Replacing Insurance With Assurance
Hebrews 7:11-22
September 6, 2015
From time to time here at the church,
Our brothers and sisters from Lakeside Baptist
Will come and use our facilities for a funeral.
Several years ago they had a minister come in for a funeral who was blind.
I didn’t know it until later, mostly because
He did such a great job and quotes so much Scripture.
I’ll never forget how he started his message.
(And you all know that black preachers
Have a few more gears in their transmission than the rest of us)
He started talking about insurance.
“I hear a lot on the radio about insurance. Geiko and State Farm and Progressive. We go to the hospital and they want to know about our health insurance. We get life insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, car insurance.
But I’m here to tell you today friends you may have insurance, but what you really need is the blessed assurance.”
I’ll remember it forever.
And think about it for a second.
The difference between insurance and assurance.
• Insurance is expensive, assurance is free.
• Insurance goes into effect after an accident, assurance is in effect before it.
• Insurance is meant to bail you out, assurance says you’ll never need it.
By all accounts assurance is better than insurance.
And yet the majority of the religious world
Still seeks insurance over assurance.
That is what these Jews were doing,
To whom the writer of Hebrews was preaching.
They were being offered Jesus and the assurance of hope and eternal life.
They still wanted the insurance of their religious ordinances.
Judaism and the priestly system was a great form of insurance.
As we mentioned last week,
• They knew they couldn’t keep the Law.
• They had read all the commandments and they knew they would fall short.
• They knew that disobedience brought about a penalty of curses and death.
But they weren’t overly concerned because they had “curse insurance”.
It came in the form of their priest.
After they would sin; after their accident,
They would call upon their insurance agent who would then effectively work
To try and bail them out through a sacrifice and intercession.
And because this system had seemingly worked time after time
They had grown to love their insurance agent.
“Like a good neighbor their high priest was there.”
And so every time they blew it, they went to their priest,
And they hoped that their priest could set things right.
This reality is seen very clearly with the children of Israel under Moses after the golden calf incident.
If you’ll remember, God was so angry at that event that He actually moved His presence outside of their camp and threated to abandon them altogether.
Moses was working as a “go between” in the role of the priest.
The people hoped it would work.
Exodus 33:7-10 “Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, a good distance from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting. And everyone who sought the LORD would go out to the tent of meeting which was outside the camp. And it came about, whenever Moses went out to the tent, that all the people would arise and stand, each at the entrance of his tent, and gaze after Moses until he entered the tent. Whenever Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent; and the LORD would speak with Moses. When all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would arise and worship, each at the entrance of his tent.”
Can you see their anxiety as Moses approached the tent of meeting?
Can you see their relief when God would respond?
As Moses went out, the hoped it would work.
And that literally sums up every form of legalistic religion.
Whether it is Judaism or Mormonism or some false version of works-based Christianity.
People do something, hoping God will accept it
And be willing to forgive them because of it.
They have an insurance plan to cover their sin, and they hope it will work.
But church, God never intended for His children to have insurance. His intent is that His children have assurance.
He doesn’t want them to hope they will be forgiven,
He wants them to have hope because they are forgiven.
When “hope” is a verb it is filled with nervousness and anxiety.
But when “hope” is a noun it is one of the most calming realities a believer has.
This writer is trying to move his congregation
From insurance to assurance; from hoping to having hope.
And as we stated last week, his chief and finest argument
Centers around Psalms 110:4 and the man named Melchizedek.
Melchizedek only showed up for a few verses in Scripture.
After Abraham conquered the kings and brought back the spoil,
Melchizedek blessed Abraham and Abraham paid him a tithe.
And that is all we know about him.
• We don’t know his pedigree, we don’t know where he came from.
• We don’t know when he started, we don’t know when he stopped.
• All that we know is that he was a priest based on character and he was a
priest that never left office.
Now according to the Law, Melchizedek would not have been allowed to be a priest.
• He wasn’t a Levite.
• He was also a King.
