Hebrews 3:1-2

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1 Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest. 2 He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house. ~ Hebrews 3:1-2

Today, we make our transition into Hebrews 3. The book of Hebrews was written to a group of believers who had come out of Judaism. They had been born again and had become followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. And, as a result, they were learning to live with having been rejected by their own people and thrown out of their Jewish culture. In addition, they were being regularly persecuted relentlessly. Given all of this, their faith was very weak and they tended to lapse into the rituals of Judaism. They were fighting religion and struggling to enjoy their newfound relationship with God.

In v.1 of today's passage we read, "Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest."

In every passage in the book of Hebrews, the theme is always the absolute supremacy of Christ. The believer in Christ need nothing in addition to Jesus Christ for salvation, including our justification and sanctification. The pattern of this book is we are always brought back to the sufficiency of Christ., in spite of our insufficiency. This is most important because we will fail in our walk with the Lord.

Hebrews 3:1 sums up the whole book with the words "fix your thoughts on Jesus."

We have already seen the Lord Jesus is superior to the prophets in Hebrews 1, and we have already seen in Hebrews 2, He is superior to the angels. Now, in Hebrews 3, we shall see the Lord Jesus is superior to Moses. And, yet again, we are admonished to focus on the Lord Jesus, not ourselves.

Although we did not come out of Judaism, like the first recipients of this book, we do find ourselves very often lured into believing that our good works earn or maintain the favor of God. And while we accept God’s free grace complete in Christ, we kind of hang on to an artificial kind of legalism rather than live the positive Christ-controlled, spirit-energized life the Lord Jesus died to give us. 

The statement "holy brothers and sisters" in v.1 is very instructive. We are brothers and sisters with Christ, due to the fact that we have received Him as our Savior. We are brothers and sisters of the Lord Jesus by position because we are partakers of a heavenly kind of existence. Subsequently, we are sharers in the very presence of Christ. And, since we have received the very presence of God into our lives, we focus on His presence on a daily basis. Focusing on His presence in our lives is a large piece to the relationship we have with God. The actuality of this relationship means we do not need religion or the rituals which come along with the religion. No, we need Him because He is the answer.

The word "consider" in v.1 of today's text means "to gaze intently" on the Lord Jesus. The reason we are weak and worried, is we really do not know the depths or the riches that are afforded us in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus said, "Learn of me." He did not say, "Learn about me." This is why we are exhorted here to fix our attention on Him. It's a relationship.

Then, at the end of v.1, the writer of Hebrews reminds us the Lord Jesus is "our apostle and high priest." "Apostle" means "one who is sent." So the Lord Jesus is the one sent from God to earth with the revelation of His heavenly calling. "High priest" means the Lord Jesus is the go-between, who offered Himself as a sacrifice so that there can be reconciliation and communion and relationship between God and man. The Lord Jesus was the one who built the bridge from God to man. In fact, He is the only bridge to God. Our goodness factors not into the equation. The Lord Jesus came because there was no stairway to heaven. The Lord Jesus is the bridge divine.

In v.2 of today's text we read, "He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house."

Here, the Lord draws a comparison between Moses and the Lord Jesus. The comparison is they were both faithful to God. Moses carried out faithfully God’s plan. He came out of Egypt, into the wilderness, and while there, God refined Moses. It took 40 years for God to change Moses from the inside out. Then God used Moses to lead the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt to the promised land. Though there were times when Moses was unfaithful, for the most part Moses was faithful. 

In somewhat of a comparison, the Lord Jesus was faithful for He always did the father’s will. To be "faithful" here brings understanding to what faith looks like throughout the rest of the book of Hebrews. In John 6:38, the Lord Jesus said, "For I came down from heaven not to do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent me. And this is the Father’s will who has sent me: That of all that He has given me, I should lose nothing but should raise it up at the last day."

When we trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, we shared, once and for all, in His faithfulness. Faith in Christ means entrusting ourselves to the person of the gospel, who through His cross delivered us from the penalty of our sin. Without the faithfulness of Christ, there would be no point to our faith in Him. In John 13:1 we read, "Having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end."  Oh, the blessed assurance of the Lord Jesus' faithfulness to the hardest task ever known. It was His faithfulness that led Him to lay down His life for His friends.

I close with a quote from Charles Spurgeon, "The glory of God’s faithfulness is that no sin of ours has ever made Him unfaithful."

Hebrews 2:14-18

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14 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— 15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. 16 For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. 17 For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. 18 Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. ~ Hebrews 2:14-18

Today, we complete our study of Hebrews 2 where we have been considering the fact that when the Lord Jesus died on the cross, He procured the right of the believer to be accepted into the family of God. This ultimate act of love set the Lord Jesus apart from all others to be our Savior, and the believer has been set free from the domination of the devil. In addition, this one act of love proves the Lord Jesus to be God, otherwise, He would have never been able to raise from the dead after conquering the effects of sin and death upon all of His creation. At the cross of Christ, God accepted His own unbreakable terms of justice.

In v.14-15 of today's passage we read, "14 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— 15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death."

Having established the acceptable payment made by the Lord Jesus on the behalf of all believers, the writer of Hebrews, in these two verses, informs us of the two purposes for this greatest act of selflessness. The Lord Jesus died so that He could destroy the devil and release the willing in heart from our lifetime bondage to sin and death.

God designed every person who has ever been born to live forever. As a result, we will all live forever either in heaven or in hell. When anyone who has not received the free gift of salvation through Christ, dies, that person immediately is plunged into eternal punishment. And, the devil knows if he can keep people from trusting in the finished work of Christ on the cross, he will maintain his hold on them for eternity. This is why man fears death.

Even for those who deny the reality of God, death is terrifying. This means that they are enslaved by the fear of death to find ways not to feel the intolerable fear that is there. The fear of dying is so natural for sinful people who are not ready to meet God, that it rules them like a silent master. In fact, this is what causes them to embrace the dream world of denial. Most people simply do not let themselves think about what is absolutely inevitable, namely, their own death. They are driven, consciously or unconsciously, to shut their eyes and close their ears and shut down their minds to every thought that they are going to die and give an account to God one day.

The Lord Jesus Christ came to earth as the God-Man, in order to "break the power of him who holds the power of death." God never had any plans for death in His original plan for creation. Death only came when Adam rebelled against God and went the way of the serpent. Satan’s dominion comes in the form of death. He was a deceiver and a murderer from the very beginning. This is why the Lord Jesus had to come to earth, in order to die for damned mankind. And by dying as a man, the Lord Jesus entered into the realm of sin and death. And through dying, He conquered sin and death, He destroyed the dominion of Satan forevermore.

When Christ died on the cross, He conquered the devil, but the devil did not cease to exist. Christ's victory over sin and death has rendered the devil powerless in the lives of all who have ever believed in the God of the Bible. Adrian Rogers once said, "God grades on the Cross not on the curve." Aren't we all grateful for that.

