He Can Save to the Uttermost

Hebrews 7:23-28

23 The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, 24 but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. 25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

26 For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. 27 He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself. 28 For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever.

Pray

This week we had a funeral here for a Marquette Myer. It was a wonderful gathering of people that were touched by her life. Roland officiated and did an excellent job. I am honored to be a part of many funerals each year and they all remind me of one thing… this doesn’t last. This body, all that we accumulate, good times, bad times, none of this lasts. We all end up with the same earthly outcome. That may seem like a macabre statement to some of you, but it is true.

We have this problem called mortality and scientist are trying to crack the code to try to extract our soul and spirit to put it into a computer so that we can live forever here, but it won’t work because WE were all appointed a day to die (Hebrews 9:27).

Since the fall, all the way back in Genesis 3, we have all fallen short of the glory of God and have earned death through our sin. That’s why I think that it is such an ignorant question to say, “Why would a loving God send people to hell?” People choose that destination because they sin. Because sin and death are a problem, God gives a way for people to become right with Him.

Sin is rampant early in the book of Genesis, but God put it in the hearts of the people to sacrifice to God. In the garden, the first animal sacrifice took place by God to cover the nakedness of Adam and Eve after they sinned and realized they were naked. We see sacrifice in the story of Cain and Abel. We see a free giving offering to Melchizedek in Genesis 14 who was a High Priest of God and the King of Salem. We see sacrifice in the story of Abraham when God tells him to kill Isaac. Why is this giving or sacrifices required, because sin has a price.

As we move further into Genesis, the Jews go into Egyptian captivity and in Exodus, Moses, along with his brother, Aaron, go and rescue the Jews from Egypt and they go into the wilderness where they are waiting on the Lord. Moses then goes up on the mountain and receives the law from the Lord. This law shows the Jews how to live and what sacrifices they needed to give to purge them of their sin. This is a lot of people that you have to deal with so you are going to have to have a large team that helps with these laws and the sacrifices so in Exodus 28:1, God calls Aaron and his sons to serve as priests.

This is the same Aaron that, just four chapters later completely leaves the approved sacrificial practices the Lord gave them and makes a golden calf for all of Israel to worship because Moses has been on the mountain too long. The father of this priestly line starts off corrupt. This system of imperfect humans mediating for a holy and perfect God, should show us that this idea is impossible.

23 The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office,

There were several priests throughout the centuries and they all had the same problem, they were sinners. Since they were sinners, they had the same outcome. They all died. They could not hold their priesthood forever because they died.

Do you know what happened to Aaron, the father of the priests? He died and then his death was followed by the death of Moses, (according to one scholar) two things about the Old Covenant were symbolized through the death of Aaron and Moses: their priesthood was not permanent, and it could not bring the people into the Promised Land. It was temporary and it could not save. Neither the law (represented by Moses) nor the sacrifices (represented by Aaron) could deliver us from the wilderness of sin and bring into the land of salvation.

We need someone to be outside of this system of sin that is pure and spotless and eternal to speak to God on our behalf. We saw that in the previous chapters. Jesus is a high priest after the order of Melchizedek which means that He was chosen by God as His priest. That means that He is the one that can approach the throne for His people. He can do this because…

24 he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever

This idea of a priest that lives forever is life changing because we can always go to Him as Hebrews 4:16 says,

16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

When we read Colossians we find that Jesus is described as the fullness of God and in the first chapter of Hebrews we find that Jesus is the exact imprint of God. We say these things, but the implications of these statements mean that who we see in the person of Jesus, is who God is. He is loving and kind and FOR His people. If Jesus is this God and reveals God to man then verse 25 says,

25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

The God of the Old Testament is Jesus. He is the God that the Jews worshipped and He made himself known in flesh so they could really see what the law lived out looked like. He is the perfect priest and His sacrifice is able to save unlike the sacrifices of Aaron and His law, unlike the law brought by Moses, was actually what God required.

God was always reaching out to every nation, even in the Old Testament. Salvation was always through the Jews, but His saving Gospel message to all the nations was throughout the Old Testament too. Isaiah 56:6-8

“And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord,

to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord,

and to be his servants,

everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it,

and holds fast my covenant—

these I will bring to my holy mountain,

and make them joyful in my house of prayer;

their burnt offerings and their sacrifices

will be accepted on my altar;

for my house shall be called a house of prayer

for all peoples.”

The Lord God,

who gathers the outcasts of Israel, declares,

“I will gather yet others to him

besides those already gathered.”

The God that we serve is one that wants all people to call upon His name. He has always been this God that wants to draw people to Himself and He can save to the uttermost, no matter who you are or what you have done.

There is a book that some of the pastors around town are reading called the Jesus Creed. It is based on Jesus’ answer when questioned by the Scribes on what the greatest commandment was in Jesus’ eyes. His answer was to love the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul, mind and strength and to love your neighbor as yourself. It is a combination of the two that encompass all of the law of God. If you do not love others, you do not fulfill the law of God. If you are stuck in your room trying to honor God with your intellect and with all of the books that you have read and bible you have memorized and you do not practice that information that you have gained then you are a missing the entirety of what Jesus came to demonstrate.

He came to earth not only to be a sacrifice for us, which we will cover in this text, but He came to be an example of how we should live. He is the law personified. It is the intention of the law through Christ that shows us that we are to pour ourselves out in service to others to bring praise to the Father. Jesus was the hands and feet of the Father and we, as His followers, us, are to be hands and feet in the same way.

