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Scripture Reading
I wanna give thanks for this opportunity to be before you this morning. It's a great honor and privilege, and I also am thankful to Pastor Schneider for this practice of what we call pulpit swap. But please turn now to the New Testament scripture as we consider a verse from the Gospel of Matthew.
Matthew and the 27th chapter. Matthew chapter 27. And this morning, with the Lord's help, I would like to focus on the tearing of the veil within the temple as the Lord Jesus dies on the cross of Calvary. And our sermon text then is from the 51st verse, so chapter 27, verse 51. But for context, I would like to read verses 45 through 56. So again, Matthew 27. verses 45 through 56, hear now the most holy word of the living and true God. Now, from the sixth hour until the ninth hour, there was darkness over all the land.
And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice saying, ilai ilai lama sabachthanai, that is, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Some of those who stood there when they heard that said, this man is calling for Elijah. And immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed and offered it to him to drink. But the rest said, let him alone. Let us see if Elijah will come to save him. And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.
Then behold, The veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. And coming out of the graves after his resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many. So when the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, They feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God. And many women who followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to Him, were there looking on from afar, among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee's sons.
May the Lord be pleased to add his gift of illumination and understanding on this most holy portion of his holy word. But let us pray now together. Oh, blessed Lord God, we wish to be like Mary sitting at your feet, to be instructed. Even so, Lord, it's not me, but I pray it would be your Holy Spirit that would be our teacher this morning, But how wonderful it is, these things that You have revealed to us in Your Holy Word, even those things that we feel, the glory and the triumph of the Lord Jesus Christ. O Lord, we pray that the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts would be acceptable in Your sight. O Lord, for You are our strength and our Redeemer. We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, again, in Matthew chapter 27, verses 50 through 51, we read these words. And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.
Then behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. And especially, I want you to think about these words in the 51st verse. Then behold, the veil of the temple was torn, or as it is rendered in the familiar King James translation, rent. The veil was rent or torn in two from top to bottom.
This text, by God's goodness, It's by God's goodness that we have an opportunity to look at this text, this warning, and it's very helpful for our biblical understanding of worship. And yet at first glance, you may be asking yourself, what does this text have to do with the worship of God generally, or specifically about the worship of the gospel age, as you have indicated in the title of this sermon? Well, this is a very good question because it drives us to look more closely at these words in the 51st verse as well as to prompt us to think about its context. So what is happening here in our passage? Clearly, The text is taken from the scene of the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ. And we see here that there are multiple events that occur just as the Lord dies.
The tearing of the veil from top to bottom in the temple is only one of them. For we also read here that the earth quaked and rocks were split. Evidently, this also included the breaking open of many tombs of the saints. And then later, after the resurrection of Christ, we are told that these saints rose from the dead and went into the holy city, that is Jerusalem, and appeared to many. Now, these things which took place are wonderful, if not terrifying. Furthermore, we read that the centurion, along with other soldiers who were tasked to guard Jesus during his crucifixion, cried out. Involuntarily, it seems. Truly, this was the Son of God. But let us return to our question.
What does the tearing of the veil in the temple from top to bottom have anything to do with the Bible's teaching on worship? Well, the key word here is temple. The veil was torn in the temple. And apart from the many outlined synagogues, the temple in Jerusalem was seen as the primary place where God's people gathered for worship. Inside the temple building there was this rectangular room called the Holy Place and then located directly behind it at the westernmost end was the entrance to the Holy of Holies. At Hebrews chapter nine verse three, this square-shaped room in the Greek is literally called Hagia Hagion. In other words, the holy of holies.
But instead of translating this Hebrew idiom word for word, it's often simplified and translated as the most holy place, as we have here in our translation. and the veil that we are looking at in our text in the Gospel of Matthew is what separates the holy place from the holy of holies as we read this morning in Exodus chapter 26 this veil was beautiful it was made with fine craftsmanship We read there again, it was woven of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen. It was woven with an artistic design of cherubim.
