Introduction to the Book of Hebrews — Hebrews 11-13

0:00 What an honor. What a privilege it is to be here this morning to open the word of god with you. I've been saved for for six years now and and shortly upon my conversion, I I I was introduced very quickly and emphatically to to the the preaching of the word of god in many in many facets at Taylor. Something I've I've had a lot of respect for since that time and and and it's truly something I've been excited to do and I'm humbled before you today. I'm also incredibly nervous and what a good reminder it is that John provided that that we are standing on the promises of god.

0:44 Nothing else. Let us let us ask the lord to bless this morning. Dear heavenly father, now we come before you humble. We thank you for your word, the truth that it holds, your divine revelation, lord, in which we can open before you and and read knowing with full confidence that we have the ability to understand it and and in turn, learn more about you and your son. We ask you to bless bless our efforts here today.

1:16 In in your name, amen. I've been asked by the elders to to introduce the book of Hebrews. My interest in Hebrews began shortly after my conversion at Taylor and continued then for the remaining three years where I was blessed with the opportunity to write my senior thesis on an introductory element, its authorship. So so by no means am I am I a scholar or by no means do I claim to be but but it is a book that excites me and I hope in turn you you are excited about our our few months study here on the book of Hebrews. I apologize the first portion of of of my sermon will be very factual, so bear with me then until until the middle where kind of application is then brought in and I hope in turn you are blessed.

2:09 So, within within hermeneutics, within the hermeneutics of any text, and hermeneutics is just a fancy word that denotes the branch of knowledge dealing with interpretation and understanding. Right? So we have hermeneutics, right, represents the branch of of the tree of knowledge that that is pretty synonymous with the word interpretation. So within our efforts, alright, to to open the book of Hebrews, right? We we are going to read the text but most importantly, we are going to try to interpret it.

2:42 We're going to try to understand the meaning of the text because reading without understanding, right, is is worthless. It's blind. It's nothing. So there are two disciplines within within the study of hermeneutics, within the hermeneutical enterprise. The first one, one that you're all very familiar with is exegesis.

3:02 Right? Any reader of the Bible, if he wants to determine the meaning of the text as the author is trying to convey, he must actively do exegesis, try to determine the meaning of a text. Right? This is no mystery. Right?

3:18 We have we have listened to preacher after preacher stand behind this pulpit and read the text before you and and exegete it. Right? Expound upon it. Exposite it to you. I'm teaching you all the meaning behind the text.

3:33 The second discipline, one that you're all familiar with but but that doesn't necessarily get as much recognition as as it rightly deserves is that of isogogics. And the word isogogics just means introduction. It's just a fancy word for introductions. And this kind of means when applied to the biblical text, the study of textual introductions. What this means is that before we read a text, right?

4:02 Before we exegete a text, there are certain things about that text that we must understand before we read it. By way of example, I've I've since I started attending this chapel for for about a year and a half now, I've heard brother Jim, brother Jim Bingham speak twice. And the first time I heard brother Jim Bingham speak, he spoke on Philippians chapter one. Right? And to Tammy's dismay, what did Jim do for fifteen or twenty minutes before kind of he got into the meat, right, the the depth of Philippians chapter one?

4:40 Well, he brought up his overhead projector and he and he showed us. He he introduced the book to us. He showed us on a map where Philippi is located. Right? He he gave us some information about the background, the culture of the time in which the Philippian church lived.

4:57 He he talked about Paul's previous relationship with the Philippian church. Now, can we find this information about Philippians in the book of Philippians itself? No. Right? We can't necessarily, not all of it.

5:13 But it was helpful nonetheless for Jim to go over this information so that we can better interpret the text, right, when we read it. This is a perfect example of isagogics. How the introductory elements of a text are helpful, right, in order for us to go ahead forward with exegesis and interpret it. Standard to isogogics, the the WH questions, who, what, when, where, why are are very traditional and and rightly so. They're very helpful.

5:45 And within each question, there are many categories that we can talk about, but I would like to highlight a few as they pertain to biblical studies. The first question, who? Right? Including the categories authorship and recipient. So authorship, obviously, who wrote the text and the recipient who received the text.

