Mar 1 2015

Eternal Redemption- Hebrews 9

English: The Holy Place of the Biblical Tabernacle; illustration from the 1890 Holman Bible (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Hebrew writer further explains in chapter 9 how the blood of Christ secures “eternal redemption.” He explains in verses 1-10 how the tabernacle had been set up, what the holy place was for and where it was located, and finally how the Most Holy Place was separated. The priests went into the first section, but the High Priest alone went into the most holy place — and then only once per year.

These places and those things in them, he says, are mere copies of the heavenly places. By contrast, Jesus Christ has entered into heaven “now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.” He has done that by sacrificing His own blood. And unlike the high priests before Him, He only had to do that once.

/Bob’s boy

Bible Reading Schedule for this month
Click links below to read or listen to audio of one of this week’s chapters in Hebrews

Heb. 9, Heb. 10, Heb. 11, Heb. 12, Heb. 13

___________________

some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please visit this site’s menu item “The Author’s Books” for info on the author’s books, website, and Facebook page.

All of my comments in this blog are solely my responsibility. When reading any commentary, you should always refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word.

Feb 27 2015

Priest of a New Covenant – Hebrews 7-8

In chapter 7, the writer of Hebrews offers some explanation of the “order of Melchizedek.” In Genesis 14:17-20, He is called “priest of God most high.” But Melchizedek came along before the Levitical priesthood. Aaron himself had not been born yet– much less Levi. It is clear that Melchizedek was a special case, and that he was very important. He blessed Abraham; and verse seven of Hebrews 7 says “It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior.”

Photograph of medieval canvas “Abraham and Melchisedek” (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We know very little about this man. His genealogy is not given. He was the king of Salem. Some suppose that this was a shortened name for Jerusalem. If so, that would seem meaningful to us. But the most important thing for us to get from all of this is that Jesus is said to be the new “high priest;” and that He was a priest after the order of Melchizedek. He was not a Levite, and therefore could not be a priest under the old law. But he is to be thought of as a priest under the new covenant, in that He intercedes for us through our prayers.

But unlike the high priests who had sin in their own lives, and would have to sacrifice for themselves as well, Jesus was without sin. He bore our sins for us on the cross. The writer closes chapter 8 by confirming the replacement of the old covenant with the new, when he says is verse 13 “In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.”

/Bob’s boy

Bible Reading Schedule for this month
Click links below to read or listen to audio of one of this week’s chapters in Hebrews

Heb. 4, Heb. 5, Heb. 6, Heb. 7, Heb. 8

___________________

some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please visit this site’s menu item “The Author’s Books” for info on the author’s books, website, and Facebook page.

All of my comments in this blog are solely my responsibility. When reading any commentary, you should always refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word.

Feb 24 2015

A Better “High Priest”- Hebrews 5-6

In chapter 5, the writer of Hebrews starts the chapter with an explanation of all that he had to say previously about Jesus being a “high priest.” Many Jews would appreciate the analogy because they were accustomed to having a high priest. In verse 6, he states that He was a priest “after the order of Melchizedek.” This was quoted from Psalm 110:4.

Jewish high priest wearing a hoshen, and Levites in ancient Judah. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The writer tells them that there is more he needs to tell them, but then begins a rebuke. He tells them that they have become “dull of hearing,” and that by now they should be teaching others. But instead, they are in need of “milk” instead of “solid food.” Those he was addressing had not grown spiritually. And how does on e become mature? The writer says it is attained by “those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.”

Verses 4-8 of chapter 6 do not mean that there is a sin that is unforgivable. It simply means that it can be much harder for one who has tasted of salvation to come back once they stray than for someone to be converted who has never heard the gospel.

/Bob’s boy

Bible Reading Schedule for this month
Click links below to read or listen to audio of one of this week’s chapters in Hebrews

Heb. 4, Heb. 5, Heb. 6, Heb. 7, Heb. 8

___________________

some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please visit this site’s menu item “The Author’s Books” for info on the author’s books, website, and Facebook page.

All of my comments in this blog are solely my responsibility. When reading any commentary, you should always refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word.

Feb 22 2015

Let Us Hold Fast- Hebrews 4

The Hebrew writer continues in chapter 4 with the comparisons he began in the previous chapter between Christians and those who rebelled against God and wandered in the desert for 40 years. They were not allowed to enter God’s rest, he says. And he says in verse 11: “Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.”

Before he died, Moses looked from Mount Nebo across the Promised Land. Because he had sinned, the Lord would not permit him to enter the land (Joshua 1).

The writer then repeats the reference to Jesus as high priest, but as one who knows what we face each day:

Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

/Bob’s boy

Bible Reading Schedule for this month
Click links below to read or listen to audio of one of this week’s chapters in Hebrews

Heb. 4, Heb. 5, Heb. 6, Heb. 7, Heb. 8

___________________

some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please visit this site’s menu item “The Author’s Books” for info on the author’s books, website, and Facebook page.

