Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/Sermons/zz20030202.htm

JESUS CHRIST IN OLD TESTAMENT PROPHECY
Part XXV: Trusting Christ ALONE To Intercede To God For Us
(Isaiah 59:16 and 53:12e with Hebrews 4:14-7:28)

Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

It is easy to be disillusioned about religious leaders today, and how it affects one's relationship to God:

(1) In the Roman Catholic faith, the Council of Trent claims: "The priest remits sins as God, and that which he calls his body at the altar is adored as God by himself and by the congregation . . . Wherefore they are justly called not only angels, but also God, holding as they do among us the power and authority of the immortal God." (cf. Loraine Boettner, Roman Catholicism, p. 51).

However, as has happened in various Roman Catholic parishes, when a priest is convicted of immoral misconduct in the parish, the faith of his parishioners is often harmed! The man whom they are taught to view as "holding among us the power and authority of the immortal God," and who holds up the wafer and cup at the altar to be "adored as God by himself and by the congregation," -- when this one is convicted of immoral abuses against children, it can concern the typical parishioner about how he is even supposed to relate to God!

(2) Lest Protestants or we Evangelicals think we as a group are immune from this problem, consider the following facts:

(a) Two gospel preaching churches in Western Connecticut in the last 25 years have seen their pastors fall into adulterous relationships much to the harm of their churches!

(b) This past week, the local news ran a story on how the son of a long-time gospel preaching pastor is being charged by the authorities with bilking hundreds of thousands dollars from the elderly!

(c) We all recall two national Evangelical ministers whose television ministries have come to a halt in the last 15 years because of illegal or immoral misconduct in their personal lives!



What is the man in the pew supposed to DO to RELATE well to GOD when the PRIEST or MINISTER who is to teach, guide, and, in some circles in Christendom, stand as God's REPRESENTATIVE before him in the pulpit lets him down in his personal lifestyle?!



(We turn to the sermon "Need" section . . . )



Need: "With the questions we have on relating to GOD due to SIN by religious MINISTERS who LEAD us, where can we turn?!"
  1. The RISEN Jesus told his disciples on the road to Emmaus how He fulfilled Old Testament Messianic prophecies, Luke 24:25-27.
  2. As these men were edified by Christ's teaching of those passages (Luke 24:32), we also view them, following the list of prophecies named in the Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, s. v. "Messianic Prophecies."
  3. The prophecies of Isaiah 59:16; 53:12e in view of their fulfillment in Hebrews 4:14-7:28 reveal JESUS is ALL we need to COPE with the SIN and INADEQUACIES of EVERY human MINISTER:
    1. We read in Isaiah 59:16a that though He set up the Aaronic priesthood under Moses' Law, Israel's leaders became so sinful God Himself expressed wonder at the lack of a priest to intercede for His people.
    2. Thus, God Himself went to work in that office, Isaiah 59:16b: we read in Isaiah 53:12e that, after bearing the sin of many, Messiah (thus as God, cf. Isaiah 9:6) would make intercession for transgressors.
    3. Hebrews 4:14-7:28 details NOT ONLY how this Messiah, Jesus supplanted the Hebrew Old Testament Aaronic priesthood and its sinful priests' failures, but revealed how He is man's All-Sufficient High Priest in all things pertaining to one's relationship with God:
      1. The readers of the epistle to the Hebrews experienced pressure to return to Old Testament Judaism, Ibid., Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, p. 1729, "Introduction to the Letter to the Hebrews."
      2. To persuade his readers to stand fast in the faith, the author of Hebrews claimed Jesus is infinitely superior as their great high priest to any other party who affected their relationship to God:
        1. Jesus ALONE entered heaven to intercede in God's presence in our behalf, Hebrews 4:14a; we should thus look to Him alone in matters affecting our relationship with God.
        2. Jesus BEST identifies with our SINS among all parties, for He faced all our temptations without sin, Hebrews 4:15; we should look to Him alone for an ADEQUATE intercession before a perfectly sinless, Almighty God!
        3. Jesus suffered intensely in His earthly life, having even to learn obedience to the Father in it all, 5:7-8; we should expect Jesus to minister effectively unto God concerning our weaknesses.
        4. As He is preeminently qualified to intercede both for our sins as well as our weaknesses (Hebrews 4:15; 5:7-8), we should look to Jesus alone as our All-Sufficient high priest unto God.
        5. Jesus serves in the priestly order of Melchizedek, and that order is superior to the Old Testament Aaronic priesthood so that even Abraham, the father of all Hebrew priests, submitted unto paying tithes to Melchizedek, Hebrews 7:1-2, 4-14; since the Aaronic order was imperfect and superseded by Jesus, we should look to Jesus alone and to NO religious priesthood in Christendom that is built upon the Aaronic order!
        6. Jesus has risen from the dead never to die unlike all other earthly priests, Hebrews 7:22-24; therefore, we should look to Him alone to save us completely and eternally versus looking to any other priests or priestly orders, Hebrews 7:25.
        7. Jesus' sacrifice of His own death on the cross performed only once is sufficient to atone for all sins in history as opposed to the often repeated sacrifices of all other priests, who must first atone for their own sins before interceding for others, Hebrews 7:26-28; we should thus look to Him alone versus any other human priest for all matters affecting our relationship to God!
Application: To BEGIN to relate to an infinitely RIGHTEOUS God as SINFUL humans, may we (1) BELIEVE on Jesus as our Savior from sin through the All-sufficient atonement of Jesus on the cross to be pronounced righteous by God, Romans 3:23-27. (2) Then, as BELIEVERS, instead of seeking to relate to God through any other human priest or minister who eventually lets us down due to his own sinfulness and weakness, may we (a) confess our post-salvation sins to God through Christ for full forgiveness, 1 John 1:9. (b) Then, may we depend upon the Holy Spirit for power to live righteously (Gal. 5:16-23) and (c) PRAY to God in Jesus' name for solutions regarding our weaknesses in times of need, Hebrews 4:16; John 14:13-14. (3) Then, we can respect and heed the examples and teachings of GODLY human leaders (Hebrews 13:17), but hold JESUS up in our minds as the FOUNDATION of our faith -- not OTHER religious leaders!

