"A New Covenant" -- Hebrews 8:1-13

The Eleventh in a Series of Sermons on the Epistle to the Hebrews

It was the eminent philosopher and New York Yankee catcher Yogi Berra who once said “when you come to a fork in the road, take it.”  Well, the author of Hebrews has brought us to that point in his case for the superiority of Jesus Christ where we must now decide how we will understand the relationship between the old covenant (that covenant God made with Israel at Mount Sinai) and the new covenant (the new era in redemptive history established by Jesus Christ).  Is the new covenant an entirely “new” covenant made from scratch?  Or is the new covenant the fulfillment of that covenant that God made with Abraham in which promise becomes reality?  How you answer these questions determines where you go to church (a Baptist or a paedobaptist church), how you treat your children (as unbelievers, or as members of the covenant whose faith is to be nurtured), as well as your understanding of the end times (do the end-times center around national Israel?).  Hebrews 8 is a theological fork in the road and we must take it.

We are continuing our series on the Book of Hebrews, and we now take up that section of this book in which the author argues that with the coming of Jesus Christ, God’s people enter the new covenant era foretold by the prophet Jeremiah, making the old covenant obsolete.  As we have seen, the author has been using a number of biblical texts to prove that the Old Testament teaches that Jesus is both creator and sustainer of all things, and that Jesus’ eternal priesthood is tied to Melchizadek, that mysterious figure to whom Abraham paid tithes.  Now the author makes the case that with the coming of Jesus Christ, there is a fundamental shift in the nature and course of redemptive history.  The inferior (the types and shadows) must give way to the superior (the reality that is found in Jesus Christ).

Given the fact that the author is writing to a church composed of people who were predominantly Jews, and who had recently become Christians, the author uses terms like “old covenant” assuming that his readers/hearers knew exactly what he meant.  Since we are Christians (and predominantly Gentiles) and since we live nearly 2000 years later, we will need to carefully define the terms the author is using so as to make sense of his argument about the obsolescence of the old covenant, the dawn of the new covenant era, and the superiority of Jesus’ priesthood–an argument which runs through the end of chapter 10.

The first thing to consider is when the author speaks of the “old covenant” we should not take him to mean the Old Testament.  Rather, when he speaks of the “old covenant” he is referring to that covenant which God made with Israel at Mount Sinai.  Old covenant = Sinaitic covenant, not “Old Testament.”  This means that the covenant God made with Abraham earlier remains in force throughout the whole time Israel (as a nation) was operating under the Sinaitic covenant.  Keep this in mind as we proceed.  It also means that the old covenant (i.e., the law, the priesthood, the temple, the land etc.) becomes obsolete once Jesus Christ fulfills everything God promised to Abraham on his sworn oath.

To read the rest of this sermon:  Click Here

This Week at Christ Reformed Church (January 27-February 2)

Sunday Morning (February 2, 2014):  As we continue our series on the Gospel of John, we are working our way through Jesus' Upper Room Discourse.  Our text for this coming Lord's Day is John 16:25-33, when Jesus speaks of overcoming the world. 

Note:  Our worship services will be conducted in the Fellowship Hall for several weeks while the sanctuary undergoes a major renovation.

Sunday Afternoon:  I am continuing my series on the Canons of Dort.  We are covering the second head of doctrine (article 8) dealing with the efficacy of the death of Christ.  The catechism service begins @ 1:15 p.m. 

Wednesday Night Bible Study (January 29, 2014):  In our "Studies in the Book of Revelation," we are wrapping up Rev. 12 and then moving on to Rev. 13.  Bible study begins at 7:30 p.m.

Friday Night Academy (January 31, 2014):  We will return to our study of Michael Horton's theology text, The Christian Faith, and we'll pick up with part two, chapter six, (223) with the doctrine of God.

For more information and directions, check out the Christ Reformed website:  Christ Reformed Church

Audio from Andrew Compton's Sermon on Psalm 56

Here's the audio from Sunday's sermon on Psalm 56.

Click Here

Thanks, Andrew, for covering for me at the last minute!

This Week's White Horse Inn

Another Exodus

After God called Israel out of Egypt to be a chosen and holy nation, the people sin greatly against him and are forced to wander in the desert for forty years. After that entire generation dies out, a new generation led by Joshua is finally allowed to enter the land of rest. What new challenges do the people of Israel face in the land promised to Abraham and his descendants? How long will they be able to stay in the land? That’s our focus for this edition of the program as we continue our discussion of The Gospel According to Joshua.

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Tonight's Academy Lecture Cancelled . . .

I thought I might escape the current round of maladies passing through church and family.  But alas, my wife took ill on Tuesday, and it hit me yesterday.  So tonight's Academy class is cancelled.  Sorry, I was looking forward to resuming our time in Michael Horton's book the Christian Faith.  Oh well, we'll do it next week.

While my wife was at Target, the lady in line behind her at the cash register hacked all over her.  She's sure that is where she picked up the malady--low grade fever, chills, aches, and that dry hacking cough.

I should have never let her out of the bunker.  Happens every time.

