JanMary

Q1. (Hebrews 9:14) In what way does Christ's sacrifice of himself cleanse the conscience in a way that the animal sacrifices of the Old Covenant could not? The animal sacrifices cleansed only the outward man of sin. I believe it is a type and shadow of our need to put on the righteousness of Christ, after His blood has cleansed us on the inside. After we've come to Him for salvation/forgiveness/cleansing.....His Holy Spirit dwells in us enabling us to choose to put on His righteousness and for the continual washing of our sins and conscience.

Q5. (Hebrews 9:11-12) What does "redemption" mean? Bought with a price, purchased again....We belonged to God, then were lost to Him through Adam & Eve's "fall". He bought us back with the blood of Jesus from Satan, so we are His again, forever. What were we redeemed from? Bondage to sin and Satan, the second death,damnation and hell for eternity. What was the price of our redemption? The price was the death and shed blood of the Perfect Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. How long does our redemption last? Forever, eternally...Praise God. Every sin, including rebellion and walking away...He will bring us back because once redeemed, we're redeemed for eternity. (Every sin is covered...I cannot lose my salvation)

Q4. (Hebrews 9:9) Why were external sacrificial regulations unable to cleanse or perfect the conscience? The external sacrifices were stopgap...a picture of what was to come in Jesus' sacrifice. The old ones couldn't reach the inner conscience to cleanse it. How does a guilty conscience keep us from intimacy with God? The knowledge of sin and nagging guilt stop the intimacy. The fear of punishment, dread. What is necessary for us to be able to come "boldly" (4:16)? A clean conscience, and the knowledge of sonship (or daughter). The knowledge that the Blood of Jesus has washed away my sin, and that The Lord looks upon me with delight and joy.

Q3. (Hebrews 9:7) Did the Old Covenant provide forgiveness for intentional, active, maintained rebellion against God? No, only for the errors and sins of ignorance and thoughtlessness. Does the New Covenant provide this forgiveness? Yes, it does. All sins are forgiven. What is required for forgiveness to be granted? It requires humbling oneself, confession, and repentance from the sin.

Q2. (Hebrews 8:7-13) Why did the Old Covenant fail? It was defective. They did not abide in His agreement with them, so He withdrew His favor, and nullified the covenant. They broke it, though He was their husband. What are the primary promises of the New Covenant as prophesied in Jeremiah 31:31-34? It will be new, not a re-worked one, one that we can't break or walk away from because it's sealed with His own blood. His law will be internal, written on our hearts He will be our God and we will be His people Rather than teaching each other about Him, each one will know Him personally...from the least to the greatest. Each will recognize, understand and be acquainted with Him. He will forgive our sins and remember them no more.

Q1. (Hebrews 8:6) In what sense is Jesus the "mediator" of a new covenant? He became the "bridge" between the 2 parties of the covenant...sinful man and Holy God. What did he do to mediate this? He laid down His own life to become the sacrifice....and shed His sinless blood to seal the covenant.

Q4. (Hebrews 7:26-28) How is Jesus described in verse 26? He's our High Priest, perfectly adapted to our needs as was fitting; He's Holy, blameless, unstained by sin, separated from sinners, exalted higher than the Heavens.(eternal God) How does Jesus differ from human high priests? Human high priests were just like us, frail sinful, mortal, needing forgiveness and cleansing. They had to first offer sacrifice for their own sin, before offering sacrifices for others sin, using the blood of animals, and relying on God to pardon. Jesus is Holy, perfect, sinless, eternal...He's God! He does it all....He is the only intermediary, (was both man and God,) He is the only source of forgiveness and cleansing...His own blood was shed... He brought Himself as the sacrifice. He is our pardon! What about Jesus' role as High Priest gives you special confidence? v.26 says He is perfectly adapted to our needs. The verse mentions nothing about the Love of God, but it's implied throughout the text, and His love is what gives me special confidence. That and the fact that He lives to make intercession for us. He met all the requirements, once for all. That means I'm secure. He did it all. I can add nothing to His salvation, His cleansing, nor His keeping power.And His appointment is complete and permanent.

