• We spent 11 chapters talking about the supremacy of Jesus. Greater than…
• In Chapter 12 we were encouraged to walk in obedience to Jesus.
• Chapter 13 is stating the obvious and discussing behavior as result of what they already know and are.
• Sometimes you just have to state the obvious.
• Remember the circumstances here: This group of believers was separated from the Jews.
• They were entering a period of isolation.

FINAL EXHORTATIONS
HEBREWS 13
1 Let brotherly love continue. 2 Don’t neglect to show hospitality, for by doing this some have welcomed angels as guests without knowing it.

• As Christians, these Hebrew people no doubt had been rejected by their friends and families.
• The deepest kind of fellowship is not based on race or family relationship; it is based on the spiritual life we have in Christ.[1]
• A church fellowship based on anything other than love for Christ and for one another simply will not last.[2]
• Where there is true Christian love, there will also be hospitality.
• This was an important ministry in the early church because persecution drove many believers away from their homes.[3]
• Angels is in reference to Genesis 18 where Abraham hosted 3 angels.

3 Remember those in prison, as though you were in prison with them, and the mistreated, as though you yourselves were suffering bodily.

• The imprisoned typically needed someone to provide them with food, water, and clothing.
• Paul relied upon his congregations to care for him while he was in prison [4]
• Our greatest need in the church is for each individual to be capable of identifying with the pain of the other individuals.
• This is how we minister.

4 Marriage is to be honored by all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, because God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.

• The Greek adjective translated “pure” conveys the meaning “undefiled,” “unpolluted,” “untainted.”[5]
• State the obvious…
• This will be in contrast to what we watch on TV, movies or media in general.
• Sex outside of marriage is sinful and destructive.
• Sex within the protective bonds of marriage can be enriching and glorifying to God.[6]
• Notice the identity of those who will be judged.
• Identity of habitual sinners.
• But beyond the obvious… the marriage bed mirrors God’s relationship with His people.

5 Keep your life free from the love of money. Be satisfied with what you have, for he himself has said, I will never leave you or abandon you. 6 Therefore, we may boldly say,
The Lord is my helper;
I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?

• Deuteronomy 31:6
• Psalm 118:6
• Paul considered himself to be a wealthy man since true wealth was being content with what you have.
• When we have God, we have all that we need.
• In the midst of this economy… we have to trust that God will provide as He already has.

7 Remember your leaders who have spoken God’s word to you. As you carefully observe the outcome of their lives, imitate their faith.

• He already listed heroes of the faith in Chapter 11.
• The leaders of the church are described here less by their office and more by their function of preaching and teaching the Word of God.[7]
• When you recall that few Christians then had copies of the Scriptures, you can see the importance of this personal ministry of the Word.[8]
• I am OK with being gone. Then the sooner I leave, the sooner you can start depending on the Lord.
• Never build your life on any servant of God.
• Build your life on Jesus Christ. He never changes.[9]

8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

• In reference to Jesus’ divine nature.
• In reference to earthly leaders who come and go.

9 Don’t be led astray by various kinds of strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be established by grace and not by food regulations, since those who observe them have not benefited.

• He is being very protective here because most of their lives they were under a different system that had many food regulations (the Law).
• I am very protective about what I want you to hear… and not just from this platform.

10 We have an altar from which those who worship at the tabernacle do not have a right to eat. 11 For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the most holy place by the high priest as a sin offering are burned outside the camp.

• The Levite Priests were forbidden to eat from the animals sacrificed on the Day of Atonement so they took the remains outside of the Tabernacle and burned them.

12 Therefore, Jesus also suffered outside the gate, so that he might sanctify the people by his own blood.

• Jesus died outside the gates of Jerusalem, confirming that Law must be abandoned to partake of Christ.
• Isn’t it amazing that so many churches teach us to remain under the Law but it clearly shows us here that is not true?

13 Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing his disgrace.

• Just as Jesus dies outside the camp, he is encouraging the Hebrew Christians to do the same.

14 For we do not have an enduring city here; instead, we seek the one to come.

• The current Jerusalem at that time was only temporary.
• They knew there was a New Jerusalem to come.

15 Therefore, through him let us continually offer up to God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name.

• They were used to offering up animals and now he is telling them their sacrifice is to be praise.

16 Don’t neglect to do what is good and to share, for God is pleased with such sacrifices.

• The actions, as a result from knowing who we are, are a sacrifice to God.
• Your obedience is a sacrifice enough.

17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, since they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account, so that they can do this with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.

• What an awesome responsibility.
• How do I that? Trust.
• James 3:1 – Not many should become teachers, my brothers, because you know that we will receive a stricter judgment.[10]
• Judgment comes from those who sit under our leadership… Not from God. (Rom 8:1)
• What brings joy to godly leaders? Watching you mature spiritually.
• How do you measure maturity?
• It sure looks different than numerical growth.

18 Pray for us, for we are convinced that we have a clear conscience, wanting to conduct ourselves honorably in everything.

• We need prayer.
• Believers who have a guilty conscience lack the ability to tap into the power and authority they have been given.

 
19 And I urge you all the more to pray that I may be restored to you very soon.

• He was writing to them because he was physically away from them but desired to be with them.

 
BENEDICTION AND FAREWELL
20 Now may the God of peace, who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus—the great Shepherd of the sheep—through the blood of the everlasting covenant, 21 equip you with everything good to do his will, working in us what is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

• “everlasting” – confirming our eternal security in God’s family.
• God is the One who equips me… not myself.

22 Brothers and sisters, I urge you to receive this message of exhortation, for I have written to you briefly.

• It’s brief… it only took me 5 months to get through it with you. Ha!

23 Be aware that our brother Timothy has been released. If he comes soon enough, he will be with me when I see you.

• Timothy is released from prison. Not sure where.

24 Greet all your leaders and all the saints. Those who are from Italy send you greetings.

• The writer is in Italy or all the people working with the writer are from Italy.

25 Grace be with you all. [11]

• Grace – the desire and power to do God’s will… walk by His Spirit.
• Mediocrity will never allow us to experience life abundantly.
• It never has and never will.

May we walk on in faith and grow in our maturity!

[1] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Heb 13:1). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books
[2] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Heb 13:1). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[3] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Heb 13:1). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[4] Barry, J. D., Grigoni, M. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Mangum, D., & Whitehead, M. M. (2012). Faithlife Study Bible (Heb 10:34). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.
[5] Allen, D. L. (2010). Hebrews. The New American Commentary (p. 609). Nashville, TN: B & H Publishing Group.
[6] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Heb 13:1). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[7] Allen, D. L. (2010). Hebrews. The New American Commentary (p. 611). Nashville, TN: B & H Publishing Group.
[8] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Heb 13:7). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[9] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Heb 13:7). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[10] Christian Standard Bible (Jas 3:1). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[11] Christian Standard Bible (Heb 13:1–25). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.

WARNING AGAINST REJECTING GOD’S GRACE
HEBREWS 12
14 Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness—without it no one will see the Lord.

• This verse is not about identity but about behavior.
• This is how we respond out of knowing our own identity.
• We already have peace (Gal 2:20). We just need to choose it in our relationships.
• If you try to make peace and holiness with everyone without knowing who you are… you will labor and fail.
• Otherwise, it comes very naturally, and it will be obvious to others that you are a believer.
• God’s grace does not fail, but we can fail to take advantage of His grace.[1]

15 Make sure that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no root of bitterness springs up, causing trouble and defiling many.

