Hebrews 6:16

Hebrews 6:16 says, For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife.  We swear an oath by the greater, which is God.  This is confirmation of our salvation.  Salvation is never based on our goodness or ability, but it is based on our belief in and acceptance of Christ as Savior and Lord.  Since God is the author of our salvation, we need never debate the reality of it.  There is but one way to be saved, and that is through faith in Christ.  Verse seventeen adds, Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath:  We can be certain that our salvation through Christ will never be taken away, because God has made this promise based on His word.  We may not always be able to put our faith in the word of another individual, but we can always trust the word of God.  As followers of Christ, our word should be just as trustworthy, but often it is not.  Verse eighteen continues, That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:  We have God's council to us based on His unchangeable word.  What God tells us is true and always will be.  God will never tell us to do anything that contradicts His word.  For example, since God tells us to love our neighbor, He is not going to suddenly change that command to hate our neighbor when things aren't going our way.  Even if we disagree with them, we are to do so out of love.  Verse nineteen declares, Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;  Our faith in Christ is indeed an anchor for our soul.  This hope should be both sure and steadfast.  Our faith should never waiver, because it is anchored in Christ.  Verse twenty adds, Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.  Jesus removed the veil between God and mankind.  We can now go directly to God with nothing standing between us.  Christ is our high Priest forever, and we need no one else to bring our concerns to God.

Hebrews 6:9

Hebrews 6:9 says, But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak.  The writer states that they, which would be those believers with him and he himself, were sure of better things of the Hebrew Christians than the falling away from their faith.  No matter where we live today, our fellow followers of Christ should expect us to live by faith in Christ.  Verse ten adds, For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.  Though we do not work for salvation, once we accept salvation through Christ, we are to work that God might be glorified.  God will not forget the work that we do for Him.  Since each believer is given at least one talent, or gift of the Holy Spirit, then each believer must be faithful in utilizing that talent or those talents that have been given to them.  We cannot do anything of our own ability, so it is important that we rely on the Holy Spirit to reveal and develop our talents.  Verse eleven continues, And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end:  We are called on to give our full diligence to God.  We cannot allow God to be a sideline in our lives.  We need to be diligent in our work for God's kingdom.  When we are, then we can have full assurance of hope until the end.  We do this labor for God not for reward but out of love for Him.  Verse twelve states, That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.  God does not expect us to be lazy in our work for Him.  We are to work faithfully and patiently to fulfill the will of God.  Though we inherit the promise of God through faith in Christ, our faith is evident by our works.  Just as God created mankind for a purpose, He redeems them for a purpose as well.  Verse thirteen adds, For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself,  God's promise to Abraham was assured because God based it on His own righteousness and not the righteousness of Abraham.  The reason that we can have salvation and hope is because of the righteousness of God, through which He gives us salvation if we will only accept it by faith in Christ.  Verse fourteen continues, Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee.  Abraham was blessed by his faith in God.  He did become the father of a great nation because of God working through Him.  Verse fifteen concludes, And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.  We might argue that Abraham did not patiently endure, but even so he had to wait until God fulfilled His promise.  We as followers of Christ must patiently endure until the fulfillment of the promise of the return of Christ.  We can do nothing to hurry it up.  Our calling is to faithfully rest in God's promise as we continue to do what He has called us to do.

