Hebrews - Part 2 - September 23, 2012
Turn with me this morning to the book of Hebrews. It’s found in the end of the Bible, 1&2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James. The book of Hebrews is a book written to encourage us! Sometimes we miss that because of all the visual illustrations and word pictures in the book. We get so caught up in the examples that we often miss the main point. The message of Hebrews is this: Christ is BETTER than the OT sacrificial system under the Mosaic law! The author seeks to encourage these Jewish Christians to move ahead in their spiritual lives by showing them that in Christ they have “better” blessings.
We mentioned last week that a Hebrew is a Jew - a descendant of Abraham. These are the people the OT is written about. Jesus was a Jew. But in the first century after Jesus rose from the dead and ascended to heaven, the disciples went everywhere preaching the word. Many Gentiles were converted, and much of the NT is focused on Gentile Christians and churches, started by the Apostle Paul. They Gentiles came out of pagan idolatry and completely left their idolatry when they came to faith in Christ. But this is a book for Jewish Christians - they had a background in all the ritual of the OT system, they had come to faith in Jesus Christ for salvation, but they were in danger of going BACK to the sacrificial system of the OT laws.
This book is written to remind us that we have so much BETTER of a faith than that which existed under the OT system. Now, we are going to cover several chapters of Hebrews today, so if you aren’t turning and following along, pull out a pen or pencil and jot down notes for yourself. When we think of the way we process information as Americans, it’s often in a linear fashion - I did this, then this, then this. We know A leads to B and B leads to C. But when Jews process information, it’s in a cyclical approach. They keep cycling around to the same point. That’s why here in these first chapters of Hebrews we find the same ideas mentioned over again in different ways.
This morning, I’m going to take some of the main ideas and present them in a linear fashion. Hopefully, it will make it a little easier for us to follow the intent of this book. We mentioned last week that chapter 1 starts out reminding us that
• Jesus is better than the OT prophets - The prophets who helped bring us the OT - they only brought bits and pieces of God’s message and many times they didn’t understand what they were prophesying about, but Jesus is the embodiment of truth - He is the Father’s truth incarnate - in the flesh. We also saw that
• Jesus is better than Angels - the Jews saw the OT law being important because it was mediated by angels. But we see in chapter 1 that Jesus is better than any angel. The angels are merely servants, but Jesus is the Son.
Chapter 2 takes a rabbit trail - Well, if Jesus is better than angels, why was he made LOWER than the angels - in a weak, frail human body? And we saw the answer last Sunday night - look at 2:17 - Jesus became human so he could suffer and die in our place and so he would be able to help us. For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
Chapter 3 continues the comparison and says that
• Jesus is better than Moses, the lawgiver - the Jews looked to Moses as their lawgiver. This system of rules and regulations came from Moses. How does Jesus compare to Moses? Look at 3:5 - Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house, testifying to what would be said in the future. But Christ is faithful as a son OVER God’s house. Once again, Jesus comes out on top - Moses is a servant, but Jesus is the Son. Moses is part of the household of faith, but Jesus is over the household of faith; He is in charge.
In chapter 5, the Jews are given another reminder:
• Jesus is better than any high priest - even Aaron - The OT system of sacrifices and ceremony was all dependent upon a series of priests who offered the sacrifices, and one high priest who went into the tabernacle on the day of atonement to offer sacrifice for the people. In chapter 5, verse 2 we read about the high priest - he himself is subject to weakness. This is why he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people. Every high priest starting with Aaron down through the years was sinful. And before they could offer sacrifice for the people they had to offer sacrifice for their own sins. But Jesus serves as our high priest - 4:14 - and we see there that he is sinless: Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin. So Jesus is far better than the high priests, because He was sinless. He suffered like us, and as a result can identify with us and offer us grace to help in time of need; but He never sinned.
