Hebrews
Failure of The Wilderness Wanders
The Israelites failed to enter the Promised Land because they did not believe in God’s protection, and they did not believe that God would help them conquer the giants in the land. The writer in this passage is warning the people of the danger of unbelief: This danger demands im …
The Certainty of God’s Promises
We are living in a day when it is hard to trust people. Promises are often made with very little intention of their being kept. It seems that lying has become the norm in much of society. In fact, even in the Church people promise to do things and then never show up. The question …
The Better Sanctuary In Which Christ Ministers
Under the old Jewish system priests were chosen only from the tribe of Levi, and sacrifices were offered only on the altar for forgiveness of sins (Heb. 7:12-14). This passage talks about two things that are superior under the priesthood of Christ as compared to the old system: The Sa …
The Champions of Faith
Everyone is saved by simple faith but the victory of faith may only come through sacrifice. This was true of many of these Old Testament saints who the writer gives us as examples of faith. Abraham’s victory of faith cost him the sacrifice of Isaac, whom God demanded but …
Animal Sacrifices Are Insufficient
Animal sacrifices could not take away sins; they provided only a temporary way to deal with sin until Jesus came to deal with it permanently. This chapter of Hebrews continues to emphasize the perfect sacrifice of Christ in contrast to the imperfect sacrifices that were offered u …
A Call to Persevere
Hebrews encourages believers to persevere in their Christian faith and conduct when facing persecution and pressure. There had been a time when those to whom this letter was written had known persecution; and they had learned what it was to become involved with those under suspic …
Jesus Like Melchizedek
The inadequacy of the legal and Levitical system and how it had to be replaced with something better is pointed out. If the Levitical priesthood could have brought access to God or salvation it would have not been necessary for God to provide another priesthood. As long as …
Renewing Your Spiritual Vitality
The Christian life will include times of hardship and trials. We must not live with only our own survival in mind. Others will follow our example and we have a responsibility to them. Every boy knows that his father does not discipline the neighbor children. He disciplines him, a …
The Demonstration of Faith
Noah obeyed even when he experienced rejection from others around him (v. 7). Although it seemed foolish to the people, God commanded Noah to build a huge boat in the middle of dry land. Since no one at that time had ever seen a flood, Noah’s actions must have generated a great …
Christ’s Death Perfects The Sanctified
This passage offers the answer concerning the inadequacy of the sacrifices offered by the priests (vv. 1-4). We also see the sufficiency of the sacrifice offered by Christ. These verses refer to the daily sacrifices on the annual Day of Atonement. There simply is no animal sacrifice …