6:06 Now now you are all familiar. This is no mystery as to how our understanding of these elements help us then in our interpretation of a text. Who in here sends text messages or receives them? Right? What is your cellphone provider automatically do upon receipt of a text message?

6:24 Well, it'll tell you, right, the the number and the corresponding name to that text message. Imagine if you receive text messages on a whim and you did not know who they were from, right? What would this create? A lot of misinterpretation, a lot of misunderstanding, right? It would also change the content of the text where every text message you would send from there on, right?

6:47 You would say, hey, right? This is so and so. Right? So it is no mystery how authorship or recipient influence our understanding of a text. Within the what question, we find three categories, most notably language.

7:16 The category of composition for a text, and we'll talk about this this more later. And then canonicity. Right? We have the biblical canon. We have the collection of biblical text, the 66 books of the Bible.

7:31 Right? The word canon just means a collection of texts. So, we have the New Testament Canon, right? The collection of the 27 books that make up the New Testament, right? We we find the the Shakespearean Canon, the collection of text that make up Shakespeare's literature.

7:47 So where we find books and what canons is important. And we'll again talk about that hopefully if we have time later today. Within the what question, we find most notably date. Right? When a text was composed.

8:02 This can apply both at the macro level. Right? But also at the micro level. Right? A text that was written two thousand years ago probably is much different than a text that was written today in content, in purpose, in in addressee.

8:16 Right? That that is no mystery. But but this can also apply in the micro level. Think with me for a second. On on the content of John Hancock's hypothetical diary, the morning of 07/03/1776, and how vastly different the content of that same diary would be only 36 later.

8:40 Right? The night of 07/04/1776. Right? In in... You know, date has huge implications for interpreting texts.

8:53 Next, the where question includes location, right, the geographical place in which a text was created, right, as well as destination. Where the text is going, the geographical location of the recipients. This has huge implications for our understanding of the Bible. Going back to to brother Jim's Philippians one sermon, right, what did Jim tell us about Paul's location when writing to the Philippians? Well, he informed us that Paul was where?

9:26 In prison. Right? And and we know this because Philippians is one of Paul's prison epistles. Now, now, I've never been to prison and I don't plan on on on going but but think about for a second being imprisoned for for something like preaching the gospel, right? If you were to write a text, while in prison for preaching the gospel, what what emotions, right?

9:52 What imagery you would appeal to? And how different those emotions, that imagery would be than if you were free. Right? If you were composing a text for the same purpose to the same person, how different would the content be just because the fact you're on a on a on a beach of some Caribbean island as opposed to the middle of the Trans Siberian Tundra. Right?

10:17 For some reason, it's a mystery how how Caribbean islands, they just have a way of of of changing your emotional outlook on life. Right? And so clearly, geographical location and destination are very important. Under the why question, the only category I would like to highlight, and I would say this is alongside genre, is is one of the most important categories for for for following up with interpretation of a text. And and this category is purpose.

10:49 Right? Every text, whether it's an Email, whether it's it's Moby Dick, whether it's the Apostle's Creed, whether it's the book of Genesis, every text was written for a purpose, for a specific reason. Right? Some some reasons much more important than others And we as the reader, we as the interpreter, it benefits us before we even read the text to denote what purpose that is. Right?

11:16 Purpose has huge implications for textual interpretation. I don't have time this morning to address all of these categories. I would encourage you in your study of Hebrews in anticipation for brother Horseman next week to pick up a commentary and try to and try to put together some of the textual clues to answer some of these questions. But this morning, I want to highlight a few and certainly they're all related to one another, but I'm going to address authorship, the genre of the book, and then the purpose. And then in tying together the purpose, hopefully address some of the theological themes as well.

11:55 Jump ahead real quick. We will start with the with the genre of a text. It should be no mystery how how genre classification, right, influences our understanding of a text. Right? Not only the purpose of a text, not only its composition, but also the reading of it.

12:18 We find dozens of different genres used in the Bible. Right? At the macro level between book to book and also at the micro level. Right? Between passage and passage.

