Chapter 12, I'll read verses 29 to 32. Deuteronomy 12, 29, when the Lord your God cuts off from before you the nations which you go to dispossess, and you displace them and dwell in their land, take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them after they are destroyed from before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise. You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way.
For every abomination to the Lord which he hates, they have done to their gods. For they burn even their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods. Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it. You shall not add to it nor take away from it.
Amen. Well, let us pray.
Opening Prayer
Our Father in heaven, we thank you for this opportunity to gather together again to worship you in spirit and in truth. We pray for your blessing now. We ask for your leading and guidance. We pray that you would help us as a church to approach you with that fear and trembling and rejoicing that is so consistent with the blood-bought children of God.
We thank you for so great a salvation. We thank you for the great privilege that we have, that you come, you, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, come to dwell in the believer. And we thank you that as we gather together corporately on the Lord's day, you are pleased to dwell in the midst of your saints. Truly, the Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwelling places of Jacob, and this greatly encourages us.
So guide us now, forgive us for all of our sin and unrighteousness, cleanse us in the precious blood of the Lamb, and fill each of us now with your Holy Spirit. And we pray in Jesus' name, amen.
Introduction
Well, it occurred to me that I had mentioned over the last few weeks ago that there might be some changes coming, and a couple of people have come to me and said, what kind of changes are coming? Believe you me, they are very insignificant. We're not going to introduce puppets, ponies, and programs, and all those sorts of things. I'm not going to bring a tambourine up here or anything like that.
Basically, I just want to bring our practice of the Lord's Supper more consistent with what scripture teaches and with what our confession teaches. So I thought I'd lay the foundation in terms of regulative principle of worship. And that's why we're looking at this particular theme or this particular topic. So as I said, we've looked at this two Sundays previous to now, just by way of review.
We looked at the divine appointment of worship. We saw the books of Exodus and Leviticus. The Ten Commandments, we see the regulative principle of worship grounded in the first two commandments. The first commandment describes the object of our worship, and the second commandment is the manner in which we are to worship that living and true God.
We then considered the threefold division of the law. There's moral law, ceremonial law, and judicial law. The moral law is the unchanging Ten Commandments, the Decalogue, that revelation of God's nature and what He demands of all men everywhere at all times, irrespective of the covenant you find yourself in. But with reference to Old Covenant Israel, they also had ceremonial law, which governed worship.
And I will explain how that's related to what we call positive law later on. And then, of course, in Old Covenant Israel, they have the judicial law, which as our confession says, expired with that commonwealth, but the general equity abides. In other words, we can glean wisdom from Old Covenant judicial law for modern civil jurisprudence. As well, we saw this in terms of the book of Exodus.
It's not something imposed upon scripture, but rather chapter 20 in Exodus is the Ten Commandments, chapters 21 to 23 is the judicial law, and then 25 to 40 is the ceremonial law, which governed the tabernacle, and the priesthood, and the approach of the people to the worship of God Most High. As well, we saw the implementation of corporate worship, specifically in the book of Leviticus. We see it positively and we see it negatively. When the people abided by the law and the priests offered up the appropriate sacrifice, in Leviticus chapter 9, the fire of God fell from heaven and consumed the sacrifice.
And the people rejoiced because God had approved of their worship. On the heels of that, Nadab and Abihu then offer up profane fire. Fire comes down from God, but instead of consuming the sacrifice, consumes the sacrificers, because they did not obey the word of God. And then we saw this particular section in the book of Deuteronomy, which provides an occasion, verse 29, when the Lord your God cuts off from before you the nations which you go to dispossess, and you displace them and dwell in their land.
In other words, God is making good on his promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to give them a particular piece of land. So he says, when you go into that land, he gives this warning in verse 30. Take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them after they are destroyed from before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, how did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.
So that's the warning. Don't ape the nations that you dispossess from the land of Canaan. Then there is this specific command in verse 31. You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way.
For every abomination to the Lord, which he hates, they have done to their gods, for they burn even their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods. And then the corrective. We call this the regulative principle of worship in verse 32. Whatever I command you.
Be careful to observe it. You shall not add to it nor take away from it. So God doesn't want innovative worshipers. God does not want creative worshipers.
God wants obedient worshipers. We're supposed to take his written word. We're supposed to receive it as divine command and appointment. And that is what is supposed to govern our worship.
