Melchizedek

Posted on August 18, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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Melchizedek

Hebrews 7:1-14 (JDV)

Hebrews 7:1 You see, this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of God Most High, met Abraham and blessed him as he returned from defeating the kings,
Hebrews 7:2 and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, his name means king of righteousness, then also, king of Salem, meaning king of peace.
Hebrews 7:3 Fatherless, motherless, without genealogy, having neither start of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God, he stays a priest forever.
Hebrews 7:4 Now consider how great this man was: even Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of the plunder to him.
Hebrews 7:5 The sons of Levi who receive the priestly office have a command according to the law to collect a tenth from the people – that is, from their brothers and sisters – though they have also descended from Abraham.
Hebrews 7:6 But one without this lineage collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed the one who had the promises.
Hebrews 7:7 Without a doubt, the inferior is blessed by the superior.
Hebrews 7:8 In the one case, men who will die receive a tenth, but in the other case, Scripture testifies that he lives.
Hebrews 7:9 And in a sense Levi himself, who receives a tenth, has paid a tenth through Abraham,
Hebrews 7:10 you see, he was still within his ancestor when Melchizedek met him.
Hebrews 7:11 You see, if perfection came through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the people received the law), what further need was there for another priest to appear, said to be according to the order of Melchizedek and not according to the order of Aaron?
Hebrews 7:12 You see, when there is a transfer of the priesthood, there must be a change of law as well.
Hebrews 7:13 You see, the one these things are spoken about belonged to a different tribe. No one from it has served at the altar.
Hebrews 7:14 You see, it is evident that our Lord came from Judah, and Moses said nothing about that tribe concerning priests.

Melchizedek

Jesus, being from the tribe of Judah was not qualified to officiate as a priest under the old covenant. But he is qualified to serve as a high priest under the new covenant because his priesthood is superior. The fact that Abraham gave a tenth to Melchizedek illustrates this.

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reasons to be secure

Posted on August 17, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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reasons to be secure

Hebrews 6:13-20 (JDV)

Hebrews 6:13 You see, when God made a promise to Abraham since he had no one greater to swear by, he swore by himself:
Hebrews 6:14 I will indeed bless you, and I will greatly multiply you.
Hebrews 6:15 And so, after waiting patiently, Abraham obtained the promise.
Hebrews 6:16 You see, people swear by something greater than themselves, and for them, a confirming oath ends every dispute.
Hebrews 6:17 Because God wanted to show his unchangeable purpose even more clearly to the heirs of the promise, he guaranteed it with an oath,
Hebrews 6:18 so that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to seize the hope set before us.
Hebrews 6:19 We have this hope as an anchor for the throat, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain.
Hebrews 6:20 Jesus has entered there on our behalf as a forerunner because he has become a high priest permanently according to the order of Melchizedek.

reasons to be secure

In yesterday’s passage, we were told not to stay at the foundation, but to build on it. People get obsessed with the foundation of their faith because they lack assurance. So, here we have three reasons we can be secure in our faith enough to build on it.

First, our salvation is based on God’s promise. He will do it.

Second, we have God’s guarantee that he will keep his promise.

Third, we have God’s permanent high priest, who has entered the inner sanctuary in heaven to intercede for us.

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leaving the foundation

Posted on August 16, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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leaving the foundation

Hebrews 6:1-12 (JDV)

Hebrews 6:1 Therefore, let us let go of the first word about Christ and move on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and faith focused on God,
Hebrews 6:2 teaching about baptisms, laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead ones, and permanent judgment.
Hebrews 6:3 And we will do this if God permits.
Hebrews 6:4 You see, it is impossible to renew to repentance those who were once enlightened, who tasted the sky gift, who share in the Sacred Breath,
Hebrews 6:5 who tasted God’s good word and the powers of the coming age,
Hebrews 6:6 and who have fallen away. This is because, to their own harm, they are recrucifying the Son of God and holding him up to contempt.
Hebrews 6:7 You see, the ground that drinks the rain that often falls on it and that produces vegetation useful to those for whom it is cultivated receives a blessing from God.
Hebrews 6:8 But if it produces thorns and thistles, it is worthless and about to be cursed, and at the end will be burned.
Hebrews 6:9 Even though we are speaking this way, dearly loved friends, in your case we are confident of things that are better and that pertain to salvation.
Hebrews 6:10 You see, God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the care you demonstrated for his name by serving the devotees – and by continuing to serve them.
Hebrews 6:11 Now we desire each of you to demonstrate the same diligence for the full assurance of your hope until the end,
Hebrews 6:12 so that you won’t become lazy but will be imitators of those who inherit the promises through faith and perseverance.

