We return to our expositional study of the book of Hebrews. This morning, with God's help, we come to Hebrews chapter 5, and our sermon text will be verses 5 to 10, with particular focus on verses 7 to 10. Hebrews 5, verses 5 to 10. For the sake of the context, let's begin at verse 1. Hebrews 5, beginning in verse 1. For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. Who can have compassion on the ignorant? and on them that are out of the way, for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity. By reason hereof, he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins. And no man taketh this honor unto himself, but he that is called of God. as was Aaron. So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest, but he that said unto him, thou art my son, today have I begotten thee. As he saith also in another place, thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek, who in the days of his flesh when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death and was heard in that he feared. Though he were a son, yet he learned obedience by the things which he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him. Amen. May the Lord be pleased to bless His Word to us. The Lord Jesus Christ is a most excellent Savior. As we heard last week from the Song of Solomon, He is the chiefest among 10,000 He is the fairest of all men. Grace is poured into His lips. Therefore, God has blessed Him forever. There is no one like the Lord Jesus Christ. He's our all-sufficient Savior. And here in chapter 5, the Apostle Paul is telling us, proclaiming to us, that Christ is greater than Aaron. His priesthood is better than the Aaronic priesthood because Jesus Christ is the priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. And therefore, He alone is qualified to be our Savior, to be our Redeemer, to keep us in the one true faith forever. In 1 Samuel 2 and verse 35, we find a promise, a prophecy where Jehovah declares and I will raise me up a faithful priest that shall do according to that which is in my heart and in my mind." And that promise is ultimately fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ because He is alone the perfectly faithful High Priest. Now, children, as we continue to meditate on these verses, you know that our Lord Jesus and His humanity as a man comes from the tribe of Judah. Therefore, He is the King. As to Judah, it was said, the scepter shall not depart from Judah. So the Lord Jesus comes from the tribe of Judah. He's the Lion of Judah. He is Jehovah's King. But here, the Bible also teaches us that he's a priest. But the priestly tribe was Levi, right? And yet, our Savior comes from the tribe of Judah. Well, how do we understand that? Well, here, the apostle tells us that God calls Christ. to be our priest, not after the order of Aaron or Levi, but after the order of Melchizedek. Jesus Christ is called by God Himself. Our Lord Jesus is ordained of God the Father, anointed with the Holy Ghost, to be our prophet, our priest, and our king. And his priesthood is after the order of Melchizedek. Is that a teaching that we only find in the New Testament? No. This is what we find in the Old Testament, where Jehovah promises that he would raise a priest after the order of Melchizedek. And to prove that, the apostle Paul quotes from two verses in the Old Testament. So if you look at verse 5, he's quoting from Psalm 2 and verse 7. Thou art my son. Today have I begotten thee. So the Lord Jesus Christ is a divine person. He's the second person of the Trinity. He's the only begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father, before all worlds, God of God, light of light, very God of very God, begotten, not made. Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, equal with the Father, equal with the Holy Spirit. He is the son of God. And the Lord has, Psalm 2 teaches us, Jehovah has appointed and anointed his son Jesus to be his king. And then in verse 6, notice another quotation from the Old Testament. Verse 6, look at it. As he saith also is in another place. What is that another place? It's Psalm 110. Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. Well, how does Psalm 110 begin? Psalm 110 and verse 1, we know this well. The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool." So the Messiah is the king at the right hand of the Father, seated, ruling, and reigning, and all the enemies of Christ are being made his footstool. This is the great declaration of the rule of Christ, the Messiah, as the exalted king. When was this fulfilled? When our Lord Jesus, after He suffered and died, was buried and then rose again from the dead, and after His resurrection, He ascended into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. This is what David is speaking about. Christ's exaltation in the highest heavens as Jehovah's King. And David is worshiping. the Lord Jesus Christ. And in verse 1, there are two persons mentioned, right? The Lord, all caps, that's Jehovah, said unto my Lord, my Adonai. Jehovah said to my Adonai, sit thou at my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool. Here we find the two persons of the Trinity, the Father and the Son. So this is a Trinitarian psalm. But in that same psalm, if you look at verse 4, what does it say? What does David say? The Lord hath sworn and will not repent. Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. So the king is also the priest. Do you see that? In the same psalm, the Messiah is not only the king, He's also the priest of his people, our great high priest. So those two offices of the king and the priest merge in the person of Christ. He is the Priest-King. Amen? He is the Priest-King. And therefore, He alone is perfectly qualified, uniquely qualified to be our Redeemer, to save us from our sin and misery. There is no one like the Lord Jesus Christ. His priesthood is supremely glorious because He was called by God to be our Savior and our Redeemer. Look at verse 4 of our sermon text. And no man taketh this honor unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron, verse 5, so also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest. In other words, the Lord Jesus didn't take this honor himself, but God gave him this honor. Christ was called for this service and He is perfectly qualified to be our Redeemer. So the Lord Jesus says in John 8 and verse 54, If I honor myself, my honor is nothing. It is my Father that honors me, of whom ye say that He is your God. And so our Lord Jesus Christ is called by God to be our Great High Priest. And He's qualified, and He alone, to execute the duties of our Great High Priest. Truly God, and also truly man. Two natures united in one person. And so the book of Hebrews in chapter 2 and verses 16 to 18 say, for verily he took not on himself, verily he took not on him the nature of angels, but he took on him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore, in all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself hath suffered, being tempted, he is also able to succor or help them that are tempted. Christ is greater than Aaron because he's a priest for how long, children? Forever. Think with me. He's a priest forever, which means that after our Lord Jesus would die for us, he would also rise again. And he ever liveth to make intercession for us. He's a priest forever. Aaron had to die because he was a sinner. But our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for our sins, not for his own because he had none, after he died for our sins, offered himself up as a sacrifice in our place, in our room, to satisfy divine justice. And after he was buried, he also rose again from the dead. And he continues to serve as our great high priest forever. after the order of Melchizedek. And therefore, since he is our Great High Priest, since his priesthood is gloriously supreme, listen, he has become the author of eternal salvation. This is what verse 9 says, right? And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation. And so, as we meditate, especially in verses 7 to 10, this morning... This is our theme with God's help. Christ, our Great High Priest, is the author of eternal salvation. Christ, our Great High Priest, is the author of eternal salvation. As we consider this theme, we shall do so under three heads. Firstly, Christ's priestly prayers. Secondly, the man of sorrows. And then thirdly, the author of eternal salvation. So firstly then, Christ's priestly prayers. Look at verse 7. Who, speaking of the Lord Jesus, in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up what? Prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death and was heard in that he feared. What an amazing and glorious verse. Jesus Christ in the days of his flesh, in the days of his humiliation, This is the entirety of his life on this earth as he suffered for us, culminating in the suffering toward the end of his life with his death on the cross. The glorious Christ humbled himself, came into the world, suffered for us, died for us in order to bring us to God. And his entire life was characterized by prayer, right? Prayer. Christ is the man of prayer. He prayed throughout his life as our great high priest. And notice, he offered prayers and supplications, how? With strong crying and tears. Think about the Garden of Gethsemane, where the Lord poured out his heart unto his father, praying as our great high priest. This is very comforting for us, people of God, because our great high priest, who never failed, who remain faithful to the end will never run out of compassion and care for you. His prayers for you are sincere. His prayers for you are filled with compassion and to help you and aid you in your perseverance. He will never fail you. His mercy will never run out for you because since he's the risen Christ, he ever liveth. to make intercession for you. So it says here he offered up prayers with supplications, prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears. Think for instance about the Garden of Gethsemane. Here was our Lord Jesus praying in Gethsemane and listen to Matthew 26. Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceedingly sorrowful. He says to his disciples, My soul is exceedingly sorrowful even unto death. Tarry ye here and watch with me. And then he went a little further and he fell on his face And prayed, saying, Oh, my father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. Which cup was the Lord Jesus speaking of? The cup of God's wrath, the cup of God's wrath against Wicked men against sinners. God is holy and righteous. And the Lord Jesus knew that he was going to die in the place and the room of sinners and that he would endure the wrath of God as the cup of his wrath is poured out upon the perfect, sinless, righteous Lamb of God who never sinned. And yet he was going to become our sin bearer. And so he says, Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. But then he says, nevertheless, nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt. So in his humanity, the Lord Jesus submitted to the will of the Father. He never resisted God's will, he never disobeyed the Lord, but he perfectly submitted to the will of the Father because he loved the Father and he loved those whom the Father had given him, that he would lay down his life for them. He prayed with exceeding sorrow, with strong crying and tears. Think also Think about his prayer on the cross. Psalm 22, verse 1, that he quoted from the cross, right? My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? The Lord cried out to the Lord, to his Father, because as Jesus hung on the cross, he became our sin bearer. He became a curse for us, the Apostle Paul says. For as it is written, cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree. The Lord Jesus became a curse. What does that mean? It means that our sins were imputed to the Lord Jesus Christ. He took our punishment, He took our sin upon Himself, and He cried out to the Lord, My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me? Not only was He praying unto the Father, He was also praying for the salvation of others. What did Jesus pray? One of the prayers on the cross. Father, forgive them. Speaking of these sinners, forgive them for they know not what they do. He was praying for us. Think about the thief on the cross as he cried out to the Lord Jesus in his dying breath and said, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. The Lord Jesus responded to the thief on the cross with compassion. Verily I say unto thee, today shall thou be with me in paradise. Our compassionate Great High Priest prayed for us and continues to pray for us and offer up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears. This is speaking of his humiliation when he underwent the miseries of this life for us. And now as the exalted Great High Priest, he ever liveth to make intercession for us. He also prayed in his life on this earth for our perseverance, right? John 17, where the Lord Jesus prayed in his great high priestly prayer, and now I'm no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee, Holy Father, keep through thine own name, those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one as we are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name, those that thou gavest me. I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition, that the scripture might be fulfilled. It's on a perdition, speaking of Judas Iscariot. So what was the Lord Jesus praying in John 17? Keep them. Keep my people. Keep the elect. Keep those that thou hast given me. Keep those that are united to me by faith. At the Last Supper, What did Jesus say to Peter when Peter was all excited and Peter was like, Lord, I'm ready to die for you, and I'm ready to make all kinds of sacrifices for you? The Lord Jesus says to Peter in Luke 22, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you. Satan wants you. Satan wants to destroy your soul. Satan wants to take you with him to the lake of fire. He wants you. that he may sift you as wheat, but I have prayed for thee." And what did Jesus pray about Simon Peter? That thy faith fail not. So Jesus says to Peter, Peter you're going to fall, you're going to sin, you're going to end up denying me even, but I have prayed for you. And my prayers will sustain you, because I am your faithful Savior. And although you're weak, I am your strong Savior, who have prayed for you that your faith would not fail. And then the Lord Jesus says this to Peter, And when thou art converted, Strengthen thy brethren. When you return, when you come back to the brethren, strengthen them. Notice what Jesus doesn't say, and if you return. Strengthen the brothers. But when you return, in other words, Peter, you will come back because I will bring you back. I will not let you go. You will fail. You will even deny me. But because you are mine, I will keep you and you will come back. And when you do, strengthen these disciples. How