MY SHORT REPORT TITUS - 2 PETER
The link that brought you to this page and the page title are a bit of a misnomer, because this short report is not long enough to cover so many chapters of the Bible. What the link and the title do, however, is track where we are in our plan to read through the entire Bible in 1 year. May each report pique your interest and help you to draw near to God. The Bible, James 4:8, tells us if we do so God will draw near to us. Works cited are at the end of the report. Unless otherwise indicated Scripture is from the English Standard Version. Internal links are to Biblegateway and show Scripture, ESV and NKJV, in Parallel. Although not indicated some internal links may show additional verses so you can see the passage in context.
BIBLE READING—WEEK 51—TITUS - 2 PETER: Last week’s Short Report considered Philippians, one of Paul’s Prison letters, and noted his great joy to be serving Christ no matter the cost. From his chains he remained upbeat and positive, and focused on Christ and His boundless suffering on our behalf. Paul saw his own works under the Law to be worthless and his works under grace to be Christ working through him. Because of his great faith Paul was willing to be a suffering, obedient servant that looked forward to the Kingdom of God. This week we take an overview of the book of Hebrews before pointing out five of the warnings presented in the book. Time allows us to look at two of them. The first warning is about neglecting one’s salvation. The second warning has to do with unbelief brought about by a hard heart.
While the King James Version (1611) credited this work to Paul, today’s Biblical scholarship agrees that this book of the Bible is an anonymous work. It is also commonly thought of as a sermon. In the Reformation Heritage Bible Commentary, for example, Steven P. Mueller says, “The Epistle to the Hebrews is actually a sermon (“word of exhortation”; 13:22) with a brief letter attached (13:20-25)” (p. 11). Michael P. Middendorf, in Called by the Gospel, agrees with Mueller and adds this: “The author skillfully alternates blocks of teaching material with smaller sections of exhortation or encouragement based on the doctrine just presented” (p. 282).
In his introduction Mueller tells his readers of the blessing they’ll receive while reading this book. One way is by learning to value the Old Testament in a comprehensive way and “apply it to your life.” Another is to “reflect on the great changes Jesus brought about when He fulfilled the Law and the promises of the old covenant.” A third way is to become aware of how the whole Bible consistently shows the remarkable things “Jesus accomplished on the cross for you salvation” (p. 14).
Henry H. Halley also makes a great observation about the book of Hebrews opening statement, which declares Jesus is God. In Halley’s Bible Handbook, he says, “This opening sentence is one of the most magnificent passages in the Bible, for grandeur taking its place alongside the opening sentences of Genesis and John’s Gospel. Jesus, His Deity, His Ineffable Glory, Creator, Preserver and Heir of the Universe, by an Eternal Act of God, ONCE FOR ALL, Jesus made Purification of Man’s Sin, and brought him Eternal Salvation” (648).
Many of the teachings of Hebrews can be summarized with “greater than” statements that contrast the Old Testament with the New Testament. For example, Jesus is greater than angels (1:4-14), Jesus is greater than Moses (3:1-6), Jesus, who is without sin, is the High Priest of a New Covenant—greater than the Old Covenant (4:14-5:10; 8:1-13), and Jesus’ sacrifice, which forever removed sin, is greater than the sacrifices offered under the Law (9:11-14; 10:1-18). This fits well with what Halley calls the purpose for the book of Hebrews. Part of that, he believes, was “to prepare Jewish Christians for the approaching fall of Jerusalem,” because they could not let go of the “Temple Rites and Sacrifices.” The main part was “to explain to them that Animal Sacrifices, to which they were so zealously attached were no longer of any use” (p. 647). This knowledge also worked equally well for yesterday’s Gentile Christians who were often under Jewish Christian influence, and works for today’s Christian who, for lack of knowledge and spiritual discernment may fall away from the faith (cf., Hosea 4:6; Ezekiel 44:23; 2 Timothy 3:16).
There are also five stern warnings presented in Hebrews in chapters 2, 3-4, 5-6, 10, and 12. The warning given in chapter 2:1-4 piggybacks off of chapter 1 where Jesus is highlighted as being supreme over all of creation, including the angels that “are ... ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation” (v. 14). In chapter 2:2-3 we are asked, “Since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?”
