The Great High Priest – Part 2

By Pastor Chad

What is required to save your soul? What does it take to forgive your sins? What did God do so that you can be saved? The simple answer is: God sent His Son to die so that you can be saved. As we discussed on Sunday morning, Hebrews 5:8–9 says, “Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him…” Did you catch that? The source of eternal salvation is Jesus, the Son of God. 

The path made for you and me and everyone prescribed that Jesus suffer on the cross. That is, His obedience to the redemptive plan, predestined before the foundations of the world, led to Jesus’ suffering. Yet, this suffering led to our blessing–because of His suffering on the cross, we can be saved. 

There is a very interesting requirement, though. In order for one to take advantage of this source of salvation made by Christ, one must obey. One is saved by obeying Jesus’ command or call. What call? His call that you repent of your sins and believe in the gospel. In Mark 1:15, Mark gives a brief description of the message Jesus proclaimed. We read that Jesus preached, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” Let’s state this clearly: the command one must obey in order to be saved is the command to repent and believe. One can only believe such a command through the grace of God, but there is still a volitional requirement incumbent upon the individual–repent and believe. 

Let’s not overlook what Jesus showed us, however:  the call to obedience may cost you just as it cost our Lord. It may cost you earthly success and notoriety. It may cost you the pleasures and enjoyments of the flesh. It may cost you worldly status and honor. It may cost you pain and suffering as it has millions who took up the cross of Christ. And yet I think I can rightly say, whatever the cost, you will get your “money’s worth.” For there is no pain or suffering or rejection or sorrow endured in this life for the sake of Christ that will in any way diminish the joy and fulfillment we will experience in the next. 

In fact, Jesus’ suffering and life gives our suffering meaning and purpose. Think about it for a minute, if all we are is merely physical things that simply live and will one day die and cease to exist, then the pain and hardships we experience in this life are really pointless. But since we are creatures created in the image of God, and created with a purpose and for a reason, our lives–every aspect of them–have meaning. Thus, our suffering has meaning. We likely don’t know the full meaning of our suffering, but we trust that God does. And if our lives revolve around trust in Him, then we can rest in His grace that obedience due to suffering has a purpose.