many often bickering voices in the mix of Protestantism. You know where we fit. Whether we Protestants like to admit it or not, though, there is a single person in Rome who can influence Christians of every stripe to work more heartily in the cause of Christ, sometimes together even with Catholics and sometimes faithfully in their own theological tradition. That's why even non-Catholics are praying fervently for the new Pope. Given the monumental challenges of the 21st century, it is more important than ever that Protestants and Catholics figure out how to work together.

I want to say, the Pope does not represent me, the Pope does not represent biblical Christianity. The Pope by his very position as a priest is denying the very biblical truth we are studying in the book of Hebrews. Have not these who claim to be evangelicals ever read it? Have they let it go? That's what the writer to the Hebrews is concerned about. We're going to see that he says, hold fast to the truth you have in Christ. They are just letting it go because there is so much social need in the world. So much needs to be done to help the poor.

It's not enough, the next day they write another article to get on my nerves. Same evangelical magazine, another evangelical writer supposedly. “Why Pope Francis Excites (Most) Evangelical Leaders.” Isn't that a tragedy? Most evangelical leaders are excited about Pope Francis? Though the Pope doesn't speak for Protestant Christians, he holds an important role, and that is underlined, as one of the most public faces of Christianity, said Leif Anderson, President of the National Association of Evangelicals. He is the face of Christianity or Christendom as we might say, but he is not the face of biblical Christianity. We have lost our ability to distinguish.

He goes on to say, this is the President of the National Association of Evangelicals, an organization that was started supposedly to defend and promote evangelicalism, biblical Christianity. It has wandered so far from that now. He goes on to say, around the world there are millions of people who don't grasp the difference between Protestants and Catholics. To them Christians are Christians and the Pope speaks for them. Well that doesn't surprise me. I mean, the unbelieving world does not understand what makes a true Christian. But to say therefore we ought to support the Pope because in the eyes of the world he speaks for Christians. “Well the whole world lies in the evil one. However, American evangelicals will benefit from Francis' conservative stance on issues such as abortion and gay marriage,” he said. Meanwhile the new pope's focus on poverty and his ascetic personal habits could also start a much needed discussion about the global poor.

You see, all of a sudden we say the doctrine, the atonement of Christ, all that, but that ascetic lifestyle and His interest in the poor. I mean, let's get out front about what really matters. What really matters is who is Jesus Christ? What has He done? The finality of that.

“Francis has a good record of living among the poor and caring for social outcasts,” said Russell Moore, Dean of the School of Theology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He goes on, “I pray that his example spurs evangelicals like me to remember our mandate to love the least of these, the hurting, the vulnerable, the brothers and sisters of our Lord.” That is awfully close to liberation theology, that the poor are saved by virtue of the fact that they are poor. They are the brothers and sisters of the Lord. What happened to the doctrine of the Gospel?

Though Francis is not a prolific writer, his past writings and speeches have emphasized the new evangelization, a term coined by John Paul II, which seeks to promote evangelism in the contemporary world, said Timothy George, Dean of Beeson Divinity School. When you have the Gospel wrong, how can you be an agent for promoting the Gospel? They deny the Gospel, they do not believe that salvation is by faith alone in Christ alone. That's the key. It's a denial of the Gospel.

However, here is one at least someone who brings a little bit of sanity is quoted at the end of the article from Westminster Theological Seminary. Francis likely will not address key theological differences between Protestants and Catholics, such as the veneration of Mary, the nature of sacraments and the theology of justification. Oh, well, they are just minor. What has happened to the evangelical world?

Hits pretty close to home. I opened my mail when I came in this morning and I had an invitation. This doesn't make me popular in the city, but you are going to hear it anyway. I was invited to the Lincoln Leaders Prayer Summit. Dear Christian Leader. For several years now pastors and leaders have been coming together to pray for our city. While so much can divide us, the summit has been an opportunity to rally around our Savior and the unity we share through faith in Christ. The summit allows ample time for personal retreat as well as prayers for the city and relationship building between fellow Christians. We all have our own distinct doctrines, and while they are important, they are not the focus of this gathering. Well, how can we be fellow Christians? There are +three people that are the invitation committee, one of them is a monsignor from the Lincoln diocese. The other is a pastor of an evangelical church in the city. We don't talk about our difference in doctrine, we get together to pray. And those who do not belong to Christ, and we're coming to the section, we're going to talk about those who can come before God's throne of grace. But you can only come through Him, through a right understanding and belief in Jesus Christ and His finished work. What kind of prayer summit are you going to have with those who deny the reality of that?