The word "break" in v.14 literally means "to cause something to come to an end." Satan has long been known to use fallen man's "fear of death" to enslave us to his will. Often people make wrong moral choices out of their intense desire for self-preservation. Here, we are reminded that we are no longer subject to such "slavery" and we are positioned by Christ to see death in a whole new light. So now, for the believer in Christ, death has taken on a whole new role. Death is an entrance into heaven. This is why the Apostle Paul said, "For me to live is Christ, to die is gain."

In v.16-17 of today's passage we read, "16 For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. 17 For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people."

Angels are mentioned 273 times in the Scriptures, and were created by God to do His bidding. When God created angels, not any of the angels were fallen and evil. It was later that there came into existence fallen angels which we know as demons. Therefore, angels do not need a Savior because they were unaffected by the fall of man. I did not say "demons" because their story is different. Angels are the messengers of God who live in eternal perfection. They are perfect beings and are in no need of salvation. 

The phrase "descendants of Abraham" when translated literally, means "Abraham’s seed." This phrase refers to anyone, Jewish or Gentile, who has ever trusted in the God of the Bible for salvation. The writer of Hebrews may have used this phrase because the recipients of this letter were primarily Jewish believers. But, in context, the writer was pointing out that Christ came to the aid of Abraham’s children, not the angels.

According to v.17 of our passage today, "Christ was made like His brothers, human in every way." This means Christ embraced our suffering so that He could be sympathetic to our plight. Here, for the first time in the book of Hebrews, the writer of Hebrews introduces us to the priesthood of Christ. Here, the writer of Hebrews presents Christ's identification with "His brothers" making it possible for God to show His mercy and faithfulness to us. God was and is able to do such due to the fact that the Lord Jesus made Himself the atonement for our sin, and, He is also our priest before God.

In v.18 of today's passage we read, "Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted."

In this verse, the writer of Hebrews focuses on the fact that the Lord Jesus took sin and death head on. In so doing, the Lord Jesus, also, took on temptation. He experienced the lure of sin, but He never sinned. The Lord Jesus knows what it is like to be fully human in that He was tempted like us. Therefore, He is able to assist us when we are being tempted. And, due to the fact that He has defeated and disarmed the enemy, He is able to give us the grace that we need to overcome temptation.

The Lord Jesus took on a weak and vulnerable human body not only so that He could experience death, but also that He could  sympathize with the temptations that come with suffering and dying. "He himself suffered when he was tempted." 

The writer of Hebrews isn't referencing the temptation of lust or greed here. This is the temptation to get angry or to be resentful or to be self-pitying or to be despairing or unbelieving in the goodness of God. This passage teaches us that not only are we free from the slavery to the fear of death, we can also be confident that when we are tempted to despair or to be self-pitying or to be resentful or to be anger or to embrace unbelief in the goodness of God, the Lord Jesus is always there to help us. The Lord Jesus does this out of His own agonizing experience as the God-Man. And, He will give us what we need to endure in a heart-attached relationship with God to the very end of time as we know it.

Hebrews 2:10-13

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10 In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered. 11 Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters. 12 He says, “I will declare your name to my brothers and sisters;  in the assembly I will sing your praises." 13 And again, “I will put my trust in him.” And again he says, “Here am I, and the children God has given me.” ~ Hebrews 2:10-13

In our last blog and podcast, we considered how man, through his rejection of God, lost his authority over the earth to Satan and his demons. But, the Lord Jesus Christ chose to take on a human body, never ceasing to be God, so that He would be able to bare the punishment of God for our rebellion. Today, the curtain is pulled back just a little bit more so that we will be able to understand God's great cosmic plan behind our salvation.

In v.10 of today's passage we read, "In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered."

At the heart of the Christian gospel is: the Lord Jesus Christ faced sin and death head on and garnered the forgiveness of God on the behalf of all humble enough to believe. In so doing, the Lord Jesus Christ became our substitute. As a result of paying our penalty, believers in Christ are now viewed by God as "sons and daughters" of God. Not only that, now that the Lord Jesus has died in our place, we are positioned to know God in the deepest possible way.

Notice the last phrase in this verse, "should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered." 

The word translated "pioneer" is a reference to someone who is an author. As the Lord Jesus died on our behalf, He became the author of our salvation. The Lord Jesus, alone, authored our salvation. "Pioneer" also describes someone who has opened up new land so that others could follow. It is a word that could refer to a trailblazer, someone who blazed a trail on which others could travel. To the extent to which we are willing to blaze this trail to God will be the extent to which we get to know God and His ways for ourselves. 

Our salvation is not just the forgiveness of our sin, it is a new life, it is being in a new family. The Lord Jesus blazed the trail into this new life, and He did it by enduring the cross and its shame. God sent His Son to earth, so that He could do what no angel could ever do: He died the death that was ours. And by His death, He became the perfect trailblazer who opened the path of salvation to all who would believe. It wasn't that He was perfected, it was that the pathway to God for anyone who would believe was perfected by the Perfect One.

In v.11 of today's passage we read, "Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters."

In addition to having our sin forgiven, this verse reminds us we have been sanctified which means we have been made thoroughly righteous in the eyes of God. The Lord Jesus Christ  literally made the believer holy by making it possible for His righteousness to be applied to us. This does not mean that we are sinless now, it means God treats us as if we are Christ Himself. While the Lord Jesus hung on the cross, God treated Him as if He lived our lives, so that He could treat us as if we lived His. 

The result of all of this, according to v.11 is, "So Jesus is not ashamed to call us brothers." 

We, having believed in the Lord Jesus, share the same privilege as sons. Having believed on the Lord Jesus, we are joint heirs with Christ. He is the Son of God, and we have become sons of God covered by His very righteousness, and in that sense, we are His perfected brothers and sisters.

In v.12-13 of today's passage we read, "12 He says, “I will declare your name to my brothers and sisters;  in the assembly I will sing your praises." 13 And again, “I will put my trust in him.” And again he says, “Here am I, and the children God has given me."

These two verses are quotations from the Old Testament, one from Psalm 22 and the other from Isaiah 8. The writer of Hebrews consistently quotes the Old Testament because his readers were very familiar with the Old Testament and they trusted it. The writer of Hebrews uses the Old Testament to help his readers understand the Lord Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament.

Hebrews 2:12 is a quotation from Psalm 22:22. This verse describes the second person of the Trinity, the Son of God, talking to His Father; saying, "I will declare your name to my brothers and sisters." He said this, indicating, He, the Messiah, knew there would be those who would trust in His finished work on the cross for the payment for sin, and be called His brothers. In Psalm 22, He was speaking to the Father about us. It is because of His death on the cross that He can call us brothers.

