“Christianity In Five Verses”

“Christianity In Five Verses” – The Sequel to “The Gospel For Those Broken By The Church”

If you liked the first one of Dad Rod's little sermons, this one is better still.  22 minutes.

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Hebrews 6

This chapter has two distinct parts.  The first part flows from the last portion of chapter 5, discussing the elementary doctrine as opposed to the mature doctrine.  The second part sets up the explanation of the order of Melchizedek.  Let us look closely at each part and set the stage for chapter 7.

We left the last discussion with a discussion about the Word of Righteousness and the powers of discernment.  And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.  Ephesians 4:11-14.  The mature Christian has to exercise his mind.  Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.  Romans 12:2.  But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.  Hebrews 5:14.  Am I pummeling the equinus rigamortis?  Perhaps, but it is only because I saw him flinch.

Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.  

Repentance from dead works is an interesting phrase, worthy of its own series of posts.  James talks about dead faith, but what is this about dead works?  The answer is clear from all that we have discussed thus far.  Works are not the path to righteousness; works are the path from righteousness.  Why are we to leave behind discussion of what is essentially the Gospel?  Because the writer wants us to understand how all of the Old Testament types and shadows fit together with the revelation of Jesus Christ in the New Covenant.  This is the next level to which he would have us aspire.  Of course, Paul never really thought you could assume the Gospel.  He spends the first part of every letter reiterating basic doctrine, always making sure that the foundation is solid before building upon it.  In our day, this approach is more necessary than ever.

For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.

We spend so much time on this concept, worrying about this and that person falling away.  Really, if you have the proper reformed categories, this is a non-issue.  Let me explain.  Let’s assume for a moment that Romans 9-11 and several other places in the both the Old and New Testaments are accurate in discussing the idea of the elect.  I like making this assumption because I believe that it is true.  But for those Arminians who read this, let’s just make the assumption for a moment.  How does that presupposition effect the above passage?  The elect cannot fall away.  Jesus states that He is the Good Sheppard and He will not lose even the least of His flock.  So, to whom, then, is the writer referring that may have fallen away?  They cannot be the elect, because the writer states that it is impossible to restore these to whom he is speaking.  At this point, some might try and apply that phrase from the Synoptics of which this is an example: But he said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.” Luke 18:27.  Here is the difference.  The writer of Hebrews specifically discusses covenant blessings through the Holy Spirit.  Then, he talks about crucifying Jesus once again.  The point is this.  Not all who are part of the visible church are actually part of the invisible church.  Was Judas a circumcised Jew?  During life, did he receive the blessings of being within that covenant community?  Is he a part of the True Church?  In the same way, Baptism brings us into the covenant community.  But not all who are Baptized are part of the True Church.   

When those who do not have true faith participate in the Sacraments, particularly in Communion, they are doing exactly the unforgivable sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.  By partaking in Communion without the faith that goes with it, they are, in a very real sense, crucifying Jesus again.  The believer goes beyond the crucifixion to the resurrection.  The reprobate only goes to the cross, but never to Easter.  Therefore, they may appear to drift in and out of covenant community during their lives, without ever truly being believers.   

This is not to suggest that we are fruit inspectors.  All sheep will certainly stray for a time.  But their path back is not blocked, for they return for true repentance, because they understand the source of their righteousness before God.  So, like the rain that falls on all ground, all those that receive the Sacraments may not produce good fruit, because that ground was not fertile.  They were not among the elect.  That ground was only going to product thorns and thistles.  Therefore, all of this drifting away was inevitable.

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

OK, my friends.  What exactly is going on in this paragraph?  Let’s start with the phrase things that belong to salvation.  Salvation is about judgment.  We cannot lose track of that point.  The door to salvation is faith in the redeeming work of Christ on the cross, in His propitiating sacrifice.  Now, let’s examine God’s justice.  For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do.  Does this sentence undo every other line of scripture concerning justification?  And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.  How does one have the full assurance of hope until the end?  You have that assurance by knowing that our justification is independent of these works.  Remember how this section began, talking about repentance from dead works.  God will not overlook your good works any more than He will overlook your sin, if you want to base your righteousness on your own works.  The point is that, outside of Christ, there are no good works in terms of God’s righteousness, only the righteousness of man, which Paul told us was rubbish.  Jesus Christ sanctifies our  works as well as the rest of us.  After we are justified by faith, we are sanctified by faith so that even our works now are sanctified and truly good works, not those dead works of above.  The only way to be imitators of those who inherit the promise is to be one of those who inherit the promises.  And since you are one of those, act like it.

