Hebrews by Scott Risley (2015)

An introduction to an overview of Hebrews as well as discusses the supremacy of Christ and His superiority over the OT prophets, high priests, sacrifices and angels. God has spoken in many times and ways but now He has spoken FINALLY through His Son. Will you ignore His final revelation or will you pay careful attention to what He has said so you don't drift away?

The Son of God had to become a son of man, fully human in every way for four reasons: 1. to reclaim our lost dominion, 2. to bring us into God's family, 3. to disarm death, and 4. to become our High Priest. We are helpless and He made Himself nothing so He could offer us everything.

Written to Christians from a Jewish background who were drifting back to their old ways, the Old Testament is quoted to persuade that Jesus is superior to Moses. Just as their ancestors said ?no? to Moses and hardened their hearts, so we can say ?no? to God to our danger. If we hear His voice TODAY, it's time to start saying ?yes?!

The focus is on entering God's rest. Topics include an explanation of how we know this promise of rest extends to us today, what rest is, and how we can enter it. Whether pursuing salvation or spiritual growth, we can never add anything to Christ's finished work. God invites us to enter into His rest TODAY.

Hebrews was written to Christians from a Jewish background who were once sold out for Christ but then reverted back to having priests as intermediaries. The author introduces a six-chapter argument on the superiority of the priesthood of Christ after the order of Melchizedek. This section covers a complicated and controversial passage about eternal security, pseudo-Christians, and lost blessings. God desires that all press on to maturity with a continual diet of learning and action.

For years priests were in place as mediators between humans and God?to point out our need for reconciliation with God. Then God brought in a greater high priest?Jesus?who became the perfect and eternal mediator between God and us. Because of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross to pay for our sin, He was made the ultimate high priest. From that point forward, human priests and the law became obsolete. We can only be made right with God when we accept forgiveness from Jesus, the ultimate high priest.

We learn about four covenants God made with His people: Abrahamic, Davidic, Mosaic (the Old Covenant), and lastly, the New Covenant. The Old Covenant was only a shadow of the covenant to come?the New Covenant. Under the Old Covenant, we were bound to the law. But when God established the New Covenant, He also initiated a new way of relating to His people?through a relationship. Unfortunately, many people today still place themselves under the Old Covenant; they are stuck in ritualism, even though the New Covenant makes the Old Covenant obsolete. The New Covenant established a new way to be reconciled with God through grace.

We learn the significance of the three items contained in the box in the Ark of the Covenant (within the Tabernacle); the items are reminders of our sin. Under the old system of worship in the Tabernacle, animal blood ?cleansed? people from ceremonial impurity. But now, the blood of Christ has acted as a perfect sacrifice in place of the blood of animals. His sacrifice has secured our redemption forever and given us a greater Tabernacle, not made with human hands and not part of this world.\r\n

In the old sacrificial system, animal blood was required to pay for people's sin. Now God offers us a way out of the sacrificial system. Jesus died once as a perfect sacrifice to pay for our sin for all time. Sacrifices are no longer needed because His blood--the final sacrifice--covers all of what we owe God. There is no room for self-analysis when we have been covered by Jesus' blood. \r\n\r\n

The Jews were accustomed to a priest entering into the Holy of Holies once a year to offer a sacrifice to God on behalf of their sin. Now that Christ died, paying the ultimate sacrifice, there is no need for us to be separated from God. When Christ died, the veil that sectioned off the Holy of Holies from the rest of the temple was torn in two. Once we accept Jesus' forgiveness for our sins (a one-time decision), we can confidently enter into God's presence, knowing that Christ has fully atoned for our sin.

We have two versions of reality in front of us: 1) what we feel is true and 2) what God says is true. Biblical faith is the rational confidence based on evidence, that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see. Because God gives us evidence of His existence, we can be assured of His presence, and therefore, exercise faith in the claims of the Bible. When we grow in faith, we also grow in our relationship with God. Includes video clips from "The Secret" and on the cosmological argument from William Lane Craig's website.\r\n

God calls Abraham a man of faith. We learn four lessons about faith from Abraham's life and his faith in God: 1) faith leaves home; 2) faith lives as a stranger; 3) faith waits for the promise; and 4) faith holds nothing back from God. We are to ask ourselves what we will do with the blessings God has given us. Are we willing to give God our life, trusting that He is sovereign and good?

Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance of things we cannot see. Moses made a lot of decisions that were seemingly irrational. He rejected Pharaoh's command, he refused Pharaoh's favor, he faced Pharaoh's fury, he kept God's Passover, and he led the people to trust God. Moses made those decisions because his trust was rooted in God, who is bigger than our problems. We too can move forward in faith when our eyes are fixed on God rather than ourselves.

The Old Testament men and women of faith were able to run the race set before them because their confidence in better things to come. Running the race means living a life of faith centered on God. When running the race we need to realize: this is a marathon?not a sprint; we are running alongside others with the same purpose; and each of our races are individualized. We are to: throw off every hindrance that slows us down; we are not to focus on our sin, circumstances, trials, etc.; and we are not to compare ourselves with those around us.

We can learn two lessons from the Old Testament story of Jacob and Esau. Lesson one: no amount of temporary pain is worth trading away God's Will for our lives. Esau's decision led him to miss the opportunity to play a key role in God's plan. Lesson two: some choices produce irreversible consequences; Esau's choice did. When we face trials in our lives, we are called to make a decision. Will we give in to temporary pleasures that are distancing us from God, and consequently, miss out on God's plan? Or will we draw near to God in the midst of our pain, and choose to trust that our decisions for God in this life will reap eternal rewards?

We learn about God's design for sex and marriage, and why His design is superior to the world's views of sex and marriage. According to our culture, sex is a chemical reaction that gives humans the urge to mate?simply a bodily function that means nothing. Under this perspective, sex is a means for expressing ourselves and is an unpredictable feeling; there is no basis for morality. And thinking this way has only served to create emptiness, loneliness, disease, lower sexual satisfaction, the inability to form healthy families, and damaged children. God places great value and honor on sex; He says marriage is the only safe place for something as powerful as sex. In the marriage context, sex enhances unity, which, in turn, allows for pleasure, procreation (provides a safe place for children to be born and raised), and the ability to resist the temptation of infidelity.

Many people believe contentment results from accumulating material wealth. We learn that contentment derives from love and that discontentment results from a focus on money. We contrast traits and results of contentment and discontentment. Those who are content are thankful and appreciative, have no expectations, experience real security from God, take their identity from God, resist cultural values and are free to enjoy God and relationships. Discontent people are unappreciative of what they have and are anxious. They carry arbitrary expectations, resulting in continual disappointment. They also experience false and fleeting contentment, compare themselves with others and are indoctrinated by cultural values.

We study God's view of leadership and "followership.? Wanting to be a leader is an honorable ambition. So if we want to lead for the Lord we are to be sacrificing for our people. Leaders are ultimately accountable to one being?God. Because leaders are accountable to God, God also calls on us to be good followers of spiritual leaders; we should not make it hard for them to lead.