We then turned to the book of Chronicles and saw several instances where this was fleshed out. They worshiped as they had been appointed. They worship in obedience to God Most High. And that is consistent with what we saw in the New Covenant.
If you want to turn back to 1 Timothy chapter 3, this is where we began our studies in this particular doctrine. 1 Timothy chapter 3, the Apostle Paul tells Timothy the reason that he is writing this epistle. He says in verse 14, these things I write to you, and I think that's everything preceding this statement and everything following. In other words, the entirety of the book of 1 Timothy. These things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly.
But if I am delayed, I write, so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God. And the oughtness here is not suggestive, it's not, you know, if you feel so inclined, the oughtness has divine necessity. You ought to conduct yourself this way. Why?
Because it's the house of God. It's the church of the living God. It's the pillar and ground of the truth. And then over in Hebrews chapter 12, we see a similar emphasis when the apostle tells the people of God in verse 28, therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.
That acceptability is not man's acceptability. It is rather God's. What God commands, God should receive. We ought to be obedient worshippers to Him.
And then notice what is punctuated here. For our God is a consuming fire. That's right out of Deuteronomy chapter 4 and verse 24. Not sure why the New King James translators didn't set that off in italics to indicate that it was in fact an Old Testament quotation.
So the reality that our God is a consuming fire underscores old covenant worship and it underscores new covenant worship. So there's no change in God. He doesn't say, well, you know, just approach me in any old way that you see fit. Approach me the way the pagans do or the heathen do.
Approach me the way that the Dagon worshipers or the Molech worshipers. You go ahead and ape those practices just as long as you're bringing to me a sincere heart. That's all that's important. No, God demands worship that is according to his revealed will.
The Covenantal Context of Worship
Now tonight, I want to finish this brief series by a consideration of the covenantal context of worship. In other words, when you look at Old Covenant worship and New Covenant worship, there are some big differences. For instance, in the Old Covenant, you have a tabernacle. Or you have a temple.
In the Old Covenant, you have a priesthood. In the Old Covenant, you have incense. In the Old Covenant, you have all kinds of musical instruments. In the Old Covenant, you have sacrifice.
And when you get to the New Covenant, you don't have tabernacle. You don't have temple. You don't have all of those particulars involved in Old Covenant worship. There's got to be a way that we can explain the significance behind that.
Well, I think there is, and I think it's covenant theology. So under the heading, the covenantal context of worship, we have four things I want to consider tonight. First, the moral requirement for worship. Secondly, the covenantal context of worship.
Third, the function of positive law in covenant and worship. And then we'll finish with the distinction between elements and circumstances. Elements and circumstances, fundamental in terms of our discussion of worship. But first, just broadly speaking, the moral requirement for worship.
Now, I consider that there are very few preachers who can preach topical series well. It's a tough thing. I, for one, like to be tethered to a particular book. I much prefer expository preaching.
There's no guesswork. We know where we're going to be, God willing, next Sunday morning in John's Gospel, John chapter 14. We are tethered to the text of Scripture. Topical series are a bit difficult.
You've got to sort of amass from the entirety of the Bible and put them into logical formation things that you want to address. So as I said, I think there's very few guys who can do that effectively and do that well. I don't think that's my forte or gift. As I said, this is our last message tonight in this topical series.
We'll probably head to 1 Corinthians chapter 10 and 11 and try to consolidate our practice in the Lord's Supper with what we find there. But with reference to this approach to covenantal context of worship, I want to start more broadly with the moral requirement for worship.
The Moral Requirement for Worship
Does God demand worship? And here I'm gonna lean a bit on our confession of faith because I think it is most helpful at this particular point as it summarizes well what the scripture says. So the moral requirement for worship. In the first place, I'd argue that the light of nature or what we might call general revelation reveals that there is in fact a God.
You can turn to the book of Psalms, Psalm 19. Psalm 19, just trying to build the case that there is a moral requirement for worship, and then we'll set that in its covenantal context. But in terms of the moral requirement for worship, starting broadly, the light of nature reveals the existence of God. Notice in Psalm 19 at verse one, to the chief musician, a Psalm of David.
The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows his handiwork. When you look at the heavens, they speak. Not audibly, not in a way that, you know, words and syllables and syntax and sentences and all that sort of a thing, but they reveal something concerning God. They reveal the existence of God.
