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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. 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. 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. 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. 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, 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 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. 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, 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, 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. 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. 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, 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 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. 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.