• We are not talking about salvation grace… but daily grace… what we live by each day.
• If you live in the room of good intentions rather than the room of grace… you will fall into bitterness.
• I’d rather be freer with God’s grace than freer with God’s wrath.
• If you reject grace (that comes every moment) you will eventually blame God for your circumstances.
• When you accept grace… your view of circumstances and God changes.
• I might get labeled as “soft on sin” but the door to sharing with more people about their sin issue is much larger!
• Grace allows me to see God’s discipline in my life as a good thing… rather than a bad and causing bitterness to grow.

16 And make sure that there isn’t any immoral or irreverent person like Esau, who sold his birthright in exchange for a single meal. 17 For you know that later, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, even though he sought it with tears, because he didn’t find any opportunity for repentance.

• The author is reminding the Hebrew Christians that their choice of returning to Judaism could cost them much… their lives!
• Esau sold his birthright thinking he could eventually get it back.
• He was sorry for his physical loss rather than the spiritual loss of the blessing therefore wasn’t repentant.
• Esau didn’t lose his salvation, just the physical and spiritual blessings that were rightfully his.
• Esau became bitter because he realized all that he lost.
• Author is warning the Hebrew Christians of this same loss and bitterness.
• Wes Cate: I was always curious why Esau was so despised, and Jacob was loved by God. Jacob is the conniving one, and Esau was just hungry. But looking at the inheritance of the Patriarch's: that inheritance wasn't the wealth of life; it was the Lord who blesses. I think Esau and Jacob both knew that; so, Esau was willing to give up the Lord for a meal and Jacob was willing to lie, cheat and steal to get to God. That would be an interesting lesson on faith vs law in itself!
  
  

It's my opinion that Jacob had watched his grandfather Abraham and his father Isaac walk before God, he knew their relationship and wanted it bad. That's why at the end of his life he could pray a beautiful prayer to a life-long friend; to someone he had grown up in--a matured, well-aged relationship: "The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, The God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day, the angel who has redeemed me from all evil . . . bless the lads."
18 For you have not come to what could be touched, to a blazing fire, to darkness, gloom, and storm, 19 to the blast of a trumpet, and the sound of words. Those who heard it begged that not another word be spoken to them, 20 for they could not bear what was commanded: If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned. 21 The appearance was so terrifying that Moses said, I am trembling with fear.

• In reference to Mt. Sinai that they could physically touch.
• They so feared God they asked Him to stop talking.
• Referring to returning to the Law.
• If they return to what was, the Law, they will experience terror and fear and miss out on the spiritual blessings.
• We sometimes feel comfortable in returning to what we already know.
• Stepping out in faith, allows you to experience additional blessings.

22 Instead, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God (the heavenly Jerusalem), to myriads of angels, a festive gathering, 23 to the assembly of the firstborn whose names have been written in heaven, to a Judge, who is God of all, to the spirits of righteous people made perfect, 24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which says better things than the blood of Abel.

• Mount Zion (New Jerusalem) – walk by grace.
• Mount Sinai – life of bondage and Law.
• Author refers to OT believers who were perfected at the cross.
• At this new Mount… they are made righteous rather credited with righteousness at the old Mount.
• The blood of Abel only covered sin (atonement).
• Jesus’ blood was poured out on earth and offered in heaven.
• Abel’s blood only offered on earth.

25 See to it that you do not reject the one who speaks. For if they did not escape when they rejected him who warned them on earth, even less will we if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven.

• It is Jesus’ sacrifice of blood that speaks to the Hebrew Christians.
• Moses warned them at Mount Sinai not to turn from God.
• A whole generation died in the wilderness because they refused to listen.
• Jesus is warning them now (from heaven) not to turn from His message.
• If they don’t return to the message, they will die in the destruction of 70 AD.

26 His voice shook the earth at that time, but now he has promised, Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.

• Haggai 2:6

27 This expression, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what is not shaken might remain.

• Tribulation & Second Coming of Christ.
• Believers will remain.
• Those who trust in daily grace… rather than the Law.

 28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful. By it, we may serve God acceptably, with reverence and awe, 29 for our God is a consuming fire.[2]

• Our reverence and awe play out how?
• Attitude of devotion
• Worship
• Praise
• Ever been around a bitter Christian?
• Don’t miss out on what Jesus has already provided.
• It is a great life full of Spiritual blessings!

[1] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Heb 12:14). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[2] Christian Standard Bible (Heb 12:1–29). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.

THE CALL TO ENDURANCE
HEBREWS 12
1 Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us,

• Those mentioned in Hebrews 11.
• These people are not witnessing what we are doing; rather, they are bearing witness to us that God can see us through.[1]
• We are watching them for encouragement rather than them watching us in examination.[2]
• One of the best ways to develop endurance and encouragement is to get to know the godly men and women of the Old Testament who ran the race and won.
• If you are having problems with your family, read about Joseph.
• If you think your job is too big for you, study the life of Moses.
• If you are tempted to retaliate, see how David handled this problem.[3]
• Weight – encumbrance – bulk – burden - impediment
• The race will not be won unless there is a willingness to ‘run light’ and be rid of sins and unhelpful ways that hinder progress.[4]
• Randy Parker – A Christmas Story – Bundled up for the snow and fell over… couldn’t get up.
• A winning athlete does not choose between the good and the bad; he chooses between the better and the best.[5]
• The writer most likely was referring to the sin of returning to Judaism.

2 keeping our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy that lay before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

• 2 pitchers – works/sin vs God’s perfection
• Focus on Jesus and how He sees you.
• You won’t win the sin management game.
• You don’t overcome the problem by focusing on the problem…
• You overcome the problem by focusing on victory… Jesus.
• “joy” is not happiness. Happiness is an emotion. Joy is a state of being.
• Joy is accessible to the believer while happiness is on vacation… as so for the Hebrew Christians.

 
FATHERLY DISCIPLINE
3 For consider him who endured such hostility from sinners against himself, so that you won’t grow weary and give up.

• It was easier for them to remember what Jesus endured because they lived during that period.
• I believe the Spirit allows us and teaches us to have the same consideration.
• Being in the garden of Gethsemane.

4 In struggling against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.

• None of the Hebrew Christians had lost relatives at this point.
• Therefore, they were not part of the church in Jerusalem because Steven & James had already been martyred.

5 And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons:
My son, do not take the Lord’s discipline lightly
or lose heart when you are reproved by him,
6 for the Lord disciplines the one he loves
and punishes (scourges) every son he receives.

• Proverbs 3:11–12
• The key word in this quotation which the author develops is paideia, whose meaning ranges between training and corporal punishment.[6]
• Discipline – train, educate, nurture, correct a child.
• It refers to education in Greek tradition and to discipline by punishment in Hebrew tradition.[7]
• The writer viewed the trials of the Christian life as spiritual discipline that could help a believer mature. Instead of trying to escape the difficulties of life, we should rather be “exercised” by them so that we might grow[8]
• It does not carry the idea of wrathful punishment.
• God’s wrath will be greater than the punishment I have already received.
• God’s wrath is reserved for nonbelievers.
• God’s discipline is for believers because He loves us!
• God doesn’t always come in and rescue us from our logical negative consequences.
• Parents would be wise not to do the same.
• I am not physical with my kids… I teach them… I direct them… I protect them… I release them in trust… I let them fail.
• You will always struggle with this if you don’t know your identity.

7 Endure suffering as discipline: God is dealing with you as sons. For what son is there that a father does not discipline?

• This confirms our sonship.

8 But if you are without discipline—which all receive—then you are illegitimate children and not sons.

• Another way of identifying believers from nonbelievers.
• Why do bad things happen to good people?

9 Furthermore, we had human fathers discipline us, and we respected them. Shouldn’t we submit even more to the Father of spirits and live?

• A child who is disciplined (properly) will respect their parents… usually not during the discipline but after maturity.

10 For they disciplined us for a short time based on what seemed good to them, but he does it for our benefit, so that we can share his holiness.

