If you open your Bibles, please, the book of Hebrews. The book of Hebrews. Last week, Brother Jade wrapped up our study through the book of Romans. And so today we're going to start our study through the book of Hebrews. And I do believe that it is important as a church to actually combine topical preaching or dealing with issues and specific subjects that need to be addressed, to combine that with expository teaching verse by verse through entire books of the Bible. I also believe, by the way, that every Christian should be a Bible student. Every Christian should be growing in his knowledge of the Word, the Bible, and should develop a good working knowledge of really every book of the Bible. Every Christian should be growing. And we're going to see that in the book of Hebrews as we're going through the book of Hebrews. We're going to be going on to maturity, and that includes being Bible students. I gave a brief introduction to the book of Hebrews a few weeks back. I'm going to repeat some of that today because I've got somewhat to add to it. And so I'm going to take both first and second hour. First hour is going to be more of an introduction to the book, and then second hour will be getting more into the text. But it's important for us to know, I believe that the epistle to the Hebrews really is, without question, one of the most profound books in the Bible. not just in the New Testament, but indeed in the entire Bible. It's one of the deepest books theologically. It contains the most complete teaching in the Bible on the person and work of the Lord Jesus. It contains some of the clearest teaching in the Bible on the deity of Christ, on the purpose and the function of the cross, and the eternal nature of Christ's atonement. and also on the ongoing high priestly ministry of the Lord Jesus as our advocate before the Father. Some of the clearest teaching on these subjects. And therefore, I really do believe it's one of the most important books in the New Testament to grasp and to study and to know. The book was written, by the way, to convince the reader of the superiority of the new covenant to the old and because the new covenant really is all about the Lord Jesus Christ. The primary theme of the book is in fact the supremacy of Christ, the superiority of Christ and the supremacy of Christ himself. Although by the way the epistle I believe is one of the most important books in the New Testament. It's also unfortunately true that it's probably one of the most avoided books in the New Testament by most Christians. It's an enigmatic book. It does contain some passages that are difficult and somewhat enigmatic to those who take a cursory view of it, who just skim the surface and look at the surface of the book, who fail to humble themselves and study it with an obedient heart. But I do believe that when we do take that approach, this great book, we're going to see a lot of wonderful truths and we'll see the enigmas and the difficulties disappear. And we'll see how this book really harmonizes perfectly with all of scripture and with our doctrine. But to understand the book, we first need to keep in mind the purpose of the book and who the intended audience of the book was. As the title of the book implies, the book was written to a Hebrew audience, to Jewish believers of the first century who had been raised, by the way, on a steady diet of the Old Testament law and the prophets and who knew the Old Testament very well. And so one of the reasons that the book seems a little bit difficult today to many Christians and therefore is somewhat avoided, is its presumption of independence upon strong knowledge of the Old Testament, upon the reader's knowledge of the Old Testament law. And so every chapter has quote after quote after quote from the Old Testament and the writer never gives the context or the site, he just presumes that the reader knows what he's talking about. And so the book was written specifically to Jewish Christians in the first century who knew the Old Testament. And then within that group, the writer actually addresses two problems that needed to be dealt with. The first of which, on the one hand, he writes to those who were not growing spiritually, not maturing in the faith, to exhort them to grow up, to go on to maturity. And we see that especially in chapter 5 and 6 of the book. Go on to maturity. But he also writes, by the way, to potential backsliders, and really that's kind of the emphasis of the book, to exhort Jewish Christians not to go back, not to go back to Judaism. Jewish Christians in the first century were under severe persecution from their communities and actually from their own families as well. For a first century Jew, to confess Jesus as the Messiah meant he would be put out of the synagogue. We know that just from reading the Gospels. It could also mean being put out of your family and out of the family trade or business and out of town. So a person who was Jewish and who confessed Jesus to be the Messiah was facing severe persecution. He was considered to be dead to the community and he was cut off from his family. And so it was a hard thing to do. And it would have been for some a temptation to go back. And the exhortation of this epistle is don't go back. Don't go back. All they had to do really to go back would be to be restored to their family and to be restored to safety is to just go to the temple and offer a sacrifice. But to do that, the writer to the Hebrews makes very clear is to renounce Christ and to deny Christ's atonement on the cross. As Paul writes, I believe Paul wrote, I'm going to get into that, in chapter 10 of the epistle, Hebrews 10, verse 26, Paul says, For if we sin willfully, and he's talking about going back. For if we sin willfully, after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins. but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation which shall devour the adversaries. And then he says, he that despised Moses' law died without mercy. He was put to death under two or three witnesses. Of how much more sore punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy who hath trodden