Interestingly, before the Lord Jesus died on the cross, He never called His followers "brothers." He called them "disciples," "friends," "sheep." He did not call them "brothers" until after He died and rose from the grave. The first thing He said when He came out of the grave to Mary was, "Go to My brothers." That was the first time He called them "brothers" and it was only possible because He paid the penalty for our sin and His righteousness could have been credited to the account of the willing.

Hebrews 2:13 is a quotation from Isaiah 8:17-18 which reads "17 I will wait for the Lord, who is hiding his face from the descendants of Jacob. I will put my trust in him. 18 Here am I, and the children the Lord has given me. We are signs and symbols in Israel from the Lord Almighty, who dwells on Mount Zion."

Again, here is another text from the Old Testament showing that Messiah would accept the children of God given to Him as "brothers." When the Lord Jesus came into this world, He trusted the Lord during the time of His incarnation, His death, His burial, and His resurrection. It was the most difficult choice as indicated during His time of prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. And, we who have trusted God through Him, have been given the identity as His brothers.

Hebrews 2:5-9

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5 It is not to angels that he has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking. 6 But there is a place where someone has testified: “What is mankind that you are mindful of them, a son of man that you care for him? 7 You made them a little lower than the angels; you crowned them with glory and honor 8 and put everything under their feet.” In putting everything under them, God left nothing that is not subject to them. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to them. 9 But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. ~ Hebrews 2:5-9

Today, we return to our study of Hebrews 2. Having established the utter importance of the necessity of the believer in Christ to pay the most careful attention to Him on a daily basis, today, we peak into the background of this argument already established by the writer of Hebrews.

In v.5 of today's passage we read, "It is not to angels that he has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking."

In this verse, the writer of Hebrews, yet again, makes the point that the Lord Jesus is superior to the angels. When man sinned or rebelled against God, we lost our authority over this world. As a result, we lost the meaning of our existence. God never promised the angels authority over this world. According to Hebrews 1:14, angels were sent by God to minister to all who will ever believe in the Lord Jesus as our Savior. In fact, in the world to come, angels will be servants, not rulers. But, due to man's rebellion, temporarily, God has given angels authority over this world. The word used for "subjected" in this verse is a military term used for arranging soldiers under a commanding general.  

The word translated "world" in v.5 means "inhabitance." There will be an inhabited earth to come, and it will be different than the earth we live on now. The book of the Revelation tells us it will be the millennial kingdom of Christ. It will be a new inhabited earth, and all who will go into that new inhabited earth will be totally different. The animals will be different, and even the people will all be redeemed people that will go into the newly created world. Redeemed man will be sovereign in that new world earth, and the angels will serve man.

Currently, Satan, an angel, is the authority over this world. And, right now, his followers, the fallen angels, rule with Satan over this world. According to Ephesians 6, this world is ruled by demons. They’re called principalities that rule over the darkness of this world. Demons are the ones that are ruling the world, right now, along with Satan. That explains a lot, doesn't it?

We see this spelled out in in Daniel 10:20 which reads, "20 So he said, “Do you know why I have come to you? Soon I will return to fight against the prince of Persia, and when I go, the prince of Greece will come; 21 but first I will tell you what is written in the Book of Truth. (No one supports me against them except Michael, your prince."

Then, in Daniel 12:1 we read, "At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered."

Clearly here, the angel, Michael, provides protective service to the nation of Israel. And, currently, the earth is subject to angels. And, the only reason the earth is currently under the authority of angels is because man lost the sovereignty that God gave us in the beginning. But, in the millennial kingdom of Christ, after the Tribulation, the sovereignty of man over the earth will be restored. The Lord Jesus, as the God-man, is greater than angels, because He came and died to conquer sin, even though the angels rule the world currently.

In v.6-8 of today's passage we read, "6 But there is a place where someone has testified: “What is mankind that you are mindful of them, a son of man that you care for him? 7 You made them a little lower than the angels; you crowned them with glory and honor 8 and put everything under their feet.” In putting everything under them, God left nothing that is not subject to them. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to them."

In these verses, the writer of Hebrews quotes King David who wrote Psalm 8 wherein David asked, "What is man that you would be so good to him, that you would give him so much bounty and so much blessing?"

David, in Psalm 8, went on to establish that God’s original design and destiny for man was that man was to be the king of the earth. Everything in existence was to be in subjection to man. And, David asks, "In comparison to the vastness of this world, what is man in comparison to such greatness?"

In v.7 we learn that man was created a little lower than the angels. So, currently, the chain of command is God, angels, man, and earth. And, David asks, "What’s the big deal about man that God is mindful of us and He has made us kings over the earth?" 

God made man lower than angels in the sense that we are physical and angels are spiritual. Angels are heavenly, and man is earthly.  Man is confined to a physical body, and angels are spirits. Man has been confined strictly to the earth. Man, for now, can not ascend into the supernatural. Angels were not confined to the supernatural. They could move down to the earth any time they wanted; so they have options that man does not have.

God in the very beginning knew that the ultimate destiny of man would not be something lower than angels. This chain of command is temporary. And, God has a destiny for man that rates him as a king in God's millennial kingdom. And, it is for a little time that God has made man to be lower than angels. 

But, in Daniel 7:18 we read, "But the holy people of the Most High will receive the kingdom and will possess it forever—yes, for ever and ever."

Those made holy, in the eyes of God, by the Lord Jesus, will rule in God's kingdom, forever. In Revelation 3:21 we learn, "We will sit with him on his thrown and rule." In Ephesians 1:20 we learn, "He will reign in the kingdom over principalities and powers." Since Christ will reign over angels in His kingdom and we will sit on His thrown with Him, we will reign over angels for all of eternity.

Man, who was made lower than angels for a little while, in innocence was king over the undefiled earth. But, man’s destiny was restricted by sin. According to v.8 of today's text, man rebelled against God, and lost his authority over the earth. Man was designed by God to have dominion over the earth. And the earth was subjected to man, and the earth supplied all of man’s needs without man doing anything. All man had to do was just to accept the earth as it provided our needs. And then man sinned. Satan usurped man's authority over the earth, and, at that moment, God's chain of command was interrupted. 

Man was no longer a master of himself. We are totally sinful, and we have become slaves to sin. No longer is man king over the earth, we have become slaves. When man sinned, the animal kingdom was made subservient to man in the sense of fear, not love and trust. 

And, the ground, instead of yielding good things easy to take and to eat, now, produces thorns, weeds, and other harmful things. Not only that, extremes of heat and cold, poisonous plants, and reptiles, earthquakes, typhoons, floods, hurricanes, disease, an army of billions of bacteria have been released upon man. Everything broke loose to make man no king any longer, but a slave fighting all his lifetime to exist. And man has been fighting a losing battle ever since. 

In v.9 of today's passage we read, "But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone."

