Hebrews: A call to faithful endurance

Purpose:

• God is Faithful to Keep His Covenant Promises 
• Believers Must Hold on to the Confession of those Promises
• Believers must Remain Connected to the Community of Promise (The Church)

Hebrews 1:4-14 - For to which of the angels did He ever say, “You are My Son,
Today I have fathered You”? And again, “I will be a Father to Him And He will be a Son to Me”? ⁶ And when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says,

“And let all the angels of God worship Him.” ⁷ And regarding the angels He says,

“He makes His angels winds, And His ministers a flame of fire.” ⁸ But regarding the Son He says, “Your throne, God, is forever and ever, And the scepter of righteousness is the scepter of His kingdom. ⁹ You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of joy above Your companions.” ¹⁰ And, “You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the works of Your hands; ¹¹ They will perish, but You remain; And they all will wear out like a garment, ¹² And like a robe You will roll them up; Like a garment they will also be changed. But You are the same, And Your years will not come to an end.” ¹³ But to which of the angels has He ever said, “Sit at My right hand, Until I make Your enemies A footstool for Your feet”? ¹⁴ Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to provide service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation? (NASB)

Richard Dawkins – “If children understand that beliefs should be substantiated with evidence, as opposed to tradition, authority, revelation or faith, they will automatically work out for themselves that they are atheists.”

“Pay attention to who Jesus is.”

1. Superior to Angels – v. 5
2. Son of God – v. 5-6
3. Savior of the World – v. 7-8
4. Source of all Life – v. 9-12
5. Seated with Authority – v. 13-14

Hebrews 2:1-4 - For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it. ² For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every violation and act of disobedience received a just punishment, ³ how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was at first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard,⁴ God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders, and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will.

“Pay attention to what Jesus has said.”

C.S. Lewis - “I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.” 

“Pay attention to what Jesus has done.”

Tim Keller - “The gospel is that I am so sinful that Jesus had to die for me, yet so loved and valued that Jesus was glad to die for me. This leads to deep humility and deep confidence at the same time. I can’t feel superior to anyone, and yet I have nothing to prove to anyone.”

“Pay attention to what Jesus is doing.”

vv. 3-4 - After it was at first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard,⁴ God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders, and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will.

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