underfoot the Son of God? and hath counted the blood of the covenant wherewith he was sanctified an unholy thing, and hath done despite the Spirit of grace. So this exhortation, this epistle is don't go back. It's interesting that really the epistle doesn't seem to be written to evangelize unbelieving Jews. It may have had that effect, of course, on some. But the apostle is pleading with Jewish believers to continue in the faith and to never go back. And he's saying there's no reason to go back. And by the way, there's nothing to go back to. The whole book is about the superiority of the New Covenant to the Old Covenant. And he reasons from things that a Jewish believer would readily understand. And he says that those things you're holding on to in the Jewish tradition, they're inferior. Christ is superior to all those things. He's superior to angels. He's superior to the priesthood. He's superior to the sacrifices. He's superior to the high priest. He's superior to the tabernacle. Superior to Moses, to Abraham and Melchizedek. Christ is superior to all those things. There's nothing to go back to. And so, the writers are arguing that Jesus, in fact, is the completion and fulfillment of all that Judaism ever was. Those things are all but mere shadows that have been fulfilled in Christ, as Paul also argues in the book of Colossians as well, and elsewhere. This book, I believe also, beyond its intended audience to the first century Jew, has great applicability to our lives. It has relevance to our lives today. Just as much, I believe, as it did to the Jews of the first century. I preached a couple of weeks back about backsliding. And sometimes we too are tempted to go back. Not to Judaism, but back to the old man. You know, back to the old sins that we used to find pleasure in. And this great epistle, I believe, has a message for us today as well. For us, there's nothing to go back to either. There's nothing to go back to. There's no reason to go back. And so we need to understand today just as much as the Jewish audience of the first century needed to understand that Christ is absolute supreme. We need to understand the absolute supremacy of Christ. And there's no reason to go back. All we need is Christ. That's all we need. We need to see today that Christ is superior to everything else that there is in this life. And that's what we're going to glean from this book. And I'll come back to that later in this message, second hour. I want to talk a little bit about the timeline of this book and when it was written. There's no doubt really that the book of Hebrews was written in the apostolic age of the early church, when the apostles were still ministering in the first century A.D. It's obvious from the text within the book And the emphasis of the book itself, that it had to be written before the temple was destroyed in A.D. 70. The temple had to be still standing, but based on what he's writing here. Also, we know that Clement of Rome, who was one of the bishops of Rome, who was bishop from like 89 A.D. until about 98 A.D., in his epistle to the Corinthians, Clement of Rome, quoted extensively from the book of Hebrews, whole phrases from the book of Hebrews. And so we know that the book preceded Clement of Rome. And so it was a first century book, probably written in the late 50s or the early 60s. As to its authorship, we talked about this a little bit before, I'm gonna expand on it a little bit. There is some dispute about the authorship of the book. There's a bit of mystery surrounding the authorship because the author chose to remain anonymous. Just for quick review, I do agree with the title of the book as it appears in my Bible, which says, The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Hebrews. I agree with that. I do believe that Paul wrote this book. And by the way, this is also the way that the title appeared in many very early manuscript copies, including the Syriac Beshitta, which was written in Aramaic, and other early manuscripts. So, many of those manuscripts did have the name of the Apostle Paul in the title. The point I'm making is I believe Paul wrote the book. And I'm going to tell you why that is. First of all, the main arguments against Paul's authorship, first of all, the book is not autographed as Paul's other epistles were. Paul always, every one of his epistles, you go through the New Testament and you'll see, every one of his epistles begins with a salutation from Paul. The first word in each of his epistles is Paul. That's how he starts out. Romans 1, 1. Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated into the gospel of God. 1 Corinthians 1, verse 1. Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God. Galatians 1, verse 1. Paul, an apostle, not of men, neither by man. He opens the book of Philemon. Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ. And Timothy, our brethren to Philemon, our dearly beloved. But not so with Hebrews. There's no autograph. This could be easily explained because Paul knew that he had been commissioned as the apostle to the Gentiles. And yet, even though he was sent out as the apostle to the Gentiles, he had a heart to reach the Hebrews also and his kinsmen, the Israelites. He says in Romans 11, verse 13, For I speak to you, Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles. I magnify mine office, if by any means I may provoke to emulation or to jealousy. them which are in my flesh and might save some of them. Paul had a heart to reach the lost of the nation of Israel. And so that could easily explain why he didn't sign this book because he was the apostle of the Gentiles. But the main argument really against Paul's authorship is not the fact that he failed or that he didn't sign the book, but actually the writing, the Greek language is not in Paul's style. It's a higher form of Greek. than what Paul typically used. It's much more like the formal classical Greek that Luke used in the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts. But that could also be explained a couple different ways. Paul may have actually written the book in Aramaic to the Hebrews and asked Luke to translate