A Priest Made Perfect (Hebrews 5:9-10)

You turn down your Bibles to Hebrews chapter 5, Hebrews chapter 5 and we'll read together verses 7 through verse 10

Hebrews chapter 5 Verse 7 in the days of his flesh

He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the one able to save him from death

And he was heard because of his piety Although he was a son he learned obedience from the things which he suffered and having been made perfect He became to all those who obey him the source of eternal salvation

Being designated by God as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek. Let's pray

Father it is our yearning and our desire to know you More intimately and more fully than we ever have before through the through the word that you have given to us

It is our desire to hear your meaning and your intention here in this text and we pray that you would send

And gift us the Holy Spirit to make that happen Give us understanding and insight and help us to appreciate appreciate the

Lord Jesus Christ So fully because of what he has done and who he is and what he has accomplished on our behalf

May you be glorified here in your word and through our meditation upon it and open our eyes and our hearts

So we may behold in a wonderful things. We pray in the name of Christ our Lord. Amen Well, it feels like it has been

Several weeks since I've been here and I haven't been here very much in the last few weeks and that's because I haven't been and I don't like it when events coincide to keep me away from my church family for long periods of time or frequently and I am very grateful for the men who have filled in for me in the last few weeks

Gordy hunt and Cornell razor and Dave rich it is we are as a congregation Extremely blessed with men who are able to handle the

Word of God and able and capable and gifted to preach and to teach scripture and so My hearty thanks to those men and for their sacrifice and allowing me to get away for a little bit

But I am back and you are cursed with me or saddled with me for the future foreseeable future I see nothing in my plans.

That's gonna make me travel anywhere So unless I lose my voice or my mind or my salvation

I'm going to be back here in the pulpit with you Sunday after Sunday for the foreseeable future so we are in Hebrews chapter 5 today and we're going to be looking today at verses 9 and 10 and again

I would just Take a second since it's been sort of on and off for the last month or so to remind you of what it is that We're covering in this passage that What is at issue actually beginning back in chapter 4 verse?

14 is the qualification of the Lord Jesus Christ to serve as our high priest and we

Recognize him as the one whom the father has appointed to stand between us and the father he represents

God to us and he represents us before God and he functions as our high priest and no,

Jew would have ever thought that somebody from the tribe of Judah could ever serve as a high priest because the order of Aaron and the high priesthood that is part of the

Old Testament Covenant and everything that Moses gave in the Pentateuch all of that was to be from the descendants of Aaron From the tribe of Levi and specifically from the descendants of Aaron So no

Jew would ever think that somebody like Jesus who was from the tribe of Judah could serve as a high priest And of course Jesus doesn't serve as a high priest according to the priesthood of Aaron He serves as a high priesthood high priest according to an entirely different priesthood

The priesthood that is according to the order of Melchizedek So he functions as a high priest not in that lineage that has all been set aside

Put aside and replaced by a better a higher a greater And far more eternal and infinite priesthood that of the

Lord Jesus Christ who is our high priest according to the order of Melchizedek and so the issue in chapter 5 is is

Jesus qualified to serve as our high priest and the author is working through the arguments and he's using the the

Old Testament qualifications kind of as a model and He points out that no priest would would take that honor of serving as a priest to himself

He had to be appointed by God And so the question then is was the Lord Jesus Christ appointed by the Father to serve as a high priest he answers that in chapter 5 verses 5 and 6 by quoting from Psalm 2 and Psalm 110 to show that the priestly

Messiah who was appointed by the Father the Son the Divine Son who was appointed by the Father to be the king and a Messiah was also appointed by him to serve as a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

So was Jesus appointed? Check he meets that qualification Now the second one is is he able to deal gently with those whom he represents to be compassionate?

And sympathetic and the author answers that by showing that Jesus in the days of his flesh He was known as a man of sorrows acquainted with grief.

