Hebrews 7:11-22 | A Change in the Law

Please turn with me in your copy of the scriptures to Hebrews chapter 7.

We'll be considering verses 11 through 22,

Hebrews 7, 11 through 22. Let's pray. Father, Lord, we come to you in the name of your beloved

Son, Jesus Christ, asking you to speak to us through your word, through me, your vessel, this morning, please.

Do not starve your children for my lack of inability to speak.

In Jesus' name, Amen. So last week we were looking at what the

Bible introduces to us, an explanation, Melchizedek. That Melchizedek was a priest before the

Iranic priests began, and it explained how this priesthood, this

Iranic priesthood, was superior to the Levitical priesthood.

That the Levitical priesthood was inferior to this priesthood on the basic reason of Abraham paying a tenth of all the spoil to Melchizedek.

And that being that the Levitical priesthood, Aaron being a descendant of Abraham, was in the loins of Abraham when

Abraham paid this tithe. And the writer here, what he is doing is he's explaining to the recipients of this letter that that Jesus is in this priesthood, that that Jesus Christ is high priest according to the priesthood of Melchizedek.

And as he's doing it, he's unscrambling some eggs of Jewish fables. They taught that that Melchizedek was originally

Shem, Ham's son. And so in our text he is showing that it cannot be

Shem because Melchizedek had no beginning according to the scriptures. He had no geni...

No Excuse me. He had no father or mother.

He had no genealogy. He had no beginning of days nor end of life according to scripture.

So when people are introduced in scripture, it tells you who they're fathered by and who they fathered and when they died.

And so the writer here, he's just explaining, he's unscrambling Jewish fables that Shem is not

Melchizedek. And that his name is not a title because it says by translation of his name, pointing to Melchizedek.

And there was another fable that he still lives, like, you know, he continues, that he lives.

And so the idea here that he was pointing to is that the reason why that they can say that he lives is through Jesus Christ because Jesus Christ lives forever.

And so our theme this week is a change in the law. And our timeless truth is this, since Jesus our

High Priest King has come, we, you and I, look at me, you and I can be made perfect.

We can be made perfect because Jesus Christ has come and he is our

High Priest and King. Ladies and gentlemen, that's something to glory, right?

Hallelujah. And you and I, we're not living in a time much different than the time when this letter was penned.

There are still those in the church today who are true believers, some who believe only by way of head knowledge intellectually, and some who just flat -out don't believe, right?

That are in the church. There's people that go to church today. They're true believers. There's some that believe by way of head knowledge.

You know, they know what the Bible says. They know about this Jesus. They understand it. They can, they can recite it to you.

They can tell you the gospel. They can explain books of the Bible. They're Sunday school teachers, but it's not here.

And there's some that just flat -out don't believe. That's what our writer is dealing with. For some reason, my screen has shrunk.

So I'm gonna try to deal with it. That's the problem with using electronics.

It can just go out on you, right? They were not questioning, is there a

God? So when I say that they didn't believe, it wasn't that they didn't believe there was a

God. I'm gonna make that clear. But rather or not, this

Jesus story was true. They believed in God. They were worshipers of Yahweh.

They were children of Abraham. They believed in God. The question was whether or not this

Jesus story was true. Now in our days, it's more on the lines of, is there even a

God? Therefore, because of this kind of thinking, they are left with the idea of the scientific impossibility that nothing created everything.

If you believe that there is no God, you are left with the scientific impossibility that nothing created everything.

That in the beginning, there was nothing, and then there's something. That's what you're left with.

Now I can understand not knowing what God to worship.

I can understand that by way of which religion. This until God truly reveals himself to you.

But having this presupposition, let me try to back out real quick.

My screen is messing up. I can't even see it. Please pray.

Okay, it's fixed. Thank the Lord. Okay, here we go.

Yeah, yeah. I can understand that they not believe it because they don't know which

God to worship. Having a presupposition that there is no

God when creation declares his glory, this is what blows my mind. When I speak to someone, y 'all know

I do evangelism. I speak all the time to people. When I come across someone who has this kind of presupposition, who doesn't believe in God, the only way that I personally can appeal to them is by way of conscience.