• And he served far more than just 25 years.
But in Psalms 110:4 God made a remarkable declaration.
He declared that one day He would ordain a new priest.
And His new priest would not be according to Aaron,
But according to Melchizedek.
Psalms 110:4 “The LORD has sworn and will not change His mind, “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.”
God announced the coming retirement of the Levitical priesthood
And the coming inauguration of a new priest.
• God’s new priest would be selected based on character, not pedigree.
• God’s new priest would be both king and priest.
• God’s new priest would reign forever, and never leave office.
That is what we learned in the first 10 verses of this chapter.
This morning we move on to the RAMIFICATIONS of that decision.
Again, the stuff we deal with here is considered “meat” not milk, so I need you to pay attention and we are in desperate need of the Holy Spirit to make it clear to us.
Now, HERE IS WHAT IS HAPPENING in these 12 verses.
The writer asks a question and then he answers it.
That is admittedly a little tough to see
Because he gives so many qualifiers between the question and the answer.
But I want you to be able to understand this passage later when you’re reading through Hebrews on your own, so let me show it to you.
He asks the question in verse 11.
In verses 12-17 he talks about the ramifications of the question.
He finally answers the question in verse 18.
So if you’re like me, you’ll want to make a little note at the end of verse 11
To remind you that the answer comes in verse 18.
So let’s work our way through this text this morning.
#1 THE QUESTION: Why Did God Change Priests?
Hebrews 7:11-17
If you’ll remember, we actually introduced this question last week.
(11) “Now if perfection was through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the people received the Law), what further need was there for another priest to arise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be designated according to the order of Aaron?”
Now you’ll notice, in that question
He has some assumptions and he has some realities.
First he addresses the assumption that “perfection was through the Levitical priesthood”
Why would he assume that?
“(for on the basis of it the people received the Law)”
The reason people accepted the Law of God as their standard for living
Was because they believed that the priesthood could cover their failures.
They knew they couldn’t keep the Law,
But they had insurance in the form of their priest.
That means they believed that “the Levitical priesthood”
Could in fact make them complete and perfect and acceptable to God.
Well, THE QUESTION IS, if your priest makes you perfect, “what further need was there for another priest to arise according to the order of Melchizedek..?”
We’ve all heard the phrase, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”
That is the kind of logic the writer of Hebrews is using here.
If the Levitical priesthood was doing such a great job making people pleasing to God, then why would God change it?
Because in Psalms 110:4, He clearly introduced a new order.
WHY did He do that?
Now, BEFORE he answers that question,
He first wants you to understand some of the ramifications that exist
If God were to change priests.
It’s not as simple as just saying,
“Oh, I changed My mind, let’s give someone else a shot,
just to see what happens.”
It’s not that simple.
Changing the order of priests gets complicated.
WHY?
(12) “For when the priesthood is changed, of necessity there takes place a change of law also.”
Here is why it is so difficult to change priests.
If you’re going to change priests what else do you have to change?
The “law”
WHY DO YOU HAVE TO CHANGE THE LAW?
(13-14) “For the one concerning whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no one has officiated at the altar. For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, a tribe with reference to which Moses spoke nothing concerning priests.”
Now, when we have talked about Melchizedek,
We already established who was the priest like him didn’t we?
Who is the priest like Melchizedek?
Jesus is.
Hebrews 5:9-10 “And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation, being designated by God as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.”
Hebrews 6:19-20 “This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”
Jesus is this priest like Melchizedek that we are talking about.
But if God wants to make Him priest that is difficult.
In order to do it, God would also have to change the Law.
WHY?
Because the Law was pretty clear about who could be a priest.
Who could be a priest?
Only the Levites.
But “it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, a tribe with reference to which Moses spoke nothing concerning priests.”
So if you’re going to change priests,
You also have to change the Law.
Maybe you think the speed limit ought to be 90mph.
It can happen, but you’re going to have to change the law to make it happen.
That is the issue here.
