God’s New Deal
Hebrews Series
Hebrews 8.1-13
May 7, 2014 Chester FBC Chester, IL Dr. Mike Fogerson, Speaker
Introduction:
A In our text we will see a glimpse of Jesus’ heavenly work.
1 It’s inspiring, encouraging, exciting to know that this moment, One who bears the scars of His love represents us in heaven.
a The same Jesus who walked the dusty trails of Israel, died on a cross, arose from the dead, and ascended on high is now our Mediator with God.
b Hebrews 8.1, says that the “sum” (KJV) or “crowing point” or “main point” (NASB) of Jesus’ present ministry is the fact that He is acting as our Great High Priest this evening.
Hebrews 8:1 (NASB) 1 Now the main point in what has been said is this: we have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens,
2 He lives in Heaven as our Priest, Mediator, Minister, Forerunner & Intercessor.
a As the office holder of these ministries He is fulfilling the types & shadows of the Old Covenant to God’s people; Jesus is the New Covenant.
b When FDR was running for President, he promised America a “New Deal.”
aa That promise pales in comparison to the “New Deal” God put in place through Jesus Messiah.
bb We’ll explore three aspects of the New Covenant/New Deal that God established 2,000 years ago.
B
I The Priest of the New Covenant (8.1-3)
Hebrews 8:1-3 (NASB) 1 Now the main point in what has been said is this: we have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, 2 a minister in the sanctuary and in the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man. 3 For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices; so it is necessary that this high priest also have something to offer.
A The Great High Priest stands apart from any other priest.
1 He is a saving Priest
a The fact that Jesus has sat down is evidence that the sacrifice for sin was finished (10.11).
Hebrews 10:11 (NASB) 11 Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins;
aa Nowhere in the O.T. do we see the Levitical priest seated.
bb He is seated at the right hand of the throne in heaven, a place that Aaron couldn’t occupy.
cc The New Deal Jesus brought is far superior to deal the Israelites had under the Old Covenant.
dd The Levitical Priests were never finished, but Jesus’ work was completed on the cross.
b We can stand with gratitude for the salvation provided by our Great High Priest, because He has ransomed our souls.
2 He is a Sovereign Priest
a Our Jesus sits in heaven, fully God/man, in all the unmatched dignity of deity.
b There is nothing that remains to be done for our salvation, for the Lord sits on the throne of grace with absolute authority to save.
B He is a saving, sovereign, seated priest who is also a serving priest.
1 If He’s seated, how can He be serving at the same time?
a v.2, “minister” is leitourgos, which is where we get our word “liturgy” from.
aa It means “order of worship.”
bb Jesus, seated at the right hand of God, had authority to give order and keep order in worship.
b Romans 12:1 (NASB) 1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
aa As we offer ourselves to Jesus, He offers us to the Father.
bb Because our Great High Priest offered Himself up as the ultimate sacrifice, we can offer ourselves to Him.
2 Jesus is superior to Aaron since He serves in a superior sanctuary and offers us a superior offering in the New Covenant (Testament).
II The Prophecy of the New Covenant (8.4-9)
Hebrews 8:4-9 (NASB) 4 Now if He were on earth, He would not be a priest at all, since there are those who offer the gifts according to the Law; 5 who serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, just as Moses was warned by God when he was about to erect the tabernacle; for, "SEE," He says, "THAT YOU MAKE all things ACCORDING TO THE PATTERN WHICH WAS SHOWN YOU ON THE MOUNTAIN." 6 But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, by as much as He is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises. 7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion sought for a second. 8 For finding fault with them, He says, "BEHOLD, DAYS ARE COMING, SAYS THE LORD, WHEN I WILL EFFECT A NEW COVENANT WITH THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL AND WITH THE HOUSE OF JUDAH; 9 NOT LIKE THE COVENANT WHICH I MADE WITH THEIR FATHERS ON THE DAY WHEN I TOOK THEM BY THE HAND TO LEAD THEM OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT; FOR THEY DID NOT CONTINUE IN MY COVENANT, AND I DID NOT CARE FOR THEM, SAYS THE LORD.