In fact,
General Revelation and the Existence of God
Spurgeon on this text says, he who looks up to the firmament and then writes himself down an atheist, brands himself at the same moment as an idiot or a liar. So the heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows his handiwork. A second passage that illustrates this is Romans 1. You can turn there.
Again, the broader context in the argument, the moral requirement for worship, first the light of nature reveals the existence of God. So in Romans chapter 1, specifically at verse 18, the Apostle writes, Now notice in verses 19 and 20 specifically. For since the creation of the world, His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse. So general revelation, or God's revealing Himself through the created order, to man who is made in his image is enough to damn the man.
It doesn't bring salvation, but it does render him inexcusable. When he looks up into the heavens, if he's not branding himself as an idiot or a liar, then he must concede that there is a God. In fact, our confession says in chapter 22, paragraph one, the light of nature shows that there is a God. The great confessions of faith all imbibe this theology.
Belgic confession number two. By what means is God made known unto us? We know him by two means. First, by the creation, preservation, and government of the universe, which is before our eyes as a most elegant book. wherein all creatures, great and small, are as so many characters leading us to contemplate the invisible things of God, namely His power and divinity, as the Apostle Paul says, Romans 1.20, all which things are sufficient to convince men and leave them without excuse.
Secondly, He makes Himself more clearly fully known to us by His holy and divine word, that is to say, as far as is necessary for us to know in this life to His glory and our salvation. So the book of nature and the book of God, or the book of revelation. We find the revelation of God through the created order. So the light of nature reveals the existence of God.
I would argue, secondly, that
General Revelation Demands Worship
the light of nature demands the worship of God. The light of nature demands the worship of God. So if I continued in our confession, it says, the light of nature shows that there is a God who hath lordship and sovereignty over all, is just, good, and doth good unto all, and is therefore to be feared, loved, praised, called upon, trusted in, and served with all the heart and all the soul and with all the might. In other words, the fact that God is demands that God's creatures worship and praise and adore him.
And intriguingly, the confession invokes Jeremiah 10, verse 7. And the question by the prophet there is, who would not fear you, O king of the nations, for indeed it is your due? Who would not fear you, O king of the nations, for indeed it is your due? This is repeated in the book of Revelation.
Who shall not fear you, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy, for all nations shall come and worship before you, for your judgments have been manifested. So in terms of the moral requirement for the worship of God Most High, we see it in the light of nature. We see it in general revelation.
We see it in the heavens and in the earth and in the creature around us. The effects, rather, lead us to the cause to recognize that He is, and since He is, we as His creatures must fear Him, we must love Him, we must obey Him, and we must adore Him. But as well, the revealed law of God demands the worship of God as well. So the Book of Nature and the Book of Special Revelation both demand worship of this true and living God.
Again, 1st and 2nd Commandments, Deuteronomy 12.32, 1 Timothy 3.14 and 15. Hebrews chapter 12, the Lord God demands that we worship Him in His written revelation. So when I continue reading in chapter 22, paragraph one, after saying the light of nature shows that there is a God and therefore creatures owe Him worship and fear and adoration, it goes on to say, but the acceptable way of worshiping the true God is instituted by Himself. So that there is a God, creation testifies.
That we should worship this God, creation testifies. But the manner in which we worship this God, we go to the Scripture, which is the written revelation of God and His mind and heart expressed for us in terms of what we're supposed to do when it comes to the worship of this God. So that's the moral requirement for worship.
Covenantal Context of Worship
Secondly, the covenantal context of worship. I've already sort of introduced this. There are similarities between the Old and the New Covenant. The fact that we acknowledge God and the fact that we worship God.
So there are obvious similarities between the church in the New Covenant era and dare I say, the church in the Old Covenant era. Obvious differences, we'll deal with that as we proceed, but the similarities are clear. With reference to the similarities, moral law demands that we worship God Most High, that we honor, that we glorify, and that we praise Him. Now,
Positive Law Defined
the differences between Old Covenant and New Covenant worship hinge upon a doctrine called positive law. And basically, positive law is something that God commands in addition to moral law for a specific time. That's it. The prohibition against eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the garden.
