The Whole Picture - Hebrews 13:1-25

We’ve reached the end – the final chapter of the book of Hebrews. This book has taken us to an amazing depth and yet, I know we’ve only scratched the surface. “For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow” (Hebrews 4:12). We may scratch the surface of God’s Word but the Word penetrates to the very core of who we are to separate us from the world, from the beings of death whom we once were, and take us into the presence of Holy God. Amen to that.

With this final section, the whole picture that we’ve studied throughout this series will come into focus. We’ll see the author’s whole thesis of his book boiled down into one statement. We’ll cross the bridge to enter the promise for which we all hope. Please start by reading Hebrews 13:1-25.

Click here for a printable handout for this section.

The book of Hebrews wraps up as do many New Testament books. The author encouraged us to draw near to God through faith, to run the race focused on Jesus, and live at peace with God and others. Now, he’s going to give us some very practical lifestyle choices that will help make those things a reality. Beneath that list, though, hovering below the surface, is a life transforming message that will rock our world. Let’s consider the surface list, however, before we dive beneath the surface.

The First List of Seven

Love (13:1)
Let it continue. It can’t continue if it never started within us. It never started if we don’t first recognize the love Jesus has for each one of us. He is our example of love and we are His witness of love to the world.

Hospitality (13:2)
Show it to others. Open your heart, your wallet, and your home. Share a meal, a moment, and a smile. Who knows – you may be taking in one of God’s holy angels.

Prisoners (13:3)
Remember them. This probably originally referred to those imprisoned for their faith but it spreads to all incarcerated. Yes, they might have made some mistakes in their life, but haven’t we all? In prison, walls separate them from the Christian influences of society; they’ll never hear unless we take the message to them.

Marriage (13:4)
It’s one guy and one girl with a sexual relationship only between the two of them that’s consummated after the wedding vows are made. It drips with corruption in our perverted world and yet God calls us to live a life where the marriage bed is undefiled. Our standards may have deteriorated but His remain the same.

Money (13:5)
Don’t love it; live free from its consuming pull on your life. If money is the love of our lives, then we'll never be satisfied. We'll always live lusting after more, discontent with what God has given us.

Satisfaction (13:5-6)
We could link together this point with the last one but we can find many areas in our lives to harbor discontentment besides our financial situation. We cheat on our spouses, gripe about our jobs, accuse our kids of not living up to their potential, and dream of bigger houses and nicer cars. All that we have is from God; He gives us exactly what we need for the life to which He calls us. Be content.

Leaders (13:7)
Remember them. People have given of their lives to instill God’s Word into your life. They did so out of love for God and to pay it forward as a recognition to those who invested in them. Honor those people who have made a godly impact in your life and try to live your life according to their example.

The Second List of Four

We’re going to skip Hebrews 13:8-14. We’ll come back to it in a minute. First, let’s skim through our second list of lifestyle qualities consistent with one who has drawn near to God.

Praise (13:15)
Offer it as a sacrifice. Don’t only stand up and sing on Sunday morning. Sacrifice your thoughts and words until every one honors Holy God. Praise Him in those moments of struggle and pain when words of anger would so much easily slip from your mouth. Yes, it’s hard. If it isn’t, then it’s not a sacrifice.

Goodness (13:16)
Do it. Be generous; share with others. This one is similar to praise –don’t only give a little. Give until it’s a sacrifice to do so.

Obedience (13:17)
God established authority in our world; He expects us to obey those He put over us. Yes, sometimes they call us to do something contrary to God’s Word. At those times, we have to walk away. We have to obey God’s Word over the words of man. However, in general, God expects us to obey our leadership.

Prayer (13:18)
You’ll never make it if you aren’t regularly, intimately talking to God in prayer. It’s not hard, complicated, rigid, or structured. It’s a relationship where you sit and talk; sometimes you talk and sometimes you listen.

Beneath the Surface

I almost divided this last chapter into two sections. This list we’ve considered is already a lot to take in. I know I’m not living that way and I’m guessing you probably aren’t either. Despite the length, I sense God calling us to push on. After all, if we can’t read a few hundred extra words then we probably aren’t ready to run the marathon race to which He calls us.

Buried almost in the middle of these two lists are some significant verses that don’t really seem to fit in. That doesn’t surprise me, however, because I’ve learned that Hebrew writing often places their main point right in the middle of a text. We tend to put the main idea at the beginning or perhaps even at the end, but Hebrew writing doesn’t. We could almost picture a Hebrew text as an ancient pyramid with both sides building to the peak right in the middle.

This case is no different. Right between a list of seven and a list of four, we find the author’s thesis statement of his whole book – the whole picture painted in one powerful statement. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Don’t be led astray” (Hebrews 13:8-9).

The world will come at you trying to persuade you to follow a different Jesus or convince you that Jesus has changed. They’ll lure you away with a new message that’s contrary to the pages of Scripture. DO NOT be led astray. Jesus won’t change and neither will His message.

I don’t believe it’s an accident that the pinnacle of the pyramid is between the lists of 4 and 7. Those two numbers have repeated throughout this book; every time they contained significance as four directed us to creation and seven pointed toward the heavenly. Here in chapter 13, we see Jesus’ eternal, unchanging message is the bridge that links together the created and the spiritual.

Jesus’ Eternal, Unchanging Message

Establish your heart in God’s grace, not in rituals (13:9)
“It is good for the heart to be established by grace and not by foods, since those involved in them have not benefited” (Hebrews 13:9). The author of Hebrews uses the dietary restrictions here as an example of the rituals of the Old Testament. Even then, the foods and rituals of the law didn’t provide salvation. They were only the parable. Even then, salvation came by faith in God alone.

Eat at God’s Altar; His Body the Bread (13:10)
“We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle do not have a right to eat” (Hebrews 13:10). Because we have chosen to draw near – because He has called us as priests in His holy and true temple – we have the right and privilege to eat from the true table of bread in the heavenly holy place. The earthly priests didn’t have that privilege even though they did weekly eat the bread from the table in the earthly temple. And remember, Jesus is the bread that came down from heaven. Click here and here to read more.

