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This epistle was written to every believer who is thinking, “My life would have been better if I had never met Jesus. It’s just too hard to follow Him!” The writer of Hebrews exposes the lie of that conclusion by reminding us of the greatness of Jesus and what’s at stake if we turn from Him. He is better than any alternative, and turning away from Him always brings loss to Christians. Not loss of salvation, but the forfeiture of all that your redeemed heart longs for.

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Please join Special Guest Pastor Dave Anderson from Church of the Open Door as he shares this message with us this week. 

“But Christ is faithful as a son over God’s house.”  (Hebrews 3:6) First Century Jews held Moses up as the greatest of men. When intense persecution tempted those who had trusted in Christ to abandon following Him, they undoubtedly viewed past times when they were devoted to Moses and His covenant with nostalgic euphoria. Countering any decision to return to Judaism, the writer of Hebrews proves that Jesus is superior to Moses.  The author has already demonstrated that Christ has become a merciful and faithful high priest (2:17-18). Appealing to their esteem for Moses, the writer affirms that Moses, like Christ, was faithful to God. However, Christ is responsible for so much more. Jesus is not merely God’s servant; He is God’s Son. And as Son, He is the possessor of all things.  As Hebrew Christians, these readers were familiar with the story of the faithfulness of the Levites when the rest of Israel lost its priestly privileges by trying to return to their old life in Egypt (Exodus 19:6; 32:26-29; Numbers 3:12-13). He exhorts his readers to hold firmly to their confidence and hope in God’s faithful Son to avoid losing their priestly privileges in Christ’s household (see also, 1 Peter 2:5): Jesus is better than Moses. Follow Moses’ example of faithfulness in your privilege as Jesus’ followers.  Moses was great, but Jesus is greater. Take note of Christ, and be faithful to Him. I. Be faithful to Christ because you value your priestly privileges in His household (3:1-6). A.The Comparison: Though both were faithful to God, Jesus the Son is greater than Moses the servant (1-5). 1.Concentrate on Jesus, the merciful and faithful high priest, who, like Moses is faithful as the one sent (apostle) to administer God’s “house” (stewardship, or assignment from God, 1-2). 2.But Jesus deserves greater glory because the builder deserves more honor than the building (3). 3.Jesus, as God, built everything. Moses was God’s faithful servant in the “household” of the Old Covenant community, but Jesus is God’s faithful Son in the “household” of the New Covenant community—including the world to come (the entire system of worship Jesus inaugurated as the faithful Son, 4-6a). Note: The Law was given to a redeemed people. It was not used to earn relationship with God, but to nurture and deepen a people’s relationship with God. This is the backdrop to the Law and the warning passages of Hebrews. This redeemed “household” was the Old Testament community Moses led. Abraham was saved by faith. And he (Abraham) believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness (Genesis 15:6). Israel was saved by faith. So the LORD saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Thus Israel saw the great work which the LORD had done in Egypt; so the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD and His servant Moses… The LORD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation. This is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him. (Exodus 14:30-31, 15:2) The Exodus is the great act of salvation of the Israelites where they believed in God. The Exodus is the saving faith as the cross is for the New Testament. B.The Point: Hold firmly to your confidence and hope in Jesus if you want to keep your privileges in Christ’s household (6b). 1.The writer is moving toward a stern warning against turning away from the living God by returning to Judaism (3:12).   2.This is a “pre-warning” against losing their priestly privileges in the Son’s priestly house. I believe this includes intimacy in and significance in Christ’s household and Christ’s people. This is precisely what happened to all of Israel except the Levites when they tried to return to the comforts of Egypt rather than following the Living God (Exodus 19:6; 32:26-29; Numbers 3:12-13).  “When we withdraw from the exercise of our priestl

