Author: SFJ Bible

Hebrews 11

By Faith

11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it the people of old received their commendation. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

4 By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. 5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. 7 By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. 11 By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. 12 Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.

13 These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 14 For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15 If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.

17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, 18 of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” 19 He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. 20 By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau. 21 By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, bowing in worship over the head of his staff. 22 By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones.

23 By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. 24 By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. 27 By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. 28 By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them.

29 By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned. 30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. 31 By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.

32 And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets—33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. 35 Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. 36 Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two,¹ they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated—38 of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

39 And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, 40 since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.

Footnotes

[1] 11:37 Some manuscripts add they were tempted

(ESV)

Hebrews 10

Christ’s Sacrifice Once for All

10:1 For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. 2 Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? 3 But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. 4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

5 Consequently, when Christ¹ came into the world, he said,

  “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired,
    but a body have you prepared for me;
6   in burnt offerings and sin offerings
    you have taken no pleasure.
7   Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God,
    as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’”

8 When he said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law), 9 then he added, “Behold, I have come to do your will.” He does away with the first in order to establish the second. 10 And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

11 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when Christ² had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

15 And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying,

16   “This is the covenant that I will make with them
    after those days, declares the Lord:
  I will put my laws on their hearts,
    and write them on their minds,”

17 then he adds,

  “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”

18 Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.

The Full Assurance of Faith

19 Therefore, brothers,³ since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

26 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. 28 Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. 29 How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

32 But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, 33 sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. 34 For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. 35 Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. 36 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. 37 For,

  “Yet a little while,
    and the coming one will come and will not delay;
38   but my righteous one shall live by faith,
    and if he shrinks back,
  my soul has no pleasure in him.”

39 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.

Footnotes

[1] 10:5 Greek he

[2] 10:12 Greek this one

[3] 10:19 Or brothers and sisters

(ESV)

Hebrews 9

The Earthly Holy Place

9:1 Now even the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly place of holiness. 2 For a tent¹ was prepared, the first section, in which were the lampstand and the table and the bread of the Presence.² It is called the Holy Place. 3 Behind the second curtain was a second section³ called the Most Holy Place, 4 having the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden urn holding the manna, and Aaron’s staff that budded, and the tablets of the covenant. 5 Above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.

6 These preparations having thus been made, the priests go regularly into the first section, performing their ritual duties, 7 but into the second only the high priest goes, and he but once a year, and not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the unintentional sins of the people. 8 By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first section is still standing 9 (which is symbolic for the present age).⁴ According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper, 10 but deal only with food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until the time of reformation.

Redemption Through the Blood of Christ

11 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come,⁵ then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) 12 he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify⁶ for the purification of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our⁷ conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

15 Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.⁸ 16 For where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established. 17 For a will takes effect only at death, since it is not in force as long as the one who made it is alive. 18 Therefore not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood. 19 For when every commandment of the law had been declared by Moses to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, 20 saying, “This is the blood of the covenant that God commanded for you.” 21 And in the same way he sprinkled with the blood both the tent and all the vessels used in worship. 22 Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.

23 Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. 25 Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, 26 for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

Footnotes

[1] 9:2 Or tabernacle; also verses 11, 21

[2] 9:2 Greek the presentation of the loaves

[3] 9:3 Greek tent; also verses 6, 8

[4] 9:9 Or which is symbolic for the age then present

[5] 9:11 Some manuscripts good things to come

[6] 9:13 Or For if the sprinkling of defiled persons with the blood of goats and bulls and with the ashes of a heifer sanctifies

[7] 9:14 Some manuscripts your

[8] 9:15 The Greek word means both covenant and will; also verses 16, 17

(ESV)

Going Deeper

“Dignity, Eternity, Purity” (5-2-15)

Grab your Bible, and let’s go deeper into Hebrews 5.

In

Hebrews 9:9

9 (which is symbolic for the present age).¹ According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper,

Footnotes

[1] 9:9 Or which is symbolic for the age then present

(ESV)

it says,  “he (Christ) became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him”

Christ is the source of eternal salvation—salvation from guilt and condemnation and power of sin and from the wrath of God and the fear of spiritual eternal death.

