Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/Sermons/zz20100620.htm

THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION
Exodus: God's Forming The Nation Israel For His Abrahamic Covenant
Part II: God's Forming Israel To Heed Him, Exodus 15:22-40:38
K. God's Directive Of The Tabernacle To Fellowship With His People
7. The High Priest's Attire, Exodus 28:1-39
b. The Breastpiece And Urim And Thumim: Typifying Christ's Intercessory Work To Align Our Experience With Our Position In Him
(Exodus 28:15-30)
    Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

    If someone makes a commitment to trust in Christ as his Savior from sin and hell, and if he then sins, he is often plagued by huge, very troubling questions such as: "(1) AM I STILL a Christian on my way to HEAVEN, or have I LOST my salvation?" or, "(2) Did I not believe STRONGLY enough initially to BECOME saved?" or "(3) Can I NEVER be saved as only the ELECT' who PERSEVERE' in godliness will ever make it to heaven?!"

    Much of this insecurity rises out of "Calvinist" and "Arminian" beliefs that impact many evangelical Christians. Evidence of this fact came a week ago by mail via a Radio Bible Class flyer in which Mart De Haan's article, "Sovereignty and Free Will" addressed "Calvinists" and "Arminians". In it he claimed: "By pressing the logic of either sovereign election [Calvinism] or human free will [Arminianism], many have ended up without the assurance of their own salvation. Emphasizing either God's sovereign election or human choice has caused countless people to wonder whether they have seen enough change in themselves to consider their election sure." (brackets ours)

    To explain, Calvinism holds one trusts in Christ only if God chose him to do so, and that the truly chosen "elect" will "persevere" in godliness. Failing to persevere means one is not of the elect, that he is unavoidably on his way to hell!

    On the other hand, Arminians claim one's faith contributes to his salvation, so that if he becomes ungodly after salvation, either his faith lapsed and he is now lost, or he never had enough faith to become saved in the first place, meaning he is helplessly on his way to hell!

    We have taught for some time that Arminianism was affected by pagan Stoic philosophy through Pelagius, and that Calvinism was affected by pagan Platonism through Augustine, so both theological systems err must be corrected (as we have extensively done in our file, "Making Sense Of God's Election" at www.nepaugchurch.org).

    In the meantime, we must answer the questions listed above on what happens when a believer sins, and how he is to respond to it all.



    So, we ask, "If I sin after trusting in Christ', what does it mean in reference to my salvation, and what must I do about it?!"

    Need: "If I sin after receiving Christ', what must I do, and why?!"

