Chapter 1

1.  God used various methods to speak in Old Testament days. He spoke to Moses through a burning bush. He whispered to Elijah in a still small voice. He spoke out loud to little Samuel in the middle of the night. He communicated to people through Angels, through dreams, through visions, and sometimes, like with Abraham in human form. "Many times, and in many different ways"  the Bible says.


1,2a.  God says that these are the last days, which proves beyond all doubt that he does not count time the way we do because he said that about 2000 years ago.

Remember that God is eternal, he is separate from time, and that's why the Bible says that to him 1000 years is like a day. According to God's reckoning the last days of earth began over 2000 years ago when Jesus died and paid for our sins on the cross.


2.  Jesus created the world that he would later be born into.


3a.  In other words it is impossible to get a fuller, more perfect revelation of God than what we have in Jesus. God through the prophets gave man bits and pieces of what he is like. But Jesus is God, and therefore he shows us exactly what the father is like. There can be no greater representation of God then Jesus because he is God.


3. Everything stays in its proper place by the word of Jesus Christ. Jesus made all things, Jesus controls all things, and Jesus keeps all things functioning the way they should.

We can thank Jesus that the earth rotates once every 24 hours day after day right on schedule. We can thank Jesus that the Earth orbits the Sun once every 365 days right on schedule. We can thank Jesus that the earth stays exactly where it is in relation to the sun so that it doesn't draw a little closer and we all burst into flames, or doesn't move a little further away and we all freeze to death. Everything from the smallest thing that can be seen only through a microscope, to the largest galaxy was made, and is sustained by our Lord Jesus Christ.

Gamma rays are the highest-energy form of radioactive waves known in the universe. I was reading about them the other day and discovered that exploding stars fire gamma rays into space.  Which is also why some scientists are now worried that a Gamma-ray might explode even thousands of light years away from Earth and that if that happens it could possibly hit our planet, destroy our own zone, wipe out our food chain, and cause mass starvation.

I'm not worried about Gamma-ray's; I am more worried about the Packers having to play Seattle in Seattle during the playoffs then I am about a gamma ray hitting Earth. I'm also not worried about global warming. 15 years ago everyone was in a panic about holes in the ozone, I didn't worry about that. 30 years ago people were worried about a new Ice Age that was coming, I didn't worry about that either. And for the record I'm not worried about our sun burning out in 100 billion years. I don't worry about these things because these things are under the control of the Lord Jesus Christ and he is going to keep things going until it's time to put an end to all things.


3. The Bible says that Jesus himself purges our sins. That means he washes us clean. That means if you repent and receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior no matter how filthy and vile you're soul may be he'll scrub it clean. I don't care if you have 5 feet of sin crusted over your soul the blood of Jesus Christ will melt it away like tylex melts away mold and mildew from a bathroom.


3,4.  There was a certain sect of Judaism which taught that the Archangel Michael had more power, and authority than the Messiah. God slams the door shut on that heresy right here. The son of God, Jesus Christ, the Messiah is superior to Angels.

Angels are wonderful, and powerful, but they are nothing compared to Jesus because Jesus is God. 

Calling me an Angel would be a complement because I'm just a sinful man. Calling Jesus an Angel is an insult because Jesus is the eternal God.


4.  Jesus is better than the Angels and beginning in verse five God will put together an argument proving that the Lord Jesus Christ is superior to Angels. Why did he do that? Because as I said some taught that the Archangel Michael was more powerful than the Messiah. Also, there was a group of heretics who taught that Jesus was simply an emanation from the Father along with the Angels who acted like stepping stones to God. If you want to get to God you have to work your way up through Angels and demigods of which they said Jesus was one; that's another reason to stress that Jesus is superior to everyone one else including angels.
 
Why does God use this entire section of the holy Bible to prove that Jesus is superior to Angels? Because he knew there would be a cult called the Jehovah witnesses that would arise and promote the heresy that Jesus is the Archangel Michael.

God is bound and determined to declare to the world and get people to understand beyond all doubt that his son is God, is the eternal God, is the creator God, is the Savior God, is the judge God, is: the coequal, eternal God along with him, and the Holy Spirit.


5. The father said to the son: this day have I begotten you. When you see that phrase begotten, or only begotten son, referring to Jesus it means unique or one-of-a-kind. 

It's true that the Angels are called the sons of God, and Christians are called the sons of God, but Jesus is God's one-of-a-kind, unique son because he has always existed. Begotten here speaks of the fact that God's eternal son became a human being. Jesus is the unique, eternal son of God, and he became the unique son of God incarnate. God never referred to any Angel, including Michael, as his only begotten son.


6. Biblically speaking "firstborn" doesn't always refer to the first child in a family. Scripturally it refers to the preeminent one or the most important one; it means the one who is in charge, and the provider.

And so we see that Jesus being the firstborn is the most important one, he's the one in charge, and the provider, and the Angels worship him because they know that he is God. He is not an angel; Angels do not worship Angels, they worship God.

Cultists may try to tell you that Jesus is just an Angel, but Angels know he's not just an Angel because they worship him and they would never dare worship another Angel.

This is not to say that Angels are not powerful, and good, and holy, and useful to God and to us because they are; notice verse seven:


7. Spirits or as it is sometimes translated wind and also fire speak of the power, and the speed of Angels. Angels are amazing creatures; very powerful and very fast. When they serve God they don't horse around. They are powerful, and quick to do the will of God, and fortunately for us the will of God includes helping Christians.


8.  Notice how God the father calls Jesus God. That's why Satan tries to discredit Christ and the church. The devil doesn't go after any of the other religions of the world because he already has them in his hip pocket; they are his creation. He goes after Jesus and Christianity because Jesus is the Savior, and Satan doesn't want anyone to be saved, and because Jesus is God, and Satan hates God.

When Satanists worship the devil they say the Lord's prayer backwards. Why? Because it's an attack on Christianity. When Satanists worship the devil they practice the black mass. Why? Because it's an attack on Christianity. 

Satanists do not recite Hindu or Muslim prayers backwards because they are on his side, and he's not threatened by them. But anything involving Jesus or Christianity is attacked by the devil,  and by the unsaved of the world who are influenced by him.

The father continues to speak to God the son in verse nine:


9.  God the father once again calls Jesus his son God. The Father said: your throne oh God lasts forever and ever. He also said that the scepter of his kingdom is righteousness. 

Everything about Jesus is right. Jesus never said anything wrong, and he never did anything wrong. He was right when he said that his death on the cross would pay for our sins. He was right when he said the Gentiles would crucify him. He was right when he said he would come back from the dead three days later. He was right when he said that we are to go into all the world and preach the word of God to all people. He was right when he said that no one comes to the father except through him. He was right when he said that those who endure to the end shall be saved. He was right when he said that some day you will hear his voice from your grave and be raised from the dead. He was right when he said some would be raised and enter into everlasting life while others would be raised and enter into eternal hell. He was right when he said that he would come again to judge.
The father isn't finished; he continues to speak to the son in verse 10:


10.  Okay, let's get something straight once and for all: people do not have to believe that Jesus is God because this is a free country. But a person is either deceived, ignorant, or a liar if they say that the Bible doesn't teach that Jesus is the eternal God, because it certainly does. 

Genesis 1:1: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." And here it says: "and you, Lord (the context proves that's talking about Jesus) in the beginning have laid the foundation of the earth and the heavens are the works of your hands."

The father continues to speak to the son in verses 11 and 12:


11,12a.  Christ made all things, he rules all things, and he will change all things. The Bible teaches that he will destroy all things, and make a new earth for his people, and a new heavens for us to observe and explore. Everything we see will be destroyed, and be made new. Jesus will fold them up and change them.


12.  Everything will change except Jesus he will never be any different than what he is right now. The son of God is all-powerful, and always will be all-powerful. The son of God knows everything about everything and everything about everyone, and he always will know everything about everyone and everything about everything. The son of God is able to keep you for the day of salvation today, and he will always be able to keep you for the day of salvation no matter what difficult circumstances you may find yourself in in days to come. 

Everything will change except Jesus, he will never be any different than what he is right now. Those who are waiting for a revised Jesus who will change his mind about sin are wasting their time. Those who are waiting for a revised Jesus who will tolerate sinners that do not repent will continue to wait, and wait in hell. That's because Jesus will always hate sin, and he will always, and only forgive a sinner who repents, and receives him as Lord and Savior .


13.  The right hand of the king was the highest place of honor in the kingdom. The right hand of the king was reserved for one who could step in, and rule in place of the King when needed.

Well no one could possibly step in, and do God's job except God himself. Jesus is at the right hand of God which means Jesus has to be God.


14.  Angels didn't create anything, Angels do not rule anything. Angels are servants, and that is it. They serve God, and they serve Christians and only Christians. 

Sometimes you hear people say that everyone has a guardian angel. The Bible doesn't say that; the Bible says here that they are sent forth to minister, or to serve those who shall be heirs of salvation. In other words they serve those who have made Jesus Christ their Lord and Savior. Christians have a guardian angel, or perhaps at times many Angels watching over them, and helping them.

And of course It is not normal to see an Angel; Angels do not show up on our radar screens, but they are all around us all the time. And we will not know until eternity all the things that they have done for us.




Chapter 2





1.  Warning from God: do not drift away from the truth. Especially the truth about Jesus Christ because that's what God has been talking about in chapter one.

Apostasy, which is turning your back on Jesus seldom happens quickly. As verse one suggests it is more of a drifting away from Jesus. 

When people do not read the Bible like they once did, when they do not pray as they once did, when they do not attend a church that teaches the word of God as they once did, when they start doing things they know they shouldn't more than they once did, and they begin to tolerate sin in their life more than they once did, then they slowly begin to drift away from Jesus until one day they are gone. 

We have a responsibility. It is up to us as individuals to obey God and pay close attention to Jesus. No one can do that for us, we must do it ourselves or risk drifting from Christ.


1,2. This is talking about the law that God gave to Moses. God gave the law to Moses on Mount Sinai through Angels. God is saying: if people will not obey my law I will punish them. 

The law was a revelation given through Angels and it was very important, and neglecting it is deadly.


2,3.  If people got in trouble for neglecting a revelation from God through Angels, then they will surely be in trouble for neglecting a revelation given  by God personally. That's why anyone who neglects the salvation offered to sinners through Jesus Christ can never possibly escape hell. 

There is no hope for those who know but willfully reject the truth that was given by God himself: The Lord Jesus Christ.

God says: how are you going to escape if you neglect his salvation through Jesus Christ? Answer: you won't! You neglect God's salvation and you destroy yourself.


4.  Someone says: how do I know that the message of salvation through Jesus Christ is true?Answer: you can start with the resurrection of Christ.  The resurrection proved that Jesus never told a lie so you can believe His message.  Also when the apostles first started preaching Jesus God confirmed their words with powerful miracles. The message of salvation through Jesus Christ has been verified, and confirmed too many times to count. 


5.  There's a brand-new earth in the planning stage, and it will not be Angels who rule it. Again Angels do not rule, they serve.


6.  What is man that God would care so much about us? We are so small, and weak, even compared to the Angels, and yet God has a special place in his heart for man. 

God always thinks about us, and He has bent over backwards to save us from hell. We are the special objects of his mercy, and he has great future plans for those of us who have repented and received Christ as Lord and Savior.


7.  Angels are beings with great skill, speed, and power. Humans could never compete with Angels, and yet God has a greater purpose for man then for them. That greater purpose was announced back in the Garden of Eden to Adam.


7,8a.  Man, not angels was given authority to rule over the entire Earth, and everything on it. But Man squandered that opportunity and privilege when he rebelled against God. Adam, and along with him all of his descendants, who inherited his sin nature, have lost the skill, wisdom, and moral authority to rule this world.

But God said man would rule, and God doesn't lie, and his word comes to pass, and his plans will not be thwarted. His plan has been delayed, but his plan for man to rule will come to pass, and it will come to pass through the Lord Jesus Christ who is not only 100% God but 100% man.


8.  Wild animals attack people, pestilence, disease, and blight do not cooperate with man. The weather doesn't cooperate with man. Ants at a picnic and mosquitoes when you're sitting outside on a warm summer night do not cooperate with man. All things are not subject to man, not yet anyway. But the beginning of the end of nature's rebellion against the rule of man started with the death of Christ on the cross.


