Philippians 3:7-11

"But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead."

Resolved 2010 - Jesus

Recap on:
“So I Really Do Need a Priest”
Dr. Al Mohler
Saturday, June 26, 2010

Every Christian needs a priest. Every Christian needs someone to intercede for them. On our own and in our sinful state, we cannot be the one. How can we, in uncleanness, come before the perfect holy throne of the Father and seek the forgiveness of our sin?
The answer is we can’t. Not on our own.

“And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness...for it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins...by this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all...therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promises is faithful.”

Hebrews 9:22; 10:4, 10, 19-23

This passage holds so much hope! Jesus Christ is our mediator; our intercessor. He alone, the perfect sacrifice, the perfect Son of God can stand blameless in the perfect presence of God and plead for sinners like you and like me.
He is eternally Prophet, Priest, and King.
His death was without fault and complete, once for all.
He did not shed the blood of an animal. He gave His own blood.
Blood is always required for atonement.
Blood is only necessary if you want to be saved.
Christ’s death was full atonement for all who were His. None of us could die to save ourselves. If we are to enter into His divine covenant of salvation, a blood sacrifice had to be given, and given it was in the Lamb of God.

And He has not left us here to merely know this covenant and obey it.
He is coming again for us.

Know His love:

He suffered for us – Hebrews 9:12 “And not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.”
God, in His love for the world, crushed His one and only Son. His suffering was for our salvation. Jesus gave Himself for us. He is the good Shepherd.
He lays down His life for the sheep.

He is our sacrificing High Priest – Jesus, being the great High Priest, did not offer up a sacrifice for us but became the final and only perfect sacrifice for us. Death was made dead in the death of Christ. He is our saving High Priest.

He is the substitutionary High Priest – Jesus’ death was the predetermined plan of God before the beginning of time. If His death was not full substitution, we are not saved. “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12

He is the superior High Priest – He is Lord in all, through all, and over all.
Psalm 47:2, “For the LORD Most High is to be feared, a great King over all the earth.”

He is a supernatural High Priest – He does not have to offer sacrifices first for Himself and then for the people. Christ is sinless! He lives forever! He is the eternal Son of God!

He is the solitary High Priest – He is the only One! Isaiah 46:9 says, “For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me.”

He is our sufficient High Priest – Hebrews 10:18 clearly shows us that Christ’s sacrifice was all sufficient, “Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin.” He is enough!

He is our sovereign High Priest – Hebrews 1:3 “And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.”

He is the sympathetic High Priest – There is nothing He has not known. He is able and ready to sympathize with our weakness.

“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weakness, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.
Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Hebrews 4:14-16

Before the throne of God above
I have a strong and perfect plea.
A great high Priest whose Name is Love
Who ever lives and pleads for me.
My name is graven on His hands,
My name is written on His heart.
I know that while in Heaven He stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart.

When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end of all my sin.
Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free.
For God the just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me.

Behold Him there the risen Lamb,
My perfect spotless righteousness,
The great unchangeable I AM,
The King of glory and of grace,
One in Himself I cannot die.
My soul is purchased by His blood,
My life is hid with Christ on high,
With Christ my Savior and my God!
Words by Charitie Bancroft

Resolved 2010 Day Two

Recap on Resolved 2010 ~ Jesus

Rick Holland ~ Jesus – The Only Mediator
June 25, 2010

“For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all.”
1 Timothy 2:5-6

Jesus Christ is God. In fullness, He is perfect deity. He makes this very clear throughout Scripture. He says in John 10:30, “I and the Father are one”. Jesus was also fully man: perfect deity wrapped in human flesh. Passages from John 1 say, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being...He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him...And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

God is transcendent. He alone is above all. Psalm 113:4-6 says, “The Lord is high above all nations; His glory is above the heavens. Who is like the Lord our God, who is enthroned on high, who humbles Himself to behold the things that are in heaven and in the earth?” God is also immanent. He is, as Matthew 1:23 says, “God with us.” Colossians 1:17 says, “He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” David wrote in Psalm 139 of God’s continual presence throughout the earth, “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the dawn, if I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, even there Your right hand will lead me, and Your right hand will lay hold of me. If I say, ‘Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, and the light around me will be night,’ even darkness is not dark to You, and the night is as bright as the day.”
And this is where it becomes amazing! God – full and complete perfection and holiness - the only God, sent His only Son, whom He loved, “in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin,” as Romans 8 says, “therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
Jesus, the Son of God, lived, died, and was raised to life, is now seated at the right hand of God. And do you know what He does there? He pleads for sinners like you, like me. “Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separate from sinners and exalted above the heavens.” He is our mediator. He was abandoned by man and by God at the Cross. He knows everything we have every gone through for He was fully man, and yet He never sinned! He alone bore the wrath of God in our place, but now He has glory at the right hand of His Father. Jesus Christ is immanence and transcendence come together!

I once was lost in darkest night
Yet thought I knew the way.
The sin that promised joy and life
Had led me to the grave.
I had no hope that You would own
A rebel to Your will.
And if You had not loved me first
I would refuse You still.

But as I ran my hell-bound race
Indifferent to the cost
You looked upon my helpless state
And led me to the cross.
And I beheld God’s love displayed
You suffered in my place
You bore the wrath reserved for me
Now all I know is grace.

Hallelujah! All I have is Christ!
Hallelujah! Jesus is my life!

Now, Lord, I would be Yours alone
And live so all might see
The strength to follow Your commands
Could never come from me.
Oh Father, use my ransomed life
In any way You choose.
And let my song forever be
My only boast is You.

Hallelujah! All I have is Christ!
Hallelujah! Jesus is my life!

© 2008 Sovereign Grace Praise (BMI), by Jordan Kauflin