Scriptural Highlights

• Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of Heavenly Father, is our Savior.
• The Melchizedek Priesthood is part of the fulness of the gospel.
• The gospel of Jesus Christ is the new covenant between God and his children.
• Those who exercise faith in Jesus Christ will inherit a place in the kingdom.

Introduction

1. "When Paul returned to Jerusalem from his third mission, he found that many Jewish Christians were still convinced that obedience to the law of Moses was essential to salvation.  The epistle to the Hebrews was written to persuade them that the law of Moses had been fulfilled in Christ and had been replaced by the higher gospel law." (Gospel Doctrine Teacher's Manual ©1989, p35)
2. "Hebrews is our finest scriptural commentary (aside from some key Book of Mormon passages) on the Old Testament and on the manner in which the doctrine of Christ's atoning sacrifice was clearly signified in the Old Testament...

    "One of the great contributions of the Book of Hebrews is that it shows the ever-present role of Jesus Christ in men's lives." (Life and Teachings of Jesus & His Apostles, p382)

Chapter 1

1. Hebrews 1:1-2:  "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,

    "Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds."
• Anciently God spoke to the prophets (Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Malachi, etc).
• Paul says that God has now spoken to the inhabitants of the earth through his Son, Jesus Christ.
• Jesus Christ is the Father's heir to all things, all that the Father has also belongs to Jesus Christ.
• The "worlds" were created by Jesus Christ.
• I find it interesting that we find this statement in the New Testament referring to the "worlds" created by the Master.  And yet we don't see Christianity teaching that there are other worlds.
2. Hebrews 1:3:  "Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high."
• This verse provides important information about our Heavenly Father.  Jesus Christ is in the "express image" of his Father.  Heavenly Father is a separate and distinct being and not some force without body, parts or passions.

Christ Suffered Temptation

1. READ HEBREWS 2:17-18.  Christ suffered being tempted.
2. READ HEBREWS 4:15-16. Christ tempted as we are.
3. READ HEBREWS 5:8-9. Christ learned obedience by that which he suffered.
• WHY DO YOU THINK PAUL EMPHASIZED THAT ALTHOUGH JESUS WAS THE SON OF GOD, HE WAS ALSO SUBJECT TO TEMPTATION AND SUFFERING DURING HIS MORTAL LIFE?
• To teach that Christ has not required anything of us that he was not willing to do himself.
• He has set for us the perfect example towards which we should look.
• HOW DO YOU THINK HIS MORTAL SUFFERING AND ENDURANCE ENABLE HIM TO HELP US WHEN WE SUFFER?
• He has passed through far deeper valleys in mortality that we will ever comprehend.  Having suffered the pain of the flesh, he is not like a king who never knows the plight of the masses.  He has been one of us, and among us, and knows the human heart.  Thus, when we lean on him, his compassion can reach out and touch us, for he knows us and our pains of mortality.

The Rest Of the Lord

1. READ HEBREWS 3:8-15. The ancient Hebrews were disobedient and unable to enter into the "rest of the Lord" (see also 4:1-11).
2. Paul encouraged the Saints to live so that they might enter into God's rest.
• WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO ENTER INTO THE REST OF THE LORD?
• D&C 84:23-24: "Now this Moses plainly taught to the children of Israel in the wilderness, and sought diligently to sanctify his people that they might behold the face of God;

    "But they hardened their hearts and could not endure his presence; therefore, the Lord in his wrath, for his anger was kindled against them, swore that they should not enter into his rest while in the wilderness, which rest is the fulness of his glory."
• Alma 40:12: "And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of those who are righteous are received into a state of happiness, which is called paradise, a state of rest, a state of peace, where they shall rest from all their troubles and from all care, and sorrow."
• Joseph F. Smith: "The ancient prophets speak of 'entering into God's rest'; what does it mean? To my mind, it means entering into the knowledge and love of God, having faith in his purpose and in his plan, to such an extent that we know we are right, and that we are not hunting for something else, we are not disturbed by every wind of doctrine, or by the cunning and craftiness of men who lie in wait to deceive. We know of the doctrine that it is of God, and we do not ask any questions of anybody about it; they are welcome to their opinions, to their ideas and to their vagaries. The man who has reached that degree of faith in God that all doubt and fear have been cast from him, he has entered into 'God's rest,' and he need not fear the vagaries of men, nor their cunning and craftiness, by which they seek to deceive and mislead him from the truth. I pray that we may all enter into God's rest—rest from doubt, from fear, from apprehension of danger, rest from the religious turmoil of the world..." (Gospel Doctrine, p58)
3. READ HEBREWS 3:17-4:2.
• WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THIS EARLY GENERATION OF HEBREWS SO THAT WE CAN ENTER INTO GOD'S REST?
• Those led out of Egypt were disobedient and did not have faith, thus they were left to wander in the desert for 40 years and did not enter into the rest of the Lord.
• We need to be obedient to the word of the Lord.  We must have the faith to do what we have been asked to do by the Lord's servants or we are no better than those early Hebrews.