That was positive law. It's not intrinsically or inherently evil to eat from a particular tree, but in that instance, in terms of probation, God forbade them to eat from that particular tree. Positive law affects things in covenant in terms of worship. For instance, in chapter 22 of our confession, in paragraph 7, it treats the Sabbath day, and this is by way of illustration.
It's appropriate, but it's just by way of illustration. It says in paragraph 7, as it is the law of nature, or again based on general revelation, that in general a proportion of time by God's appointment be set apart for the worship of God. The idea being, if there is a God, we are the creature of God, and therefore are bound to worship God, then inherently we know that we ought to cease from our labors at some point. Whether it's a Saturday or a Sunday, New Covenant or rather positive law will dictate, but that we should cease from our normal activity and worship God, that is known to the creature.
And so the Confession recognizes that. So, as it is the law of nature that in general a proportion of time, by God's appointment, be set apart for the worship of God, so by His word, in a positive, moral, and perpetual commandment, binding all men in all ages, He hath particularly appointed one day in seven for a Sabbath to be kept holy unto Him. So the moral principle is, one day out of seven, we worship the true and living God. Well, how do we know which day?
Within the particular covenant we're in, positive law dictates. In the old covenant, positive law dictated Saturday. In the new covenant, positive law dictates Sunday. I can build that case, but it would take us far afield.
There are sermons on sermonaudio.com dealing with that particular subject. Just introducing the concept of positive law here. One other place that we ought to appreciate positive law in our confession. Chapter 28, specifically paragraph one.
This is of baptism and the Lord's Supper. It says, baptism and the Lord's Supper are ordinances of positive and sovereign institution appointed by the Lord Jesus, the only law giver, to be continued in his church to the end of the world. So in the Old Covenant, you had ordinances, or what we might call sacraments. You had Passover, you had circumcision.
How do we know that, or how did we arrive at that? Because positive law in the Old Covenant demanded the circumcision of babies, and it demanded the Passover feast. Well, in the New Covenant, there's no longer Passover, there's no longer circumcision. Why?
Because the Old Testament has been abrogated, fulfilled by our Lord Jesus Christ, and thus no longer binding upon us. So the abrogation of the fulfillment of the Old Covenant takes with it circumcision and Passover. So what do we have in its wake? We have the New Covenant.
So what are the ordinances or the sacraments of the New Covenant? Do we ask Abraham? No. Do we ask Jesus?
Yes. And what does Jesus institute for the new covenant by way of positive law? He institutes baptism in the Lord's Supper. So positive law functions in a particular covenant to regulate worship.
Jim Renahan says positive law is an added commandment given by revelation differing from moral or natural law in that knowledge of it will only come externally by means of divine disclosure. For example, circumcision and baptism are both positive laws. They are appropriately part of worship associated with specific covenants and would be unknown apart from divine revelation. Any positive law is a command given by God for a particular purpose and or time.
It requires obedience beyond what is required in natural or moral law. So positive law comes along in the covenant to orchestrate, or legislate rather, what is appropriate in that covenantal context for the worship of God. Now, I hope this makes sense, because I think it makes perfect sense, and I hope that it's conveyed over to you as well. And that brings us then,
Positive Law in Old and New Covenants
thirdly, to the function of positive law in covenant and worship. The function of positive law in covenant and worship. So first, the positive law in the Old Covenant. I've already mentioned tabernacle, temple, priesthood, sacrifice, incense.
A calendar, a pretty detailed calendar, by the way. What's the calendar in the New Covenant? Lord's Day worship. You mean not Ascension, not Christmas, not Easter?
Nope. Lord's Day worship. That's the calendar in New Covenant worship. Not so with Old Covenant.
Old Covenant, you had all kinds of feasts. Old Covenant, you had all kinds of demands. Old Covenant, if you had a calendar on your wall, you had certain dates circled all throughout that calendar that had religious significance. Well, why is that?
Because of positive law. Positive law in the Old Covenant dealt with tabernacle, temple, priesthood, incense, sacrifice, days of worship, feasts for worship, all sorts of things that were entailments to that Old Covenant people in their approach to a holy God. And again, the argument isn't that it's bad. The argument isn't that it wasn't good.