Go to the Sacrifice; His Blood the Cup (13:11-13)
Our hope is the heavenly sanctuary; our inheritance is with Jesus forever. These have been common themes throughout this study. Right now, though, the work is done outside the camp and outside the temple. We can’t go into the eternal temple until we have first gone outside the camp where Jesus shed His blood. Click here to read more.

“Let us then go to Him outside the camp” (Hebrews 13:13).

• We go to Him there because that is where He suffered. He told us in John 15:20 “Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also.” We go to Him to suffer as He suffered because He is greater than us. May we never consider ourselves greater than Him.
• We go to Him there to be sanctified (13:12). It is there that He sets us apart from the world and consecrates us as holy unto Himself.
• We go to Him there to bear His disgrace. How can we be honored when He was shamed before the world? How can we be exalted when He was humiliated? How can we be praised when He was insulted?

Focus on the Eternal, Enduring City (13:14)
“For we do not have an enduring city here; instead, we seek the one to come” (Hebrews 13:14). Like all those listed in Hebrews 11 – from creation to the flood, from the flood to the Law, and from the Law to the cross – we focus not on the city of this world but on the city which is to come. We are part of those listed in the history of faith and, with them, we have a part to play in God’s story. Like them, we seek a future homeland – not the land from which we’ve come but the land to which we’re going.

Conclusion (13:20-25)

We leave our middle pinnacle point to focus on the conclusion of the chapter, the book, and this study. It’s been an incredible journey through the book of Hebrews – one that has brought me into a greater intimacy with the Savior, a greater perspective on His eternal plan, a greater understanding of His sufficient sacrifice, and a greater hope of our future home. Finally, it’s given me a greater focus on the work I need to do and the life I need to live right here and right now. I hope you’ve shared in this growth process with me.

All these areas overwhelm me at times. However, “I am sure of this, that He who started a good work in you (or me) will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6). I didn’t start this study on my own; I started it because of a compelling and prompting of the Spirit within me to draw near to Him through the study of the fullness and depth of His Word. And to that end, I know He will continue to work in my life – and in yours.

He alone has the power to raise Jesus from the dead and grant eternal life. It is with that same power that He promises to do all of these things and more within each one of us who draw near to Him. That is why the author of Hebrews leaves us with one final message which is where I also will end…

“Now may the God of peace, who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus – the great Shepherd of the sheep – with the blood of the everlasting covenant, equip you with all that is good to do His will, working in us what is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ. Glory belongs to Him forever and ever. Amen” (Hebrews 13:20-21).

← Previous Section: Finding Peace through Grace

The Struggle against Sin - Hebrews 12:1-13

Life is full of choices. We’ve been studying the most significant choice of our lives for the last several sections. The author of Hebrews laid out his case for Jesus’ deity, kingship, priesthood, and eternally sufficient sacrifice up through chapter ten. At that point, he told us we have to make a choice. We can either “draw near” or we can “deliberately sin.” He’s not going to force us one way or the other; the decision rests entirely on us. For those of us who choose to draw near, God calls us to endure until the end because Jesus is coming and we must live by faith until that happens.



Click picture for a printable handout for this section

We find ourselves at the beginning of chapter twelve facing more details about the lives of those who choose to draw near. It’s not an easy life; the heroes of the faith in chapter eleven witnessed to this fact. However, God’s given us a few advantages to help us as we journey by faith. I encourage you to start by reading Hebrews 12:1-13.

Who are the Witnesses? Why are they surrounding me? (12:1)

The witnesses are the heroes of the faith from chapter eleven; they are witnesses to an agreement made between God and us. The book of Hebrews calls that agreement a promise. Even more, the author of the book has been explaining it to us since chapter three. We discussed the promise in detail in an earlier section so I won’t review it again here.

They surround us as a memorial to our faith. We studied twelve groups and individuals whom God approved for their faith in the last three sections. Their stories took us from creation to the flood, from the flood to the law, and from the law to the Promised Land. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the detailed stories stop with the peoples’ entrance into the Promised Land. Here’s why…

The Israelites crossed the Jordan River to enter the Promised Land after wandering in the desert for forty years. “After the entire nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord spoke to Joshua: ‘Choose 12 men from the people, one man for each tribe, and command them: Take 12 stones from this place in the middle of the Jordan where the priests are standing, carry them with you, and set them down at the place where you spend the night’” (Joshua 4:1-3).

The men did as Joshua instructed. “Joshua set up in Gilgal the 12 stones they had taken from the Jordan” (Joshua 4:20). The name Gilgal means wheel or a large circle of stones. The stones served as a memorial, in short, “that all the people of the earth may know that the Lord’s hand is mighty, and so that you may always fear the Lord your God” (Joshua 4:24).

Here’s how this connects with Hebrews 12:1 and our surrounding witnesses… The word for “surrounding” means to lay objects around something or to encircle it with those objects. Joshua laid the stones in a circle at Gilgal to remind the people that God is mighty and they were to fear Him as they entered the Promised Land. Likewise, God lays the witnesses around us to testify of His might and to remind us to fear Him – not our circumstances. In other words, to live by faith.

Their stories encircle – or surround – us as memorial stones. They stand as a witness to...

• the reality of our unseen hope,
• the reality of the promise in a future Promised Land, and
• the reality of our victory that defeats our fears.

How Should I Respond? (12:1-2)

God laid these witnesses of the faith in a circle surrounding us. His purpose in doing so calls for a change in each of us.

Lay These Aside
He laid the witnesses around us so we might lay aside the weight of our burden. Yes, this applies to many burdens but I think it specifically applies to one – the prominent, bulging mass of sin that weighs us down for eternity.

He surrounded us with witnesses so sin might not encircle us. The verse says, “the sin that so easily ensnares us” (Hebrews 12:1). The word for easily ensnares seems to be an extremely rare Greek word but it communicates the idea of something that is very good at surrounding something else. Sin is skilled at encircling us. However, God laid witnesses of faith around us so we can lay aside the sin that is so good at surrounding us.

Run the Race
Our second response to the witnesses of the faith is our willingness to run the race. It’s not an easy race; at times, it will take everything you’ve got and more. At times, you’ll only be able to put one foot in front of the other by the power and endurance of the Spirit working within you.

