We’re going to jump right in at Hebrews chapter 6 verse 11. Just for a little bit of review so that we can pick up the flow, we have been coming through those verses that dealt with a portion of Scripture that has confused a lot of people. It is not a matter of being saved and lost, and saved and lost. But for those who have deliberately scorned and turned their back, they have no more opportunity for forgiveness, as we have seen in verses 4-6, which of course, was applied primarily to Jewish people who were not willing to let go of all the ramifications of the Law here in this Book of Hebrews. They had come far enough to recognize that Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ, but to step on into the doctrines of Grace as we understand them, they were having a problem. Then for some, of course, they just deliberately turned their back on everything and went back into Judaism. And that’s why the term was used ‘there is no further repentance,’ and sacrifices and so forth.

Then we saw in verse 10 where we left off, that God is not unrighteous. He’s never unfair. And God will never forget the work of the believer in love. Now, before I go any further, I guess I might as well point it out right now. You can do this in your own Bible. Remember when we were back in I Corinthians 13, the very last words of that chapter are:

I Corinthians 13:13

"And now abideth faith, hope, charity, (love) these three; but the greatest of these is charity." (love)

Now I made the point when we were teaching, that if you’ll watch all through Paul’s epistles, you constantly see those three words popping up. Sometimes one at a time, maybe here and there, and sometimes all three together. But here’s another good example. Up here in verse 10, we have "He will never forget your work and labor of (what?) love." Then you come down to verse 11 and "…to show diligence to the full assurance of (what?) hope." Then to verse 12, "…that you be not slothful but followers of them who through faith...."

If you’re looking for them, they’ll just jump off the page at you. "Faith, hope and love." See, these are little tidbits of Scripture that just show us how intricately this whole Book is put together. It’s not just a bunch of stuff thrown in by various authors. This Book is Divinely inspired. It has been Divinely programmed so that everything fits. Alright, let’s jump in in verse 11 where Paul writes to these Jewish people:

Now who is he talking about? Well, he’s talking about the "beloved" up in verse 9. He’s not talking about those who had turned their backs and went back into Judaism and became apostate, but rather about the believing element. Let me read it. "But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you," Alright it’s to those believers that he says, "they have the full assurance of hope." For how long? "Unto the end." Now we know eternity has no end, so in this case he must be talking about what? Their sojourn on earth until death, and that God will never forsake them. Now a verse always comes to mind with a thought like that. Just back up a few pages to Philippians. Because even though Hebrews is written to Hebrews, never lose sight of the fact that the whole concept is the same as what Paul has written to us as Gentiles. And in Philippians chapter 1 verse 6, we have that same concept, as he writes to us as Gentiles.

Philippians 1:6

"Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you (in other words, he has brought us to the place of embracing our salvation, and we know that we’re saved. Now here’s a promise) will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:"

He will never let us go, nor will He will ever forget about us, and it’s the same concept here in Hebrews 6. Even with these Jewish believers who had stepped right on into this same concept of Paul’s Gospel now, that they were full of the assurance of hope.

Now verse 12 - here is an admonition to these believers, as well as believers today, as we pointed out in our last taping in those previous four programs, that they were to move on. They were to keep growing in grace and knowledge and unto a maturity, and leave the elementary things behind. Now verse 12:

Hebrews 6:12

"That you be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the (what?) the promises."

Oh, the promises of God! Most of us are aware of the Old Testament promises given to Israel which, of course, were all earthly promises, and they’re still waiting for a good portion of it. But even for us in this Church Age or this Age of Grace we, too, have a multitude of promises. Paul’s letters are full of them. He will never leave us nor forsake us, and we have the assurance that we are His. And he tells us in Romans chapter 8 that we’re what? "We’re joint-heirs with Christ." Well, those are promises that we can hang on to and know that they are ours. Now when it comes to promises, I’ve already said, the first place we normally go is the Old Testament. And so does Paul in verse 13:

Hebrews 6:13a

"For when God made promise to Abraham,…"

That’s why we call that period of time, in between Abraham and the giving of the Law, a time of promises. Because over and over, God promised the patriarchs. Number one to Abraham, that out of him would come a nation of people. In the next chapter God promised that He would give them a geographical area of land. And then later on as He comes to King David, He gives David the promise that out of him would come the royal family which would bring forth the Messiah. All promises of God!

And then all the promises concerning the coming Kingdom, that age of peace and prosperity of which the Nation of Israel has always longed for. Promises. And so, it’s just to show us that when God makes promises, even though His wheels grind slowly, they grind surely. Okay, so reading on in verse 13:

Hebrews 6:13

Now you see, only God could do that! And so God can swear on the veracity of His own Person, that these things will come to pass. I always tell people, don’t ever give up on God, just because things don’t move as fast as we think they should. My, how long did Abraham have to wait before he even got the first fulfillment of the promise of a son, Isaac? Almost fifty years as far as we can determine. You can’t put that in concrete because we don’t know exactly how old he was when God spoke to him down in Ur.

But we know he was seventy-five when he went from Haran down into Canaan. And we also know that he was a hundred before Isaac was born. So it was somewhere between and 25 and 50 years that Abraham patiently waited for the promise of a son. Of course, we know that in the meantime, Abraham took things into his own hands for a short spat of weakened faith, but nevertheless he came back and he waited until finally his wife Sarah brought forth Isaac. So with that as a backdrop, that God will never go back on His promises, this is what God told him in verse 14.

"Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee."

Always stop and think. What are we talking about? We’re talking about one man who is already 75 years old. His legitimate wife is already 65, well past the normal age of expecting children. And then God makes them wait another 25 years. By that time you would think they would have totally given up. But you know, isn’t that the way it works.

I always tell people when they ask, "Why do we have to go through pressures and so forth before God answers." I always use this comparison - I don’t know how many of you like to eat the blue concord grapes like I do. But the first thing I do when I put a blue concord grape in my mouth is, I squeeze out the pulp, you know what I’m talking about. And how that pulp in your mouth just pops out of the skin. Alright, That’s how I feel when God deals with me a lot of times? I feel like the pulp in that grape skin. He just squeezes me into the corner, tighter and tighter and I finally get to the place, "God aren’t you ever going to hear me?" Then ‘fsssst’- there’s the answer! And so this is what He did even with Abraham. He just squeezed him and squeezed him and I suppose Abraham was almost thinking he could never have a son by this 90 year-old wife.

And what happened? The miracle of God, she had the promised son Isaac! And so this is what we have to constantly remember, that God will never go back on His promises. And that’s what makes our Christian experience so exciting. Now verse 15.

Hebrews 6:15

"And so, after he had (what?) patiently endured, and he obtained (what?) the promise." Here it came! A hundred years old - his wife 90, and here came the promise. Up until that time, he must have agonized, how will a nation of people possibly come from me when there’s no chance that my wife can have a child. But you see, Abraham, just like we, underestimated the power of God, but it came. And he got the promise. Verse 16.

Hebrews 6:16a

"For men verily swear by the greater:…" In other words, the more authority you can get backing you up the better we like it. I imagine if you deal with corporations, I’ve found that you don’t like to make the underlings angry or anything like that but I’ve found one thing, if you want to get something done, you go as far up the ladder as you possibly can. Even if you have to bypass a few people that won’t like it. You go to the top if you want to get something done, and so, this is the same way here. Why go to anything less than the God of Creation, because He is the greatest that can give a word of promise.

Now then the two things that are mentioned here are the two immutable witnesses which would be His Word and His Oath. He not only spoke it but He promised it! He put an oath on it.

Hebrews 6:16b

Now, the casual reader probably reads right over that. What does that really mean? Well, until you get somebody to sign on the dotted line, what is there still room for? Negotiation. But once you get them to sign on the dotted line, there’s no more argument. That’s what you signed, and that’s what you agreed to.

Well, that’s what God has done. God has sworn it with an oath, that these things are going to come to pass and there’s no room for argument. Oh, they can scoff all they want. The unbelieving world can ridicule it but that doesn’t take away from the fact that the Sovereign Creator God is in total control. It’s going to happen according to His timetable and you can rest on it. Verse 17.

Hebrews 6:17-18a

"Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, (and He) confirmed it by an oath: 18. That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie (God cannot lie) we might have a strong consolation,…:" In other words, we can rest on these promises. I think for us today, the world is in a turmoil like I don’t think it has ever been before. When I pick up my weekly news magazines and it’s the Philippines, it’s Indonesia, it’s China, it’s Taiwan, it’s India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Somalia, Israel - you just go all around the globe and it’s conflagration. Never have I seen it, at least in my lifetime, so completely global.

Now we know everything else is "global," and so, are the problems. Now, the secular world out there doesn’t have an answer for it. All they do is worry and lose sleep and wonder whether there’s going to be another Enron debacle tomorrow. Well, we could care less, because you see, we haven’t got all our money tied up in earthly stocks - we as believers have got ours put up in Heaven. And it’s from there that we look for all of our final returns.

But, here we have it that since God cannot lie, He has given us all these promises that, yes, all the turmoil of the world has to happen. That doesn’t surprise me, and I hope it doesn’t surprise you. Because out of all this you see, the world is just getting set. The stage is getting prepared for the coming of the Anti-christ. And oh, he’s going to bring in a pseudo peace, he’s going to bring in what they normally think the Messiah would bring and so we know all these things are coming. And now, finish the verse, and so we are like those: "...who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:"

When I saw that word refuge, as I was preparing this, I thought of the Cities of Refuge in Israel’s history. Let’s go back to Joshua chapter 20. Here Joshua has now taken up the reins of leadership and Israel is moving into the Promised Land. And all the laws of civility are being laid upon the nation. How to get along with our neighbors as well as all the spiritual ramifications of the Law. But, in the midst of all their civil law was a unique one. And that was that Israel was to establish three cities of refuge on both sides of the Jordan Valley. Three between the Jordan the Mediterranean and three others between Jordan and the land to the east and around the east side of Galilee. Now these three cities of refuge then were just exactly that. They were a place where a person could flee and be totally protected in a unique circumstance.