Q3. (Hebrews 7:24-25) Why is Jesus able to save people "completely" -- "to the uttermost" according to verse 25? "Therefore He is able also to save to the uttermost completely, perfectly, finally, and for all time and eternity those who come to God through Him, since He is always living to make petition to God and intercede with Him and intervene for them."Heb. 24,25 I'm so glad these verses follow Hebrews 6:6, where I believe, the hypothetical question of losing your salvation arose. Sure sounded like it was possible, for a few verses. Now this lays it completely to rest for me. He saves us perfectly, finally and for all time and eternity, since He is always living to make intercession to God with Him and to intervene for us, because He is the eternal High priest. If I were in danger of losing my salvation, He would intercede, intervene to save me from myself, just as He prayed for Peter, that his faith would not fail during extreme testing and trial. What is the essential function of a priest? The priest's main function was to be the intermediary between God and man...to intercede, to offer the sacrifices to "cover" the sins, to enter into the Holy of Holies once a year to atone for the sins of the people. The go between, if you will, between God and man. Jesus is the bridge between my sinful flesh, and my Holy God. Why is intercession the essence of being a priest? He is the advocate for the people, chosen and appointed by God the Father. Jesus is now our advocate who is always living to make petition to "God and intercede with Him and intervene for them." V.25 That settles the "lost salvation" question for me, once and for all..His role is to keep me until that day.

Q2. (Hebrews 7:22) What is a guarantee or surety? It is a covenant, backed up with collateral, as our money system used to be when it was backed by gold to guarantee it's value. It's a bond, as a man's handshake used to be the guarantee that he would stand by his word or agreement. (Boy how times have changed, I just realized!) It is made with a certainty of being carried out or fulfilled. When I worked in a bank, depositors money placed there was guaranteed to be covered by Insurance by the U.S. government agency, in case of the failure of the bank...the investor would still get his/her money. In what sense is Jesus the guarantor of the New Covenant? Jesus blood is the seal of the new Covenant. When I was sealed by God's Holy Spirit at salvation, Jesus' blood is the guarantee that He will keep me "until that day" when I see Him face to face. His blood is powerful enough to hold onto me...His Covenant cannot be broken. His blood surpassed the symbolic blood sacrifices and He surpassed the earthly high priests...and is now the Only High Priest.

Q1. (Hebrews 6:18b-20) In what sense have we "fled to a place of refuge"? We fled the captivity of darkness and the evil one, ruin and eternal damnation and ran into Jesus, our Stonghold, Stong Tower, Hiding Place of safety and salvation....eternal life with Him. Why are we to "take hold of" this hope actively? Our salvation is a conscious decision, not a passive "maybe I will, maybe I won't" kind of thing....or the thing many do, and I've done in the past, of making a decision by not deciding...sort of leaving things to "fate". Taking hold says to me It's being held out to me and to receive it I must grasp it actively. How does Christian hope differ from hoping that something is true? Christian hope is "confident expectation of receiving", not I "hope so"....maybe...if we're lucky. In what ways does an anchor illustrate the idea of hope? An anchor grabs hold and secures the ship securely from drifting with the current. I love this, in light of our previous lesson, and the idea of losing our salvation. He is my Stronghold and my anchor who will keep me from drifting or turning away or being cut loose in the storms of life...He holds me securely and firmly in His grip. He seal us at salvation with the Holy Spirit....our anchor. Someone said to me recently that they were surprised I still have faith after all of the things that have been thrown at me in life. I said "God held onto me, and when I prayed foolish prayers to die, He ignored those and reminded me how much He loves me. When I wanted to give up and quit, He sent fresh hope and encouragement. When I couldn't get out of bed, He sent spirit filled believers to come along side with help and assistance. He refused to let me go." I would add after doing this lesson...."He is my firm anchor who holds me fast."

