Tonight I invite you to turn with me to Hebrews chapter 7, Hebrews 7 as we read together verses 11 through 28, considering in a particular way verses 23 through 28, Hebrews 11, reading 11 through 28. When you have found that, please also turn in the back of the Psalter hymnal to page 40 and 41. There we find Lord's Day 30. We find the third of three Lord's Days dealing with the Lord's Supper, the Catechism's treatment of the Lord's Supper. As you see there, the first question and answer 80 dealing with the Lord's Supper in comparison to the Roman Catholic Mass, And then the other two questions and answers dealing with who are to come to the Lord's table. So we consider the one final sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ from Hebrews chapter 7 and somewhat by way of application then considering that in connection with the catechism's treatment of the Lord's Supper in this way. We'll first read together the catechism if you would allow me since answer 80 is quite lengthy. I'll read that one and then have you respond with 81 and 82. So 80, how does the Lord's Supper differ from the Roman Catholic Mass? The Lord's Supper declares to us that our sins have been completely forgiven through the one sacrifice of Jesus Christ, which He Himself finished on the cross once for all. It also declares to us that the Holy Spirit grafts us into Christ, who with His very body is now in heaven at the right hand of the Father where He wants us to worship Him. But the Mass teaches that the living and the dead do not have their sins forgiven through the suffering of Christ unless Christ is still offered for them daily by the priests. It also teaches that Christ is bodily present in the form of bread and wine where Christ is therefore to be worshipped. Thus, the Mass is basically nothing but a denial of the one sacrifice and suffering of Jesus Christ and a condemnable idolatry. Now, if you would join in on 81 and 82 again. Who are to come to the Lord's table? Those who are displeased with themselves because of their sins, but who nevertheless trust that their sins are pardoned and that their continuing weakness is covered by the suffering and death of Christ and who also desire more and more to strengthen their faith and to lead a better life Hypocrites and those who are unrepentant, however, eat and drink judgment on themselves. Are those to be admitted to the Lord's Supper who show by what they say and do that they are unbelieving and ungodly? No, that would dishonor God's covenant and bring down God's anger upon the entire congregation. Therefore, according to the instruction of Christ and his apostles, the Christian church is duty-bound to exclude such people by the official use of the keys of the kingdom until they reform their lives. Turning to Hebrews chapter 7, beginning at verse 11. A discussion of Jesus, a priest after the order of Melchizedek. 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. The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless, for the law made nothing perfect, and a better hope is introduced by which we draw near to God. And it was not without an oath. Others became priests without an oath, but he became a priest with an oath when God said to him, The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, you are a priest forever. Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant. Now, there have been many of those priests since death prevented them from continuing in office, but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore, he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. Such a high priest meets our need, one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he appointed himself, when he offered himself. For the law appoints as high priests men who are weak, but the oath which came after the law appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever. May God add his blessing to the reading, preaching, and hearing of his word tonight. a beloved in the lord jesus christ why would you settle for the old when you can have the new and the improved from ziploc bags to 3g cell phone service from laundry detergent to washing machines from the environmentally dangerous to the green there's always something new and improved that is given to make life a little bit easier and a little bit better and once you have tried that which is new and improved, you will never go back to the old. The Jewish Christians of the book of Hebrews were being persecuted for their faith. They were in danger of falling away, falling back into the Old Testament religious customs and ceremonial practices, especially the sacrificial system with the Levitical priesthood. And the writer reminds them that all of the Old Testament ceremonies and practices and priests, and especially the Old Testament sacrifice for sin, they all looked for their fulfillment in another. They all pointed to Jesus Christ and the sacrifice of Himself, which is the final sacrifice for sin. It is the only one we need. It is the only one that will do. That is the Gospel message of this passage, of the Bible, indeed. And