As the
week wears on, we are all getting tired from the busy schedule of study and
assignments, but we are also refreshed in our spirits at the opportunity
afforded by this week’s classes. It is a true joy to be with many brethren that
I have known for many years as well as a few I have only met this week. I must
admit that I am tired from the lack of rest, but it is a “good kind of tired”
as brother Elmer Moore used to say!
Our
class this morning began at Hebrews 9:11 and covered through Hebrews 10:31
before we took the lunch break. We looked at the writer’s transition from the
better covenant in Christ to the better sacrifice we have in Christ. We
contrasted the epistle’s portrayal of Christ’s sacrifice being “once for all”
with the practice of Catholicism’s claim that Christ is crucified again with
each mass. The reason why God can justly forgive our sins based on the blood of
Christ was also a point of concentration, going back to Leviticus to contrast
the offerings of the Old Covenant with that of Christ. We saw that the “new and
living way” to the true Most Holy Place, heaven, was made possible through
Christ that we all might draw near to God. Since such great blessings have been
provided in the New Covenant by Christ’s sacrifice, we also noted that those
not availing themselves of the blessings will surely and rightly receive a
great punishment than those disobeying the Old Covenant.
The
afternoon studies began with Hebrews 10:32 and concluded with Hebrews 11:31. We
examined the last paragraph of chapter 10 that describes the kind of faith that
is “unto the saving of the soul” in contrast to that which “draws back to
perdition.” That passage sets the stage for studying the characters of faith in
the next chapter: Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph,
Moses and Rahab. We considered the lives of each one and saw how faith was
shown by works in each case, doing what God said and looking to Him for the
reward, rather than focusing on their present situation.
After
the studies in Hebrews, we talked more about outlining sermons. I took Psalm
110 and showed them how they could develop it into a textual lesson or an
exegetical lesson as well as showing how each one would be outlined. It is
clear they are becoming more and more adept at outlining in proper form and
developing them better as well.
