Author: SFJ Bible

Hebrews 7

The Priestly Order of Melchizedek

7:1 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, 2 and to him Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything. He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace. 3 He is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever.

4 See how great this man was to whom Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of the spoils! 5 And those descendants of Levi who receive the priestly office have a commandment in the law to take tithes from the people, that is, from their brothers,¹ though these also are descended from Abraham. 6 But this man who does not have his descent from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. 7 It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior. 8 In the one case tithes are received by mortal men, but in the other case, by one of whom it is testified that he lives. 9 One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, 10 for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him.

Jesus Compared to Melchizedek

11 Now if perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need would there have been for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek, rather than one named after the order of Aaron? 12 For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well. 13 For the one of whom these things are spoken belonged to another tribe, from which no one has ever served at the altar. 14 For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, and in connection with that tribe Moses said nothing about priests.

15 This becomes even more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, 16 who has become a priest, not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life. 17 For it is witnessed of him,

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

18 For on the one hand, a former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness 19 (for the law made nothing perfect); but on the other hand, a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God.

20 And it was not without an oath. For those who formerly became priests were made such without an oath, 21 but this one was made a priest with an oath by the one who said to him:

  “The Lord has sworn
    and will not change his mind,
  ‘You are a priest forever.’”

22 This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant.

23 The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, 24 but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. 25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost² those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

26 For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. 27 He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself. 28 For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever.

Footnotes

[1] 7:5 Or brothers and sisters

[2] 7:25 That is, completely; or at all times

(ESV)

Hebrews 6

6:1 Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, 2 and of instruction about washings,¹ the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And this we will do if God permits. 4 For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. 7 For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. 8 But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.

9 Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation. 10 For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do. 11 And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, 12 so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

The Certainty of God’s Promise

13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, 14 saying, “Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” 15 And thus Abraham,² having patiently waited, obtained the promise. 16 For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. 17 So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, 18 so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. 19 We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, 20 where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

Footnotes

[1] 6:2 Or baptisms (that is, cleansing rites)

[2] 6:15 Greek he

(ESV)

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)

Hebrews 4

4:1 Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. 2 For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened.¹ 3 For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said,

  “As I swore in my wrath,
  ‘They shall not enter my rest,’”

although his works were finished from the foundation of the world. 4 For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.” 5 And again in this passage he said,

  “They shall not enter my rest.”

6 Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, 7 again he appoints a certain day, “Today,” saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted,

  “Today, if you hear his voice,
  do not harden your hearts.”

8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God² would not have spoken of another day later on. 9 So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, 10 for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.

11 Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. 12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

Jesus the Great High Priest

14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Footnotes

[1] 4:2 Some manuscripts it did not meet with faith in the hearers

[2] 4:8 Greek he

(ESV)

Going Deeper

“Consider Jesus” (4-25-15)

Grab your Bible, and let’s go deeper into Hebrews 3.

I am stoked that we are in Hebrews for the next three weeks.

It is packed with so much good insight and counsel for our souls.  May we grow in Christ and fall more in love with Him.

Hebrews 3:1: Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus…

This whole book of Hebrews is written to help us “consider” Jesus.

There is more to consider about Jesus than you could ever exhaust in this life.

Consider Jesus! Ponder Him. Fix your eyes on Him.

This is the focus of one of my all-time favorite scriptures in Hebrews 12:1-2: Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to (fixing our eyes on) Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith…

If your mind is like a compass moving through a world of magnets, making it spin this way and that, make Jesus the North Pole of your mental life and your heart’s affections so that your mind and heart come back to Him again and again throughout the day.

This very priority of fixing ourselves to Jesus is one of the reasons we study God’s word every day and why I prepare this weekly study. So that we can CONTINUE to consider Jesus. We do this to reorient our minds and our hearts’ affections to Him as we study His living word. In this we see every story whispering His name. Pointing us to Him. To consider Him. To fix our eyes on Him.

Hebrews 3:1-2: Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, 2 who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God’s house.

1. a) Apostle = one who is sent

So Jesus is the One sent from God the Father to earth with a heavenly calling.

1. b) High Priest = the one who goes between us and God to offer sacrifice for reconciliation

Jump back to chapter two for a moment:

Hebrews 2:17: Therefore he (Jesus) had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.

That great phrase “make propitiation” means Jesus took God’s perfect wrath upon himself, taking it off of us, so we can be pardoned and saved.

