Introduction to Hebrews (Part B)

Satan is after the fresh produce of your faith he wants it to be stale and rotten and not something that is any longer. Yeah you going up the fight is not going to come natural because your spirit, and it is God's going to let him take a shot such God is going to arm you if you want to be on you better to do it continue steadfast in the apostles doctrine fellowship, communion and prayer. This is cross reference radio with our pastor and teacher Rick Gaston. Rick is the pastor of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville.

Pastor Rick is currently teaching through the book of Hebrews. Please stay with us after today's message to hear more about cross reference radio, specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching, and now here's Pastor Rick with the introduction to the book of Hebrews. In chapter 1 we have this today. Personally there are those that have taken some of the sermons that I've been privileged to preach and they have transcribed no when you speak preach. It doesn't always make it well into written form.

It needs to be edited that requires a lot of work and time why I don't have them produced is because addicts develop too busy doing my next sermon I can't go back very easily to work on them, but my point.

My point is this is not all out of line with how we do things we we produce them in speech. Then we have to edit them if we going to publish them and print so clearly to have someone edit the sermon and put it into high Greek thought a stretch at all. And finally about my view of Paul being the all then you agree you get that the Bible is a I'm not saying that's fine with them when you study the word of God. Your mind can't help but say who got a mystery here. Let's see if we can resolve this. Paul I think is looking at this and saying I'm laying it all out here for the Jews I'm holding back nothing. They need to hear it is going to be very difficult for them and come to that as we move forward. Return to that. So what is the purpose well. The community of Jews is writing to the likely in Rome and knowing that it was circulate beyond languages. Other letters had already had a history of doing this and so did, whereas others wrote, but we believe that it was written to Jewish Christians in Rome because they were Jews ethnically spiritually. They were Christians. Hebrews 13. This is great. All those who rule over you and all the saints, those from Italy greet you. So there were those from Italy with him when he wrote this and him and he sends the greeting with the letter Italy.

I wouldn't say right at the turkey and is in Jerusalem and save those from you know Brooklyn greet you. There has to be a link for him to add that and and so that's how this detective work.

This is quite exciting and draining at the same time will again. Unbeknownst to the audience into the writer temple wasn't have many days before will be destroyed by the Roman army now again, ethnically, the Jews will always be Jews just as ethically the polis will always be Polish.

The Irish and on and on it goes. That's acceptable is nothing wrong with that at all. Incidentally, all the foreign languages remind us of sin because they are linked to Babel Babel sinful imagination of man caused God to split the languages and it just you know you say Dino keychains hospital cemeteries. Irene's the EMS workers. All of these doctors, especially lawyers.

They are reminders of sin, they will be in operation in heaven because there will be no sin. There so language will all have one language in heaven. Men have tried to reverse this. Alexander the great. For example, conquer the world, bring them under the Greek culture and the will all be happy. After that course is not possible but anyway they were struggling to identify the lines of distinction between Christianity and Judaism, and this is a difficult thing for them anew. When you come to Christ. You had similar struggles okay now what am I gonna do with this and now what I do know the do it that I got all these lucky charms in the box can aid them still Christians and lucky charms on serial courses by but always after me. Lucky charms pastor. So here are some of the arguments that would've been thrown at them either from their own hearts or from family members. They would say.

After all, was not the law given to us by angels because the Jews again.

They held the Angels way up high in the Hebrew letter begins to chop that away deals with that sacred cow mentality. How dare anyone question Moses and challenge his authority bill because the writer to this document is going to say someone better than Moses has come. Of course he's going to name him Jesus Christ.

What about the Aaronic priesthood was divinely ordained. You tell me that's all gone away now. Yep, we are because of better than Aaron is here a higher priesthood is here that predates the Levitical order. How dare anyone set aside the Passover and the day of atonement.

Well Christ to abolish them because he fulfilled them, abolish them in the same way Edison abolished kerosene lanterns do not take them and smashed them with hammers is simply gave us the lightbulb made them obsolete.