also, beloved, that is the message of the Lord's table, of the superiority of the Lord Jesus Christ as the Lord's Supper has replaced the Old Testament Passover. And therefore tonight, as we consider Lord's Day 30 in the context of this text from Hebrews 7, we notice that the Lord's Supper represents Christ's final sacrifice, first of all, by the great high priest. That's what we consider in Hebrews 7 itself. And then secondly, by way of application with regard to the Lord's Supper and the Catechism's consideration of it, secondly, for His redeemed people. First of all, we notice Christ's final sacrifice by the great high priest. Now, in this text and in the expanded chapters, because this dialogue really goes on for quite some time in these chapters, the writer of Hebrews is, on the one hand, he is comparing and contrasting, on the one hand, Jesus Christ as the high priest and his sacrifice of himself with the Old Testament, Levitical priesthood and the high priest and the animal sacrifices. And the writer is driving home the point, the truth, that Jesus Christ is the new and improved. Not in the trite sense of the earthly products that I spoke of a moment ago. Not in the sense that he is simply a little bit better than anything else that has been tried. and that yet there is the possibility of something even more new and improved to come along besides Him. Not at all. He is the best of all. There will never be anything or anyone better or greater because He is the most excellent. He is the only sacrifice for sin that will do. And because the high priest was inseparably connected to the task of offering the atonement offering for sin, Therefore, what we say about Jesus Christ, the great high priest, we can also say about His sacrifice, His final sacrifice. And the first thing we notice about Jesus Christ, the great high priest, is that He is eternal. He is eternal. He is compared here to Melchizedek. The writer has spoken of Melchizedek in chapter 5, quoting from Psalm 110, verse 4, and then he talks about him again at the end of chapter 6. he has become a high priest forever in the order of Melchizedek. In the beginning of chapter 7, this Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. And then he says of Melchizedek in verse 3, without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of God, he remains a priest forever. Now it is believed, at least by most people, that Melchizedek was a real man. Yet there is no record of his history. The Bible is silent with regard to any sort of a personal history about him other than what we are given. It is as if Melchizedek goes on forever. He is a priest forever. And the priesthood of Jesus is like Melchizedek. Except for the fact that because he is God, he does go on forever because his is the power of an indestructible life, as verse 16 says. And as we read in verse 24, but because Jesus lives forever, He has a permanent priesthood. And He is the one who was sworn by God. Again, from Psalm 110, verse 4, verse 17 says, For it is declared, You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek. And verse 21, But he became a priest with an oath when God said to him, The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind. You are a priest forever. The argument of the writer of Hebrews is the fact that the Old Testament priesthood and the Old Testament sacrifices were not sufficient and are ready to David. God had made that clear. The priesthood of Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of God's Old Testament Word because as God made clear to David, the Levitical priesthood and the Old Testament sacrifices indeed were not sufficient. This great high priest is eternal. Contrasted to the Levitical priesthood. Now we know that the Levitical priesthood from Aaron was established as a part of God's law given to Moses at Mount Sinai. Along with the commandments, God gave the rules and regulations with regard to Israel's civil life and their ceremonial, their religious life, the sacrifices, the feasts, including instruction with regard to the Levitical priesthood. And that priesthood was temporary because they all died. Verse 23 says, Now there have been many of those priests since death prevented them from continuing in office. Now the Jewish historian Josephus claims that there were 83 high priests, not just priests, but high priests, who officiated from Aaron to the fall of the second temple in 70 A.D. 83 high priests who officiated through all those many, many centuries. But they all died. And Jesus Christ is greater than the high priest of Aaron because he is eternal, but he is also perfect. As well, contrasted to the Levitical priesthood. In verse 27 we read, Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. Israel's high priests, we know, were sinful men, beginning with Aaron at Mount Sinai with regard to the golden calf. Israel's high priests were themselves in need of the sacrifices offered for their own sins before they could offer sacrifices on behalf of the people. But notice in contrast to that, Christ's qualifications and His status as recorded