Hebrews 8

God's grace and peace to you,

Here we are in the center of Hebrews (chapter 8) with a succinct but powerful outline of the new covenant.  The outline for Hebrews 8 is based on the 'D' of 'Son is Mediator':

• Dominant Mediator (1-6)
• Declared New Covenant (7-13)
  

The memory verses from each section are

• Dominant Mediator
  Hebrews 8:6
  
  
  
  
  ⁶But as it is, Christ 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.
  
  
• Declared New Covenant
  Hebrews 8:8
  
  
  
  
  ⁸For he finds fault with them when he says: “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,
   

(editor's note:  I needed to remind myself this morning that this project is a work in progress.  I have trimmed down the memory passages over the last few studies, but I'm wondering if there is a place for the 'other' verses that augment the main theme?  I could select one verse from each section as the memory verse, but then use the other verses as additional meditation material during that week.  These verses might not be reviewed in the same way as the assigned memory verse, but would provide an additional 'hook' for the chapter.  Of course, this makes me want to go back and look at all of the other studies and do the same for them.  We'll see.)

 In the first section (Dominant Mediator; 1-6), the writer continues the theme of Jesus as High Priest with a slightly different angle.  He is the High Priest who is seated at the right hand of God, but He doesn't serve in the way the priests of the Law served.  They served in an earthly tent by offering gifts and sacrifices according to the Law (a mere copy and shadow of Christ's ministry in the heavens).  But Jesus' ministry is more excellent than the old because the covenant is better and the promises are better.

It is a better covenant because it is founded on better promises. The covenant of law promised blessing for obedience but threatened death for disobedience. It required righteousness but did not give the ability to produce it.

The New Covenant is an unconditional covenant of grace. It imputes righteousness where there is none. It teaches men to live righteously, empowers them to do so, and rewards them when they do. ^[1]

---

^[1]MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. (1997, c1995). Believer's Bible Commentary : Old and New Testaments (Heb 8:6). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

The second section of Hebrews 8 (Declared new covenant; 7-12) details this superior covenant of which Christ is the Mediator.  The writer makes a stinging argument in verse 7 that if the first covenant worked to accomplish holiness (which, while the Law was holy, one could not become truly holy by following it) then why did the prophets point to a second covenant?  The writer uses Jeremiah for reference (from Jer 31:31-34).  Through Jeremiah the Lord promises a new covenant distinct from the one He gave Israel through Moses.  The truth is that Israel did not continue in the covenant, but turned away from God.  This new covenant contains 3 main themes:

1. We will know God's laws in our hearts and minds (v10)
2. We will know God personally and intimately (v11)
3. We will know God has forgiven our sins (v12)
   

With the inauguration of this new covenant by the blood of Christ (1 Cor 11:25), the old covenant has become obsolete.  Christ, being the perfect sacrifice, once for all, for our sins, has fulfilled the law and instituted a covenant based on the promised grace of God.  This grace is a gift and cannot be earned (Eph 2:8-9).

How does this affect my worship?
I am thankful that God made a second covenant.  Without it, where would I be?  Who would I be?  I am thankful that Jesus is the Mediator of this promise.  Without Him, where would I be?  Who would I be?  I'm thankful that I can know God, know His law, and know that He has forgiven me.
Who would I be if You didn't love me?  Who would I be without You?  I don't even really want to know.  I just thank You, with my life, that You are my God, and I am Your child. 

How does this affect my discipleship?
This whole chapter just reminds me of God's sovereignty.  I don't understand how or why things happened the way they did.  But somehow it all works together.  My faith has been strengthened today.  I'm also encouraged that this type of study and interaction with God's Word has taken many years to reach.  It reminds me to have patience with those I disciple.

May you walk in the promised assurance of the new covenant today,

Ethan

Hebrews 7

Grace and peace in the Lord,

Well, we've made it half way through Hebrews and it has been every bit as challenging and enriching as promised.  Hebrews 7 is the longest chapter in the letter so far. It contains more detailed exposition of the differences between the priesthood established by the Law following the line of Aaron and the priesthood established by God's promise following the line of Melchizedek.

