Our Assurance & God's Truthfulness
We should seek to know that we are genuine Christians by examining our lives and by examining the Scriptures seeing that Jesus was who he said he was and God is always faithful to fulfill his promises!
Series: Hebrews
Verse by Verse
July 17, 2005
• Hebrews 1-13
Verse by verse exposition of the book of Hebrews
Abraham – A Fascinating Template of Promises & Faith
Hebrews 6:13-15
God’s covenant with Abraham shows us that while God’s promises are trustworthy & gracious, they will require a lot of faith & patience before they are fully realized.
Impeccable Promises & Divine Character
Hebrews 6:16-18
God wants us to be encouraged and assured by his promises that are guaranteed by his perfect and unassailable character.
His Pledge and His Historical Assurances
Hebrews 6:19-20
The life, death and resurrection of Chrisst has provided us with God’s historical and verifiable assurances regarding his promises about our future home.
Why Don't We Have Priests?
Hebrews 7:1-28
The perfect Christ has established for us perfect access to the Father; a perfect and lasting priestly act that was accomplished without Levites, but in the order of Melchizedek.
Why Don't We Have A Temple?
Hebrews 8:1-5
The OT tabernacle & temples were only representative of God’s dwelling in Heaven. Today there is no “representative house of God”, but only God “dwelling” in the members of his Church by the Person of the Holy Spirit.
Why Did We Need a New Covenant Anyway?
Hebrews 8:6-13
The work of Christ provided for us Gentiles a revolutionary opportunity to know God intimately and experience his perfect forgiveness.
Why Don't We Have to Keep All Those Old Testament Ceremonies?
Hebrews 9:1-11
Because Christ fulfilled every Old Covenant ceremony we should now approach these Old Testament “parables” by seeing the anticipation of Christ in them and gleaning any moral parallels without adhering to them or requiring them of others.
What's With All Those Animal Sacrifices, and Why No More?
Hebrews 9:12-28
The animal sacrifices of the Old Testament didn’t save anyone, but they symbolized something that did – the substitutionary death of the sinless Lamb of God.
Should We Be Expecting a Newer Testament?
Hebrews 10:1-18
The Christ of the New Testament has provided and communicated all we need, not only to secure our perfect redemption, but for all the problems we & our world face!
Motivated by All that Christ has Done for Us
Hebrews 10:19-23
Because we were created with the need and desire to personally and intimately relate to God we should always seek to deepen our connection to God, mindful that it required the execution of Jesus to make it possible.
Motivated by Real Christian Friends
Hebrews 10:24-25
Drawing near to God is in many ways a team effort as we help and encourage one another to love him more and live more effectively for him.
Motivated by the Fear of Being Phony
Hebrews 10:26-31
Because Christ has demonstrated an extreme love to redeem us from sin and its consequences, we should soberly insure that our lives are transformed and growing in a deepening devotion to God.
Motivated by Earlier Days of Devotion
Hebrews 10:32-34
The zeal of our early days of our Christian lives should be a motivating example that God is at work in us and that he always would have us excel still more!
Motivated by Christ's Rewards at His Return
Hebrews 10:35-39
We must consciously allow ourselves to be motivated to draw near to God and serve him more ardently because God has promised that in doing so there is great reward.
Cultivating the Core Ingredient of the Christian Life
Hebrews 11:1-2, 6
Biblical faith is more than “wishing” or “believing” it is a sincere & reasonable confidence in truth that leads to action and ultimately to God’s reward.
Boldly Trusting in God's Ability to Create
Hebrews 11:3
It is reasonable and required that we Christians have a faith that is ambitious enough to boldly affirm the biblical record of God’s personal and instantaneous creation of the universe.
Trusting God Enough to Give Him Our Best
Hebrews 11:4
Perceiving God’s greatness and generosity should bolster our faith to ambitiously give God our best efforts, best behavior and best gifts.
Ardently Seeking a Deeper Relationship with God
Hebrews 11:5-6
Because we are not yet glorified, we Christians must work to achieve the joy and satisfaction of knowing God more intimately on a day-to-day basis.
Believing All of God's Promises About the Future
Hebrews 11:7
We must boldly in trust God’s promises about the future seeking to be prepared and to prepare as many as possible to experience God’s grace instead of his judgment.
Boldly Following God's Path for My Life
Hebrews 11:8-10, 13-16
Christ has called us to follow him wherever that might lead; we should do so fearlessly, fueled by a focus on our eternal home.
Trusting God When Hope Seems Lost
Hebrews 11:11-12, 17-19
We must tenaciously trust in the goodness of God even when he makes us wait for his perfect timing or introduces a divinely designed detour.
Living & Dying with Biblical Confidence
Hebrews 11:20-22
God would have us exercise ambitious faith in boldly asking him for Christ?s work to thrive beyond the confines of our local geography and limited lifespan.
Courage to Do the Right Thing
Hebrews 11:23-26
God requires ambitious faith to boldly face the consequences and temporary deprivation of resolutely pursuing a righteous life and saying no to the lure of sin.
Trusting God When Your Back's Against the Wall
Hebrews 11:27-29
When problems, pressures or people are pitted against you and they threaten to do you harm, make sure you’re right with God, focus on him and leave your opponents for him to deal with.
Embracing the Unconventional & the Unexpected
Hebrews 11:30-31
Often it takes ambitious faith to obey God’s counter-intuitive commands or accept the way he lavishes his grace on the unworthy.
Attempting Great Things for God
Hebrews 11:32-35a
God would have us exercise ambitious faith to courageously step up to do his will no matter how difficult or intimidating it may be, knowing that he takes care of his servants.
Looking Past the Pain to the Prize
Hebrews 11:35b-40
Ambitious faith will likely bring extraordinary suffering, but we can be sure God will compensate it and continue to comfort us by the security we have in Christ.
Spurred on By Godly Examples
Hebrews 12:1
Sin is a powerful and detrimental entanglement that we must fight everyday so that we may continue to grow up into Christ’s likeness.
Keeping Our Focus on Christ
Hebrews 12:2-3
We should fixate on Christ, the ultimate example of doing what is right even when it hurts; he will guide us and empower us when we face our own temptations.