WEEK 19: Hebrews
THE END OF RELIGION | Axiom 3
The author of Hebrews understood that the work of Christ was the end of religion. By this we mean that because of the sacrificial work of Jesus on the cross, we don’t find salvation through religious rituals and ceremonies. We don’t even find it through being good. We only find it through Jesus.
WEEK 20: 1 Peter, 2 Peter, Jude, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John
TRUTH AND LOVE | Axioms 3, 4 and 7
This week we read several little books that we find at the end of the New Testament. Together, these books teach us to uphold truth and love. On the one hand, we need to be defenders of the faith. Theology matters and what we believe about Jesus determines our eternal destiny. But truth is not all that is important. Love is the characteristic that is meant to mark the Christian. As Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 13, without love we have nothing.
Weeks 19-20 | Questions for Discussion
1. Why do you think it’s so tempting for people to try to save themselves through religion? Has this been a temptation in your life?
2. Read Jude 1:3. What does it mean to contend for the faith? How would this look in your life this week?
3. Read 1 John 3:18. How can we love others “with actions and in truth”?
COMMENTARY
Hebrews 1
Hebrews 1 is one of the clearest teachings in the Bible that Jesus is God. The author makes the following 7 points to demonstrate that Jesus is God:
* Jesus made the universe (verse 2)
* Jesus has supreme place in the universe, it is all for him (verse 2)
* Jesus is God made visible (verse 3)
* Jesus keeps creation together by his word (verse 3)
* Jesus provided the sacrifice for sins (verse 3)
* Jesus holds the highest place of authority, next to God the Father himself (verse 3)
* Jesus is called God by God the Father (verse 8 and 10)
Hebrews 4:1-11
The “rest” spoken of in this chapter and in the previous is a way of describing salvation. God offered the Israelites of the Old Testament physical “rest” by giving them the Promised Land in Cannan. Yet, because of their disobedience, many people did not experience this Old Testament picture of salvation. God still offers this “rest” to us today, but it is not in a physical land, but it is eternal life in Him. Just as entering the physical rest of Cannan required faith in God’s promise, entering into the true rest of salvation requires faith in God – faith in the promise of God given through the person and work of Jesus Christ. Ultimately, we know that this entering into rest is by faith alone, because we are not creating our own rest, but we are entering into God’s rest (vs. 10). We share in His eternal life.
Hebrews 6:4-6
This is a confusing and much debated passage. Some believe this is referring to Christians who actually have lost their salvation. Others believe that this is a hypothetical argument to warn immature Hebrew Christians to be more intentional about progressing toward maturity. Still others believe that this refers to people tho claim to be Christians, but whose spiritual stagnation proves that their faith was never genuine to begin with.
Hebrews 7
As the psalmist quotes God ordaining someone as a “priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek,” it is clear that God always intended to make a change in the Aaronic priesthood. And such a change requires a change in the whole system of Mosaic Law of which that priesthood was a part (vv. 11–19). How is Jesus’ priesthood better? It is “forever,” and thus rests on a better covenant (vv. 20–22). It is permanent, for Jesus lives and thus can save us completely (vv. 23–25). And it meets our every need, for by the one sacrifice of Himself this High Priest settled forever the issue of our sins (vv. 26–28). (Richards, L. 1991. The Bible reader’s companion. Includes index. Victor Books: Wheaton, Ill.)
Hebrews 8
The author of Hebrews is driving home the point that Jesus did away with the old way of trying to relate to God. No longer do we need priests and temples and sacrifices, because the work of Jesus on the cross put an end to all of that. This is why the apostles and early Christians had no need of a temple – and we still don’t today!
Hebrews 9:1-10
The author is describing one of the most important Jewish rituals of all, the Day of Atonement (called Yom Kippur today). God’s original instructions for this day were given in the Old Testament, Leviticus 16.
Hebrews 10:4
For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. The author of Hebrews shows us why the sacrificial system in the Old Testament was so inadequate. Ultimately, there is no way for the blood of animals to pay for the sins of people. The only sacrifice that would be acceptable to God would be the sacrifice of a person, which is why Jesus had to die for our sins.
Hebrews 10:5
But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. The author shows us that Jesus’ sacrifice was different than the sacrifice of the priests. The priests had to give continual sacrifice because their sacrifices weren’t good enough to take away sins. But Jesus’ sacrifice was enough to pay for the sins of the world for all time. To demonstrate that salvation is complete and sins have been paid for, Jesus sat down at the right hand of God. This demonstrated that Jesus had completed the work of salvation and there is no more to do. For us, it means that we don’t work to gain our own salvation. Rather, we accept by faith what Jesus has done for us.
Hebrews 11
Hebrews 11 celebrates the faithful people of the Old Testament. It is a record of people who trusted in God’s promises even when times were bleak. It’s a call to us to not give up the faith in difficult times, but to persevere. We can learn from their example as we hold on to God’s promises even if it seems foolish from a worldly perspective.
Hebrews 12:14-15
This passage provides a powerful warning against an unforgiving heart. When we refuse to forgive someone, we are a.) potentially holding people back from seeing and experiencing the grace of God (vs. 14), b.) allowing a root of bitterness to grow up in our soul which poisons our heart and impedes our spiritual maturity (vs. 15a), and c.) sinning in such a way that it may harm people around us by dragging them into our poison (vs. 15b). God tells us very strongly that as Christians, we are called to live in peace with all people and to freely share with others the forgiveness and grace we have received ourselves.
