Christ A Son Over His Own House
- Details
- Sunday Morning Service
- Jeremy Richards
- Copalis Community Church
- 12 July 2026
- Hebrews 3:
Okay, we're going to go to Hebrews.
Hebrews chapter three.
Okay, Hebrews chapter three. We're going to start in verse four and read through six. Hebrews three, four, six. For every house is built by someone. But he who built all things is God.
And Moses indeed was faithful in all of his house as a servant for the testimony of those things which would be spoken of, spoken afterward. But Christ as a son over his own house, whose house we are, if we hold fast the confidence and rejoicing of the hope firm to the end. So last week we had begun to talk about this house that was being built, built in the wilderness, that Moses, of course, was instructed at the burning bush to go. This is the correct time to take that staff to go to find Aaron and go and approach Pharaoh and say to him, let my people go. This is saying that Moses was not the one in charge of that process.
There was an individual. Moses was faithful as a servant in that calling, but there was an individual who was calling the shots. This house that was being built was being built for a reason. And the individual. There was an individual responsible for building that house.
It says that the individual responsible for building the house was worthy of more glory than Moses, who was a servant in the house being built. The individual who was building this house in the wilderness is worthy of more glory than Moses who was a part of the house. We see that the individual responsible for building this spiritual house in the wilderness was Jesus Christ.
Strange, we see that it says in first Corinthians that this rock that followed them, this rock that water came out of, was Christ. That he was the one. He is the builder of the house that Moses was a part of. This individual building the house in the wilderness responded responsible. Before that, we see that anyone.
The only person who actually builds houses, we see later on in verse four, the only person who can build houses is God. Jesus Christ is being inferred as the one who is building this house. And he, therefore, by definition and according to all the rest of the scriptures we've already previously talked about, is God. He's the one responsible for building this house. We think of this as kind of strange.
Why would Jesus, who we know came to build a different house? Why would he be building this house in the desert? For what purpose? If he knew he was going to build a different house in which he wanted everyone to become a part of, why would he be building a house that is based on the law?
Start in verse five. And Moses indeed was faithful in all of his house as a servant For a testimony of those things which would be spoken of afterwards. We see that Moses, except in one condition where he spoke to when he was told to, spoke to the rock. He called those people you rebels. He was angry and he struck the rock.
And as a result he could not enter the promised land. In every other situation, he was faithful in that house. He always did what the Lord desired. Even when it appears that the Lord was doing something different, he wasn't. And he was wanting Moses to demonstrate a kind of character that was faithful to God.
And so Moses was faithful in every way because. But that faithfulness was not just for the children of Israel in the wilderness. The end goal was not necessarily only for their well being or benefit. There was an extended, there was an audience for which this faithfulness was intended that was not those individuals who participated in those desert wandering years. There was a benefit for a different opportunity that is expected for what was accomplished by the builder of the house in the wilderness.
He was not building that house for no reason.
That as a wise master builder, he was building a house in those desert years because there was an outcome of for that house being built that he desired. It says in chapter or verse five. Again, it says for a testimony of those things which would be spoken of afterward. There was a testimony, there was something that was to come of that house, that legal house, that house that was built according to the law, that afterward would be needed. It was needed.
Now it is a good reminder for you. I as we look back on the examples of the Israelites in the wilderness, it's important to know that when we face temptation and trials and God's asking us to do something, when we see that Those people spent 40 years circling the mountain in the desert, they're. There's part of us that should say, you know, let me think about this for a minute. God's asked me for to do something. When they refused, they spent 40 years wandering in the desert.
I don't want to spend 40 years wandering in the desert. It would be right for me to say, yes, Lord. It's a good reminder, right? There are certain things that are good pictorial examples of our spiritual walk. The crossing of the Red Sea, the Passover lamb.
These are all things which give us a good understanding of what Christ's work on the cross did for us in kind of a picture way so we can understand it. When we see the blood on the lintel and the doorpost that the destroying angel was not able to come into and destroy the firstborn, we see Christ's blood placed upon our own life that keeps us from that same thing. When we see the crossing through the Red Sea, it's a picture of our salvation being delivered from the authority of the devil and brought into a new family in Christ Jesus, a part of God's family. When we see God's provision in the desert, it's a beautiful reminder that God will provide for us also in our walk with Him. But there's something more than that.
It's not just a good reminder. There is something happening that is necessary for that experience. That house to be built. That house was necessary to be built for a reason. I'm going to go just to verse six and then we're going to kind of backtrack just a little bit.
It says, but Christ as a son over his own house.