All of my comments in this blog are solely my responsibility. When reading any commentary, you should always refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word.

Feb 20 2015

Falling Away – Hebrews 3

Hebrews 3 is one of a few places that the theory that “once someone is saved, they are always saved” falls apart. It is possible to fall from grace, and indeed here the writer warns us to take care and guard against it. In fact, that is the entire point of this chapter. Consider verses 12-14:

Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.

Let that sink in. We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. How do we guard against that which we do not even think possible for ourselves? We will not guard against it as we should, unless we realize that each of us is capable of falling away. It is another way that Satan can gain power over us.

/Bob’s boy

Bible Reading Schedule for this month
Click links below to read or listen to audio of one of this week’s chapters in Philippians and Hebrews

Phil. 3, Phil. 4, Heb. 1, Heb. 2, Heb. 3

___________________

some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please visit this site’s menu item “The Author’s Books” for info on the author’s books, website, and Facebook page.

All of my comments in this blog are solely my responsibility. When reading any commentary, you should always refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word.

Feb 17 2015

Delivered From Lifelong Slavery – Heb 1-2

This previous post contains some discussion on the subject, but we truly do not know who wrote the Book of Hebrews. It is very much a book that celebrates the Son of God as the savior of the world. Verses 3 and 4 of chapter one state that after “making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. This theme, and a comparison of the old law to the new covenant we have in Jesus resound throughout the book.

The writer cites many passages from the Psalms in this chapter — (verse 5) Psalm 2:7, Psalm 89:26-27, (verse 6) Psalm 97:7, (verse 7) Psalm 104:4, (verse 8) Psalm 45:6-7, (verse 10) Psalm 102:25-27, and (verse 13) Psalm 110:1. These are all, of course, Messianic passages. The writer is making comparisons between Jesus and the angels, asking whether God had considered them to be as important as Jesus. Of the angels, the writer asks “Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?” The angels do indeed have an important role for us, but obviously, it pales in comparison.

The writer continues in chapter to press the importance of the mission of Jesus, saying that for a little while, He was made lower than the angels, so that He might taste death for everyone. And in verses 14-17, he said:

…he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham.

Christians, as Paul told us in Galatians 3, are the offspring of Abraham through Christ. And he then speaks of Jesus as our “high priest”in verse 17. The term will come up again later in the book.

/Bob’s boy

Bible Reading Schedule for this month
Click links below to read or listen to audio of one of this week’s chapters in Philippians and Hebrews

Phil. 3, Phil. 4, Heb. 1, Heb. 2, Heb. 3

___________________

some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please visit this site’s menu item “The Author’s Books” for info on the author’s books, website, and Facebook page.

All of my comments in this blog are solely my responsibility. When reading any commentary, you should always refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word.

Feb 15 2015

Forgetting What Lies Behind – Philippians 3-4

Chapter 3 of Paul’s letter to the Christians at Philippi contains only 21 verses, but it is some of Paul’s finest writing. Paul really “gets it,” when it comes to the gospel, and he tells us what it is all about for us right here. He starts out comparing Christians to those of the circumcision party that suppose their status under the old law makes them chosen (having confidence in the flesh). He makes the point that if such things mattered, he has more reason than those of that party to be confident.

Philippi theater.

Paul then lists his credentials as a Jew, and as a Pharisee. Though a persecutor of the church, he had been in a position that was respected and honored. But all of that he says he counted as loss for knowing the Lord Jesus Christ:

that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

He has not attained perfection, he knows. And he has not done anything on his own.

But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you.

Paul knew, and he was trying to make them see, that this world is not our home. We must set our minds apart from those who wish to be of this world — those who make themselves enemies of the cross:

Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.

He closes the letter in chapter 4, sending encouragement and prayers with two of the best passages for advice for Christians of all time. The first, in verses 4-7:

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

And the second in verse 8:

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

/Bob’s boy

Bible Reading Schedule for this month
Click links below to read or listen to audio of one of this week’s chapters in Philippians and Hebrews

Phil. 3, Phil. 4, Heb. 1, Heb. 2, Heb. 3

___________________

some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please visit this site’s menu item “The Author’s Books” for info on the author’s books, website, and Facebook page.

All of my comments in this blog are solely my responsibility. When reading any commentary, you should always refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word.

Feb 13 2015

Have This in Mind – Phillipians 1-2

Paul begins his letter to the Christians at Philippi without the statements that defend his apostleship, seen in some of the other epistles, which leads us to believe that no such controversy existed there at that time. It is another epistle written from prison; and one in which he offers encouragement for the saints there. It was the first church that he established in Europe, and where he converted the Philippian jailor. He assures them of his well-being, and in verse 12 states that his imprisonment has actually served to advance the gospel.

