Running To Win

Announcer: Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. There's a New Testament book that takes us directly into heaven's throne room. Here we find what it means to draw near to God. That book is the book of Hebrews, and today we begin a series that highlights many of the teachings of this vital epistle, teachings that help us better run life's race and better serve the King of Kings. From the Moody Church in Chicago, this is Running To Win with Dr. Erwin Lutzer, whose clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line. Our series is Highlights from Hebrews, and our first message tells us about someone better than angels.

Pastor Lutzer, Hebrews is spiritually one of the deepest books in all the Bible.

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: And you know, Dave, the reason for that is because it really is hand in glove with the book of Leviticus in the Old Testament. Leviticus is the book where sacrifices were offered, where people, namely high priests, were able to come into the Holy of Holies, and we discover in the book of Hebrews that all of those privileges and more are now ours. What a marvelous book. I'm holding in my hands also a book. It's actually written by my lovely wife, Rebecca. It's entitled 1 2 3 Jesus Loves Me. From the numbers 1 to 10, she ties a Bible story with a number. This book will enable your children to learn how to count and to learn about Jesus at the same time.

It's really the perfect bedtime routine because it helps your child or your grandchild or some other child calm down in the evening, going to bed thinking about Jesus. Well, for a gift of any amount, this book can be yours. Here's what you do. You go to RTWoffer.com, RTWoffer.com, or call us at 1-888-218-9337. Now, I'm going to be mentioning this contact info again after this message, but the reason this is so important is because this is the last week we are making this offer, and what a wonderful Christmas gift it would be for some child. Invest in the next generation, and thanks to people like you, we here at Running To Win exist to give you information, to give you resources whereby you can run the race of life successfully.

Well, stay tuned, listen carefully, and I'll be back. You've probably heard that jingle, angels that guard you when you drive usually retire at 55. I want you to know that the current fascination that this world has with angels is not new. people have always been fascinated with angels. In ancient times, the Jews were particularly interested in angels because they knew that angels mediated the law of the Old Testament. Perhaps you didn't realize that, but if you would take your Bibles and turn to Hebrews chapter 2, though our message today is going to be from Hebrews chapter 1, but you'll notice in chapter 2, verse 2, it says, for if the word is spoken through angels proved unalterable.

So angels were involved in the giving of the law. The Jews also believed that angels were around the throne of God, giving praise and honor and glory to him. And of course, in that they were correct. But the problem was that the Jews also had an over belief in angels. They believed some things about angels that simply were not true. For example, they believed that 200 angels controlled the movements of the stars. they thought that there was kind of a senate and that God looked to angels for guidance, and he would have a meeting and there would be some discussion as to what he was going to do next.

They believed that the angels controlled the seasons. And because of our fascination with these creatures, some of the Jews also thought of the angels as being some kind of a link, a mediator between God and man. And that's why that the author of the book of Hebrews, and I do invite you to turn to Hebrews chapter 1, the author makes a contrast between Jesus Christ and the angels. God willing, this will be the first in a series on the book of Hebrews. I would encourage you to read the book, spend time meditating on the book, buy a commentary to study the book, find out all that you can as we move through this marvelous passage and this marvelous book in God's holy word.

I need to tell you that the people to whom the book of Hebrews were written, I believe, were Christian Jews. They had come to saving faith in Jesus Christ, but they began to have doubts. They began to wonder whether indeed Jesus Christ was all that they needed. They had a tendency to go back to Old Testament sacrifices. They did not seriously and clearly see the distinction between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. Many of them found it difficult to get out of the book of Leviticus and to get into the wonder and the treasures of what Jesus Christ came to bring us. And so that's the theme of the book of Hebrews.

When you read it, you'll discover that the author keeps emphasizing that Jesus Christ is the superior priest who replaces all of the priests of the Old Testament. Jesus Christ brings a superior sacrifice that makes null and void and unnecessary all other sacrifices, and that Jesus Christ brings a brand new covenant. And the author, time and again, is going to contrast the Old Testament with the New Testament, and is going to say that we are under a new administration, we have a new high priest, and we have a new flag to follow. Perhaps you don't realize that nobody knows who wrote the book of Hebrews. when I was growing up, I had a Bible in which it said that Paul was the author, but most scholars think that probably Paul was not the author of Hebrews, though there is that possibility, and it certainly has never been disproved.

Another candidate, another good candidate, is Barnabas. there are reasons to think that perhaps he was the one who authored this book. What we do know is that it fits very nicely within the New Testament. It is in total harmony with everything that Jesus and the Apostle Paul and the other writers taught, and there is no book that leads us so directly into the very throne room of God. That's why, although this message is entitled Someone Better Than the Angels, the general theme of our study together is going to be Daring to Draw Near, because the author is going to tell us that we can draw near to Almighty God, and we can be there in his presence.

