Milo

DECEMBER 3

Reading 337

TRIUMPHS OF FAITH Hebrews 11

“These were all commended for their faith” (Heb. 11:39).Faith is more clearly expressed in the way people live than in what they claim to believe.

Overview

The nature and value of faith are revealed (11:1–3) and illustrated in this honor roll of Old Testament saints (vv. 4–40).

Understanding the Text

“Faith is being sure of what we hope for” Heb. 11:1–3. To our society “faith” seems insubstantial: it is persistently holding on to notions that can’t be proven and thus are flimsy and unreal. In Scripture, the reverse is true. Faith is confident expectation that what we cannot see is more solid and real than the material universe. The root of this kind of faith is our conviction that “the universe was formed at God’s command.” God has priority over things we can taste and touch and see and feel. God is more real than they are, because God is the source of their existence. The ancients, and believers today, are commended for such faith. When you and I realize that God is the ultimate reality, and act on this conviction, we have a faith which makes a difference in our life, and will enable us to triumph. Anything less than conviction translated into action falls short of biblical faith. “By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice” Heb. 11:4. Genesis 4 indicates that both Cain and Abel knew God required animal sacrifice. Why else would God speak to Cain after rejecting his sacrifice of fruits and vegetables, saying if he “did well” he could still be accepted? The difference between the two is that Abel responded to God’s word. Only Abel did as the Lord required. This is the first evidence of a true faith. We respond to God’s Word, and choose to do the things that please Him. It’s striking that Abel’s act of faith led directly to his death. His brother’s jealous anger was stimulated by Abel’s obedience. But it is even more striking when Hebrews tells us that by faith Abel “still speaks.” Abel is dead as far is this world is concerned; his body dust. Cain too is long dead. But Abel, pronounced righteous by God on the basis of his faith, “still speaks.” Abel’s faith brought him the gift that faith brings you and me: eternal life. “By faith Enoch was taken from this life” Heb. 11:5–6. Abel exhibited saving faith; and Enoch a faith that holds the believer close to Lord. We know little of Enoch from the Old Testament except that he “walked with God” and after a time “he was no more, because God took him away” (Gen. 5:24). How does the writer know so much about Enoch from such brief mention? Simply by virtue of the fact that Enoch did please God, and “without faith it is impossible to please God.” No one can approach God without faith. It takes faith to believe that God exists when He cannot be seen. And it takes even more faith to believe that God rewards those who seek Him, when rewards so often are delayed. Anyone who walks with God will find his faith tested. When you and I flip a light switch, the light goes on. When you turn the faucet, water flows. Push the “on” button, and your TV screen is filled with flickering pictures. The reward of our actions is immediate, and invariable. But many times you and I pray, and it seems no answer comes. We cry out to God, but our troubles persist. It takes very little faith to expect a light to go on when it always does. It takes much more faith to walk with God. For your belief that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him will be sorely tested again and again. But don’t be discouraged. As each hero in this hall of fame demonstrates, your faith will make a difference in the way you live your life. And in the blessings you enjoy. “By faith Abraham . . . obeyed and went” Heb. 11:8–10. Some people find it almost impossible to take risks. “I’d like to try,” they think, “but what if I failed?” Abraham reminds us that faith frees us to venture confidently into the unknown. Too fearful to pray aloud? Too unsure to express your opinion? Like to try a new job, but frightened to leave the old? Want to share a word of witness, but anxious about how others might react? Faith frees us to step out even when, like Abraham, we don’t know where we are going. How does faith help? Faith reminds us that God, who guides and directs us, also goes with us. We need not fear risks when faith tells us that the Lord is by our side. “They were longing for a better country” Heb. 11:13–16. There is such a thing as heavenly dissatisfaction. The Old Testament saints on this honor roll experienced it. They just didn’t feel at home in this world. Somehow something was lacking. Archeologists have shown that Abraham lived in Ur during a vital and prosperous age. Ur offered luxuries and wealth, and Abraham possessed both. But Abraham wasn’t satisfied, and so set out in search of something better. This is one evidence of a growing faith: we become dissatisfied with the things of the world. We can be thankful for all the good things God has given us. But faith makes us aware that nothing we have is enough to satisfy our deepest needs. The text says that these people were “living by faith when they died.” They never found the completion or fulfillment they searched for. You and I won’t either, for we were created for heaven, not for earth. We too may spend our lives “longing for a better country.” But, through faith, we will spend eternity enjoying it! “By faith Abraham, when God tested him” Heb. 11:17–19. There comes a time in each of our lives when God will test us. And the test will be like that of Abraham, when God demanded he sacrifice his son, Isaac. This is the test of full surrender. It is the test that calls on us to give up our heart’s desire, because God asks us to. Only a unique faith will enable us to do this, and to surrender all. What is that unique faith? The Old Testament text tells us that when Abraham went up to Mount Moriah to offer Isaac, he told his servants to wait, saying that “the lad and I” will return. Hebrews explains. Abraham had been promised descendants through Isaac. Abraham was so thoroughly convinced God would keep His promise that he believed God would raise Isaac from the dead if that was necessary. God has promised us His very best. He has assured us that all things work together for the good of those who love Him. We are able to surrender all when we have the faith to believe that, if God asks it, renouncing our heart’s desire is both right and good. How close Abraham must have been to God, to trust Him so. Let us stay close to the Lord too, that we too might have a faith that surrenders all. “By faith Moses” Heb. 11:24–28. Moses’ life too exhibits faith. As the “son of Pharaoh’s daughter” Moses was in line for the throne of Egypt, or at the least high position in that affluent land. No pleasure would have been denied him. Yet Moses spurned the “pleasures of sin” and chose to identify himself with God’s people, even though they were then a race of slaves. Let’s identify ourselves with God’s people too, no matter how popular it may be to ridicule the “born again.” Disgrace for the sake of Christ still has higher value than all the treasures of this world. “By faith the prostitute Rahab” Heb. 11:31. Faith rules no one out, but draws a great circle that encompasses all. Whatever our past, faith opens the door to relationship with God and a new, righteous life. “God had planned something better for us” Heb. 11:32–40. Faith does not guarantee anyone a life free of stress or pain. Many over the millennia have suffered and even died for their faith. Yet faith won for each the commendation of God. Faith wins even more for you and me. The Old Testament saints looked forward to a salvation they could not understand. We look back to a salvation assured by Calvary. And through the Spirit of God we enjoy a relationship with the Lord which can be more real to us than to the Old Testament saints.