Chapter 6

1. READ HEBREWS 6:4-6. Crucifying the Lord afresh.
• HOW DOES PUT HIMSELF IN A POSITION TO CRUCIFY THE LORD AFRESH?
• Joseph Smith:  "All sins shall be forgiven, except the sin against the Holy Ghost; for Jesus will save all except the sons of perdition. What must a man do to commit the unpardonable sin? He must receive the Holy Ghost, have the heavens opened unto him, and know God, and then sin against Him. After a man has sinned against the Holy Ghost, there is no repentance for him. He has got to say that the sun does not shine while he sees it; he has got to deny Jesus Christ when the heavens have been opened unto him, and to deny the plan of salvation with his eyes open to the truth of it; and from that time he begins to be an enemy. This is the case with many apostates of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

    "When a man begins to be an enemy to this work, he hunts me, he seeks to kill me, and never ceases to thirst for my blood. He gets the spirit of the devil—the same spirit that they had who crucified the Lord of Life—the same spirit that sins against the Holy Ghost. You cannot save such persons; you cannot bring them to repentance; they make open war, like the devil, and awful is the consequence." (TPJS, p358)
• Bruce R. McConkie:  "Commission of the unpardonable sin consists in crucifying unto oneself the Son of God afresh and putting him to open shame. (Heb. 6:4-8; D. & C. 76:34-35.) To commit this unpardonable crime a man must receive the gospel, gain from the Holy Ghost by revelation the absolute knowledge of the divinity of Christ, and then deny "the new and everlasting covenant by which he was sanctified, calling it an unholy thing, and doing despite to the Spirit of grace. (Teachings, p. 128.) He thereby commits murder by assenting unto the Lord's death, that is, having a perfect knowledge of the truth he comes out in open rebellion and places himself in a position wherein he would have crucified Christ knowing perfectly the while that he was the Son of God. Christ is thus crucified afresh and put to open shame. (D. & C. 132:27.)"  (Mormon Doctrine, p816)
• According to Paul, one who has done this cannot "renew them again unto repentance".
• They have allied with Satan and have chosen their eternal course.
• This should be a solemn warning to each of us to be ever vigilant in guarding our testimonies, to hold to the rod, and stay on the straight and narrow path.
2. READ HEBREWS 6:10-15. Be  followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
• WHAT DID PAUL TEACH IN THESE VERSES ABOUT GOD'S PROMISES TO HIS CHILDREN?
• The Lord fulfills his promise as we are faithful.
• Those who have "faith and patience inherit the promises" (v12).
• WHAT DOES VERSE 15 TELL US ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ENDURING TRIALS AND RECEIVING PROMISES FROM GOD?
• We may have to endure patiently in order to obtain the promise.  In the world, we have become accustomed to instant gratification.  Such is rarely the case with the Lord's promises.  The Lord abides by the law of the harvest.  A crop planted in the spring often requires months of nurturing before the fruit can be harvested.  And so it is with that which is of greatest eternal value.
• Patience suggests that we not just endure, but that we do it with faith and hope and possibly gladness.
• D&C 82:10: "I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise."
• When we keep the Lord's commandments, we have bound the Lord in a contract which he must and will fulfill.

Chapter 7

1. READ HEBREWS 7:11-12. Necessity for change in the priesthood.
• WHY WAS IT NECESSARY THAT A CHANGE IN THE PRIESTHOOD ACCOMPANY THE CHANGE FROM THE MOSAIC LAW TO THE GOSPEL LAW?
• "The mission and atonement of our Savior brought an end to the lesser law of Moses and instituted in its place the higher law of Jesus Christ (3 Nephi 15:8-9).  This change, in turn, required a change in the priesthood also....  Neither the law of Moses nor the priesthood of Aaron which administered it was capable of bringing God's children unto perfection.  The Aaronic Priesthood is a lesser authority, and it administer the preparatory gospel only.  The Melchizedek Priesthood, on the other hand, is the higher priesthood, commissioned to minister the gospel ordinances in their fulness and capable of purifying our lives so that we can again enter into the presence of the Lord (3 Nephi 26:19,20)."  (Life and Teachings of Jesus & His Apostles, pp385-386)

Chapter 10

1. V1: "For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect."
• WHAT DOES THIS VERSE MEAN?
• Corners: Under the law of Moses, the corners of fields were left unharvested for the poor (see Bible Cyclopaedia, p139).  Thus, under the law of Moses the fields were not perfectly harvested.  I don't know if this is what Paul is referring to, but it seems possible.
• Man, under the law of Moses, cannot be made perfect.
• This verse makes an interesting comparison between the Law of Moses and the fulness of the gospel.  The Law of Moses was nothing more than a shadow of the fulness of the gospel. It represented the gospel, but was not the real thing.
2. V9: "Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God.  He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second."
• WHAT IS THE FIRST?
• Law of Moses.
• WHAT IS THE SECOND?
• The fulness of the gospel.
• It was Jesus Christ who fulfilled the law and established the gospel.
3. V10: "By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all."
• WHAT IS SANCTIFICATION?
• Bruce R. McConkie: "To be sanctified is to become clean, pure, and spotless; to be free from the blood and sins of the world; to become a new creature of the Holy Ghost, one whose body has been renewed by the rebirth of the Spirit."  (Mormon Doctrine, p675)
• We can only achieve this state through the atonement of Jesus Christ.
4. V11-12: "And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins:

