As I shared in another post, I’ve been drawn to the book of Hebrews lately. I took a course on it a couple years ago and enjoyed it, but honestly for me, there’s nothing that compares to God’s unmistakable drawing presence when he leads by his Holy Spirit into a time of study and reflection.
My mom demonstrated this best for me. She was a dedicated follower of Jesus. She both mentored young people and taught Sunday school for over 40 years. And it didn’t matter if you were 10 years old or 50, she taught the same way, under the anointing and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
I weep as I think about her legacy of faith and Godly influence. She loved people and God’s Word; she loved to study and pray. She would talk on the phone for hours to the young people she mentored and loved, especially young women. She especially loved the books of John, Ephesians and the book of Hebrews. This memory stirred something in me today as I continued to study it for myself.
Legacy is not something I think we talk about enough. We live very much moment to moment day by day without a whole lot of thought for the future. But as followers of Jesus, we must think about and prepare for the future. We must think about what we are leaving behind for the next generation.
This morning while watching the news they reported statistics on the downward spiral of birth rates in America. The rates have changed dramatically. And I couldn’t help but think about some conversations with my mom over the years about the importance of parenthood and the responsibility as Christians to raise up Godly children according to the scriptures.
In this increasingly pluralistic world, we Christ followers must remind the next generation of the imperative found in scripture:
“So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.””Genesis 1:27-28 NIV
We live in a time where truth has been turned upside down and twisted into something barely recognizable and this is the reason why we must be lifelong students of God’s Word while also exhorting the younger generations to do the same.
“Your Word oh Lord, is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
As I began to study the book of Hebrews, I quickly understood why the Lord was impressing it upon my heart. This book addresses people who have been Christians for a long time, but have found themselves Lukewarm in their faith. They were in danger of falling away from their devotion to Jesus.
Sounds like the time we’re living in now doesn’t it?
We all need our fires for Jesus stirred right now. It’s so easy to get caught up in the cares of this world, where we fall prey to sluggishness and wander away from pure devotion to Christ.
“See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” Hebrews 3:12-13 NIV
We all need this encouragement, and a renewed commitment to the faith that was handed down to us.
This is a very different book in style to most other books in the New Testament. Hebrews has a lot of imagery of sacrificial rituals, and priesthood from an ancient world perspective, yet it has a most powerful Christian message, especially in relevance to our situations right now.
So I wanted to take a moment and share some of my favorite themes in this book.
The first theme is for the purpose of encouragement, strengthening, and motivating us to faithfulness.
We recognize firstly, that this was written to Jews, who were the first converts to the Christian faith. So the central themes of priesthood and pilgrimage set forth for them in this pastoral letter are not new for them.
In pilgrimage we are encouraged in the 12th chapter, to look to Jesus, who is the “pioneer and perfecter of our faith” and that we are to “run with perseverance a race that is set before each of us.”
We are reminded that this world is not our final destination; we are sojourners seeking a home in a city, “whose architect and builder is God.” And to not lose faith as we are reminded of Abraham and many others in the 11th chapter (the Faith chapter)
“By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.” Hebrews 11:8-10 NIV
Shewww my Lord that stirs my faith even now!
As you read this letter, you’ll find the author continually stirring its readers pastorally as a shepherd would lead his weary flock.
Furthermore we reminded time and again as is necessary for weary travelers, of the perfect sacrifice of Jesus and his eternal priesthood:
“Every high priest is selected from among the people and is appointed to represent the people in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness. This is why he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people. And no one takes this honor on himself, but he receives it when called by God, just as Aaron was. In the same way, Christ did not take on himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father.” And he says in another place, “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”” Hebrews 5:1-6 NIV
It’s also important to note now that Christianity did not replace Judaism or render it obsolete. The first century Christians were Jews as I stated before and we should always remember God‘s covenant with Israel has by no means been rendered obsolete nor have we Christians replaced Israel and the purposes of God. We are the wild olive branches that have been grafted onto Israel’s cultivated olive tree as Paul states in Romans, 11.
One of the most important takeaways in the book of Hebrew is a warning of apostasy and the need for repentance.
We must continually live in light of the great sacrifice of Christ. He died for us the death we deserved.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Hebrews 12:1-3 NIV
Warning has its place in the life of faith, so we can change our course of action.
THE ATONEMENT
It’s only in the book of Hebrews that we see the connection between the day of atonement, Yom Kippur and Christ’s sacrifice. Yom Kippur is the holiest day on the Jewish calendar. It’s a day of fasting, prayer, and self examination where the person seeks to be right with God. In ancient times, this was a day where the high priest entered the Holy of Holies, once a year, alone, encountering the presence of God, and performed a sacred act of cleansing which removed that which stood in the way of the relationship between God and Israel by removing the sin barriers. All of the understanding to this is not completely clear in its ancient logic, but it is accepted as a means of grace and the God-given way of dealing with sin.
Jesus brings an end to the old system as the self sacrificing eternal high priest, who entered God’s own presence, once and for all, with his own blood to make atonement for sin and thus establishing a new and better covenant.
Sin finally dealt with by the perfect and final sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
For those of us who have a sin consciousness, this book is important to meditate on.
Do you struggle with remembering the sins of your past? If so, remember thst no one is righteous on their own accord:
“As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one;” Romans 3:10 NIV
Paul also reminds us in 2 Corinthians 5:21:
“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
The perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ once and for all times both forgives and forgets, freeing us to grow in grace as we journey with God in faithfulness as image bearers.
Rehearsing and teaching this to our children and other generations must no doubt be our greatest charge and legacy.
Love and prayers,
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