Bible Reading Challenge Blog

The first three verses contain some of the most crucial elements of the Christian faith laid out before us in Scripture.  Listen to what the author addresses.  He speaks about repentance from dead works.  This is the fundamental understanding in Christianity that if we truly love Jesus then we would abhor evil and turn our back against it.  We hear about a faith which is given to us as a gift from God.  The faith that we have has to be a faith that is seen in the Gospels where Jesus constantly chastises his disciples because they have little faith.  It is a faith that belongs to us, but is given to us.

We then leave verse 1 and move into 2 where early on, remember we are still in the first century, the author speaks about baptism.  He also addresses the laying on of hands.  This is crucial.  The laying on hands, and baptism as well, are both parts of our worship service in which we take part even today.  We lay on hands for our deacons and elders because it was done first in the Acts of the Apostles.  We believe that the Holy Spirit moves within the congregation and the laying on of hands demonstrates the power and the potentiality of the Holy Spirit within the church and within our lives.  He doesn’t stop there but transitions to the resurrection which is arguably one of the most important doctrines of the Christian faith.  He then finishes it up with a conversation, albeit brief, about judgment day.  So much in two verses from an author whom we might think does not have the developed and sophisticated theology that we might have.  

Then he dives right into a topic which is very, very controversial.  Can you lose your faith once you have it?  It seems that the author says yes, you can lose it.  Now, we need to be clear and say that our theology does not allow that.  There is plenty of Scripture which assures us of our salvation in perpetuity.  We can do nothing to earn our salvation, so the flip side would be…think about it, we can do nothing to lose our salvation.  Look at these verses and see if you can find a message about salvation always being in the hands of God, and we serve a gracious God.  John 10:28-29, Ephesians 1:4-5, Romans 11:29, John 6:37, 39.  Once saved, always saved.

I hate to give you another Scripture to go to before we look at this verse, but jump to Colossians 1:28.  I understand the goal of church is to make sure we may present everyone mature in Christ.  As a result our responsibility begins anytime we have a point of contact with a person.  Once we have a point of contact with that person the clock starts.  We should see it as our responsibility to give that person every opportunity to become mature in Jesus Christ.  It connects to these verses in Hebrews 5 when Paul speaks about only being able to give the community to whom he is writing milk as opposed to solid food.  He says in verse 14 (I guess we are working backwards) that solid food is for the mature, and those reading this letter were still infants.

The author does go back and speak to the imagery of the high priest and their role and how Jesus is a perfect example of a high priest.  But then he brings in this guy names Melchizedek.  The literal translation of Melchizedek is “Melek” which means king and “tzedek” which means righteousness.  Jesus is the high priest after the order of the king of righteousness.  Who is this king?  Melchizedek is mentioned in Psalm 110 as a prototype to the coming Messiah.  He is also mentioned in Genesis 14 as the priest who comes and blesses Abram after battle.  You can find that in Genesis 14:18-20.  There is a less direct correlation to what the author in Hebrews is speaking about in regards to the high priest in Genesis as much as there is to the Scripture in Psalm 110.  Go ahead and read all of it and you will see what I mean.

We will hear more about this high priest Jesus and how he is, indeed, a high priest.  At least that’s what the author of Hebrews states.  Till then, hang on.

I had to read this chapter a couple of times.  Let’s set the context.  The letter to the Hebrews was written probably a bit later in the 1st century when the Christian community was really feeling the persecution and the pressure from the Roman Empire.  As a result there were a number of believers who were falling away because they felt like the cost of discipleship was simply too high to maintain an association with this group of people who loved Jesus.  I would rather not be with them and keep my life than lose my life but somehow get some spiritual benefit out of it.  You can understand that, right?  But the author of Hebrews does not have too many kind words for them as a result.

He speaks about those in the past, the Hebrews of the past, who turned their back on God.  God then declared that “they shall not enter my rest.”  This is a direct quote from Psalm 95:11.  In that psalm the author lays out the traitorous example of the Israelites in the wilderness who turned their back on God.  He speaks about the ancestors who tested God and so as a result were not able to enter into the promised land.  The author of Hebrews equates the testing in the wilderness with the current testing that was taking place in the 1st century AD.  I really can’t do the same with us.  We do not face any of the type of testing that they faced either in the wilderness or in the 1st century.  Our testing comes from our own lack of discipline since we have all that we need right in front of us.  We are not persecuted to death.  We are not starving in the desert.  We are self-content, dumb, and happy with all the wealth that we need and all the niceties that come from being an American in the 21st century.  Wait, did I just say that.