Hebrews 4:2

2 For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened.¹

Footnotes

[1] 4:2 Some manuscripts it did not meet with faith in the hearers

(ESV)

says, “who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God’s house.”

            Moses was faithful in the household of God. The writer is quoting here from Numbers 12:6–8.

Now let this sink in…“Consider” this!

Jesus is our FAITHFUL Apostle and High Priest.

He is the one who brought you a heavenly calling from God and made you a way to God.

On Him hangs all your hope of life here and for eternity.

If you have any confidence this morning that your sins are forgiven and that you will persevere in faith through your struggles to attain your heavenly calling, this confidence depends on Jesus.

Hebrews 3:3-6: For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses—as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. 4 (For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.)

5 Now Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later,

6 but Christ is faithful over God’s house as a son. And we are his house if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.

Jesus is our Maker, our Owner, our Ruler, and our Provider.

He’s the Son; we are the servants. We are the household of God.

Moses is one with us in this household, and he is our fellow servant through his prophetic ministry.

God has ordained us as men to lead our households well and to be champions of the faith to our wives and kids.

Just like Moses led his household well, we need to remember we are not the owner of our household.  God is!

He has entrusted us with all of it, to manage it and lead it well, for His glory.

How do we do this?  We “CONSIDER”…  We “FIX OUR EYES on JESUS,” who is the OWNER, the AUTHOR, the PERFECTER of our LIFE and Faith.

He is the one for whom it all exist.

Just as Jesus is superior in every way to Moses!

He is superior to us Men, too. This is something we need to be reoriented to often.

Because one of our great sins of the flesh is to try to be on top of our worlds.

We wants to be always right, always having the answer, always charging ahead…

BUT, what if our families, our marriages, our work associates began to see a different leadership out of us? A humility, a grace that loves being led by one who has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses.

Men- we need this reminder! We need each other in our lives to remind us of this often, lest we drift from it as Hebrews 2:1 warns us.

Back to Hebrews 3:

Hebrews 4:6

6 Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience,

(ESV)

concludes by saying we are His house; we are His people, we are partakers of a heavenly calling, “If indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.”

Now notice:

à The evidence that we are part of the household of God is that we don’t throw away our hope! We don’t drift into indifference and unbelief.

Becoming a Christian and being a Christian happens in the same way: by hoping in Jesus. This is a kind of hoping that produces confidence and boasting in Jesus…not in you or your stuff.

Make it personal:

What are you hoping in today? Where are you looking for confidence?

In yourself? In your job? In hard work? In luck? In love? 

“Consider Jesus” and hope in Him. Then you will be part of His house, and He will be your Maker, your Owner, your Ruler, and your Provider.

NOW:  Because He is our Apostle and High Priest…

Because He is the owner of the house, and we are the house…

Because our hope and our confidence is in Jesus….

Hebrews 4:7

7 again he appoints a certain day, “Today,” saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted,

  “Today, if you hear his voice,
  do not harden your hearts.”

(ESV)

says therefore:

Hebrews 3:7-11: Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, “Today, if you hear his voice,
8 do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness,
9 where your fathers put me to the test and saw my works for forty years.
10 Therefore I was provoked with that generation, and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart; they have not known my ways.’
11 As I swore in my wrath, they shall not enter my rest.’”

A warning comes in

Hebrews 4:7-11

7 again he appoints a certain day, “Today,” saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted,

  “Today, if you hear his voice,
  do not harden your hearts.”

8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God¹ would not have spoken of another day later on. 9 So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, 10 for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.

11 Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.

Footnotes

[1] 4:8 Greek he

(ESV)

to not harden our hearts and look to, consider, or hope in other things.

If we do this, it is evidence we were never saved and God’s perfect wrath sits on us like it did for the rebellious Israelites in the wilderness who denied God and worshipped and hoped in man-made idols.

Then a charge comes in

Hebrews 4:12

12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

(ESV)

:

Hebrews 3:12: Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.

Take care= be attentive- address it.

Do not let evil or unbelief fester, as it will prove your unbelieving heart and cause you to walk away from the living God and His people. Later in Hebrews, it speaks of those who looked like they were one of us but in the end revealed they were not.

This is why the counsel is still the same, CONSIDER JESUS!  Take care; be attentive to the Gospel truth. Because if you are saved, it keeps you centered on what matters most, and if you are not saved, it makes the most of your time with us to potentially be saved in God’s perfect time.