in verse 26. Such a high priest meets our need. What kind? One who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. Very simply, He is completely a different kind of high priest than the Old Testament high priests. He is holy, the writer says. He is holy in His inner disposition. He is holy in His heart and mind. No sinful inclinations in our Lord. As well, He is blameless. He did not commit one actual sin in thought, word, or deed. Free from the guilt of sin. free from being able to be blamed for sin. Boys and girls, he never did the least thing wrong. Instead, our Lord kept. He fulfilled God's law perfectly, flawlessly. The writer says he is pure, completely undefiled, unstained by sin. And as for his status, the writer says, set apart from sinners, though he took upon himself that human nature, he had no original sin. He did not participate in human sin. He was tempted like us in every way, yet He was sinless. And then the writer says He is exalted above the heavens. Jesus occupies the highest position imaginable. As Paul says in Philippians 2, Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Such a high priest meets our need. One who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. And therefore, beloved, we can also say about His sacrifice that His is a perfect sacrifice. In chapter 9, verse 14, we read of Christ who through the eternal spirit offered himself unblemished to God. And only his sacrifice of himself was acceptable to God, we know, to pay for our sins. And as chapter 9, verse 26 says, But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. And therefore, as our great high priest, he is also complete. we need no other. No other will do for us. And beloved, because He is eternal, because He is perfect, and these are things that we know, but we must be reminded of because He is eternal, because He is perfect, the same is true of His sacrifice for sin, which is complete because it is once for all. Never again does it need to be offered. Never again do we need a sacrifice offered for our sins. Therefore, He is a guarantee, as the writer says, of a better covenant. God told the Israelites to sacrifice animals. And they may not have understood it at the time, but to sacrifice animals as substitutes pointing to His Son, whom He gave as the substitute, the one and only that would do for sin. In the Old Covenant, the law and the Old Testament ceremonies and regulations could not eternally satisfy God. They could not save. They could offer no guarantee. As we read in chapter 10, verse 11, day after day, every priest stands and performs his religious duties. Again and again, he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But that new covenant is a better covenant, the writer says, better because Jesus Christ is the believer's guarantee that all of God's promises are fulfilled. As chapter 10, verse 14 says, because by one sacrifice He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. Dr. Howell Jones in his commentary in Hebrews helps us to understand what it means that Jesus is the guarantor of a better covenant. He says, Jesus is a guarantee or a surety that is one who legally substitutes for others undertaking to perform all obligations required and discharge whatever liabilities are done for every infringement of its terms. He goes on, Jesus pays debts and secures blessings in full in both cases. That's what He has done by His perfectly righteous life and His offering of His sinless self for our salvation. And therefore, we can say that He saves completely. Verse 25 says, Therefore, He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him because He always lives to intercede for them. Save completely. It's also translated to save to the uttermost. To save forever. Very simply, beloved, there is no limit to what Christ has accomplished. There is no limit to what Jesus Christ gives. He has left nothing undone for you and me. Nothing is left to do. And His saving power is without end. It has no defects attached to it. It does not need to be recalled or upgraded. There are no dead zones with it. It can never be improved upon. His saving power is endless. It is forever. Because He always lives to intercede as our great High Priest. The One who has offered Himself. He is eternally working to bless and to protect those who are committed to Him by faith. He continually prays to the Father on our behalf for the blessings that He has secured. For daily needs, for remission of sins, for protection from the evil one, simply for all that we need. And our comfort, beloved, is that God the Father will not say no to his Son. Jesus Christ is the great high priest. Both he and his sacrifice for sin are eternal, perfect, and complete. And they are ours by faith. And in Him alone, we have, as we said this morning, salvation's certainty. Both now and forever. And no one can take that away from us. And God has blessed us with His table, the Lord's table, which this very same message is the message of the Lord's table. As there at that table, the believer's faith is nourished. It is strengthened by the