Tag Archives: Hebrews 8

December 18, 2023 Bible Study — Those Who Reject Their Knowledge of God Will Never Turn to Him

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Hebrews 6-9.

With this passage the writer gets into some advanced theology and doctrine, something for which we should all strive to be ready to study.  The first of those advanced topics about which the writer speaks is what happens when one who accepts Christ turns away from Him.  The writer tells us that those who turn away from God after experiencing the power of the Holy Spirit will never turn back to Him.  I have thought about this quite a bit, because I know several people who had an experience with God in their teens, fell away in their 20s, then later returned and became fervent followers once more.  On the other hand, I know a few people who followed a similar path, but never turned back to God (I have also read stories about a few more).  Looking at what I know about these people I think I see the difference.  The latter all seemed to have rejected God because they did not want to be subordinate to anyone, not even God.  While the former more or less lost their faith because of poor support systems when they faced troubles or hardship, coming back to God when the Spirit brought revelation into their lives.  Every time I read this passage I try to think through this difference and figure out how to explain it.  Unfortunately, I always feel like I cannot quite make it clear.  I guess the key difference is that people who lose their faith, who drift away from God because they stop believing that He exists, can turn back to Him, but those who know God exists but reject Him anyway will not.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

December 18, 2022 Bible Study — A Priest Forever In The Order Of Melchizedek

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Hebrews 6-9.

Much of this letter is an exposition based on Psalm 110, although the writer does take references from other portions of the Old Testament.  Today’s passage focuses on Psalm 110:4, where the psalmist writes:

You are a priest forever,
in the order of Melchizedek.

He says that this means that the Levitical priesthood, and the Law which established it, could not provide for perfection to be obtained.  If perfection could have been obtained through the law which established the Levitical priesthood, a different order of priesthood would not have been necessary.  The writer then explains that perfection could not be obtained through the order of the Levitical priesthood because those priests had to offer sacrifices for their own sins year after year, and they would all eventually die.  However, Jesus offered a sacrifice once for all time, did not need to offer sacrifices for His own sins (since He did not have any), and, once He was resurrected, would never again die.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

December 18, 2021 Bible Study — Jesus, A High Priest After The Order Of Melchizedek

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Hebrews 6-9.

I find this passage hard to write about because I feel that the writer has done such a good job of putting together the complex argument he is making that I am not sure how to highlight the key points which he makes.  The writer tells us that Jesus is our high priest, but He is not a priest of the Law of Moses.  Those priests were commissioned to serve in the earthly Tabernacle and Temple, which were but copies of the heavenly, eternal place of worship.  Further, those priests only served until their death.  Jesus, on the other hand, serves as high priest in the heavenly Tabernacle and in the direct presence of God.  Jesus also lives forever so there will never be a time when He is no longer high priest.  Jesus will be able to intercede between God and man for eternity.  The writer discusses how in the copy of the Tabernacle which existed on earth there was a veil between the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place, a veil which was torn when Jesus died on the cross.  That veil is no longer necessary because Jesus offered Himself as a sacrifice for our sins and now we can enter directly into God’s presence where Jesus will intercede for us.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

December 18, 2020 Bible Study Placing Our Faith In God, Not In Dead Works

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Hebrews 6-9.

Interestingly, the translators’ notes in the footnotes says that the words translated here as “evil deeds’ literally translate as “dead works”.  Using that makes more sense of what the writer is saying than what they chose here: “So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding. Surely we don’t need to start again with the fundamental importance of repenting from dead works evil deeds and placing our faith in God.”   The writer appears to me to be telling his audience that they should be past arguing about the importance of rituals and particular actions.  In particular, the writer seems to be discussing the rituals and practices of Jewish Law, although I do not believe his point applies exclusively to them.  He goes on to point out how the high priest under Mosaic Law was so constrained to continually offer sacrifices that he was unable to truly intercede on our behalf with God.  Jesus does not suffer that liability, since His one time sacrifice was sufficient for eternity.  This means that Jesus can function as an advocate before God for us.  Just as each of us will die once, so Jesus died once.  And since Jesus was resurrected, we know that He will be there to bring us before God for resurrection if we put our faith in Him.

December 18, 2019 Bible Study — Those Who Knew Christ and Rejected Him Will Never Turn to Him Once More

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Hebrews 6-9

The writer says something here that I struggle with explaining.  Those who have known and accepted Christ and then rejected Him will never turn to Him once more.  The reason I struggle with this is that I have known some who turned away from God and then returned to be faithful servants to Him.  Yet, I also know several people who fit into exactly what the writer is describing.  They once fervently served Christ, but something happened and they chose to turn away from what they knew to be God’s will.  I still pray that I am mistaken and that the Holy Spirit will reach out and transform them, but looking at the decisions they have made I cannot see any way that they would ever return to God.  They knew the glory of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, but have chosen to reject both.  I hope with all that I am that I am wrong.