DEVOTIONAL

Earthquake Zone(Heb. 11:1–7)

A sports columnist, reporting from San Fransisco on an upcoming football game between the 49ers and another team, wrote of the silence. That city, usually bursting with tourists, was all but deserted. The earthquake that struck in October 1989 frightened visitors away. What’s surprising was that it seemingly hadn’t shaken many residents. Throughout California millions continue to live along earthquake fault lines, with never a thought of moving to avoid the devasting tremors that they must know will certainly come. This was what made Noah such an unusual person, and a rightful recipient of God’s commendation. Noah had never even seen rain, for in his day springs watered the earth (Gen. 2:6). But when God announced that a great Flood would destroy life on earth, Noah built the ark in which his family and animal life were preserved. The Hebrews 11 honor roll has helped us define faith. Faith views God as more real than the material universe He created (vv. 1–3). Faith saves, for Abel “still speaks” even though his body is long dead (v. 4). Faith enables us to walk with God, even when visible rewards of seeking Him are delayed (vv. 5–6). But now the writer contrasts the wisdom of faith with the foolishness of unbelief. Noah took God’s warning of an utterly unknown danger seriously. In “holy fear” he acted on it. Noah had never experienced floods or rainfall. But he believed God when he was warned. His response “condemned the world,” in that his faith exposed the utter unbelief of those whom Noah continually warned while he and his family labored on the ark (cf. 1 Peter 3:20). What a stunning portrait of today. The Gospel shouts out the Good News that in Christ we can be saved from coming judgment. Those with faith respond with “holy fear,” and hurry to Christ for refuge. But the unbeliever scoffs, and continues to ignore warning of imminent disaster. The fact that so many choose to stay on in California’s earthquake zones reminds us how unreal the future is for most human beings. Most of us live as though today were everything, and tomorrow unreal. But Scripture tells us that there, just over the horizon of tomorrow, a juggernaught of judgment waits. It is unwise to live on a fault line in an earthquake zone. But it is utterly foolish to remain outside of Christ, exposed to the judgment that most surely will come.

Personal Application

Tomorrow is real. Take it into account as you live today.

Quotable

“We should all be concerned about the future because we will have to spend the rest of our lives there.”—Charles F. Kettering

DECEMBER 2

Reading 336

A PERFECT SACRIFICE Hebrews 10

“When this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God” (Heb. 10:13).Christ’s work is completed in heaven. But it continues in you and me.

Overview

Repeated Old Testament sacrifices could not perfect worshipers (10:1–7), but we are made holy by the completed sacrifice of Jesus (vv. 8–18). We must hold firmly to our hope in Christ (vv. 19–25), resist deliberate sin (vv. 26–31), and persevere in doing good till Jesus comes (vv. 32–39).