wonderful and how comforting that is. Just as the Lord Jesus prayed for Peter, Christian, I want you to know the Lord is praying for you as well. He's praying that your faith would not fail. Do you think you need that prayer? I do, and I know you do too. Because our faith is not always strong. We are weak. We are frail. We are prone to wander. We are so easily tempted to depart from the living God. Our hearts are deceptive. And so often we forget the God who has saved us and we look to other things for refuge and strength and satisfaction instead of looking unto the Lord. We are weak. We need prayers. What is the guarantee that those of you who are truly converted, those of you who are saved, those of you who are united to Jesus Christ by faith, what is the guarantee that you will make it to glory? that you will get to the celestial city and not fall away along the way. What's the guarantee? Your Savior is praying for you. As He prayed for Peter, He prays for you, that your faith would not fail. And the Father will always answer the prayers of His Son. He sustains you in your pilgrimage with the ups and downs of life, with the trials of this life. The Lord Jesus sustains you. He sympathizes with you. Since He offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears, He can sympathize with you in your pain, in your suffering. He is our merciful and sympathetic High Priest. So what is the guarantee that you will make it to glory? Your faith, your comfort is not in a frail minister or in frail elders. But your hope and comfort is in the glorious Christ, the God-man, who will never, ever fail you. When all men can fail you, your Savior will never fail you. He will never leave you. He will never forsake you. And those whom God has accepted in the Beloved, in His Son, Jesus Christ, He will never abandon. But He will sustain you. Whatever comes your way, Christ will be with you. to protect you, to keep you so that your faith would not fail. This is why true believers will persevere to the end, because we have a Savior who ever liveth to make intercession for us. Notice that language of praying with strong crying and tears. I mean, this is intensity, right? Jesus prayed with great passion, with great intensity in his humanity. This was not a show. Okay? He was not just pretending to pray for us. Not really meaning what he was saying. No, no. He prayed with great passion, with suffering, with intensity, because he was moved with compassion and love for sinners. Never doubt the compassion of Jesus Christ. Never! Go, keep going back to this verse. He prayed with strong crying and tears. He wept, didn't he? It was not a show. But he truly sympathizes with you. In his humanity, he suffered. He suffered for you. Therefore, He will sustain you all the way to the end. He will never leave you. He will never give up on you or say that I'm done with you. But He will continue to persevere with you in your perseverance. He will be your very present help in trouble. He can sympathize with you in your pain and your sorrow and sustain you in your trials. Trust him. He's a most excellent Savior. Aaron couldn't do that. Sure, Aaron had compassion, but as we saw two Lord's days ago, his compassion failed because he was a sinner. Because Jesus Christ is a divine person, his compassion is infinite. His compassion, His mercy will never ever fail. He will not grow frustrated with you. He will not grow tired with you, but He will continue to gently, lovingly, with tenderness and care as your husband, He will sanctify His bride by His word. What a faithful Savior we have. Notice also at the end of verse seven, notice what it says, He prayed, cried out unto him, the father, that was able to save him from death. Okay? So here's the Lord Jesus in Gethsemane. Crying out to the Lord for salvation, for deliverance. And it says, the father was able to save him from what? From death, comma, and was heard. Jesus Christ was heard. His prayer was that He might be saved from this death. And He was heard. What does that mean? Notice what it does not say. It doesn't say that the Father was able to save Him from dying. but to save him from death, to save him, deliver him out of death, you see? Which means, although the Savior did die, he did not remain dead. But the Father delivered him out of the pangs of death. Out of the grave, out of death, he was delivered. This is the glorious resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. As he cried out for help, the Father helped him. and raise him from the dead. This is what we find in the Old Testament. So if you turn with me or just listen as I read from Psalm 16. Psalm 16. The end of Psalm 16. Verse 9, Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoiceth, my flesh also shall rest in hope, for thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. You see that? David here in verse 10 is speaking about the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The father will not let his holy one to see