“relating to God on the basis of His grace alone”

Download discussion questions:  Hebrews 8:13-9:12

I encourage you to look at the passage in Hebrews before you read this Blog entry.  What do you see in the text yourself?  What questions come to your mind?  How would you interpret what the writer says?  After even a few minutes examining and thinking about the text you will be much better prepared to evaluate the comments in the Blog.

In our normal routine, our group spent ten to fifteen minutes looking at the passage individually before we began our discussion.  The silence was marked by an unusual number of non-verbal “Huh!” noises from various members.  Our dialogue began with the question, “What prompted the “Huh’s”?

An Earthly Sanctuary

One of the first explanations of a “huh” was the predominance of physical objects in the first three-quarters of the passage (through verse 10) – furniture and food and decorations and articles to aid in worship.  As one member pointed out, the only persons mentioned in those verses were identified by how they related to the various objects.  The “turning point” of the passage seems to be at the end of verse 9, where the problem with the old covenant is summarized in the limitation that it “cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience.”  The meaning of that intriguing phrase had to wait until later in the discussion.

Another person commented how the physical emphasis of the old covenant was in contrast to the spiritual, personal emphasis of the new covenant.  Where the furniture and fixtures of the old covenant were described as “a show” by one member, the new covenant immediately turns to the conscience, the inner world of the worshiper.  And the final verse of the passage makes the work of Christ as personal as possible, emphasizing “His own blood.”

The physical description of the equipment employed under the old covenant raised the question of the symbolism or significance of the objects listed.  And why would the writer begin such an inventory, only to decline further explanation – “but of these things we cannot now speak in detail.”  The question of symbolism and significance were apparently not the writer’s main concern, since he dismissed the detailed discussion.  So why, we asked, bring up the contents of the tabernacle at all?

One suggestion was to ensure a common base level of understanding with his readers – Christians with a Jewish heritage.  Most if not all of the congregation would have grown up immersed in the temple sacrificial system.  They would recognize even the brief allusions to the ritual articles.  Perhaps the list also provided the writer with any needed credibility with his audience.  However, that idea would not fit with the fairly common assumption that the writer and the audience were already well known to each other.[1]  Several commentators even refer to the writer as the absent pastor of the congregation sending them a written sermon.[2]  As a minimum, the congregation had been separated from their Jewish roots for the period of time since they became Christians.  The reminder of the heritage of the temple was a part of the writer’s explanation of the superiority of Christ and His fulfillment of the obsolete and disappearing covenant (8:13).

The Holy Spirit Signifying

The second section of the passage (v. 4-10) describes the use made of the tabernacle furnishings by the priests.  The writer turns his discussion to the failure of the old covenant offerings to “make the worshiper perfect in conscience” (v. 9b).  But before that he makes another intriguing statement about the “Holy Spirit signifying” that the way had not been disclosed. (v. 8).

We discussed several questions around this verse.  One question specifically puzzled us, “Why does the writer mention the Holy Spirit?”  Was it for emphasis?  Why didn’t he simply start verse 8 with, “The way into the holy place…”?  Further research after our group had finished offered a possible suggestion.  The writer mentions the Holy Spirit several times in this document.

• • 2:4 God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit [referring to God’s revelation to earlier believers]
  • 3:7 Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, …[introducing the first of many quotations from Psalm 95]
  • 6:4 For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit,
  • 9:8 The Holy Spirit is signifying this … [the present verse]
  • 10:15 And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us … [introducing a repeated quotation from Jeremiah 31:33 about the promised new covenant]

All those examples suggest that the writer to the Hebrews consistently mentioned the Holy Spirit in the context of God’s revelation of His will and works.  Verse 8 does not point to a particular Old Testament quotation as other references to the Holy Spirit.  Rather, the writer is referring to “the OT passages which formed the basis of vv. 6f.”[3]  That is, he is thinking of the numerous passages in the old covenant which imposed the limitations described in Hebrews 9:6-10.  “The Spirit who inspired Scripture enables the pastor to understand the meaning inherent in the text from the beginning.”[4] The writer recognized that the Holy Spirit was illuminating the significance of familiar Old Testament passages.

A Symbol for the Present Time

But we still wondered what was being symbolized for the present time (v. 9a), that “the way into the holy place has not yet been disclosed while the outer tabernacle is still standing” (v. 8)?  Didn’t Jesus reveal the way into God’s presence through His sacrificial death?  Isn’t one of the themes of Hebrews “drawing near to God” (Hebrews 4:16, 7:25, 10:22)?  Someone suggested that there was a physical obstruction – the “outer tabernacle” – that blocked the view so the inner tabernacle could not even be seen.  Another person recalled the tearing of the thick curtain or veil (mentioned in v. 3) when Jesus died, and that the opening in the curtain made the Holy of Holies visible, revealing the presence of God.

The “symbol for the present time” provided additional discussion.  The symbolism for believers would be the ineffectiveness of the entire sacrificial system.  We talked about the circumstances of the Hebrew congregation (described in a previous blog post), the persecution, the personal and professional costs of their faith, the economic impact and physical danger involved in following Christ.  The writer emphasized the ineffectiveness of the old covenant, “becoming obsolete and growing old, ready to disappear” (8:13).  As one member pointed out, the temptation for the Hebrew congregation was the same temptation that faced the Israelites.  Turning back, reluctance to trust God in difficult circumstances was an example that the writer used from Psalm 95 repeatedly (Hebrews 3:7-11, 15, 4:3, 5, 7).  As mentioned earlier in this series, our culture presents similar obstacles to obedient faith.  The study of Hebrews is very relevant today.

