This chapter is broken down into three segments of verses that inform us of the dignity of Christ, warns us of the danger of unbelief brought about by sin and the need to stay faithful to Christ…following him with a steadfast zeal.

Christ is the Messenger sent to us by God. This truth resting firmly on our  faith is revealed to us through Christ and He is the hope we have for a better day. Christ is many things. He is the Messiah and is anointed to both the offices of Apostle and High Priest. He is Jesus, our Savior, our healer…the Great Physician. Consider if you will what He is to us now…what He will be to us hereafter and forever. The Jews have always recognized the faithfulness of Moses and held him in the highest of esteem. Moses was a faithful servant but Christ was the eternal Son of God. Here was a point of separation. They were being told that Christ was the Master of this house, of His Church, His people, as well as their Maker. They must follow the ways of Christ, be steadfast and possess perseverance throughout this journey, until the end. All our thoughts of Christ and his salvation will bring us more wisdom, the need to love others and confidence and obedience.

There are days when we can be provoked into something we would not usually do, days that we give in to our temptations. A Christian knows that he is totally dependent on God’s will and guidance in his life. To ignore that is to provoke God. When we harden our hearts we open the door to the sins that abound in our world. We have all seen or have known someone whose sin has destroyed their life and the lives of those around them, this should serve as a warning to all of us. All sin but especially that which is committed by professing Christians not only provokes God but grieves God greatly. God is not given to wrath or does He rush to justice…God is gracious and gives us every opportunity to change and repent. Those who persist and are impenitent to His grace and forgiveness will risk the wrath of God from which there is no rest. If we allow ourselves to distrust God, we may fall away and soon desert Him. We have all heard the saying there is no promise of tomorrow, we must make the best of this day, make it God’s day. There is not one Christian among us that will not or does not need another Christian’s help. There are none among us, no matter how low they may have gone that do not deserve our care for their standing in the faith, their safety and health, all God’s creation is our responsibility. Sin comes at us in many different ways and it takes more than just our eyes to recognize it. Sin can appear fair, but it is vile. Sometimes it seems pleasant but it is destructive, promising much but giving nothing. Our deceitful behavior to hide the sin hardens our hearts and souls. One sin leads to another and with each sin that follows, it become a habit. We must beware of sin.

Christians are sometimes referred to as the Saints and are therefore made partakers of Christ. The things of the Spirit, the nature, graces and the righteousness, the very things that are the life of Christ. We are interested in all things Christ, all He has done or will do. The same spirit and faith we set out with to attain, learn and live the ways of God we should maintain until the end. Staying strong,  having perseverance in the faith is proof of our sincerity. Hearing, studying and learning the word and doing so often is a means of salvation. If we do not do the above we are weak and open the door to temptation and the Divine wrath. Obedient faith makes us partakers of Christ and His complete salvation. We should not put our trust to the things of this world, opting instead to be part of the true believers living to be part of that final day and eternal salvation. Sin is defeated by the power of our faith and in that faith lies the power of the Spirit and the glory of our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ.

Life is Good

jk

In the very first four verses of the 2nd chapter the author makes the case for the salvation we dare not neglect. We must be attentive to things we have heard. The word spoken through the angels has proven itself to be true and those who neglected it have paid a price. How is it possible for us to neglect that which came from the mouth of our Lord and further guaranteed by those who heard it from his lips? As we read through these first four verses there are two things presented here. There is the revealing of the law as presented by the Angels, or better said the Ten Commandments. To fall away from those laws brought immediate and just punishment. Then came the revelation through Jesus Christ, the Son of God and that being the case, it far more greater than that from the Angels. Considering that the revelation through the Son is greater than that of the Angels, we can with confidence be assured that the punishment and judgement will be harsher. We need to be mindful to what has been shared with us. Sometimes the pressures of this life allows that which matters the most to be overwhelm by the daily stress and pressures of life. This Christian revelation given to us is unique in its origin. It came direct from Jesus Christ. There is no need for guessing or stumbling around in the darkness looking for an answer…It is the voice of God himself coming to us in Jesus Christ. The writer of Hebrews makes it plain that it has come from those that heard it direct from the lips of Jesus Christ. This is not second hand information and can only be passed on by those who know Christ. We cannot teach that which we do not know. This revelation of the Christ has proven to be effective. From it has come signs, wonders and deeds of power. Christianity has the ability to make bad people good. The wonder of or proof of Christianity is that it does change lives. One of its most convincing facts would be the uplifting and visible changing of morals, indeed a miracle that all can see and is still happening this very day.