Joshua 20:1-3a

"The Lord also spake unto Joshua, saying, 2. Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Appoint out for you cities of refuge, whereof I spake unto you by the hand of Moses: 3. That the slayer that killeth any person unaware and unwittingly…" In other words, he has no idea. I always use the example, there used to be a lot of hedgerows, I’m sure in Europe and the Middle East. And I can just picture this farmer cleaning the rocks off of his field. Because after all, Israel has their share of rocks. And I can just see him cleaning the rocks off of his field and he probably just threw them over a hedgerow to get them off his field. And one of them happened to hit a passer-by on the head and killed him.

Well, he had no intentions of killing anybody. Never even entered his mind. But, the fact remained that he had killed someone. So now what could he do? He could run to one of these cities of refuge, lest some avenger come and take advantage of him. Now that’s the picture. Not anybody with any malice. No premeditation but he has without any knowledge of his own killed someone unawares. Alright so that this person in verse 3 could do what?

Joshua 20:3b

So it goes on to say that he can be there in total safety. No one can come into that city of refuge and try to arrest him, or deal with him or anything else. The only thing is, of course, he’s not going to get off all that easy - he has to stay in that city of refuge until the high priest of that present day dies. Then, as soon as the high priest dies, he is free to go back to his own farm or whatever. Now, let’s drop down to verse 6 so you see where I’m coming from:

Joshua 20:6

"And he shall dwell in that city, (the city of refuge) until he stand before the congregation for judgment, and until the death of the high priest that shall be in those days: then shall the slayer return, and come into his own city, unto his own house, and unto the city from whence he fled." Now, that was refuge in a time of distinct need. That’s the first thing I think of when see that word. Now you can come back with me to Hebrews again. So here we have that blessed hope that we, too, have been able to "flee to the refuge" that the Lord Jesus Christ has made available, and we have entered into that refuge with our faith. Alright, and then again, reading verse 18, so as we flee to that place of refuge:

Hebrews 6:18b

"…to lay hold upon the hope (there’s that word again, faith, hope and love. And now) set before us:" Oh, what is it? The promises of God! I just told a young man earlier this morning, "He has promised never to leave us nor forsake us." Regardless of what may happen, He is always there and He will never leave us. Alright, and this hope then becomes:

Hebrews 6:19a

"Which hope we have as an anchor or the soul…." An anchor that is steadfast. Immovable. And that anchor then is that which will permit us to enter into that which is behind or "within the veil." Now, always stop and think as you read Hebrews - since Paul is dealing with primarily Jewish people, he uses all of his examples coming out of the Old Testament economy, because they knew what he was talking about then. Now, when he spoke of going in "within the veil" he was talking about that huge curtain across the Temple or, earlier, the Tabernacle that separated the front sanctuary from the Holy of Holies. So Paul is telling us that we are now able to enter in within, behind that veil, into the very Holy of Holies, the presence of God. In other words, there, behind the veil that every Jew understood hung there in the Temple:

Hebrews 6:20

I want you to underline that word "Forerunner," because in the next chapter, in the next verse we’re going to come back and pick up Melchisedec the high priest of all, who Jesus personified when He went in behind the veil. Now the word forerunner is a unique Greek word again, and it doesn’t just mean that he went in and accomplished the work of the high priest, but when he went in as a forerunner, he opened the way for everyone that follows him. What do I mean by that? You remember, in an earlier chapter in Hebrews, Paul called Christ the ‘captain of our salvation.’? And I pointed out that again, in the Greek, that word captain was really better translated "a file leader."

In other words, I think I’ve used the analogy, if you can think back when the cavalry were still working in the west and I think we’ve all seen movies where the officer was up at the head of that line of horseback-riding cavalry, what was that? That was a "file" of soldiers going to battle, and the leader was out in front. Well now, that’s the way we can picture Christ. He is the Captain of all of us who are following as believers. As that Captain of our salvation, He then has become the forerunner, or again the word implies, someone who is at the head of the line. And He has led the way in behind the veil. Let’s look at Hebrews chapter 4 and verse 16, and these aren’t empty words. This is because the Captain of our salvation has been the forerunner Who has taken us through the veil right into the Holy of Holies whereby He tells:

Hebrews 4:16

"Let us there for come boldly into the throne of grace, (See that?) that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in our time of need."

Why, because the forerunner has opened the way. He is the file leader Whom we are following and that takes us right into the throne room. Now, when the high priest of Israel went in behind the veil it was nothing like that. He had to come back out and no one else would dare go into the Holy of Holies except the high priest, once a year. It was a closed room, but for us, the file Leader has opened it up. The forerunner has gone ahead and now we have complete access to God. We don’t have to go through anyone else. Wherever we are, however we are, we can pray and know that He hears us.

Alright, now let’s go right into where we left off in Hebrews in the last lesson. I ran out of time and didn’t get to finish chapter 6 the way I wanted to, and so for just a moment or two before we go into chapter 7, let’s go back to chapter 6. Let me put a few more comments on verse 20. Getting back to that word "forerunner."

Hebrews 6:20

"Whether the forerunner (the captain or the Author of our salvation, Jesus the Christ ) for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec."

Remember, for those of us in this Age of Grace, we are in a totally different scenario than Israel was in Christ’s earthly ministry. And so I’m going to bring you back to I Corinthians chapter 4 where Paul makes a statement that a lot of people don’t like. But when people say, "Well I follow Jesus," then that’s making a pretty strong statement. And I don’t say it to be superfluous or anything like that, but I always put it this way. If you’re going to follow Jesus, what are you going to do when He comes to the shore of the Sea of Galilee and keeps going?" You can’t follow Him. You can’t walk on water. And the same way with a lot of things that He did in His earthly ministry.

But, here we have the Apostle of the Gentiles, the Apostle Paul, who never, never attempts to take the place of Christ in anything. In fact, that’s all Paul suffered for for twenty-five years, was to lift up the name of Jesus Christ. But here he says in I Corinthians chapter 4 verse 16, and take this to heart because, after all, all of our doctrines for this Age of Grace come from the pen of this Apostle. That doesn’t mean, as I’ve said over and over on this program; we don’t throw the Old Testament away. You don’t throw out the Four Gospels, and you don’t throw away the book of Revelation or any of that. But when it comes to basic doctrines for us in this Age of Grace, Paul is the Apostle for the Gentiles. So he says, in verse 16:

I Corinthians 4:16

"Wherefore I beseech you, (I beg you) be ye followers (he doesn’t say of Jesus, but of who?) of me." Alright, now what does he mean by that? To pick that up you’ve got to turn and look at another verse. This should make it easier to swallow - I Corinthians 11 verse 1 where again the admonition is:

"Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ."

So it stands to reason that the Apostle is not taking anything away from Christ’s leadership or from the fact that He is the Captain of our salvation. But you want to remember that as Paul came in, he too was the "head of the line" of lost sinners saved by grace as he made so plain:

I Timothy 1:16

"That in me (Paul) first, Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting."

Since Paul was the first (and a pattern for the Church), we’d better pay attention to the instructions that he gives for salvation. Our Lord used Paul to write these great doctrines of Grace based on the finished work of the Cross. And so, since he is the one to whom all these things were revealed, you see, this is why the Holy Spirit inspired him to write, "be ye followers of me." Paul is the one who has truth for this day and age. Now then, let’s just finish verse 20 and get ready for chapter 7.

Hebrews 6:20

The Lord Jesus Himself is the One Who opened it up and as most of you know when the darkness fled and Christ gave up the ghost there back in the crucifixion, what happened to the veil at the Temple? Well, it was rent in twain. Not from the bottom up where men could have done it, but from the top down, showing that it was an act of God. Well this is all tied together, that as He opened up the veil and we are now given access into the very throne room of God, but we do it through the teachings of the Apostle Paul who was our particular leader as a member of the human race.

Alright chapter 7 verse 1, as we come back to Melchisedec. I say back to Melchisedec because we mentioned Him back in chapter 5. Let’s look at those verses beginning with verse 9.

Hebrews 5:9-10

"And being made perfect, (or totally complete. He brought everything to fruition) he became the author (there’s that word again instead of Captain) of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him; 10. Called of God, an high priest after the order of Melchisedec."

But, then we drop Melchisedec, as not another word is spoken throughout all of chapter 6 or the rest of chapter 5 until we get to chapter 7. Now why? Well, next verse in Hebrews 5 verse 11 tells us. These people were not ready for any teaching concerning Melchisedec. They were too unspiritual. They were still babes in Christ. They couldn’t comprehend this priesthood of Melchisedec, and I imagine that’s most of church people today. Most people haven’t got a clue as to this priesthood of Melchisedec. And who he was and what he accomplished. And here’s the reason:

Hebrews 5:11

"Of whom (he says) we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing you are dull of hearing." They weren’t ready for anything concerning Melchisedec. And then he goes on and he brings them to task, that even though they should have by now had enough handle on all of these things to go out and teach others, could they? No. No, they couldn’t teach anybody, they didn’t know it themselves.

So, everything down through here and then all the problems that we covered with those who were apostate up in chapter 6 and all these other things, he had to bring them down to the place where we just finished now in chapter 6 that they now understood. They now understood that the way into the Holiest of all had been opened up because of what Christ had accomplished on the Cross. And so now then, if we understand that much, hopefully, we’re ready to study Melchisedec. Now that’s the way I have to look at it. All of a sudden, because they were carnal believers and still on milk, Paul had to drop the subject of Melchisedec in chapter 5, until he got to the end of chapter 6, and hopefully they are becoming more mature, and getting there, and ready to understand about Melchisedec. Now let’s look at chapter 7 verse 1.

Hebrews 7:1a

"For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God,…" Now if you don’t mind marking your Bible, underline those three words. The "most high God."

Hebrews 7:1b

Which means in the Hebrew ‘Shalom,’ he was the King of peace. Let’s go back and pick all that up in Genesis chapter 14. Here we will be introduced for the first time to this high priest of the most high God. In the Hebrew I think it was El Elyon. Now, we’re going to take this rather slowly because, like Paul indicates, you can’t understand these things concerning Melchisedec if you don’t have a pretty good handle on mature spiritual things.

Genesis 14:17-18

"And the king of Sodom went out to meet him (that is Abraham) after his return from the slaughter of the Chedorlaomer, (who had invaded Sodom and Gomorrah and had taken Lot and all of his family with them) and the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh which is the king’s dale. Remember Abraham is coming back having been victorious, and had rescued Lot and his family.