In his explanation of 2:2, Leon Morris, in the NIV Bible Commentary says, “’By angels’ is literally ‘through angels,’ which stresses the important truth that the Law came from God.” He goes on to say that angels are not mentioned with the giving of the Law in the Old Testament, but lists Acts 7:53 and Galatians 3:19 as passages in the New Testament where this language is used to show that God (as opposed to angels or Moses) is the Law Giver. Deuteronomy 33:2 is also listed because of the use of the word “angels” in the LXX (p. 947). LXX refers to the Septuagint, a translation of the Hebrew Bible and other texts into Koine Greek in the 3rd and 2nd centuries B.C. and used by the Alexandrian Jews, and other Jewish communities that were more familiar with Greek than Hebrew. Paul quoted from it a number of times (Wikipedia).
Of the 11 modern translations I checked none of them use the word “angels” in Deuteronomy 33:2. Nine of them use “holy ones” while the KJV and NKJV use “saints.” Switching gears to Mueller for a moment, he suggests “some were using such ideas to overstate the role of angels” (p. 32).
Morris continues, saying Hebrew’s author “is appealing to this expected view for his ‘how shall we’ argument (v. 3).” Morris completes his assessment of verse 2 saying if the Jewish Christians are so quick to return to the Law because of an importance they placed on angels, how much more importance they should place on the Word of Jesus, the Son of God, who reigns supreme over the angels, since the angels are only “ministering spirits” (p. 947).
As to the rhetorical question in verse 3 “How shall we escape [God’s wrath] if we neglect such a great salvation?” None that neglect God’s Word will escape. As verse 2 states, “Every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution” up to this point, so there is no reason to think God would change that now, especially when the Word of God makes it so clear that faith in Jesus is man’s only hope.
Moving on to the second warning, the main discussion in chapters 3 and 4 is about rest in God in the Promised Land aided by Moses and Joshua as human mediators, but ultimately through Jesus who is superior to (greater than) Moses and Joshua who were foreshadows of Christ. There is, however, a counterpoint running through these two chapters that speaks to the sin and unbelief of some. Chapter 3:8 says, “do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness,” and verse 13 says, “But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” And verses 17-19 read, “And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.”
The Bible is telling us not everyone that says they believe truly believes God, or has faith in Jesus, because they are in reality deceived by sin. The ones that provoked God where the ones that were disobedient. They did not benefit from God’s promises because of their unbelief which is seen in their rebellion. At the center of rebellion is a hard heart.
Looking at the English Standard Version (ESV) and the New King James Version (NKJV) in parallel it is interesting to note the different way they label each section of chapters 3 and 4, which are meant to aid the reader.
For the ESV only 3 innocuous labels are used. Chapter 3 opens with the label “Jesus is Greater than Moses.” At verse 7 they add a new label, “A Rest for the People of God,” however, rest is only a part of the story in the verses that follow. This label runs through chapter 4 until verse 14 where the chapter closes under the label “Jesus the Great High Priest.” On the other Hand, the NKJV use 6 Labels to cover the same text. The NKJV opens chapter 3 with the Label “The Son Was Faithful.” At verse 7 their new label is meant to indicate that we too should “Be Faithful.” At verse 16 the label “Failure of the Wilderness Wanderers” is used to indicate a change of direction, because not everyone was faithful. Chapter 4 starts under the label “The Promise of Rest,” which calls our attention to the rest the children of God are still called to today. The label at verse 11, “The Word Discovers Our Condition,” is a bit awkward but serves to remind us the promise of rest was always conditional and we cannot hide the condition of our heart from God. Similar to the ESV, the NKJV closes chapter 4 with a label that puts our mind on Jesus “Our Compassionate High Priest.”
All the labels in the Bible will not help a careless reader gleam much of the truth the Word as to offer, but good labels can reinforce the teachings of the Bible and help us better understand God’s Word.