So the word conscience, when it's broke down, it's conscience. It means with knowledge. I have to address them with what

I know that they know, right? When a person sins, they sin with knowledge.

They know this. This is stuff that they know. So I address their conscience by things that they know.

I know that I can look at a building and say, building, builder. The building is proof of the builder.

Like this is something that I know that I can show them to show that without a builder, there is no building.

Without painters, there is a painter, there is no painting. And just try to address them on that conscience.

But I want to read to you real quick. You don't have to turn there. If you do, just keep your finger in Hebrews.

But Romans chapter 1, beginning in verse 19, says this,

For what can be known about God is plain to them because God has shown it to them.

Listen, for his invisible attributes, namely his internal power and his divine nature, have been clearly perceived since the creation of the world and the things that have been made, so they are without excuse.

It's telling us that creation itself declares the glory of God. That because there's a creation, you know, listen to me, you know, there's a creator because of creation.

That's why I'm, it don't bother me when I hear people say, well, what about other religions? What about Muslims?

What about Hindus? I understand, they look at creation and they understand that you can't take nothing and make something.

You can't take two living things and make something living. You can't take a couch and a chair and rub it together and produce a love seat.

Life produces life. And so they understand that they are living. So because they are living, something living had to create them.

And so I understand why there's false religions. Men have always worshipped something.

But what we're saying as Christians is the only way to know the true God is through his son.

His son came down to explain him, to exegete him. That's the difference of how we present

God. That Jesus said in the garden, he prayed his high priestly prayer. He said, he says, now this is eternal life, praying to his father.

Now this is eternal life, that they may know you, the father, the only true

God in whom you have sent was him. The father sent to us

Jesus. If you deny the son, you do not have the father. The only way to the father is through the son.

Jesus made this statement, proclaiming his exclusivity, that he is the way, the truth, and life, that no one comes to the father except through him.

The only way to know the only true God is through Jesus. And today if you will let me,

I want to appeal to your conscience, things that you know. The only way anyone can be made perfect is by the atoning work of the high priest that lives forever and that is through Jesus Christ the righteous.

Please look at, look with me at our text. Hebrews chapter 7 beginning in verse 11.

Now if perfection 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 the 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. For the one by whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe for which no one has ever said served at the altar.

For it is evident that the Lord Jesus is a descendant of Judah and in that and in connection with that tribe

Moses said nothing about priests. This becomes more evident when another priest arises in the order in the likeness of Melchizedek who has become a priest not on the basis of a legal requirements concerning bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life where it is witness of him.

You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. For on the one hand a former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness, for the law made nothing perfect, but on the other hand a better hope is introduced through which we draw nearer to God.

And it was not without an oath for those who formerly became priests were made such without an oath, but this one was made a priest with an oath by the one who said of him, the

Lord has sworn and he will not change his mind. You are a priest forever.

This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant.

In our outline today, we will notice three things about the law. Three things about the law.

First one, a change was made. Point number two, it was weak and useless.

And point number three, a better one was inaugurated.

A change was made, it was weak and useless, and a better one was inaugurated.

Now as we transition the purpose of Jesus fulfilling the high priest was that he would be our mediator, that he would be the one that would connect us to God.

That he is the one that makes us right with God. Now listen to me, that's either true or it isn't.

There is no gray area. We're either right or we're wrong. It can't be both and.

Christianity does not leave room for that. If you have broken

God's law and you have, you need someone to pay your fine. You cannot pay the fine yourself.

The price tag is perfection. Holy perfection. You cannot pay that fine.

Hang out with me a week and you'll be able to tell me to my face, Jeff, you can't pay that fine.

I'm like, I know bro. I know. I can't pay that fine.

The fine is perfection. If you have broken God's law and we have, we need someone to pay our fine.

First John chapter three, verse four says this, everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness.

Sin is lawlessness. This is, this is breaking God's commandments.

