Hebrews 7:11-17

Hebrews 7:11-17 If perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the law was given to the people), why was there still need for another priest to come — one in the order of Melchizedek, not in the order of Aaron? For when there is a change of the priesthood, there must also be a change of the law. He of whom these things are said belonged to a different tribe, and no one from that tribe has ever served at the altar. For it is clear that our Lord descended from Judah, and in regard to that tribe Moses said nothing about priests. And what we have said is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears, one who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life. For it is declared: “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”

As our priest, Jesus stands before the Father forever. He has appeased the wrath of God on sin. As He brings our petitions to the Father, we claim everything we desire, everything we are, through his name. In Jesus' name we pray. Without him, we have no claim to the family of God. IN HIM and THROUGH HIM we have life. Any other belief is not Christianity: salvation comes through him alone. Only Jesus through his sacrifice on the cross could designate himself to take on the authority of ridding man of his sins and placing him in the household of God as holy children of the Father who loves us. Only He could make mankind as He is: holy.

The author of Hebrews reveals that Jesus Christ came through the line of Judah, not through the line of Levi. Therefore, He had no priestly authority under the auspices of the Law. As far as the Law was concerned, Jesus was a fraud, an impostor. Consequently, Jesus had to receive his priestly rights from something or someone greater than Old Testament law. John validates Christ's priestly role because Jesus was with the Father from the beginning: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. (John 1:1-5) Consequently, Jesus could swear by no one greater than himself, and He could create men anew, allowing them to be born again. He could take away sin and the sting of death from the existence of this new creation. The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" Born from the lineage of Judah, Jesus was the eternal, once-and-for-all, godly priest with all authority and power from the Father to establish his kingdom within mankind.

We who are IN CHRIST have this hope of eternal life, the hope of adoption, within us. We are not children of bondage; we are not slaves to the consequences of sin because we are free in Christ Jesus. Yet the eternal question remains: will we live as children who have inherited real life, who are free IN CHRIST, or will we live in doubt, fear and regret? If we seek the beggarly elements of this world, we will live in bondage. If we give up on Jesus Christ and his resurrection power and strength, we will live without hope of eternal life. But my Christian friends who endure by faith, we are not without hope regardless of the vicissitudes of life, for we are hidden with Christ in God. Alive IN HIM, we inherit freedom from death, the freedom to rejoice in his name. Martyrs for Christ have faced their deaths with peace in their hearts and songs of joy on their lips.

Are you free to sing for Jesus, or are you so bound by fears and earthly troubles that the joy of the Lord does not escape your lips. Turn to Jesus, giving him every doubt and every problem, thanking him for the life He is perfecting in you. Every day, He heals and sustains us. As we partake of this breakfast, our every breath is his breath. As He frees us from bondage and delivers us from our trespasses and sins, He makes us physically alive today, so we can testify of his love while carrying his message of grace to a dark and sinful world. If He were to remove his hand from our spirits or physical lives, we would perish in that nanosecond. No matter how fit and how healthy we are, CHRIST ALONE MAKES US ALIVE this day as his resurrection power flows through our mortal bodies, infusing us with his LIGHT AND LIFE. I tell you a secret, Christian friend, your running, your exercise, and your commitment to good health do not ensure God's will for you. Paul instructed Timothy to refuse profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness. For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. God breathed life into you for his purposes, not yours. Backing off from him or failing to live in his presence rob you of your reason to live. In Christ we forever escape death as we live eternal life in him. As you serve him today, rejoice in his words and praise his name, for you are his beloved and He is yours.