Their core beliefs, God is three in one—Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Jesus died and rose again for the forgiveness of sins. Forgiveness of sins is by grace through faith in Jesus. The Bible is faithful and true in all it affirms. We agree with the historic teachings of the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed. That sounds good, forgiveness of sins is by grace through faith in Jesus. You understand the Judaizers that Paul so condemns in the letter to the Galatians could sign that doctrinal statement. According to Acts 15 they didn't deny that Jesus was the Messiah, they didn't deny that He died on the cross for sins. Do you know what they said? That's all good but it's not enough. Do you know what Roman Catholicism says? Sure, forgiveness for sins is by grace through faith in Jesus. Do you know where they part with Protestants? Forgiveness for sins is by grace alone through faith alone. No. They are in the Judaizer camp. Now we're going to say the cultural issues of the day, the social issues of the day, the moral climate of the day necessitates our setting aside our doctrine of salvation and joining together to rescue the world from its poverty and to try to right the moral wrongs. Paganism is paganism, even when it puts on a Christian dress.

The thing that concerns me is what is happening. I shared with you a few months ago I had someone come from an evangelical church to tell me about so many in their church who have gone to Catholicism, including one of the main teachers and one of the pastors. What has happened? Nobody is studying and believing Hebrews anymore?

Hebrews 4 in your Bibles. We looked at verses 12-13,” the Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, joints and marrow, able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” God's Word is alive, it is powerful, it is effective, it works. And you'll note verse 13, and “there is no creature hidden from His sight.” Just like God's Word exposes us as we really are on the inside. That's how God sees us. You'll note the equating of God and His Word. Verse 12, “the Word of God is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” Verse 13, “there is no creature hidden from His sight.” God and His Word are inseparable. There is no honoring God, there is no obeying God, there is no pleasing God without submission and obedience to His Word. This comes at the end of that strong warning passage about the danger of being disobedient to the revelation God has given, manifesting, according to Hebrews 3:12, that “you have an evil, unbelieving heart in turning away from the living God.” When you turn away from obedience to God's Word, submission to God's Word, you have manifested an evil, unbelieving heart, you have turned away from the living God.

How dare these people profess to be evangelical Christians and encourage an alliance with one who professes to be a priest and stand between men and God? It's a denial of biblical Christianity. And it's not surprising from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things. How sad it is that it comes from within, among those who claim to be Bible believers. But that's not new, it's what Paul told the Ephesian elders in Acts 20, it's what the writer, Jude, wrote in his little epistle, that “some have crept in unnoticed.” They are denying the Lord. Peter wrote about it, we see it happening here. But it's under the guise of good things. Somebody wrote a note to me, a couple of weeks ago I shared with you, I believe. It said, Indian Hills makes its living by bashing Catholics. Well, I don't know about makes our living do that, but the reality of it is the difference between what we believe in this church and what Roman Catholicism teaches is an unbridgeable chasm. It is not the same Christianity, it is not the same Gospel.

So our writer picks up in verse 14, and Hebrews 4:14-16 are a transition, they are a bridge verse. They bring together everything he has said up to this point in the first four chapters and transition to what he is going to emphasize through the rest of chapters 5 through most of chapter 10, the priesthood of Jesus Christ and His ministry as High Priest, which is unique and must be understood. It's what enables us to have a relationship with the living God.

So he says in verse 14, “therefore since we have such a great High Priest.” And he is going to give two exhortations in these three verses. We'll note them and then we'll look at the details of the verses. The end of verse 14 is the first one, “let us hold fast our confession.” Underline it, circle it, however you mark your Bible. Let us hold fast our confession is the first exhortation to them in these verses. The second is the beginning of verse 16, “let us draw near with confidence.” Two things—hold fast to your confession and draw near with confidence. Two things they are exhorted to do in light of what he has said and in light of what he is going to say about the ministry of Christ.