He offered up prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears He suffered and he was afflicted. He was tried. He was tempted tempted in all points as we are yet He was without sin

He even learned obedience to the things which he suffered and his suffering uniquely qualifies him to serve as our high priest

So is he able to sympathize with us? Yes. Is he able to understand our temptation? Yes, he's been tempted in all points as we are is he can he be compassionate and gentle?

yes, because he has endured all the all of the trials and tribulations that are inherent in the human condition being made a man coming in The days of his flesh being made in the likeness of men and being found in appearance as a man

He humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death even death on a cross and in that suffering He is able to sympathize and empathize and be compassionate and gentle with us because he knows what we have endured

So does he meet that qualification? Yes, he does and so now the author turns to another qualification

Is he perfectly suited to be our high priest? Having met the qualification being appointed by God having met the qualification of being gentle and sympathetic

Is he perfect does he meet that does he meet all of those qualifications in a perfect way and that now the author's concluding his argument in verses 9 and 10 where he he speaks of the perfection of the

Lord Jesus Christ and I mentioned a couple weeks ago that There are these two very curious statements that are sort of difficult to understand.

What does it mean that he learned obedience? We talked about that last time and what does it mean that he has been made perfect? you'll notice in verses 9 and 10 where the author says he has been made perfect and He became to all those who obey him the source of eternal salvation

Being designated by God as I priest according to the order of Melchizedek and I see in those verses three Aspects of the person and the work of Christ which are related to his perfection first.

He is a perfect master I get that from that phrase that he is the Savior of all those who obey him He became to those who obey him.

He demands our obedience. He is worthy of our obedience And and to be saved itself that requires an obedient response to the commands to repent and to believe so he is our perfect master

Second he is a perfect Savior. He is the source of eternal salvation verse 9 and 3rd

He is a perfect high priest verse 10 having been designated by God and appointed as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek He's a perfect master a perfect Savior and a perfect high priest

Those are the three points we're gonna be looking at today But before we dive into each one of those three we have to answer this question

What does it mean that he was made perfect? See, that's kind of a challenging or a difficult

Language that is used there because it sort of implies that at some point he was what? It was imperfect.

I mean, that's what it seems to suggest Does it not if somebody was made perfect by something or at some point?

Then that suggests very strongly that at some point prior to that He was something other than perfect in that sense

And if he was something other than perfect we have a word to describe that which is other than perfect we use the term imperfect

So if something happened to make the Lord Jesus Christ perfect that rendered him perfect What was he before he became perfect or was made perfect?

Was he imperfect and I'll make this question even more difficult to answer by reminding you that Hebrews chapter 13 verse 8

Says that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday today and forever

So if he moved in some sense from imperfection to perfection Through some event some action some activity or some point in time if he moved from imperfection to perfection

That is change. Is it not? Did he change from imperfect to perfect?

And if he did then in what sense can we say that he is perfect or was made perfect? Now whenever we run across this is just this is free of charge

This is just something extra whenever we've run across something like this in Scripture where we see two statements kind of side -by -side and It appears to us as if the author is contradicting himself or saying something that is that is irreconcilable in our own minds

We need to remember something we are not smarter than the biblical writers and If this conundrum presents itself to us

We ought not to think that it was not on the mind of the biblical writer or that he was unaware of it

It is not as if he having in chapter 1 described Jesus Christ as being the exact radiance of God's glory the perfect representation of his nature being the one who created all things and sustains all things and upholds all things by the word of his power being

Greater than the angels affirming completely his divine nature and equality with the Father We would expect such a one to be

Unchanging and immutable and perfect in every single way having said that in chapter 1 and affirmed that in chapter 1 we ought not to think

That the biblical author arriving in chapter 5 would say then he at some point became perfect in a way that he was not perfect before that if there is this conundrum or this

Seemingly irreconcilable to issues in our minds Just remember the biblical author was fully aware of it the same author writes in chapter 13 verse 8 that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday

Today and forever So he is aware of that. So let's not think that we are smarter than the biblical author

This is what atheists do all the time They read two verses a chapter apart and say see it contradicts itself right there the author contradicts itself

No, the author is not contradicting itself. The author is smarter than you and me and everybody else in this room

He's fully aware of what it is that he is saying So there's not in the irreconcilable The only question is we have to ask the only question we have to ask is how do these two things go together in?

