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IN THE FIFTH CHAPTER of the New Testament Book of HEBREWS,
those early Christians were given the following advice:
"...while by now you should be teachers, you need somebody
to teach you further: 'What are the first principles of God's Revelations?' And you've become like those who need milk and
not solid food.
"Because each one sharing milk is inexperienced in the Word about righteousness, because he's a baby.
But solid food is for the mature - those who by practice have their senses developed toward distinguishing of both good and
evil."
One might expect that what follows in this passage would be written in very simple terms for such immature
Christians. It would explain why and how they needed to grow up to Christian maturity. Then they would be able to understand
the deeper and more difficult truths.
But, to the contrary, there follows in this passage written to these baby-like
Christians what many scholars and commentators tell us is one of the most mysterious and difficult passages in all the Bible!
Then we are further told that later in the tenth chapter, these babes-in-Christ are once again faced with another of the most
difficult passages in all the Word of God.
WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE??
Instead of the message of Christian
liberty that it truly is, Hebrews is often tortured into a vague message of condemnation, bondage, and hopelessness for even
true believers in Christ. Like much of today's superficial, proof-text-only Bible teaching, Hebrews has been distorted to
teach even true believers in Christ such "tenets" as:
"If you sin too badly you can lose your salvation..."
"If
you sin too badly and lose your salvation, you can NEVER get it back..."
"If you are almost saved, and then you sin
too badly, you can NEVER get completely saved..."
"If, hypothetically, you could sin too badly and lose your salvation,
you could NEVER get it back..."
"You can sin so badly that you can never repent..."
"If you sin on purpose,
you can never again have any hope of God's forgiveness, even in the blood of Christ..."
"If an unrepentant adversary
has grievously hurt you or someone you love, then just forget about it. And shame on you if (as the Psalmist and the widow
of Jesus' parable in Luke 18) you hope and pray for God's justice and vindication..."
"Even though you have already
been justified and accounted righteous by the Blood of Calvary, you can still face God's wrath and condemnation..."
"As
a true believer in Christ, you must still face additional future judgment and accounting before God for the sins of your failures
in this life, and Jesus' blood and advocacy will no longer avail as the all-sufficient remedy..."
"You must still
face an additional judgment from God for your sin of failing to achieve adequate sanctification, and Jesus' blood and advocacy
will no longer avail as the all-sufficient remedy..."
WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO THE CROSS?
Where is the all-sufficiency
of the blood of Christ shed at Calvary? What has happened to the finished nature of His substitutionary sacrifice? What has
become of Christ's own advocacy of His finished work?
Hebrews 2 tells us that it is fear of death that keeps people
in bondage. Those kinds of distortions only intensify that fear of death. They nullify the teaching of the true believer's
permanent justification and sanctification in Christ. They rob true Christians of the very boldness and confidence that is
the true message of Hebrews, and in doing so make void the cross of Christ.
Those examples are not simply "straw-men."
Those ideas are all being taught today, always in vague generalization and innuendo, never in specifics. Our modern-day churches
have become more cluttered and confused with false images of God than was the Temple in the time of King Josiah, when the
Scriptures had literally been lost behind the money.
The truth is that Hebrews teaches the opposite of these kinds
of phony fund-raising ploys. Hebrews is NOT a message of discouragement, anxiety, hopelessness, grief, or despair. This message
of Christ in Hebrews gives needed encouragement to anyone tempted to give up on the Christian faith. For true believers in
Christ today, a rediscovery of the liberating message of Hebrews is long overdue.
Now at long last, PRAISE GOD! NO
MORE SACRIFICE! brings to today's churches an accurate, common sense translation of Hebrews into the English language. It
is Hebrews made simple, or rather Hebrews in the simplicity with which it was originally written for struggling immature Christians.
When sensibly translated, Hebrews reveals an astonishing compassion of God for hurting believers and a divine love that is
nothing less than breathtaking!
Hebrews is a series of comparisons between the old repetitious rituals of Judaism,
and the one-time, permanent, finished work of Christ on the cross. With these comparisons are numerous parenthetic passages
encouraging immature Christians in their struggle to continue and grow in the faith.
PRAISE GOD! NO MORE SACRIFICE!
is written in everyday English just as a mature, caring Christian might encourage a weaker Christian friend: keep on walking
in the Christian faith... don't be tempted to get burned out or let the faith slip away... keep on holding firmly to Gods
truth on the road to Christian maturity and steadfastness.