We run with our eyes focused on Jesus. He is the source of our faith and the One through whom our faith will come to perfect completion before the holy throne of God. The whole picture we’ve considered throughout this study is a focus on Him – the Alpha and the Omega. We don’t turn our head to the sin trying to encircle and ensnare us. We keep our eyes straight ahead just like Jesus did as He focused on the joy that lay before Him.

Take note of that a second… Jesus focused on the joy that lay before Him as He endured the cross and the shame. Jesus is God – He was present at creation, participated in the glory of the Father in eternity past, and delighted in the triune communion of Himself, the Father, and the Spirit. He had it all; what joy could He find in the suffering and shame of the cross? The only thing missing from the sinless, glorious perfection of heaven was us. The whole of humanity – God’s beloved creation – had rejected Him and separated themselves from Him. The love of the triune God was too powerful for that so it was with joy that Jesus kept His eyes on the cross before Him that He might restore our relationship with Him in the beauty of God’s eternal presence.

Why run the race? (12:2-4)

In short, we run the race because Jesus ran the race. We struggle against the problem of sin because He struggled against the problem of sin. He ran with His eyes focused on the joy of the cross. We run with our eyes focused on Him.

Jesus’ struggle against the problem of sin led to the shedding of His blood. Only His sinless blood was sufficient to sprinkle on the true altar of the heavenly sanctuary. As hard as our struggle may get, we haven’t endured to the point as did Jesus. No one has asked us to shed our blood to pay the debt of sin for all mankind.

Why the pain? (12:5-12)

We endure pain in our struggle against sin because God loves us; He wants us to come willingly to Him as a child. Part of that process is allowing us to feel pain in our sin struggle so we choose to turn away from it (repent) and turn toward Him. If we felt no pain in our struggle against sin, then we would never turn away from it. We would never leave our masochistic relationship with sin.

You know, I’ve wondered why Jesus had to endure the torment of a Roman flogging before they hung Him on the cross. His death was necessary for our sin atonement but why permit them to whip Him first? Turns out it was all a part of prophecy – Hebrews 12:6 quotes Proverbs 3:11-12 when it says “The Lord disciplines the one He loves and punishes every son He receives.” The Greek words for disciplines and punishes both contain the idea of scourging and flogging. Jesus struggle against sin endured flogging because He was the beloved Son of the Father. He couldn’t fight the battle of sin’s struggle without enduring the pain associated with sin. He never knew the pain inherent in one of God’s children as we recognize our own sin because He never sinned. However, He experienced the pain literally and physically as every piece of metal and glass on the tips of the whips shredded His holy skin into bloody ribbons.

We struggle with sin because God loves us and chose us. If we aren’t feeling the pain of the whips with each sin that expresses itself in our lives, then maybe we aren’t God’s child. Maybe we need to personally and individually examine that possibility a little. If we’re feeling the pain of the whips when we sin, that means God is at work within us to draw us unto Himself. We recognize the ugliness of the sin in our lives and struggle to get rid of it.

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By Faith, from Creation to the Flood - Hebrews 11:1-7

With this section we begin a three part look at a well-known chapter in the Bible. We could probably spend months here but three weeks will have to suffice for us. Christians often refer to Hebrews 11 as "The Faith Chapter" as it recaps the stories of 12 Old Testament heroes of the faith. The author even tells us he would like to tell us more stories but he knew himself that his room was limited. Maybe someday we’ll all sit down together in heaven, grab a cup of coffee, and laugh together as we celebrate everyone’s individual stories of what they accomplished by faith. By then, we won’t be limited by time; we’ll have all of eternity to celebrate the outcome of our faith.




Click picture for a printable handout for this section

The author of Hebrews uses the expression “by faith” 21 times in this chapter. The math is pretty simple to know that 3x7=21. In Scripture, three represents divine perfection as seen in the Triune God. Seven represents spiritual perfection or that which God has made complete or perfect. Faith, therefore, is the combination of God’s divine perfection working in us to make us spiritually complete or perfect. That’s already an amazing thought!

I encourage you to start by reading Hebrews 11:1-7.

Faith is the Reality of our Hope

“Faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).

I wrote one time, “Hope isn’t a distant, vague dream; through Jesus, hope is realized - completed - finished - fulfilled.” Faith realizes our hope isn’t some wishful possibility; hope is the reality in which we live. Hope is to see God glorified, to be set free from death and decay, to experience eternity in heaven, to live in the freedom of salvation, and more. Click here to read about the full picture of biblical hope along with Scripture references to support each aspect. Check it out – couldn’t we all live with a little more assurance of hope?

His Pleasure; Our Approval

“Our ancestors won God’s approval by it. … Without faith it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:2, 6).

Pleasing God begins when we come to Him by faith. We please God when we let go of our own desires, opinions, and self-interests and allow a radical transformation to occur in our minds. “Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:1-2, emphasis mine). Remember when we looked at this verse a few sections ago? We learned our spiritual worship is our latreia service as priests in the true temple of God. I encourage you to go back and read it; it’s too much to recap here. We also learn from these verses in Romans that pleasing God requires a renewing of our mind. We no longer think like the world thinks; we no longer prioritize like the world prioritizes. We no longer strive as the world strives. Instead, we come to Him by faith as we realize that the hope we have in Him is reality. Eternity is the reality – not the struggles, goals, priorities, and philosophies of this world.

Faith transforms our thinking to focus on the reality before the throne of God. Faith builds a foundation for pleasing God. Finally, faith allows God to look down upon us and say, “Yes, she is approved.” Faith allows God to bear witness to the fact that ours was a life transformed by Him and for Him.

On God's Side

“The one who draws near to Him must believe that He exists and rewards those who seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6).

The last two sections compared two different reactions to Jesus sacrificial death. In the first one, those who believe He died as the Messiah draw near to Him, hold on to the confession of their hope, and are concerned for one another. In the second one, those who reject Him as the Messiah arrogantly decide His death was no more than a premeditated murder as they reject Him as the Word made Flesh. They trample on Him, consider Him ordinary, and insult the grace He offers. Their outcome is fire and judgment.

Those who live by faith have picked on which side of this comparison they want to be. Faith is the side of the one who draws near to God and finds rest in the hope of the unseen. God says, “My righteous one will live by faith” (Hebrews 10:38).