Genesis 17:18

And Melchizedek king of Salem (The King of Peace, which of course are the last letters of the city of Jerusalem, and would be the city of Jerusalem in a later day) brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God."

Now the most high God is a term that is never used concerning the children of Israel. The children of Israel were more acquainted with the term Jehovah, or El Shaddai but "the most high God" you see, as I’ve stressed in other lessons is the term of God that was not unique just to Israel, but to the whole of creation. He’s "the most high God" of everything. Jehovah is primarily the God concerning Israel. But this is the "most high God" and you’ll see this throughout Scripture.

I’m going to make a couple of points before we leave and chase down this title. We have this first introduction to Melchizedek with Abraham here at about 2000 BC. I say about, because we don’t know within a hundred years or so. But here we’re introduced to this high priest of the most high God at about 2000 BC. Now we might as well follow the Scripture so that you’ll follow me there and then we’ll come back. Jump all the way up to Psalms 110, and I think it’s verse 4. There is no mention of him in between from Genesis to Psalms. And now the Psalmist writes:

Psalms 110:4

Let me give you a thought provoking question. How many years have passed by since Abraham was introduced to the priest of the most high and until David puts it here in the Psalms? About a thousand! A thousand years have gone by from Melchizedek’s introduction to Abraham until David. Now then, how many years went by from David until Paul brings him up again in Hebrews? Another thousand. Thousand year intervals, that we are introduced to this high priest Melchizedek. Amazing isn’t it?

Alright let’s come back to Genesis and let’s just pick this apart a little further. This Melchizedek, the priest of the "most high God," meets Abraham and he brought forth bread and wine. Now, number one, was it a practical gift? You don’t know what I’m driving at do you? How many people are in this particular little unit with Abraham at this time? How many soldiers did he take out of his hired help? Three hundred. So he’s had three hundred men who have just come back from battle and they’re famished and they’re thirsty and so in the physical realm, what does this Melchizedek provide? Food and water for Abraham’s troops!

But then it goes so much further than that. Where does bread and wine become a high point in the life of the believer? Well at the Lord’s table. The Lord’s table and what did it speak of? His shed Blood and His broken body. And so, all these things have ramifications. Now, we don’t see anything concerning Melchizedek in the operation of God in Israel because Melchizedek is not in the line of Levi and the priests of Israel. He’s the priest of "the most high God." Who was not just the priest of Israel, he was the priest of all. And that’s what I want people to see. This Melchizedek was a high priest of "the most high God."

Now we’ve done this before but let’s do it again. So turn with me now to Daniel because I want you to see that we have no references to Melchisedec’s priesthood throughout Israel’s history because Israel wasn’t connected per se with "the most high God." Don’t take me too literal on that. Of course, "the most high God" was the same God as Jehovah and El Shaddai and all that. But, in terms of language for our own understanding, we have these different names of God. The same God. They’re not different, they’re the same One, but in the role, in the operation, God has given us these different nomenclatures to show that He is dealing with the non-Jew as He is with the Nation of Israel. Alright here in Daniel chapter 4, start with verse 1.

Daniel 4:1a

"Nebuchadnezzar (Jew or Gentile? Gentile!) the king, unto all people, nations, and languages,…"

Is that just Israel? Now I think most of you, especially if you’ve been watching the programs lately in the morning in the book of Acts, what do I stress? Is there any Gentile language in here? No, there isn’t any Gentile language in Acts chapters 2 ,3 or 4. It’s all Jewish. Now I can ask the same question in reverse. Are there any Jews in here? No. This is Gentile. And so he says:

Daniel 4:1b-2

"…that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you. (He’s not talking directly to the Jew. He’s talking to the nations. So Nebuchadnezzar says) 2. I thought it good to show the signs and wonders that the high God hath shown toward me." Who’s he talking about? "The most high God" of Whom, Melchizedek was the high priest.

You can come on over in that same chapter to verse 17. Now this isn’t by accident. This is by design, the intricacy again of the Scriptures. That everything is so intricately put together.

Daniel 4:17a

"This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand of the word by the holy ones; to the intent that the living may know that the most high ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will,…" Drop down to verse 34:

Daniel 4:34

"And at the end of the days, I, Nebuchadnezzar (the Gentile king) lifted up my eyes unto heaven, and my understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most high, and I praised and honored him that liveth forever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, (He’s the most high God) and his kingdom is from generation to generation:"

Alright I’ve got one more while we’re in Daniel chapter 5 - verse 18, because I want to drum into you that this is a term or a name of God as He is associated with the non-Jewish world. Now I probably should qualify that. The Jews are part of the whole big picture, but they are more concerned with Jehovah God and El Shaddai and some of these others, but "the most high" is always connected with the non-Jewish world.

Daniel 5:18

You can go all the way through Scripture then, and whenever you have a reference to the "most high God," you’re dealing with the non-Jewish world. And that’s why Paul speaks of it now with regard to the Melchisedec priesthood back there in Hebrews that he was the priest of "the most high God." Alright let’s come back to Genesis, because when the Scripture repeats and repeats and repeats, it’s for a reason. It’s not here just to fill the page.

Genesis 14:19a

"And he blessed him, and he said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God,…"

You want to remember, has the Nation of Israel appeared yet? No, Israel isn’t on the scene yet. God is just now beginning to deal with Abraham, and there’s no Law. There’s not even circumcision yet, and so the relationship between this man who is not yet part and parcel of the Nation of Israel is "the most high God."

Genesis 14:19

"And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth;" You have almost the same kind of language in Matthew concerning Christ, how that He too was Lord of all. Alright, verse 20:

"And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all." Then once more in verse 22.

Okay, now I’ve already touched on the one in Psalms. A thousand years later, but nothing associated with it. It’s just that God designates the Messiah, the Son of God as the One Who will be Melchizedek the priest of "The most high God." Alright, in the moments we have left let’s flip back to Hebrews if you will. Chapter 7 verse 2.

Hebrews 7:2a

"To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all;"

Which of course we know, and I’ve made reference to that in previous programs. That the giving of the ten-percent or the tithe, began with Abraham in Genesis. It funneled into the Law as part of the Levitical provision and then of course the Apostle Paul tells us that we are not under Law, we’re under Grace. Which takes away the responsibility of the ten-percent in our giving. Now Paul says, that we give as the Lord lays on our heart. Big difference. And there is no demand to give a flat ten-percent. But that’s beside the point on this program.

We want to go on now - that He is the King of Righteousness, He’s Holy, He’s Omnipotent, but here’s the part I want to spend the next few moments on. He is the "King of Salem," which, like I said a few moments ago, are the last letters of Jerusalem, or the city of peace, which is to say the King of peace.

I want you to stop and think for a moment - in all the thousands of years that we know Jerusalem has been on the scene beginning with Abraham at 2000 BC, how many days of peace has Jerusalem enjoyed? Not one. It has been a city of turmoil from day one. And especially in the last 2000 years. Just stop and think of all the various empires that have overrun Jerusalem. It has been anything but the city of peace.

Then especially when Israel came back into the land after World War II and fought their war of independence in 1948. Jerusalem was besieged again and she has been over and over up through the centuries with bloodshed and mayhem. It’s unbelievable that the city of peace has never enjoyed peace. Well, look at her tonight. Look at Jerusalem tonight. Is it a city of peace? Anything but. It’s in constant turmoil. Well, you have ask, "Why?" When God has designated it as the city of peace, why has it been a constant city of turmoil. Well again, what do we have to do? Patiently wait. God has promised that it’s going to be a city of peace. Do you believe it? Yes!

I know one time on one of our tours, we had a rather orthodox Jewish guide and at breakfast one morning I asked him, "When will you settle all these Middle Eastern problems?" And I’ll never forget, with his chubby finger said, "When He comes." And he’s so right. There’ll be no peace in Jerusalem, I don’t care who tries to broker it. There will be no peace in the city of peace until Christ returns. And so a logical prayer for us is, "pray for the peace of Jerusalem."

Well, Iris just reminded me that we’re in Book 50 if anyone wants to order any material from today’s lesson. I tell all my Oklahoma classes, I wouldn’t last a day without her, and I truly mean that. I just wouldn’t last without her, because she keeps everything pretty much straightened out.

Okay, back to Hebrews chapter 7 and we’re going to continue on in our study of this Melchisedec, a high priest of "the most high God." Now I always have to emphasize; God is God. We don’t have two or three different God’s in Scripture. We have One God! But Scripture does associate Him with different names. Especially back in Genesis. You’ve got El Shaddai, El Elyon, and you’ve got Elohim and you’ve got Jehovah and those are all various names of the same God. Of course, Jesus Christ, born in Nazareth, was the appearance in the flesh of that same God. So, when we come to Melchisedec I have to feel we’re speaking of the same God. Jesus Christ in a theophany, as a priest of The Most High God.

I know I ruffle a few feathers once in a while, that but I guess that’s the beauty of being independent. I’ll never forget one time I had filled the pulpit for a church in our area and on the way out, one of the ladies asked why I wasn’t a pastor in their denomination. And without even thinking, I said, "I couldn’t stand the peer pressure."

Well, I mean that. I have to hold myself responsible only to the Lord of glory and that I do not take lightly. Whenever I open the Scripture I realize that this is an awesome responsibility. But I do feel that Melchisedec was Jesus Christ in a theophany. In other words, back in Genesis 18, my goodness, who in the world sat down and at the fatted calf under the oak tree with Abraham? Well, it was the Lord. We know it was because Scripture said it was. And other times the Lord appeared in human form and then went up. And so I see no reason to take anything away from the fact that Melchisedec was simply Christ again, in an earthly manifestation. Because after all, Jerusalem in 2000 BC wasn’t some metropolis that needed a king. His title of king was a future thing more than a present. And so I have to feel, especially in view of verse 3 of this chapter 7, it could be no one but the Lord.

After all the Lord of glory is everything. He’s God the Father, He’s God the Son, He’s God the Spirit and you can’t take anything away from Him. And then, Colossians tells us that Jesus Christ was the Godhead in bodily form. Well, I don’t know how you can take anything away from that. So now as you come into verse 3, this Melchisedec, the king of peace was:

"Without father, without mother, without descent, (or without a genealogy) having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; (now if that isn’t a description of God I don’t know what is! And nothing else would fit, at least in my book.) but made like unto the Son of God;"

Well, in human form for a little while. And we know like I pointed out in the last program, you don’t even hear the name Melchisedec for another thousand years. So He must have left that opportunity of presenting Abraham with the bread and wine and then just simply went back into the invisible Godhead as He did in Genesis 18, and at the burning bush and various other places. Alright, the last part of verse 3.