leaving the foundation

In what sense is it Christian to leave the foundational principles? A. B. Bruce explains:

“Such are the fundamentals. What is meant by leaving them? Not, of course, ceasing to believe in them, or to think and speak of them, or to attach importance to them; for, though elementary, they are the foundation (themelion). They are to be left in the sense in which a builder leaves the foundation of a house—by erecting an edifice thereon. They are not to be treated as if they were everything, building as well as foundation. There has always been a Christianity of this sort, stationary, unprogressive; always concerned about the initial stage, and never getting beyond it.” (206).

Our God wants us to grow, mature, to build on our foundation. He wants us to go beyond what we were when we first came to him in repentance.

Bruce, Alexander Balmain. The Epistle to the Hebrews: The First Apology for Christianity; an Exegetical Study. (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark) 1899.

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we must be weaned

Posted on August 15, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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we must be weaned

Hebrews 5:11-14 (JDV)

Hebrews 5:11 We have a great deal to say about this, and it is hard to explain since you have become too lazy to understand.
Hebrews 5:12 And you see, by this time you ought to be teachers, but you need someone to teach you the basic principles of God’s revelation again. You need milk, not solid food.
Hebrews 5:13 You see, everyone who lives on milk is inexperienced with the message about righteousness because he is an infant.
Hebrews 5:14 But solid food is for the mature – for those whose senses have been trained to distinguish between good and evil.

“The author of Hebrews has been developing a deep spiritual thought about Jesus using various scriptures and common knowledge about the work of the high priest. Yet he pauses to concede that his readers might not be ready to hear what he is saying. He compares his teachings to a child’s diet (5:13-14). When very young, a baby cannot handle solid food and needs only milk. Soon, however, milk is not enough, and he or she needs to move on to solid food.” (29).

“The writer was distraught to realize that the Hebrew Christians were still in need of “milk.” Yet their situation was not unlike that of many current believers. Their spiritual childishness was a result of their contentment with the status quo. Further progress in their Christian growth and devotion to Christ would only increase the distance between themselves and their Jewish family members, friends, and acquaintances. It was easier not to press the issue (29).

Are you ready to press the issue by walking away from the things that are keeping your faith immature? For growth to happen, we must be weaned.

Deffinbaugh Robert L and Mark L Strauss. Hebrews Thru Revelation: Wisdom for Today and Forever. Barbour Pub 2008.

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the source of permanent salvation

Posted on August 14, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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the source of permanent salvation

Hebrews 5:1-10 (JDV)

Hebrews 5:1 You see, every high priest taken from among humans is appointed in matters pertaining to God for the people, to offer both gifts and sacrifices for failures.
Hebrews 5:2 He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray since he is also surrounded by weakness.
Hebrews 5:3 Because of this, he must make an offering for his own failures as well as for the people.
Hebrews 5:4 No one takes this privilege on himself; instead, a person is called by God, just as Aaron was.
Hebrews 5:5 In the same way, Christ did not exalt himself to become a high priest, but God who said to him, You are my Son; today I have become your Father,
Hebrews 5:6 also says in another place, You are a priest permanently according to the order of Melchizedek.
Hebrews 5:7 During his fleshly life, he offered prayers and appeals with loud cries and tears to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence.
Hebrews 5:8 Although he was the Son, he learned obedience from what he suffered.
Hebrews 5:9 After he was perfected, he became the source of permanent salvation for all who obey him,
Hebrews 5:10 and he was declared by God a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

the source of permanent salvation

Jesus is one of us. He understands us. He knows what makes us tick. When we fail, he knows why. We can come to him, pleading for mercy and grace again, because he is able to sympathize with our weaknesses. He does not tolerate or condone sin, but he can forgive and restore. He is our great high priest. He was called by his Father for that very purpose. Only he was given that priesthood for eternity. He “became the source of permanent salvation to all who obey him” (9).