And the high priest then went behind this beautiful veil to enter into the Holy of Holies once a year on the Day of Atonement. But if the priest entered on any other day or did not perform his duty in this most sacred place, precisely as the Lord directed, he would put his very life in peril. Josephus tells us that this was a thick curtain, even about four inches of woven fabric.
And yet, the moment that Jesus died on the cross, it was completely torn from top to bottom. In the original Greek, the word there for tearing, the tearing of the veil, it's the very same word that's used in this same verse about the splitting of rocks. In other words, the tearing of this veil was not like a clean, smooth cutting of a sharp knife. Instead, it was a violent, rough, ripping top to bottom, leaving jagged edges and frayed snap threads.
Can you imagine, my brothers and sisters, the sound of the tearing of that massive veil? What a sound that must have been. What a noise. So now, what could the priest do now that the veil was torn all the way from the top to the bottom? Don't you see? Now there's this gap there. Now there's this hole. How will the curtain be closed? Now the inside of the Holy of Holies is shamefully exposed.
You see, the high priest could no longer go behind the veil in isolation to perform his service. And so the Jews could no longer fully use the temple. But we must see that it is the Lord Christ, He's the one who did this. And by His death, He forcefully put a stop to the temple service.
This is why the tearing of this veil signifies to the people of God, the abrogation of the temple service, temple worship. And the connection between the tearing of this veil and the end of the temple service is not just something I dreamed up on my own. You can find the same teaching from many of the historical reformed theologians. For example, John Calvin, as he's writing about the practice of the Roman Catholic priesthood, says that they act, that is, the Roman Catholics act as if the veil and the temple had not yet been torn. So he recognizes the connection here, Calvin does, between the renting of the veil and the abrogation also, not only of the temple worship, but of the Roman Catholic priesthood.
And so as we dig into our text, the first thing to do is to explain further this abrogation of the worship of the temple. And then under the second head, I wanna show from the scripture how that the temple worship was called carnal. And I realize this might sound a bit shocking, but that's how the writer to the book of Hebrews describes it. And once we understand this concept, it will help us to better understand what worship in the gospel age looks like. Finally, for our third head, we must see how the temple worship was fulfilled in Christ, and also how he transformed it. And this has further great implications for Gospel Age worship.
So again, our three heads are first, the worship in the temple was abrogated. It's a language also that our confession uses. Secondly, the worship in the temple was carnal. And thirdly, worship in the temple was transformed by Christ. So let's turn then to our first ten, and again, that is that the worship in the temple was abrogated, or annulled. Now, in order to better understand this, I need to talk a little bit about covenant theology. The covenant of grace is a significant part of Reformed theology.
And we are taught that there is only one covenant of grace, while recognizing that it has been applied in different ways, or as it is typically said, under different administrations, namely the Old and the New Testaments. And the big question about these different administrations is what are the things that remain the same, typically called the continuities, and what are the things that have changed, typically called the discontinuities. In fact, Calvin in his institutes dedicates two whole chapters to this very topic. There's a chapter he calls the similarity of the Old and New Testaments, and then another chapter, the difference between the Old and New Testaments. So in that way, neither side of this teaching is neglected.
But again, the question is this, is there only agreement between the Testaments, only disagreement, or a mixture of both agreement and disagreement? And the reason this is important, this is not just academic theology, the reason this is important is because our thinking about this has direct impact on our Christian practice. Even for those of us in the Reformed churches who typically emphasize the unity of the covenant of grace, rightly so, nonetheless, the differences between the Testaments are not trivial, but significant.
For one thing, under the administration of the Old Testament, God was pleased to limit his people to just one nation, the Jewish nation, the Jewish people. And as for the other nations at that time, as we read in Acts 14, verse 16, in times past, God allowed all nations to walk in their own ways. He had the special covenant relationship only with the Jewish nation at that time.
But now when Christ came, you see, that discontinuity radically changed. And now in Christ, God's people have exploded to all four corners of the world, so to speak. It's the Apostle Paul writes at the end of Galatians chapter three, you are all sons of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ, there is neither Jew nor Greek. That's a big change.