Understanding the Text

“Make perfect those who draw near to worship” Heb. 10:1–7. A critical question for any religion is not what it asks you to do, but what it does in you. Even Old Testament faith, with all its required sacrifices, only covered the sins of worshipers. The repeated sacrifices of the Old Testament could not make anyone perfect. This was the one, devastating flaw in that system. And so Christ came, to do God’s will, and offer up Himself as a perfecting sacrifice. My youngest son was remarking yesterday that the Sunday School teacher of his singles’ class has the notion that if a person is a true Christian, he’ll stop sinning, and never even slip. To him any deviation from the ideal is evidence the person was never saved. That is an oversimplification. Any living, growing thing requires time to mature. The spiritually immature, like the physically immature, have a tendency to do things that a mature adult never would. And even the mature make choices at times that are not just unwise, but wrong. Even so, Christ came to make a specific difference within worshipers. His was a perfecting sacrifice, for He came to perfect us: to make us suitable within and without to worship the holy God. There is nothing we can do to repay God for the gift of His Son. But the least we can do is open our hearts to His Spirit, and live that changed life which is appropriate for worshipers of Jesus Christ. “We have been made holy through the sacrifice . . . of Jesus Christ once for all” Heb. 10:8–10. Holiness is a somewhat frightening concept. Until we remember that “holy” has the basic meaning of being set apart to God, and that holiness has two primary aspects. The ceremonial aspect, so important in Old Testament worship, has now been dismissed as irrelevant. What is left is the personal dimension of holiness: a dynamic moral quality of active goodness that characterizes God Himself. What the writer of Hebrews tells us is that God in Christ has acted to set us apart as His own. But if we are to be God’s, we must be holy too. And so God has infused something of Himself within us. Jesus died that we, like God, might be energetically good. Not passively good, in the sense of just refraining from evil. But actively good, in the sense of expressing in this world the compassion and love that marked Jesus in His incarnation. The most important thing that you or I can do in life, recognizing that we are holy, is to be holy. “He sat down at the right hand of God” Heb. 10:11–14. The Old Testament priest always stood as he ministered. The fact that Jesus sat down after He offered Himself as a sacrifice indicates that His work was done. There were no more sacrifices to offer. Jesus “made perfect forever those who are being made holy.” Through Christ’s death you and I have been perfected. And we are being made holy. We are in the process of becoming what we are. This is an exciting truth. You can pick up an acorn, hold it in your hand, and know for sure that if it is planted a mighty oak will grow. That acorn won’t become a reed, or a stalk of corn, or a geranium. It will become an oak, for though it looks very different from a mature tree, it is an oak, and in time will become one. You and I may look very different from Jesus today. Yet God has placed Christ’s own nature in us. We are Christian now, and in time we will be Christian. We are holy now, and in time we will be holy. Some fat folks post pictures of themselves on the refrigerator, to remind themselves of how they look. It usually just makes them feel bad, and doesn’t help at all. How much better God’s way is. He posts His portrait of the ideal “you” in your heart, and tells you to act like the person you are. As we act in harmony with the vision of our ideal self, that is what you and I become. Never let yourself be discouraged about the slowness of your spiritual growth. God sees you perfected, standing in His presence with a character like that of His own Son. This is who you are—and it is who you most certainly will become. No wonder the passage says that those “He has made perfect forever” are even now “being made holy.” “This is the covenant” Heb. 10:15–16. Use any word you want. Use pledge, promise, bond, compact, contract, agreement, deal, pact, pledge, treaty, or oath. Use any of these words, or any other, to convince yourself that you truly have been forgiven, and that God no longer remembers your sins or lawless acts. Convince yourself that your past no longer stands between you and God. Once you are convinced, you’ll be able to stop worrying about your past, and dedicate your future to serving God as the holy person you are. “He who promised is faithful” Heb. 10:19–23. When I was a young teen I plowed with a handheld plow pulled by a team of horses. At first I made ragged, twisting furrows as I struggled to hold the plow steady. Then my dad showed me that to plow a straight furrow, I needed to stop looking at the ground ahead of me, to fix my eyes on a pair of landmarks, and keep them lined up as I moved across the field. We have landmarks to guide us as we approach God. We see Jesus, our cleansing sacrifice. And we see Jesus standing before God’s throne, our High Priest. When we hold unswervingly to the hope this provides, we will “have confidence to enter the most holy place” at any time. “Spur one another on to love and good deeds” Heb. 10:24–25. The classic American is John Wayne as Rooster Cogburn, riding alone toward his foes, guns blazing. The rugged individualist attracts us, and serves as a cultural ideal. It may be American, but it’s not Christian. We don’t achieve holiness alone, rushing in rugged defiance toward our enemies of sin, Satan, and temptation. We achieve holiness as we share our lives with others, give and receive encouragement, spurring one another on to love and to good deeds. Don’t try it alone. God has given us Christ’s church for support and assistance. And He intends us to keep on meeting with others throughout our whole life. “If we deliberately keep on sinning” Heb. 10:26–31. This part of the third major warning found in Hebrews (vv. 19–39) is based on the writer’s presentation of Jesus as the perfect sacrifice. It is a warning addressed to those considering a return to Judaism. Under the old system, individual sacrifices could be made for unintentional sins, but the only sacrifice for deliberate sins was that offered on the Day of Atonement by the high priest. But the writer has shown that even those sacrifices were ineffective, while the one sacrifice by Jesus of His own blood perfected His worshippers, and thus never needs repeating. If those who rejected Moses’ Law were stoned, the writer asked, what do you think a person who treats the blood of God’s own Son with contempt (v. 29) deserves? There’s a thought in this for us. Whenever we feel uncertain, or inclined to doubt our ability to live a holy life, let’s remember that Christ died to make just this possible. Surely He did not shed His blood in vain. Surely you and I will find the strength to live as God desires.