Q4. (Hebrews 6:12) If we take seriously the writer's exhortation to exercise both faith and patience for the long haul, what effect does that have on our Christian life? We will work to full capacity in a relaxed state of faith....Perserverence accompanies faith. It is a fruit of His Spirit (Gal 5:22,23)...I've experienced this in my own life. The Lord has given me many promises... but in particular, one in 1979, and another in 1988 which are not only unfulfilled at this moment, but in fact look impossible to ever be fulfilled...much like Abraham's promises. I can't tell you how many times, at points of discouragement or utter despair and frustration, the Lord has picked me up and encouraged me, sent fresh manna, hope, (without hope we perish), a Word in due season... exactly what I needed at just the right moment. It occurred to me, that when He does fulfill them, and He will, He gets all the glory for my perserverance....without Him carrying me along, I would have given up long ago in the face of persecution, disillusionment, attacks of all kinds, unspeakable losses, fear, etc. He is amazing! When our finished "portraits" hang in the gallery in Heaven....His is the Glory, He did the work, He is the artist, the author and finisher of our faith. We will be like Him, but not because of our work or works. On our perspective? During these years of sometimes, torturous waiting while expecting Him to act, my perspective has changed completely..When the waiting began 30 years ago, my perspective was I had to clench my teeth, and somehow make the promises happen, work to see them fulfilled..I now have His perspective. The waiting has developed perserverance, but as I said, He has produced it in me...as all Fruit of the Spirit is produced. Now, after all of these years of waiting, I recognize it isn't about ME...it's about bringing Him glory; It's about bringing others to Christ; It's also about those around me whose lives intersect with mine, and what He is doing in them through me and through them watching what He's doing in my life....how He sustains, how He provides, how He heals, and softens the heart, and my attitude along the way and consequently, how He changes them along with me as we interact. How can we resist the subtle temptation to think that our salvation depends upon our endurance rather than Christ's atonement and the grace of God? That's the thing...salvation IS by grace alone. I can add nothing to it. I can't keep myself saved...He's proven that to me in my own life....He chooses everyone to be saved, but only those who choose to be chosen, are the Son's gift to His Father, given through His blood which is powerful enough to not only save and cleanse me, but to keep me and to complete me "at that day" Phil.l:6 Like Paul, the only thing I can boast in, is Jesus Christ.I wouldn't even be saved, if it weren't for Him chasing me down. For me, it's to remember that this isn't about salvation....that is secure. I loved Millard Erickson's perspective in the notes...that this passage teaches that a Christian can lose salvation, but John 10 teaches that he won't. I see it more as a warning to keep holding God's hand and allow Him to bring me along and to cooperate with Him in the completion process. It seems to me this is more about fruitfulness....about praying, seeking, knocking until His Character if formed in me.

Q3. (Hebrews 6:4-6) What is apostasy? Abandonment of what one has voluntarily professed; Total desertion of principles or faith. Why is it impossible from a practical standpoint to restore apostates to Christian faith and practice? The desertion or abandonment implies a running to another belief system or principles to replace the former commitment. What point was Jesus making in his Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23)? The many "heart conditions" determine the depth of penetration of the Word in the persons life. The Rocky soil could represent one who becomes apostate : "One who hears the Word, welcomes and accepts it with joy; Yet it has no real root in him, but is temporary (inconstant, lasts but a little while); and when affliction or trouble or persecution comes on account of the Word, at once he is caused to stumble and (he is repelled and begins to distrust and desert Him Whom he ought to trust and obey) and he falls away." What is Jesus' point of the Parable of the Tares or Weeds (Matthew 13:24-30)? There are those who look and act and serve as though they are true Christians, but are not born again....probably have a religious spirit which mimics true faith. The point He makes in v.28 is that it's not our job to go and weed them out; Jesus said He will sort them out lest the true wheat be destroyed as well. (My Mother in law was in a cult, where women were chattel and their "salvation" depended upon the husbands generosity of spirit at the "resurrection" depending on how well she had served him. As a new Christian viewing her life, I thought she was a saint! ) These parables lend balance to this difficult portion of Scripture, which I'm certain Satan loves, because it terrifies some and discourages others, leading to judging "who is saved and who is apostate". I believe the writer was saying to these discouraged believing Jews, "Don't think if you abandon Christ to go back to temple worship and animal sacrifice, that you will find salvation there....salvation is found in Christ alone.

