Server Outage Notice: TheSeed.info is transfering to a new Server on Tuesday April 13th
| > Sermon Archive > Sermons by Author > Rev. Mark Chen > Better, Better, Better; Christ Is Better | Previous Next Print |
| Order Of Worship (Liturgy) Psalter 48 - A Call to Praise (Stz. 1-6) Psalter 140 - Penitential Prayers TH 701 - Redeemed, How I Love to Proclaim It! |
Better, Better, Better; Christ Is Better
Hebrews 8:1-13
When I was young, I was gifted a top of the line Victorinox Swiss Army knife for my birthday. It even had a saw with a serrated edge. It was very functional. I was the envy of every boy. But it was never meant to do the job of full-size tools. The saw couldn’t do what a full-sized saw could. And I learned it the hard way. I was determined to build a doghouse for our new puppy. I followed manual which called for 2 by 4 lumber. But I used my Swiss Army knife to cut them. In no time, the saw blade broke. It was never designed to do that kind of work. I should’ve gotten help from a better carpenter with a better saw.
It’s the same with atonement. How could man draw near to God in the Old Testament? By temple sacrifices. Priests offered sacrifices for sinners to be forgiven. But could they? The system was very restrictive. We’ve seen how the priests and sacrifices were ineffective. They were lousy carpenters with small knives. So for man to be righteous, God changed the system to a better one with a better priest, so all can draw near. That’s why Hebrews 7:25 says, “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.” Today, we see the main point of the entire letter. Verse 1, “Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum.” So he’s stating his thesis for Hebrews. And we’ll see it in 2 parts. Firstly, we have a better mediator whose work is better. Secondly, we have a better covenant which system is better.
Firstly, we have a better mediator whose work is better. In the Old Testament, Moses gave the law. If you obey, you’ll be blessed. But don’t you dare disobey! But if you unintentionally disobey, the priests can make atonement for you. But the priests can do nothing about willful disobedience. Such rebellion was punishable by death. Numbers 15:30 - “…the soul that [sins] presumptuously…shall be cut off…” But Christ is a better mediator. Verse 6 is the thesis statement of Hebrews - “But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.” Christ is better, better, better. This has been said all along. Christ’s been compared to the prophets, angels, and Moses to show he’s better. And he’s better than the priests. He did what they couldn’t. He achieved atonement. Verse 1 - “We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens.” How we know this is because he sat down. Hebrews 1:3 - after he purged our sins, he sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high. He sat down because he finished the work of atonement. In the Tabernacle furniture, there was no chair present. Priests always stood on their feet. Hebrews 10:11, “And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.” They never sat down because their work was never done. Christ, on the other hand, said, it’s finished, he died and he sat down.
His work was better. Verse 3 describes the quality - “every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices (plural): wherefore it is of necessity that this man have something (singular) also to offer.” They offered many incomplete sacrifices. They achieved nothing. Christ offered one sacrifice and saved his people. They did it every day, he did it once. The quality is better because he is better. Verse 2 says he serves. Christ, the eternal God, the enthroned king, is a servant. How can such service by God ever be bad? And it’s also better because of the job site. Christ doesn’t do the work on earth, with a Swiss army knife. He does it in heaven. Verse 2 - “A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.” The word “true” means authentic. Heaven is the real temple; the one on earth was only a model. Verse 5 calls it a copy and shadow. Moses built it according to a plan - like furniture by Ikea, with manual and tools. That’s why, verse 4, Jesus couldn’t serve in that earthly temple. But why would he? The tabernacle was for inferior priests. It was a tent! Why would he want to serve there? He serves in a far better sanctuary set up by God! The quality of his work, his person, and his work place are all better. That’s why verse 6 says everything’s better. Better ministry, better mediator, better covenant, better promises. So let’s see how it’s better.
That’s the second point - we have a better covenant which system is better. Here the author contrasts the two covenants. He shows the superiority of the new and the inferiority of the old. And we learn that it was intentionally faulty. Verses 7-8 - the first or old covenant was not faultless. And because he found fault with it, he made a new one. But it was faulty for several reasons. In Hebrews 7, we’ve seen how it was faulty by design. It says the sacrifices couldn’t actually make atonement. The blood of bulls and goats can’t take away sin. The priests themselves needed forgiveness for their sins. So it was faulty because the people were also faulty. Verse 9 describes how God made a covenant with “their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; [but] because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not…” Yes, God redeemed Israel by his fatherly hand. He performed great miracles. He gave them his laws. And at Sinai, the people vowed in Exodus 24:7 - “All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient.” They even sealed their vow with blood. Moses poured sacrificial blood on the altar and sprinkled half on the people. But they didn’t keep the agreement. They rejected God. Despite giving them blessings like manna, water, and quail - to fuel their gratitude, they didn’t have the will to obey. Their hearts were faulty. The Old Covenant couldn’t ensure obedience. The 10 Commandments were written on stone tablets, but didn’t give the people the desire to obey it. The disobeyed almost immediately after receiving it. But the New Covenant’s different, it’s better. Verse 10 says “I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts.”
