We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat (Hebrews 13:10). 

This allusion to the Day of Atonement is also a contrast between the Jewish sacrifice and the sacrifice that we enjoy in Christ. The Jewish priests could not eat the sacrifice made on the Day of Atonement, for it had to be burned up outside the camp (Leviticus 16:27). However, Christians partake of Christ, who Himself said, "Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you" (John 6:53). Those who remain under the Old Covenant Law cannot partake in the Christian altar because it is by grace and through faith. And the sacrifice we offer is not a continual and annual burnt offering for sin but a sacrifice of praise to God and thanksgiving to His name. What we partake is a better sacrifice, namely the body and blood of Christ. What we give is a better offering, namely thanksgiving to God through Christ Jesus our Lord. 

Therefore, friends, as we look to the new year, let us remind ourselves of the one sacrifice of Christ that covers all our sins. And let us continue to partake of Christ, which we do through faith in His Name, offering the sacrifice of thanksgiving and pursuing every good work through Him. There is nothing better and nothing greater. With eyes fixed on Jesus, let us persevere in our faith, living out all that God has called and gifted us to do until our salvation is completed when His glory is revealed. 

Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account (Hebrews 13:17).

The writer to the Hebrews exhorted his readers to obey their leaders. But which leaders did he mean? It is unlikely that he had civil leaders in mind, for they would hardly be described as the ones to "keep watch over your souls" or to "give an account [before God]".The leaders in view were most likely spiritual leaders. But we must go further and ask which spiritual leaders were in view. They had certain Jewish leaders, who were seeking to persuade them to continue trusting in the Law. Since the whole book was written to contend with these false teachers and their wrongful teaching, it is likely not this group that the writer had in mind for his readers to obey. But there were leaders, who were commended to them:

Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Do not be carried away by varied and strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, through which those who were so occupied were not benefited (Hebrews 13:7-9).

There were leaders that spoke the word of God to them. These leaders stood in contrast to the Jewish leaders, who tried to carry them away "by varied and strange teachings," which had to do with foods, as representative of all the regulations in the Mosaic Law, rather than the grace of God.

The commendable leaders taught them about Jesus. And the message about Jesus that they taught had not changed. And it would never change. Therefore, they should be wary about anyone that came to them with a new or different doctrine.

The writer of Hebrews exhorts his readers to obey the teaching and example of these commendable leaders, who from the first taught them the Word of God in truth. They were to submit to their teaching and not to the false teaching of the Jewish leaders, whose teaching would lead them astray. 

Friends, two important applications may be drawn from this text.

First, the writer of Hebrews is not simply giving a general exhortation to obey every spiritual leader. Those that faithfully teach the Word of God in truth are the ones that the readers ought to obey. These are the leaders that should be encouraged and supported, for they are truly the ones that God has chosen to be watchmen over the souls of believers. Those that distort God's Word ought to be either corrected or avoided, depending on one's own competence in handling God's Word.

Second, the expression, "Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever" has less to do with Jesus' unchanging divine nature as it relates to the unchanging message of those that first preached the Gospel to them. The context bears this out, as the writer warns against "varied and strange teachings". A parallel thought may be found in Paul's warning to the Galatians:

I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed! (Galatians 1:7-9).

Paul was concerned that the Galatian believers were being led astray by those that brought a different Gospel than the one he preached to them. Paul's point was that the Gospel had not changed. They did not begin with the Gospel that came by way of the Spirit and grace and faith, only to veer off into a new Gospel that came by the Law (cf. Galatians 3:1-5). 

In this same way, the writer of Hebrews argued that Jesus had not changed. The same Jesus that was preached to them at the beginning of their hearing the Gospel in faith was the Jesus that they needed to continue to follow. And they did not need to worry about believing something different at some later time, for the message of Jesus would remain the same forever. 

Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering (Hebrews 13:1-3).

Friends, this is an exhortation to believers about other believers. The reference to strangers, those in prison, and those who are mistreated are believers in view of the first admonition to love "one another." It is by this kind of love that we show to one another the unbelieving world will know that we follow Christ:

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another (John 13:34-35).