The argument is that it was for a time. It was for the Old Covenant people of God. But built into the Old Covenant was its own obsolescence. into the old covenant was the announcement of a coming new covenant, where God through the prophet Jeremiah says, I will make a new covenant with them. Not like the covenant that I made, which their fathers broke, but in this new covenant, I will write my law on their hearts.
I will forgive them of their sins. I will be their God and they shall be my people. So to say that the old covenant is no more, to say that it's been abrogated or fulfilled by Jesus Christ, is simply to say what the book of Hebrews says. Again, it's not a condemnation of that covenant.
It is simply to acknowledge that it functioned for the purpose in which God intended. And now that Christ has come, now that the substance has come, we don't need to go back to the types. We don't need to go back to the prefigurements. We don't need to go back to all those things that pointed forward to His coming.
In the language of our confession relative to Old Covenant worship, it describes ceremonial law, which is positive law. Ceremonial law governs the worship of the Old Covenant people, and it says in our confession, chapter 19, paragraph 3, besides this law, commonly called moral, so it's a discussion after the discussion concerning the Ten Commandments. It says, besides this law, commonly called moral, God was pleased to give to the people of Israel ceremonial laws containing several typical ordinances. A type is something that announces something to come.
A type can be a person, it can be an event, it can be a place, it can be a whole host of things. So it says, containing several typical ordinances, partly of worship, prefiguring Christ, his graces, actions, sufferings, and benefits, and partly holding forth diverse instructions and moral duties, all which ceremonial laws being appointed only to the time of reformation have often cautioned us that's not the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century. That's the coming of the Messiah and his new covenant. We'll see that text in a little bit.
Are by Jesus Christ the true Messiah and only lawgiver who was furnished with power from the Father for that end, abrogated and taken away. So in this new covenant era, there's no tabernacle, there's no temple, there's no priesthood. There is. I mean, the tabernacle priest, temple thing, is the Lord Jesus.
I mean, again, type and anti-type. The priesthood of all believers. But I think you understand what I mean. A priesthood dedicated to the house of God to offer up sacrifice and incense in the worship of God.
That kind of priesthood is no longer. The Roman Catholic priesthood, they're patterned after an Old Covenant regiment, and they are engaged in absolute folly when they do that. And so we don't duplicate that error, we respect positive law or ceremonial law that governs the Old Covenant. Secondly, the abrogation of the Old Covenant, and thus the requirements of Old Covenant positive law.
In other words, if the old covenant has been abrogated or fulfilled, and I would suggest it was abrogated because it was fulfilled by our Lord Jesus Christ, but if that covenant as a covenant is no longer binding, then those elements involved in worship are no longer binding. So I guess what I'm trying to convey is just because something is in the Old Testament doesn't necessarily mean it belongs in the church. It's a pretty simple observation. Well, they had a priesthood.
Why don't we? Because we're in the New Covenant. They had sacrifice. Why don't we?
Because we're in the New Covenant. They had incense. Why don't we? Because this is the new covenant and the lawgiver Christ has legislated relative to his church, that instead of all those things that were built for a carnal people, we have a spiritual emphasis in our worship today.
Worship in the new covenant is very simple. Worship in the New Covenant is not calculated for carnal people. We walk by faith and not by sight. And if you get upset that he's referring to those Old Covenant Jews as carnal people, read our tradition.
Read the guys who write, the Puritans that we love, on Old Covenant and New Covenant worship. They all to a man will say, the Jews got that kind of worship because of the absence of faith and God had to hedge them in by providing all this accouterment for them so that they would stay on the beaten path. Well, in the New Covenant, we're blood-bought children of the living God. What's the mandate?
John 4. To worship in spirit and truth.
New Covenant Worship in John 4
So that brings us to John 4. When it comes to the abrogation of the Old Covenant and the requirements of Old Covenant positive law, look at Jesus in John 4. A passage that speaks specifically to worship. Remember the Lord Jesus is dealing with that Samaritan woman? tells her to go and call her husband, and she says, I have no husband.
And in verse 17, Jesus said to her, you have well said, I have no husband, for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband, and that you spoke truly. And the woman wants to discuss worship. Okay. The woman said to him, sir, I perceive that you are a prophet.
I guess when somebody tells you that kind of pinpoint accuracy about your life, you'd perceive that it was a prophet too! Our fathers worshipped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship. Jesus said to her, Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem worship the Father. Well, that's fundamentally different than Old Covenant worship.