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

In Bible study, we referred to the Covenant ritual of God with Abraham.  Here is that passage from Genesis 15:17.  When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces.  In these rituals, there were always TWO things passing through the pieces.  The first thing is the Great High King.  The second thing is the vassal king, and the blood of the animals was sprinkled upon the second king to remind him of the curses.  The conditions, the blessings and the curses, all fell upon the second king.  Notice the Covenant ritual of God with Moses from Exodus in chapter 24 and of the Aaron in chapter 29.  The blood was cast upon Moses, the Israelites, the altar, the Law, Aaron.  In the first example, God, the father, and God, the Son, pass through the pieces. They are clearly of the same substance.  All of the Covenant responsibility falls upon God, not on Abraham.  All of the Covenant responsibility at Sinai falls upon Israel, not God.  These are two totally different types of Covenants.  Finally, Jesus had gone behind the curtain, into the Holy of Holies, on our behalf.  He is the firstborn from the dead.  He tears open the veil and allows us to end boldly, in confidence, in His name.

He is the eternal Great High Priest of the order of Melchizedek.  In the next post, we will finally come to Melchizedek.

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Hebrews 5—The Great High Priest, part 1

This is the beginning of the portion of the book of Hebrews, starting at 4:14, that deals with Christ’s role as the Great High Priest.  This book lays out the idea of Covenant, the types and shadows of the Old Testament, the basic problem of man, the solution to that problem as provided by Christ in the New Covenant, His role as the Great High Priest, and the nuts and bolts of how this Covenant works.  It is a remarkable undertaking.

Briefly recapping where we have been, Christ is great than angels, because He is God, of the same substance as the Father.  He became incarnate to become fully man, but remained fully God.  As such, although fully man, he remains much greater than angels and much greater than Moses.  We examined the Sinai covenant of Moses and the Abrahamic Covenant.  We looked at the types and shadows of the Old Testament through the lens of the Mosaic Covenant, and then through the lens of the Abrahamic Covenant.  Now, we are ready for the introduction of Jesus in His role as Great High Priest.

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

Starting with verse 14, what is our confession?  Are we speaking in this place of the confession of sin?  No, not really.  Some of the great doctrinal statements of the Protestant Reformation are known as confessions (Augsburg, Westminster, Baptist.)  This refers to our confession of faith in Jesus’ redeeming work on the cross.  That is how the writer of Hebrews is using this word.  What is significant about the Great High Priest having passed through the heavens?  This goes to the point of types and shadows, again.  In the earthly Temple in Jerusalem, the great high priest entered into the Holy of Holies, and there was uncertainty whether he would come back out again.  They tied a rope around his foot in case he was struck dead, so they could haul out his body and not profane the place with his body that was clearly, after being struck dead for unrighteousness, unworthy of being there.  But after the destruction of the Temple, it is clear that the Temple has moved to heaven, to the heavenly Jerusalem.  And yet why make this whole line of argument if the Jerusalem Temple was gone?  Likely because the book of Hebrews was written before 70 A.D.  The Temple was figuratively destroyed on Easter morning; the physical destruction, of epically less importance, came some 37 years later.  So, the point here is that Jesus did not just come through the Holy of Holies unscathed, He came through Heaven unscathed, and He’s there now, at that Temple, performing the role of Great High Priest.  But here is the crux of the whole argument of Hebrews: how do we, mere humans with no supernatural portion, still toiling under the curse of Adam, draw near to the throne of grace?  And when is this time of need?

Let’s focus on this because it works on two levels.  First, let’s work on the large picture of redemptive history.  The throne of grace is clearly Heaven.  We can with confidence draw near to God, who resides on that throne, only if we are righteous.  Remember here that the writer of Hebrews has followed a similar path as Paul in Romans, as Isaiah, as Jeremiah, as the Psalmist, in describing the evil of the human heart after the fall.  We have no righteousness of our own.  Remember in Philippians where Paul says that the righteousness that he thought he had was rubbish, dung.  Let’s look closely at that section of Paul’s letter to the Philippians for a moment.

Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. 3 For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God1 and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh—4 though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. 7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

That is a powerful message about righteousness through faith in Christ.  We can only approach the throne of God with confidence if we have this righteousness from God that depends on faith.  That was Paul’s point, and it is also the point of the writer of Hebrews.

On the second level, let’s address that time of need.  This phrase has the potential for tremendous abuse.  This is not about making intercessions for our health, wealth and happiness.  The apostles never worried a moment about such trifles.  To help us understand this time of need, let’s go back to Paul again in Romans 7.

7 What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” 8 But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead. 9 I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. 10 The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. 11 For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. 12 So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.

13 Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure. 14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. 15 For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. 17 So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. 22 For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, 23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

So, Paul tells us that our time of need is when we sin. Even though as believers we are free of the bondage of sin, because our bodies are still under the Law, under the curse of Adam, in  Adam, we fail in our obedience to Christ.  We know better and it bothers us tremendously.  But we can now go boldly back to the throne of God, repent and receive forgiveness.  How do we get there?  We aren’t dead yet and the Second Coming is still in the future.  We get there by prayer, through the name of Jesus, and the power of the Holy Spirit.