DEVOTIONAL

How Do Holy People Live?(Heb. 10:19–39)

That word “holy” keeps popping up in Hebrews. Christ has cleansed us from sin, and made us holy. His sacrifice has perfected us forever, and we “are being made holy” (v. 14). That’s great. But it doesn’t help unless we can visualize how holy people live. Here’s a checklist with some characteristics of holy people, drawn from verses 19–39. * Holy people draw near to God in full assurance of faith (v. 19). * Holy people hold unswervingly to the hope Christians profess (v. 23). * Holy people spur each other on to love and good deeds (v. 24). * Holy people meet together regularly to encourage one another in the faith (v. 25). * Holy people don’t sin deliberately (v. 26). * Holy people are willing to suffer insult and persecution when these are offered (v. 33). * Holy people stand by those who are mistreated (v. 33). * Holy people accept confiscation of their property, without throwing away their confidence (vv. 34–35). * Holy people simply try to do the will of God, deeming this the most important thing in this present life (v. 36). * Holy people joyfully expect Jesus to come in just a little while, and are satisfied to wait for rewards until then (vv. 36–39). That doesn’t seem so hard, does it? Not for those cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ.

Personal Application

Set out to be holy because you are holy.

Quotable

“Practical holiness is the only holiness of any value in this world, and the only kind the Holy Spirit of God will endorse.”—Oswald Chambers

DECEMBER 1

Reading 335

THE BLOOD OF CHRIST Hebrews 9

“How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God” (Heb. 9:14).Once cleansed, we can serve.

Overview

The focus of Old Testament worship was the blood sacrifice offered on the Day of Atonement (9:1–7), though that repeated sacrifice was unable to cleanse worshipers (vv. 8–10). Christ’s blood, however, cleanses us and brings us forgiveness (vv. 11–22). His one sacrifice brings full salvation (vv. 23–28).

Understanding the Text

“An earthly sanctuary” Heb. 9:1–6. Earlier the writer noted that the tabernacle on earth was a “copy and shadow” of heavenly realities (8:5). Here he suggested that the whole thing was designed with a single focus. The tabernacle was a setting in which the priests might perform their ministries. The most important thing in life is our relationship with God. Establishing and maintaining relationship with God is to be the focus of our efforts as well. “Only the high priest entered the inner room” Heb. 9:7–10. The tabernacle and temple were designed to portray a staged approach to God. An Israelite might enter the outer court, bringing an offering for a priest to sacrifice. An ordinary priest might enter the first room of the structure inside the court. But only the high priest, and that once a year, could enter the inner room of the house of worship, where God’s presence was deemed to rest. This staged entry conveyed a significant message. Though the people of Israel were God’s chosen people, they were not yet cleansed from sin. They had no direct, personal access to God. Even the high priest could not enter the inner room without sacrificial blood, which provided a temporary and symbolic cleansing for him as well as for the people. How different it is for you and me. Through Christ, our High Priest, we have direct access to God—at any time! At any moment in your life you can tune your heart to the Lord, and know that in that moment He is giving full and immediate attention to your need. Hebrews 4:16 assures us that we can come to the throne of grace with confidence—even if we need mercy because we have slipped and sinned! And surely we can come to find grace to help and strengthen us when we feel pressure or have any need. What a privilege it is, to rush unhesitatingly into the presence of God, absolutely sure that He welcomes us! “By His own blood” Heb. 9:11–12. Throughout Scripture blood has unique significance. Blood was shed to provide the animal skins that covered the nakedness of Adam and Eve, for the sacrifices mentioned in Genesis, and in the sacrifices ordained in Old Testament Law. Blood was so significant that God’s people were forbidden to eat or drink it, for Leviticus 17:11 said, “The life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement.” Blood not only represents life, but life poured out in sacrifice. Even more significantly, the blood of Old Testament sacrifices prefigured the ultimate sacrifice to come. The blood that permitted the Israelite to approach God was a vivid metaphor of the blood that would one day be poured out on Calvary; a picture promise of the full redemption to come. Blood. Life, poured out in sacrifice. This is the source, and the promise, of the eternal redemption obtained for us by Jesus Christ. Hebrews reminds us that Old Testament Law required “that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” (vv. 16–22). Here an Old Testament priest sprinkles the blood of a sacrificial animal on the horns and at the base of the altar. “The blood of Christ [will] cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death” Heb. 9:14. Each of us, if we look back into our pasts, can easily locate incidents over which we feel both guilt and shame. Such incidents lodge themselves in the human conscience. Lodged there, they have a terrible impact on our present. They remind us of our failures, and so keep us from stepping out to try again. They create a sense of dread and fear of God, who we feel must punish us. At best they lead to frantic self-effort as we try to make up for our past by doing better in the future—effort which can only lead us farther away from a God who insists we abandon self-effort in favor of faith. But the writer of Hebrews tells us that the blood of Christ cleanses the conscience. All the guilt, all the shame, all the scars caused by our sins, is washed away by the forgiveness that flowed with the blood which poured from our Lord. In the blood of Christ we hear the message, “I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more” (8:12). When we claim forgiveness by faith, our conscience is purged and cleansed. And with a cleansed conscience, we are at last enabled to “serve the living God.” Perhaps you’ve seen a child’s motorized toy, with its steering wheel fixed, going round and round in a circle. It cannot break out of that circular path. Its direction is fixed. We were like this before Jesus cleansed us. Sin and guilt had fixed the pattern of our lives. Then forgiveness came and filled in the rut which guilt had worn in our personalities. With that cleansing also comes enablement. Our lives change direction. We begin to move toward the goal of righteousness, and as we move, we experience freedom and joy. Don’t live on in the grip of past guilt. Accept God’s Word that the blood of Christ has wiped out your past, and let the Holy Spirit make this real to you. Freed from the grip of your past, you can look ahead with joy, confident that God will enable you to serve Him well.