Deuteronomy 12, the section that I read, follows the section that emphasizes central sanctuary. The people of God in the Old Covenant were told to come to Jerusalem. They were told to respond in that particular fashion. They were told later to come to the temple.
Why? Because if they didn't and they broke out worshiping wherever they had a hankering to, they'd end up in idolatry. So the emphasis on a central sanctuary loomed large in Old Covenant history. And so for Jesus to say in verse 21, woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem worship the Father.
He says in verse 22, you worship what you do not know. We know what we worship for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming and now is when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. If I was the translator here, I'd capitalize the S and the T.
I think he's talking about Trinitarian worship. The Father is worshiped in the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, and in the truth, the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, that's obviously open for debate. I realize that even good men disagree on that, but I think that's the emphasis.
The hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is spirit and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth. Again, doesn't give us every detail about positive law, doesn't give us every detail about the old covenant and the new covenant, but it does announce for us by our Lord, the law giver, that there's a change coming in terms of public worship.
Hebrews and the End of Old Covenant Worship
Turn over to the book of Hebrews, where we see this shift in positive law from old covenant carnal worship. And by carnal, I don't mean bad, wicked, sinful, or evil, but that there was more emphasis on the external. There was more emphasis on the pomp and the ceremony. There was more emphasis upon those things because a non-as-spiritual people would need those sorts of things.
That's why I've always thought in Roman Catholicism, they have all those trappings. For the most part, they don't walk by faith. They walk by sight and by scent. They still use incense, by priesthood, by sacrifice, by all those trappings that you see in the Old Covenant, or all those things that you see in the Old Covenant.
So notice specifically in the book of Hebrews, you have the end of the Old Covenant priesthood. And that's the bulk of chapters 5 to 10. Remember Paul's point, I think Paul wrote Hebrews, is to set forth the superiority of Jesus Christ. over everybody else. He starts off by saying that he's over the prophets, he's over Moses, he's over the angels, he's over Joshua, he's over Aaron and the Levitical priests.
He summarizes that very specifically here in chapter seven, when he tells us that there is a change in the priesthood. And then specifically at verse 23, he says, also, there were many priests because they were prevented by death from continuing, but he, because he continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. Therefore he is able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for us. For such a high priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens, who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for his own sins, and then for the people's, for this he did once for all when he offered up himself.
For the law appoints as high priests men who have weakness, but the word of the oath, which came after the law, appoints the son, who has been perfected forever. So the idea that the Apostle would be advocating for a continuing priesthood to offer up continual sacrifices is an affront to what he says here. The Lord Christ and His priesthood is final. There's no place for another priesthood.
There's no place for Aaron or for Levites or for papist priests. As well, the end of the old covenant is here because of the comet of the surety of a better covenant. Look at verse 22 here in chapter seven. Well, verse 20, again, note the appeal to Psalm 110.
It was built into the Old Testament that the old covenant was going to come to an end. So the argument isn't bad, wretched, horrible. Thankfully, we don't have to go back in redemptive history. No, it functioned for the purpose for which God had ordained.
So verse 20, and inasmuch as he was not made priest without an oath, for they have become priests without an oath, but he with an oath by him who said to him, the Lord has sworn and will not relent, you are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. By so much more, Jesus has become surety of a better covenant. See, brethren, this attempt to flatten the contours in covenant is wrong. It's misguided.
If you need to smuggle in paedo-baptism by denigrating the new covenant, bringing it down a bit on par with the old covenant, you've missed the point. The glory of the New Covenant is that it's the New Covenant. The glory of the New Covenant is that it's antitypical of the Old Covenant. The glory of the New Covenant is that it's realization and fulfillment of what was anticipation and promise.
The glory of the New Covenant is that the Old Covenant has been fulfilled. And this is the Apostles' point. So again, if the Old Covenant is fulfilled and abrogated, no longer does temple and tabernacle and priesthood and sacrifice and incense find their way into New Covenant churches. Notice as well, Chapter 8, verse 1.
Notice, now this is the main point of the things we are saying. Just in case you've missed all this, we have such a high priest who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the majesty in the heavens, a minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord erected, and not man. For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. Therefore it is necessary that this one also have something to offer.
