Hebrews 7 “A Priest Forever”

“For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham as he was returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, to whom also Abraham apportioned a tenth part of all the spoils, was first of all, by the translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then also king of Salem, which is king of peace. Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, he remains a priest perpetually.” (vv.1-3)

Here in our text, Jesus the high priest is likened to Melchizedek, whom we first meet in Genesis 14, when Abraham offered him tithes after defeating some foreign kings. Chapter 7 now mentions two very intriguing things about Melchizedek: first, he doesn’t have human genealogy, and second, he remains a priest forever. 

While there is much debate about this mysterious figure’s identity and nature, I believe this Melchizedek to be in reality, what is called a Christophanies, an appearance of Jesus in the Old Testament, and in this case, to Abraham. Meaning, it was actually Jesus who came out to meet Abraham, who received tithes from him, and who blessed him. He also introduced himself as the priest El Elyown, the Most High God. It is also interesting that Melchizedek (Jesus) gave to Abraham bread and wine, the symbols of communion, the body and blood of our Lord (Genesis 14:18).

While we do not know much about this mysterious priest, his origin, his genealogy, his parents, what happened to him after he met with Abraham. What we do know is that this event was 400 years before Moses and the law. And that the writer refers to him as, “A priest forever.” Meaning coming from a higher order than that of Arron, who’s beginning was long before Arron existed, an order that continually abides, our great high priest, now and forever, Jesus Christ. Hallelujah! 

The Truth: And he (Melchizedek) blessed Abram and said: “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” Then Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of everything. (Genesis 14:19-20)

Hebrews 6 “Our Anchor Of Hope”

“This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek." (vv.19-20)

Every boat owner knows that an anchor prevents drift. Here in chapter 6, the author wants us to see that our soul needs an anchor, because it also is inclined to drift. This ‘hope anchor’ is ‘both sure and steadfast.’ It is sure because it will not break, it’s steadfast because it is unmovable, and will not slip, because it is found in Jesus Christ. It promises righteousness (Gal. 5:5), eternal life (Titus 1:2), and the return of Jesus (Titus 2:13). It is a "living hope," founded on the resurrection of Jesus from the dead (1 Pet. 1:3).

Therefore, when circumstances get out of control and pressures threaten to overwhelm us, we know that Jesus died for us, is working in us, and will never leave us. We can hold fast to God's promises and patiently endure. The "anchor of hope," Jesus Christ, our great High Priest, will hold us firm, if we anchor our soul in Him. 

The Truth: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” (1 Peter 1:3)

Hebrews 5 “A Priest Forever”

“You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.” (v.6)

Here in our text the writer of Hebrews (thought by many to be Paul) quotes from Psalm 110 (a Psalm of David) where David referred to The Lord as, the Messiah who was to come, a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

Melchizedek appears in Genesis 14, seemingly coming out of nowhere, ministering bread and wine to Abram. His name means “king of righteousness” and his position was king of Salem meaning “peace.” Abram, realizing he was in the presence of no ordinary man, worshiped and paid tithes to him, and partook of the elements in anticipation of Jesus – just as we now partake in looking back to Christ’s death for us on the cross. Consequently, no longer is there a need for a priest to offer sacrifices for sin, as Jesus paid it all. Hallelujah!

The Truth

“Though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, called by God as High Priest “according to the order

Hebrews 4 “Rest In The Lord”

"There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his."( Hebrews 4:9-10)

The good news of this passage is that God's offer of a rest, a Sabbath rest, still stands. Even though Moses' generation missed it, God's promise remains. His rest has been available since the dawn of creation. God rested from His work (Gen. 2:2) and decided it was such a good idea that He commanded a rest for His creation.

Notice that God's rest includes the cessation of work (v. 10). In God's case, He rested because He was finished with creation--His was a rest of completion and satisfaction. If we are to enter God's rest today, what work must we cease doing? 

The principle of Sabbath rest--one day in seven set aside for rest and worship--stands out in this passage. This is the rest God wants us to enjoy today. For us as Christians this special day is the Lord's day. But sadly, for many of us, this day is as hectic and noisy as the rest of the week. 

