Great themes from the book of hebrews

Taken together, these themes distinguish the book of hebrews from books that we know were written by paul. If youre the versememorizing type, this is a great set to have in your mental back pocket. The author is anonymous, although either paul or barnabas was traditionally accepted as. Luke translated it carefully and published it for the greeks, and hence the same style of expression is found in this epistle and in the acts. When you consider the wide agreement among biblical scholars about who wrote every other book of the new testament, its a little mysterious that we dont know who wrote hebrews. Some think that paul wrote it but the style and vocabulary are very different from pauls other letters. There is a plan and purpose which can never be seen by traveling on its broad avenues or passing through its magnificent structures. The point of the book is teaching so people like moses, abraham, and other people of great faith are mentioned, but they really are not characters. That is the theme of this book and this tells us what this book is all.

Jesus is greater, so hold fast to him overviewbible. This book covers some of the most basic and yet the most profound doctrines of christianity. Its theological outlooks penetrate deeply into all that christ has done for us. Nov, 2014 these verses are a great way to remember what hebrews is about, and a cool starting point for teaching others what its about, too. Aug 29, 2011 the book of hebrews is an instruction letter written by an unknown author to a group of hebrews. It stirs a great deal of controversy among the worlds.

Christs sacrifice for our sins was perfect and complete. Missing is pauls customary salutation common to his other works. Recently i have discovered two effective ways in which auctor latin for author of the letter to the hebrews exhorts us to recognize the main theme in his book jesus. The epistle to the hebrews, or letter to the hebrews, or in the greek manuscripts, simply to the hebrews.

There really arent any characters in the book of hebrews because that was not the point of the book. This smaller section emerges as a theological micro cosm of the book as a whole. Though not initially written to us, hebrews will always be a relevant study for new testament christians to undertake. From the letter itself it is clear that the writer must have had authority in the apostolic church and was an intellectual hebrew christian well versed in the ot. In times past god has spoken by the prophets but in these last days he has spoken to us by his son jesus is everything that god wanted to say to us. I have discovered two effective ways in which auctor latin for author of the letter to the hebrews exhorts us to recognize the main theme in his book jesus. Introductionthe book of the new testament routinely known as hebrews is a difficult nut to crack. Clement of alexandria suggests that paul wrote the book originally in hebrew and that luke translated it into greek, though the greek of hebrews bears no resemblance to translation greek e. The letter refers to two persecutions that precisely match that which occurred in jerusalem. Authors such as luke, barnabas, apollos, and even clement have been considered as possibilities. Noah, abraham, and sarah are all considered luminaries of faith, yet they all made mistakes. The writer of this letter does not identify himself, but he was obviously well known to the original recipients.

Hebrews was written for christians who had been in the church for a while. Unlike some books, the epistle to the hebrews doesnt have a clearcut verse that everyone agrees is the theme of the whole book. There are a great number of reasons why i believe it is time for us to study the book of hebrews. Jan 02, 2020 regardless of the human hand that held the pen, the holy spirit of god is the divine author of all scripture 2 timothy 3. Theme verse a verse or set of verses that sums up the story, structure, andor theme of the book of the bible it was written in. Higher purpose ministries better a sermon series on. A summary of the book of hebrews limerick reformed fellowship. Perseverance in the book of hebrews is a major theme, or rather a strong emphasis on sin and turning away ftte, 21.

In verse 14, he begins to deal with the truth of our great high priest who brings all our weaknesses, failures, and shortcomings to the throne of grace to obtain mercy and help in the time of need. A thematicstructural overview of the book of hebrews the five themes. Mar 24, 2014 the book of hebrews was a great factor in stabilizing the apostolic church in the crisis hour before the fall of jerusalem, and it is hoped that a discussion of the mighty themes of the book of hebrews will be of some help to the church of god today. Theme verse a verse or set of verses that sums up the story, structure, andor.

The theme of the epistle is the doctrine of the person of christ and his role as mediator between god and humanity. Israels sin had continually interrupted gods fellowship with his chosen and covenant people, israel. This is also where the author shows how jesus is god, the son of god, and the great high priest of god. One such example is its use of the word fire which apocalyptically refers to gods judgment see hebrews 10. As we studied through the book of hebrews, several overarching topics kept popping up again and again. The book of hebrews boldly proclaims the superiority of jesus christ and christianity over other religions, including judaism.

Write in a book what you see, and send it to the seven churches. But if there was ever a book that was written with a message of exhortation for us in this eraat this time in the history of the churchit is the book of hebrews. Of course, the author is clear that gods not trying to be a meaniehes actually good and just and loving. One of the great benefits of preaching through the book of hebrews is that it really helps people become grounded in their faith. This is especially true of the book of hebrews which we are about to consider. Far from being all about tithing this great book actually has a very clear and distinctive theme. My wife laura is making a series of art pieces based on the theme verses of the 66 books.