For if he were on earth, he would not be a priest, since there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law, who serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle. For he said, see that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain. But now he, Jesus, has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as he is also mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises. To flatten the distinction between old and new so you can smuggle in paedo-baptism is to go against what the apostle says here in terms of the betterness of the new covenant.
Why would we want to do that? God gives you a better covenant, you take the better covenant, and you thank him for it. And then I think he summarizes this argument in terms of the Old Testament's abrogation in verse 13. Notice, in that he says, a new covenant, he has made the first obsolete.
Now, what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away. I'm just going to gloss that verse a bit so that I can convey what I think he's talking about here without having to do a detailed exegesis of the passage. In that he says, a new covenant, he has made the first obsolete at the cross through the blood of Jesus. The Lamb of God who came to take away the sin of the world.
When Jesus dies on that cross, to after that offer up animals in terms of sacrifice is to denounce, renounce, and to reject the once-for-all sacrifice. It's about this time that I go off on my tirade against dispensationalism. And I think that's a very important tirade because dispensationalism teaches us that in the millennial kingdom, there'll be a re-inauguration or a re-institution of animal sacrifice. Well, why?
What in the world would drive that? Why would you possibly think that in some millennial kingdom we offer up animal sacrifices? In light of the once-for-all sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ, that is to go backwards in redemptive history. It makes no sense.
So in that, he says, a new covenant, he has made the first obsolete. Now, when I say that, I'm not saying that dispensationalists are in hell or reprobate or anything like that. I'd like to think that a dispensationalist could hear that and not lose his ever-loving mind. Brethren, we need to be able to debate like men.
We don't cancel each other. We don't avoid each other. We don't say, you're dead to me because you disagree theologically. When did we become such Nancys in the church?
When did we get so delicate and so easily offended? Brothers fight over theology, not fist fight. I guess they do have, at some point in history, I think some dudes dueled over a theological point in the history of the church. I'm not advocating that, but I'm advocating that we ought to be able to disagree, and we ought to be able to do so with a bit of heat.
We ought to be able to push back on one another. If our system can't be pushed back on by another pastor, what are we going to do when the heathen come? What are we going to do when the hordes are at the gate? What are we going to do when crunch time comes?
I'm not putting them in hell. I am saying they ought to adopt a better hermeneutic though. So back to 813. In that he says a new covenant.
He has made the first obsolete at the cross through the blood of Jesus. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old? The Jewish economy with its sacrificial system. I think Paul wrote Hebrews before AD 70.
And before 8070, the temple was standing. Before 8070, there was a priesthood operative. Before 8070, there were people being put, having pressure put on them. The Jewish Christians, the people amongst that nation who believed on Jesus were facing oppression and were facing pressure from families or work associates.
You need to forget about this, Jesus. You need to go back to the temple and you need to go back to the sacrificial system. So he says, now what is becoming obsolete and growing old, the Jewish economy with its sacrificial system, is ready to vanish away at the destruction of the temple in AD 70. When that temple is destroyed, that is the demonstration of the reality that the Old Covenant is no longer.
It was rendered obsolete at the cross, but because this temple still stands, because there's a sacrificial system in play, because there's still a priesthood, people didn't get the memo. So when that temple was desecrated and destroyed, then they would have hopefully got the memo, though I realize they still haven't. But that's what I think the Apostle's emphasis is in Hebrews 8.13. So we have the end of the Old Covenant because of the redemptive work of Jesus.
Notice the contrast between the covenants But the apostle sets forth. Verse 6. Now, when these things had been thus prepared, the priests always went into the first part of the tabernacle performing the services. But in the second part, the high priest went alone once a year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the people's sins committed in ignorance.
The Holy Spirit indicating this, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while the first tabernacle was still standing. It was symbolic for the present time in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered, which cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience. Concerned only with foods and drinks, various washings, and fleshly ordinances, note the language imposed until the time of Reformation. It's the language picked up in our Confession, chapter 19, paragraph 3.
Ceremonial law is binding. until the time of Reformation. And then the contrast is verse 11. But Christ came as high priest of the good things to come with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation, not with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own blood. He entered the most holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.
For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling the unclaimed sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And then note this retrospective action of the work of the Lord Jesus. Verse 15, And for this reason He is the mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. See, that old covenant system cleansed the flesh, it purified them to a state of cleanliness or holiness such that they could go to the tabernacle, such that they could go to the temple.
