Show Gratitude - Hebrews 10:1-18

Thanksgiving Day is just around the corner. One of the greatest stories recorded in American History is regarding the establishment or setting aside of one day at the end of harvest time, to give thanks to God for the harvest, for food, for friends and fellowship and for the blessings that God had bestowed upon his people. I concur that this should be done yearly for all the people and every day for individuals that trust God for health and happiness. This day ranks close to that of Christmas and Easter in my worship time, and it bothers me immensely that the complainers and deniers have influenced our government to the extent that we are losing the thought and reason behind these days of celebration. Christmas should always remind us that our Savior was born. Easter must help us remember that Christ died to atone for our sins, and that he arose to live forever as our High Priest. Thanksgiving Day is set aside to continually remind us that all good things in our life are the fruits of our savior’s love. Christians must stand firm against any evil force that tries to minimize the importance of any of these days of remembrance.

Christians must remember the origins of Thanksgiving Day in America! We must never forget that Jesus Christ, the Son of God should be the recipient of our thanks. The absolute greatest favor ever offered to mankind was not just food, shelter, and friends—but the greatest favor was the free gift of God’s Son on the cross for our sins. This lesson centered around Hebrews chapter ten coming just before the Thanksgiving season, should set the stage of us to express our ‘Thanksgiving’ for Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins. Allow me to recall the main theological themes of this book up to this point.

1. Christ is superior to the angels and prophets [Hebrews one and two].
2. Jesus Christ our savior is superior to the great Moses of old [three and four].
3. Our High Priest, Jesus, is superior to the Levitical high priest [5 &7].
4. Our new covenant is superior to the old covenant [Heb. 8-9].
5. To the four above Paul has added number five which is that Christ’s Sacrifice is superior to the old sacrifices [Hebrews ten].

Moses built the original tabernacle, which was probably only a huge, and quality built tent to house the special built container of the Law which even then was held behind the curtain in the Holy of Holies where only the High Priest could go and offer sacrifices for the people. This tradition continued until the reign of Solomon, who built the greatest temple ever imagined in Jerusalem, that contained the Arc of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies hidden by the veil or curtain that was rent or split open from top to bottom at the moment that Christ became our true sacrifice on the cross.

Solomon’s temple was destroyed by the Babylonians in the year of 586 B.C. It seems ironical to me that King Herod the Great, a Roman king assisted the Jews in building the temple back in even greater splendor just seventy years later and it stood for more than five hundred years. During all these hundreds of years the Jewish priesthood, with their rituals and sacrifices stood as examples or shadows of the coming Messiah who would replace them.

Christ appeared on the scene and started his ministry around 30 A.D. He told the Hebrew people that the beautiful temple, standing at the time of his birth, would be destroyed, and that not one stone would be left standing in the walls and they did not believe him. Never the less, the Jerusalem temple was utterly demolished by the Roman army in the year A.D. 70. Paul wrote this book to the Hebrews sometime around the year 50 A.D. while the temple was still standing and it was beyond their comprehension that their old covenant would become null and void so soon. Many were still holding on to the old covenant, and even those who accepted the new covenant, had several years to cause them to doubt that the new way would be superior to the old way. It has been 2936 years since the temple fell and it has not been rebuilt. The absence of the Jewish temple stands as a constant reminder that the old sacrificial system has been replaced by the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ who is now the one and only High Priest.

Verse one of the tenth chapter [today’s lesson] says: “The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming.” Under the law, sacrifices had to be made over and over, and people were not made perfect once and for all—they still felt guilty for their sins. The blood of bulls and goats could not remove guilt and sin but was only a shadow of the blood of Jesus Christ which could save. On the Day of Atonement, the people were reminded of their sins, and they must have felt guilty again. What they needed was the permanent and powerful sin-destroying forgiveness that we enjoy from the Savior. Our way is superior because when we confess a sin to him, we never have to think about it again—Christ forgives our sin and the sin no longer exists. 1 John 1:9 says: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” Our true confession of sin makes it possible for Christ to remove it from us as far as the east is from the west.