Even though clement of rome drew much from hebrews in his latefirstcentury letter to the corinthian church, many in the western church pointed away from paul as the source of the book. The supremacy and sufficiency of jesus christ as revelator and as mediator of gods grace. The book of hebrews kindle edition by conner, kevin j download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. The niv study bible, hodder and stoughton, 1993, article hebrews page 1817. Thankfully, we do not need to know who wrote the book in order to know what the book teaches. Father rohr says, today, in order for us to be good christians, we have to first become good jews.

And throughout the epistle to the hebrews, god comes off as pretty judgmental. The book of hebrews offers great treasures to followers of christ. Hebrews gives us a great shot of encouragement with the assertion that the greatness of. The book of hebrews compares and contrasts jesus to key historical people and events from the old testament. The book of hebrews is a general epistle apostolic letter. In light of so great a salvation, hebrews encourages us to run the race before us in faithfulness and perseverance. The book of hebrews is a long list of reasons to cling to jesus. Over the next few posts, id like to explore introductory matters related to this important book. Although some include the book of hebrews among the apostle pauls writings, the certain identity of the author remains an enigma.

Hebrews 11 is a stunning description of how faith and hope across the ages have been the distinguishing characteristics of gods people, beginning with abraham. The book of hebrews also gives us a very high christology since the central theme is. Whoever wrote hebrews appears not to have been an apostle of jesus. What is unique about the books of james and hebrews. Sproul gives insights about our great high priest and the drama of redemption from the book of hebrews. It is in many ways an enigma, but it is also in many ways the clearest teaching in the whole nt about the value of christ and his ministry on our behalf before god. The authorship of the book of hebrews is, at best, uncertain. No other book in the new testament integrates the gospel with the old testament better than the book of hebrews. Oct 30, 2015 the excellency of jesus christ, the mediator of a better covenant a summary of the book of hebrews. He also appears to have been one to whom the apostles had confirmed the lords word. Significantly, the book makes no reference to the destruction of the temple at jerusalem in ad 70, and the author wrote as if the sacrificial system were still in existence hebrews 10.

These folks knew about angels, the old testament heroes, the devil, and moses tabernacle, but someone thought they needed to know a little more. It tells us about faith through the roll call of faith. The authors strong jewish heritage is evident in his knowledge of the old. He is greater than angels, the torah, moses, the promised land, priests, melchizedek, sacrifices, and the covenant. The book of hebrews presents chapters that bring together many elements of the big picture. The book of hebrews kindle edition by conner, kevin j. This book portrays christ as our great high priest who ever lives to make intercession for us. Our great high priest 14 therefore, since we have a great high priest who. What fictional character is great in their story, but would be. A biblical study guide on the book of hebrews ford. Analysis of hebrews themes by phd students from stanford, harvard, berkeley. Christ, as son, heir, and creator, is also the final spokesman in the final covenant. Book of hebrews bible survey who wrote the book of hebrews.

Intro to hebrews biblica the international bible society. This exposition brings major keys for interpreting the book of hebrews into sharp focus. The main themes in hebrews include the superiority of christ, the superiority of the new covenant, and urgent calls for the believer to persevere in his faith. Jesus christ is greater than any angel, priest, or old covenant practice.

This book overviews the superiority of jesus over both men and angels as the son of god, and his high priestly superiority over aaron, concluding with a challenge for modern day pilgrims to live the victorious life of faith as did those old testament heroes such as abel, enoch, noah, abraham, moses, etc. Great themes from hebrews bible studies fort logan church. Use these popular bible verses from hebrews for a better understanding. The excellency of jesus christ, the mediator of a better covenant a summary of the book of hebrews. For instance, the author of hebrews mentioned melchizedek three times. Theme it is stated early and emphasized often throughout the book. They must hold on by faith to the true rest found in christ, and they must encourage others in the church to do the same. I have discovered two effective ways in which auctor latin for author of the letter to the hebrews exhorts us to recognize the main theme in his bookjesus. He was a gentile while the author was most definitely a hebrew. The book of hebrews elevates jesus above historical people. Sure, suffering stinks, but sometimes good things come out of it. Themes in the book of hebrews jesus christ is superior. The book of hebrews starts off by saying that jesus is the final revelation from god spoken about in the old testament lightfoot 35.

What does it mean that jesus was a little lower than the. In a logical argument, the author demonstrates christs superiority, then adds practical instructions for following jesus. Hebrews 11 as he digs deeper into the stories of these imperfect heroes, and find inspiration in a god who promises to never quit on us. A summary of the book of hebrews limerick reformed. First, twice he calls particular attention to the one who is the real answer to his readers problemsjesus. I believe that a study of the book of hebrews may be the next step for us as a church as we seek to grow in our desire for greater intimacy with. It speaks to those as to why and how to follow christ.

