There's an old saying that says, âYou can't outgive God.â And it's a true saying. But when we say it, we need to be careful that we're not saying it with greedy hearts. We're not to give in order to receive a blessing from God. We give because God has blessed us and continues to bless us beyond anything we can ask. We give because we see the greatness of Jesus Christ, we see His grace, and His grace changes us to be generous toward God.
Read Hebrews 7:1-10
Today's sermon will be the first of two sermons addressing the relationship between Jesus and this mysterious character from the Old Testament, Melchizedek. We only see this Melchizedek as an acting figure in one passage in all the Bible (Genesis 14:18-20). Because of the language used of Melchizedek both in the Old Testament and in Hebrews, some have made the claim that he was a preincarnate Christ. In verse 1, he's called the priest of the Most High God. In verse 2, he's called the king of righteousness and the king of peace. In verse 3, it says he is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, continuing as a priest forever.
But it's important to note that the Scripture never makes the claim that Melchizedek was equal to Jesus Christ. In fact, it uses language to the contrary. Christ is a high priest after the order of Melchizedek (6:20). That is, Christ is not Melchizhedek himself. And Melchizedek is said to resemble the Son of God (v. 3b). That is, Melchizedek is not himself the Son of God, but only resembles Him.
So why does the Scripture seem to use language that makes us think of Melchizedek as more than a mere man? Of course, all of Scripture is about Jesus, so we need to pay close attention to every detail. And these details were recorded so that it would clearly show us that Jesus is no mere man. Jesus is the king of righteousness and the king of peace, much more than any man could be. Melchizedek is said to be without father or mother. Yet this is only because these details were not recorded in Scripture. It's interesting that the genealogy of nearly every important figure in the Bible is known and recorded, especially of the Jews, and most especially of the priests.
And Melchizedek is said to be without beginning of days nor end of life. Again, it's not saying that Melchizedek didn't have a beginning or an end. The writer of Hebrews is simply pointing out that we don't know these details about Melchizedek. He's a mystery to us. And he's pointing out that these details ultimately weren't recorded in the case of Melchizedek so that Melchizedek's lack of genealogy could point to the eternal reign and priesthood of Jesus.
Yet even though Melchizedek wasn't a preincarnate Jesus, he was still a great man of faith (v. 4). He wasn't Jesus, yet to Abraham, he resembled Jesus, the eternal priest. So Abraham gave Melchizedek a tenth of everything as if he were giving it to God Himself. Not only that, but those who were told to collect tithes, the Levites, in a way, gave tithes to Melchizedek, and thus to Jesus (v. 5-6, 8-10).
The point the writer is making is that every one of us who recognize Jesus as our high priest ought to want to give generously to Him. The tithe was an Old Testament concept. It meant a tenth. But when you add up all the offerings the Jews were to give, they were actually to give much more than 10% of their income. It was probably closer to 30%. It was a perfect balance that met the needs of the service of the Temple.
But the New Testament does away with that system. There is no Temple. There are no animal sacrifices. In fact, the closest thing we have to a reason to give a strict tenth of our income today is this example when Abraham gave a tenth of his income to Melchizedek. But this was way before the command to give a tithe. Abraham didn't do this because he had to. There was no law telling him to do so. Abraham gave it cheerfully, joyfully, as if giving to God Himself. This is exactly how we're to give.
We don't give because God needs it. If that's how we gave, it would be like a peasant giving a rich king $1, thinking that was helping him in some way. We also don't give to get a blessing. We give because God is worthy.
But because God is gracious, God blesses us far more than we can bless Him (v. 7). God is so incredibly superior to us that it's actually impossible for us to actually bless Him. Because that would imply that God needed something that we had to offer. God doesn't need us. He's all powerful. Yet God does delight in the praises of His people, because He chooses to do so.
No, God doesn't bless up because we've given Him anything. God blesses us because He loves us. And the greatest blessing we have from God is salvation in Christ. It's a free gift. We receive this gift by admitting we've sinned, believing in Jesus Christ, and confessing Him as Savior.
Read Hebrews 7:1-10
Today's sermon will be the first of two sermons addressing the relationship between Jesus and this mysterious character from the Old Testament, Melchizedek. We only see this Melchizedek as an acting figure in one passage in all the Bible (Genesis 14:18-20). Because of the language used of Melchizedek both in the Old Testament and in Hebrews, some have made the claim that he was a preincarnate Christ. In verse 1, he's called the priest of the Most High God. In verse 2, he's called the king of righteousness and the king of peace. In verse 3, it says he is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, continuing as a priest forever.
But it's important to note that the Scripture never makes the claim that Melchizedek was equal to Jesus Christ. In fact, it uses language to the contrary. Christ is a high priest after the order of Melchizedek (6:20). That is, Christ is not Melchizhedek himself. And Melchizedek is said to resemble the Son of God (v. 3b). That is, Melchizedek is not himself the Son of God, but only resembles Him.
So why does the Scripture seem to use language that makes us think of Melchizedek as more than a mere man? Of course, all of Scripture is about Jesus, so we need to pay close attention to every detail. And these details were recorded so that it would clearly show us that Jesus is no mere man. Jesus is the king of righteousness and the king of peace, much more than any man could be. Melchizedek is said to be without father or mother. Yet this is only because these details were not recorded in Scripture. It's interesting that the genealogy of nearly every important figure in the Bible is known and recorded, especially of the Jews, and most especially of the priests.
And Melchizedek is said to be without beginning of days nor end of life. Again, it's not saying that Melchizedek didn't have a beginning or an end. The writer of Hebrews is simply pointing out that we don't know these details about Melchizedek. He's a mystery to us. And he's pointing out that these details ultimately weren't recorded in the case of Melchizedek so that Melchizedek's lack of genealogy could point to the eternal reign and priesthood of Jesus.
Yet even though Melchizedek wasn't a preincarnate Jesus, he was still a great man of faith (v. 4). He wasn't Jesus, yet to Abraham, he resembled Jesus, the eternal priest. So Abraham gave Melchizedek a tenth of everything as if he were giving it to God Himself. Not only that, but those who were told to collect tithes, the Levites, in a way, gave tithes to Melchizedek, and thus to Jesus (v. 5-6, 8-10).
The point the writer is making is that every one of us who recognize Jesus as our high priest ought to want to give generously to Him. The tithe was an Old Testament concept. It meant a tenth. But when you add up all the offerings the Jews were to give, they were actually to give much more than 10% of their income. It was probably closer to 30%. It was a perfect balance that met the needs of the service of the Temple.
But the New Testament does away with that system. There is no Temple. There are no animal sacrifices. In fact, the closest thing we have to a reason to give a strict tenth of our income today is this example when Abraham gave a tenth of his income to Melchizedek. But this was way before the command to give a tithe. Abraham didn't do this because he had to. There was no law telling him to do so. Abraham gave it cheerfully, joyfully, as if giving to God Himself. This is exactly how we're to give.
We don't give because God needs it. If that's how we gave, it would be like a peasant giving a rich king $1, thinking that was helping him in some way. We also don't give to get a blessing. We give because God is worthy.
But because God is gracious, God blesses us far more than we can bless Him (v. 7). God is so incredibly superior to us that it's actually impossible for us to actually bless Him. Because that would imply that God needed something that we had to offer. God doesn't need us. He's all powerful. Yet God does delight in the praises of His people, because He chooses to do so.
No, God doesn't bless up because we've given Him anything. God blesses us because He loves us. And the greatest blessing we have from God is salvation in Christ. It's a free gift. We receive this gift by admitting we've sinned, believing in Jesus Christ, and confessing Him as Savior.
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