Jesus Christ is superior to Moses, not only as the builder of God's house (the church) compared to Moses who was a servant within it, but also as the Son over the house, while Moses was merely in it. This distinction highlights Christ's divine authority and role as the architect of salvation, contrasting with Moses' faithful but subordinate position. The sermon emphasizes that true believers are part of God's unified house, encompassing all of God's people throughout history, and warns against empty profession by stressing that genuine faith, given the opportunity, will produce works. The message concludes by underscoring Jesus' unique qualification as a sympathetic and powerful High Priest who, having experienced human infirmities, can offer grace and help in times of need.
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I'd like you to turn in your Bibles once again to the book of Hebrews, Hebrews chapter three this morning. In the opening chapter, chapter one, chapter two, we saw in brief that the Lord Jesus Christ is superior to angels, first of all because of his deity and then because of his perfect humanity and the inheritance of this earth associated with that. The first six verses of chapter three, the author of Hebrews demonstrates the superiority of the Lord Jesus Christ to Moses. I think we can understand why the Jews would hold Moses in such high esteem. That man that brought Israel out of Egypt, who was the author of the Pentateuch, the meekest man on earth, the hero of Israel, along with Joshua, whom we are studying as well.
But here is Moses, that great leader and great contributor to Scripture through the writing of the Pentateuch. The Jews held Moses in high esteem. The Lord Jesus Christ is greater than Moses. And the author of Hebrews only takes six verses to demonstrate that. Now, out of that spins one of the most difficult warning passages. The rest of chapter three and most of chapter four deals with a warning that grows up of the introduction of Moses, the wilderness wanderings, which in fact were conducted under Moses. But the first six verses will suffice to demonstrate that Jesus Christ is superior to Moses.
Let's read those six together. Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the apostle and high priest of our profession, Christ Jesus, who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful. in all his house. For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, and as much as he who hath built the house hath more honor than the house. For every house is built by some man, but he that built all things is God. And Moses barely was faithful in all his house as a servant for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after. But Christ as a son over his own house, whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.
He talks about Moses and he talks about Christ. They are alike in one way. They were both faithful. Moses was faithful as Christ was faithful. And there is that comparison there. But then he makes a number of contrasts. He says Moses was faithful in Christ. his house in the house of God. Christ, however, is over the house of God. And the first contrast is seen in those little prepositions in and over. Moses was part of the house.
Christ was over the house. Christ is the designer. He is the one who built the house. He is the architect, the planner. The New Testament would have the parallelism of the Lord Jesus Christ being the foundation. He is over the house. Moses is in the house. And then it goes on to say that Moses is a servant in the house. Christ is the Son over the house. Servant, Son, in and over. And in those brief comments, the author of Hebrews goes on his way to talk about the wilderness wanderings of Israel and to warn saint and sinner alike from those wanderings.
You would expect it would take more than just those few verses. to show the superiority of Christ over Moses. But that's all he does. Servant, son, in, over. Now let's go on, he says. But there is an interesting question that arises. I've used the term, as the author of Hebrews does, house a number of times. What is this house he's talking about? Well, he says Christ designed and built and he is over the house. He says Moses is in the house. And in the last verse we read, he says, Whose house are ye?
Are we, if we hold fast the confidence? So Christ is the designer of the house. Moses is in the house. Christ is over the house. We are members of the house. What is the house? And we want to say the church, but let's be a little careful. Because Moses doesn't belong to my church. Does he do yours? He really doesn't. I'm not going to say the church, the body of Christ. That's the we in verse six. But it's not an exclusive we. The author of Hebrews has a unique way of looking at God.
He looks at God in a very big way. He looks at God's people in a big way. I have alluded to in chapter two that the Lord did not take hold to help the seed of angels, but he took hold to help the seed of Abraham. And he looks at Abraham as the line of the faithful. And we are related to Abraham. Later on he'll start quoting Old Testament characters. and he will preface that by saying, look, they are not perfect without us.
Well, we as good dispensationalists, as these books indicate, as good dispensationalists see differences in God's people. There is the Old Testament saint, there is the New Testament church saint, there is the Tribulation saint, Melancho saint. We see differences. The author of Hebrews, rather, looks at them as one great group of God's people. And I like that viewpoint. I like both of those viewpoints, actually. The author of Hebrews is not stressing differences. He is stressing continuity. They are not made perfect without us. And we are not without them. And it is a thrilling thing to recognize that we as believers in this period of time in God's feeling really have a link with all of God's people all the way back to the beginning.