This verse says that all of our salvation comes from Christ.

The Good News is Jesus is the source, or the cause, of our salvation.
It is not on or up to you or me.   It’s Not dependant on our political or social or economical status.

We are dependant on Him!     Even better…

“he became the source of eternal salvation.” It’s ETERNAL.  It lasts forever.

It starts in this life & it lasts through death, through judgment, and goes on forever and ever.

The entire book of Hebrews is helping us find perseverance in Christ while enduring the harsh circumstances of life on the road.

One of the ways we find perseverance is in our solidification of WHO JESUS IS.

We must realize he is a Solid foundation to rest on and draw from along life’s weary road.

Now, We have this confidence in Christ that gives us perseverance by answering the ?:

   Why was Jesus a suitable savior?

Today we are going to see: 

that Christ is all sufficient and more than suitable and became the source of eternal salvation because of three things:

his…

1. dignity as the Son of God, and because of his
2. eternity in the priestly order of Melchizedek, and because of his
3. purity in the crucible of suffering.

Then we will look at the last part of

Hebrews 5

5:1 For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2 He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness. 3 Because of this he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins just as he does for those of the people. 4 And no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was.

5 So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him,

  “You are my Son,
    today I have begotten you”;

6 as he says also in another place,

  “You are a priest forever,
    after the order of Melchizedek.”

7 In the days of his flesh, Jesus¹ offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. 8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. 9 And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, 10 being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.

Warning Against Apostasy

11 About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. 12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, 13 for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. 14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

Footnotes

[1] 5:7 Greek he

(ESV)

and see why we still struggle and How Christ gives us perseverance & growth through that struggle.

1. Christ is all sufficient and became the source of eternal salvation because of his… Dignity!

Dignity means worthiness of honor.

A dog has more dignity than an ant; that is, it’s worthy of more honor.

That’s why nobody gets upset when you poison ants,

but would get angry at you if you poisoned all the dogs in the neighborhood.

And children have more dignity than dogs,

because humans are worthy of more honor than dogs are.

The humane society gathers up stray dogs and mercifully puts some of them to sleep.

We wouldn’t do that with children.  Well we do in abortion!  But that is another bible study entirely.

God has more dignity than children, or adults, because he created us & owns us and is infinitely superior to us in every way.

So dignity means worthiness of honor. Christ has infinite dignity as the Son of God.

Look at

Hebrews 9:4

4 having the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden urn holding the manna, and Aaron’s staff that budded, and the tablets of the covenant.

(ESV)

   “And no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was.”

In other words, the office of high priest is an office of immense dignity and you can’t just decide to have it. God has to call you to it like he called Aaron in the Old Testament.

Read

Hebrews 9:5

5 Above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.

(ESV)

,  “So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him,

“You are my son. Today I have begotten you”

In other words, Christ did not glorify himself with the dignity of the office of high priest;

God the Father did.

What is interesting is the author quotes Psalm 2:7 about God begetting Christ as his Son.

I believe this is saying:

Christ is qualified to be our High Priest and to become the source of eternal salvation because he is the Son of God, and it was God himself who qualified Christ in this way.

So Christ has the dignity to be our High Priest and to become the source of eternal salvation.

No one but the Son of God could do it.

No other being in the universe has the dignity that was required to obtain an eternal salvation.

It took an infinite dignity. No priest of Aaron’s line and no angel in heaven could do it.

Only one could do it—the Son of God. So we see how important it is to know the dignity of Christ.

Why this is Good NEWS: 

All hell will rage at you one day with this one message: “your salvation is not sufficient; your guilt remains; condemnation hangs over your head; and the wrath of God is not removed.”

At that moment you will need truth about the foundation of your eternal salvation.

And one truth that will strengthen your confidence in that hour is the truth that you have no ordinary High Priest, but one who has the infinite dignity of the Son of God, and he has therefore become the source of eternal salvation.

2. Christ is all sufficient and became the source of eternal salvation because of his… ETERNITY !

Eternity means forever.

Something that has eternity has no beginning and no ending.

If something lasts for a while and stops, it does not have eternity.

If something didn’t exist for a long time & then it was created or came into being, it doesn’t have eternity. Eternity means forever—backward and forward. No beginning and no ending.