Perfect in Conscience

Christians today face a situation similar to the Hebrew congregation, which was comparable to the circumstances of the Israelites in the wilderness.  How do we trust God when life is hard?  How do we persevere in obedience during difficulties?

The Israelites failed to trust God when life became difficult in the desert (Exodus 17:1-7), and that “testing” of God was a prime example for the writer to the Hebrews (Hebrews 3:7-11, 15, 4:3, 5, 7).  The Israelites wanted to turn back, even to return to Egypt (Numbers 14:1–4).

Likewise, when the Hebrew Christians faced persecution, returning to the old covenant of the temple and sacrificial system was an attractive option.  In our discussion we talked about “Why?” – Why return to the slavery of Egypt?  Why go back to the bondage of a religious system that had to be continually repeated and was admittedly “unable to make the worshiper perfect in conscience” (v. 9b)?

The answers converged around the idea of familiarity. Entering the promised land sounded good, but it was risky.  Anything might happen there.  Slavery was hard, but it was predictable.  The old covenant was inflexible and demanding, but it was precise.  Obedience brings blessings, failure brings curses (Deuteronomy 28).  The freedom of the new way was good in theory, but rejection by family and persecution by pagans was too much.  Turning back would relieve so much pain.

The old covenant, especially Deuteronomy 28, offered clear-cut pain-relief.  If suffering or difficulties were due to lack of obedience, better obedience was the answer – absolute obedience.  But that was the problem with the old covenant.  No one believes they obey completely.  No behavior, no animal sacrifice makes the worshiper perfect in conscience.  There is always another sin to overcome and another sacrifice to make, the never-ending pressure to “get it right.”

Our discussion returned to the meaning of “perfect in conscience.”  Someone used a Bible app to look up the word for “perfect” in the verse (τελειόω, teleiόō). What would it mean for our conscience to be made perfect, or complete, or fulfilled?  A perfect or completed conscience would be unburdened by sin that Christ has already paid for.  A fulfilled conscience would be liberated from requirements that Christ has already met.  Such a conscience would be released from the bondage of performance and the weight of never “getting it right.”  As one person commented, that release would give us “the freedom to strive for righteousness” in place of the pressure to perform.

The pressure to get it right ended with the “time of reformation” (v. 10b), “when Christ appeared” (v. 11).  His perfect work as the action of God’s grace, “obtained eternal redemption” (v. 12b).  That perfect sacrifice by the perfect priest ended the pressure to perform.  That grace made “drawing near to God” (Hebrews 4:16, 7:25, 10:1, 10:22, 11:6) possible even in our imperfections, and even in our difficulties and suffering.

Jesus doesn’t promise His followers physical safety, temporal happiness, or healthy relationships. Often He promises the opposite. Once upon a time, the church took inspiration from the stories of the martyrs. What does it say about contemporary Christianity that we want inspiring stories about victories in the here and now? It’s almost as if our faith no longer rests on what is unseen.[5]

Jesus has provided something better even than guaranteed (if unachievable) pain relief.

For, on the one hand, there is a setting aside of a former commandment because of its weakness and uselessness (for the Law made nothing perfect), and on the other hand there is a bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God. (Hebrews 7:18-19)

The unseen reality of drawing near to God should be our focus instead of managing life to avoid difficulties.  During our discussion one of the participants shared a section from his current reading:

Every day of our Christian experience should be a day of relating to God on the basis of His grace alone. We are not only saved by grace, but we also live by grace every day. This grace comes through Christ, ‘through whom we have gained access by fait into this grace in which we now stand’ (Romans 5:2, emphasis added).

A significant part of the Mosaic Law was the promise of blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience (see Deuteronomy 28, especially verses 1-2 and 15). Some Christians live as if that principle applies to them today. But Paul said that “the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith” (Galatians 3:24). Christ has already borne the curses for our disobedience and earned for us the blessings of obedience. As a result we are now to look to Christ alone—not Christ plus our performance—for God’s blessings in our lives. We are saved by grace and we are to live by grace alone.[6]

Our natural tendency, just like the Israelites and the Hebrew congregation, is to turn back, to return to familiar territory in our attempts to make life work.  Performance is our go-to response to manage our circumstances.  But resurrecting the old covenant is not the answer.  Christ’s work has inaugurated “the good things to come” (Hebrews 9:11).  There is a hint about correcting the deficiency that “cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience” (v. 9b).  The writer will have much more to say about those “good things to come” and the “cleansing of consciences” and the “perfection of those who are sanctified” (Hebrews 10:1, 2, 14).

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[1] William L. Lane, Hebrews 1-8, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas:  Word Books, 1991), li.

[2] Gareth Lee Cockerill, The Epistle to the Hebrews, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, Michigan:  William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2012), 2.

[3] Paul Ellingworth, The Epistle to the Hebrews in the New International Greek Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan:  William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1993), 437.

[4] Gareth Lee Cockerill, The Epistle to the Hebrews, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, Michigan:  William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2012), 381 n.45.

[5] Collin Garbarino,” Streaming salvation,” World Magazine, April 7, 2023, online.
https://wng.org/podcasts/streaming-salvation-1680812220

[6] Jerry Bridges, The Discipline of Grace (Colorado Springs:  NavPress, 2006), 30.