The American Wisdom Series

Presents

Pamphlet 1939 Hebrews kc 6-3

You see, just to believe that Christ is God or that there is only one God, is not what true belief is.

Again, our flesh eyes can SEE the tabernacle in the wilderness. We can read and see, as in form a mental picture, of the physical things that our forefathers went through, such as being brought out of the captivity of Egypt with a mighty hand, with signs and miracles and wonders, and we can form a picture of the parting of the Red Sea, and almost hear God's thundering voice at the foot of the mountain of God. And we can see a picture in our mind's eye of their wandering about in the desert wilderness for 40 years and picture them being fed manna. We even cringe at the picture we see in our mind's eye of some them being bitten by serpents! Oh my! Therefore SEE the pictures for they are a foreshadowing, ensamples, types written and testified to "for our admonition upon whom the ends of the world are come (1 Cor. 10:11)". In other words, God's faithful and trustworthy servant, Moses, did all that he did as a witness, to show us what was to come through Jesus Christ when He came and fulfilled all those things in raising up the true temple.

And you know what else? Jesus Christ was not ashamed (was humble enough) to come dwell in the flesh and partake of the labor, even being subject to all things pertaining to God as we are! In other words, though He was the fulfillment, the end ("telos") of the law, of the foreshadowing that Moses showed us in the wilderness, He did not place Himself above the law nor did He do away with it, except for those religious and sacrificial ordinances which He nailed to the cross (Col. 2:14) . Romans 10:4 "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth." Matthew 5:17 "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil." Remember we documented in our third study that Paul taught Christ out of the law and out of the prophets? They all testified of Him!

Acts 28:23-27
And when they had appointed him a day, there came many to him into his lodging; to whom he expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from morning till evening.
Paul is persuading us after the same manner in this great Book of Hebrews. What a report he is giving us!
Heb. 3:5
And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after;
Now you know why Moses did and wrote what he did! It was for a testimony, to give witness and to document that Christ is exactly who He says He is and to bear witness to the words that He would speak. This goes right back to Paul's opening statement to this Book of Hebrews: Hebrews 1:1-2 "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, [2] 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." It's all right there, in type, in the Books of Moses, in the law and in the prophets. The question is, "Have you read and studied them to KNOW CHRIST and thus have the type of faith and confidence Paul refers to in this Book of Hebrews?"
[6] But Christ as a son over His own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.
The question finally comes down to this: "Do you believe in Jesus Christ?" Do you really believe Paul's report here in the Book of Hebrews concerning that One who came to this earth, who was made a little lower than the angels, and why He came, and why He suffered so? You see, just to believe that Christ is God or that there is only one God, is not what true belief is. To wit, surely you have read that even the demonic spirits know and believe that there is One God (James 2:19).

Let us dwell on the question of "belief" for a little while as we let Paul continue to teach us and explain the simplicity of all this by bringing to light the 95th Psalm.

[7]Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear His voice,
Paul now quotes the 95th Psalm beginning with the SECOND HALF of verse 7 (above) all the way to the end of the Psalm. Hmmm... perhaps it would "behoove" one to read the first part of the Psalm, especially the first part of verse 7, in order to gain the context and put the whole Psalm in perspective.
Psalm 95:1-6
O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. [2]Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms. [3]For the LORD is a great God, and a great Kingabove all gods. [4] In His hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is His also. [5] The sea is His, and He made it: and His hands formed the dry land. [6] O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker.
Well, that should make it pretty clear who the Builder and Maker is. Are you one His and are you made part of His house?
Psalm 95:7
For He is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice,
We are part of His house, part of His sheepfold, the people of His pasture, which is the lush green feeding ground of His Word where we lie down to rest beside still waters. Psalm 95 not only brings to mind the Psalm of Resurrection, which is the 23rd Psalm, but also the words of the Shepherd Himself in John 10:
John 10:1-5
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.

Jesus Christ, the Word of God, is the door to His sheepfold... even the door to His house! You see, the traditions of men will not gain you entrance to His house. You must "hear His voice" as one of His!

[2] But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.

[3] To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.

Jesus Christ, the Word of God, leads His own sheep and they follow His voice. The point is, He does not go behind them and drive them like a bunch of cattle!

[4] And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.

[5] And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.

Whose voice do you listen to?You see, what Christians need to understand is that if they do not study and heed His Word, they are not listening to His voice and thus, even though they go to church every week, they are not part of His sheepfold! They therefore must belong to some stranger and be part of the sheepfold of some hireling! Let us return to the 95th Psalm where the subject is "hearing" His voice, Today, and read the rest of the Psalm Paul quoted before we read it again and discuss it in Hebrews 3.
Psalm 95:8
Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness: [9] When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work. [10] Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways: [11] Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest.
If you do not "hear and obey" His voice but rather "harden your heart" today, in this generation, as they did in the generation of yesterday, you can rest assured you will not enter into His rest.
Hebrews 3:8
Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness:
Think about all the signs and wonders God showed the children of Israel in the wilderness, and yet they still managed to "harden their hearts" and provoke Him to anger! You see, Paul is telling us through Psalm 95 to take heed to what happened to our fathers as they wandered in the wilderness so we do not make the same mistake in this generation, while we are in the wilderness during this day of temptation. Our forefathers heard His voice, just as we have His Word before us, yet they still managed to provoke Him because they did not hearken unto Him but rather went whoring after strange gods, just like our people follow after strange traditions and spirits (doctrines) because they are led by strangers, wolves in sheep's clothing who are hirelings (Jn. 10:12).

You know, many think today that if they were back in the wilderness during the time of Moses that they would not be among those who hardened their hearts and did not follow after His ways. Oh foolish virgin... have you not read? Do you not see the picture, the type set forth? It was you and me for whom all these things were done and written so as to let us SEE ourselves and our people in the wilderness today. Our people have surely departed far from His Word for they are hard headed (adamant) indeed and they cling tightly to their idolatrous traditions.

[9] When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years.
Again, our fathers saw, they witnessed, all those wonders and great miracles of our Father for 40 years and still many did not BELIEVE! So our Father let them wander and wander until they died in the wilderness. Remember, that was a type for us to SEE in this generation."for our admonition upon whom the ends of the world are come (1 Cor. 10:11)".

To study the Bible is the noblest of all pursuits; to understand it, the highest of all goals.
We pray that with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, you accomplish both.


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