What way was he made perfect? Let's begin with the definition of that word perfect Not in English because we use that word in English to describe various things, which

I'll illustrate for you in just a second But the word that is translated perfect here in the Greek is telling all is a form of a very common

Greek word Tell us and there are a number of forms of this word When you see in Scripture a reference to the end or the completion or the accomplishment of something

It's most likely that tell us that Greek word that is used the word tell us simply means an end

That's it the end it describes something that is the end or the accomplishment of something or the finishing of something

That is the tell us when it reaches maturity completion Fulfillment the end in some ways we would say the perfection of what it is when it reaches that point

It has been made tell us and so this verb Having been made perfect is the verb form of that word

The same word that is translated made perfect here in Hebrews chapter 5 is used to describe Jesus Completing the work that the father sent him to do in John chapter 4 and John chapter 5 listen to these two references

John 4 verse 34 Jesus said to them my food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work that word accomplished

That's the word to fulfill it to end it to complete it to do it That's the idea John chapter 5 verse 36

Jesus said the testimony which I have is greater than testimony of John For the works that the father has given me to accomplish

The very works that I do testify about me that the father has sent me the very works that the father has given me to Make perfect to accomplish to complete to bring to an end

Those are the things that I do and they testify against about me Jesus said the word is used of reaching a goal in Luke chapter 13

It's used of fulfilling a number of days right to complete the course of days Appointed for something in Luke chapter 2 it is used in Acts chapter 20 of finishing your course

Paul says I have finished my course. I've come to the end of it. I've accomplished it. I've completed it

I've perfected it you could say Now know what is lacking in all of those definitions of that word that I just gave you what is lacking in all of those

Descriptions and in all of those uses is any hint of what sometimes we mean by perfect referring to one's moral qualities

That's how we use the word perfect, right? If we refer to the Lord Jesus Christ as being perfect and when we describe him in that sense

We're describing his moral qualities. He is without sin without spot without stain He is in in every way perfect and pure and unblemished in his holiness and his righteousness

We use the term perfect to describe his moral character his moral quality or sometimes in English We use the term perfect to describe the presence of every virtue that one would demand or would need and And in that sense we're sometimes not even talking about moral qualities, but just the presence of virtues

He's perfect because he has everything that is necessary. So he is he is good. He is patient He is long -suffering every pleasing and pleasant and desirable

Virtue that we might want or desire in the Lord Jesus Christ. He possesses all of those so he lacks neither moral perfection nor any of the virtues or Characteristics that we would deem to be desirable or or or necessary in that way

He is perfect But we also use the term perfect in our English language to describe what is being described here in all of these references that I just Gave you namely something that is perfectly suited or perfectly finished

Sorry, perfectly suited or perfectly equipped for a task so for instance if I were to be working on a project and and I would say what

I need is a Slotted screwdriver and you hand me a hammer The hammer might be a perfectly good hammer for what hammers do but I need a screwdriver

So it's not that though it's a perfect hammer It's not the perfect tool for the job But if you hand me a screwdriver and I need a screwdriver then you have handed me the perfect tool for the job

You handed me something that is perfectly suited perfectly qualified perfectly designed for the task at hand

And that is the way in which the word perfect is being used here by the English translators in in our text

It is not describing his moral qualities He is morally pure and Perfect from the moment of his birth for action from the moment of his conception all the way through to the very moment of his

Death he is morally perfect and lacks no moral perfection He has no blemish or spot or wrinkle at all

Not only that but he possesses from the moment of his conception all the way through to the moment of his death Every pleasing and pleasant and desirable virtue that we might expect in a character like the

Lord Jesus Christ He possesses all of that. So at no point was he made ethically perfect At no point was he made morally perfect at no point was he made perfect in his in his virtues that he possesses

But at some point he was made perfectly able to do something At the birth of the

Lord Jesus Christ. He lacked something that he possessed at his death And I think this through carefully at the birth of the

Lord Jesus Christ The God -man Christ Jesus lacked something that he did possess at the moment of his death

At the moment of his birth. He was not qualified to serve as our high priest That's going to sound like heresy, but it's not

At the moment of his birth. He was not qualified to serve As our high priest morally qualified.

Yeah virtuously qualified. Yes Experientially qualified. No He was not qualified to serve as our high priest

He was not qualified to provide us the righteousness that we need because what we needed was a righteousness

That belonged to another by virtue of his obedience perfectly to the law of God Had the infant

Jesus Christ obeyed all the demands of the law He had not He had not lived under the demands of the law and been obedient to it

Had the Lord Jesus Christ at the moment of his birth resisted temptation had he

Didn't even know what temptation was at that point. He had not resisted temptation He had not endured suffering the mockery of men.