We are one. We are the family of God. And that's the house he's talking about. It's all of God's people. Now that house, if you like, may have different rooms in it. And we are in the church room and they are in the Old Testament saint room or whatever. But the house is one house, all of God's people. Out of that comes a very interesting problem. Did you notice that little condition? Whose house are we? What? If we continue. Firm.
Confident. Steadfast in the faith. Whose house are we? If. Presently in evangelical Christianity, there is a great debate roaring as to what are the conditions of salvation? What is the relationship of faith and works to salvation? Have you plugged into that debate? At this very week in a conference in Greenwood Hills, There are two men speaking.
One holds to lordship salvation. The other holds to free grace. The two extreme statements. The conveners of that conference didn't even know that was happening when they brought these two men together. And the word has gone out. Look, people come to conferences to be refreshed. not to be slain in a battlefield. And it's probably good that that's happened. There is this kind of a statement. You hear this in preaching. If he's not Lord of all, he's not Lord at all.
that a person to become a believer in Jesus Christ must recognize the Lordship of Jesus. Right up front. The other statement says that salvation is grace, period. A person is saved and all he must do is believe and the rest of life does not reflect on that whatsoever. He may go through life not doing anything. for Jesus Christ and still be a believer. He may, in fact, espouse truth, espouse positions that are contrary to the truth, denying even the deity of Jesus Christ down the line, and still all the while be one bound for heaven.
Two extreme positions. And frequently in preaching you have these things brought together and muddled in our thinking, what is necessary for salvation? Is in fact a recognition of the Lordship of Jesus Christ and a commitment to that necessary? I really don't think so. Else there are some very real questions as to why the Apostle Paul in Romans twelve says, Two believers present your body a living sacrifice to God.
In a few minutes I'll be going over to the young people to speak Bible. This is not because you're on. It's because there are other duties at that moment. And I'm going to speak out of Romans twelve because I think one of the things young people need as well as old is to come to a time in their life where they say, I am presenting myself to you. I am making a commitment to Jesus Christ. That's Lordship. And the Romans are receiving that message months, years after they were saved. Now, I think it's altogether possible to own the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord at the very moment you're saved. I think the Apostle Paul is the primary illustration of that. He's on his way to Damascus.
The vision comes, the voice is heard, and he says, Who are you? Identify yourself. Who are you? You know what he says? Lord! Well, it seems to me he knew who he was when he said that, but he really didn't. He's got a question in his mind. Who is this Jesus? Can it be? Who are you, Lord? He knew he was talking to God, but he didn't know who Jesus was, and the Lord responds with that statement. I am Jesus who now persecuted. And Paul says, very next breath, what do you want me to do, Lord? He knew it. He had a big idea of what God was like and the demands that the Lord has on our life.
And at the moment he's saved, he recognizes the Lordship of Jesus Christ. But I know I didn't. I was saved young. And it was at that same conference ground, Greenwood Hills. When I was twelve years old, I was saved. I didn't know a whole lot about the Lordship of Christ. had an implicit understanding of the deity of Christ. That's necessary for salvation. I said implicit. A worthwhile sacrifice, a sacrifice that could accommodate the demands of God. That implies deity. But I grew into Lordship. You see, I needed Romans twelve, one. After I recognized through some teaching and instruction the mercies of Christ.
Then there came a time when when I had to admit that I have a responsibility to live for that one. He is not only my Savior, he is my Lord, and that follows in my life sometime after. What I am afraid of is that it never follows with some of us. We are saved on our way to heaven, but where is this question of Lordship? Now look, If he's not Lord of all, he's not Lord at all, we're doomed us all to hell. There's none of us that has come to the place where we can honestly say he's Lord of all my life. There are little pockets of sin that I don't even know about yet in my life.
That'll come in a steady growth in Christ. But it doesn't come all at once. It's progressive. On the other hand, Christianity is not just to get saved and be done with it kind of a thing. While none of us can come to the point of saying he's Lord of all, this side of glory, at the same time there is a relationship of works to saving faith. James addresses that question. Can that kind of faith, the kind of faith that demons have in God, can that kind of faith save a man?
