Simpler Bible

Welcome to Simpler Bible, your daily path to biblical understanding.

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Here’s an excerpt from the blog post.

TWO MOUNTAINS: HEBREWS 12-13

I don't know how many times I said this throughout the year, but Hebrews Chapter Twelve is one of my favorite chapters. It starts with these all-important verses instructing the reader to fix their eyes on Jesus, "The founder and perfecter of our faith." Or "The author and finisher of our faith." The reason given for fixing their eyes on Jesus is so that when they considered how Christ was unfairly treated and how he endured hostility against himself from wicked men full of sin, the reader would then be bolstered to continue in their faith without growing "Weary or fainthearted." Jesus resisted sin and submitted himself in obedience to the Father, to the point of death on the cross. Jesus serves then as an example of suffering and obedience. We, too, can fix our eyes on Jesus so that we won't grow weary or fainthearted in our pursuit of the Father.

The second reason this chapter thrills me is due to the comparison of the two mountains. This text clearly contrasts the two covenants of law and grace. I think it is eclisped in its clarity only by the one in 2 Corinthians 3. The author of Hebrews has already made it abundantly clear that there is a difference between the covenants of law and grace when he highlights that Jesus is the better high priest, that Jesus is the better sacrifice, that heaven is the better temple, and that the new covenant is enacted on better promises. We have already seen in this letter that the old covenant is weak, powerless, obsolete, and has faded away. The author here paints one final picture for us by comparing Mount Sinai with Mount Zion, similar to the comparison we saw Paul make at the close of Galatians 4. At Mount Sinai and under the covenant of law, death came. At Mount Zion and under the covenant of grace, there was life. You may also remember that when Moses descended from Sinai, and the people were worshipping the golden calf, about 3000 people died that day. But in Acts, on the day of Pentecost, when the Spirit was given, about 3000 people were saved. Throughout the whole Bible, the difference between these two covenants has been made clear to us.

Thanks be to God that we are not under law but under grace.

For more visit http://simplerbible.com/episodes

Welcome to Simpler Bible, your daily path to biblical understanding.

What's in Store: Daily podcasts, YouTube videos, and blog posts – everything you need to make your Bible study a breeze, no matter where you are on your faith journey.

Connect with Us:

Don't Miss Out: Hit subscribe for a daily dose of Bible wisdom. Let's explore the Scriptures together, connect the dots, and uncover the major themes of redemption.

Join us in making Bible study Simpler!

Here’s an excerpt from the blog post.

For more visit http://simplerbible.com/episodes

Welcome to Simpler Bible, your daily path to biblical understanding.

What's in Store: Daily podcasts, YouTube videos, and blog posts – everything you need to make your Bible study a breeze, no matter where you are on your faith journey.

Connect with Us:

Don't Miss Out: Hit subscribe for a daily dose of Bible wisdom. Let's explore the Scriptures together, connect the dots, and uncover the major themes of redemption.

Join us in making Bible study Simpler!

Here’s an excerpt from the blog post.

I would love nothing more than that my fellow believers would come to understand the riches found in the new covenant and the futility of the first. Too often people try to marry the two covenants into a single one; forgetting that the first was always intended to point to the coming of the second.

For more visit http://simplerbible.com/episodes

Welcome to Simpler Bible, your daily path to biblical understanding.

What's in Store: Daily podcasts, YouTube videos, and blog posts – everything you need to make your Bible study a breeze, no matter where you are on your faith journey.

Connect with Us:

Don't Miss Out: Hit subscribe for a daily dose of Bible wisdom. Let's explore the Scriptures together, connect the dots, and uncover the major themes of redemption.

Join us in making Bible study Simpler!

Here’s an excerpt from the blog post.

We Christians rightly find ourselves disinterested in utilizing the Jewish temple as a place of worship. We no longer feel a need to offer sacrifices so that we can please God. Still, though we can clearly see these things have been done away with or fulfilled in Christ Jesus, we often find ourselves adopting certain parts of the Jewish Law as a means to create or uphold righteousness. I will never know how we miss the obvious hypocrisy of this. (Though I myself missed it for my first twenty years of preaching) It could be because we are so woefully shallow in our understanding of the Biblical text.

Christians, be certain of this: that we are partakers of a new covenant and are not in any way obligated to follow the old covenant.

For more visit http://simplerbible.com/episodes

Welcome to Simpler Bible, your daily path to biblical understanding.

What's in Store: Daily podcasts, YouTube videos, and blog posts – everything you need to make your Bible study a breeze, no matter where you are on your faith journey.

Connect with Us:

Don't Miss Out: Hit subscribe for a daily dose of Bible wisdom. Let's explore the Scriptures together, connect the dots, and uncover the major themes of redemption.

Join us in making Bible study Simpler!

Here’s an excerpt from the blog post.

First, Christ has obtained a more excellent ministry than the priests of the Old Testament.

Second, Christ has established a better covenant (one based on grace rather than works).

Third, Christ operates on better promises than those priests in the line of Aaron.

These three things are of eternal significance because we continue to have false, or maybe just ignorant, teachers who still try to hold up the priesthood of Aaron, the covenant through Moses, and the promises made to Abraham as glorious things we should still cling to. However, "In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete." Christ is superior in every way to the things of the Old Testament because the OT things were only put in place to point to and reveal Christ. As we saw in Colossians and will here in Hebrews, the things of the Old Testament are merely shadows pointing to the truth of Jesus. I would also have you read the text below from 2 Corinthians again.