And then in chapter 7, the author goes on to remind us
• Jesus is better than Abraham. Any Jew would rate Abraham at the top of the list - maybe right under God Himself. Abraham was the father of the Jews, and all Jews looked to him highly. But Hebrews goes on here in chapter 7 to remind us that Jesus is better than Abraham. Jesus was a high priest after the order of Melchizedek, and Melchizedek was greater than Abraham. As proof of that, it notes the time that Abraham offered tithes to Melchizedek. We’ll be talking about Melchizedek tonight - so if you want to find out more about Him, come out tonight.
But, if Jesus is better than OT prophets, angels, Moses, the high priests, Aaron, and even Abraham himself, WHY would a Jew want to go back to an INFERIOR system of religion? They have come to understand Jesus is their promised Messiah, the anointed Son of God - so why are they tempted to go back to the old sacrificial system with all its rules and regulations?
After all, if you have a computer with an Intel chip, would you want to go back to a 386 processor?
If you drive a Mercedes, would you want to go back to a Model A?
If you have a high efficiency steam washer, would you want to go back to wringing clothes by hand?
They all served a purpose, but we have something better today! The OT law served a purpose - we mentioned it last week - in Galatians 3:24 Paul tells these Christians in Turkey, the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law. All the OT rules and regulations we never given to save us - only to show us our NEED of a Savior. We have a much better system in place - faith in Christ and living by the Spirit receiving grace - so why would we ever want to go back to a system of legalism and works?
There are many answers to WHY, but Hebrews addresses a few of them and gives us some warnings to follow. These were issues for the Hebrews in the first century, and they are warnings for us today in the 21st century. First,
1. We don’t pay attention to the truth. If we don’t pay attention, we will drift away from the truth! Look with me in 2:1 - We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. What does it mean to drift? If you are out fishing in a boat, you aren’t drifting when you start the engine and head for shore. Drifting happens when you get to a good fishing spot but you don’t put down the anchor. Before you know it you look up and you are close to shore. You weren’t paying attention and gradually the position of the boat shifted.
In life, if we don’t pay attention to what we believe, we will find ourselves gradually shifting our beliefs. 2 Timothy 4 warns us, For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to right teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever they want to hear. They will reject the truth and follow strange myths. There are so many false teachers, all you have to do is turn on the TV or walk in a Christian bookstore and you will be confronted with a mix of good teaching and heresy! How do we tell the difference? We need to be like the Christians of Acts 17:11 - Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. These Christians came out to church and listed to Paul preach, and then they went home and studied their bible to see if what he had to say was true.
We have a generation of Christians that does NOT search for the truth, but we blindly listen to whatever the preacher has to say and accept it - even if it’s contrary to scripture. And when we listen and accept whatever we hear, we will DRIFT away from the truth. We will hear things like - God doesn’t care about Israel any more, He has replaced Israel with the Church --- God doesn’t know everything -- God loves homosexuals, so we shouldn’t judge others, after all the Bible says judge not! -- there are so many who have never heard the gospel, so God will give them a second chance -- if you’re sick its because there is sin in your life, because God healed all sickness in the atonement, Jesus healed all our diseases. And all sorts of other heresies, that if we don’t study the scriptures, we will end up believing. Let’s be like the Bereans and study the Bible ourselves, not just listen to what someone else has to say.
So, to reflect, are you studying the Bible? Are you checking what you hear against the scriptures? When is the last time you heard something and checked the bible to see if it was true or not?
A second reason why people turn from the truth.
2. We allow our hearts to be hardened by sin! Look over in 3:12 - See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. Why do we turn from the truth? One reason is because we allow sin in our hearts, and that sin will turn us away from following the truth. There’s a saying - The Bible will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from the Bible - when we wilfully choose to sin, our conscience is seared. The picture is like someone who has burnt their fingers and they no longer have any feeling in them. When we choose to sin, a hardness of heart sets in and we no longer care about doing what is right or following God.
There have been times when someone has chosen a sinful lifestyle and when they are confronted about it they say I don’t really care about what is right or what God wants! They have become hardened by sin. A sinful heart will turn away from the living God it tells us. But what is the answer, how do we safeguard ourselves? We already read the answer: But encourage one another daily! We need to be active in one another’s lives - not to judge others and look down on them, but to encourage one another to do right. Hebrews says we are to spur one another on to good deeds. When we talk to one another about how God has been at work in our life, how God has answered prayer, how God has given us a victory, it encourages us to faithfully follow God.