DEVOTIONAL

Once, for All(Heb. 9:23–28)

“Back on the machine, dearie.” The nurse’s voice was cheerful. But even though it was only the machine that kept him alive, he dreaded going into the white, antiseptic-smelling room again. The kidney dialysis machine that kept him alive also reminded him of his fatal illness. He was not free, but bound to return to the machine that purified his blood again and again. Away from it, his sickness quickly took grim hold on his body, and sapped all his strength. That’s just what Hebrews 9 says about the Old Testament system (vv. 6–9). The fact that the sacrifices of atonement had to be constantly repeated meant that the patients were not cured! Sin kept its grip on them, and they were only maintained in fellowship with God by repeated applications of sacrificial blood. The writer of Hebrews shouted the news. Christ “appeared once for all at the end the ages to do away with sin.” In Christ and by His one sacrifice, we are cured. We stand forgiven, cleansed. Possessors of a new and endless life, we are equipped to love and serve our God. The repeated sacrifices of the Old Testament system reminded worshipers of their continuing desperate condition. The one sacrifice of Christ reminds us of His total victory. Don’t let yourself be dragged back into sin by the weight of your past. Because of Jesus, the past has no hold on you anymore! Consider: The blood of Christ has cleansed you from all sin! By one sacrifice Jesus has made you well, and guaranteed victory! We are the lame, called to leap and dance. We are the blind, called to see. We are the deaf who now hear. By the once for all sacrifice of Jesus, we are forgiven, made well, and called to face life rejoicing in the assurance that the victory we need has already been won!

Personal Application

Let Christ’s one sacrifice free you to live confidently, and joyously.

Quotable

“One Sunday it happened that St. John could not be at church with his friends, for like Elisha, like Jesus, he was taken by the armed men, and held in prison. But God consoled him with a vision: he saw the Christian sacrament that morning not as men see it, but as it is seen in heaven. His spirit went up; he saw the throne of Glory, and the four Cherubim full of eyes in every part, who sleep not, saying Holy, Holy, Holy. And he saw the sacrifice, the Lamb of God: a Lamb standing as though slaughtered; a Lamb alone worthy to open for mankind the blessed promises of God. He saw the Lamb, and then the angels. I saw, he says, and heard the voice of many angels around about the Throne, the number of them ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands: saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive the power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing. That is the Christian eucharist. Certainly when we gather here, those that are with us are more than those who stand upon the opposing side. For all heaven is with us when once we lift our hearts up to the Lord, and praise the everlasting Love, the One God in three Persons. Father, Son, and Holy Ghost: to whom is ascribed, as is most justly due, all might, dominion, majesty and power, henceforth and forever.”—Austin Farrer

NOVEMBER 30

Reading 334

A BETTER COVENANT Hebrews 7–8

“The ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which He is made Mediator is superior to the old one, and it is founded on better promises” (Heb. 8:6).Because of Jesus, God remembers our sins no more.