Hebrews 6:1

Hebrews 6:1 says, Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,  This applies to those who have accepted Christ already.  When we accept Christ as our Savior, we can then move on to making Him the Lord of our lives.  Once we accept salvation, we do not need to daily go back and accept Him once more.  We are to daily build on the foundation of Christ.  I believe that when we are witnessing that our message will always be Jesus Christ, crucified, resurrected, and Lord, but when we are studying, either alone or as a group of believers, that we need to learn what it means to be a growing child of God.  Verse two adds, Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.  One of the ordinances that Christ instituted is baptism, and we need to understand what this really means.  Baptism of itself does not bring salvation, but is merely symbolic of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ.  Still, baptism identifies us as a follower of Christ.  I believe the laying on of hands has more to do with ministers welcoming another person into the ministry.  Matthew Henry states that some see this as transferring the Holy Spirit to a new believer, but I do not see this as being the case.  The Holy Spirit is not ours to give.  Once we accept Christ as Savior, then we are immediately filled with the Holy Spirit to help us make Christ Lord.  Verse three continues, And this will we do, if God permit.  The writer said that was what he and those who had grown in Christ, those more mature Christians, would do, if God permitted it.  We cannot do God's work without His call and blessing.  We must be attuned to God's will through the guidance of the Holy Spirit at all times.  Verse four states, For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,  I believe that this means that once we are saved we are always saved.  We need not go back and question our salvation if we are truly saved by faith in Christ.  Verse five adds, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,  Verse six it continues, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.  Once we are saved, we have indeed tasted the word of God and are a part of the world to come.  Still, it is possible to fall away, or to allow sin back in our lives.  If we do we need to repent.  Though Christ died once for all sins, in effect He died for each person's sins individually.  If we fall away into sin and repent, we in effect crucify Christ again and put Him to open shame.  Verse seven says, For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God:  Verse eight adds, But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned.  Both the good fruit and the bad may grow from the rain, but the bad will be burned or destroyed.  The redemption of Christ rains down on every person, but those who refuse to accept Him will be sent away into everlasting punishment.

Hebrews 5:11

Hebrews 5:11 says, Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing.  The writer here states that there was much more that could be said about either Christ or Melchisedec, depending on which was meant by the words "of whom."  Whomever was referred to, the writer did not say more because the people, those who called themselves followers of Christ, were slow to hear.  There have been many times throughout history, and there are still times today, when God's people are slow to hear.  Verse twelve adds, For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.  We as followers of Christ should be teaching the world about Him, but we often need teachers to once again teach us about what God's word says.  We begin to live by the dictates of the world and our own selfishness desires instead of living by the teachings of the word of God.  We cannot serve two masters.  We either serve Christ, and grow in our faith, or we serve the world and let our faith wither.  We need to always remember the basics of our faith, beginning with Jesus Christ, crucified, resurrected, and Lord.  Sometimes we tend to forget the Lord part, and after accepting Christ as Savior fail to grow in our faith by failing to make Him Lord of our life.  Verse thirteen continues, For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.  This does not mean drinking milk with meals, but living off milk because someone has not matured and started to eat solid food.  If we remain babes in Christ, never attempting to learn the more meaty things of God, we will not be very effective followers of Christ.  We must grow in our faith if we are to be effective witnesses for Christ.  Verse fourteen concludes, But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.  As we grow in Christ, just as a baby grows in the world, we can understand the difference between good and evil in the sight of God.  We might think this would be easy, but sometimes even things that look good in the eyes of the world and could even be viewed as good by God's people are still wrong in God's eyes.  If we do not grow in our faith, we may not be able to tell what is truly God's will.

Hebrews 5:6

Hebrews 5:6 says, As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.  We do not know a lot about Melchisedec, except that he was not of the order of priests who were descendants of Aaron and was noted for his faithfulness to God.  Matthew Henry says, "God the Father appointed him a priest of a higher order than that of Aaron. The priesthood of Aaron was to be but temporary; the priesthood of Christ was to be perpetual: the priesthood of Aaron was to be successive, descending from the fathers to the children; the priesthood of Christ, after the order of Melchisedec, was to be personal, and the high priest immortal as to his office, without descent, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, as it is more largely described in the seventh chapter, and will be opened there."  Though we do not know that much about Melchisedec, we do know that Christ is our spiritual high Priest, and that He is indeed eternal, appointed by the Father.  Verse seven adds, Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;  This verse refers to Jesus and His unique qualification to be our high Priest.  Jesus did come in the flesh, making Himself subject to all the weaknesses and temptations that every person is subjected to.  I will say once more, if Christ was not truly human and subjected to the same weaknesses and temptations that everyone else is, then He cannot serve as our example.  If He did not have the ability to give in to temptation and sin, then He could not have fulfilled the Law.  He is the eternal Savior, appointed by the Father.  Jesus offered strong prayers to His heavenly Father that if there were another way that He might not have to face a cruel death on the cross.  God could have spared His only begotten Son, but He would have doomed all people in doing so.  Verse eight continues, Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;  Jesus learned obedience to the Father through His sufferings.  We are called to be like Christ, so if we do suffer because of our faith, we must be obedient to God, even in our suffering.  Verse nine states, And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;  Christ was born in perfection, but it was His faithfulness to the heavenly Father in life, even during suffering, that kept Him perfect.  Remaining perfect, Christ became the author of eternal salvation.  Only if Christ were truly human could He fulfill this requirement.  If He was unable to sin if He so chose to do so, then His life was simply for show.  Verse ten adds, Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec.  Christ, like Melchisedec, is our high Priest not by physical qualifications, but by spiritual qualifications.