"…abideth a priest (not a year at a time. Not for 50 or 60 years. But how long?) continually."

It never ends. He’s eternal in the heavens. And so His priesthood is that which never ends. Now in verse 4. Paul, and remember who he’s talking to, is talking to Jews who had embraced Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah but they were still practicing the Law. The were not ready to break from the legalism and step into grace. At least that’s the way I have to look at this whole scenario. So now he’s using all these Old Testament things to convince these Jews that he wasn’t some renegade coming from out of left field. He was simply bringing them from one period of time and an area of instruction into another. We’ve covered that when we went into chapter 6 verse 1. What did he say? "Now leave the principles of the first words of Christ?" Paul didn’t say, to abandon them, but to move on.

I gave you plenty of illustrations of what I thought that meant. You just simply don’t abandon what’s behind but you build on it and it’s a progressive revelation. Alright, so now verse 4 where Paul says:

"Now consider (just stop and think for a little bit) how great this man was,…" You know what word throws a curve at everybody? "Man" M-A-N. Well, let me show you something. Come back to I Timothy chapter 2 and verse 5.

"For there is one God, (I’ve already stressed that) and one mediator between God and men, the (what?) man (the man!) Christ Jesus;"

Now that doesn’t take away His Deity. Because all the way through from His birth on through His ministry and on through His revelations to the Apostle Paul, we’re always stressing that He was totally God but on the other hand He was human.

And so, as His mediatorship comes in, it’s the "man Christ Jesus." And after all, we have to realize – now let me back up - I always have a hard time the night before these tapings trying to determine how much I can cover per half-hour for four half-hours. Now that’s not easy. Well, I’ve just about given up. I’m just going to let the Spirit lead. Come on back to Acts.

Alright, so here is something that I hadn’t even thought of last night. But, when it speaks of the "man Christ Jesus" as being our mediator. Come back with me to Acts chapter 1 because this is fundamental, this is elementary. And I’m not going to take your mind away from the priesthood of Melchisedec but I want you to see how that Christ is the logical explanation for this particular revelation of a priesthood.

"To whom also he (Jesus, coming out of His resurrection) showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them (that is the disciples, the eleven not counting Judas, of course.) forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:"

Alright now come on over to verse 9 still in Acts chapter 1. Remember the eleven saw Him, and Paul rehearses it in I Corinthians 15, the resurrection chapter. "That first He was seen of the eleven. And then of over five hundred at one time and then he says last of all He was seen of me also." Now we’re not talking about an invisible spirit. We’re talking about a human appearance. Now Acts 1:9. And remember Christ is in His resurrected body with the nail-pierced hands.

"And when he had spoken these things, while they (the eleven) beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight."

Now how do you picture the ascension? Just a puff of cloud going up? Some invisible spirit going up? Why, no. He went up bodily. I just mentioned a verse in Colossians that will help. So let’s find it in chapter 2, and let’s drop down to verse 8.

"Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." Now that’s why I had to use this verse. So that you see Who we’re talking about. That we are supposed to stay true to Christ! Now the next verse.

"For in him (Christ) dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead (how?) bodily."

Bodily. In human form. That same body that came out of the tomb, where he showed Thomas the nail-prints and where on the Sea of Galilee ,what did He do? Fixed breakfast. Remember I told you in the last taping, that must have been the best tasting fish that any human ever tasted. Because He fixed it and no wonder He asked Peter, "do you love me more than these?" That probably was a tough question because that must have been delicious food if the Lord fixed it. But, was He in some invisible spirit form when He did that? No. They saw him standing there on the shore.

And so this is what we have to establish. That Christ is His resurrected body was just as visible as He was in His earthly ministry. Alright, so as He is now our intercessor, and He’s the mediator. But He’s also the high priest of "the most high God."

Never forget that. I’m going to drum that, like I said last time, I’m going to let you hear it in your sleep. "The most high God." That’s who He is the high priest of. Then verse 5 of Hebrews chapter 7.

"So verily they that are of the sons of Levi, (out of whom the priesthood came, remember, who ministered at the Temple) who received the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the (what?) Law,…"

Another verse comes to mind that I never thought of last night. But, I’m going to take you back to it. Flip back to Romans chapter 6, and here it’s as plain as day that tithing, the ten percent, was part of the Law. Remember I want you to see what Romans chapter 6 says about the Law, and let’s drop in at verse 14. I mean this is plain English.

"For sin (or the old Adam) shall not have dominion over you: (in other words, we’ve been set free from his control by virtue of our salvation. Now here it is) for ye are not under the law, but under grace."

Plain enough? We’re not under any law. Now that doesn’t give us license. You’ve heard me say that a few hundred times. But we’re not under any stipulated law that says, "thou shalt and thou shalt not" command. We are not under the Law but we’re under grace. I better follow that up with what that means - come back with me now to II Corinthians chapter 9. I better do this or I’ll be on the hot seat for a few weeks. Now this is what takes the place of the Law of tithing. The Law of tithing was set aside, along with all the Law, when Christ finished the work of the Cross and put us under Grace. Oh most people don’t know this, because they have not been taught it. But in this next Scripture is where we are at in the Body of Christ, the true Church today!

"But this I say, he which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. 7. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.""

What controls the heart of the believer? The Holy Spirit! So as the Spirit gives us directions, we give. Whether it’s 2% or 100%. The Spirit is going to direct us. Alright, and so he says, "As every man purposeth in his heart, so let him give." Now if the Spirit is going to move us to give, are you going to give grudgingly? Well, of course not. You’re going to give cheerfully.

Now let’s come back again to Hebrews chapter 7. So Abraham of course, gave the tenth of all that he had gotten through the battle with the kings of Chedorlaomer, but he gave a tenth to the high priest, Melchisedec. Now reading verse 5 again.

"And verily they that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, (in other words, out of the Nation of Israel. Not from any Gentiles) though they were come out of the loins of Abraham:" Naturally, because Abraham was the father of all these tribes of Israel.

"But he whose decent (or genealogy) is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham, and blessed him who had the promises."

Well, what promises? Out of you is going to come a nation of people. To you and your people I’m going to give this area of land. Those were the promises to Abraham. Do you see that?

"And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better." What does that tell you? Isn’t that what the whole theme of Hebrews has been? That was good, but this is better. Over and over. Even in the first six chapters, yes, the angels are something else. But who’s better than the angels? Christ. The Law was good but what’s better? Grace. And all the way through, we’ve seen the comparison from that which was good to that which is now so much better.

So again, he says, there’s no contradiction here. That, that which is less, that which was now put behind is blessed because of this which is so much better. Now verse 8.

"And here men that die receive tithes; but there he receiveth them, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth." He’s alive ever more. Never to have to lay down His priesthood because of death as we’ll see later in this same chapter. Now verse 9.

"And as I may so say, Levi (the priestly tribe, remember) also, who receiveth tithes, (now this is tough) paid tithes in Abraham." What does he mean by that? How could Levi pay tithes in, what would that be? His grandfather? Well, you see, it was just by virtue of the promises that out of Abraham would come these twelve tribes of Israel. And everything that followed went back to the promises made to Abraham.

That’s why Paul alludes to Abraham so often when it comes to faith. That we can have faith like the man of faith, Abraham. And Abraham was not saved under Law. He was saved before the Law was given. And he became a believer by faith and faith alone. Even circumcision hadn’t entered in yet. Abraham believed God, Romans says, and it – his believing – was accounted unto him for righteousness.

Then after he became a man of faith, yes, then circumcision followed. Then the Nation of Israel appeared, and then came the Law. But Abraham was never under any of the ramifications of the Law. Alright verse 10 tells us what I just told you. Why did Levi pay tithes?

"He was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchisedec met him. 11. If therefore perfection (or moving on to a maturity. If that) were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law.) what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called after the order of Aaron?"

Now let’s see if we can break this down. What’s he saying? If the legal system of the Mosaic Law, the Levitical priesthood, the Temple worship, the sacrifices, the tithing, all the things that were part and parcel of the Law; had that been perfect would there have been a need for anything else? Well, of course not. If you’ve got something perfect you leave it alone. Isn’t that what we say today. "If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it." Sure.

But, the Levitical system wasn’t perfect. Oh, it was anything but. It was perfect from God’s side, naturally. God can’t make anything that isn’t perfect. But see, the Law in its operation depended on the flesh. Now let me show you. Come back to Galatians chapter 4, verses 8 and 9. Remember why we chased some of these verses down. We’re showing now that the Mosaic system or Judaism (as probably we know it better), was not perfect. It was anything but. And, consequently, it had to be left behind and go to that which is better. Here Paul writes to the Gentiles up there in Galatia who were being subjected to legalism.

"Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, (in other words, when they were still in their paganism) ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods. (they were worshipping idols.) 9. But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God,…" In other words, they had become believers. They had become joint heirs with Christ. They’d become members of the Body. Now then he says:

"…how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements whereunto you desire again to be in bondage." What’s he talking about? What’s the weak and beggarly? The Law. Now if you think through all this, why was the Law beggarly? Well, it demanded things that the human race couldn’t keep and it had no power to give them victory over their temptations.

You know, when I taught Romans, I just stressed over and over, all the Law could do was condemn, condemn, condemn. You’re sinners. You’re lawbreakers, and the Law couldn’t give them any power to overcome it, so, consequently, it was beggarly. Another good one is still in Galatians. Turn the page to chapter 5 verse 1.

"Stand fast therefore in the liberty (the freedom) wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage."

What’s the yoke of bondage? The Law. Now who likes to live under a yoke of bondage? I don’t. But you see, this is exactly what the Law did to Israel and this is why they have such a hard time keeping it. I could take you back to Acts where Peter admits the same thing. He said, "even our fathers couldn’t keep it, because it was a yoke." Peter used the same word. And so the Law you see, was nothing but demands that the human race could not comprehend. They couldn’t keep it and so we have to tell ourselves; we’re not under Law, we’re under grace.