9.  Jesus, the eternal God, the eternal son of God, humbled himself more than we could possibly imagine. Jesus would have humbled himself to become an angel, but he went even lower and made himself a man.

The thing is: if God is going to save us, then a sinless man has to pay for man's sins. Jesus, the eternal God, and the perfect man paid for our sins, and made it possible for us to be without sin, just like Adam was in the beginning before he rebelled. That opened the way for man to rule the world once again. We stand before God perfect in position as Christians and one day after we are raised we will be sinless in practice as well which will qualify man (led by Jesus Himself) to rule the planet once again just as Adam did before the fall.


10.  You say: wait just a minute, I thought you said Jesus was perfect, that's all you ever talk about. And that's true, as God, Jesus and his divine nature had always been perfect. But, his human nature was made perfect through obedience and suffering. That's not to say His human nature had any moral or sinful flaws because it didn't; Jesus never committed a sin.

What God is saying is this: by enduring suffering Jesus became a sympathetic Savior and priest on behalf of Christians. It's hard to empathize with someone's suffering, whatever form it may take, unless you have gone through something similar yourself and that's what this is talking about. Jesus is able to empathize with Christians because he has gone through the same sorts of sufferings in principle that you go through, and he has felt the same pressures, and the same pain and the same disappointments in principle that you experience.

There were no shortcuts for Jesus in becoming what the father wanted him to be. And there are no shortcuts for us Christians either. Enduring suffering is part of the perfecting process.


11.  Jesus is not ashamed of us Christians, which implies that He should be.  I often tell God the obvious: "Lord you deserve better then me." A Christian that has never felt shame because of their sin is a christian in name only.  Christians feel bad when they sin, but fortunately his love for us along with his perfect sacrifice on our behalf covers over the multitude of our sins.

We grieve Jesus when we commit sin, it makes him sad, but he never says: I'm ashamed of you, and I'm ashamed to be connected to you.


11,12.  In Scripture "name" stands for the entire person. Jesus tells us that he declares God's name or God's person to his brethren; in other words to Christians. As we saw last time Jesus shows us what the father is like.


13.  Jesus says, concerning Christians, I'm with the children that God has given me. Christians  are the father's gift to his son. The Bible says that no one comes to Jesus unless the father draws them.

We just finished Christmas and all the shopping that goes along with it. You go Christmas shopping for someone you care about and you want to find the perfect gift, something that you think they will really like. Well, the father went shopping for his son and he picked you (if you're Christian) to be one of his gifts.


14.  The devil has the power of death in this way: he knows the word of God, and he knows that God said the wages of sin is death. Consequently, Satan uses our sins against us. When we sin he accuses us before God and demands that God be true to his word. He uses the word of God to demand that God kill us and send us to hell, which is what God says sinners deserve. The Bible says that Satan is the accuser of Christians.


14.  In other words, the Devil's demands fall on deaf ears when he accuses Christians before the Father because Jesus already died in our place. Jesus satisfied God's justice so when the devil accuses us and demands that the Father send us to hell God says: no, I don't have to because my son offered himself for their sin and my justice has already been satisfied on their behalf.


14,15.  As a general rule people have always been afraid to die. I suppose people fear death because they don't know what will happen. They hope for the best, they fear the worst, and the unknown scares them.

But Scripture is clear; no one need approach death in ignorance.  God has told us what happens after we die. Those who don't repent and receive Christ burn in hell; those who repent and receive Christ as Lord and Savior enter into the greatest joy possible, which will last forever.
 
Non Christians should not be afraid of the unknown, they should be afraid of the known which is the lake of fire where they are headed. You say: I don't know what that will be like.  I'll give you a hint, take the worst pain and sadness you have ever felt, multiply it by infinity and you might come close hell, but I doubt it because it will be worse. 
  
Christians shouldn't fear the unknown either.  Take the greatest joy you have ever felt multiply it by infinity and you may just scratch the surface of what life after death will be like for you.  How do I know? because God has spoken and assured us that it's too wonderful for us to even begin to grasp. 


16.  The good Angels don't need any help because they're already saved. The bad Angels who have rejected God to his face can't be helped; their doom is sealed. So Jesus came to earth to save people.

God is giving mankind a second chance to have eternal life after we all squandered it with our sin.


17.  Jesus is our merciful, and faithful high Priest.

Just so you're clear on the definition, a priest is one who represents man before God. Jesus represents Christians before God. He tells the father: this person who has repented and received me as Lord and Savior has had his sins paid for. He tells the father, I was offered for that Christian so now you can accept him into heaven after he dies. And the father responds by saying: you're right Jesus; you did pay for their sins, and I do accept him, no questions asked.

Jesus' ministry of being the sacrifice for our sins was a one time deal that occurred at Calvary on Good Friday. His ministry of being our priest is ongoing and will never end. 

You sin, Satan accuses, Jesus defends, and Christ wins every case before the father. Jesus is the Divine Perry Mason, who never lost one single case in all the years that I watched him when I was little.


18.  Jesus understands us because he is one of us. He has personally experienced, at least in principle, every type of temptation that we experience. His experience has made him sympathetic; he feels for us because he knows what were going through. That's why when we are tempted, and fail he understands, and when we confess he forgives.

Someone says: you shouldn't say those things because now people will go out and sin like crazy; you shouldn't say that Jesus understands when we fail.
 
Two things: I say it because it is true. Secondly: when a true Christian hears that Jesus understands our failures and forgives when we confess they will love him more, and want to be better Christians. True Christians do not  turn God's grace into a license to sin. They see God's grace as a reason to be holy.


Chapter 3


1. The Bible tells Christians to consider Jesus Christ, which means to think about him. The more we think about Jesus the less we will think about sin, and the less we think about sin the less likely we are to commit sin.

When we are tempted but we choose to think about Jesus we will be less likely to give into that temptation. That's one reason Jesus needs to be preached; Jesus needs to be lifted up; he needs to be the focus. When Jesus is exalted people think about Him. Any preacher who talks more about someone, or something other than Jesus in their church, in their sermons has wrong priorities.


1. Jesus is our high priest. In Old Testament days the high priest in Israel made sin offerings for the people, and then he would ask God to forgive them. Jesus does the same thing only Jesus offered himself on the cross for us, and now he is in heaven asking God to forgive those who have received him as Lord and Savior.

Jesus is the offering and he is the high priest of his own offering, and Christians are the ones who benefit from it all.


2. God chose Moses to be leader over his house, that is, the Israelites. Moses did not want the job; he did not think he was qualified to do the job, but he accepted it, and he did it by God's help. It was hard work, it was frustrating work, he failed sometimes, but he kept going. And because he did not quit, God said he was faithful.

And Jesus didn't quit either. It was hard for him to go the cross, but he did it anyway. Jesus did God's will. He did all God asked him to do and he did it perfectly.


3. Moses faithfully served God's people; that's good, and that's important. But Jesus created God's people, and that would include Moses, and of course that's even more important. Jesus is more important than Moses or anyone else because without him none of us would even be here to be put into a position where we could do something worthwhile.

The Jews thought very highly of Moses; they thought he was the best ever. God is saying: Jesus is greater than your greatest, and we must give our allegiance to Christ.

As Creator Jesus must be the focus of our attention. We should appreciate the good people he has made, and works through, but we must always appreciate him more than anyone.


4. A man may be creative, and skilled, and able to build something like a house, but God invented creativity, and skill, and put it into man. Consequently, whatever man builds he builds because God made him and gave him those skills. God makes all things; we could do nothing apart from God. Above all God must be the object of our appreciation and adoration.


5. Moses was a servant; he was a man with a servant's heart. He was willing to do for others, and he was willing to be mistreated by others.

If a person is not willing to do for others, and if they are not willing to serve even when mistreated then they do not have a servant's heart, they are not like Moses and they are not servants.

If I said what I just said in many so-called Bible believing churches today I would hear grunts and gasps from the audience and believe me that would be the last time I would ever be invited to preach in that church. I know what I'm talking about because I've experienced these things simply because I have communicated the clear, unadulterated word of God. Why? Because modern Evangelicalism has bought into the self assertiveness mindset today; I've seen it firsthand, I've experienced people who are into that.

Moses was a servant; he was a man with a servant's heart, and he was willing to do it even when he was mistreated by those he was attempting to serve and God commends him for it. God would not commend much of the rot that has permeated so-called Bible believing Christianity today.

God told Moses what to do and whether he was comfortable with it or not he did it. He was a servant of God which is what made him a good leader of God's people.

A person cannot lead people properly unless they are first a servant of God. Being obedient to God is the first step toward being helpful to people.


6. We are God's people with a big "if." "If" we keep trusting in Christ to save us from hell. In other words, if we believe, and if our life reflects that belief, because if it doesn't then we don't really believe because the Bible says faith without works is dead.


7-9. The Hebrews who God saved from slavery in Egypt started out very well. However, with only a couple of exceptions they did not finish well. Most of them who were rescued from slavery in Egypt stopped trusting and obeying God. Consequently they died in the wilderness not making it to the holy land. Now God says to us: I warn you, do not be like them. God says: listen to me, trust me, obey me, and do not be like them. Don't start off well but not continue to the end with Jesus.


10. We don't want God be grieved or angry with us.

Sin angers God, but what angers God even more is to reject his mercy through Jesus Christ. When people say: I don't want God; I will not pay attention to God; I will not trust him, and I don't care either way about his forgiveness, they anger God and that is what the ancient Israelites so often did which is why God judged them.


10. The Israelites did not know God's ways because they didn't care about God's ways. They didn't want to know God's ways because their hearts were far from him. They turned away from God in their thinking and consequently they stopped obeying him as well. Their hearts were wrong so their behavior was wrong. They didn't know God's will because they didn't care enough to listen to it or look for it.


God is not far from anyone today. If someone really wants him then they will search for him until they find him and they will find him because he promises that if someone seeks him with all of their heart they will find him. 

If someone doesn't care about God they will fill their life with things other than him, and die lost as a result. That's what happened to the Israelites in the days of Moses.


11. Out of the hundreds of thousands of adults who God brought out of Egypt a grand total of two made it into the holy land. All the rest died in the desert because of their continual rebellion. God was angry at them and punished them because of their sin, and worst of all because they did not care that they sinned.


12. The brethren refers to Christians. In other words, God is speaking to Christians here and he is saying: guard your soul. God is saying: do not allow yourself to turn away from devotion to Jesus.

He said take heed lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief. An unbelieving heart is an evil heart. God is telling Christians don't allow a heart like that to be inside of you because as a person's heart becomes more evil, and unbelieving their actions will become more sinful as well.

The more people slip away from devotion to Christ the more they will act like the unsaved, which will lead to them forgetting about God even more.

It happens; it's a real danger, if it wasn't God wouldn't warn Christians about it. Forgetting about God leads to sin, which leads to forgetting about God even more, which can lead to the loss of ones faith and salvation.


13. Sin is very deceitful. The more sin we tolerate the more out of touch we become with God. And this is where it gets even more tricky: even okay things, if overused, can slowly take our attention away from Jesus.

Sin is deceitful, and good things, if abused, can be deceitful as well. Both can harden our hearts against God, and pretty soon we no longer care about God; that's the warning that God is sending to Christians here.


14. There's another big "if". Many people start off well with Jesus; they get all excited about the Bible and all excited about Jesus and all excited about obeying God and all excited about a brand-new life in Christ. However, many people do not persevere with Jesus.

Starting out well is great, but it is not enough according to verse 14. The Bible says we must continue with Christ. The Bible says we must trust in Christ to the end. If you want to be a partaker of Christ than you have to hold the beginning of your confidence in him firmly to the very end. In other words, those who have a faith that doesn't persevere to the end of their life have no share in Christ, and that's not talking about losing rewards; that is talking about losing salvation.


15. In the Israelites we have almost 1,000,000 examples of what happens when someone hears the word of God, and maybe follows it for a little while, but then rejects it. What happens? They die; they are judged. 

To reject the salvation that Christ offers is to end up like those unfaithful Hebrews; it means you experience the wrath of God.


16. The rebels in ancient Israel knew about God, I mean they really knew about God from first-hand experience. God defeated Egypt for them. God delivered them from the most powerful nation in the world. God then parted the Red Sea while drowning the Egyptians who continued to pursue them. God fed them and led them, and gave them water in the desert for 40 years.

