By Faith Build, and Get In...

7 By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. (Hebrews 11) 
Living by faith does two things: it demonstrates our fear of God and reveals the lack of godly fear and faith on the part of others.  This is no self-righteous "look at me" kind of contrast, but the mere reality that whenever we respond in faith to God's offer - be it "get in the boat" (Noah), "step out of the boat" (Peter), or "put your faith in Christ" (whosoever will) we not only become heirs of righteousness and salvation, we also become a witness to (and against) those who are unwilling to do so.  When Christ came, He came preaching (and bringing) both salvation and judgment, depending on the response given. When God calls, may we obey, get in the boat, and enjoy the ride.

A Step Further in Faith...

5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. (Hebrews 11)
This chapter began with a statement of faith about God as existent and as our Creator.  We then saw a line in the sand drawn when Abel gave God what He wanted, and Cain did not. Enoch's greatest name to fame was not just that he did not experience physical death due to sin, but that he lived to please God - not in some passive way, like he was "taken away", but through an active seeking for God Himself. God wants more than our dumb obedience; He wants our active involvement in getting to know Him better and better. The Christian life is not just "pie in the sky when I die", but a walking through this life by faith, getting closer to God, so that when we do leave this life we walk with Him through death into His greater presence. 

Abel... the first martyr?

4 By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. (Hebrews 11)
The writer jumps from creation to Abel, which in itself makes a statement: Adam is not a "hero of the faith", having left instead a heritage of succumbing to the Fall.  Abel is more than a victim.  It is encouraging to find him in this list, as we often jump over his body to get to the next "big" hero, Noah.  But Abel does speak to us of true faith, which is found in simple obedience: he gave God what God desired. His quiet life speaks volumes. You don't have to be a big and loud voice or personality to be a great example of faith.  Simply put, Abel did "die for his faith", his trust and commitment to God and His will.  May we find in his life, and death, a call to simple trust and obedience to God in every point.

Where Faith Begin s...

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it the people of old received their commendation. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. (Hebrews 11)
The people whom the writer is addressing were becoming shaky in their faith. Some were "turning back" to legalism, others to total unbelief. So he goes back to the beginning- the beginning of human existence. God was there. He created. His power is total; His imagination endless; His intentions unquestionable. He builds a solid foundation upon which we can stand - as sure as we are standing on planet earth. People historically have comprehended and embraced that, and it has carried them through life, and beyond.  They finished well. May we also. 

Don't throw it all away...

26 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. 28 Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. 29 How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

32 But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, 33 sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. 34 For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. 35 Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. 36 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. 37 For,

“Yet a little while,
    and the coming one will come and will not delay;
38 but my righteous one shall live by faith,
    and if he shrinks back,
my soul has no pleasure in him.”

39 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls. (Hebrews 10)

This is indeed one of the hard sections of Hebrews. These people had been in the early church, persecuted for their faith, willing to sacrifice the things of this world in hope for the one to come.  Some of them were becoming shaky in their faith, tempted to go back to their old way of life.  Like the Israelites in the wilderness, or surrounded by pagans in Canaan, we can tend to forget how bad things were back there, back then.  We need an endurance that comes only from God.  We need encouragement. Hold on, it's coming, as we'll see tomorrow

Responding to "Once for All"...

19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. (Hebrews 10)
The writer continues at the beginning of the chapter to develop the theme that Christ has once and for all offered the ultimate sacrifice for sin so that we may enter the presence of God.  Since there is "nothing else to be done," what can and should we do? Draw near; hold fast; consider others.  God wants us to come near to Him through Christ. He did not open the veil so we would stay away.  He desires communication and fellowship.  Secondly, the price He paid was great, to be valued, clinged to, and faithful to; don't take it for granted. Finally, His invitation to come is not just for us, but fo all those who love His appearing. He wants His table full of those in fellowship with Him; consider how we can come together into His presence to fellowship, worship, and grow. 

Once for All...

24 For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. 25 Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, 26 for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. (Hebrews 9)
After a detailed description of the work of priests daily in the holy place, and the ministry of the high priest annually in the holiest place of the temple, the writer now contrasts what Christ had done as the ultimate High Priest. He has entered - or more accurately - reentered heaven, the very presence of God, by means of His own blood, once and for all.  By doing so He has changed everything, so that when He comes back out of heaven - when He comes again - He will be bringing us back with Him to the presence of God. He has done all that needs to be done.

