Called
Into
(10-24-04)
Heb.7:24-28
Jesus is what we need! What every human being needs, the
forgiving of their sins, Jesus has accomplished. This section of the book of Hebrews is marvelous and wonderful and deep.
You have been called, or are being called into a covenant relationship with God. (I hope the Lord has not given up on you)
A better covenant than the one the Israelites were given.
Do you know what your side of the agreement is?
Heb.8:6 But the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is
superior to the old one, and it is founded on better promises.
Jesus’ ministry, His service was and is carried out in heaven in the true tabernacle (9:11-15) [ministry = leitourgia (gk) the word we get liturgy from] Jesus’ service in the tabernacle
accomplished what the earthly priesthood could not accomplish, a complete forgiveness of sins. (7:11;
8:7,8; 9:9,14; 10:2)
I like the end conclusion
of His service, His ministry –“…
a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God.” (7:19b) Without Jesus’ ministry our relationship
to God is at best, distant. It is worse than that if a person has not been called into this covenant relationship and excepted
it. The common fate of humanity is spoken by Paul in this fashion - “remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and
foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.”
(Eph.2:11-13 12 )
The Israelites had
a relationship with God because of the 1st covenant but the relationship to God between the person and God is far
more superior in this 2nd covenant of which we are recipients and partakers of. The 1st covenant was
a burdensome system of laws and regulations that did not fix the sin problem of man. (8:6-8; 9:1-15; 10:1-14) The 2nd
covenant is designed to fix the sin problem.
How is this sin problem
fixed? (logical response to the statement of fact – the fact of scripture, even if I struggle to comprehend it, and
I do.) We see that the sin problem was not resolved I the 1st because
of design and because of the recipients of. 8:7-8 tells us that God found fault
with the people and in 7:11 the indication is that the priest hood was not adequate.
But verses such as 7:18 indicate that the design of the covenant and not just the
people was not made to do a complete job. Here the regulation is said to be weak and useless.
So how is the sin
problem fixed? I would think that if the problem was in the people and in the covenant then it must be remedied in both or
all areas in order for the sin problem to be fixed. We know from scripture that
Jesus fixes and has fixed the side of the sin problem that was left wanting on one side of the covenant. The only area left
is in relationship to the recipients of the covenant since all covenants are two sided.
So how is the people
problem fixed? (8:8) That problem is fixed by - Answering the call of God. When people submit their lives over to God He does
His best work on them – He puts His laws in their minds and writes them in their hearts. He will be their God and they
His people. (8:10-12; 10:15-18) Are you put in and written on?
