Hebrews chapter 7.
MELCHISEDEC.
MELCHISEDEC. Gen 14:18-20; Ps 110:4
MOST High God. 7:1 [Gen 14:18]
EXCELLENT. 7:4
LEVITES paid him tithes. 7:9
CHANGED Priesthood after the order of Melchisedec. 7:12-17
HERITAGE absent, no beginning. 7:3
INTERCEDES. Heb 5:1, 10
SEPARATE from sinners. 7:25
ENDLESS life. 7:16
DEATH was conquered. 7:24
ENTERED heaven itself. Heb 9:24
CHOSEN by God. 7:20-21
THEREFORE… He is able to save to the uttermost. 22-28
How is Jesus BETTER?
Peter’s credibility as a WITNESS.
There are no witnesses today.
Majesty Witnessed on the Mountain. 16-18.
How does Peter qualify as a WITNESS.
Peter, as the other Apostles…
We Saw, Held. 16; 1John 1:1; 4:14.
The Apostles were promised the Holy Spirit…
Inspired because. John 16:13; Acts 1:8.
The Apostles saw and touched Him after the resurrection…
Touched Him. John 20:27. 1Jo 1:1.
We can tell they saw because of their boldness in the face of danger…
No Fear. Act 4:13.
Paul would later see the Risen Lord…
Eyewitness of Paul. Act 26:13.
They were given Signs to confirm the message was from God.
Signs. Acts 2:22; Heb 2:1-4
We can also tell they saw Jesus because they suffered to death…
Suffering. 2Peter 1:14; Act 4:20.
Peter wants to REMIND.
Repetition. 3:17; 1Th 3:4; 4:2; 2Th 3:7; 1Joh 2:21; [all the NT is a reminder of what had been delivered. Jude 3-5]
Exploiters. 2:3; Acts 20:29; Mat 7:15; Eph 5:6; Col 2:8; 1Jo 4:1.
Mindful of words. 3:1-2; Jude 1:17.
Imposters. 2Tim 1:6; 3:1-17.
Neglect not. 1:9; 1Tim 4:14; Heb 2:3; 12:5. Jas 1:24-25; Mark 8:14-21.
Death of Apostles predicted. 13; John 21:18-19; 2Thess 2:7; Acts 20:29.
“I must put off my tent.”
As Jesus showed me.
John 21:15-19.
“Moreover I will endeavour that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance.” 1:15.
What would you say to your children before you die?
Peter wants to…
the saints to give all Diligence to add to our faith for an Entrance into the Everlasting kingdom. And to Avoid false teachers. The Lord will come as a Thief and Heat will follow.
2Pet 1:4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises:
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE PROMISES?
Seed promise Gen 12:3
Eternal life. John 20:31
Strength in suffering. 1Pet 5:10
Instruction. John 14:16; Eph 3:3
Meet our needs. Mat 6:33
Overcome the world. 1John 5:4
Remission of Sins. Jer 31:34
Prayers in His name. Phil 4:6-7
-Spencer Blackwelder
For generations, antagonists of God and theologians have claimed that God is not real, and the Bible has no relevance today.
A former mega church pastor once said, “if the church follows the instructions from the Bible… it will become irrelevant.”1
It’s clear that many have disregarded the Bible and it’s truths. To support today’s religious and cultural practices requires a complete disregard of God’s truth and a tearing down of His word.
While it is true that the Old Law of Moses has been taken out of the way, nailing it to his cross, (Col 2:14), it still has much to teach us and along with the New Testament, is very much relevant to people today.
“For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.” (Romans 15:4)
Here are 5 reasons the BIBLE is still relevant to us today.
the BIBLE is relevant today because… because of the lessons we glean from the BIOGRAPHIES of its heroes as well as from its antagonists. Bios gives us insight into how people lived their lived, how they felt about the people around them, and how they responded to God. Bios can help us answer some of the same questions we face today. Bios show us how people handled crisis, successes, and show us that people aren’t much different today from those in the past.
1 Corinthians 10:6 KJV
Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.
Read the BIBLE to learn life lessons from the Biographical Examples.
the BIBLE is relevant today because… It contains INSPIRED Wisdom.
One of the reasons we know it’s INSPIRED of God is it revealed scientific knowledge about the world long before human discovery and before technology could discover it.
A path for lightening…
Job 28:26 KJV
When he made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder:
Ocean currents…
Psalm 8:8 KJV
The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.
Many other scientific observations have been confirmed in biblical passages, including Leviticus 17:11; Ecclesiastes 1:6-7; Job 36:27-29.
Since these things be so, we can trust the Bible for its INSPIRED Wisdom on how to live in this life and how to live to gain the next.
2 Peter 1:3-4 KJV
According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: [4] Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
Read the BIBLE to learn life lessons from INSPIRED Wisdom.
the BIBLE is relevant today because… It contains insight into human BEHAVIOR.
Do you ever wonder why people act, & react in certain ways? Much of the bible contains insight into BEHAVIOR through the stories. You’ll see stories of envy, jealousy, anger, kindness, love, and every other kind of emotion. Today’s humans aren’t much different, except for the technology.
The Proverbs is wisdom that includes insight into BEHAVIOR, both about others and ourselves; for example;
Prov 17:14
The beginning of strife is as when one letteth out water: therefore leave off contention, before it be meddled with.
Prov 23:6
Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats: 7 For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.
Read the BIBLE to learn life lessons about human BEHAVIOR.
