Sayre Woods Bible Church

Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sins, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. (Hebrews 9:27-28)

Wow, there is a lot to chew on in Hebrews 9. Some of it is hard to understand but the main point is that Christ’s sacrifice is a better sacrifice than the OT sacrifices. What makes Christ’s sacrifice better?

1. Christ’s sacrifice was offered in a better place. The OT sacrifices were offered in an earthly tabernacle while Christ’s sacrifice was actually offered in heaven (9:23-24).

2. Christ’s blood is greater. The OT sacrifices were the blood of goats and bulls while Christ offered His own blood, through the eternal Spirit and without sin or blemish (9:13-14).

3. Christ’s sacrifice only needed to be offered once since it was sufficient for all man’s sins. The sacrifices of animals had to be done over and over again (9:25-26).

4. Christ’s sacrifice cleanses our conscience and washes our heart from sin so that we may serve the living God (9:14). OT sacrifices could not do this; they merely served as signs of a greater sacrifice to come.

Then the writer of Hebrews ends chapter 9 by reminding us that Christ came the first time to bear our sins but that He is coming again to “bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him.” Our salvation is not yet complete. We have eternal life in Christ. We have the Holy Spirit in our hearts as a “deposit.” But we also still have the sin nature fighting within us, pulling us away from God.

We are delivered from the penalty of sin through Christ’s death. We are being delivered from the power of sin through the work of the Spirit. But one day we will be delivered from the very presence of sin when Jesus Christ comes back. On that day we will finally see Him face-to-face, know Him as we are known, be free from the bondage of sin, receive a new body unplagued by disease, decay, and deficiency, and experience love and fellowship without the nagging impulses of selfishness, pride, and fear. That is our hope. That is what we are waiting for.

Maranatha! Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

For if there had been nothing wrong with the first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. But God found fault with the people and said, “The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah…I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.” (Hebrews 8:7-8, 10)

The “first covenant” that the writer of Hebrews speaks about is the Mosaic Covenant, the Law of the OT, the Ten Commandments and the other moral and ceremonial laws of the Torah. This law was written on stone but it was not written in the people’s hearts. The people knew right and wrong but they had no inner motivation or ability to consistently do what was right. They kept drifting away, forsaking God, committing immorality, telling lies, and mistreating others. Thus the first covenant provided a diagnosis of the condition of the human heart but it did not provide a cure. That’s why God, in the OT (in Jeremiah, by the way), pointed to a “new covenant.”

How would the new covenant be different? Hebrews 8:8-12 tells us.

1. God’s law would be written on a person’s mind and heart, not just on stone or in a book.
2. God would enter into a personal relationship with people. They would know Him in their hearts not just in their minds.
3. The sins of each person would be completely forgiven.

Jesus Christ is the “mediator” of this new covenant. He is the one who brought it into effect, the one who stood in the gap between God and man. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people (1 Timothy 2:5-6a). Christ instituted the new covenant by shedding His blood for you and me.

This morning I reflected on the fact that I am a part of the “new covenant.” Through Christ, I have been grafted into the promises of Israel, into this new covenant. What does that mean? It means that, in Christ, the law of God is written on my heart and in my mind. I am no longer “under the law.” Why? Because the law of God, the Holy Spirit, is in me. When I walk in fellowship with the Spirit, I fulfill the law. The ability and motivation to do right is in me as I yield to the Spirit.

That is why legalism never works. “Don’t do this!” “Don’t do that!” Legalism is an attempt to live under the first covenant, the covenant that failed. And it either leads to heavy guilt (I am not doing enough) or to self-righteousness (wow, look how good I am doing). Instead I am under the new covenant. I do what is right, not because I have to or because I am supposed to. I do what is right because I love God, I know Him, I am in relationship with Him, and I want to please Him.

It is like the marriage relationship (or at least the good marriage relationship). I do not do things for my wife just to mark things off the list or keep her off my back or soothe my conscience. I do things for her because I love her. And in loving her and enjoying her I find my greatest joy and satisfaction. God invites us into the same kind of relationship. He invites us to love Him and be loved by Him, to enjoy Him and be enjoyed by Him. That is the promise, the beauty, and the hope of the new covenant.

So don’t focus on all you have to do this morning. Instead focus on loving God and finding your joy in Him, knowing that all your sins are forgiven in Christ and that the Holy Spirit of God abides within you.

