Northwest Gospel Church - Summit View

There are certain environments in our everyday lives that come with reasonable expectations of what might happen. When we go to school, we expect to learn. When we go to the grocery store, there is an expectation that we will leave with food or whatever household items we might need. When we go to the gas station, we expect to leave with enough fuel to take us to the next destination. However, there is one place that we may frequent that can inspire varying expectations as to what might happen, or we might leave with: the church. Whatever objectives we bring with us will impact our experience on a Sunday and in a group setting. Our personal purposes and expectations when we enter this space act as a filter for our affections, feelings, and even our own contributions to the atmosphere. What do you expect when you come to church? The writer of Hebrews brings this to our attention by contrasting two places in which God's presence has been found. When God spoke to His people at Mount Sinai, the people trembled and begged him to be silent. When God speaks to us now, through His Word, we can find grace and long to hear more.

As humans, we are captivated by a good story—even more so when it's a true one. At any given time in the year, at the top of the New York Times best-sellers list, there will be an autobiography of an important person telling their story. The Hollywood Box office will be dominated by a biopic documenting someone's triumph over tragedy and how it made them who they are today. These stories can give us a sense of hope, a source of motivation, and an example to follow. We've reached the point in Hebrews that many are familiar with, referred to as the Hall of Faith. Within this section, the author walks through example upon example of individuals from the Old Testament who exhibited a life of faith despite the obstacles they faced. By reminding us of these individuals, we are encouraged to hold tightly to Jesus. When we do so, we too will be able to persevere through whatever lies ahead. May this reminder of God's faithfulness encourage us to confidently hold on to God, just like the saints before us.

A good pastor or spiritual leader will always express care and concern for the wellbeing of their people. Sometimes this care will come across in a word of encouragement or exhortation. Other times it may appear in a word of warning. For the spiritual leader, nothing is more exciting than seeing someone step fully into what God has for them, and nothing can be more heart breaking than watching someone stray. In this section of Hebrews, the author provides all of the above. The writer desires for us to have great confidence in our salvation and ability to connect with God. We are encouraged to use that access to remain faithful, avoid rebellion, and to not take advantage of what great privilege that rests in our possession. While the world around us may guide us towards immediacy and things that are temporal, followers of Jesus will continually look forward to the day of His return, all the while living as if each day may be the last.

Truly believing that God has forgiven all our sins can be one of the biggest struggles we face as believers. Deep down inside each of us fear, doubt, and uncertainty plague us, challenging our confidence that God has truly forgiven all our faults and failures. It is so easy to find ourselves picturing God as sitting in wait, just looking for the opportunity to pounce on our long list of wrongs and unfulfilled rights. Yet this could not be further from the truth! As we delve into this week’s passage of Hebrews, we are reminded of the final words of Jesus on the cross: It is finished.” Our salvation is secure, and our relationship with God restored! We have been gently guided back to the good graces of God. And there is nothing that you or I can do to negate that. How can we be so sure? We're told upon the completion of His work, Jesus sat down; there is no more work to be done. We’re reminded that God will remember our sins no more. Do you believe this? Or does it feel just too good to be true?

At times, The Bible may use language or imagery that cause discomfort for the squeamish or faint of heart. Even those less sensitive might find the sacrifices and blood of the Old Covenant to be uncomfortable—or perhaps simply irrelevant—and therefore warranting exclusion from the text. Whether it causes discomfort, confusion, or is simply deemed archaic, it can be easy to avoid a deeper engagement with these passages of Scripture. In the Old Testament, blood was recognized as a symbol of life and death and served as a sacred substance in various sacrificial rituals for purification (cleansing), consecration (setting aside), and atonement (reconciliation).

In this week’s passage, the writer of Hebrews seeks to clarify that, beyond symbolism, there is no comparison between the blood of Jesus and the blood of sacrificial animals. Only Jesus' blood can remove sin and guilt. Only His blood can cleanse our conscience and empower us to serve God. The sacrificial system for God's people in the Old Testament, including its location, all served to point us to the coming better way for man to be purified, consecrated, and atoned for: through the blood of Jesus.

