Hebrews 7:1-28

We are often tempted to take that which is good over that which is best.  The Hebrew people had been given a very good blessing from God in the priesthood and in the Law.  This was truly a blessing from God, but it was meant to prepare them for the even greater blessing of Christ.  Unfortunately, many of them do not “get it” and ended up clinging to that which was good while rejecting that which is best.
CHRIST IS SUPERIOR TO THE PRIESTS: The author of Hebrews proves this point through the face that Abraham, the man through whom the priestly line came, paid tithes to Melchizedek.  The argument is that the lesser is blessed by the greater and the lesser pays tithes to the greater.  So even Abraham recognized his inferior position compared to Melchizedek.  Since Christ is a priest descended, not from the line of Levi, and is declared to be a Priest forever in the order of Melchizedek, that makes Christ’s priesthood superior to that of those descended from Levi and Aaron.  The reality is that priests are mere mortal men who represent man before God and God to men.  Christ, on the other hand is the eternal God incarnate that He might reveal God very God to man and fully represent men to the Father.
CHRIST IS SUPERIOR TO THE LAW: The Law was given as a means of revealing the moral character of God as well as demonstrating the sinfulness of man.  The Law had no power to save men from sin, nor did it fully reveal the character of God to man, but it was a foreshadowing meant to demonstrate the deity of Christ in the incarnation and well as the depravity of man.  Christ, however, is the perfect revelation of who God is.  He is God made man that we might see God for who He truly is.  Christ fulfilled the Law in every aspect; something that no other man has ever done or will ever do.  In addition to that, Christ also provided through His sacrifice a means through which man can be released from the bondage of Sin.  It is far better to be released from sin than it is to simply be revealed as a sinner.
CHRIST IS SUPERIOR TO THE SACRIFICES: Every priest prior to Christ died because of his sin and another priest took his place.  Christ died as the ultimate sacrifice for sin and rose again.  He lives and so shall all who trust in Christ inherit the eternal life that He offers to us through faith.  The former priests had to offer sacrifices on a daily basis for their own sin and the sin of the people.  These sacrifices were insufficient to actually deal with sin.  However, Christ provided a permanent pardon for sin to all who believe.  The forgiveness that Christ offers to us through faith in the sacrifice of Christ provides for us the only hope for eternal life.  Christ is the only means by which we might be saved from sin for He gave Himself as the sacrifice for our sin so, in Him, we can be assured of everlasting life.

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