Is It Possible To Draw Near To God? - [Hebrews 7:11-19]

The Problems of Evangelicalism and the Need for God’s Holiness

Well, if I ask you this question, what's wrong with Evangelicalism? I wonder how you would respond. Maybe you could give me five things that's wrong with Evangelicalism, maybe ten, maybe twenty, maybe more.

But I think if you boiled everything down to the problems in Evangelicalism, it would be twofold. Number one, she, Evangelicalism, does not have the right view of the holiness of God. She has a deficient view of God's holiness, His transcendence, His utter purity, and His being different.

And secondly, because of the first one, she, Evangelicalism, has a wrong view of sin. Sin is now just a disease or an illness or something that we do wrong. It's not that big a deal. But since God is so holy and sin is so awful, therein lies a problem.

And by the way, if holiness of God is measured in such a way where He's not really so holy, and we're not really so bad, the gap between our kind of badness and God's kind of holiness can be bridged by human methods.

But if God is so holy and we are sinful, we're going to need someone to bridge that gap for us because God in His utter holiness is unapproachable. And that's what the book of Hebrews is about. How can we approach God?

And what happens when you understand God's holiness and then your sin and my sin? Then we begin to appreciate how that gap has been transcended. I know what we try to do, at least that's what we want.

We say, you know, I just want a sermon that's practical. I just need to know how to get through the day, everyday living. I read one article that said preaching must be practical. Practical application proves religion relevant.

Practical application improves audience rapport. Practical application helps hold attention. So therefore, pastor, understand your culture, know your audience, profile your typical attendee. And yet the book of Hebrews doesn't do any of that.

It puts the focus, it puts the spotlight back on the Lord Jesus Christ so that you can appreciate Him. And for 13 chapters in the book of Hebrews, essentially 12 chapters are about who this God is, the mediator that you have, the high priest, the Lord Jesus.

And then in chapter 13, there is practical application. Marriage bed's undefiled. Be content with what you have. Don't love money. Imitate your leaders. But if you don't understand God's holiness, then you just default to, well, I just want to do something.

If you don't understand your own sin, then you just default to, well, I just, I don't want to do something. I'd like you to take your Bibles before we get into Hebrews and turn to Isaiah chapter 6 for a quick reminder of the holiness of God because doctrine, that is the holiness of God, should drive your application, should drive your life.

Isaiah’s Vision of the Thrice Holy God

Doctrine, then duty. The doctrine of God about His holiness should drive what you do. And I know you know this. This is why, one of the reasons why I love you, Bethlehem Bible Church, because you understand doctrine is important.

How does a sinner approach a thrice holy God? Answer, with a high priest, with a great high priest, with the Lord Jesus Christ, the sin bearer. And what does Isaiah chapter 6 do? It reminds us that if you dare try to approach God based on your own merits, you would be undone.

It's like a nuclear winter when you have the holiness of God and the sinfulness of man coming together. After all, even God said to Moses, you cannot see my face for no man can see me and what? Live. Isaiah chapter 6 reminds us of why we need this high priest.

It reminds us why this is the most important thing about us, thinking about the Lord Jesus Christ. In the year, Isaiah 6, that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple.

I mean, if His train is that great, He's that great. The Lord, high and mighty, exalted. Above Him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings. With two, He covered His face. No sin in these angels, yet they still know they're created.

They still know the utter transcendent glory and holiness of God. With two, He covered His feet. With two, He flew. And one called out to another and said... This is antiphonal. It's like the angels over here were saying, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts.

Yahweh of hosts. And then over here, you'd hear the response. The whole earth is full of His glory. And you can imagine, the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of Him who called. The house was filled with smoke.

And how do you think Isaiah responds? Now, remember, holy, holy, holy. What did He do? He said, rightly, because He understood how holy God was and how sinful He is. And He said, woe is me, for I'm lost.

I'm a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips. For my eyes have seen the King Yahweh of hosts. Can you imagine? He was a good man on the bell curve of life. He's not a terrorist.

He's not Hamas guy. He's not a Philistine. He's not some kind of weird, iniquitous person. He might have been the most godly person on the planet. But when He saw God's utter transcendent glory and differentness, He said, woe is me.

He was a good theologian. God, you're holy, and I'm sinful, so here's what I deserve. This is my just punishment. Obliterate me. Damn me. Get me far away from your holiness. Then, verse 6, one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken from the tongs from the altar.

It's like it's too hot for him to even grab. And if you, Isaiah, had just basically pleaded to God, God, just put me out of my misery, and now you see an angel flying to you with this hot coal, what do you think's going to happen?

