The Importance of the Book of Hebrews

 

Patrick Prescott

The Importance of the Book of Hebrews

Scripture taken from:

NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. 

I've read articles on Medium attacking evangelicals for their hypocrisy on the insistence of forcing the law of Moses and Leviticus even Deuteronomy on the masses while skipping over other parts of Mosaic law. Yes, they are hypocrites just as Jesus called the pharisees hypocrites. 

They do seem to find loopholes as all legalese assholes do. How they justify not following Levitical dietary laws,

"We can eat pork because in the book of Acts Peter was given a vision of all kinds of unclean animals and food and told to eat. When he refused the voice said, 'Whatever God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy." Ch 10:15'".

Peter didn't start eating pork, he went to someone considered unholy and unclean. A gentile, one Cornelius a Roman Centurian.

Now if that's a loophole to eat pork and shrimp and lobster, why don't they apply it to humans like Peter did with Cornelius. Doesn't that apply to all people even those who are different with alternative lifestyles? 

Evangelicals are today's Judaizers.

I've concluded that those who call themselves Christians, but insist we follow Levitical law are what Paul fought against, those he called Judaizers. The one's insisting gentiles who become believers must be circumcised and follow dietary laws. Only the ones today dropped circumcision and dietary laws and pick and choose which laws we have to obey and those we can ignore.

They also equate their faith as part of national origin. Christian Nationalism and just like with Israel if we violate these laws God will wreak havoc on us for our sins.

Jesus didn't come to save Israel. It was conquered and the Jews dispersed. He didn't come to destroy Rome. His followers converted so many to His name that the great empire was won over.

Judaizers still believe in the God of Sainai not the God of Zion. The book of Hebrews explains this. 

The Importance of Hebrews 

Martin Luther once said, "Who wrote Hebrews? Only God knows."

Whoever wrote it the book should be read by all and some of its passages should be memorized as faithfully as John 3:16.

The book opens in Ch 1 vs 1: that God "spoke long ago in the prophets... in His Son..."

It then describes His Son's (Jesus) birth, how all the angles worship him, that in vs 10: "Thou Lord, IN THE BEGINNING DIDST LAY THE FOUNDATION OF THE EARTH... SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I MAKE THINE ENEMIES A FOOTSTOOL FOR THY FEET"

Ch 2 goes on with what Jesus's mission was, how he was made lower than the angels and it was God's plan.

It is chapter 3 that's important. Jesus is our high priest under the order of Melchizedek. 

The priesthood of Aaron is the Old Covenant or contract between God and Israel.

The priesthood of Melchizedek is the new covenant between God and everyone, not just one people or nation.  God changed the worship from offering sacrifice for the remission of sin in the Temple; to Jesus being the sacrifice and all who believe are forgiven, mercy is not needed.

Under the priesthood of Aaron and the Temple, on the day of atonement, the high priest would enter the Holy of Holies to offer a sacrifice on the altar under the solid gold "Mercy Seat" where on that day and time God would sit on the seat and give mercy to the whole nation.

With Jesus as our sacrifice there is no Holy of Holies or mercy seat. The Holy Spirit of God indwells us individually, and we each become the Temple of God. We are forgiven of our sins, there is no need for a mercy seat. It has nothing to do with your nationality or the country where you live.

This is the difference between obedience to the law and temple sacrifice to Jesus being our sacrifice and forgiveness of our sins by the blood of Christ.

A better Covenant 

Ch. 8 vs 6 "but now He has obtained a more excellent ministry by as much as He is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises.

Vs 7 begins quoting Jerimiah 31:31-34 where God promises the prophet that there shall be a new covenant.

Ch 9 explains the difference between the old tabernacle (temple) and the new tabernacle with Christ as high priest.

In vs 16 he requotes Jeremiah 31:33: "I WILL PUT MY LAWS UPON THEIR HEART, AND UPON THEIR MIND I WILL WRITE THEM,"

   "AND THEIR SINS AND THEIR LAWLESS DEEDS I WILL REMEMBER NO MORE."

Vs 18 sums it up, "Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin."

I tend to include a qualifying word here, not biblical, "there is no longer any NEED of offering for sin.  