grace of God. And the confidence and the assurance, as answer 80 begins, The Lord's Supper declares to us that our sins have been completely forgiven through the one sacrifice of Jesus Christ which He Himself finished on the cross once for all. It also declares to us that the Holy Spirit grafts us into Christ who with His very body is now in heaven at the right hand of the Father where He wants us to worship Him. And the Lord's table also. We are nourished with the confidence and assurance as answer 81 says, that all of our sins are pardoned and that our continual weakness is covered. He ever lives to intercede for us. Even the sin that we continue to struggle with and commit throughout our whole life long is covered by this one sacrifice of Jesus Christ, contrary to the Roman Catholic Mass. Now, it's fitting that the writers of the Catechism should include this because, of course, it was written at the time of the Reformation. The Reformation of the Church being delivered from the errors of the Roman Catholic Church. And therefore, question 80 says, How does the Lord's Supper differ from the Roman Catholic Mass? We've already considered the Lord's Supper, but the Mass teaches that the living and the dead do not have their sins forgiven through the suffering of Christ, unless Christ is still offered for them daily by the priests. It also teaches that Christ is bodily present in the form of bread and wine, where Christ is therefore to be worshipped. Thus, the Mass is basically nothing but a denial of the one sacrifice and suffering of Jesus Christ and a condemnable idolatry. Now, that seems harsh. And there are many, even in our day, that says in the Reformed camp that say it's too harsh. We have to soften that language for the sake of our Roman Catholic brothers and sisters. But very simply, and they have not changed their view, Very simply, the Roman Catholic Mass, as it's clearly put here very succinctly, the Roman Catholic Mass treats Christ's one sacrifice as insufficient. So that it isn't finished. It's not enough. It strips us of all of the comfort that God intends us to have by His Spirit through His Word. The Roman Catholic Theology teaches us that the Mass must be offered. It's needed day after day after day. And therefore, that theology turns the Mass and the elements of the cup and the bread or the wafer into an absolute necessity for salvation. You've got to have it. And because they bring Christ down in the elements, because they say that the bread and the cup actually turn into the physical body and blood of Christ, and therefore he is to be worshipped in those earthly elements and not on high where he is seated. It does become an idolatry, a violation of the second commandment of our God. But the Lord's Supper, beloved, fixes our eyes by faith on Jesus who is at the right hand of God. The Lord's Supper has been given to believers by God's grace to nourish and strengthen us, to confirm that gospel message to us, reminding us that we are forever right with God. Forever right with God. Today, tomorrow, just as well as today. All because of his work, past, present, and future, his sacrifice offered, and that sacrifice still good, effective for you and me and his intercession for us, accomplished for His redeemed people in the second place. His redeemed people are those for whom His sacrifice is effective. Those who come to God through Him, as verse 25 says, we know who come by faith. Verse 27 says, He sacrificed for their sins once for all when He sacrificed Himself. And therefore, His redeemed people are those who understand their redemption. Who understand that one final sacrifice of Christ that it's for them too. And therefore, it's fitting now that we also, with the catechism here, we apply what we are taught in Hebrews 7 in our consideration of who are to come to the Lord's table. It's very fitting that we consider that. Who are to come to the Lord's table? Those who understand their redemption. God's redeemed people are those who understand by faith their redemption. You see, for those in whom the Holy Spirit, through the preaching of the Holy Gospel, which is necessary in order to be saved. For those in whom the Holy Spirit, through the preaching of the Holy Gospel, has worked that faith, has given that faith in Jesus Christ and His final sacrifice, God has given them a means to nourish that faith. Indeed, the preaching of His Word, to be sure, but along with that, because of our weakness and because of our need for something visible, He has given the Lord's table. But very simply, beloved, in order to nourish faith, there must be faith to be nourished. And that is exactly why the Lord's table is only for those who already believe. Question 81, who are to come to the Lord's table? Those who are displeased with themselves because of their sins, but who nevertheless trust that their sins are pardoned and that their continuing weakness is covered by the suffering and death of Christ and who also desire more and more to strengthen their faith and to lead a better life? Hypocrites and those who are unrepentant, however, eat and drink judgment on themselves? These are those for whom is the Lord's table? And again, this is contrary to what Rome teaches. Rome says that faith is not necessary for the math. You don't have to, for the Mass, you don't have to have it. Because the sacrament, they say, works by itself. It transmits, it gives the very grace that it points to. It saves. But if that's true, which it's not, that would mean that an unbeliever who comes to Mass, who comes to the Lord's table and partakes, and yet remains unbelieving, that that unbeliever receives God's grace. And that simply is not true. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11, for anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. And Jesus said, this cup is the new covenant in my blood. And therefore, beloved, those who enjoy that new covenant relationship of faith, by faith, they have a new hope, they have a new lifestyle in Christ Jesus, they have a new desire to serve God fully according to His Word. Beloved, those who are redeemed understand their redemption and they then come to the Lord's table with a proper examination. Maybe you notice as we read answer 81 that that answer, when it answers the question who are to come, it goes all the way back to question and answer 2 of the catechism. What must we know to live and die in the joy of this comfort? Three things. First, how great is my sin and misery. Second, how I am delivered from that sin and misery. And third, how I am called to be thankful for that deliverance. And that describes those who are to come to the Lord's table, who understand those things and who desire to live for Jesus. Those who understand the redemption because of Christ's final sacrifice are also those who live as redeemed. They don't live as perfect people. We struggle, again, with our sin in this life, but they are also those who do not habitually live in gross sin without care and apology. the lord's table beloved is not for the unbeliever it is not for the ungodly question 82 are those to be admitted to the lord's supper who show by what they say and do that they are unbelieving and ungodly no that would dishonor god's covenant and bring down god's anger upon the entire congregation therefore according to the instruction of christ and his apostles the christian church is duty bound to exclude such people by the official use of the keys of the kingdom until they reform their lives the lord's table because of what it represents and because of what our god does there for his believers by his spirit is not for the ungodly it is not for the unbeliever it is dangerous for the unbeliever because to partake in unbelief is to mock christ's saving work it is to cast that one deeper into sin and guilt the lord's supper the lord's table is for those who are redeemed, for those who know by faith that Jesus Christ is the only way to the Father. For those who live by the Holy Spirit, and as Paul says in Romans 12, they do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but are transformed by the renewing of your mind, testing and approving God's good, perfect and pleasing will. It is for those who enjoy the Christian liberty of holiness, and that's what Christian liberty is all about, beloved, holiness to God. It is for those empowered by the Holy Spirit, demonstrate, invisibly represent that they are in the family of God. They are those who are called to gather with God's people at His table. Lord's Day 30 concludes the Heidelberg Catechism's consideration of the Lord's Supper. Again, the third of three Lord's Days. It concludes the Catechism's consideration of the sacraments. And beloved, when we understand that the Lord's Supper is a holy supper, holy unto the Lord, given by God, a supper which represents Christ's final sacrifice, which is the absolute only way that one can be saved, and that those who believe and trust in Him alone by the grace of God have eternal and perfect and complete salvation. That is ours. We have that comfort. When we understand that the Lord's table represents Christ's final sacrifice and that at the Lord's Supper, God by His Holy Spirit is doing something marvelous and real in those who believe, then we must also understand how important it is to guard and defense the Lord's table. And it is good and appropriate for us to say a word about that. It's not easy to guard the Lord's table. Different churches practice it differently. There's no agreement how it ought to be done, even, for example, among the churches of the United Reformed Federation. There are three ways, generally, that the Lord's table has been observed. First of all, what is called closed communion. Boys and girls, like a door that's closed tight. Closed communion. Which means that only those who are professing members of a particular congregation are allowed to partake when that congregation celebrates the Lord's Supper. No visitors, even believing visitors, are allowed. Just professing members of that congregation. And that way, I suppose, the elders can be sure that no one is getting through that ought not get through in as