Except God's just not holy. He's merciful, and He's gracious. And He touched my mouth and said, Behold, this has touched your lips. Your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for. Your sin is covered.

That word in the Old Testament is where we get our word today in culture. Yom Kippur. Your sins are covered. They're assuaged. They're satisfied. Somebody was the mercy seat for you. Somebody's paid for those.

The holiness of God. The greatness of God. The mercy of God. And do you know Isaiah 6, when related by John the Apostle in chapter 12, says, you know who's sitting on that throne? It was the Lord Jesus.

Jesus is the one who's high and exalted. And the seraphim fly around. And Jesus is the one who atones. That's the Jesus of the Bible. I'm afraid that our culture today has basically replaced this transcendent, holy, magnificent Jesus with some effeminate, some Jesus that's some kind of boyfriend God, who's just begging to have a relationship with you.

Oh, can you please open up the door to your heart? Can you please have a relationship with me? I'm knocking at the door. Will you please let me in? That's not Jesus. I don't even like that in a guy, let alone the Lord Jesus Christ.

Here's the Jesus in Acts chapter 9 and following. One, two, three times does this Jesus say to the killer of Christians, Paul, you're on your face and you're blind. And you're crying like a baby. God, what do you want me to do?

That's the Jesus with whom Paul had to do. And that's the Jesus with whom you have to do. We have to stand before God one day. What are we going to do? We need somebody that great to stand between God and us.

How would you like to have this Jesus not against you, but for you? How would you like to have this transcendent Jesus, the Lord of glory, for you as your advocate, as your friend, as your brother? How would you like to have this Jesus as your priest?

Hebrews 7 and the Question of Drawing Near to God

So let's turn to the book of Hebrews and learn more about this great Jesus, the high priest. Hebrews chapter 7. Since God is holy, holy, holy, we need a priest who is holy, holy, holy, who can make us holy, holy, holy.

If you don't understand the holiness of God, you don't get this. Because you think you can just kind of saunter into God's presence and kind of just trapeze into God's presence. Like, that's a good thing.

Without a mediator, it's a bad thing. But with a mediator, you can stand blameless before him. If you have not read R .C. Sproul's book, The Holiness of God, you ought to read that book. We need to be reminded of that.

I don't think anybody needs to be reminded of God is love, love, love. I think we get that. But holiness, we need that. David Wells writes in his book, the loss of the traditional vision of God as holy is now manifested everywhere in the evangelical world.

It is the key to understanding why sin and grace have become such empty terms. Divorced from the holiness of God, sin is merely self-defeating behavior. Divorced from the holiness of God, grace is merely empty rhetoric.

Divorced from the holiness of God, our gospel becomes indistinguishable from any of a host of alternative self-help doctrines. Divorced from the holiness of God, our public morality is reduced to little more than accumulation of trade-offs between competing private interests.

Divorced from the holiness of God, our worship becomes mere entertainment. The holiness of God is the very cornerstone, Wells says, of Christian faith, for it is the foundation of reality. Sin is defiance of God's holiness.

The cross is the outworking and victory of God's holiness, and faith is the recognition of God's holiness. Knowing that God is holy is therefore the key to knowing life as it truly is, knowing Christ as He truly is, knowing why He came, and knowing how life will end.".

As Samuel said, as he wrote in 2 Samuel, there is no one holy like the Lord. This moral, majestic, holy one of God is the high priest, and draw near, you must. We'll look at Hebrews chapter 7, please.

What we're driving to today, as we're speeding through the book of Hebrews, you notice that? Ten verses last week, nine verses this week. I just feel like I'm sitting in front of a jet engine or something.

What this section in 11 through 19 is driving at, is found in verse 19. For the law made nothing perfect, Hebrews 7, 19, but on the other hand, a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God.

That's why I'm talking about the approachability of God. That's why I'm talking about you've got to meet God. That's why I'm talking about you have to have access to God. One day, every one of us will die and face God.

And then what? You need to approach God with a mediator, with a priest who can cover for you, who can cover your sins for you. Psalm 49, we might look at it later, or for the Lord's Supper, or for next week.

It basically says this, everybody's dying and death is your shepherd, unless you have someone who can ransom you. Would you rather have the great shepherd? Or would you rather have death as your shepherd?

And the key to that is the Lord Jesus Christ. And are you trusting in Him? Not are you obeying? Not are you surrendering? Not are you appropriating things? Are you believing in Jesus? That's the point.

