Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Prayer Meeting Lesson Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/pm/pm20110824.htm

THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION
Hebrews: The Superiority Of Christ To Errant Religions
Part VI: The Response Of Faith To Christ's Superiority, Hebrews 11:1-13:19
H. Living By Faith Applied, Hebrews 12:1-13:19
7. The Call To Stick With Biblical Christianity Versus Heeding Other Popular Views
(Hebrews 13:9-14)
  1. Introduction
    1. Millions hold to Islam, millions to Roman Catholicism, many to mainline Liberal Protestantism, and even Judaism and non-Fundamentalist, compromising Evangelicalism are popular views in today's world.
    2. Regardless, we Bible believing Christians must not be swayed by such fashionable views of our era, but hold to Biblical Christianity, the call of Hebrews 13:9-14. We view that call for our edification:
  2. The Call To Stick With Biblical Christianity Versus Heeding Other Popular Views, Hebrews 13:9-14.
    1. The author of Hebrews told his readers to cease (present imperative verb with the subjunctive negative adverb, me) being led astray by Biblically "diverse and strange teachings," Hebrews 13:9a ESV; U. B. S. Greek . T., 1966, p. 777; Dana and Mantey, A Manual Grammar of the Greek N. T., 1957, p. 299-300.
    2. He then offered several reasons for this directive in Hebrews 13:9b-14, reasons applicable to what we believers today face in terms of negative pressures from others in errant but popular religious groups:
      1. First, it is good for the heart to be strengthened by God's grace, not by rituals like religious diets that do not benefit those who heed them, Heb. 13:9b. Many hold to such diets or other rituals to be holy, but they are not Biblically right as clarified in passages such as Acts 10:9-16 and 1 Timothy 4:1-5.
      2. Then, we believers now have an altar of which unbelievers who cleave to altars on earth have no right to eat, specifically those who served the tabernacle altar as in Judaistic cults, and, in application, to altars on earth today as in the Roman Catholic Church, Heb. 13:10. Hebrews 9 clarifies this truth:
        1. The true tabernacle where Christ serves for the believer's needs is in heaven, Hebrews 9:24-28.
        2. The earthly Old Testament tabernacle was only a shadow of this heavenly one, the heavenly one being the one that supersedes the Old Testament earthly tabernacle in ministry, Hebrews 9:11-12.
        3. Christ's offering was performed once for all (hapax, Ibid., U. B. S. Greek N. T., p. 765), so that the next time He appears, it will not be to sacrifice Himself again as in Roman Catholicism that holds to a re-offering of Christ's body every time the mass is performed (Loraine Boettner, Roman Catholicism, 1978, p. 173-174), but His return will be to deliver His people, Hebrews 9:27-28.
      3. Third, believers today must follow Jesus' example in suffering as an outcast from the popular religion of His era, and that by holding to the truth versus today's popular, false religious views, Heb. 13:11-14:
        1. The author of Hebrews noted the Old Testament taught that the bodies of the sacrificial animals used in the tabernacle, whose blood was used in the sanctuary, were nevertheless burned outside the camp in a place often considered unholy, Heb. 13:11 with Lev. 4:21; 16:27; B. K. C., N. T., p. 812.
        2. However, this burning outside the camp foreshadowed how Christ would suffer and shed His blood to sanctify us as an outcast from apostate Judaism outside the earthly city of Jerusalem, Heb. 13:12. Though then rejected by the religious men of His era, Jesus' death was a holy sacrifice for our sin.
        3. Thus, we who trust in Christ are called of God to follow Jesus' lead, to identify with Him outside the realm of accepted, popular, false religious views today -- outside Judaism, Roman Catholicism, Islam, Liberal mainline Protestantism or even compromising Evangelicalism -- bearing His unjust reproach from such errant groups by thus holding to the truth of the Word of God, Hebrews 13:13.
        4. We take this stand by realizing we are not of this lost world, 1 John 5:19 NIV. Rather, we look for the eternal, holy Jerusalem that will descend from God to a new earth, Heb. 13:14; Rev. 21:1-8.
Lesson: We must not be swayed by popular but unbiblical beliefs, for it is good for our hearts to be strengthened by God's grace, not by ritualistic practices, our altar in heaven is infinitely superior and not allowed for the lost who rely on vain earthly altars and sacrifices, and God calls us to follow Jesus in suffering reproach, leaving the realm of false religious fellowships as we hold to Biblical truth!

Application: May we hold to Biblical Christianity, not being swayed by today's popular, errant beliefs.