The, the, the Decalogue, the Ten Commandments, Romans chapter six verse 23 says this, we'll just read part of it, for the wages of sin is death.

That because you are, you have, you, you've broken God's law. Sin is lawlessness.

You have broken God's law. You earn death. When you die, your paycheck is,

I mean, whenever you die, you are receiving your paycheck that you have earned.

Because of your sin. That's why we all die, because all of sins is so that sins will die.

Every one of us, we're going to die. Why? Because sin is lawlessness. It's breaking God's law.

We have broken God's law and we need someone to pay the penalty. Because we can't pay it ourself.

Now, let's go to our first point. A change was made. We see this in verse 11 through 17,

Hebrews chapter seven, verses 11 through 17.

Now, if perfection had been attainable by the Levitical priesthood for under it a people received the law, what further need, listen, what further need would there have been for another priest to arise after the order of Mechizedek rather than the one named after Aaron?

For while there was a change, for when there was a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well.

For the one of whom these things are spoken of belong to another tribe from which no one has ever served at the altar.

For it is evident that the Lord was a descendant from Judah and in connection with that tribe,

Moses said nothing about priest. This becomes more evident when another priest arises after the likeness of Mechizedek who has become a priest not on the basis of legal requirements concerning bodily descent, but because of an indestructible life.

For it is witness of him. You are a priest forever after the order of Mechizedek.

Verse 11 introduces to us a word perfection. This is the Greek word teleos.

It means to be made complete you need to be made complete.

Perfect here. Let's read verse 11 one more time. Now if perfection had been attainable through the

Levitical law, I mean through the Levitical priesthood, for under it people received the law, what further need would there have been for another priest to arise after the order of Mechizedek rather than the one named of Aaron?

Under the Levitical priesthood, men were unable to draw near to God.

This draw near to God is it it formulates itself into this reformed thought called quorum deo.

Quorum deo is the idea of Christians living in the presence of, under the authority of, and in honor and glory of God.

That you are living your life face to face with God. You have been brought near to God.

The Levitical priesthood could not get you to God. Under the

Levitical priesthood, there is no quorum deo. John Calvin writes quote, the argument of the whole passage seems to seems to be as follows.

There is no perfection in the Levitical priesthood. For another priest has been appointed.

This being the case, the law respect to the priesthood must necessarily be changed.

And that it is changed is proved by two things. By the fact that Christ did not spring from the tribe of Levi.

And by the prophetic announcement that he was a priest according to the order of Mechizedek.

And consequently this perpetual priest, and not like the sons of Aaron, who are priests in secession, being all subjected to death, end quote.

According to Calvin, a change was made. Why? Because Christ did not spring from the tribe of Levi.

That's what we see here in verses 12. So when you look back at this perfection that's telling us, this perfection is is telling us that we, it refers to the qualifications.

All right. In order to be in the presence of God, this perfection is our qualification.

And that can't happen under that priesthood. In verse 12 through 14 explains why.

For when there was a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well.

For on the one of whom these things are spoken belong to another another tribe.

So it's talking about Jesus who belongs to another tribe from which no one has ever served at the altar.

For it is evident that he that the Lord was a descendant of Judah in connection with the tribe

Moses said nothing about. So because Jesus is from the tribe of Judah, and he is not of the tribe of Levi, a change thus had to be made.

And that law had to be abolished. So so this law, this

Levitical priesthood, Calvin is arguing that this law had to be abolished. For the purpose that if which

I'm stating as a truth, teleos here, perfection, refers to the qualifications required to be to draw near to God.

The Levitical priesthood being the law, if the law could not draw us near to God, then there would be if the law could have drawn us near to God, then there would be no need for Jesus Christ to come.

So if through the Levitical priesthood people were able to get to God, Jesus did not need to come.

So this is the other side of that argument. The law was temporary provision given to God's people until the arrival of Christ is the argument that our writer was is making.

What he's saying is, is if your law that you're holding to can get you to God, then there is no need for Christ, but that law was only until Christ.

Does that make sense? And he says now because of this, the

Levitical priesthood is abolished. And we can see the proof text for that in Ephesians, chapter 2.