Jesus being God personified shows us that the heart of the Lord is to bring sinners back into a relationship with Him. The law is complete through this relationship with Christ. In the Old Testament, if you truly loved God and believed His promises, that relationship saved you.

Going back to verse 25, it says that those who draw near to God through Jesus are saved to the uttermost. That means that He is able to save you to the absolute end of your wickedness. How sinful and wicked are you? That is an answer not even you or I know.

Jeremiah 17:9 (ESV)

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?

Our known sin can drive us to limitless guilt and shame. It effects every part of our life and how we view the world, how we view God and even how we view ourselves and thats only the sin we can remember or know about. There are probably multitudes of sin that we have forgotten or that we have committed without even realizing, so when the text says that Jesus can save to the uttermost, that means that all of it, all sin that you have committed, you can be saved from the righteous wrath of God.

Unbelievers aren’t you tired of the prison of sin? Aren’t you tired of worry and fear? If you draw near to Jesus, He says that He will save you. The draw of God is strong because the love of God is strong. If there is a flicker of light in your heart, lean into that. If you can feel a burden for your sin that profanes a holy God, turn to Jesus.

Believer, do not be tempted back into the ways of the world. There is nothing for you there. We worship a God that has overcome the world and is calling us to live in the way that He lived for our good. If we live the way Christ lived, that is the best joy for our lives. Remember, His life is the goal for our lives. It was never about a list of rules of do’s and don’ts. It was always about a relationship with the Father.

This example of Jesus’ life is something that we cannot skip. He is God in flesh and He showed us how to live the law perfectly. It was outside of the human interpretation. The Lord knew that we needed to see what this life looked like. When you look at the life of Christ, even if you took the miracles out, what could you boil down his life into. Prayer. He was always spending time talking with the Father. Reliance on the Father’s provision. He didn’t know where His next meal was coming from. He relied solely on the Father to provide. There was no worry or anxiety in Jesus. He knew that He was firmly in the hand of the Father and that He would be provided for. Sometimes it was through the work of His hands and sometimes it was from the kindness of others. He loved others. He truly had a heart for the heart of others. He loved His neighbors as Himself. In His life, He lived these out perfectly. We need a perfect example.

When we are learning anything, we need to see the end result demonstrated. If you are learning math, we need a teacher that can show us the steps to solving the problem. If we are learning a craft, like woodworking, we need to see a master show us the steps. It is also part of the process, for the master to look at our work and show us what we did wrong. A great teacher will find the step in the math equation where you made a mistake that made you arrive at the wrong answer. A master carpenter can see where you cut a corner or missed a step in the piece of furniture you built.

Because Jesus walked on this earth and lived this life perfectly, He has showed us what a life should look like and He understands what we are going through. When we look at perfection, it shows us a mountain that we cannot climb, but instead of the feeling of despair, Jesus says, “You cannot be perfect, but I will make you perfect.” It is the master carpenter that takes your piece of furniture that you have built and He disassembles it and puts it together the right way. Jesus is that to all that bring their life to Him and He is able to do this because of what verse 26 says,

26 For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.

He has done it! He has lived this life perfectly. He is the master. He is holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners. He went through life without any sin. He did nothing that was profane to the Father. Because He was tempted as we are tempted, unlike the High Priests that came before Him, and did not sin, He did not earn the wages of sin which is death. Because of that He was exalted to the heavens.

27 He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself

You only need to offer sacrifices for your own sin, but if you do not sin, that sacrifice is not required. There is no need of repentance if you’ve done nothing to repent of, but Jesus being rich in mercy lived this perfect, holy life and gave His perfect life for our imperfect one. He sacrificed Himself as the perfect offering to the Father on behalf of our sin. That was such a loving gesture that the one offering of the lIfe of Christ is enough to cover the sins of every single person that draws near to God because as the text says, “He did this once and for all”.

There is no need for another crucifixion or resurrection of Christ. It is finished. We are made right by His blood forever.

28 For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever.

We do not have a need for priests any longer. We do not need someone as a an earthly mediator between us and the Father. We have it in the person of Jesus. Jesus says in John 14:13

Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

We ask in His name. He is the mediator. It is through Him that we are saved to the uttermost. He is the one that vouches for us to the Father.

In the story of the prodigal son, for those who are unfamiliar with it, a rich man has two sons and they work for him. One of the sons decides that he wants nothing more to do with the father so he asks for his inheritance early and wants to leave the family. The son goes out and parties and squanders his money with women and a life of debauchery and he finds himself with no more money. He finds a job working for a man tending his pigs and he finds himself one day hungry and eying the slop that the pigs ate. He thought that if he went back home and just became a servant to his father, how much better that life would be than this one. So the boy comes back. What that story doesn’t tell is there was a custom in Jewish communities that if you were a son that left your family in the way this boy did and then you came back, the elders of the town would take you to the middle of the town and break a pot at your feet to symbolize that you were cut off from the family and you were ostracized and outcast, but if you have read this story, you know that is not what happened with the boy. The story ends with the boy coming back and the first person to see him was the Father. What does the father do? He runs to the boy? Before anyone can see him or stop him, the Father runs and grabs his son and kisses him before anything worse could happen to him and He brings him back into his house and throws a party and says this to the crowd,

“For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate”

This church is us. Unbeliever, if you are listening and you are really hearing what I am saying, if you draw near to God, this will be your reception. Our perfect High Priest makes this possible. It doesn’t matter what you have done, where you have been or how far you have strayed, if you draw near He will run to meet you. Jesus saves sinners and He is the only one who can. Draw near.