Hebrews
Hebrews (Part 11) – Keep the Faith
The author of Hebrews wrote this letter to Roman Jews who were struggling. They were shallow Christians who were veering back toward the Judaism that they had formerly left in order to embrace Christ. The author argued that Christ is better than the priestly system...
Hebrews (Part 10) – Faith
Chapter 11 is the most well known portion of the book of Hebrews. Some have referred to it as the Faith Hall of Fame. Some people also have viewed the first verse as a definition of faith. Advancing either of those two ideas, however, does not appear to be the...
Hebrews (Part 09) – The Consciousness of Sin
Ever since explaining the order of Melchizedek at the beginning of chapter 7, the author has unveiled more and more detail in the comparison of the old Hebrew form to that of Christ’s high priestly ministry. Chapter 7 showed how Christ’s priesthood was superior....
Hebrews (Part 08) – Covenant and Testament
When discussing chapter 7, we skimmed over one thought to which we will now return for a moment. In the first few verses of that chapter, the author recounts almost all we know of Melchizedek from the Old Testament. The portion not specified has to do with the very...
Hebrews (Part 07) – The Order of Melchizedek
In chapters 5 and 6 of Hebrews, we learned that Jesus was a high priest after the order of Melchizedek. That statement, quoted in 5:6 from Psalm 110:4 and repeated in 5:10, and 6:20, begs the question concerning what exactly the order of Melchizedek is. Perhaps the...
Hebrews (Part 06) – Impossible to Repent
In Hebrews 5:11, the heart of the author begins to come through. And it is in this verse that we begin to see the dual purpose of this letter. So many scholars have found it difficult (and even impossible, considering the current lack of consensus) to organize the...
Hebrews (Part 05) – Jesus, the Appointed High Priest
Verse 14 of chapter 4 seems rather abrupt in turning our attention to the thought of Christ as high priest. The suddenness, however, may be striking to only us 21st century Christians. Remember that one of the reasons we believe that the recipients of this...
Hebrews (Part 04) – Better than the Prophets
The author of Hebrews has emphasized the Sonship of Christ as the reason for his superiority to angels. In patrimony, position, and privilege, Christ is better precisely because he is Son. That means that the discussion does not dwell on Christ’s superiority in his...
Hebrews (Part 03) – Better than the Angels
Hebrews 1 begins with the contrast of God’s revelation in the past through the prophets but now through Christ. This puts us in mind of John 1:1 in which Christ is presented as the Word. The revealing Word, Christ, surpasses the Law and prophets in making manifest...
Hebrews (Part 02) – Jesus, the Son
In our last study, we concluded that the epistle to the Hebrews was written in the late AD 60s to the Jewish Christians in Rome. By this time, the Christian community of Rome had probably been in existence for 30 to 40 years. The emperor Claudius had expelled the...
Hebrews (Part 01) – Introduction
Many scholars believe Hebrews to be the most profound of the New Testament books. The study of the book may yield rich results, but an approach of less than full commitment often leads to frustration. The epistle is not ordered in what we may consider a traditional...