Sermon Audio

In Hebrews 5:1-10, the writer began teaching that Jesus is the true and perfect High Priest. He quoted Psalm 110:4, showing that God swore His Messiah would be a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek. However, before explaining what he meant, he stopped this line of teaching because the Hebrews were “dull of hearing” and needed to go on to maturity (5:11-6:20). Sunday, as we come to chapter 7, the author will pick up where he left off, teaching what it means that Jesus is a priest in the order of Melchizedek. Chapter 7 is very dense and often confusing in our context because we are not steeped in the culture of Judaism. If someone says, “Jesus is a perfect priest, greater than all the Levitical priests in the Old Covenant,” we would say, “We agree! Let’s move on to something else.” Yet, the author of Hebrews spends considerable time and energy proving that Jesus is better than the Levitical priests. He does this because these Hebrew Christians facing persecution and suffering were tempted by the arguments of their fellow Jews. They were tempted by questions like, “How can Jesus be a priest at all since God’s law commands all priests be Levites?” “Why did God give a law for the priesthood if He always planned on changing the priesthood?” Although we will only preach through verse 22 Sunday, the main point of chapter 7 is found in v. 25. “Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.” Though the depth of argument may not be necessary to convince us Jesus is our perfect High Priest, it was for the Hebrews. Likewise, we also learn how the Scriptures had always foretold and pointed to the true priesthood of Jesus Christ. We need a priest to perfectly represent us eternally before the Father – and we have one! Jesus is the “guarantor of a better covenant” (v.22).

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Though the last two sections of Hebrews have been challenging, the author doesn’t leave his readers without hope before returning to the exposition of Jesus’ High Priestly work. Sunday, we will examine Hebrews 6:13-20, the last part of the digression, before returning to his central teaching about Jesus. For the first five chapters, the author extolled the glories of Jesus and His superior nature. In chapter 5, he began teaching about Jesus as our perfect High Priest, but from 5:11-6:20, he stops to give a command (Go on to maturity), a warning of falling away, and an encouragement of hope. Hebrews 6:13-20 is the encouragement. Using Abraham as an example of one who held fast to his hope, the author shows that the Christian’s hope is not found in how well we hold fast but in the promise of God. The writer shows us that God not only gave us a promise but swore an oath that His promise will never fail. By these two unchangeable things (the promise and the oath), we have a hope that anchors our soul in the presence of God. God didn’t have to swear an oath because His Word is trustworthy. However, He swore by Himself because when “God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose he guaranteed it with an oath.” (v. 17). The reason He did so is so that “we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.” (v. 18). Sunday, we will examine the promise and oath to Abraham and the promise and oath we have in Christ.

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I hope you have read and re-read Hebrews 5:11-6:12 over the past week. If not, I would encourage you to do so before Sunday. This Sunday, we finish the second part (6:4-12), perhaps the most controversial, debated, and difficult text in Scripture. Throughout Christian history, there have been a myriad of interpretations and applications of this text. The language of this text is shocking and terrifying, making the reader sit up and notice. That reaction is exactly what the author of Hebrews intends. This is a warning – a real warning - for the professing Hebrew Christians tempted to turn back to Judaism. However, saying, “It is impossible…to renew them again to repentance” (v. 4-6) is incredibly severe. In preparing to present this passage, I don’t have the luxury of simply telling you what the text “can’t” mean. To be faithful to God’s word, I must tell you clearly and correctly (as best I am able by God’s grace) what the text does mean, and how it applies to us today. Therefore, as we dissect the text, we will probably answer many of the questions most ask concerning this passage, but we cannot divert from the author’s intent in the context. This passage is a warning for the professing Christians. This warning echoes the previous warnings in Hebrews. (3:6-7; 14). The content of this warning teaches the same truth with differing emphasis. I don’t know if we will answer every question you may have about this passage, but we will seek to be faithful to the author’s meaning, tone, and application. Again, I would suggest reading and re-reading 5:11-6:12 so that you will have a working knowledge of the passage as we dive into it on Sunday.