The first ten verse of chapter 5 are comparing the Old Testament Temple system to the New Covenant Temple under Jesus Christ.  It should be self evident in reading these verses exactly why Jesus is much superior to any high priest chosen from among men.  There is a quote from Psalm 110 stuck into verse 6 that refers to Melchizedek.

The LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”  The LORD sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter.  Rule in the midst of your enemies!  Your people will offer themselves freely on the day of your power, in holy garments; from the womb of the morning, the dew of your youth will be yours.

The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”

The Lord is at your right hand; he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath.  He will execute judgment among the nations, filling them with corpses; he will shatter chiefs over the wide earth.  He will drink from the brook by the way; therefore he will lift up his head.

This Psalm is clearly messianic and it speaks of the time between the Ascension and Judgment Day when Christ sits at the right hand of God, and then of Judgment Day.  Again, we see this order of Melchizedek.  Where can we find this order? 

Melchizedek appears in the story of Abram, before he was Abraham, way back in Genesis 14.  Can you see from this reference how the writer of Hebrews has been painstakingly fleshing out that Salvation is not from Moses, not from the Law, but rather Salvation is through faith, through the Covenant with Abraham.  Over and over again, we keep coming back to Genesis and that Covenant, a royal grant, rather than the conditional covenant of Moses and the Law.  We will spend more time with Melchizedek shortly, so let’s move on to the end of the chapter.

The last paragraph of chapter 5 appears to be a warning, and yet, it was presented in Bible study as a tongue in cheek jibe to entice believers to want to attain a higher level of understanding.  Let’s break down that last paragraph and see what you think.

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

Starting from the first line, it may just be hard to explain, but you know that the writer is about to do just that, explain the order of Melchizedek to us.  So what is this about being dull of hearing?  We discussed this in the Hebrews 3 post concerning Psalm 94.  The writer is not just taunting the listeners, he is quoting scripture, Psalm 94.  What are these basic principles that these listeners need to be taught?  The writer is teaching them now.  They are all of the relationships between the types and shadows of the Old Testament and the Old Testament Covenants to the reality of the New Covenant in Christ.  What is it to be unskilled in the word of righteousness?  The Jews hear righteousness and think of compliance to the Law, in other words, the Jews think deeds.  The word of righteousness is about a declaration.  It is about news.  It is the Gospel.  Following the double entendre, the Word of Righteousness is Jesus Christ, Himself.  The writer is telling the audience to stop looking at themselves, and start looking to Christ.  And finally, solid food is for those who have exercised their powers of discernment.  In other words, stop trying to do something; use your mind and learn something.

I want to finish up this section with another section from Paul.  This is from Ephesians 4:11-14.        

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

These are powerful words from Paul to end our discussion.  Notice how well they dovetail with the words from the writer of Hebrews.  The quality of children, who can only handle milk, is that they are easily deceived by false doctrine and human cunning.  The quality of mature men of Christ is discernment.  Paul and the writer of Hebrews agree that doctrine is the thing.  Use your mind and get the doctrine right.

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.  (Romans 12:2 ESV)

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Hebrews 4

His rest.  Clearly, we need to understand exactly to what the writer refers with this phrase before we can understand this chapter.  Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it.  While the promise of entering his rest still stands….  Let us make no mistake about it, this statement comes completely upon the heels of the Chapter 3 discussion of His heritage and we know that this heritage is based upon the promise of God to Abraham.  These are eschatological ideas and refer to redemptive historical context.  We enter His rest after we die or on the Day of the Second Coming, whichever comes first.  Until that day, we continue to life IN Adam, simultaneously citizens of this present evil age and the Age to Come.  That is the tension with which we live as Christians.  Therefore, the promise still stands as long as we are alive and before the Second Coming.  After either one of those events, it is too late for us.  

…let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it.  The key word here is seem.  Why is this the case?  First of all, we are not given the job of fruit inspection, and we don’t truly know the fate of anyone else.  We only know whether we truly believe.  Some may seem to be true believers.  They say all the prayers correctly and attend church every Wednesday and Sunday.  Others may seem to struggle in their faith, forever tottering in doubt, full of ethical dilemmas and questionable decisions.  The mysteries of the Holy Spirit are not made known to us.  Who is to say which of those two is saved and which is not.  Therefore, let us fear.

This is going to sound like a contradiction in a while when the writer talks about boasting, but you know that it isn’t.  When the writer is speaking to the whole congregation, he does not know to which group he is speaking.  There is the distinct possibility that there are reprobate present within the congregation.  This is not a statement about works, because we can see that he qualifies the comment with seems. 

For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened.  This is a remarkable statement.  Remember that the prior passage is about the Jews in the time of Moses.  Think about that point in redemptive history.  They had just received the Law in written form.  And yet, the writer says that good news came to them, also.  To what message is the writer referring?  Is it the Law?  No!  Israel was saved at Passover just before the Red Sea events at the beginning of their sojourn across the desert.  They were shown the sacrifices.  All of the types and shadows of what was to come in Jesus were there for them to see.  The message of the good news did not benefit them because they did not believe like those who truly listened.  Moses understood the big picture.  Abraham certainly understood the big picture.  But those Israelites who wandered the desert did not see beyond the promise of earthly Jerusalem to the promise of heavenly Jerusalem.