A covenant, not a term frequenting conversation today, is a legally binding agreement between individuals. Despite its infrequent use, understanding the definition, what covenants are and are not is vital to grasping the over-arching story of the Bible. Unlike covenants made between humans, when God enters into a covenantal relationship with humans, it is one-sided. Only God can initiate and establish a covenant with Himself. All throughout the Old Testament, we find God choosing people—Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, etc.—for covenantal relationship, each established with the promise of blessing for the faithful, and curses for those who failed. Time and time again we see humans fail to keep their side of the covenant, experiencing hardships and consequences for their choices. Yet God is merciful and to the reader, it is clear that the covenants offered by God throughout history still far outweigh the alternative, an existence apart from God. And yet God had more for us. This week’s passage in Hebrews illustrates a better covenant between God and humanity, one that is mediated and fulfilled perfectly by Jesus on our behalf.

Throughout Hebrews the author makes the argument that Jesus is superior to all who preceded Him—from the angels, to Moses, Aaron, The Law, Joshua, and the entire priesthood. This emphasis was due in part to a rise of Christian believers—formerly Jewish in faith—wrestling with the temptation to return to old patterns and traditions. The author attempts to reveal to readers Jesus’ superiority in every aspect to the old covenant; that it would be foolish to turn back, for the former things were there in anticipation of a greater thing to come. The author continues his demonstration by drawing the reader’s attention to Melchizedek, a priest mentioned in the Old Testament. To many, Melchizedek, whose name means “king of righteousness,” is a mysterious biblical figure. Despite what little is captured in writing, this priest-king serves as a poignant foreshadow, pointing us to an integral part of Jesus’ eternal priestly ministry.

Trust is necessary in nearly all areas of our lives. You and I exhibit trust in someone—or something—every single day. From relying on map apps in our phones for directions, to the recipe we follow to cook dinner, we place a certain level of trust in a person or object to deliver an expected outcome. For a relationship to thrive, trust must be given. However, trust is hard to define, easy to lose, and not easily earned. It requires long-term faithfulness, reliability, and steadfastness to ensure trust is kept and maintained. In this section of Hebrews, the author appeals to the trustworthiness of God to inspire perseverance. God’s trustworthy character alone should elicit our trust, but when we doubt, we can look to the stories of His faithfulness—the countless times in His Word we find Him delivering His people. The promises of God’s Word offer a stable foundation for our lives.

Progress or growth in any area of life can be difficult to achieve. It doesn’t happen by chance but takes intentional devotion. In the same way, our pursuit of spiritual maturity requires an intentional decision, to seek the transformation that comes from the desire to be more like Jesus. For it is in our maturation that we see and experience more of God’s goodness, love, and wisdom and are empowered to embody His love for others. Throughout the early chapters of Hebrews, we are met with a glorious revelation of the person of Jesus: who He is and what He has done for us. As we consider the original readers, we might expect to see such transformation taking place in their lives when faced with these truths, yet that is not what we find in this week’s passage. In fact, quite the opposite! We find the author of Hebrews pleading with and confronting his readers in light of their reluctance to pursue maturity. The text soberly warns its readers that staying in spiritual infancy is problematic in its own right, but also cautions that this lack of development could potentially lead to a point of leaving the faith all together. This brings the question to us: are we lazy in our faith or are we pursuing all that God has for us?

It’s not uncommon at various points in life to hear someone describe a feeling of detachment and disconnection. It can feel as if there is a large distance, a great gulf in which we are shouting across in hopes to be heard, seen, or even acknowledged. This feeling can present itself within our earthy relationships, but more often these emotions are used to describe our connection, or lack thereof, with God. What’s miraculous about the Gospel is that we are invited and called to freely run to God in the midst of it all. What waits for us is not a cranky or uninterested being, but a God who eagerly seeks to greet us with grace and mercy. Whatever state we may find ourselves in, whatever temptations, trials, or difficulties bog us down, we have a great High Priest who is able to sympathize with us in our time of need and give us what we need most.