Lesson: As ALL other ministers PALE in EFFECTIVENESS in terms of QUALIFYING to intercede in our behalf before an Almighty, infinitely RIGHTEOUS God, we must look to Jesus Christ ALONE as our Great High Priest in all matters of relating to God!

Conclusion: (To illustrate the sermon lesson . . . )

 (1) Aaron, the first Hebrew High Priest established by God in Exodus 28:1, failed in his leadership role to the point where God judged him to die in the wilderness along with the rest of the faithless generation of Israel, cf. Numbers 20:7-12. Thus, the Old Testament Aaron sinfully failed as a high priest before God in our behalf.

(2) Peter, the alleged first "pope" in Catholicism, failed to be infallible in his apostolic office: because of pressure from legalistic Hebrew believers who felt one must be circumcised to be justified, Peter hypocritically separated himself from uncircumcised Gentile Christians when the legalistic believers were present where he felt free to associate with them at other times, cf. Galatians 2:12-13. Since this act caused the Gospel to seem to be a false faith-plus-circumcision gospel, Paul publicly criticized Peter's hypocrisy. Thus, Peter and all who claim papal infallibility through his alleged papal office are inadequate as our representative before the holy God of heaven!

(3) Mary, the mother of Jesus is taught by some to be sinless and interceding for believers in Christ in heaven. However, this same Mary at one time came to get custody of Jesus, thinking Jesus was insane, a lapse of faith in Jesus which is SIN, cf. Mark 3:21, 31-32 in The New American Bible For Catholics, p. 1069; also, cf. the NIV and ESV. Thus, Mary, the mother of Jesus is NOT sinless, and is thus inadequate as a mediatress for mankind before an infinitely holy God in CONTRAST to the sinless Jesus Christ!

(4) Joseph Smith who founded Mormonism, Charles Taze Russell who founded the Jehovah's Witnesses, Mary Baker Eddy who founded Christian Science and Muhammed who founded Islam all died because they were sinners, cf. Romans 5:12. Hence, they and the priesthoods of their religions pale in effectiveness to that of Jesus Who ever lives as the sinless, holy God Incarnate to intercede for us!

(5) At the 20th anniversary of his ministry at Nepaug Bible Church, Pastor Don Shell admitted he deserved hell. He claims he will enter heaven by God's unmerited favor alone, so Pastor Don Shell of Nepaug Bible Church is inadequate to be your sinless mediator before a perfectly holy God, and that in infinite contrast to Jesus Christ!