Hebrews epistle

758. Hebrews 12-13: Grace: The Author and Perfecter of Faith

June 7, 2020 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

In our final program of our Hebrews series, the writer takes the last couple chapters to exhort and encourage believers to live in grace and allow it to be our motivation and teacher.

He finishes with the good news of: “Grace be with you all.” A big change from what would’ve been said if they were still under the previous covenant of law and commandments.

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757. Hebrews 11: Past Giants of Faith Didn’t Receive What Was Promised

May 31, 2020 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Hebrews 11 is often referred to as the faith chapter, or the hall of faith. The writer lists a bunch of people from the Old Testament who had performed great acts of faith—many who had never been under the law of Moses. We see a diverse group with everyone from Abel to Rahab the harlot. But the writer is making a bigger point… as he has through the letter written to his Jewish audience.

After describing the faith of these people, at the end of the chapter he explains that none of them were able to receive what was originally promised. They were not able to be made perfect through their actions. But we have received the promise through something better—the New Covenant of Jesus Christ. He is our faith, our assurance and our guarantee. It surpasses the faith of those who could perform righteous acts without ever attaining righteousness, which could only come through the person of Jesus.

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756. Sins Forgiven and Taken Away (Unless You Sin?) Hebrews 10:26 – Part 2

May 24, 2020 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

There’s just something about those numbered Bible verses that seems to cause people to hone in on them and miss the surrounding context. One of these that we get asked about frequently is Hebrews 10:26-27. Christians who have been gifted with the righteousness of God suddenly become very fearful when looking at such a verse without taking into account all that was said leading up to it.

Chapters 7-10 in the book of Hebrews contain some of the most powerful information within the pages of Scripture as it relates to the finished work of Christ and the once for all forgiveness that came through His blood. He became the guarantee of a better covenant. We can add nothing to it because it’s based upon what He did … not what we do or don’t do. Faith places trust that what He did, and it was more than enough for those who don’t reject the one sacrifice for sins that God provided through His Son.

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755. “But What About Hebrews 10:26!” (Sinning Willfully and No Longer a Sacrifice for Sins)

May 17, 2020 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

“For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins …”

The problem with looking at a few Bible verses by themselves is that context gets lost and it can cause unnecessary fear and a misunderstanding of the good news. Our program this week tackles the last part of Hebrews chapter ten, where legalists and others have completely missed the point of what the writer has been saying throughout the book, leading up to this passage.

The main focus here isn’t about being in danger for sins committed (because everyone has done this), but it’s about rejecting the one sacrifice for sins which Jesus provided with the sacrifice of Himself, resulting in sins being taken away. The unbelief or rejection of this is what causes one to trample the Son of God underfoot, and regards as unclean the blood of the covenant by which He was sanctified, thereby insulting the Spirit of grace. Only Jesus is the guarantee of a better covenant (Hebrews 7:22).

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754. Hebrews 10: Confidence to Enter Through a New and Living Way

May 10, 2020 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

It’s because of what Jesus did for us with the shedding of His blood that we now have a boldness to enter into the Holy Place. This boldness or confidence literally means we have acquired a freedom of speech before the living God. It has nothing to do with us, our behavior or our commitment to God. It’s all based upon Jesus opening a path that was not previously available through an imperfect and faulty ministry of death and condemnation (the law). This would be called a new and living way.

And what about Hebrews 10:25? In the middle of all this great news being given to Jewish people about the New Covenant replacing the Old Covenant … Are these believers being scolded not to skip going to a church building? That might be what religion has taught us, so let’s look at this in context.

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753. Hebrews 10: No More Offerings = No More Forgiveness Required

May 3, 2020 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Under the old law of commandments which Israel had been under for many years, we discover that ministry could make nothing perfect or take away sins. It was considered by God to be faulty and that law (or laws) is not what is written on our hearts within a new and better covenant. The Old way brought a reminder of sins, but in the New Covenant Jesus established after His death, God declared He would no longer remember sins.

The removal of sins and the end of sacrifices brought a complete forgiveness, once for all. No more forgiveness is being offered because the offerings stopped and no further blood is being shed. Blood no longer needs to be poured out when sins have been thrown as far as the east is from the west.

On this podcast we referred to a blog post written by Joel a few years ago called Instant and Permanent Sanctification, as well as a previous podcast in our current Hebrews series, Hebrews 8: One Bible - Two Different Covenants (Not to Be Mixed).

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752. Hebrews 10: Forgiven and Sanctified (Jesus Sat Down)

April 26, 2020 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

When the commandments which came through Moses were still in effect during the first covenant, every priest under the law stood daily while offering the same sacrifices over and over which could never take away sins. The only time a priest would be allowed to sit is if there were no further forgiveness needed for sin … of course, that never happened.

But Jesus offered one (1) sacrifice for sins resulting in forgiveness … and not just up until that moment … but all sins for all time. Afterwards, we find His offering was more than enough as our new High Priest sat down at the right hand of God. The job was truly complete, and the work of forgiveness was finished, once for all. It also gifted us with instant sanctification and perfection—something the law could never do, no matter how hard one tried to keep it.

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751. Hebrews 10: God’s Will Was the Sacrifice of Christ

April 19, 2020 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

If the Old Covenant sacrifices had been able to bring perfection and deliver people from a sin consciousness, they would have stopped being offered. But bull’s blood couldn’t take away sins and therefore, those sacrifices which were offered according to the law were never really the will of God—He took no pleasure in them.

But Jesus came to do the will of God with a sacrifice that would end all sacrifices and offerings. This resulted in the first covenant being taken away in order to establish the second covenant … which is better and more excellent.

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451. Hebrews 10: God’s Will Was the Sacrifice of Christ

April 19, 2020 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

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750. Hebrews 9: Your Sins Are Not Covered by the Blood of Jesus

April 12, 2020 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

The blood used during the Old Covenant ceremonies brought an atonement or covering which resulted in a temporary forgiveness under the law. You could walk into the church of St. Moses regularly and walk out covered in bull blood every single time and still not be free from the bondage of sin. It would always need to be repeated after the next sin occurred.

Jesus offered His own blood and went before the true and greater tabernacle of God on our behalf. It was a sacrifice that would need to be performed just once. Why? Because His perfect offering didn’t just cover our sins but it took them away forever, never to become an obstacle between us and God ever again.

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749. Hebrews 9: The New Covenant Began With Christ’s Death

April 5, 2020 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

It’s easy to get confused about the Bible, the teachings of Jesus, and the New Covenant … if you are under the false assumption that the New Testament began with the birth of Jesus. The writer of Hebrews carefully explains to the new believers in his Jewish audience that before the Old Covenant would end and the New could begin, there had to be the death of the one who made the covenant.

The New Covenant couldn’t go into effect while the testator still lived. And like the first covenant, it would need to be established with blood. But this time, the blood being shed by the High Priest would do something very different that had never occurred before the cross during the Old Covenant era.

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748. Hebrews 9: The Failure of Ceremony and Sacrifice

March 29, 2020 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Priests appointed through the law under the Old Covenant always went into the tabernacle to offer the blood of animals for their own sins and the sins of the people. It was a temporary solution that needed to constantly be repeated because these gifts and sacrifices could not meet God’s requirement of perfection, and left the worshippers in a state of sin consciousness.

But when Christ appeared as High Priest (after the law), everything radically changed.