2007 Book of Hebrews Series –
“Before the Throne”
Hebrews 7:23-28
Sermon preached at Curwensville Presbyterian Church – May 20, 2007
Prayer Introduction: The story is told about the baptism of King Aengus by St. Patrick in the middle of the fifth century. Sometime during the rite, St. Patrick leaned on his sharp-pointed staff and inadvertently stabbed the king's foot. After the baptism was over, St. Patrick looked down at all the blood, realized what he had done, and begged the king's forgiveness. Why did you suffer this pain in silence, the Saint wanted to know. The king replied, "I thought it was part of the ritual.”
Many of us think that pain, guilt, and suffering are a part of the Christian life. We beat ourselves up – so that we can feel like we have atoned for our own sin. That isn’t necessary; all of your sins have already been atoned for, through Christ.
On the other hand pain can be exactly what we need to bring us to the point of repentance. In The Problem of Pain, C.S. Lewis writes, “We can rest contentedly in our sins and in our stupidities…but pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”
We do not need to suffer for our sins; Jesus has done that for us so that we could be set free from guilt and sin’s chains – living the glad repentant life of faithfulness.
That is what this
morning’s passage is all about – as well as our closing hymn: That first song in
the worship song booklet is an updated version of an old hymn, written by
Charitie L. Bancroft in 1863 when she was 22 years old. The words of this
hymn/song are rooted in our Scripture reading this morning –
Sermon Introduction:
Let me encourage you to open your Bibles and the worship song booklets together.
Let’s begin with
I.
READ
And so we sing in that first stanza:
“Before the throne of God above
I have a strong and perfect plea,
A great High Priest whose name is Love,
Who ever lives and pleads for me.
My name is graven on his hands,
My name is written on his heart;
I know that while in heav’n he stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart.”
The scene was San Diego Superior Court. Two men were on trial for armed robbery. An eyewitness took the stand, and the prosecutor moved carefully: "So, you say you were at the scene when the robbery took place?" "Yes." "And you saw a vehicle leave at a high rate of speed?" "Yes." "And did you observe the occupants?" "Yes, two men." "And," the prosecutor boomed, "are those two men present in court today?" At this point the two defendants sealed their fate. They raised their hands.
If you are guilty of sinning against the holy God of the universe, and deserving of eternal damnation, raise your hands…That’s all of us.
In the heavenly court room, the Judge of all the earth sits on his throne. We are asked to approach the bench – to come before the throne. We are guilty and the whole court knows it; but who is that standing at the right hand of the Judge? It is His perfect Son – who whispers something into His ear.
The gavel falls and the Judge declares, “I declare you not guilty.”
How is that
possible? The Son of God sacrificed himself on the cross, and rose again, to
become our eternal high priest interceding for those who come to God through
him. “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if
anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense – Jesus
Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not
only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world” (1
I would have you see three things that are obvious, but I’ll say them anyway – because that’s my job (I have a great job): First, notice that you are never alone.
There was a boy who asked his father how God ever gets anything done. “What do you mean?” the father asked. “How does God get anything done when Jesus is sitting on His right hand?”
Jesus is always at our Heavenly Father’s side interceding for us. He is always there when we need Him. When you come to confess, no matter when, He is there for you. Jesus is the one “Who ever lives and pleads for me.”
Second, notice that this is an eternal promise. Jesus lives forever, therefore you will live forever. Verse 25 starts, “Therefore, he is able to save completely” – “to save to the uttermost” in the King James Version. God will never give up on you. “My name is graven on his hands, My name is written on his heart; I know that while in heav’n he stands, No tongue can bid me thence depart.”
And finally,
notice that none of this applies unless you come before the throne through
Christ. Verse 25 says “Therefore, he is able to save completely (or forever)
those who come to God through him.”
II.
This takes us to
And so we sing:
“When Satan tempts me to despair,
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see him there
Who made an end of all my sin.
Because the sinless Savior died,
My sinful soul is counted free;
For God the Just is satisfied
To look on him and pardon me.”
A pastor
was with a group of high school students. He told them that they could ask him
any question on any subject, and he would try to answer it. Their questions were
typical of ones he had received in similar sessions scores of times before. As
the session drew to a close, one girl toward the back, who had not said
anything, raised her hand and said, “The Bible says God loves everybody. Then it
says that God sends people to hell. How can a loving God do that?” He gave her
his answer, and she came back with arguments. He answered her arguments, and she
answered his answers. The conversation quickly degenerated into an argument. He
did not convince her, nor did she convince him. After the session he approached
her and said, “I owe you an apology. I really should not have allowed our
discussion to become so argumentative.” Then he asked, “May I share something
with you?” She said, “Yes.” So he took her through a basic presentation of the
gospel. When he got to
Guilt will cause us to do one of two things: either pursue worldly pleasures that will help us to ignore guilt; or go to the throne of God and confess it. All of us have done the first. In fact, many of our surface sins – gluttony, drunkenness, busyness, laziness, gossip, anger, greed – are simply the ways that we try to deal with guilt, rather than bringing it to the throne of grace.
