Hebrews 1 Lesson

INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOK OF HEBREWS

The Book of Hebrews is made up of thirteen chapters.  

It is perhaps the most mysterious of all the Epistles, in that we do not know its author, the time of authorship, or where it was written.   

Although we do not know the exact time it was written, most scholars put the time of authorship to be around AD 64-68.

As you read the Book of Hebrews, pay attention to how many times the Hebrew writer makes use of the words “better” and “superior,” as seen in the following four scriptures:

1. Christ is better than the angels and better than the prophets (Hebrews 1:1-5),
2. Christ’s work is superior to those of the high priests (Hebrews 10:11-14),
3. The walk of Christianity is better than the previous walk under the Law as nobody could keep the Law (Hebrews 7:18-19),
4. Christ is a better sacrifice as He paid for our sins, “Once and for all.” (Hebrews 10:10).

THE FAITH HALL OF FAME

The Book of Hebrews contains what is referred to as the “Faith Hall of Fame” in Hebrews Chapter 11. 

Here, the Hebrew writer devotes an entire chapter to the subject of faith and provides more than a dozen examples of people who had extraordinary faith.  

LOVING RIGHTEOUSNESS 

The Hebrew writer begins Chapter 1 by talking about the superiority of Jesus compared to the prophets and the angels. 

He writes:  

• “You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness.” - Hebrews 1:9.

This verse refers to a scripture that was originally found in the book of Psalms:  

• “You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of joy above Your fellows.” – Psalms 45:7.

These two scriptures stress how important it is to God that His children “love righteousness” and strive to obey His commandments.

To love righteousness, we must first understand what righteousness is and what it is not.

Loving righteousness is not about following others or doing what the world tells us is important. 

The Apostle Paul wrote about this in his letter to the Romans:

• “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” – Romans 12:2.

Loving righteousness means trusting God's plan for us in good times and in bad.

Loving righteousness means obeying God’s commandments ahead of our own feelings, as written about in the following proverb:

• “There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” – Proverbs 14:12.

Quite simply, loving righteousness means trusting God and obeying His commandments.

Jesus said:

• “If you love me, keep my commandments.” – John 14:15.  

UNDERSTANDING GOD’S COMMANDMENTS

Of course, to follow God’s commandments, we must first understand what those commandments are.  And the only way to do that is to study the Bible. 

During His time on earth, Jesus would frequently go to a quiet place toprayand study God’s Word. 

If Jesus found time for this, so should we! 

HATING LAWLESSNESS

The greater our faith becomes, the more successful we will be in keeping God’s commandments. 

Things that used to appeal to us will no longer seem important.

As we mature in our faith, we will come to the realization that our time on Earth is to be spent doing two things:

1. Glorifying God,
2. Serving others. 

Hating lawlessness means turning away from the things in our lives that previously caused us to sin.  

This is by no means easy.  

It involves sacrifice, and to be successful, we will need the support of the people around us to help protect us against the relentless advances of Satan.

If the people in our lives are not supportive of our efforts, we need to make a change and surround ourselves with people who will be. 

• “One who walks with wise people will be wise, but a companion of fools will suffer harm.” - Proverbs 13:20.

CONCLUSION 

Loving righteousness means trusting God and having priorities that align with His commandments.

Those who love righteousness spend their time on Earth doing two things:

1. Glorifying God,
2. Serving others.

To reach our potential as Christians we need to study the Bible so that we can correctly apply it to our lives.

We also need to surround ourselves with people who have strong faith themselves, and who will encourage us to stay faithful and live righteous lives. 

We will end today's lesson with the following words spoken by Jesus during His Sermon on the Mount.

They remind us that only those who choose to live their lives righteously will spend eternity in Heaven.

• “Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of Heaven.” - Mathew 5:20.