That's what is happening to the Old Testament, albeit with a dozen men all mean we do not hold the Old Testament equal with the New Testament as being God's word. It just means we filter out those things that were for that period of time in the rituals and talking about the types in the images that were baked into them. The temple being one, but certainly the 10 Commandments, with the exception of the Sabbath. We honor all of thou shalt not kill. We believe that no other gods before the only true God when it says no other gods as me in order to meet in his presence. Well, some of the other arguments that would've come up were not the feast days of Israel ordained holidays gonna have them you can't take it from us.

Christ abolished what about David and Solomon and the temple of God. Just reading this morning before he came out Solomon was dedicating the temple to the glory of the Lord just filled the place and everybody had to stop and get just have everything shut down because the glory of God was so great this morning were seen with the glory of the Lord rise among us and the connection for me is of course the Scripture is quite powerful so they would say the glory of the Lord gave David the resources and the blueprints to build the temple.

Then Solomon comes in. He bills the temple and the glory of the Lord is there and you're now telling me the temple is no longer a player in my worship. Yet the temple was destroyed but did not God raise Haggai and Zechariah to get the Jews to rebuild the temple, yes, but God is proven that there is still development in Messiah and he prophesied of these things throughout their own Scripture missed it. Mr. because worship to them became religion became ritual. They lost the life you Christians, especially you been around a while, you better watch it. Satan is after the fresh produce of your faith he wants it to be stale and rotten and not something that is any longer. Yeah you going to have to fight for is not going to come natural because your spiritual and it is warm, God is going to let him take his shots at you and God is going to harm you if you want to be arm but you better to do it continue steadfast in the apostles doctrine and fellowship, communion and prayer, and you say what I've done those things and still my faith is old keypad. It takes time, it will be there if you don't give up. How much time I don't know you can go a few years struggling this way and when it comes back spiritual sunglasses as you cool so the document of Hebrews shows that Christianity is the heir of Judy's is the heir of the Old Testament that significant because Christ is the air think it's at all. That's what the error means he is the one that receives all that the father has is his. He owns so killing of the bull of the Lamb.

They could never take away sins. He's going to point that out and then no longer needed because Christ is fulfilled them. Those sacrifices were intended only to cover and remove a book cover, but not remove sin. That's why when John the Baptist pointed at Jesus and said, behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin before the skull far. It was a covering. The sin was just covered up out of sight but still there but Christ removes it as far as East is from West Castaway and so those sacrifices were intended to cover not remove sin. They spoke of a higher fulfillment. There were a type of the coming sacrifice of Messiah and believers must look only to Christ, to worship, you cannot. You cannot worship Jesus Christ with something else. That's what they were beginning to that's what they were doing. Many were going back his persecution was increasing upon them from their Jewish family members in culture and society through your initially everyone. People didn't get a grip on what was happening with Christianity. So I would let said let's put this over on the front page of Hebrews in our Bibles written to Hebrews to tell them to stop being Hebrews. That's what it's about. What if what if you became a Christian, born in a house. It was very religious and Christian.

Some Christian denomination.

For example, you went through all the rituals but you didn't know Christ Jesus.

What you believe. I'm a Christian and we do this we burn these candles. We have this holiday we use ashes sometimes or whatever it may be we get in. All we would go underwater, we come out we do this stuff, but you don't know Christ. Still, Christ would say need to stop being a Christian become a Christian see that you understand you need to stop being that type and be this type and this is what is said to the Hebrews. That's the introduction now little bit of the exposition which belongs to the introduction.

Let's look at verse one of Hebrews chapter 1 because again the lesson is you can't serve two masters. The fundamental lesson of Christ.

You will love the one or hate of the demands of a master are too strong to be divided and the Jews were doing that and now the writer is going to get them back on track.

