Hebrews

The Pauline doctrine of the Spirit is an unequivocal scriptural affirmation of the security of the believer. Paul's references to the Spirit as "firstfruits" (Rom. 8:23) and "pledge" (2 Cor. 1:22; Eph. 1:14) indicate that Christians have already begun to experience the gift of eternal life.

For Paul all who hear and believe the gospel receive the gift of the Spirit, which is God's pledge (promise, guarantee, earnest) of the resurrection (Eph. 1:13-14; Rom. 8:11,23,38-39). In this connection the Pauline verb "to predestine" (Rom. 8:28-30; Eph. 1:5,11) is not so much a reference to what God decided before the world began (though Paul certainly affirmed Christ's death and the mystery of the gospel as part of God's eternally predestined purpose; see 1 Cor. 2:7-8; Acts 4:27-28). Rather it is a reference to God's unalterable promise to resurrect unto glory the one who believes in Jesus. Christians are predestined to be raised like Christ. Thus, "having been justified by faith" (Rom. 5:1), having received the Spirit as God's pledge of love (Rom. 5:5; 8:35,39), we may know that "we shall be saved from the wrath of God through him" (Rom. 5:9; compare 5:10).

Hebrews 6:1-8 (esp. v. 6) is interpreted by some to refer to the realistic possibility of losing one's salvation, but the argument is hypothetical. Just as it is impossible for Christ to be crucified twice (see 9:2510:18), so also is faith a once-for-all experience (see 6:4). Furthermore, Hebrews 6:13-20 is one of the strongest affirmations in the New Testament of the certainty of our future hope, which is grounded in the faithfulness of God.

Certainly the fact of sin is a Christian tragedy, but even extremes of sin cannot nullify the promise of God (note that even the incestuous man of 1 Cor. 5:1-5, who is to be "handed over to Satan," will "be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus"). As for those who make Christian confessions only later to renounce them and defect from the faith, we may perhaps say with John, "They went out from us, but they were not really of us" (1 John 2:19).

Christ's priesthood was permanent. Christ would never deliver His office to someone unqualified to handle it. Third, the character of Christ was superior to that of the Aaronic priests. Christ was exactly the type of high priest weak believers needed.

A New Covenant (8:1-9:28). Our author indicated that in addition to beginning a new order of priesthood, Christ inaugurated a new covenant. Jeremiah 31:31-34 foretold this new covenant. It provided three benefits for those who lived under it. First, it pro vided a new awareness of God's laws and a new nature by which to obey God. Second, it gave a personal knowledge of God that inspired a loyalty and commitment to Him. Third, it provided a complete forgiveness of sins. Christians today have inherited the benefits of this new covenant in their relationship with God.

ARTICLE: Assurance, Warning and Perseverance

For many Christians who struggle to understand their faith and the meaning of salvation, the question of security looms very large. Texts like John 10:27-29 affirm that no one will pluck them out of the hand of the Lord. They seem to provide assurance concerning security.

Texts like Hebrews 6:4-6 and 10:26-27, however, with the warnings of the impossibility of being renewed, seem to offer insecurity. Because this issue of security touches Christians at a deep level, a few would like to reword the texts of Hebrews or dismiss the entire book from their authoritative canon.

This way of dealing with the New Testament will not work because such disturbing texts can be found throughout other parts of the Bible (see 1 Cor. 10:6-22). Instead, we must realize that there is a built-in tension written into the biblical texts. Remember that God knows what people are like and that Jesus was not confused by their "believing" (John 2:23-25). Remember also that in Hebrews 6 there is not just one "impossible" but two (6:4,18): the one a warning and the other an assurance.

This built-in tension in the Bible reminds us that when God sent Jesus, He was not playing a game. The cross was the most serious moment in the history of the world. God expects us to treat it with utmost seriousness. Believing is not just a matter of words; it involves the way we live (see Jas. 2:14-26). Therefore the entire Bible is laced with warnings about the way we live.

Nevertheless, we must also understand that we do not save ourselves, whether it is at the beginning point of justification (Rom. 3:21-31) or throughout our lives to the point of death and our glorification (Rom. 6:22-23).

It is by the gracious working of God that we are renewed daily (2 Cor. 4:16). Our security then is not rooted in our ability to save or uphold ourselves. Our security is in the power of God to save and to forgive us repeatedly since we all continue to sin (1 John 1:8-10).