Well, I guess our time is gone but we’ll come back and pick the next program up again in Hebrews chapter 7 - but always remember that the Law, the Temple worship for its time, it was good. It had all the ramifications that brought us up to the coming of the Messiah. But now as a belief system with this over here on this side of the Cross that is so much better, why not leave it in the dust where it belongs? But you see most of Christendom is still doing the same thing. Most of Christendom is still bringing certain ramifications of the Law into our present day Age of Grace!

Alright, I guess we can just go right back to where we left off in the last lesson, and that’s in Hebrews chapter 7 verse 11.

"If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, [in other words, if the Law and Judaism were all that there was to be gained] (for under it the people received the law,) [well if that’s the case] what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called after the order of Aaron?" In other words, the Aaronic priesthood began in Exodus. Remember Aaron was the brother of Moses and was the first priest of Israel. And that priesthood carried all the way through to the time of Christ and even though the veil was rent in twain when Christ died on the Cross, the Jewish people sewed it back up, at least according to legend. And they continued on with their Temple worship until Titus destroyed it in 70 AD.

But, we as believers understand that when Christ finished the work of the Cross, He also finished the demands of the Law, because He was the fulfillment of the Law. And when we enter into this salvation by grace, we are no longer under the demands of the Mosaic system. But now, our high priest is not of the line of Aaron, but the one of Melchisedec who, as I’ve said in an earlier program, I feel was Christ Himself. Now verse 12.

"For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law." You couldn’t just change part of it; it had to all go. And the whole idea of Hebrews is that the Jewish people had to realize that the Mosaic system had now become moot. It was no longer necessary to practice Temple worship and sacrifices and tithing and all those things that were demanded by the Law because we now are under a priesthood that was not out of Aaron or Levi, but from the priesthood of Melchisedec (Christ).

"For he of whom these things are spoken pertaineth to another tribe, of which no man gave attendance at the altar." Now that should shake people up! This priest didn’t even come from the Levitical priestly tribe. This priest came from the kingly tribe of Judah. And Judah, of course, was the tribe that was always leading the tribes when they moved, and it was out of Judah that the second king, David, came. Saul the first king, was from the line of Benjamin, but Judah was the designated tribe to produce the kings of Israel. So, it’s out of this kingly tribe that this priest Melchisedec comes, which is Jesus Christ. Verse 13 again.

"For he of whom these things are spoken pertaineth to another tribe, of which no man gave attendance at the altar."

A few weeks ago, I took you back to the Old Testament where the Israelite Korah, who thought that Moses and Aaron were just a little bit too big for their own britches said, "After all, why can’t I present a sacrifice at the altar?" Of course, Moses got highly exercised, and he said, "Alright, we’ll put you to the test. If you think you have a right to exercise the role of a priest, we’ll do such and such." Remember we read all the verses. And God was so angry that the earth opened up and the families of Korah went down into the pit. Well, what did it show us? Just that no one dared enter into the priesthood except the line of Levi.

Now we saw another one with King Saul in our last taping. Oh, what was Saul’s big downfall? He too, exercised the right of a priest and offered a sacrifice. And Samuel told him, "Saul how can you be so foolish? You don’t do that." And we know what happened to Saul. Well, here it is again. No man, unless they were from the lineage of Levi, could possibly exercise the role of a priest. It was forbidden. Verse 14.

"For it is evident that our Lord (Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ, the Son as we see Him epitomized here in Hebrews) sprang out of Judah: of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood. 15. And it is even far more evident: for that after the similitude (or the likeness) of Melchisedec there ariseth another priest." A totally different priest, not of the Aaronic, not of the tribe Levi but out of the tribe of Judah. Now verse 16.

"Who is made,…" Here again I feel Melchisedec was a theophany of Christ in the Old Testament. He’s only mentioned in Psalms but now here we have him exemplified as "our high priest" because of what He accomplished at the Cross.

"Who is made, not after the law of a carnal (or a fleshly) commandment,…" That goes back to what we said in the last hour, that the Law was beggarly and fleshly. That’s hard for people to comprehend, because they thought the Law was spiritual, it was perfect. It was from God’s point of view.

But, from man’s point of view there was no power given to keep it. So what did it become? Fleshly, carnal and it was something that man could not deal with. In fact, Corinthians tells us the same thing, that the Law was a minister of death. The Law was a minister of death? Yes. Because it had no power to help people keep the Law. Let me show you a reference in Romans chapter 3.

While coming to Romans, that gave me time enough to find the verse in Corinthians also. Now these are verses that most people do not understand. They don’t even know they’re in their Bible. And I’ve given an example before, I’ll never forget one time I was teaching it and had young pastor in the midst. When I read this verse, I could just about see his mouth drop open. He’d never seen it before, I know he hadn’t, but here it is.

"Now we know that what things soever the law (the Ten Commandments) saith, it saith to them who are under the law: (that is Israel) that every mouth (the whole world now not just Israel) may be stopped and all the world (not just Israel. The law condemned the whole world. What does the rest of the verse say? They) become guilty before God."

People are not saved under the Law. They don’t become righteous, but rather they’re guilty. Now see, most people don’t believe that. I’m amazed when people will tell me, when they’ve had an enlightenment and they’ve seen these things and they go back and show it to their church people and their church people will read it and then you know what they say? "But I don’t believe it." Now isn’t that sad? They better believe it, because it’s the Word of God and they better believe it or they’re in trouble. Alright, so this they don’t like. "That the Law just simply makes man guilty." Now look at the next verse.

"Therefore by the deeds (or the keeping of the Law) there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: (why?) for by the law is the knowledge of (not life but what?) sin." That’s all the Law can do is show man their sin. Not a word in Scripture ever gives the Law credit for bringing people to salvation. Never! All the Law can do is convince us that we’re sinners, which of course, we have to do before we can be saved. But see, that’s the Law. And that’s why it was imperfect. It filled the gap between Moses and Christ, yes. It kept the Nation of Israel in a relationship with Jehovah, yes. But so far as really being the answer to mankind’s dilemma, no. It was weak, and it was beggarly. Now I told you I found the one in Corinthians over in chapter 3.

"Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, (in other words, their daily life was to be like the Word of God in print) written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the Living God; (as the Spirit energizes you and I in our daily life) not in tables of stone, (such as Moses brought down from the mountain, you know) but in fleshly tables of the heart." In other words, the Word of God should just simply be seen in our daily lives. Now verses 4 and 5.

"And such trust we have through Christ to God-ward: 5. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; (here’s the verse that shook them up.) 6. Who also (God) hath made us able ministers of the new testament; (this on this side of the Cross) not of the letter, (which is a reference in Scripture of the Law) but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life." Let me qualify. Israel understood right from wrong by virtue of what the Law said. They understood it was wrong to murder because the Law said "Thou shalt not murder." And all through the Ten Commandments you have really the whole sphere of human behavior. Everything you can imagine is covered in those Ten Commandments.

So there was no doubt as to what God called right and what He called wrong. When we say that we’re not under the Law it isn’t that we are now free to steal or murder. Remember we’ve got something better than the written Law. And what is it? The indwelling Holy Spirit. The Spirit will never tell a believer to go and steal. The Holy Spirit will never tell a believer to gossip. It’s against His personality.

And so, what we lay down when we say we’re not under the Law, we pick up through the energizing power of the indwelling Spirit. That’s why I say that when we’re under grace, it’s not license. Under grace, the Spirit comes in and becomes then the driving force and the keeping power for the believer. Now looking at verse 6 again:

"Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter (The Commandments) but of the spirit (now here it comes) for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. 7. But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones,…" Well goodness, what’s that talking about? The Ten Commandments. They were a ministration of death. People can’t understand that, but I hope you do. It was because all the Law could do was condemn. It couldn’t give anybody life. It was a ministration of death, because you see, Paul says so clearly then in Romans 6:23:

"For the wages of sin is (what?) death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Now coming back to II Corinthians 3:7, let’s finish verse 7.

"But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones was glorious, (it was from God’s point. It was perfect) so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory has to be done away:" What does that mean? The Law has to go. There comes a point in human history where the Law is going to have to be set aside. And when was that? When Christ finished the work of the Cross. Now let me show you another verse that says the same thing. Turn to Colossians chapter 2. This is a verse that we’ve used often over the years.

"Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was (what? For us or against us?) against us," Because it was impossible in the flesh to keep them all. Now I’m not going to say this dogmatically but I think I’ve mentioned often enough on the program, that by the time of our New Testament, and the time of Christ, the Law had been degenerated, watered down - from Ten commandments to how many? Six hundred and thirteen. Six hundred thirteen rules and regulations made up the Mosaic Law at the time of Christ. Well, could any man keep them? No.

And this is my own view. I’m not saying that this is what the Scripture says. But I think that this handwriting of ordinances that was against the Jewish people were those 613 rules and regulations.

"…which were contrary to us, and (look what Christ did) he took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross." What does the Cross do? Puts it to death. And so when you look at the Law, whether you want to look at the Ten Commandments or whether you want to look at all 613 that the Rabbis had put together, I don’t care. It was all nailed to His Cross. Why? Because when He finished the death, burial and resurrection, He satisfied all the demands of those commandments on the human race. And now we’ve been set free and we’re under grace.

Now let’s come back to Hebrews. So under this whole new economy, where we’re not under the Law, we’re under grace. We also have a new high priest. Not of the priesthood of Aaron and Levi, but one who was of the priests of "the most high God." You’re going to hear that in your sleep tonight? "The most high God" who was the God of everybody, not just Israel. And so this high priest is going to represent every tongue and tribe and nation. Now let’s move on into verse 15, or just reread it.

"And it is far more evident; for that after the similitude of Melchisedec there ariseth another priest. 16. Who is made, not after the law of a carnal (or a fleshly) commandment, but after the power of (what kind of a life?) an endless life." He’s eternal. He comes out of eternity past and He’ll go on into eternity future. Without end, and without beginning.

"For he testifieth, (coming out of Psalms now 110) Thou art a priest for ever…" That’s never going to end. Now goodness sakes, I don’t have to tell you. How long did the priesthood last of the priests of Israel? Until they died! That ended it. Death ends everything, and it’s the same way with the priesthood. When the priest died, his priesthood went with him. It ended. But you see, with this priest it will never end. He ever liveth and intercedes for us. Alright, verse 18.

"For there is verily a disannulling (or a canceling out) of the commandment going before for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof."

