“Reformation Sunday: Christ Our
High Priest” Hebrews 9:11-14 11/4/07
SCRIPTURE INTRO:
On that day, Martin
Luther, who was a German monk, and priest,
posted
a list of objections to church teaching—particularly sale of indulgences.
Indulgences were letters blessed by Pope to take away years
of purgatory.
That list of objections, there were 95, was called Luther’s
95 Theses.
They spread all
over
rediscovery
of the Gospel that had been covered over by centuries of legalism.
It’s hard for us to understand the amazement and joy that
swept through
parts
of the church when people started to hear the Gospel again.
It’s been my custom over the years here to take a break from
my sermon series
on
this Sunday and focus on one of the doctrines that the Reformers rediscovered,
and
see how that doctrine is still relevant to us today—
why
we should be amazed and joyful.
In the past we’ve looked at the doctrine of justification.
We’ve looked at the
doctrine of vocation.
Today, want us to look at the doctrine of the
priesthood of Jesus Christ.
INTRO: The church in Luther’s day was a
hierarchy of priests.
At the bottom level, at the local church you had the parish
priest,
and
at the very top you had the pope.
The church taught that the priest stood between the believer
and God.
He held the keys to
heaven and hell, he could forgive sins
through
ritual of confession and absolution.
The Lord’s Supper, the Mass, was believed to be a
re-sacrificing of Jesus
all
over again through the work of the priest.
So to get the benefits of Jesus, once again,
you
had to come through the work of the priest.
Even though there were many good parish priests, who cared
for their people,
and
tried to point them to Christ, this teaching got in the way.
And for many more bad priests, especially those in the
hierarchy who
had
their position just because of the salary and prestige,
this
view of the priesthood enabled them to manipulate people.
There were many negative effects of this teaching,
but
one was that people who had any spiritual sensitivity at all,
lived
with a great deal of unease, a deep sense of guilt.
Martin Luther himself was always going to his own priest—
and
saying, here’s another sin, pardon me.
One of the great rediscoveries of the Reformation was the
priesthood of Christ.
Jesus is our
priest, not men. He stands between us
and God and he is God.
And his sacrifice
for our sins happened once, totally accepted by God.
And he is always
interceding for us.
And we can come to him in prayer, and confess our sins,
and
be forgiven, and know we are forgiven.
We don’t have to
depend on unreliable, sinful men—we have Jesus.
That’s why Martin Luther called this a comforting doctrine.
I’m sure most of you this morning are
saying, I know that.
I’ve been taught
that all my life. Jesus is my priest.
Andrew, you’re not
my priest—a pastor and teacher.
I don’t have to go a sinful man to get forgiveness. I have it in Jesus.
And I can go to him
at any time.
Good, I’m glad you
believe that.
But let me suggest that we forget it all the time, and that
all of us here
turn
away from Jesus and try to get forgiveness from another priest—
ourselves.
Nowhere is this more clear than
when you hear a person say:
“I have to forgive
myself.” Or “I just can’t forgive myself.”
Have you ever heard
anyone say that? Have you ever said it?
People usually talk about the about need to forgive
themselves,
when
they are struggling with feelings of guilt.
And it’s become an accepted belief in our psycho-analyzed
culture,
that
forgiving yourself is something important that you have to do.
That
we are somehow in the position to deal with our own guilt.
When Christians talk this way, often add a theological
twist:
“I know God has
forgiven me, now I’ve got to forgive myself.”
In other words, I know Jesus has died on the cross for sins,
believe that.
But I don’t feel
forgiven. These negative feelings, this
feeling of guilt,
must
be judgments I’m making against myself, so that must mean
that
I have to forgive myself.
But is that the answer to the problem of guilt and
self-accusation?
The Bible says a
lot about God forgiving us, us forgiving other people.
But it says
absolutely nothing about forgiving yourself.
The problem of guilt will not be solved by trying to be your
own priest,
but
by trusting completely in Jesus Christ to be your priest.
