Hebrews Chapter 12

I feel that the most significant aspect of this chapter is found in the concluding verses where the author talks about the Mountain of Fear versus the Mountain of Joy. On Mount Sinai, Moses met with God and forged the Old Covenant in the form of the Ten Commandments. It can be said then that Mount Sinai was where the Jewish Church of Old was founded. This linkage demonstrates the difference in the focus of the Jewish Church, and with it the Old Covenant, in comparison to the New Church established in Christ and the foundation of the New Covenant. This Old Covenant was heavily founded on acts. We see this in Leviticus and Deuteronomy, books filled with what to do and what not to do. These acts were their testaments to their faith, their sign to God of their faithfulness. Yet it still remains clear that under the Old Covenant, no man was perfect. Every man, woman, and child sinned in the eyes of the Law of the Old Testament. Even the holiest of these old Jews would despair to face the judgement of God without the blood of Christ. Through the blood of Christ, shed to found the New Church, it is possible to cast aside this despair. This blood speaks on behalf of sinners, and speaks loudly to drown out our flawed nature. When worshiping God, we should always be cognizant that we are incapable of placating His wrath by ourselves for we are condemned by our sins. Yet the blood of Christ, sent by God for us, covers those sins and for that we should sing til we can sing no more.

Hebrews Chapter 11

This is hands down one of my favorite chapters in the Bible, definitely my favorite in Hebrews. The main focus of this chapter is....drum roll please......faith. No duh. I think you get that about three verses in. But it's easy to get lost in what is said in this passage. I always affectionately refer to this chapter as the "Hall of Faith" because it's like walking through the Hall of Fame for people that, you know, have faith. This chapter basically serves as a SparkNotes version of the Old Testament. So it's a good review. But the meat of this chapter comes at the end, from verses 32 to 40.

What we see here is two-fold. First, we see the insurmountable power of faith. With faith in God all things are possible, even moving mountains. But faith is not something that is easily come by. With our faith in something unseen and our convictions about our faith, we are often put in a position on the outskirts of the cultural norm. Because of our faith, we are weird, abnormal. And that's hard to deal with sometimes because it sets us up for persecution because of "differentness". We have to be prepared for that. Though Christians in America have it much better than our Early Church peers (no crucifixion, no roasting alive, no drawn and quartering, etc), there are still Christians in other parts of the world who still need to fear death for their faith. Yet still they believe. And that is a testament to how we should be living.

The second thing we see in this section is that, as great as what all these Old Testament juggernauts did, it was not good enough and God's plan wasn't complete. It still needed that extra something special, but that something special could not come from man. It had to come from above. And what's awesome about that is that Jesus' life on Earth gives us even more reason to have faith in God. He was a living, breathing witness of God's love, His eternal, ever-lasting, all-compassing, giant bear hug love.

Hebrews Chapter 10

Here we see a continuation of where we left off in Chapter 9. The first section of Chapter 10 reaffirms that Christ paid the ultimate price, once for all. And those three words hold so much meaning.

Once. The price Jesus paid is one that only had to paid once. It was the ultimate sacrifice meant to cover all sins for all time. It was the culmination of thousands of years of inadequate sacrifices laid before God by the Israelites. The sheep and lamb and goats and cows just simply weren't cutting it. And God wanted to have a relationship with us that was being prevented by our inability to not sin.

All. The price Jesus paid was not meant for just the Jews. While they are God's Chosen People, we are all God's Children. And it is undeniable that God wanted a relationship with all of us, not just the Jews. And in order to have that relationship, there had to be a sacrifice sufficient to cover a multitude of sins, which is where Jesus came in. The vastness of what this sacrifice means cannot be overlooked and it should bring joy to us every moment we dwell on it.

Hebrews Chapter 9

What I love about this chapter is how it explains the role that Jesus' blood plays in the big picture. We see how the sacrifices of old were not cutting it. They were unable to completely cover and redeem the sins of the Israelites. Because of this, they were only able to enter into the presence of God in the Holy of Holies once a year "and even then not without blood". That's not too cool. The fact that only one person was able to be with God and then only once a year just blows my mind when I consider that in today's post-Christ world, we have the freedom to meet with God wherever and whenever he wants.....and that's all because of Christ. We call him the Lamb of God for a reason. He was a sacrifice for us, he paid the cost of our sins. And that totally opens the door and blows away the old concepts of meeting with God. No longer is there an earthly Tabernacle. Instead there is a different Tabernacle that is unsullied by human hands since it was built by Christ. While it is impossible to fully know the mystery that is Christ, we find in him sustenance, life, and forgiveness. These things are offered to us, all that remains is for us, through our faith, to accept the gift. One final point to make: The sacrifice of Christ is one that serves for all time. It is not necessary for Christ to be sacrificed every year like the lamb that was sacrificed to cover the High Priest of the Old Covenant. The eternal, life-giving sacrifice is enough. And as it is said, "His Grace is enough for me."

