Overview of the Book of Hebrews

The overview of the week for this Sunday is the book of Hebrews written in 68 AD by an anonymous author. The theme of Hebrews is the priesthood of Christ. The author, who many believe to be the Apostle Paul, is showing his readers that Jesus is better.

Jesus is better than the angels. Jesus is better than Moses. Jesus is better than Aaron, Israel's first high priest. He holds a better priesthood. And the new covenant in Christ's blood is a better covenant.

And part of what the author is trying to do, he's trying to exhort the Hebrew Christians to remain faithful. He's also addressing another group of Jews who find the gospel attractive, but they have not yet made any commitments.

And obviously the author wants them to be committed. What was happening is that because of persecution, many of the Jews who were baptized started to fall away from faith in Christ. And as once for all sacrifice for sin, they were sliding back into Judaism and the sacrifices and offerings that were part of the temple system.

But remember, Jesus had already predicted that the temple would be destroyed, which is why the author warns in chapter 10, he says, for if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sin, but a certain fearful expectation and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.

Now many people have misinterpreted that passage along with the section of Hebrews chapter 6 to mean that either you can lose your salvation or if you commit any willful sin, you are lost and without hope.

But that is not what is being said. The willful sin is a reference to those people who came to the place where they knew that Jesus was indeed the Christ, and yet they made the willful decision to stop following him.

The word for that is apostasy. Many were doing exactly that, returning to the temple and the sacrifices and offerings which could never take away sin. They returned to the temple, which in two short years would be destroyed and the city of Jerusalem burned.

So those who turned away from Jesus back to the temple sacrifices, there's nothing left to be found there except the expectation of God's judgment. So in conclusion, the application for us now today is that if you have never made a commitment to Jesus Christ, today is the day of salvation.

And if you have done that, then we must remain loyal to Christ and follow him for the rest of our lives, no matter what.