He is a perfect priest.
He offered a perfect sacrifice.
Jesus not only
forgives you, but through your growing comprehension
of
His priestly work, you can know forgiveness in an experiential way.
Can
truly deal with self-accusation, pangs of guilt that trouble heart.
Like Martin Luther, other reformers, you can experience the
joy
of
this comforting doctrine.
Look at this subject and passage in Hebrews under two
headings.
1. Why you can’t be
your own priest.
2. Why you need Jesus
to be your priest.
MP#1 Why you can’t be your own priest
The same reason I can’t be your priest—we’re sinners.
If you try to deal
with your feelings of guilt by forgiving yourself—
you
will actually feed other sins, below the radar screen,
that
are the real cause of your problems.
What sins? Three examples. Not
all, but three big ones.
Self-forgiveness will never deal with your feelings of guilt
and self-accusation.
1. The first is pride.
Sometimes, when a person says, “I can’t forgive myself,”
what
he means is, “I can’t believe I did that.”
Other people do
that. I’m not that kind of person.
We’ve all known people who are hard on themselves, accuse
themselves.
Maybe you are like
that. What’s the pop-culture diagnosis?
Poor Joe, he has
low self-esteem.
And that seems right.
Here is a person who is just kicking himself.
I can’t believe I
did that. I can’t believe I did that.
The real problem is not low-self esteem, it’s
pride.
Pride is having a
view of yourself that contradicts what God says about you.
What does the Bible say about the bad things you do?
Does it say—that’s
not you. You’re
not really that kind of person.
It says: “The heart is deceitful and desperately
wicked, who can know it?”
And lots of other things like that about our hearts.
In other words,
Bible says, God says—you shouldn’t be surprised at your sin.
If there is any
surprise, it’s that you haven’t done worse.
This is who you
are. This is a true expression of your
sinful nature.
But I’m a Christian.
Yes, you are. That means you have a new nature longs for
holiness.
And that is the new
you, and the real you that will live forever.
But when you sin, that’s still you,
it’s your old nature.
“Each one is
tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.”
As long as you think that the cause of your self-accusation
and guilt pangs
because
you haven’t forgiven yourself, will fail to deal with real sin of pride.
When face Lord’s
true assessment of sinful nature, pride broken,
depth
of sinfulness can be faced, can progress toward feeling forgiven.
2. Second sin is idolatry.
Sometimes when a person says, “I can’t forgive myself,” it’s
because the bad thing
he
did ruined his chances for getting something that he had his heart set on.
He had his heart set on making certain standard of living,
getting married,
having
wife and children who respect him, advancing in his career, whatever.
But the thing he
did blew all of that, filled with regret, self-accusation.
We’ve talked a lot over the years about idols.
Bible presents idolatry as the most basic problem of human
race.
First
commandment—Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Idol is something you trust to give you what God alone can
give.
Something you trust
to give you security, worth, joy, peace.
Idols are usually things that are good in themselves—
money,
marriage, work, success, reputation.
But
when those things are trusted to meet deepest needs, idolatry.
If your sin seems
to ruin your chances for achieving this idol, full of regret.
Counselor Robert Jones, tells of a Christian woman who was
tormented by guilt
over
an abortion she had years before she had become a Christian.
Confessed
to Lord. Knew God had forgiven
her. Still
self-accusation, guilt.
I’ve got to forgive myself.
Only way I can deal with this guilt.
Hold on, let’s talk
about this.
Why did you get the
abortion in the first place?
Had gotten abortion because her career was
her idol.
Pregnant at just
the wrong time, would have ruined career.
But as the years had passed, career idol had failed her,
she
replaced it with another idol, marriage and children.
Became convinced she had to have this make her life worth
living.
For various
reasons, this abortion seemed to have ruined those chances.
And so she was in
this spiral of guilt and regret that was crushing her.
She thought, If I can just forgive myself for what I did, then free from
this guilt.
But the abortion was not the problem, it was her
idolatry.