This house that was built in the wilderness was one built on the premise of the law, do this and you shall live. Christ was the builder of that house. But his end goal is not for people to remain in that house, but rather be a part of a house that is based on on God's grace as a result of his sacrifice on the cross. His goal is to move people into his eternal spiritual house as much as possible. His goal is to bring people to a place of salvation.
In order to accomplish that work. If his goal is to bring people into a house of which they are not naturally a part of, what is the most effective way to do it?
That's a good question. If you were building a house and you wanted guests in your house, Jesus says, you know, I have a wedding feast, you know, go out and invite people into my house, that I want my house to be full. Jesus does not want an empty house. I hate. You know, I'm just going to be.
Sorry I just said this, but I don't partake in birthday parties very, very much. I don't like necessarily to get invited to them. I don't really like getting invite people to them. That's just, hey, you're a dork. That's okay.
I don't mind that that's the way I am. But I always think if I had a birthday party and I would want it to be full, I think you might be the same. You don't want to have a party and you be the only person there, right? In a similar way, God says, I want my house to be full. He wants to bring people into his house.
He has a great desire to participate. His end goal, even from the beginning, was that his house would be a full house. And so in order for him to accomplish that, he had to do something that he believed would be the most effective means for bringing people into that house that he would build. How does he do that? Does he sit around and just wait for people to come in?
What would be the most effective means to bring people into a spiritual house? I believe that this is a picture of this. It says again in chapter three, verse five, it says for a testimony of those things which would be spoken of afterwards. There is an idea that is completely biblical that we're going to go into that the most effective, effective means for bringing people into Christ's house is the law of God being applied to their conscience. There is.
I'm going to. I'm going to go just make a statement here. There is no effect more effective means for drawing people into God's family than making them understand the legal implications of breaking God's immutable law. In order for Jesus to bring people into his eternal house, the most effective means possible was to present a law to them that revealed to them their guilty situation as a result of breaking that law. Going to go through a few places here, but in Galatians it says that the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ.
What we believe is, is there is no more effective tutor than the law. But at times you and I want to use different things to bring people to Christ than that tutorial tutor which has been given to us as a means for doing so. What are some of the other things we use to bring people to Christ except the tutor?
You know, we talk about how happy people are going to be. It's going to be great. We have so much fun in our church. This is wonderful. You can have the best that you can possibly have right now.
Well, I'm not saying that if it were not more effective that Christ would not have used those things. All I am saying is, is that he viewed them as less effective or not effective in comparison to that law, to that tutor that he used. Jesus says in Matthew, I did not come to do away with the law. Rather I have come to establish the law. That it was the establishing of that law and adding to it, but showing the spiritual dimension of what the law really mean that pierced the convictions, the conscience of people which brought them to a place of needing Christ.
In Romans 7 we see a lengthy discussion of this and I'm not sure how much to read, but we'll just start. In chapter seven of Romans I might skip around, it says, what shall we say then is the law sin? And then that often repeated Certainly not. Or God forbid, this exclamation of hey, don't even consider that thing. On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law.
The law is our tutor. It is our guide to show us what sin is, that sin without the law resides in our heart unknown. It says, I would not have known sin except through the law, for I would not have known covetedness unless the law had said, you shall not covet but sin, taking opportunity by the commandment produced in me all manner of evil desire for a part from the law sin was dead. I was alive once without the law. But when the commandment came, sin revived and I died.
And the commandment which was to bring life, I found to bring death. For sin taking occasion by the commandment deceived me and by it killed me. Therefore the law is holy and the commandment holy and just and good. Verse 13. Has then what is good become death to me?
Certainly not but sin, that it might appear sin was producing death in me through what is good, so that sin through the commandment might become exceedingly sinful. We're going to skip then, just over. And then there's this discussion of. Of this carnal nature that Paul sees of the law making sin sinful. I do what I don't want to do.
I don't do what I do want to do. And it leaves him, the carnal person that he's describing in verse 23. The law, after having its effect on an individual, leaves them in a position. It does something to them. And this is what we believe it is in verse 23.
But I see another law in my members warring against the law of my mind and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am, who will deliver me from this body of death. You see, sin has its. Or, excuse me, the law has its perfect work in an individual bearing witness on that individual that they have acted in acts of warfare, deliberate disobedience against a holy God, that a righteous God has to punish those choosing those willful, those desirous acts of disobedience against him. He has no other choice.
According to his own standards of holiness. He cannot let those acts of disobedience, those acts of warfare go unpunished. It leaves you and I in a position. What shall I do? What do I do about this condition which I find myself in?
