A Sweet Selah Ministries Online Bible Study of the Book of Hebrews
Writer: Sharon Gamble
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw of everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. –Hebrews 12:1-2a NIV
Welcome to our study of the book of Hebrews, friends! There’s a lot of richness in this book, and I’m excited to dive in with you all. This is a book about focusing on what matters – and boldly walking away from what does not. When we start out as Christ followers, our focus is pretty clear. Jesus. We realize we are sinners and that He, in His mercy, died in our stead so we could be with Him.
Gratitude wells in our hearts, and joy fills us with relief as we finally feel freed and saved. It’s all so wonderful!
But then … life intrudes. The bills still need to be paid. Family members continue to be … annoying at best and sometimes harmful to us at worst. We discover we are still capable of being quite bad ourselves despite our new intentions. Although Jesus basically told His followers they would have trouble, we’re a bit shocked that troubles surround us. We who gave our lives to Him. It’s tempting
to go back to old and more familiar ways of living. Patterns of behavior from the past can overtake our best intentions. Following Christ is not always shiny and pretty and without pain.
This is what was happening to the first readers of this letter. Hebrews is written to Jewish people who had accepted Christ as their Messiah. Their initial enthusiasm was waning a bit, and they were starting to believe in lesser things, no longer elevating Jesus as Messiah and King.
So … what does this book, written to early Jewish Christians, have to say to us? Oh, friend. A lot! We, too, can be tempted to go back to older beliefs instead of fixing our eyes on Jesus. This book will pull us, again and again, to the central importance of the Son of God who died for us. We’ll study Who He is in the earliest chapters. Then, we’ll move to an incredible re-telling of the faith of the people who have gone before us. We’ll end with fantastic, practical advice for everyday living to carry us through until the day we see Him face to face! Are you ready? Let’s get started.
A PS for those interested: We aren’t sure who wrote this book. Some people think Paul, others Apollos, Barnabas, Luke, or Clement according to my Charles Swindoll Study Bible. My vote is that Paul wrote this, mostly based on his end greetings in Hebrews 13. They just sound so “Paul” to me. However, no one knows for sure, but Hebrews was accepted into the canon very early on and has always been viewed as the inspired Word of God through the pen or quill ( ! ) of one of His saints.