Solution was not
forgiving herself for the abortion—coming to Jesus
so
that he could deal with her idolatry.
When able to say to Jesus—Forgive
me. Enable me to find what looking for
in you,
Lord began to deal
with her feelings of guilt and self-accusation, resentment.
3. The third sin is self-righteousness.
Sometimes when a person says, “I can’t forgive myself,” it
means:
I feel bad about myself
because I haven’t lived up to someone’s standards.
This is the problem
of self-righteousness.
Righteousness means to be judged and found acceptable.
One of the deepest
desires of our hearts is to be righteous.
We live and die by
the judgments that are made against us.
Adam and Eve were created with original righteousness.
What the Bible is
referring to when it says, “They were naked and unashamed.”
Nakedness
not just physical, completely exposed, open books.
Open before each
other, open before God.
Could stand naked and say—I’m all right.
Because in the eyes
of the one who really matters, God Himself, righteous.
Reason why, after the fall, after ate the fruit, made fig
leaf aprons to cover.
Ashamed
of their nakedness. Not just
naked bodies, knew unrighteous.
Couldn’t
bear the piercing eyes of God.
Tried to make themselves acceptable.
All the children of
Adam and Eve, inherited unrighteousness, shame.
Trying
to make ourselves acceptable. Making fig leave aprons.
And since the eyes of God are too piercing, choose other
eyes to live up to.
Might be the
approval of your parents, your peers, children, opposite sex,
might
be people in general—want them to judge you and find acceptable.
Sometimes a sin ruins you in the eyes of the very people you
are counting on
to
get your righteous judgment. You know
they are disappointed at you.
Or maybe they are
angry or even mocking.
And even though you know God has forgiven you—you still feel
guilty.
That’s because you
care so much about these other judgments.
The solution is not to forgive yourself.
It’s to come to
know that there is only one set of eyes that really matter—
not
parents, spouse, peers—God’s.
Jesus has come to be your priest, give you his perfect
righteousness.
Your guilt problem is not lack of self-forgiveness, solution
not being own priest.
That’s a breeding
ground for more subtle sins, cause more grief and guilt.
You need a better
priest. You need Jesus to be your
priest.
MP#2 Why you need Jesus to be your priest
You need Jesus to be your priest because he’s perfect and
you’re not.
The problem with
being your own priest is that you are a sinner.
You can’t deal with
your own guilt if your motives are all corrupted
by
pride, and idolatry, and self-righteousness.
Hebrews is so full of this teaching, that
I’m just going to jump around.
Look what
“Such a high priest
meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure,
set
apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens.”
Five things:
He’s holy—completely set apart for God’s work, fully
pleasing to Father.
He’s blameless—no moral charge of any kind could be laid
against him.
He’s pure—unstained life, nothing remotely impure.
He’s set apart from sinners—amazing, because moved freely
and lovingly
among
sinners, ate and drank with them, touched them,
but
so completely given over to God’s will, in no sense compromised.
He’s exalted above the heavens—beautiful life fully accepted
by God,
place
at the throne proof His work for us fully effective.
This is the perfect character of the priest who intercedes
for you.
Now look at
When Christ came as high priest he did not enter the
tabernacle—
by
the blood of goats and calves—but he entered the Most Holy place
once for all by his
own blood.
Skip to
He offered himself
unblemished to God.
Old Testament worship involved animal sacrifice.
Many lessons God
was teaching the Israelites to get them ready for Messiah.
One was the need
for a perfect sacrifice.
And with that, the realization that we could not provide
that perfect sacrifice.
We cannot provide
for our own forgiveness.
God would have to
provide it for us.
That is exactly who Jesus was, the perfect sacrifice,
so
that we could be forgiven.
And what did his perfect sacrifice accomplish?
to
cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death,
so
that we may serve the living God.
A cleansed conscience.
That’s the ultimate solution to your problem with guilt and
self-accusation.
You need a cleansed
conscience.