Jesus has become the source of eternal salvation because he is an eternal priest.

Hebrews 9:6

6 These preparations having thus been made, the priests go regularly into the first section, performing their ritual duties,

(ESV)

: “says the same thing [Psalm 110:4] says, “You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.”

The Key word here is “forever”—”You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”

Not only does Christ have the dignity of the Son of God, but he also has the eternity of the “priestly order of Melchizedek.”

What Melchizedek symbolized, Christ realized.   Christ really is a High Priest, as Hebrews 7:3 says, “having neither beginning of days nor end of life.”   He has eternity.

That is the second reason he has become for us a source of “eternal salvation.”

Not only was his death infinitely valuable and infinitely effective because he has infinite dignity, but he goes on ministering the effect of that death for us in heaven forever & ever & never dies.

Why this is Good News:

IN this we can have confidence in the face of fear and doubt and temptation and accusation.

Wouldn’t it be an all-satisfying experience if two things were true?

1) If you had a treasure of infinite value—I mean infinite with nothing lacking that is truly valuable; and

2) if you had the guarantee that you could go on enjoying its infinite resources forever and ever with no end and no diminishment?

In other words, Christ infinite value (dignity)  combined with Christ infinite duration(Eternity)  is what brings us complete satisfaction.

3. Christ is all sufficient and became the source of eternal salvation because of his… PURITY!

Purity means unsoiled, not dirty.

It means that when Jesus suffered and was tempted, he did not give into the impurities of anger or bitterness or cursing or self-pity and unbelief.   He prayed for help and God helped him stay pure.

Christ became the source of eternal salvation, not only because of his dignity and eternity, but also because of his purity. And not just the purity that he brought to his ministry as the Son of God, but purity that he had to forge in the furnace of suffering.

If you ask, Did Jesus divine dignity and his priestly eternity give him automatic purity?

the answer is No. It was not automatic.  He proved his purity every day he overcame temptation and trials to remain faithful to God without sin.  Jesus lacked nothing but learned or proved his purity over time and testing.  This is what it means in

Hebrews 9:8

8 By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first section is still standing

(ESV)

  “Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered.”

This does not mean he moved from being disobedient to being obedient. If that were true he wouldn’t be God!

It means he moved from being untested to being tested and proven.

He moved from a state of obeying without any suffering to obeying through unspeakable suffering.

It means that the gold of his natural purity was put in the furnace and melted down with white-hot pain, so that he could learn from experience what suffering is & prove that his purity would persevere.    (**In this you and I are now able to persevere in HIM)

Did this come automatically to Jesus because he was God? No.

Hebrews 9:7

7 but into the second only the high priest goes, and he but once a year, and not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the unintentional sins of the people.

(ESV)

says that it was prayed for and begged for and cried out for and wept for with tears.

This was no fake test of Christ’s purity. Everything in the universe hung on this test.

Was it brief?

Notice the word “days” in

Hebrews 9:7

7 but into the second only the high priest goes, and he but once a year, and not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the unintentional sins of the people.

(ESV)

—”In the days of His flesh.”

Not just a night or a day, but during all the “days of his humanity” he was wrestling and praying and begging and crying out and weeping.

It was not brief. It was a lifetime of warfare against sin.

Do you see that “LIFE ON THE ROAD” is Tough?   Period.   For You and me and for JESUS!

Jesus prayed for obedience—for persevering purity.

So he prayed all his life against that, and he was heard by his Father and, instead of caving in to sin, he proved his obedience in what he suffered.

Jesus is our source of eternal salvation because of his dignity as the Son of God and his eternity in the priesthood of Melchizedek and his purity in the crucible of incredible suffering.

A life altering ? is:  Do You Have This Eternal Salvation?

Not everyone does.

Hebrews 9:9

9 (which is symbolic for the present age).¹ According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper,

Footnotes

[1] 9:9 Or which is symbolic for the age then present

(ESV)

tells us who does: ..he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him,

Is Jesus Christ your LORD.. The one you serve?   The one your live for?  Do you obey Him?

If not he can be!!!

His Dignity, Eternity and Purity cleared the path through Death so you could have life. 