He had not done good deeds He had not fulfilled the law. He had not at that moment Under the under the threat and in the midst of suffering been obedient and learned obedience the

Lord Jesus Christ lacked something at his birth that he had at his death and that was The qualifications necessary to serve as our high priest and remember that is the context and that's what's being discussed

Not his moral quality not his virtues What is being discussed is he qualified to serve as our high priest at the moment of his birth?

The answer was no at the time of his death. The answer was perfectly. Yes why because I Needed somebody who knew what it was to be tempted.

Did the infant Christ Jesus understand temptation? No, he did not now the divine nature understood temptation, but he had not learned obedience.

He had not been tempted He had not resisted temptation been tempted in all points as we are at the moment of his birth

I needed somebody who would understand my suffering the affliction of what it means to live in the human condition for a in a lifetime and to go through all the phases of Infancy and and youth and be teenage years and into adulthood and what it means to resist temptation in all of those forms

Did the Lord Jesus Christ at his birth understand that no, he did not Had he obeyed the law of God?

He had not he'd never been tempted. He had never learned obedience He had never suffered all of those things were necessary for him to be perfectly suited to be my high priest

He lacked something at his birth that he had at his death Namely a life lived for the glory of God in obedience to the law of God with perfect righteousness

Having suffered and learned obedience to the things that he suffered He was perfectly equipped or having been made perfect by that life lived to serve as our high priest

To show you what I'm talking about did indulge me in a thought experiment for just a moment Could six -year -old

Jesus Christ Six -year -old Jesus son of Joseph of Nazareth could six -year -old

Jesus the God man perfectly God perfectly man could he have died on the cross and Accomplished at six years old what he accomplished at the age of 33

Could he have done that had he obeyed all of the law perfectly on my behalf?

And he resisted all of the temptations that I have resisted and struggle with has he been tempted in every way as I am

Had he endured suffering and affliction is it would he would six -year -old Jesus be able to sympathize with 60 year old you

Would he be able to do that? No, he lacked something at his birth that he acquired or had or attained a

Resume as it were that qualified him uniquely to stand in our stead and to represent us before God to provide us the righteousness

That we need that came through a life of living an obedient life to the father on our behalf

In that way and in that way only he was perfected. So the perfection is not describing as moral qualities

It's not describing as virtues of character The perfection here is describing a perfectly suited individual one perfectly suited and perfectly able to function in all of these capacities

We needed one who has faced the same temptations and understand the demands of God's law and has experienced the hatred and opposition

Of a hostile world We needed one who had lived through all of human life as you and I do So that he could understand exactly what it is that you and I endure

We needed one who was perfectly righteous in every way and had obeyed all of the demands of his law through a fully adult life so that he could stand in my stead and represent me before the father and Represent you before the father and represent the father to us and to serve as our high priest

So what we're describing when we say that he was made perfect is we're saying he was perfectly suited

He was qualified His resume was fulfilled and accomplished in all that he lived and in his suffering and in his trials and temptations

He was in obedience in the midst of suffering made Perfectly suited to serve as our high priest

He had the qualities then that were necessary for him to stand in our stead And this is what is meant back in chapter 2 when we read this in verse 10

For it was fitting for him for whom are all things and through whom are all things in bringing many sons to glory to perfect the

Author of their salvation through sufferings. There's something that the Lord Jesus Christ endured in his suffering

He learned obedience through suffering. You'll notice that verse 8 says he learned obedience through suffering.

There's something in his suffering That made him uniquely qualified to be our high priest and in that way he was perfected.

He was suitable We needed one who would die in our place pay our price provide us with righteousness rise from the dead defeat the devil remove the

Fear of death sympathize with our weakness understand our trials know the frailties of humanity understand temptation come to our aid and intercede for us

Six year old Jesus could not do that 33 year old Jesus could do that He was perfected in all that he lived in all that he endured

He was made perfectly able to serve as our high priest Now at this point you're probably observing that we are a good portion of halfway through this

We haven't even talked about master or Savior or high priest or any of that outline that I gave you at the beginning and you're thinking to yourself

How are we going to do that? Having endured all of that groundwork now We can apply that to those three offices since we understand what it means that he was made perfect We can see that he is a perfect master a perfect Savior and a perfect high priest

So let's look at each one of those three move beyond just the first five verses of verse 9 What does it mean that he is a perfect master?

