The Christ Church Wednesday Bible Study Group is doing a study through the New Testament book of Hebrews. The word better is used thirteen times in the book of Hebrews as the writer shows the superiority of Christ and His salvation over the Hebrew system of religion. Jesus Christ and the Christian life He gives us are better because His blessings are eternal and they give us perfect standing before God. This study is not a diet for “spiritual babes” who want to be spoon-fed and coddled. In this letter you will find “strong meat” that demands some chewing and enjoying.
Jesus’ sacrifice is superior to that of bulls and goats.
Hebrews 9:13-14 NIV The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!
The sacrifice of Jesus Christ is superior to the old covenant sacrifices because;
Christ’s sacrifice takes away sin.
Christ’s sacrifice doesn’t need to be repeated
Christ’s sacrifice Opens the way to God.
Last week we finished our discussion on the superior sacrifice that our Great High Priest offered in the superior sanctuary in heaven. That sacrifice was superior because it
Takes away sin.
doesn’t need to be repeated
pens the way to God.
A solemn exhortation (vv. 26–31).
Because of this the writer now gives in readers a solemn exhortation. An exhortation is to emphatically urge someone to do something. The exhortation here is to stop wilfully sinning.
Hebrews 10:26-31 NIV If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
This exhortation to stop willfully sinning follows three other exhortations we talked about earlier in our study.
The first was to not drift from the Word;
Hebrews 2:1-4 NIV We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. For since the message spoken through angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.
The second was to not start to doubt the Word:
Hebrews 3:7-11 NIV So, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the wilderness, where your ancestors tested and tried me, though for forty years they saw what I did. That is why I was angry with that generation; I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways.’ So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’ ”
The third was to not become lazy in your spiritual life;
Hebrews 5:11-14 NIV We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
Drifting, doubting, and becoming lazy would result in despising the Word evidenced by willful sin which the writer was exhorting his readers not to do.
Hebrews 10:26 NIV If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left,
This exhortation is not dealing with one particular act of sin, but with an attitude that leads to repeated disobedience. Under the old covenant, there were no sacrifices for deliberate and willful sins.
Numbers 15:27-31 NIV “ ‘But if just one person sins unintentionally, that person must bring a year-old female goat for a sin offering. The priest is to make atonement before the Lord for the one who erred by sinning unintentionally, and when atonement has been made, that person will be forgiven. One and the same law applies to everyone who sins unintentionally, whether a native-born Israelite or a foreigner residing among you. “ ‘But anyone who sins defiantly, whether native-born or foreigner, blasphemes the Lord and must be cut off from the people of Israel. Because they have despised the Lord ’s word and broken his commands, they must surely be cut off; their guilt remains on them.’ ”
Presumptuous sinners who despised Moses’ law and broke it were executed.
Deuteronomy 17:1-7 NIV Do not sacrifice to the Lord your God an ox or a sheep that has any defect or flaw in it, for that would be detestable to him. If a man or woman living among you in one of the towns the Lord gives you is found doing evil in the eyes of the Lord your God in violation of his covenant, and contrary to my command has worshiped other gods, bowing down to them or to the sun or the moon or the stars in the sky, and this has been brought to your attention, then you must investigate it thoroughly. If it is true and it has been proved that this detestable thing has been done in Israel, take the man or woman who has done this evil deed to your city gate and stone that person to death. On the testimony of two or three witnesses a person is to be put to death, but no one is to be put to death on the testimony of only one witness. The hands of the witnesses must be the first in putting that person to death, and then the hands of all the people. You must purge the evil from among you.
This explains why David prayed as he did in Psalm 51. Because he deliberately he should have been slain, but he cried out for God’s mercy. David knew that even a multitude of sacrifices could not save him. All he could offer was the sacrifice of a broken heart.
Psalms 51:16-17 NIV You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.
How does an arrogant attitude affect a believer’s relationship with God? It is as though he cheapens the precious blood that saved him and insults the Holy Spirit.
Hebrews 10:29 NIV How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?
This is just the opposite of the exhortation given in Hebrews 10:19–25!
Hebrews 10:19-25 NIV Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Instead of having a bold profession of faith, hope, and love, a backslidden believer lives so that his actions and attitudes bring disgrace to the name of Christ and the church.
What can this kind of a Christian expect from God? He can expect severe discipline.
We will be talking about that when we get to chapter 12.
Hebrews 10:26-29 NIV If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?
There is no need to water down what we read in these verses.
We have already seen from the history of Israel that hardly anybody who was saved out of Egypt entered into the promised land. Nearly all of them died in the wilderness.
There are a couple of examples in the New Testament too.
1 John 5:16 NIV If you see any brother or sister commit a sin that does not lead to death, you should pray and God will give them life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that you should pray about that.
1 Corinthians 11:30 NIV That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.
God does not always take the life of a rebellious believer, but He always deals with him.
Hebrews 10:30-31 NIV For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
While this is not a warning about losing one’s salvation we have determined that salvation is eternal and you can never lose it. The thought of discipline is important. It is important that every Christian obey God and please the Father in all things.There is a warning about “the sad consequences of forgiven sins.” God forgave David’s sins, but David suffered the sad consequences for years afterward.
2 Samuel 12:7-15 NIV Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what the Lord , the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’ “This is what the Lord says: ‘Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity on you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight. You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.’ ” Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord .” Nathan replied, “The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. But because by doing this you have shown utter contempt for the Lord , the son born to you will die.” After Nathan had gone home, the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and he became ill.