Hebrews Chapter 8

The main purpose of this chapter is to illustrate to the Hebrews the role and purpose of Jesus Christ. Chapter seven pointed the flaws inherent to the Old Covenant that paved the road to Christ. What's important to note is the role of Christ in the big picture. Due to the unique situation in which our Fall from Eden put us in relation to God, it was necessary for Christ to take upon himself human form to dwell among us and then die for our sins upon the Cross. Because of our sin we are incapable of approaching God and thus Christ, in his role as the High Priest of the New Covenant, mediates for us with God. As Matthew Henry put it, "Christ is the substance and end of law of righteousness." The New Covenant as imbued in Christ is of infinite more value than the Old Covenant in part because of the one sacrifice that was paid for all. However, the additional benefit of the New Covenant can be seen in its scope. Unlike the Old Covenant, which was limited to the nation of Israel, the New Covenant in Christ is open to all who truly believe and repent of their sins. This is the "better promises" spoken of in verse 7. It is with great love and peace that we should rest in this new promise, secure in our High Priest who is always vigilant.

Hebrews Chapter 7

This chapter is so awesome in so many ways. We start off this chapter reading more about Melchizedek and what makes him special. Here we are confronted with the difference between the Order of Melchizedek, to which Jesus belongs, and the Order of Aaron which represents the traditional priesthood of the Israelites. I've already spoken previously (Hebrews Chapter 5) about the symbolism behind Melchizedek and his name so check it out if you haven't already.

What is perhaps the most interesting section of this chapter is the section from verses 11-16 and 26-28. These verses elaborate on the necessity of Christ's life. Under the original law, the law governed by the Order of Aaron and the Levites, Israel was faced with an impossible task: the keeping of the law. Besides Jesus, no person has every lived a life that perfectly adhered to the original covenant and the Ten Commandments.

Because of this, the Order of Aaron was a flawed priesthood, incapable of raising the Israelites out of sin. This means that a new priesthood had to be created.

God knew this all along so He prepared His Son and sent Him to us. And in doing so, created the next generation of priesthood, one that is not ordained due to his heritage, but is instead invested due to the nature of the "power of an indestructible life". That phrase at the end of verse 15 gave me chills when I read it because of the image it created of Jesus as an indestructible force, a force who triumphs over Death and opens the gates of heaven for His followers. What makes this image more powerful is that this was proven by the Crucifixion and Resurrection three days later.

One final thought. With this new priesthood came a new covenant, one that offered its Priest as surety. Since Christ has the power of an indestructible life, then this covenant, which is sealed by his life, is a covenant that will endure to the ends of time. This offers us, individuals born into sin, a reassurance that there stands one ready to fulfill His side of the covenant forever and ever and ever.....

Hebrews Chapter 6

In the first section of this chapter we are reminded of the necessity of growth in our Christian life. Once we have accepted Christ, we are born anew. We start learning again, first learning to crawl, then to walk, then to run. Just like it took time and effort to move through each of these stages, so too is it with our Christian walk. When we are new Christians, we are often still in awe of what has transpired in our lives and what Christ has done for us. This is an appropriate response and one that hopefully remains with us throughout our lives. However, there comes a time and place when it becomes necessary to grow up, to become a man so that we may lay the foundation of salvation in other's lives. As Christians we are called to bear fruit and we are judged by the fruit we produce. Verses 7 and 8 in particular speak to this.

The second section of this chapter is really awesome and heart-warming. Here we see again the faithfulness of God, the certainty of His promises. If God says He will do something, He will. There is no ifs, ands, or buts. You can take His word to the bank and cash it. And this is awesome because it means that we should never doubt the love of Our Father. He has said he loves and will continue to love us, so it must be true. Understandably, God is not always the happiest of father's, particularly when He sees how we sin, but He will always be there to welcome us back, just like in the return of the prodigal son. This enduring love encourages me for I am not worthy of such love yet it has been given to me. It makes me want to strive to live up to the image of me that God wants to see.