(to be continued)
Spencer
Let’s read the bible through in 2023
Here’s a link to some printable Bible reading Bookmarks.
If you live in the Borger area and would like to study the bible better, we invite you to one of our services with the church of Christ on Franklin and Juniper.
ENDNOTES.
1 Rob Bell, https://www.charismanews.com/opinion/in-the-line-of-fire/48383-rob-bell-trashes-the-bible-on-oprah, Oprah’s Super Soul Sunday, 2015
Warning about immaturity and neglect.
We have much to say but you have become dull of hearing…
ORACLES OF GOD. 12
USE THE INFO. 14
GROW. 5:12-3; 6:1-3,8
HOLY SPIRIT partakers. 6:4-5
TEACHERS, but need teaching. 12
Diligence, Imitate, Inherit 9-12
We have HOPE as an ANCHOR.
ANCHOR. (interjection of Hope)
ABRAHAM example. 6:13; Gen 22:16-17
NO ONE GREATER. 6:13-14
CANNOT LIE He PROMISES. 6:18
HOPE. 6:18-19; consolation; 11:1,6.
OATH. 6:16-17
RIVITED in Heaven. 6:20; cf. 13:25-29How is Jesus BETTER?
Jesus is a better Priest.
Jesus as a PRIEST.
A PRIEST forever. 6; cf. Psalm 110:4
RECEIVED it from God. 4-5, 10
IN the order of Melchizedek. 6 (ch7)
ETERNAL Salvation’s Author. 9
SUFFERED, SACRIFICE. 8-9
TEARS to Him. 7
How is Jesus BETTER?
The REST that is in Christ.
There REMAINS a rest. 1,6,9
Labor to ENTER it. 3,10-11
SOME won’t enter. The word is a SHARP SWORD. 12-13
Jesus, the Son of God, Sits on the THRONE of grace. 14-16
How is Jesus BETTER?
Each New Year I write to encourage us all to read the Word of God. “New Year, New Me” is the mantra of most of us at the beginning of a New Year.
“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do” (Heb 4:12-13).
Usually someone would say, “It’s not enough to just read it, you’ve got to STUDY it.” To this I would whole heartedly agree. (The basis of any study is of course reading).
That being said, people struggle to study the bible as it appears overwhelming at first. To allay those fears, this article is titled…
5 Tips for Effective Bible STUDY.
These tips will have a foundation of scripture along with a tip on how to be more effective in our study of the Word of God.
#1 SEARCH the word. “These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so” (Acts 17:11). “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me” (John 5:39). “And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:27).
From these scriptures we find the first tip, SEARCH the scriptures. There are a few resources available to just about everyone to help us in our SEARCH through God’s word. First, I use “Nave’s Topical Bible.” This is a type of Bible concordance with over 20,000 topics and subtopics. Plus, there’s an app for that!
Other online resources I use are either “Bible Hub” or the “Blue Letter Bible.” Both of these sites & apps have within them “Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible.” A concordance can help you SEARCH for any word, phrase, or verse in the Bible. Because all of these are compilations of humans, care & discernment needs to be taken by the Bible Student.
We can SEARCH the Scriptures and be “more noble minded.”
#2 TEACH it to others. “And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same teach thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also” (2Tim 2:2). “Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine” (1Tim 4:13). “That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,” (Titus 2:4).
From these passages we can’t help but notice the need to TEACH the things we STUDY to others in the faith. This is separate from evangelism which is also important. In the church there are those that need a boost from the more mature members (cf. Heb 5:12). It is often said by the one that teaches that they learn even more from their studies than they teach to others.
We can TEACH sound doctrine to other faithful Christians.
#3 Seek to UNDERSTAND because you can. “How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, [4] Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ” (Eph 3:3-4). “In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem” (Dan 9:2).
While some will claim that you are unable to understand the Bible without their personal guidance, these scriptures show otherwise. While it is helpful to call on another for help with your study of more difficult passages (see Acts 8:30-31), it’s still possible to UNDERSTAND the word of God yourself through your own studies.
The resources listed above also give you access to Bible Dictionaries like; “Smith’s Bible Dictionary” “W.E. Vine’s” and “Strong’s Dictionary of Hebrew and Greek words” to look up the meanings of words as used in the original languages. Along with the concordances, a student can discover the meaning of a text through understanding the words, and examining similar passages allowing the Bible to explain itself through less difficult passages.
We can UNDERSTAND the Bible through reading and STUDY.
#4 Develop a DELIGHT to study the Bible. “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2Tim 2:15). “I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word.” (Psalm 119:24,161).
When we see that we can be approved to God, and that His word has so many valuable truths, it becomes possible to enjoy reading, to DELIGHT in His word. The Psalmist tells us that God’s word is, righteous, pure, perfect, and that they provide comfort. These are just a few attributes of God’s word listed in the 176 verses in the Psalm, each of which is about the word of God. Is it any wonder that he found DELIGHT in His word?
We can DELIGHT in studying the Bible.
#5 We can find rest when we put on the YOKE of Christ and YEARN to LEARN of Him. “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matt 11:28-30).
When citing this verse, we often overlook the LEARNING part. We desire the rest, but we never really ask how. We learn through reading and study.
We can find rest when we put on the YOKE to learn of Him.
Spencer is an evangelist working with the Franklin & Juniper St church of Christ in Borger Texas.
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Borger church of Christ @ Franklin & Juniper 