Ephesians chapter 2 beginning in verse 13 says this, But now in Christ you who are once far off, this is speaking about the

Gentile, have been brought near by the blood of Christ, for he himself is our peace.

He has made us both, Jew and Gentile speaking of, one and has broken down in the flesh to the bottom wall of hostility, listen, by abolishing the law and the commandments expressed in the ordinances.

Christ came, he abolished this law that separated Jew and Gentile. When sacrifices were made, they were only made for the

Jew. They were not made for the Gentile. Christ comes, puts an end to the law, he abolishes that system by being ordained a priest after the order of Melchizedek, and listen, you better be grateful that that has took in place.

Also in Galatians, I just want to show you the the ending of the law that we talked about in the

Sunday school, that that part of the law is no more. Galatians 3, 19 and we'll look at verse 24, but we won't read it because that's 19.

Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions. So the law was given because of transgressions until the offspring should come to whom the promises have been made and it was put into place through angels by an intermediary, verse 24.

So then the law was our guardian until Christ came in order that we might be justified by faith.

So as long as the law is in the way, there is no quorum deo. Jesus comes after the order of Melchizedek, the new priest, the new high priest, he has come, he has gone into the heavens, he has entered into the curtain, that anchor that has gone into the curtain that keeps us stable that we see in Hebrews chapter 6, the anchor that has passed through to the holy place because he has done this, he has brought us near to God and we can have quorum deo.

We can live in the presence of God, not because of things that we do, but because of what our high priest has done.

Also by Calvin, quote, well, also by Calvin, whenever he said a change was made, quote, by the prophetic announcement that he was a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

We see this in verse 15. So look with me in verse 15.

This becomes more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek who has become a priest not on the basis of legal requirements, but concerning bodily descent.

So he's not a high priest under the order of Aaron. So it's not of a bodily descent, but by an indestructible life.

Word is witness, you are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

Okay, so the main emphasis here is pointing us back to Psalm 110 .4, the most Psalm 110, the most quoted passage in all of scripture.

Here we have David prophesying a priest king. So until this time there was no such thing as a priest king outside of Melchizedek.

Levitical priests were not king. Kings came from Judah, priests came from Levi, the order of Aaron.

Okay. So it would come who would not be a descendant of Levi. So this is telling us that the authority of Jesus being the high priest does not come from a bodily descent, that it's not passed through his bloodline, but it's through the indestructible life, this pointing to the resurrection.

So when Christ Jesus died for our sins according to the scriptures, he was buried and he rose on the third day, his resurrection is what this is pointing to.

Because of his indestructible life, being that he died, was buried, and he rose again, and he ascended into heaven, because of that, because that took place, he is the priest.

He has entered the veil through his ascension. He has went into the true holy of holies.

That what we had on earth was made by looking at what was already in heaven.

Does that make sense? It was, they were looking at heaven and making the tent, making the temple.

Christ entered into the true temple, the true holy of holies, as our anchor that steds us as boats in this world according to Hebrews chapter 6.

Now because that happened, he is our high priest. He has made the sacrifice for us.

So because Jesus rose from the dead, he is never to die again, making him the only candidate for the office of Melchizedek.

Again, and you go back to verse 8 of last week, that's what that's speaking about. In the case of, it says, in the one case tithes were received by mortal man, but in another case by one who testifies that he lives forever.

So the writer is talking about him living forever, pointing to the only way that that happens is through an indestructible life.

And the only one that has ever accomplished that is Jesus Christ. No one has ever accomplished that until Christ.

He is the first resurrection. So all the writer has been doing is unscrambling these these myths, these fables that were taking place in Judaism.

So he concludes this section, him being the tribe, you know

Calvin, him being the tribe of Judah makes him king and him being always living through the resurrection makes him priest.

So how is it that Jesus is king and priest? He's king because he's from Judah.

He's priest because he raised from the dead and he has entered into the veil. So that's the argument that our writer is trying to make according to Calvin.

And as we transition, because these two things a change has been made in the law. So the law has changed because of what

Christ has done. Point number two, it is weak and useless.