And the answer to that question is, no, it cannot. Faith without works is dead. Here's a balancing statement, I think. Saving faith is the kind of faith that, given the opportunity, will produce some measure of fruit. Now, given the opportunity is important because the very last thought of an individual in his lifetime may be, I believe, and his next breath is his last and he dies. He's saved, didn't have a chance to work. That's possible. But saving faith is the kind of faith that in time produces fruit.
John fifteen talks about fruit, more fruit, abundant fruit, abiding fruit. If there is no fruit, It's dug up and burned because there was no life in it. I grew up in an assembly that was not very well taught, but even in that assembly, the concept of root producing fruit came through. And I really think that's the balancing statement. Genuine faith will produce works in time. Now, the schedule of that fruit will vary.
The amount of that fruit will vary. But genuine faith will produce works. And I know that's true from Ephesians two, eight and nine. For by grace, though you say, through faith, that out of yourselves, it is gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. What goes after that? We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus, unto good works. And let's not forget the next part, which He has before ordained that we should walk in them. It's part of the whole package. And works are integrally tied to real saving faith. The author of Hebrews is going to go into a warning.
And he says, Whose house we are if we continue? One of the great contributions of the author of Hebrews is the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints. Saints endure. He will say it even more clearly later. We are not those who draw back, but of those who go on to eternal life. Saints endure. Saints work. Saints who do not die at the moment of salvation... will produce good works. God has determined that that's part of it all.
And that should cause us to look inwardly from time to time. I'm not big on looking inward. Introspection will destroy you. Because we keep looking at ourselves, as Bob said last evening, we find out what kind of sinners we really are. And there's not a whole lot of good in any of us. In fact, without Christ, you know how much good is in us? Zero. Without me, you can do nothing. In me, that is in my flesh dwells no good thing. We have nothing of which to be proud, any of us. But from time to time, I have to check up on myself.
And look, if I see a pattern of life that doesn't have works for Jesus Christ, doesn't have service to the saints, that is not involved in the word and in the witness of the gospel and in the struggle of Christian living. If I can just go through life, not struggling over the struggles of sin and corruption in this world and not serving the Lord and the Lord's people, if I am just a passive observer in the church, not in the battle, I better ask a question. You know what the question is? Am I in the house or not?
I may not be in the house, folks. May have been an empty profession. And if the Lord is not at work in my life, if I am at peace with sin, I better look at this verse and say, Whose house are we if we continue firm and stuff as? I better look at that verse real hard. as I may be with the outside looking at it. When we talk about the house of God, the author of Hebrews will talk about this thing a whole lot more clearly in the morning passage, one of which we'll look at tonight. He'll address that question a whole lot more clearly.
It's altogether possible to have a facade, to say, I'm in the house. I'm part of the house. And if there are no works in my life to demonstrate that it was real faith, my response to believing in God should be just like the demons. I should tremble because judgment is falling upon me down the line. Whose house are we if we continue? True believers in Jesus Christ continue. They endure. The saints, God's people, persevere. whose house are we if we continue? If we do not continue, we are not his house.
So that's simple. We need not, there's not a condition of salvation, by my estimation, to acknowledge the Lordship of Christ, his deity, yes, his rule over my life, not necessarily. That's family truth. but it is not just as equally the case that works have no relationship to salvation. True faith produces works given the opportunity. And again, we as evangelicals need to steer a moderate course through all the extremes that are forever plaguing us as we seek to understand Scripture.
At the end of chapter four, The author of Hebrews introduces the concept of priesthood once again. In verse fourteen, seeing then that we have a great high priest that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God. Let's talk about priesthood earlier. Remember in one of those seven things about the Son, he said he made purgation. That's the work of a priest. At the end of chapter two, he says, since he is perfect man, he is able to succor those who are in trial, such as ourselves, because he is a faithful high priest.
At the beginning of chapter three, he says, consider the apostle and high priest of our confession, Jesus Christ. He really wants to talk about priesthood. It's his main theme. And here in chapter four, he introduces again the concept of priesthood. in what I think is an introductory devotional thought. In chapter five, he will give the qualifications for priesthood. And in chapter seven, he will demonstrate that Christ is a better priest because he comes from a better line of priests. In chapter eight, he will demonstrate he's a better priest because he administers a better covenant. In chapters nine and ten, he will demonstrate he's a better priest because he offers a better sacrifice.