Another difference between the Testaments is the change of the law of God. Calvin speaks of three ancient categories of biblical law, and our Westminster Confession of Faith takes up these same three categories. That is, the moral, the ceremonial, and the judicial law. But the ceremonial law was abrogated, annulled. This means that we are no longer bound to keep the ceremonial law.
As the Apostle Paul, or rather Peter, says, at the Jerusalem Council in Acts chapter 15 verses 10-11. Now then, and they're discussing whether or not believers in Christ should be circumcised, now then why test God by putting a yoke upon the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved even as they. And then thirdly, The judicial law, actually secondly in our consideration, the judicial law has expired. This also means that we are no longer bound to keep the judicial law.
As we read in 1 Peter chapter 2 verses 13 and 14, therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake. Whether to the king and supreme or to governors, it's to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. So you see, both the ceremonial and the judicial laws were always intended to be temporary. But as to the moral law, the moral law of all three of these categories of law, the moral law is the only one which is still in force. This means that we are bound, my brothers and sisters, to keep all of the Ten Commandments, for they summarize all of God's moral law. And so the binding nature of the moral law is an example of something that has not changed between the different administrations of the covenant of grace.
Now, I'm afraid we don't have time to explain this any further, but I wanted to give you just an overview of some of the differences between the two administrations of the covenant of grace. But this also then leads us to another difference, and that is the subject at hand. Between the two administrations, there is a stark difference in the way that we worship God. And so at this point, perhaps some of you are asking yourselves, but how is all this relevant? Can you be a little more practical, pastor? Well, in today's church, we see that there are two extremes, and I think it's important for us to understand these things. On the one hand, some would say that the differences between the Old and New Testaments are radical, even to the extent of saying that the New Testament describes an essentially different way of salvation than the Old Testament. And for those of you who are interested, this way of thinking is called dispensationalism, and it is a great error.
In the King James Version of 2 Timothy, chapter 2, verse 15, we read, This is Paul's message to Timothy as a young pastor. Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. And the dispensationalists take this to mean that Paul is encouraging Timothy to cut up the Bible into various epics or dispensations. And they claim that in each of these different dispensations, God saves man in essentially different ways. Yet these words, rightly dividing the word is a figurative expression. And it means that Paul is telling Timothy that he should properly interpret the scripture. And that's what it means to rightly divide the word of God. So ironically, the dispensationalists have treated this verse, that they lean on so heavily, in precisely the way in which Paul warns Timothy to avoid, for they misinterpret this verse that they rest upon. Now, from a reform perspective, dispensationalism is roundly rejected.
For we assert that at all times, the only way to salvation is by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It doesn't change. That's always been the way. It has been, and that's the way it is now. But then on the other hand, sadly, There are some Reformed churches who react in extreme fashion to counter this false teaching by saying that there are no differences between the Old and New Testaments. Yet as we've already demonstrated from a Reformed and biblical perspective, this also is a false teaching. Now our gospel text here in Matthew 27 verse 51 is not the only place in scripture that speaks of the disparity between the ways of worship in these two administrations of the covenant of grace. For the Lord Jesus himself speaks to this difference even specifically in regard to the abrogation of temple worship.
In the Gospel of John, in that well-known place, in the fourth chapter, the Lord Jesus encounters a Samaritan woman at Jacob's well. And it does not take long before this woman brings up the age-old strife between the Jews and the Samaritans. And she asks Jesus, how is it that you, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman? So you see, much of the conflict is born out of a disagreement over which location the Lord God approved for worship, the Samaritan temple site on Mount Gerizim or the Jewish temple in Jerusalem. And as a Jew, the Lord answers her, I think, in a surprising way. He doesn't even speak to the controversy, at least not at first, but he directs the woman into a completely different direction.
In the 21st verse there in John chapter 4, he tells the woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem worship the father. This speaks to this abrogation of temple worship. And then starting in the 23rd verse there in that place, Jesus goes on to say, but 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 a spirit and those who worship him must worship him in spirit and truth. Did you notice that the Lord repeats these words? The hour is coming. And then the second time he says that, he adds these words. The hour now is, it's coming, but it's now, it's here.