As you wander through verses 3-6, notice these points.  We who have believed entered that rest, in contrast with those who failed to enter because of disobedience.  Again, this is a remarkable passage.  Salvation is a passive event for the believer.  It is based upon the active work of another, Christ Jesus.  In contrast, disobedience is an active event by the nonbeliever.  The only actions of which fallen man is capable are in disobedience.  It is by listening and by faith in the promise that we receive Salvation.  Now, in the middle of that passage, God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit finished His works from the foundation of the world.  And as we will see shortly, after his earthly mission, Jesus finished His works in this incarnation with His death, burial and resurrection.  Notice how all these pieces fit nicely together, Old Testament and New Testament.

Watch what happens in verses 8-10.  For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. 9 So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, 10 for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.  OK, who are the people of God?  Are we talking about earthly Israel?  Of course not.  We are speaking of Heavenly Israel, those native branches and those wild branches alike that are grafted together on the root of Jesse, Jesus Christ.  When do we enter into God’s rest?  We enter into His rest when we die or on the Last Day, whichever comes first.  Thus, we rest from our works when we die or on the Last Day, whichever comes first.  Is this about righteousness?  No, this is about the reward, Salvation.  Righteousness is from belief, from faith in the redeeming work of Jesus on the cross, a faith we receive from the Holy Spirit.

Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. 12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.  This passage is tough and will require careful consideration.  Starting from verse 11, is the writer suggesting that our works will profit us in terms of salvation?  At first glance, he seems to be doing just that.  But then, we realize that he is explaining the purpose of the Law.  When we read the phrase the word of God is living and active, remember that this is a double entendre.  We receive the Holy Spirit by listening to the Word of God preached into our ears.  But also, remember John 1.  Jesus Christ is the Word.  He is the Word made flesh.  He is living and active.  He does discern the depths of our hearts.  He does pierce our souls.  Why the image of the two-edged sword?  There are different types of blades.  The two edged sword can cut in either direction and can also be used to stab.  It is a more direct weapon.  But the crux of the imagery is that a two-edged sword cuts both ways.  If wielded unskillfully, it is as likely to cut the one who wields it.

Finally, this section ends in judgment.  All are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.  Make no mistake.  We will all have to give an account.  And what have we learned so far from the writer of Hebrews?  Remember from the last chapter:

So, who then, ultimately are the righteous, the upright of heart?  We know from Psalms 5, 10, 14 and 36,  Isaiah 59 and 64, and Romans 1-3, that no one is righteous, no, not even one.  Look at Ecclesiastes 7:20.  Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.  So, who are the righteous, the upright of heart?  No one.  No one qualifies.  That is the point of the Law.  After the Fall, no one is capable of fulfilling the Law. 

Therefore, this whole idea of impending Judgment absolutely should put fear into us, fear of the Wrath of God.  At the end of chapter 4, though, the writer refers us back to the end of chapter 2.  Jesus is the Great High Priest.  Next, we will discuss the role of the Great High Priest.

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Hebrews 3

Therefore.  Today’s passage begins, once again, with therefore.  The last section of chapter 2 dealt with Jesus becoming a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.  The rest that follows is in light of that declaration, the key declaration of chapter 2.  But chapter 3 has a large quote stuck smack in the middle of it.  So, let’s go to Psalm 95 first, and see the context of that Psalm, then return to Hebrews and see how the writer of Hebrews contextualizes that Psalm.

The theme of chapter 3, perhaps the whole book of Hebrews, is true faith.  True faith is a faith placed in the correct place.  Faith always has an object (hint: look up to blue letters just above.) Before we jump back into the Old Testament, notice the first half of verse 7 first, Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says….  The writer is stating that the Holy Spirit was speaking the words of Psalm 95.  Jumping to John 14-16, we know that the Holy Spirit always speaks of the redeeming plan of God through Jesus Christ.  Therefore, the writer of Hebrews is saying that Psalm 95 is in some way about Jesus.  Now, we are almost ready to go there.

Psalm 94 is going to be our starting point.  Read it now.  Since we are already in chapter 6 of Hebrews, some of this is going to sound terribly familiar.  As you read Psalm 94, ask yourself to whom the Psalmist is speaking in verse 8.  Understand, O dullest of the people!  Fools, when will you be wise?  Now, just for a second, go peak at Hebrews 5:11.  About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.  It is probably obvious that dull is not complementary.  One last section of Psalm 94 before we move on: verses 14-15.  For the Lord will not forsake his people; he will not abandon his heritage; 15 for justice will return to the righteous, and all the upright in heart will follow it.  I want you to hear these images, and just let them register for now.  Later, we will put all the images together into a collage, and from there a larger picture will emerge.