Those people knew the truth, but they willfully with malice and aforethought rejected that truth. That's the kind of person that is in serious danger of losing their soul. The one who knows the truth, the one who believes the truth, but for love of sin turns their back on that truth; they are in danger of God's eternal wrath.


17. God is always grieved and angry about sin, but he will always forgive if one repents. That was the problem, the Hebrews didn't repent and why didn't they repent? Because they didn't care about God and they loved their sin. Thats why people do not repent today, they do not care about God and they love their sin.And if that's what they want to do that's their business, but they should know that Jesus said: unless you repent you will all likewise perish. 

God does not save perfect people; he saves imperfect people who are sorry for their sin, repent and receive forgiveness through Jesus Christ.


18. There is no rest/hope/salvation for the disobedient who refuse to repent. Verse 18 says: "and to whom swore he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believe not."

Lack of faith in God and the disobedience which accompanies it kept those Israelites from entering the promised land. God had been good to them, but they still rebelled and refused to repent.

God is using their failure to warn people today. Don't think that obedience isn't important. You don't earn salvation through obedience, but obedience is connected to salvation. The Bible says: without holiness no one shall see the Lord.


19. Faith in Christ is the key that opens the door to salvation, and faith in Christ is the key that keeps that door open so don't lose your faith. Don't lose your faith, don't do anything that puts a strain on your faith, don't do anything that lessens your faith because if that attitude goes unchecked you will lose your faith and then that door of salvation slams shut.

The Hebrews started out well but they did not finish; they did not continue to trust God, they did not obey God, they did not confess their sins to God, and they fell further and further away from God until they lost their faith, died and went to hell.

If we do not trust Christ, and consequently live for him, confessing when we fail, then we are in danger of losing our faith, and if that happens we will be lost as well. That's what God is warning about here; that's what this whole chapter is about, and actually several chapters in the book of Hebrews.

God has warned. If this warning gets in the way of some theological system which one has bought into then that theological system needs to be rejected, not this warning from God; his word is clear.



Chapter 4



1.  God says to Christians: let us fear. Let us fear. Why fear? Because salvation can be lost if a Christian stops believing. Christians should fear and people in general should certainly fear; be afraid of going to hell because it's a real possibility, and another reason to fear: Jesus said that most people will go there. People should fear missing their opportunity to be saved just like the Hebrews missed their opportunity to enter into the promised land because of a lack of faith. 

If, in this life, one rejects Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, or through rebellion one loses their faith then after they die it will be too late; they will have missed their opportunity to avoid hell. Someone says: you're using scare tactics. I'm not saying anything that God hasn't said; he is the one who said: let us therefore fear.


2.  Gospel means good news. The Hebrews received good news from God while they were in Egypt. God said I'm going to deliver you from slavery and I'm going to give you a wonderful life in a brand-new land. The problem is, it didn't do them any good because they lost their faith, and did not live God's way. 

Israel didn't receive the promise because they lost their faith in God. Oh they believed in God, they believed he existed, who doesn't? very few.  But there's a big difference between believing in God, and having faith in God. Faith in God believes God and shows it by a desire to live for him.


3a.  To the Hebrews "believe" always included the appropriate actions which proved that one believed. The Hebrews would never have reduced faith to an intellectual assent. To them if you had faith then your works would be consistent with what you say you believe. If I have faith that my truck runs on gas then I'm going to put gas in the tank. If I have faith that the light bulb in my bathroom works that I'm going to flip the switch. Faith without works is dead. That concept of faith is a biblical norm, it's a biblical given. Consequently those who have faith in Jesus Christ and therefore live for him are the ones who will go to heaven.


3-5.  In other words, if people do not enter heaven it's not because God isn't ready for them. God actually finished making everything in the first six days. The wonderful place called heaven where Christians go has been ready and waiting to receive them for a long time.


6. Those who first received from God a promise of peace and rest failed to receive it because they lost their faith; nothing much has changed. 

God has good things for people today, but most people never enjoy them because they reject Jesus; they do not have faith in Jesus; they do not enter into the rest of salvation through Christ because of their unbelief. 

Most of the Israelites rejected God's offer of rest in the days of Moses. Most Israelites also rejected the salvation rest God offers through his son Jesus Christ as well. But notice verse 6 again: seeing therefore it remains that some must enter therein; some must enter therein, meaning some must enter God's rest.

God will not be denied the joy he receives from blessing, and saving people. Therefore, if one person doesn't want Jesus that's their business, but God will offer his salvation and his rest to someone else. Verse six says that some must enter God's rest.


7.  In Moses day the Hebrews didn't want God and so God let them have their way but they also lost the promised rest and peace that the holy land would've provided. 
 
God is saying to people in the world today: don't waste the opportunity I'm giving you like my people Israel did with their opportunity in the past. 

God is saying If you hear me offer you eternal life through Jesus Christ don't say I don't want it. Don't even say: I will put it off until later.  Don't do that because no one is guaranteed a later. It is important to act on God's word the moment you understand it, or you may lose the opportunity like the Hebrews did in the day of Moses.


7,8.  Joshua was the successor of Moses. Moses and the first generation of Israelites did not make it into the promised land. However, Joshua led the next generation of Israelites into the land, into a rest, and it was nice, it was very nice, and because of that the promised land  became a picture of the eternal rest that God has for his people who know Christ.

Joshua is a picture of Christ in that he led God's people into a nice comfortable, happy resting place called the promised land. But Jesus leads his people into heaven; he leads them into the eternal resting place which is much better than the holy land. Joshua is a picture of Jesus, and the Promised land is a picture of Heaven.


8,9.  God gave rest to that second generation of Israelites who entered the promised land, but he speaks of a much nicer rest here in verse 9. That nicer rest, is a much nicer place, which is heaven, and not only heaven, but it includes resurrected physical bodies, and life on the new earth as well. The entire earth will be a holy land; a land flowing with milk and honey, with spiritual and physical blessings beyond our wildest dreams. That is the rest that Jesus leads Christians into. 


10.  God did his creative work in six days, and then he stopped, in other words he rested. Now he offers sinful man rest from a life that is at best a mixture of good and bad, and eventually ends up in hell if they don't somehow get rid of their sins before they die. He offers that rest to us through Jesus Christ the Savior.

And by the way, rest doesn't mean that we're going to be laying around forever doing absolutely nothing. Rest doesn't mean that Christians will become celestial vagrants. Were going to be busy, but it will be a good busy not a frustrating busy. It will be a fun, satisfying busy. It will be working outside without being attacked by mosquitoes. It will be enjoying the new Sun without a sunburn. It will be hammering two boards together, hitting your thumb but not feeling any pain.  Maybe it will even include playing football without getting a concussion, or getting hit with a fastball in the head and being able to shake it off without any consequences. I'm just trying to relate this to something we can connect with; what I'm trying to say is that it will be good times without the bad things.


11.   In other words, God says: do not miss your chance to get right with me. Make sure you repent and receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. And God says: be diligent about it! Hasten to enter into the salvation that he offers through Jesus Christ!

Hasten because Hell will be filled with people who knew the truth, and planned on receiving Christ, but put it off just a little bit too long.


12.  A skilled butcher can take a sharp knife, and slice a side of beef, separating muscle, tendons, bones, and anything else that's in there. God's word is like a sharp knife, and God is the skilled worker. God's word slices its way into our soul when we read it, or listen to it being taught. The word of God is much better at separating the good in us, from the bad in us than we are.

The Bible says the heart of man is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked.  In other words, our sin nature can deceive us into thinking that we are just fine. If there is a problem then it's not with us, it is with someone else, or maybe it's with our circumstances. But when we receive the word of God he shows us those areas where we are right, and those areas where we are wrong. That's why holy Scripture is the best counseling handbook there is, and the only one worth reading because its author is God. God cuts through the tensile and gets right to the heart of the matter.


12,13.  The Bible isn't simply a holy book; it is a living book. Every word in Scripture is fully loaded with the Holy Spirit so when you read the word and you think: I'm doing this wrong, and I'm doing that wrong, and I seem to be doing this right, or I should be more thankful ti God for this, or I need to praise God for that, or I could improve here and there; that is the Holy Spirit speaking to you.

God knows all about us. He knows us better than we know ourselves. That's why he is so skilled at showing us things about ourselves. That is also why he is able to judge us correctly.


14.  Remember what the high priest does. He represents God's people before God. And we have the best high priest imaginable in Jesus Christ. 

Jesus is man, so he sympathizes with us. Jesus is God which means he understands, and is in perfect harmony with the father. That makes Jesus the perfect mediator between us and the father. 

Why would anyone want to reject that? Why would anyone not want to hold fast to their relationship with Jesus Christ, and instead trust some other method, or person to give them a good standing with God. 
 
Why would anyone do that and yet that is what some of these Hebrew Christians were doing, and that is what some do today which is why God is warning of such folly in the book of Hebrews. It's not just stupid, it's deadly, it's damning!


15.  Jesus is a real human, with a body, and feelings just like us. He worked hard to make a living as a carpenter. Jesus worked up a sweat; he got calluses; he got slivers, and he knows firsthand what it's like to work with difficult customers. You can bet Jesus had  customers who were in a bad mood. He knows firsthand how hard life can be in a sinful world. Jesus went through what we go through. But through it all he never once sinned. 

It's always nice to talk to someone who has gone through what we're going through. Jesus has (in principle) gone through everything that we could possibly ever go through which is why he is so sympathetic.


16.  Coming boldly to the throne of God is not an invitation to be disrespectful and demanding, or to treat God like one of the boys. To come boldly before the throne of God means to come before the throne of God at all. You don't come before God screaming and demanding that he do this or that as some disgraceful preachers are saying today. We must always come before God with humility, but we should come before God with confidence because Jesus Christ is our mediator and he has paid for our sins and made us right with the father.


16.  We can trust Jesus to help us. He paid for our sins. He knows what it's like to be human. He knows about all of our sins, but he still likes us, and helps us. He gets God to show us mercy on the basis of his death on the cross. That's why, we should never hesitate to ask for forgiveness. Jesus will always be there to help us find mercy from God.

The devil may tell you: you are unworthy, don't even ask for forgiveness. God says: it's true, you are unworthy, but ask for forgiveness anyway because I will forgive through my Son Jesus.
  
"Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." God is saying: lets put an end to our dispute lets be on the same side; I want that, and if you want it, it can happen by you repenting and asking Jesus to be the Lord of your life. 


Chapter 5


1,2.  The Old Testament high priest was human like everyone else. And because he was human with a sin nature he was weak, and he had to confess his sins like everyone else. The high priest knew what it was like to feel guilt. He had to humble himself, and confess just like everyone else.

The office of high priest was very important, and holy, but the man himself was no different than us which is why he was able to sympathize with the sinners who came to God for forgiveness.


2,3.  Before the high priest could stand in the gap between the people and God he had to offer a sacrifice for himself. He had to be right with God before he could help others get right with God.  You cannot give what you do not have.  Consequently, his sins had to be removed before he could intercede for others sinners.

It works the same way today. Before we can go to God in prayer on behalf of others we have to be right with God ourselves, that means confessing all known sins and receiving forgiveness through Jesus Christ.


4-6.  A high priest could not just start being a high priest on his own. A man couldn't post an ad in the local newspaper saying: introducing Mr. X a new high priest ready to reconcile sinners to God; it didn't work that way. The high priest had to be appointed by God. Likewise, God the Father appointed Jesus his son to be our high priest today in place of the Old Testament priests which He set aside.

There is only one way to God, and that is through the high priest that the father himself chose: his son Jesus Christ.


7.  And you can tell from this verse that Jesus's life here on earth was not an easy one. In another place the Bible says that He was a man of sorrow, and acquainted with grief.

Jesus went through what we go through which is why he completely sympathizes with us at all times. On the night he was betrayed he prayed very hard with strong crying and tears asking his father if it was possible for him to avoid the cross. But it wasn't possible because it was the only way to redeem sinners. So Jesus suffered, just like we must suffer sometimes in the will of God, often for reasons known only to Him.

A few years ago I heard a tv preacher say something stupid, he said: you can't glorify God if you're suffering or if you are poor; get some faith and you'll be healthy and wealthy and then you will glorify God. What an ignorant, un-biblical statement! You can't glorify God if you're suffering? 