By Faith, from Creation to the Flood

Hebrews has helped us understand and visualize God’s plan for all of creation – from beginning until the end. God’s plan since the beginning has been for us to come to Him by faith regardless of the time era in which we live. That’s why the list in this chapter of those who live by faith begins at creation and ends, well, at the end when He brings us all together in one eternal kingdom.

Creation (11:3)
Read the story of creation in Genesis 1.

I don’t think we’ll ever scientifically prove the processes of creation. Scientists and theologians argue back and forth relentlessly. The final argument, however, comes down to an acceptance of God’s creation by faith. Notice this interesting correlation within these verses… Faith is “the proof of what is not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). Faith is required to understand that God took what was unseen and with it, created what we now see. With the power of His spoken word, “what is seen has been made from things that are not visible” (Hebrews 11:3). Faith realizes the reality of the spiritual, heavenly, unseen world. Faith then goes one step further and recognizes that God used what is unseen to create the universe.

Abel (11:4)
Read the story of Abel in Genesis 4:1-12.

God’s acceptance of Abel’s sacrifice and rejection of Cain’s had anything to do with what they brought. He based His response on the hearts of those who brought the sacrifice. Abel came before God by faith. This pleased God and God accepted Abel’s sacrifice. We don’t know Cain’s motive but it’s a safe implication that Cain didn’t come before God by faith.

Abel was the first person to die in faith of the coming Messiah. He was the first murdered, the first persecuted for obedience to God, and the first to die with hope in an unseen eternity. As the first murdered among men, his blood still cries out to us by faith today waiting for redemption and resurrection.

Enoch (11:5)
Read the story of Enoch in Genesis 5:18-24.

We don’t know much about Enoch. We do know, however, that he walked with God in a special understanding and relationship. Jude 14-15 refers to him as a prophet who knew judgment would come upon the earth because of man’s wickedness. Indeed, he named his son Methuselah which means “when he is dead, it shall come.” Methuselah lived longer than any other man in history because of God’s grace but when he eventually died, the flood came upon the earth. God brought judgment for man’s wickedness.

We know that Enoch lived by faith. By faith, He looked at the sin of the world and knew that God couldn’t allow it to continue that way unchecked. A righteous God would require judgment. The same faith that knew God would judge also motivated Enoch to walk closely with God. Enoch walked with God on this earth until one day when God said, “Yes, you are approved. Come walk with Me in heaven.” God took Enoch - who was seen - and suddenly "he was not there because God took him" (Genesis 5:24). Or, as another translation says, "one day he disappeared" (NLT).

Noah (11:7)
Read the story of Noah in Genesis 5:28-9:29.

Almost 700 years after God took Enoch into heaven, in the year of the death of his son Methuselah, God sent judgment upon the earth in the form of a worldwide flood. God warned Noah about the judgment to come; by faith in the surety of God’s warning, Noah was motivated to prepare. Noah had never seen rain because it had never fallen upon the earth at that point in history. Even though he'd never seen rain, Noah had faith in the unseen. He built an ark to save his family and the entire animal kingdom.

By Faith, for Us

These stories aren’t our stories but I still see points to inspire us as we walk with God by faith.

By faith, we understand that more exists than what we see with our physical eyes. Faith is living in the reality of that spiritual, eternal kingdom.

By faith, we understand God used what we can’t see to create what we do see. Science can’t prove it; we must humbly accept it as part of God’s plan.

By faith, God is pleased with us and approves us for entry into His kingdom.

By faith, we realize that death here isn’t the end. It’s only a pause until the end of the plan when God brings resurrection to all who follow Him.

By faith, we can be part of those who draw near to Him and not part of those who face judgment.

By faith, God can protect us from coming judgment.

By faith, we recognize a righteous God requires judgment for sin and this should motivate us to walk with Him.

By faith, we recognize that judgment will come and we give our lives to preparing ourselves and those we love for that judgment.

← Previous Section: The Other Option on that Day    

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The Other Option on that Day - Hebrews 10:26-39

The curtain of Jesus’ body was torn that we might enter in to the Most Holy Place in the true sanctuary of heaven before the throne of God.

He is the High Priest we need to permanently and sufficiently atone for our sin.

I had no sooner finished typing those words when my husband laid his hand on my shoulder to tell me a friend of ours passed away. A young wife and mother of six succumbed to leukemia. After a moment of reflection, I looked back at my screen and heard the words, “She has passed through the curtain.” My friend knew Jesus’ sacrifice covered her sin. She was a testament to His grace and the power of a relationship with Him up until the end.

The author of Hebrews began last week’s section with those two opening statements. We considered a possible response to Jesus’ sacrifice… to draw near to Him, to hold on to the confession of our hope, and to be concerned about one another. That's the life my friend lived.

Another response exists, as well. It’s, well, let’s just say that God didn’t sugar coat the message on this one. To begin, I encourage you to read Hebrews 10:26-39.

Click picture for a printable handout for this section

Deliberate Sin (10:26)

If a person hears the message of Jesus’ sacrifice, they may choose a different response than the one we considered in the last section. They may choose to reject it. The author of Hebrews classifies this response as a deliberate sin.

The Law classifies two other sins as deliberate sins – premeditated murder (Exodus 21:14) and rejection of the Word of God (Numbers 15:30). If we deliberately reject Jesus’ message of truth, then we likewise reject the Word of God as He is the Word made Flesh. Our rejection arrogantly declares that Jesus’ death wasn’t an atoning sacrifice but was only another premeditated murder; a murder for which the guilt lies upon us because it was for our sin that He died. If we hear and reject Jesus’ gospel message, then we are guilty of both of these deliberate sins and Scripture guarantees the outcome.

Guaranteed Outcome (10:27-31)

During the era of the Old Testament and the Law, if someone heard the message of the Law and disregarded it, then the punishment was death without mercy. The gospel message is superior to the Law. How much worse, then, is it to disregard the gospel message of Jesus?

If we disregard His message, we don’t only turn His sacrifice of love into a barbaric, premeditated murder. We also…

• Trample upon Him. Jesus will make a footstool of His enemies of sin and death but when we reject Him, we conceitedly try to make a footstool of Him. Pride didn’t work out too well for Satan and it won’t for us either.
• Regard Jesus’ blood as common, profane, or ordinary. Remembering the first century Jewish context of this book, our rejection of Jesus’ sacrifice arrogantly declares the blood of bulls and goats to be more precious than the blood of Jesus sprinkled before the throne of Holy God in the true sanctuary.
• Insult the spirit of grace. We insolently decide the Law was a superior message than the message of grace we have available to us through Jesus.