Q1. (Hebrews 5:14) How does a person become mature in God's Word according to verse 14? The writer says to "eat solid food, not milk for infants". That means to me to read, study, discern, pray for wisdom and understanding, memorize, apply it, put the Word of God into practice, "chew on it", rather than waiting to be spoon fed on Sunday's at church. It requires me to remain faithful, available and teachable...open to His Holy Spirit, who is my teacher.If the desire to read & study is diminished, He tells us to come to Him...to ask, and He will answer with wisdom. What can you do to grow in maturity? Make the above list my priority every day...when I see something I don't understand, bring it to the Lord and ask Him to lead me into all truth...to teach me what He is saying that has me puzzled. Some of the areas I had doubts in early on, when I asked Him to teach me and train me in His Word, are now the strongest areas in my beliefs. Pretending or trying to push something under the rug that I don't "get" is foolishness....He wants me to grow up into maturity to be able to teach others.

Q5. (Hebrews 5:9) In verse 9, what does "made perfect" refer to, since it obviously isn't talking about Jesus' moral growth and perfection? (Hint: The word teleioō means "bring something to its goal or accomplishment." 1) Jesus was already perfect, but being made perfect means He perfected the Father's plan by fulfilling it to completion, in every detail, without sin, and without wavering in His resolve to obey the plan laid out back in eternity for the redemption of that which was lost....me...and how very lost I was, but now I'm found, and I'm eternally thankful for my perfect Saviour and Lord's sacrifice for me. The perfect plan, fulfilled perfectly through unspeakable suffering, by the perfect Jesus.

Q4. (Hebrews 5:8) In what sense did Jesus "learn obedience from what he suffered"? His obedience was perfected as He walked to completion the path of suffering, which involved both physical, emotional and spiritual suffering...separation from His Father's presence for the first time. How did Jesus' learning process differ from ours, since he didn't sin and suffer the consequences of his sin -- the way we usually learn? We learn from suffering consequences of our disobedience....while His completed experience of suffering made Him perfectly equipped to be the perfect High Priest...the Author and Source of eternal salvation to all those who give heed and obey Him. He suffered not the consequences of sin of His own, since He didn't sin, but His suffering was the consequence for my sin, so that I am forgiven and won't have to face the punishment I deserve.

Q3. (Hebrews 4:16) Why should we approach the "throne of grace" with boldness and confidence? Because He has invited us to come boldly and with confidence....we're approaching our loving Heavenly Father, and because Jesus has already borne the penalty for our sins, we have nothing to fear in coming to Him. What are the promises contained in this verse? We are promised His Presence and His attention...His ear and His understanding. We're promised Grace or unmerited favor, and we will receive mercy for our failures. we're promised His help in good time for every need...appropriate help and well timed help, coming just when we need it. Forgiveness is promised, and implied here as well. On what basis is God able to offer us unrestrained mercy and grace for our sins while still retaining his justice as judge? When I was a new Christian, someone explained that Jesus is my advocate and in essence, stands between God and me...so the Father sees me through His Son's righteousness, who has cleansed, redeemed and justified me, therefore I receive mercy rather than the punishment I deserve for my sins. He is still a just judge, but my fine has been paid, and my sentence of death has been commuted to life eternal.