  VSS 26-39 gives the Hebrews, their choice. The priesthood of Aaron and the laws of Moses or the priesthood of Melchizedek and the sacrifice of Jesus. Judgement will come to those who reject Jesus.

Judaizers may call themselves Christian and claim to worship Jesus, but their belief is based on the Priesthood of Aaron and not Jesus as our high priest next to his Father and that we are now with the Holy Spirit our own "priesthood of the believer."

In chapter 11 the author leaves from the differences of priesthoods and talks about faith.

Worshiping in the temple wasn't about faith it was about obedience. The laws of Moses where about judgement and consequences only giving mercy upon offering sacrifice.

Chapter 11: starts with a definition of faith: "1. Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2. For by it the men of old gained approval."

Kierkegaard, explained this as a "Leap of Faith." It's not blind faith, but a reasonable faith. Notice the word "assurance." 

The rest of the chapter is a roll call of the great men and women of faith. Some of the notables are Abel, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Jacob, etc. Then he mentions those who were persecuted for their faith.

The climax of this list of those who lived by faith, not just obedience or because they had to because of the law comes in Ch. 12:1

"Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us."

Notice that because we are believers we are not without sin. We are to lay aside sin because it entangles us, but it's still a part of us.

We aren't to wait for Jesus to come again, instead we have a race to run with endurance, it's not a sprint. That race if to grow in the Lord and share with others about him for the rest of our lives.

Notice to "share" is not to coerce or force others to believe like you or to conform to your ideas about how they should live.

Verses 4 through 13 discipline is mentioned. Discipline is not punishment. Today we might call it training. A successful football or basketball team must train for the sport and have the discipline to wait for the snap to be made or to control temper so as not to get a penalty. As a long-distance runner I trained long and hard covering many miles a day. At first a coach watched to make sure I didn't cut the course, but when I went to high school the coach told us what he wanted, and we went out on our own. If I cut the course the only one, I was harming was myself. 

When I attended a Baptist college there were lots of rules and regulations with varying penalties up to and including expulsion. When I graduated and went to Seminary. There were no rules like that. As I was told, "If you need rules, you need to rethink why you're here." 

Verses 14-17 advises believers to, "pursue peace with all men and the sanctification without no one will see the Lord."

Stop and think about this for a spell. Where is the peace when Christian's demand laws making it a crime for a woman to control her own body?

Are they pursuing peace when they pass laws making it a crime to love and marry someone of a different religion, color, lifestyle or mode of dress? Where is the Lord in that? Is this what Judaizers consider to be sanctification?

Vs 15 "See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled."

If a church will not allow someone to worship with them because of the alternate lifestyle or color or culture or any other condition imaginable where is the "grace of God?"

Vs 16 "that there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal."

Have the Judaizers sold their birthright for claiming an immoral, godless person to be God's chosen? Voting for him for president. Leaders gathering around him in the Oval Office anointing him with oil, and even forming a mob to attack the Capital building and wanted to hang the Vice President?

Sainai versus Zion

It is here from verse 18-24, that it is plain the difference between Aaron and Melchizedek, Moses and Jesus, Believers and Judaizers.

18. "For you have not come to a mountain that may be touched (physical mountain) and to a blazing fire, and to darkness and gloom and whirlwind... 21. And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, "I AM FULL OF FEAR AND TREMBLING."

22. "But you have come to Mount Zion (spiritual mountain) and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels. 23. to the general assembly and the church of the first-born who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits or righteous men made perfect."

This is the new covenant. We live under grace. We live with the Holy Spirit to guide us. We worship a risen savior sitting at the right hand of God and there is a great cloud of witnesses with him watching down on us. Many of them our loved ones.

The Judaizers still worship the God of Sainai. They think serving God is to make everyone their servant living according to their laws and claiming it in the name of the Lord. The God of Sainai is a God of fear and not understanding how He changed. 

They are waiting for a King who has already come.

For a kingdom they are already in.

To become what they already are. 

For and age that has already come.

For victory that's already won.

The God of Zion is a God of love. The commandment of Jesus was to Love God, Love your neighbor as yourself.