But do we relate to one another in this way? It is not simply sympathetic love, but empathetic love. Just as Paul also wrote, "Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn" (Romans 12:15).

I know that I have dreamed that we can share this kind of love in our Martial Arts Association, such that everywhere we go, where there is a member of our organization, no one needs to be afraid of being without a place to eat or sleep. And where there is a school, any one of us can freely go to that school and train while we are there.

Our church should certainly have this kind of concern for believers everywhere. Our outreach to South Dallas in partnership with Cornerstone is but a small token of this kind of care. We can certainly do much more. I pray that God will raise up leaders in this endeavor.

Hebrews 11 gives us the nature of faith and a list of Old Testament examples of faith. Faith is a confident expectation of a better, unseen future. The Old Testament is chalk full of people who exhibit this kind of faith.

However, Hebrews 11 does not answer the question of where this faith comes from or who sustains this faith to the end or the essential content of this faith (but Hebrews 11:26 hints at it), all of which are necessary for salvation. For this we must come to Hebrews 12, where Jesus Christ is presented as both the Author and Finisher of faith:

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:1-2).

The expression "author and finisher" is very similar to the notion "alpha and omega" (i.e. the a to z of the Greek alphabet), where representative items are given to represent the beginning, ending and everything in between. This is called a "merism" in literature. It is a figure of speech "by which a single thing is referred to by a conventional phrase that enumerates several of its parts, or which lists several synonyms for the same thing" (Wikipedia):

Merisms are conspicuous features of Biblical poetry. For example, in Genesis 1:1, when God creates "the heavens and the earth," the two parts combine to indicate that God created the whole universe. Similarly, in Psalm 139, the psalmist declares that God knows "my downsitting and mine uprising", indicating that God knows all the psalmist's actions (Wikipedia).

Again, in Psalm 1:1, the expression "day and night" represents not simply two times during the day but the whole day long.

So also in today's reading the expression "author and finisher of faith" does not mean that Jesus is the One who simply starts and ends our faith. The two extremities are given to indicate that Christ supplies every aspect of faith. 

Therefore, friends, in all our speaking and in all our doing, let us continually declare Jesus, the Author and Finisher, the Pioneer and Perfector, the Alpha and Omega, of our faith. It is only by Him and through Him and in Him that people are saved. 

Friends,

Hebrews 11 is known as the great chapter on faith. However, faith is not the only emphasis of the chapter. The examples given are not those of faith induced by a sign or miracle or fleece but rather by a hope for a better future. Thus, faith is the "assurance of things hoped for" (Hebrews 11:1). And because hope is by nature future and so unrealized, it is invisible for the present. As Romans 8:24-25 teaches, "But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently." And so faith based on hope is "the conviction of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1).

Why is this important? It is a warning for those that are too satisifed with this present reality and too involved in earthly pursuits. You've heard of the expression "immediate gratification." This expression reflects an American culture that is diametrically opposed to the principle of faith based on hope. Immediate gratification craves what is seen and desires it now; yet, hope is unseen and still future. Seeking immediate gratification will preclude living the life of faith that God desires, and it may keep us from realizing the hope that God has prepared for us.

But if we live by faith, we will not be too concerned with our present experience, whether easy or hard. Even in the hardest times, we would realize with Paul, "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us" (Romans 8:18). We would not be living for the now, which is like a swiftly fading vapor (cf. James 4:14), but for the better and eternal future (cf. Hebrews 11:16, 26, 35).

Why is this relevant to us today? If we continue to live encumbered by the principle of immediate gratification, we will be ineffective as servants of God and witnesses of Jesus Christ. We will be as unsalty salt and hidden light (cf. Matthew 5:13-16). The conclusion of Hebrews 11 comes in Hebrews 12:1-3. It is an encouragement to lay aside the encumberance of immediate gratification, to run the race of faith based on hope, and to keep our eyes fixed on Christ, the preeminent example of this faith:

Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart (Hebrews 12:1-3).

Friends, as we approach 2011, and as you consider what to resolve for the new year, I encourage you to align your resolutions to the principle of faith based on hope rather than that of immediate gratification.