We see Jesus was approached by that rich young ruler, and Jesus did the same thing to him. He presents the commandments to him, and then the man is left in a spiritual state of knowing he needs more than just an attempt of doing good. It leaves him in a position of needing to be saved from that condition. Let me go back to the Hebrews, back to Hebrews chapter three.
I started talking just a little bit last week and I'm sorry if I'm not even close to fully understanding this, but there is an evidence based repentance versus a feelings based repentance. Okay, think with me for a second. There is a lot of people who basically say I can't repent because God has not given me the feelings of repentance. Therefore, until he gives me feelings of repentance, I won't. Okay, There is something different in evidence based repentance.
Evidence based repentance is looking at the facts of the matter. Have I acted in a way that is contrary to God's law? If so, then I have. There are repercussions on me as a sinner as a result of breaking that law.
There is a real danger in trusting our emotions. It says in Proverbs 1 place, it says that love covers a multitude of sins. Have you ever heard of that? Well, it is also true that self love covers a multitude of sin. Because we love ourselves so much, we are willing to overlook what we do which is contrary to God's law.
It is amazing that we feel so good about ourself at times because we trust our feelings of the circumstances where if we looked at the actual evidence, there would be, would need to be action taken in business. And I struggle to say that because I am guilty too. But oftentimes people will say to me, you know, look, if I can get a discount, I'd be glad to pay cash for this job.
Cash is good. I don't mind cash. But what they're meaning is if I pay cash for the job, then I don't have to pay sales tax for the job. They don't have to pay sales tax. And they say something like, well, the government has enough money anyways, right?
And well, well, I feel good about that. You got, you know, big bulging wallet, right? But if we look at the evidence according to the law, is it fine to cheat your government?
My son, he's not here today, so I can say something. He was a geshurin.
Mickey rolled our pickup. It was safe, Jenny. It was a safe roll, right? Just barely over the top anyways, but. And so we needed a new pickup.
So Jeshurin had a pickup that was running terribly and he said, I'm going to give you the pickup. So it was a gift, but he wrote $200 on it. And he says to me, you know, yeah, Yeah, I wrote $200 so you wouldn't have to pay much sales tax. And I'm like, jesurin, a gift you don't pay any sales tax on. But I'm sure you may have come like me, have had an example of someone buying a vehicle from you, and they're like, you know, listen, I don't want you to pay sales tax on that vehicle.
So what we're gonna say is we're going to put a lower price so you don't have to pay sales tax on the full amount that you actually bought the vehicle for. You see, you and I's feeling like that's a great idea. We trust those feelings. Hey, thanks. I appreciate you looking after my flesh.
But that is not the best example what God means by righteousness. It may be that he has an example of righteousness that is superior to your feelings, that if you don't pay attention to, you are the one who miss out. It is much more benefit to examine our actions in light of evidence, to be able to think clearly and examine what we are doing rather than trust deceitful feelings which always are out for your best interest.
This law is said, beware, my angel goes before you and he will not pardon your iniquity. He is absolutely righteous. He has a standard of righteousness that is only comprehensible to us. Through an examination of what his law is, we get an understanding of what the law means by the example given to us by Moses and the Israelites in the desert. Do you know what that example is?
Anyone want to go there and pick up sticks on the Sabbath day, they're put to death. Anyone want to complain about dinner tonight?
Anyone want to get thirsty and say too much? Everyone tracking we see an example of God's holy standard. We see what it means to have this holy God and a relationship with him. What that should do is bring you and I to a place of saying, what then shall I do? What can I do with this load this evidence based sinner that I am, what shall I do?
I'm going to end. In verse 6 it says, But Christ as a son of his own house, he built that house for a reason, but his intention was for no one to stay there. That the terror of what was involved in that house would bring people to a position of fleeing to that one of safety and grace that he gives to you and I. It is my belief that is important for us to use evidence in examining our spiritual condition because in doing so will provide the momentum to experience the life of Christ even more, to do away with the tawdry and glitzy pleasures of this world and to be driven into the fear fullness of the riches of Christ that he has a house and he wants you to experience the very best of that house. And so in this, my goal, I hope for me is to allow the law to have a work in my heart that would drive me to the person who paid the fullness of the price for the breaking that law.
And as a result that our love for the man Jesus Christ, the builder of this house, would increase more and more.
We're going to look next week at the danger of resisting that invitation.
So I hope you can be with us then. But let's just close there. Oh Father, we do come to you. Lord, terrified of that law, the thundering, the lightning, the shaking of the earth, O Lord, but rightfully so, for that law is terrifying to sinners like me. Lord, I pray that the end result will at the opening of the door of the Gospel would be one that draws us into your house.
One built on grace and undeserved kindness. Lord, we thank you for this time. In Jesus name, amen.