What he should have said was living for Jesus when he doesn't jump like a genie and grant all your wishes will not impress a self centered, worldly, materialistic person like me. 

I don't care what someone like that says living for Jesus when life is lousy reveals more faith in the sufferers little finger then that dirty dog has in his entire soul.

Jesus glorified God in his suffering; The Bible says Jesus learned obedience by the things that he suffered.  Peter glorify God in his sufferings as well, so did James, so did John, so did Andrew so did Bartholomew so did Judas (not Iscariot), so did Philip, so did James the less, so did Paul, so did Timothy, so did countless martyrs in the last 2000 years. 

The bible says that Christians are to fill up was is lacking in the sufferings of Christ.  By the way, If people knew their Bibles as well as they know the teachings of men then they would realize that God says difficult times are some of the greatest times of spiritual growth.


We know God can do anything, so we ask, but sometimes he says no, and sometimes that means we must endure suffering in the will of God.


Jesus suffered in the will of God; Jesus suffered in the plan of God; Jesus suffered for us; and there was another reason Jesus suffered notice verse eight.



8.  The sufferings of Jesus were a form of education for him. He learned firsthand about the sufferings one must at times endure to remain faithful to God in this fallen world.

When people say I know how you feel, they don't always know how you feel. When Jesus says: I know how you feel, he really does.


9.  We can't earn salvation by obeying God, but if there is no obedience then there is no salvation. Faith pleases God, faith in Jesus saves our soul from hell, but saving faith always includes a desire to please the Lord.



10,11.  There was much more that could have been said about Jesus being our high priest but it wouldn't pay because the readers wouldn't understand it anyway. Under normal conditions takes time to grow spiritually, but these people were spiritual sluggards. 

It is normal to want a baby to grow into an adult, but there's no way to speed up the process. Making a baby eat like a lumberjack won't cause him to become an adult any sooner. It's the same way in the spiritual realm. We Christians learn, and process what we learn a little at a time. It doesn't pay to try to force feed anyone spiritually. We have to be patient with each other, and allow the Holy Spirit to mature us, and that takes time.



12.  When it comes to spirituality if we are not progressing then we are regressing and that's what was happening to these Christians in the book of Hebrews. 

If we do not go ahead in our understanding of Jesus, and in our understanding of the word of God then we will go backwards. One thing is certain we will not stand still. The moment we stop progressing with Jesus we start slipping away from him, which is why we have to keep reading, we have to keep praying, we have to keep coming to church, and learning the word of God.



13,14.  A mature Christian has reached maturity by taking in the word of God. There are no shortcuts to spiritual maturity. Forget the books that claim to make you a strong Christian in 10 easy steps, or the ones that claim to make you a strong Christian in three minutes a day with God. If you can't give God more than three minutes of a 24-hour day you don't deserve to be spiritually mature.



14.  As we grow closer to God he shows us that which is good, and that which is bad in every situation. And then as we do what is right, and reject what is wrong we grow and mature spiritually.



Chapter 6



1-3.  There's more to being a Christian than simply understanding about repentance and faith in Christ, but many Christians never go beyond that. There is so much more that needs to be understood; there are so many other biblical truths that need to be grasped and applied by Christians in order for them to go on to spiritual maturity.

There too many baby Christians in the church of Jesus Christ today who never do anything for Jesus; they put in their hour a week on Sunday morning, and then  punch out of church, and practical christianity like they would punch out of a factory, and go live like everyone else. That's not right, that's not what God wants, and that shouldn't be the norm, but too often it is.

There are too many baby Christians who are content just being saved, and never really do anything for the Lord. They don't grow spiritually; they squander their life as far as usefulness to Jesus is concerned. There's more to being a Christian than simply understanding faith. 

There's more to being a Christian than being baptized. There's more to being a Christian then understanding that there will be a resurrection of the dead, and that there will be eternal judgment: hell for those who die without Christ, and heaven for those who die with Christ. 

Jesus wants us to dig into his word, and listen to it being taught so that he can permeate every cell of our body with his truth, and influence every area of our thinking and life. He wants us to learn what he has revealed in his word, and how it applies to our life. But that takes time, and that takes effort, and that takes a serious commitment to Christ. 


3. The writer is saying: if God gives me the opportunity I'm going to proclaim his word so that those who hear may become mature, useful Christians, which is why Jesus leaves us here in the first place after we get saved. 

Jesus doesn't leave Christians on earth just to horse around; he leaves us here to use us. Jesus doesn't call Christian preachers to tickle the ears of his audience, or to spin the church's wheels in spiritual mud without ever challenging the people to have a deeper relationship with Christ. What the world is that? That's a waste of life for a Christian!


4-6.  If a person knows the truth about Jesus. If a person knows that Jesus is the son of God and that salvation comes only through him. If they then say: I don't want Jesus, I want my sin, I don't care if Jesus is the only way I'm not repenting, I'm not going to let him be the Lord of my life, then they damn their own soul to hell.

Repentance, as I have said previously is turning away from sin, and simultaneously turning to Christ for forgiveness. As a result, if a person refuses Jesus, then they are not repenting, no matter what else they may do, or not do they are not repenting. Repentance always includes receiving Christ as Lord and Savior.

Repentance is a two-sided coin: turning from sin and turning to Jesus. Consequently any attempt by anyone to clean up their act, or to reform in some way, without receiving Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior is not repentance, and will only result in eternal hell for that person. They may go to hell sober if they quit getting drunk, but they're going to hell. They may have kicked a bad habit, but they're still going to hell without that habit because they ignored the other side of the coin which is receiving Christ. Don't kid yourself; that's the way it is!


7,8. People who know the truth, but reject it are like bad soil. No matter how much sunshine and rain falls on it, it still doesn't produce anything good. Bad soil is given all the things that good soil is given; it is given sunshine and rain; it is given every opportunity to produce good, but it doesn't. 

And people who turn their back on Jesus even after God graciously shows them the truth will be punished by God; they had opportunity but they didn't care.


8,9.  Certain things accompany salvation, and they're not spiritual thorns and thistles either.

Certain things accompany salvation, things like living God's way, and sincerely wanting to do right, and wanting to know Jesus better, and holiness, and feeling bad when we sin, and confessing when we sin. Those are some positive things that accompany salvation; they are evident in the lives of those who have received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.



9,10. The writer was confident that those he  wrote to would not end up in hell, and why was he confident? Because they had given evidence of their salvation. They worked for Jesus; they worked for Jesus because they loved him; they loved Jesus, and they were good to others who loved Jesus.

The evidence of salvation are the changes that occure in a Christians life because of their attitude toward Christ. They love God, they love Jesus, and they prove it by how they live. 

God sees the evidence, God sees the righteousness that accompanies salvation, and he uses it as a gauge on judgment day. 



11,12.  Christians are given a choice. We are saved by our faith in Christ, but that faith must endure. Many Christians have suffered persecutions, torture, and death because of their faith. They had faith plus patients plus endurance, and therefore they made it to heaven, and we are told to be like them.

We are not yet being tortured, and put to death for our Christian faith here in America, but faithfulness is faithfulness, and it shows itself in many different ways. 

Refusing to compromise with sin in order to please Jesus, and confessing when we fail is a form of faithfulness. Reading the Bible, praying to God, going to church, and giving to the Lord's work are all forms of faithfulness. Saying no to what our sinful nature wants, and saying yes to what Jesus wants is being faithful. Obeying the word of God even when it may cost you friends, family or the really big one for a lot of people: money, is faithfulness to God. Trusting in Christ for salvation unto the very end is faithfulness to God.



12,13.  When you talk about faith and patience you can put Abraham at the top of the list. God told Abraham: I want you to leave your home, your family, and go to a faraway place, without telling him where that place was. Abraham trusted God so he patiently followed him even though he did not know what would happen next.

We are to follow the word of God even though we do not know what will happen next; that's living by faith.  


14.  That was the promise, and it took faith to believe it because Abraham and his wife were too old to have children. But once God said Abraham you're going to have many descendents "too old" didn't matter anymore.

When God declares something, it will happen, when God says something, whether it be audibly to Abraham, or through his written word to us it will happen. Abraham understood that, and consequently he trusted and he obeyed.


15.  Abraham was patient for a long time before he received what God had promised. He waited 25 years before God fulfilled his promise and gave him and his wife a child.

God could have delayed making the promise 24 years then Abraham would have only had to wait one year. But there is value in the process of waiting; it forces us to pray, to stay close to God, and trust Him.


16.  When someone wanted to show that they really meant what they said they made a vow. They called on the name of someone more important than themselves to be a witness that what they said, they would do. If the vow was broken the greater one who was sworn by had the right to punish them.


17,18.  God does not need to vow because the Bible says that it is impossible for him to lie. But for the benefit of Abraham and the rest of us who are saved by faith God vowed anyway.

God does many things for us that he would not have to do. He often condescends to our low level to give us comfort and assurance.

Believe the creators book, and you will not fall into despair no matter how tough things may get.  When one does not have a personal aggenda then faith in the promises of God destroys despair.


19,20.  An anchor holds a boat in place even when the waves want to move it. Jesus is our anchor. His promise of eternal life for those who receive him, and endure in their faith is the anchor. 

The Bible says that our anchor is in heaven so that's where we are going if we endure with Christ. It's as if Jesus has a rope around us so that when we die he can pull us to himself in heaven. Christians are tethered to Christ which is great news because you certainly wouldn't want your soul to go floating off in the wrong direction after you die.



Chapter 7


6:20, 7:1.  One day when Abraham had returned home from winning a war against several powerful kings he was met by a priest who blessed him. That priest of the one true God was Melchizedek.


2.  In exchange for his blessing Abraham gave Melchizedek 10% of his income which at the time consisted of  the spoils of the war which he just won. The offering of 10% was Abraham's way of thanking God for the victory.

Tithes and offerings are a tangible way for Christians to thank Jesus for saving them from hell. And no matter how much we may give Jesus we still get the best of that deal. If you went to hell for two seconds you be willing to give every cent you had to pay your way out of that place. But Jesus doesn't ask for everything, in fact he doesn't ask for anything in order to be saved. He has given us a benchmark of 10% as a way of saying we appreciate what you did for us on the cross.


3.  Melchisedek seems to appear out of no where and meets Abraham in Genesis 14, and he leaves just as quickly as he appears.  

No one knew when Melchizedek was born; there was no record of his death either. So in that way he was a picture of the son of God who had no beginning and has no end. Melchizedek is a picture of Jesus and His present priesthood which goes on forever because he never dies.


4.  Abraham was a great man of God but Melchizedek was a spiritual notch above him. Abraham knew that which is why he gave him 10% of everything that he had earned.

His 10%, his financial offering was a thank you to God, given through the agency of this priest, who was God's minister in that day and in that area.


5.  Abraham went on to have 12 great grandsons which grew to be the 12 tribes of the nation Israel. One of those tribes was Levi and they were the priests in that nation, just as Melchizedek was a priest in the days of Abraham.


6.  Melchizedek the priest was not a descendent of Abraham. He wasn't a priest from the tribe of Levi. Melchizedek was not even a relative of Abraham, and yet Abraham gave him an offering.


6,7.  Melchizedek blessed Abraham on behalf of God. And the Bible says in verse seven that the less is blessed of the greater. In other words, the one who has the ability to bless is greater than the one who he blesses. He is greater because he has something that he can give to another who doesn't have it. Melchizedek the priest was greater than Abraham.


8-10.  Abraham's grandson Levi wasn't yet born and therefore in a sense he was still in his grandfather at the time Abraham paid his tithes to Melchizedek. Consequently, when Abraham paid 10% to Melchizedek, Levi, the priest, Levi, his grandson the priest, paid that 10% as well. Which means Melchizedek was not only greater than Abraham, but he was greater than the priests who came from the line of Abraham.


11.  The priest was the connector between sinful man and holy God. That's why  the law that God gave Moses, which man breaks, included the Levitical priesthood.

In old testament days the Levites offered sacrifices for the people, but their sacrifices were just a temporary fix. The blood of animals offered for the sins of man was sort of like spiritual duct tape.  The Levitical priests did what they could with what they had which were animal sacrifices.  But in order to permanently, and completely connect sinful man to God there needed to be a better sacrifice, and along with that a better priest doing the offering. 

