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(Hebrews 11:6) The first element of faith is belief in God's existence. Why is the second element just as essential to true faith? What does it mean to "seek" God? What difference does it make whether or not you believe God will reward seekers? God calls each of His elect, those He foreknew; We're unable to decide to seek Him of our own initiative as we afre first "in the world," from birth. God's word clearly provides many promises for those who seek Him with their whole heart,... not out of curiosity

Using Hebrews 11:1-3 as your source, how would you put in your own words what faith is and does? Faith requires trusting God's word, especially about receiving the grace of faith in Christ. Things we see re earthly and will fail eventually. Faith in the unseen is for things eternal, through the love of God.

Why can't the blood of bulls and goats actually take away sin? What happened then to the sins the Old Testament saints thought were atoned for under the Old Covenant? Animal blood from blemish-less doves, sheep, etc. can't permanently remove all sin, it had to be redone every year. These OT saints were waiting in Sheol for Jesus to save them when He died on the cross.

(Hebrews 9:28) How did the purpose of Christ's First Coming differ from his Second Coming? The Jews didn't expect a suffering servant; they wanted the Messiah, like David, who would remove the Romans, to set them free. The Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53 fits Christ's 1st coming. For he will punish the non-believers at the rapture and some will hopefully be saved. We as human disciples are charged to share the good news and make disciples along the way.

How did the purpose of Christ's First Coming differ from his Second Coming? Which did the Jews expect? How does the mission of the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53 fit here?

In what way does Christ's sacrifice of himself cleanse the conscience in a way that the animal sacrifices of the Old Covenant could not? Jesus' willing, holy sacrifice, His love of the Father to love obey Him, no matter the price, no matter the pain, it be innocent, but not foolish. His loving sacrifice leads some to witness for Him as martyrs until death. There is no comparison with an Old Testament animal sacrifice . This is the perfect eternal love of God calling us to purity, sacrifice of self and service in this fallen world

Jesus is my perfect high priest, tempted in everyway, but remained sinless. He was the pure Holy offering to pay for the sins of humanity. No other sacrifice would work. And this was/is God's plan, He foreknew all humans who would believe and would/will be saved, and Jesus is the only High Priest who is capable of shedding Him own blood and the propitiation for all human sin. All Glory to the Lamb that was slain. Jesus as a high priest meets our needs, truly holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. Unlike the other high priests, he does not offer sacrifices, for our sins daily, or weekly. He sacrificed His Holy life for all our sins, once for all, when he offered himself. The law imperfect appointed human high priests; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who was/is/and will be perfect forever."

Jesus is my perfect high priest, tempted in everyway, but remained sinless. He was the pure Holy offering to pay for the sins of humanity. No other sacrifice would work. And this was/is God's plan, He foreknew all humans who would believe and would/will be saved, and Jesus is the only High Priest who is capable of shedding Him own blood and the propitiation for all human sin. All Glory to the Lamb that was slain.

Why is Jesus able to save people "completely" -- "to the uttermost" according to verse 25? What is the essential function of a priest? Why is intercession the essence of being a priest? 25Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them." What a superior Convenant, with the Son of God as intercessor and guarantor! IT can get any better than that, and yet we need this desperately, in this fallen world!

(Hebrews 7:22) What is a guarantee or surety? In what sense is Jesus the guarantor of the New Covenant? The Levitical or Aaronic priesthood of Judaism was valid in the old testament, which also predicted the arrival of a Messiah, Emanuel, God with us, Jesus our savior. Jesus' priesthood has a greater validity and eternal longevity, not the limited Levitical/Aaronic priesthood of Judaism, based upon human priests. Jesus IS the New Covenant.

(Hebrews 6:18b-20) In what sense have we "fled to a place of refuge"? Why are we to "take hold of" this hope actively? How does Christian hope differ from hoping that something is true? In what ways does an anchor illustrate the idea of hope? We (the anchor for our souls) need a true totally secure refuge which we can depend upon. Christ crucified in our only hope, the payment for our sins by His holy blood. An anchor helps keep a boat from drifting into trouble. Jesus, our great High Priest is our anchor; He intercedes continually for each of us. We must reamin grateful in this fallen world to have such wonderful and continual support along with the hope of the promises in His word.

