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Advent HOPE Sabbath School

Norman McNulty: The Book of Hebrews

Norman McNulty

Hebrews 1:1-9: Introduction and Divinity of Christ

Hebrews 1:9-2:9 “The Enemy After the Cross”

Hebrews 2:9-18 “The Humanity of Christ”

Hebrews 3 & 4 “God’s Rest”

Hebrews 5 and 6 “Milk or Strong Meat?”

Hebrews 7  “The Melchizedek Priesthood”

Hebrews 8 “The New Covenant High Priest”

Hebrews 9  “The Holy of Holies”

Hebrews 9:23-10:13  “The Blotting Out of Sin”

Hebrews 10:13-39  “Seated at the Right Hand of God”

Hebrews 11:1-7  “Faith in the Creator God”

Hebrews 11:8-40 Pilgrims and Strangers

Hebrews 11:39-12:4 Jesus and the Last Generation

Hebrews 12:5-29 “The Highway to Mount Zion”

Hebrews 13 “Final Class and Summary of Book”

So as Stephanie said from up front, we're continuing our study through the book of Hebrews, and this week is probably 1 of the high points of our study in this book.

We are concluding Hebrews chapter 11 and studying the first few verses of Hebrews chapter 12, And this really is 1 of the climaxes of the book of Hebrews.

So 2 weeks ago, we went through most of Hebrews chapter 11.

And 1 of the key points to take away from Hebrews chapter 11 is that those who live by faith are pilgrims and strangers here on this earth.

You can tell that those who are living by faith don't belong here on this earth.

And in verse 14 it says, they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.

And it's a good reminder to us, if we ask ourselves the question, do our lives declare plainly that we're seeking the heavenly country, or are we fitting in nicely here on this earth?

Because there is a difference when we live by faith and we see some of the examples, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and there's a whole list of other characters.

And When you get to the end of Hebrews chapter 11, it talks about people who escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, women received their dead, raised to life again.

Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection.

And verse 37 is 1 of the interesting verses in this chapter.

Verse 37 says, they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with a sword.

They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented." And then notice the first part of verse 38.

It says, "'Of whom the world was not worthy.'" And we should ask ourselves the question, is the world not worthy of us, or are we very worthy to fit right into this world?

Because those who live by faith, the world was not worthy to have these people walking on the earth.

They were really as if they were already living in heaven and the world was not worthy to contain them here because these people were so faithful.

And it's interesting, some people escaped death, God delivered them, other people did not.

And in both instances they demonstrated faith.

So sometimes when you exercise faith you don't know what the end result is going to be until you get to the other side.

It may be deliverance, it may be death so that you may obtain a better resurrection.

And some of the key characters, of course, through chapter 11 of Hebrews, there's of course Abel, Enoch, Noah, we've talked about Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Sarah, Moses is mentioned here, and there's a list of other people that are mentioned in passing.

And when we think of these people, you know, we do think about the heroes of faith.

We think about Abraham as the father of the faithful.

So It's a very poignant chapter describing faith.

Abraham leaving his home country, he doesn't know where he's going, but he just follows God.

Abraham and Sarah have faith to conceive Isaac, even though they're past childbearing age.

Moses, by faith, turns away from the riches of Egypt and he chooses rather to suffer affliction with the people of God.

Now, we basically got to the end of chapter 11 last time, but we didn't have time to really spend really any thoughtful time on verses 39 and 40.

This is where we're going to pick things up today and we're going to go into chapter 12.

So starting in verse 39, it says, "...and these all, " the people we've talked about here in Hebrews 11, these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise.

What, these people didn't receive the promise?

They obviously have a good rapport and they obtained this good rapport through faith.

And the very fact that they have a good rapport that they obtained through faith and that they're mentioned here in Hebrews 11 tells us that we will see these people in heaven, right?

I mean we expect that the people here in Hebrews 11 will be among the faithful that we will see in heaven, but what does it mean when they, when it says they received not the promise?

Well if you go on to verse 40, it says, God having provided some better thing for us, that they, those who died in faith, without us should not be made perfect?

So Abraham's the father of the faithful, but there's another group of people that will be needed for Abraham to be considered perfect?

What in the world is Paul talking about here?

And let's make it even a little bit more challenging.