Study Notes Ed Underwood Hebrews 3:7-19 Second Warning: The Danger of Disbelief “Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”  (Hebrews 3:8) Every Jewish Christian was familiar with the warning of Psalm 95 against losing the rest God offers to His people. The backdrop of Numbers 13-14 was equally known. The generation encamped at Kadesh refused to believe God, and God refused them entrance into the rest of Canaan. What they weren’t aware of is that the same warning applies to Christians. When the tests of life come, we must trust God instead of the messages of the dissidents. If we fail to believe God’s promises, we too will lose our “rest”—that deepest experience of eternal life reserved for faithful followers of Christ.  There are serious consequences when believers decide that God isn’t good enough or powerful enough to take care of them. Dissidents are all around us, and they will turn our doubts into unbelief and rebellion. God’s response will be the same—we will forfeit our rest: Invitation to Rest: Stop listening to dissidents; keep trusting God’s Word. “The comparison between Christ and Moses (3:1-7) leads to one between their followers.” (Morris) There is a direct correlation between the Kadesh generation and Christians. We need to trust God enough to follow Christ, or we will lose our rest in Him. I. Don’t fail your Kadesh Barnea test: Stop listening to dissidents; keep trusting God’s Word (3:7-19). A.The Quote: Psalm 95:7b-11 is a solemn review of God’s response to the Exodus generation’s refusal to trust Him enough to enter the rest God wanted to give them (7-11, see Number 13-14). 1.In the liturgy of 1st Century synagogues, Psalm 95 served as the preamble to Friday evening and Sabbath morning services. 2.The Exodus generation not only lost their priestly privileges (3:1-6) they failed to enter the rest God wanted to give them in the promised land because they did not listen to God’s promises to give them victory. Note: David Anderson and I define this rest as, “the rest of the full experience of eternal life offered to those who are faithful—both in this world and the world to come.” B.The Point: Do not refuse to believe God, or you too will forfeit your rest in Christ (12-19, see Numbers 13-14). Note: “No believer today, Jew or Gentile, could go back into the Mosaic legal system since the temple is gone and there is no priesthood. But every believer is tempted to give up his or her confession of Christ and go back into the world system’s life of compromise and bondage.” (Warren Weirsbe) 1.The writer looks beyond Psalm 95 to the root cause of the failure at Kadesh Barnea—unbelief  (3:12). The word “unbelief” does not occur in Psalm 95, but it is clearly stated as the reason God judged that generation (Numbers 14:11). This is obviously a warning to Christians, so there is something for a Christian to lose here. Not eternal life, but the rest of the deepest experience of eternal life that God promises to His faithful children. Notice also the progression: Unbelief in what God has said leads to rebellion against God (3:12). 2.The writer encourages the community to grasp all the privileges of a partner with Christ by clinging to their confidence in God (3:13). 3.Again citing the urgency of the command (today), the writer reminds them that an entire generation succumbed to unbelief in the promises of God in spite of forty years of signs and wonders (15-19).   II. Christ, Kadesh Barnea, and You! I see four practical warnings for all of us in this passage.    A.Don’t listen to dissidents! Israel failed to enter the rest because they listened to the dissidents—those who doubted God’s goodness and guidance, rather than trusting the Word of God. Life is full of people, both Christian and non-Christian, who will tell you it’s foolish to keep following Jesus during tough times. B.Don’t neglect community! We need one another to