The Lord Jesus came to earth as the God-Man to regain man’s dominion. After coming to earth, the Lord Jesus faced death head on at the cross. The Bible clearly states the wages of sin is death, and the only payment for sin is death. So, man must die to remove the curse. The only way we can ever be the kings God created us to be is to have the curse removed. The only way we can remove the curse is to pay the penalty. So, if we are to be restored, we must die, and we must be resurrected a new man with sovereign possibilities. This is where the Lord Jesus entered into the scenario.

In Romans 6:10 we read, " The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God." 

In context, the subject is the Lord Jesus Christ who died on the cross of Calvary, on the behalf of anyone who would be willing enough to believe on Him. And, the moment we put our faith in the Lord Jesus, we were identified with Him. His death, burial and resurrection became ours. And now, having trusted in His finished work on the cross for the payment for our sin, we walk in newness of life. The moment we received Him, we were identified with Him, and the curse was removed. And now, we are His kings awaiting His soon return and His eternal kingdom.

Hebrews 2:1-4

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1 We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. 2 For since the message spoken through angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, 3 how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. 4 God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will. ~ Hebrews 2:1-4

Today, we begin our study of Hebrews 2 where the writer of Hebrews attempts to help its readers to understand that the Old Testament or covenant was fulfilled and completed by the Lord Jesus Christ. As we have mentioned before, Hebrews is an epistle that was addressed to a group of Jewish Christians who were struggling with their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. 

In v.1 of today's passage we read, "We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away."

The "therefore" in this verse indicates this verse is predicated upon what was said in Hebrews 1 which informs us the Lord Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the Old Testament Law. He has done something sinful mankind could never do: earn the abiding favor of God.

Here in Hebrews 2:1, God gives us the first of five warnings about backsliding. In this first warning, God urges us to give the most aggressive attention to what we have heard about the Lord Jesus, so that we do to drift away from Him. The Lord Jesus Christ is the only One who is perfect enough to absorb the punishment of God for our rebellion. 

No one backslides as a result of one giant leap away from God. No, we backslide through a series of small, dinky steps away from God. In order to grow spiritually, we, as believers in Christ, must pay very close attention to our personal relationship with God through His Son the Lord Jesus. In order to do this, our hearts must be involved. When we hear and do not give a heart response to the teaching that we have heard, we are in danger of drifting away. Neglecting our personal interaction with the Lord Jesus on a daily basis can and will lead to drifting away.

As we learned in Hebrews 1, the Lord Jesus is the One who purged our sins and who is seated at the right hand of God. The Lord Jesus is the One whom the angels worship. He is the One whose angels are His servants. He is the One who is God. He, therefore, must be the object of our worship. He is the One who must define us on a daily basis.

In v.2-3 of today's text we read, "2 For since the message spoken through angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, 3 how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him."

Here, God argues from the lesser to the greater, and He uses the two testaments to make His point. The first testament was the revelation of the law, which came by angels, and any breach of that law, the Old Testament law, or any disobedience to it, was followed by a strict, severe, and just punishment. Every single time, in the Old Testament, an angel spoke, if a person did not respond to it in obedience, they were punished by God. Nobody got away with breaking the old covenant brought by angels. 

The second revelation came through the Lord Jesus Christ who fulfilled the first revelation. And, if we do not receive the Lord Jesus and depend upon Him for our salvation, we stand condemned by our sin which has not been dealt with if we have not trusted in the Lord Jesus. 

This is why the Lord Jesus said in John 3:17-18, "17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son."

The word "disobedience" in v.2 of today's text means imperfect hearing, like a deaf man. This is the deliberate shutting of the ears to the commands, warnings, and invitations of God. This is the sin of neglect. This is standing there doing nothing when you should do something. There is one thing that gets us into heaven and there is one thing that keeps us out of heaven, and they are two sides of one coin. They are believing in the Lord Jesus and not believing in the Lord Jesus.

In v.4 of today's text we read, "God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will."

When the Lord Jesus preached the gospel, He also performed signs, wonders and miracles to make it more believable. He confirmed his own ministry by His own miracles. There is no excuse for any of us to NOT believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. As a result, the believer in Christ is infallibly secure in the work the Lord Jesus accomplished on the cross. Given that we are prepared for an eternity in heaven with God, let's live daily so close to the Lord Jesus that His imprint is made obvious to all we relate to on a given day. Let's walk so closely to Him that they regularly ask us for an explanation for the difference He is making in our lives.

 

Hebrews 1:10-14

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10 He also says, “In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. 11 They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. 12 You will roll them up like a robe; like a garment they will be changed. But you remain the same, and your years will never end.” 13 To which of the angels did God ever say, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”? 14 Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation? ~ Hebrews 1:10-14

Today, we close out our study of Hebrews 1. As we have noted before, the writer of Hebrews, in this chapter, quotes seven different Old Testament passages to establish the superiority of the Lord Jesus Christ as greater than that of the angels. We have considered the first five of the seven. Today, we will consider the last two.

In v.10 of today's passage we read, "He also says, 'In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands."'

Hebrews 1:10-12 is a quotation from Psalm 102:25-27. These verses remind us the Lord Jesus existed before He created this world. The Lord Jesus was there in the beginning. He existed before the beginning. The Lord Jesus is without beginning. In John 1:1 we read, "In the beginning was the Word." He was already there before the beginning began. 

The Lord Jesus "laid the foundations of the earth and the heavens are the work of His hands." Once again, we are reminded the Lord Jesus is the eternal Creator. He is above it all, and He is immutable meaning He is unchanging.

In v.11 of today's passage we read, "They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment."

All that are created will perish. Those who know not the Lord will spend eternity in Hell, if they have never trusted in the free gift of God through the Lord Jesus. And, for those who have trusted in the Lord Jesus as our Savior, we will spend eternity with God in heaven. This means death awaits us all, especially those who have no personal relationship with God through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. We will all die, but the Lord Jesus will remain. Here, yet again, the writer of Hebrews reminds us of the eternality of the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, he goes on to write, "...they will all wear out like a garment."

The Lord Jesus was not created. He is eternal and immutable, He will forever remain the same and He will not change. The second law of thermodynamics informs us that all things left in isolation will deteriorate. And, sin, has separated us from God. So, we suffer from the law of entropy. This is why the Lord Jesus came to die and be raised again. He came to reunite us to the eternal and and be rescued from the grip of sin and entropy.

In v.12 of today's passage we read, "You will roll them up like a robe; like a garment they will be changed. But you remain the same, and your years will never end."

In the book of Revelation, we read, "And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places." 

The heavens, on the last day, will roll right up, like a scroll. The stars will fall out of the sky and they will come crashing to the earth. Every island and every mountain moved out of its place. The whole world will fall apart. And, those who know not God will experience what the earth will experience. Total collapse.