    "But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God."
• We see in these verses an explanation of the shadow and the image.  The sacrifices of the priests were a type or shadow of the Lord's sacrifice, but did not have the power to remove sins, even when done daily.
• Christ, the great High Priest (Hebrews 5:5), the image, made the sacrifice of which all earlier sacrifices were symbolic.  One sacrifice paid for all sins.
5. WHY DOES THE SACRIFICE THAT CHRIST OFFERED GIVE US GREATER HOPE FOR PERFECTION?
• Had he not made the ultimate sacrifice, though we give our lives completely to good works, we have not the power to remove our blemishes.  It could only be done through the atonement of Jesus Christ.
• Knowing this, we can hope that someday we can achieve the state of sanctification and perfection.
• Joseph Fielding Smith: "Men can only be saved and exalted in the kingdom of God in righteousness; therefore, we must repent of our sins and walk in the light as Christ is in the light, that his blood may cleanse us from all sins and that we may have fellowship with the Lord and receive of his glory and exaltation." (CR, Oct 1969)

Chapter 11

1. Hebrews 11 is one of our most important discourses on faith.
2. WHAT IS FAITH?
• V1: "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."
• Alma, defined faith in these words: "Faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true." (Alma 32: 21.) And Moroni said: "Faith is things which are hoped for and not seen." (Ether 12:6.)
• In verse 3 it says that "Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God".
• Bruce R. McConkie: "The creation was planned, organized, and controlled.  It came by God's power -- by faith! It came by a power that does not appear and is not seen and understood by the carnal mind or the scientific intellect. The creation is God's doing. Things came into being by forces which do not appear to man and can in fact be known only by revelation. And as God created all things by faith, even so his created handiwork can be known and understood only by that same power, the power which is faith."  (DNTC, 3:195)
• Joseph Smith: "Faith, then, is the first great governing principle which has power, dominion, authority over all things; by it they exist, by it they are upheld, by it they are changed, or by it they remain, agreeable to the will of God.  Without it there is no power, and without power there could be no creation or existence." (Lectures on Faith, Lecture 1, p10)
3. WHY IS FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST VITAL TO OUR SALVATION?
• He is our only hope.  Without him we are forever damned.  Our faith drives us to do the works necessary that enables us to qualify for the grace of Christ.
4. Paul's provided examples of faith:
• V4: Faith caused Abel to offer up an acceptable sacrifice to God.  Cain had little or no faith as demonstrated by his sacrifice.
• V5: By faith Enoch was translated.  We know from modern revelation that the whole city founded by him was also translated.  I think we can infer that all the inhabitants of that city also had faith or they would not have been translated with Enoch and the city.
• c) V7: By faith Noah prepared an ark.
• Noah had no physical evidence that there would be a flood, and yet he preceded to prepare.
• V8: By faith Abraham went out to find the place of his inheritance.
• V11: By faith Sara was delivered a child when past age.
• V17: Abraham offered up Isaac believing that the Lord would deliver on his promises.
• V20: By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau.
• By faith Isaac blessed the sons of Joseph.
• V23: By faith was Moses life preserved.
• V27: By faith, Moses forsook Egypt.
• V28: By faith, Moses and Israel kept the passover.
• V29: By faith they passed through the Red Sea.
• V30: By faith the walls of Jericho fell down.
• V31: By faith, the life of Rehab, the harlot, was preserved.
5. HOW DO THESE SCRIPTURE EXAMPLES STRENGTHEN YOUR FAITH?
• The incidents recorded in these verses provide evidence that the Lord is true to his all promises and will support us as we are faithful in obeying his commandments.
6. In verses 32-38 Paul demonstrated that when we face opposition, faith can help us either overcome it or endure it patiently.
• HOW HAS, OR HOW CAN, FAITH HELP US EITHER OVERCOME OR ENDURE OPPOSITION PATIENTLY?
• A good example of this is Joseph Smith in Liberty Jail.
• HOW HAS FAITH HELPED YOU TRIUMPH OVER OPPOSITION?

Chapter 12

1. READ HEBREWS 12:1-11. The Lord chastens those whom he loves.
• HOW DOES THE LORD CHASTEN US?
• Spencer W. Kimball:  "In cases where the rebellious exercise repentance, that repentance may be sparked in various ways. Some men come to recognize their sins from introspection while others must be brought to their knees by outside forces. Many, having realized their transgressions, begin their repentance in secrecy. Others must be apprehended and chastised and punished before they begin their transformation. Some even need to be disciplined by forced inactivity, dis-fellowshipping, or even excommunication before they realize their plight and the need to transform their lives. None of us should resent being reminded of our responsibilities and being called to repent of our sins. The Lord may choose to chasten us in this way or some other, but it is all for our own good."  (The Miracle of Forgiveness, p44)
• WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED WHEN GOD HAS CHASTENED YOU?

Next Week

Lesson 38: Acts 21-28