Verse 4 says “It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” Animal sacrifice was not permanent, and only provided a way to deal with sin until Jesus came to deal with it forever. How were the Jews saved? They were saved by “faith’ because they followed God’s commands regarding the sacrifice and he counted their “faith” as righteousness. That practice was always looking forward to Christ’s perfect sacrifice. Therefore, Christ’s way was superior to the Old Testament way because the old way only pointed to what Christ would do to take away sins.

Paul quotes Psalms 40: 6-8 here in Hebrews 10: 5-7. Then he told the Hebrews that they were not happy or pleased with the requirements even though the law required them. Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.” And by that will “We have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” In what ways do you SHOW YOUR GRATITUDE? If we do not SHOW GRATITUDE it is demeaning to Jesus Christ.

In verse eleven Paul said that day after day the priest performed his religious duties—again and again he offered the same sacrifices of animal blood, which can never take away sins. Then he said, “But when this priest [Jesus Christ] had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God and there he awaits the time when his enemies will be made his footstool, because by one sacrifice [his death on the cross] he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. NOTE: Here is another place in the scripture where we are assured of our salvation…because when we are made holy, we become sons of God and “He has made us perfect forever, through his death on the cross.”

Adding anything to his sacrifice [death on the cross] or taking anything from it denies its validity. Any system to gain salvation through good works is denying and rejecting the sacrifice of Christ’s death and it is spurning the Holy Spirit’s work. When we repent of our sins and trust [believe in Christ] he makes us completely right with God. Our loving relationship leads us to follow him in obedience and service and he is pleased with our service [all good deeds] but we are in no way saved by our service. We serve because we are saved and not to be saved.

In verse 16, Paul refers us back to the promise made in Jeremiah 31:33, where the Lord promises the new covenant which will put “My laws in their hearts and I will write them on their minds” and then he adds “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.” Think about this—how many time will Christ forgive you of A SIN. He will forgive A SIN only one time—and then he remembers it no more. I have had some real problems with this because I have committed some grievous sins that I cannot forget—they keep coming back to haunt me. I have had to remind myself over and over that I repented and Jesus forgave me, and he does not remember that sin against me. How many times will Christ forgive me when I sin—not seven—not seventy but seven times seventy which means infinity…as long as I live…I will commit other sins…and he will forgive me for all of them. If I humble myself, seek his face, and repent—he is faithful and just and will forgive me. Please excuse me for being personal—over use of I—this applies to you also.

This paragraph is intended to bring peace of mind to someone of you the readers. There is only one sin for which there is no forgiveness…IT IS THE SIN OF UNBELIEF! You must believe in God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son and the comforter they sent when Christ arose—The Holy Spirit, and you must believe that Jesus died as the sacrifice necessary for you to have forgiveness and if you do not believe you will be lost forever because of your UNBELIEF. However, if you are a born gain Christian, Christ forgave every sin that you had ever committed and will remember them no more. Because we have a sin nature, you will continue to sin and come short sometimes not even realizing that you are committing a sin. When you sin, you must repent of the new sin…you do not have to repent of sins already forgiven…and he will continue to forgive you. The Book tells me that I am to pray continuously…pray without ceasing…and that can certainly mean more than every Sunday, or more than once a day. It means for you to pray every time you feel a need for sure…and that will surely include each morning when you awaken from a night’s rest and each night when you lie down to rest.

Believe in Jesus Christ as your Savior, trust and obey him to the best of your ability and don’t let the devil rob you of your peace of mind when he tries to make you feel guilty for sins of your past that Christ does not remember. Only trust and obey—for there is no other way! And don’t forget to be GRATEFUL. Our Lord will recognize the smallest gratitude. But when we are truly grateful, it will be our witness to the world about this BETTER WAY.

Christians should cast their vote in every election…failure to vote gives
nonbelievers one more advantage as they seek to take complete control of our
Governmental rights!
DON’T GIVE UP YOUR RIGHTS…GO VOTE!