God can change priests if He wants,
But to do so, He’ll also have to change the Law.
Now, you’ll see where He’s going with this in chapter 8,
But for now I simply want you to realize that
Changing priests was no small decision.
It’s not something you just do to do.
It’s not something you just try to see if you like it.
You aren’t going to lay carpet in your whole house just to see if you like the way it feels.
You wouldn’t make this decision
Unless you were absolutely certain
That the decision needed to be made.
And so it is with God and the priesthood.
BUT HERE IS AN EVEN BIGGER KICKER…
REGARDLESS OF THE DIFFICULTY, GOD DECIDED TO DO IT
(He announced that decision with the writing of Psalms 110:4)
So after the writing of that Psalm,
We knew that one day God would change the Law and the priesthood.
All we were waiting for was the day when it would occur.
HOW WOULD WE KNOW WHEN IT WAS TIME?
We would know it was time when the new priest arrived.
(15-17) “And this is clearer still, if another priest arises according to the likeness of Melchizedek, who has become such not on the basis of a law of physical requirement, but according to the power of an indestructible life. For it is attested of Him, “YOU ARE A PRIEST FOREVER ACCORDING TO THE ORDER OF MELCHIZEDEK.”
Now pay attention to his reasoning here.
Having a promise that God is going to change priests is one thing,
But “if another priest arises according to the likeness of Melchizedek”
Then you’ll know it is time.
If we see another priest that is a priest
“not on the basis of a law of physical requirements”
If we see another priest that is a priest
“according to the power of an indestructible life”
Then we’ll know God’s promise has come.
SO THE POINT UP UNTIL NOW IS OBVIOUS.
The priest God promised back in Psalms 110:4 has arrived.
That priest is Jesus.
He is priest based on character not pedigree.
He is priest who will be priest forever just as God said.
But that still doesn’t answer the question.
• We know God did change priests.
• We know God did it in spite of the difficulty involved.
(for doing it required changing the whole law)
But the question remains, WHY DID GOD CHANGE PRIESTS?
Well, do you want to see the answer?
#2 THE ANSWER: To Establish A Better Hope
Hebrews 7:18-22
Follow along here.
He asked the question back in verse 11.
“…what further need was there for another priest..?”
That was basically the question.
And in verses 18 and 19 he gives you two reasons.
• Notice the “on the one hand” statement in verse 18.
• And the “on the other hand” statement in verse 19.
The first reason there was need for another priest.
1) TO ELIMINATE WHAT WAS WEAK AND USELESS (18-19a)
“For, on the one hand, there is a setting aside of a former commandment because of its weakness and uselessness (for the Law made nothing perfect)”
To put it plainly.
The Law (and the priestly system that supported it) had a FLAW.
What was that flaw?
It “made nothing perfect”
And let me remind you that perfection is required.
How many times do we hear God say, “You shall be holy as I am holy”?
But the Law “made nothing perfect.”
But that was their assumption wasn’t it?
That is what he taught us back up in verse 11.
They assumed that “perfection was through the Levitical priesthood”
But it wasn’t.
The Law never made anyone perfect.
In fact all the Law ever did was reveal that people weren’t perfect.
The Law is like a mirror,
It can show you what you look like,
But it can’t help you fix it.
Romans 3:20 “because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.”
Romans 7:9-10 “I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin became alive and I died; and this commandment, which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me;”
Galatians 3:21-22 “Is the Law then contrary to the promises of God? May it never be! For if a law had been given which was able to impart life, then righteousness would indeed have been based on law. But the Scripture has shut up everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.”
The Law didn’t make anyone perfect.
To which the Jews would answer, “That’s what the priesthood was for”
It stepped in to make people perfect.
Really?
Then why did God change it?
Now, I’ll give you a bit of a spoiler for where the writer is headed.
He’s actually going to give three concrete realities that prove
The old Law and the old priesthood never made anyone perfect.
The New Priest (Psalms 110:4)
The Hanging Veil
The Reoccurring Sacrifice
All of those are his points.