Verse one God, with various times in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets. We have to pause there. Now I would have liked it in the original Greek to have started out with that word God in the Greek Diaz, but it does not. It doesn't ring was most English translations, but in the in the Greek it does not is at various times in different ways.

God, that's more of the writer came to express this but the subject instantly taken up in Hebrews is not your salvation. You are being blessed. It's God because without him there is no salvation there are no blessings is a guess right to it is the person in the place of God and he's going to focus is a little bit more as a God the son. This is what it where he's going with this. From the beginning is getting his audience eyes on Christ is without that and it's all just religion is useless and damning of souls.

So the entire document devoted to the superiority of Christ.

The superiority of Messiah above all others. None like him again when he goes and he starts naming names like Aaron and Moses and the angels he's not saying they were evil. He saying there just inferior. Christ there is no competition. The Mormons have worked to reverse this and tell you that Christ was an angel and this also suggests absolute un-biblical foul, blasphemous nonsense by good people. Otherwise good people.

Some, and then of course the Jehovah witnesses often very good people, decent people, moral people spiritually blasphemous, and we will see a lot of that, why they're not given any quarter on this. No mercy is given to their doctrine at all, don't you think for one moment that you're supposed to be more kind and merciful than Christ and come across someone you love who was entangled in heresy and somehow want to make them feel comfortable in their heresy locale give you that one.

How you better not give them anything in love. Of course, and I don't mean that flippantly will anyway. The Aaron and Moses again angels they would worship the Christ denying the existence of God will not make God go away. This is our message to man making up things about God will not make them true in the presence of a God of truth. They make them lies in that something that you do not ever want to be guilty. The word God stands for something other than what we have come to known as God on our own. Like the word love. What is love me. What is love, a secondhand emotion getting Bible answers that he would love is long-suffering and I make sure that those who love me suffer long, the Bible says but anyway the word God says for something other than God, and by that I mean it has to be explained because of you is I believe in God, what is that what you mean you believe in God. Satan believes in God. What is that mean in the Bible is this thick explaining it because where that thick in the head and heart and receiving and that's what it takes, takes a lot of chisels the bus this rivet and this is not supposed to be a surprise. It is actually supposed to be something we preach out loud so that you and you go to work in your account. Workers are there your coworkers. This is written Cal organisms are but anyhow when they say oh I'm leaving what God, tell me about when you get that from we did he get that from trace it back if you can. If this is the opportunity presents itself. Well, who we believe that this revelation of God. How about the universities is laughable. They think they know everything, so they should have.

You know that they should be able to to approve or disapprove everything.

Granted, they may have a lot of knowledge about a lot of things to me there are things you about the Met in the medical world. You can learn without universities. The equipment the machines they made the microscopes and such. The type just all sorts of things we need the universities a problem is they overstep, they begin to go against God, and they take up the role that they're not anointed to take belongs to the church and how often our students go in our young ones go to the universities in the sit under the teachings of a professionally become enamored by them and then all of a sudden professionals more than mom and dad never knew especially the pastor and then they come back to the church and they become renegades well productively with University science. Science is untrustworthy because sinners do science and will be honest they have theories that they present of their theories, a religion that the present is fact and they know they're not fact. They don't like the alternative about the entertainment industry and you know why that's on the list who would get the theology from the entertainment world from watching sports.

I believe in God. I was just watching the you know the New York Mets play the Yankees subway series but anyway the government less spooky. God, that's who. That's what tells us about God, God, and he does it through men and if he is God he can do that.

It's a prerogative of being God. God himself takes the time to his word to unfold the meaning of deity of God to all who will submit, but not to those who resist so he says what various times and in various ways spoke in time past God used different methods, direct speech, miracles, visitations, dream signs, parables and events. A progressive revelation of God from Genesis to Revelation. Why progressive, why not an instant boom here you go is why, because of sin.

People live, they Diana needs to constantly be circulated get to show yourself to one generation at that's it has to be some way to show it to the next generation. You cannot keep showing it each one of with the crossroads and example of Christ is not the common guy for each generation.

