Nov. 17, 2024

“LIVE BY FAITH, NOT BY SIGHT”

“WE HAVE BETTER PROMISES”

HEBREWS 8:1-13

Jesus Christ is God’s Superior Priest, but is there anything that can minimize this superiority? Nothing! For He ministers on the basis of a better covenant. The author presents three evidences for the superiority of this covenant. The emphasis is upon the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ is living.

Hebrews 7:25-26 “Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. 26 For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens.”

1.  It Is Ministered By A Superior High Priest.

Hebrews 8:1-2 “Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, 2 a Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man.” 

“This is the main point” vs.1- or this is the “sum,” the most important point and the climax of the discussion. He presents several things to prove that the Lord is indeed a superior High Priest.

*Jesus Is Morally Perfect- “…We have such a High Priest…” vs.1 and 7:26 “For such a High Priest was fitting for us…”

*Jesus’ Finished Work- “…who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens.” vs.1

John 1:29 “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

*Jesus’ Seat- vs.1- Jesus Christ is not just “seated.” It is where He is seated that adds glory to His person and His work.

*Jesus’ Supreme Exaltation- “…in the heavens.”

2.   It Is Ministered In A Better Place.

Hebrews 8:3-5 “For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. Therefore it is necessary that this One also have something to offer. 4 For if He were on earth, He would not be a priest, since there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law; 5 who serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle. For He said, “See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.” 

Jesus Christ is ministering in a heavenly sanctuary today. But how do we know He is ministering in a sanctuary?

*The Logical Answer- vs.3 “…is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices.”

Hebrews 5:1 “For every high priest taken from among men is appointed for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins.” 

Hebrews 7:27 “who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people’s, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.”

But the sacrifices must not be offered just anywhere, they must be offered in God’s appointed place:

Deuteronomy 12:13-14 “Take heed to yourself that you do not offer your burnt offerings in every place that you see; 14 but in the place which the Lord chooses, in one of your tribes, there you shall offer your burnt offerings, and there you shall do all that I command you.”

Hebrews 9:24-28

*The Genealogical Answer- “For if He were on earth, He would not be a priest, since there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law” vs.4

The outer court of the tabernacle was 150ft by 75ft and 7.5 ft. high. The tent within the court was 45ft by 15ft. And 15 ft. high. The tent was separated by a thick veil the Holy of Holies which was 15 by 15 by 15 the Ark of the Covenant. The Holy Place was 30 ft. by 15 ft. then you had the golden table of show bread, golden candle stick and the altar of incense.

*The Typological Answer- “who serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle. For He said, “See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.” vs.5

3.   It Is Founded On Better Promises.

Hebrews 8:6-13 “But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises. 7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. 8 Because finding fault with them, He says: “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— 9 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord. 10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 11 None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. 12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” 13 In that He says, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.”

Moses was the mediator (go between) of the Old Covenant in the giving of the Law:

Galatians 3:19-20 “What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator. 20 Now a mediator does not mediate for one only, but God is one.”

Exodus 20:18-21

The Mediator of the New Covenant is Jesus Christ, and He is the only Mediator.

1 Timothy 2:5 “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.”

This covenant was announced by the prophet Jeremiah:

Jeremiah 31:31-34

Jesus Christ is now “the Mediator of a better (new) covenant.” Hebrews 9:15, 12:24

Romans 8:1-4

*Let’s Consider The “Better Promises” That Belong To The New Covenant.

*The Promise Of God’s Grace.

Hebrews 8:7-9 “For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. 8 Because finding fault with them, He says: “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— 9 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord.”

Romans 7:12 “Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.”

The “law” made nothing perfect because it could not change any human heart. Only God’s grace can do that.

Hebrews 7:19 “for the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.”

The New Covenant is wholly of God’s grace, no sinner can become a part of this New Covenant without faith in Jesus Christ.

*The Promise Of Internal Change

Hebrews 8:10 “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”

2 Peter 1:1-4

The New Covenant makes it possible for God’s Word to be written on human minds and hearts.

We do not become holy people by trying to obey God’s law in our own power. It is by yielding to the Holy Spirit within that we fulfill the righteousness of the law and this is wholly of grace.

*The Promise of Forgiveness For All.

Hebrews 8:11-12 “None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. 12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” 

There is no forgiveness under the law because the law was not given for that promise.

Romans 3:20 “Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”

*The Promise of Eternal Blessing.

Hebrews 8:13 “ In that He says, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.”

The New Covenant brings eternal blessings. Jesus Christ is the author of “eternal salvation” Hebrews 5:9 and “eternal redemption” Hebrews 9:12.

We have a better promise! Are you enjoying them?

Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”

Are you allowing the Holy Spirit to teach you and guide you into paths of holy living that please God?