But, the Lord Jesus will not be affected by these events. In fact, He will create a new heaven and a new earth. Creation, as we know it, is subject to decay. Jesus Christ is not subject to decay and He will never change. And thus, we have His superiority over the angels.

In v.13-14 of today's passage we read, "13 To which of the angels did God ever say, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet'? 14 Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?"'

This is the seventh Old Testament quote, and it’s from Psalm 110:1, and it climaxes the full superiority of Christ to angels. In these two verses, we see the destiny of Christ and the angels. The destiny of Jesus Christ is that ultimately, everything in the universe will be subject to Him. 

In v.13 the words "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet" gives unquestionable indication that Christ controls all things. At no time in Scripture do we ever find an angel doing that because their work is never done. Fortunately, Christ has completed His work which yields our salvation. The Lord Jesus sits down because He reigns. 

In v.14, we learn of the destiny of the angels. Interestingly, it was the angels in the garden of Eden who kept Adam and Eve in their sinful state from having access to the tree of life. What a compassionate choice on their behalf, because had Adam and Eve had access to that tree, mankind would have never been saved. I can only imagine that in their sinful state, Adam and Eve wanted access to that tree. Given their condition as sinners, they probably lacked the proper theology that would have enabled them to see the actions of the angels as gracious.

In this final verse of Hebrews 1, we learn the destiny of angels which will be to "serve those who will inherit salvation." The angels are going to serve the saved forever. God made the angels to serve Him. I find it quite humbling that in eternity, their role will be to serve those of us who have come to faith in the Lord Jesus.

Hebrews 1:7-9

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7 In speaking of the angels he says, “He makes his angels spirits, and his servants flames of fire.” 8 But about the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom. 9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.” ~ Hebrews 1:7-9

We return today to our study of the book of Hebrews which was written to the Jewish reader proving the Lord Jesus Christ is God. In Hebrews 1:4-14 we learn of the superiority of the Lord Jesus Christ to the created angels. The supreme being in the book of Hebrews is the Lord Jesus Christ, the One who created all things, including the angels.

As we pointed out yesterday, the writer of Hebrews, in this chapter, quotes seven different Old Testament passages to establish the Lord Jesus Christ is greater than the angels. Today, we consider the fourth and fifth of the seven Old Testament passages quoted.

In v.7 of today's text we read, "In speaking of the angels he says, 'He makes his angels spirits, and his servants flames of fire.'"

This is a quotation from Psalm 104:4. In this one verse, we see the nature of angels who are flames of fire. This means the angels are God’s executioners. Angels mete out God's judgment on the earth. In Genesis 19, the angels were used of God to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. In Matthew 13:41-42 we learn that certain angels will separate the good seed from the weeds, and they will throw the weeds into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Throughout the Scriptures, we see that angels are spirits that are powerful, swift, and invisible. They are created beings, created by the Lord Jesus Christ, created to be the servants to God. They do not do their own thing, they operate at Christ’s direction. 

In v.8 of today's text we read, "But about the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom."

This is a quotation from Psalm 45:6-7, and the point? There is a difference between angels and the Son, because, the Son who created the angels, is the eternal God. Many consider today that the Lord Jesus was just a man or He was just one of many angels, or He was one of many prophets of God, or He is one of many gods. The writer of Hebrews clearly is establishing the fact that the Lord Jesus' kingdom will never end and justice will be maintained in eternity.

A scepter is a rod or staff which is adorned with gold and jewels that kings held to indicate they had the authority. The scepter of the Lord Jesus Christ is righteousness, and righteousness is doing what is right, just, honest, pure, kind, and pleasing to God.  The righteousness that Christ loves is defined by His word. "Whoever keeps his word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected... For this is the love of God that we keep his commandments" (1John 2:5 1John 5:3).

In Romans 9:5 we read, "Theirs (Israel) are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen." 

Here the Apostle Paul clearly identifies the Lord Jesus Christ as God. And, the point is: since the Lord Jesus is God, He is greater than the angels and we therefore must be defined by Him.

In v.9 of today's text we read, "You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy."

The Lord Jesus "...loved righteousness and hated wickedness." This means He is perfect for He shuns evil and embraces that which is all together good. Not only is the Lord Jesus God, though, He is also a man. This is so important, because in order to pay the penalty for our sin, He had to be one hundred percent God and one hundred per cent man.

The word "wickedness" is anomia in the Greek, and it means lawlessness. The writer of Hebrews is establishing the fact that Christ was sinless and He was perfect, therefore He is God. Then comes a direct a statement of His superiority to angels, in v.9; "...therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy."

The point that is being made here is the Lord Jesus Christ is greater than angels, and angels were only messengers of God. This was so very important for the writer of Hebrews to establish because some of the Jews to whom he wrote were being tripped up in their worship of God because they were being told to worship the angels.

The reason the Lord Jesus was anointed with joy far above anyone else is because He loved righteousness and He hated wickedness. The love of the Lord Jesus propelled Him to act on the behalf of hopeless mankind. Without His death on the cross, we would all be doomed. His love for righteousness compelled Him to destroy lawlessness in one act on the cross. Then, he freely offered His righteousness to mankind. In 2 Corinthians 5:21 we read, "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

The most important reason that Jesus must be God is that, if He is not God, His death would not have been sufficient to pay the penalty for the sins of the world. A created being, which the Lord Jesus would be if He were not God, could not pay the infinite penalty required for sin against an infinite God. Only God could pay such an infinite penalty. Only God could take on the sins of the world, die, and be resurrected, proving His victory over sin and death.

Hebrews 1:4-6

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4 So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs. 5 For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father”? Or again,“I will be his Father, and he will be my Son”? 6 And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.” ~ Hebrews 1:4-6

The book of Hebrews is extremely deep. It was written to a Jewish audience, and to understand its teaching, we must crawl into that Jewish way of thinking. This book was written to Jewish believers, but, the writer had Jewish unbelievers in mind, as well, as he wrote this. He did so in order to convince them that the Lord Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the old covenant.

In v.4 of today's text we read, "So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs."

The subject of this verse is the Lord Jesus Christ who created all things and sustains all things. In this verse, the unknown writer of this book of Hebrews establishes the idea that the Lord Jesus is greater than the angels. Now, angels are spirit beings who are capable of appearing in a human form. In Hebrews 13:2, we are exhorted to be careful how we treat strangers for we might be entertaining angels unawares. 

In a previous blog, we established that God created all things through the Lord Jesus Christ. So, the Lord Jesus made angels, and thus, He is greater than the angels. Now, there are 108 references in the Old Testament to angels, and 165 in the New Testament. They render intelligent worship and service to God which is why they were created. Angels are intelligent and are capable of emotion. Sometimes they are pictured with wings. In fact, in some cases they have as many as six wings.