• Short time – while under our roof.
• I like the word “seemed”
• God’s discipline is perfect.
• He desires for us to walk in a holy manner.
• God’s will for your life and mine is the same.

11 No discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

• Exercise – Soreness – Good or bad
• God’s discipline (training) brings the understanding of righteousness.
• Understanding our righteousness greatly impacts how we behave.
• When we behave out of our righteousness we experience true peace.

12 Therefore, strengthen your tired hands and weakened knees, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated but healed instead.

• At Leavener, we race in a pack.
• To encourage one another.
• Some who are weak will drop out.
• They do not lose their salvation.
• They just don’t get to experience the victory of living a spirit-filled life even though they have the capability.

[1] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Heb 12:1). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[2] Hacking, P. H. (2006). Opening up Hebrews. Opening Up Commentary (82). Leominster: Day One Publications.
[3] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Heb 12:1). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[4] Hacking, P. H. (2006). Opening up Hebrews. Opening Up Commentary (82–83). Leominster: Day One Publications.
[5] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Heb 12:1). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[6] Allen, D. L. (2010). Hebrews. The New American Commentary (580). Nashville, TN: B & H Publishing Group.
[7] Allen, D. L. (2010). Hebrews. The New American Commentary (580). Nashville, TN: B & H Publishing Group.
[8] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Heb 12:5). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

LIVING BY FAITH
HEBREWS 11
13 These all died in faith, although they had not received the things that were promised. But they saw them from a distance, greeted them, and confessed that they were foreigners and temporary residents on the earth.

• Neither Abraham, Isaac or Jacob possessed the Promised Land to this day.
• The Jews are now back in the land… but they do not possess the land.
• They trusted God’s promise and knew they would one day have to be resurrected.

14 Now those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.

• Seeking new Jerusalem.
• Dr. George Morrison, a great Scottish preacher, once said, “The important thing is not what we live in, but what we look for.”[1]

15 If they were thinking about where they came from, they would have had an opportunity to return. 16 But they now desire a better place—a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

• They were willing to die to wait for the promise of God.

17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac. He received the promises and yet he was offering his one and only son, 18 the one to whom it had been said, Your offspring will be traced through Isaac., 19 He considered God to be able even to raise someone from the dead; therefore, he received him back, figuratively speaking.

• The patriarchs believed in resurrection.
• Abraham knew for God’s promise to be fulfilled that God would have to resurrect Isaac if Abraham killed him.
• This should not be surprising from God because it was a foreshadowing of what He did with His Son for us.

20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.

• We not only live victoriously but we can die victoriously.
• Isaac eventually honored the blessing of Jacob over Esau.
• Isaac knew the blessing to Jacob was irrevocable.

21 By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and he worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff.

• Jacob gave blessings to Ephraim & Manasseh.
• These blessings were not received until Joshua lead them into the Promised Land so these blessings were made in faith.

22 By faith Joseph, as he was nearing the end of his life, mentioned the exodus of the Israelites and gave instructions concerning his bones.

• Joseph lived most of his life in Egypt when he was sold into slavery by his brothers.
• He desired for his bones to be buried in Canaan (the Promised Land).
• This desire was made in faith because they were not in Canaan yet.

23 By faith Moses, after he was born, was hidden by his parents for three months, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they didn’t fear the king’s edict.

• Beautiful because his parents recognized that he was going to be used by God.
• It was this recognition that caused them to risk their own lives.
• King’s Edict: All Jewish boys were to be killed.
• Moses was sovereignly retrieved from the Nile by Pharaoh’s daughter.

24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter 25 and chose to suffer with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasure of sin.

• Moses clung to his parent’s faith.
• He opted for eternal rewards rather than lavish temporary rewards.
• Remember that the Hebrew author is trying to convince the people to not return to what would seem easier for them.

26 For he considered reproach for the sake of Christ to be greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, since he was looking ahead to the reward.

• Symbolic to Jesus taking on humanity for the greater reward of saving the chosen in Christ.
• By acting in faith we obtain wisdom.
• Taking the easy road is not walking by faith.
• Walking by faith tells an adventuresome story.

27 By faith he left Egypt behind, not being afraid of the king’s anger, for Moses persevered as one who sees him who is invisible.

• Moses stayed the course of pursuing God & His promises even when the people rejected Moses and wanted to return to Egypt.
• 40 years of grumbling.

28 By faith he instituted the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn might not touch the Israelites. 29 By faith they crossed the Red Sea as though they were on dry land. When the Egyptians attempted to do this, they were drowned.

• It was faith that caused Moses to start the Passover and cross the Red Sea.
• Interesting that the writer focuses on Moses faith rather than him receiving and obeying the Law.
• Another way the writer was encouraging them not to return to the sacrificial system.

30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after being marched around by the Israelites for seven days. 31 By faith Rahab the prostitute welcomed the spies in peace and didn’t perish with those who disobeyed.

• Jerico was in the Promised Land.
• The writer skips the wilderness history because there was little faith during that period.
• Rahab assisted the Hebrew spies because she had heard about the mighty God of the Jews.
• She mothered Boaz who grandfathered David.
• Rahab, once a harlot, became King David’s great grandmother.

32 And what more can I say? Time is too short for me to tell about Gideon (destroyed thousands of Midianites with only 300 men), Barak (destroyed the army of King Jabin including his commander), Samson (defeated the Philistines), Jephthah (delivered his people from the Ammonites), David (the only king mentioned here, was a mighty warrior who defeated many including Goliath), Samuel (a godly man who was the last OT judge, also a prophet who anointed Saul & David), and the prophets (all had character flaws but not mentioned here because there stories were triumphs of faith over the enemy), 33 who by faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the raging of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, gained strength in weakness, became mighty in battle, and put foreign armies to flight.

• If you walk by faith, you will suffer for your faith.
• The more you become intimate with your Father, the more you walk by faith and do things differently from the world.
• You will stand out in the world.
• If we don’t stand out in this fallen world then most likely it is because we never got to know the heart of our God.

35 Women received their dead, raised to life again. Other people were tortured, not accepting release, so that they might gain a better resurrection.

• When we receive our heavenly bodies

36 Others experienced mockings and scourgings, as well as bonds and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned,, they were sawed in two (tradition says this is how Isaiah died), they died by the sword, they wandered about in sheepskins, in goatskins, destitute, afflicted, and mistreated. 38 The world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and on mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground.

• Whether a believer dies by his enemies’ hands or is supernaturally delivered, faith is victorious over death.
• Wake up! Don’t go back to the old system.
• Live the adventure
• Yes! There will be pain & suffering.
• You won’t be the first ones to go through it!
• But we are not in this alone.
• You’ve had a cakewalk compared to the others in the past.
• Walk on… exercise your faith!

39 All these were approved through their faith, but they did not receive what was promised, 40 since God had provided something better for us, so that they would not be made perfect without us.[2]

• Pre-cross vs post-cross.
• Give me post-cross any day and every day!

Post-cross… we have been perfected!

[1] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 319). Victor Books.
[2] Christian Standard Bible (Heb 11:13–40). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.

• Saving Faith is different than Everyday Faith

LIVING BY FAITH
HEBREWS 11
1 Now faith is the reality (assurance/confirmation) of what is hoped for, the proof (conviction/evidence) of what is not seen.

• Faith is determined by hope in God’s promises.
• This is different than the faith one must believe in for God to save them.
• This is not a definition of faith, but a description of what faith does and how it works.[1]
• There is a difference between believing in something and allowing what you believe to impact your behavior.
• True faith does two things:

1) It proves the unseen things exist.
2) It brings a desire – within believers – to behave in a way that lines up with what they have come to believe.

