Sunday 08:21:11

Hebrews is a book to Jewish believers at a time of hardship. The writer encourages them to hold firm to their faith, despite their circumstances. He does this by affirming that Jesus Christ is absolutely supreme and sufficient as the revelation of God and as mediator of God’s grace. He uses the OT to show that Jesus is greater than angels, greater than Moses, greater than the high priesthood, and the sacrificial system. Ultimately he writes that all prophecies and promises of the OT are fulfilled in the new covenant. As Jesse pointed out last week, the book of Hebrews is full of the words “new,” “better,” and “superior.” Throughout the OT the Israelites struggled to follow God. God would work on their behalf, they would follow him for a time, then they would forget him and chase after idols. Then they would repent, God would forgive them, show them mercy and they would follow Him – but only for a time. (Sound familiar?) They had the Law; they had the prophets; they had priests, judges and kings, but they couldn’t remain faithful. Their hearts were broken, divided, and fickle. But in the OT, about 2600 years ago, there was a beautiful prophecy by one of the prophets about a time when God would change their hearts. It’s quoted in our reading today. Hebrews 8:3-6 v. 4 – as a descendant of the tribe of Judah, Jesus would not have been a priest in by his human birth. But God appointed him as priest, the mediator between us and God. v. 6 – The ministry of Jesus is superior to the ministry of the high priest. He is mediator of a new covenant that is superior to the old one. It is founded on better promises. Hebrews 8:7-9 – Prophecy from Jeremiah 31 – the Restoration of Israel v. 9 – the old covenant had a problem – people could not be faithful, so God turned from them. Hebrews 8:10-13 v. 10 – “I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts.” What God wanted His people to do all along will become their own inner principles. God’s law will become their delight. We have all struggled to get this. We have all tried to set up rules, boundaries, goals to help us overcome sin or be more disciplined in our spiritual walk, only to fail over and over. The issue is that external sin is the symptom. If you treat the symptom and not the disease, it will pop up over and over again. The issue is deep. Lust, anger, envy, control – they are all idolatry Your sins show that you do not fully understand or do not fully accept of the Gospel. The disease is a heart issue. You can’t discipline yourself out of sin or into spiritual growth. When I come home, sometimes I’ll cook or do laundry. When my kids were smaller, when I got home from work, sometimes the kids would have misbehaved all day. I knew it was bad if Brenda was sitting on the front porch when I drove home. I would discipline the kids and help out in the kitchen – why? Because of love her. Not because she laid down some rules. My love for her changed my heart and THAT changed my actions. God says here, he’ll change our hearts. You cannot flip a switch and say, “okay, now my heart is fully his.” You can’t muster it. You need his help, the power of his Spirit to love, pray, serve, read. Pray, plead, fast, ask to see more of God and to come more fully under his submission and power. It’s painfully slow, but over months and years, you will see progress. “I will be their God, and they will be my people.” God and His people will have intimate fellowship. v. 11 – “they will all know me.” God would be known by His people. How? Jesus “the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being.” (Heb 1:3) What would we learn about God? He is merciful, compassionate, loving, fully committed to the will of God. “I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” God will forever forgive their sins. How? “[Jesus] sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself.” (Heb 7:27e) The goal is not that we would be good at following rules, but that God would remove our sins and change our hearts to love him. The hope of the Gospel is that faithfulness to follow God flows from a love for God.