A If the former covenant was sufficient, the new covenant would have been unnecessary; If the earthly sanctuary would have been sufficient, the heavenly (v.4-5).
1 The Tabernacle, and later the Temple, was the hub of Jewish living.
a The floor design/blue prints were given to Moses (Ex. 25.40, which is quoted in Heb. 8.5) on Mt. Sinai.
Exodus 25:40 (NASB) 40 "See that you make them after the pattern for them, which was shown to you on the mountain.
Hebrews 8:5 (NASB) 5 who serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, just as Moses was warned by God when he was about to erect the tabernacle; for, "SEE," He says, "THAT YOU MAKE all things ACCORDING TO THE PATTERN WHICH WAS SHOWN YOU ON THE MOUNTAIN."
b The earthly place of worship was just a copy of the true sanctuary in heaven where Jesus now sits.
c Jesus is a different kind of priest serving in a different sanctuary.
aa The Tabernacle was based on the blueprint of heaven.
bb Our Great High Priest couldn’t have gotten on as an earthly priest (from the Tribe of Judah.)
cc The priesthood/Temple are “copies” of the real deal in heaven.
d Why settle for trying to live in the blueprint when we can enter into the house?
2 The Temple was a big deal to the Jew, but less than a 20 years after Hebrews was written, the Romans would utterly destroy the hub.
a The Hebrew Christians were reverting back to Temple worship, former religion (which was dead, gangrenous).
aa v.13, we see that both the Old Covenant, including its sanctuary, were ready to vanish.
Hebrews 8:13 (NASB) 13 When He said, "A new covenant," He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear.
bb All the promises God gave to Israel in the Old Testament are wrapped up in God’s Son, Jesus Christ.
b This is a powerful warning to us today . . . we should guard ourselves against trusting buildings, rituals, denominations or church membership in the place of know Christ.
B Not only is the sanctuary become obsolete, but so is the Old Covenant.
1 Jeremiah, who prophesied on the eve of a time when Jerusalem would be destroyed by the Babylonians, predicted a new covenant.
a Paul quotes Jeremiah (Jer. 31.31-34):
Jeremiah 31:31-34 (NASB) 31 "Behold, days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them," declares the LORD. 33 "But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days," declares the LORD, "I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 "They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them," declares the LORD, "for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more."
aa The prophecy declares that God is something better to His people.
bb The Old Covenant (Mosaic Covenant) was conditional/temporary. (God didn’t establish it be the final say)
b The terms of the Old Covenant were as follows:
aa (cf. Ex. 19.1-8) The OC offered life to those who kept the Law.
bb It contained the commandments that expressed the righteous will of God (cf. Ex. 20.1-26).
cc It contained judgements governing Israel’s social life (Ex. 21.1-24).
dd It contained ordinances governing Israel’s religious life (Ex. 24.12-31; 18).
c The OC declared what was wrong, but it couldn’t correct it.
aa It was a stop sign, not a road map.
bb It could condemn, but it could not save.
2 In Christ, we see a the fulfillment of the Old Covenant and the fount head of the New Covenant.
a The Old Covenant wasn’t “wrong” nor does it mean that the Law has no place in ministry today.
aa Both covenants were given by God for the people’s good.
bb Both had blessings attached to them & Paul wrote that the OC had it share of glory!
2 Corinthians 3:7-11 (NASB) 7 But if the ministry of death, in letters engraved on stones, came with glory, so that the sons of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the glory of his face, fading as it was, 8 how will the ministry of the Spirit fail to be even more with glory? 9 For if the ministry of condemnation has glory, much more does the ministry of righteousness abound in glory. 10 For indeed what had glory, in this case has no glory because of the glory that surpasses it. 11 For if that which fades away was with glory, much more that which remains is in glory.
cc We can’t criticize the OC or minimize it for we are “spiritual seed” of Abraham (Gal. 3.13-29); which is not to say that the Christian/Church is “spiritual Israel.”
b Even though the NC of grace brings with it freedom from the Law of Moses, it does not bring freedom to disobey God and sin.