•   Many believe in salvation.
•   Few believe they have been made righteous.
•   This is the evil one’s greatest ploy to create a mediocre church today.
• This is why you hear the same message over and over. To increase your belief during the battle.
• This is why it is critical, without me “shoulding on you” to read your Bibles.
• It is your intimacy with the Father that increases your faith.
• The world fails to realize that faith is only as good as its object, and the object of our faith is God.[2]
• Faith is to a Christian what a foundation is to a house: it gives confidence and assurance that he will stand.[3]
• It didn’t take much faith for you to sit in that chair this morning… because you believed that the chair would hold you.
• The chair is not holding you because of your faith… it is holding you because of the chair’s strength.
• It’s not our faith in Jesus that sustains us every day of our life.
• It is only Jesus, in whom we trust, that sustains us.

2 For by this our ancestors were approved.

• “this” – is faith in God.
• Old Covenant believers believed that God would send the Messiah to forgive them of their sin.
• Because of this belief, they were approved/credited/commended for righteousness although they were not made righteous.
• At some point, Christians must be made righteous. When is that? Death? Judgment? Cross?
• At the cross, we were made righteous, he removed our wicked hearts and replaced them with new ones.
• Thank God you live after the cross.

3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible.

• What better way to motivate their faith than to prove how God has already answered promises in the past.
• Why wouldn’t He continue to keep His promises?
• Confirming God’s faithfulness encourages the Hebrew Christians to walk on and trust Him. Even now.
• But how encouraging is it to know that even when the physical resources that we need do not “seem” to exist, that God can reveal them in a heartbeat?
• There is a greater adventure out there when trust in the things you can’t see.

4 By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was approved as a righteous man, because God approved his gifts, and even though he is dead, he still speaks through his faith.

• The writer will take us through a series of believers to show the Hebrew Christians that it was their faith in the Messiah to come that approved them righteous.
• They believed in it so much that it greatly impacted not only how they lived their lives but how they died.
• Abel made a blood sacrifice. Cain made a sacrifice from the fruit of the ground.
• Adam & Eve made the first blood sacrifice when they needed clothing.
• Bloodless sin offerings were not instituted until Lev 5:11… and those were only for the poor.
• Cain tried to reconcile with God on his own terms and it was unacceptable.
• The blood sacrifice always pointed to the cross and the offering that Jesus was to make for our sins.
• Abel was declared righteous… not made righteous.
• Long after Abel was gone… we still talk about him as a model of faith.

5 By faith Enoch was taken away, and so he did not experience death. He was not to be found because God took him away. For before he was taken away, he was approved as one who pleased God.

• Genesis 5:18-24 - Jared was 162 years old when he fathered Enoch. 19 Jared lived 800 years after he fathered Enoch, and he fathered other sons and daughters. 20 So Jared’s life lasted 962 years; then he died.
• Enoch was 65 years old when he fathered Methuselah. 22 And after he fathered Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and fathered other sons and daughters. 23 So Enoch’s life lasted 365 years. 24 Enoch walked with God; then he was not there because God took him.[4]
• Intimacy with the creator!
• Mentioned in only a few verses but known for his relationship with God.
• The writer is saying that Enoch was so intimate with God that he didn’t even have to experience death.

6 Now without faith it is impossible to please God, since the one who draws near to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

• It is faith… not works that pleases God. Works are a result of our faith.
• For believers, it is when we quit seeing God as a judge of sin but a giver of life and rewards.
• I’m not talking a health and prosperity Gospel here.
• I’m talking about walking by His Spirit and the moment of every breath with Him.
• It would be hard to walk intimately with a God when you think He is going to kick you in the butt every time you make a bad choice.
• What if you sin… and God says “Rusty… I dearly love you.”?
• What if you could embrace that thought…
• I’m not saying go sin so He will remind you of what He already did for you.
• I’m saying, when you realize what He did for you and continues to do for you it becomes less of a desire for you to make bad choices.
• If you see yourself as never winning this game… why try?
• If you see yourself as redeemed and forgiven, you will want to live fully in this!
• That is when real intimacy with the Father happens.
• You just wallow in His goodness.
• It is because of our faith in the object of Jesus Christ that we can walk with Him consistently.

7 By faith Noah, after he was warned about what was not yet seen and motivated by godly fear, built an ark to deliver his family. By faith he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

• Genesis 6:9 - These are the family records of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among his contemporaries; Noah walked with God.[5]
• “Not yet seen” – Rain and floods.
• Can you imagine the years?
• Noah was not concerned about what others thought about him.
• Now we all descendants of not only Adam… but Noah as well.
• “godly fear/in reverence” – Noah was intimate with the Father.

8 By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed and set out for a place that he was going to receive as an inheritance. He went out, even though he did not know where he was going. 9 By faith he stayed as a foreigner in the land of promise, living in tents as did Isaac and Jacob, coheirs of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

• Abraham – Father of the Jewish Nation.
• Genesis 12:1-7 - The Lord said to Abram: Go from your land, your relatives, and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you, I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, I will curse anyone who treats you with contempt, and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you, 4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. 5 He took his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated, and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan, 6 Abram passed through the land to the site of Shechem, at the oak of Moreh. (At that time the Canaanites were in the land.) 7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring, I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him.[6]
• Abraham left as the Lord was telling him to go… that is real faith.
• Where? Just go!
• He was looking forward to a city that has foundations with God as the builder.
• That hasn’t happened yet… but it will.
• He lived as a foreigner… just as the Hebrew Christians did… just as we do.

11 By faith even Sarah herself, when she was unable to have children, received power to conceive offspring, even though she was past the age, since she considered that the one who had promised was faithful.

• Sarah? On the heroes of faith list?
• What is she known for?
• Bearing Isaac in her old age…
• But also getting Abraham to sleep with Hagar to bear the son to Abraham named Ishmael and his descendants have harassed the Jews ever since.
• She made the list!
• She had a hard time waiting on God’s timing.
• But the core of who Sarah was believed that God was faithful.

12 Therefore, from one man—in fact, from one as good as dead—came offspring as numerous as the stars of the sky and as innumerable as the grains of sand along the seashore.[7]

• Abraham in his old age bore a son named Isaac.
• Isaac bore Jacob (and Esau)
• Jacob had 12 sons that became the 12 tribes.
• Through the 12 tribes came the entire Jewish nation.

[1] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Heb 11:1). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[2] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Heb 11:1). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[3] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Heb 11:1). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[4] Christian Standard Bible (Ge 5:18–24). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[5] Christian Standard Bible (Ge 6:9). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[6] Christian Standard Bible (Ge 12:1–7). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[7] Christian Standard Bible (Heb 11:1–12). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.

• Jesus being the perfect sacrifice and making a way to God was the previous 18 verses… Therefore…

EXHORTATIONS TO GODLINESS
HEBREWS 10
19 Therefore, brothers and sisters (Jewish believers), since we have boldness to enter the sanctuary through the blood of Jesus--20 he has inaugurated for us a new and living way through the curtain (that is, through his flesh)--

• Think about the history of the Jew & Old Covenant.
• We have a hard time letting go of the Old Covenant today.
• They memorized and lived it out every day.
• Now it is all changed!
• Where only one man could go… now they all can.
• Jesus’ body is the veil torn open so we could have access to God.
• Jesus’ body was the barrier between God & man.
• Jesus’ blood forgave our sin.
• Jesus’ death allowed our own death (Gal 2:20 & Romans 6:6-7 - For we know that our old self, was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be rendered powerless so that we may no longer be enslaved to sin, 7 since a person who has died is freed from sin.[1]
• Our old self, sinful nature, Adamic nature has been eradicated.
• Now they (and we) are capable of speaking to God whenever we like. 24/7

21 and since we have a great high priest over the house of God,

• Emphasis on “great”

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 in pure water.