it. I mean, that's a simple explanation. There may be other explanations as well. He may have simply decided to use the more formal type of Greek writing just to conceal the fact that he wrote the book. Because he was very well known and hated by Jews in the first century who didn't believe. And so he may have just decided to conceal his authorship. There are several reasons that I believe that Paul is the author. And first of all, there's internal evidence. There's internal evidence. The content of the book and the emphasis agrees with Paul's other writings completely. We're going to compare tonight, this afternoon, later on, what Paul wrote in Colossians 1 with what he wrote in Hebrews 1. We're going to see it sure sounds like the same guy wrote it. Of all the apostles, Paul was the most outspoken and the most passionate about the theme of this book, which is about the superiority of the New Covenant. to the old. He was the most passionate in his writings. And also we see that the organization of the book It is in Paul's style. The book begins with theology and doctrine, and then sums up at the end with an exhortation to godly living, as he did in all of his epistles. He always did that. He started out with theology and doctrine, and then at the end he would then move to exhortation to living godly lives as Christians. And what does that doctrine mean for us, and where does the rubber meet the road? And so the organization of the book is in Paul's style. Also, I mentioned this last time, in chapter 10, verse 34, and also in chapter 13, verses 18 to 24, the writer, whom I believe is Paul, mentions his bonds and his imprisonment at Rome. And also in chapter 13 verse 23, the apostle Paul mentions Timothy and how he's waiting for Timothy to come and join him so he can come and be with them. And so he said in verse 23 of Hebrews 13, know you that our brother Timothy is set at liberty with whom if he comes shortly I will see you. And we know of course that Paul had a very close relationship with Timothy. And also in chapter 13 verse 24 we see that the book was written from Rome. He said, they of Italy salute you. And so we know that Paul is imprisoned at Rome. So there is some internal evidence that it may well have been Paul. Also there is some historical evidence that it could have been Paul. And that is that the early church did seem to hold that Paul was the author. Many early writings held that Paul was the author. As I mentioned, many ancient manuscripts, copies that are still in existence that date back to the 200s, in fact, have Paul's name in the title, including the Syriac Peshitta version, which is the Aramaic translation. So there is some historic evidence also that Paul was the writer to the Hebrews. Also, I believe Paul's authorship was confirmed by Peter. Turn to 2 Peter, please, in your Bible, chapter 3. 2 Peter chapter 3. And I do believe that Peter actually confirmed that Paul wrote this epistle. In 2 Peter chapter 3. I'll wait for you all to get there because I want you to see this. This, by the way, is a great passage. Verse 15. Peter says, verse 15, "...and account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation." Even as our beloved brother Paul also wrote, also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you. As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things in which are some things hard to be understood. Well that sure describes the book of Hebrews. Which they that are unlearned and unstable rest as they do also the other scriptures. And that's also true of the book of Hebrews. Unto their own destruction. So number one, Peter says here that Paul's writings were scripture. He says, as they do also the other scriptures. So Peter here says that the writings of Paul were scripture. You see that in verse 16. Then in, turn over to 2 Peter chapter 3, and he says, this second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you. in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance." Peter in the second epistle, when he opens that epistle, tells us who he's writing to. Peter is writing, 1 Peter chapter 1 verse 1, 1 Peter 1 verse 1, tells us who he's writing to. It says, Peter an apostle of Jesus Christ to the strangers aliens scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. Strangers meaning the diaspora, the dispersed really of Israel. It's the word dispersion. That means the Israelites who are resident in Gentile countries. Peter is writing to dispersed Jews. And he says, he had said in 2 Peter chapter 3, that even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given him hath written unto you. Well, when did Paul write to the Hebrews that Peter wrote to? It had to be in the book of Hebrews. It's the only time that Paul would have written to the Hebrews, to the same audience that Peter is writing to. I hope you're with me here. So, I do believe that that can only refer to the book of Hebrews and that's another reason I believe Paul wrote the book. I personally do believe that Paul was the human instrument. that God chose through whom the Holy Spirit wrote and inspired this book. The book's written by God. It's God-breathed. It's a supernatural book. But I don't know. It may not have been Paul. I could be wrong about that. But what I do know is that whether it was Paul or Luke or Apollos or Barnabas or Clement of Rome, whoever it may have been, it's not the writer that makes it Scripture. It is the Spirit of God that makes this book Scripture. It is a powerful book. It is God-breathed. It's Theo Neustadt. This book is God-breathed. The letter to the Hebrews is not the word of Paul, it is the word of God. And so it is a supernatural book with a supernatural message that we need to really sit up and take notice of as a church. And so that's a brief introduction to the book of Hebrews. I'm going to break it off and pick up the second hour. We're going to go ahead and take a break and have some fellowship and some dinner together. Let's go ahead and pray. Father in heaven, Lord God, we just thank You for Your Word. I thank You for this wonderful, great book of Hebrews. There's so much rich doctrine.