Lord Jesus, thank You for dying for me and for grafting me into the new covenant of grace!

Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned (Hebrews 6:7-8).

Hebrews 6:1-8 is one of those difficult passages to interpret. There are three main views:

1. It refers to Christians who lose their salvation. (Of course, if this is the true interpretation, then Hebrews 6 also teaches that a Christian who loses their salvation cannot get it back, v. 6).

2. It refers to those who “profess” to know Christ but in the end fall away.

3. It is a hypothetical passage basically saying, “Since it is impossible to go back and get saved again, move on to maturity!”

I definitely disagree with the first interpretation since I believe it contradicts the rest of Scripture. But both the second and third interpretations have good arguments in their favor. However, at this point in time, I lean toward the second one.

I think the writer of Hebrews is echoing Jesus’ parable of the sower and the seed. Sometimes the seed of God’s Word lands on soil that immediately receives it. Indeed, “receives it with joy” (Matthew 13:20). But over time something happens. Tough times hit and the person “falls away.” Christianity is not the bed of roses they thought it was. It does not solve all their problems or bring them never-ending happiness and health. Thus, they move on and try something else. Was such a person ever saved? I think Jesus’ parable is saying they were not. They tasted salvation but they did not embrace it. Or put in a more direct way, they wanted the benefits of Christ but they did not really want Christ.

Marriage is a good illustration. There are many people who want the benefits of marriage but who do not want the commitment of marriage. They live together…they may even say vows together…but in the end they simply want what they can get out of the relationship more than the relationship itself. When tough times hit or when the relationship doesn’t produce all they want, they move on to the next person and start all over.

This doesn’t work with Christ. Christ wants our whole heart, our whole life, our whole soul. We cannot “date” Christ. We must embrace Him in a covenant marriage. He is the groom. We are the bride. And we find our life and joy in learning what it means to love Him and be loved by Him…for better or for worse, in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, till death bring us face-to-face together.

Of course, Christ does not ask for this kind of commitment to make our lives miserable. He is eager to bring us abundant life, eternal life. But this is only found as we follow Him through the difficult times and trust Him when we do not always see where He is going.

Lord, thank You for loving me. Grow my relationship with You. Deepen our intimacy. Build my trust. May I not forsake You for another but may I continue to find my ultimate joy and peace in You alone.

But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness (Hebrews 3:13).

This is one of my favorite verses. It reminds me of several things…

We all need encouragement…every day! Life in this sinful world is discouraging and frustrating. It is easy to get down on ourselves, to see our problems instead of our blessings, to drift away from the Lord and into selfish sin. We need others around us who can inject a little courage in us from time to time. Someone to give us an encouraging word or an arm around our shoulder or a prayer when we need it. Perhaps that is why it is so important to choose good friends and good company. Otherwise the pull toward discouragement and sin is too easy.

We all are called to encourage others…every day! It is one thing to say we need encouragement every day. “Amen! I sure do. How come people don’t encourage me enough?” It is another thing to say we need to be encouraging others each day. We so often focus on what others are doing to us rather than how we are treating others. Am I a refreshment to others? Do I give encouraging words? Do I put my arm around another’s shoulder? Do I lift up others in prayer? I am always reminded of Proverbs 11:25, A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed. The Bible always focuses on our responsibility to others rather than giving us permission to complain about how others are treating us.

Sin pulls us, deceives us, and hardens us. The pull towards sin is constant. Our sinful nature still exists and still battles our spirit. As Paul says in Romans 7, I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do–this I keep on doing.

So sin constantly pulls at us and entices us. And when we give in, we find that it also deceives us. The pleasure is short-lived. The thrill quickly fades away. And we are left with the guilty conscience, the sick stomach, the binding addictions, and the shattered relationships of sin. Unfortunately, instead of turning back to God, we grow tired of the struggle and give in. We grow hardened in our attitude and in our heart. We begin to criticize others for not helping us enough. We begin to criticize God for not rescuing us enough. We begin to rationalize our sin and grow comfortable in its darkened embrace. Then we are in trouble. Because our hearts are closed off to the voice of God and the encouragement of others.

Sin is a destructive force; thus we must battle it every day. And we need brothers and sisters around us to encourage us in the fight.

Have you encouraged someone today? They really need it.