According to Mark 13:32 and Jude 6, many angels live in heaven with God. And, there are thousands upon thousands of angelic beings inhabiting this universe, even though, a third of them rebelled against God with Lucifer who has the title of Satan. Some angels are called in the Bible cherubim, and some seraphim. Some have names and certain roles: Michael, for example, is the head of the armies of heaven, and Gabriel is called the mighty one. They are seen in Scripture as spectators at all redemptive events. They minister to God, and they do His bidding.

In the book of Hebrews, God gives us a biblical look at angels. The Jewish people at the time this book was written had  come up with some extra-biblical views of angels, so that when the writer of Hebrews wrote this book, he was correcting their wrong views. The Jews had always esteemed angels as the highest beings next to God. They believed that angels were the mediators between men and God. And, some of them even believed in angels to such a degree that they actually worshipped them. Out of their worship of angels, the Jews developed a heresy known as Gnosticism which reduces the Lord Jesus Christ to an angel. In Colossians 2:18 the Apostle Paul warned his readers not to worship angels.

This was the context that the book of Hebrews was written, and so, the writer of Hebrews was used of God to address proper teaching on the angels. This proper teaching began with proper teaching regarding the Lord Jesus Christ who is God. Here, in Hebrews 1, the writer of Hebrews proves the superiority of Christ over angels by using seven Old Testament passages to verify it. Today, we will consider the first three of these seven that are given in v.5-13.

In v.5-6 of today's text we read, "5 For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father”? Or again,“I will be his Father, and he will be my Son”? 6 And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him."

The first Old Testament passage the writer of Hebrews quotes is Psalm 2:7, and the second is 2 Samuel 7:14. The point is while angels are excellent creatures, Christ is more excellent. The Lord Jesus Christ is greater than angels, because He has been given a greater name. God never calls any angel, "Son." And, even though the Lord Jesus humbled Himself, even though He was made for a time lower than the angels, angels, yet, are to worship Him.

In v.6 of today's text, the writer of Hebrews quotes Psalm 97:7 which informs us that angels worshipped the Lord Jesus as God throughout all the time of their existence prior to His incarnation. But they are now to worship Him as Son. This Son, who became a man, has always been higher than the created angels. He is the very God that angels have always worshipped. 

According to v.6, the Lord Jesus is referenced as the "firstborn" which is not a time word, it is a position word. It is not a description word, it is a title word. And when it says that He is first begotten, it’s talking about the fact that He is the chief of everything. He is Sovereign, He is preeminent. The Greek word used for "firstborn" is "prōtotokos" means the One with all the dignity and honor, who is the preeminent One. 

We all believe that we are most happy when we are found at the center of our world. But, we are starved not for more of self. No, we are starved for the One who made us. This is why into the darkness of petty self-preoccupation Christ came to shine God's glory. The point of it all, the point of everything is “the glory of Christ.” In John 17:24, the Lord Jesus asked His Father to enable us to see His glory. This is the greatest thing He can do for us because He is the expressed image of God to man. He is the longing of our parched and weary hearts. He is to be worshipped which is our highest calling and experience.

Hebrews 1:3

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The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. ~ Hebrews 1:3

We return today to our study of the book of Hebrews. Today's verse is one of the clearest declarations of both the humanity and deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is not just man, He is God. He had to be fully human so that He could fully save us from our sin. He was fully human in order to save our bodies, our souls and our spirits from our rebellion against God. And, He did this in order to rescue and capture our hearts. Without taking on a human will, the Lord Jesus could not save our broken and wandering wills.

In addition to being fully man, the Lord Jesus Christ is fully God. The Greek word used here for "radiance" is a contraction of two Greek words: a preposition ἀπο which means "away from", and a Greek verb αὐγὰζω which means "to shine." The Lord Jesus is the shining forth of God's glory. Every time the Lord Jesus performed a miracle, every time He healed someone, and every time He gave sight to the blind, or hearing to the deaf, or every time He forgave sin, He radiated God's glory. 

Just as no one can stare directly into the sun without being impacted by the extreme brightness, in like manner, none can see the Father directly because of His glory. But, as the light of the sun shines forth, the Lord Jesus shines forth as the visible manifestation by which the knowledge of God can be known by us. The Lord Jesus is the light that radiates forth, overcoming every shade of darkness, enabling us to behold God for ourselves.

The Greek word translated "exact representation" literally is a mark that is made by a seal. This one Greek word brings the idea of a copy, or an image to the fore. It means the Lord Jesus Christ is the image of God.  He is the expressed image of God. He is the stamp of God on human flesh.

Although He never sinned, the Lord Jesus came to this earth as a man in order to identify with rebellious man in our sin. He, as God, was able to bare, for sinful mankind, the full weight of the wrath of God upon sin. The Lord Jesus Christ bore the shame and punishment of sin in His human body when He hung on that tree. It was the humanity and deity of the Lord Jesus that made Him uniquely able to save us from our sins.  

As we come back to our verse for today, notice the last part of the first sentence in the verse: "The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word."

In addition to remedying man's sin problem, the Lord Jesus Christ holds all things together. It is He who makes the atom move in its proper orbit. The verb used here translated "sustaining" has to do with supporting present continuous action. The Lord Jesus is the rebar of this world. He continually holds all things together. He is like the glue who holds all things together. If He had not come to this earth, we along with the world would fall apart. Our universe would disintegrate and fly to pieces if it weren’t for His upholding power. 

Think of the design in it all. If the earth’s rotation were to slow down just a little bit, we would alternately freeze and burn. The sun has a surface temperature of 12,000 degrees Fahrenheit, and if it were any closer or further away, we would freeze or burn. This world is tilted at exactly 23 degrees, and if it wasn’t at that exact angle, vapors from the ocean would move north and south and pile up massive continents of ice. If the moon were not to remain at its exact distance from the earth, the ocean tides would inundate the land twice every day. And, if the ocean slipped to just a couple of feet depth further than it is, carbon dioxide and oxygen in the earth’s atmosphere would be completely absorbed and no vegetable life could exist. This is all no accident. The Lord Jesus Christ is the One who provides the design according to today's verse.

The last sentence in today's verse reads, "After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven."

In the Old Testament God gave to Israel an elaborate substitutionary atonement system whereby the Jews would sacrifice an innocent animal for God's forgiveness. He did this so that the innocent would take the penalty for the guilty. But, the animal sacrifices weren't enough. Oh, they were enough to cover man's sin, but they were not enough to remove man's sin permanently. All of the sacrificial animals were a foreshadowing of the Lord Jesus who came on the scene to die a substitutionary death once and for all on the behalf of all who would believe.

Sin had to be dealt with by God. He couldn't just wink at sin and not judge it because, if He did, justice would be undermined. The death of God on the cross provided for man the assurance that our sins were atoned for. And, all we have to do is believe and receive the free gift of forgiveness. Two thousand years ago, on that cross, the Lord Jesus fulfilled the demands of justice, completely. The Creator God became a man so that He could rescue us from our willful rebellion against Him. 