Study Notes Ed Underwood Hebrews Second Warning: The Danger of Disbelief (3:7-19)   “Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”  (Hebrews 3:8)   Every Jewish Christian was familiar with the warning of Psalm 95 against losing the rest God offers to His people. The backdrop of Numbers 13-14 was equally known. The generation encamped at Kadesh refused to believe God, and God refused them entrance into the rest of Canaan. What they weren’t aware of is that the same warning applies to Christians. When the tests of life come, we must trust God instead of the messages of the dissidents. If we fail to believe God’s promises, we too will lose our “rest”—that deepest experience of eternal life reserved for faithful followers of Christ.  There are serious consequences when believers decide that God isn’t good enough or powerful enough to take care of them. Dissidents are all around us, and they will turn our doubts into unbelief and rebellion. God’s response will be the same—we will forfeit our rest: Invitation to Rest: Stop listening to dissidents; keep trusting God’s Word. “The comparison between Christ and Moses (3:1-7) leads to one between their followers.” (Morris) There is a direct correlation between the Kadesh generation and Christians. We need to trust God enough to follow Christ, or we will lose our rest in Him. I. Don’t fail your Kadesh Barnea test: Stop listening to dissidents; keep trusting God’s Word (3:7-19). A.The Quote: Psalm 95:7b-11 is a solemn review of God’s response to the Exodus generation’s refusal to trust Him enough to enter the rest God wanted to give them (7-11, see Number 13-14). 1.In the liturgy of 1st Century synagogues, Psalm 95 served as the preamble to Friday evening and Sabbath morning services. 2.The Exodus generation not only lost their priestly privileges (3:1-6) they failed to enter the rest God wanted to give them in the promised land because they did not listen to God’s promises to give them victory. Note: David Anderson and I define this rest as, “the rest of the full experience of eternal life offered to those who are faithful—both in this world and the world to come.” B.The Point: Do not refuse to believe God, or you too will forfeit your rest in Christ (12-19, see Numbers 13-14). Note: “No believer today, Jew or Gentile, could go back into the Mosaic legal system since the temple is gone and there is no priesthood. But every believer is tempted to give up his or her confession of Christ and go back into the world system’s life of compromise and bondage.” (Warren Weirsbe) 1.The writer looks beyond Psalm 95 to the root cause of the failure at Kadesh Barnea—unbelief  (3:12). The word “unbelief” does not occur in Psalm 95, but it is clearly stated as the reason God judged that generation (Numbers 14:11). This is obviously a warning to Christians, so there is something for a Christian to lose here. Not eternal life, but the rest of the deepest experience of eternal life that God promises to His faithful children. Notice also the progression: Unbelief in what God has said leads to rebellion against God (3:12). 2.The writer encourages the community to grasp all the privileges of a partner with Christ by clinging to their confidence in God (3:13). 3.Again citing the urgency of the command (today), the writer reminds them that an entire generation succumbed to unbelief in the promises of God in spite of forty years of signs and wonders (15-19). II. Christ, Kadesh Barnea, and You! I see four practical warnings for all of us in this passage.  A.Don’t listen to dissidents! Israel failed to enter the rest because they listened to the dissidents—those who doubted God’s goodness and guidance, rather than trusting the Word of God. Life is full of people, both Christian and non-Christian, who will tell you it’s foolish to keep following Jesus during tough times. B.Don’t neglect community! We need one another t

Study Notes David Anderson Hebrews Jesus’ Rest is Better (Hebrews 4:1-11) “For the one who enters God's rest has also rested from his works, just as God did from his own works.” (Heb 4:10) We are first introduced to this concept of “rest” in Genesis 2:2, By the seventh day God finished the work that he had been doing, and he ceased on the seventh day all the work that he had been doing. Right after the golden calf judgment, Yahweh tells Moses, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." Moses’ emphatic response, "If your presence does not go with us, do not take us up from here.” (Exodus 33:14-15). In Deuteronomy 5:14-15 describes what this Sabbath rest will look like on the seventh day and how it is an important time to remember God’s strength, power, and deliverance from Egypt.  In Deuteronomy 5, Yahweh explains the Sabbath principle and explains that as His people celebrate the Sabbath they need to recall the redemption from slavery from Egypt by Yahweh’s strength and power. Later in Deuteronomy (28:65), Moses predicts the dispersion of the tribes and explains there will be no rest among the nations and no peaceful rest for your feet. To these dispersed tribes, Jeremiah says, “You are standing at the crossroads...” choose wisely. One ancient, reliable path will bless you with rest for your soul (Jer. 6:16).  As Ed talked about last Sunday, the wilderness generation spent 40 years in the desert, exhausted, defeated and longing for spiritual, emotional, and physical rest. As we study their history it was a painful cycle of unbelief, disobedience, and hardened hearts. Almost at every turn, the Israelites choose to trust their own resources and sensibility than what God was offering them. “Rest” was their final destination in the Land that God had promised and symbolized the ultimate trust in Him as provider. This was the Land that flowed with milk and honey and where God was offering them peace from their enemies.  In Numbers 13, the Israelites get to the border of the promised rest and they send 12 spies, one from each tribe. They quickly discover that the land was all that was promised (flowing with milk and honey) but there was a huge problem. What was the problem? The 10 spies said, “There are giants in the land and large fortified cities…They are stronger than us!...We are like grasshoppers compared to them!” But Caleb silenced the people and said, “Let us go up and occupy it, for we are well able to conquer it.” Israelites fearfully disagreed with Caleb and refused to enter into God’s rest.  As a result, this rebellious generation (20 years and up) were not permitted to experience the land, only Joshua and Caleb (Numbers 14:22-24, 29-35; There were 603,550 men of war. Of these men of war, 603,548 died in the wilderness). It should have been an 11 day journey from Sinai to Canaan, instead it was 38 more years of wandering in the wilderness. We come to the Book of Hebrews and Yahweh continues to offer Rest. He offers another generation of wilderness wanderers the same type of Rest. The message to them: Make every effort to enter Jesus’ rest; Exchange your yoke for His! Just as the writer of Hebrews did in 3:7-19, he preaches from Psalm 95 and also includes the famous Genesis 2:2 verse. As we look at this passage, here are some observations: Just as the “rest” was available to the Wilderness Israelites of the 1400’s and the Israelites during the Davidic reign in Psalm 95 (1000’s), it is also available to this house church of Jewish Christian in the Roman Empire. The promise of entering His rest remains open to us as well (4:1, 6-11). The “rest” comes through faith and obedience. The Wilderness generation failed to enter the rest because of unbelief, disobedience, and hardened hearts. The writer of Hebrews, “doesn’t want anyone to come short of it….thus we must make every effort to enter the rest” (4:1,11).  It is a “rest”