This life therefore is a pilgrimage with God. It is a pilgrimage that takes seriously both assurance and warning. In this pilgrimage we have a sense of security outlined in the classical definition of the "perseverance of the saints." This means that those who continue to believe in Christ will attain their heavenly rest (Heb. 4:9-13; 2 Thess. 2:13-15).

The contemporary popularized statement "once saved, always saved," however, can create a problem because it is an unfortunate oversimplification of this classical doctrine. It makes God's gracious working with us a static momentary action that loses the emphasis of pilgrimage and the great struggle of Christian life reflected throughout the New Testament, to say nothing of the similar Old Testament messages about God and His people.

The purpose of the Bible is twofold. (1) Everything possible is done in the midst of a hostile world to call Christians to a faithful life. (2) Everything possible is done to remind Christians of the assurance of God, who calls them to draw near to the throne of grace (Heb. 4:16).

This tension between assurance and warning is the context for Christian living. Tension is present throughout the Bible because the Bible deals with the intersection of human weakness and divine strength. Genuine Christians take seriously the warnings of the Bible and rely firmly upon its gracious assurances.

The old covenant made provision for removing external pollution by the use of animal sacrifices and familiar rituals. Under the new covenant Jesus surrendered His life to God in sacrifice for sin.

The sacrifice of Christ is more effective for us today in three ways. First, it did not limit itself to the mere removal of ceremonial pollution. It cleansed the conscience from guilt and thus inspired holy living. Second, it resulted in the removal of sin by the shedding of Christ's blood. Third, by entering God's presence, Christ showed that He has offered a perfect sacrifice. Because Christ has fully removed all sins, Christians have the hope that He will one day return to complete their salvation by taking them to be with the Father.

Once for All (10:1-18). The author explained the permanence of Christ's sacrifice. The repetition of the sacrifices offered by the Jews on their Day of Atonement (Lev. 16) could never make the worshipers perfect. Their sacrifices served as an annual reminder of the sins of the people. What God truly wanted was not merely the offering of an unthinking animal but a conscious, volitional choice to follow Him. That is what Jesus gave when He came to do God's will. Jesus' choice to offer Himself as a sacrifice for our sin earned for Christians acceptance in God's sight. The constant offering of Levitical sacrifices testified that sins still remained. The once-for-all death of Christ forever took away all sins. When these sins are removed, no further need for sacrifice remains.

Stamina in Obedience (10:19-39). The writer of Hebrews found the readers tempted to pull away from Christ. Hebrews attempted to call them to God and to fellowship with one another by describing a veil by which all believers could enter God's presence. This veil symbolized the life of Jesus presented to God when He suffered for our sins (1 Pet. 3:18). Because Christians had complete access to God, they could draw near to Him with an inward and outward cleansing. They also needed to consider how to stimulate one another to good works by meeting together.

In no instance should Christians fall into a pattern of neglecting fellowship with one another. The author warned his readers that turning away from Christ would expose them to divine judgment. He insisted that his readers show genuine faith by continued commitment to Christ. They had already suffered for their faith, but they needed to demonstrate stamina in obeying God.

Heroes of Faith (11:1-40). As an incentive to endurance before God, the writer presented a gallery of Old Testament heroes of faith. Faith gives reality to things that cannot be seen. By this faith the Old Testament believers received a positive witness from God. In the generations before the flood, Abel, Enoch, and Noah all responded by faith to demonstrate obedience to God. Their faith pleased Him. Abraham demonstrated his faith by forsaking the comforts of Ur and Haran to follow God to the promised land. By faith Abraham and Sarah bore Isaac as a child of their old age. Moses showed his faith by leaving the wealth of the Egyptian palace to suffer hardship with the Hebrew people. The writer presented Gideon, Samson, David, Samuel, and many other heroes as examples whose faith Christians should follow. The promises the Old Testament believers had expected were coming true in the events New Testament Christians were experiencing.

Endure (12:1-29). The writer also found encouragement for endurance from Jesus' example. Jesus had already run the race of faith, and God had placed Him on the throne. When Christians consider the hardship He faced, they can find strength and fresh courage. God allows all Christians to experience hardship so that they might develop holiness. Even though God's chastisement seems hard for the time, it will eventually produce righteousness in those who follow Him.

The character of God provided another incentive for endurance. God desires that all persons seek after holiness. God will not tolerate a disobedient, self-serving lifestyle. The presence of God at Sinai caused thunder, lightning, and fright among the people who saw Him. If God's speaking on earth at Sinai produced fear, how much more would His words from heaven through Jesus produce fear! The writer showed that God's kingdom was unmovable. This gives Christians the grace to serve Him with stamina and reverence.