To fall away from God and his people, from the testimony of the Gospel and the fruit of the spirit…

is to turn your back on the only Light that will lead you to life.

Our need for community is so important.  For those of us who are saved, it keeps us fixed on Jesus to thrive in our growth and testimony.  For those who are still not saved among us, the Gospel community that surrounds you is the beacon of light God uses to awaken your dead heart.   This is where the author of Hebrews goes next:

Hebrews 3:13: But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

What:  Exhort or encourage

Who:  One another

When:  Every day

WHY:  because it is God’s design that we would be the family of God- the house of God.  Loving each other, doing life together, pressing each other into Christ always…each day.  Reorienting each other.

WHY?  Because this is how we GROW instead of WITHER, remain moldable instead of becoming hard.

Now, read Hebrews 3:14-19: For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.15 As it is said,  “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.” 16 For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses? 17 And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? 19 So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.

In this passage, we have two pictures of belief and what that belief means for perseverance.

Let’s look at the second part first:

Hebrews 4:15-19

15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

(ESV)

is talking about a group of people (the Exodus Israelites) who heard God’s voice, witnessed great signs and wonders, and yet were unconverted evidenced by their disobedience against God. They remained in unrepentant sin and as a result, God’s wrath was upon them.

Why didn’t the people get to enter the Promised Land?

You could say, “They sinned, and they rebelled, and they murmured.” Yes.

But look at how this writer ends the chapter.

Hebrews 4:19

16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

(ESV)

: So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.

Look at

Hebrews 4:10

10 for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.

(ESV)

: Therefore I was provoked with that generation, and said, “They always go astray in their heart.”

The issue of perseverance is not first an issue of behavior.

When you are in hard times, the first question should not be, “What actions does God want me to do?”

The issue in this text is one of the heart. It is a matter of believing or trusting or hoping in God.

How do we have Perseverance then? Jesus! We need to believe and rest in Christ.

Look back at

Hebrews 4:14

Jesus the Great High Priest

14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.

(ESV)

:

Hebrews 3:14: For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.

Hebrews 4:14

Jesus the Great High Priest

14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.

(ESV)

is a crucial and often complicated verse for us to understand.

What the Hebrews author is not saying here is that if you do not stay confident in Christ, you will lose your salvation.  That would mean that our being saved is then dependent on us. Which is not true! “Salvation belongs to the LORD” Psalm 3:8 & Jonah 2:9

If our salvation was up to us, we would have something to boast in ourselves, and we would have no rest as we all struggle with sin, fear, and doubt.

This verse instead is highlighting the evidence of perseverance in one who is In Christ.

The key phrase here is “original confidence.” This original confidence refers to one’s original trusting his life to Jesus; the confidence found in Christ becoming Lord and Savior of his life.

A great evidence that you “have come to share in Christ” is that you hold your “original confidence” to the end.

This doesn’t mean you won’t find yourself in a day or week or season struggling with worry, fear, doubt, and sin.

We will all battle sin along the way, but for the saved, the sin never overcomes us.

The saved always eventually repent and endure to the end.

The disobedient people of Israel are given as a great example of people who witnessed great signs and wonders and the word of God but remained disobedient.  They had unbelief in their hearts and as a result did not persevere.

We who have found faith in Christ, who have trusted Christ and leaned our life on Him, we have a confidence in Him that gives us perseverance to the end even in great struggles.  This is the foundation of our HOPE!

Even though the Israelites saw the waters of the Red Sea divide and they walked over on dry ground, the moment they got thirsty along the dry road, their hearts were hard against God, and they did not trust Him to take care of them. They cried out against Him and said life in Egypt was better.

It is a terrifying condition to find yourself in- to find yourself no longer interested in Christ and His Word, in prayer, worship, missions, and living for the glory of God. And to find all fleeting pleasures of this world more attractive than the things of the Spirit.

If that is your situation this morning, then I plead with you to listen to the Holy Spirit speaking in this text.

Consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our great confession (3:1).

Do not harden your heart (3:8).

Ask others to encourage and reorient you to Jesus as you wake up to the deceitfulness of sin (3:13).

Share in Christ and hold your original confidence firm to the end (3:14).

Hold fast to your confidence and the boast of your hope in God (3:6).

Salvation belongs to the Lord. Consider Jesus in all things!

For His glory and by His grace,

-Shepherd

Soldiers for Jesus MC

National Chaplain