corruption. What is that a reference to, children? This is the reference to a dead body that is buried, experiencing decay and corruption. God will not let his son the body of the Lord Jesus to experience decay, corruption, which means that the father would raise his son from the dead so that his body has not undergone This is the promise of the resurrection. And then if you would turn to Psalm 22 that we sang earlier. Here in Psalm 22, the Lord Jesus is praying. These are the words of the Lord Jesus Christ as he cries out for mercy. And if you look at verse 21 of Psalm 22, what does the Lord say? Save me, save me from the lion's mouth. For thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns. I will declare thy name unto my brethren. In the midst of the congregation will I praise thee. So in verse 21, the Lord says, save me. This is what he says in the Garden of Gethsemane, right? Father, if it were possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt. Save me, O Lord. God did answer the prayer of his son. Not by saving him from dying, but by delivering him from the power of death. And so notice, save me from the lion's mouth, and then look at verse 22. I, what? Will declare thy name unto my brethren. This is speaking of the resurrection of Christ. The Lord who would suffer in our place would also declare the name of God in the church. Amen? The one who would be humiliated will also be exalted. The one who would die on the cross will also live again, rise again from the dead, and he will declare the praises of the Lord in the church. So this is what is meant here in verse 7 by by these words, that Jesus Christ was heard. He was heard. His prayers were heard. The Father did not let the Messiah see corruption. But after he died, was buried. He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures." And then notice one more thing at the end of verse 7. Notice the posture and the attitude of prayer in our Lord Jesus Christ. He was heard in that he what? Feared. He feared. This is speaking of the attitude of the heart of the God-man. Christ's prayers were filled with reverence, filled with trust in the Father, with humility. The Lord Jesus Christ never treated God's name with contempt. He never took the Lord's name in vain. but he perfectly honored the father and he prayed with reverence and humility and trust and dependence upon the father in his humanity as a man, our savior. Now as an application for you, If prayer was that important to the Lord Jesus Christ, that in the entirety of his ministry, as the God-man, he prayed for us, and he prayed, he constantly prayed, and depended on the Holy Spirit for strength and help, how important it is for you to pray? If the God-man needed prayer, needed to pray, how much more do you need to pray? Do you think that you can get by and live the life, live the Christian life without prayer when the God-man prayed? How much more you need to pray? You see, when you neglect prayer, what are you saying? You're saying to yourself and to the Lord that you don't really need the Lord. You can trust in your own wisdom. You can trust in your own understanding. You can trust in the strength of your own arms to live the Christian life. But when you pray, you're acknowledging your need for the Lord's help. You're acknowledging your dependence upon the Lord. As Jesus said, and he says to you, without me, ye can do nothing. You need Jesus Christ, and therefore let us grow in prayer. Let us be men and women and children of prayer, crying out to the Lord for help. Let us not lean unto our own understanding, but let us trust in the Lord all the days of our lives, and he shall lead and guide us. Well then secondly, our second head, he's also the man of sorrows. So we consider Christ's priestly prayers for us. Now let's consider his suffering. And he is called the man of sorrows in Isaiah 53. So look at verse 8. Though he were a son, speaking of the Lord Jesus, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered. Again, what a verse to meditate upon. He learned obedience by the things that he suffered. Again, this is speaking of the entirety of his life. The entirety of his life was marked by suffering. It was also marked by obedience. Jesus Christ obeyed the Father perfectly, obeyed the law of God perfectly. Now children, when it says here that he learned obedience, It does not mean that he went from disobedience to obedience. You know, when you learn obedience, you know, you... you disobey your parents or you dishonor them and then you're corrected and then with God's help you grow in obedience, you learn to obey after you make mistakes. That's not the case with our Lord Jesus Christ because he had no sin. There was never a time when he disobeyed, when he made any mistakes. He is perfect and righteous. So what does it mean then that he learned obedience? Listen, it does not mean that he went from disobedience to obedience. That's impossible. Jesus is impeccable. He's without sin. What this means is