But in chapter four, He introduces the concept in a devotional way, I think. We have a high priest who has passed into the heavens. Jesus, the Son of God. The author of Hebrews is very careful in using the names of the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember earlier we saw we see not all things subject to him, to man, but we see what name would you expect? Jesus. his human name. And here he uses that human name again. We have a high priest, Jesus. Aren't you glad you have a priest who was a person, a human being?
He can understand. That's the point he's going to make out of all this. Because he is Jesus, he understands. There's nothing about us that he has not experienced in categories. He never was tempted to go fifty-five miles, sixty miles an hour in a fifty-five speed limit. But he did pay taxes to see the same kinds of temptations. Lord Jesus Christ experienced all we experience as a human being. And because of that, one of the best things I can say to you and you can say to me in time of extreme trial and difficulty is this. Jesus knows.
Isn't that great? He knows. Some years ago at camp, not this one, and I trust this will not happen at this camp, but up at Coronis, I was playing a game of softball. I was making my way as fast as my chubby little ace carried me in first place, and it was kind of a bad play, and I came down on top of first place with a broken leg and a broken shoulder. I was safe and the run scored, and we won the game, but for six months I really didn't much care about that. And throughout that time, I was somewhat confined because I found out later you need three points to move. I thought, well, with one good leg and one good shoulder, I'll get around real easy.
You can't move with one good leg and one's good shoulder. It's impossible. Got so angry over that? Yeah, I can't go anyplace. Periodically, folk would come over. And they'd quote verses. I'd love it. Here I am in the hospital bed like a pretzel, you know, one of those kind of positions and arms like this. And they quote Romans A, twenty-eight. Big verse. Or somebody come along and one of my good friends was standing there one time. A guy came in and he said, well, it could be worse. That's feeble encouragement, isn't it? And the guy said, yeah, it could be a lot better, too, couldn't it? You know, liquor's the truth. But one guy came and visited me.
And as he walked in, I could tell Frank was coming in just the way he's walking. He had a crippled leg that was made that way in an accident. And he knew how I felt. And when he talked, I listened. You know, when he F. Hutton talks, we all listen. When he talked, I listened. Because when he says, I know what it is, Dave, he knew what it was. Now, the other things were good. And I appreciated the visits, right? We enjoy that. like we do any kind of fellowship. But when the person who went through it came, it meant something more. Jesus went through it, and he knows. Now, the interesting thing is he's not just Jesus.
He's also the Son of God. Because he's Jesus, he knows about our struggles. He understands it not through theory, but through experience. He has been, as he says, touched with all the feelings of our infirmity. We have not a high priest who cannot be touched. I love the double negative. It arrests our attention. We have not a high priest who cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmity, but was in all points tempted like as we are, and never once fell to sin. So he knows. We come to Jesus. He knows. But we come to him. As the Son of God and as God, He can do something about it.
We go to the right person when we go to Jesus Christ. All I can say is I understand. I seldom can do much about it. We do what we can for one another. But I can't do it all. Because He is the Son of God, He can meet our needs. He has all the power of Godhood at His disposal. And we come to Him, He says, Yes, I understand. And more than that, I'll do something about it for you. And He gives us grace to help in time of need. At the appropriate moment, He gives us all the strength we need to endure any of the same kinds of trials that He endured.
And we come to Him. And we come to Him. and He gives us grace. We have a great high priest. The author of Hebrews has picked a wonderful theme as his theme, hasn't he? The high priestly work of Jesus Christ, whoever lives to make intercession for us. Well, look at this priest, his qualifications, and his superiority in our coming time of study together. A word of prayer, please. Our Savior, Lord Jesus, we are so grateful that in any of these perplexing times of life we can come to you and know you have experienced the same things.
We're thankful, Lord, that we come to you as our Lord, as our great God. who can do something about it. We rejoice in your experience as a human being. We take great comfort in the fact that you are an omnipotent God who can help us. And so we come to you day by day, our great high priest. And we thank you that you understand and you work. We pray in your name.