ETERNAL SALVATION with GOD.

Now

Hebrews 9:11-14

Redemption Through the Blood of Christ

11 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come,¹ then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) 12 he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify² for the purification of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our³ conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

Footnotes

[1] 9:11 Some manuscripts good things to come

[2] 9:13 Or For if the sprinkling of defiled persons with the blood of goats and bulls and with the ashes of a heifer sanctifies

[3] 9:14 Some manuscripts your

(ESV)

closes this chapter with a strong warning and charge.

11 About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. 12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food,

-The Author of Hebrews is calling out the peoples prioritization of growing faith and life in Christ.

Saying it has become so casual it has left them immature..   They still need Milk even as an adult.

If my almost 7 year old Natalie where still only drinking milk for her nutrients it would be a major concern for Jennifer and I, right?

The writer of Hebrews hasn’t come right out and said it until now. But he has implied it along the way. There is something wrong with the Christians he is writing to.

• In 2:1 he said, Pay close attention to the message you’ve heard lest you drift away.
• In 3:1 he said, Consider Jesus.
• In 3:8 he said, Don’t harden your hearts like Israel did in the wilderness.
• In 3:12 he said, Take care, lest you have an evil heart of unbelief.
• In 4:1 he said, Fear, lest you fail to enter God’s rest.
• In 4:11 he said, Be diligent to enter God’s rest lest you fall by disobedience.

In 4:14 he said, Hold fast to your confession.

And he takes a breath—you can almost hear him sigh—and says,

In Hebrews 5:11 About this (who Jesus is)  we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.

Did you hear it.. he gives a specific diagnosis.

Here’s the disease he is working on in this letter: dullness of hearing.

This is what’s behind all those exhortations: Pay close attention!   Consider!   Don’t harden your heart!

Be diligent!    Hold fast!   These are all doctors’ prescriptions for the disease of dullness of hearing.

The most urgent question this morning is:  Do you have this disease, and if so, how can you get well?

Take first the word “dull”—or slow or sluggish. It’s used one other time in the New Testament, namely, in Hebrews 6:12.   Let’s read 6:11–12 and you’ll see what the opposite of dullness is,

We desire that each one of you show the same diligence(opposite of Dullness) so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end, that you may not be sluggish [there’s the word for “dull” in our text], but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

So dull hearing doesn’t mean there is anything wrong with your physical ears.

It means there is something wrong with your heart.

The heart is not diligent to embrace the promises and turn them into faith and patience.

Instead, the Word comes into the ears and goes down to the heart and hits something hard or tough.

That’s dullness of hearing. The promises come to the ear, but there is no passion for them,    no lover’s embrace,   no cherishing or treasuring;    and so no faith and no perseverance.

“Hearing”  The other word we can track down is the word “hearing.”

It’s used one other time in Hebrews 4:2.

For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard [literally: “the word of hearing”—same word as in 5:11, “dull of hearing“]—the word of hearing—did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard.

This is “dullness of hearing.”

The word goes in the ears, and comes to the heart, and meets dullness and slowness and hardness.

The opposite of “dullness of hearing”    is    “hearing with faith which produces obedience.”

“Dullness of hearing” is hearing without faith.

This is like:  Hearing the Bible or the preaching of the Bible the way you hear the freeway noise, or the way you hear Music in the dentist’s office waiting room.

You hear it but you don’t.   You have grown dull to the sound.  It does not awaken or produce anything.

Hebrews 5:11 says that there is so much more that the writer wants to give his readers:

“Concerning him we have much to say . . . but you have become dull of hearing.”

àIf they had more grace to hear, they would receive more that the writer has to give. But they are becoming hard and dull, and in danger of throwing away the little they have.

So, What Is the Remedy?

Why are some Christians stuck at the baby stage of development with the disease of “dullness of hearing” and what is the cure? 

Why are some of you feeling broke down on the side of the road of Life with little to no hope or perseverance to press on even in tough times?

To Become Mature with Milk

The key verse to describe the remedy is

Hebrews 9:14

14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our¹ conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

Footnotes

[1] 9:14 Some manuscripts your

(ESV)

:

Hebrews 5:14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

Now ask yourself this question: If solid food is only palatable—digestible—for the mature, with what food do you become mature so that you can then eat the solid food?

