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The Sabbath-School

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International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Nov 18, 1889

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 15, No. 44.

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The Sabbath-School.

Letter to the Hebrews.

HEBREWS 5:8; 6:8.

(Lesson 9, November 30, 1889.)
1. WHY can priests from among men be compassionate?
2. Was Jesus a priest of that class?
"Wherefore in all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people." Heb. 2:17.
3. As the Son of God, was he subject to suffering and temptation?
"Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered." Heb. 5:8. See chap. 2:18; 4:15.
4. What did he learn by suffering? Heb. 5:8.
5. In what sense did he learn obedience by suffering? Ans.—By experience he learned to take part with those for whom he acts as priest; to sympathize with them in their efforts to serve the will of God.
6. Being made perfect what did he become?
"And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him." Verse 9.
7. By whom was he called a high priest after the order of Melchizedek?
"Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchizedek." Verse 10; also verse 5.
8. Was Melchizedek called a high priest?
"And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine; and he was the priest of the most high God." Gen. 14:18.
9. What does Paul say of Melchizedek?
"Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing." Heb. 5:11.
10. Why were the things of which he was speaking difficult to utter? See note.
11. What is meant by the expression, "When for the time," verse 12? Ans.—They were not new converts. For a long time they had known the truth so that they ought to have been able to teach, but had been negligent of their privileges. This made it difficult to expound deep truths to them.
12. Of what had they need?
"For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat." Verse 12.
13. What is meant by the first principles of the oracles of God?—Ib. Ans.—The context shows that he referred to the primary truths of Christian life and doctrine.
14. What does he exhort or incite them to do?
"Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment." Heb. 6:1, 2.
15. What is meant by leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ? Ans.—The word rendered principles means beginning. Not that they should neglect the primary truths of Christianity, but progress to greater knowledge and piety.
16. What were the principles, or first truths, to which he referred? Verses 1, 2. See note.
17. What are we to understand by eternal judgment? Verse 2. See note.
18. How is the foundation for repentance laid again by Christians?—Ib. Ans.—By backsliding. See Rev. 2:5: "Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works." They had to begin again, at the very beginning.
19. What is said of those who were once enlightened, and fall away?
"For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame." Heb. 6:4-6.
20. What does the description of their attainments here indicate? See note.
21. How is the Son of God treated by an apostate from the truth? Verse 6.
22. Is not a person deeply guilty who treats thus the Saviour, who has loved him, and given him grace from the throne of Heaven?
23. What lesson is taught in verse 7? Ans.—It is encouragement to the brethren to persevere in the way of right.
24. And what in verse 8? Ans.—It is a solemn warning against slighting the grace and blessing of Heaven.

NOTES.

SOME judicious critics do not refer this expression in Heb. 5:11 to Melchizedek, but render it thus: "Concerning which we have many things to say," and refer it to the subject of the Melchizedek priesthood. It is not true, as sometimes supposed, that Paul could not or did not say what he desired, for his comments on the Melchizedek priesthood are very clear and complete. Nor did he say that the things of which he was speaking were difficult to express, as our translation, "hard to be uttered," would indicate. The meaning is, as the original shows, that those things were hard to be explained to them, seeing they were dull of hearing, not well instructed in the faith they professed. The following verses, even to chap. 6:9, are all constructed on this fact. He had strong meat to give them, while they had only the capacity of children to receive it. Their dullness of hearing not only made it difficult for him to give them the instruction he desired to give, but their failure to make progress in Christian life and doctrine, was likely to endanger their salvation, unless they would change their course and go "on unto perfection." The human mind, as the earth which was once cultivated and watered by rains from heaven, does not stand idle. If it is not made to produce desirable fruits, it will soon grow up to thorns and briars. This is a most important passage for every Christian to consider.
"Seeing ye are dull of hearing" does not express the sense of the original, which says, "ye are become dull of hearing." And this indicates that they had been in a better state,—a state where they could better appreciate the truth. This assertion of their backslidden condition adds greatly to the force of the admonitions following. It is a fact worthy of careful consideration that lukewarm professors, neither cold nor hot, are the most difficult of all men to arouse to a true sense of their condition. The conscience of the infidel, the openly profane, may be touched and aroused, but lukewarm Christians are so stupefied by self-complacency, so satisfied with themselves, that they are exceedingly difficult to reach. See Rev. 3:14-18.
There is no mention in the Scriptures that Melchizedek was a high priest. We have no reason to believe that such a distinction could have been known in his time. As will be seen in the progress of this argument, neither Melchizedek nor Aaron was a complete type of Christ. It took both together to present all the essential truths of the gospel in the priesthood of Christ. He was of the order of Melchizedek, but he was also the antitype of Aaron (Heb. 8:1-5), and fills the office of high priest, as the high priest alone made the great atonement.
THE apostle enumerates a few points of doctrine, which, in the light of the Scriptures, are so plain that every novice in the faith was supposed to understand. But one expression, "the doctrine of baptisms," has been the occasion of much trouble to commentators. Some have inferred that he referred to the difference between the baptisms of the Jews and Christian baptism. But the Jewish baptisms certainly could find no place in this connection. The following remarks by Professor Stuart are worthy of notice:—
"Another explanation is, that baptism does not differ in any important respect from baptism."
He then gives a number of instances, on different subjects, where the plural is used in the sense of the singular, and continues:—
"Storr supposes baptism to be used here in a kind of distributive sense, as the Hebrew plural often is, so that the sentiment is, 'the doctrine that every believer must be baptized.' But however this may be, no great stress can be laid upon the use of the plural. Accordingly, the Syriac version has the singular here. In regard to the doctrine of baptism being an elementary doctrine, there can be no difficulty. The rite itself was an initiatory one, for all who professed to be Christians."
It is of course admitted that elementary truths lying at the very beginning of Christian faith and life, should be, and of necessity are, plain truths. It is a great pity that party interests have been permitted to obscure the doctrine of baptism, and make it a question for the schools, to be understood and made known by those only who are versed in theology and languages. If left to the words of the Saviour and his apostles, a few texts would settle the question with every earnest soul who is honestly and candidly seeking to follow the Saviour in his example and precept.
WE are not to suppose that eternal judgment means, eternally judging or eternally being judged. It means a judgment the decisions of which are final; its consequences are eternal. On this form of expression, the Critical Greek Lexicon of Bullinger has the following just remarks on "eternal punishment" (Matt. 25:46):—
"The nature of which must be looked for in other parts of the Scriptures as being there clearly defined as a result and not a process. Eternal punishment is an expression analogous to eternal judgment in Heb. 6:2 (not judging); eternal redemption, Heb. 9:12 (not redeeming); eternal salvation, Heb. 5:9 (not saving); i. e., the eternal effect of an act."
It is an awful thought that very soon that decision, that can never be reversed or modified, will be made.
THE apostle’s description of graces and attainments (Heb. 6:4, 5) applies to those who have enjoyed no small degree of gospel blessings. And on this subject there is great liability to misjudge. When we see one whose attainments in the divine life are considered high, who is esteemed especially rich in grace, it is quite common to think that his title is "clear to mansions in the skies." But great graces bring great responsibilities; and responsibilities are always accompanied by corresponding dangers. True graces, gifts of the Spirit, are not merits of the individual possessing them; they are favors by the free grace of Him who sits on the throne of grace. If these favors are abused, the recipient is more guilty than he who has never been thus blessed. And, of course, the greater the gift, the greater the guilt in its abuse. Compare with Heb. 6:4-6; 2 Peter 2:21; Heb. 10:26-29.