The last phrase of the second sentence in our verse today reads, "...he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven."

At the right hand of God is the place of honor, blessing, and power. And, after the Lord Jesus paid the penalty for our sin, He sat down at the right hand of God. He sat down because the work for our salvation was accomplished. In the Old Testament tabernacle and temple there were no seats because the priest's work was never finished. They never sat down because the atonement through animals was never enough. God had to come and die in order to bring to completion man's sin. The Lord Jesus made one sacrifice, and when it was finished, He sat down. He was seated at the right hand of God because through His sacrifice, the sin of man, once and for all, has been remedied.

Hebrews 1:1-2

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1 In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. ~ Hebrews 1:1-2

As we begin our study of the book of Hebrews, from the very beginning it is clear that its main subject is the Lord Jesus Christ. As we study this book, it will not be long before we recognize that according to this book, the Lord Jesus is superior to anything and everybody. He has to be, otherwise, the Bible would be less than God words, because the Bible presents Him, the Lord Jesus Christ, as God. And, today, we begin one of the most unusual adventures that we will ever embark upon. The book of Hebrews is a tremendously difficult book, if we lack a good working knowledge of the Old Testament. 

The recipients of the book of Hebrews had a religious background that many of us do not have. They had been raised with a certain history with God. And, as a result, they had been given by God a set of beliefs. But, their beliefs had given way to certain traditions that became something different than what God intended. You see, the Jews had gotten to the point where they had more of a relationship with the symbols than God. God intended the symbols to help them to know Him personally. 

From the third chapter of Genesis, we learn of the introduction of sin into the world. Sin threw a wrench into what God had in mind for His creation. And, after sin marred everything, before man could know God personally, his sin had to be dealt with. This is why God introduced the elaborate system of substitutionary atonement introduced in Genesis 3 and elaborated upon in Leviticus.

Hebrews is a book that has many deep and difficult to understand truths. One might say that to understand the book of Hebrews we must understand the book of Leviticus because the book of Hebrews is largely based upon the principles of the Levitical priesthood. In the book of Leviticus, we learn that God's way of dealing with man's sin is that a substitute take the place of man for the payment for man's sin. The problem is: ONLY GOD CAN PAY THE PENALTY FOR SIN because everyone and everything other than God can not pay the penalty. We just do not have the substance needed to measure up to and to sustain the truth.

In v.1 of today's text we read, "In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways."

God supernaturally spoke to man and the result of that communication is what we know as the Bible. Man, himself, could not reach outside the natural world. And, due to man's natural limitations, man could not reach outside into the supernatural realm. So, God had to enter into man's natural world. He did so first by speaking to the prophets of the Old Testament. So, God chose to communicate with man, and He chose to do so through a book, and then, a person. The book is the Bible and the person is His Son.

We would never know about God if He had not spoken. In fact, Christianity is God bursting into man’s world and telling him what He is like. God is not speechless nor is detached from His creation. He has been involved in this world since its beginning. 

In this very first verse of the whole book of Hebrews we discover a play on words by the unknown writer. In the Greek text, the first three words in v.1 literally reads: "many portions," and "many different manners." This means God has spoken to us through thirty-nine different Old Testament books, and He used a variety of methods to get His message across to us. He spoke to men who wrote using visions, parables, types, and symbols. The Bible is the bi-product of God speaking to different people, using all different kinds of ways to reveal Himself to man.

God used forty different writers who all wrote over a period of about sixteen hundred years, in three different languages and on three different continents to bring us the Old and the New Testaments. While some of the Old Testament is history, other portions of it are writing as poetry and prophecy. And, all of it has at its main theme the Lord Jesus Christ who is the revelation of God to man.

This is why in v.2 of today's text we read, "but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe."

This one verse is one of the most important verses in all of the Bible. God first spoke to man through the Old Testament, but, it was not enough. The Old Testament is fragmented and difficult to put together and understand. In the Old Testament, God prepared His people for His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. And, as a result, God used those who came into a personal relationship with Him to share their experience with Him with others.

The complete and final revelation of God to man is seen in the Lord Jesus. God, who used to speak in many ways, in many forms, to many people has finally spoken in one way through one individual, Jesus Christ. The gospels according to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, all give His story and the epistles all comment on the fact that God came to earth in human form. And, the book of the Revelation tells where and how it will all end. This book, the Bible, is all about the Lord Jesus Christ, all of it, from the beginning to the end.

God made all that has been created through the Lord Jesus Christ. This means the Lord Jesus was there before the world was created. In Colossians 1:17 we learn "The Lord Jesus is before all things, and in him all things hold together." You see, the Lord Jesus is not only God's final and complete word to mankind, He is God. If He is not God, He can not be our Savior for only God can rise to the task of bearing the sin of all mankind.

C.S. Lewis once said, "I am trying here to prevent anyone from saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: 'I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God.' That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic, on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg, or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to."

My friend, have you come to the place where you have truly investigated the claims of the Lord Jesus Christ? If you have, great, I am sure you believe in Him. But, if you haven't, our study of the book of Hebrews will aid you in your investigation. At the end of this study you will discover the Lord Jesus is not only our Savior, He is also our Creator God. It is my prayer that you will see Him as never before and your personal relationship with Him will not only begin, but it will soar to places you never imagined.

James 5:19-20

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19 My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, 20 remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins. ~ James 5:19-20

Today, we come to the end of this book on faith, wisdom and perseverance. As James closes his letter to those first century Christians who were struggling to walk with God, he ends it with an appeal to his hearers to have a heart for those who continue to have difficulty walking with the Lord.

In Genesis 3, it is implied that the Lord God walked with Adam and Eve during the cool of the day. Suggested is the idea they didn't walk with the Lord on a continual basis. In Genesis 5:24, we are told Enoch walked with God. Noah is also described as "a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God" (Genesis 6:9). 

Micah 6:8 gives us a glimpse into God’s desire for us: "He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." Walking with God is not an activity reserved for a select few. God desires all believers to walk with Him.

When we walk with someone, we are in close proximity to them. We talk, laugh, listen, and share our hearts. Our attention is focused on this person to the exclusion of almost everything else. Walking with God is like that. When we enter into an intimate heart relationship with God through faith in His Son, He slowly becomes our heart’s greatest desire. Knowing Him, hearing His voice, sharing our hearts with Him, and seeking to please Him become most important to us. Meeting with Him is an everyday activity.

When the Bible speaks of "walking," it often refers to a lifestyle. We can walk in the ways of the world or we can walk in the ways of God. In the New Testament, walking with God is often called "walking in the Spirit." To walk with God means we choose to embrace and be embraced by His culture. In so doing, we seek to eliminate from our lives everything that does not enhance our walk with Him. We seek to live out the message of 1 Corinthians 10:31 which reads, "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." God’s ways are reflected in our thoughts, our actions, our motivations, and our life choices because we spend so much time with Him.