So these are words of great anticipation that the Father is seeking true worshipers, not false worshipers. He's seeking true worshipers even before the veil on the temple was torn. the Father is already seeking them. But how does Jesus characterize the worship of these true worshipers? They worship the Father in spirit and truth.
So the interpretation of that phrase is critical. How should we interpret this, to worship in spirit and truth? I think a common interpretation is that spirit simply means to worship with an earnest and inward sincerity. And truth means to worship in accordance with the truth of the scripture.
However, by this interpretation, they are missing a key point in a whole discussion between the Lord and this woman. The two are talking about worship in different temples. That is the context. But the Lord Jesus puts that whole discussion to one side and focuses on a new kind of worship.
That is, a new kind of worship as opposed to temple worship, wherever it may take place. And that new kind of worship, again, is characterized by this phrase, worship in spirit and truth. My friends, at that time, the old ways of temple worship was passing away. Even the worship of the Jews at the temple in Jerusalem The temple worship will soon be completely abrogated as will be powerfully demonstrated by the tearing of the veil at the death of Christ. So now Jesus is introducing a new kind of worship in opposition to the temple worship. It's a kind of worship which no longer comes from the old times, but a worship for the gospel age, a gospel age worship. And Jesus bases this new kind of worship on the fact that God is spirit.
As he says in the 24th verse, God is spirit and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth. That is, God is spirit. He's not corporeal. He has no body, has no bodily parts. Do you see where this is going? to worship in spirit and truth cannot be taken in isolation from the context of this passage.
This new kind of worship is set in opposition and contrast to the temple worship, which is passing away. But does that mean that the temple worship was void of the spirit of God? Because again, it's being opposed to worship in spirit and truth. So was the temple worship void of the spirit of God? Of course not. Does it mean that the temple worship was based in falsehood instead of the truth? Of course not.
Therefore to worship in spirit and truth as opposed to temple worship must mean something else. And again the context there is critical in rightly interpreting this phrase in spirit and truth. So what do these words mean? Well I'm going to leave you hanging for a little bit because I think The answer will become clearer as we move on to our next head.
Our next head, and that is that the worship in the temple was carnal. It was carnal. And this is what the Bible tells us in Hebrews chapter 9 verse 10. And this is, as we read in the King James translation, is where we find this word carnal. So we read there in Hebrews 9 verse 10, that the temple stood only in meats and drinks and diverse washings and carnal ordinances imposed on them until the time of Reformation. Now in our translation, the New King James, as well as in the modern English version, it's called fleshly ordinances, carnal ordinances, fleshly ordinances.
But how can an ordinance of God in worship be called carnal. Now, of course, we don't mean by that that there is something unbecoming or sinful in these divine ordinances, of course not. And I realize we have to point this out because we often associate the word carnal with things that are sinful. But at the same time, we cannot ignore the weight and force of these words, carnal ordinances. What does this expression mean?
It means that the temple worship is characterized by those things which stimulate our outward senses. They appeal to the things of the flesh of our human bodies. In the temple, you would hear the constant din of the lowing of cattle and the bleeding of sheep and crying goats as they were waiting to be slaughtered. On the Day of Atonement, the tinkling of the bells on the high priest's robe would tell you when he's entering into the Holy of Holies. But you would also hear the crashing of cymbals and the blasting of trumpets. So all this is appealing to our sense of sound.
As a matter of fact, under the kingship of David, the playing of musical instruments was added to the worship of the tabernacle, which of course later became the temple. And while the original Mosaic law focused on trumpets that played, they were played by the Levites giving signals to the camp, David officially expanded instrumental music by including a full Levitical orchestra playing harps, lyres, and cymbals. And you can read about this in the scripture in First and Second Chronicles. In organizing the official duties for the upcoming permanent temple, David sets aside a massive choir and orchestra of 4,000 Levites. Imagine that.
And in First Chronicles, chapter 23, verse five, we read that David said that he made these musical instruments, quote, for giving praise. And sometime later, under the Reformation of King Hezekiah, Temple worship was restored to the regulations of scripture made during the times of Moses and David. As we read in Second Chronicles chapter 29. Verses 25 through 26.
