Hold Firmly To The Faith We Profess

In John we’re told, "There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day"(JOHN 12:48). Those who deny the power of God’s word will stand condemned by God’s word. Those who say they don’t want to believe God’s word will stand condemned by God’s word because God’s word is a double-edged sword. One purpose is judgment. Another purpose is mercy and encouragement. Just as the Lord told us about the Sabbath rest, it is meant for God’s people.

You and I in our busy lives realize how welcome rest is at night from the labors of the day. The Lord reminds us that at the end of our earthly life there is a rest that is eternal. The Lord invites us. He says make every effort to enter that rest, to add to your faith, wisdom and knowledge. From the gospel of Matthew He says, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest"(MATTHEW 11:28). He tells us what kind of rest that is in verse 29. He says it is rest for your soul. God’s word achieves its purpose of providing us with rest. We bring to the Lord all of our burdens, all of our cares, all of our troubles and all of our sins. He takes them upon His shoulders. We no longer have to drag them around with us. They’re taken away from us and we are given rest from our burdens, rest from our troubles, rest from our sins.

No wonder He encourages us this morning in the midst of our text to say ‘hold firmly to the faith we profess.’ Jesus word is living and active and

II. Jesus is our great High Priest

Remember, the writer was trying to connect these people in their thinking. They already knew the Old Testament very well. In other words, they were too attached to the Old Testament. He was trying to connect Jesus with their knowledge and understanding of the Old Testament. Very bluntly, he says to them, ‘Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God…’ Now, they knew the high priests of the Old Testament, Aaron, and the children of Levi. They had great respect for the high priests. The high priest was the only one who was allowed to go into the Most Holy of Holies to offer sacrifice. Now the writer says that we have a high priest. He calls him a great high priest. If they didn’t know who he was, the writer calls him Jesus, the very Son of God, our high priest. He is the one who offered up sacrifice, and not sacrifice after sacrifice, but one perfect sacrifice.

He describes this Jesus, the great high priest of every believer. ‘‘We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are…’ He reminded them that Jesus came and lived among them. He was born of the Virgin Mary. He grew up in Nazareth with His earthly parents, Mary and Joseph. He faced the same temptations that they did. Certainly, Satan probably tempted Him more than normal, knowing that this was the Son of God, knowing that this would be the perfect sacrifice for the world. The writer says, ‘This is our high priest, who realizes how we are tempted.’ There was a difference wasn’t there? He says ‘tempted as we are—yet was without sin.’ Jesus did not give into the temptations of Satan. When we see Satan coming against the Lord Jesus himself and tempting Him, we see the defense that Jesus uses. It’s not supernatural as we might picture supernatural, but it was supernatural in the sense that it was all-powerful. Jesus simply used God’s living and active word, told Satan to get behind Him. When Satan misquoted scripture, Jesus quoted it correctly. That living and active word was His defense against the temptations of Satan. Jesus is the high priest of every believer, this is our high priest. In the words of encouragement, the writer states, ‘Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence…’