As we read on in verses 5-9 the writer starts with a quotation from Psalm 8:4-6. Interesting here is the fact that this reference to Psalm 8 which in its totality is to human beings, there is no reference to the Messiah. The next thing we find here is that a translation of a phrase in Psalm 8 literally means the son of man. I find there is indeed evidence in scripture that God addressed Ezekiel more that 80 times as the son of man. We have become so accustomed to the phrase son of man and hearing it we tend to always accept that to mean Jesus. In Hebrew son of man means just simply a man. First we know that God gave Adam dominion over ‘the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth’. (Genesis 1:28) Returning to Psalm 8 verse 5 we find when translated in the original Hebrew it reads …they, being human beings, are made a little lower than Elohim and Elohim is the regular word for God. How great is that! But then the good news is interrupted by the fact that while we were meant to have dominion over all things, the situation is quite different…we do not. We find ourselves losing to our frustrations and the circumstances we face daily. We are regularly defeated by our temptations and cower in our weaknesses. We are bound, we who are to be free, are slaves to our sins. This is not what was meant to be.

We end these verses looking at what was to be. We are not what our Lord intended us to be. Enter now Jesus Christ… He suffered and died on the cross, rose and entered into glory. All that suffering, death and glory was for all of us. Think about it. He died to free us of frustration, bondage and weakness to sin. He died that we might have that dominion that should be ours, as given. He died that through Him we might become what we were originally created to be. We see our actual condition…frustration instead of control which leads us to failure instead of glory and that through Christ we can be what we were meant to be…most importantly, without Christ we will never be as intended. 

Where to begin the end of this chapter? A one word summary of these last verses 10-18 would be simply Suffering. Consider this verse:

Hebrews 2:10

10 It was fitting that God,[i] for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings. 

The writer uses one of the great titles of Jesus, the pioneer of glory…the word used arche ̄gos simply means head or chief. There is one basic meaning applied to this word would be someone who begins something so others may enter into it. This is a person creates a path for others to follow. This is Jesus who made a path to God for us to follow. How did this come about? The scriptures tell us Jesus was perfect, God made him perfect. The verb used here is teleioum, translates to the adjective teleious which translates usually to perfect. New Testament usage was often used to describe sacrifice which was without blemish, fit to be offered to God. But if we go beyond that the simplest way to get to the meaning to be applied here is… for us that does not mean we are perfect but instead describes a person who is fully capable of carrying out the purpose for which he or she is designed for. So in that vein it means not so much perfect as having been made fully adequate for the task as designated. What Hebrews says however is that Jesus being made perfect is completely able to take on the task of being the pioneer of our salvation.So let’s bring this chapter 2 to a close with these thoughts…

-He established His identity with us through his sufferings.

-His sufferings tells us he has sympathy for us, he feels our pain.

-Because he is God incarnate, Jesus can really help us. He has met our sorrows, faced our temptations, thus he knows exactly what we need.

Life is Good 

jk

Hebrews 10:19–22:

Therefore, my friends, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain (that is, through his flesh) . . . let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith

The past few weeks I have written about discipline and prayer. Both are an avenue to establish a closeness with God. This week The Pew is going back to the book so to speak. In the weeks to come we will draw from the Book of Hebrews one of my favorite books to read.  

I look on prayer as a conversation between myself and God. I believe that we need more of a conversation between the church and the Bible. There are many things to talk about that we find in the Bible pertaining to the liturgy, purpose and the relationships that define the Christian faith. There are many voices that join the conversation, invited and uninvited. The language used, the conclusions reached and the level of participation depend on the community of people involved in the conversation. Not all people are equally engaged, some preferring to remain silent and regrettably some are silenced by the more influential in the conversation. So as we get into this study about people, church and the Bible, keep in mind there needs to be a willingness and ability of all involved to hear and carry on this conversation. There are some interesting facts about this book. One thing to note is that Hebrews has not always had a stronger or more influential voice, so to speak, in the conversation between the church and Bible. We do not want to give the impression that this letter has been silenced or put aside totally. Many a church uses Hebrews 13:20-21 as a benediction…

Benediction

20 Now may the God of peace, who brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, 21 make you complete in everything good so that you may do his will, working among us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Now there are many other occasions in many congregations that Hebrews is invited to speak through the written word. We just happen to notice that the invitation to do so is not extended as often to Hebrews nor is it afforded the attentiveness such as is given to Romans or 1 Corinthians. 