I once led a youth-retreat on Psalm 32 – “When I kept silent my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer” (vv.3-4).
We’ve all been there, right? Refusing to confess – keeping silent – yet feeling the weight of our sin; our strength sapped as in the heat of summer.
Karl Menninger, the famed psychiatrist, once said that if he could convince the patients in psychiatric hospitals that their sins were forgiven, 75 percent of them could walk out the next day!
But the Psalm goes on: “Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, ‘I will confess my transgression to the Lord’ and you forgave the guilt of my sin” (v.5).
Satan loves to keep us feeling guilty, because it keeps us trapped in our sin and misery. “When Satan tempts me to despair, And tells me of the guilt within, Upward I look and see him there Who made an end of all my sin.”
A man entered a bar, bought a glass of beer and then immediately threw it into the bartender's face. Quickly grabbing a napkin, he helped the bartender dry his face while he apologized with great remorse. "I'm so sorry," he said. "I have this compulsion to do this. I fight it, but I don't know what to do about it." "You had better do something about your problem," the bartender replied. "You can be sure I'll remember you and will never serve you another drink until you get help." It was months before the man faced the bartender again. When he asked for a beer, the bartender refused. Then the man explained that he had been seeing a psychiatrist and that his problem was solved. Convinced it was now okay to serve him, the bartender poured him a drink. The man took the glass and splashed the beer into the barkeeper's astonished face. "I thought you were cured," the shocked bartender screamed. "I am," said the man. "I still do it, but I don't feel guilty about it anymore."
That’s not quite what we’re talking about. You won’t get rid of the guilt, but keep the sin. The truth of Jesus Christ sets us free from guilt AND the power of sin; so that we can walk in freedom and faithfulness.
A little boy was visiting his grandparents who had given him his first slingshot. He practiced in the woods, but he could never hit his target. As he came back to Grandma's back yard, he spied her pet duck. On an impulse he took aim and let it fly. The stone hit, and the duck fell dead. The boy panicked. Desperately he hid the dead duck in the wood pile, only to look up and see his sister watching. Sally had seen it all, but she said nothing. After lunch that day, Grandma said, “Sally, let's wash the dishes.” But Sally said, “Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen today. Didn't you, Johnny?” And she whispered to him, “Remember the duck!” So Johnny did the dishes. Later Grandpa asked if the children wanted to go fishing. Grandma said, “I'm sorry, but I need Sally to help make supper.” Sally smiled and said, “That's all taken care of. Johnny wants to do it.” Again she whispered, “Remember the duck.” Johnny stayed while Sally went fishing. After several days of Johnny doing both his chores and Sally's, finally he couldn't stand it. He confessed to Grandma that he'd killed the duck. “I know, Johnny,” she said, giving him a hug. “I was standing at the window and saw the whole thing. Because I love you, I forgave you. I wondered how long you would let Sally make a slave of you.”
Satan wants to enslave you to sin; Jesus came to set you free. “Because the sinless Savior died, My sinful soul is counted free; For God the Just is satisfied To look on him and pardon me.”
III.
And so we come to our last
verse and the last stanza. READ
And so we sing:
“Behold him there! The risen lamb,
My perfect, spotless righteousness;
The great unchangeable I AM,
The King of glory and of grace!
One with himself I cannot die,
My soul is purchased by his blood;
My life is hid with Christ on high,
With Christ, my Savior and my God.”
It is said, “He came to pay a debt He didn't owe because we owed a debt we couldn't pay.” Every other religion says, “You sin; you pay.” In the Christian Gospel God says, “You sin; I pay.”
So why would you wait another moment? Why would you hold on to your guilt for one minute more? And why would you try to earn God’s love, when you cannot – and when it has already been earned for you?
Come before the throne of God above with confidence. Coming to the Lord’s Table is a significant way of coming before the throne. It is an opportunity to come, having repented, to receive forgiveness; to come, having reconciled with a friend or family member, knowing you are reconciled to God through Christ.
Come to the Table, come before the throne – through Christ – free from guilt and from sin’s power.
MAY THE TRUTH SET YOU FREE – AMEN!