Jesus was that that perfect sacrifice, and Jesus is that perfect priest. He is the perfect priest who offered the perfect sacrifice, which was himself. The animal sacrifices covered sins until the great high priest Jesus offered himself, and removed those sins permanently. Jesus is infinitely greater than any of the Levitical priests, and in that sense Melchizedek who was greater then Abraham, the progenitor of the Levitical priests, was a picture of Christ. 

Melchizedek was an Old Testament shadow of the perfect priesthood that God was planning through Jesus Christ .


12.  The law which God gave to Moses including the commandments, and the sacrifices which were to be offered when a person  sinned, and the priests from the family of Levi who were to do the offering were a packaged deal. That's why when God announced that there would be a new priest, not from the family of Levi, the type of sacrifice would have to change as well;  the whole works would have to be changed.


13.  Jesus, who the father says is that new, everlasting priest did not come from the family of Levi, but from the family of Judah.

A priest from the tribe of Judah was a brand-new thing.


14.  The Old Testament Jews were puzzled when they read in their Scriptures about the coming Messiah. They knew he would be their king and their priest, and yet how could that be since they also knew that he would come from the tribe of Judah instead of Levi. They didn't know how God would work that out, but God worked it out.

God makes things which aren't clear in Scripture clear in his time. That was true with the Old Testament, and it is true with the New Testament as well. For example, the reason good Christians, who believe the word of God have disagreements over some of the details of end time prophecy is because God has not made some of those things clear. 

It's important for God loving, Bible believing Christians to agree on the many things God has made clear concerning biblical prophecy, and to be gracious to one another over disagreements concerning the other, less than clear things.


15,16.  The Jews didn't know where Melchizedek came from, and they didn't have any record of his death. It was as if he had no beginning and no end. And like I said he was a picture of Jesus, who as God really didn't have a beginning, and will have no end.

Jesus offered the perfect sacrifice for our sin: himself. He offered the perfect sacrifice for our sin, and now he lives forever, as the go between, between us and God the father.


17.  God the father appointed his eternal son Jesus to be our priest forever. Jesus presents his perfect sin offering to the father on our behalf. Jesus did what we needed on the cross, and he continues to do what we need. 

There is no need to replace Jesus; he is our mediator with God forever.


18,19a. The Levitical priesthood was a part of God's law, and it was good because it covered the sins of those who brought offerings. It covered them temporarily, but it did not remove them.  It was a good system, but not good enough. It couldn't save anyone from hell because the sacrifices were not valuable enough to pay for man's sin, and get them into heaven.

The Levitical priesthood and the animal sacrifices were like a spiritual charge card on behalf of those who brought the offerings.   The offerings delayed final payment for sin until Jesus died, and they were paid in full.


19.  The second Jesus died on the cross the Levitical priesthood, and their sacrifices became outdated, and obsolete. The death of Jesus was the one perfect sacrifice that paid for our sins. And Jesus is the one perfect high priest who stands in the gap between us, and God proclaiming that those who receive him as Lord, and Savior have been cleansed through his one offering.


20,21.  God swore that Jesus would be our priest forever that's why he will never be replaced by anyone, or anything like the Old Testament priesthood was replaced.


22.  The Old Testament priesthood, and sacrifices kept people's heads above water because they covered sins. The sacrifice of Jesus was perfect because it paid for sins.

It doesn't get any better than Jesus. No one, or nothing can do what he has done for us. He is the one and only way to God.


23-25.  Jesus will never quit being our Savior. He will never say I'm tired of this job, you Christians have been in heaven for 50,000 years and you've had a nice run, but it's over.


26,27.  The Levitical priest had to offer sacrifices for sins every day. Every time someone sinned they had to bring an offering to the priest. But Jesus offered himself: the perfect sacrifice which was powerful enough to pay for all of our sins: past, present, and future.


28.  God's law provided imperfect men to offer imperfect sacrifices, and that's why it was only a temporary fix. Jesus is perfect in every way, and so is his work on our behalf. That's why we do not need anything in addition to Jesus, or in place of him. Jesus has done everything needed to  to save us from hell.


Chapter 8


1.  We have a high priest: Jesus who is at the right hand of the father interceding for us, which is what a good high priest does. The high priest is a go between, between sinners and God, and that's what Jesus does for Christians.


2.  Jesus is in the true tabernacle unlike the Levitical priest in Old Testament days who were in the earthly tabernacle. Moses and company built a tabernacle on earth for the worship of God, but Jesus is in the tabernacle of heaven.


3.  In the Old Testament the high priest had to bring offerings to God on behalf of the people. That was his job; if the priest didn't offer sacrifices than he wasn't fulfilling his mission.

Levitical priests had to offer sacrifices on behalf of the people, and so in order to be a legitimate priest Jesus had to offer something.


4.  Jesus could not have been a priest in the earthly tabernacle, and that's because he wasn't from the tribe of Levi; he was from the tribe of Judah. So if Jesus, the son of God is going to be a priest than it has to be a new priesthood with a different offering, and it was, and it is.


4,5.  Remember: the holy tabernacle on earth, the Levitical priests who served there, and the offerings that they presented to God were all pictures of what is literally going on in heaven today. As we will see, in heaven today Jesus our eternal high Priest has presented the offering of himself to the father in the holy tabernacle of heaven.


6.  Jesus has a more excellent ministry than the Old Testament priests. He is the mediator of a much better covenant, the details of which we will see in a few minutes.


7.  If the first covenant, the tabernacle operation with its Levitical priests, had done the job God never would've replaced it. And remember the reason the writer is saying these things is because the recipients of this letter were Jews who were going back to the old covenant; they were turning away from Jesus, and the new covenant to return to the old flawed covenant.


8.  The old covenant with the animal sacrifices was a stopgap measure, it put off judgment for sins committed, but it couldn't remove those sins. Actually there really wasn't anything wrong with the covenant itself because it did what it was designed to do. The problem was with the people. Like the Bible says in verse eight: "for finding fault with them." 

The problem was them not it; the problem was with the people not with the Old Testament law and priesthood. The people kept breaking God's commandments, they kept breaking God's covenant; that was the problem. The law was not making anyone perfect because the people couldn't keep the law.


9.  God did not accept the people because they couldn't keep the Commandments. Something had to be changed, or everyone would eventually go to hell.


10.  Those who enter into covenant with God through Jesus Christ by receiving him as Lord and Savior no longer have the law of God written on stone tablets, but instead it is written on their hearts. 

Christians are in-dwelt by the Holy Spirit who gives them a built in knowledge of right and wrong, and also gives them a desire to do what is right and to please Jesus.

If a person doesn't have a desire to please Jesus, doesn't have a love for Jesus, then the law of God is not written on their hearts, and there is no indication that they are saved.


11.  Being a Christian means that you know the Lord. Everyone knows about God, many know about Jesus, but being a Christian means that you know him personally. If you are a Christian than Christ is important to you just as a best friend, or your favorite relative is important to you.


12.  Every one of us has committed sin and still sins; the Bible says that we are unrighteous,  but if we have received Christ as Lord and Savior God is merciful to our unrighteousness. In other words, because we know Jesus God does not punish us, even though that's what we deserve.

By the way the last part of verse 12 also says that God doesn't remember our sins anymore. When you come to Christ all your sins are forgiven, all your sins are removed, and God chooses of his own free will to forget about them forever. 

If you have confessed a sin then don't bother bringing it up to God because in essence he will say: what sin? I don't know what you're talking about! I have no record of you ever doing that; why don't you just get on with life.


13.  The old covenant with the Commandments written on stone, with the sacrifices for those who broke those Commandments, and with the Levitical priests who offered those sacrifices for the people became irrelevant, became outdated the second Jesus died on the cross.



Chapter 9



1.  The Levitical priests were kept very busy doing their work in the prescribed manner.


2.  The Old Testament tabernacle had an outer court surrounded by a large fence and  a building with two rooms. The first room was the holy place, the second room was called the holiest of all. The two rooms were separated by a huge, heavy veil.


2,3.  The holiest of all was called that because that is where God's visible presence existed on earth in the form of a cloud.


4.  The Ark of the covenant was the only permanent piece of furniture in the holiest of all. The Ark was a gold-plated box with a solid gold lid. That solid gold lid represented God's throne on earth.


5.  When God gave the blueprint for this tabernacle, and all of its furnishings he instructed goldsmiths to build two gold angels facing each other on the gold lid. So there were two Angels on both sides of that lid which was the throne of God.

It's interesting when you get to the book of Revelation and you see a glimpse of heaven that there are angels surrounding God's throne there. So that earthly tabernacle really was a scaled-down picture of the one in heaven.


6.  The regular Levitical priests would go into the first room every day to offer prayers, and incense, and to light candles.


7.  The inner room, the holiest of all was only entered by the high priest, and he only did it one day out of the year on the day of atonement, and he never entered that room unless he had sacrificial blood. 

Once a year he would go into the presence of God to present the blood of an animal which would cover his sins, and the sins of the people that had been committed the previous year.


8. None of the animal sacrifices brought into the holiest of all by the high priest ever caused God to say: remove the veil because the way is now open for everyone to come into my presence. The animal sacrifices were not valuable enough to make that happen because they could not pay for sins. They put off the wrath of God, but they didn't eliminate the wrath of God.


9.  The animal sacrifices never made anyone perfect in the eyes of God, and if you know anything about God than you know that his standard for entrance into heaven is sinless perfection. The Old Testament offerings did not make people perfect.


10.  All the things done in the tabernacle pointed to Jesus, and his death on the cross, which is here referred to as the time of Reformation. The death of Christ on the cross changed everything.


11.  Jesus is our high priest serving in the perfect tabernacle which is in heaven. 

The Bible says that Jesus is the high priest of good things. Those good things include forgiveness of all of our sins, saving us from hell, and a wonderful future on the new Earth in our resurrected bodies.


12.  Jesus didn't bring animal blood into the holy sanctuary of heaven; he brought his own blood which was shed on the cross.


13,14.  The history of man consists of people attempting by their own efforts to get right with God. But the death of Jesus Christ paid for sins, and makes it possible for Christians who are completely forgiven to serve God out of appreciation.

Anyone who thinks that Christianity is a self effort religion whereby a person must climb a ladder to heaven by doing good works doesn't understand the Bible. Jesus did the work for us, which is why the Bible says that we are seated with Christ in the heavenly's, and we are free to serve God out of appreciation for having given us eternal life through Christ.


15.  Jesus paid the bill that the Old Testament people of God owed because of their sins. The Old Testament animal sacrifices which God's people brought delayed God's punishment until Jesus took the full wrath of God for those sins, and satisfy God's justice.


16,17.  A testament is a will. A will is not activated until the one who wrote it dies. When the testator dies than the people in the will receive their inheritance.


18.  Death activated the old testament system; in other words the old law. Think of the sacrificial animals as being the testator. When the initial animals were offered the old covenant was activated, whereby the animal sacrifices, and the work of the Levitical priests put off the wrath of God.


19-21.  The old tabernacle service with its priests, and sacrifices became official when Moses sprinkled sacrificial blood over the word of God, which contained the rules, and the tabernacle with all of its furnishings.


22.  Without the shedding of blood there is no remission, there is no forgiveness. Some people wonder why God doesn't just forgive everyone. Some people wonder why his son had to die on the cross to pay for sins. He had to die because without the shedding of holy, sinless, human blood the sins of human beings would not be paid for.

God couldn't just overlook sin because he is just. Someone had to die, someone sinless, someone holy, someone perfect had to die, and the only one who could ever fit that bill was Jesus the eternal son of God made man.


23.  The Old Testament system was activated, and made effective by the blood of animals. The new covenant which perfects sinners who come to Christ was activated, and made effective by the blood of Jesus.


24.  Jesus is in the presence of God the father for us. 

If you think that his work of redemption was finished on the cross you are wrong. It is true that his death once for all paid completely for all of our sins, but our Lord's work continues in heaven right now as he stands up for you, and I who belong to him.


25.  The high priests of the Old Testament had to go into the holiest of all every year on the day of atonement, and push back the wrath of God for another year.


26. We can tell that the sacrifice of Jesus was infinitely better than all of the animal sacrifices combined because Jesus only had to die once. Jesus only offered himself once for the sins of man, and it did the job.


27.  There are no second chances. Reincarnation is a lie. What you do in this life determines whether you go to heaven or hell. If one rejects Christ they go to hell, and there's no getting out. If one repents, and receives Christ as Lord and Savior they have complete forgiveness, and nothing but good to look forward to forever.