The outline theme (remember, I changed the acronym from 'SON IS SUPERIOR' to 'SON IS MEDIATOR') is based on the 'E' of Mediator:

• Example of Melchizedek (1-10)
  
• Excellence of Jesus (11-28)
  

The Memory passages from each section are

• Example of Melchizedek
  Hebrews 7:1
  
  
  
  ¹For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him,
  
  
• Excellence of Jesus
  Hebrews 7:22,25
  
  
  
  ²²This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant.
  ²⁵Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.
  
  

In discussing the Example of Melchizedek in verses 1-10, the writer tackles two main issues; who is Melchizedek (1-3) and why is he important (4-10).  But even though the writer spends a few verses describing Melchizedek, his identity has still been much debated.  We know that his name means 'king of righteousness, that he was a king of Salem (or Jerusalem; means 'king of peace') and that he was a priest appointed by God.  We know that he went out to meet Abraham in order to bless him, and Abraham tithed the bounty they received to Melchizedek.

But verse 3 casts some mystery over his nature.  What did the writer intend by describing Melchizedek as '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'?  On first read one might be tempted to think that Melchizedek was something besides a human being; perhaps an angel or even Christ in a preincarnate state. 

Many intelligent, godly people have scrutinized this passage and have come to varying conclusions.  Here is my humble attempt (grated, highly informed by all of those intelligent, godly people).  Since the writer has already established that Jesus is a fully qualified high priest after the order of Melchizedek (5:6, 10, 6:20), we can naturally view Melchizedek and his king/priesthood as a 'type', or example of the ultimate king/priesthood of Christ.  Because we don't have a record of Melchizedek's birth, death or end of reign, he in many ways does resemble Christ who is eternal (though he became incarnate) and who reigns forever.  Also keep in mind that the writer is contrasting the priesthood of Melchizedek against the priesthood of Aaron (of the Levitical line)....which is a perfect segue to the second part of section 1.

Verse 4 titles the 'why is Melchizedek important' theme perfectly; 'see how great this man was'.  The writer then proves this by showing that he was even greater than Abraham in that 1) it was Abraham who gave a tithe to Melchizedek (an action of a lesser to a greater) and 2) that Melchizedek blessed Abraham (an action of a greater to a lesser).  3) Tithes under the Mosaic Law were received by mortal men, but this tithe was received by 'on who...lives'; whose priesthood has no end.   And 4) even Levi, the father of the priestly line under the law 'gave tithes' to Melchizedek because Levi was still 'in the loins' of Abraham at this time (Abraham being Levi's great-grandfather).

To summarize vv1-10, Melchizedek's priesthood is an example of Christ's and is superior to Aaron's. 

The second thematic section begins in verse 11 and is titles Excellence of Christ.  After proving that Melchizedek's priesthood is superior to Aaron's, the writer now illustrates that Christ's priesthood is greatest of all.

The writer reminds us that perfection was not attainable through the Law that was attended to by the Levite priests in the line of Aaron.  If it was attainable, why was there a need for another priest from another line?  Jesus was descended from Judah, not Levi, and became high priest not by 'bodily descent' but by the direct appointing of God by 'the power of an indestructible life'.  The writer quotes again Ps 110:4 with a specific emphasis; 'You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek' (17). 


(by the way, I'm getting really good at typing Melchizedek, but I had to add it to my dictionary because I was tired of seeing the squiggly red line under it)

Then the writer pulls the old 'I've got some bad news and some good news' line in vv18-19.  'The bad news is that the Law is useless and weak and can make nothing perfect.  But the good news is that we now have a better hope in which we can actually draw near to God!'

Some more good news is that this hope is based on an oath from God (who fulfills His promises); Christ is a Priest forever and the Guarantor of this better covenant.  The priests of the Law could not continue their duties forever because they died, but Christ's priesthood is permanent because He lives forever.  Verse 25 then speaks for itself:

²⁵Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

Then verses 26-28 review the qualifications of Christ's priesthood.  He is holy, innocent, unstained by sin, separate from sinners, exalted above the heavens, and does not need to offer sacrifices for His own sin (because He had none).  He, Christ the Lamb of God, offered Himself as the once for all sacrifice for the atonement of the sins of all who believe in Him, and by the promise of God He will remain our High Priest forever.