Christians have practical duties with one another. They must show sympathy to those in prison, and they must avoid all immorality. God has promised never to leave Christians, and that promise helps to banish greed.

ARTICLE: Old and New Covenant

Definitionally, a covenant is an agreement between two parties, whether equals or not, that signified a relationship whereby the two bound themselves to each other, either conditionally or unconditionally.

Theologically, the term was used to describe the relationship God initiated by His grace between Himself and humankind to those who were willing to bind themselves through a personal commitment of faith. This is reflected in the oft-occurring phrase in the Old Testament "I will be their God and they shall be my people."

A covenant was made by a sacrifice. Hence the Hebrew idiom for its establishment was "to cut a covenant" (Gen. 15:7-21). From God's perspective

His covenant is unconditional and unilateral in establishment, but from humankind's perspective it is conditional and two-sided. God commands His people to keep His covenant through obedience and alternatively judges and blesses them according to their response.

The word covenant in the New Testament is diatheke, and it functions as the equivalent for the Old Testament berit. It occurs thirty-three times, nearly half of which are either Old Testament quotations or references to the Old Testament covenants. But the concept of the "new covenant" did not originate in the New Testament, for Jeremiah 31:31-34 speaks of God's intention to establish a new covenant.

The phrase "new covenant" is found six times in the New Testament: 1 Corinthians 11:25; 2 Corinthians 3:6; Hebrews 8:8; 9:15; 12:24. The new covenant is the fulfillment of the old in that it is identified with the death of Jesus and the Christian age. It is superior to the old covenant according to Hebrews 7:20-22; 8:6 and displaces the old according to Hebrews 8:13; 10:9.

The new covenant was established by the shed blood of Jesus on the cross. In the Gospel accounts of the last supper, it was Jesus Himself who related His coming death to the establishment of the new covenant. He is, by virtue of His death, the Mediator of a new covenant (Heb. 9:15; 12:24). The sacrificial offering by Jesus on the cross constituted the beginning of the new covenant and is complete and unrepeatable. Entrance into the covenant relationship is by faith in Christ.

The Book of Hebrews is the New Testament epistle most concerned with the relationship between the old and new covenants. The writer's intent was to show both continuity and discontinuity between the two covenants.

Continuity can be seen in that God is the initiator of both covenants, and both are based on sacrifice. Discontinuity can be seen in that the new covenant supersedes the old due to the final nature of the death of Christ.

The old covenant was enacted upon inferior promises, lacked finality, and lacked efficacy in that it provided no power to keep its conditions. In contrast, the new covenant is unconditional, final, and spiritually efficacious.

Christians must follow the faith of their leaders. When Christians submit to those who care for their spiritual needs, this allows the leaders to do their jobs with joy and not with hardship or frustration.

God is pleased with spiritual sacrifices that Christians offer. These sacrifices are commitment, praise, and unselfish sharing of goods.

In the last section of Hebrews the author urged prayer for himself and reported on Timothy's release from prison. He shared a doxology in 13:20-21 and an expression of greeting in 13:24-25.

Theological Significance. The author of Hebrews points us to the superiority of Jesus Christ. He is superior to the prophets (1:1-3), superior to the angels (1:42:18), and to Moses (3:14:13). He provides a superior priesthood on the basis of a superior covenant (4:14-10:31). Not only is Jesus superior to the foundational aspects of Judaism, but He also is superior to any aspect of contemporary religion. This means that Jesus is not just one good option among many ways of drawing near to God; He is the only way. Because of the superiority of Jesus we must not neglect such a great salvation that He has provided with His sacrificial death (2:3; 10:1-18).

Jesus, the superior Savior, is also the superior Priest. We can come to Him in times of trouble, suffering, and struggle. In Him we will find a sympathetic Priest (4:14-16) who offers grace in time of need. Thus we can and should draw near to Him in worship (10:19-25), live by faith (11:1-40), persevere to the end (12:1-29), and live a life of love (13:1-25).

Brown, Raymond. The Message of Hebrews. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1982.

Bruce, F. F. The Epistle to the Hebrews. The New International Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1964.

Guthrie, Donald. Hebrews. Tyndale New Testament Commentaries. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1983.

Guthrie, George. Hebrews. NIV Application Commentary. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1998.