You'll notice the verse 9 says he has been made perfect He became to all those who obey him the source of eternal salvation

All those who obey him is a description of believers and don't don't let that pass in front of your eyes

Jesus Christ became for all those who obey him the source of eternal salvation that perfectly describes what it means to be a believer

This is what marks believers obedience disobedience is what marks unbelievers a

Righteous heart and a redeemed heart one that has been born again is one who obeys the Lord Jesus Christ So we find him to be a perfect master because he demands of us obedience in fact the very first the very first Command that you must obey in order to become a believer in Jesus Christ is to turn from your sin and believe upon him

That is the that is the entrance of the gospel And so the very first call to you as a sinner is repent turn from your sins and believe upon him for eternal life

Believe in the one whom the father has sent that was his command And so having embarked upon a pathway of obedience.

This is the mark of every believer. We are those who obey He is our king. He is our master.

He is our Lord. He is our Kyrgios There is no question when he says do what we are to do.

We don't equivocate. We don't negotiate with him We don't go back and forth as to whether or not we should do it

The redeemed heart is one that pursues a path of lifelong obedience to the commands of Jesus Christ And this is how believers are described all the way throughout the

New Testament in Acts chapter 5 verse 32 Peter says and we are witnesses of these things and so is the Holy Spirit whom

God has given to those who obey him who gets The Holy Spirit those who obey him. How do we get the

Holy Spirit by believing upon the Lord Jesus Christ? Believers are described as those who obey him

Romans 1 verse 5 We've received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the

Gentiles for his name's sake Faith is described as the obedience of faith. This is what faith is.

It's obedience We cannot say that we believe upon somebody and that we are disobedient to him if I believe him

I will obey him and If I obey him it is a mark of my obedience Romans chapter 2 verse 8 describes

Unbelievers as those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey in righteousness

See everybody obeys something We either obey righteousness or unrighteousness We either obey the truth or we obey unrighteousness if we are obedient to him.

That is the mark of those who are saved obedience Romans 6 verse 17 Thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin you became obedient to the heart from that form of teaching which you were committed 2nd

Thessalonians 1 verse 8 Promises that Christ will come again dealing out retribution to those who do not know

God and those who do not obey the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ To repent and to believe the

Gospel is the very first expression of a redeemed heart The very first thing that a regenerated heart does is turn from an abandoned sin and place faith savingly in the

Lord Jesus Christ That's the very first thing we do is respond in obedience to that command turn and repeat believe repent and believe

An obedient heart does that willingly and joyfully and the very evidence of saving faith is obedience and Hebrews chapter 11 verse 8 speaking of Abraham It says by faith

Abraham when he was called obeyed by going out of the place To he was to receive for an inheritance. What is the mark of faith?

It's obedience a Faith filled heart is an obedience heart. So do not for one instant think

That you can live your life in rebellion to God disobeying the commands of Christ Refusing to bow the knee and refusing to bow the heart before him shaking your fists at heaven going your own way doing your own

You can live your life in High -handed rebellion against his throne and his sovereignty and his word and then on the last day find that he is your

Savior from sin That will not happen He is the kind and gracious Savior to all who obey him and he is a righteous and wrath filled judge to all those who will

Not that is the dividing one. He is a Savior to those who obey him

He has become having been made perfect He has become to all those who obey him the source of eternal life not to some of those who obey him

But thankfully to all of those who obey him. He is the source of eternal salvation. That is good news

It is the faith the faith that is not marked by obedience as a false false faith. It's it's a mirage

It's mental assent It's acknowledging something that's true Because saving faith is not do you understand this have you heard the message?

Okay Pray this quick prayer repeat after me and check the box on the back of the card and pass that down the aisle to the Usher as he comes through welcome to the family of God.

That's not saving faith Saving faith is I will pick up my cross. I will count myself unworthy of anything.