“Therefore since we have a great High Priest.” Come back to Hebrews 2:17, he is resuming what he had said earlier. As has been characteristic in Hebrews, he'll bring up something, then he'll develop it more in detail later. In Hebrews 2:14-16 remember the writer said why it was necessary for the Son of God to become Son of Man—so He could provide the sacrifice for sins. So verse 17, “therefore He had to be made like His brethren in all things so that He might become a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.” So here he brings in the high priestly ministry of Christ. He took to Himself humanity so that in His body on the cross He could bear our sins, He could turn away the wrath of God from us. We were by nature children of wrath because of our sin. Propitiation turns away wrath by satisfying the demands of righteousness.

“For since He Himself was tempted in what He had suffered He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.” He is going to pick up that theme in the verses before us shortly. Hebrews 3 opens up, “therefore holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession.” And he elaborates on the faithfulness of Christ, the One sent by God. Then that strong word of warning about not believing and holding on to this truth in Christ.

Now when you come to Hebrews 4:14 he picks up, “therefore we have a great High Priest.” So he picks up what he has said back in Hebrews 2:17 into Hebrews 3:1, we have a High Priest, we have a High Priest. Keep focused on Jesus, our Apostle and High Priest. Now Hebrews 4:14, “therefore having a great High Priest.” He's not just a High Priest, He's a great High Priest. In the Old Testament the high priest, that word translated high could also be translated great. And here we have a great, great High Priest. Remember we are emphasizing in Hebrews the superiority and finality of Jesus Christ. He is the great High Priest, superior to any high priest in Judaism. And it is a priesthood of even a different character as he'll talk about in Hebrews 5, the priest after the order of Melchizedek. He is a great High Priest, He supersedes the priesthood of Aaron, the Levitical priesthood.

He has passed through the heavens, He has been exalted to the presence of His Father. This has been emphasized several times already in Hebrews. Come back to Hebrews 1:3, “when He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on High.” So he's picking up that emphasis. This One who is our great High Priest has finished the ministry of sacrifice for sin, He has passed through the heavens, He is seated at the right hand of His Father. Down in Hebrews 1:13, that was anticipated with the prophecy from the Psalms. “Sit at My right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” And He is seated at the right hand of the Father, His work of sacrifice is done, it is finished.

Down in Hebrews 2:9, we do see “Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor.” Seated with the Father in glory. He has passed through the heavens. Understand the greatness of this High Priest, the finality of the work that He has done. Keep this in mind. Those anticipating or contemplating a return to Judaism, there is no return to Judaism. Any return to Judaism is a rejection of the work of the great High Priest, the One seated in the presence of the Father in glory.

“He is,” verse 14, “Jesus the Son of God.” Jesus, the name that ties us to His humanity. The angel said in announcing His birth, “you shall call His name Jesus for He shall save His people from their sins.” He is Jesus the Son of God, His deity, He is man and He is God. No wonder He is a great High Priest! He is both man and God. The work that He has done and accomplished could not be accomplished by any mere human priest. He is the Son of God. That's how Hebrews began, remember, “God in these last days has spoken to us in One who is a Son.” The finality of that. How can they contemplate going back to Judaism?

Wait a minute, I talked about Roman Catholicism. These Jews who profess to believe in Christ, contemplating to going back to a system that God has established through Moses in the Old Testament to operate until the Messiah would come and God's own High Priest from heaven, His Son become man to accomplish the ultimate work of salvation. They couldn't go back to that former system without manifesting an evil, unbelieving heart, apostasizing from the living God. What is it like for men who have established their own priestly system and call men to it? And we act like there is no difference in that and biblical Christianity. If these who would return to the Old Testament Jewish system would be counted apostates with unbelieving hearts by the living God, what do you consider those who simply turn to a system that men have set up with no authority from the Scripture, with a whole caste of priests with their supreme priest and a whole order of levels of cardinals and bishops and monsignors. And people are supposed to come to them and through them get forgiveness. And pray to Mary and pray to the saints when there is one Mediator. But men by their own authority have set up a whole system and we're supposed to act like, don't say anything negative about that. They are Christians, too. You can't deny the Word of God and be one who truly believes the Word of God. True faith is evidenced by faithfulness.

