hebrews is a long and daunting book.
13 chapters...
lots of questions (who wrote it? who received it?)
there are a few hints to who wrote this and when...and this is one of those spots
we learn here that the author knows the situation of the church very well, both historically and present.
we see that he/she is concerned about some potential problems for the church.
not sure if you all have this experience...
...but you know when you have a person or group that you care about that you are apart from?
...and you're down to just writing letters (ok, email)?
this is what's going on here.
the author is concerned for some specific problems here
this is a call to hold to truth - what christians call "good doctrine".
7. Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result
of their conduct, imitate their faith.
8. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
9. Do not be carried away by varied and strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be
strengthened by grace, not by foods, through which those who were so occupied were not benefited.
10. We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat.
11. For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy place by the high priest
as an offering for sin, are burned outside the camp.
12. Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate.
13. So, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach.
14. For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come.
15. Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit
of lips that give thanks to His name.
16. And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
17. Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will
give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you.
7. Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result
of their conduct, imitate their faith.
1. the author is talking about the past/original leaders.
this is a reference to the original leaders who founded the church.
- several past tense references ("those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you".)
essentially, it is a reminder to be faithful to the foundations of their church.
- speak the word of god to you
- have conduct that should be imitated
3. notice the things the church should do in response:
remember their leaders (and the word of god)
considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith (act like them).
note: humans have a tendency to move away...
why do we move away from things?
- we get bored with people (people seem interesting when new and unknown, boring when known)
- we get bored with ideas (folks always on the lastest fad...)
- satan and false influences (as in the sermon on the mount)
not trying to carry this to far, but i'd like to convince you all that
*staying put requires some effort*
8. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
i confess that i had a bit of confusion on why this is in the text...
but...this is the point.
this week's passage is emphasizing the stability of the gospel...
we're going to see the church encouraged to:
remain where they started
avoid heresy that attacks god's grace (christ's sacrifice)
live with hope for the full/ultimate benefits of god's grace.
so...this verse is trying to tell us that
- god's message is unchanging...beyond the lives of people in the church.
elders die, the gospel is the same.
- god is not changing
if you were saved by god's grace, don't worry that this will change or vacilate.
god is not a 15 year old girl shopping for blue jeans.
9. Do not be carried away by varied and strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be
strengthened by grace, not by foods, through which those who were so occupied were not benefited.
1. this is a charge to avoid heresy
from the beginning strange teachings entered the church.
you see this all over in the new testament
galations, 1 cor, colossians, 1 john, 2 john, 3 john, jude, etc...
- the warning here doesn't say "guard your motives"; it says "guard your beliefs"
it is possible to have the right motives and the wrong beliefs.
what seems right to us is often not; this ties in strongly to failures given when we exalt our own minds over revelation/inspiration.
as in judges, each does what is right in his own eyes.
we end up with beliefs that don't match what scripture is clearly teaching.
we should be nervous about this; hold our beliefs with some hesitance...
we should seek the counsel of other godly, wise, and careful people (including in history)
we should work to believe what we see taught by scripture.
related to foods... a jewish heresy?
compare to col 2:18-23
18. Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the
angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind,
19. and not holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by
the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God.
20. If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living
in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as,
21. "Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!"
22. (which all refer to things destined to perish with use)--in accordance with the commandments
and teachings of men?
23. These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion
and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.
9. Do not be carried away by varied and strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be
strengthened by grace, not by foods, through which those who were so occupied were not benefited.
if we are to be avoiding "varied and strange teachings", then we are to be strenthened by grace.
grace, or god's gift of rightousness to us, stands at the heart of the gospel
it is an interesting idea to be strenghtened by god's grace.
this is in contrast with the heretical view that abstaining from food would grant us strength or innocence.
this contrast seems to highlight the subjective (personal/emotional) encouragement
we receive by god's grace.
a lot of heresy seems to attack the idea of god's grace
we don't like the idea of a free gift, or grace.
is that because of arrogance? that we want to prove we can earn it?
or because of shame, that we don't understand how we could be worthy?
summary: don't be fooled by ideas that attack god's grace.
my first reaction when i read this illustration was that it wasn't particularly helpful. it seemed awkward.
bear with it though, it makes a bit more sense when you 'scratch' it.
10. We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat.
11. For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy place by the high priest
as an offering for sin, are burned outside the camp.
12. Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate.