Are you resting in Him, trusting in this risen Savior so that you can draw near? He's been driving at this since chapter 2, verse 17. Therefore, He had to be made like His brothers in every respect so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God to make propitiation for the sins of the people.

So before I ask you the question today for the outline, let's just rehearse by review chapter 7, 1 through 10, which is essentially a theological exposition of Genesis 14. Since some of you were not here last week, it's good to review anyway.

With the key in chapter 7, 1 to 10, verse 4, see or observe where we get the word theater, take a good long look at, don't speed read past this, don't skip this. Hebrews chapter 7, verse 1. For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, remember Genesis 14, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of kings and blessed him.

This monotheistic king, Melchizedek, worshiping the same God as Abraham, interrupts him and tells him that he, God, is the one to have the credit for the victory of Abraham. And to him, Abraham, a portion of the 10th part of everything.

He understood that Melchizedek was better than he was. He is first by translation of his name, king of righteousness, that's melech, king, and tzedek, righteousness. And that he is also king of Salem, that is the king of peace.

He is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling, that's the key. He doesn't say he is the son of God, he resembles the son of God. He continues a priest forever.

In other words, in a book of Genesis with lots of beginnings, lots of ends, lots of genealogies, lots of lists of death, here's a man who walks in Genesis chapter 14, he has no beginning, no end, sounds like it's a type of Christ, sounds like it's pointing to who Jesus is, because Jesus has no beginning and no end.

He resembles the son of God, he continues a priest forever. See how great this man was to whom Abraham, the patriarch, gave a 10th of the spoils. Take a look, let it settle in. See this. Verse 5, and those descendants of Levi who received the priestly office have a commandment in the law to take tithes from the people.

See where that's going? Levites, they received tithes. Abraham, from where the Levites came, he gave tithes. Melchizedek must be greater than Abraham, he must be greater than the Levitical priests. That is from their brothers, though these are also descendants from Abraham.

Verse 6, but this man who does not have his descent from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior. In the one case tithes are received by mortal men, but in the other case, by one of whom it is testified that he lives.

One might even say that Levi himself, remember he came later, who received tithes from his people under him, paid tithes through Abraham for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him.

Now, if I was a typical pastor on TV, I would turn this entire sermon into what? A sermon on how you should give your money. But since I'm not on TV, I'm not going to do it for other reasons. If you think big picture, just for a moment, why was Melchizedek mentioned in Genesis 14?

Ever read Agatha Christie novels? I know you're not that secular. I'm sure you only read Amish romance novels, which by the way, if you do, would you quit it? Agatha Christie is better for you. Any good detective kind of mystery story, what do you do?

Don't overlook that character because that character might be the one in a mystery story who did it, look for the clues. In this particular case, Melchizedek was back in Genesis 14 and Melchizedek was to answer this question.

If Jesus is supposed to be a great high priest, and that's what Hebrews talks about him being, he's not from the Levitical priesthood, so how can he be a high priest? Melchizedek answers the question, he can be a high priest since there's another high priesthood, isn't there?

Yes, through Melchizedek. Before Levitical priest, there was another priest, his name was Melchizedek and everybody recognized that, and so Jesus is gonna be a priest, not after the Levitical priesthood, but after Melchizedek.

That's everything that's happening here in verses one through 10. Don't overlook Melchizedek. If I were to ask you, give me the most important person in the Old Testament outside of the triune God, maybe you would say Adam, maybe you would say Abraham, maybe you would say David, but I'm not sure any of us would say Melchizedek.

The writer of Hebrews would most likely say at the top of the list, Melchizedek, because he is the one who resembles the son of God. Say, well, David, he's the one from the royal throne, would come Jesus, yes, I get that, but for the sake of argument today, I know you'd agree with me at least if I said, make sure you don't miss Melchizedek, the writer of Hebrews won't let you.

A Priest Who Can Give You Perfection

Now, what are we talking about today, big picture? Verse 11 of Hebrews 7, now if perfection, and verse 19, the law made nothing perfect. Everything is revolving around that word perfect and or perfection.

The outline today is simple. One question, two answers. Here's the question. What kind of priest do you need so that you can draw near to God? What kind of priest do you need so that you can draw near to God?

Two answers, verses 11 through 14, you need a priest that can give you perfection. And verses 15 through 19, you need a priest who is perfect. What kind of priest do you need? A priest that can give you perfection and a priest who is perfect.