December 18, 2018 Bible Study — Jesus, High priest after the order of Melchizedek

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Hebrews 6-9.

The writer tells us that Jesus is the High Priest of God’s new covenant with mankind, a covenant which replaces the one He made with the people of Israel.   Under this new covenant, Jesus is a priest in the order of Melchizedek, not the order of Aaron.  The writer makes the point that Jesus made His sacrifice once for all time and does not need to make additional sacrifices.  Under the old covenant, only the high priest could enter into the presence of God, and that only once a year after offering up the yearly sacrifice.  Jesus sacrificed Himself so that we can enter into God’s presence at all times.    As a result of this change, God enters into our hearts and minds and writes His laws there.  Under the old covenant, the high priest made sacrifices in the earthly copy of the Tabernacle.  Under the new covenant, Jesus, the new High Priest, made His sacrifice in the Heavenly original Tabernacle.

December 18, 2017 Bible Study — Time To Grow Up As Christians

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Hebrews 6-9.

    Today’s passage starts with a continuation of something the writer started writing about in yesterday’s passage. If you have been a Christian for more than a couple of years it is time to move on from the basic teachings. You should no longer need teaching about repenting from sin and placing your faith in God. Baptism, laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment are all first level teachings. If you need further teaching on those things you are an infant in Christ. If, on the other hand, you have matured in Christ it is time to pay attention to more advanced concepts. All too many Churches today spend their time going over the basics of Christianity when what their members need is to be taught more advanced concepts, and all too many Christians want their congregation to focus on such things. The pastor’s weekly sermons in our congregations should not, as a general rule, be on such basic subjects because those who need to hear such messages are unlikely to be there on Sunday morning.

    The writer uses the example of Melchizedek to illustrate how Jesus supersedes and replaces the priesthood of Aaron. The writer makes a couple of points about how this new priesthood differs from the original priesthood. The priesthood of Aaron served in a system of worship which was only a shadow copy of the real one in heaven. Jesus serves as the High Priest in that system in heaven, a system which we are now able to enter in because of His sacrifice. The system administered by the priesthood of Aaron administered a system of physical regulations which was in place to serve as an example of the system which was to come. The High Priest of the order of Aaron offered sacrifices on a regular basis before he was able to enter into the presence of God in the Holy of Holies in the earthly Tabernacle and only he was able to do so. Jesus offered Himself as a sacrifice once and done in the heavenly Tabernacle in order that all of us might enter into the presence of God.

November 7, 2015 Bible Study

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

DSCN9722

Proverbs 27:7-9

    Those who have had enough to eat will reject even the sweetest dessert. However, those who are hungry will be grateful for even bitter food. It is a way to measure the need of those who request your charity. Those truly in need will take whatever they are offered, those who are picky about what they will accept are perhaps less in need than they would like you to believe. Of course, it is also a measure to use when we are in need. If we are too good to take what is offered, perhaps we are not yet in need (or perhaps our pride is still too great).

DSCN9723

Psalm 106:13-31

    God has done wonderful things for us, but all too often we quickly forget. When things do not continue to go as we would like we quickly turn away and stop obeying God. Much of the time we lack the patience to wait for God to reveal the next phase of His plan. When things go “wrong”, we forget how He used such misfortunes in the past to bring honor to His name and good things to us. Time and again God disciplines us and welcomes us back. Yet we again and again forget what He has done for us.

DSCN9724

Hebrews 8

    The writer pointed to Jeremiah where the prophet declared that God was going to offer a new covenant. He points out that if there were no defects in the first covenant there would have been no need for a new covenant. Jeremiah told us that God would write His laws on our hearts and in our minds. The writer of Hebrews tells us that the new covenant makes the old covenant obsolete. The old covenant is now outdated and will soon disappear. Those to whom that old covenant applies who are faithful to that covenant will be carried over into the new covenant.

DSCN9725

Ezekiel 16:42-17:24

    Ezekiel tells us that Sodom’s sins were pride, gluttony, laziness, and an unwillingness to help the poor and needy. It was for these sins that Sodom was destroyed. Ezekiel prophesied that the Kingdom of Judah far surpassed Sodom when it came to sin. By this account of Sodom’s sins, so has this country.