| Passage: Hebrews 7-10 On Saturday, December 28, 2013 (Last Updated on 12/28/2022), Yujin wrote, For yet in a very little while, Who do the writer of Hebrews have in mind when referring to "those who shrink back". As I have often emphasized, we must look at the context to discern the answer. Just a few verses prior to this citation the writer commands the readers, "Do not throw away your confidence..." (Hebrews 10:35). What confidence? Again, going back some verses, we read, "Since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way..." (Hebrews 10:19). The confidence is the hope of eternal forgiveness that comes through the New Covenant inaugurated by the blood of Christ and received by faith. In contrast to this confidence is the Old Covenant Mosaic Law, which has as its basis of forgiveness a Levitical sytem of sacrifices that must be repeatedly offered by imperfect agents. What is more, this system only provided atonement ("covering") for unintentional sins. There was no sacrifice for "willful" sins. This is why the writer of Hebrews says, For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries (Hebrews 10:26-27). He was not talking about true Christians but those who trust the Mosaic Law. The "we" here is rhetorical and not suggesting that the writer himself is among those at risk of losing his salvation. What is more, eternal judgment would fall upon those who trust in the Old Covenant simply on the basis of two witnesses: Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses (Hebrews 10:28). Those who trust in the Old Covenant would not only fail to receive forgiveness for their willful sins, they would be doubly condemned because to trust in the Old Covenant would be to reject the better New Covenant, which came by the blood of the Son of God. For since God had now revealed that the only way to righteousness was through the blood of His Son, those who continue to follow the Old Way would be disregarding, devaluing, and rejecting God's chosen path of grace: How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? (Hebrews 10:29). Now, we can understand who those are that the writer of Hebrews says "shrink back". They are the ones who fail to trust in Christ alone for their salvation. He is referring to those who still choose to rely on the Mosaic Law and the Old Covenant as the basis their hope. That is why the writer of Hebrews cites the text that says, "But my righteous one shall live by faith". When Paul begins his great thesis on a "faith-alone salvation" to counter a salvation based on the works of the Law, he writes, For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “But the righteous man shall live by faith" (Romans 1:17). Again, Paul writes to the Galatian church: For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to perform them.”Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, “The righteous man shall live by faith.” (Galatians 3:10-11). Certainly, the true Christians to whom the writer of Hebrews writes are not among those that shrink back from the Gospel, namely, a salvation based solely on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ: But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul (Hebrews 10:39). Friends, you and I also are not among those who shrink back, for we have trusted in Christ alone for our salvation and have put no confidence in our ability to obey the Law. At the same time I am calling out those preachers and teachers who continue to teach the Old Covenant Mosaic Law as if it were still binding on Christians. I know that you would not go so far as to claim that obedience to the Law is necessary for salvation, but why burden believers with something God declares is now obsolete (cf. Hebrews 8:13), weak and useless (Hebrews 7:18-19). Is it only with regard to salvation that the Law is obsolete? No, it is with respect to a rule of life. That is why Paul writes, But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter (Romans 7:6). This is why he reasons, If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!” (which all refer to things destined to perish with use)—in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men? These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence (Colossians 2:20-23). In the same context Paul writes even more specifically, Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day— things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ (Colossians 2:16-17). Again, Paul rebukes the Galatians for beginning in faith (i.e. their justification) but not continuing in faith (i.e. their sanctification): You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? (Galatians 3:1-3). In the past those who taught the continuing application of the Old Testament Law were marginal and borderline cults, like Seventh-day Adeventists and certain Church of Christ folks, but now this wrongful teaching has even entered into some mainline evangelical churches. It seems to me that it is not so much that the denominations themselves have embraced such teaching but individual pastors and teachers, who are not well-versed in the Scriptures, are teaching these things. If pastors and teachers can get it wrong, what about your average layman? That is why I encourage everyone to be experts in the Word and not to rely simply on the teaching and preaching of your religious leaders. You will not be judged for what they teach but what you believe and practice. |