He is Jesus the Son of God. What is the exhortation? “Let us hold fast our confession,” maintain a firm grip on our confession. This is a repeated emphasis in Hebrews. Back up to Hebrews 3:6, “Christ was faithful as a Son over His house, whose house we are if we hold fast,” there is our word again, krateo, hold fast, have a firm grip on, “our confidence and the boast of our hope firm to the end.” You come down to verse 14, “for we have become partakers of Christ if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm to the end.” True believers are those who maintain their grip on the truth concerning Christ. When you profess to have believed in Christ, placed your faith in Him alone as the one and only Savior, you can't let go of that to turn to something else. Not even to return to something that God had set up in the past because now that is done, it has been superseded and replaced, let alone a system that never had divine authority, never had biblical authority. It is just a pagan system set up by unbelieving men. We are to hold fast our confession.

Look over in Hebrews 10:23, “let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering.” Then verse 26 will pick up with that strong warning passage, “if you don't then all that remains for you is the certainty of terrifying judgment.” This is serious business, this is matter of eternal destiny, heaven and hell. Back in Hebrews 4, we hold fast our confession. “With the heart man believes unto righteousness, with the mouth he confesses.” We confess what is in our hearts. When I placed my faith in Jesus Christ, how did people know? I said, I have placed my faith in Christ alone, I have understood that I am a sinner lost and without hope. And the only Savior is Jesus Christ and salvation is in Him alone. And He is the one and only one I am trusting. That's our confession, hold it fast, get a firm grip on it. I am disturbed when I see those who have been teachers of the Bible letting go of their grip and drifting along. And I say, did they ever know the truth? Did they ever understand the finality of revelation in Christ? Are they now being revealed what they have been always in heart? And that external dress has been removed. You cannot turn away from Christ and claim to truly be a believer. They say, don't you judge. I'm not, I'm just telling you what the Word of God says. He is the judge, that's what He has told us in verses 13-14. His Word lays us open as we are, His Word reveals us as we are. We are not sitting in judgment of people because we take the Word of God and shine its light on them, we are telling them what the living God has said. And if we don't do that we have dishonored the God that we supposedly serve.

Look at verse 15. You know people want to gravitate toward external things, we all fight that. It was good for us when we remodeled the auditorium, we had to move into other parts of the building. It was hard to find your seat, wasn't it? For the first couple Sundays it didn't feel like you were worshiping and in church. And some of you were watching it on the screen like you are now. It was different, good for us. I almost was tempted to preach this sermon first today and then have the music second. People would go out and say, it just didn't feel like we worshiped today, did it. We get used to external form and if we're not careful we begin to identify that with worship. You notice all the pomp and ceremony that goes with a new Pope? Everybody is waiting on their seats, who will it be? When will they blow the smoke out the chimney? What will he be dressed in? Oh he didn't wear red, he wore white. He didn't ride in this vehicle, he rode in this vehicle. And you have all the parade of all the important high figures who are so humble and on it goes. And then it just creates a feeling of worship. That has always been the case. The devil establishes endless systems of external activities that are passed off as worship. Evangelicals are being drawn into this, they want to go back to the ancient ways and learn from the mystics and create that kind of atmosphere of worship. Then we go away and we feel like we worshiped. The woman of Samaria had that error—where shall we worship, at this mountain or at Jerusalem? Jesus says, that's not the issue, God is looking for those to worship Him who will worship Him in spirit and truth.

There is something about having something concrete. This is the appeal of many varieties of Protestantism and Roman Catholicism as well as other religions. They have the externals. What do we have? Well, we open up the Word of God, we read it, we study it, we close it and we go on our way. They have ceremonies and sacraments and candles and certain kind of dress. And it creates a sense that this is true worship if we do these. Some of you have come from Roman Catholic background, Lutheran background, others and some of you have shared, when I first came it just didn't feel like we worshiped. We didn't recite the Lord's Prayer and it just didn't seem like it was a worship service. We struggle with this with music, don't we, all of us. I'm old, I identify worship with a certain style of music, the good music. Others have different feelings. It's good for me, I have to sit there and say, what is the truth being conveyed here? It's not the feeling I get, the movement, I feel moved by this. I can feel moved by certain songs that have nothing to do with spiritual truth, like the song Sad Movies Always Make Me Cry. We begin to associate these kinds of things with worshiping God, and we say, look what they have. And so people want to return, come back home to Catholicism and they have all the traditions, hundreds of years of paganism. That's what you want to go to? I mean, what in the world? Amazing!