• If your priests are so perfect, why did God promise a new one?
• If your priests are so perfect, why didn’t the veil ever come down?
• If your priests are so perfect, why did they have to keep offering those
sacrifices year after year after year?
That’s his argument.
The Law and the priestly system did not achieve perfection.
That system was too weak, and therefore utterly useless.
Romans 8:3 “For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,”
The Law was too weak and so God couldn’t use it.
That is one of the reasons that He went to all the trouble to change it.
But there is also a second reason He did it.
First, to eliminate what was weak and useless
2) TO ESTABLISH WHAT IS STRONG AND EFFECTIVE (19b)
“on the other hand there is a bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.”
That is to say, God replaced the system that wouldn’t work,
With a system that would.
The old system was the verb version of hope.
You failed the Law time and time again and so you went to your priest hoping he could make you perfect.
And he never could.
It was never lasting, it was never permanent, it was never fully effective.
Every year you hoped it would work and it never did.
So God discarded that verb version of hope
And replaced it with the noun version of hope.
He brought in “a better hope, through which we draw near to God.”
• He brought in a system that actually tears down the veil.
• He brought in a system that actually enters the presence of God.
• He brought in a system that allows you and me to boldly go before Him at any time.
We don’t hope our priest can make us perfect.
We have hope because God already has.
(that is why we can now “draw near to God”)
It’s the difference between insurance and assurance.
People in religion all over the world are constantly trying to obtain a little “hell insurance” a little “fire insurance”.
• I’ll go to church…
• I’ll read my bible…
• I’ll pray…
• I’ll adhere to the requirements of my religion…
• I’ll do what I’m told to do…
Hoping that when I die, it will be enough.
Hoping that my insurance policy will cover it.
The problem is that it won’t.
If you’ve learned anything from our culture you ought to at least learn that INSURANCE IS NEVER AS GOOD AS ADVERTISED.
But we aren’t looking for insurance, we are looking for assurance.
• Assurance that my sins are covered.
• Assurance that my transgressions are washed clean.
• Assurance that my priest has it all taken care of.
• Assurance that now I am welcome before the Father.
That is what we are after.
And that is why God changed priests.
HE WAS REPLACING YOUR INSURANCE WITH ASSURANCE.
And if you’ll remember He was dogmatic about it.
(20-21) “And inasmuch as it was not without an oath (for they indeed became priests without an oath, but He with an oath through the One who said to Him, “THE LORD HAS SWORN AND WILL NOT CHANGE HIS MIND, ‘YOU ARE A PRIEST FOREVER'”)
God just didn’t do it, God swore to it.
And God swore that after this change, He’d never change it again.
THAT IS ASSURANCE.
We have a successful priest.
We’ll always have a successful priest.
I’m not worried in the least that I might not make it to heaven when I die.
I trust my priest has it covered.
And that is why the writer says in verse 22
“so much the more also Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant.”
JESUS IS OUR GUARANTEE.
When Jesus showed up (in the order of Melchizedek)
We knew that the fulfillment of God’s promise had come.
We knew that God was finally getting rid of the old priesthood
And establishing the new one He had promised.
And so Jesus is my proof that the “better covenant” is here.
I now have assurance.
Paul would say it like this:
2 Timothy 1:12 “For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.”
John would say it like this:
1 John 5:13 “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.”
Peter would say it like this:
1 Peter 1:3-5 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”
Jude would say it like this:
Jude 24-25 “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.”
And Jesus would say it like this:
John 6:39-40 “This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”
Jesus is not our insurance, He is our assurance.
The only question is whether or not you have trusted Him.
Have you left the old system to embrace the new?
This writer wanted these Jews to let go of their old religious system
And place everything on the back of Jesus.
Trust Him
If you never have, I invite you to do that this morning.
• Rest assured He is God’s priest.
• He is the only priest that God is accepting.
• He will be priest for all eternity.
• And through Him you can forever draw near to God.