Answer number one first found in 11 through 14, you need a priest who can give you perfection. You need a priest who can let you draw near to God. Verse 11, now if perfection, that is access to God, attaining access to the presence of God had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood, for under it the people received the law, what further need would there have been for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek rather than one named after the order of Aaron?

For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well. Were those bulls and goats and animals slain by the Levitical priests sufficient? Did they make those people perfect?

Because if the answer is yes, well why do we need Jesus? If the answer is yes, why do we need a Melchizedekian priesthood? A little teaser here for a second. If you think chronologically for a moment, let's see, which way are you thinking?

So let's go this way. I was told the video people say I only move to one side more than the other. So I'm going to be equal opportunity, we're going to have symmetrical moving right now. Levitical priesthood in Exodus and Leviticus and Deuteronomy.

If you move forward in time, Psalm 110 talks about Melchizedek, not just Genesis 14 talking about him, but after Leviticus and after Exodus and after Deuteronomy, there's a man in the Psalms that David talks about, Melchizedekian.

Why would David, inspired by the Spirit of God, talk about Melchizedek later if the Levitical priests could do it? Answer, because they couldn't make perfection, they couldn't give you perfection. They weren't sufficient for everything that Israel needed.

If these Levitical priests, remember, this writer, the writer of Hebrews is writing to people who are hankering to go back to Levitical priest. The temple's right over there. You just have to run over there.

There's the smoke. There's the incense. There's the labor. There's the bronze. There's the bulls. There's the trumpeting. There's the singers. There's the priests. And if you just go back there, you won't get persecuted.

And the writer's saying, don't go back there. What these priests did for you isn't adequate enough. There's another priest, Jesus, who comes from Melchizedek. Look at verse 19, for the law made nothing perfect.

The law could point. The law could show you your sin. The law could tell you the gravity, the wages of sin is death. Here, let's kill another animal. I mean, I just can't imagine what it would be like as a pastor.

I get to talk about the lamb standing as if slain. What if I was a Levitical priest? I would be a butcher. I would be your butcher. When Kim and I met that man at Sterling Lake, and he had his grandson with him, and we were watching him, and looking at him, and talking, and trying to strike up a conversation, and we had our little kids there.

And we're both thinking, something's wrong with this guy, because he seems like a grandpa. He seems nice, but his feet look like they have dried blood on them. So I'm thinking, this is a dateline thing, and I'm going to have to call 911 or something.

I mean, here's this grandpa with blood on his feet with the child at the beach. Well, we talked to him more, and he's a butcher, and so he's got dried blood. What does that have to do with anything? It hasn't to do with anything, but I'm trying to keep your attention, because we're trying to wrap our minds around Melchizedek.

You're like, oh, pastor's preaching on Melchizedek again today. But that should be happening. The law can't make anything perfect. And if I was your Levitical priest, you would sin, bring the animal, I'd kill the animal, repeat.

And the reason why I'd have to repeat it, because the first one didn't stick. It was a picture. It was a type. It showed us the gravity of sin, but it couldn't make us right. The law shows you that you're sinful, but it can't make you right.

You've got to have permanent, free access to God. And that's something that Jesus would do, but the law couldn't do. The Levites can't do. And when you talk about the priesthood, you've got to talk about the law, because they go together.

And if you change one, the other's got to be changed. How can I be acceptable to God? The author of Hebrew says the Levitical priest couldn't make that happen. There could be no perfection through them.

And so he's trying to tell you the order of Melchizedek is needed. It's better because of inadequacies, because of the temporary nature, because of the imperfected qualities of the Levitical system. And by the way, after Jesus rose from the dead, and if people went back to the temple, they would see a veil torn from top to bottom.

This system is over. And then 40 years later, as an exclamation point, the system was really over as God had the Romans sack the city and burn it to the ground, including the temple. How are we even going to do these things anymore?

Can't do them. Chapter 8, verse 7, if you look at that in your Bibles, it speaks of the temporary, imperfect nature of the Levitical system. Hebrews 8, 7, for if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion for us to look for a second.

Chapter 10 of Hebrews, verse 1, it has the same kind of language. Perfection is not attainable through Levitical priesthood. Hebrews 10, 1, for since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near over and over and over.

Sacrifice after sacrifice after sacrifice. And then verse 4 of the same chapter, Hebrews 10, for it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Therefore, since that's true, God introduces another order that was found back in Genesis 14, but David talks about, and now this author elucidates, that Jesus Christ's sacrifice deals with the problem of sin in a way the Levitical priesthood could never do.