But it didn't redeem them, didn't make them believers. Christ's blood is the only means by which any sinner will ever enter into the heavenly Jerusalem. So we have built into the Old Covenant obsolescence for the Old Covenant. We see in the New Covenant the fulfillment of the Old Covenant and thus its abrogation.
And so when we ask the question that I want to end on,
New Covenant Elements of Worship
What is it that governs our practice in the New Covenant? It's Jesus Christ, the only lawgiver. So where do we go to find instruction with reference to New Covenant worship? Do we go to Chronicles?
No. Do we go to Deuteronomy? No. Now, we can go there to see the obedience to divine appointment, but we go to the New Covenant documents.
We go to where the divine lawgiver speaks. Again, not that Jesus doesn't speak in the Old Covenant. The Old Covenant is no longer binding upon the people of God. It's the New Covenant.
So when we survey the New Covenant, we see a simple approach. Again, no tabernacle, no temple, no priesthood, no sacrifice, no incense. As Johnson says, to put it simply, in worship we pray the Bible, sing the Bible, read the Bible, and preach the Bible, and see the Bible in the sacraments. If you ask the question, where are those things in the New Covenant?
Prayer, 1 Timothy 2, 1-7. Singing, Ephesians 5, 15-21. Reading 1 Timothy 4, verse 13. Preaching 2 Timothy 4, 1-2.
We see the Bible in the sacraments, Matthew 28, and 1 Corinthians chapter 11. Those are things that are commanded. And then
Elements and Circumstances Distinguished
the final point is the distinction between elements and circumstances. Elements are those things commanded by our Lord to be done in worship. Circumstances are matters of indifference. Circumstances are, how big will the pulpit be?
What particular book do you use to sing the praises of God from? What time are you going to meet? That's circumstances. Those things vary.
Those things are built into light of nature or general revelation things, and those things will differ from church to church, and that's okay. But the elements of worship are those things that I just specified. When it comes to the worship of the triune God in the New Covenant, positive law dictates prayer, singing, reading, preaching, and sacraments. Those elements cannot be compromised.
Those elements cannot be traded in. Those elements cannot be added to. Those elements cannot be taken away from. Again, circumstances are things that aren't elements.
Circumstances are things that are not commanded by God to be done in worship, but things that are incidental. So when we come to the worship of God, it's the elements governed by or stated by the positive law in the new covenant that demands our obedience to the Lord Most High. And may God bless and enable us as a church to continue steadfast in this pattern, because as we've seen over the last hundred years, it's not the pattern amongst all the professing people of God. We have seen the introduction in mass of profane fire to the Lord.
Things that are never stipulated, things that are never commanded, things that are never even suggested in the pages of the New Covenant have found their way into so-called Christian worship services, such that some so-called Christian worship services have more affinity with Baal worship in the Old Covenant than New Covenant worship that is simple, that is in spirit and in truth. So may God keep us, may God protect us, and may God help us. For if you're like me, you want to have a church that is here long after you are dead. You want a place for your children, for your grandchildren, and for their children and children after them.
We have something here worth fighting for, worth preserving, and may the Lord keep us. And the only way to ever know true worship of this God is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. If you are not a believer, if you have not come to the Lord, then all of this will make no sense. But when by grace you've tasted and seen that the Lord is good, you will sing Psalm 122 with joy in your heart.
I was glad when they said unto me, let us go to the house of the Lord. And when you come and you do those things that are commanded, you're not gonna be tempted to say, well, you know, this is boring. I'd rather have a preacher repel from the ceiling and wear a superhero costume and preach Jesus as the best superhero. No, you don't want that.
Believe you me, you don't want that. You want what God has commanded with nothing more, nothing less, and nothing else. So believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, learn what it is to worship, and then learn what it is to worship aright. Well, let us pray.
Closing Prayer
Our Father in heaven, we thank you for your word. We thank you for its clarity at the point of worship, and we pray that you would bless this local body, help us to be faithful, help us to glorify you, and indeed, God, we pray that there would be a church here for subsequent generations, for children and for their children, and for many, many who will come to know the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior King. Go with us now, watch over us in this coming week, help us to glorify you, and we pray in Jesus' name, amen. We'll close with a brief time of meditation.