12:29 Actually, actually, generic conventions, generic classification more than anything else determines where in the Bible we find a book, right? In in the New Testament, the the the books, the 27 books of the New Testament are divided. The first four books are what? Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John and they have been labeled as what? Gospels, right?

12:52 They are under under the generic head gospel. Then, we find this this stand alone book, this prosaic narrative, historical book, Acts, right? Acts of the Apostles, kind of labeled as as as historical narrative, kind of in a stand alone genre. Right? And then between the last chapter of Acts and the first chapter of Romans, right, the sixth book, we find we find a difference, right, a great difference in content, in approach, right, in in pursuits.

13:24 And this difference can be attributed primarily to to genre. Right? Paul is writing under a different genre classification than Luke when Luke writes Acts, right? Luke Paul, excuse me, under Romans is is writing under which genre classification? Right?

13:43 An epistle, right? Which which we find for the remaining nineteen twenty twenty one, I don't know, books of the New Testament until Revelation, right? Which is written as an apocalyptic book, the genre apocalyptic, meaning the end of the world. So, Romans through Jude are all epistles. Right?

14:01 And this is important for our study because because why? Because Hebrews is is planted right there in the middle of that that section. Hebrews is identified as an epistle. But but how? How are we able to classify these books as epistles?

14:53 Right? An art teacher. Right? But how is Karen Doan, how is she able to classify a painting as a portrait? Right?

15:03 She looks at a painting. Right? And she is able to determine, well, yes, that is a portrait, but how is she able to do that? Well, Karen Doan, more than arguably anyone else in this room, understands what? The conventions of portraiture, the characteristics of portrait painting, the characteristics of portrait making.

15:25 Right? This has come about through her study. Her study of art, her study of portraits, her study of painting. Right? Karen is able to look at a painting and because it is of a person, right?

15:36 And because this person is looking at the viewer, right? Because landscape, this painting is not of a soup can, this painting is not of of of some abstract expression, Karen is then able to determine and establish that yes, indeed, this painting is a portrait. Right? And this notion can be applied even more so to the biblical text. Right?

16:01 So here we have epistles. Right? In order to classify a book as an epistle, alright, it must adhere to certain conventions just like portraiture. Right? So traditionally, epistles have been believed to be personal letters and rightly so.

16:18 From our understanding of contemporary personal letters, epistles are are very similar to that. Most notably, epistles are didactic, and didactic is just a fancy word for meaning teaching. Right? Epistles teach on moral issues. They instruct their reader.

16:36 They instruct their their audience on that which is ethical, on that which is moral, right? We see this across Paul's books, right? Where Paul encourages his readers, encourages his listeners to consider moral truth, to consider kind of the ethical implications, right, of what he is trying to teach. We then find epistles having kind of an interchange between exposition, right, which is doctrinal teaching and exhortation. Right?

17:07 So in Paul's epistles, Paul will give an elaborate teaching right on on the nature of judgment, right, on on the doctrine of justification. And then Paul will then always tie it together with exhortation, with encouragement to his readers. So because this, this, and this, therefore, do this. Therefore, consider this. Therefore, look upon this.

17:29 Right? Kind of this interchange that we don't find in the gospels, that we don't find in the acts of the epistles. Right? Or the apostles. This interchange between exposition and exhortation.

17:41 Also, epistles, usually, most of the time, the author is named as well as the recipient, right? Paul writing to the Romans, Paul, an apostle to the Roman church, right? There is always kind of a a detailed introduction with a greeting, right? As well as some clear conclusion, right, with some salutation or benediction. We find this across the New Testament in all of the epistles.

18:08 So does Hebrews fit the characteristics listed above? And that's what we're going to try to determine today. And and it's not as easy of a question as as you might think. Certainly, find in Hebrews, in the benediction, if you have your text, turn to chapter 13, kind of this very epistolary ending. Now the God of peace, right, verse 24, greet all of your leaders and the saints, those from Italy greet you.

18:41 Grace be with you all. Right? This ending is very conventional, very characteristic of epistolary text, of text that are epistles. Right? This is no mystery.