13. So, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach.
14. For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come.
15. Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit
of lips that give thanks to His name.
16. And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
it's a day of atonement illustration
lev 16; the priest would sacrifice the bull, sprinkle the blood on the alter, then burn the carcass outside of the camp.
this illustration places christ as the sacrifice for our guilt, and talks about our association with him.
so...what are we illustrating?
1. it's an illustration of jesus as the ultimate high priest
chapters 5-10 were all about how christ is our high priest and our sacrifice.
this here ties back, reminding us that christ's offering is all we need to cover our guilt
v10 - christ is better than what the priests had
10. We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat.
v11,12 - christ is a better sacrifice
11. For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy place by the high priest
as an offering for sin, are burned outside the camp.
12. Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate.
this has been a theme, especially in the chap 11 and 12.
v13 "So, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach."
this is especially relevant if the heresy they are dealing with is from a more socially established jewish community (food).
the church here is suffering social shame/reproach. they're looked down on.
and they have a chance to win some social points by changing their belief a bit...
instead they're reminded of christ's shame and encouraged to share in it.
this world is not their home.
christianity != general popularity
face it folks, good christianity is going to seem kind of dumb to those who aren't.
the flip side of reproach.
this world isn't their home...but heaven is.
14. For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come.
summary: christianity is like...sacrifice, grace, alienation, and hope (hold on to those things)
3 things to do...
if we're not supposed to move away from the gift of god's grace and his son...then should we do anything?
yes.
first...don't stray.
offer up a sacrifice of praise
15. Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit
of lips that give thanks to His name.
a minimum, yeah?
if god's self-sacrifice and suffering to cover your guilt isn't enough, then how about
- his inclusion of us in his plans for humanity?
- his faithfulness to us in life?
- his preparation of heaven for us?
come on. and we have the gall to whine about how god doesn't give us enough.
god is good (all the time), and we need to remember that.
A. we need to make habits to thank god.
read psalms.
be sure to thank god when you pray.
think this way! geez, let gratitude be part of who you are, remember what god has done for you.
B. this should be somewhat verbal
our words should reflect our thoughts...
that's part of the reason christians sing songs of thanks (tradition of god's people going way back).
this should also cover our speech.
straight complaining all the time? knock it off.
C. this should be constant
this is a command, "let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to god".
we can chase this all over the bible if you need, but this passage will probably suffice today.
do not neglect doing good and sharing
16. And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
can't be more clear than that...
...don't neglect doing good and sharing.
pretty broad stuff here. "doing good"? and "sharing"?
reminds me of montissori preschool.
sharing means people
just another kick in the word "sharing" that expressing christianity requires people.
"sharing" here is tied to fellowship (actually the same word).
believers must be involved in sharing time and money with others.
what's the big deal here? "with such sacrifices god is pleased"
start with gratitude...
...then move to doing good and sharing
god is pleased with it; if you are grateful, that should be exactly what you want to hear.
obey your leaders
17. Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will
give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you.
back to our first theme:
full circle here.
we started with the encouragement to stay with the teaching they had from their original teachers...
...and now we have the encouragement to stay true to the teaching they have.
obey and submit to your leaders
ok, i recognize that this is arguably a conflict of interest.
that said...i think this is a great idea.
this is not:
silly, arbitrary rules and what not.
this is spiritual doctrine and conduct.
this is:
church discipline.
core beliefs.
attitudes towards authority.
what do the leaders do?
they "keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account"
elders are responsible for the spiritual health of the church.
screwing that up has serious and somewhat unspecified consequences.
james 3:1 Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.
personal note:
i would like to express two things.
1, jeff and i really do stress over your spiritual health.
2, we are nervous about screwing up, and probably not nervous enough. and we will screw up. please pray that
we will be able to do a job that god is pleased with.
finally...(please) make this easier on us
"Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you."
what is the cause of joy for jeff and i? correct belief and lifestyle.
conversely, what is the cause of grief for us? unbiblical beliefs (doctrine) and sin.
"this would be unprofitable for you"
this is a nice case where the interests of the elders and your own interests should line up.
ultimately, bad belief and sin gets you in trouble with god.
it should also get you in trouble with your community, meaning the elders and your brothers/sisters.
if we care about one another, then let us care for one another in the ways that matter most.
(final charge)
let's work to not cause one another to worry for our health/purity.
let's work to be grateful to god for his gifts.
let's stay true to the gospel and to the grace of god.