Live in Hope - Hebrews 6:13 - 7:28

In our study last Sunday the writer [I believe it was Paul] warned the readers of this book that they must mature in Christ. His admonition was also directed our way, so I ask you—have you matured spiritually? Or—are you just one week older? He accused the first readers of being spiritually lazy because of their lack of study of the word and refusal to move on from the elementary teachings to the teachings with greater depth. Be honest…have you opened your bible this week? There is nothing that is more depressing to anyone than the LOSS OF HOPE. The Holy bible is the only source where one can find rest and peace from their hopefulness. Three things are sure in one’s life. 1] You will live until you die. 2] You will die. 3] You will spend eternity is either Hell or Heaven! You only have one possible choice and it is regarding number three; You can repent of your sins, ask Christ to save you, and be born again while you live and go to heaven when you die—or you can continue to reject Christ and the cross and lose all hope of heaven… and at the time of your death, you will for certain—make Hell your place of abode forever. There is no wonder why Paul told us that we must study the word in depth because the BIBLE BRINGS US HOPE! WE CAN LIVE IN HOPE…or DIE IN DESPERATION.

The certainty of God’s promises are discussed beginning with 6: 13 and it is because of God’s promises that we can LIVE IN HOPE—the title of our lesson today. A promise is like a contract, a will, or court witness and must be signed {or sworn in} under oath in order to be binding. A witness places his hand on the bible and swears “under God” to tell the truth. God made his promise to Abraham, saying that his blessing would come through him {Abraham} and his son Isaac and their decedents. Remember, Abraham and his wife were too old to have children and had waited for years—most men would have lost HOPE but Abraham did not lose his HOPE… and because of his faith God’s promise to him and Sarah was fulfilled when Isaac was born, and their seed replenished the earth with many decedents.

In order to swear an oath—one must have someone greater to swear by, but there was no one greater than God for him to swear by. Therefore when God made this oath, he swore by his own name and made his oath a part of God’s word. His word alone would have been enough for you and me to believe, because we believe his Word is TRUTH. However, he added his oath to his word and this addition made the promise even more certain [see gen. 22: 16]. Abraham waited patiently, offered to sacrifice {kill with a sword or knife} his son if need be and proved his faith, and verse 15 tells us that he received his promised blessing—which he had HOPED for. Verses 16 to 18 are self explanatory—read them now. Verses 19 and 20 tells us that God’s promises were securely founded and held in the holy of holies behind the curtain and it was there that the people could meet God and be forgiven of their sins…through their high priest—who was their intercessor. But now, under our new covenant, Christ went into the holy of holies for us [while he hung on the cross, when the vale was rent] once and for all, he entered on our behalf and became our High Priest forever. He was appointed by God and not man in the order of Melchizedek.

Chapter 7 starts by explaining what this meant. The Hebrew people thought of Abraham as their father and believed him. However, Paul explains to them that Melchizedek was superior to Abraham because he was King of Salem, which is another name for Jerusalem…which means King of Peace. Abraham had just defeated four invading kings, when Melchizedek met him. Abraham paid him tribute by giving him one tenth of the spoils he had obtained from the battle. This is first revealed in Gen. 14: 1-22, and explains that Abraham met face to face with his superior, Melchizedek. It is very interesting to find that there is no record of the birth or death of Melchizedek, who was without beginning of days or end of life being recorded in history and represents the coming of Christ who has always been and will always be…Jesus also was without beginning of days or ending of life. Paul is establishing the fact that Christ is our “peace” and he is showing the significance of peace in the work that Christ did while on earth. Paul believes that Melchizedek was a mere man, a normal human being, but the record was left that would show that he represented the Messiah [Christ] who was, is and will always be. The bottom line is that the priest hood of Christ is the standard and Melchizedek pictured his coming.

In his humanity Jesus had a human mother and a genealogy at birth that traced back to David. As our Savior, the Son of God, he was there in the beginning and will be sitting at the throne throughout eternity, and his years will never end [Hebrews [1: 12]. Jesus Christ is God as well as being the Son of God. Jesus told us that “I and my Father are one” and he told the disciples at the time of his departure that he would send “HIS SPIRIT” that we know as the Holy Spirit, to be our guide, our counselor. The three, God the Father, Jesus the son, and The Holy Spirit make up the trinity—we serve a triune God. When one speaks…the other two are the witnesses. This system of Holy law was pictured under the old Mosaic Law that said that if there were two witnesses who agreed the victim was either guilty or innocent as charged. Paul told everyone that this system is superior to the old one because there are always two witnesses that agree with the one proclaiming the truth.