"The Guarantor of a Better Covenant" -- Hebrews 7:1-28

The Tenth in a Series of Sermons on the Epistle to the Hebrews

You don’t hear much these days about Melchizadek.  Other than a brief discussion of his priesthood on the White Horse Inn a while back, the last time anyone mentioned Melchizadek to me was when a nineteen year old Mormon elder stood at my door and told me that he belonged to the Melchizadek priesthood–whatever that means.  It has long been common for Christian people to use biblical names for their children, yet I don’t recall ever meeting anyone named “Melchizadek.”  No doubt, this lack of interest in Melchizadek is because he is a rather obscure and mysterious figure.  Yet according to the author of Hebrews, Melichizadek figures prominently in redemptive history as a type of Jesus Christ.  Understanding who this man is as well as the role he plays in redemptive history is essential to the author’s case for the superiority of the priesthood of Jesus.  Although nobody talks about Melchizadek these days, perhaps we should.

We are continuing our series on the Book of Hebrews, and have come to chapter 7.  In this section of the Book of Hebrews the author returns to a discussion he began in chapter 5 when he cited from Psalm 110:4 which speaks of the future messianic king as being a high priest forever after the order of Melchizadek.  Having made his initial point about Melchizadek’s priesthood, the author of Hebrews then broke off his discussion about Melchizadek to express his frustration with this congregation when he realized that those to whom he was writing probably would not be interested in his theological arguments which demonstrated by Jesus was superior to Moses, to angels, and to the priests of Israel.  This lack of interest in what the Old Testament teaches about Jesus Christ, sadly, was indicative of the circumstances under which a number of those in the church receiving the Letter to the Hebrews had quickly wilted under persecution, given up on Christianity, and then returned to Judaism.

Having made his initial theological point about Melchizadek, and realizing that his audience didn’t really care, the author then rebuked this church for acting like children who were unwilling to press on to maturity.  In chapter 5:11-14, he writes, “about this [the superiority of Jesus Christ] we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.  For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God.  You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child.  But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.”  Not only is Melchizadek’s priesthood an essential plank in the author’s overall case for the superiority of Jesus Christ, the fact the people didn’t care about the life of Melchizadek supplying powerful evidence for the superiority of Jesus’ priesthood reveals their immaturity, prompting the author’s ire and leading to his warning about apostasy in Hebrews 5:11-6:12. 

The author is not saying that lack of interest in Melchizadek’s priesthood is the first step toward apostasy.  But he is saying to a church where many have turned their backs upon Jesus Christ and committed the sin of apostasy that they need to understand how the Old Testament directed the Jewish people to expect the coming of Jesus as Israel’s Messiah.  This is why the author spent so much time proving from the Old Testament that Jesus is the mediator of a new and better covenant, and that one in whom Israel’s priesthood, the office of prophet, and that of messianic king, find their fulfillment.  These new Christians must grow to maturity and that means understanding how the Old Testament points them ahead to the coming of Christ.  It also means realizing that Melchizadek figures prominently in this case.

To read the rest of this sermon, Click Here

This Week at Christ Reformed Church (January 20-26)

Sunday Morning (January 26, 2014):  As we continue our series on the Gospel of John, we are working our way through Jesus' Upper Room Discourse.  Our text for this coming Lord's Day is John 16:25-33, when Jesus speaks of overcoming the world. 

Note:  Our worship services will be conducted in the Fellowship Hall for several weeks while the sanctuary undergoes a major renovation.

Sunday Afternoon:  Professor Samples will be leading our afternoon catechism service.  He will be covering Art. 1 of the Belgic Confession.  The service begins @ 1:15 p.m. 

Wednesday Night Bible Study (January 22, 2014):  We are continuing our series "Studies in the Book of Revelation."  We are working our way through Rev. 12.  Bible study begins at 7:30 p.m.

Friday Night Academy (January 24, 2014):  We will return to our study of Michael Horton's theology text, The Christian Faith, and we'll pick up with part two, chapter six, (223) with the doctrine of God.

For more information and directions, check out the Christ Reformed website:  Christ Reformed Church

"Whatever You Ask in My Name" -- John 16:16-24

Here's the audio from yesterday's sermon:  Click Here

This Week's White Horse Inn

Holy War

Christians rightly condemn acts of violence by Islamic terroristsmdash;justified by the perpetrators as forms of jihad. But if the killing of innocent civilians is always wrong, how are we to explain the kind of holy war that we find throughout the book of Joshua? Is this a “text of terror” that we should reject and exclude from the canon of Scripture? How are we to understand the difference between the jihad of today and the holy wars of the Old Testament? That’s what we’ll wrestle with on this episode of White Horse Inn.

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Westminster Seminary California's 2014 Conference -- "Transforming Grace: Our Need for Holiness"

If you are unable to attend this year's conference at the seminary in Escondido (January 17-18), just a reminder that you can view the conference in its entirety here:  Live Conference Feed

The program for the conference can be found here:  Conference Program

The live feed will be available at 7:00 PST on Friday, January 17.