How does this impact my worship?
How is it that I can forget the privilege I have to draw near to God?  I can draw near to God.  He wants me to.  I can.  And it is all because Christ has 'saved me to the uttermost'.  But how do I balance familiarity and closeness against flippancy and irreverence?  If I walk humbly with God (Micah 6:8, 1 Pet 5:6) with the attitude of a beloved son....I think that honors him.  It's amazing that I even have to remind myself to walk humbly with Him.  But it just goes to show the state of my 'human-ness';  if unchecked, there is no limit to my pride and arrogance.

How does this impact my discipleship?
This chapter was a tremendous lesson in logical progression.  The writer lays out the objective and then hammers away with argument after argument.  I really enjoy reading the flow of thought in Hebrews.  It reminds me that thoroughness and summary are helpful tools when dealing with difficult issues.

Lord, Jesus, my High Priest, Advocate, and Intercessor, please help me discern my own heart's approach to You.  Please don't let me stray so far to reverence that I forget you are my brother and friend, but also not so far to familiarity that I forget you are God.  Thank You for leading me.  I choose today to deny myself, take up my cross, and follow You.  

epj

Hebrews 6

Greetings in Christ!

Don't let anyone tell you differently; Hebrews 6 is a challenging chapter. The writer is both brutally honest in his exhortation and tenderly nurturing in his encouragement.

On an administrative note, I am finding the benefit of having an outline theme that is made up of more than one word. At first I tried hard to find a 13 letter word that somehow fit the theme of Hebrews (one letter for each chapter). Then I finally settled on 'SON IS SUPERIOR' as my theme because the letters added up to 13 and I could better capture the theme. And while I did a 'pre-study' over the entire book of Hebrews (for a brief description of the pre-study, find the entry for "2 John" in May of 2008 in the archive) I did not go through and determine outline titles for each chapter to see if SON IS SUPERIOR would work. So, now that I am on Hebrews 6 (what would be the 's' of superior) I feel led to change the last word. (I checked with the powers-that-be and determined that this is ok to do :) What I realized I should have done is work harder to find a combination of words whose letters add up to 13 but without duplicating any letters. With the existing outline I would have had 3 's', 2 'o', and 2 'r'. I just happened upon a book that attributed the main theme of Hebrews to be Christ as the Mediator. So here we are. I'm changing (at least for now :) the outline theme from SON IS SUPERIOR to SON IS MEDIATOR. I still have 2 Ss and Os, but I learned my lesson.

So, the 'M' of Mediator is up for Hebrews 6. The outline themes for the two main sections are:

1. Maturity and apostasy (1)
2. Made a promise to Abraham (13)
   

The memory passages are (and look how short they are!)

1. Maturity and apostasy
   Hebrews 6:1
   
   
   ¹Therefore 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. Made a promise to Abraham
   Hebrews 6:13
   
   
   ¹³For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself,
   
   

First of all, let me say that I think I wrote more on my study sheet for Hebrews 6 this week than I have for any other study. My 'study sheet' is the document I use to make initial study notes about the chapter. I paste the text into the Word doc and then mark it up from there. I have found the 'find' function (cntrl F) and the highlighting feature of Word to be tremendously helpful. If I notice a word that keeps showing up, I 'cntrl F' and type in that word. It finds all of the occurrences of that word in the document, and then I simply chose which color to highlight it. It makes for a very multi-chromatic Bible study.

The first section, Maturity and apostasy, covers verses 1 through 12 and deals with two main topics; the maturity level of the readers and a warning about apostasy. The writer challenges the readers to move on from the basic teaching and understanding of their walk with God. For some reason it seems that these believers were falling back into the 'dead works' of their previous life in Judaism. And while the resurrection from the dead and the end times are important doctrines, perhaps some placed an unnecessarily high or errant focus on them.