And he, that is King Hezekiah, stationed the Levites in the household of the Lord with cymbals, with stringed instruments, with harps, according to the commandment of David, of Gad the king seer, and of Nathan the prophet. For thus was the commandment of the Lord by his prophets. The Levites stood with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets. Now, we have to be clear on this. The musical instruments were not added according to David's wish, but as we read here, according to the commandment of the Lord by his prophets. It was divinely ordained.
Furthermore, musical instruments were used in very close association with the animal sacrifices. In the temple, first in the tabernacle and then the temple. As we continue to read there in Second Chronicles chapter 29, then Hezekiah commanded them to offer the burnt offering on the altar. And when the burnt offering began, when it began, the song of the Lord also began with the trumpets and with the instruments of David, king of Israel. So all the assembly worship, the singers sang, the trumpeters sounded, all this continued until until the burnt offering was finished. And when they had finished the offering, the king and all who were present with him bowed and worshiped. So this is important. Do you see this?
In the word of God, it says that the use of the musical instruments in the choirs began with the sacrifice and then it ended. The musical instruments, the playing of them ended with the end of the sacrifice. I tell you brothers and sisters, this is the basis for our own practice of worship. That we sing the Psalms a cappella. We don't use musical instruments. Because according to the word of God, the use of musical instruments is closely connected with the animal sacrifice. It is as if to say, if we want musical instruments in worship, we should bring back the animal sacrifice. That's why we say that the musical instruments, the use of them in public worship, was abrogated along with the temple worship.
Now, I've been talking about how temple worship appeals to our sense of sound, but there's another sense, and these are carnal ordinances, fleshly ordinances. You would also smell the sweet, fragrant odor of burning incense. which countered the sharp, imagine this, the sharp, pungent smell of burning animal flesh, fat, and hide on the altar. And also from that altar, a thick column of dark smoke billowed continuously up into the sky. You see, it very much appeals to our flesh, these parts of the temple worship.
And most of all, most of all, You would witness the stark and graphic sight of animal sacrifice. The priest would use the blood. As we read earlier, the high priest would go into the Holy of Holies once a year on the Day of Atonement, but he would go in there not without blood. He would bring in the blood that he may offer, that it may be a sin offering, not only for the people, but even for himself. And so I want you to see this, that the overall scene of sacrifice was shocking and visceral.
But then we must remember at the same time, this was intended to be a picture of the bloody and violent crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ. And his shed blood teaches us the seriousness of sin and its heavy cost paid out in death. And so I tell you, whenever we make light of our own sin, We are denying the brutality and the violence of the death of Christ on his cross. And so truly the idea of cardinal ordinances was to vividly teach atonement for sin, as well as a hope for the coming Messiah.
And though those things were often bloody, very bloody, Nonetheless, they acted like a children's picture book. Let me explain. They were visual pictures of the reality and the substance of Christ's sacrifice. For that time, God's people were like children under age, who were not able to learn things without visual aids. They needed things, both visual and tactile, to learn new ideas. You know this from your own experience. When you teach children, you have to demonstrate something. You have to make it very tactile and it appeals keenly to their senses so they can learn what you're teaching them. So God in his infinite wisdom gave us carnal ordinances in his worship to teach us, like children, divine things in a visual way.
But you see now we can put away those things because Christ has come and so to speak God's people have all grown up in their understanding. So we no longer have a need for the shadows and types of Christ because we now see his work of redemption. This is the same idea that we read about in 1 Corinthians chapter 13 verse 11. Paul says, when I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child, but when I became a man, I put away childish things. That's the picture of going from a temple worship to a gospel age worship. We need to put away those childish things and worship God in spirit and truth.
Why would you think of an adult man who is still actively playing with toys from his childhood? Wouldn't that be shameful? I remember a father once telling me that now that he had a son, it gave him a perfect excuse to play with toys again as he's playing with his child. Of course, in a sense, he was joking, but it also explains that there's this universal understanding that grown men should not still be playing with children's toys.