(Hebrews 6:12) If we take seriously the writer's exhortation to exercise both faith and patience for the long haul, what effect does that have on our Christian life? On our perspective? How can we resist the subtle temptation to think that our salvation depends upon our endurance rather than Christ's atonement and the grace of God? We pray to not become lazy, but to imitate those who love God and through faith and patience truly inherit the promises of His Word Our endurance needs to be based of the faith we have from the grace of God. Our hearts will love God's will as we imitate Christ, who was a perfect follower of the Father's will.

What is apostasy? Is it impossible to restore apostates to Christian faith and practice? What point was Jesus making in his Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23)? What is Jesus' point of the Parable of the Tares or Weeds (Matthew 13:24-30)? Some were never really Christians, the wiles of the world appealed to them, and their true colors came about. This includes not believing in a hell and eternal damnation. We can continue to pray, patiently and be expectant that they will return to Christ. We're unable to know the truth deep in their hearts. It is hard enough in 2022 to attempt to evangelize the average person in your path. But God is able to make all grace abound in them and us.

(Hebrews 6:4-5) What difference, if any, would you find between the description in verses 4-5 and a Spirit-filled Christian today? What is the writer's point in forming this description? All rebuking is good if it is reasonable. If someone falls "far away" and stops going to church, stops communicating, we can only pray for that person, and they will eventually return to Christ. We must believe this. But we must not adopt any sinful activities they have begun to practice, like strong drinking, anger about anything, or out of the lines of the fruit of the Spirit.

Q1. (Hebrews 5:14) How does a person become mature in God's Word according to verse 14? What can you do to grow in maturity? Through the sincere belief in Jesus as the son of God, and His sacrifice, and then our evolving love of God's word and a disciplined mind that is led by the Spirit. We can't do this on our own, but we can humbly submit to Him and patiently the old man will fade away and the new man will renew stronger, day by day

Jesus is my perfect high priest, tempted in everyway, but remained sinless. He was the pure Holy offering to pay for the sins of humanity. No other sacrifice would work. And this was/is God's plan, He foreknew all humans who would believe and would/will be saved, and Jesus is the only High Priest who is capable of shedidng Him own blood and the propitiation for all human sin. All Glory to the Lamb that was slain.

(Hebrews 5:9) In verse 9, what does "made perfect" refer to, since it obviously isn't talking about Jesus' moral growth and perfection? (Hint: The word teleioō means "bring something to its goal or accomplishment.") We are only made perfect at death to this worldly life on earth. Until then, we're surviving under God's grace and mercy, through our faith in Jesus' redeeming blood. We'll never deserve it, because we're sinners, but by faith in God and the promise of His Word, we are saved and brought into eternity. We need to grow with study and prayer and serving and being persecuted, following God's will better, hopefully a little more each day. But as Macarthur says, were being sanctified, but we continue to stink in these earthly bodies. We follow and repent, or we will end up in the wrong pace at the end. We can accomplish nothing for the Kingdom unless we're Faithful, Available to God, and Teachable (FAT) to the point of death as He shall appoint us all.

(Hebrews 5:8) In what sense did Jesus "learn obedience from what he suffered"? How did Jesus' learning process differ from ours, since he didn't sin and suffer the consequences of his sin -- the way we usually learn? Jesus love and trusted His Father and remained in Him while on earth. He knew He was there to Glorify the Father (John 17:1-2), and how to Glorify Him and Himself. His trust to submit to death allowed His Spirit to enter Seol and bring out those who were waiting for Him. Only God could have such trust in 'himself' Did He really learn obedience from His suffering? His obedience was put to the test and He knew why He was sent to earth. He had a choice, but chose to obey and experience 'death' of His earthly body, Phil 2:8. So He humbly and confidently took on the sin of all and said, "it is finished" as He gave up His Holy Spirit to God the Father. We see His reward, He is the Most High, to be worshiped and adored by our souls forever!