I refer you to Hebrews 4:12 you will see a quote that is often used to describe the power and the authority of Scripture.  It is a two edged sword.  Just when you feel like you are getting comfortable with it and it is starting to justify your actions and your approach to life, it cuts the other way and identifies ways in which to improve and rearrange your life so that it more closely resembles a life that God would want from us.  

Jesus and Moses are given equal time but the author makes a very clear distinction between the two of them.  

I love this painting by Raphael which is in the rooms leading up to the Sistine chapel.  It is the transfiguration of Jesus which can be found in Matthew, Mark, and Luke.  You see Jesus and Moses in the same space, with Jesus obviously taking a larger and more important place than Moses.  The author of Hebrews states as much.  This is crucial.  Jesus is not another Moses.  Jesus was God.  John 1 states as much, Hebrews in this chapter states as much.  Moses is the house and Jesus was the builder.  What a great image for all of us.  We are the houses which God builds and then we are able to contain all that God sends us through his Holy Spirit.  

The author warns us that if the Israelites, who had every opportunity to see the face of God and see His hand at work, hardened their hearts against him, then we have to be aware that it could happen to us.  Those who left Egypt under the leadership of Moses had the opportunity to see God in ways that none of us may have ever seen him.  They saw the plagues, they saw the red sea parted and they were able to cross on dry ground while the army of Pharaoh was drowned, they saw the pillar by night and the cloud by day, they saw the quails, they saw the manna.  All of these things were miracles and signs of God’s existence.  How could they harden their hearts?  But they did.

What have we seen?  We have seen our children born, our needs met miraculously, God intervening on our behalf, jobs coming through, financial hardships overcome with miraculous gifts, spouses identified.  When have you seen the hand of God at work in your life?  Have we hardened our hearts just because of the business of life?  Have we hardened our hearts because, well, life goes on?  We are no different from the Israelites.  Even though they were able to see miracles that may not be on display today, we have received our fair share of God moments and miracles.  This warning is for us as well.

There are two words of which I want you to be aware: pioneer and high priest.  Do you see how the author carefully lays out the atoning work of Jesus Christ?  When we talk about atonement we need to know about what we are talking?  To atone means to do something in order to make something right.  So, the wrong thing is that we have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.  Look at vs.10 and you will see that Jesus had to come in the flesh, had to be one of us, so that he might taste death for everyone.  That is in vs.9, so go back just one.  He moves on from speaking about angels to say that even we are given authority over the land, something the angels never had.  We see that in verses 8, okay so take another step back.  

But what is exciting about Hebrews is that we have laid before us the basic fundamental beliefs that we have in regards to the incarnation.  Incarnation means God in the flesh.  “In” means in or taking the substance of, and carna mean flesh or meat.  In Italian the word carne means meat, so there we are.  Starting at vs.8 we read that we, humans, people, do not have the world under our control.  In fact, it is very much spinning out of our control and that is a result of sin.  So, God sent Jesus to taste death for us so that he could be the pioneer of our salvation.  Jesus paved the way for our salvation.  

He goes on in vs.14 that since Jesus was flesh and blood, just like we are flesh and blood, his death destroyed the devil.  The devil, the adversary, is the one who has the power to use death.  The result of Jesus’ coming on earth was to free all of us who might have the fear of death.  Are you afraid of dying?  No, seriously, I’m asking you who are reading this right now.  Are you afraid of dying?  If so, what are you afraid of: pain, suffering, not knowing what comes next, emotional pain of those left behind?  His death provides eternal life which gives us a hope that we have never had before.  We are able to live our lives without fear because we know the end of the story of our lives.

The author calls Jesus the high priest, which is interesting because I think it would be better if he were called the sacrificial lamb who is slaughtered by the high priest.  He is the one who made a sacrifice of atonement which made our relationship with God intact once again.  He was like us in every single respect.  We will find out later that he is like us in every single respect, except he didn’t sin (Hebrews 4:15).  But here we definitely have laid the foundation down that Jesus is human like us.  He suffered like us, he died like us, he was one of us.  But as the high priest he made the sacrifice, himself, for our sins.  He is both the high priest, the one performing the sacrifice for God on our behalf, and the sacrifice itself.  Hebrews is really growing on me.  I think I love it.

I remember exactly where I was when it happened.  I was in the parking lot of the hospital listening to NPR and about to step into the hospital for a meeting when I couldn’t turn the radio off.  A plane had hit the North Tower of the World Trade Center buildings.  I was in disbelief.  My brother worked at the Trade Center doing cleaning and his phone was busy.  I walked into the hospital only to see the second tower hit by another plane  There were reports of the Pentagon being struck and an incident in Pennsylvania.  It was a day that none of us who were living at the time will ever forget.  The numbers 9-11 when put together will have a unique meaning which time will not be able to erase.