We do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weakness. You can't see Him, you don't get a lot of pomp and ceremony, but we have a High Priest. He's not standing where we can see Him in impressive robes anymore, but we have a High Priest. And He is not one who is unable to sympathize with us. You have a double negative here to emphasize we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize. You get the idea, if we go back to Judaism, they have a high priest they can talk to. People want a priest they can go confess to, a priest that will offer a sacrifice they can see. And it's all tangible and I feel like I've worshiped. We have a High Priest, He's not one who can't sympathize with us, who doesn't understand. He is really there, He really knows with our weaknesses. Weaknesses refers to any kind and all kinds of frailties, the difficulties that come to us in human life. These are going through persecutions, trials, opposition, family members that have divided. These are Jews who have professed faith in Christ. Now they are cut off from Judaism. The Gentiles don't like them because they are Jews and the Jews don't like them because they are Jewish Christians. And life is difficult. Whatever else comes, it is hard to make a living. They don't know where the next meal is coming from. I've lost my job over these matters and on it goes. He can sympathize with our weaknesses.

He is one who has been tempted in all things as we are but without sin. He endured all kinds of temptations. We don't have time to go back to Matthew 4, for example. At the beginning of His earthly ministry the devil came and tempted Him. He's hungry. Well, make these stones bread if you are God. He could say, I am the Son of God, I can do it and I am hungry. I'm hungry, I can do it, probably good to do. No. Have to understand man shall not live by bread alone. I have to live out God's will for Me. Shortcut to the throne, you don't have to go to the cross. Fall down and worship me and I will give you all the kingdoms of the world today. No. And the temptation goes on. He is in the garden praying, Father, if this can pass from Me, let it be, but not My will but Yours. You think He is truly human. The pressure of what is before Him in facing the cross all but overwhelming, but He endures. He is on the cross. He saved others, He can't save Himself. If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross. I would have been down in an instant, wiped out those loud-mouthed pagans. Not Jesus, He endured. He could have called ten thousand angels and put a stop to this. He didn't do it. He traversed this earth, endured and He never sinned. He endured temptation to degrees that we don't because we yield before we get to the final point where we get over the top, so to speak. He understands, He knows what we are going through. He knows what is necessary to sustain us. He was faithful.

Back in Hebrews 3;2, after saying consider Jesus the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, He was faithful to Him who appointed Him. The key, He was faithful. That's what he is exhorting them to do. We have a high priest who can understand, who knows. We don't say, Jesus in heaven and I am here, it's comforting to have a man to go to, a man to talk to, a man who can represent us. No, we have a man, the God/Man who is in the presence of glory.

Therefore, Hebrews 4:16, we're not going to talk about the sinlessness of Christ, He was without sin. We'll get into this more when we get further into Hebrews. You can just take note of 2 Corinthians 5:21, God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf in order that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. He had no sin, He is the spotless Lamb of God. And as Hebrews will unfold, it is because of His sinlessness that He could act as our representative and provide a sacrifice that was acceptable to God.

“Therefore, let us draw near with confidence.” The second exhortation. First, “let us hold fast to our confession,” what we have believed in Him, have a firm grip on it. You know who Jesus Christ is, you know He is the only way of salvation and faith in Him is the only hope of salvation. It is complete in Him. Hold fast. Now, you're not going back, you're going forward. “Let us draw near with confidence,” with boldness, with assurance. This is an awesome statement. “Let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace.” We talked about the judgment of God and it's a fearful thing to come before the throne of God's judgment. Later the writer to the Hebrews will say, “it's a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” Terrifying. But we come before not a throne of judgment in fear, we come before a throne of grace with confidence. What a difference, what a difference.

So he has given strong exhortations and warnings about the danger of turning back and to consider your heart. That is just to encourage us to go on, and now he reminds us, you have a place to go to deal with your pressure, to deal with a weakness when you feel like, I can't go on, Lord. It is overwhelming, it seems more than I can do. Come with confidence, knowing that you are welcome. It is a throne of grace for those who have a great high priest, it is a throne of judgment for those who do not. There is no middle ground. The only ones who can come before God's throne as a throne of grace are those who have Jesus Christ as their great High Priest. That only comes when we come to recognize and believe that we are sinners without hope. And Jesus Christ is the only Savior and faith in Him and Him alone brings salvation by God's grace alone. It is done. It's not now it's continued on by partaking of sacrifice or doing other good works. It is done. We belong to Him for time and eternity.