28.  Here's another name for Christian, for one who is truly saved: they are those who look for Christ. Saved people can't get enough of Jesus; they go to a church that teaches the word of God because they want more of Jesus. They look forward to prayer, praise, and the word of God because they look for Jesus, and they want to experience his presence. And they do experience his presence because God says: if you seek for me you will find me, if you search for me with all your heart.


Chapter 10


1.  The law refers to the Old Testament religion of the Israelites. Everything in that religion: the priests, the offerings, the sacrifices, were all shadows of Jesus. They all pointed to Christ, and his work. The entire religious system was a temporary fix for the people's sin until Jesus came and actually removed the sin.


1,2.  The life of an animal is not as valuable as the life of a human being. Therefore the death of an animal is not sufficient payment for the sin of Man.

By the Old Testament animal sacrifices God was revealing that death was needed to pay for our sins. But the fact that those sacrifices were repeated for centuries shows that they were not sufficient payment.


3.  The animal sacrifices that went on year after year reminded the people that they were still guilty before God.


4.  Animals are not made in the image of God, animals are not as valuable as people in the eyes of God. That is why the death of an animal could not pay for the sin of man.


5,6. This is God the son talking to God the father. The Son was saying although the animal sacrifices had their place they didn't do the job so you prepared a body for me so that I could do what they could not do.


7.  Jesus told the father: I've left heaven for one reason, and that's to do your will. I'm here to die; I'm here to pay for the sins of man so that they may be reconciled to you.


8,9.  The animal sacrifices were done away with and replaced with the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. The old was removed when the new took effect. With the death of Christ the Jewish religion was no longer recognized by God. Nothing is recognized by God except Jesus.


10.  No need for Jesus to die again; no need for us to do anything in addition to what Jesus did on the cross. His death makes us holy before God forever. 

We aren't holy in practice like we should be, and if we are Christians like we want to be. But we are holy in the eyes of God because Jesus paid for our sins.


11. Levitical priests would be in the temple every day, day after day offering sacrifices that could never remove sins.


12.  Jesus offered his body once. Jesus doesn't have to repeatedly be born, live a sinless life, and die on the cross. No need to do that because the first time did the job. It worked the first time which is why the Bible says he sat down at the right hand of the father. It's like you when you come home from a hard days work; you sit back on the recliner, kick your feet up, and relax; your job is done.


13.  Now it's just a matter of time until God's age of grace is complete. Jesus is up in heaven waiting for the father to say: my son, return to Earth, raise the dead, and send those who have rejected you to hell.


14.  If you belong to Jesus your perfect standing before God will never be reversed. As long as you want Jesus he will keep you perfect.


15,16.  True Christians do not need a list of rules and regulations; true Christians don't need legalistic pastors hammering them over the head with all sorts of church rules in a futile attempt to make them holy. We don't need rules, we don't need legalism because the law of God is written on our heart, and we want to serve Jesus, and we feel bad when we fail.


17.  God forgives, and God forgets. Your past sins may be fresh in your mind, and you may be having a difficult time getting past them, but God couldn't care less about what you did if you confessed it.

God couldn't care less about any sins you may have committed yesterday, earlier today, or 10 seconds ago. If you have confessed them, then they are gone, and forgotten as far as God is concerned.


18.  There's no point in trying to do something that brings forgiveness when you're already forgiven through Christ. If you want to keep doing that then I guess that's your business, but it sure seems to be foolish and a waste of life.


19.  In other words, you can have all the confidence in the world that God hears your prayers now that you belong to Jesus. You're in his presence right now which means you can have fellowship with him anytime you want to.


20.  When Jesus died the veil in the temple that separated God from the rest of the world was ripped in two by God the father. You don't even have to knock on heaven's door and ask if you can talk to God; the doors are open to you; the welcome mat is out for you. Just talk to him, just read his word and let him talk to you. The father is accessible to you 24 hours a day.


21,22.  In other words draw close to God with confidence because you're right with him through Jesus Christ. You have nothing to worry about. Our Father in heaven loves you and accepts you; he wants you to believe that, he wants you to know that, he wants you to be assured of that, because he wants you to have peace.


23.  There's no need to back away from Jesus, and turn to something else. 

Jesus is faithful to save us from hell so we should be faithful to trust him to do that. Why turn away from something that works perfectly; especially something that works perfectly to save us from eternal torment in the lake of fire.


24.  Use your energy to serve Jesus, and be an inspiration to other Christians. Get sold out to Jesus and your enthusiasm will spread to others who know him.


25.  In other words, go to church. Some people say: I don't need to be in church to worship God. Of course you don't, and by the way we should worship God all the time no matter where we are, but God still says go to church!


26.  In other words, if you know the truth about Jesus, that he's the only way to heaven, and that you have to repent and receive him as Lord and Savior to be saved. If you know that truth but willfully reject it you're going to hell because there is no Plan B.


26,27.  People say: I'm going to hell and I don't care because I have a lot of friends there. Maybe you do, and if you want to go to hell by them then that's your business; you can all experience fiery indignation, and unspeakable torment together.


28.  If anyone willfully rejected the law of God they were put to death. There was no mercy for those who despised God's law.


29.  If people were executed for rejecting the law of God, then those who know the truth about Christ, but turn their back on him will certainly feel the full measure of God's holy wrath. 

It was bad to break the law of God in Old Testament times. But it is even worse to break the commandments today, receive forgiveness through Jesus Christ, and then in essence tell the Father that he can keep his mercy. It is wicked indeed to throw the mercy of God given through Jesus Christ back in the Father's face and say I don't want it.


30.  No one should doubt that God will condemn those who reject Jesus Christ, whether they never received him, or they received him, but then decided to reject him.


31.  It makes me sick when I hear some of the theological mush that is spoken today. Many people are convinced that they can live any way they want, and pick and choose from a smorgasbord of roads to heaven, and everything will be just fine. That's not what the Bible teaches! 

The Bible teaches you can have forgiveness through Jesus Christ, but if you reject him you are going to burn in hell forever. The Bible teaches, it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.


32.  These Hebrew Christians had suffered for receiving Christ. They suffered, but they endured it because they believed that Jesus was the only way to heaven, and they wanted to please their Lord.


33.  People ridiculed them for the sake of Jesus, people hurt them physically because of their faith in Jesus, but not only did they not quit during those tough times they stood by others who were being abused for Christ as well. These people were saved! They proved that they were saved by how they lived!


34. They had a heavenly focus, they were willing to suffer and sacrifice financially to do what is right in the eyes of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

You can tell if a person is truly saved just look at their bank statement, and see how they spend their money. Jesus said as much when he said: where your treasure is, that is where your heart will be also.


35.  In other words, don't quit on Jesus; continue to hang in there because God will make it worth your while. Don't let the pressure get to you.


36.  It takes patience to be a true Christian. If a person doesn't patiently endure bad times because of their faith in Christ, then they are out of the will of God, and they will not receive the promise of eternal life. Quitters go to hell!


37.  Our lives here are not that long compared to eternity. If we're not willing to endure hardship for the sake of Jesus Christ; if we' re not willing to sacrifice for the sake of Christ for the relatively short time we are here on earth in exchange for: eternal life, eternal happiness, a resurrected body on a wonderful new earth, then were making a bad deal.


38.  You are saved by faith in the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ on the cross. You are Saved by faith. But if you turn your back on Jesus you will be lost. God says if anyone draws back from the salvation that is theirs by faith in Jesus Christ then He will have no pleasure in them. 

By the way, if anyone thinks this warning only speaks of loosing the joy of the Lord in this life they better read the rest of the Bible, because it means eternal hell where Jesus said multible times there will be weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth. It means they will be assigned to the tormentors in a futile effort to pay for their own sins. That's what the Scripture teach.


39. The writer says: I don't know about you, but my companions here and I are going to persevere until the end, and have our souls saved.



Chapter 11



1.  Faith is believing the word of God simply because God has spoken. Faith is taking God at his word even though you can't see it right now. God's word is the hard evidence, and faith believes it.


2.  God was pleased, and is pleased with people who believe him. He writes a good report concerning people who believe his word.


3. We were not there when God created the universe by his spoken word, but God said that's what he did, and I believe it. I believe God made everything out of nothing. It takes faith to believe that because there were no eyewitnesses except God and the angels.


4. Abel believed the word of God, and he had a relationship with him through that word, which is why he gave God an offering that meant something to him. Cain had no regard for the word of God, had no faith in the word of God, had no relationship with the God of the word, and therefore brought God an offering of leftovers, just to say that he did something.


5.  Enoch pleased God because he believed in him enough to live the right way. His faith, and his love for God, which was produced by his faith, moved God to take him to paradise without dying physically. One day he was fellowshipping with God in his usual manner, and the next thing he knew he was with God in paradise.


6.  You can't please God if you don't believe that he is. If you don't have faith that he is, and therefore never talk to him, and never seek him, then you will not be blessed in ways you could be blessed.

God blesses those who diligently seek him. Talking about people who mean business when they talk to him in prayer. They know deep down that God is alive and well, and that he hears them when they speak, so they seek him hard, and they don't quit because they know it's not a waste of time.


7.  A 500-year-old man doesn't spend 100 years building a boat with his sons in an area that doesn't have a body of water, and in a world that has never experienced rain, unless he has faith in the word of God which told him that a worldwide flood was coming.

Good thing Noah had faith, good thing he believed God, because when that flood hit Noah and his family were the only ones in the world saved. 

Believing the word of God leads to right behavior, which leads to God's blessing and his salvation.


8.  Abraham believed and obeyed God's word; he followed it even though it meant leaving his comfort zone. God said: leave home and go to a different area of the world; I'm not telling you exactly where it is; I'll tell you when you get there. Abraham said that's all I need to know. 

God's word was the only compass Abraham needed because he believed God was honest, and his word reliable.


9.  When Abraham arrived at the place, God said: this is the land that I am giving you, and Abraham believed him even though God didn't give him a permanent structure to live in. He didn't say: Lord if I'm in the land, then where's my three-bedroom ranch with a two camel garage and deck. He didn't have a house, and he didn't have a legal deed stating that he owned that area but he believed it anyway. God said: it's yours, and since Abraham believed God he pitched a tent and lived there even though technically it still belonged to others.

Faith lives out the word of God before the rewards of faith are experienced.


10.  In other words, he would obey the word of God, and would patiently wait until God fulfilled his promise in his way, and in his good time. He obeyed because he believed, and he waited for God to make it worth his while just as he said he would.


11.  Sarah's faith wasn't always rocksolid, but deep down she knew that God didn't lie and if he said she was going to have a child in her old age than she would, and because of her faith in the word of God she did.


12.  Abraham's ability to father a child had been zero. His wife Sarah never could conceive, but after both passed the age of childbearing God made it happen because he said he would, and they believed it. 

Abraham's offspring went from zero to: way too many to count. That's what the Bible means when it says that God can do exceedingly abundantly above and beyond what we can ask think or even imagine.


13.  Abraham lived long enough to see his son Isaac, but he didn't live long enough to see the multiplied millions of his descendents. He died before that promise was fulfilled. But he saw the fulfillment of it by faith; it was as real to him as if he had lived long enough to be carried on the shoulders of that multitude, because he believed the word of God.

Faith in God's word enables us to enjoy the fulfillment of his promises before they even come to pass.


13,14.  Christians are looking forward to something much better than what this world can deliver. I'm looking for a better home, better food, a much better body, a much happier existence, a much better world, then even the best that this current world can provide.


15,16.  Abraham could have quit on God, but God promised him something much better than he ever had in his entire life so he didn't quit. And because he didn't quit, because he continued to believe and consequently obey God, even though it cost him some of the comforts of this life God said that he wasn't ashamed to be called his God.

We don't always obey God like we should, but if we believe his word; if we trust in God's integrity then that pleases him. 

In light of my sin I wouldn't blame God one bit if he was ashamed to be connected to me, but he isn't if I believe his word. My actions don't always please him like I wish they would, but my faith in his word which tells me that he loves me, in spite of me, and died on the cross to pay for my sins, does please him.


17,18.  In an unbelievably difficult test of faith, after believing God for a son, God said: offer him to me Abraham; sacrifice your son to me Abraham, and he obeyed. It was a test to see what was most important to Abraham: the blessing of God, or God who blesses.