The way that the law of Moses could not. Hebrews 9, 13, for if the blood of bulls and goats and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer sanctify for the purification of flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

Centuries after Melchizedek in Genesis 14, the Levitical priesthood was established. But God, true or false, forgot about the Melchizedekian priesthood. False, he didn't forget. And if you tried to mess around with the Aaronic priesthood, people would get after you for changing the Mosaic law.

But no man changed the Mosaic law. God changed the Mosaic law by fulfillment, by type, anti-type. Verse 13, for the one of whom these things are spoken, Hebrews 7, 13, belong to another tribe from which no one has ever served at the altar.

For it is evident that our Lord descended from Judah. Jesus came from the tribe of Judah, not the Levites. And in connection with that tribe, Moses said nothing about priests, because the king comes through Judah.

But the priest is from Judah as well, because he's a Melchizedekian. Side note, what does it say there in verse 14? For it is evident that our Lord, who's that talking about there? Who's he calling our Lord?

Answer, Jesus. He's calling Jesus, God. He calls him Lord again only in chapter 13, verse 20, who brought about from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep. Jesus is Lord. Jesus is God.

When you meet people and they say, Jesus isn't Lord. Jesus isn't God. Here's one more of the many examples that show Jesus is God. What's that hand illustration, hand acronym, H? He has the honor. He receives the honor of God.

When people worship him, he accepts it. A, the attributes of God. He has all the attributes of God, and he's omnipotent, and he's holy. And then you have H-A-N, and he has the names of God, the first and the last, the Alpha and the Omega, Lord.

And then you have D, he does the deeds of God. He forgives, he heals, he does all that. And what does the S stand for? I don't know, but we don't need it. He is Lord. Jesus is God. By the way, when people come to your door and they say, hi, we're here to talk to you about spiritual things, whether they're Mormons or Jehovah's Witnesses, they're telling you that Jesus isn't God.

What do you want to be known for in your religion? Ah, Jesus isn't God. So you can do a lot of different approaches. Here's my nice approach, because I have other approaches. But here's my nice approach.

Oh, I'm so glad you're here to talk about spiritual things. I like to talk about spiritual things. You know, I've been wanting to ask someone, how do I get to heaven? Could you tell me how? Oh, and they tell you, law after law after law after what to do.

And you know what I say? But you don't understand, I've tried all those and I fail. And when I do those things, sometimes I have a corrupt heart. And what about all those wicked things I've done in my past?

Do you have any hope for me? Well, you just have to do this and you have to do that. I'm saying, that's bad news, friend. Don't you have any good news for me? I'd like to go to heaven. But based on what you're telling me, I'll never make it.

And more law, more law, more law. And then finally, I just go, by the way, I have some good news for you, because the way to heaven is not by law. Unless you're earning heaven like Jesus did, but we only fall short of the law.

We need someone to keep the law. We need somebody to pay for our law breaking. And he does it mercifully and kindly and out of love. And so let me tell you about this Lord Jesus. And if they're really mean, then I go into the mean mode, but that's another sermon.

Okay, it's not mean. I did say to one lady with her granddaughter, after we did all this, I said, by the way, how old are you? And she said, I'm 14. I said, you know what? This is very important, young lady.

I know what your grandma's telling you. And she's saying Jesus isn't God. He doesn't have the names of God, the attributes of God, the honor of God. He doesn't do the deeds of God. He isn't God. There's not a more blasphemous thing you could ever do.

And I want you to know, if you die believing what your grandma teaches, not only is she going to hell when she dies, you are too. I thought the grandma wanted to hit me, but we're not messing around. These are our eternal things at stake.

You don't dare say Jesus isn't God on my porch without me telling you, but he is. And even though you're a slave to sin, and even though you're deceived, and even though you're deceiving your daughter, there's hope for you, friends.

Jesus is Lord. Lots of times in Hebrews, you might think, well, Lord might refer to the Father, but not here. The deity of Christ. He has to be God because he has to have an infinite amount of righteousness to give to everybody.

And he has to be man because he has to die as our representative. Warren Wiersbe describes the law and the tie-in to the priest this way. I thought this was helpful. The president of the United States cannot proclaim himself king of the United States because US law makes no provision for a king.

First, the law would have to be changed. And if God changes the law by fulfillment, we accept that. How can you stand before God and draw near to him? What kind of priest do you need? Number one, a priest that can give you perfection.

A Priest Who Is Perfect by the Power of an Indestructible Life

Now, answer two found in verses 15 through 19. You need a priest who is perfect himself because otherwise, he's going to have to stand for his own imperfections. I've said many times, you don't want me as a priest because I'm sinful.