Let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. He's not going to say, Gil, what are you doing here again? You should be strong enough to get through this. You're always crawling back to the throne and asking for more grace. No, it's a throne of mercy. The psalmist said, He knows our frame that we are but dust. He doesn't sympathize with our sin, but He does sympathize with our weakness. And this is a throne where we receive mercy. And we find the grace that provides the help in our time of need. That's amazing. That grace will provide the strength, the power, the encouragement, the courage to continue on faithfully to God.

Come back to 2 Corinthians 12. Verse 7, Paul talks about the fact there was “a messenger of Satan,” a demonic being “that God gave permission to afflict Paul.” I don't know what that affliction was, but you can bet it was severe when this demonic being had to have special permission from God to torment Paul in this way. We get some idea of what the devil did with Job. Verse 8, Paul said, “I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me.” He came before God's throne of grace, seeking mercy and grace to help. The Lord said to him, My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness. What He is saying is, I won't remove the trial, the difficulty, the weakness. I will provide the enablement for you to go through it. That will perfect you, mature you; that will manifest through you more fully My greatness and My grace. Paul says, bring it on, I want to be an instrument that manifests the greatness of God's grace and His power. See what God does? It doesn't say He will remove your trial. I don't know what you are going through, they vary, our trials, our weaknesses. What comes seems overwhelming. Sometimes it's a job situation, sometimes family, sometimes persecution. Go to the throne of grace.

Ephesians 2 and we're done. We are the ones who were “dead in trespasses and sins.” At the end of verse 3, “we were by nature children of wrath.” God's throne for us was a throne of judgment, condemnation, wrath. “But God being rich in mercy because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions made us alive together with Christ. By grace you have been saved. He raised us up with Him, seated us with Him in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God. Not as a result of works that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

We get confused, we think of salvation as that point in time when I first realized my sin and realized the finished work of the Son of God and believed in Him. I was a recipient of God's saving grace. We think there is that point in time. You understand it's not, that's the beginning of a life. That grace poured out upon me there continues to be poured out to enable me to arrive at the appointed goal. Now just automatic, trouble comes, come to the throne of grace. It's good for me, I need constantly to be reminded, I come to the One who is my High Priest. I come to the One who is my heavenly Father. I pour out, I am overwhelmed, I don't know that I can handle this. I want to be faithful. And He provides the grace.

How often do you see a believer going through something, a particular trial? You look and say, I couldn't do that. No, you couldn't, He didn't give you the grace because you weren't in that time of need. You say, I hope I never have to go through that because I don't think I could do it. God doesn't give me grace for tomorrow's trials, He gives me grace for today's trials. He gives me grace for my time of need. Sad, we fuss and fret. How sad, they are talking about going back to Judaism when they have a High Priest seated in the heavenlies in the presence of God the Father saying, we have a throne here where mercy and grace is bestowed in abundance for every need and every situation. And you think you can handle your problem better by going to Judaism? How sad. Do you really understand who Christ is and what He has done?

We have talked about Roman Catholics. You understand Protestants are no better off. You understand you can sit in this church and be just as lost as any Roman Catholic or any Protestant or any Hindu or whatever because you are not saved by sitting in this building. This is not a magical place, come and sit at Indian Hills. And of course if you put extra money in, that will help secure it. No, none of it works. You can sit here for thirty years, give more money than anybody else and die and go to an eternal hell because as difficult as it is, salvation is not by listening to many of Gil Rugh's sermons. But hopefully by listening to a sermon you hear the Gospel. But I'm not your Savior, I'm not your priest. I'm simply a man telling you what God has said. And when you believe it a marvelous transformation takes place. You are saved by God's grace. Now you become His child, kept by His grace. And you have the freedom. Come to Him, don't hesitate, with confidence, with boldness, with the assurance of knowing I'm welcome. I won't be put down, I won't be turned away, I won't be rejected. I lay before Him my weakness, my struggle and draw upon the grace that He provides. What a position we have as God's children.

Let's pray together. Thank You, Lord, for the riches of Your grace. Thank You for what You have done in and through Your Son who is our Savior. Lord, what riches we have in Him. May we hold fast to Him and His work, may we continually draw near to the throne which for us is a throne of grace. We pray in His name, amen.