While the King James Version (1611) credited this work to Paul, today’s Biblical scholarship agrees that this book of the Bible is an anonymous work. It is also commonly thought of as a sermon. In the Reformation Heritage Bible Commentary, for example, Steven P. Mueller says, “The Epistle to the Hebrews is actually a sermon (“word of exhortation”; 13:22) with a brief letter attached (13:20-25)” (p. 11). Michael P. Middendorf, in Called by the Gospel, agrees with Mueller and adds this: “The author skillfully alternates blocks of teaching material with smaller sections of exhortation or encouragement based on the doctrine just presented” (p. 282).
In his introduction Mueller tells his readers of the blessing they’ll receive while reading this book. One way is by learning to value the Old Testament in a comprehensive way and “apply it to your life.” Another is to “reflect on the great changes Jesus brought about when He fulfilled the Law and the promises of the old covenant.” A third way is to become aware of how the whole Bible consistently shows the remarkable things “Jesus accomplished on the cross for you salvation” (p. 14).
Henry H. Halley also makes a great observation about the book of Hebrews opening statement, which declares Jesus is God. In Halley’s Bible Handbook, he says, “This opening sentence is one of the most magnificent passages in the Bible, for grandeur taking its place alongside the opening sentences of Genesis and John’s Gospel. Jesus, His Deity, His Ineffable Glory, Creator, Preserver and Heir of the Universe, by an Eternal Act of God, ONCE FOR ALL, Jesus made Purification of Man’s Sin, and brought him Eternal Salvation” (648).
Many of the teachings of Hebrews can be summarized with “greater than” statements that contrast the Old Testament with the New Testament. For example, Jesus is greater than angels (1:4-14), Jesus is greater than Moses (3:1-6), Jesus, who is without sin, is the High Priest of a New Covenant—greater than the Old Covenant (4:14-5:10; 8:1-13), and Jesus’ sacrifice, which forever removed sin, is greater than the sacrifices offered under the Law (9:11-14; 10:1-18). This fits well with what Halley calls the purpose for the book of Hebrews. Part of that, he believes, was “to prepare Jewish Christians for the approaching fall of Jerusalem,” because they could not let go of the “Temple Rites and Sacrifices.” The main part was “to explain to them that Animal Sacrifices, to which they were so zealously attached were no longer of any use” (p. 647). This knowledge also worked equally well for yesterday’s Gentile Christians who were often under Jewish Christian influence, and works for today’s Christian who, for lack of knowledge and spiritual discernment may fall away from the faith (cf., Hosea 4:6; Ezekiel 44:23; 2 Timothy 3:16).
There are also five stern warnings presented in Hebrews in chapters 2, 3-4, 5-6, 10, and 12. The warning given in chapter 2:1-4 piggybacks off of chapter 1 where Jesus is highlighted as being supreme over all of creation, including the angels that “are ... ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation” (v. 14). In chapter 2:2-3 we are asked, “Since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?”
In his explanation of 2:2, Leon Morris, in the NIV Bible Commentary says, “’By angels’ is literally ‘through angels,’ which stresses the important truth that the Law came from God.” He goes on to say that angels are not mentioned with the giving of the Law in the Old Testament, but lists Acts 7:53 and Galatians 3:19 as passages in the New Testament where this language is used to show that God (as opposed to angels or Moses) is the Law Giver. Deuteronomy 33:2 is also listed because of the use of the word “angels” in the LXX (p. 947). LXX refers to the Septuagint, a translation of the Hebrew Bible and other texts into Koine Greek in the 3rd and 2nd centuries B.C. and used by the Alexandrian Jews, and other Jewish communities that were more familiar with Greek than Hebrew. Paul quoted from it a number of times (Wikipedia).
Of the 11 modern translations I checked none of them use the word “angels” in Deuteronomy 33:2. Nine of them use “holy ones” while the KJV and NKJV use “saints.” Switching gears to Mueller for a moment, he suggests “some were using such ideas to overstate the role of angels” (p. 32).
Morris continues, saying Hebrew’s author “is appealing to this expected view for his ‘how shall we’ argument (v. 3).” Morris completes his assessment of verse 2 saying if the Jewish Christians are so quick to return to the Law because of an importance they placed on angels, how much more importance they should place on the Word of Jesus, the Son of God, who reigns supreme over the angels, since the angels are only “ministering spirits” (p. 947).