18:51 This is how the book ends. This is how many of the epistles in the New Testament end along this fashion. Right? Also, in Hebrews, we find kind of this this interchange between exposition and exhortation. One one characteristic that we said was very important.

19:08 In in Hebrews chapter one, this first occurs. If you have your text, turn there. Right? At the end of chapter one in verse 13, the author of Hebrews has just finished this long, incredibly long discourse proving Jesus' superiority to angels. Right?

19:26 And then in verse 14, he says, are they not all ministering spirits sent out to render service for the sake of those who inherit salvation? Right? Concluding his discourse, his discussion on angels. And then two, in chapter two verse one, he says, for this reason, we must pay closer attention. Right?

19:47 So because all that we learned in chapter one about angels, about Jesus' superiority to them, we must pay closer attention and then the exhortation continues. We found find this throughout the book of Hebrews in in in pretty much all of the sections. But we don't find in Hebrews any conventional greeting. In the introduction, verses one through three of chapter one, right, we find one of the most powerful introductions to any biblical book in the biblical canon. Right?

20:20 This is no kind of mistake. There there is... There appears to be, right, in verses one through three of chapter one, deep seated intentionality. Right? The author started his book this way for a purpose.

20:35 Right? But it is not conventional to epistolary text. Right? There's no naming of the author. Right?

20:42 There's no naming of the recipient. Right? The prescript that you find in your Bibles to the Hebrews or Hebrews is probably a later edition. We don't find it in the original manuscripts. So what are we to make of this?

21:31 And I think do I have? Right. I have it here. In Acts thirteen fifteen, says, brethren, if you have any word of exhortation, please say it to the people, right? And then Paul goes into this elaborate sermon, right?

21:49 Proving the deity of Christ, a sermon that is in content very similar to that which we find in Hebrews. So, what are we to make of this? This word of exhortation. Well, scholars, notably German scholar Gunther Zuntz and and under the g, right, in Gunther, there should be an umlaut there. I wasn't able to make that in PowerPoint.

22:10 So, Gunther, German Hebrew scholar, identifies this word of exhortation as a traditional device of Greek and Latin rhetoric. So we find this categorization, a word of exhortation elsewhere outside of the New Testament. Right? In other words, it's a spoken argument. Right?

22:29 And this will make more sense as we as we look at other textual clues. We also see the author of Hebrews using the first person a lot more than we find the other epistles and the authors of the epistles using. Paul in trying to keep the formal kind of aspect of his book uses the second and third person but the author of Hebrews is quick to identify himself with his recipients. Right? This is this we see more often when someone is speaking, right?

22:58 As opposed to when someone is writing. We also find this peculiar mention in in chapter eleven thirty two when the author says, and what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gibeon, Barak, Samson, David, so on and so forth. Right? This is weird for someone who is sitting down and writing a text.

23:20 Time is is a is... Time is on their side. They they have all the time in the world when writing. But this phrase is more conventional to what? To someone who is speaking.

23:31 Right? Like like me today, I am restrained by time. If the author wanted to, I don't see why he couldn't just continue his discourse on on the cloud of witnesses and talk about Gibeon, right? Gideon, talk about Barak, talk about Samson, talk about David. But he identifies time to be to be his enemy.

23:53 So in conclusion, pretty unanimously, scholars identify that Hebrews in its original composition, in its original creation was a sermon, was a homily, right? A sermon with pastoral intent. Now, this doesn't have extreme implications on our on our interpretation of it, but I want you to think with me, imagine, right? If this incredible masterpiece of discourse, the book of Hebrews, if it was originally composed, if it was originally created as a sermon, alright, that means the audience, right, the author was was writing or speaking to an audience that that was first and foremost to understand it, right, orally. Right?

24:39 Audibly, not literally as we read it today. So so we miss many of the the rhetorical devices, many of the tools of argumentation that this author, this composer would've would've would've appealed to, right, when he was delivering this powerful message in front of his audience orally, right, spoken with with conviction, with power, being very effective. But but we still can can see that it is a masterpiece, something to be to be understood and and read despite kind of our limitations. Next, I want to talk about authorship. Right?

