Lesson 8 - Where Do We Go From Here?

• OK - what does this mean for me?
• But this is Old Testament, and I'm not a Jew!
• What about Gentiles?
• So this is for me!
• But what's this warning?
• Why does he write so much about faith?

If you’ve been with me for the last seven lessons you’re probably wondering where this is all leading. After all, the stuff we’ve covered so far has been interesting and informative - hasn’t it? - but pretty academic.

Well, maybe it has been pretty academic,for us it but it was certainly practical for the readers. They knew first-hand what it meant to watch the High Priest go through his ritual on the Day of Atonement. Some of them had probably been priests and may even have offered sacrifices in the Jerusalem Temple.

OK - what does this mean for me?

You’re right - it must mean something! The author isn’t just giving us a course in Old Testament History. He has a serious purpose in mind - keeping his readers from abandoning their commitment to Jesus as the Messiah and returning to the rituals of the Old (Mosaic) Covenant. and that includes us! Just keep reading.

Here’s a summary of what we’ve covered so far -

• God has delivered His final message to us through His Son, Jesus, someone far superior to angels, yet fully human.
  
• Jesus, the Messiah, was fully human, yet completely sinless.
  
• God appointed Jesus a High Priest according to the order of Melchizidek
  
• As High Priest Jesus entered the heavenly Tabernacle to offer a final, perfect sacrifice that resolved the sin problem once and for all.
  
• As the sinless Son of God, Jesus was also the final sacrifice.
  
• Once he offered his own blood as the final sacrifice and resolved the sin problem, Jesus sat down at God's right hand to serve as a faithful mediator.

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But this is Old Testament, and I’m not a Jew!

Good point! So far the writer has said nothing about any connection of the Gentiles - non-Jews - to the sacrifice of Jesus. Melchizedek gives us a hint that this goes beyond the Jewish nation, because he came before Moses,but nowhere do we get a complete statement to that effect.

This fits the cultural setting of the book, for it was written to converted Jews who were struggling to come out of their former religion and into their new faith. Truly this is a letter to the “Hebrews”!

Even though the writer doesn’t state directly that what he says applies to all believers regardless of ethnic identity, we can guess that it does because of two facts -

• It was written after the cross
• It’s readers are believers in Jesus, i.e., Christians

Remember, his purpose was to enlighten and encourage a particular audience in light of a specific problem - their potential reversion back to Judaism.

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What about Gentiles?

Well, what about the Gentiles? Here’s where we look beyond the book of Hebrews to the writings of Paul. Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles, was the one God chose to announce the unexpected fact that the cross work of Jesus was for Gentiles as well as Jews. Jews and Gentiles alike were covered by this sacrifice. In fact, upon accepting Jesus as their Messiah/savior, Jews and Gentiles became one in the Church.

Check out two of his smaller letters - Galatians and Ephesians. In Galatians Paul takes on a similar problem to the one we have here - converted Gentiles who were thinking about accepting the Mosaic Law, the Old Covenant, as their rule of life.

In Galatians 3 he writes that the Messiah “redeemed us from the curse of the Law . . . in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles.” He goes on to describe the Old Testament Law as a temporary solution to the problem of sin.

He compares it to a “tutor,” a child-trainer, or, in our terms, a nanny. The Law treated God’s people as a person would treat children - telling them what to every step of the way. Once the children grow up they no longer need a tutor.

That’s what Paul says in the first few verses of Chapter 4 - the Old Testament Law served a purpose, but now that Jesus has come and completed his sacrifice the Law is no longer needed.

So, no matter where you have come from - Jew, Greek, slave, free, male, or female - you and I are all one in Christ Jesus (3:28). Together we live equally as mature sons and daughters under a new rule of life. The Old Testament law has no control over us. It served its purpose; it is finished!

Paul covers the same ground in Ephesians. Look at Chapter 2, verses 14-16 where he declares that the Law is dead, killed by the cross. Now since there is nothing to separate Jew and Gentile, God is free to deal with everyone the same way.

See how Paul comes at this in Chapter 2? Look at verse 12 where he describes Gentiles as

• Separate from the Messiah (vs. 12)
• Excluded from Israel (vs. 12)
• Strangers to the covenants (vs. 12)
• Having no hope
• Without God

Wow - sounds pretty bleak! But wait - there's more! The cross work of Jesus, the sacrifice he offered in the heavenly Tabernacle, changed all that. We are now

• Fellow citizens (vs. 19)
• Members of God's household (vs. 19)
• Built together with the Jews into a dwelling of God (vs. 22)

All of this because of Jesus’ sacrifice!

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So this is for me!

Yep - it's for all who have accepted Jesus as their Messiah/savior. Now go back to Hebrews and read Chapter 10, verses 19-25 out loud (I won’t listen - I promise!) and put your name in place of the personal pronouns - the “us” and “we.”

This is what we now have -

• Confidence
• A new way to God
• A great priest seated at God’s right hand

No wonder the writer challenges us to

• Draw near with a clean heart
• Hold fast our confession of faith
• Get together with and encourage our fellow believers

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But what’s this warning?

The warning that starts in verse 26 is just what you would expect! Remember how he’s gotten in his readers’ faces before? OK - go back to Chapter 3 and see how he reminded them of what happened to the people who rejected the message God sent through Moses.

Now look at Chapters 1 and 2 - Jesus, the Son, is far superior to Moses.

I’ll bet you can see where this is going, can’t you? Exactly! If we reject the final message brought by God's perfect Messenger, then we are really in for it. And how do we reject? When we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth (vs. 26).

Continued rebellion leads to judgment, for it is nothing more than a direct rejection of the sacrifice of Jesus. Sin is serious business, especially now that God has completed His message in Jesus.

But remember how the writer backed off his challenge in Chapter 6? “Beloved, we are convinced of beter things concerning you.” (vs. 9)? He does the same thing here. He reminds them of where they once were and proclaims that “we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith.”

And this leads directly into Chapter 11 - to “Faith” chapter.

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Why does he write so much about faith?

Yep - it seems like everyone from Abel to Zechariah is included! And that’s exactly his point. Since the Old Covenant, the Law, is over, God is treating us as adults. Instead of giving us a long list of dos and don’ts He has given us a few principles and asked us to live in light of them.

We live by faith - believing God and His word, and living in light of what we know and believe. Living by faith is nothing new - God’s people have always lived this way. People like Abel and Abraham before the Law, like Moses and David during the Law. Living by faith is nothing new for God's people!

What I find even more important, though, is the last part of the chapter. Look carefully - through faith some unnamed believers were able to win major victories, and others were able to suffer major losses. Through faith some were resurrected, through faith others were tortured to death. Faith may give us success, it will also enable us to endure loss.

You and I show our faith by what we do - sometimes, a few times, by wonderful victories we win and answers to prayer we receive. More often we show our faith when we lose, when we are sick, when we are hurting.

Do not, please do not judge your faith by your circumstances. Don’t you do it, and don’t let others do it to you. One day you, like those in the last part of Hebrews 11, will receive what was promised. Live in light of that destiny!

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