this. He went from one degree of perfect and flawless obedience to another degree of perfect and flawless obedience. He went from one degree of obeying the Father perfectly to a greater degree of obedience as he grew in years. Remember, the Lord Jesus has two natures, right? He's truly God and truly man. In his deity, as God, he doesn't learn anything. Why? Because he's perfect. He's immutable. He's unchangeable. God does not experience any change. God doesn't learn anything, as though there was something he didn't know. But in his humanity as a man, he did learn, he did grow, right? So Luke chapter two summarizes the childhood of the Lord Jesus. And you know what it says? And he grew in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and with men. The Lord Jesus grew in obedience in the sense that when He was five years old, He obeyed perfectly as a five-year-old. And when He was ten years old, He obeyed perfectly as a ten-year-old, and so on. But at every stage of His growth, He was characterized by perfect and flawless obedience. He obeyed God perfectly, and he grew in wisdom and stature. And as he grew, he continued to obey the law of God. He continued to perfectly, perpetually obeyed God's moral law and all the demands of the law of God as the second Adam for us. So when we speak of the obedience of Christ, think of it this way. There are two aspects to Christ's obedience. His active obedience and his passive obedience. His active obedience means the entirety of his life when he positively obeyed all the jots and the tittles of God's law perfectly in thought, word, and deed, and never sinned. He had to obey the law perfectly, because this is what the law requires, right? Perfect obedience. This is what God commanded Adam to do before the fall. But Adam failed. The second Adam never failed. He obeyed the law of God perfectly, not only externally, but also in his heart. He never sinned, ever. He obeyed the law of God perfectly for us and for our salvation. And then his passive obedience has to do with his suffering. He suffered for us in our place with the climax the cross. He suffered for us on the cross for our sins as the wrath of God was poured out upon him and he suffered and died in our place. And so those are two aspects of Christ's obedience for us. His entire life was marked by obedience. He knows you're suffering experientially because he also suffered, right? Therefore he's able to sympathize with you and But the point is this, not only do we need the Lord Jesus to die for us, we also need the Lord Jesus to live for us. Because through his death, our sins were paid for. The Lord Jesus paid the penalty for our sins, died for our sins. But had Jesus only died for us, we would have received forgiveness, but we would have been in the same situation as Adam was before the fall. with a possibility of falling again. You know what else we need in addition to the forgiveness of our sins? We need righteousness. We need a positive righteousness. We need to be clothed with righteousness in order to be in communion with God. Well, whose righteousness can it be? Can't be our righteousness because we're already lawbreakers. It's the alien righteousness. It's a righteousness of Christ which is imputed to us. And what is that righteousness? Listen. Those 33 years of perfect, perpetual obedience to the law of God. From the beginning of His humanity, the Lord Jesus never sinned. And that entire life of obedience is credited to us, is given to us. So when a sinner trusts in the Lord Jesus, not only is our sins forgiven, but that sinner is given the righteous robe of Jesus Christ. So this is what we call double imputation, right? Our sins were imputed to Christ on the cross. Our filthy rags were taken away and our sins were put upon the Lord Jesus as he died as our substitute. But by faith, as we trust in Him alone for our salvation, His righteousness is imputed to us. He received our filthy rags. Our sins were put upon Him. And when we put our faith in Him, by faith, we receive His perfect obedience and satisfaction of the law of God. The Lord Jesus learned obedience by the things which he suffered. What an amazing verse. The Lord Jesus is the man of sorrows. He underwent the miseries of this life. He never sinned, but remained faithful. But notice what it says. God used sufferings in his life to grow him in obedience as a man, right? He suffered all of his life. By the way, a few applications for us. If you are found in the Lord Jesus Christ by faith, I want you to know this comfort, that Jesus Christ suffered hell for you on the cross as the wrath of God was poured out upon him so that you would never have to go there. Jesus experienced your hell, your punishment on the cross, so that you don't have to experience that punishment, but you can experience mercy and grace from God because of what the Lord Jesus did for you. Greater love has no man than this, than to lay down his life for his friend, right? Jesus Christ drank the