Character Development
Authority
Take a Stand
Quarter 1 Unit 2 Lesson 8
Hebrews 4:12, 16; 10:19-39; 11:1
CONNECTION
You can stand on the authority of God.
REMEMBER
“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
Hebrews 4:16
PREP
Isn’t it amazing that God doesn’t leave us where we started when we first came to know Him? How He picks us up each time we fall?
How He loves and accepts us right where we are? And how He sees us through the crowd?
If you are like many Christians, you can look back at so many defining moments in your faith journey that got you where you are today.
There are times when the Bible shapes and convicts you of an attitude or action. When you read those Scriptures that are so dear to you, you have to make a choice.
Are you going to continue living in this particular attitude or action? Or are you going to stand on the authority of the Word of God?
The book of Hebrews is filled with the rich threads of Jewish history being woven and united into the relatively new tapestry of Christianity.
It’s a book of reassurance and encouragement and exhortation- a call to the Jewish believers not to abandon their history, but to remember.
To remember the faithfulness of God.
To remember how God had provided for their atonement in the past and given them a way to hear from Him
To remember what a difference had been made by the life and death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 10:19-22 is a beautiful, empowering passage that summarizes this story.
It states that we have confidence- not that we merely hope to have confidence. But through the blood of Jesus, we no longer have to rely on priests to enter into the presence of God for us.
We no longer have to present sacrifices to cleanse us from our sin.
We can enter into God’s presence, with full assurance that He will hear us, that He will forgive us, and that He will love us.
And unlike the blood of an animal, which is not sufficient to secure our place with God, the blood of Jesus is enough-for everyone.
Later in this chapter, we see the Hebrew people being reminded of the early days of their acceptance of Christ and of the suffering and persecution they endured.
These Christians were now in danger of throwing away their confidence in Jesus, even though they had already been faithful through so much.
We have to remember that the believers being spoken to here were Jews who had waited a long time for their Messiah to come.
Now He had come, but had then died and rose again and left them behind.
After Jesus left, His followers surely had many moments of doubt or confusion about what they were supposed to be doing or how long they would have to endure the suffering of this world. The writer of Hebrews reminds them, and us, that if they can keep going, if they can stay faithful, then there will be a reward waiting for them on the other side.
“Draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings.
People often talk about life as a path. If you were able to choose a path for your life, would you rather choose a tightrope or a wide path on solid ground?
Most people would probably want the wide road–a path that’s easy to see and stay on. A path you can be certain will stay under your feet.
God’s Word offers us assurance and confidence to stay on the path of faith.
Hebrews
10:19-25 tells us that we do not have to wait for anyone to give us permission to enter into God’s presence.
God the Father, who has the authority to do anything and everything, and Jesus, the Son of God, have cleared the way through the sacrifice Jesus made for us on the cross.
We can draw near to God with “the full assurance that faith brings.”
By standing firmly on the promises given us in God’s Word, we can stay on the path, without swerving to the left or right.
We can hold onto the hope we have of living forever with God. What an honor and a privilege that we have that kind of access to God!
Once we know our footing is sure, we can also encourage others. That’s why we should “spur one another on toward love and good deeds” (v. 24) and not give up meeting together.
As we worship and serve and live together, we can remind each other to stand on God’s Word, to stay on the path, and to learn together how to love one another better, and how to love God too.
This idea of being able to approach God directly and to have a close relationship with Him would have been pretty radical when the book of Hebrews was written.
Until Jesus died for us on the cross, only the high priest of the Jewish people could enter the Most Holy Place – the special room inside the temple in Jerusalem.
And even at that, he could only enter that place once a year, on the Day of Atonement.
This had been the reality for the Jews for thousands of years. They could not approach God on their own.
Then Jesus came.
What happened to the curtain that blocked off the Most Holy Place in the temple when Jesus died on the cross?
Matthew 27:51-53
They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people. and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split
What do you think that means? What was the purpose of the curtain in the first place?
Once Jesus fulfilled His mission of sacrificing His life on the cross, the curtain was torn from top to bottom, symbolizing our free entry into the presence of God.
Only God could make that happen!
Christ’s death made it possible for those who obediently believe in Him to enter directly into God’s presence.
Now nothing can ever separate us from the presence of God again. Think about how powerful that is. No wrongdoing, sickness, addiction, criticism, guilt, or misconduct can ever separate us from His presence.
We can be confident of this truth because it comes from God. And faith “is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1).
Even though we have not seen Jesus, we can know through God’s Word who Jesus is and how God gave His Son to us as a gift.
Faith itself is a gift from God.
Faith enables us to be confident that God has all authority and that what He says is true.
Here’s another verse that tells us about the authority of God’s Word, found in Hebrews 4:12:
The word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
As the One who has spoken all creation into being, God speaks with absolute authority.
And God has “spoken” in a special way through the many human beings who wrote the various books of the Bible.
After the time of Jesus, Christians discerned which of those writings carried special authority as God’s “Word” to people of all times and places.
Would you say that you need to get sin out of your life before you can believe in God’s Word? Why or why not?
Do you need to be free of sin before you can take a stand on the Word of God and speak as a person who knows God’s authority?
How can sin get in the way of people hearing God’s Word?
Our paths are not always, or maybe ever, going to be straight. We are going to have obstacles in our lives. We are going to have things that push and pull us away from God.
But having a firm knowledge of God’s Word and of His authority can help us to remain in Him, even when life’s twists and turns make us feel a little sick.
Have faith and confidence that Jesus prepared the way for you even when it seems like there is no way.
When you feel trapped, Jesus provides the way out.
When you feel discouraged, Jesus has already provided encouragement.
If you are depressed and tired on your journey, know that there is an abundance of joy available through the Holy Spirit.
Remember that absolutely nothing can separate us from the love of God.
Hebrews 10:32-39.
Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering.
Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated.
You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions.
So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.
You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.
For,“In just a little while,he who is coming will comeand will not delay.”
And,“But my righteous one will live by faith.And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back.”
But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.
Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering.
Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated.
You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions.
So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.
You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.
For, “In just a little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay.”
And, “But my righteous one will live by faith.
And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back.”
But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.
What were some of the things these Jewish Christians had experienced since they decided to believe in Jesus?
- Stoning: Stoning was a method of execution used in the ancient world, and it is known that some early Christians, including Jewish Christians, were stoned to death for their faith.
- Crucifixion: Crucifixion was a common form of execution in the Roman Empire, and early Christians, including Jewish converts, were sometimes crucified for their refusal to renounce their faith in Jesus.
- Beheading: Beheading was another method of execution that some early Christians faced, especially if they were deemed a threat to the ruling authorities.
- Burning at the Stake: Some early Christians, both Jewish and non-Jewish, were burned at the stake as a form of execution, particularly during periods of persecution.
- Wild Animal Attacks: In some instances, early Christians, including Jewish Christians, were thrown to wild animals in arenas as a form of public execution during Roman games and spectacles.
The believers had been through so much, and yet were now in danger of throwing away their confidence in Jesus.
The writer of Hebrews reminds the Jewish Christians, and us, that if they can keep going, if they can stay faithful, then there will be a reward waiting for them on the other side.
We can live in full assurance of that hope-the hope of living with Christ forever.
Let Jesus shine in the way you live and in the words you say, because your friends and family need the Jesus inside you!
We’ve been talking about knowing who holds authority, respecting authority, and understanding the authority of the Word of God.