Overview

Christ is no levitical priest; His priesthood is of a totally different order (7:1–11). Thus every element of the Mosaic system is also replaced: its ineffective Law (vv. 12–19), its mortal priesthood (vv. 21–28), its inadequate gifts and sacrifices (8:1–6). Christ has instituted the promised New Covenant, which brings forgiveness and renewal to all who believe (vv. 7–13).

Understanding the Text

“This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High” Heb. 7:1. Hebrews 6:20 says Jesus is a High Priest in the “order of Melchizedek.” His priesthood was traced to Melchizedek, not to Aaron. Even before explaining the implications, the writer took pains to show the Melchizedekian priesthood is greater than Aaronic. This man, who appears briefly in the Old Testament account of Abraham’s life (Gen. 14:18–21), was a king (Heb. 7:2). Since no mention is made of his birth or death in the Old Testament, he appears in Scripture as a “priest forever” (v. 3). Since Abraham, the ancestor of Aaron, paid tithes to Melchizedek, the implication is that Aaron, in the person of his forefather, conceded his superiority (vv. 4–10). Even today a person’s family name has significance. That’s one reason why a Japanese firm recently bought a controlling interest in a Rockefeller holding company. With it, they purchased the right to use the name “Rockefeller” in their marketing! The family line—the name of the person to whom one’s identity can be traced—was particularly significant in Judaism. And thus the writer took great pains to show that Jesus’ priesthood is not Aaronic, but can be traced back to a more ancient and honorable name. For us the name to which we trace our identity is Jesus Christ. We hold up that name whenever we identify ourselves as Christians. Because Christ’s name is so honorable, it is vital that everything we do makes it shine even brighter. And that nothing we do tarnishes a single letter. “When there is a change of the priesthood, there must also be a change of the law” Heb. 7:11–17. The argument may seem obscure to us, but was very clear to the first-century Jewish reader. The Law given by Moses was a carefully designed system that governed the whole of the believer’s relationship with God and with others. The priesthood was an integral part of that system: it was designed for the system, and the system was designed for it. If the priesthood changed, then everything else in the Old Testament system was affected. Compare the motor of your car. If the transmission is a certain size, it is because it was made to fit the size and the engine of the model car you drive. If you change the transmission size, it’s clear you have to change vehicles if it is to fit. Hebrews tells us that God has provided a whole new vehicle in which we who believe in Christ travel now with Him. The old model, that of Old Testament Law, is obsolete. With the change in priesthood, everything has changed. This is to be true of our lives as well. When Jesus enters our lives, everything changes—and is to change. We can’t go on the way we have been. Jesus’ own “indestructible life” is ours. We must learn to make everything harmonize with Jesus, who has entered our life to make us fresh, holy, and new. “The Law made nothing perfect” Heb. 7:18–19. The loss of the Law was no disaster, for it was “weak and useless.” Here again the writer included the whole system, with its code of conduct, its priesthood, its sacrifices, and its worship. The Old Testament system did not succeed in making men better, or bringing them closer to God. This is something for us to remember. Rules and regulations are no help if we want to draw near to God. What counts is the work Jesus has done for us on the cross. And the work Christ is still doing as High Priest, dispensing both mercy and grace to help us in our time of need (4:16). “Jesus lives forever” Heb. 7:20–25. The quote from Psalm 110:4 makes a vital point. God provided us a Priest who could guarantee us salvation, for He made an oath that “You are a Priest forever.” Only in someone who lives forever could this promise be realized. And only God the Son, Jesus, who does live on, could have a permanent priesthood. What does the permanent priesthood mean to us? The other day I read of a legal battle going on to break a will. There’s a good chance that the deceased’s plans to disburse his estate will not be carried out. The resurrection of Jesus to the role of High Priest tells us that God guarantees that the purposes He had in mind in Christ’s death will be fulfilled. Jesus died to make heaven’s riches ours. And He rose from the dead to supervise the distribution of those riches Himself! No wonder the writer said that “He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him.” His living presence certifies that all we need to guarantee our salvation will be provided by Him. And note that “save completely.” We are not just saved by Jesus from punishment for our sins. We are being saved from sin’s insidious control of our thoughts and actions daily. Jesus is the source of our forgiveness, and the source of our transformation as well. “He sacrificed for their sins once for all when He offered Himself” Heb. 7:26–28. With the change in the priesthood all the elements of the Old Testament system were replaced. The inadequate sacrifices of the old system were replaced by Jesus’ sacrifice of Himself for our sins.