LORD, thank you that you have provided a source of permanent salvation for us.

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boldly go

Posted on August 13, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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boldly go

Hebrews 4:14-16 (JDV)

Hebrews 4:14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the sky – Jesus the Son of God – let us hold fast to our confession.
Hebrews 4:15 You see, we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way as we are, yet without failure.
Hebrews 4:16 Therefore, let us approach the throne of favor with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in time of need.

boldly go

It is not easy to approach God’s throne with boldness. Something within us cringes at the thought of entering the presence of Almighty God — since we know how sinful and despicable we are. What helps is recognizing that we never enter his glorious presence on the basis of our own merit. We enter on the basis of Christ’s glorious obedience and sinlessness. God’s mercy is guaranteed because of our holy and righteous Savior.

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the rest grace provides

Posted on August 12, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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the rest grace provides

Hebrews 4:1-13 (JDV)

Hebrews 4:1 Therefore, since the promise to enter his rest remains, let us stay in fear so that none of you will seem to have fallen short.
Hebrews 4:2 You see, we also have received the good news just like they did. But the message they heard did not benefit them, since they did not join with those who heard it in faith.
Hebrews 4:3 You see, we who have believed enter the rest, in keeping with what he has said, So I swore in my anger, “They will not enter my rest,” even though his works have been finished since the foundation of the universe.
Hebrews 4:4 You see, somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in this way: And on the seventh day, God rested from all his works.
Hebrews 4:5 Again, in that passage he says, They will never enter my rest.
Hebrews 4:6 Therefore, since it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news did not enter because of disobedience,
Hebrews 4:7 he again specifies a certain day – today. He specified this speaking through David after such a long time: Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.
Hebrews 4:8 You see, if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day.
Hebrews 4:9 Therefore, a Sabbath rest remains for God’s people.
Hebrews 4:10 You see, the person who has entered his rest has rested from his own works, just as God did from his.
Hebrews 4:11 Let us then make every effort to enter that rest so that no one will fall into the same pattern of disobedience.
Hebrews 4:12 You see, the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of throat and breath, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
Hebrews 4:13 No creature is hidden from him, but all things are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give an account.

the rest grace provides

The grace of God provides a rest for those who choose by faith to stop working for their own salvation and trust God to provide it. This Sabbath rest is not a ritual, and it cannot be performed only one day a week. This Sabbath rest is the promise of God to accept the atonement bought by Christ’s blood and to apply that work to the believer’s account.

If you have trusted Christ for your salvation, you need never worry again about God’s acceptance. The only effort God requires is the effort to enter that rest. Once that is done by faith, your salvation is not the issue. You are now free to love others as Christ loved you — not so you can be saved, but so that they can.

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if we hold firmly

Posted on August 11, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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if we hold firmly

Hebrews 3:1-19 (JDV)