So in the same way, we should put away those elements of temple worship, those childish, carnal things. And so now we can get to the point of the interpretation of this phrase. The father is seeking those to worship him in spirit and truth. in spirit, not as if the temple worship was void of God's spirit, but in the sense of being a spiritual worship instead of a carnal one, a fleshly worship, a spiritual worship which no longer appeals vividly to our senses. And gospel age worship is also one of truth. Now again, it's not as if the temple worship was based in falsehood. but it consisted in shadows and types. So truth here is meant in the sense of the substance of the thing.
We no longer need the shadows and types which point to Christ. For now we have Christ himself. He is the truth or the substance of those shadows and types. And I tell you, this is the ultimate sense of Christ's words to the woman, the Samaritan woman at the well. We are to worship the true worshipers or those who worship Him in spirit and truth.
It is a call to us to the pure and spiritual ordinances of gospel age worship. My brothers and sisters, do you see now why we must never return to a carnal or a fleshly worship? For that would be to regress our worship from a Christian or gospel age way to one that is Jewish. It would be to forget what it means when Christ's death resulted in the renting or the tearing of the veil in the temple from top to bottom.
As the pastor and theologian Jean Giraudoux warned in his classic book, Instrumental Music in the Public Worship of the Church, he wrote, God once approved the whole ritual of the temple. He disapproves it now. And he who would introduce any part of it into the Christian church turns Jew and revolts from Christ to Moses.
Do you see the gravity of what he's saying? If we retain any part of the temple worship, we are acting as if the veil of the temple was never torn. It'd be like turning back our clocks to a time before Christ died and before he rose from the dead. Do you see how important this is? How can any group argue that the Christian church should conform its worship, even in the least way, to that of the Jewish temple?
After all, I say to you, there is a certain profound beauty in the simplicity of spiritual worship. For the Lord God Himself is a spirit, and He is the ultimate source of all beauty. But now let us turn to our third and final head, and that is, worship in the temple was transformed by Christ. This also is important, and scripture speaks to it directly.
For one thing, Christ transformed the temple worship by being willing to have his own body torn, like the veil. Indeed, we are expressly told in Hebrews, as we read earlier, that the torn veil in the temple is a picture of the torn body of Christ. Again, as we read in Hebrews chapter 10, verses 19 and 20, therefore brethren, having boldness to enter the holiest by the blood of Jesus by a new and living way which he consecrated for us through the veil that is his flesh. This means that in a figurative sense the body of Christ as he suffered on the cross was like the veil in the temple that was torn from top to bottom.
And he did this for our sake. Even that we would not be torn like he was. At the institution of the Lord's Supper, Jesus tells his disciples that at his death, his body would be broken. We read in 1 Corinthians 11, verse 24, and when he had given thanks, Jesus broke the bread and said, take, eat. This is my body which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me.
And He did this for our sakes, even as we see in prophecy that's given about Him. For example, in Daniel chapter 9 verse 26, we read, and after 62 weeks, Messiah shall be cut off. This is in respect to the crucifixion. But He will be cut off not for Himself, it says, And in another prophecy in Isaiah chapter 53 verses 5 and 8 we read, but he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement for our peace was upon him. And by his stripes we were healed. For he was cut off from the land of the living. For the transgressions of my people he was stricken.
So you see, All of these prophecies work in concert with the tearing of Christ's body, like the tearing of the veil in the temple. And even though not a single bone was broken in Christ's body, in another sense, his body was broken for his people, in a figurative sense. And so his body was, in that sense, torn like the veil in the temple.
But there's something more here, something more, for Christ has also transformed the temple worship. By tearing the veil of his own body, Christ has provided a better way, a better way of access to God the Father. Christ has given his people access to the heavenly Holy of Holies, which was only pictured in the earthly Holy of Holies in the temple. In the earthly temple, the high priest had to go behind the veil for the work of atonement one day in the year. But as our great high priest, the Lord Jesus Christ has provided direct access to God once and for all so that we now can call upon the heavenly father in the name of Christ without any earthly priest. And we can call upon him in Christ at any time and in any place.