I will die to myself I will follow Christ and I will lay down my life if necessary That is the demand of the gospel not pray some prayer and welcome to the family of God The call of the gospel is a high calling and so the call of the gospel gospel is you died and You must be willing to die because you're going to die and Christ is your life

So turn to him or perish that's the call of the gospel and the one who turns to him in obedience to him

As so as not to perish they are the obedient ones He has become to all those who obey him the source of eternal salvation and notice that it is an eternal salvation

Oh one of the thing that I want to point out this mark of obedience in the context of what we're talking about here

Just earlier. Remember what the second warning passage was back in Hebrews chapter 3 in chapter 4 Do you remember what that the whole warning passage circled circled around and revolved around it was the wilderness generation?

What marks the wilderness generation obedience or disobedience? Disobedience, so we read in chapter 3 verse 18 to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest?

But to those who were disobedient Chapter 4 verse 6 they failed to enter because of disobedience chapter 4 verse 11

Warns us that we not fall through following the same example of disobedience It's disobedience that marked them.

It's disobedience that kept them out of rest It's disobedience that marks those who are outside of Christ and are cut off from the rest of God Not the rest of God, but the rest which is from God It is obedience that marks those who are saved by him you want salvation in Jesus Christ you want eternal salvation

He provides it to all those who obey him who repent and believe and bow the knee to this great master this perfect master

He is our master and he is our King Second he is a perfect Savior He became the source of eternal salvation not just a perfect master who demands obedience and is worthy of our obedience

But he is a perfect Savior he has become to all those who obey him the source of eternal salvation

The word source there is kind of an interesting word. I Found this curious when I started to look at that word it

It didn't mean what I thought it was going to mean This was kind of surprising to me That word is only used five times in all of the

New Testament three of the times that it is used it is used to Describe the charges that are brought against the

Lord Jesus Christ and the question of his guilt In fact that word that is translated source of our salvation is

Translated guilt in at least two other places out of the five places that is used guilt

How does the word? guilt get translated source that doesn't seem right does it

Didn't seem right to me and yet in Luke chapter of 23 verse 4 The issue was with Jesus before Pilate and Pilate said

I find no guilt in this man It's the same word translated source in Luke chapter 23 verse 22

I have found in him no guilt demanding of death and then again in chapter 23 verse 14 these three times

It's used by Luke all three times in 23 verse 14 is used of the charges that are made against Jesus.

In other words, I find in him None of these charges to be true. So it's translated charges and is translated twice guilt

How then do we get to chapter 5 of Hebrews and is translated source? In what way there's a connection here think legally for just a moment

If you have a question of a criminal who has committed an act before you can say he that he is guilty Right, and so you bring against that guilty party you would bring certain what?

Charges in the court of law, right? And what you are doing by bringing charges against one in determining their guilt or their innocence is to see if the one who is

Being charged who is either guilty or not guilty if he is indeed The one responsible for the actions that he is being charged with Is he the responsible party?

Is he the source of this? Is he the cause of it? Is he the the origin or the reason for this guilt or innocence?

And so it is translated source here but it has the idea of carrying the one who is responsible for so we could say that Jesus Christ has become

The the guilty one for our salvation or he has become the one responsible or charged with our salvation and In terms of our salvation, we would say that if salvation were a crime

There is only one perpetrator of that crime in all of the universe and who is it? It is the

Lord Jesus Christ He is the responsible party. He is the reason he is the cause he is the guilty one

He is the one responsible for it for the salvation of his people He bears all of that burden on his own shoulders.

He has no Co -conspirators he has no partners in this crime He and he alone is the one who bears all of the guilt all of the responsibility for their salvation in that way

He is the source of all of it So that what we have in Christ is one through whom all of the blessings come to his people

He is the source of it in the sense that whatever it is that comes to us comes through him

All of it does every spiritual blessing you have as a believer in Jesus Christ comes to you in and through and by the

Lord Jesus Christ you're elected in him. You are chosen in him. You are redeemed in him. You're adopted in him

You're sealed in him. You are saved. You're safe. You're secure in him. Everything is tied up in him There's nothing that comes to us as his people that does not come through the

Lord Jesus Christ Since he paid for all of it and purchased all of it. It is all due to him He alone is the responsible party the guilty one for our salvation, does that make sense?