But why was the Old Covenant faulty? Wasn’t it designed by God? Yes, which is why this is challenging for some to accept. Why did he make it faulty? It’s as if it had a built-in obsolescence. You may ask what’s that. Appliances from the 70s or 80s were known to last forever. But manufacturers wised up. How could they increase sales if appliances never broke down? So they made them less durable. That’s why today we spend thousands of dollars on tech that becomes obsolete in a few years. So God, by design, made the Old Covenant inadequate. But he did this so people would look to a better system. They were given laws - all 613 of them. I must keep them, but I can’t! So the law was a discipline master which drove people to seek a savior. That’s why the sacrifices, ceremonies, priests, and temple were faulty, designed that way to cause people to look for a savior. This obsolescence triggered David. After he sinned with Bathsheba, he could offer no sacrifice. His sin was presumptuous and high handed. He deserved death. No priest could atone for his sin. He could only go to God to plead for forgiveness. Psalm 51:16-17 - “For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise…you desire truth in the inward parts (v 6).”
That’s the superiority of the New Covenant. David was driven to it. And it’s superior for various reasons. Verse 10 says, “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people.” It’s made with the Israel of God - not just the nation of Israel. In the first covenant, Gentiles couldn’t enter the temple. Jews were restricted to the outer court. Priests could enter the Holy Place but not the Holy of Holies; only the High Priest, but once a year. But here, all of God’s people can have intimacy with God. It’s an exclusive and intimate relationship. “I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people.” God loves us. He’s our father. It’s personal - “I” will their God; they shall be “my” people. God values us above all other things. And it’s not one way. God’s people will know him. Verse 11 - “all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.” And this isn’t a book knowledge - but an intimate personal knowledge. Jesus said in John 17 - “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” Because of Christ, we receive mercy and forgiveness, verse 12 says. It’s an internal religion. “I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people.” Yes, the Old Covenant people received the law in an amazing way. God promised blessing if they obeyed, but cursing if they disobeyed. You’d think that fear would make them obey. But they wouldn’t! Why? Fear can’t lead to obedience. On the other hand, in the New Covenant, God worked in the heart of his people. When they saw their need for a savior and cried out to God, their hearts were changed. The law’s no longer a burden, but a joy to obey.
Folks, there’s no law today that says we must attend church. The police won’t arrest us if we’re absent. But we’re all here voluntarily. Why? We’re forgiven. Our hearts are changed. Also, there’s no law that says you must forgive. But we forgive because he who’s forgiven forgives others. We delight in obedience. We keep the 10 Commandments because we love God and our neighbors. The Sabbath commandment only makes sense if we love God. We’re concerned with praise that delights God, not the exciting and beautiful music of the world. Worship is in spirit and in truth, done in the beauty of holiness. Our feeble prayers are enabled by Christ and heard by God. And we love to pray. And we serve not for self, but for Christ. Our works are counted as good because of Christ. Article 24 of the Belgic reminds us - “it’s impossible for this faith to be inactive…[It’s a] faith working through love (Galatians 5:6)…This faith causes man to [obey what]…God has commanded in his Word. These works, proceeding from the good root of faith, are good and acceptable in the sight of God…”
Sure, some of you aren’t here voluntarily. You feel forced or guilted into coming. You don’t delight in praise nor the Word. You don’t obey or you do so begrudgingly. And you serve, not out of joy but obligation. So these things may show that your hearts aren’t changed. Please, call on the Lord. See your need for a savior. And we New Covenant believers sometimes operate by Old Covenant mentality. Verse 13 - “In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.” But this old mentality is reflected in our spiritual lives. Sometimes, we do our devotions to keep some rule, rather than seeking God because we love him. In our service, we’re driven by guilt, obligation, or results; making comparison to others. Like those building the Tower of Babel. But remember David? Yes, he wanted to build God a magnificent house. But it was out of gratitude! He got it! He got the New Covenant. But how did God respond to David’s love? David, I’ll build my own house and I’ll build yours. That’s the New Covenant. We’re unprofitable servants who serve because we love him. When we do, God blesses all our feeble efforts.
But the old is also reflected in the way we raise our kids. Do this and live, don’t do it and die. That’s why to many covenant children, the Christian faith is all about good behavior. We’ve preached law instead of Christ. Telling them to live without teaching how Christ motivates their life. We teach them doctrinal adherence instead of Christ. So they try to please God with their flesh. To teach the New Covenant as if it’s the Old is worse than living in the Old that points to the new. We’ve taken the gospel and made it law. We’re trying to build our faith, by doing - following a manual and using the blunt knife of obedience.
Let us look afresh at Christ and pursue him. He alone washes our sins and fuels our loving obedience. That’s why God built faultiness in the Old Covenant. To point them to the New, which has always existed. It’s called the everlasting covenant. But God revealed it very clearly at one point in history. At the cross, one passover years ago, on a Friday, Christ died. There, he said it’s finished. He fulfilled all the Old Covenant demands of the law - as sacrifice, purification, priest, and temple. At his death, an earthquake came and the veil in the temple split in 2 from top to bottom. All of God’s people have access to him by faith. Beloved, how’re you doing in your faith? Are you trying to live it with Old Covenant mentality? Or are you fueled and nourished to live by Christ? As we come to his table, let us know afresh his love for us, and let us examine our love for him.
1. We Have a Better Mediator Whose Work Is Better
A. Christ’s a better mediator
B. Christ’s work is better
2. We Have a Better Covenant Which System Is Better
A. The Old Covenant was intentionally faulty
B. The New Covenant is superior
Conversation for Change:
- How might Christians often bring the Old Covenant mentality into how we live our lives? Why is this dangerous?
- If Christ is all we need to be acceptable before God, what of good works and obedience to the law of God? What place does that have?
* As a matter of courtesy please advise Rev. Mark Chen, if you plan to use this sermon in a worship service. Thank-you.
(c) Copyright 2025, Rev. Mark Chen
Please direct any comments to the Webmaster