| Passage: Hebrews 7-10 On Wednesday, December 28, 2011 (Last Updated on 12/28/2013), Yujin wrote, Friends, this reading is rather important to understand some signficant truths regarding the Christian and the Old Testament. First, Paul argues that Jesus was not your typical High Priest, for He was neither of the line of Levi, nor of the line of Aaron, both of which were required to serve as high priest in Israel. Jesus was from the tribe of Judah. However, He became a high priest on a different basis, namely, on the basis of God's oath (or decree), that is, the one given in Psalm 110:4, which reads, The LORD has sworn But how is this possible since the Mosaic Law specified the necessity of Levitical, Aaronic lineage for the priesthood? God changed the law: For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment because of its weakness and unprofitableness (Hebrews 7:18). This would begin Paul's extensive argument of the displacement of the Old Covenant with the New through the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 8:12; 10:9). The new covenant was a better covenant (Hebrews 7:22), not based on "the law of a fleshly commandment" but based on "the power of an endless life" (Hebrews 7:16). The Old Covenant was weak and unprofitable because it was unable to perfect anyone (Hebrews 7:18-19al; 10:1). But through the New Covenant in Christ people would have a better hope in drawing near to God (Hebrews 7:19b). As the New Covenant is better and greater than the Old (Hebrews 7:22; 8:7), so Christ's High Priesthood is better and greater than the Levitical, Aaronic Priesthood. The Levitical priests died and so could not continue to intercede beyond their lives, but Christ continues with an unchangeable priesthood so that He always live to intercede for believers (Hebrews 7:23-25). Unlike the Old Covenant priests, who were sinners and had to offer up daily sacrifices for their sins as well as that of the people, Christ was sinless and perfect so that He might offer up Himself once-for-all (Hebrews 7:26-28). Here, then, is Paul's conclusion regarding the Old Covenant, which we should understand is the whole of what God commanded Moses to tell the Israelites at Sinai and then again in the Plains of Moab. This would include not just what are typically known as the ceremonial and civil commands of God (i.e. the 605 or so commands in the Books of the Law) but also the Ten Commandments (or lit. "the ten words"): In that He says, “A new covenant, ” He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away (Hebrews 8:13). God has changed the Law so that Christ Jesus, of the line of Judah and not Levi, could be our High Priest. He also instituted through Christ a better and greater covenant than the one He made with Israel through Moses. Paul's argument is that since God declared this covenant to be "new," he has made the "old" obsolete. And since he writes that "what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away," the Law, having already become obsolete, has in a sense vanished away. The final nail on the coffin for the Old Covenant was Christ's death on the cross. For where there is a testament, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is in force after men are dead, since it has no power at all while the testator lives (Hebrews 9:16-17). Therefore, when Christ was crucified, the New Covenant was ratified through His blood (i.e. His death) (Matthew 26:28; Colossians 2:14; Romans 7:1-6), so that now we live "in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code" (Romans 7:6). This new way is predominantly given in the New Testament epistles. These, for all practical practices, have displaced the five books of the Law in the Old Testament. What is the profound significance of this? It means that everything associated with the Old Covenant Mosaic Law has no more direct application for the Christian. You are no longer bound to follow the Ten Commandments or any of the 605 ordinances of the Law. You are free from the curses associated with violating the Law; and likewise, you are restricted from claiming any of the blessings associated with obeying it. So, the next time you read any promise in the Old Testament associated with the Law, you should not be so quick to claim it or apply it to yourself. Furthermore, you need not be guilted into obeying any of the Old Covenant commands. Granted, a number of them are repeated in the New Covenant, but this does not validate the Old Covenant. It may just point to the timelessness of