Right. You want to charge somebody with salvation? There's one person who can be charged with it You want to lay the guilt of your salvation upon one person?

There's one person who was guilty in our stead as the source of this eternal salvation

And that is the Lord Jesus Christ and this source of salvation or this salvation is an eternal salvation I think that this is intended to mark it as different than the salvation that was provided under the the

Old Testament Priests Aaron's line. There's a distinction here right the salvation that we have in Christ as an eternal salvation that you could never use that to describe the salvation or the atonement that Aaron did because that those sacrifices took place day after day week after week month after month year after year and All they did was cover sin.

They didn't take it out of the way. They just covered it up They just they just made it able so God was able to overlook the sins that were previously committed

Knowing that one day that payment would be made in full by a perfect and righteous Substitute who would bear the full burden of all of the sins committed by his people from the beginning of time to the end of Time he would bear the full burden of that and the brunt of that and because he would bear all of that God could pass over those other sins that the animal sacrifices reminded us needed to be paid by the shedding of blood

So all of Aaron's sacrifices could never make full atonement for sin the blood of bulls and goats could never do that They could never provide an eternal salvation

But one high priest made one sacrifice one time once and for all

Eternal salvation Isn't that a magnificent difference between those two priesthoods?

one sacrifice from one man made on one occasion Perfectly pays the sin price so that it is all gone

And now we have eternal salvation Hebrews chapter 9 verse 12 says it's not through the blood of bulls and goats and calves

But through his own blood he entered the holy place once for all having obtained eternal Redemption I needed an eternal deliverance

You needed an eternal deliverance because your sin was an eternal sin and even in one High -handed act of disobedience you had heaped up an eternity of wrath from a just and righteous and holy

God One high -handed act of disobedience to his law is worth an eternal punishment

So what did I need to pay the price for my sin? I needed one who could provide me eternal salvation based upon an eternal covenant and Eternal promises and an eternal inheritance with a price that would endure for all of eternity in the salvation that would last for all of eternity

That was our greatest need and that is what has been provided in the person of Christ Eternal salvation.

So now let me ask you this. Can you lose that? You lose that eternal salvation if you could lose your salvation

There is one word in all of the English language in all of the Greek language that you would never use to describe salvation

Guess what? It is eternal you'd never use that term to describe a temporary provision a

Salvation that you can have today and has be gone tomorrow Do you honestly think you can be saved today and perish tomorrow?

If you can the salvation you have today is not an eternal salvation if it's only gonna last until midnight

If it's only gonna last in terms of your obedience You can't lose that salvation.

That is why it's called eternal salvation That is why it's described in Hebrews 9 12 as an eternal redemption That is why the life that we are given is called an eternal life

We've been eternally delivered Not delivered for today not delivered until my next act of disobedience

But delivered eternally and some might suggest that we have this eternal salvation

But only if I can continue in it only if I can keep it up only if I don't do something to lose it

Only if I don't abandon it only if I don't forsake it Well, if that's true then there's at least that much

Where you are a co -conspirator with the Lord Jesus Christ in your salvation, right? You keeping it you maintaining it you keeping it up you avoiding doing something to lose it

So you're responsible for at least that much now, maybe Somebody would say well, I think it's that much that I'm responsible for and somebody else

You know, I want to give a lot of glory to God I'm only really responsible for that much of it and the next guy says I'm giving most of the glory to God I'm only responsible for my fingers are only an atom apart

I'm respond the Lord's responsible for everything except for that tiny little sliver that you can't even put a piece of paper in there It's so small

Well, if that's the case Then that's how much you're responsible for and you have something to contribute to your salvation and guess what you get this much glory

Out of it for your salvation. You don't get any glory for it Because it's an eternal salvation based upon the redemption provided an eternal redemption provided by somebody else

Was infinite as qualities You're not Jesus partner in crime in your salvation don't bear any guilt

What did you have to do with an eternal? Salvation based upon eternal Promises made in an eternal covenant before time began between the eternal persons of the triune

Godhead Where were you exactly when all of that was planned and mapped out? What did you have to do with that again?

Where were you how much of this depends on you? Nothing depends on you All of the guilt and responsibility for our salvation rested his feet.