For this reason He had to be made like His brothers 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. (Hebrews 2:17)

“He had to be made like His brothers in every way.” Those words struck me this morning. He had to. There was no other way. No other option. To be a merciful and faithful high priest and to make atonement for sins, Jesus had to become a man. He had to become like us. He had to experience life from our perspective. Otherwise, He could not identify with us and He could not save us from our sin.

It is somewhat interesting to use the terms “had to” with God. After all, our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases (Psalm 115:3). God is free in the ultimate sense. He is obligated to no one. He owes no one anything. Yet Hebrews 2 tells us that Jesus (God in the flesh) had to be made like His brothers. God had to become a man. Yes, God is free. Yes, God can do whatever He pleases. But, yes, God, out of His love and grace, has obligated Himself to man, to us.

Jesus Himself said, For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). The God of the universe humbled Himself and became a man. And not a powerful, prestigious, popular man…but rather a servant. He was born in a barn, lived among a people in bondage, served the needs of others, and died on a cross out of love. Whoa. God had to become a man. He had to out of love.

Because of God’s love, because Jesus became a man, we have two things:

1) A High Priest who can identify with everything we are going through. He knows what it is like to be hungry, be thirsty, be tired, be tempted, be rejected, be betrayed, be misunderstood, be misinterpreted, be mocked, be beaten, be discouraged, be depressed, be angry, be broken, be forgotten, be forsaken. He has been there. He has walked a mile in our shoes. Thus when we pray to Him, He can honestly say, “I know how you feel.”

2) A Savior who can save us. Jesus had to take on flesh so that He could represent us and so that He could die. He became our substitute. He took the death that we deserved so that He could give us the life that we don’t deserve. He took our spot on death row so that we could enjoy freedom and life.

And, because Jesus took on flesh, we not only have a merciful High Priest and a Savior but we also have a brother. Both the One who makes men holy (God) and those who are made holy (us) are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers (Hebrews 2:11). Jesus is not ashamed to call me His brother. And I should not be ashamed to call Him mine.

Lord, thank You for taking on flesh so that You could love me and save me and call me brother.

Today begins our first day in reading the book of Hebrews. If you got lost in Jeremiah, today is a good day to get back on track with your daily reading.

Hebrews is an anonymous book. The human author is not identified. Many believe it was written by the Apostle Paul or by a close associate of Paul. Whatever the case, the book is specifically addressed to Jewish believers who were apparently contemplating a return to Judaism.

Why would they be thinking of returning? Well, historically, around AD 63, Nero began his empire-wide persecution of Christians. Before this time, most Christians were fairly safe in the empire. They might face persecution here and there but overall the empire considered Christianity as a sect of Judaism and pretty much left early believers alone. However, under Nero’s reign, this changed.

With persecution of Christians spreading, it appears that some Jewish believers considered “changing their allegiance.” Instead of following Christ (at least openly) they wanted to go back into the “safe” fold of Judaism. The writer of Hebrews warns them that such a move is spiritually dangerous and intellectually inconsistent. How can you go back to that which has been completed and surpassed in Christ? One of the major themes in Hebrews is that “Christ is better.” You don’t trade in what is better to pick up what is obsolete.

I love the start of Hebrews 1:

In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. 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. So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.

Jesus Christ is greater than all the prophets. Jesus Christ is greater than all the angels.

Who is Jesus? He is the Word of God. He is the heir of all things. He is the creator of the universe. He is the radiance of God’s glory. He is the exact representation of God. He is the sustainer of all things. He is the Savior of all mankind. He is the name above all names. It is hard to find a better description of Christ in the New Testament.

It is good to remember that Christianity is not just a philosophy of life or a good means of fellowship or a high moral code. It is the joining of oneself to Christ. It is believing by faith that Jesus Christ is who He said He is, that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh, the living Savior of humanity.

Father, thank You for Your Son, Jesus!

They have not been humbled, to this day, nor have they feared; they have not walked in My law or in My statutes that I set before you and your fathers. Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will set My face against you for catastrophe and for cutting off all Judah.” (44:10-11)

Even though Jeremiah 44:10-11 specifically refers to Judah in the 6th century BC, it is hard not to think of our own nation today. Despite 9/11 and many other events in our nation’s history, we have not been humbled. We do not fear the Lord. And we are not walking in His ways. We have abandoned God and the consequences are not good. All we can do is plead for God’s mercy.