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Sunday, we begin a very captivating and complex section in the book of Hebrews. For five chapters, the writer has exalted the glories of Jesus and repeatedly shown how He is better than all else. As Hebrews continues to call the readers to hold fast to Christ, chapter 5 began explaining the depths of Jesus as our perfect High Priest. As the author mentions Jesus as a priest in the order of Melchizedek, he stops this line of teaching and gives one of the strongest warnings in all of Scripture. Hebrews 5:11-6:12 is a single unit, but we will examine this section in two sermons. Here, the writer admonishes the Hebrew Christians for being “dull of hearing” and needing milk instead of solid food. Hebrews 5:11-6:3 will be our text Sunday, as we see the danger of spiritual immaturity and learn why and how we “go on to maturity” (Heb. 6:1). The following Sunday, we will examine what is perhaps the most debated text in the Bible, Heb. 6:4-12, which is a warning about apostasy. However, please read the whole section (5:11-6:12) for this Sunday. The writer does not separate these two concepts but shows that regressing into spiritual immaturity is the first step toward apostasy. I will readily confess that this has been the most challenging section of Scripture I have ever had to explain. There is no end to the different interpretations of the writer's words. Therefore, I hope to show you what the text means and how I came to my conclusions. You may be surprised Sunday as we challenge the common definitions of milk, solid food, spiritual maturity, and progress in the Christian life.

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Sunday, we continue in Hebrews 5:1-10 as the writer shows Jesus not only qualifies as a High Priest but exceeds the qualifications of any other High Priest. Jesus is a superior High Priest to all who have come before. This may not seem like a profound revelation to us, but the implications for our Christian walk are immense. The writer gives three qualifications of any priest in verses 1-4. They must represent the people before God with offerings, identify with the people’s weaknesses, and be appointed by God to the task. Through verses 5-10, the writer takes these qualifications in reverse order, showing that Jesus has fulfilled them all more than any earthly priest could. This week as I studied this passage, verses 7-8 regarding how Jesus identifies with our weakness (yet without sin) deeply impacted me. Those verses say, “7 In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence (reverent submission) 8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. I look forward to working through this text with you as the Holy Spirit applies the word to our lives.

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Hebrews 4:14-16 begins a new section in the book of Hebrews. In fact, from this passage through chapter 10, the book's focus will be on Jesus as our perfect High Priest. That theme is introduced here, showing the readers why they must hold fast to their confession and how to do so. Those two truths will be the points of Sunday’s sermon. 1. Why we must hold fast, and 2. How we hold fast to our confession. Hebrews 3:7-4:13 was a sermon exegeting Psalm 95:7-11. That long passage’s point called the suffering Hebrew Christians not to turn from the Lord as the wilderness generation did. The refrain repeated in that section is, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your heart.” Last week, we saw the end of that “mini-sermon” in 4:11-13. We were told that the word of God lays us all bare before the Lord, revealing our true intents and motivations, and everyone will give an account before God based on His word, not our feelings, circumstances, or sufferings. That is a frightening truth, but the writer continues by showing us why we hold fast to our confession – because we have a high priest, the Son of God, who has passed through the heavens. Jesus has done what the Old Testament priests could never do – brought His people unfettered continual access to the Holy God. However, anyone mired in the fires of suffering knows that “holding fast” is easier said than done. How could we possibly find the strength to hold on and follow Christ despite the trials. We have a High Priest who not only passed through the heavens for us but stands ready to help us in our time of need, sympathizing with our weakness. We hold fast by His grace and receive it as we continually draw near to the throne. Sunday, we will learn why we must continue following Christ when everything without and within tells us to turn back, and we will see how we accomplish this by drawing near to the throne of grace with boldness, “that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (v.16)

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Hebrews 4:12-13 is the conclusion of the mini-sermon we have been studying. Hebrews 3:7-4:13 is a comprehensive sermon applying Psalm 95:7-11 to the Hebrew readers. Throughout this text, the author compares the suffering Hebrew Christians, tempted to turn back to Judaism, to Israel in the wilderness, who refused to enter the promised land. The repeated cry of this text is, "Today if you hear his voice, do not harden your heart." As the writer ends this “sermon,” he exhorts us to strive to enter God’s rest, 12“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (Heb. 4:12-13). The word of God is the standard by which judgment will be leveled. We often think that our circumstances, situations, and issues are too complex for the word of God to discern accurately, but that is not the case. The word is living and active, speaking to our precise situation and needs. The living God speaks to our immediate issues through His living word. The word exposes our hearts, showing our motivations and the intent of our hearts. The word of God lays our hearts bare before the God to whom we must give account. He knows our deepest motivations and the intent of our hearts. Regardless of how we may justify or explain away our disobedience, the word of God will be the standard by which we are judged. No claims of mitigating circumstances lessen our guilt before the one who knows the depths of our hearts and sees all. Therefore, we must strive to enter His rest according to the word of God. There is no other standard by which me must give account. The word of God is living, active, and sharper than any two-edged sword. We may convince those around us and ourselves, but the word of God stands as the judge of all, exposing the intent of the heart before Him to whom we must give account. Our New Year resolution should be to submit ourselves to God’s word in repentance when our sin is exposed rather than stubborn disobedience. We have a high priest who has made sacrifice for our sin, yet we must not stand against the word of God. Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your heart.

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