What are the most commonly asked questions about the book of hebrews. Pdf a thematic overview of the epistle to the hebrews ernst. Old testament, was so interesting and so packed full of information of which i had no previous knowledge. Taken together, these themes distinguish the book of hebrews from books that we. The book of hebrews calls us to turn to scripture as our authority and to receive christ as the fulfillment of all that god has promised. Home faq books of the bible hebrews questions about hebrews. Bible study series on the book of hebrews chapter by chapter. Book of hebrews overview insight for living ministries. A study of hebrews gene taylor2an introduction to the book of hebrews i. Although hebrews is not written in apocalyptic language, it does employ it. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the book of hebrews. The letter is written to hebrew christians, that is, those who have converted to christ from judaism, and who are under pressure to depart from christ. Since the book of hebrews is grounded in the work of the levitical priesthood, an understanding of the book of leviticus is essential for properly interpreting hebrews.

The book of hebrews presents jesus christ and his superiority. Hebrews 11 is often thought of as the faith chapter, and as we are moving through great themes of the bible themes that appear in so many different places in all the different books of the bible perhaps there is no theme that summarizes this as does the faith chapter. The referred letter sends a message encouraging christians to persevere through their struggle between christianity and judaism. Upon close inspection, these seven themes can be seen to function as a forceful appeal for the readers not. The message of hebrews for the global church is that jesus is better than every other thing believers are tempted to fall back into, such as their formers ways of sin, culturally comfortable patterns of thinking or living, or nonchristian ethical codes. What i mean by theme verse first of all, i should probably define theme verse for this conversation. He does so by connecting the suffering of his readers to the suffering of christ.

Introduction to hebrews recently, i was given the task of introducing the book of hebrews at randolph street baptist church in charleston, west virginia. Each was written with specific purpose and aim in mind. The author of this epistle is relentless in his effort to reveal christ as greater than the prophets, angels, moses, and the levitical priests. The book of hebrews solves this problem by arguing that the hebrew scriptures also foretold that the. The book reveals to us that christ is the substance of all the old testament shadows. Christians must not forsake the great salvation that jesus has brought about. The son of god is better than angels, priests, old testament leaders. However, doubt on pauline authorship in the roman church is reported by eusebius. Seven theological themes in hebrews gordon college faculty. I believe knowing the background, that is, the historical setting, the literary design, and the major. The book is ideal for bible classes, with study questions included at the end of each of the fourteen chapters. He is greater than moses, aaron, the angels, the tabernacle, the sacrifices.

And it penetrates to the heart of what it means to follow christ. The main theme of hebrews is the absolute supremacy and sufficiency of jesus christ as our high priest and revealer of god. Who knew the author of a new testament book would agree with tupac about something. Throughout hebrews the author encourages his readers to stand fast in the midst of their troubles e. God, who at various times and in different ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by his son. The grand purpose of the book of hebrews uk apologetics. How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation. With its myriad references to hebrew customs and the old testament, the book was likely sent to a jewish christian community, possibly in rome. In todays context, this seems to be predominantly the major area where perseverance of the christian is most tested. It is especially focused on drawing together themes of the old testament and showing their relevance to christ. The epistle to the hebrews, or letter to the hebrews, or in the greek manuscripts, simply to the. Introduction to hebrews 10 isaiah gives some remarkable insights into the apocalyptic language used in the bible. The early church father clement quoted from the book of hebrews in a.

The book of hebrews study guide galen peterson 5 later the temple. There are themes in hebrews like christ as the high priest that just dont feature very much in pauls letters. In addition, there are other great themes seen in chapter after chapter, each showing that christ is better than all who have gone before him because of who he is, and what he has done. And he dealt at length with christ as the high priest.

General bible courses living by the book great themes of the book i great themes of the book i. May 2 0 1 8 appearances in hebrews position in 66 books of bible subject word. The text does not mention the name of its author, but was traditionally attributed to paul the apostle. Other suggestions have been barnabas or apollos, martin luther thought maybe it was apollos priscilla. There is nothing in the letter to tell us who wrote it nor is there a strong tradition to associate an author with the book. Apr 22, 2015 the book of hebrews also warns believers about falling away from the faith, and challenges them to persevere in difficult circumstances, remaining faithful to the new covenant. His major theme, the supremacy of christ, is right there in the opening. Everyones guide to hebrews, written by respected bible teacher neil lightfoot, takes readers through the intricacies of this special book and into the two great themes that govern it. Join john bradshaw for great chapters of the bible. Seven theological themes in hebrews gordon college.