Philippi Basilica A.

He wants them to know that he will come to see them if possible, but that whether or not he does, he wants to hear that they “are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in anything by your opponents.” He tells them that they are privileged that for the sake of Christ they believe in him — and that they will suffer for His sake, just as Paul has.

He continues that theme in chapter two. Not only will Christians suffer for Jesus, but they are supposed to put others ahead of themselves, doing nothing from selfish ambition, but looking toward the interests of others. That is hard to do sometimes, and Paul knew it. So he gave them the following words to encourage and embolden us, knowing the reward that Jesus claimed for us:

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

If Jesus could selflessly do all that for us, we can endure anything comes our way in life until we receive our reward.

/Bob’s boy

Bible Reading Schedule for this month
Click links below to read or listen to audio of one of this week’s chapters in Ephesians and Philippians

Eph. 4, Eph. 5, Eph. 6, Phil. 1, Phil. 2

___________________

Please visit this site’s menu item “The Author’s Books” for info on the author’s books, website, and Facebook page.

All of my comments in this blog are solely my responsibility. When reading any commentary, you should always refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word.

Feb 10 2015

Whole Armor of God- Ephesians 5-6

In chapter 5 of Paul’s letter to the saints at Ephesus, he spends some time talking to them about the dangers of sexual immorality, warning them not to fall into the traps and temptations of such behavior. He also warns us all not to let anyone deceive us with empty words about such things. It is easy today to find one who represents himself as an evangelist, who will use his own rhetoric to placate those who wish to think of themselves as Christians, but do not want to give up the carnal pleasures that Paul refers to here.

Paul could not be any plainer about that than in this chapter, when he says that “everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.” Those “works of the flesh” are the very things that Christians must crucify from their lives (Galatians 5:24).

Husbands are sometimes quick to run to Ephesians 5:22-24 to refer to the relationship between husband and wife. And Christians understand that very well. But all to often, it is overlooked that much more text was devoted to the sort of love a husband is supposed to have for his wife in verses 25-32. Being one flesh, a man must love his wife enough to die for her, as Jesus loved the church.

Paul closes the letter in chapter 6, admonishing children to obey their parents, and bondservants to obey their earthly masters. This sort of servitude, common in that era, has a place for another discussion that we may have in another blog. But for now, it is worth saying that whatever our station in life is, God expects us to do it with dignity and the sort of diligence and respect that does honor to our Lord Jesus.

The “whole armor of God,” that Paul tells us we must put on in verses 10-20 lists many of the godly tools that we have to be able to live our lives with the ability to defeat the temptations that Satan throws our way as obstacles and snares to try to defeat us and turn us away from salvation. Truth and righteousness are listed first — and there are others. But most important are earnest prayer and supplication.

/Bob’s boy

Bible Reading Schedule for this month
Click links below to read or listen to audio of one of this week’s chapters in Ephesians and Philippians

Eph. 4, Eph. 5, Eph. 6, Phil. 1, Phil. 2

___________________

Please visit this site’s menu item “The Author’s Books” for info on the author’s books, website, and Facebook page.

All of my comments in this blog are solely my responsibility. When reading any commentary, you should always refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word.

Feb 8 2015

One Faith – Ephesians 4

In Ephesians chapter four, Paul “preaches” in his letter about unity in the body of Christ, saying there is only one body and one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all. In other words, as Christians we are all together in a unified effort of service to the Lord and in attempting to bring others with us to heaven.

When Jesus prepared to ascend into heaven, His disciples followed Him to the Mount of Olives (Matthew 28:16-20; Mark 16:15-20; Luke 24:44-53; Acts 1:9-12).

Paul talks about Jesus ascending “far above all the heavens.” I am reminded of some astronauts decades ago. Some, upon seeing the earth, had their faith increased. Others were cynical about not seeing heaven. They would have done well to not “lean upon their own understanding.” The physical and temporal universe God created for us is not a part of His dwelling place. He said that He “gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ. And that is our job even today, since Peter said that we are “a royal priesthood” (1 Peter 2:9).

Although Peter is addressing Gentiles, he tells them (and us) that we must not “walk as the Gentiles do.” Those who have alienated themselves from God have done so out of ignorance and the hardness of their hearts. They have become callous, and given themselves up to sensuality and are “greedy to practice every kind of impurity.” He then lists many ways in verses 25-32 that we are to show kindness and purity to the world so that our behavior can give grace to the world.

/Bob’s boy

Bible Reading Schedule for this month
Click links below to read or listen to audio of one of this week’s chapters in Ephesians and Philippians

Eph. 4, Eph. 5, Eph. 6, Phil. 1, Phil. 2

___________________

Please visit this site’s menu item “The Author’s Books” for info on the author’s books, website, and Facebook page.

All of my comments in this blog are solely my responsibility. When reading any commentary, you should always refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word.