(Hebrews 5:8) In what sense did Jesus "learn obedience from what he suffered"? How did Jesus' learning process differ from ours, since he didn't sin and suffer the consequences of his sin -- the way we usually learn? Jesus love and trusted His Father and remained in Him while on earth. He knew He was there to Glorify the Father (John 17:1-2), and how to Glorify Him and Himself. His trust to submit to death allowed His Spirit to enter Seol and bring out those who were waiting for Him. Only God could have such trust in 'himself' Did He really learn obedience from His suffering? His obedience was put to the test and He knew why He was sent to earth. He had a choice, but chose to obey and experience 'death' of His earthly body. So He confidently took on the sin of all and said, "it is finished" as He gave up His Holy Spirit to God the Father. We see His reward, He is the Most High, to be worshiped and adored by our souls forever!

Why should we approach the "throne of grace" with boldness and confidence? What are the promises contained in this verse? On what basis is God able to offer us unrestrained mercy and grace for our sins while still retaining his justice as judge? "Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." (4:16) Knowing Jesus for who He is, through His word and prayer, gives us confidence, because God is faithful to those He has called, He knows we will evolve and trust Him more and more. Its a process all believers go through. We are humble servants, all of us, brothers and sisters in faith, under His grace and mercy, paid for by Jesus own blood and suffering. We must believe that we're saved by Jesus' blood and sacrifice, that we can do nothing to pay for our sins, He has already done it once and for all! And we recognize, as humans we'll fail and learn to repent. And as time goes along we are sanctified by our earthly experience and wisdom obtained from the Holy Spirit

What is so important about "holding fast to our confession." We live in a fallen world 24/7; we are subject to potential persecution by our faith we can and must approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time in these physical bodies. What is our confession or profession of faith? LORD Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior of the world. Why is maintaining this confession so vital? We must seek and receive strength from the Holy Spirit to be faithful during our divine appointments. This is God's will over our lives, now and forever

(Hebrews 4:12-13) What do these two verses have to do with what precedes them? How is the Word described? What effect does the Word have on us? Why do we need to continually expose ourselves to the Word of God? Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience. 12For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account." (4:11-13) This bible-word-power is beyond our understanding, and yet true like all other bible verses. Continually meditating on God's word will save us from some sins, and from falling away. It will also remind us to repent and as is possible live in continual prayer and thanks giving to our LORD, for what He did for us while we were lost in sin.

The author of Hebrews refers to His promise of "rest" for the believer: As to when we are in His presence, this is holy and sacred, hopefully not just for a few seconds during life moments? Why does the writer urge us: "Make every effort to enter that rest"? Jesus commanded us in John 15 to remain in Him Apostasy from Christ is the horror of death and eternal damnation, this is not the kind of sin that all Christians experience from time to time? We praise God for His grace and Glory in our lives

(Hebrews 3:12-14) What is the importance of faith in our relationship to Christ? How does sin trick us? How does it harden us? What is the value of Christian fellowship to keep our faith strong? We are sinners, called to faith by God, not our own doing. We are saved by grace and faith in Jesus promise (John 3:16) The world declares this all to be false, old words in an outdated book by what man has learned in science and philosophy over time. If we follow the world, that hates God and Jesus especially, then we are doomed eternally. Sin continually tricks me and I need more prayer (to remain in Him) and the fellowship and accountability of real brothers, and bible studies like this one.

Why is the writer exhorting his readers to "hold on" to Christ? Why must we continue in our faith? According the writer of Hebrews, what happens if we don't? Without faith, it is impossible to please God. Heb11:6 If He is not pleased we must repent with contrite broken hearts. If we permanently lose faith, we are no longer saved, and in reality we had never surrendered everything to our creator. So let's be careful, that the evil one be defeated and we rejoice and return to our evangelist mission of Matt 28:19 Indeed, we must firmly hold on to the bible's truth as we are taught daily, to stand up for what is right in the eyes of Christ, our LORD and Savior.