The Book of Hebrews opens with a statement of faith. In these first four verses we find what I call buzz-words that establish the very roots of this book. Read again the pillars of truth written here. God spoke, has spoken….in the past, in these last days…to our ancestors, to us….by the prophets… by a Son. There is a noticeable shift that takes place in verse 3. We read in verse 2 of God’s relation to the Son and in verse 3 we read of the Son’s relationship to God. To sum up these first four we must look closely at the time this book is written and of course later translations. We are to remember that the subject of our Christian faith is God. The Christian church at this point has some semblance of order of worship and faith precepts. This raises an interesting point. When taking the gospel to those who don’t acknowledge God, the teaching of Christian theology relating to the person, nature, and role of Christ is in a sense beginning a bit early. Here at the start of this book we are reminded that in the beginning, God…. Even if the discussion will eventually move to Christ, the Holy Spirit or the church. The writer states, not assumes, the centerpiece of the Christian faith is God… God does speak to his people and his revelation is the cornerstone of both Judaism and Christianity. Some would believe that there could be an issue of continuity between Judaism and Christianity, that being a whole other story. Over the years the issue if discontinuity was struggled with but here in this book of Hebrews we find in chapter 1 verse 1 how that issue will be addressed.  There is another image of the early church as being poor, and unlettered people at the margins of society, that image is shattered in these first four verses. The writer makes it clear that this is written for what we might consider second-generation Christians.(2:3) Much of what we read here was passed on by those who had actually heard the Lord speak. Those to whom it was written were for the most part not new to the Christian faith. (5:12) They are encouraged to look back on former days. (10:32) Looking back they would see the many heroic figures who suffered for the word, this would be a great inspiration for their community of believers. (13:7)

To do an online study of Hebrews using a blog as the platform is not practicable. Instead we will look at a few of the chapters and hope that this will encourage you to read this book. This was always one of the most beloved books back in the day. There was quite a bit of pushback to keep it out of the new Testament. There is no definitive decision as to who actually wrote Hebrews, there are several names put forward by biblical scholars but to make a long story short…in order for the book to be included in the New Testament it was attached to the writings of Paul and thereby gained inclusion. So now with these small items out of the way, let’s look at the first chapter of this book.

First there is the wonderful revelation found in verses 1-4. In past times God had revealed Himself through the prophets, He now reveals himself through his Son Jesus Christ. The deity of Jesus Christ, God incarnate shines forth brighter than the sun in the sky. Jesus, the Creator, Sustainer and risen Savior, is better than the angels. In verse 5 we find Jesus the supernatural Son for he is both the Son of God and God the Son. We willingly worship the only God. Even the angels of heaven are told to worship Jesus, the only begotten Son of God, verses 6-7. In verses 8-9 a mystery is put forth that the human mind is unable to understand. Jesus has an eternal relationship within the Trinity with God the father. As said the human mind is unable to understand this without the teaching of God’s revelation found in the scriptures. Verses 10-12 present the fact that within the Trinity, Jesus created the world. We close this chapter with verses 13-14 revealing that it is the Father’s will that the Son shall reign from the right side of the throne. Leaving to be understood that the Angels are there to minister to those who will become saved.

I am grateful you joined us today and hope you will return. May God bless you and your loved ones, bring family together and in a larger sense…May the Family of God, the Community of Faith and all who follow the way, remain strong by His presence and grace.

Life is Good

jk 

Thessalonians 3: 11-13

As I completed last weeks blog before closing the book my eyes wandered to the remaining verses in this chapter. These are very simple verses but they give us a look into the thought process of  Paul. For Paul God is everything, the beginning, the end, the all consuming director of his life. Paul wants very much to go to Thessalonica and he prays too God to open a way for him to do just that. Paul is unique in practicing what he preaches, and we would do well to be a living example of allowing God to be our guide in  our life decisions. In the ordinary day to day occurrences of our life we tend to put God aside, believing we can manage things well enough. When things do go bad we cry out to him knowing we cannot get through it without his presence. Here we see Paul looking to God to lead him to and through something as simple as a routine journey from Athens to Thessalonica. To have a God directed life we must keep company with God and prayer is as good a way as any to stay in touch, so to speak.

The impossible Assignment…

The basic failure of being able to live a Holy life is that we try to do it on our own. We fail in relationships because we chose not seek His leading or just don’t try to allow God to lead us in all aspects of our ordinary day to day activities. Paul prays that God will enable the Thessalonias to fulfill the law of love in their daily lives.

Matthew 22: 37-40 NRSV

37 He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the greatest and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

Love for One Another… Romans 13:8-10 NRSV

8 Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet”; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.

There is the continued emphasis on the importance of prayer in the Christian’s life, the establishment of a sustainable relationship with God. As we have noted the person who starts their day without prayer is saying, “I got this, I can handle this on my own”. Likewise when we go to bed at night without prayer we are saying that we can bear on our own the consequences of our actions that day. Our failure to live a Christian life is trying to live it without God, an impossible assignment.

In summation Paul’s pleas and instructions are meant to keep the people in righteousness so they might stand before God and be judged and not be afraid or ashamed. We must prepare to meet our God and the only way to do that is to have a relationship with him and live with him in our lives everyday. In Paul’s mind at this writing was that the second coming could occur any day…That applies to us this very day…He is coming back…Are you prepared?

Life is Good

jk