Yet, God guarantees the outcome for those who choose this option over the option to draw near to Him as we considered in the last section. The outcome for those who choose to reject Jesus’ sacrifice is vengeance and judgment at the hands of the Living God. Like I said, no sugar coating on this message.

When Times get Hard (10:32-34)

Difficult times will come as a follower of Christ. We all experience times of doubt as we wonder if the struggles are worth it. We all question if the foundation of our faith is secure. In His Word, God often asks us to remember how He worked in the past – to pause and reflect on where we have been in our journey – in order to find comfort and encouragement to continue.

He does so here; “Remember the earlier days when…” (Hebrews 10:32). Remember how your friends and family persecuted you because you accepted Jesus’ message. They rejected you because you accepted Him. Remember the time you were willing to go to prison rather than deny your faith. Not just you, but you saw your loved ones suffer in their prison cells, as well. Remember the time when the government took away all your stuff. Even then, you knew it was ok because your treasures are in heaven, not here on earth. Those were rough times and yet, Jesus sustained you through them. You were so confident in your faith that no persecution of this earth could stop you. You clung so tightly to the hope before you that the cares of this world drifted far beneath you. Remember those days now.

Why? (10:35-39)

No one ever promised this journey is going to be easy. Leukemia takes young moms away from their children. Governments confiscate the belongings of those who follow Jesus; they imprison those who preach His Name. Loved ones abandon, ridicule, and harass us for believing the truth of God’s Word. Any of these – and more – can happen to any of us. Even here in America.

We can’t give up now. We can’t throw away our confidence. We must endure. Jesus is coming and we want to be found faithful.

Don’t throw away the confidence and boldness we have because Jesus made a way through the curtain. Our confidence comes with a great reward – restored access to the Father. “Hold on to the courage and the confidence of our hope” (Hebrews 3:6).

God created us for a purpose – His will for us to accomplish in our time on earth. Strong’s describes it as a “deliberate purpose” which I find interesting because we began this section by considering “deliberate sin.” We see our choice here once again; we either deliberately sin by rejecting Jesus and His message or we choose a deliberate purpose for which God created us. As we follow through in that purpose, we have to endure. The battle is long, the persecution intense. The journey isn’t easy. We won’t be able to make it until the end unless we develop the ability to endure through the struggle. Then, in the end, when the purpose is done, we’ll receive the promise.

Jesus is coming and we aren’t quitters! It’s been a long wait from our human perspective but each day brings us that much closer to His imminent arrival. Until that moment, our call is to endure and persevere by faith. God says of those who won’t step forward in faith, “If he draws back, I have no pleasure in him” (Hebrews 10:38). Those who draw back are destroyed but that’s not us. We are the ones called to move forward in faith – despite the struggle – and find the life which God intended for us.

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As the Day Draws Near - Hebrews 10:19-25

I taught through today’s section the first time about five years ago. It created a desire in me to study the entire book of Hebrews in-depth but I didn't know it would be years before the opportunity presented itself. In those intervening years, I would occasionally read through the book knowing that treasures hid within its words. This study has not only encouraged me but I’ve also connected with it on a deep level. I’ve been thrilled to have this new method of sharing it with you as we progress through the chapters.

Click picture for a printable handout for this section.

I encourage you to start this section by reading Hebrews 10:19-25.

Therefore

We don’t use the word “therefore” in common language very much anymore. In the Bible, though, it’s such an important word. Never skip over it! When we see it, we need to back up because we’ll never fully understand what we’re about to read if we don’t first understand the previous section on which it’s based.

The book of Hebrews uses “therefore” more than any other New Testament book. The entire argument which the author presents builds upon itself throughout its chapters. The one that begins today’s section may be the most important of them all. It begins a conclusion of how we – you and I even today – are called to live and what we can expect in these last days.

Because of These…

The author is about to call us to action in three different areas. Before he does, however, he’ll give us two reasons why we need to step up in these three areas. He has explained these two cause statements throughout the last several chapters so watch for the links to take you to articles where we discussed them. I won’t go into much detail here.

Since We have Boldness (10:19-20)
We aren’t bold on our own – we have boldness. God has given it to us. We have confidence to enter the most holy sanctuary before God’s throne knowing the blood of Jesus atones for our sin permanently.

God split the curtain in the Jewish temple at the time of Jesus’ death. That's the parable. The power of His blood sprinkled on the mercy seat in the true heavenly sanctuary opened a new curtain for us. Through this new curtain – His body – we may enter the heavenly sanctuary in full boldness and confidence. This is our hope. This is reality.

Since We have a Great High Priest (10:21)
Every day the priests offered sacrifices and burned incense in the temple. Every year on the Day of Atonement they sacrificed for their sins and those of the people. They entered the Most Holy Place with burning incense and blood to sprinkle on the mercy seat. But it was never enough.

Jesus is a different kind of high priest from the order of Melchizedek. With Jesus’ final sacrifice, it was enough. The price was paid, sin atoned for, and Jesus sat down at the right hand of God as His work was finished. A new covenant was established. No other priest in the history of the Jewish people could say the work of atonement was done; only Jesus finished the job.

Let’s Do These…

We should live a certain way because Jesus opened the way for us to enter in and because He atoned for our sin once and for all. Our lives should be different as the reality of our position before God transforms us.

Let Us Draw Near (10:22)
Do you realize the significance of all Jesus did to make it possible for you to enter God’s presence? He has sprinkled His blood on our heart to purify the wickedness of our seared consciences. He has given us pure and living water to wash away our filth. All He asks in response is we accept it by faith. Jesus’ sacrifice was absolute; our faith should be so as well. The greatest step of faith is the one that takes you away from the call of the world and toward the presence of Holy God.

Fake faith isn’t going to cut it. A cheap knock-off of the real thing won’t enter God’s holy presence. Those who enter with a true and sincere heart can stand boldly in His presence.