I think this is probably my favorite section of of this portion, verses 18 through 19, verses 18 to 19.

On the one hand a former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness.

For the law made nothing perfect, but on the other hand a better hope is introduced through which we draw near to God.

So right here, I don't know if y 'all know the term pulling punches. So, you know, like if you're boxing or if you're a fighter or something and you know you got the shot, but instead of taking the shot, you kind of back off, you know, you kind of flinch at it.

Our writer is not pulling punches. He's hitting these listeners hard.

He's telling this law that you so love, that you're trying to run back to, this law that you are deserting

Christ for, it's worthless. It's weak and it's useless.

When it comes to the sacrificial system, the Levitical priesthood, and the

Mosaic Covenant, it's useless. The Mosaic Covenant could only condemn, can only condemn.

It only condemns you. It cannot bring you near to God. The sacrificial system could not forgive sins.

Yes, I said that. The sacrificial system could not forgive sins. And let me make a caveat on that statement.

The Mosaic Covenant, the Levitical priesthood, and the sacrificial systems could not forgive sins salvifically, meaning this.

So there was an earthly aspect that when the Jews would sacrifice that they would be kind of an earthly forgiveness.

But there was no heavenly forgiveness, meaning that when they died they would be with God, forgiveness.

So by them making these atonements on earth, these sacrifices, that is not what brought them to God.

It could not forgive sins. Over and over in scriptures, God's telling that He abhors their sacrifices.

Stop! The sacrificial fragrance burns my nose. Isaiah chapter 1.

They could not bring them to God. When it comes to this kind of forgiveness that's not salvific, it was a more of a system of sweeping something under the rug.

So let's say you haven't cleaned house in a month. Right? It's dirty.

And I call you and told you I'm five minutes down the road. I'm coming to your house. All right, you got five minutes to clean up.

What are you doing? You're hiding things under the couch. You're sweeping things under the rug.

You're putting a blanket over the kitchen table, right? That's what the sacrificial system was.

It could not forgive sins. It only covered sins until Christ comes.

It was weak and it was useless. The only way anyone is forgiven is through what the atonement that Christ makes.

Past, present, future. Abraham, Peter, me, you.

In order for Christianity to be true, Christianity has to be owed. The way Abraham is saved is the same way

I'm saved. By believing and trusting God in the promise that one was going to come who could live a perfect life and who would die in my place.

If you think, Jeff, you're crazy, listen, Calvin agrees with me. Presbyterian, agrees with the

Baptist, believe it or not. I mean, it's like, whoa, here we go. Listen, quote, the commandment abrogated was respecting the

Levitical priesthood. Its weakness was that it could not really atone for sin.

Its uselessness, that it could not make man holy or confer life.

That commandment, that system could not forgive your sins, nor could it make you holy.

Could it make you perfect? Could it grant to you quorum Deo? Look at it again, verse 18.

On the one hand, a former commandment is set aside. That commandment is set aside. Why?

Because of its weakness and its uselessness. Verse 19.

For the law made nothing perfect. It made nothing perfect.

The word perfect is teleos, to be made complete. Again, it refers to the qualifications in order to be brought near to God.

In order to be in the presence of God, you have to be made perfect. You have to be made complete.

Made because you are not perfect and you are not complete. You have to be made perfect.

You have to be made complete. Keep reading, verse 19b. But on the other hand, a better hope is introduced through which we draw near to God, through which we have quorum

Deo. We are able to live in the presence of, under the authority of, and honor and glory of God.

Point number three. A better one was inaugurated.

Verses 20 through 22. And it was not without an oath.

For those who formerly became priests were made such without an oath.

But this one was made a priest with an oath by the one who said of him,

The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind.

You are a priest forever. Priest forever. This makes

Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant. Now we have in Leviticus 18,

I mean, excuse me, not Leviticus, but Numbers 18, a charge given to them. But this is not an oath, but I'm going to read it.

This is not an oath from God. This was a charge given to the Levitical priesthood. 18, verse 7.