As we read at the end of the sixth chapter of Hebrews, those who believe and put their trust in the Lord Jesus, quote, have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us. And this hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the presence behind the veil. See the reference there? where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. You see, we no longer need an earthly priest according to the Levitical priesthood. Now that the veil is torn, this is not even possible.
We have no need for any other intercessor, but Jesus Christ, for he is our high priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek. As we also read in first Timothy chapter two, verse five, for there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. My friends, in conclusion, I would like to make one final application from our text.
Many churches call themselves reformed, but how many consistently follow historic reform teaching and practice? In our day, we often find a mixture of things which are historically reformed, but then mixed with other things that are not. And then there are those who even boast to be more reformed than others.
But in actuality, they're only following theological novelties and fads. They're not based in historic reformed doctrine. Is a church reformed if it's reformed in doctrine but not in worship? Can you still call that church reformed? The Lord Jesus in that passage from John chapter four said that his heavenly father is seeking true worshipers. That is to say there are others who do not fall under this heading, but are instead false worshipers. And sadly in the modern church, distinctives of worship are not even seen in categories of what's true or false, but merely as a matter of preference for a particular style of worship. Sometimes we say that a Reformed Baptist is an oxymoron because of the disagreement of terms there in respect to doctrine.
Reformed, Baptist. But what about a disagreement in worship? We often don't even think of worship as a matter of the Reformed faith. And yet it was critical to the Reformation. If a church teaches Reformed doctrine but practices, for example, charismatic worship, which is not historically reformed, is that church adequately in line with the historic reform position to call itself reformed?
Despite the fact that the church's worship in the dark ages looked a lot like temple worship, there are those today who are enamored with the worship of the medieval period of the church. That is, they are fond of that kind of liturgy, outward ceremonies, and clerical dress. And yet it was the early Protestants and later the Puritans who were the ones trying so earnestly to reform the church according to the scripture and to purify her from those elements of temple worship. Why should we long to bring back into our own day the worship of the medieval church?
Again, as we have already said, that would be like saying that the veil in the temple was not torn and that the temple worship was not abrogated. Indeed, some of these men are saying the very thing, that we should look to the temple worship as a guide for our worship today in our Christian churches. My friends, that is not the historic reformed position on worship.
George Grant, in writing his preface for Doug Wilson, Douglas Wilson, and Douglas Jones' book called Angels in the Architecture, coined a term, medieval Protestantism. Grant writes, in the midst of a world seemingly gone mad, angels in the architecture demonstrates that this peculiarly biblical worldview has actually been lived out before, however imperfectly, by the medievals who've gone before us. It simultaneously holds out the promise that it may actually be lived out once again. He is enamored. And this book represents a fondness for returning to medieval worship. And so I tell you we have another example of irony here.
In the history of the church, where did the word Protestantism come from? Quite obviously it was a response to the state of the church in the medieval period. It was a response to the medieval church and a reformation from it. In a nutshell, that's the whole significance of the term reformed. What are we reformed from? We're reformed from the corruption of the churches that existed in the medieval period. So this term medieval Protestantism is just another example of what we could call an oxymoron. I'll end with this.
My friends, this is one reason why the doctrine from our text today is so important. The word of God from our text teaches us that the temple worship was completely abolished. For us to seek to imitate the temple worship as was done in the medieval period of the church is to pursue something contrary to our biblical text this morning. Then behold, the veil the temple was torn into from top to bottom.
And as God the Father is seeking those true worshipers who worship Him in spirit and truth, let us pray that by God's grace we might be included among the number of the true worshipers. Let us pray. Oh, blessed Lord God and Heavenly Father, we pray that Your Spirit would make alive those things that You have revealed to us in Your Holy Word. We pray, though, this sermon might be a bit tedious and detailed in various ways. We pray, O Lord, that you might yet be able to use it in our hearts and minds, that we might better understand what it is to truly worship you in spirit and truth. And so, Lord, we do pray that you would be with us in the remainder of this Holy Christian Sabbath day. and that we would seek in all things to honor and glorify you. Hear us now, for we do pray in Christ's name. Amen.