certain moral principles. --------------------- I'd like to make a comment about Hebrews 7:1-10 with respect to the question of tithing. For those that argue that "the tithe" is a mandate for Christians today this is a primary passage that they use to make their case. However, in trying to force this text to say what they want it to say, they violate all kinds of basic principles for interpretation. First, they violate the principle of context. In Hebrews 7 Paul is not making a case for tithing but arguing that Jesus' Melchizadekan priesthood is greater than the Aaronic priesthood. In making his case, he argues that even Levi, upon whom the Aaronic priesthood was based, "paid tithes through Abraham, so to speak" to Melchizedek before Levi was even born. And since the giver of tithes is lesser than the receiver of them, Melchizedek is thereby greater than Levi. Paul is not reestablishing the Law of tithe here but simply showing one way in which Melchizadek was a greater high priest than the Levitical high priest. Since Christ's high priestood is from Melchizadek, His is, therefore, greater than the Levitical high priest. Second, there is nothing in this text to suggest that tithing is still a mandate for Christians. Paul is merely using it to illustrate his main point. What is more Paul does not cite Abraham's giving of a tenth to Melchizadek as a mandate (i.e. a command) but just as something Abraham did at the time. Second, Abraham gave a tithe (lit. "a tenth") of the spoils of war, not earned income. He also refused to take the remainder of the spoils, leaving it for the king of Sodom. The point was not to institute some kind of tithe but rather to honor Melchizedek. Reading anything beyond this is to go beyond the intent of the text. Third, the second main argument of Hebrews 7-10 is that the Old Covenant, the basis of the Old Testament "tithe," is obsolete and no longer applicable for Christians. It has been displaced by the New Covenant, ratified through the blood of Christ. Therefore, tithing itself is no longer applicable for Christians. Even one of my favorite writers, John Piper, tries to make a case for tithing from passages like this. He makes the same kind of erroneous arguments that I have outlined here, namely ignoring the context. I am disappointed to see that his usual careful exegesis of Scripture is not applied in the case of tithing. Instead, he chooses to use vague concepts like "honoring the Old Testament," by which anything can be accepted, to try to reestablish the law of tithe for Christians. Dear friends, just because someone is right about some things, does not mean that they are right about everything. I am certainly no exception to this. Therefore, it is best to read and study the Scriptures for yourselves, for you will ultimately be held accountable for not what I say or what another person says but what you believe and apply to yourselves. --------------------- Finally, I would like to remind some of you of a comment that I wrote recently with respect to Hebrews 10:26, For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins... There is much confusion about this passage, but I try to dispel some of this confusion by looking at the context here: Comment on Hebrews 10 from 2 Thessalonians 1-3 reading |
| Passage: Hebrews 7-10 On Tuesday, December 28, 2010 (Last Updated on 12/28/2012), Yujin wrote, Friends, Today's passage reveals how Jesus is the superior high priest, even though He is not born in the line of Aaron, who is the patriarch of the priesthood according to the Law of Moses. Instead. As Jesus is the greater high priest, so the New Covenant inaugurated in His blood is a better covenant to the Old Covenant that was inaugurated by the blood of animals. As I mentioned in a previous post, Hebrews 8:13 teaches us that the Old Covenant, wherein is the Mosaic Law in every respect (i.e. the "so called" moral, civil and ceremonial laws), is "obsolete." But the covenant of grace, made effective through the blood of Christ, has given us confidence to boldly approach God - something that the Old Covenant only permitted the high priest to do, and that only once a year on the Day of Atonement: Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near (Hebrews 10:19-25). Notice three times the writer uses the expression "Let us..." First, we are exhorted, "Let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith." We are encouraged to approach God by faith as ones enabled to do so by virtue of the sacrifice of Christ for our sins. Second, we are exhorted, "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering." We are encouraged to trust in Christ, that He who began the good work of salvation in us will certainly be faithful to complete it (cf. Philippians 1:6). Finally, we are exhorted, "Let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds." We are encouraged to minister to one another in such a way that every believer will be inspired to live in obedience to God. |