Galatians 5:1 (NASB) 1 It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.
aa God still desires that the “righteousness of the Law” should be fulfilled in us through the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 8:1-4 (NASB) 1 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. 3 For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
bb There is a lawful use of the Law for the Christian/Church.
1 Timothy 1:8-11 (NASB) 8 But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully, 9 realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers 10 and immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching, 11 according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted.
c God didn’t find fault with His covenant but with His people.
Romans 7:12 (NASB) 12 So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.
aa The Law didn’t change anybodies heart, only God’s grace can do that.
bb The New Covenant is wholly of God’s grace; no sinner can become a part of this New Covenant without faith in Jesus Christ.
cc The Law & works went together in the OC; In the NC, grace & faith go together.
d The Law says, “The man that doeth them [the things written in the Law] shall live in them” (Gal. 3.12); but grace says, “The work is done–believe & live!”
Galatians 3:12 (NASB) 12 However, the Law is not of faith; on the contrary, "HE WHO PRACTICES THEM SHALL LIVE BY THEM."
III The Principles of the New Covenant (Heb. 8.10-13).
Hebrews 8:10-13 (NASB) 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 INTO THEIR MINDS, AND I WILL WRITE THEM ON THEIR HEARTS. AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE. 11 "AND THEY SHALL NOT TEACH EVERYONE HIS FELLOW CITIZEN, AND EVERYONE HIS BROTHER, SAYING, 'KNOW THE LORD,' FOR ALL WILL KNOW ME, FROM THE LEAST TO THE GREATEST OF THEM. 12 "FOR I WILL BE MERCIFUL TO THEIR INIQUITIES, AND I WILL REMEMBER THEIR SINS NO MORE."
13 When He said, "A new covenant," He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear.
A The NC is based on what God can do, not upon what man may fail to do.
1 Rom. 8.3 declares that the Law was weakened by our flesh.
a Romans 8:3 (NASB) 3 For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,
b We could not keep the Law, and so we were doomed, yet God made provision for us in His Son.
2 The New Covenant is inward & spiritual.
a When God saves us, He does something inside us.
aa The Law never changed a soul, God’s grace does!
bb The Word is now written on our hearts!
b We don’t become holy people by following the Law in our own power/strength/will; we become holy by surrendering to the Holy Spirit within that we fulfill the righteousness of Law and this is wholly grace.
3 The New Covenant also grants us complete pardon from our sin.
a The OC could only cover the sin, not remove it.
b Jesus came to “take away the sins of the world “(John 1.29).
John 1:29 (NASB) 29 The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
aa God not only promises to forgive but also to forget our sins! He casts them from His memory.
bb Jeremiah 31:34 (NASB) 34 "They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them," declares the LORD, "for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more."
Conclusion:
A We don’t need make overs or to be remodeled . . . we need a brand-new life.
1 God has a new deal for you.
a He changes us from the inside out if you will trust Him.
b He takes away the guilt, condemnation
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My name is Mike Fogerson, and I pastor a Southern Baptist Church in Chester, Illinois. I have been a long-time user of Sermon Central and truly appreciate its content and contributors. Some of the best sermons I’ve ever preached have been reworked material from this website. As you use the material from my sermon bank, understand that it is work that has been done from not just myself, but from hundreds of other pastors as well. If you see part of your message, or a bunch of your message with my name on it and this upsets you, please email me and I will quickly respond and cite you as the main source. My intent is not to claim someone’s work as my own. I am disclaiming up front that I use the resources from Sermon Central and appreciate the tool. I simply want all those who use my work to know that some of these messages were inspired by the Holy Spirit working through other pastors. Because I do use the messages of other pastors I waive all claims of originality or origin of creativity for the messages posted under my messages. I pray God blesses your preaching ministry for the glory of His Kingdom.
Respectfully,
Mike Fogerson