Psalm 95:1-7a fits in nicely with the Psalms of praise before and after.  But stuck into this string of praise, is 94 and 95:7b-11. 

Today, if you hear his voice, 8 do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness, 9 when your fathers put me to the test and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.  10 For forty years I loathed that generation and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart, and they have not known my ways.” 11 Therefore I  swore in my wrath, “They shall not enter my rest.”

Now, in Bible study, we learned that these words refer to events in Exodus 17:1-7.  But the key to this passage is the issues of hearts and rest.

Let’s go back to Psalm 94 and see that God will not abandon his heritage, and then in Psalm 95 that the fathers put God to the test, and he loathed them for it.  This is tough stuff.  Whenever I hear nominal Christians suggest that Jesus loves me, and he just wants me to do my best, or that God loves the sinner, but hates the sin, I think of passages like this. The fathers of that generation of Israel put God to the test, and He loathed them for it.  That sort of gives pause to how we choose to pray, does it not?  What is going on in those verses?

Now, for the heart, we are asked not to harden our hearts, because justice with return to the righteous, and all the upright of heart will follow it.  Upright is a virtual synonym for righteous in this phrase.  So, this all sounds like a command.  But what we have to realize is that this is Psalms, the center of the Old Testament.  David wrote many of these Psalms.  The covenants are all in play at this point, as we are prior to the Diaspora in redemptive history.  The key point is that the Sinai Covenant, or Mosaic Covenant, is a conditional covenant.  Do this and ye shall live; do it not and ye shall perish.  This is a Law passage.  What happened to Israel later in redemptive history?  They failed at keeping the Law, and were therefore thrown out of the promised land.  So, who then, ultimately are the righteous, the upright of heart?  We know from Psalms 5, 10, 14 and 36,  Isaiah 59 and 64, and Romans 1-3, that no one is righteous, no, not even one.  Look at Ecclesiastes 7:20.  Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.  So, who are the righteous, the upright of heart?  No one.  No one qualifies.  That is the point of the Law.  After the Fall, no one is capable of fulfilling the Law. 

But, we also have the part about God not abandoning His heritage.  Which covenant is still intact after the Diaspora?  Stop looking at Moses, and set your eyes upon Abraham.  That covenant is a royal grant that is guaranteed by God.  Upon what basis was Abraham deemed righteous?  Was he obedient to the Law?  I would remind you of the episode with his wife in Egypt.  He is declared righteous because he believes in the promise of God.  He did not earn this declaration by his works.  He did not deserve this declaration.  He received this declaration based upon his faith in the promise of God.

Reformed theology, and remember that the Episcopal Church is a reformed church, understands that the Bible is pounding away at the notion that the heart is evil, that man is not capable of good.  So, when we are told not to harden our heart, we are being asked to do the impossible.  All that we are capable of doing as fallen people is to turn away from God and harden our hearts.  It is God who seeks us.  God, through the power and work of the Holy Spirit, gathers the sheep and gives them the gift of faith.  We, the elect, receive that faith in the work of Jesus on the Cross and his propitiation on our behalves, by the power of the Holy Spirit.

And now, finally, let’s go to Chapter 3, starting with verse 12.   

Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. 13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. 

Remember who the audience of Hebrews is: a believing community of Christians, who are predominantly of Jewish heritage.  The faith of the elect is through the power of the Holy Spirit.  Therefore, that is a faith that cannot be turned aside.  Jesus will not lose even one of his flock.  So, who then can these others be who are able to harden their hearts?

The answer is within that word that follows along from Old Testament to New Testament, describing the set of people known as believers: remnant.  To understand this whole comment, the Calvinist doctrine of visible and invisible church is helpful.  Suppose instead of church, we are talking about the Old Testament covenants.  There are clearly benefits to being a Jewish citizen during the time of David, unless your name is Uriah.  But while all Jewish citizens share in these same benefits, only a few are both in the family of Israel and also believers in the promise of God to Abraham.  Most of Israel viewed the covenants through the conditional covenant of Moses at Sinai.  Therefore, the object of their faith was on their own righteousness (or perceived self-righteousness) rather than upon the righteousness that is a gift from God through his promise as it is made known to us by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Therefore, there were some who benefited from being with the overall covenant community, but were not, in fact, a part of that remnant of whom the Bible speaks.  In the same way, the church is full of a group of people who benefit from being members of that community.  But some of them may not believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ.  They might not have been given the gift of true faith through the power of the Holy Spirit.  These people would be sitting in church on Sunday, and listening to the sermon given by the writer of Hebrews.  These people are not true believers.  They will harden their hearts towards God.  This is the natural state of man.  Except for the Holy Spirit and His gift of belief by Mercy and Grace to the remnant elect, there we would all be, everyone of us.