What should a believer do who has drifted away into spiritual doubt and dullness and is deliberately despising God’s Word? He should turn to God for mercy and forgiveness. There is no other sacrifice for sin, but the sacrifice Christ made is sufficient for all our sins. It is a fearful thing to fall into the Lord’s hands for chastening, but it is a wonderful thing to fall into His hands for cleansing and restoration. David said, “Let me fall now into the hand of the Lord; for very great are his mercies”
1 Chronicles 21:11-13 NIV So Gad went to David and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Take your choice: three years of famine, three months of being swept away before your enemies, with their swords overtaking you, or three days of the sword of the Lord —days of plague in the land, with the angel of the Lord ravaging every part of Israel.’ Now then, decide how I should answer the one who sent me.” David said to Gad, “I am in deep distress. Let me fall into the hands of the Lord , for his mercy is very great; but do not let me fall into human hands.”
Let's end this discussion about Jesus’ superior sacrifice with an encouraging confirmation (vv. 32–39).
Hebrews 10:32-39 NIV Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For, “In just a little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay.” And, “But my righteous one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back.” But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.
His readers had given every evidence that they were true Christians. He did not expect them to despise God’s Word and experience the chastening of God!
The readers had been willing to suffer reproach and persecution, even to the spoiling of their goods. When they were not being persecuted themselves, they courageously identified with the other Christians who were in danger, even to the point of sharing their bonds (imprisonment). At that time, they had great confidence and hope, but now they were in danger of casting away that confidence and going back into their old religion.
The secret of victory was in their faith and patience (“courageous endurance”). It is here that the writer introduced the “text” around which Hebrews is written: “The just shall live by faith” (Heb. 10:38).
The quotation is from Habakkuk 2:4,
Habakkuk 2:4 NIV “See, the enemy is puffed up; his desires are not upright— but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness —
and it is also used in Romans 1:17 and Galatians 3:11. Romans emphasizes “the just, or righteous ”
Romans 1:17 NIV For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”
Galatians deals with “shall live,”
Galatians 3:11 NIV Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because “the righteous will live by faith.”
and Hebrews centers on “by faith.”
Hebrews 10:38 NIV And, “But my righteous one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back.”
We are not just saved from our sin by faith; we also must live by faith. This is the theme of Hebrews 11—13.
The believer who lives by faith will “go on unto perfection”.
Hebrews 6:1 NIV Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God,
But the believer who lives by sight will “draw back unto perdition” (Heb. 10:39).
Hebrews 10:39 NIV But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.
What is “perdition” in this context? The Greek word translated “perdition” is used about twenty times in the New Testament and is translated by different words: “perish”, “die”, “destruction”, and
“waste”. The word can mean eternal judgment, but it need not in every instance. A believer who does not walk by faith goes back into the old ways and wastes his life.
To be saved is the opposite of “waste.” To walk by faith means to obey God’s Word and live for Jesus Christ. But we can be confident! As we walk by faith, our Great High Priest will guide us and perfect us!
Faith, The Greatest Power In The World - Hebrews 11
This chapter introduces the final section of the epistle (Heb. 11—13). The fact that Christ is a superior person (Heb. 1—6) and that He exercises a superior priesthood (Heb. 7—10) ought to encourage us to put our trust in Him. The readers of this epistle were being tempted to go back into Judaism and put their faith in Moses. Their confidence was in the visible things of this world, not the invisible realities of God. Instead of going on to perfection (maturity), they were going “back unto perdition [waste]”.
In Hebrews 11, all Christians are called to live by faith. In it, the writer discusses two important topics relating to faith.
The description of faith 11:1-3
The demonstration of faith 11:4-40
1. The Description of Faith (11:1–3)
Hebrews 11:1-3 NIV Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
This is not a definition of faith the dictionary defines faith as
complete trust or confidence in someone or something.
strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof.
This is actually a description of what faith does and how it works. True Bible faith is not blind optimism or a manufactured “hope-so” feeling. Neither is it an intellectual assent to a doctrine. It is certainly not believing in spite of evidence! That would be superstition.
True Bible faith is confident obedience to God’s Word in spite of circumstances and consequences.
This faith operates quite simply. God speaks and we hear His Word. We trust His Word and act on it no matter what the circumstances are or what the consequences may be. The circumstances may be impossible, and the consequences frightening and unknown; but we obey God’s Word just the same and believe Him to do what is right and what is best.
The world fails to realize that faith is only as good as its object, and the object of our faith is God. Faith is not some “feeling” that we manufacture. It is our total response to what God has revealed in His Word.
Three words in Hebrews 11:1–3 summarize what true Bible faith is: substance, evidence, and witness (NIV confidence, assurance, commended for).
The word translated “substance” means literally “to stand under, to support.” Faith is to a Christian what a foundation is to a house: It gives confidence and assurance that he will stand. So you might say, “Faith is the confidence of things hoped for.” When a believer has faith, it is God’s way of giving him confidence and assurance that what is promised will be experienced.
The word evidence simply means “conviction.” This is the inward conviction from God that what He has promised, He will perform. The presence of God-given faith in one’s heart is conviction enough that He will keep His Word.
Witness (“obtained a good report”) is an important word in Hebrews 11. It occurs not only in verse 2, but also once in verse 4 and once in verse 39. When we get to chapter 12 it talks about a great cloud of witnesses. Remember what we said about being an effective witness on Sunday to be effective: a witness must know something, say something and be something.
Faith is a very practical thing. Faith enables us to understand what God does. Faith enables us to see what others cannot see (note Heb. 11:7, 13, 27). As a result, faith enables us to do what others cannot do!
The best way to grow in faith is to walk with the faithful. The remainder of this chapter is devoted to a summary of the lives and labors of great men and women of faith found in the Old Testament. In each instance, you will find the same elements of faith: (1) God spoke to them through His Word; (2) their inner selves were stirred in different ways; (3) they obeyed God; (4) He bore witness about them.
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