Of course he didn't die, He was translated without saying death, but it talks about how these all, having obtained a good report through faith, that includes Enoch, and it doesn't say that these all died actually in verse 39, it just says, these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise." Now Enoch is in heaven, so you're telling me Enoch didn't receive the promise?

And what about Elijah who's not mentioned in this chapter?

And Moses, he was resurrected and was taken to heaven and he's here in this chapter.

So what is it that Paul is saying these all having obtained a good report through faith received not the promise?

Well, we're gonna, that's a good thought.

Her statement was the promise of Christ being here on this earth.

What we're gonna look at as we continue on is we will see what exactly this promise is based on the context of Hebrews.

So what promise is it that these all who obtained a good report have not received?

This includes people who were translated without seeing death and are in heaven now, that's Enoch and Elijah.

This includes Moses who was resurrected and is in heaven now, but yet it says he has received not the promise because if it says these all, that includes everyone in this chapter.

So that's something that we want to think about here.

So verse 40, it says, God having provided some better thing for us.

So as good a report as the heroes of faith in Hebrews 11 received, God has something better for us.

Now the question is, who is us based on Hebrews chapter 11?

So we know who these all are, that's all the people mentioned in Hebrews chapter 11, right?

Who is the us that God has provided some better thing for?

And what we are going to look at is based on the context of Hebrews, we'll be able to figure out who that is.

So, God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.

Now, the question then is, what does it mean based on Hebrews 1140 to be made perfect?

Are you telling me that Abraham didn't have the righteousness of Christ?

He was in the book of Genesis and in Romans he is described as being declared righteous by God which means that he is righteous.

So this word perfect, it's the Greek word tilaio, I'm not a Greek scholar but that's the word, and for those of you who might be taking notes it's in the Strong's Concordance it's word number 5048.

And the word means to complete, accomplish, consummate, finish, fulfill, or to be perfect.

And this word is found several other times in the book of Hebrews.

And 1 of the other times that it's found is in Hebrews chapter 10 verse 1.

So let's go back to Hebrews chapter 10 and this is going to help us understand what the word perfect means at the end of Hebrews 11 and when it says that they without us should not be made perfect, then when we look at Hebrews chapter 10 verse 1, this will help us to understand this idea a little better.

So Hebrews chapter 10 verse 1 says, For the law, having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect." Now what's Hebrews chapter 10 verse 1 talking about?

This is talking about the ceremonial law and the round of ceremonies that the Hebrew people in the wilderness offered, and they continue to do so in the Jewish temple.

You had the daily sacrifices, but you also had the yearly Day of Atonement service.

And these services which they performed year by year continually could not make the comers therein too perfect.

So, for example, on the Day of Atonement, which happened year by year, continually, 1 day a year, that was a day, if you look at Leviticus 1630, was a day that God's people were to be cleansed from all their sins.

But guess what happened on the very next day?

The sacrifices started all over again because those sacrifices were a shadow of Christ who was to come who really would take away their sin.

And those sacrifices really did not make them perfect.

It was a shadow, it was symbolic, but the sacrifices in and of themselves did not do that.

And if you look at verse 2, it says, "...for then would they, these sacrifices, not have ceased to be offered, because the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins." And then if you go on to verse 4 it says, "'For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.'" So notice what we have here.

The blood of bulls and goats could not make those who perform these sacrifices perfect.

And when in the sanctuary service were their sins to be taken away?

What time of the sanctuary were the sins taken away?

And yet what Paul is saying is, look, even on the Day of Atonement, the sins of God's people were not really taken away.

And if you look in the Greek, another word for purged is cleansed, and that should get your mind thinking about sanctuary language, the sanctuary being cleansed in heaven after 2, 300 days.

But these people, their sins were not cleansed, they were not purged, their sins were not taken away.

And another way to describe this is their sins really were not blotted out.

But we understand based on Bible prophecy that with the blood of Christ, and you can study this in Hebrews 10, that His blood can take away sin, and we understand that after the 2, 300 days, sometime after that point, He will blot out the sins of his people.

That's what it means for sins to be taken away, but the blood of bulls and goats could not take away sins, or the blood of bulls and goats would not blot out the sins of God's people.

The blood of the bulls and goats was merely symbolic of the blood of Christ, who with His blood He would offer Himself as a sacrifice in the outer courtyard.

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Series

Norman McNulty: The Book of Hebrews

Hebrews 11:39-12:4 Jesus and the Last Generation

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Recorded

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