And so he gets all the glory for it It's an eternal salvation. Now, why would I mention this at this point? Why camp on that?

well, because next week Lord willing we're gonna be in verse 11 and Verse 11 is the first verse in the very next warning passage.

Listen friends, not just another warning passage, but the mother of all warning passages

The warning passage that all the Arminians point to and read and quote to show

That this makes their case that you can lose their salvation not just another average warning passage

It seems to hint at this if you are in Arminian and you believe that you can lose your salvation Hebrews chapter 6 is the passage to which you will turn.

Well that warning passage begins with the very next verse So that's why I'm camping on the idea that it is an eternal salvation

Because if you believe you can lose your salvation then you have to believe something that to me is utterly incomprehensible That the author of Hebrews in verse 9 calls it an eternal salvation and then turns around in verse 11

It starts to argue that it's really not eternal after all. Do you believe that? No, it's the internal salvation.

So listen, whatever he means in Hebrews chapter 6 It is not that salvation is not eternal because he's already laid that out for us in verse 9

So whatever we say about Hebrews chapter 6 in that warning passage it is certainly not teaching the salvation is not eternal because we are already told he has purchased for us an eternal redemption and It is the internal salvation.

So he is a perfect master. He's a perfect Savior and third. He is a perfect high priest I don't think there's any need to belabor this point because we've been talking about him being a high priest

Since the beginning of this passage Beginning next week since he's starting in on the warning passage

He's not going to return back to the idea of Jesus's high priesthood until later on in chapter 6 almost the end of chapter 6

Where he picks that up again So we're going to be dropping off with the idea of him and his high priesthood Today because we're going to be starting into what he kind of is a sort of a parenthetical statement

Beginning in chapter 5 verse 11 next week But I would just remind you that the author is here ending with where he started

He started in chapter 4 verse 14 with this idea of a high priest and Jesus being perfectly suited for it he has made the case that he has been appointed by God that he is able to sympathize with us and that he has been made

Perfect perfectly qualified to be our master our Savior and our high priest

Why because as he reminds us in verse 10 just as he did up in verse 6 Jesus Christ has been designated by God as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek You need somebody to stand between you and a wrath -filled

God who is angry with you for your sin You have no place to turn but to Jesus Christ He and he alone has been appointed as a high priest to serve in your stead

He and he alone has offered a sacrifice suitable perfectly suited to meet your need

We needed a perfect master one whom we could obey One whom we could bow the knee to and God has provided that in the person of Christ We needed a perfect Savior one able to offer a perfect sacrifice and To perfectly atone for an eternity worth of sin and to provide for us in eternal salvation

That is what God has provided in the person of Christ And we needed a perfect high priest one who could stand between us and the father to represent us before God and God to us and to make atonement on our behalf and To intercede for us and to give us grace and to help us to resist temptation and to learn obedience in the midst of suffering

That is what God has provided in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ a perfect master a perfect Savior and a perfect high priest

That is our God. That is our Savior. Let's bow our heads Father we thank you that you have met our every need in Christ There is nothing that we as hell -bound

Depraved wretched and rotten sinners needed that has not been gifted and granted to us in your son

We thank you that our every need has been met in him Not just our sin in part, but our sin and whole has been nailed to the cross and we bear it no more

He has provided for us all that we need that we may live with you forever and dwell with you forever in perfect righteousness and holiness

With no sin and with no guilt and we thank you that all of it rests upon the person of Christ and Christ alone

For whatever we might be responsible for and whatever might be laid upon our shoulders. We would fail in that endeavor for sure

But you have given to us Christ and you have done it all on our behalf in him and through him

We pray that our hearts may rejoice in that as we reflect upon it and we trust and turn our hearts again to your son and a reminded of the sufficiency of the gospel and the sufficiency of the salvation that is in him and If there are any sitting here today who do not know

Christ It is our desire that you would draw them to him show them their need for Savior Show them the provision that is in Jesus Christ and Make them to tremble before your law that they may bow the knee before the

Son of Grace and find in him all that is Necessary to deliver them from eternal wrath May he that is the

Lord Jesus Christ receive the full reward for all his suffering That you may be glorified in your people both now and forever.