If your day of worship seems like every other day, except for church services, make a commitment to turn off the noise, unplug some of the activities, and spend more time in contemplation of God's goodness.

Rest! Wonderful rest! Relief, release, no longer worrying, fretting, straining, for you are resting upon One who is wholly adequate to do through you everything that needs to be done. Let Him carry your burdens in life and lead you along His path. Rest in the LORD!

The Truth: "Come unto Me all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28)

Hebrews 3 “Do Not Harden Your Heart”

“Do not harden your hearts as when they provoked Me, as in the day of trial in the wilderness, where your fathers tried Me by testing Me, and saw My works for forty years.” (v.8-9)

These verses are part of an ongoing series of warnings directed at a group of people who were wavering in their commitment to Christ. The author reminds the Hebrews that the generation of Israelites that came out of Egypt under Moses, never reached God's promised rest in Canaan, although it was waiting to be claimed. Their hardness of heart led them to test God, to doubt His provision, and to rebel against His will for them. These Israelites provoked God to anger, and He "declared on oath" (v.11) that their bones would bleach in the desert until the entire generation died out (v.17)

We also need to take this warning to heart. If we ignore it, sin will harden our spirits as surely as cement hardens once it has been poured. God honors faith, but unbelief invites His judgment. The solution against a "hardened heart" is found in verse thirteen, “encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.”

I pray that God will lead you to someone who needs encouragement and to be built up in Him. 

The Truth: “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up.” (1 Thessalonians 5:11)

Hebrews 2 “A Caution Against Drifting”

“Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.” (v.1)

The danger this verse implies is obvious. We need to pay attention to the course of our lives, so that we do not unconsciously drift from the anchorage of our faith. Time changes us all; and there are many professing Christians who have unconsciously drifted away from an earlier better self. Oh, they keep up appearances, but the years of deception have carried them down current and drifting away from their original anchorage.

Therefore, ‘Let us give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard’ - that is, the honest occupation of mind and heart with the truths of the gospel. These truths will steady our course through life and keep us from drifting with the current of the world.

 May you not neglect so great a salvation by thinking, "I do not need to be rescued." Like the riptides that can pull a swimmer slowly out to sea, so a Christian can be pulled unconsciously away from his anchorage of faith if neglected. Brothers and sisters, keep your eyes on Jesus and you will not drift away. 

The Truth: “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye.” (Psalm 32:8) 

Hebrews 1 “The Final Word”

“God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son.” (v.1)

Moody Bible Institute president, Dr. Joseph Stowell, has written concerning today's text: "God has always had spokesmen ready to speak for Him. When He wanted to announce the birth of His Son, He sent an angel with a message (Luke 2:9-14), too significant to trust to a human being. The same was true for the news of Christ's resurrection (Luke 24:4-6). But God's greatest spokesman was neither a patriarch, nor a prophet, nor an angel. According to the author of Hebrews, when God wanted to reveal Himself fully, He spoke "by his Son".

There's a very good reason that God spoke fully, and finally, through Jesus Christ. Jesus is the only Person of whom it can be said, "He is exactly like God." That's because Jesus is God--He is therefore both perfect and superior to anyone who has come before or since. Additionally God the Father gave us His definitive word concerning Jesus when He spoke from heaven at Jesus' transfiguration: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!" (Matthew 17:5).

God began speaking to His people in the Garden of Eden, then continued through the spiritual forefathers, the patriarchs, the prophets, the priests, and after 400 years of silence, to us through His Son, Jesus. The command to listen to Jesus (Matthew 15:5) has never been canceled, and never will be. Therefore, open your heart, and hear the words of truth from our LORD through His Word, particularly during these days of questionable leadership. For in the end, God will have the final word, and one would be extremly wise to "Hear Him."

The Truth: “I (God) will raise up for them a Prophet like you (Moses) from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him. And it shall be that whoever will not hear My words, which He speaks in My name, I will require it (Judgment) of him.” (Deuteronomy 18:18)

Philemon “Put It On My Account”

If he has wronged you or owes anything, put that on my account.” (v.18)

The book of Philemon contains a one-on-one appeal. Onesimus was a runaway slave who had escaped from his Christian master Philemon. Onesimus met Paul in Rome and became a follower of Christ. They agreed that it was right for him to return to his master. Paul wrote a letter to Philemon (the letter that bears his name), asking him to receive Onesimus as a brother, and assuring him that he himself would pay any debt Onesimus owed.