So, to reflect, are you choosing to do something you know is wrong and sinful? If so it will harden your heart and make it hard to follow God.
Are you encouraging others in their lives, talking about how God is at work? If not, why not?
A third way we turn from the truth -
3. We don’t grow to spiritual maturity - We stay spiritual babies. In Hebrews 5:12 the author tells us, 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. He is saying “You should be teaching others, but you’re still a spiritual baby!” He says “You only grow spiritually when you USE what you see in the scriptures.” So many Christians are like it says in James - like a person looking in the mirror who sees himself and then goes away unchanged - we hear scripture and say That’s right, I should change - but then go away and never make any changes. And as a result we don’t grow spiritually. In 6:1 the author states, Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.
He is saying Let’s get past the ABCs! He lists some of the basics - Repentance, faith, being baptized, serving God, and heaven and hell. Those are basic things most of us understand. But we need to go past knowing the basics and grow to spiritual maturity. How do we do that? By constant use of the scriptures!
Once of the best ways to learn is to teach! Whenever you teach a lesson you learn so much more than the ones who simply listen to you. When we teach we study deeply and gain so much more benefit that we can ever share. Right now, we can use some help in teaching SS - if that would be of interest to you, see Janet Lee.
When I was in Senior High, I taught the Jr High SS class- and preparing a lesson every week helped me immensely to grow and understand the scripture. You also grow by witnessing! When I was in high school my youth leader Dwight Hapeman started a witnessing program. We would go out to the mall and talk to people about God’s plan of salvation. Believe me, when you are encountering all kinds of arguments, objections, and questions, you study your bible, and you grow immensely. If you want to grow spiritually, talk to your neighbors or co-workers about the Lord - they will come up with questions you don’t have the answer for, and you will need to pray and study God’s word, and as a result, you will grow spiritually.
So to reflect a little, ask yourself, what causes you to go to the scripture and study? Are you talking to anyone who asks you questions? Are you teaching anyone? Do you talk about questions with anyone?
And then finally today, a fourth reason we stray from the truth -
4. We Give Up! Sometimes we give up far too soon. There are many who can get moved by emotion - they can listen to a passionate preacher and get all excited for a day or two - but then they go out in the real world and face problems and temptation and struggles and forget the joy of the Lord and turn back to defeat and depression and discouragement. In 6:7 it gives a picture of two types of land - Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned. Some Christians are like land that is fruitful - and they are blessed. But some Christians are like land that produces thorns and thistles. Do you know any “Prickly Christians” - there is nothing sweet and joyful about them - they have a scowl on their face, they are always negative and critical and cutting someone else down - and the result is that they will end up facing God’s discipline in their lives.
6:11 continues on with the picture - We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised. We are to show diligence to the end - don’t quit! - don’t give up when hard times come - don’t stop believing in God when He doesn’t answer your prayers the way you want. ** God is good (all the time) and all the time (God is good). Don’t let circumstances sway you from being faithful in following God. The writer here says don’t become lazy - don’t adopt the flawed idea that if you believe in Jesus everything is going to work out great in your life.
There are many who choose to follow God, but then get discouraged and give up. In 3:14 it tells us, We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first. Think about when you first became a Christian - you were on an emotional high - you wanted to do your best to do right and honor Christ - well, keep holding on to that same type of faith! Don’t give up!
Reflect for a moment - is your faith as strong as it used to be? If not, why not? Maybe you say, you don’t know the terrible thing that happened to me! But I would say, no matter how horrible, God did not leave you. We live in a fallen, sinful world, and we face daily its consequences. But that should not drive us from God, but to drive us all the closer to Him.
Today, let’s remember that we have a faith that is far BETTER than the OT legalistic system - let’s celebrate the freedom we have in Jesus, and let’s make sure we don’t drift, don’t allow our hearts to be hardened, don’t stop growing spiritually, and don’t give up. Let’s pray!