1 Peter 1:2
Who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance. In a simple opening statement of greeting Peter demonstrates to us the Trinitarian nature of God and the role each member of the Trinity played in salvation. Peter teaches us that God the Father is the one who planned our salvation before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4). God the Son is the one who provided our salvation through the shedding of his blood for our sins. And God the Spirit applies salvation to us, giving us a new heart that loves God and makes us more like him.
1 Peter 2:9
But you are… a royal priesthood… Peter teaches us that every Christian is a priest. In the Old Testament priests were the ones who represented God before the people and represented the people before God. They also did the work of worship in the temple. The fact that all of us are priests means that we can each come to God like the high priest did in the OT. We don’t need a human intermediary. Also, we can pray for others, bringing their needs before God. Finally, the work of God is not just for a special group of people. It’s everyone’s responsibility. All of us have a role to play in serving God in ministry.
1 Peter 4:1-2
This begins a great section on suffering. It teaches how Christians should respond to difficulties in life. The main argument is that since Christ suffered in His flesh, He is our example. Just as He endured suffering because He understood it was the will of His Father, we too should focus on what God may be trying to teach us as we go through difficulties, and endure suffering with hope and joy knowing that there is an eternal purpose that far outweighs our current struggle.
1 Peter 4:10
Peter reminds us that God has uniquely equipped every Christian with a spiritual gift. This is a ability given to you by God in order to build His Kingdom. We are told to be good stewards of these gifts, which means that we should actively seek to use out gifts for their intended purpose of building His Kingdom.
2 Peter 2:15
According to Jewish tradition and the most likely interpretation of the Old Testament, Balaam was a dishonorable character. For the sake of money, Balaam had led the Israelites into cultic prostitution with the Midianites, bringing God’s judgment on them and leading to his own death (Num 31:8; Josh 13:22). Jewish literature considered him the ultimate prophet (and sometimes philosopher) of the pagans but did not reduce his role in Israel’s sexual offense. His attempt to make Israel sin was considered worse than any other nation’s military attack on them because it brought God’s judgment against them. The contrast between “the way of Balaam” and the “right way” reflects the common ancient image of two paths, one leading the righteous or wise to life, the other leading the foolish to destruction. (Keener, C. S., & InterVarsity Press. 1993. The IVP Bible background commentary : New Testament . InterVarsity Press: Downers Grove, Ill.)
2 Peter 3:13
But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. Some Christians imagine heaven as being a purely spiritual place devoid of anything physical. But that Bible does not teach this. In fact, it says we will ultimately live in heaven with our perfected, resurrected bodies. In this passage, Peter gets even more specific: a new heaven and a new earth. Can you imagine what this new earth will look like, and how breathtaking it must be? Read more.
Jude
The specific locality of the readers of this letter is unknown. They had heard of the words of the apostles and were acquainted with the teachings of Paul (1:18–19). The letter dealt with an outbreak of false teaching. The problem is similar to that mentioned in 2 Peter 2:1–2, 10. The false teachers who had crept into the church were denying Christ and perverting the doctrine of grace, considering immoral indulgence perfectly legitimate (1:4). They were guilty of rejecting authority and preferred their own dreamings to God’s revelation (1:8). These people were critical of the orthodox doctrine of angels and used language against good angels that even Michael the archangel did not dare use against evil angels (1:8–10). They were ruled by their passions (1:4, 16) and scoffed at the accepted Christian ways (1:17). The character and activity of the false teachers was certain evidence that they were devoid of God’s Spirit (1:16, 19). (Hughes, R. B., Laney, J. C., & Hughes, R. B. 2001. Tyndale concise Bible commentary. Rev. ed. of: New Bible companion. 1990.; Includes index. The Tyndale reference library . Tyndale House Publishers: Wheaton, Ill. )
1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. John sees the Christian life as one of continual confession of sins before God. While John believes we should see victory over sin in our lives, he does not believe that we will be perfect in this life. His command is for us to confess our sins before God. We know that God is faithful and just and desires to forgive us. This truth was established over and over again in the OT and the NT. As Christians, we should bring our sin to God knowing he will forgive and cleanse us.
1 John 3:16
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. John sees our faith in Jesus as having bold ramifications for our lives. Once we have believed the message of Christ and received his Spirit, our lives should begin to look like his. We see this relationship in this verse. Jesus crucifixion was a radical example of love. Just as Jesus sacrificed for us, so we should sacrifice for our brothers (i.e. other Christians). John applies this in one area for us: material possessions. He says that a Christian should be motivated by seeing his brother in need and help him.
1 John 4:1-4
In John’s day, there was a deluge of false teachers attaching themselves to the newly born Christian faith. These were people who claimed unique spiritual authority and proposed doctrines that were contrary to what was found in the teaching of Jesus and the Apostles. John warns us not to simply accept new doctrinal teaching, but to test every claim to new spiritual truth. The test he gives us is not an emotional test, or a pragmatic test, but a doctrinal test. No matter how something might make you feel, or how much “sense” it makes, the final test of spiritual truth is the testimony of Jesus and the Apostles as found in the Bible. Anything that goes against the Word of God is to be rejected as false.
2nd & 3rd John
These small books really show the human side of the early church. They discuss real people that were in the early church, some positive and some negative. John exhorts the people to continue in practical acts of love and to be on guard against false teachers.