He did it once through revelation E shows succeeding generations would been too much to understand too much to live out God still speaks but he speaks to what he has spoken.

Whenever you find someone departing from that you got big trouble whenever that's what Peter said no scriptures of private interpretation will be coming up with this. You know you God and we can get it in less we listen to you.

The fact God speaks to men fact men do list. In fact, some men don't. In fact, most don't. God has a long history of speaking because he wants us to know there's a couple of David second Samuel 23 David wrote the spirit of Yahweh spoke by me and his word was on my tongue. Man has again a long history of denying and dismissing what God is spoken because he doesn't want to be held accountable to it. He doesn't want his natural urges to submit to the spiritual God. Zechariah said yes they made their hearts like flint, refusing to hear the law and the words which Yahweh of host had sent by his spirit through the former prophets. This great wrath came from the Lord of hosts. God repeatedly says in Scripture that you may know that you may know, is why I had a thousand original notes is because of copying the Scripture verses into the notes of how many times God said that all of God narrowed it down to Isaiah 43. You are my witnesses, Yahweh, and my servant whom I have chosen that you may know and believe me I know I get excited to be bored by that continues and understand that I am he. For me there was no God formed, nor shall there be after Isaiah 45 verse three.

I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places that you may know that I Yahweh who called you by your name am the God of Israel to God wants his people to know him.

So God who would various times and in various ways spoke in times past to the prophets has spoken to us through his son Isaiah chapter 1 we love this. Come let us reason together though your sins reason together, says Yahweh. Though your sins are like scarlet, blood red, that is, they shall be white as snow.

Though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool. God is spoken to the atheists. The atheists know it. Another word for atheists is the bitter one. I believe every atheist believes in God but is just to bitter to submit so I don't believe atheists exist based on my experience with Proverbs 10. The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God. God is in none of his thoughts that you know you should celebrities and intellectuals. They just so right for this Psalm 14 the foolish said in his heart there is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none who does good world considers the Hon. to say well you know I can't tell if God exist and you can either yell this use is not me. That's how we should answer them intellectual and responses.

He had asked that you not me. Proverbs 14 there is a way that seems right to man, but it's an is the way of death. So was the way of life. Christ, that's where it all gets complicated.

So, the atheist denies God existing doesn't exist but the deists the deists as he doesn't speak that allows them to dismiss any idea that God is correcting or guiding and these the things we are to fight against. As Christians, he says to the fathers by the prophets of the Jewish people receive the word of God.

To them were committed the oracles of God. Romans three verse two Once upon a time in history with very few exceptions. If God had anything to say to anyone. He said it to the Jew first and therefore through the Jew first Christians were Jews. Christianity was first Jewish acts chapter 10 verse 36 Peter speaking the word which God sent to the children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ is Lord of all, the word which God sent to the children of Israel. Jesus was a Jew. According to the flesh when he was born of a virgin, he decided to come as a Jew first disciples would choose church was born in the Jewish Temple first converts were Jews first Meetings Took Pl. in Jewish synagogues first controversies in the church concerned Jewish. The Jewish laws, the adherence to the laws and so the church was said with only that which is strangled and don't you know their way from sexual immorality because of the Jewish sensitivities and church not only part of the first critics of the Christians were Jews first. Once criticized in the church, which move you've been listening to cross reference radio the daily radio ministry of Pastor Rick asked Calvary Chapel in Mechanicsville, Virginia.

As we mentioned at the beginning of today's broadcast. Today's teaching is available free of charge at our website. Simply log on to cross reference radio.com that's cross reference radio.com would also like to encourage you to subscribe to the cross reference radio podcast subscribing ensures that you stay current with all the latest teachings from Pastor Rick, you can subscribe cross reference radio.com or simply search for cross reference radio your favorite podcast to the next time as Pastor Rick continues teaching through the book of Hebrews right here on cross reference radio