Are you getting the point? Oh, the Law had its purpose. It was perfect from God’s vantage point, but it was weak and fleshly so far as men were concerned and so it fades off. It failed miserably. My, if you doubt that, have you read your Old Testament lately? Just go back and read Judges. Go back and read the prophets. How much effect did the Law have on the behavior of the Israelites? Well it didn’t have much. Because most of them were the pits. Now that may fly in the face of some of my Jewish listeners and I know I’ve got quite a few. But all you have to do is read the account and the most visible one or the most understandable one is when Elijah confronted the prophets of Baal up there on Mt. Carmel. And after he had run from the threats of Jezebel, you remember, he goes all the way down to the Negev and sits down under a juniper tree and poor Elijah said, "Lord take my life. because I’m the only one left, they’ve all followed Baal."

Now listen, who was the promoter of Baal worship at that time in Israel? What woman? Jezebel. So what does that tell you? They were living in rank immorality, and Elijah thought he was the only one that wasn’t. That tells you enough, but God, was merciful enough to say, "Now Elijah, you’re not quite the only one left that is true to me. I’ve still got seven thousand."

Now seven thousand out of an average population of seven million over Israel’s history, I’ve said this over and over. What percentage is that? One tenth of one percent, that had remained true to Jehovah. The rest had all followed in the worship of Baal. I know Jewish people will probably try to tell me, well, they’re still all going to be saved because they were under the covenant promises, but I don’t think so.

But that just goes to show you that the Law, the Mosaic system, didn’t work. But now come up to Christ’s earthly ministry. How many of the Jews at Christ’s time were true exemplary believers? Very few. Oh they were religious. They kept Temple worship. They kept the feast days. But very few were true believers. So the Law of Moses just didn’t affect the nation that much. Well, then of course, we come into our own day and it hasn’t changed has it? Even the Gospel of Grace has not made that much difference in the world’s behavior. Verse 19.

"(just like we read in Romans a moment ago) For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better (there’s that word again) hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God." What in the world is he talking about? This whole system now of the grace of God which goes out to the whole human race. The Gospel by which the Age of Grace believers are saved, "that Christ died for our sins, and that He was buried and that He rose again from the dead the third day," as we see in I Corinthians 15:1-4. That isn’t limited to any one group of people. And that is the better system that has now been introduced, not just to Israel, but to the whole world under that high priesthood of Melchisedec the priest of "the most high God."

You and I have got the greatest message the world has ever known. That no one is left out. Anyone who can simply recognize their need in salvation and believes it, can enter in to life eternal and enjoy all the blessings of this priest, Melchisedec, because He is now the priest of "the most high God" interceding for us.

It’s so good to see everyone in again for this taping session on a beautiful Spring afternoon. We thank you for prayers, your interest, your financial help and how we thank the Lord for lives that have been touched through our simple teaching of the Word.

Alright, this is a Bible study and we’re going to go right back where we left off in our last program which is Hebrews chapter 7 and we were in verse 19. Jerry’s got 20 on the board but I’m going to jump in at verse 19 a little bit, because I didn’t feel like I had finished it completely. Remember, we’re talking about the priesthood of Melchisedec. And always remember, too, that the Book of Hebrews is written primarily to Hebrews, to Jewish people. Not that we can’t learn from it. There’s a lot in here that is so apropos, even for us in the Age of Grace.

These Hebrew people (like the Jerusalem church - and I don’t think this was written to the Jerusalem church but another one like it) and these other Jewish congregations that were scattered throughout the Roman Empire had embraced Jesus as their Messiah. They had grasped that much, but they were still keeping the Law. They were still hanging on to so many of the tenets of Judaism and that’s so obvious as you saw in the study of Acts that’s been on the daily program. How that Peter had said:

"But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean." Why not? Because he was a good law-keeping Jew. And when he got to the house of Cornelius he hedged and he said:

Well, why? That was all part of Judaism. And then when you get on over to Acts chapter 22 and Paul is rehearsing his conversion on the road to Damascus, Paul makes the statement:

"And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good report of all the Jews which dwelt there." Well you see, none of those believers in Jesus as the Messiah, had yet severed themselves from that part of Judaism, which was Law-keeping.

And so, what the whole book of Hebrews is really all about is to convince these Jewish believers now, to move away. Cut the apron strings to Judaism, not to just throw it away as trash, no way. It’s the very foundation of everything that has come on up through even into Paul’s apostleship, but nevertheless, they were to cut the strings to the legalism of Judaism and step into the Gospel of Grace.

Consequently then, we’ve been looking at the priesthood of Melchisedec, who was not a priest of Israel. He was not after the order of Aaron and the tribe of Levi but rather he was a high priest of the Most High God, you remember, which we stressed was the term for God of the whole human race and not just Israel. And so now we come to this whole idea that the Law has to be put behind them - and then step out into Grace. Alright, let’s start in verse 19 then for this afternoon.

"For the law (the law of Judaism - the Mosaic law) made nothing perfect,…" In other words, the Law of Moses, as holy and as pure as it was from God’s vantage-point, so far as men were concerned it was weak and it was beggarly, because no man could keep it. And so it was not perfect. It was not the final answer to man’s dilemma.

"But, (flipside) the bringing in of a better hope did;…"

Did what? Make something perfect! Isn’t it amazing what language can do? The Law as pure and holy as it was didn’t finish it for the human race. Nobody was saved by keeping the Law, and we’re going to see that in a moment. But, the flipside was now God has introduced something that is perfect and it can’t be improved upon. Now you remember what I said several weeks ago, and I’ve been sharing it over and over wherever I open the Word. Twice in Scripture, God did something so perfect that He couldn’t add to it, He couldn’t embellish it, He couldn’t correct it and so what did He do? He rested.

What’s the whole idea? Well, if something is perfect, what more can you do? And so you just leave it there. The first one remember, was at the end of Creation, the last verse of Genesis 1 says:

There wasn’t a thing that He could improve on those days of creation. You jump into chapter 2 and what did he do? He rested! Nothing more He could do.

And then we have the second one when Hebrews tells us that after Christ had purged us from our sin by virtue of his death, burial and resurrection, and when He had purged us from our sin, He did again what? He sat down, denoting a finished work. He could rest.

Alright so this is what we’re coming back to, see? The Law wasn’t perfect. But, the flipside is that now the bringing in of a better hope, that is our Gospel of salvation based on His death, burial and resurrection. It did what? Made it perfect! So that there was nothing more that could be added. And isn’t it sad, oh, mankind has walked it underfoot ever since Paul the Apostle began to introduce it to the Gentile world.

And he writes so pitifully, I think, in II Timothy, "O, Timothy you know that all those in Asia have turned against me." Why? They didn’t like Paul’s message. They preferred something that demanded works. And I was just reminded again as I was reading last night, a quote from the president of Princeton University. And I used it, I think, when I started the book of Romans, if I’m not mistaken. And I think I can quote it almost verbatim. I called Princeton some time ago and found out when he reigned as president. It was back in 1888. And that of course, gives rise to the truth of his statement. He hasn’t been polluted by the modernism of the last hundred years. But in 1888-1890, this president of Princeton made this statement, "Either Christendom has to rehabilitate the doctrines of Paul or it is on and on and on to apostasy and despair."

And the gentleman who quoted it in the book I was reading last night went on to say, (and he was writing in about 1910 or 1915) "...isn’t it sad that Christendom chose the former." They chose to turn against the Apostle Paul and his doctrines and went instead contrary to it. But in this ministry, we’re not going to do that. We’re going to hang with Paul’s apostleship, with his teachings and with his Gospel of the Grace of God. So again, verse 19:

"For the law (the Mosaic System) made nothing perfect, (it had so much lacking) but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God."

Now just to prove the point, let’s go back. I know many of you have been watching Romans being taught now during the weekday programs on television, but come back with me to Romans chapter 3 because we can never repeat some of these things often enough. I have to be constantly reminded by our letters that for most of our audience, they are hearing these things for the first time. And, you just can’t grasp it in just one hearing. It has to be repeated and repeated, so just remember, that we have all kinds of people out there who are hearing it for the first time. Romans chapter 3 verse 19 and this is exactly what Hebrews 7:19 is referring to, that the Law was not perfect. Alright, here’s why.

"Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law:…"

Well now, what percentage of the human race even at that time was that applicable for? Well, the tiny Nation of Israel, which was probably just a fraction of a percent of the total. They were the only ones that were under the Law. But on the other hand to settle the Sovereignty of God, the whole world came under the curse of the Law, not just Israel, but the whole world. And that’s what it says next, see?

"We know that what soever the law saith, it saith to them that are under the law: (that is to the Nation of Israel) that every mouth (going beyond the Nation of Israel to the whole human race) may be stopped,…" What does that mean? Hey, when they come before God they can’t argue. Oh, they’re going to try, I think, but it’s not going to work. The Lord Himself gave us a good example. He said, "in that day" (and He was speaking of the Great White Throne, he said) "in that day they will say, but Lord" (what does that mean? They’re arguing) "but Lord didn’t we do this and didn’t we do that? Didn’t we cast out demons in your name and all that?" (And what’s His answer going to be?) "Depart from me ye workers of iniquity, I never knew you." Sad, isn’t it? So sad.

But nevertheless, the Law could do nothing more than what we see in the rest of the verse now that:

"…all the world may become guilty before God." Notice it doesn’t say, that they may become saved as a lot of people today think yet. That if they just keep the commandments and do the best they can, then God will say "Well, come on in." No! All the Law could do was condemn.

Now that shocks people that have never heard it before, but the Law has never saved anybody! All the Law can do is show man their sin and the fact that we’ve all broken it. Keeping the Law is not a vehicle of salvation. It is a ministration of death because, as James says, "if you’re guilty of one, you’re guilty of breaking all of them." Boy, where does that leave all of us? We’re all Law-breakers supreme. Now verse 20.

"Therefore by the deeds (or the keeping of the Law) there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: (not Jews, nor Gentiles) for by the law is (only one thing, and what is it?) the knowledge of sin."

The Law condemns. Remember I said already, it was a ministration of death and we’re going to be looking at it in probably chapter 8. But let’s jump ahead and turn to II Corinthians chapter 3 and look at it. I used it in the last taping, I’m sure I did. But, it bears repeating and I’m going to use it like I said, in the next chapter when we speak to the "tables of stone" that were in the Ark of the Covenant. I’ll make some statements on that that will shock people. But here, since I’ve already alluded to it, let’s read it.

"Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; (or the new covenant) not of the letter, (now whenever Paul uses the letter, he’s referring to the Mosaic Law) but of the spirit: for the letter (the Law, the written law, the Ten, if you want to call it that, they can do nothing but) killeth, but the spirit gives life."

Now maybe I should stop. I’ve probably made statements over the years that have shocked people and only because they probably don’t understand where I’m coming from. But when I say we’re not under Law, we’re under Grace, the first impression people get is, "Well he’s telling me I can do what ever I want to do." No, no! The Law, you see, "demanded," whereas Grace is total freedom, total liberty, but instead of the Law telling us what we can’t do and what we can do, we now have the indwelling Holy Spirit who changes our whole modus operandi so that we don’t want to break the Law. And what a difference!

That’s where Israel failed so miserably all up through her Old Testament history. They were under those demands of the Law but with no power of the Spirit to help them keep it. And so, consequently, what were they doing most of the time? Breaking them. And it almost became despairing because they just couldn’t help it. They didn’t have that indwelling Spirit. So always remember that when I say we’re not under Law, we’re under Grace. I’m not saying we’ve got license - I’m saying now we’ve got something that empowers us to keep God’s Law. Now verse 7 and here it comes.

"But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones,…" Now listen, what was engraven in stone? The Ten. And what are they? They are a ministration of death. They don’t give life because all they can do is condemn.

"But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones was glorious, (and it was, it was perfect from God’s vantage point. Now if that was glorious) so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away:" It would be done away when this whole new concept of Grace would be brought in. Well, we could just keep going, but I think we’d better make a little headway today. Let’s go back to Hebrews chapter 7 and now we can go into verse 20.

"And inasmuch as not without an oath he was made priest: 21. (For those priests [that is the priests of Israel, out of the order of Aaron; from the tribe of Levi] were made without an oath; but this [this priesthood of Melchisedec] with an oath by him who said unto him, [which of course, is from God Himself] The Lord sware and will not repent, [or change His mind]. Thou [speaking of this priesthood of Melchisedec of which Christ is the epitome] art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec;)"

And remember that was sworn in an oath from God Himself and nothing could settle it more, that Christ is a priest after the order of Melchisedec by virtue of the oath of God place upon His person. Now verse 22.

"By so much (that is by God swearing in an oath that Christ would be a priest after the order of Melchisedec) was Jesus made a surety of a better testament."

And the other word for testament is covenant. Now I’m not going to comment on that word covenant in this verse, because we’re going to be picking it up again a little later in chapter 8 and I will enlarge on it then. But we still have to realize now that we’re coming out of one system and God is bringing in another.

Of course, that is one reason there is so much confusion across Christendom. They will not separate these two entities so that it’s simple and easy to understand. But the Law has to be set aside. It’s done. It was crucified at the Cross. And God has ushered in now this whole new system, or economy, of Grace.

Alright, now we’re going to come back to verse 23 and see the difference between the priests of Israel and this priest, Jesus the Christ, after the order of Melchisedec.

"And they (the priests of Israel) truly were many …" Well, that stands to reason. They had regular schedules of all these numbers of priests as to when they would serve in the Temple Worship. And then of course, as the next verse says, or down a little further, they’re going to die. And in their place will come up new young men, always filling the ranks of the priesthood to keep fulfilling all the rituals there at the temple.

They were human and when the old grim-reaper knocked, they went just the same as anybody else. And so their priesthood would end and a new one would come in. Then verse 24, what’s the first word again? "But..." Now the flipside! We’re not under that system of Israel’s priests that would live and die and be replaced and die. No. We are under a whole new system.

Remember I pointed out in our last taping that Paul refers to him - in fact we’d better go back and look at it. Let’s read this verse and then we’ll go back.

"But this man (this Jesus, the Son, a priest after the order of Melchisedec) because he continueth ever,…" Remember what we said about Melchisedec’s priesthood last program? He was without beginning and without end.

He’s from eternity to eternity. And we always make the point, when we’re saved forever, how long is that? For as long as God lasts! Now that’s how long we’re saved. We’ll go on and on as long as God does. Quite a thought isn’t it? That’s what it means to be saved forever. Now finishing verse 24.

"But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood." His priesthood will never end, as He will never die! Now let’s come back to Timothy again - this is all review, I know. I haven’t gotten senile yet, I know what I’m doing! But, I want people to see it over and over so that it will not be forgotten, so let’s go to I Timothy chapter 2. We looked at this a program or two back when I made mention of the fact that Melchizedek appeared to Abraham, as a man. Christ is in the Glory interceding for us at the Father’s right hand, as a man, and here we have the Scripture to back it up.

"For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; 4. Who (that is God) will have all men to be saved,…" Now that’s not saying they will be. Only precious few will be but that isn’t God’s fault. He’s made it possible for every human being to spend eternity with Him, but they won’t because they refuse to take it by faith. But God’s whole concept is that He has finished the work of salvation for all.

"Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. (now here’s the verse I want you to lock in) 5. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, (who?) the man Christ Jesus." See how plain that is? Now I’m afraid there are a lot of even professing believers who do not comprehend that Christ is in glory ever since His ascension in human form. The disciples saw Him go. He didn’t suddenly change into the invisible. The Scripture is so plain that He maintained His human appearance and He left in such a way that the disciples could see Him go.

And Zechariah foretells the day that He’ll return and again it’s in human form because what does Zechariah say?

Zechariah 14:4a

"And his feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east,…"

Now listen, a spirit, an invisible thing, doesn’t have feet! But He will because He is bodily at the Father’s right hand. And again, now let’s just go back a little further to the Book of Colossians chapter 2.

Colossians 2:8a

"Beware lest any man spoil you…" See there’s that constant warning from the pen of the Apostle, that we’d better keep our eyes on truth and not be led astray with all of this pseudo truth that’s being thrown at us, especially today. But it was already evident in Paul’s day.

Colossians 2:8-9

Not in spirit-form. Not invisible. My, when He took off from the Mount of Olives, He left bodily. How bodily was He when He has fish cooking on the fire up there in Galilee and the disciples had caught nothing all night? He asked the question "Do you have any food?" And they said, "No." But what did He have cooking? Fish and bread. And then Luke tells us plain as day, not just the disciples ate, but Who? Jesus ate. How? Don’t expect me to tell you how He digested it! But I know He ate.

And yet, in that same body He went into Glory. In that same body He’s coming again. He’s going to stand on the Mount of Olives as we see in Zechariah. He’s going to rule and reign bodily, not some invisible enigma. But the man Christ Jesus Who is the Mediator between man and God, the Man Christ Jesus Who sat down at the Father’s right hand having finished the work of redemption. It was perfect! There wasn’t one more thing that He could do!

Alright, let’s get right back to where we left off in our last lesson, and that was in Hebrews chapter 7 and we’ll go on now to verse 25. And I just told the girls sitting in the front row, we probably won’t even get past verse 25 in this half-hour because this is a loaded verse, as you will see.

Hebrews 7:25a

Now remember whenever Paul uses that word wherefore, what does it do? Sends you back to what he’s just got through saying and he’s just been telling us that this man, the Man Christ Jesus, God the Son Who had finished the work of salvation in His death, burial and resurrection. This Man, in verse 24, has an unchangeable priesthood. He’s immutable. He never changes. Just because He took on flesh, suffered and died doesn’t mean that He never stopped being the Eternal Sovereign Creator God of the universe.

Hebrews 7:25

"Wherefore he (this Son) is able also to save them to the uttermost (in other words completely, not just partially) that come unto God by him,…"

Not some other way. John’s Gospel tells us that if they try to come in some other way, they are what? They are a thief and a robber, and so there is only this one way.

Now we’re living in a time where that doesn’t go down easy. I’ll probably get kicked off television someday for standing on this premise, that it’s an exclusive Gospel that saves us. It is not just one of many. The scripture is adamant that there is no other name given among men, whereby we must be saved. And the scripture is also adamant that this is the only way that God will accept mankind and so here we have it. Because of Who this Man Christ Jesus was with a priesthood after the order of Melchisedec. Because of Who He is, "He is able to save to the uttermost those who come to God by Him or through Him, and the reason being:

Hebrews 7:25b

He ever liveth for all eternity, from past to future. Consequently He can make intercession or be the constant comfort for them who have placed their faith in His death, burial, and resurrection for salvation.

Now I’m going to take the time, because I get so many phone calls, over and over, asking "Well, how do I experience this salvation that you’re talking about?" I always feel as though I make it plain, but evidently I’m not making it plain enough for a lot of people. And so again we’re going to stop for a few moments and just show how to enter in to this great salvation that is completed at the moment that we’re saved by believing. We’re not just partially saved, but we have to do it God’s way. Not some denomination’s idea. Not my idea, but God’s way. And the best way is to just go back and search the scriptures.

Alright let’s go back again to where we were in the last program, in Romans chapter 3. And this is a point that someone reminded me of just the other day. They said, "Les, do you realize that most people do not understand that they’re lost from the day of their birth?" Well, I always thought that was a given. "No," he said, "Most people don’t realize that. They think that they’re pretty good and that until they really start living an awful life that then they can recognize they’re sinners." But, that’s not the way the Book puts it.

The Book tells us that because of Adam every human being born into the human race is a sinner. And we know that God’s grace covers those ‘little ones’ and they’ll be in glory, I’m confident of that. But as soon as a human being gets to an age of understanding right from wrong, he becomes responsible and he is guilty until God declares him innocent. Alright, let’s chase these Scriptures down. And again we have that flipside word, "But." Even though the Law, up there in verses 19 and 20 was only good for making mankind guilty.

Romans 3:21

You see Paul uses those two words over and over. Ephesians chapter 2 is another one. "But God." And in chapter 2 verse 13, "But now." Why? Because all of a sudden on this side of the Cross, on this side of His resurrection power, my it’s a different ballgame! See, that’s why I maintain that Christ couldn’t preach this kind of a Gospel in His earthly ministry, He hadn’t died yet. And the disciples had no idea that He was going to die, even though He knew; they didn’t. But on this side of the Cross, now it’s a proclaimed truth that He has died for the sins of the world.