It says, and you, speaking to Aaron and your sons, the

Levites, his descendants, which you shall, with you, shall guard your priesthood.

And for all that it concerns, the altar and that within the veil.

So this is talking about sacrifices and incense burning and stuff like that, lighting the candles. And you shall serve.

I give you, I give your priesthood as a gift. And any outsider who comes near shall be put to death.

This is what's on their mind, right?

We got to put ourselves in the mind of these people. Jesus comes and he introduces a new covenant, a new priesthood, and tells them that your temple is going to be destroyed.

And that he's going to raise it up in three days, speaking of his own body. And that now you and I as believers, we are little temples.

Because the Holy Spirit, which once tabernacled in tents and temples, now tabernacles in those who believe.

And has received Jesus by faith. And so they're hearing this information, but yet they know the

Old Testament. And he's trying to explain to them that a change has been made.

That covenant no longer remains. There's a better covenant. And it's in Christ.

The oath that was given to Jesus, the Son of God, was given to him according to King David when he prophesied in Psalm 1104.

And it's as seen in our text, verse 21. B, the

Lord has sworn, and he will not change his mind, you are a priest forever. And it doesn't finish the quote, but if you look at Psalm 1104, after the order of Melchizedek.

And because this priesthood is forever, verse 22 answers it this way.

Because it's forever, this makes Jesus a better guarantor. This makes

Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant. It's because these priests, these

Levitical priests, would die. They did not live forever, they would die.

If they made it to 50, they had to retire. From 25, they entered and studied.

From 30, they were ordained and they could stay priest until they were 50 or if they died. Either way it went, death prevented them from completing it.

Jesus is better, this covenant is better because he lives forever.

Now to speak to your conscience. What's clear here is that the recipients of this letters had true believers, those who were solid, they believed what the writer is telling them, those who are intellectual believers.

They believed it, they understood it, but they were still struggling, they were still looking back at temple.

Yes, I understand that Jesus is the sacrifice, I understand this, but I so desire to go back to the temple and sacrifice a lamb, just so I know.

I know that I know, I want to know that I know, that I know, that I know. Then there was some that were just flat -out unbelievers associated with this group.

Just like they are today, right? And the church, it hasn't changed. The church hasn't changed in that fashion.

There's going to be wheat among the tares, tares among the wheat. I might have said that backwards. Listen, even before the destruction of the temple, the writer is telling them not to go back to temple because there is nothing there.

The temple hasn't even been destroyed yet, and he's telling them there's nothing there for you. That means nothing.

If you sacrifice an animal on that altar, that is an abomination.

That's the abomination, and it will bring in desolation. There's nothing to go back to.

As a matter of fact, that system could not bring you into the presence of God. Why?

Because of its weakness and its uselessness. It could not atone for sin, speaking of its weakness, and it could not make man holy, speaking of perfection.

Out of those three groups of people, only one group, the true believers, have been made perfect, have been complete, have and are being brought near to God because they trust alone.

In Christ alone. Having a belief in God does not get you quorum

Deo. These people believed God. They did not have quorum

Deo. Having faith in Christ is how you have quorum

Deo. Having a belief in God does not give you quorum Deo. As a matter of fact, it puts you in the same place as the unbelievers.

Believing in God without faith in Christ puts you in the same spot as unbelievers.

And just like the Jews of that day and today, that system can only sweep sins under the rug.

It can't even sweep sins under the rug. The temple is gone, and yet that system is still in play.

They just reformed it. And people today, they have their system.

Well, I pray. I do this. I fast. You know, you're telling me all this stuff that you do, none of that will draw you close.

I don't care if you fast for 40 days or four. That's not going to draw you close to God. That's not going to bring you quorum

Deo if your faith is not in Christ. When you die, you will face a holy, holy, holy

God, and he will not tolerate imperfection. We have broken

God's law, and only God can pay our fine.

Your good deeds mean nothing. The Bible calls them garments of rags.

There's another translation. When you look at it in the Greek, it can be translated as polluted garment. The polluted garment is traced back to a man with leprosy, and this man with leprosy puts on his garments, and he takes off his garments.