I need a priest. Verses 15 through 19 essentially say this. How were Levitical priests made? Wrong question. They were born into the family. How did you become a Levitical priest? Answer, if you were male, your daddy was.

How do you become the Melchizedekian priest? Answer, let's find out verse 15. This becomes even more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek. If Melchizedek was the pre-incarnate Christ, it would say he arises Melchizedek.

But he's the likeness of Melchizedek who has become a priest not only on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent. It's not just because my daddy's a priest, I become a priest. And by the way, if my daddy's bad and I'm bad, it doesn't matter.

I'm just the priest and I do it. Don't you want a holy priest? Don't you want a good priest? How was Jesus priest? By the power, and only used here in the Bible, of an indestructible life. What's your priest like?

Every human priest, including me, if I was one, I would not have an indestructible life. I would have a sinful life. I would have a life that terminates at the grave. Verse 17, for it is witness of him.

This is back to Psalm 110 again, is it not? You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. Does Jesus have the power of an indestructible life? Yes, he raised himself from the dead. Hebrews 1, he sits at the right hand of the Father.

The power, the majesty, the authority, the honor is at the right hand. And what does he do? He sits at the right hand of the Father. How indestructible is his life? He sits. What kind of furniture was missing in the Old Testament temple?

Well, I know the smart alecks would say futons. I know, I get it. Couches, stand up desks, you know, all these kinds of things. They would tell me, but something that you would probably like. If you had to be a butcher all day long, it'd be nice to sit down and rest.

Would it not? But there's no seat there. Why? Because there's no finished work. Because the next person comes, the next person comes, the next person comes in the temple. There's no seats for the priest.

But Jesus, since he has a greater priesthood, since he has an indestructible life, since he has a powerful life, since he's holy, he makes one sacrifice as the priest and the offering, and he what? He sits down.

That's the power of the resurrection. Romans 6, we know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again. Did you hear that? We know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again.

Death no longer has dominion over him. One day I'm going to die. You're either going to get a pastor who is better than I am or worse than I am. I can see your faces. But if you think I'm good or you think I'm bad or somewhere in between, I'm actually worse than you think.

But there's going to have to be, who's the next guy? How do churches go liberal? Because they got a conservative pastor, and the next one they pick who's not quite as conservative, and off you go. They ask the wrong questions.

What are we looking for in a pastor? Well, we want a pastor who can grow the church to 5 ,000 people, and who's good with this, who's good with that. They ask all the wrong questions, and then down they go, the slippery slide into neo-orthodoxy, into liberalism.

I mean, it's bad if you've got a priest, and he's a good one. He gets transferred. He dies. Wouldn't it be wonderful to have a perfect priest, and he never dies? You can pick anybody better for him, because there's nobody better than he is.

Death no longer has dominion over your priest, Christian. For the death he died, Romans 6, he died to sin once for all, but the life he lives, he lives to God. And when you read in Genesis 14, Melchizedek never died, it doesn't mean he didn't die.

He did, but it's not mentioned, so you could be thinking, that's pointing to the one who never dies. There's likeness there. Does Jesus have an indestructible life? Acts 3. And you kill the author of life whom God raised from the dead.

To this we are witnesses. And I love the language of Hebrews 7. What does it say in verse 15? This becomes even more evident. This is more obvious. I'm going to continue my argument, and this is even more obvious.

If the other things weren't obvious, this is even more obvious. When another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, who has become a priest, not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent, but the power of an indestructible life.

Would you like your priest congregation to have a good ancestral line? Would you rather have them be the author of life? Indestructible life. I think we know which one's better. Jesus has ascended. Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father.

Jesus is coming back soon. Verse 18. For on one hand, a former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness. For the law made nothing perfect, right? It just exposes sin. But on the other hand, a better hope is introduced through which we...

And this is what it's all leading to. We draw near to God. Now think about that for a second. We can draw near to God. God knows everything that you did and didn't do last week. All your sins, Christian.

And you can still draw near to God. How can we sin in the last week and draw near to God? Because Jesus, the high priest, he didn't sin. Because Jesus, the high priest, paid for those sins. Christian, Jesus died for your sins too.

That's why if you ever think about, well, you know what? I got to confess my sins. 1 John chapter 1. Yes, please do. It's a command. And then chapter 2 goes on to say, and Jesus Christ is your advocate.

Never think about your sins without thinking about your sin bearer. If you keep thinking about your sins, here's what's going to happen. You're going to have no assurance and no good works. Because people without assurance don't have good works.