So, who falls away and who holds fast to their faith in Jesus’ redeeming work and propitiation on our behalf to the end?  The people who give lip service to the gospel, but lack true believe: those will fall away.  The people who have received the gift of true faith in Christ’s redeeming work: those will persevere to the end, but not of their own doing.  It is only by the power of the Holy Spirit that it is possible for anyone.

Now, look at verses 16-19.  Who were those who rebelled in the time of Moses?  Who were the ones who persevered and entered into His rest?  Verse 19 says: So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.  It’s right there in the text.  Belief is the criteria for boldly claiming the inheritance. 

In chapter 4, we are going to discuss this idea of His rest.

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Hebrews 2

After careful thought, I decided that I needed to go backwards and get us caught up to the present.  Next week, we are entering into a key point of the book, but perhaps without the background necessary to understand the argument.  Hebrews builds an argument in much the same way as the Book of Romans.  Perhaps no two other Books in the whole of the Bible build up momentum and construct an argument with such tightness and clarity as these two.  Therefore, we need to continue from where we left the story.

The first word of chapter 2 is therefore.  Already, we have to start looking back into chapter 1 to see the antecedent of therefore.  Chapter 1 argues that Jesus is the Messiah, and much loftier and greater than the angels.  Therefore, we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.  As we finish the first paragraph, the question that must be asked is: what is the topic?  The topic is salvation.

Let us pause for a moment and consider salvation.  Remember the audience to whom the writer is speaking: believing and converted Jews.  Throughout the whole of this epistle, it is vital to remember that audience.  Because of that audience, the writer will make some assumptions, assumptions that we should perhaps clarify.  Salvation is not about the here and now, in this present evil age.  Salvation is not about these Last Days, after the revelation of God’s redemptive plan through Jesus Christ and His Incarnation, Life, Death, Resurrection and Ascension.  Salvation is about the result of these events upon our verdict on Judgment Day, after the Second Coming of Jesus when He will gather his sheep and separate the wolves.  This whole argument, then, will be about the end game.  This book is about Salvation.  Keep that in mind.  When we come to passages about works, remember that those passages have this vital assumption in mind.  We are talking about Salvation first, and works second.

Look now at verse 5.  What is the meaning of the world to come?  This phrase will filter back into the argument later in the letter, so let us be sure to understand it now.  We are talking about the world after the Second Coming, when the elect are resurrected and living with Christ in His Eternal Kingdom.  The world to come is not this present world in these Last Days in which we currently live.  This is a vital point.  The writer is setting up this contrast intentionally.  This is the contrast that we have discussed in the past concerning the types and shadows of the Old Covenant, Mount Sinai, the original covenant people (the Jews), Israel, Jerusalem, Moses and the Law, with the fulfilled and fully realized counterparts in the Age to come, the world to come, where each becomes their real selves, the New Covenant, Mount Zion, the new covenant people (believers in the promise of salvation through the redeeming work of Christ), the full and complete Israel with its adopted members, the heavenly Jerusalem discussed by John, Jesus and the Gospel.  I have tried to maintain parallel construction of that last sentence so that you may see clearly the types and shadows of the old juxtaposed with the fully realized new.  This is what the writer of Hebrews is doing in this book.  He is setting up this vision of our future.  Why?  We will come to that eventually.

Psalms 8 is directly quoted in the next few lines.  What is meant by the line you made him for a little while lower than the angels?  Again, what was the antecedent argument to our current argument?  Jesus is much in every way superior to the angels.  But now, for a little while, He is lower than the angels.  This is a direct reference to Jesus condescending to become incarnate through Mary as fully human.  The reason for this will be discussed again shortly, but it is important to understand the direction of the argument.  It sounds a bit like the Gospel of John.  In the beginning was the Word, and now He has become incarnate.  Why?  This passage is about Salvation, so there will be a link developed soon in verse 9. 

But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.  So, the writer is making a direct connection between Grace and death.  Look at that again.  By the Grace of God, He might taste death for everyone.  It cannot fail to be obvious to even the casual reader that has to be some benefit or purpose behind the death of Jesus.  There is Grace involved, and Jesus is dying for everyone.  Why?  Yes, the writer is going to help us out with that.  Remember, this is going to be about Salvation.  What is Salvation?  Salvation is about getting the sheep verdict on Judgment Day instead of the wolf verdict.

For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. 11 For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source.  That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers

Now, if you are like me, this verse was akin to being whacked with a 2 x 4 across the head.  This is the whole point of chapter 2, so let’s break it down.  The first He in this passage is referring to God the Father.  Notice that the writer says for whom and by whom, and yet he does not say through whom.  Through whom is the second person of the Trinity and that is also the second He of this passage.  Who are the many sons to glory?  Look in the mirror.  We are talking about the elect, the believers, the sheep, all those who will be saved on Judgment Day.