Now, with that very brief introduction, I'm going to try to do what I shouldn't really try to do, and that is to cover the entire first chapter in this message. But we shall look at it and see the way the argument for the superiority of Christ is developed. With your Bibles open, God, after he spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many different ways, in these last days has spoken to us in his son. Jesus Christ is the explosion of God's revelation. He is the one who shatters the darkness. He is the clearest expression of what God has to say. In him, the logos is the logic of God.

This is the answer to Ingmar Bergman's quest for a word from God when he shouted in that cathedral in Europe, "Speak to me," as he stood beside a picture of Christ. And because Christ did not answer, he then made his movie called Silence. the author is saying, God is not silent. God has spoken. In fact, God has shouted. Jesus Christ is God's megaphone. He has spoken with clarity and power. If God seems far away and it's so hard to, quote, get to know God, all that you need to do is to get to know Jesus, and in doing that, you are getting to know God. He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.

I and the Father are one. Now, what the author does now is list seven excellencies of Christ. Seven excellencies. And if you're in the habit of marking your Bible, you can simply underline them as I list them and make a very brief comment about them. First of all, he says, Jesus Christ is appointed heir of all things. Everything that God owns, Jesus Christ owns. he is the one who is in possession of everything that has ever been created and everything that ever will be. He is the creator through whom he made the worlds. The Greek text really says through whom he made the ages. That includes the physical world, but it includes matter as well as energy and the law of gravity and time and all those things that constitute the ages of the universe.

And he is the creator. You know, in 1968, Sir John Eccles here in Chicago said that the odds against creation by chance are 400,000 trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion. Nevertheless, he says, I believe it happened anyway. And he says, I don't think, however, it will ever happen again. You know what the Bible says? By this they are willingly ignorant that the world was created by God. It has not happened. It never will happen. Spontaneous combustion going from slime to serpents to man, coming through the animal world as the monkey said in the zoo, am I my keeper's brother? That simply, simply is impossible.

He is the creator. He is the radiance of God's glory. God's glory was veiled in Jesus Christ. John says we beheld his glory. Number four, he is the exact representation of his nature. If you were to take a die or a stamp and you put it in wax, the impression in the wax will mirror exactly that die or that stamp. Jesus Christ is the exact representation of the nature of God, and later on we'll discover that really it means that he is the nature of God. Notice he upholds all things by the word of his power. You know, scientists tell us that if all of matter would collapse, that all that you would have is specks of solid matter.

A chair might turn out to be a speck that could be scarcely seen under a microscope if all of matter simply collapsed. Who is it that upholds the world, moment by moment upholding it, causing the law of gravity to act uniformly so that Einstein could say that God does not play dice with the universe? Who is it that does it? Jesus Christ. He upholds all things by the word of his power. Notice he is the supreme sacrifice. We're hurrying through verse 3, when he had made purification of sins. I need to pause there. When he made purification of sins, he then sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.

When did the purification of sins take place? When you were redeemed? No, it already took place on Calvary. When Jesus Christ died on Calvary, your sins were already then purified and purged. It just took 2,000 years for you to experience it and for God to draw you to himself so that you could become a part of it, but my text says that the sins were already purified on the cross. Now, what that means is that we were redeemed 2,000 years ago. Those who would believe on Christ were already redeemed. It was settled, it was paid for. What a message of joy and worship is found in this text. It is true, as the song says, that you were on his mind when he died, because he died for you, and God the Father already accepted the sacrifice for your sins way back then.

Finally, notice it says, he is set down on the right hand of the majesty on high. If that were all that the author of the book of Hebrews were to write about Christ, we would say that those three verses are very precious and set Jesus Christ apart as the great revelation of God. One day, a member of the Bahai faith, and they believe that Bahá'u'lláh, who lived in the 1800s, brought a more recent revelation regarding God. Now, we know that that's not true, and one of the ways we know it is not true is because everything that Bahá'u'lláh said clearly contradicted Jesus Christ at every point. But the member of the Bahá'í faith said to me, when I was talking about the superiority of Jesus Christ, he said, well, he said, what makes you think that God can't speak today just as he spoke in the past?

And I said, well, I suppose that he's able to do that, but why would he bring out a star when the sun is already shining? Jesus Christ, in these days, God has spoken through his son, and in light of Christ, we are led to the white light of God's holiness and beauty, and beside him there is none other. Now what the author does is to talk to us more specifically about the contrast between Jesus Christ and angels, and he gives at least three reasons why Jesus Christ is really superior to the angels. Let's look at the text again. First of all, he is more superior because he has a superior name, a superior name.

Notice it says, verse 4, having become as much better than the angels as he had inherited a more excellent name than they. For unto which of the angels did he ever say, thou art my son, today have I begotten thee? Has God ever said to Michael, the archangel, has he ever said to him, you are my son? No, God didn't say that. Now, it's true that in the Old Testament, angels are called sons of God in a general sense. In fact, we are even sons of God, but not in the specific sense of God's unique son. Today have I begotten thee. That relationship of sonship indicates the very same nature as God. If I had a son, and I'm speaking to those of you who have sons, you know that your son has your nature.