  1. God had Israel build a tabernacle to typify how He as a holy God could fellowship with sinful man and meet his needs, Ex. 25:1-9.
  2. In Exodus 28:1-4, God introduced His commands on the garments of the high priest, and Hebrews chapters 5-9 show the high priest typified Christ's current heavenly work as our Great High Priest.
  3. The breastpiece in Exodus 28:15-30 NIV depicts Christ's work of intercession, and explains what occurs after one trusts in Christ:
    1. Being of the same material as the ephod, the breastpiece was a square pouch open at the top that lay in front of the ephod, and on it were 12 gems to depict Jacob's 12 sons. The Urim and Thummim used to find God's will were put in the pouch, Exodus 28:15-21, 30; Num. 27:21.
    2. The breastpiece's top 2 corners were firmly secured by 2 gold chains to 4 gold rings onto the ephod's 2 shoulder straps, Exodus 28:22-25.
    3. However, as the breastpiece could indecently swing out at its bottom in misalignment with the ephod (Exodus 28:28b), it was tied back to the ephod by 2 bottom blue cords to 4 gold rings, Exodus 28:26-28a .
    4. This all comprehensively shows what occurs after one trusts in Christ:
      1. We have learned the ephod depicts our salvation stance in Christ.
      2. However, the Urim and Thummim, used to find God's will in life, was kept in the breastpiece, so it teaches us of the believer's walk.
      3. Now, the breastpiece's square corners recall the earth's 4 corners (Rev. 7:1; 20:8), so its truths are applicable to anyone now who trusts in Christ and becomes a son (a gem) of God, John 1:12-13.
      4. Being of the same material as the ephod, the breastpiece should align with the ephod, meaning our walk should align with our stance in Christ, Rom. 6:4! If so, we "gems" lie close to our High Priest's heart in fellowship with Christ, John 14:23 and 1 John 1:7!
      5. However, all believers can and have sinned (1 John 1:8, 10), and that leaves the breastpiece bottom loose to swing out misaligned with the ephod much to the gem's unease and God's disapproval!
      6. This misaligned state does not mean we are unsaved (as follows):
        1. The breastpiece's top is fixed solely by gold to the ephod's straps, and since gold depicts deity, (1) the Father (gold rings) Who gave us (2) the Holy Spirit (John 14:16-17) Who seals us (gold chains) until we reach heaven (Ephesians 1:13-14) and (3) Christ Whose shoulders alone bear the weight of the whole construction on His ephod straps of salvation (John 10:28) all show the Trinity unconditionally keeps us saved, 1 Peter 1:3-5!
        2. This truth counters the Arminian claims that either (1) we lost our salvation [as if the breastpiece fell off the ephod] or (2) that we were never initially attached well enough to the ephod [as IF the breastpiece was tied ONLY by [WHITE] CORDS of our OWN "salvation-working-faith" at BOTH top AND bottom!
        3. This truth also counters Calvinist claims that sinfulness means one never was saved as he is not of the elect: the breastpiece is NOT fixed ONLY by GOLD at BOTH top AND bottom like Calvinism's doctrines of election and predestination suggest!
        4. Rather, we stay firmly attached at the TOP by God (gold rings and chains to the ephod straps) in salvation security, but we swing out of alignment at the BOTTOM in a sinful walk!
      7. If we thus sin, we need our High Priest to retie the breastpiece's BLUE cords to the ephod: (1) blue depicts heaven, depicting Jesus' intercessory work there, and (2) the 4 bottom gold rings the Father's role. (3) If we confess our sin to our heavenly Father, (4) Christ intercedes for us based on His death for sin, and (5) our Father forgives us. (6) Our walk (breastpiece bottom) is thus retied by Christ (blue cords) to align with our stance in Him (ephod) via the Father's gold rings (forgiveness), 1 John 1:9; 2:1; Zech. 3:1-5.
      8. If we THEN rely on the Holy Spirit to continue heeding God, we stay tied and so stay aligned to our position in Christ in a life of stable blessing! (Galatians 5:16-23; 1 John 1:7; Zechariah 3:6-7)
      9. If we do not repent, God in time takes our gem off the breastpiece to heaven in premature death, 1 John 5:16. Yet, even then, we are kept saved as our name stays engraved on the onyx stone on the ephod strap of our salvation stance in Christ ! (1 Cor. 3:13-15)
Application: (1) May we trust in Christ to be saved, John 1:11-12. (2) If out of fellowship with God, may we confess our sin (1 Jn. 1:9) and (3) rely on the Holy Spirit to obey Scripture for stable blessing.

Conclusion: (To illustrate the message . . . )

 In our sermon introduction, we noted how a lot of Christians today suffer from a lack of assurance of salvation.

However, 1 John 5:13 claims we should be assured we are saved as it states: "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God."

So, we list some of the passages of Scripture that equip us to know for sure that we are saved (as follows):

(1) In Revelation 3:19 KJV, Jesus said, "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten (for sin!): be zealous therefore, and repent (of sin)."

We know from Hebrews 12:6-8 that God disciplines only true sons, that those who do not experience God's discipline are not His true children!

So, one great evidence that we are saved is that we experience God's discipline in our lives when we sin! (Hebrews 12:29)

(2) 1 Corinthians 12:3 with 1 John 4:1-3 reveal that no one who is indwelt by the Holy Spirit calls Jesus accursed, and no one who is not indwelt by the Holy Spirit can confess as his personal belief that Jesus is the Creator God come in the flesh!

So, test yourself by these verses and see if you are saved!

(3) A key experiential evidence of salvation is the presence of the Holy Spirit, Romans 8:9b; 5:5; Ephesians 2:13-14. If we are in sin, and we are Christians, we should experience His conviction for that sin (John 16:8 with Hebrews 12:6-8); if we are not in sin, we should see His love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control in our demeanor, Galatians 5:22-23 NIV.

(4) If none the tests above work for us, we have never belonged to Christ! HOWEVER, WE CAN BELONG TO HIM, and, to DO that, we must trust in Him NOW as our Savior from sin, and God will give us eternal life!



May we rely on the WORD of GOD for the ASSURANCES God WANTS us to HAVE of our SALVATION STATUS, and may we STAY in FELLOWSHIP with HIM for a LIFE of blessing.