But it is too easy for me just to focus on our nation. It is too easy to say, “Our country has abandoned God.” The hard thing is to focus on my own heart. Have I abandoned God? How is my heart?

Jeremiah 44:10 identifies three things that mark off the heart devoted to God. It is humbled. It fears and reverences Him. And it walks in His ways. These three things are tied together. The humbled heart reverences the Lord and obeys His Word. It recognizes each day as a gift from His hand and submits to His leadership and love. Conversely, the prideful heart disregards God and His Word. It operates as if God does not exist and pursues its own ends and desires. Where is my heart today?

As we reflect on 9/11 today, it is good to pray for our nation and examine our own hearts before the Lord.

Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxieties. And see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. (Psalm 139:23-24)

Ever had one of those little divine “coincidences” that encourage your faith? Well, I had one this morning. Today’s reading is Jeremiah 39. Interesting chapter. Mostly a bunch of names of people I’ve never heard of with a lot of other historical details. After reading the chapter, I poured a bowl of cereal and opened up my new issue of Christianity Today to peruse a few articles while eating my Frosted Miniwheats. There on page 19 in a section called “Quotation Marks” was this recent quote.

“A throwaway detail in the Old Testament turns out to be accurate and true. I think that it means that the whole of the narrative of Jeremiah takes on a new kind of power.” Irving Finkel, curator of the British Museum, on a cuneiform tablet recording a gift by Nebo-Sarsekim, which confirmed a name mentioned in Jeremiah 39.

“Whoa, Jeremiah 39, I just read that! What are the odds?”

I picked up Jeremiah 39 again to find Nebo-Sarsekim. He is in verse 3 with a listing of all the Babylonian princes who invaded Jerusalem. Just a minor detail that certainly didn’t catch my eye the first time. Now it takes on a little more meaning. When the Bible records history, it records history. This is not a made up story. Jeremiah is telling events exactly as they happened…even telling us the name of a Babylonian prince who happened to take part in conquering Jerusalem. If Jeremiah is that careful in his recording of the little details of history, then we can be even more confident that the rest of what he records is accurate too.

That little “divine coincidence” also reminded me that God cares about the little details of life. He didn’t have to record the names of any of these Babylonians, but He did…as a future testament to the accuracy of His Word and as a reminder that nothing escapes His notice. All of these people were players in God’s drama. They didn’t realize it but the simple things they did were part of God’s plan. The same is true today. My life does not escape God’s notice. My life is not just a blip on the random, meaningless pages of evolutionary history. I am a part of God’s drama…and I have a role to play…even in the simple details of life.

A good example is another name mentioned in Jeremiah 39–Ebed-Melech, the Ethiopian (Cushite). Here is Jerusalem being destroyed and the people being carted off to Babylon in droves and God stops the drama to send a simple message to Ebed-Melech.

“Go and tell Ebed-Melech the Cushite, ‘This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I am about to fulfill my words against this city through disaster, not prosperity. At that time they will be fulfilled before your eyes. But I will rescue you on that day, declares the LORD; you will not be handed over to those you fear. I will save you; you will not fall by the sword but will escape with your life, because you trust in me, declares the LORD.’ ” (39:16-18)

Who was Ebed-Melech? We don’t really know much about him except that he was a foreigner (from Ethiopia) and a eunuch in the king’s court. He was probably someone captured in war who was made a eunuch to serve the king and his harem. However, in Jeremiah 38, it is Ebed-Melech who hears that Jeremiah has been thrown into a cistern where he will most likely starve to death and who intercedes for Jeremiah to get him removed from the cistern. His kindness is further illustrated by the fact that he makes sure to put padding on the ropes that are used to pull Jeremiah out of the pit (38:7-13). This simple act of kindness revealed a heart that trusted and loved the LORD…and the LORD saw it, remembered it, and rewarded it. [It is sort of ironic that the story of Acts also stops for a moment to mention a Ethiopian eunuch who was led to faith in Jesus Christ by Philip.]

Mark 9:41 came to my mind again. I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in My name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward. Ebed-Melech’s simple act of kindness to Jeremiah was rewarded by God. No detail is overlooked in God’s drama.

Lord, thank You for Your little assurances of faith. May I live today remembering that no detail is overlooked in Your plan and no act of kindness done in Your name will be forgotten.