Notes coming soon

Study Notes Ed Underwood Hebrews Jesus Is Better Than Aaron: A More Compassionate High Priest Hebrews 5:1-10   “Although he was a son, he learned obedience through the things he suffered.”  (Hebrews 5:8).   Every Jewish Christian was familiar with the role of the high priest in Judaism. The high priest represented the people before God. What they had not thought through was the role of Jesus Christ as the ultimate high priest to represent his people before God. Since many were forsaking Christianity for Judaism, the writer of Hebrews wants them to know that they are forsaking their far superior high priest—the Son of God, for a far inferior high priest—the Aaronic high priest. More than that, the current high priests in Jerusalem weren’t even of the tribe of Levi, as God had prescribed. Instead, the office had become a political position gained by ambition and positioning. The high priests of the 1st Century were more about power and prestige than about serving God’s people. They lived outside of the requirements of the Law.  God meant the high priest to be a faithful and merciful mediator between Him and His people. The writer of Hebrews has already established that Jesus is a faithful high priest (3:1-4:14). He now teaches his readers why Jesus is also a merciful high priest—full of compassion for His people. Hebrews 5:1-10 develops the truth introduced in 4:16, the exhortation to pray to our merciful and compassionate high priest. It’s designed to expose the absurdity of forsaking our awesome high priest, Jesus, the Son of God, for a religion whose leaders are self-serving and out of touch. It further proves that even if the current high priest were faithful to the Old Covenant, Jesus would still be a far superior high priest:     Our compassionate High Priest learned to trust God as a human!     F. F. Bruce offers the best explanation of the link from Melchizedek to Jesus Christ: “When … Jerusalem fell into David’s hands and became his capital city (2 Samuel 5:6ff), he and his heirs became successors to Melchizedek’s kingship, and probably also (in titular capacity at least) to the priesthood of God Most High.” (The Epistle to the Hebrews. New International Commentary on the New Testament, p. 95-96)   I. Jesus fully qualifies as our high priest, but His credentials and compassion exceed any and all Aaronic high priests (Hebrews 5:1-10).   A.How is it that Jesus, the Son of God is capable of sympathizing with our pain (4:15-16) He qualifies as a high priest after the order of Melchizedek, but as the Son of God He learned obedience through suffering as a man. This meant that He could offer the final sacrifice for sin, the source of eternal life to all who obey God’s will concerning the gift of eternal life. (5:1-10)   1.Jesus qualifies as a high priest under the old requirements: He was appointed by God; He offered a sacrifice for sin, and He is compassionate because He experienced the weakness of humanity (5:1-4).   2.Jesus is set apart from the old office of high priest because He was appointed as the Son of God (Psalm 2:7) as a priest of the order of Melchizedek (Psalm 110:4, Hebrews 5:5-6).   3.Jesus is set apart from the old office of high priest because He, as God, experienced the full weakness of humanity, but perfectly obeyed God. (5:7-8).   4.Jesus learned about His people’s plight through this suffering that perfected His qualification as God’s Priest-Son who could offer eternal salvation to all who “obeyed” God (9-10). This obedience begins by “obeying” the message of the gospel—trust in Christ—and then, there’s the ongoing deliverance from the power of sin for those who keep on trusting God enough to obey Him in every arena of life.          B.Three Clarifying Points: A lot of speculation about this passage can sidetrack Christians. Here’s my take on three of these intriguing but secondary issues.      1

Guest Speaker, Pastor Dave Anderson   Notes coming soon.

Guest Speaker Pastor David Anderson Notes Coming Soon