If you have watched any of the RNC speeches this year, you know that the theme is to get Donald J Trump back into the Whitehouse. The parts of the speeches that I have heard elevate that sinful man to the status of a god. The attempted assassination of last Saturday has elevated his status within the party. It has also elevated his status outside of that party. Some Democrats are saying they will vote for him now because of his response to that event. Will he save America? No! Does he protect the right of unborn children to live? No! Does he protect young people from the wicked onslaught of the sodomite minority? No! It is sad that so many people are putting their hopes in a man who has taught his granddaughter to get up in front of that massive crowd and swear. The name of God has been mentioned quite often in the speeches I have heard, but which god are they talking about? It is obvious that they are not talking about the God of Heaven.
I listened to some comments from Ken Ham, the man who raised more than 25 million dollars to build a replica of the Ark, according to his understanding. He stated that he did not know if Donald J Trump was a Christian. He had to admit that he did not believe that some of his language was very good, but he did not know if the man was saved. Ken Ham has to be very careful what he says and does. He needs large amounts of money to keep that Ark attraction going. He has to be like a politician and put his finger to the wind and see where the “middle ground” is. He knows he will offend some people and he has to weigh which people he will offend. He knows that the true, born again Christians are a minority. He can risk offending them. He cannot risk offending the massive New Evangelical/Emergent church group. He needs them more than he needs God, in order to keep his “empire” afloat. When men who have put themselves in such a public place, and claim to be God-fearing men, cannot speak the truth in love, what can we expect from his followers. Ken Ham has many followers. He has much influence over people. Yet he is a man who is lacking in the basic understanding of what a born again Christian looks like.
The book of Hebrews tells us of the true Jesus Christ. It tells us of His love for humanity. How He willingly left heaven’s glory and became a servant obedient unto death. He was made the Great High Priest because He was willing to do for mankind, what we had no ability to do for ourselves. Chapter 8 begins by summing up what has already been stated of the God/Man. Jesus Christ is such an High Priest, Who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens. Jesus Christ is the need of man. No God-fearing person should ever put any man in such a high place. Our hope is not in some man who wants to be the leader of a nation. Our hope must be in God.
Years ago, when I was in Bible School, we had a discussion in one of our classes related to which is of greater importance, politics or being a pastor. Most of the class suggested that being in politics would give a strong voice for change. Back then God had already impressed upon me that the greatest need we have is for godly men who will stand in our pulpits and preach the Word of God without apology. We need men who study the Word of God to meet God’s approval. Men who will seek to help others to know the truth, not men who will leave men to their own devices and pollute what God says about salvation.
God is making much of the Lord Jesus Christ in the book of Hebrews. He is doing that because He is the only Saviour. He is One of a kind. He is not a high priest like Aaron. He is THE Great High Priest. Jesus Christ is set down. His Work of Salvation is finished. He Is the Judge Who will judge every man. That work is still ongoing. However, He has made the way for any person to be forgiven and saved and be able to hear God’s “well done” after death.
Jesus Christ is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens. Jesus Christ is the only One Who can save us, and yet most people put him in a lower place than a self-declared sinful man like Donald J Trump or Pierre Poilievre.
God wanted the first century saints to know the greatness of the Lord Jesus Christ. God wanted them to look to Him now that they were saved and understand the greatness of what He had provided for them in salvation but also post salvation. He is still the Great High Priest Who is interceding for the saints after salvation.
If we, those who are saved, truly care about our neighbours and strangers, we will want to make much of the Lord Jesus Christ and remind people that the hope of man is not in some politician running around and wasting our hard earned money to tell us things our flesh wants to hear, but they have no way of keeping their empty promises.
In verse 2 Jesus Christ is the minister of the sanctuary. He is the minister of the true tabernacle. This is not the tabernacle that God instructed Moses to make. That tabernacle was important. It was designed by God to be the picture of the true tabernacle, Jesus Christ. The true tabernacle is in heaven. Jesus Christ is the minister of It and He is the Great High Priest. Jesus Christ pitched that tabernacle by Himself. He did not need skilful men like Bezaleel to design pieces for it. He did not need the Levites to assemble it. He is that tabernacle and He fills every part of that tabernacle. That tabernacle is a sanctuary. A sanctuary is a place worthy of veneration. In the Bible that place was referred to as “the holiest”. It was the inner part of the tabernacle where the High Priest alone could enter once in a year, but not without first offering a sacrifice for his own sins and then bringing into It the required blood for an atonement for the sins of the people as well.
God impressed upon the priests and the people that that place was special. It needed to be respected according to God’s will.
That heavenly sanctuary is of greater importance than the earthly one which was necessary but was still a type of the real thing. Jesus Christ is the central being of that tabernacle and it is a great privilege to know Him and to serve Him.
Those who are saved will lay their crowns at His feet in glory. It is important that we lay down our lives before Him now and exalt Him to His rightful place in our own hearts and then seek to help others to see the need to know Him as well. It is sad to see people willingly struggling to make sense of their wicked lives, rather than turning to God and be set free. It is also sad to see professing Christians accepting the testimony of deluded people who have an imaginary God and Saviour who cannot set them free from the bondage of sin. The Jesus that God is presenting in the book of Hebrews is so much better than everything else. He can do what no man can do. He can set us free and He does set the repentant sinner free. Those who are saved will still sin. However, we have THE GREAT HIGH PRIEST who is willing to intercede for us before His Father in heaven. We can be forgiven and we can be strengthened in the inner man so that we can be a better light in this dark and dying world.
Jesus Christ offers so much more than any mere mortal can imagine. We need to build our faith on what the Bible declares, not on what we personally, or some other person imagines. “We have such an High Priest!”
Pastor Bartel