And Jesus Christ has God's nature as God's Son. Now, I want you to know that I personally believe that Christ's sonship began in Bethlehem. Jesus Christ was always God of very God, but this relationship of sonship happened when Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem. Today have I begotten thee. And the angel said to Mary, that which is conceived in you is of the Holy Spirit and shall be called the Son of God. And I look upon sonship as an analogy to try to help us understand the subordination and the obedience of Jesus Christ to the plan that the Trinity had worked out before time began. You see, this really helps us when those folks come knocking on the door, and they always come in twos.

It's very important that they do, and they tell you that they hand you a Bible, and they show you verses that show that Jesus Christ is the Son, and then they begin to say, well, you know, a son is never as superior as his father, and then they begin to show the subordination of Jesus Christ to the Father, and they begin to say that Christ is a second God. He is not really God, a very God. Well, I want you to know today that his sonship began at Bethlehem, and as I mentioned, is an analogy of Christ's submission to do the will of God and the will of the Father while on earth. It does not mean in any way that Christ is less than God of very God.

We pick up the text, and of course, you know that if we had time, we'd go to all the Old Testament references here. But God says, Thou art my son, today have I begotten thee, and again I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, let all the angels of God worship him. keep your finger on verse 6 for a moment. There again, the word firstborn is used. It does not mean that Christ is the firstborn, and then there were other gods who were somehow created, as false cults sometimes teach. That word firstborn itself does not mean first in relation to time, but first in relation to preeminence.

For example, in the Old Testament, Esau was older than Jacob, and yet the Bible says that Jacob was the firstborn. So we must bear in mind that the writer is emphasizing that Jesus Christ is God's very special son, and even when he was brought into the world as a Son, what does he say? Last part of verse 6, let all the angels of God worship him. You don't worship angels, you worship God, and that's why you can worship the Son. And I trust, my friend, that all of us worship the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, as I mentioned at the beginning, for a gift of any amount, we're making available for you a very special book, hardback, beautifully illustrated.

You can see a picture of it if you go to RTWoffer.com. That's RTWoffer.com, and there also you can order your own copy of 1 2 3 Jesus Loves Me. And I want to emphasize that this is the last week we're making this resource available. I can assure you of this, a child will appreciate your investment. For a gift of any amount, it can be yours. Go to RTWOFFER.com or pick up the phone and call us at 1-888-218-9337. Pass your faith on to the next generation. Think about the children, and you will be blessed as you have the opportunity of giving them the book 1, 2, 3, Jesus Loves Me.

Announcer: Time now for another chance for you to ask Pastor Lutzer a question about the Bible or the Christian life. In whose name should a Christian be baptized? The issue is causing some stress for Angela, who has this story. My church has been placing a lot of emphasis on being baptized in Jesus' name. I was baptized over 20 years ago. I'm not certain, but I believe I was baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost. They are suggesting that we should be baptized again in Jesus' name. I really feel they're becoming very legalistic. I also feel that being baptized is symbolic of your belief and faith.

My daughter-in-law wants to become a member, and she's already been baptized. She was told she can't become a member until she is baptized in Jesus' name. Does God even care about all this? I thought belief in Him is most important. Please explain.

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: Well, my friend, thank you so much for writing, and I appreciate your concern. A couple of comments. First of all, beware of those who want to baptize people in the name of Jesus.

Unidentified Speaker: Sometimes these people deny the Trinity. That's why they don't want to baptize people in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. As far as they are concerned, Jesus is the Godhood, and the Father is Jesus, and the Holy Spirit is Jesus, and there are no distinctions within the Godhead. Traditionally, it has always been believed that indeed God is a Trinity, and that's a long discussion, but keep in mind that many people want to deny the Trinity. Also, be very careful because these groups are often very cultic. By that I mean they think that their baptism is the only one that is really valid.

Furthermore, many of them believe that one must be baptized in order to be saved. So I would caution you about this church. I don't know about it particularly, but if I were you, I'd check their doctrine very, very accurately. And, I would also discuss this with your daughter-in-law in some detail. You might be going in the wrong direction.

Announcer: Thank you, Angela, for your question. Thank you, Pastor Lutzer, for your counsel. If you'd like to hear your question answered, go to our website at RTWoffer.com and click on Ask Pastor Lutzer, or call us at 1-888-218-9337. That's 1 888 218 9337. You can write to us at Running To Win, 1635 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois, 60614. Erwin Lutzer has brought part one of Someone Better Than Angels, the first in a six-part series of messages on highlights from Hebrews. Next time, more on why Christ has no equal. Running To Win comes to you from the Moody Church in Chicago to help you understand God's roadmap for your race of life.

This is Dave McAllister. Running To Win is sponsored by the Moody Church.