Then comes one of the most difficult passages I have ever had to wrestle with; Hebrews 6:4-6. I will spare you the meandering process I went through in my notes and give my summary. I believe that true faith endures. I also believe (and have seen) that believers can 'back-slide'; an interesting word, though not my favorite, used to describe the sinful decisions and patterns of a born-again Christ-follower. But this passage doesn't seem to focus on the ever-present sinful acts of committed Christ-followers (for no human can become sinless, even if they sin less). There is a more serious issue in mind. For those who participate in the life of the church and have the experience and knowledge of Christ but then fall away, there are grave consequences. This 'falling away' is not the 'losing of eternal life'. One of God's children cannot simply lose the fulfillment of God's promise to them. This view can paralyze people in fear and paranoia; 'if I mess up, I might not get into heaven'. This falling away seems to be a defection from the faith and a rejection of the Gospel. For those who have been enlightened by the Gospel, who have tasted the heavenly gift, shared in the experience of the Holy Spirit, and tasted the goodness and power of God but reject Him, the writer makes it clear that it is impossible to restore them. They become as the ones who rejected and crucified Christ in their own contempt.

The other side of this is that our Father earnestly desires all to 'reach repentance' (2 Pet 3:9) and there is no way for me to know who is beyond restoration. So, not knowing (in certainty) who has been born-again and who has not, we still must obey the Lord and attempt to bring them to repentance and restoration (Matt 18:15-20, Gal 6:1, James 5:19-20).

The writer follows this up with a metaphor and then encouragement. Seemingly having John 15 and Luke 8 in mind, the writer draws an agricultural connection; 'look at the fruit'! And then, as if to head off any unnecessary paranoia amongst the readers, the writer assures them that he sees in them the 'better things of salvation' (9).

This little passage (10-12) offers what could be another little sub-theme in Heb 6. In fact, I wonder if I need to reconfigure the outline to include the idea of true hope. In essence, it seems the writer is saying 'be careful what you think about God! He is not looking for any reason to throw you out! He has given you a promise, and on that promise you can place the fullness of your hope.' This theme serves as a perfect segue into the second section.

If at all possible, I try to include the exact wording of a verse in the thematic outline (which makes the memorizing easier). So, needing an 'm' for the title, I call this section 'Made a promise to Abraham'. The writer recounts God's covenant to Abraham and assures us of its validity. Since God could not swear on anyone higher than Himself (as was the custom when making a covenant between individuals), He swore by Himself. This promise is one-sided and not made between equal parties. God 'desired to show more convincingly...the unchangeable character of His purpose', and so made the covenant by Himself. Since, according to His own character, it is impossible for Him to lie and He is unchanging, we can have 'strong encouragement' and hold tightly to His promise; we have true hope!

This hope is as sure as an anchor that is set securely in the presence of God (beyond the curtain). Jesus is then pictured as a forerunner on our behalf. In ancient times, the forerunner was a boat that carried the anchor of a larger ship into the harbor and dropped it. If the sea was too dangerous for the ship to enter the harbor, placing its anchor inside the safe harbor provided hope and assurance of staying put. Jesus, as our perfectly qualified High Priest, is able to mediate the promise of God by anchoring our eternity with Him in heaven.


How does this affect my worship?
I praise the Lord that while there is still mystery about some of His Word and working, we can put our absolute hope and trust in Him because of His unchanging and just character. Praise God that I can know that I have eternal life. Praise Him that I am anchored within His presence. Praise Jesus that He continues to intercede for me in the presence of the Father. And thank You for restoring my soul and guiding me to walk with others You are restoring.

How does this affect my discipleship?
The walk of the Christ-follower is long and layered. In following the guildlines in Gal 6:1, we have a command to watch out for each other and to help restore each other after being found in transgression. The difference between someone caught in transgression and someone wrought with apostasy may not be immediately obvious. So, we must continue in our walk with God and His training of our 'powers of discernment'. If we are submitted to His process in our own lives, and if we are committed to His command to disciple other lives, He will shine through us with great mercy and grace as we live and work within the body of Christ.

May you walk in steadfast hope with the Father,

Ethan