Romans 3:21

"But now the righteousness of God (not man’s righteousness, but God’s righteousness) without the law is manifested, (is put up in the spotlight. And of course, we’re not going to throw our Old Testament away because all of this that I’m teaching has it’s roots back there in the Old Testament.) being witnessed by the law and the prophets;" That’s the writers of the Old Testament. Verse 22.

Romans 3:22

"Even the righteousness of God which is by faith (or the faith in) Jesus Christ. (He is the epitome of our faith system and it goes,) unto all and upon all them that believe (plus what? Nothing! There’s nothing more added!) for there is no difference."

Well, of course Paul is writing to Jews as well as Gentiles and the fact that Jews had a hard time swallowing was that now in this Age of Grace, there’s no difference. A Jew has to be saved just exactly like we Gentiles. He has to come the same way because of this no difference. Now then verse 23, which I always call the first step of saving faith. This is where every one of us who have been saved now, for however long, this is where we all began. And that is that we had to recognize that according to God’s Word and according to God’s look at who we are, we were sinners.

Romans 3:23

"For all (not just some. Even the best of the human race, even those who are so benevolent and they are so good but their nature is sin oriented and so) have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." I think maybe some other translations put that all have "missed the mark." We haven’t hit the bull’s eye, we’re missing the mark.

Romans 3:23

"For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God."

Stop right there a minute and keep your hand in Romans. Flip all the way over to chapter 5, still in Romans. Now this is what the Book says. This isn’t my idea. This isn’t some denomination’s idea. This is what God’s Word says:

Romans 5:12

"Wherefore, as by one man, (not one woman) sin entered into the world, and death (came along with it) by sin. (and so because of Adam’s disobedience) and so death passed upon (how many?) all men, (not just the worst. ALL men, the whole human race) for all have sinned:" All have sinned, every human being. Black and white, rich or poor, Oriental or Western makes no difference - the whole human race is included in this word "all." Death has passed upon all. Sin has been declared as a part of all and there’s nothing more that we can add or take away that Adam precipitated all of this curse that we call ‘sin and death.’ Don’t ever forget that. By one man, Adam, sin entered and with it death came as well.

I guess we could look at some more. Let me go ahead and go to I Corinthians chapter 15, and dropping all the way over to verse 45. Remember, I Corinthians 15 is the tremendous resurrection chapter. But here again, we have to show this difference between Adam, who has set the whole human race under the curse and under sin and death; as compared to the second Adam – Christ, Who made provision to bring every human being out of it, as we saw back in Hebrews.

I Corinthians 15:45

"And so it written, The first man, Adam was made (or created) a living soul; the last Adam (which is a reference to Jesus Christ) was a quickening (or a life giving) spirit." Do you see that? Then drop down to verse 47.

I Corinthians 15:47-49

"The first man Adam is of the earth, (he’s) earthy; the second man is the Lord from heaven. 48. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: (Those of us who are of the race of Adam.) and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. 49. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly." That is once we enter in to God’s tremendous saving grace. And without it we are doomed for total separation from God.

Alright now, if you’ll flip back to Romans chapter 3 because we’re going to spend most of this half-hour on that verse that says, "wherefore He is able also to save to the uttermost those who come unto God by Him."

Well, the only way we can come to God is as a sinner. We can’t come to God and say, "Now look. I’m just here to bargain; I want to get as good a deal as I can. I’m not all that bad so I might as well get as much as I can." No. Every human being has to come before God recognizing that he has missed the mark; he’s a sinner, he’s lost. And we’re walking dead people. Dead spiritually.

Alright now then, verse 24, and look what it says immediately. "Being justified freely." It’s just like back in Genesis 3. Just as soon as man fell as a result of Adam’s sin, God comes right back and sets in motion a plan of redemption, promising the seed of the woman. Well it’s the same way here. Just as soon as Paul declares every human being a sinner, the very next verse he gives us that escape route. Isn’t it glorious? And the fact that most people won’t take it is even worse. But nevertheless, here we have it.

Romans 3:24

"Being justified (declared just as if we’d never sinned) freely (see all these words and how loaded they are? We’re not justified because we’ve earned it. We’re not justified because we really deserve it. No. We’re justified freely) by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:"

And what’s grace? Unmerited favor. God doesn’t justify us because we have one ounce of deserving. He justifies only because of His grace. And that grace was epitomized; it was brought to the crescendo through the redemption or the process of buying us back that is in Christ Jesus. Now just mull that over for a minute. Through the grace of God, when we recognize that we were sinners, God could come right back immediately and say, "That’s fine, I know you’re lost, but I’ve already bought you back."

You remember years ago I gave the story of the little boy, who had made a boat. Some of you remember. I bet Sharon does. I should pause right here and tell our whole television audience, Sharon is now doing ‘closed captioning.’ for us which is laborious. So she knows what I’m talking about because she’s probably seen this story in the last several weeks.

But anyway, this little fellow had made a boat. Spent months making this tremendous little boat. And so one day his parents took him out to the seaside. And he started sailing his boat and he was just having a ball with it but, as kids are prone to do, his mind was suddenly changed to something else. And he ran off and left his boat unattended, and when he came back, his little boat was gone. He was just heartbroken.

But, months later, he and his Mom were walking down the street and they went by a pawn shop and in the window of that pawn shop was his little boat. It was still beautiful, and hadn’t been hurt a bit. And he said, "Mama I’ve got to go in here." So he takes off into the pawn shop and he runs up to the fellow at the counter and he says, "I want my boat." "Well, what are you talking about, the pawn broker asked?" The boy pointed to the boat in the window. "It’s mine, I made it." The fellow says, "Sorry buddy, but I’ve got money in that boat. You can have it when you pay the price."

Well, whatever the price was the little fellow went out and told his Mom, "I’ve got to work." And so he did. He mowed lawns, he raked leaves, he scooped snow. He did everything he could until he finally had enough money to go back to that pawn shop and he bought his boat. Now are you getting the picture? He made it. He worked for it. He lost it. And now he had to work so he could buy it back. And as he was carrying it out the door, he said to his Mama, with tears running down his cheeks. "Mama, this boat that I made, I’ve bought it back! And now it’s mine!"

You see that’s exactly what God has done. He made us. He created us, but He lost us. Where? When Adam fell. Now when I’m teaching Genesis, you know, I make it very clear that every human being was in Adam and because of Adam’s rebellion we all inherited that sin nature. And that’s why we’re born sinners. And so God lost us, when He lost Adam.

And now He has paid the price of redemption, through that work of the Cross. Like the little boy who had to go and do all the various menial jobs, Christ in turn did it when He went to the Cross. And so He paid the price of redemption. But remember, whenever we present salvation to the human race, it’s always on the basis; yes, it’s all done. The price has been paid. Forgiveness has been declared. Reconciliation has been declared but you cannot appropriate it without coming by faith. It’s not an automatic.

Now you know, there are people that try to teach that everybody will make it sooner or later because of all this. No, no. Because God has demanded that we accept all this by faith - plus nothing. With no works attached. With nothing, except recognizing that yes, I’m a fallen creature. I’m a sinner because I’m a son of Adam. But, I believe in my heart that Christ has done everything in dying for me, and being raised from the dead! So when we do that, then God in grace reaches down and does everything that needs to be done.

I guess I’ve been putting it on the program in the morning lately. All the things that God did the moment we believe. Oh, He Redeemed us, He justified us, He sanctified us, He glorified, and forgave us. He placed us into the Body, and He gave us the indwelling Holy Spirit. He secured us forever, He made us alive, and He translated us. I think I had probably 15 or 20 things that God did the moment we were saved when we believed. It’s done! That’s what Hebrews means, "He saved us to the uttermost." He didn’t do just part of it and say, "Well, if you measure up, I’ll finish it." No, He did it all. And that’s the whole idea of salvation.

Alright now then, let’s move on just a little bit further in chapter 3, down to verse 26, I’m going to skip verse 25 because that big word ‘propitiation’ might scare somebody.

Romans 3:26

"To declare, I say, at this time his (not ours) righteousness; that he (God) might be just, (which means exactly what it says. He’s not cutting corners. He’s not making a deal. He is totally just) and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus" (I Corinthians 15:1-4, Romans 10:9-10)

It’s so simple. Yet I don’t want to oversimplify. When I say, we believe it, I mean we TOTALLY TRUST IN IT. You remember a few weeks ago, we were in Hebrews chapter 6 and I made it so clear that a lot of people make a fly-by at it. They’re enlightened; they have a taste. But it never takes and they go right back into their old lifestyle. But for the believer who totally, totally relies on this finished work of the Cross to save them, then God has guaranteed that we are His forever. As long as He lives!

Alright, now back up a page to Romans chapter 1, and here we have another tremendous salvation verse that I think that we’ve used over and over through the years. Romans 1 verse 16.

Romans 1:16a

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it (the Gospel) is the power of God unto salvation (and again) to every one that (what?) believeth;…" Plus? No. To everyone that believeth. Oh my goodness, there are so many of these, especially in Romans, but let’s go on a little further. I’m going to go ahead to I Corinthians chapter 1, and my what a statement! Now this is God’s Word, this isn’t me. Like I said a moment ago this isn’t from some denominational book, this is from the Book. And Paul, writing to a Gentile congregation down in wicked Corinth says:

I Corinthians 1:17a

"For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel:…" The same Gospel of salvation that Romans 1:16 referred to, "how that Christ died, shed His blood, was buried and rose from the dead." Now finishing the verse.

I Corinthians 1:17

"For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect." In other words, not with smooth silver-tongued oratory. Now here’s the verse I wanted you to see. Verse 18.

I Corinthians 1:18a

"For the preaching of the cross (let that sink in) is to them that perish (the lost world, yes to them it’s) foolishness;…" Today they would probably say, "You mean to tell me that somebody that was on a Roman Cross two-thousand years ago has anything to do with me? I can’t believe that!" Well, then they are perishing. So for those who hear the preaching of the Cross and they perish, it’s foolishness. Now for the flipside.

I Corinthians 1:18b

For those of us who have latched on to this great salvation it is the power of God. Years back I made the statement on the program and I haven’t said it lately and so I’m going to repeat it. When God saves a sinner, whether it’s me or you o