25:35 Right? Is Hebrews the only book in the New Testament that is anonymous? Well, traditionally, yes, but originally, no. Right? Believe it or not, all of the gospels, Acts, all of the epistles of John, they are all anonymous.

25:48 But Hebrews stands alone because it is traditionally held that way. Right? In in the early manuscripts and in the early church fathers, you know, recitation of the book of Hebrews, kind of there is varied opinion about its authorship. And I would like to suggest that although kind of well, well, we'll get to that in a second. Important to the the notion of authorship is canonization, right?

26:16 So, we have the closing of the New Testament with with John's exile to Patmos. Right? He he writes the book of Revelation and then we find the canon closed. Right? There is no more scripture to be written.

26:30 Right? Revelation is is traditionally believed to be the last book of scripture. Right? Well, how did we come about to get all 27 books of the New Testament in the same place and at the same time? Right?

26:43 Did it just happen, right, with the the snap of of someone's finger and all a sudden they had access to all 27 books? Right? Why not 28 books? Right? Why not 26?

26:52 Why were these 27 books chosen? For what reason? Well, we find in our study of church history that that that this is this is actually much more difficult than we believe. Right? We have many different opinions on which books should be included in the biblical canon.

27:09 Some people want to include Hebrews, some people don't. Some people want to include the books of Paul, some people don't. Some people want to include the works of Acts and Matthew, right? Some people don't. We find the first reference to Hebrews late in the first century, and this is very important by by our good friend Clement of Rome in the western tradition.

27:30 And this is important because early, right, in church history, before the first century, right? In ninety six AD, we find Clement of Rome acknowledging that this book is inspired sacred word of god scripture. That at least from his understanding, this book should be canonized. We don't find all of the other New Testament books canonized this quickly, believe it or not. But unfortunately, for our understanding of authorship, Clement...

27:58 Clement of Rome makes no mention of of its author to our to our dismay. In the eastern tradition, in the second, third, and and fourth centuries, it is believed to be Pauline. They are pretty adamant that Paul was its author. In the western tradition, this is not the case. We have a variety of authors suggested for the text.

28:19 But the western tradition slowly, fifth, sixth, seventh century, kind of adopts Pauline authorship until we find the reformers. Right? And this call to to sola scriptura, right, to to every man reading the book, It is not until this time, until the sixteenth century and seventeenth century that that Pauline authorship or the fact that Paul was the author is challenged. Right? This is very important.

28:47 We find most notably John Calvin and Martin Luther and believe it or not, Martin Luther did not canonize the book of Hebrews. He did not believe it was inspired sacred word of god scripture. He holds it in high regard but not nearly as high regard as as as the Pauline texts or the gospels. But in any way, Pauline authorship is challenged. And this is kind of the opinion of today.

29:13 Right? Scholars pretty unanimously suggest that that Paul is not the author and rightly so. Right? We find a drastic change in content, a change in pursuit, a change in in address between Paul's text and that of Hebrews. And so I think we would do well in agreeing with with Origen who who was influenced actually by the eastern tradition in the third century to say that as to who wrote the epistle, only God knows the truth of the matter.

29:45 And and I I... Let me suggest that we do not know, right, we do not have the data to to make a definitive proposal for authorship of this book. And I believe that any definitive proposals are unwarranted. Authorship will... Of this book will be anonymous.

30:33 So we can conclude that the author either was a male or he at least wanted his readers to think that he was because this masculine first person verb is used. We can also conclude that this author was a second generation Christian. We find in Hebrews chapter two, how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was spoken at the first or after it was at the first spoken through the lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard. God also testifying with them both by signs and wonders and various miracles by gifts of the holy spirit according to his will.

31:16 Right? So, the author of Hebrews and those that he is writing to probably did not directly receive experientially the ministry of Jesus Christ. Right? They are not quite labeled as apostles in the traditional sense. They were taught, right, Christianity, they were taught the the elementary things of of Christianity by those who heard, by those who witnessed Jesus' ministry.

