Lesson 1
Are you ready for a journey?? (Book central theme Heb. 11:13-6) The book of Hebrews is a book for those who are ready to go on a journey in their Christian life. The book of Hebrews is a book written to Hebrew/Jewish Christians. The author of the book of Hebrews uses a lot of examples that would be familiar to his readers… That would mean something to them. They could identify with wandering and traveling through unfamiliar territory to reach the destination God intended for them.
In the same way much of the Christian life IS a journey whether you realize it or not…The Great Adventure. We are on a journey and are traveling frequently through unfamiliar territory. But, like the Jews of the OT, we have a destination… that is a Heavenly Destination. But… it is a journey none the less and we must be taught to survive the perils of this world if we are to make it.
Every Journey needs a leader. We need to ask the question, “who are we following???”. We all know Who we should be following, but … are we Really following Him? Or, do we in practice follow…our pastor, the media, a philosophy, a doctrine, a Bible character, family tradition, finances, a close friend, or what seems to come easy. WELL, the book of Hebrews not only tells us that we should be following Jesus, but also, it tells us Why.
What makes this leader so special? Why does He ask us to follow Him without reservation? What does He ask of us who are committing to this journey? WHAT DOES HE REQUIRE of those who follow Him? What does He promise to those who follow Him? Good questions.
We will need to set aside every weight that so easily entangles us (Heb. 12:1)Ie. There are LOTS OF SNARES AND PITS along the way on this journey. Things of this world can get in the way. And, actually tangle us up making us in-effective, or worse yet, castaways.
My hope is that after this study that you would not be the same. That the insight that we share together will prompt Changed. No change, no benefit. Knowledge by itself is worthless. A study in the book of Hebrews can make our foundation broader and more stable, making us stronger, more sure of what we believe, confident and more focused concerning where you are going and why.
Maybe, you’re not really going anywhere in your Christian life. Maybe, you’re hanging out,…not sure where you are going. The book of Hebrews will encourage you to get on board and come along for the Great Adventure.
Hebrews is a book ranked by many bible expositors as one of the most important books of the Bible, second only to the book of Romans. Of course ALL books of the Bible are important. However, the book of Hebrews is highly known for its DOCTRINAL TEACHINGS as well as its PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS. As found in the book to the Romans, the book of Hebrews is chuck full essential tenets of the Christian faith.
THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY is not to give you an endless supply of facts, or to answer all of your bible questions. It has been said if you give a man a fish he will be satisfied for one meal. But, if you teach a man to fish he will be satisfied for a lifetime. Our goal is not only to meet together and learn the TRUTHS that this book has to offer, but, to more importantly to LEARN how to study the bible so that you can go back to the Bible at any time and with the help of the Holy Spirit and a couple of good reference materials continue to build on your Christian foundation. Yes, we will look at and study biblical truths the book of Hebrews contains, but more importantly, our goal is to learn using a practical exercise how to read the Bible as if God Himself were teaching us…, which He is! John. 16:12-15 (Read)
NOTE AGAIN: This book was written to Hebrew Christians in the early Church.
Hebrews 1:1-2(READ SCRIPTURE PASSAGE) STOP RIGHT HERE!!!! In times past He sent to us men, prophets, with an assignment. That assignment was to tell us that something was coming that we needed to pay attention to. They were sent to PREPAIR the way…or, in other words, TO PREPARE US, for the coming of the Messiah. That is the coming of the Christ!
Those who came before came to point the way to One who was yet to come in the future. In the fullness of Time the fulfillment of their message finally came to completion. All that came before now fit perfectly together to converge at one specific point in history. That is right here! At Christ’s coming! ALL those, i.e. the prophets, who God sent before Christ’s coming were to prepare for His coming and His arrival. AND, may we say, their messages were FULFILLED at His coming.
Hebrews 1:2 says that He is the HEIR of ALL things. How can the writer of Hebrews make this statement? If you look at other Scripture you can see that this statement is well reported or documented. The line that Christ came through is well documented.
Mathew chapter 1 documents His linage through his stepfather Joseph. Stepfather, why? Because He was conceived by the Holy Spirit,… remember the story? His linage through Mary is found in Luke 3:23-38. He arrived at the right time in the right place. At the time the promised Messiah was to arrive. In the city prophesied, Bethlehem. And, they, nearly everyone, were looking for Him, Including Herod.
Jesus Himself makes a RATHER STRONG statement in Jn. 10:7-9 saying that He is the door to God. This passage states that all others making this claim are THEIVES and ROBBERS. And, the Father also witnessed of Him in Matt. 3:16-7. And we could go on. There are too many references to list at this time. Through His life it is witnessed that He is the one fulfilling ALL prophecy, all actions and all characteristics of the coming One. Jn.21:25 makes the statement that the world could not contain the record bearing all of His credentials. There is OVERWHELING EVEDENCE documenting that He is the rightful heir. The Hebrews account states that He is BETTER THAN ALL other representatives of good things. This One, Christ, clearly stands out.
The book of Hebrews has a unique function in the Cannon of Scripture. It will remind us that Christ IS BETTER that ANYHTHING else…any came before Him, AND, we need to be reminded that He is BETTER THAN anything AFTER his coming. In the fullness of time He came. The fullness of time… at the precise designated time.
All too often we tend to identify with other personalities in the scripture. David, Paul, Moses, John, etc. We relate to them. This is not a bad thing necessarily. But, those examples should point us to Christ. The writer of Hebrews makes a point of reminding us that Christ IS the Purpose of ALL that we see here in Scripture, and that ALL others were given as examples of Him, His character, His personality, His nature/purpose His Grace.
V3 Complete and COMPLETED in Him! It is significant that the writer of the Hebrews used the phrase “that He sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.” The right hand of God is always a POSITION OF AUTHORITY. When did He sit down?? After He COMPLETED His work and paid for our sins.
One more important point in this section is that He did it by Himself.
Hebrews 1:4
The writer of the Hebrews begins his comparison of Christ to other great landmarks of our faith by putting them “Side by side” to see the difference between the two so that we can not only clearly see that Christ is far superior, but in reality that He is the ONLY choice. This is an excellent example of this statement.
This word inheritance gives the keys to the door by which He came so to speak. He wasn’t just a good or superior candidate for the job,…He came by the position honestly… it came by inheritance, through the line of God, not a created angel.
V. 8 Makes it clear who Christ is.
V. 10 makes it clear-He, Christ, created the foundations of the earth.
V. 11-2 talks about the fact that even the heavens and the earth shall get old and pass away, but…He NEVER changes. He is the same yesterday, today and FOREVER.
v. 13-4 AGAIN, restates His POSITION AND AUTHORITY. Angels, as great and powerful as they are, are no comparison to THE LIVING GOD!
GOD
CREATED
ALL THINGS
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