19.  Abraham was going to sacrifice his son. He may have wondered why God would want him to do it, but Abraham would do it because he had faith in the word of God, and he would do it with confidence that his son Isaac would be raised from the dead immediately. 

Why would Abraham be so confident about that? Because again he had faith in the word of God. Abraham believed God when he said that a multitude of people would come through his son Isaac, and since Isaac had not fathered his first child yet, then God would raise him from the dead in order to fulfill his promise. Again Abraham's faith in the word of God gave him confidence and peace even in the midst of a heart wrenching situation.


20.  Isaac believed the word of God that had been delivered to him from his father Abraham so he passed on that word with its promises to his two sons Jacob and Esau.

If one believes the word of God then they're going to talk about the word of God, and pass that word of God on to others.


21.  Jacob, because he believed the word of God, passed it on to his son Joseph.


22.  Joseph knew, by the word of God, that the Israelites would soon become slaves in Egypt, but would eventually be rescued by God, and so he gave instructions to have his bones carried back to the promise land when that deliverance would take place.


23.  The King of Egypt ordered that every newborn Hebrew baby boy had to be murdered. But the parents of Moses didn't do it because it would violate the word of God which they believed. If Pharaoh catches them they are executed, but they didn't care because they would rather be dead than disobey God. They had faith.


24.  Moses was adopted by Pharaoh's daughter and brought up in the luxury of the palace. But after learning he was Hebrew he renounced the idols of Egypt to serve God Almighty.


25.  Moses' faith in God's word compelled him to follow the Lord even though it meant giving up earthly things, and suffering for his faith.


26. Because Moses believe the word of God he gave up the wealth of this world for wealth in eternity. Faith in God's word made him loyal to the Lord.


27.  Moses publicly turned his back on the King of Egypt and walked out of that country with 1.5 million Hebrew slaves, and he didn't fear the King because he believed God who told him to do it.

The fear of God makes us forget the fear of man.


28.  God warned Pharaoh that if he didn't set the slaves free he would kill all the firstborn in Egypt. Pharaoh refused so God told all the Hebrews to apply lambs blood on the door post of their home, which would cause death to pass over them, and only destroy the Egyptians. Moses believed God's word so he passed those instructions on to the Israelites, and as many as believed, and obeyed were spared.

The word of God believed, and obeyed delivers from God's holy wrath.


29.  With walls of water on their left and right the Israelites walked through the Red Sea trusting in the word of God who told them they would make it to the other side. The Egyptians had no such word from God so when they tried to cross, it was not faith but presumption, and they all drowned.


30.  When entering the promised land the first wicked city to be destroyed by God was Jericho. God told his people to circle the city seven times and blow a trumpet; they did and the walls fell, and the city was destroyed. They believed the word of God and it worked.


31. The Jericho prostitute Rahab believed the word of God so she sided with God's people, and was spared. Rahab was saved by believing the word of God.


32-35a.  The things listed here are all positive. They were the rewards of faith, just as eternal life is the reward of faith in Jesus Christ today.


35.  Countless Christians have made the choice to serve God by believing, and adhering to his word even though it cost them their life. They were smart enough to understand that avoiding eternal, everlasting hell was more important than avoiding suffering and death in this life.


36.  Some have not died for their faith, but they sure have suffered for it.


37,38.  A very hard life, void of the pleasures of this world has often been the price of a Christians faith. They could have water down the truth, they could have watered down their testimony in an attempt to be friends with the world while still trying to be faithful to God, but they didn't because you can't do it; it just doesn't work. Jesus said: friendship with the world is enmity against God. We are either for Jesus or against Jesus.


39.  In other words the fact that they didn't receive all the rewards of faith while they were on earth didn't stop them from believing, and living the word of God

Faith in God's word makes one willing to sacrifice the present for the future.


40.  All of God's people, both Old Testament and new, saved Israelites from the old days, and Christians in the church age will be rewarded for their faith. 

God hasn't gone into great detail concerning what those rewards will be, but he has said that our bodies will be raised never to die again. He has said that were going to have a great time on the new earth forever and ever, and it's pretty good start.


Chapter 12


1.  In this verse God tells Christians, who are his children, that he wants them to do three things. Number one he says, lay aside every weight, number two they aside sin, and number three run with endurance.

First let's consider God's command to lay aside every weight. The weights mentioned here in verse one refer to spiritual weights. They are not sins, but they are things that hold us back spiritually.

Technically they're not against the rules, technically they are not sin, but they hinder your walk with the Lord, they keep you from going all out for Jesus. There are weights, they slow you down, they are things you condone that make it more difficult for you to live for Jesus, and enjoy the blessings that go along with that.


So God says lay aside every weight, and then he says lay aside the sin, which so easily ensnares us. In other words, make a clean break from sin. If you are doing something wrong then quit. And when you realize that you've done something wrong immediately repent and confess it. 

Sin dishonors God, sin steals our joy, sin makes us feel guilty, and sin ruins our effectiveness for the Lord Jesus Christ. Consequently God says get rid of it, repent of it, forsake it; there is no good reason to condone sin, but there are plenty of good reasons to forsake it.

Then, number three God tells us to run with endurance the race that is set before us. In other words persevere with Jesus, keep doing what is right, keep believing the Bible. You say those three things are pretty tall order, especially if God expects us to do them all the time. And yes he does expect us to do them all the time.

But I'll take it one step further and say it's not just a tall order, it is impossible. It is impossible for a Christian to lay aside those spiritual and moral weights. It is impossible for Christians to get sin out of their life, and it is impossible for Christians to run with patients the race that is set before them. More specifically it is impossible for a Christian to do those things on their own, apart from God's power.

However, what we can't do on our own God will do through us if we are his children through faith in Jesus Christ. God gives us the desire to do the right thing, and he also gives us the power to do the right thing if we are his children; by his grace the choice is ours.

Of course even as a Christian we have a free will, and if we choose to walk in the flesh instead of in the spirit; if we do not do the right thing, well then God has something else up his divine sleeve. God has a Trump card that he can play which will get his children to lay aside the weight, the sin, and to persevere in a righteous walk with Jesus. That something is his divine discipline, his divine chastisement.

You say, explain divine discipline because I'm not sure what it is. Okay, divine discipline consist of the things that come into our life that challenge us, that make us feel bad. Divine discipline refers to struggles, difficulties, suffering and pain. Those are some of the ways God disciplines. Perhaps it's the trial of not having something you wish you had. Maybe it's the trial of having something you wish you didn't have. Someone says, I thought those type of things just happened. No, nothing just sort of happens to you if you are Christian, if you are God's child through faith in Christ.

Many Christians believe that the trials they experience are things that just happen. Then there are others who are convinced that their trouble is simply the work of the devil in their life, or the work of bad people, who do bad things to them. But to view trouble that way is to look at it in a superficial, surface manner, which really ignores what is actually happening.

Trouble is not simply happenstance, or the work of Satan, or of bad people in the life of the believer, although those things may be involved in some way. Christians must understand that trouble of any kind is in reality the discipline of God. If we don't get that then we won't profit from God's discipline. If we don't get that then the sufferings we endure will not be the means to a greater good which is what God intends.

When you as a Christian experience difficulties your first thought should not be about some bad person who's done something terrible to you.  Your first thought should not be about Satan causing trouble in your life. The devil isn't in control of your life; he doesn't call the shots in your life, God does. God is sovereign not Satan.

You say, do you mean that Satan, and bad people have no influence in my life at all? No, I'm not saying that, and no Bible doesn't teach that. But the Bible does teach that anything the devil, or bad people do to you must first be filtered through your heavenly father. The Bible also teaches that if God allows bad then he wants to use it to train you. It is his discipline it is his loving chastisement.

I think i should clarify some definitions before we go any further. It's important for you to understand that there is a big difference between divine punishment, and divine discipline. Our heavenly father disciplines Christians for their good. Our heavenly father chastens Christians in order to train them so that they will become the kind of people he wants them to be.

On the other hand God does not discipline non-Christians; he doesn't discipline them because he's not their father. God is not the father of the unsaved. God is their judge, God is their God, but he's not their father. Which is why God punishes Christ rejecting sinners, not for their good, but to satisfy his justice. When punishing lost sinners God is expressing his holy wrath; he is satisfying his perfect justice.

Always remember that the Lord doesn't punish Christians. Why doesn't he punish Christians? Because Jesus has already been punished for Christians, and God would not punish the same sin twice because that would violate his perfect justice. 

The Bible says in Isaiah 53:5, "Jesus was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquity, the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and by his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all." Jesus satisfied God's righteous anger, and his holy justice so when we are disciplined it cannot be to satisfy God's justice, and it cannot be that God is angry at us, because he isn't.

That's not to say chastening doesn't feel like punishment sometimes; it can be very painful at times. However if you are a Christian Chastening comes from your loving heavenly father who does it because he wants what's best for you in the long run. 


2.  Jesus endured horrendous times, and unspeakable suffering in order to accomplish the will of God, in order to accomplish our salvation. We Christians are told to remember what Jesus suffered in the will of God so that we will respond correctly to whatever type of pain, suffering, or trouble God allows to come into our life. Consequently, God says when you are suffering look to Jesus. When you are in pain keep your eyes on Jesus. When you feel terrible because something bad has happened remember Jesus because that will help you to persevere through all the bad just as He did.


3,4.  In other words, bad things may be happening in your life, bad people may be doing terrible things to you, you may be experiencing unfair treatment from others. Perhaps someone you have trusted has betrayed your trust. You maybe thought you could trust them forever, and yet they proved to be unfaithful. 

Whatever the case, understand this, Jesus experienced all those things to an infinite degree, more than you and I ever possibly could. Jesus experienced all those terrible things because God allowed them to happen. Jesus experienced unimaginable cruelty, and terrible suffering in order to accomplish a greater good for us.

When we are tempted to feel sorry for ourselves because of the bad things in our life God is telling us to remember that Jesus was completely sinless, completely innocent, and therefore all of his sufferings were uncalled for to an infinite degree, and all mistreatment of him was uncalled for to an infinite degree.


5a.  Whatever troubles come into your life, whatever trials come into your life, whatever the human or natural source of those bad things may be, make sure you see them for what they are, namely the discipline of God, and do not take them lightly. In other words do not despise them. Do not despise the trouble you are facing; it is God's discipline.

Let me suggest to you a couple of ways in which Christians despise God's discipline.

1) Christians can despise God's discipline by complaining, or becoming bitter over their problems. Did you know that complaining is a sin, and bitterness is a sin, and as you know sin pulls us away from God, which is the exact opposite of what he wants to accomplish through his discipline. Complaining, and bitterness are sins which pull us away from God, whereas fervently seeking him in times of trouble accomplishes the spiritual good which he has in mind.

2) Christians can also despise God's discipline by seeing trials as simply being some kind of unjust act perpetrated by a bad person. I touched on this earlier, but I want to talk about it again because it's so prevalent. 

Christians say, "oh this bad person is doing these bad things; they shouldn't be doing these bad things." Well maybe they should not be doing those things, but that's really not the issue as far as you are concerned. It's true that bad people do bad things that they shouldn't do, however that shouldn't be our main focus when we are in the midst of the bad. Our main focus as God's children, as Christians should be to accept whatever bad happens to us as our father's discipline. That doesn't mean we can't pray for a change, or work for a change, but if it's there, then it's there.

So again, do not despise God's disciplined by reacting to it the wrong way because that will short-circuit what God wants to accomplish; all the suffering will be for nothing.


5.  God says don't faint, in other words, don't be discouraged when you are reproved by your father. Some Christians get discouraged over hard times, and in the process they don't profit from God's discipline. When trouble hits they may buy something they don't need, they shop to forget. Sometimes they take pills, or get drunk to cover the pressure. There are others who lock themselves in their room and sleep for sorrow. Some just walk around feeling sorry for themselves. It doesn't matter, it's all the same thing, it's all ignoring the discipline of their father in heaven. 

And be aware of this: discouragement can happened before we even know it; it can slip in the back door of our soul without us noticing it. But when we do notice it, when we do recognize it, we must not nurse it.

When bad times hit, Christians can respond in one of two ways: they can draw closer to God through prayer, fasting, and the word of God, in which case God will respond to them by providing comfort, and instruction in the midst of their pain. Or, they can respond incorrectly by complaining, becoming stubborn, indifferent, or discouraged.