31:44 So the author was probably a second generation Christian. He was also an associate of Timothy in chapter 13 verse 23. It mentions our brother Timothy has been released. If this is the Timothy, right, and we have no reason not to believe it is, found elsewhere in the New Testament, then we know and we can conclude that our author was was in good company. Right?

32:06 Timothy has a wonderful reputation in our understanding of the New Testament and the author of Hebrews can do very well by associating himself with a wonderful brother like Timothy. This author was certainly educated and gifted, right? Rhetorically, as as someone who who is able to argue, able able to present, right, a convicting case like like our brother Joel, right, in his speech meets. He he is gifted and knowledgeable in in in in Old Testament kind of Jewish studies as well as contemporary Greek philosophy to his day. But most notably, he is very knowledgeable in the Old Testament.

32:46 And he cites the Old Testament more frequently than any other author in the New Testament. But we do find something strange instead of citing the Hebrew text, the author cites the the Greek translation, the Septuagint of the text. And and this is kind of where where this leads us into our first area of application. Here we have arguably one of the greatest discourses defending the divine nature of Jesus Christ, Hebrews. Right?

33:18 And we find a second generation Christian. And what knowledge, what source does he appeal to for his understanding of Christ? Well, unlike all of the other New Testament authors, he doesn't appeal to some miraculous, right, experience, his conversion to the road to Damascus like Paul, right, ministry of Christ, he appeals to the Old Testament. He he comes to the conclusions that he has made, right, by his study and his understanding of the Old Testament text. And let me encourage you that that in this moment, if if you're confused about Jesus' divine nature or or the nature of Jesus Christ, who he is, who he was, who he is going to be, right, I would I would encourage you to heed Jesus' encouragement in the book of John to the Pharisees to search the Old Testament scriptures, right, in order to determine the nature of Jesus.

34:15 Right? We we need to look no further. Although he is not named in the Old Testament by name, we can certainly draw many conclusions about about him and his nature. Moving right along to purpose, We already showed how important purpose is to our interpretation of the book. We see here that that the author believes his recipients to be believers.

35:15 Therefore, leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God. So here the author believes his his recipients, his readers, his listeners to be still stuck on the elementary teachings of the Christian religion and not yet to a state of maturity that he would like them to be at. This is also confirmed in chapter five when he says, for by this time, you ought to be teachers. You have need yet again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God. Right?

35:54 So their confession of faith that they had previously made was sometime in the past, and by this time, they should be teachers. Right? They should be on to things of mature nature and not stuck on the elementary things. They have also experienced some sort of persecution, and this persecution being very serious. But remember the former days, when after being enlightened, you endured a great conflict of sufferings, partly by me...

36:21 Being made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations and partly by becoming shares with those who were so treated for you showed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one. Right? So this is a body of believers. It's a community that that has experienced publicly persecution. But if we are to read chapter 12 literally, which I think we should, this persecution has not yet gained to the point of bloodshed.

36:55 Verse four, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your strivings against sin. So although they have been persecuted, they have not been called upon directly to give their lives, right? As as as Jesus, their example, has. This persecution might be the reason in which we find them spiritually lapsing, not forsaking our assembly. It appears that that the members of the community in their lapse, in their spiritual lapse, in their regression of their faith, they they have forsaken the community, right?

37:31 This public confession and they have and they have something that they have forsaken. Harold Atridge in kind of trying to identify the the main purposes of the text, Hebrew scholar says, it would appear that the author conceives of the threat to the community in two broad but interrelated categories. External pressure or persecution and a waning commitment to the community's confessed faith. To the first, he responds with his stern warnings and his exhortation to faithful discipleship. To the second, he proposes a renewed and deepened understanding of the community's confession that will inspire covenant fidelity.

38:16 So here we find two problems, right, that the Hebrews community is facing, that of persecution, right, and that of a waning commitment to the community's confessed faith. They have made a commitment to faith, Right? But they are waning in their community... Commitment to it. Right?

38:34 They they are not as faithfully committed as the author would like to see them be. And what is the answer? Right? Atridge identifies the answer as as kind of an exhortation to faithful discipleship. Right?