I don’t know how to draw any more emphasis to these next two phrases than I have already, but focus now.  I’m going to move the antecedents back into the phrase for clarity.  Watch this.  For it was fitting that God should make Jesus, the founder of their Salvation, perfect through suffering.  Why?  What’s up with that?  Jesus is the founder of our salvation.  Founder means the one who founds or establishes.  So, we have several implications here.  There was no salvation before Jesus.  That’s tricky, but we will deal with the Old Testament patriarchs soon enough.  There is no salvation without Jesus.  This one is not as clearly implied here, but it is the logical flow from the first point.  The founder becomes the foundation, the first born from the dead.  That is the idea that we will be developing later.  Keep hold of that thought.

Now, the second part of that phrase is more difficult.  God makes Jesus perfect through suffering.  This is NOT saying that Jesus was not perfect before.  This is discussing salvation.  Remember the difficult question from earlier.  How does Jesus dying involve Grace?  Purpose.  There must be a purpose.  Jesus is being made a perfect sacrifice.  We have to connect all of the dots.  Remember again that the audience for this letter already know the Old Testament.  They know about the sacrifices and the roles of the priests and the relationship between all these things and the people of Israel.  When we get farther into this epistle, that statement is going to seem odd.  But for now, remember that the types and shadows are known to this audience.  The writer is connecting the dots for them.  So, the issue is that Jesus became incarnate in order to be made a perfect sacrifice.  Now, what’s this about suffering?

As an aside, I don’t want to deal yet with the Trinitarian issues that scream out to us throughout Hebrews.  We have to assume the Trinity and know that we cannot separate the Trinity as we read Hebrews.  The arguments for the Oneness of the Trinity are not contradicted by Hebrews, but that is far too much to tackle while we are developing the Salvation theme. 

Suffering.  The writer continues.  Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.  OK, that makes it clear.  Suffering means to share in flesh and blood.  Another way of saying this is that life, by definition, involves suffering.  Or maybe that Jesus, being God and condescends to incarnation as flesh and blood is suffering relative to His original state.  But finally, the only way to defeat death is to die, and then resurrect his body.  To die from flesh and blood is to suffer the penalty of sin.

Slavery.  We are slaves to sin and death, the fear of death.  When Jesus overcomes death, He frees the believer from the fear of sin and death.  Notice that He doesn’t eliminate our sin or our death.  He frees us from the fear of the Wrath of God, which are the ultimate cause of our fear of sin and death.  Our bodies remain IN Adam.  We will have to die to Adam to be reborn in Christ, unless the Second Coming happens during our lifetime.  While spiritually, those true elect believers in the New Covenant are already dead to sin and reborn in Christ, bodily we must await the Second Coming.

Pushing on to the last passage, who are the offspring of Abraham?  To understand this, we must go back to Genesis 15 and understand two things.  First, based upon what is Abraham deemed righteous.  This is getting back to that question earlier.  If Jesus is the founder of Salvation, how are Old Testament people saved?  The answer is there for us in the Word.  He is deemed righteous based upon His belief in the promise of God.  Abraham knew that Salvation was beyond himself, and that it would require God’s mercy and grace.  Second, the promise of God to Abraham and his offspring gets to the notion of family.  There are natural members of his family, the Jewish branches, and there are the adopted members of his family, those Gentiles grafted into the family.  Sons through adoption are full inheritors of the mercy and grace of God through the Redeeming work of Jesus.  So, don’t forget that we are adopted into this family.

Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

My goodness, that is a mouthful.  Here, we are introduced to the term high priest.  This will also be developed later in Hebrews.  I keep pointing out that the audience is supposed to already understand the types and shadows.  They know what a high priest does.  The writer is connecting the dots.  Jesus is the New High Priest.  He is the First, Last and Only High Priest.  That is the revelation in redemptive history that has brought us into this period in time, these Last Days, the time between the First and Second Comings of Christ.

I want to focus my last thought for this post on the end of verse 17:   to make propitiation for the sins of the people.  I have spoken in great detail in the past about this word.  In some translations, the word is removed, changed, edited, discarded.  But here it is again.  Hilasterion must be translated in some way, and propitiation offers the most full and complete manner of understanding all that Christ accomplishes for us.  As the Great High Priest, Jesus not only washes away our sin, but He reconciles us to God.  Both parts of this are vitally important.  You cannot be saved if you are still in enmity with God.  There must not only be a cleansing of the sin, but a turning away of the Wrath of God from those elect who are Christ’s own. 

So when we get to the last verse, how does Jesus help those who are being tempted?  Does Jesus prevent us from sinning?  No, we are still born IN Adam, under the curse.  We still will fail in our efforts to keep from sinning.  Jesus helps us by becoming the Great High Priest, our Intercessor, our Only Mediator and Advocate.  When does this happen?  He intervenes for us on the Last Day, Judgment Day.  How is this relevant to us now?  Well, for that, we must wait for later chapters.

Therefore is used frequently in Hebrews.  The writer is building an argument.  We must keep straight the points of the argument as we go, so that we understand the full argument at the end.