Q2. (Hebrews 4:15) In what ways did Jesus share our weaknesses? He experienced everything we experience as human beings.. though He was fully God, He was also fully man. So He was hungry and thirsty, tired, hot and sweaty, had colic probably as a baby, fell down when learning to walk, had human emotions....all that we feel and experience. In what ways was Jesus' tempted? He was tempted in every respect as we are, yet without sin. Because we know he didn't sin, were his temptations easier or more difficult than ours? It says in every respect as we are...but then I've never been on a 40 day fast, with Satan tempting me to use Divine powers to circumvent the natural temptations, or to experience His heinous suffering and death....so I would say His temptations were far greater than any I will face, and I have the benefit of turning to Him for strength to face them, so even in that, I'm not alone. Do we have any temptations he didn't have? No, He was tempted in every area that we are. Why does it comfort us that he can sympathize with our temptations and weaknesses? It's in our nature to seek to be understood. When someone else "gets it" when I share with them, there is an intimacy in the shared understanding. He isn't just a "far off" High Priest who can't relate, He's a suffering Servant as well, who can. It comforts me that I don't have to explain to Him how pain feels, or how devastating grief is.. or what it's like to feel tormented by Satan, He's experienced it all, to the maximum limit and not only understands but has sent the Holy Spirit to comfort me.

Q1. (Hebrews 4:14) What is so important about "holding fast to our confession." It is a form of compact or covenant...or agreement we entered into, with the Lord at salvation.Since we are constantly being tempted to withdraw or turn away from Him, to hold fast to our confession is to reaffirm that He is still our first love. It's like contending for a marriage relationship, and telling our spouse we love them often, as an affirmation to our commitment to each other. What is our confession or profession of faith? That Jesus is Lord....not just my Savior, but master of my life. Why is maintaining this confession so vital? The writer of Hebrews exhorted us in V.11 to be zealous to exert ourselves and strive diligently to enter the rest of God, to know and experience it for ourselves, that no one may fall or perish by the same kind of unbelief and disobedience into which those in the wilderness fell. We are told in Romans 10:10 that a person believes with the heart, but with the mouth confesses, declares openly and speaks out freely his faith and confirms his salvation.

Q4. (Hebrews 4:12-13) What do these two verses have to do with what precedes them? I believe these verses are the antidote to apostasy, or back sliding, falling away...the writer gave first the warning that we are always being seduced to turn away from God, then he gives the prescription to prevent the problem from taking place. How is the Word described? It's alive, operative, energizing and effective; sharper than any two edged sword, able to penetrate to the dividing line of the breath of life (soul) and the immortal spirit, and of joints and marrow of the deepest parts of our nature, exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thought and purposes of the heart. What effect does the Word have on us? It feeds our spirit, instructs our minds and hearts, gives guidance, contains wisdom for every circumstance of life, brings conviction, connects us the the Lord, it's the main way He communicates with us, it brings us "life" because it's "alive", God breathed, it reveals motives, exposes sin, gives hope,and encouragement, reveals thoughts and purposes., it renews my fallen thinking so that I begin to think His thoughts....it's my lifeline to my Father and it's the revelation of Him to me...it tells me how He thinks, Who He is, what He does, and it tells me who I am in Him. Why do we need to continually expose ourselves to the Word of God? Without it I would starve to death spiritually, then the void would leave a foothold for Satan to establish his lies and seduction in my thinking. It is His enlightenment to darkened thinking, foolish thoughts, and because the world/ Satan are constantly barraging my mind to go the way of the world, it's the sword with which to do spiritual warfare...Jesus used it in dealing with Satan, and that's my example to follow.

Q3. (Hebrews 4:8-11) What do you think the writer of Hebrews means by this promise of "rest" for the believer? I think it's referring to entering into the promised land...our destination & home when our work on earth is completed and we have left the flesh and earthly labor behind. It's also I think, referring to the place we come to in our walk with the Lord, where we cease operating in the fleshly realm, striving to earn something, and can "sit down", so to speak, and rest in Him as we allow Him to flow/serve through us. I love the analogy of being a glove and He is the hand which fills and moves it. There is rest for our souls when we walk in that kind of believing faith, and are trusting Him to be Lord of our lives. Why does the writer urge us: "Make every effort to enter that rest"? So that we don't perish by the same kind of unbelief & disobedience into which those in the wilderness fell. What is the difference between apostasy from Christ and the kind of falling into sin that all Christians experience from time to time? Apostasy is a complete turning away, probably a permanent rejection of Christ, whereas, when a believing Christian sins, repents and turns to the Lord in sorrow for sinning against Him and others, the relationship is intact and the sinner is forgiven and restored.