As to the rhetorical question in verse 3 “How shall we escape [God’s wrath] if we neglect such a great salvation?” None that neglect God’s Word will escape. As verse 2 states, “Every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution” up to this point, so there is no reason to think God would change that now, especially when the Word of God makes it so clear that faith in Jesus is man’s only hope.
Moving on to the second warning, the main discussion in chapters 3 and 4 is about rest in God in the Promised Land aided by Moses and Joshua as human mediators, but ultimately through Jesus who is superior to (greater than) Moses and Joshua who were foreshadows of Christ. There is, however, a counterpoint running through these two chapters that speaks to the sin and unbelief of some. Chapter 3:8 says, “do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness,” and verse 13 says, “But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” And verses 17-19 read, “And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.”
The Bible is telling us not everyone that says they believe truly believes God, or has faith in Jesus, because they are in reality deceived by sin. The ones that provoked God where the ones that were disobedient. They did not benefit from God’s promises because of their unbelief which is seen in their rebellion. At the center of rebellion is a hard heart.
Looking at the English Standard Version (ESV) and the New King James Version (NKJV) in parallel it is interesting to note the different way they label each section of chapters 3 and 4, which are meant to aid the reader.
For the ESV only 3 innocuous labels are used. Chapter 3 opens with the label “Jesus is Greater than Moses.” At verse 7 they add a new label, “A Rest for the People of God,” however, rest is only a part of the story in the verses that follow. This label runs through chapter 4 until verse 14 where the chapter closes under the label “Jesus the Great High Priest.” On the other Hand, the NKJV use 6 Labels to cover the same text. The NKJV opens chapter 3 with the Label “The Son Was Faithful.” At verse 7 their new label is meant to indicate that we too should “Be Faithful.” At verse 16 the label “Failure of the Wilderness Wanderers” is used to indicate a change of direction, because not everyone was faithful. Chapter 4 starts under the label “The Promise of Rest,” which calls our attention to the rest the children of God are still called to today. The label at verse 11, “The Word Discovers Our Condition,” is a bit awkward but serves to remind us the promise of rest was always conditional and we cannot hide the condition of our heart from God. Similar to the ESV, the NKJV closes chapter 4 with a label that puts our mind on Jesus “Our Compassionate High Priest.”
All the labels in the Bible will not help a careless reader gleam much of the truth the Word as to offer, but good labels can reinforce the teachings of the Bible and help us better understand God’s Word.
In his own translation, John W. Kleinig, in the Concordia Commentary, uses one very effective label for Hebrews 3:7-19, “Deadly Unbelief.” It’s worth noting, with parts of the Old Testament and the Levitical Law in the book of Hebrews that Kleinig also authored Leviticus for this series of commentaries.
Not surprisingly, Kleinig starts his comments on Hebrews 3:7-19 by backing up a little to show the link between verses 1-6 and 7-19 which views the Church (God’s House) and places our focus on Jesus as a Son that is over the whole House and on our heavenly calling as partakers of Christ. Without Christ there is no “share in a heavenly calling” (v. 1), which we must “hold fast” to (v. 6). Our “teacher,” as Kleinig calls the author of Hebrews returns to the theme of verses 1 and 6 in verse 14. In a similar way he returns to the theme of hard hearts (v. 8) in verses 12 and 13. Verses 1 and 12 are also linked by the word “brothers.” At this point we are told, “Yet despite these links there is a topical shift in the sermon from instruction about the faithful service of Jesus as High Priest over God’s house to instruction about the consequence of faithlessness for those who make up his house” (p. 187).
In Mueller’s overview of verses 3:7-11 he explains that these verses come to us from Psalm 95:7-11 and draws our attention to the time when God’s people rebelled in the wilderness, especially after the spies returned with a demoralizing account of their mission to check out the Promised Land. The people lost faith to the point they refused to go any further. ”They lacked faith in God’s power and guidance and fell under judgment” (p. 51).