In v.19 of our passage for today we read, "My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back."

James turns our attention to believers in Christ who were wandering from the truth. From the word "wander" we get our English word "planet." A planet is literally a wandering star. And, we all wander from the truth. But, for these who were "wandering", their love and commitment to God was waning. James was not saying they had lost their salvation, the Bible is quite clear that cannot happen, but believers can become cold, apathetic, and distant from God. When that happens, we are in need of someone coming along side of us and helping us along.

The word "wander" reveals a form of seduction which happens little by little over time. At one point in his life, the wanderer would have never wandered, but over time the enemy lured him away from God and got him to compromise.

When we wander from the truth in our beliefs, we start to believe things about God, the Lord Jesus, heaven, hell, ourselves and other significant truths that cannot be supported by Scripture. The wanderer wanders from sound teaching.

Wandering from the truth is also seen in how we choose to live our lives. When we start to do things that are not honoring to God, we are not living by the truth. When we wander away from Him and His teachings, we will no longer be on that path of following Him. In this case, we might know the right way to go but we have chosen to be defined by another way. This seduction away from God causes us to become hardened toward prayer, hardened toward worshipping God, hardened toward walking with God.

In v.20 of today's text we read, "...remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins."

The word "sinner" here in v.20 refers to a Christian who is sinning. This is someone who has received forgiveness from God for their sins, when they die they will go to heaven, they are a believer in Christ, they are born again, but they are not being defined by Him. This is not talking about a believer losing their salvation. The Bible is very clear, that cannot happen. Once we are born again, we cannot become unborn again. Once God adopts us into His family, we can not become un-adopted. But the believer can still sin and in some cases wander away from their walk with God.

The word "turns" in v.20 means to "turn around" or to "turn from." When we reach out to those who have wandered away from God and God uses us to bring them back to the right path we save them from a lot of pain. And, when a believer comes back to God he will apologize and confess his sin. There will not be any justification of sin by the believer who returns to his first love.

James is unlike most other New Testament epistles in that it has no formal conclusion. James ended this letter abruptly because he wanted to leave us with a sense of personal urgency as we consider the critical importance of his final exhortation. As we daily do our best to walk with the Lord Jesus, we discover He gradually gives us His heart, and His heart is for people. In giving us His heart, God gives us the ministry of reconciliation which is the desire to see people right with God. When we turn another believer from error, we play a role in them being saved from the destruction of the the sin they are caressing.

We are all prone to wander. And, no one takes giant steps away from God. No, we wander away from Him through a series of small steps. This is why the Lord has placed us in His family, among believers who love us enough to keep us grounded in our walk with the Lord. In fact, we will wander if we are not in relationship with other believers. 

James 5:16-18

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16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. 17 Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. 18 Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops. ~ James 5:16-18

James wrote this epistle, this letter to a group of exiled and persecuted Jews who had received the Lord Jesus as their Messiah. And, due to the fact that the Gospel of the Lord Jesus was not all that popular in the world, these Jewish believers faced trials and stress and hostility and persecution. So, James wrote this letter to them to encourage them in their faith in the Lord Jesus.

In v.16 of today's passage we read, "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective."

The theme of prayer is a major theme in this letter. In fact, we have been instructed on its importance in James 1:5 and James 4:1–5. When life is difficult, highlighted to us is the need for meaningful relationships. 

In today's passage, James stresses the utter necessity of confessing our struggles to one another. And, when we do that, we are better positioned to pray for one another, and then, the Lord will bring about spiritual restoration for those who have been weakened in their faith during the battle. The Lord requires of us to pray so that when He answers, it will be obvious that it was He who intervened.

The word used here for "healed" in v.16 means to lift up or to make whole. The Greek word used here is written in the "subjunctive mode" and in the "passive voice" which literally means "that you all may be made whole." Interestingly, due to the way this verb is written, it is God who performs the action of making us whole after we have been weakened by the battle and we have prayed for His help.

The obvious point here is: prayer works. This is why the struggling believer goes to his brother who is walking with the Lord and seeks the prayer of that individual because, to put it simply, prayer is powerful. James reminds us of that fact, "The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." 

The word translated "effective" is the word from which we get the word "energy." The Psalmist reminds us, "When we regard inequity in our heart, the Lord will not hear us." For the believer in Christ who has been born again, this does not mean God will not hear our prayers. This means we will not be given to prayer. It can also mean since we are not walking with the Lord, we will not pray according to His will. But, when we are walking with the Lord, we will pray energized, powerful, earnest prayers according to His will. The key is that we are walking with the Lord and we are closest to His heart. Interestingly, this is why we want those who are spiritually strong praying for us when we are weak in our faith.

In v.17 of today's text we read, "Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years." 

The Old Testament prophet, Elijah, is mentioned thirty times in the New Testament. He was a normal guy, he struggled with his faith just like us, and he knew hunger and pain and fear. Elijah prayed earnestly. He was honest and fervent in his prayers. By the way, we pray earnestly when we pray with great expectations. Elijah prayed that it would not rain, and, it didn’t rain for three years and six months. His prayer was powerful because He honestly prayed to the God of the Bible, and he did it according to God's will.

By the way, Jewish historians attest to a drought that lasted three and a half years at that time. Interestingly, if James were talking about healing physical diseases this would be a pretty obtuse illustration for him to use. If he wanted to illustrate how we could pray and be healed from an illnesses, James would have used a different story to illustrate the point. James chose this story because he was illustrating the power of prayer to restore the freshness of God's influence on our lives and ministries. 

We are wired to focus on the steps we should take for our prayers to be heard by God. We have this bent toward believing that every result is born from method. If something works for somebody, we want to know the particulars that were followed in the prayer, as if certain things make the prayer more effective. While this applies to certain things in life, it doesn’t apply to prayer. The main ingredient in effective prayer is emphatically not us. The focus of effective prayer is God. Prayer has less to do with the specifics of how we say what we say, and more to do with the one to whom we speak. We pray as ordinary people who have an extraordinary God. Prayer is effective, not because of great men who pray, but because of a great God, who, in Christ, graciously hears His people.

In v.18 of today's text we read, "Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops."

According to 1 Kings 18, Elijah's prayer brought rain to the parched soil. This is James' point in James 5:18. Prayer brings spiritual wholeness and productivity to the parched soul. This was the need of those to whom James wrote this letter, and this is our need, as well. Prayer or conversing with God is the lifeblood to the believer's effectiveness in this world which is adverse to the things of God. Investment in prayer is a must if we are to realize God's influence and blessing. I find it quite instructive that James began this letter focusing on the trials of His hearers. And, it is our trials that drive us to pray to God.