For over 2000 years the book of Hebrews has inspired and been a source of understanding for people of faith to help them understand what they believe and why they believe it.  It is a heavy book.  It is not for the faint of heart and some of you might have a hard time getting through it.  It is called “Hebrews” because of the implied audience to whom it was written.  You will find as we make our way through the book that there are many Old Testament references and other references of faith which people who grew up in the synagogue and went habitually to the temple would be able to understand.  As a result it is called the Letter to the Hebrews, or people who are Hebrew, or people who came from the tribe of Israel.  We do not know who wrote this book of the Bible.  Some swear it is Paul, but we simply do not know.  I don’t think it was Paul.  I’m very comfortable with not knowing who the author is and settling in with the fact that it is inspired by God.  It is a powerful but meaty book of the Bible.  Settle in as we get started in chapter 1.

The author begins with speaking about Jesus and how he is different from how God has revealed Himself in the past.  In the past God used humans who had the word of God and were called prophets.  In Jesus, God himself came down and was one of us, a human, but was called the Son.  The relationship of the Trinity is lifted up here in a very unique and powerful way.  The Son is said to be the creator of all the world.  Wait, I thought God the Father was that.  Yes, He is.  You see, we believe that God, the Trinitarian God that we know and love, was present and is present from the beginning of creation to today to when the Son comes back again.  This is really important.  We can’t fall into a modalist mentality which believes that each person of the Trinity has had His time and place and they don’t overlap or correspond to each other.  God did not come as the Son in Jesus and that is the only time that the Son is present.  No, He was present at creation as well, not in human form as Jesus, but as God.

I told you it was meaty.  This is important to establish because then the rest of chapter 1 and much of chapter 2 deals with angels and their inferior status to Jesus as well.  The author must have been addressing a theological issue that had arisen in some communities where people thought that maybe Jesus was just an angel, and not really God, not really divine.  The author uses the OT to shoot down any of these theories.  It is important to see how the author uses Scripture to shoot down any kind of theology which might be contrary to our belief.  He doesn’t just say: no that is wrong because I say so.  No, he says that Jesus is above the angels because God called the Son begotten and His throne is forever.  

Let’s talk about angels and guardian angels.  Let me just say that there is no such thing as guardian angels.  I know, some of you will pull up Psalm 91:11 where it states that God will call out his angels to guard and protect us.  But there simply is no Scriptural backing for guardian angels.  It is a cultural construct which people of faith have latched onto because it sure is reassuring.  Sorry, I hate to be the one who steals the candy from the child, but there is no such thing as guardian angels. 

So what are angels?  The term in Hebrew is angelon which literally means “messenger”.  Angels are messengers from God.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4YrCFz0Kfc

Okay, maybe not Jim Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, not those kinds of angels, but those who could be every day people who give us a word when we need it the most and remind us of God’s purpose and our purpose on this earth.  I have experiences of people who have been put in my life, people I did not know, and given me encouragement and the will to go one and I did not know who they were or where they came from.  I was not able to trace them afterwards either.  But it could be people that we do know as well.  Angels are simply messengers from God.  Jesus was not an angel.  He was the Son of God.  He was God.

This is going to be one of a few books of the Bible where we only have one chapter and so this is our only opportunity to speak about the book and speak about the content of the book.  Over history people have assumed that this is about a runaway slave, Philemon, who happens to be caught and is in the same prison as Paul.  Paul brings him to a saving knowledge of Christ and sends him back to his master, Onesimus.  Paul encourages his master to treat him as a brother and that if he is owed any money that Paul would repay him.

I’m not so sure, and since it is not a sure thing, I’m allowed to come up with my own theory, which is based on Scripture, of course.  I see Philemon and Onesimus as being blood and religious brothers.  They are literal brothers and brothers in the faith.  Philemon has stolen something from Onesimus and so was arrested.  Paul encourages Onesimus to forgive him and to receive him back and welcome him as if he were welcoming Paul.  

Paul does use the word slave to describe Philemon, but he also uses the word slave to describe himself in various times in Scripture.  Look at Romans 1:1-15 where we read about his self-description as a slave.  This is not uncommon.  When Jesus washes the feet of the disciples he is exemplifying what it means to be a servant.  He tells his disciples to be servants.  The term is not unusual and it does not need to be taken literally.  This is especially true when over history it has been taken literally and it has served as fodder to support the treatment of those who have been blessed by the sun more than others.