Kleinig agrees and adds that this psalm “is a liturgical psalm that was sung by the Levitical choir that led the congregation in procession to the temple.” Once in the sanctuary the choir reminds the people when God cut off the “hardhearted, switched-off people from his place of rest (Ps 95:8-11)” (p. 189).
The link between verses 8, 12, and 13 has been shown above. Now we view the main teaching. Once more, Kleinig, reminds his readers that the author of Hebrews is not speaking to his audience as students, but brothers. The teacher wants them to view themselves in the light of the Israelites that refused to enter the Promised Land, thereby bringing God’s judgement on themselves (p. 190).
Kleinig continues, saying (p. 190):
Not surprisingly, Kleinig starts his comments on Hebrews 3:7-19 by backing up a little to show the link between verses 1-6 and 7-19 which views the Church (God’s House) and places our focus on Jesus as a Son that is over the whole House and on our heavenly calling as partakers of Christ. Without Christ there is no “share in a heavenly calling” (v. 1), which we must “hold fast” to (v. 6). Our “teacher,” as Kleinig calls the author of Hebrews returns to the theme of verses 1 and 6 in verse 14. In a similar way he returns to the theme of hard hearts (v. 8) in verses 12 and 13. Verses 1 and 12 are also linked by the word “brothers.” At this point we are told, “Yet despite these links there is a topical shift in the sermon from instruction about the faithful service of Jesus as High Priest over God’s house to instruction about the consequence of faithlessness for those who make up his house” (p. 187).
In Mueller’s overview of verses 3:7-11 he explains that these verses come to us from Psalm 95:7-11 and draws our attention to the time when God’s people rebelled in the wilderness, especially after the spies returned with a demoralizing account of their mission to check out the Promised Land. The people lost faith to the point they refused to go any further. ”They lacked faith in God’s power and guidance and fell under judgment” (p. 51).
Kleinig agrees and adds that this psalm “is a liturgical psalm that was sung by the Levitical choir that led the congregation in procession to the temple.” Once in the sanctuary the choir reminds the people when God cut off the “hardhearted, switched-off people from his place of rest (Ps 95:8-11)” (p. 189).
The link between verses 8, 12, and 13 has been shown above. Now we view the main teaching. Once more, Kleinig, reminds his readers that the author of Hebrews is not speaking to his audience as students, but brothers. The teacher wants them to view themselves in the light of the Israelites that refused to enter the Promised Land, thereby bringing God’s judgement on themselves (p. 190).
Kleinig continues, saying (p. 190):
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Any of them could all too readily be overtaken by an ‘evil heart,’ like the Israelites in the desert, a heart that is governed by an ‘evil/bad conscience’ (10:22) which comes from ‘unbelief’ (3:12, 19) in his goodness. Such an ‘evil heart’ darkens a person’s perception of God and misconstrues what he says and does. It makes good bad and bad good. It is spiritually suicidal because it stops listening to God’s life-giving Word; as it ‘turns away from the living God’ (3:12), it cuts itself off from life with him in his household.
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Like Paul and Peter, the teacher who authored Hebrews teaches that our freedom in Christ is not to be abused (cf. Galatians 5:13; 1 Peter 2:16). Even for those that make up the House of God there are consequences for not being faithful to their calling. Our calling is more than believing in Jesus, as James says, “Even the demons believe—and shudder!” (James 2:19). We are called to live holy lives that please God (Leviticus 11:45; 1 Peter 1:16). The Bible makes it clear that if we love God we will obey God (Exodus 19:5; Jeremiah 7:23; John 14:15; 1 Peter 1:14; 1 John 5:3).
In conclusion, this Short Report provided some background information about Hebrews showing that it is an anonymous work that presents Jesus as superior to Israel’s leaders and their Levitical system of worship. It also looked at 2 of the 5 warnings found in the book, neglecting salvation and the unbelief of a hard heart.
In conclusion, this Short Report provided some background information about Hebrews showing that it is an anonymous work that presents Jesus as superior to Israel’s leaders and their Levitical system of worship. It also looked at 2 of the 5 warnings found in the book, neglecting salvation and the unbelief of a hard heart.