This is a beautiful picture of what happens when one turns to Christ for salvation. As sinners, we owed an enormous debt, but Jesus put that on His account. Because of His sinless life, He has unlimited resources of righteousness to spend. And by dying in our place, He paid the penalty for our sin. Now we can draw on this payment by faith. As Martin Luther put it, "We are all His Onesimi." If we put our trust in Christ as our Savior, our sins are put to His account and we are free for all eternity. Praise God!

Christ paid the debt He didn't owe, to satisfy the debt we couldn't pay.

The Truth

“Jesus paid it all, All to Him I owe.

Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.”

Titus 3 “Saved By His Grace”

He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.” (v.5)

Entrance to heaven is a gift of grace and not a matter of personal merit. Paul emphasizes this fact in today’s passage by reminding us of our status prior to receiving Christ. The picture is not a pretty one. We were “foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures” (v. 2). In addition, we “lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.” This reminder immediately follows Paul’s command to “show true humility toward all men” and is related to our obligation to submit to those in authority and to be peaceable and considerate of others (v.2).

There's a lot to chew on in these first five verses, but salvation by grace, and by grace alone is the key point (Romans 3:24). Meaning, we can do nothing to earn it - it's a gift from God. We simply acknowledge our sinfulness and the inability to save ourselves, then place our trust in Jesus, believing that He died on the cross for our sins, who then welcomes us into His grace.

God has provided salvation for you—that’s His part. Receiving it by faith—is yours.

The Truth: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Titus 2 “Be A Living Example”

In all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified, sound in speech which is beyond reproach, so that the opponent will be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us.” (vv.7-8)

In today’s chapter, Paul turns the spotlight from the church to the home. He examines each member of the household, outlining individual duties and responsibilities. To older men, he encourages them to be “worthy of respect” and to exhibit “self control,” among other qualities (v. 2). Older women are to live reverently and teach the younger to do the same (v. 3). 

The letter encourages a pattern of discipleship for older adults to teach the things they have learned. And, for both young and old, he encourages believers to live lives so that opponents have no opportunity to make credible charges of wrongdoing (v. 8). 

Oh that our society today would take these verses to heart, so that our older men and women would be the righteous mentors God intended them to be.

The Truth “Gray hair is a crown of splendor,” the author of Proverbs declares, “it is attained by a righteous life” (Proverbs 16:31).

“Be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.” (1 Timothy 4:12)

Titus 1 “Choose Wisely”

 “I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking.” (v.5)

In the movie, "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" Harrison Ford and Sean Connery are in search for the Holy Grail, the cup of Christ. With Sean Connery lying mortally wounded, Harrison Ford must negotiate a deadly maze of traps to gain entrance into an ancient room, guarded by a Knight, and select from that room full of cups and chalices, the one cup that has the healing power of God to save his father's life. While they all appear kingly, only one will bring life. The knight who guards the Grail knows its identity but would die rather than pointing it out, he simply warns Connery to, "Choose wisely."    

Here in our text, the apostle Paul left Titus on the island of Crete to appoint leaders for the growing band of believers. Except for preaching the gospel, nothing Titus did for the Christians on Crete was more important than finding them the right leadership, so crucial to the successful growth of the church. 

Titus’s job of both teaching and choosing leaders would be no easy task. As we shall see, the inhabitants of Crete were a difficult and problematic people, some of whom had infiltrated the church. Thus, Titus would have his work cut out for him in finding the men who fit the qualities listed by Paul in verses 6-9. So Paul gives Titus these guidelines along with the warning to "choose wisely" that purity might prevail. 

While not all decisions are equal, many present themselves with multiple options, dilemmas that can give us reason to pause, to be uncertain. In that moment, never be to quick to move forward without taking time to pray for guidance, to seek His wisdom, that you may be lead by His Spirit, and "choose wisely." 

The Truth: "If any man lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him." (James 1:5)