DEVOTIONAL

New!(Heb. 8:7–13)

Advertising Age pointed out long ago that the two most attractive things a seller can say about his product are “New!” and “Free!” But that’s not always the case. I have a six-year-old van, with about 70,000 miles on it. I don’t want a new one. I plan to keep this one till it runs up at least 300,000 miles. Why get something new if what you have works perfectly well? Yet that’s just the point the writer was making in Hebrews 8. The old system of Law didn’t work (vv. 7, 9, 13). The covenant made by Moses, called the Old Covenant here, was “obsolete and aging” almost before it was given. What makes the New Covenant God has made with us in Christ superior? Two things. It provides complete and full forgiveness for all our wicked acts (v. 12). Because Christ has paid for our sins, God is no longer obligated to “remember”—in the sense of punish—our sins. And, the New Covenant operates to “put My laws in their minds, and write them on their hearts.” The Old Covenant engraved standards that human beings proved unable to meet on tablets of stone. The New Covenent engraves the desire to please God in our inmost being, and moves us to do the very things Law demanded, but could not produce. When it comes to faith, “New!” truly is a sell word. Those who have tried everything else, and failed to become the kind of person they, and God, want them to be, can turn to Jesus and find themselves forgiven and renewed. And, in case you didn’t notice, the other sell word applies too. The salvation offered us in Christ, costs us nothing. Hebrews 8:1–6 reminds us that everything in the Old Testament system had significance, but that the significance was primarily symbolic. The gifts and offerings made by Old Testament priests were vivid illustrations of what Jesus would do in the heavenly sanctuary of which the earthly tabernacle and temple were merely “copies and shadows.” Christ is the reality, and His work has won us a full salvation.

Personal Application

The best advertisement for Christianity is the new and improved Christian.

Quotable

“We ought to be Christians in large type, so that it would not be necessary for others to be long in our society, or to regard us through spectacles, in order to detect our true discipleship. The message of our lives should resemble the big advertisements which can be read on the street by all who pass by.”—F.B. Meyer

NOVEMBER 29

Reading 333

OUR HIGH PRIEST Hebrews 4:14–6:20

“Every high priest is selected from among men and is appointed to represent them in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins” (Heb. 5:1).With Jesus as our High Priest, we can approach God’s throne with confidence.

Overview

Having Jesus as High Priest guarantees our welcome by God (4:14–16), for Jesus, who God appointed to represent us (5:1–6), is also the source of our salvation (vv. 7–10). To reach maturity we must build on this foundation (v. 11–6:3), which cannot be laid again (vv. 4–6). Rooted in faith, we will produce the fruit that accompanies salvation (vv. 7–12), resting on the unbreakable promises God has made to us in Jesus Christ (vv. 13–20).