You don’t get it by forgiving yourself, but through the
perfect priest,
and
the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
So the big question needs to be asked:
What do I do about
these bad feelings I still have?
My
pangs of guilt, troubled conscience, my self accusation.
What do I do about
the fact that I still don’t feel forgiven for what I did?
Two things you need to do.
First. Must find, read, claim, meditate
on the promises of forgiveness in Bible.
As you read these, pray that God would make particular ones
precious to you.
So
that you preach them often to yourself.
Sink deep into your
heart and go to work.
Write these down, I’ll read the references slowly
Psalm 103:12
“As far as the east
is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”
Isaiah 1:18
“Come now, let us
reason together, says the Lord, though your sins are like scarlet,
they
shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like
wool.”
Isaiah 38:17
“You have put all
my sins behind your back.”
Isaiah 43:25
“I, even I, am he
who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and remembers
your
sins no more.”
Isaiah 44:22
“I have swept away
your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist.
Return to me, for I
have redeemed you.”
Romans 8:1
“Therefore, there
is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
1 Timothy 1:15
“Here is a
trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world
to
save sinners—of whom I am the worst.”
1 Peter 2:24
“He himself bore
our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for
righteousness;
by his wounds you have been healed.”
Start with those. Just a taste. Find
some that speak to you, make yours.
Preach them to
yourself when begin to accuse self, guilt pangs come.
Second: Search your
heart and confess sins to God.
But not the bad thing
that you did that is bothering your conscience.
You’ve already confessed
that long ago. That’s history.
God’s swept that
away. You are already forgiven.
No, you need to go deeper in your confession.
Ask yourself why
you are still bothered by this thing that you did,
Why do you still
feel guilty? Why do you accuse yourself?
Even though God has
said he has forgiven you.
Is the problem really your pride?
Are you bothered
because you just can’t believe you did that.
You’re not that
kind of person.
The reason you’re struggling with guilt is that you’ve never
taken God’s
assessment of sinful nature seriously.
Repent of your pride.
Repent till you can
say: Yes, that is the kind of person I
am.
But Jesus died for
sinners just like me.
Resist the
temptation to proudly be shocked at your sin.
Or is it really your idolatry that’s bothering you?
You’re full of
regret because that bad thing you did blew your chances to get the
one
thing in life that you are sure would give you worth, security, joy and peace.
Repent of your idolatry.
Any ugly things that cling to it—resentment,
bitterness.
Come and worship
Jesus. In worship, look for Him to fill
you.
Resist your
temptation to regret old unattainable idols.
Or is it really your self-righteousness that is bothering
you?
Are you miserable
because you know that the people whose judgment
you
live and die for are looking down on you for what you’ve done?
You need to realize, even if you had not fallen into sin,
their
judgments don’t matter.
There is only one
Person whose judgments count, the Lord.
Repent of your self-righteousness, pitiful attempts to make
self acceptable.
Rejoice in the
righteousness that you have in Jesus Christ.
1 Peters 3:18
“For Christ died
for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous to bring you to God.”
The priesthood that oppressed the church before the
Reformation
was
a priesthood of sinful men, who could not really forgive
and
solve the problem of guilt.
Don’t for a minute think that you can do any better as your
own priest.
Jesus alone is our
priest.
End this Reformation Sunday, reading words of Luther,
from
one of his sermons on Hebrews—printed in meditations section.
Follow along, as I read it to you:
“But with the priesthood of Christ is true spiritual remission, sanctification and
absolution. Christ’s blood has obtained
for us pardon forever acceptable with God.
God will forgive our sins for the sake of that blood so long as its
power shall last and its intercession for grace in our behalf, which is
forever. We find, then, in this
excellent lesson, the comforting doctrine taught that Christ is he whom we
should know as the Priest and Bishop of our souls; that no sin is forgiven, nor
the Holy Spirit given, by reason of works or merit on our part, but alone through the blood of
Christ, and that to those for whom God has ordained it.”