cup of God's wrath for you. He didn't take just a little bit of sip, a little sip, but He drank the cup of God's wrath to the very last drop. We need the Savior, no hope without Him. Those of you who are unbelievers here present today, you need to tremble at the holiness of God. God is holy and His law is perfect. And you need to tremble at His holiness in light of your own sin and spiritual bankruptcy. You need to run to this faithful Great High Priest by faith and cast yourselves at the mercy of this Savior. If you are not found in Christ, if you're not united to Him by faith, and if you die in your sins outside of Christ, then hell will be poured out upon you. for all eternity, and you will perish, body and soul, in the lake of fire. But if you repent today, and if you believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ, you will receive mercy. You will receive salvation. What a glorious Savior we have. He's freely offered to you in the gospel today. You need to come to Him. You need to humble yourself and come to this great high priest who is greater than Moses, greater than Joshua, greater than Aaron, greater than the angels. He's the only begotten Son of God, and He is your Savior. You must come to Him. Well, as an application of verse eight, notice, he learned obedience by the things which he suffered. If that was true of the Lord Jesus, isn't that true of you also? Isn't that true of me? We need to have a biblical theology of suffering. Suffering is used by God in our lives to teach us obedience, to bring us closer to Him. We don't like suffering, no one likes suffering, but suffering is a means that God uses for our good. Suffering, think of this, we learn obedience in the school of suffering. We learn obedience in the school of suffering. In 2 Corinthians 2, the apostle said he went through a very difficult trial, but then he says, this was to make us rely not on ourselves, but on God who raises the dead. Suffering is used by God in our lives to bring us closer to him so that we flee self-reliance and we depend on the one who is able to raise the dead. The Apostle Paul says elsewhere in Philippians 4, I have learned to be content, right? In all things, I've learned to be content. In other words, it will involve learning and growing for you to grow in contentment in the Lord Jesus Christ, for you to not love the world, for you to grow in holiness. And one of the means that God uses is suffering. Suffering. So when you experience suffering, and that may be true even right now, as you experience suffering right now, remember this, that suffering is not purposeless. That suffering that you're experiencing is not meaningless, but God is teaching you through that suffering obedience. God is growing you in Christ-likeness, so that as you suffer, you learn not to rely upon yourself, but upon the God who raises the dead. Don't waste your suffering. When you suffer, how easy it is for you and me to complain, right? I mean, that comes naturally to us, to complain, to murmur, to grumble when we go through hard times. But God calls us to not waste our suffering, but in our suffering, instead of complaining, we must run to the Lord Jesus. We must trust in Him and draw from Him the strength that we need to persevere. Is that true of you when you suffer? Is suffering causing you to cling closer to the Lord Jesus or is it causing you to run away from the Lord Jesus? You need to run to Jesus as you suffer And God has a purpose for you. Romans 5 says, we glory in tribulations knowing that tribulation worketh, what? Patience. So when you suffer tribulation, it produces in you, what? Patience. It produces in you character. It produces in you perseverance. Patience, experience, experience, hope, and hope will not make you ashamed. you suffer, God has a purpose, and he will sustain you. He will not abandon you. He will not turn you over to to your own strength, or he will not turn you over to wicked men, but he will keep you and sustain you to the end. Trust in him. And then finally, our third head, the author of eternal salvation. And here we draw this great comfort as we think about the glorious priesthood of our Lord Jesus Christ connected to our salvation. Look at verse nine, and being made perfect. Let's just stop there for a second. What does it mean that Jesus was made perfect? Isn't God perfect? Of course he is. Remember, this is speaking of Christ as a man. In his humanity, he was made perfect. As he lived in obedience and fulfilled the terms of the covenant of works, and as he perfectly obeyed the law of God, being made perfect, as he accomplished the redemption our redemption as he accomplished the work of redemption for us, he became the author of eternal salvation. As he completed the work of redemption, he was exalted, and he is the author of eternal salvation. Don't you love that phrase? The author of eternal salvation? Notice what kind of salvation Jesus has wrought for you. Not temporary salvation. Not salvation until you mess up. But it is an eternal salvation, amen? Salvation that is forever, eternal salvation, not temporary salvation. How glorious our Savior is and His work is complete and perfect and can never be thwarted. It can never be undone so that those who are in the Lord Jesus Christ, united to Him by faith, will never be lost. will never be lost, will never lose their salvation, because the Lord Jesus is able to keep us to the uttermost. He is the author of eternal salvation. Listen to a few verses. For example, in John chapter 5, John 5 and verse 24. Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my word and believeth on him that sent me hath, present tense, has everlasting life, and listen, shall not come into condemnation. but has passed from death to life. Isn't that amazing? If you trust in the Lord Jesus, you will never come into condemnation. You will never be condemned because you've already passed from death to life and you have everlasting life right now. And if you have everlasting life right now, then it cannot be lost or it wouldn't be everlasting. It would be temporary. But the life that Christ gives to his people is everlasting life. Listen to John chapter 6, John 6 and verse 39. And this is the Father's will which hath sent me that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing. Those that the father has given to his son, he will not lose any of them, but should raise it up again at the last day. If you are in Christ, if you are saved by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, you will never be lost because Jesus will never lose you. but he will raise you up at the last day. Verse 40, and this is the will of him that sent me that everyone which seeth the sun and believeth on him may have everlasting life and I will raise him up at the last day. If he saved you, he will also raise you up at the last day. No dropouts. If he justified you, he will also glorify you. He will sustain you every step of the way. And even your sins cannot separate you from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord. In light of that, how should we treat our sins? We need to treat our sins with a holy violence. We need to put to death the deeds of the flesh, knowing that nothing can separate us from the love of God. We need to kill sin by the grace of God, because we know that we can never be lost. If you are found in Christ, you will never be abandoned, but he will sustain you to the end. In John 10, the Lord Jesus says, my sheep will never perish, and no one is able to pluck them out of my hands. Or Romans 8, nothing is able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Or Philippians 1. He that hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. We can multiply texts upon texts that speak of our eternal salvation. He's not the author of temporary salvation, but of eternal salvation. Which means, Christian, that you can live by the grace of God in this world and draw comfort and encouragement from the Lord Jesus Christ, knowing that you will never be separated from His love. Grow in obedience. Kill sin. Live lives of repentance, and when you fail, which you will, even today, you will fall, you will sin. When you sin, don't run away from this gracious Savior, but run to Him with humility and repentance, and you will find again and again and again forgiveness. You'll find forgiveness, always. from your Savior. He will never, ever leave you nor forsake you. And then notice that last phrase, eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him. You see, obedience is not the cause of our salvation. We're not saved by our own good works or obedience, but obedience is the fruit of saving faith. If you have embraced Jesus Christ, if you are truly saved, you will grow in obedience. You will grow in obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ as the pattern of your life. The gospel demands a response. You must obey the command of the gospel, repent, and believe in Christ. So those of you, again, who are unbelievers, you need to obey Christ by running to Him, coming to Him by faith. Instead of postponing your repentance, today, with urgency, you need to come to the Lord Jesus Christ, because you do not know when you will die and stand before the throne of Christ. Therefore, today, you must come and obey the gospel by embracing Christ Jesus by faith. And you, Christian, Keep growing in obedience by the grace of God, and know that your labor in the Lord will never be in vain, because He's risen. and he's the author of eternal salvation. He is a priest forever, look at verse 10, called of God and high priest after the order of Melchizedek. He's an eternal priest, a perpetual priest, a perfect priest, and his perfect priesthood guarantees your eternal salvation. trust in him. Hebrews 12 verse 2, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was said before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. He is the author of eternal salvation. Amen. Let's stand for prayer.