6a.  Some Christians think that the trouble they are experiencing is a result of God being angry at them, but we've already seen that isn't true. Some Christians think that the trouble they are experiencing means that God doesn't like them, let alone love them like he once did. But that isn't true either. The Bible says here in verse six that God allows trouble into the life of a Christian because he does love us. "Whom the Lord loves he disciplines." You say, I wish God would not love me so much! Well he does, and that's not going to change, and we could feel his love in a much deeper way if we would respond correctly to his discipline.

If we would humble ourselves in our trials, and seek God with all of our heart, even to the point of laying aside many normal activities if need be, then God would reassure us of his love.


6.  There are times when God wants to see a quick and dramatic change in the attitude of his child and that often calls for severe discipline; talking about scourging. That means pain, that means extreme fear, that means any number of things that really grab our attention, and drive us to our knees. That sort of severe chastening is what is meant by God scourging his children. But even those things are done in love, and with a view to our spiritual benefit.

I should also quickly add that trouble in a person's life doesn't necessarily mean that they have done something wrong to deserve it. Much of God's discipline is designed to head off a possible fall in the future, (Paul's thorn). Then there are other times when trials are designed to take us to a deeper level of devotion to God so that we know him in a deeper way, and are able to be used by him more effectivly. In those cases there is no sin involved either, (Job). 

I said all that to say this: when someone is suffering do not automatically conclude that they are a worse sinner then you, or anyone else. In fact our response should always be compassion, not condemnation. God has not called us to chasten; that's his job; he's called Christians to show compassion to other Christians who are suffering.


7,8.  Every Christian is suffering in some way. Every Christian wishes they could change something in their life, and whatever form that something takes is in fact the discipline of God their father.


9.  A child doesn't like it when a parent disciplines them, but that's because they are a child, and they don't know what's good for them. It's the parents job to teach them what's good for them, and then when they get older, as God says here in verse nine, they will respect their parents for loving them enough to train them.

We respect our earthly parents for their efforts at training, and we should also respect God, and appreciate him for allowing unpleasant things into our life in order to train us.


10.  "God chastens as seems best to him", consequently let him decide what difficulties, what disappointments he wants to allow into your life, and how long he wants you to endure them.

By the way, don't waste your time trying to figure out what God is trying to accomplish through your trials. Some Christians are always trying to figure out the "why's". They're always trying to figure things out; let me give you some advice: forget about it! Just respond to trials by drawing closer to God than ever, and he will accomplish what he wants to accomplish, and he will show you what he wants you to know.


11.  God's chastening is a difficult thing to go through, but there are no shortcuts to holiness. There are no easy paths to holiness. However, when we allow pain, and trouble to drive us closer to God he will bring about the holiness that we need in order to experience the joy, peace, and assurance that he wants us to have. That's why James 1:2 says, "my brethren count it all joy when you fall into various trials."

God is an amazing father. God's love for his children is beyond our ability to fully grasp, but we can get a taste of it through his chastening. We get a taste, a glimpse of our father's love for us when in the midst of chastening, when in the midst of the pain and the suffering we turn to him with all of our heart, and seek him like never before. When we do that he comforts us by his spirit, and through his word in a remarkable way. He will comfort us in the midst of our trials, and when he does, he will reassure us that it's all for our benefit, it's all to make us better, and he has done it because he loves us.

When you submit to God's discipline, when you allow it to draw you closer to him, when you allow it to change you, then you will appreciate God's love for you more than you ever thought you possibly could. You will love him more. You will want to serve him more. You will appreciate him more. You will trust him more. And you will only want what he wants in your life because you will know that as your loving heavenly father he knows what is best, and he only wants what is best for you.


Now, in conclusion I leave you with three questions and three answers which will summarize everything we have heard.

Question one: define God's discipline? Answer: anything in your life you do not like.

Question two: how should you not respond to God's discipline? Answer: by complaining or by focusing on those who may be the human element in your trouble. By seeking an explanation as to why the person did the bad thing, or why the trouble has entered your life.

Question three: how should you respond to God's discipline, how should you respond to trouble? Answer: seek God more than ever. Pray more, read the Bible more, go to church more, serve God more, serve others more. In other words, increase every aspect of your commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ. And always remember that Christians are not called to live on explanations, but on promises, especially the promise that God is using bad to bring about a greater good.



12. Many people do not reach their potential, because they lack the mental toughness to press on when it's no longer fun. That's often why people quit on Jesus also. When there is a cost involved, when there is a call for sacrifice, or maybe some persecution they quit on Jesus. They want Jesus as long as everything is easy, but they're not willing to pay a price to follow Christ. 

Christianity is not for quitters.


13.  It's easier to run on a level path than a path that goes uphill. When a Christian allows things in their life that hinders a close walk with Jesus they create an uphill path to holiness.


14a.  We should try to get along with others, but if getting along means you have to disobey God than the price is too high.


14.  True Christians care about holiness, true Christians sometimes still sin, but true Christians repent and confess. True Christians are saved by God's mercy and grace through Jesus Christ but they strive for holiness, and they shall see the Lord, they shall be saved.


15.  Bitterness is unforgiveness times 1000. Bitterness is holding a grudge, and it is a serious sin. God says if we don't forgive others then he will not forgive us.


16.  Esau was the oldest son of Isaac and therefore would have had special rights and privileges after his father died. But one day Esau was hungry, and he sold his birthright to his younger brother Jacob for a bowl of pottage. He sold his future for one, lousy meal. Esau had no self-control; he wanted food now, so he sacrificed a wonderful future to get it.

People do that same sort of thing today: they choose sin and hell over repentance and salvation. But hell is not worth the short term pleasures of any sin; people who make that deal are fools.


17.  Later on Esau wanted the blessings of the firstborn, but it was too late. 

People today reject Christ because they don't want to give up their sin, but after they're dead and burning in hell, crying over their foolish choice, it's too late.


18,19.  When God came down on Mount Sinai there was thunder, lightning, a trumpet blast, and the voice of God was heard giving the the Holy law. The people panicked and asked for it to stop. They asked that God would speak one-on-one to Moses, and that he would pass God's word on to them.


20.  The Israelites couldn't take God's voice; God's voice and his stern warnings made them tremble.


21.  Moses was God's man; he was right with the Lord, and yet he was terrified in his presence. If Moses was terrified in the presence of God how horrible it will be for those who have rejected Christ to stand before him on Judgment Day.


22.  Whenever we Christians pray, worship, or read the word of God, in the spiritual realm, we stand before his throne in heaven, and we can do it with peace instead of fear knowing that Christ has reconciled us to the Father by paying for our sins on the cross.


23.  No Christian lives a perfect life, and yet no one gets into heaven unless they are absolutely morally and spiritually perfect. The good news is that through Jesus Christ God cleanses us so that we can enter into His presence after we die.


24.  The reason God's people were terrified at mount Sinai was because they received God's law, which revealed his standards, but didn't make anyone right with him. The reason Christians in heaven are not terrified is because Jesus has paid for our sins, and made us right with God.


25.  God punished all those who didn't obey the commandments that he gave Moses, and it was bad. But it is much worse, and much more serious to reject the gracious offer of forgiveness  through God's eternal son. It is a deadly mistake to give Jesus the cold shoulder.


26.  When God spoke from Mount Sinai the entire mountain shook so no wonder the people were terrified. But that's nothing, God says he's going to speak again and when he does all of creation, including the earth, the planets, and the stars will shake. The Bible says: at that time people's hearts will be failing them for fear.


27.  One day God will destroy everything he has made, except for people. Those who reject his mercy through Jesus Christ will be sent to hell and there they will remain. Those who receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior will enjoy the new heavens and the new earth, and there they will remain.


28.  Jesus did all the work needed for our salvation on the cross. Our job is to be thankful and worship him out of appreciation. Our job is to live by faith and love God.


29.  God is a consuming fire which means he is the judge. God is the judge who determines where we will spend eternity, and anyone who would presume to approach him by their own supposed righteousness apart from asking Jesus to be their Lord and savior will find themselves consumed by the fire of his wrath.


Chapter 13


13:1.  True Christians should be kind to each other. If we love and serve Jesus Christ, then we should be gracious, helpful, and kind to others who do the same, always remembering that we are not perfect, even as they are not perfect.


2.  Angels are all around us, and every now and then they appear in human form. You better be kind to strangers because they might be an Angel.


3.  Pray for people who are suffering because of their faith in Christ. Help Christians who take a stand for Jesus, who take a stand for the word of God, and suffer in some way because of it.


4.  God has defined marriage: it is between one woman and one man. That arrangement is the one that God commands us to honor. Any other arrangement is a perversion of the institution of marriage. Any sexual activity in any other arrangement is sin.


5.  Put God first and be content with what he gives you. We need money to function in this world, but we need God much more than we need material things, including money.


6.  Fear is a spiritual problem, not a psychological problem. The Bible says: perfect love casts out fear. When we are convinced through the word of God that God loves us with an infinite love, and therefore we trust him we will not be afraid. We will not fear because we know that we are safe in Christ no matter what may come our way.


7.  A man of God who believes the Bible, and therefore proclaims it is an example to all Christians, and should be cared for by those who benefit from his commitment to Christ.


8.  The son of God is the same today as he was billions of years before God created the world, and he will always be the same. You can put your faith in what Jesus says, and in what he's like because he is rocksolid, immovable.


9. The unsaved world thinks that an on fire Christian who believes the Bible is strange, but the world with its twisted morals, priorities, and spiritual beliefs has it backwards. Almighty God defines anyone or anything that is contrary to his word as being strange.

The unsaved world is preoccupied with money and material possessions which the Bible says do not profit them; it's a stupid waste of time which ends in spiritual bankruptcy, and a hot spot in hell. Christians and all people need to be preoccupied with Jesus more than things.


10. The Old Testament priests who offered sacrifices to the Lord were allowed to eat some of the meat that was offered; it was in essence a form of fellowship with God. After Jesus died on the cross those old sacrifices became irrelevant which meant that those who offered them, and ate them were just eating food and no longer had fellowship with the Lord through them.

There's only one way to have fellowship with God today and that is through the sacrifice of Christ. Fellowship with God begins by repentance and receiving Jesus as Lord and Savior.


11.  In the Old Testament the blood of animal sacrifices was brought into the temple before God, and the carcass was disposed of outside the camp.


12.  Like the Old Testament sacrifices which pointed to him, Jesus was crucified outside the city limits of Jerusalem.


13.  In other words: if you're a Christian than live for Jesus, speak the truth, and take your licks from a sinful world that still rejects him.


14.  Never live to please this world, or to fit in with this world which rejects our Savior. The entire world with its godless mindset will be destroyed with the coming of Christ so it is not only wrong to cozy up to it, but it's also foolish.


15.  We can't sacrifice in order to pay for our sins; Jesus already did that for us. Our job as Christians is to praise him for who He is, and for all that he has done. 

God says: offer him a sacrifice of praise. Praise him all the time, which means praise him even when you don't feel like praising; praise him even when it takes extra effort. That is a sacrifice of praise, and it is something that pleases God very much.


16. Like praise, like worship, like going to church, like giving to a ministry that teaches the Bible, being helpful to those who need it is also a spiritual offering to God.


17.  God wants his people to obey their spiritual leaders, if what they declare is scriptural. Spiritual crackpots who think they have a license to command God's people to believe, and do all sorts of unbiblical things should be rejected.


18.  The writer isn't aware of anything in his life that is wrong, but he's humble enough to know that he still needs prayer. If we think that we do not need prayer we are overconfident and full of sinful pride because the Bible teaches that we do.


19.  Something was keeping the writer from visiting these Christians, and whatever that something was he knew it could be removed through prayer.

Some things, even good things, will not be done by God unless we pray for them.


20.  God is the God of peace. The closer we are to him the more peace we will have even when circumstances would suggest we shouldn't have it. God's peace makes a person think: conventional wisdom would say I should be worried, but I'm not.


20,21.  We cannot do God's will unless he equips us, and we cannot do what is pleasing in his sight unless he is working in us. Pray for God to equip you for whatever he wants you to do, and to work through you to make it happen.


22.  In other words, believe everything God has given us in Scripture, accept it, learn from it, and do what it says, or it won't do you any good.


23-25.