This translation is for those bitter, betrayed, and discouraged
- those who have strayed from their responsibilities as husbands, fathers, wives, and mothers. It is for those who thought
they had tried the Christian faith but have given up and are fallen beside the road. Like the victim of highway robbers found
by the Good Samaritan, they have been left stripped, wounded, and half dead, because thieves come not but to steal, kill,
and destroy. This work is their first aid until they can be taken to a spiritual trauma center, which is what a church ought
to be.
PRAISE GOD! NO MORE SACRIFICE! is also for all of the godly pastors and Bible teachers who sincerely desire
to minister the healing power of God's Word, but have lacked the tool of an accurate and sensible Hebrews translation. Their
feedback is heartily desired and solicited.
What could be so exciting about a New Testament book that teaches: "The
animal sacrifices have been abolished"? To most modern-day Christians, believing in animal sacrifice has never been a particular
problem. Most of us have never witnessed any kind of animal sacrifice. Initially, the message of the abolition of animal sacrifice
could not seem more irrelevant or uninteresting. But the message of Hebrews must be reconsidered and understood in the light
of II Timothy 3:16-17:
"All Scripture is given by inspiration from God, and is profitable for teaching, for reproof,
for correction, and for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good
work."
All of Hebrews, including all the passages about blood sacrifices of bulls and billy goats, IS profitable to
us. The question is: How? The answer must be in the principles it teaches us about our worship and relationship with God.
Every religion or system of belief seems to have some kind of ritualistic self-sacrifice that must be repeated often:
going to confession... performing penance... walking the aisle to rededicate... repetitious chants... lighting votive candles...
undergoing emotional experiences in place of sincere praise and worship... going up in front of the congregation and falling
down backwards... even partaking of the bread and cup as though it were a mandatory sacrificial ritual as a way to maintain
God's grace.
The modern-day church has been saturated with the humanistic gospel of decision-making. One cannot be
saved, we are told, unless one develops the will power to choose to make the right decisions, and then one must maintain that
sincerity and strength of will power in making decisions throughout one's lifetime. Given the teaching of Hebrews, one can
scarcely overestimate the significance of the origin of that word "decision" - the cutting and offering of a sacrifice!
Christians
ought to attend their churches regularly and contribute financially. But immature Christians may think they should contribute
money as an offering to compensate for guilt feelings. Even church attendance itself and enduring a sermon can seem like penance
for the sins of the previous week.
Those who participate in such rituals may eventually find they are of little long-term
benefit. Moreover, they waste time that might be better invested in learning of God's grace. Instead of repetitious rituals
and embarrassing public spectacles, when a new Christian discovers that he still struggles with sin, what he really needs
is to listen to serious, in-depth Bible teaching.
Why should modern-day Gentile Christians care anything about the
Tabernacle - that Sacred Tent - and later the Temple of Jehovah? Who cares about that Most Sacred Place inside usually called
the Holy of Holies? Remember: All of the Scriptures including these passages are profitable to us today. But we don't even
have a temple today! Or do we?
Hebrews 3, along with I Corinthians 3, teaches us that the fellowship of persevering
Christians IS the House of God. We learn in I Corinthians 6 that the physical body of the true believer is also a Temple of
the Holy Spirit. That means that today the Holy of Holies - that Most Sacred of all Places, symbolic of Gods presence - is
in the midst of our fellowship and in our own human heart!
Does not Hebrews show us the way of access into the presence
of God the Holy Spirit in our own heart? Jesus describes this experience in the illustration of the Prodigal Son: "...when
he came to himself..." Perhaps the layout of that Sacred Tent as described in Hebrews 9 is like a kind of diagram of the human
personality. Hebrews teaches true believers of the permanent confidence they have in Christ to enter into and live in the
very presence of God in their own human hearts.
Hebrews does not simply teach a losable salvation. Neither does it
teach a simplistic once-saved-always-saved, eternal security coasting into Heaven. Hebrews teaches the greatest possible security
and confidence for the true believer in Christ. It admonishes true believers to hold firmly and persevere in the faith. It
delivers no-nonsense warnings to those who casually profess Christian belief while frivolously disregarding regular fellowship
and serious in-depth Bible study.
This work will certainly be subject to human error. Any SPECIFIC and
CONSTRUCTIVE criticisms are most welcome. The only consideration in valid Scripture
exegesis is: What does the text say?
It is our prayer that God will use PRAISE GOD! NO MORE SACRIFICE! in many Christian congregations
to promote a rediscovery of the Hebrews message of liberty and perseverance. Properly understood, Hebrews teaches confidence
before the presence of God both in this life and in eternity... a foundation for confidence in every area of this life...
hope for struggling Christians... justice for the sins of unrepentant adversaries... and a permanent life-long confidence
for all true believers in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
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