Paul’s final message to Titus who is working hard on the field, is to make sure that the community known as the Way, or Christians, be courteous to everyone.  He appeals to them based upon the fact that we also were disobedient in our lives at one time or another.  But even in our disobedience Jesus came and saved us not because we were good, but rather because of the grace which is displayed in the water of our baptism.  Speaking of baptism, it was a great Sunday as we baptized Paisley Mae Colvin and once again remembered that God chose us even before we could choose him.  She was a perfect example of that.  She was not in any way aware of what was happening to her this morning.  She will not remember her baptism.  But that’s the point, isn’t it?  We are reminded of the Providence of God that He chose us before we had the ability to choose Him.

I love vs.14 which reminds us the following: And let people learn to devote themselves to good works in order to meet urgent needs, so that they may not be unproductive.  This is the second time that Paul tells us that we are to be productive.  It is a good reminder for all of us and a good opportunity to recognize that we have a calling that extends beyond what we do on a weekly basis.

I would like you to read Genesis 2:20-24, Ephesians 5:21, and then reread Titus 2:4-5 and see if you notice anything.  They are all teachings on women in Scripture which have been used to keep women in a specific place.  The term in Genesis that I want you to focus on is “helper”.  Now I want you to read this article that gives all the various times that helper is used and in what perspective it ought to be viewed.   

A Suitable Helper (in Hebrew)

Keep in mind that in Ephesians Paul commands that we be subject to one another.  When you read this term in Titus 2:5 it is used in the same way.  We should include, as he does in Ephesians, just as husbands ought to submit to the wives.  This is crucial that we do not just focus on those verses which might make our point and continue this historical path of keeping women down when there is plenty of Scripture which lifts them up eye level.  

There is a lot more to Titus 2, including a troubling remark for slaves to obey and be submissive.  Paul’s point in these verses is that wherever you find yourself and in whatever state, be the best you can be.  That is absolutely applicable although we scream out at Paul and say: Why didn’t you say anything?  You could have saved generations of slaves from crossing the seas since this verse was used so frequently to justify the slavery that plagued our nation.  We can’t really write it off.

Paul then transitions to speak about the glory that we have coming up in our salvation in Jesus.  Look at vs.11 and let me ask you if it troubles you.  “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all.”  Some of your translations may read just: “bringing salvation”.  But this is important.  I believe that Jesus came so that all may be saved.  He didn’t just bring a generic salvation, but rather a universal salvation which some receive and some don’t.  We are not back into predestination, but we do know that not all people choose to embrace the salvation which is provided to them by the grace of God.  There are many who choose to ignore and turn a blind eye to Jesus.  He still died for them and provided salvation for them.  They just choose not to accept it.

It is hard to believe that Little Feat took the place of my post last night…but they did and it was amazing.  What a great band and what a great concert.  Now back to Scripture and playing a little catch up.  We are starting a new book of the Bible.  It is called Titus.  

Paul writes this letter to a co-worker whose name is Titus.  We don’t see him mentioned in Acts, where many of Paul’s co-workers are mentioned, but we do hear about him in some of Paul’s other writings.  We see him mentioned in Galatian 2:3, II Corinthians 8:6, 16-17, 23, 12:18, and II Corinthians 2:13, 7:6-7, 13-16.  We find Paul encouraging this co-worker to not hesitate to plan a church in Crete which is the largest of the Aegean islands.  He basically teaches Titus how to set up a church, correct false teaching and establish the elders.  

On to the first chapter.  Okay, so people didn’t really like Cretans in the day.  In fact, if you wanted to call someone a bad name you would call them a Cretan.  A Cretan is someone who comes from Crete.  Look at the map below and you will find the island of Crete.

You will see that Crete is the largest of the islands of Greece and it was pretty important.  Next to Athens, and we know about Athens, it was very important.  Paul tells Titus in vs.5 that he left him behind so that he could establish and solidify the church.  How do you build up and solidify the church you ask?  I’m glad you asked.

Paul tells Titus the most important thing is not Titus himself.  The most important aspect of the church, any church for that matter and this hasn’t changed in 2000 years, is the strength of the leaders.  The strength of First Presbyterian is found in the strength of the elders.  If we do not have a session that loves each other, that loves Jesus, that is devoted and loyal to the church and to each other, then we will have a weak church.  I would guess, by the way, that the way things are going around here, we have an incredibly strong elder board.  We praise God for that.

As Paul establishes prerequisites for deacons and bishops or pastors in I Timothy 3, so he sets up the ideals that we want for the elders of the church.  Once again, it is a very daunting list, but an important one.  You will always want to have a solid elder body, but especially when you are first starting out a church and need people who are well respected and known within the community.