• Moses was required to do two things for his sons to act as high priests.
• 1) sprinkle them with the blood of an animal (Lev 8:30)
• Their sins and their bodies had to be purified.
• The difference for the NC believer vs Aaron & Co. was the freeing of the conscious of sins.
• Aaron’s sins were not forgiven… just covered.
• Our sins are completely forgiven and eradicated.
• 2) and wash them in water (Lev 8:6).
• Aaron’s cleansing was on the outward body.
• Our cleansing was on the inside.
• New heart, new spirit, new creation, new man.
• Only mention of “pure” water in the Bible.
• Some interpret that “our bodies washed in pure water” means water baptism is necessary for salvation.
• Nothing pure about the water in the Jordan River… trust me.

23 Let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, since he who promised is faithful.

• Hold fast to their salvation. It is secure.
• He is responsible for keeping us saved.

24 And let us consider one another in order to provoke love and good works,

• Love is mentioned before good works.
• Know the Father intimately first.
• Good works for others will follow.

25 not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching.

• They had been gathering but were now afraid to due to persecution.
• The day of destruction that was coming in 70 AD.
• Jesus spoke about this day in Matthew 24:2 & Luke 21:6, 20-24.

 
WARNING AGAINST DELIBERATE SIN
26 For if we deliberately go on sinning after receiving the knowledge of the truth,

• They willfully continued to make animal sacrifices knowing that Christ’s offering was all that was needed.
• This is different than sins committed in ignorance.

there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,

• Old Covenant sacrifices of animals was no longer necessary.
• Jesus’ sacrificed voided all remaining sacrifices.

27 but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire about to consume the adversaries.

• If this one verse meant we would lose our salvation then it would contradict everything we have studied so far.
• This is not about eternal judgment.
• If they remained in Jerusalem and sacrificing animals at the Temple, they would lose their life as it was destroyed in 70 AD.
• They all fled before the Romans arrived.

28 Anyone who disregarded the law of Moses died without mercy, based on the testimony of two or three witnesses.

• In Heb 3:1-6, the author compared Moses to Jesus with Jesus being greater. Why wouldn’t the punishment be even greater?

29 How much worse punishment do you think one will deserve who has trampled on the Son of God, who has regarded as profane the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?

• 1) “Trampled on the Son of God” – dishonor
• 2) “Regarded as profane the blood of the covenant” – Christ’s blood was no different than any other man… possibly unholy blood?
• 3) “Insulted the Spirit of grace.” – identifying himself (not making) with the generation of Jews who blasphemed the Spirit in Jesus and would perish in 70 AD.
• Under the Old Covenant, God responded to disobedience by bringing on physical death.
• These Hebrew Christians would experience the same if they refused to abandon the idea of returning to temple sacrifices.
• Is there removal from their flesh a sign of grace from God?
• Corinthians man… Ananias & Sapphira?

30 For we know the one who has said,
Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, and again,
The Lord will judge his people.
31 It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

• The consequences of our sin can be terrifying.
• We are talking about earthly natural consequences not eternal judgment or it would wipe out the results of the cross.
• Remember… Losing our salvation is impossible.

32 Remember the earlier days when, after you had been enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings. 33 Sometimes you were publicly exposed to taunts and afflictions (in the public theater), and at other times you were companions of those who were treated that way. (because you chose to hang out with other believers) 34 For you sympathized with the prisoners and accepted with joy the confiscation of your possessions, because you know that you yourselves have a better and enduring possession.

• These verses confirm this letter was written to believers in Jesus.
• He is reaffirming them in all the things they have already endured.
• Our inheritance is reserved in heaven.
• Greater things are to come.

35 So don’t throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. 36 For you need endurance, so that after you have done God’s will, you may receive what was promised.

• Sometimes we just cruise along in our faith and we become independent.
• No need for God.
• It is when we go through crisis that we seek out God.
• In crisis… we either give up on God or cling to Him.
• “Throw away our confidence” does not mean “throw away our salvation”. This is impossible.
• The quality of the believer’s works in the journey will be rewarded… not the quantity.
• What works are rewarded? Those done in faith… in His strength.
• Why would one want to toss away this confidence?
• They can lose their physical lives.
• They can lose their rewards.
• They can’t lose their salvation.
• We need to accept God’s grace into every moment of our lives.
• We can receive what has already been promised and provided.

37 For yet in a very little while,
the Coming One will come and not delay.
38 But my righteous one will live by faith;
and if he draws back,
I have no pleasure in him.

• Habakkuk 2:3-4
• The same promise He made to Habakkuk He is also making to these Hebrew Christians.
• He wants us to have pleasure that comes from obedience in Jesus.

39 But we are not those who draw back and are destroyed, but those who have faith and are saved.[2]

• This confirms once again their salvation is not in question.
• “destroyed” – perdition means more than the loss of a physical life. It is utter destruction… complete ruin.
• “Faith” comes from God… we just have to claim it.
• “Help me with my unbelief”.
• It is something we already have… open the gift… use it.
• You have enough faith to finish the race.
• It is through our daily faith and grace that we can obtain an incredible life of adventure here on earth… today!

[1] Christian Standard Bible (Ro 6:6–7). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[2] Christian Standard Bible (Heb 10:19–39). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.

• This is a summary of what has already been written.
• Wash, rinse & repeat!

THE PERFECT SACRIFICE
HEBREWS 10
1 Since the law has only a shadow of the good things to come, and not the reality itself of those things, it can never perfect the worshipers by the same sacrifices they continually offer year after year.

• Shadow – outlines an object.
• They all knew something better was to come.
• What was to come? Jesus
• Good things to come – Jesus’ life, fulfilling the Law, death and His resurrection.
• Colossians 2:17 - These are a shadow of what was to come; the substance is Christ.
• Colossians 2:20-23 - If you died with Christ to the elements of this world, why do you live as if you still belonged to the world? Why do you submit to regulations: 21 “Don’t handle, don’t taste, don’t touch”? 22 All these regulations refer to what is destined to perish by being used up; they are human commands and doctrines. 23 Although these have a reputation for wisdom by promoting self-made religion, false humility, and severe treatment of the body, they are not of any value in curbing self(fleshly)-indulgence.[1]
• No one wants religion.
• They want the real person.
• Perfect – reach an end, finished or complete.
• What keeps us from God now? Our sin.
• Totally perfect in our person to access God.
• We have been made perfect and have access.

2 Otherwise, wouldn’t they have stopped being offered, since the worshipers, purified once and for all, would no longer have any consciousness of sins?

• It never happened in the Old Covenant.
• This is where the battle happens today.
• The evil one accuses us and reminds of our sin.
• He even prompts us to work on our sin… the devil.
• Christ said, “It is finished.”
• We are to live our lives consciously free of sin.
• What does repentance look like?

 
3 But in the sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year after year. 4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

• Sins were not forgiven… only atoned… covered.
• Impossible!
• Bull blood for the High Priest (Lev 16:11)
• Goat blood for the people (Lev 16:15)
• Jeremiah 31:33 - “Instead, this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days”—the Lord’s declaration. “I will put my teaching within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 No longer will one teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know me, from the least to the greatest of them”—this is the Lord’s declaration. “For I will forgive their iniquity and never again remember their sin. [2]

5 Therefore, as he was coming into the world, he said:

• (Psalm 40:6-8)

You did not desire sacrifice and offering,
but you prepared a body for me.
6 You did not delight in whole burnt offerings and sin offerings.
7 Then I said, “See-- it is written about me in the scroll-- I have come to do your will, God.”
8 After he says above, You did not desire or delight in sacrifices and offerings, whole burnt offerings and sin offerings (which are offered according to the law), 9 he then says, See, I have come to do your will.