For more visit http://simplerbible.com/episodes

Welcome to Simpler Bible, your daily path to biblical understanding.

What's in Store: Daily podcasts, YouTube videos, and blog posts – everything you need to make your Bible study a breeze, no matter where you are on your faith journey.

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Don't Miss Out: Hit subscribe for a daily dose of Bible wisdom. Let's explore the Scriptures together, connect the dots, and uncover the major themes of redemption.

Join us in making Bible study Simpler!

Here’s an excerpt from the blog post.

The Jews all historically accepted Melchizedek as a priest of God, a King, and a foreshadowing of the coming Messiah. In the Jewish culture, there was not a single king who served as a priest; there was no priest who served as a king. (Though that would be prophesied in the book of Zechariah) The reason this all matters is simple. If Melchizedek had not existed and had not been so revered by the Jews, then there would be no precedent to accept a Messiah as both priest AND king. The Jews would be able to accept the premise of a king arising from a tribe other than Levi because Melchizedek himself was a priest who did not come from the tribe of Levi. The Jews would be able to accept Jesus as both a priest AND king because the Messiah was "like" Melchizedek. If that is not cool enough, we gain insight into the person and character of Jesus when we compare him to the name and purpose of Melchizedek because Jesus is also, by nature, King of Righteousness, and he also became (for us) King of Peace. Melchizedek then sets the stage for the Messiah to be unique. Christ would come to be both priest and king. 

Don't miss the significance of, "If perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood, what further need would there have been for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek, rather than one named after the order of Aaron? For where there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well." The Aaronic priesthood was set in place according to the law of Moses, but the priesthood of Jesus is established by better blood, on better promises, for a better covenant, namely grace. We have to quit teaching Christians that the Law of Moses is the metric of righteousness and begin proclaiming the righteousness that only comes by faith. 

For more visit http://simplerbible.com/episodes

Welcome to Simpler Bible, your daily path to biblical understanding.

What's in Store: Daily podcasts, YouTube videos, and blog posts – everything you need to make your Bible study a breeze, no matter where you are on your faith journey.

Connect with Us:

Don't Miss Out: Hit subscribe for a daily dose of Bible wisdom. Let's explore the Scriptures together, connect the dots, and uncover the major themes of redemption.

Join us in making Bible study Simpler!

Here’s an excerpt from the blog post.

Here, we see the author of Hebrews point out that "Every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God." And then, "No one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was. So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him, 'You are my son, today I have begotten you;' as he also says in another place, 'You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.'" These quotes originate from Psalm 2 and Psalm 110, both of which were recognized as prophetic texts pointing to the Messiah. As I have mentioned previously, Psalm 110 is the most quoted or referenced Old Testament text in the New Testament. We can stop here for now and continue this conversation about Melchizedek in more detail tomorrow.

For more visit http://simplerbible.com/episodes

Welcome to Simpler Bible, your daily path to biblical understanding.

What's in Store: Daily podcasts, YouTube videos, and blog posts – everything you need to make your Bible study a breeze, no matter where you are on your faith journey.

Connect with Us:

Don't Miss Out: Hit subscribe for a daily dose of Bible wisdom. Let's explore the Scriptures together, connect the dots, and uncover the major themes of redemption.

Join us in making Bible study Simpler!

For more visit http://simplerbible.com/episodes

Welcome to Simpler Bible, your daily path to biblical understanding.

What's in Store: Daily podcasts, YouTube videos, and blog posts – everything you need to make your Bible study a breeze, no matter where you are on your faith journey.

Connect with Us:

Don't Miss Out: Hit subscribe for a daily dose of Bible wisdom. Let's explore the Scriptures together, connect the dots, and uncover the major themes of redemption.

Join us in making Bible study Simpler!

Here’s an excerpt from the blog post.

The author here seems to be warning his particular audience not to take God's teaching lightly, like those who died in the wilderness due to their disobedience and disbelief. He seems to be challenging the reader to put faith in Jesus or to "enter into the rest" supplied by God.

I will tell you that when I was just starting to preach, and certainly in my youth, I thought all the parts of the Bible were written to and for Christians. As I will explain further in this video series, I think that Hebrews is written to a group of Jews who are faithfully serving God but may not have put faith in Jesus as the Messiah yet. I know that my view is not widely accepted, and I realize I may be wrong in my assessment, but for now, it is where I land, though previously, I believed all of Hebrews to be addressing what we might call Christians.

For more visit http://simplerbible.com/episodes

Welcome to Simpler Bible, your daily path to biblical understanding.

What's in Store: Daily podcasts, YouTube videos, and blog posts – everything you need to make your Bible study a breeze, no matter where you are on your faith journey.

Connect with Us:

Don't Miss Out: Hit subscribe for a daily dose of Bible wisdom. Let's explore the Scriptures together, connect the dots, and uncover the major themes of redemption.

Join us in making Bible study Simpler!

Here’s an excerpt from the blog post.

Of great importance is the idea presented at the opening of Chapter Two, "For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?" The idea of the law being given through angels is relatively new to me, but it certainly is prevalent here in Hebrews as well as in Stephen's defense of the gospel. And if what the angels handed down was rejected, then the penalty was death for the violator; how much more then will those who reject Jesus be subject to death? That which was delivered to Moses by angels was of such value that "every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution." And those were the temporary earthly things. Now, something better than angels is here, namely Jesus, and now, a new covenant has been established based on the testimony of God rather than angels, so there is a greater punishment waiting for those who reject Jesus.

For more visit http://simplerbible.com/episodes