Q2. (Hebrews 3:12-14) What is the importance of faith in our relationship to Christ? It's possible to start with Jesus, and not finish, and faith helps us to finish well. Unbelief can lead us away from God....to become apostate, and the writer strongly warns us of this possibility. How does sin trick us? How does it harden us? Sin is seductive and seems pleasurable at the time...Satan seduces us then when we fall, he turns on us and accuses us! We can become hardened through continued disobedience and rebellion in a sinful lifestyle. What is the value of Christian fellowship to keep our faith strong? As a new believer I was devastated when a man at church committed suicide, and I asked a Pastor how this could happen to a Christian...He pointed out that this man was a loner, then said, "The wolf always lurks around the edge of the flock, looking for the one who wanders off alone, without support." We need one another, for support, encouragment, accountability....iron sharpens iron. In the heat of the battle it's possible to temporarily forget what we know...a brother/sister in Christ can under gird us with prayer and encouragment...can help us stay on track.

Q1. (Hebrews 3:6b) Why is the writer exhorting his readers to "hold on" to Christ? Having been given free will, they could choose to stay or to go back to the Jewish religion. The exhortation was for them and is to believers through the ages, to choose to persevere...to cling to the faith we embraced at conversion, and to resist the strong pull of satan to abandon our faith in the throes of the spiritual, daily battle. He used the "house" as a metaphor for the struggle they were in, to return to The Law...of Moses, whom he said was a faithful ministering servant in the house, while Jesus, the Messiah and the Son, is faithful Master over His Father's house (of which we are members), and Who set believers free from the law. Our flesh always wants to quit when the going gets tough and to go back to the familiar, the known. Q2.Why must we continue in our faith? We must contend for the faith, nurture it, feed on Him and His Word, lest we wander away in rebellion in the day of testing, as the Israelites did in the wilderness, dying there, and failed to enter the promised land. There is a finish line to this "race", and continuing in faith brings a joyful and exultant confidence and sense of triumph in our hope in Christ (3:6) Q3.According the writer of Hebrews, what happens if we don't? We fail to enter into His rest (v11). "We have become fellows with Christ and share in all He has for us IF ONLY we hold our first newborn confidence and original assured expectation firm and unshaken to the end." (v.14) Unbelief feeds disobedience, and we act on what we believe...their unbelief shut them out (v19). and disobedient, hardened hearts could shut us out of His rest....out of His blessing, hold us back from our destiny...living a carnal life of fruitlessness, and for some, premature death (1Corin.11:30)

2) Rather than reaching out to angels, He reaches out to the fallen descendents of Abraham, to help and deliver us....He has been tried and tested and tempted and is able immediately to run to the cry of those who are being tempted, tested and tried.

1)Jesus' death destroyed our enemy the devil..."to bring to nought and make of no effect him who had the power of death...(that is, the devil), and so that He might deliver and completely set free all those who through the haunting fear of death were held in bondage throughout the whole course of their lives." 2)When Adam fell, mankind became the property of the devil. Jesus, the second Adam, bought us back, so that satan no longer has dominion over those who are in Christ, and since Jesus experienced death for our sins, we no longer have to fear death or the unknown, because He has told us in His Word where we are going...to be with Him for ever. 3)When satan is in hell for eternity, and the world as we know it is concluded, sin will be a thing of the distant past...no more fallen nature to contend with, no more tears, no more fear, because God is love, and we will be surrounded only by His love. 4)We can live in freedom....we have been set free. We now have a choice of whether to sin or not, where before we were born again, we had no choice. We have eternal life, which began the moment we were saved...he says in Eph. 2:1=6 that we are seated with Him in Heavenly places. So we can live our heritage, which is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. We have an advocate in Jesus, to plead our case, to intervene on our behalf...we have a friend who sticks closer than a brother, and we have been sealed in the Holy Spirit...a guarantee of what is to come.