Hebrews

Lovin Jesus

Well-Known Member
As far as I know the writer of Hebrews is unknown. Its been accepted by some scholars thst due to the style of writing and the way the contents is composed it's possible the apostle Paul is the writer.

I have a couple of questions.
Who was the book of Hebrews written to?
Some of the contents seems to imply he was speaking to the Jews who became Christians.
For example Hebrews 3:1-19





Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest. 2 He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house. 3 Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. 4 For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. 5 “Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house,”[a] bearing witness to what would be spoken by God in the future. 6 But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are his house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory.

Warning Against Unbelief

7 So, as the Holy Spirit says:

“Today, if you hear his voice,
8 do not harden your hearts
as you did in the rebellion,
during the time of testing in the wilderness,
9 where your ancestors tested and tried me,
though for forty years they saw what I did.
10 That is why I was angry with that generation;
I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray,
and they have not known my ways.’
11 So I declared on oath in my anger,
‘They shall never enter my rest.’ ”
12 See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. 14 We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end. 15 As has just been said:

“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts
as you did in the rebellion.”[c]
16 Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? 17 And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies perished in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? 19 So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.


If Hebrews was addressing the Jewish Christians does any of it apply to us, the Gentile church?
I ask because some of the content has me confused as to what it all means
Hebrews 12:14-17
-Commentary's please-

Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. 15 See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. 16 See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. 17 Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. Even though he sought the blessing with tears, he could not change what he had done.
 

thatguykeek

New Member
2 Timothy, "Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.”
 

Wings Like Eagles

Well-Known Member
Agree. Many Christians (me included) prefer to call it "Eternal Security" because there are many things that happen, by the grace of God, in saving an individual and how are we, mere humans going to undo an act of God? We have no power to save ourselves so how can we "unsave" ourselves? How do we eliminate the indwelling Holy Spirit? Although we can grieve Him, He is permanent. No less of an authority than Jesus Himself, told us in John 14:16 that the Holy Spirit would never leave us.
 

mattfivefour

Well-Known Member
Many Christians (me included) prefer to call it "Eternal Security" because there are many things that happen, by the grace of God, in saving an individual and how are we, mere humans going to undo an act of God? We have no power to save ourselves so how can we "unsave" ourselves? How do we eliminate the indwelling Holy Spirit? Although we can grieve Him, He is permanent. No less of an authority than Jesus Himself, told us in John 14:16 that the Holy Spirit would never leave us.
Exactly. The true believer, the one who rests his or her eternal hopes ENTIRELY in Christ's sacrifice is saved forever. The transaction that takes place at the moment of true conversion and salvation results in a new birth. That person is at that moment "a new creation. The old things have passed away; behold, the new has come into being." (2 Corinthians 5:17 literal translation) This is not merely a state of mind but a state of being. And at that same moment the individual is SEALED by the Holy Spirit ... for eternity. (Ephesians 4:30; 2 Corinthians 1:22) Further, He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:6) Therefore OSAS or (as I prefer) unconditional eternal security is the settled theology of this board and no other position is permitted because it causes needless fear in people.
 

Wings Like Eagles

Well-Known Member
As far as I know the writer of Hebrews is unknown. Its been accepted by some scholars thst due to the style of writing and the way the contents is composed it's possible the apostle Paul is the writer.

I have a couple of questions.
Who was the book of Hebrews written to?
Some of the contents seems to imply he was speaking to the Jews who became Christians.
For example Hebrews 3:1-19





Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest. 2 He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house. 3 Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. 4 For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. 5 “Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house,”[a] bearing witness to what would be spoken by God in the future. 6 But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are his house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory.

Warning Against Unbelief

7 So, as the Holy Spirit says:

“Today, if you hear his voice,
8 do not harden your hearts
as you did in the rebellion,
during the time of testing in the wilderness,
9 where your ancestors tested and tried me,
though for forty years they saw what I did.
10 That is why I was angry with that generation;
I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray,
and they have not known my ways.’
11 So I declared on oath in my anger,
‘They shall never enter my rest.’ ”
12 See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. 14 We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end. 15 As has just been said:

“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts
as you did in the rebellion.”[c]
16 Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? 17 And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies perished in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? 19 So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.


If Hebrews was addressing the Jewish Christians does any of it apply to us, the Gentile church?
I ask because some of the content has me confused as to what it all means
Hebrews 12:14-17
-Commentary's please-

Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. 15 See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. 16 See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. 17 Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. Even though he sought the blessing with tears, he could not change what he had done.
There have been many conjectures over the history of the Church on the possible writer of the Book of Hebrews since it is not attributed--as the other epistles are. My guess would be Apollos, but, it could have been a joint effort--based on this examination of the possibilities:

https://zondervanacademic.com/blog/who-wrote-the-book-of-hebrews

I've always wondered if it was intended for those Jewish believers who come to faith after the Ezekiel 38 war and who would be left behind after the Rapture of the Church. There is, of course, benefits to the Church in reading it--but it may not have been intended specifically for us. There are a number of reasons why Pauline authorship is doubted and the cited article discusses them well. Paul was the "Apostle to the Gentiles" and even though he longed to see the salvation of Israel, his main work was with and to Gentiles. Interesting topic, Rose.
 
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