Classes on Hebrews Continue

 Jerome and Cathy Forelo picked me up this morning and took me to the meeting place. I was feeling much better, having had a good night’s rest, my breakfast and, most importantly, my coffee! 

We began the morning session with Hebrews chapter 2. This chapter begins with the completion of the point started in the first chapter – that Jesus is a better messenger in bringing the gospel than were the angels as messengers bringing the old law. The writer also shows in this chapter that, although Jesus was greater than the angels being Deity, He was made a little lower than the angels in partaking of humanity, so that He might die for all men to make possible our salvation through Him.

 

In chapter 3, we saw how Jesus was a greater apostle (that is, a representative or ambassador) for God than was Moses. The writer then shows that, since Jesus is that better representative, we must live in a better way than those of the old covenant. The Hebrew writer then uses Psalm 95 to show how those who came out of Egypt disobeyed God and all except Joshua and Caleb died in the wilderness. So, they did not enter the rest God had prepared. Instead, that generation wandered in the wilderness and died without entering that rest. Why? The writer shows it was because of disobedience. He then urges the readers not to fall away from the same kind of unbelief or disobedience.

 

After the lunch break, we spent time showing how make a textual sermon and illustrated it by making several outline from the first three chapters of Hebrews. This will be a part of our next two days classes as we start the afternoon sessions with a 30-minute period of showing how we can let the text itself be our outline.

 

Next, we went back to our textual study with Hebrews chapter 4. There the writer shows us how the rest of God remains, as others have not entered it due to their unbelief and disobedience. We are then called to enter that rest even as God did – “after He had ceased from His works.”

 

Finally, we began the section at the end of chapter 4 dealing with Jesus as the better High Priest. We also cover chapter 5 which continues that same point. The Lord willing, we will complete our study of this section of the book with the study of chapters 6 and 7.

 

The students in this class are very receptive and I am thankful to have this opportunity to study we them. Please keep us all in your prayers!