The answer is: milk. You become mature with milk.

The problem with these Christians & many of us today is not that milk is weak or that babes can’t eat steak.  The problem is that babes are not exercising with the milk they have.

You see the key word there in

Hebrews 9:14

14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our¹ conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

Footnotes

[1] 9:14 Some manuscripts your

(ESV)

: you become mature by “practice” or exercise or habitual responses to the milk.

The problem is that the milk of the Word is not producing muscle of faith.

The Good News is still seen as an entrance to salvation only.

Instead of the Good News being the daily feast and power of your day and the foundation of your growth.

What this means is that if you want to grow up and feast on the fullness of God’s revelation,

you don’t do it by jumping from milk to meat.

The key is the way you drink the milk—what you do with the milk of the Word.

So let me close with three steps in how to grow with milk to maturity.

• First you drink in the milk.

That is, you listen to the milk of the Word—the message of God’s promises in the gospel. You read them yourself in the Bible and you sit under solid preaching and teaching of God’s Word.

You are diligent to apply your heart and mind to what is being said.

You Spend time with people who get the Gospel and see the Gospel reveal itself in their lives.

You hunger to talk about Jesus and study his word—babes long for milk, and are incredibly focused when they are thirsty.  Is this you?  Hungry for the word and for Christian Gospel centered conversation?

• 2) Savor and swallow and digest the milk and be satisfied.

This is crucial. If this doesn’t happen, the next stage of discernment will not happen.

This is the miraculous spiritual event of loving what once you hated.

You love the taste of the milk: “Taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8).

And when the promises of God and the God of the promises are tasted, the milk satisfies.

And when it satisfies, it transforms your values and priorities,   which leads to Step 3

• 3) With a heart satisfied with God now, discern good and evil.

There are hundreds of decisions that you must make day in and day out which are not spelled out explicitly in the Bible. What to watch on TV, political positions to take, investment strategies, vocational focus, insurance, retirement, where to live, what to drive, how to discipline your children, what to wear, where to volunteer, how much to give, etc.

Your transformed heart and life begins now to have discernment for all those every day decisions. God at work in and through you.  Maturing you.  The Fruit of the spirit coming out of you.

So, This is the remedy for “dullness of hearing.”

Drink with delight    until the desires of your heart     are so transformed as to become

 the discernment of good and evil.

Then you will be mature and ready for meat.

A final thought:  I am so thankful for God’s word.  To write these studies to help equip our soldiers around the world.  I pray God is very present and not distant in your life.  I pray you are growing and maturing.

Share with others the Dignity, Eternity and Purity of our High Priest, Jesus Christ.  Share with them how he is the only one who can bring us Eternal Salvation!

Do not grow dull in hearing!  Listen!  Feast on God’s word.  Grow in the Gospel and mature to meat as God sanctifies you.  But never move beyond the gospel!   It is the power and the center of all we do.

Praying for you Soldier!

For His glory and by His grace,

-Shepherd

Soldiers for Jesus MC

National Chaplain

Hebrews 8

Jesus, High Priest of a Better Covenant

8:1 Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, 2 a minister in the holy places, in the true tent¹ that the Lord set up, not man. 3 For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; thus it is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer. 4 Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are priests who offer gifts according to the law. 5 They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, “See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.” 6 But as it is, Christ² has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. 7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second.

8 For he finds fault with them when he says:³

  “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord,
    when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel
    and with the house of Judah,
9   not like the covenant that I made with their fathers
    on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt.
  For they did not continue in my covenant,
    and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord.
10   For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel
    after those days, declares the Lord:
  I will put my laws into their minds,
    and write them on their hearts,
  and I will be their God,
    and they shall be my people.
11   And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor
    and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’
  for they shall all know me,
    from the least of them to the greatest.
12   For I will be merciful toward their iniquities,
    and I will remember their sins no more.”

13 In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

Footnotes

[1] 8:2 Or tabernacle; also verse 5

[2] 8:6 Greek he

[3] 8:8 Some manuscripts For finding fault with it he says to them

(ESV)