Understanding the Text

“Tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin” Heb. 4:14–16. “But you don’t understand,” are perhaps the most common words a pastor or Christian counselor is likely to hear. Each of us has a tendency to think that our troubles, our temptations, are unique. They’re not. Each human being is tempted through the same avenues—through relationships with others, through vulnerability to pain, through pressures beyond his or her control, etc. It’s true that not everyone knows the pain of rejection by a spouse bent on divorce. But even our nine-year-old knows the pain of rejection by a best friend, who over a misunderstanding takes off her half of their “best friend’s necklace,” covers her ears with her hands, and says, “I’ll never talk to you again.” That’s what the writer tells us about Jesus. In His humanity Christ experienced every kind of temptation—every vulnerability of mankind. He felt the pain of rejection, the pangs of hunger, the hostility of the crowds, the fear of His coming death. And because He knows exactly how painful it is to be a human being, He is able to “sympathize with our weaknesses.” Think about this next time you’re hurting. Think about Jesus the Man; remember how completely He understands. Then, without hesitation, come confidently to the throne, where God dispenses grace, and receive the mercy and help He is so eager to pour out on you. “Every high priest” Heb. 5:1–10. The writer continued to develop the theme of Jesus’ humanity, to show how it relates to His priesthood. No angel could serve as high priest, for no angel could understand our weaknesses and “deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray” (v. 2). It takes a human being, aware of human weaknesses, to be sensitive to humanity’s needs and so represent us before God. What a wonder this is. Jesus came to know the anguish of vulnerability. Jesus, approaching the cross, “offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears.” One of the Gospel writers tells us that His agony was so great He sweat drops of blood. Oh, yes. Jesus understands us, far better than we understand our own weakness. He resisted every temptation, and so experienced man’s weakness to the full. The thought here is important. Suppose two friends go on a diet. The first day each becomes hungry, and one says, “I’ve got to have a candy bar!” And he eats. The other says, “I’ve got to have some candy too—but I won’t.” Instead he stays faithful to the diet for six weeks. Which one, do you suppose, really understands hunger and a yearning for food? The one who surrendered to his hunger the first day, or the one who lived with his hunger for six weeks? This is what the text is saying about Jesus. He understands our weaknesses, because He never gave in to them! Jesus lived, day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year, with all our vulnerabilities, and never once surrendered to them. And in this process He was “made perfect” as our Saviour. Not that there was any change in His essential nature as God. He was “made perfect” in the sense of being fully equipped by suffering to sympathize with us, for by suffering He learned what it means to be human. Because our High Priest became a man and lived as a man among us, He is able to “deal gently” with us who are so ignorant and so prone to go astray. Jesus understands our weakness. He does not condemn. He saves. And Jesus cares. “By constant use have trained themselves to distinguish” Heb. 5:11–14. The writer seemed more than a little upset that his readers had not realized what a wonderful High Priest we have in Jesus, and gone on to maturity. He expressed his annoyance. But he also shared the key to maturity. We become mature by constantly using the truth God has revealed to distinguish good from evil. Don’t mistake possessing information for maturity. The ability to quote long passages of Scripture or to argue theology is meaningless. What brings a believer to maturity is the conscious effort to distinguish between good and evil on criterion established by God’s Word. The difference between “milk” and “meat” is not a difference between a superficial and comprehensive knowledge of Christian doctrine. It is not a difference between a little knowledge and a lot. The difference is found in the way we process Scripture. To those who hear but do not apply Scripture, the truths they know are milk. But to those who hear and do apply the Word of God, the same truths become solid, sustaining meat. “Let us go on to maturity” Heb. 6:1–6. It’s important to notice that this famous warning passage in Hebrews is concerned with maturity rather than salvation. Some have become deeply concerned that they might “fall away” from salvation, and be unable to be “brought back to repentance.” However, as the whole section from 5:11–6:12 deals with maturity, it’s best not to assume the writer suddenly shifted in mid-thought to a different topic. What then is the passage saying? First, that the foundation on which we build our lives has already been laid in Christ. When we trust Him, our great High Priest, we are already on the foundation. Now we need to build on it—not lay it again. The image that I keep seeing is that of a terrified person stretched out on a solid cement slab laid on solid rock. He’s digging in his fingernails and holding on for dear life, terrified that he’ll fall off the foundation. The problem is, since he’s just laying there holding on, the rest of the house isn’t going up! The wood for the frame and the trusses for the roof are sitting there on the ground, but nothing can be done as long as the man lies there, clutching the foundation as if his life depended on it. Our relationship with God through Jesus is not like that! In Christ God has laid a foundation on which we are secure. Rather than devoting all our energy to holding on, we’re to devote our energy to building on the foundation God has laid. Once we realize how safe we are, we can step out in joyous faith and go on to maturity. “Crucifying the Son of God all over again” Heb. 6:4–6. The issues of death, faith, and resurrection have all been resolved in the death of Christ. The problem with the panicky people the author addressed here was that they hadn’t thought through what uncertainty about their relationship with God implied. So the writer, with more than a hint of sarcasm, asked a hypothetical question. We can see it clearly in this paraphrase of these critical verses. What would you want to do? View your failure as a falling away of God, so access is lost? How then would you ever be restored—you who have been enlightened, tasted the heavenly gift, shared in the Holy Spirit, and known the flow of resurrection power? Do you want to crucify Jesus all over again, and through a new sacrifice be brought back to repentance? How impossible! What a disgrace, this hint that Jesus’ work for you was not enough. Thank God, Jesus’ work as our High Priest was enough. And we are secure in Him. “We are confident of better things in your case” Heb. 6:7–12. The writer shifted images from construction to agriculture. God wants us to produce a useful crop. And, because of our relationship with Jesus, we will! Good things do accompany salvation: things like work and love shown toward God, and help offered to His people. These are the things we should concentrate on. We need not be anxious about our salvation. We can put all our energy into serving God and others.

DEVOTIONAL

God Doesn’t Lie(Heb. 6:13–20)

I like the familiar saying. I’ve even seen it on bumper stickers. “God Said It. I Believe It. That Settles It.” Of course, for some people, that doesn’t settle it. That was the problem with some of the folks the Letter of Hebrews is addressed to. And so the writer invented his own bumper sticker. God promised. God swore He’d keep His promise. And that settles it for sure. It’s not just that God, who doesn’t lie, has promised to bless us. God sealed His promise with an oath, executed in the blood of His one and only Son. God wouldn’t lie in the first place. But God would never, ever, consider violating an oath that He made at such unimaginable cost. Why did God take such pains to confirm His promise? Because He knew how vulnerable we are to fear and doubt. He knew how weak our faith becomes at times. And so, not because He needed to, but as an anchor for the hope we have in Christ, God promised, and He swore His oath—to reassure us. What a gracious God we have. And how little cause we have to doubt Him. What God has promised us in Christ is ours. In Jesus we have “an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.”

Personal Application

Don’t rely on your ability to keep on believing. Rely on God’s ability to keep His promises.

Quotable

“Faith is a living, daring confidence in God’s grace. It is so sure and certain that a man could stake his life on it a thousand times.”—Martin Luther