You should turn now to the last part of this chapter, 7: 15-28. Remember that the problem being addressed was that some of the Jews [Hebrews] had heard the Word from the disciples and teachers of the Church and had been persuaded to become partakers of the grace of God—the unmerited favor of God—and because of this, they came under persecution by their own people…the same people that put Christ on the cross—the orthodox Jewish leaders. Because of this pressure, they were said to be falling away from the Church. Actually, they had been convinced that they were more secure under the old covenant. The central theme of this writer has been to prove once and for all that the priest hood of Levi consisted of men with sin in their nature. Even the high priest, who approached the throne only on one special day each year, had to shed his royal robe and dress in spotless white, confess his sins first, and wash his hands before he could enter the Holy of Holies where he then offered sacrifices for the sins of the people. All these were priest either by being a Levite or by appointment by man. Christ is now the High Priest because God said, “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek” [Psalms 110: 4].

The remainder of this chapter is offered as proof positive that Jesus Christ is now High Priest by appointment of God and that this is a superior way to that of the law. Paul explained this superiority by giving examples of individual priest and their work under law and by listing examples. The first two ideas that are of utmost importance are that Christ is now High Priest by appointment by God…and Christ is not only the High Priest, but he is also the sacrifice. Other priest sacrificed animals, God sacrificed his Son…who is without sin. There is a big difference, because Christ does not have to confess sin [He has none] and ask for a blood sacrifice [He was the blood sacrifice] and he made the sacrifice for us because of his love.

Priest of old came into that office because of birth or appointment by Jewish regulation. Verse 16 states that [“The former regulation is set aside because it is weak and useless…for the law made nothing perfect, and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God.] Paul knew that Jews placed much weight on any promise made under oath, and he told them that the appointment of Christ was not without oath…because God has sworn and will not change his mind…Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior is a priest forever.

God swore this oath and therefore Jesus has become a better covenant than the old one under law. Paul says that there were many priests under law, because they would die and had to be replaced. This need for succession is no more because Christ will live and intercede for us forever… He will do more than just intercede for us; but also save us because he is our sacrifice. Verse 26 says that Christ is the only High Priest that can meet all the needs of the people…because he is unlimited. “He is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.” Jesus is superior to the priest of Levi who had to offer sacrifices day after day for themselves first and then the people. He does not have to offer sacrifice each day…He died on the cross one time for everyone. He offered himself…once and for all. He does not sacrifice for us daily…one time is all God required…but he does intercede for us daily because of our sinful nature. If we confess our sins to him daily, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins daily. How many times will he forgive us…seven times? Or seven times seventy? There is no limit, so long as we humbly repent and ask for his forgiveness.

Everything we have studied in the first chapters of Hebrews is closely related to the new and better promises of the NEW COVENANT. To the best of my ability, I have searched these first chapters to find what promises are included and listed them below for our study, assurance, and proof that we can live IN HOPE.

1. The first promise relates to the work of the Holy Spirit which is to renew and sanctify our souls and glorify our bodies in order to help us keep God’ law on an individual basis and then we will become a wholly nation that God will possess and bless.
2. Another promise is of our Surety [Christ] who will intercede for us until the work of the Holy Spirit is completed. When we are first saved, we are not totally prepared for our entire being, body, soul, and spirit to keep the law of God with absolute perfection. We need a Surety to intercede for us until the day that we become perfect and like Christ. Jesus became our Surety by his death on the cross [our sacrifice] …”Jesus hath become the surety of a better covenant” [7: 22].
3. The new covenant promised us a one time sacrifice…that was all-sufficient…no other sacrifices will ever be needed…Jesus Christ forever atoned for our sin.
4. This is one of the places in scripture that assures us of the priest-hood of the believer. We are our own priest, and we have access to the CHIEF PRIEST, CHRIST…and can approach God directly at all times and at any place that we have a need. There is now no need for us to have another human go-between to plead our case. The Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin, and we go directly to Christ who understands our heart and forgives our sin.
5. We are promised the glorious advent of our Lord and Savior…this time not as our sacrifice…but as judge of the world.
6. We are promised a glorious outcome…heaven! And there we will find eternal rest, peace, joy and an everlasting presence with God himself.