The Writer is anxious to move on with his exposition of the high-priesthood of Christ. But how could his readers follow such exalted teaching … ? * * * The epistle to the Hebrews is evidence enough that the correct way to interpret Old Testament Scripture is in a Christocentric manner. Quite apart from its specific teachings, the letter viewed overall makes this abundantly clear. (more…)
10 Comments » “But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away.” 2 Cor. 3:14.
God’s promise to bless his people cannot be broken: it has stood since the time of Abraham, and is fulfilled in Christ. His one sacrifice of himself supersedes the old order with its many priests and sacrifices. His high priesthood can be compared only with that of the mysterious Melchizedek. His sacrifice establishes the new covenant between God and his people, of which Jeremiah spoke. The heart of that sacrifice is Christ’s perfect submission to the will of God; its result is God’s forgiveness of our sins.
Paul Ellingworth, The New International Greek Testament Commentary (NIGTC)/The Epistle to the Hebrews, p. 297. (more…)
Hebrews 5:1 is the third sentence of a topic to which the Writer returned after expositing what is arguably the overarching motif of Scripture: Rest. Joshua, at Joshua 21:43 – 45 (emphases added), proclaimed: (more…)
Thank you, in advance, for taking a few moments to read this first weekly post; may our Lord cause or allow this series to be edifying – even if only a fraction of the excellence that has consistently been displayed by IDS folks including Geoff, Mike, and, of course, Steve. I’m an attorney; I’ve not pursued formal theological education. That said, my informal theological education – including, during the past year, extensive study of New Covenant Theology — will, prayerfully, be evident! (more…)
Star Wars is a complex movie, but after you strip away the music, the monsters, the Millennium Falcon, and the multitude of other characters, special effects, gadgets, and space ships, you are actually left with a very simple concept, good versus evil. George Lucas made this very hard to miss, right down to the good guys wearing white and the bad guys black. However, now that I am a believer in Christ, I have a radically different view of who is evil (depraved) and who, if anyone, is good. This is vital to understand if we are to know our position before a holy God. So, for the purposes of this blog, I am going to judge the morality of Star Wars’ characters by Jesus’ standard. (more…)
In The Empire Strikes Back, Luke Skywalker crash lands his X-wing fighter in Dagobah and begins his training with Yoda, the Jedi Master. His training comprises various physical and mental conditioning including using the Force to move rocks without physically lifting them. Later on, Luke needs to use the Force to lift his X-wing fighter (weighing several tons) out of the swamp it has sunk into. Luke, recognizing the feat required, says doubtfully “All right, I’ll give it a try.” Yoda emphatically retorts “No! Try not. Do or do not. There is no try.” As a Christian, I now think of this statement in terms of what it takes to be saved from God’s wrath. My Christian modification is “Do (trust in God’s grace), or do not (trust in God’s grace). There is no try (to trust in God’s grace). (more…)
On Monday, July 16 at 9:00 am Priscilla and I left for Minsk, Belarus. We arrived, their time, Tuesday, July 17 at 1:00 pm. The weather was unusually hot and the hotel had no a/c, but other than that all was well. The purpose of this trip was to evaluate our role in Belarus. Our involvement is with a group of pastors. Vladimir is the pastor of the church in Gatava, which is located about half an hour south of Minsk. It is a village of about 15,000 folks. The church in Gatava is the strongest church that we work with in Belarus. Our time there was spent in hours of open forums with the men, ladies (Priscilla led these times) and the church as a whole. This is a church that embraces the doctrines of grace and new covenant theology and is seeking to minister to one another and to reach out to the surrounding villages. Vladimir has been the key man for me for a number of years. Our friendship has deepened and we look forward to ministering together for the years to come. Vladimir’s wife is named Luda and they have two grown daughters, Marina and Julia. Julia is a believer. One side note is that Vladimir is in the process of building a home in a village close by Gatava and he could sure use some financial help to finish the home. If you desire to help out with this need then just send money to IDS and say that it is for Vladimir.
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Author: Geoff Volker The Apostle Paul’s letter to the church in Rome is my favorite book of the bible. It’s an amazing God-breathed epistle that is a gold mine of deep theology. At different times in my life, dozens of verses and passages have greatly encouraged me. I especially like the “chains” found in this letter, verses that link thoughts together through words. For example, “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the first born among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called, those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.” – Romans 8:29-30. Let’s look at another one, “Not only so, but we also rejoice in our suffering, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” – Romans 5:3-4. Maybe that is why a certain warning from Yoda in Empire Strikes Back resonates with me. During Luke Skywalker’s training, the wrinkled green Jedi cautions Luke, “Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering.” (more…)
In one of those rare moments of self-awareness I became convicted of the seriousness of one of my common practices. My “common practice” is that of getting irritated at others. It can be while I am driving the car, waiting in line at the local grocery store or any other qualifying situation. I can just get easily irritated by those around me and I have up to this point not seen it in the light that scripture puts it. Then… as it often seems to be, the Spirit brought me to the point where I see more clearly what I was doing. When I indulged in petty irritations I was embracing a mindset of unbelief. Let me explain this in more biblical terms. (more…)
As I travel and teach for In-Depth Studies I am becoming increasingly aware that there is a common misunderstanding about the nature of the “law in the heart” as found in Hebrews 8:10, 10:16. This misunderstanding is not limited to folks who are new to NCT, but it also includes those who are teachers of NCT. Let me first begin with what, in my opinion, the law in the heart is not referring to. (more…)
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