What does it mean to draw near to God? I see two possibilities – a here and now and a then and there.

Here and now we can enter God’s presence spiritually through prayer. We can come before Him in devotion and reverence as we would before no other. We can make requests to help us as we strive to serve and love Him. We can intercede on behalf of those who struggle and despair. Finally, we can praise Him and offer up thanksgiving for the abundance of blessings He pours into our lives.

Then and there we can literally and physically enter into God’s presence after our time on earth is done. Some day we will each cease to breathe on this planet and we’ll take our first full breath of eternal life. Perhaps then we will finally start to comprehend the gravity of Jesus’ sacrifice as we literally and truly enter into God’s presence through the curtain of Jesus’ body and stand where Jesus’ sprinkled His own blood on the true mercy seat.

Let Us Hold On (10:23)
We don’t want to lose hope; it’s a desperate place in which to exist. Yet we have to make a conscience decision to hold on to it. We have to restrain it so we don’t lose it. We have to “hold on to the courage and the confidence of our hope” (Hebrews 3:6). We have to “hold firmly until the end the reality that we had at the start” (Hebrews 3:14). And here we read, we have to “hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering” (Hebrews 10:23).

Culture will continue to decline – both in America and around the world. In all honesty, we can’t stop it. The decline will leave us discouraged, despondent, and worn out. At times it seems tempting to just lay down and stop the fight; to give up on hope. God calls us to something different, though. We do all that we can to hold on to our hope without wavering. The idea here is to not lay down or recline. Don’t lean back and don’t give up. Hold on to that hope with which you first confessed your sin and faith in Jesus because that is what you’ll need to stand tall until the end.

Let Us Be Concerned (10:24-25)
Sometimes it’s easier to just not care; to lay back and decide it all doesn’t matter. Let whatever happens happen because people get what they deserve. That’s not the attitude for which Christ died, however. What if He had said that of us instead of leaving the glory of heaven to come to earth and offer Himself as the final sufficient sacrifice? Since He didn’t choose that attitude, we shouldn’t either.

We need to be concerned about one another. We need to think about others; doing so should elicit a three part response in us. None of those responses allow us to leave people to their own devices and not care what happens to them.

Considering one another should provoke us to love and good works. The author of Hebrews threw in a little sarcasm here, I think. I can appreciate that. He wrote that when we think about others, it should provoke us. The word means “an incitement or irritation.” We can relate to that, can’t we? After all, we all know people who the thought of them is a source of irritation in our lives. Here’s the twist, though. That irritation should prompt us to love and good works. It doesn’t lead to griping, complaining, backstabbing, or ignoring. When we think of others and the thought irritates us – God calls us to respond with love and good works. After all, that’s what He did for us even though our sin was more than just a little irritating to Him.

Considering one another should bring us together in worship. My pastor makes the same comment almost every Sunday, “I can think of no other reason except worshipping God that would bring together such a diverse group of people this morning.” And that’s a good thing. When we think about others, we should want to come together with them in the common cause of worshipping our mutual Savior. Jesus died for them as much as He died for you. They love Jesus as much as you do. Come together and celebrate those things.

Unfortunately, this is a primary area of attack for Satan. He loves it when he can regularly pull us away – to the lake, sleeping in, preparing lunch, getting ready for an upcoming week. Any excuse will do as long as it keeps us out of the church building and away from worshipping with like-minded believers. He has another source of victory when he uses pettiness and dissension to make our togetherness a time of griping rather than a time of worship. We complain about the color of the carpet, the number of songs, the time of the service, and any other little tidbit that makes no eternal difference. Thinking about one another should be an irresistible pull to come together in worship.

Jesus is an example to us of someone who understood this. He said during the Last Supper with His disciples, “I have fervently desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer” (Luke 22:15). I don’t know if you’ve ever had a chance to celebrate a Messianic Passover but I guarantee it is a worship service. How much more would the Passover with the Messiah have been one? Jesus longed for it; He “fervently desired” it. In Hebrews, He asks us to feel the same way.

Considering one another should be a call to encourage. To encourage someone means to fill them with courage. Similarly, to discourage means to take away their courage. Your words and actions have the power to do either. You can either fill someone with the courage they need to face life’s battles, serve as God calls, and live a life honoring to Him. Or, your words and actions can take every bit of their courage to do those things and throw it in the trash. It’s up to you which way you choose.

As the day draws near

One day Jesus will return. Whereas He came as a baby in a humble manger the first time, the second time will be one of great power and authority as every eye will see Him and behold Him as King of all. That day is near. I don’t know when it will be; neither does anyone else. However, Jesus told us some things to watch for and those things are lining up in a way unparalleled in human history.

Life will be hard until that day. We may think it’s hard now but it’s going to get worse. That’s why these kind of passages are so important. Right here we have three simple reactions we should have to Jesus’ sacrifice. These reactions are the way God calls us to live as we see the day of His return approaching. He asks us, quite simply, to draw near to Him, not waver in the hope we possess, and consider one another in a way that leads to love and good works, worship, and encouragement.

I don’t think that’s too much to ask in a world gone crazy.

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Clean, Once and for All - Hebrews 10:1-18

The Old Testament sacrifices were the parable – the earthly example given to show us the reality of heaven. Jesus’ sacrifice was the real thing. The real thing has a whole different outcome than did the parable. Hebrews 10:1-18 will teach us more; I encourage you to read it now.

Click picture for a printable handout for this section.

Never Enough (10:1-4)

The old covenant, the priesthood, and the sacrifices – all based on the Law – are the parable. They were “a symbol for the present time” (Hebrews 9:9). However, cast on their pages was a shadow of the good things to come. The Law didn’t contain the good things – grace, forgiveness, eternity, and so on – in and of itself but the light of God cast a shadow of the reality in heaven onto the pages of the Old Testament Law or the Torah.

Since the Law didn’t contain the good things, it could “never perfect the worshipers” because “it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (Hebrews 10:1, 4). The sacrifices didn’t have the power to cleanse our conscience and purify our inner self; only the blood of Jesus could do that. Again, the Old Testament was a time when “gifts and sacrifices [were] offered that cannot perfect the worshiper’s conscience” (Hebrews 9:9). But, “how much more will the blood of the Messiah... cleanse our consciences from dead works to serve the living God?” (Hebrews 9:14).