And so now his garment is a garment of leprosy. The Bible says that that's what your work is.

That's what your good works are to God. It's a polluted garment of leprosy, clothed in blood.

The only thing that you have earned is death, and that is bad news.

On your best day, you've earned death. We can only be made perfect, brought near to God because of what

Christ has done. That he has lived the life that we could not live.

That he has died the death that we deserve to die. When it comes to his active and passive obedience, listen to this.

In his passive obedience, he becomes the lamb that is sacrificed. John sees him from a distance. He says,

Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. But listen, in order for him to be the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, this lamb has to be spotless and blemished with absolute perfection.

In order for that to take place, he had to have the act of obedience, him living the perfect and sinless life in your place.

That's why you cannot remove the active and passive obedience from the gospel.

It is the gospel that Jesus actually did live a perfect life.

And that life that he lived is accounted to those who believe in him. And the death that he died was an atoning death.

It was a substitute. And so because you and I, we have not kept this law,

Jesus has. And because we deserve to die, Jesus died in our place. Ladies and gentlemen, that's the gospel.

That's what the writer is trying to tell them. Stop going back to the temple. Stop making sacrifice. Christ has already died in your place.

And he died in your place because he lived in your place. He lived the perfect life, made him the lamb in order to be slain for the sacrifice.

But also he is the mediator that brought us near to God. The call of repentance and faith is found in Galatians 3 24 -26.

So then the law was our guardian until Christ came in order that we might be justified by faith.

But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.

For in Christ Jesus, you are all sons of God through faith.

In order to be a Christian, in order to be a child of God, in order to be brought near to God, to stand before God righteous, not clothed in garments of polluted blood and leprosy, to not be clothed in Adam, but to be clothed in Christ, it's by trusting that what he accomplished, he accomplished for you in closing.

The intellectuals and the unbelievers did not know what to do about the story of Jesus.

At that time, they struggled with it because of the law, their system, how they were brought up.

We see that. That's what the writer is fighting for. That's what he's arguing against. The question is, for you and your conscience, things that you know.

You know that you have sinned. You know that you've broken God's law. You know that Christ Jesus came, died according to the scriptures, was buried on the third day, and he rose again according to the scriptures.

What is it that you believe about Jesus? Right here is the most important thing you can ask yourself or understand, because what you believe about Jesus has eternal consequences.

What you do with Christ has eternal consequences. Do you believe this Jesus story?

Is it a myth? Did God really become a man in the person of Christ Jesus, born of a virgin, suffered under the hands of Pontius Pilate, lived the life he couldn't live, and died the death that you should die?

Did that really happen? It either did or it didn't. There's no gray areas.

What you believe about it has eternal consequences. I'm available to anyone who wants to talk. Pastor Cal as well as Josh, please join me in prayer.

Father, Lord, I know with all the difficulties that we face in life and even in moments like this when we stand and gather together to worship you, things can come against us.

Lord, I just pray for this congregation, Lord, that you open their hearts. Lord, I pray for the true believers here,

Lord, that you will comfort them and strengthen them in Christ and that they know that if they fall off the path, that they just look to Christ, look to the one that you have revealed and be healed.

Lord, I pray for those who might be here who are intellectuals, who have over and over and over heard this gospel message and might have professed faith, but in their heart they don't truly believe.

Lord, I pray that this day you will open their heart like you did Lydia's and grant to them faith to believe in the one and true

God. Lord, I pray today if there's unbelievers here, Lord, Lord, I pray for your conviction to be upon them, that they will see their sin in new light and understand that they can do nothing good to earn salvation, and they will understand that the one that has done the good, that has brought salvation has come, that you have brought light and immortality to light through the man,

Christ Jesus. Lord, we pray for faith in them today. Lord, we pray for this supper,

Lord, as we are about to partake. I pray that right now the believers are preparing their hearts for this communion with you,

Lord. I pray that you bless the body that was broken and the blood that was shed, that we are about to partake and that you use it to grow us in holiness.