38:48 And a recommitment. Right? Revisiting the idea of covenant fidelity, which we can summarize in one word, namely faith. Right, being the main motif, right, the main theme in the entire book. The author emphatically frequently calls his author, right, his his his recipients, his readers to a higher faith, to a renewed faith in the lord Jesus Christ.

39:16 This this theme is identified first in in chapter three and and the majority of chapter four. It's then kind of raised to a new level, right? In the hall of faith, chapter 11, one of the most one of the most popular and and most frequently read discourses on faith in all of the New Testament but finally, right at the end of chapter 11, after the mate, after the naming of all of these wonderful witnesses, right? Abel and and Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and Moses, and and and Noah, and all of these these wonderful Old Testament saints, we find the climax of the book, right, in in chapter 12 in the beginning with the first two verses. Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance in the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes, right, witnessing ultimately the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

40:36 Faith in human form. Faith manifested and exemplified. And that faith can be only understood how. Right? In light of Jesus Christ.

40:46 And I would encourage you this this day, brothers and sisters, if you find yourself in any form of religious persecution of any sense, right, as clearly brother Bingham informed us today, some some preachers in in in Houston are are now experiencing. Wow. What a what a sobering reality to have to turn in your sermons, right, before you you give them. If you find yourself in any sort of persecution, also if you if you find yourself kind of questioning your your covenant fidelity, questioning your commitment that you have made to the church of god, I would encourage you to look upon Jesus Christ in an effort to to renew your faith because he alone has the ability to perfect it, to increase it, to make it stronger. Finally, I I I would like to address kind of the theological themes, most notably that of Christology.

41:40 Christology is just a fancy word for the study of Christ, the study of Jesus as Christ, the study of Jesus' messiahship. William Lane, in his two volume commentary on Hebrews, identifies a high Christology as one that acknowledges that God's self disclosure found its ultimate expression in Jesus of Nazareth who was the son of God incarnate. What a wonderful summary for for the book of Hebrews in general. Right? That God found his self disclosure in in the personhood of Jesus of Nazareth, the son of God incarnate.

42:18 There are two things we must understand about the book of Hebrews if we are to understand its Christological nature. Firstly, the author is emphatic that Jesus was the son of God. Right? You read this book, there is no getting around this. Secondly, the fully effective, efficacious nature of Jesus as the fully effective eternal high priest, Right?

42:45 The author accomplishes this by first comparing Jesus to what? Jesus's ministry to that of angels. In showing that Jesus alone is superior. Right? And then and then the author continues by comparing Jesus' ministry to who?

43:00 To Melchizedek, right? The the Old Testament, one of the greatest high priests of Salem, right? A Gentile, and yet again, Jesus is superior. Right? The author continues then by comparing Jesus' ministry to that of the Levitical priesthood, to that of Aaron and Moses, and yet again, Jesus is shown superior.

43:20 And then we have all of these wonderful Old Testament saints, saints after saint after saint mentioned. Right? I I don't need to name them, but but but yet again, right, Jesus alone is shown to be superior. So in conclusion, we have shown the literary mastery of the book of Hebrews possibly, most likely, originally written as with the intention to be a sermon. Right?

44:27 The only begotten son of God, fully divine in in in every sense of the word. And secondly, that he alone is the effective high priest, that he alone, right, has the ability to completely atone, right, and provide the true and complete forgiveness of sin. This is the purpose, right? The author of of Hebrews finds important and he emphatically preaches this throughout all 13 chapters and I'm very excited, right, to dig deep into into all 13 chapters in the coming weeks to really unpack some of these ideas. So with that, let let me close in prayer.

45:15 Dear heavenly father, we we thank you for sending your only begotten son, the son of god. God incarnate to this world to take away the sins of the world. By by alone ministering to us, providing to be a a more superior high priest than all that which preceded him and finishing the work on the cross, allowing for the complete atonement of sin so that we who who put our faith in in you and your son's name may have everlasting life. We thank you for this wonderful fact, and we ask you to bless our efforts in the weeks to come. In you and your son's name, amen.