The sacrifices were necessary, though, because “in the sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year” (Hebrews 10:3). God gave the Law as a definition for sin and to reveal the regulations required to atone for sin. Consider this hypothetical situation with me… After revealing the nature of sin and the method of atonement, God could have left it at that until the time came for Jesus to come to earth. However, by having the people make the sacrifices day after day, their sins were ever before them. Year after year, as the high priest entered the Most Holy Place on the Day of Atonement, they were reminded of their sinful position before Holy God and their desperate need for salvation.

Jesus left a similar reminder for us today. The days of the Old Testament sacrifices are long behind us. And yet, Jesus called us to remember another sacrifice when He said, “This is My body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of Me” (Luke 22:19). With each Lord’s Supper, each cup reminds us of His poured out blood and every bit of bread remembers His broken body. We humbly remember Him in that moment as the weight of our own sin reveals the inadequacy of our works and our desperate need for salvation.

Jesus is Enough (10:5-10)

King David figured out a lot of stuff before his time; this is one of those times. The Spirit inspiring him to write as he did may have had something to do with it as well. Either way, Jesus – the Word made flesh – spoke through His ancestor David in Psalm 40. The author of Hebrews quotes Psalm 40:6-8 here in chapter 10.

David knew the sacrifices and offerings didn’t satisfy a righteous God; they would never atone for sin. Only the Savior who came to do the will of the Father would satisfy the need for atonement for sin. Only the sacrifice of the Son would fully cleanse and forgive us from sin’s filth.

David figured this out long before Jesus was born. Even still, many of us today don’t get it. We may not offer animal sacrifices to atone for our sin but we still try to attain salvation through works. Even many who believe in salvation by faith fall into the trap of adding works to their salvation. They formulize…

• Grace plus right behavior will give me eternal life.
• Grace plus tithing a certain amount will lead to salvation.
• Grace plus not doing bad things will grant me God’s favor.
• Grace plus serving in ministries will earn me a spot in heaven.

No, no, no! Grace plus nothing. Period. We can’t add anything to it. The Messiah alone purifies us because that is the will of the Father which Jesus established when He took away the time of the sacrifices. “By this will of God, we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all” (Hebrews 10:10).

His Victory is More than Enough (10:11-14)

The sacrifices served as a constant reminder. The priests sacrificed day after day, year after year, even though those sacrifices would never clean away the filth sin left upon our hearts and minds. Not so with Jesus, though. He sacrificed one time and the job was done. “‘It is finished!’ Then bowing His head, He gave up His spirit” (John 19:30). And unlike any other priest in the history of the Jewish priesthood, He sat down after making the sacrifice because for the first time, the Priest completed the work of sin’s atonement.

“He is now waiting until His enemies are made His footstool” (Hebrews 10:13). Permit me a moment of humorous honesty here. The New Testament is full of references to Jesus completed sacrificial work leading to the establishment of His enemies as His footstool. I guess I always pictured this as a reference to Jesus kind of kicked back and relaxed with His feet propped up. The only mental picture I know in our current culture for a footstool is a piece of furniture also known as an ottoman. I started wondering this week, however, if the Old Testament used this phrase in a different way than how we use it today. After all, we should use the Old Testament to understand the New, not modern day culture.

My suspicions were correct. A footstool has nothing to do with furniture. The cultural idea is to stomp on something with the foot. Similar words mean to crush an item with the foot or to stomp it into pieces. Most commonly, a victor would place his foot upon the neck of the enemy after battle as a sign of triumph and defeat of the enemy.

The Old Testament refers to a footstool six times. At first glance, though, none of them seem to refer to placing one’s foot on the neck of the enemy as a sign of victory. They all refer to the Ark of the Covenant and/or the Most Holy Place as the Lord’s footstool. For example, look at the first time it’s used, “Then King David rose to his feet and said, ‘Listen to me, my brothers and my people. It was in my heart to build a house as a resting place for the ark of the Lord’s covenant and as a footstool for our God’” (1 Chronicles 28:2; for other uses read Psalm 99:5, 110:1, 132:7; Isaiah 66:1-2; and Lamentations 2:1).

Although possibly not evident at first, I see a gut-wrenching connection between the cultural use and the Scriptural use. A connection that fits right in with all we’ve learned through this study in Hebrews.

The temple… the Most Holy Place… the Ark of the Covenant… down to the mercy seat of God… is where God stamped His foot upon the neck of His enemy and declared His victory over sin and death. Satan was defeated when Jesus shed His blood upon the mercy seat of God in the true tabernacle before God’s presence.

Let’s bring this up to modern day. The temple is destroyed; we don’t know where the Ark is hidden away. Remember though, that our priestly service remains because our body is the temple of the Spirit of God (Romans 12:1, 1 Corinthians 3:16-17). Friend, Jesus will stomp on the neck of sin and death in your life! He defeated them to no longer control you or have power over you. His blood purified you inside and out once and for all. In the end, He will – in all His power and majesty; Jesus is not a wimp! – stomp His foot on the neck of Satan and powerfully declare, “You are defeated. You have no power over this life anymore because she is Mine and is covered by My blood.”

“Death has been swallowed up in victory. Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting? Now the sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!” (1 Corinthians 15:55-57).

No More – Enough is Enough (10:15-18)

Whew. Ok, that last part was intense but we have to push on to the end.

The Holy Spirit confirms the testimony that all of this is true. The New Covenant, as presented in Jeremiah 31:33-34, contains five parts. We studied them in an earlier section. The last two parts of the covenant affirm that He will grant us mercy when we distort and twist His truth and He will grant us grace even though we mess up every time we try to live right. “Now where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer an offering for sin” (Hebrews 10:18). Once and for all, God forgives and cleanses us from every type of sin because of Jesus’ sacrifice. Nothing we can offer, no sacrifice we can make, no work we can try to accomplish will ever add to that. The work is done.


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The Real Thing: Our new covenant purpose - Hebrews 9:11-28

Our last section taught us the priesthood and sacrifices of the old covenant were a parable meant to teach us about the reality of heaven. It’s important to remember a parable isn’t a made-up story used for teaching purposes. In its true definition, a parable is an earthly example used to teach a heavenly lesson. The earthly example may or may not have actually happened; in this case, it did.