far as they are able. In contrast to that is what's called open communion, where the pastor, under the authority of the elders, by the authority of the elders, invites anyone who may be worshiping on that particular day, if you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, you may come, one and all, to the Lord's table, putting the burden completely upon the one who partakes, Figuring, I suppose, that if they are hypocritical, as the Catechism says, they will answer to God. And the third way is that which we call close communion. The way which we strive to practice it. Which allows not only professing believers from this congregation, but visitors, professing believers, members of other churches who may be visiting with us on any particular day, that they too may join with us. Now, ultimately, God is the one who judges the heart. Yet, he gives the elders a very, very great responsibility. But thankfully, the elders in this congregation take seriously. Now, the elders are not perfect, and they will miss some. There will be some hypocrites, and I suppose even some unbelievers once in a while that get through, but they will answer to God. but the elders, in as much as they are able, are called to discern if one has a credible profession of faith. And that's why only professing members are allowed to partake, also visitors. And with regard to the way we celebrate the Lord's Supper and guard the table, visitors who come to join with us are asked to respect our practice and to sign their name with regard to their faith commitment and their church membership. In that way, the elders do their duty as assigned by Christ. In as much as they are able to guard the Lord's table, to speak eye to eye, face to face with those who visit, to ask them point blank, Do you believe? Have you professed your faith in Jesus Christ? And also in that way, putting the burden upon the one who partakes. Now as you can imagine, close communion offends some. Maybe even some of you here tonight, maybe you have been offended if you have visited another church and they have asked you to sign a card and answer questions as we have visitors do here. But beloved, let it not be offensive. You see, when we understand the holiness and the significance of the Lord's table, when we understand God's promise of His nourishing grace, confirming the believer's faith, strengthening our faith, when we understand the elders' desire to protect the Lord's table from being profaned and disgraced and abused, and their desire to protect even unbelievers from eating and drinking judgment unto themselves, then we should want the elders to guard the table and we should consider it a privilege if asked to do so as we visit other churches from time to time to give a testimony of our faith again and again and again. Beloved, the Lord's table is a blessed and important part of the believer's life. No, it is not necessary for salvation, but it is for the benefit of those who are saved. But it is a blessed gift, part of our life given to us from God as there, as we partake, as our faith is nourished by the Holy Spirit. We, by partaking, we testify by our actions that Christ's final sacrifice is for me too. That I am saved from eternal hell and to live in the presence of God forever. We give testimony to our confidence by the grace of God that we trust Jesus Christ, the great high priest, to intercede for me with confidence. that all that he has earned for me, his Father will give to me. Indeed, people of God, Christ's sacrifice is the one final sacrifice for sin. He has done it all. All along, he was God's plan of salvation. There has never been, there will never be another way, there can never be a new and improved or a better way. He is the most excellent and he has done it all and His one sacrifice is effective for you and me forever. And therefore, may we never look elsewhere for such a great salvation that comes only from Jesus Christ, who is able and who does save completely those who come to God through Him. To God alone be the glory. Amen. Let's pray together. Father, we praise Your name for Your holy Gospel. Your word of truth of our salvation through Jesus Christ alone, which is so clear on the pages of Scripture, which You have made clear to us by faith to our hearts and minds, and which You also make clear to us in the beauty of the Lord's Supper which You have given, that that which we hear with our ears might be confirmed to our eyes of the blessed saving sacrifice of Jesus Christ and all that it means for us. And we thank you too, Father, for your promise to continue. As long as we breathe the breath of life here on this earth, you will continue to nourish and strengthen us. Indeed, through the preaching of your word, Lord's Day by Lord's Day. And also as we come together around the Lord's table. Oh, Father, we thank you for your grace, which is indeed amazing and wondrous to us. May we never take it for granted. May we never look elsewhere. May we be content in that which you have done for us. In Christ Jesus, our Lord. In Jesus' name we pray these things. Amen.