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The Glass Orb and Amazing Grace

My friends, it has been a while.  Today will be long, so buckle in.  We shall begin with a parable of sorts.

Once upon a time, there was a man.  He saw that the creation of fire was a key point for survival for his people.  The stone merchant had a monopoly on flint sales while the forager guild had control of kindling.  Anyone could manage to get firewood, but getting them lit was problematic.  This man noticed one day that when light passed though a smooth rounded disc of glass, it focused light and made that spot very hot, eventually igniting anything flammable at the focal point.  He wedged the disc between two branches of a limb, and trimmed the limb to a staff.  He traveled to the village to share his knowledge with the people there.

As flame leapt from the wood under his glass, he looked round at the faces of the people.  Some faces displayed fear, of the fire, of the glass, of him.  Other faces displayed anger, particularly those of the merchants.  Still other faces displayed envy, for the eyes of those faces saw the power that the man possessed.  Of those who envied, there were those who thought the power was from the man.  Others thought that the power was from the glass.  Still others thought that the power was from the staff.  A few looked up and saw that the man was harnessing the power of the sun.  But only one received the knowledge of the man.  That man looked into the eyes of the first man and he knew the secret.

The villagers rose up against the man.  They killed the man, broke his glass, and burned his staff.  The merchants went back to selling.  The villagers went back to buying.  The envious attempted to reconstruct the event.  Some obtained fragments of the glass, but the fragments cast shadows as though they were rocks.  Others determined that the staff was oaken, and made many staves of oak, none of which produced a flame.

The second man went away.  He went to the beach and gathered sand.  He went to the blacksmith and taught him how to heat the glass to make it glow bright orange.  He took a ring of iron and dipped it into the molten glass and pulled up a ball of fire.  Turning the ring as the glass cooled, he made a smooth curved disc of glass, attached to the ring of iron.  The blacksmith welded the ring to a staff of steel for the man.  The man went to the village and changed commerce in that village for rest of time.

Where is the power?  That is the question that is relevant to us now, as it has always been.  Where is the power?  Is the power of God in the priest, deacon, bishop, pastor, parson, or hands of any man?  Is the power in the Holy water of Baptism?  Is the power in the ritual, the liturgy, the prayers, the confessions?  Is the power in our faith?  Is the power in our community?

The power is in the Word.  The Word was made flesh, and His name was Jesus.  We receive the gifts of the Spirit through the Sacraments and through the preaching of His Word.  We listen to His Word and we receive the Sacraments.  Through this, we are given the gift of the power of His Grace. 

Well, then, what does this power do?  Does the power make our lives better?  Perhaps.  Does the power light fires for us?  No, probably not.  Does the power solve our problems and give us health, wealth and happiness?  Do we live into the power?  Does the power change anything around us in this world?

The power is in the Word.  The power is the knowledge of who God is, who Christ is, who the Holy Spirit is.  The power is the knowledge of what Christ did for us, to reconcile us to God, a knowledge we receive through the work of the Holy Spirit.  The power is the knowledge of our doomed existence, and the gift of Salvation and eternal life through Christ and the resurrection of the body and prophesy of the second coming.  The power is in knowing, even before we believe, that the Word is Truth.

Today, we heard about the great deeds of another Saint in our morning homily.  He was a saint like so many of the others who did great things in the name of Jesus and His church.  We say to each other, what marvelous things he did, and wouldn’t it be great if another like him would come along in our day.  We aspire to emulate his works and minister and serve and to be that example to others.

We fail utterly to recognize the power.  The power is not in the works done by the saints.  The power is not in the greatness of the deeds of the saints.  The power is not of the saints.  The saints first believed the Gospel.  The works of the saints are in response to the Gospel.  Others, non-Christians, are capable of good works.  They are capable of strong community.  They are capable of faith, strong faith.  But this is not the distinction of our saints.  Our saints believed the Gospel.  They drew their strength from the Gospel.  Their actions, their works, their deeds are outflows from the Gospel.  The power is in the Word.  The Gospel is not incidental.  The saints did not say, “Of course, the Gospel” and proceed to do good works.  The saints did good works because of the Gospel.  They understood Grace.

Also today, we were reminded of our national legacy of institutionalized slavery.  Our Constitution actually contained language valuing a man as 3/5 of a human being.  The hymn “Amazing Grace” was written by John Newton, a man who was, at a point in time in his life, a slave trader.  Think of the words to that song. 

Amazing grace! How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind but now I see.

Reportedly, Newton was reading the book of Romans when he finally understood Grace.  While his vocation lent plenty of fuel to the idea of his damnation, how could he suddenly realize that he was found?  What did he suddenly see?  What exactly is this amazing grace?  If a slave trader can be suddenly found and see himself as righteous before God, what was this power contained in that amazing grace?

These are the questions I will explore in the next posts, on Hebrews 4-6.

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