Click picture for a printable handout for this section.

The passage for this section is long. We’ll break it up as we work through it verse by verse; however, I encourage you to read Hebrews 9:11-28 in its entirety before we start breaking it up.

The Real Thing

Reread Hebrews 9:11-12.

“But…” is an important word of transition. It shows us that what the author is about to write is contrary to what he just wrote. Jesus’ sacrifice was the real thing made in the real sanctuary before the real throne of the real God. His sacrifice wasn’t part of the parable. It wasn’t an earthly example to teach us about something heavenly. He literally and truly came before God in the Most Holy Place of heaven and sprinkled blood upon the altar to purify for sin; not His sin, though, but ours. Yours. And mine. The earthly high priest took the blood of an animal with him to purify for sin but not Jesus. He took His own blood from His sacrificed body. And finally, that was enough. He redeemed all mankind – from Genesis to Revelation.

This is the real thing so we better pay attention.

The Real Response

Reread Hebrews 9:13-14.

The blood of the animals sufficiently purified our flesh – our outer selves – although the high priest did have to repeat it on an annual basis. However, the blood of Jesus far supersedes that of goats and calves. We find real power in Jesus' blood – power to purify even our inner conscience.

Our consciences can become a messed up place. They are weak (1 Corinthians 8:7-12), seared (1 Timothy 1:4-5), and defiled (Titus 1:15). Jesus’ blood has the power, however, to redeem even the weakest among us; even those whose conscience is so cauterized that it feels no pain and so stained and contaminated that it no longer shows new filth.

The power that purifies us both inwardly and outwardly calls for a response on our part. Jesus’ shed blood before God’s holy throne empowers us to live a new covenant purpose – to serve the living God. We learned about this type of service in the last section. Latreuo service calls us into the Holy Place where we serve as priests of the Most High God in His kingdom. In that service, He calls us to continually shine our light out to the world, to regularly consume the bread of the word, and to daily stand before God in prayer and intercession. It’s all made possible by the power of the blood of Jesus.

The Real Covenant

Reread Hebrews 9:15.

Covenants involve a promise given, a time of hope, and a realization of the promise. We studied this earlier here and here.

Jesus mediated a new covenant; it was the seventh made between God and man. All seven covenants were part of one common goal which was the restoration of the relationship between God and man for all eternity. Adam and Eve severed that relationship when they sinned in the Garden of Eden. God’s whole plan and purpose since then has been to restore the relationship.

Adapted from The NIV Study Bible ©1985

The Real Death

Reread Hebrews 9:16-18.

When I first read these verses, I thought, “What on earth is this talking about? Why mention a will all of a sudden?” My research helped me answer the question, however, and the answer is powerful.

The author of Hebrews isn’t writing about wills all of a sudden. He’s been writing about them all along. The word used for covenant is the exact same word as the will mentioned in verses 16-17. In other words, a will and a covenant are the same thing.

A will goes into effect when the one who established the will has passed away. In the will, the deceased shares the inheritance each of their loved ones will receive. That is exactly what God did when He cut covenant with mankind – He made a will which would go into effect upon His death.

We’ve already studied that Jesus is completely God here and here. God cut covenant or established the will with mankind in an elaborate process to restore our relationship with Him and give us the inheritance He desires for us as His loved one. The problem, however, was He had to die for the will (covenant) to go into effect. Therefore, God became a man so He could die and we could receive our inheritance.

I don’t know about you, but to me that seems worthy of a response of priestly service on our part. A response of priestly service involves regularly shining our light, consuming His Word, and entering His presence in prayer.

The Real Blood

Reread Hebrews 9:19-23.

The earthly tabernacle required earthly blood but the heavenly tabernacle required something better – heavenly blood. Jesus couldn’t take the blood of goats and calves into the true holy sanctuary. He had to take His own blood as God who died to enact the will and bring the inheritance promised to mankind.

The Real Sacrifice in the Real Sanctuary

Reread Hebrews 9:24-28.

Jesus isn’t part of the parable. He died a real death to establish a real covenant. He shed real blood which He sprinkled before the throne in the real sanctuary. This is no earthly example; this is truth. This is reality. This is eternally, absolutely serious.

So real, so eternal, so absolute, and so serious, in fact, that Jesus’ sacrifice was sufficient for all mankind for all time – from Genesis through Revelation. In the parable, the high priest sprinkled the blood on the mercy seat year after year in order to atone for the sins of the people. With Jesus’ reality, His blood sprinkled on the mercy seat before God covers our sin once and for all.

People die once because of sin (Genesis 2:15-17). We don't die immediately and repeatedly after each individual sin. After our death, judgment comes based on our response to Jesus’ sacrifice. That’s the real point because Jesus also died once – not because He sinned but because of our sin. His death bore the weight of our sin once and for all. He doesn't need to die repeatedly after each of our individual sins. Therefore, when judgment comes, so will salvation for those who accepted Him.

The Real Truth

When you stand before God at some point, He won’t care about your excuses. “Oh, I would have done the whole Christian thing, but the church was full of hypocrites.” Or, perhaps yours is something like this, “I went to church but so-and-so made me mad and I left.” Maybe your excuses focus on the Word of God, “Yeah, I’d read the Bible except it’s all just made up by men who had no clue what life is like for me today.” You know what – God’s not going to care about your excuses.

He’ll look at you – the one for whom He lovingly gave His life – and say, “None of that matters. I sacrificed My blood so you could inherit eternity with Me. You let your excuses keep you from that very real truth. Depart from Me.”

Or, you have no excuse. You’ve realized you’re a sinner – your outer flesh is defiled, your inner conscience is seared. You’ll never live up to the level of perfection required by God’s holy law. Yet, you have also considered Jesus and realized the significance of His sacrifice and the grace He offers for those who accept Him. By faith, you’ve come to this moment before Him trusting only in the sufficiency of His blood to atone for your sin. And in that moment, He’ll look at you – the one for whom He lovingly gave His life – and say, “Your faith has made you well. Come, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 9:22, 25:34).

It’s a real choice and it’s all up to you at this point.

After writing this section, I came across this video produced by One for Israel. In it, they do a fantastic job presenting this very process...



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