New and Improved...

Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, 2 a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man. 3 For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; thus it is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer. 4 Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are priests who offer gifts according to the law. 5 They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, “See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.” 6 But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. 7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second.

8 For he finds fault with them when he says:

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord,
    when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel
    and with the house of Judah,
9 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers
    on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt.
For they did not continue in my covenant,
    and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord.
10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel
    after those days, declares the Lord:
I will put my laws into their minds,
    and write them on their hearts,
and I will be their God,
    and they shall be my people.
11 And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor
    and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’
for they shall all know me,
    from the least of them to the greatest.
12 For I will be merciful toward their iniquities,    and I will remember their sins no more.

(Hebrews 8)

Since it's Saturday, we have a couple of minutes to read a longer passage like above.  Simply put, the Priesthood of Christ is the "new and improved" version of the Old Covenant system. It is the finished product, the final form, the ultimate means of salvation and forgiveness. It's what they, and we, have been waiting for all along: Christ as sacrifice, Savior, and Priest, all wrapped into One.  Let us embrace Him as such, and come to Him daily for all that we need.

The Perfect Priest...

20 And it was not without an oath. For those who formerly became priests were made such without an oath, 21 but this one was made a priest with an oath by the one who said to him:

“The Lord has sworn
    and will not change his mind,
‘You are a priest forever.’”

22 This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant.

23 The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, 24 but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. 25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

26 For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. 27 He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself. 28 For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever.

The writer here brings back to the forefront that Jesus is the Priest of Priests. It is obvious, he says, that another priest was needed, outside the priesthood of Aaron's line, who would be able to represent God's people once and for all. He is able to make intercession continually and fully because He made a sacrifice sufficient for all for all time. He is the first and only permanent Priest; we can always rely upon Him to be there, and here.  What a priest we have! May we come to Him persistently and consistently.  

The Two Greatest Witnesses...

13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, 14 saying, “Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” 15 And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise. 16 For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. 17 So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, 18 so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. 19 We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, 20 where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. (Hebrews 6)
Scripture, and courts of law based upon it, have long held the concept of needing two witnesses to attest to the validity of some truth. Two witnesses could not be found to agree on what Jesus had said and done which was so terrible that He would deserve death; two witnesses - Moses and Elijah - stood on the top of the mountain with Jesus; two witnesses point people to Christ in Revelation.  But the greatest two witnesses are those mentioned here: the Word of God and the Character of God, which are always in agreement. They are what lie behind the promises of God.  In Christ we find both, giving us the certainty we need that all the promises of God we have received - both for this life and the life to come - will come to past.  Christ is the solid anchor for our soul. 

After awhile you can tell...

Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, 2 and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And this we will do if God permits. 4 For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. 7 For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. 8 But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned. (Hebrews 6)
Imagery. Jesus used it well.  One basic picture He used was that of seed for the Word of God.  Once it is planted in the soil of men's hearts, you eventually will see what happens. Does it grow, mature, and bear fruit? Or does it wither out or get choked out by weeds.  It never simply remains a small but healthy plant. God's plan is for us to be rooted well in Christ, grow, and bear fruit.  We should not think that we need to get replanted over and over again (or saved over and over). Once we are in Christ, we have His new life, and ought to be growing, living by faith, and showing His likeness in thought, word and deed. Are we?

Learning to Hear...

11 About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. 12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, 13 for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. 14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. (Hebrews 5)
In our culture, even after years of lessons on communication, we are terrible listeners. We are easily distracted by all the noise around us. We "get ready to respond" as soon as the other person speaks. We hear what we want to hear. Which leads to an even more basic issue: we are terrible hearers. As the writer talks about being "dull of hearing", it is not that the "information" or principles have not been written or spoken, but that we do not seek to hear; we do not want to hear. This leads to big problems in our spiritual lives, as we begin to think we know it all, are ready for anything, and therefore fall for anything - from false teaching to fancy temptation.  Today, take time to listen and to hear what God wants to say to you. Ask for it. Seek it. Don't just stop for a sip of milk; Ask for a full course meal.