God Without Religion_ Can It Really Be This Simple_ - Andrew Farley [4]
For when there is a change of the priesthood there must also be a change of the law. (Heb. 7:12)
Because there’s a new kind of priest in town, God is telling us we can’t mix in the old way of the law. To do so involves a serious contradiction.
Do you see it? Against the backdrop of thousands of years of doing things one way, God has now done it another way. Former priests came from Levi, but now no more. Since our priest has a different lineage, the old way is entirely incompatible with him. When there’s a change of priesthood, the whole system must change.
There’s more. The writer of Hebrews says Jesus “was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek” (Heb. 5:10). You can just see the Jewish readers going, “Melchizedek, Melchizedek . . . boy, that name sounds familiar.” They thumb through the Old Testament and find one reference to him as “king of Salem” (Gen. 14:18). And Hebrews describes him as “without genealogy” (Heb. 7:3). Apparently, Mel had no known father or mother. He came out of nowhere! But Abraham respected Mel as having a unique priesthood from God. And this was more than four hundred years before the law.
So let’s get this straight. According to the law, Jesus is from the wrong tribe to be a priest? He has the wrong lineage? On top of that, his priesthood is in the order of Melchizedek, a mystery man who lived before the law? Yes, that’s right. And for these reasons, the old way of the law and Jesus just don’t mix.
Our heavenly high priest invites us to a whole new way.
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New way, old way—doesn’t make much difference! If you knew me, you’d understand. I’m just not that good at religion. I’m not that committed. I’m a weak Christian by any measure.”
Maybe you think you’ve committed some pretty big sins. Or maybe you still have some major struggles going on. So you think the idea of enjoying God to the fullest can’t possibly apply to you. If so, I’d like to ask you a question:
How many people have you killed?
Yes, you read that one right. How many people have you killed? I ask you this question, because much of the Bible was written by murderers. Moses killed an Egyptian in rage. David killed a guy to steal his wife. And Paul killed Christians in religious pride. Here’s a sample of Paul’s ugly resume:
I put many of the saints in prison, and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. Many a time I went from one synagogue to another to have them punished, and I tried to force them to blaspheme. In my obsession against them, I even went to foreign cities to persecute them. (Acts 26:10–11)
In comparison with killing Christians, how big are your sins? And just how “different” is your situation? Let’s face it—the only thing that stops us from enjoying God is not believing we are qualified. But here’s a news flash for you: Your sins are small. Your God is big. And you are qualified.
Our Contract with God
So how can we experience God without religion? The key, I believe, is in understanding our contract with God.
Contract? Yes, contract. Our contract with God is better than we can possibly imagine. It’s better than the double-minded religion we’ve concocted. It’s better than the Christian jargon we’ve fabricated. And it’s better than the old way we’ve been peddling alongside Jesus ever since the early church.
Our contract with God invites us to experience something Old Testament people only dreamed of. Apparently, they never enjoyed what we have now. The heroes of the Old Testament were more dedicated than nearly any of us today. But that doesn’t seem to matter. We still get a better deal than they had:
These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. (Heb. 11:39–40)
Why is our contract with God so much better these days? To answer that one, let’s start with a marriage on the rocks.