Hebrews 3:1 For that reason – devoted brothers and sisters – who share a sky calling, consider Jesus, the missionary and high priest of our confession.
Hebrews 3:2 He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was in all God’s household.
Hebrews 3:3 You see, Jesus is considered worthy of more glory than Moses, just as the builder has more honor than the house.
Hebrews 3:4 Now every house is built by someone, but the one who built everything is God.
Hebrews 3:5 Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s household, as a testimony to what would be said in the future.
Hebrews 3:6 But Christ was faithful as a Son over his household. And we are that household if we hold on to our confidence and the hope in which we take pride.
Hebrews 3:7 Therefore, as the Sacred Breath says: Today if you hear his voice,
Hebrews 3:8 do not harden your hearts like you did in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the open country,
Hebrews 3:9 where your fathers tested me, tried me and saw my works
Hebrews 3:10 for forty years. That is why I was provoked to anger with that generation and said, “They always go astray in their hearts, and they have not known my ways.”
Hebrews 3:11 So I swore in my anger, “They will not enter my rest.”
Hebrews 3:12 Watch out, brothers and sisters so that there won’t be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.
Hebrews 3:13 But encourage each other daily, while it is still called today so that none of you is hardened by failure’s deception.
Hebrews 3:14 You see, we have become associates with Christ if we hold firmly until the end the reality that we had at the start.
Hebrews 3:15 As it is said: Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.
Hebrews 3:16 You see, who heard and rebelled? Wasn’t it all who came out of Egypt under Moses?
Hebrews 3:17 With whom was God angry for forty years? Wasn’t it with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness?
Hebrews 3:18 And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, if not to those who disobeyed?
Hebrews 3:19 So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.

if we hold firmly

Christ was made lower for a short time, was faithful to his call, and prevailed. Now, we will also endure a short time of testing. We have the opportunity for the same glorification — to become associates with Christ in the dawning new age. But we must not become hardened and disobey like the Israelites did. We will have the eternal life we seek if we hold firmly.

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made lower for a short time

Posted on August 10, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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made lower for a short time

Hebrews 2:5-18 (JDV)

Hebrews 2:5 You see, he has not placed the world to come that we are talking about under agents.
Hebrews 2:6 But someone somewhere has emphatically attested: What is a man that you remember him, or the son of a man that you are concerned about him?
Hebrews 2:7 You made him lower than the agents for a short time; you crowned him with glory and honor
Hebrews 2:8 and placed everything under his feet. You see, in placing everything under him, he left nothing that is not placed under him. As it is, we do not yet see everything placed under him.
Hebrews 2:9 But we do see Jesus – made lower than the agents for a short time so that by God’s favor he might taste death for everyone – crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death.
Hebrews 2:10 You see, in order to bring many sons and daughters to glory, it was entirely appropriate that God — for whom and through whom all things exist – should make the source of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
Hebrews 2:11 You see, the one who makes sacred and those who are sacred all have one Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters,
Hebrews 2:12 saying: I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters; I will sing hymns to you in the congregation.
Hebrews 2:13 Again, I will trust in him. And again, Here I am with the children God gave me.
Hebrews 2:14 Now since the children have flesh and blood in common, Jesus also shared in these, so that through his death he might terminate the one holding the power of death – that is, the devil –
Hebrews 2:15 free those who were held in slavery all their lives by the fear of death.
Hebrews 2:16 You see, of course, he does not reach out to help agents, but to help Abraham’s offspring.
Hebrews 2:17 Therefore, he had to be like his brothers and sisters in every way, so that he could become a merciful and faithful high priest in the God’s things, to make atonement for the failures of the people.
Hebrews 2:18 You see, since he himself has suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted.

made lower for a short time

There are three reasons that The Son was made lower for a short time. First, he was made lower so that he would be mortal because only he could serve as the atoning sacrifice for humanity’s sins. Second, he was made lower so that his death would break Satan’s hold on humanity, and eventually terminate his existence. Third, he was made lower so that once exalted again, he could serve as high priest for tempted humanity.

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drift

Posted on August 9, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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drift

Hebrews 2:1-4 (JDV)

Hebrews 2:1 That is why we must pay attention even more to what we have heard, so that we will not drift away.
Hebrews 2:2 You see, if the message spoken through agents was legally binding and every transgression and disobedience received a deserved payment,
Hebrews 2:3 how will we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? This salvation had its beginning when it was spoken of by the Lord, and it was confirmed to us by those who heard him.
Hebrews 2:4 At the same time, God also testified by signs and wonders, various miracles, and distributions of gifts from the Sacred Breath as he prefers.

drift

It is possible to drift away from the gospel by disobedience. We are warned to pay attention to the good news because it came from the Lord himself, and was verified by God through the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit. With blessing comes responsibility.

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