• Sacrifices and offerings did not accomplish forgiveness.
• Prepared a body – Jesus, God’s son lived in the body.
• Jesus chose through faith to do His Father’s will and died for the sin of man.

He takes away the first to establish the second.

• God did not take away the Law… for the unredeemed.
• But it is taken away from the redeemed.
• The Old Covenant animal sacrifices were done away with when Jesus died for the New Covenant to be ushered in.
• The Old Covenant is now null and void.
• Review the circumstances the Hebrew Christians are under in their choice.
• Persecution or going back to the Old Covenant.
• Legalism or freedom?

10 By this will, we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all time.

• Sanctified – to be made holy, set apart, made a saint.
• Not just declared to someday attain when we die.
• Not positional – we are holy but not holy.
• Sanctified in the Greek is in the perfect tense which communicates past completed action with a resulting state of being.
• We have been made forever holy.
• You can never be more holy than you are right now.
• It is not your behavior that makes you holy.
• It is only Jesus.

11 Every priest stands day after day ministering and offering the same sacrifices time after time, which can never take away sins.

• This was a lot of daily work for the priests.
• Constantly on their feet.

12 But this man, after offering one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God.

• We are a forgiven people.
• We live in a state of forgiveness.
• All sin forever… all sin for mankind.
• It is through faith & repentance that one receives this forgiveness made available to all.

13 He is now waiting until his enemies are made his footstool.

• Even though they have already been defeated at the cross… the footstool is yet to happen.

14 For by one offering he has perfected forever those who are sanctified.

• Perfected – past tense, completed action with a resulting state of being. We are perfected.
• Sanctified – present tense… it is happening now. An ongoing process.
• NIV says “who are being made holy.”
• What is being sanctified now? Our behavior.
• What you do is not who you are.
• Who you are has a great impact on what you do.
• Your soul & spirit have been perfected.
• Your behavior is being sanctified.
• Sanctified is in the passive voice meaning that it is God who will sanctify our behavior, not us.
• Believers were made perfect forever.
• It is impossible to lose our righteousness.
• Can you complete the race? Done deal.
• Perseverance… is about intimacy with God.

15 The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. For after he says:

• The Holy Spirit gets credit for speaking through Jeremiah.

16 This is the covenant I will make with them after those days, the Lord says, I will put my laws on their hearts and write them on their minds,
17 and I will never again remember their sins and their lawless acts.
18 Now where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer an offering for sin.[3]

• Forgiveness has occurred.
• Does God have a list of your sins? NO!
• Why would you continue with your sacrifices?
• Why do you keep asking for what you already have?
• This letter greatly impacted these Hebrew Christians.
• Not a single one of them perished in destruction of the Temple in 70 AD.

[1] Christian Standard Bible (Col 2:17–23). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[2] Christian Standard Bible (Je 31:33–34). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[3] Christian Standard Bible (Heb 10:1–18). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.

• Let me reiterate what I said last week…
• The Old Covenant originated in the Old Testament…
• Do not disregard the Old Testament.
• Learn to distinguish Old Testament from Old Covenant.
• The non-believing Jews worshipped the system described in the Old Covenant. They did this in both the Old & New Testaments.
• Today we put more value on our local churches (systems) than we do our relationship with Jesus.

OLD COVENANT MINISTRY
HEBREWS 9
1 Now the first covenant also had regulations for ministry and an earthly sanctuary.

• Offerings & sacrifices in the tabernacle.

2 For a tabernacle was set up, and in the first room, which is called the holy place, were the lampstand, the table, and the presentation loaves.

• This was before Solomon’s & Herod’s temples.
• Descriptions can be found in Exodus 35-40.
• The outer court was 150 feet long and 75 feet wide.
• The court was 45 feet long and 15 feet wide.
• Holy Place was 30 feet long by 15 wide.

3 Behind the second curtain was a tent called the most holy place.

• Holy of Holies was 15 feet long and 15 feet wide and 15 feet high.

4 It had the gold altar of incense and the ark of the covenant, covered with gold on all sides, in which was a gold jar containing the manna, Aaron’s staff that budded, and the tablets of the covenant.

• All three items represented Israel’s rebellion.

5 The cherubim of glory were above the ark overshadowing the mercy seat. It is not possible to speak about these things in detail right now.

• The Mercy Seat covered their acts of rebellion.
• The Mercy Seat was soon the place where sin was to be forgiven

6 With these things prepared like this, the priests enter the first room repeatedly, performing their ministry. 7 But the high priest alone enters the second room, and he does that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offers for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance.

• General priests went in and out of the Holy Place performing duties.
• The High Priest went into the Holy of Holies at least twice on the Day of Atonement.
• Once to offer a sacrifice for his sins and a second time to offer a sacrifice for all other sin.
• Obvious sins could be dealt with any day of the year.
• “sins of ignorance” were covered on the Day of Atonement only.
• “sins of ignorance” – hidden sins or sins they had forgotten.

8 The Holy Spirit was making it clear that the way into the most holy place had not yet been disclosed while the first tabernacle was still standing.

• The closest place a common Jew could get near to God was the outer court.
• Only the High Priest had access to God one day a year.
• They were limited to the access of God because their sins had only been covered and not forgiven.

9 This is a symbol for the present time, during which gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the worshiper’s conscience.

• Symbol – picture of the real thing. A copy.

10 They are physical regulations and only deal with food, drink, and various washings imposed until the time of the new order.

• The covering only dealt with the outward behavior and not the problem that existed within.
• They still had a sinful nature.
• “Time of restoration” – to make right or correct.
• All the sins during the OT were dealt with at the cross.

 
NEW COVENANT MINISTRY
11 But Christ has appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come. In the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands (that is, not of this creation),

• Jesus entered the tabernacle pitched by the Lord in Heaven.
• Ephesians 2:6 - He also raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus,[1]
• Jesus has provided us access to God 24/7.

12 he entered the most holy place once for all time, not by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.

• The high priest entered the Holy of Holies with the blood of bulls/calves for his own sin.
• He then reentered with the blood of goats for the people.
• Jesus entered one time with His own perfect blood.
• Jesus’ one time entry was for all eternity. (secure)

13 For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a young cow, sprinkling those who are defiled, sanctify for the purification of the flesh,

• Atonement was only for behavior

14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works so that we can serve the living God?

• Christ’s blood & forgiveness was for the renewing of the soul, spirit and body.
• Our old sinful nature was removed and replaced with a new nature.
• Ezekiel 36:26 – I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.[2]
• We became saints who sometimes sin… and not lowly sinners saved by grace.
• Jesus did this through the Spirit… the same Spirit that lives in you and me.
• We have been empowered.

15 Therefore, he is the mediator of a new covenant,

• Mediator – one who intervenes between two parties to ratify a covenant or peace.

so that those who are called might receive the promise of the eternal inheritance, because a death has taken place for redemption from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.

• The OT believers were saved at this point.
• Saved through repentance and faith.
• They believed in the Messiah that was to come.
• They were credited righteousness. Genesis 15:6

16 Where a will exists, the death of the one who made it must be established.

• Whoever makes a will can change it as long as they are alive.
• But the will goes into effect when the person dies.
• It is binding, unalterable and irrevocable.
• Once again, we are secure.

17 For a will is valid only when people die, since it is never in effect while the one who made it is living. 18 That is why even the first covenant was inaugurated with blood.