Hebrews 5:1

Hebrews 5:1 says, For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins:  The high priest did not just claim this position but was appointed by God.  Christ, as our high Priest, did not just assume this position, but was appointed by the heavenly Father. The high priest was the one who went into the Holy of Holys to offer sacrifices for the people of God.  He was the only one who could do this.  When Christ became our high Priest, He eliminated this need, because He became the eternal high Priest.  Verse two adds, Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity.  The high priest was to be able to have compassion on the ignorant and those who are out of the way.  The ignorant are those who have not come to a knowledge of God.  If we are truly followers of Christ, we must have compassion on the lost today.  We are called on to reach them with the message of salvation.  We cannot look down on any person or group of people as being unworthy of salvation.  Christ died for the worst sinner in the world, not for some select few who are somehow morally superior to others.  Since we are all sinners saved by grace, we need the compassion of Christ in order to be saved, and we can never feel superior to any other sinner saved by grace.  I believe that we can also take this a step farther and say that we should never feel superior to any sinner.  Christ died for all, and even if we are saved by His grace, we are still but a sinner.  We might want to put degrees on sin, but any sin, great or small, brings the same result, and that is separation from God.  We cannot feel superior because we consider our sins as less than someone else's.  Verse three continues, And by reason hereof he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins.  The earthly high priest had to offer a sacrifice, not only for the sins of those he represented, but for himself as well.  The heavenly high Priest, Jesus Christ, instead offered Himself as a sacrifice without sin for all people.  Jesus was the only One Who could accomplish this, and He is the only One we can turn to for forgiveness of our sins.  I will state once more that we do not have to go through anyone else, living or dead, to speak to God.  We have a personal relationship through Christ and are indwelled by the Holy Spirit.  Verse four states, And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.  Even earthly high priests were called by God.  Jesus, the only begotten Son of God, was called by His heavenly Father to be our eternal Priest.  When we do something for God today, it should be by His calling and for His honor.  Verse five adds, So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee.  This is what was just discussed above.  Jesus, the Son, was doing the will of God, the Father.

Hebrews 4:11

Hebrews 4:11 says, Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.  This does not mean that we are to earn our salvation through our own efforts or labor.  I believe it means that after we accept Christ as Savior that we are to work to ensure that He remains our Lord.  Even in the everlasting rest that we have through Christ, we still have work to do today.  We are not to just sit back and wait for Christ's return.  Verse twelve adds, For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.  I am not sure that we always acknowledge the power of the word of God.  God does not need an arsenal or an army to accomplish His purpose.  What He spoke into existence, He can speak out of existence.  God's word is quick and powerful.  He doesn't have to state over and over what He wants to happen.  When God speaks, things happen immediately.  God's word also brings to light not only the actions of people, but their thoughts as well.  If we are doing good works for the wrong reason, which would be reason other than to bring glory to God, then God knows this already.  Verse thirteen continues, Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.  God is aware of what is happening in the world today.  We cannot hide any thought, much less any action, from God.  If we are obedient followers of Christ, then this should be of no concern to us.  It is only when we attempt to allow sin back into our lives that we should be concerned.  Verse fourteen states, Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.  Jesus the Son of God is our high Priest in heaven.  Since the priest was the one who stood between man and God, we no longer have need of a earthly priest to serve in that capacity.  We can speak directly to God and He can speak directly to us through our faith in Christ.  Verse fifteen adds, For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.  Christ, our high Priest, understands our weaknesses, because He was in all points tempted as we are, but without giving in to those temperatures.  I do not believe that it could be stated more clearly that Jesus had the ability to sin, but He always chose to remain faithful to His heavenly Father.  The temptations of Christ were not role playing with the script and outcome already determined but were just as real as the temptations we face.  The only way that Christ could be totally human is if He had the free will to sin if He chose to.  Verse sixteen continues, Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.  We can come boldly to the throne of grace through our heavenly high Priest, Jesus Christ.  This does not mean that we can make selfish demands, but that we can come to God for strength and guidance.  If we are under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, then we will always ask for the right things.