Hebrews: The Glory of The New Covenant

Hebrews Pt 50: The Prominence & Preeminence of Christ

[Hebrews 13:8-24]  Jesus Christ is not only prominent in the scripture, He is also preeminent. In the midst of verses that appear to be a “Christian To Do list”, Hebrews 13:8 triumphantly declares, “Jesus Christ, is the same yesterday, today and forever.” This is no accident: it is the Holy Spirit reminding us yet again of the absolute prominence and preeminence of The Lord Jesus Christ. In this final lesson we examine:

  • The center of our faith is Christ, not ourselves (law)
  • The unchangableness (immutability) of God and the stability that brings.
  • The self-existence (aseity) of God. He needs no one and is non-dependent, that’s why we depend on Him for all.
  • What it means to have the heart “established by grace”.
  • The shadows and type of the Old (Law) Covenant versus the realities of the New Covenant. Temporary measures (living under law) yield temporary results. A perfect high priest completing a perfect, finished work yields permanent results.
  • The Conclusion of the Matter: Hebrews 13:20-21

Note: this episode concludes the “Hebrews: The Glory of the New Covenant” series.

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Hebrews Pt 49: The Prominence of Christ – Part 1

[Hebrews 12:25-13:6] In all of the scripture, no one is more prominent than The Lord Jesus Christ. No work is greater than His finished work. If we refuse Him, we refuse The Father. Having Him, we have all. In this lesson we learn:

  • How vitally important it is to not refuse The Father who is speaking through His son.
  • The eternally fatal error of believing that somehow we are righteous and good enough. And the great encouragement and hope that we who have received Christ really have.
  • What the LET’s of Hebrews 13:1-5 are really all about.
  • The fruitful difference that having real faith in Christ makes, not only in our own lives, but also in the lives of those who see our manner of living.

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Hebrews Pt 48: The Bondage of Law vs. The Holy Freedom of Grace

[Gal 4:21-31]  Many Christians struggle and continue to live in bondage, because they mix together two TOTALLY DIFFERENT covenants, the Old Covenant of Law and the New Covenant of grace. In this lesson, we’ll examine yet another striking contrast between the Old Covenant (law) and the New Covenant (grace), as portrayed in Galatians 4 by a bondwoman (Hagar) and a free woman (Sarah):

  • The one, law, produces bondage. The other, grace, sets people free to enjoy God and His blessings of grace, which produces holy freedom and holy living.
  • The true purpose of the law is to provoke a sinner’s sin nature, thus increasing and strengthening sin, driving the sinner in desperation for deliverance to The Savior.
  • Why it is important for Christians to cast out law (which is living by the flesh) and decidedly live by The Spirit, by faith, according to the grace of God.

Note: while this lesson explores the powerful truth that Christians are absolutely not under law but under grace, we will get into much greater depth in our next teaching series, “You Are NOT Under Law, Because You Are Under Grace”.

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Hebrews Pt 47: The SO MUCH BETTER of The New Covenant

[Hebrews 12:22-24] Many Christians live with a sense of condemnation and fear of God’s judgment. They believe that because they have failed to be good enough, righteousness enough or faithful enough, God is somehow displeased with them — or worse — condemning them. In this episode, will see the great news of God’s grace in the New Covenant! We’ll explore:

  • The rich meaning of Mount Zion throughout The Bible and how it expresses so many things about God’s loving heart for His people and dwelling with them.
  • How we have ALREADY COME into all the rich of the blessings of The New Covenant.
  • How we are welcomed by God.
  • Jesus the Mediator of the New Covenant.

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Hebrews Pt 46: The Terror of The Law

[Hebrews 12:18-21]  Most Christians think that God is impressed with their efforts to please Him by what they DO. In this episode, we’ll see that the focus on OUR “do for God” is actually self-righteous, contrary to faith and evokes the terror of the Lord. Also:

  • Why it is that when Israel said to God, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do” (Ex 19:8) it was one of the more arrogant, self righteous statements in all of the Bible.
  • How that law ultimately brings, death, condemnation and judgment.
  • The great scriptural difference between law and grace.
  • How that law provokes sin, bringing death and condemnation.

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Hebrews Pt 45: Tried Faith & The Results of God’s Grace

[Hebrews 12:12-17] In this lesson, we look at:

  • The real reason behind the trials of life that a believer will face and why they happen.
  • The powerful results of the grace of God in our lives to move us beyond discouragement to pursue peace with all people and holiness.
  • The benefits of resting and relying on the grace of God and the great harm if we don’t.

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Hebrews Pt 44: The Child Training of Our Loving Father

[Hebrews 12:3-11] After having dealt with the common misconceptions about Hebrews 12:3-11 in our last episode, in this lesson we focus on what these verses are really all about: the child training of our Loving Father. We look into:

  • The word “chasten” and “chastening” appear repeatedly throughout these verses. The Greek words translated “chasten” and “chastening” literally mean “child training”, as opposed to punishment.
  • This “child training” is meant to train us — the “just who live by faith” —  to walk by faith, not by sight, our own ability or our human understanding.
  • Why the commonly held notion that “God will never us more than we can handle” is in fact an unbiblical and harmful myth. God frequently uses circumstances far beyond our capability to handle in order to train us to rely on Him, not ourselves.
  • We look at similar passages in James 1:2-4 and 1 Peter 1: 6-8 to understand the tremendous value of the trying of our faith.

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Hebrews Pt 43: Dispelling Misconceptions on the Discipline of God

[Hebrews 12:3-6] Does God send terrible things like cancer, tragic accidents and the death of loved ones to make us more like Jesus? Does God punish His children, even with severe scourging? In this episode, we deal head-on and scripturally with common — and harmful — misconceptions about the discipline of God. We elaborate on the reasons why the claim that God does such things to punish His children is wrong:

  • Reason #1: it completely disregards all of Hebrews, plucking these verses from this vital context.
  • Reason #2: it completely ignores what these verses are talking about
  • Reason #3: a mistranslation of the word “scourge” in verse 6.

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The Just Shall Live By Faith – Pt 12 (Hebrews Pt 42)

[Hebrews 11:33-12-2] In this concluding lesson in our The Just Shalt Live by Faith series, we dig into:

  • More on overcoming faith
  • Overcoming faith, even in the midst of severe persecution and death
  • What God’s grace through faith in Christ accomplishes
  • The importance of a faith that steadfastly looks to Jesus, the Source of all.

 

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The Just Shall Live By Faith – Pt 11 (Hebrews Pt 41)

[Hebrews 11:30-33a] In this episode, we continue to look at OVERCOMING FAITH:

  • Joshua and the Conquest
  • The leadership of God’s people BY FAITH and its effects. They were ordinary people OF FAITH who trusted in an EXTRAORDINARY GOD! God is the one who is great, The Hero, and HE does mighty things through those who have FAITH IN HIM.

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