• God established the covenant with blood.
• It was the animals that died, not the initiator.
• Why blood? – Leviticus 17:11 - For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have appointed it to you to make atonement on the altar for your lives, since it is the lifeblood that makes atonement.[3]
• The life is in the blood.
• Blood is the symbol of death

19 For when every command had been proclaimed by Moses to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and goats, along with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll itself and all the people, 20 saying, This is the blood of the covenant that God has ordained for you. 21 In the same way, he sprinkled the tabernacle and all the articles of worship with blood. 22 According to the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

• Blood was the symbol of death… if it was just the blood, the animals would not have to die.
• Death had to occur.
• Old Covenant was sealed with blood of animals.
• New Covenant was sealed with blood of Jesus.
• Moses’ actions pointed to what Christ was to come and do in the future.
• Once the Old Covenant was sealed with blood, it could not be altered.
• The New Covenant made the Old Covenant obsolete.
• It took the death of a perfect man to remove the sin of man.

23 Therefore, it was necessary for the copies of the things in the heavens to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves to be purified with better sacrifices than these.

• Why did the heavenly tabernacle need to be purified?
• Satan brought sin into heaven after he fell.
• He approached God in Job 1:6-7
• Revelation 12:10 says he is still accusing the brethren.

24 For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with hands (only a model of the true one) but into heaven itself, so that he might now appear in the presence of God for us.

• Jesus never entered into the Holy of Holies in the Temple (Herod’s) because He was not a high priest on earth.
• Now he represents all of God’s children in heaven.

25 He did not do this to offer himself many times, as the high priest enters the sanctuary yearly with the blood of another.

• Jesus’s blood sacrifice made it final… “It is finished.”
• One time only!
• He sat down.

26 Otherwise, he would have had to suffer many times since the foundation of the world. But now he has appeared one time, at the end of the ages, for the removal of sin by the sacrifice of himself.

• Forgiveness occurred at one time.
• He doesn’t climb back up on the cross for any more sin.
• Sin is an issue that has already been dealt with and defeated.
• He died once… never to die again!

27 And just as it is appointed for people to die once—and after this, judgment--

• General statement – Lazarus died twice as well as others in the OT/NT that were raised from the dead.
• Enoch & Elijah never died at all.
• Judgment follows death
• Great White Throne Judgment for non-believers in Revelation 20:11-15.
• Judgment Seat of Christ in 2 Corinthians 5:10.
• Romans 8:1 – Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus,[4]

28 so also Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.[5]

• When Jesus returns, He will not be dealing with the sin issue… He already did.
• When we see Jesus face to face… He will not mention one single sin to you.
• We live in a constant state of forgiveness.
• The High Priest always came out to the people with confirmation that their sacrifices had been received.
• When Jesus returns, it will be confirmation that the Father was pleased with His Son’s offering.

[1] Christian Standard Bible (Eph 2:6). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[2] Christian Standard Bible (Eze 36:26). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[3] Christian Standard Bible (Le 17:11–12). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[4] Christian Standard Bible (Ro 8:1). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[5] Christian Standard Bible (Heb 9:1–28). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.

• Hebrews 7 – Melchizedek – eternal priesthood

A HEAVENLY PRIESTHOOD
HEBREWS 8
1 Now the main point of what is being said is this: We have this kind of high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens,

• If there is any one thing that I will keep repeating because it is so important is the high priesthood of Jesus in heaven.
• Right hand/side – regarded highly
• 200+ OT – 100+ NT = References
• If we are “in Christ”… where are we now?
• Earthly priests never sat down… too busy.
• Jesus sat down because the work was finished.
• In His redemptive work He is done and seated.
• In His encouragement work He stands.
• Acts 7:55 - 55 Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven. He saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 He said, “Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”[1]

2 a minister of the sanctuary and the true tabernacle that was set up by the Lord and not man.

• Earthly priests worked in the tabernacle that was pitched by man.
• The tabernacle in heaven was pitched by the Lord.
• Which is greater?
• Exodus 25-31 and 35-40.
• 150’ long & 75’ wide.

3 For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; therefore, it was necessary for this priest also to have something to offer.

• gifts = a portion of their blessings. (commitment)
• sacrifices = an offering for their sin.
• Jesus offered His blood which is greater than the bulls and goats blood. It actually forgave sin.

4 Now if he were on earth, he wouldn’t be a priest, since there are those offering the gifts prescribed by the law.

• Jesus’ priesthood occurs in heaven.
• He was from the tribe of Judah… not Levi.

5 These serve as a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was warned when he was about to complete the tabernacle. For God said, Be careful that you make everything according to the pattern (tee-pos = type) that was shown to you on the mountain.

• Moses’ earthly tabernacle was just a shadow of the actual tabernacle in heaven.
• A model.
• A shadow confirms that the real thing exists.

6 But Jesus has now obtained a superior ministry, and to that degree he is the mediator of a better covenant, which has been established on better promises.

• Old Covenant – based on conditional promises.
• OC was dependent on those who received the covenant to fulfill certain requirements in order for the results to be fulfilled.
• OC – If you obey the Law, will bless you. If you disobey the Law, you will be cursed.
• New Covenant – based on unconditional promises.
• NC – Even though the promise is guaranteed, we can still experience blessings and curses based upon logical consequences.
• God’s unconditional covenant with Abraham that he would have many descendants has occurred but we are dealing with the curse of his behavior still today as the descendants of Ishmael battle with the descendants of Isaac.
• OC only convicted people of sin.
• NC empowers people to overcome sin.
• Moses was the mediator of the OC.
• Jesus is the mediator of the NC.
• Who is greater?

 
A SUPERIOR COVENANT
7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion for a second one.

• The OC could not make a person righteous.
• The NC not only makes a person righteous but also empowers them to overcome sin on a daily basis.
• Living this life out today is not much different.
• You either have a church that is trying to attain righteousness or a church that is living in their righteousness.

8 But finding fault with his people, he says:
(Jeremiah 31:31-34)

• David, Jeremiah and other OT prophets knew there was another (better) covenant that was coming.
• The writer is saying, “Even Jeremiah knew…”
• “finding fault with them” – the Jews

See, the days are coming, says the Lord,
when I will make a new covenant
with the house of Israel
and with the house of Judah--

• The divided kingdom had occurred after the death of Solomon.
• The house of Israel was the 10 tribes living in the northern part of Israel.
• The house of Judah was the 2 tribes (Judah & Benjamin) living in the southern part of Israel which included Jerusalem.
• Who made the covenant? God did.
• Who is responsible for carrying out the NC?
• Who is the beneficiary of the NC?

9 not like the covenant
that I made with their ancestors
on the day I took them by the hand
to lead them out of the land of Egypt.
I showed no concern for them, says the Lord,
because they did not continue in my covenant.
10 For this is the covenant
that I will make with the house of Israel
after those days, says the Lord:
I will put my laws into their minds
and write them on their hearts.
Deuteronomy 11:18–23 - “Imprint these words of mine on your hearts and minds, bind them as a sign on your hands, and let them be a symbol on your foreheads. 19 Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 20 Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, 21 so that as long as the heavens are above the earth, your days and those of your children may be many in the land the Lord swore to give your fathers. 22 For if you carefully observe every one of these commands I am giving you to follow—to love the Lord your God, walk in all His ways, and remain faithful to Him— 23 the Lord will drive out all these nations before you, and you will drive out nations greater and stronger than you are.[2]

• phylacteries – Wore the Word on their head & hearts.

I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
11 And each person will not teach his fellow citizen,
and each his brother or sister, saying, “Know the Lord,”
because they will all know me,
from the least to the greatest of them.
12 For I will forgive their wrongdoing,
and I will never again remember their sins.

• This is a much greater promise than the Old Covenant.
• The sin issue is done.
• Jesus’ blood is the perfect offering.

13 By saying a new covenant, he has declared that the first is obsolete. And what is obsolete and growing old is about to pass away.[3]
    - The Old Covenant only atoned (covered) sin.
    - The New Covenant forgives sin.
    - “about to disappear” – The writer knew the Temple
       was about to be destroyed and it was just a few
       years later.
    - The sacrificial system of sacrifices in the Old
       Covenant ended in 70 AD when Titus annihilated
       the Temple.

Lord’s Supper – Jesus’ blood is the perfect sacrifice.

[1] Christian Standard Bible (Ac 7:55–56). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[2] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (Dt 11:18–23). (2009). Holman Bible Publishers.
[3] Christian Standard Bible (Heb 8:1–13). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.

• Hebrews 5 – He told them they were not spiritually mature enough to process the thoughts on Melchizedek.
• He dealt with milk and meat in Hebrews 6.

THE GREATNESS OF MELCHIZEDEK
HEBREWS 7
1 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of God Most High,

• Melchizedek was both king and priest, as was Jesus.
• This never occurred in Aaron’s Priesthood.
• Salem – is Jerusalem according to:

Psalm 76:2 God is known in Judah; His name is great in Israel. 2 His tent is in Salem, His dwelling place in Zion. [1]

• Melchizedek was priest to the Most High God.
• God over all nations.
• Melchizedek was priest to God and all Nations.
• Aaron was just priest to the nation of Israel.
• If Melchizedek’s priesthood is a shadow of Jesus’ priesthood, then Jesus can minister to all nations.

met Abraham and blessed him as he returned from defeating the kings, 2 and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything.

• Story of Abraham is found in Genesis 14.
• Abraham defeats the kings and rescues Lot then gives Melchizedek a tenth of his spoils.
• Melchizedek blessed Abraham.
• Melchizedek is greater than Abraham.

First, his name means king of righteousness, then also, king of Salem, meaning king of peace.

• Melchizedek was king over Jerusalem.

3 Without father, mother, or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever.

• Scripture does not record his genealogy.
• He still had a father and mother, we just can’t trace his lineage.
• There is no record of birth of death so his priesthood is perpetual. No breaks.
• No record of death insinuates that it is eternal.
• Jesus’s priesthood is eternal.
• Melchizedek resembles Christ… he is not Christ.
• Where is this high priest now?
• In you… you resemble Christ now.

4 Now consider how great this man was: even Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of the plunder to him. 5 The sons of Levi who receive the priestly office have a command according to the law to collect a tenth from the people—that is, from their brothers and sisters—though they have also descended from Abraham. 6 But one without this lineage collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed the one who had the promises. 7 Without a doubt, the inferior is blessed by the superior.

• Aaron received tithes from the sons of Abraham.
• Abraham gave tithes to Melchizedek.
• Who is greater?

8 In the one case, men who will die receive a tenth, but in the other case, Scripture testifies that he lives. 9 And in a sense Levi himself, who receives a tenth, has paid a tenth through Abraham, 10 for he was still within his ancestor when Melchizedek met him.

• Men who will die – mortal man
• Scripture never records Melchizedek’s death.
• Levi, of the Levitical Priesthood, was just a “gene” in Abraham when Abraham met Melchizedek.
• Who is greater?

 
A SUPERIOR PRIESTHOOD
11 Now if perfection came through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the people received the law), what further need was there for another priest to appear, said to be according to the order of Melchizedek and not according to the order of Aaron?

• The Levitical Priesthood was established under the Mosaic Law.
• There would have been no need for another priesthood if the Levitcal Priesthood made one perfect.
• The Law made no one perfect… in fact, it showed our imperfection.
• Jesus came along as one who had perfected the Law and was from the order of Melchizedek.

12 For when there is a change of the priesthood, there must be a change of law as well.

• With the establishment of the new priesthood came a new system for living.
• God established the Mosaic Law in which He knew no one could perfect.
• He then had to establish a system, the Levitical Law, to atone/cover our imperfections.
• These laws and system did not remove imperfections… they only made us more aware of our imperfections and a need for a Savior.
• The Law became obsolete.
• The order of Melchizedek was established before the Mosaic & Levital Laws.
• The priesthood of Melchizedek can function without the Law.

13 For the one these things are spoken about belonged to a different tribe. No one from it has served at the altar. 14 Now it is evident that our Lord came from Judah, and Moses said nothing about that tribe concerning priests.

• Jesus came from the lineage of Judah and King David.
• Aaron came from the tribe of Levi.
• High priests were only Levites.
• Levites who were not priests served as ministers.

15 And this becomes clearer if another priest like Melchizedek appears, 16 who did not become a priest based on a legal regulation about physical descent but based on the power of an indestructible life. 17 For it has been testified:
You are a priest forever
according to the order of Melchizedek.

• Psalm 110:4 – This is a quote… proving that David was not only a King but also prophet.
• Another priest – Jesus
• Not an additional priest.
• The old priesthood was established by fulfilling a legal command “law”.
• This represents death.
• The sacrifices in the old priesthood just died.
• The new priesthood was established by an indestructible life.
• Jesus died, was buried and rose from the dead.
• This represents life.
• Never dying… for eternity… forever!

18 So the previous command is annulled because it was weak and unprofitable

• The Law has been set aside for the believer.
• 10 commandments in the court house… not in the Church.
• We are no longer under the Law but under grace
• Romans 6:14 - For sin will not rule over you, because you are not under law but under grace.[2]

19 (for the law perfected nothing), but a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God.

• Under the old system, only the High Priest could approach the presence of God once a year (for atonement).
• Under the new covenant, the throne is always accessible to all believers.
• We now have the ability to have a relationship with God, through Jesus our High Priest, and become intimate with Him.
• Knowing this truth makes it hard for me to celebrate what He has done for me just a couple days out of the year.

20 None of this happened without an oath. For others became priests without an oath, 21 but he became a priest with an oath made by the one who said to him:
The Lord has sworn
and will not change his mind,
“You are a priest forever.”,
22 Because of this oath, Jesus has also become the guarantee of a better covenant.

• God made an oath that He will not break with Jesus.
• Aaron’s Priesthood was never guaranteed.
• Aaron’s Priesthood could end at any time… and it did at the cross.
• The veil was torn so that we could have access to God.

23 Now many have become Levitical priests, since they are prevented by death from remaining in office. 24 But because he remains forever, he holds his priesthood permanently.

• Jesus will not be succeeded by another priest.

25 Therefore, he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, since he always lives to intercede for them.

• always = completely
• Our salvation is not partially done… it is complete.
• Jesus is the one who saves and is responsible for keeping us saved.
• It is not by our works but by His gift and grace.
• For us to lose our salvation, Jesus would have to cease to exist.
• We are secure in Jesus.
• Jesus is always interceding for us.

26 For this is the kind of high priest we need: holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.

• Jesus differed than the Levitical Priests.
• Jesus was perfect in behavior.
• Levite Priests were sinners.
• Jesus is even separated from sinners by being in heaven.

27 He doesn’t need to offer sacrifices every day, as high priests do—first for their own sins, then for those of the people. He did this once for all time when he offered himself.

• Jesus never had to made a sacrifice for His own sin.
• He took care of the WHOLE sin issue on the cross.

28 For the law appoints as high priests men who are weak, but the promise of the oath, which came after the law, appoints a Son, who has been perfected forever.[3]

• Levitical priests were because they died as well as sinned.
• Jesus was resurrected after the Law came and has perfected it forever.

It is Jesus, our High Priest, who makes us perfect.

[1] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. 2009 (Ps 76:1–2). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
[2] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. 2009 (Ro 6:14). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
[3] Christian Standard Bible (Heb 7:1–28). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.