21
This isn't a question that can be resolved indisputably here, as there are different views amont Christians about this. These views are generally in a range of:
Pelagianism - the idea that a man's salvation is an act of his free will only.
Synergysm - the idea that a man needs grace, but has to freely cooperate with it.
Irresistible grace - that grace saves ...
13
The authorship of Hebrews cannot be known for certain, but we can know several things about the author.
The early church counted Hebrews among the letters of Paul, even though it does not bear Paul's name. Clement of Alexandria and Origen noted that the writing style did not match Paul's, but did not consider it a forgery. This indicates that they believed ...
13
It's called that because it was written as a letter to Hebrews. Most of the Epistles are titled after the group they were written to. (Corinthians was written to the Church at Corinth, etc.)
From http://christianity.about.com/od/newtestamentbooks/a/Book-Of-Hebrews.htm
Date Written:
Hebrews was written before the fall of Jerusalem and the ...
12
Was any martyr of the Church sawn in two, as mentioned in Hebrews?
The short answer is yes.
The term "death by sawing" indicates the act of sawing a living person in half, either sagitally (usually midsagitally), or transversely. Thus, decapitation by sawing or dismemberment by sawing are tangential sub-themes, though some ambiguous cases might be ...
11
When looking at the overall context of all the warnings in Hebrews we have a situation for the unpardonable sin of fully rejecting Christ even under the sanctifying work and demonstrable power of the Holy Spirit making it absolute, thus unforgivable. It represents a full grown and stubborn unbelief in the face of a long season of powerful grace and the ...
10
(I wrote this in an essay on Hebrews a few years back)
Origen (185-254 CE) in the East has been quoted as saying that God only knows who wrote the Epistle although he also suggested that Paul was the author (Robertson, 1932). Hippolytus (170-236 CE) from Rome denied it was written by Paul. Tertullian (160-220 CE) in North Africa spoke of an Epistle of ...
10
No.
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
28I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and
no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29My Father, who
has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to
snatch them out of the Father's hand. - John 10:27-29 ESV
and
I will not leave you or forsake you. ...
10
Many Christians disagree on the topic, but as my personal view is that Christians can not walk away from their salvation, I will make a case for that here.
You are correct that John 10:29 does not necessarily preclude the possibility walking away from ones own salvation. And you are also correct that one interpretation of Hebrews 6:4-6 is that believers ...
9
The Epistle to the Hebrews is not aware of the Mass because it is not a person. It's a letter on a certain subject to certain people. It talks about the High Priesthood; it isn't an instruction manual on what today has come to be called the Mass. Not all teachings will be in all books.
Hebrews isn't an instruction manual for saying the Mass. It's a letter ...
7
The answer to your question is further on in the chapter.
Hebrews 10:11-14 ESV And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be ...
7
As far as Calvin was concerned, his views on the canonicity of Hebrews can be found in his introductory comments to his commentary on Hebrews (here at pp. 16–17). He includes it "without hesitation" as part of the New Testament Canon. The factors in reaching that conclusion were:
Its acceptance by the early church. This is why he feels the need to
point out ...
6
Yes.
And that's consistent with the rest of New Testament teaching.
Jesus himself taught that some would abandon their faith:
Matthew 24:10-13 (NRSV)
Then many will fall away, and they will betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because of the increase of lawlessness, the love of many ...
6
I think it is as easy as you suspect.
Hebrews does focus on the superiority of the New Covenant a little more from the ceremonial perspective than does some of the other Epistles, as this had more meaning to a Jewish audience. However this superiority of the blood of Christ, versus blood of bulls only has meaning as it satisfies the moral demands of the ...
6
Perhaps, some may agree with this (theophany). However, another way of looking at this passage in Hebrews is that the author is discussing an order or priestly appointment (precedent) without lineal descent. Just as Melchizedek had no known lineage (some Jewish commentators have written about traditions that Shem, Noah's son is Melchizedek, though this is ...
6
Paul Kretzmann, the son of a Lutheran pastor, wrote his Popular Commentary of the Bible, which "has been a favorite among confessional Lutherans since publication of the first volume in 1921."
In his comments on Hebrews 6, he called attention to the characteristics of the one who is spoken of in the passage: they were once enlightened, tasted of the ...
6
The simplest way to reconcile these passages is to dispute the KJV's translation of βραχύ as "a little." This is, in fact, what most other translations have done, including those that have no interest in internal harmonization. The NET renders Heb 2:7 as follows:
Hebrews 2:6–8a (NET)
6 Instead someone testified somewhere:
"What is man that ...
5
The sin referred to is not sin in general, but going back to animal sacrifices, after the ultimate sacrifice of Christ on the cross. See earlier in the chapter, as to what the Jewish priests were continuing to do. If Christ’s sacrifice were not sufficient, then “there is no sacrifice left for sin. “ If one has received Christ, he has, in effect, made his ...
5
To add to Thomas' answer, you can also refer to the parable of the sower, Mark 4:3-20, especially verses 16 and 17. Here, Jesus talks about people that are also described there in Hebrews 4:2, who were excited when they first heard the message but who did not (to continue the sower's metaphor) allow it to take root. They weren't transformed by the message, ...
5
From Eusebius' Canons, one of the earliest church histories (early 300s AD) we have:
Paul’s fourteen epistles are well known and undisputed.593 It is not indeed right to overlook the fact that some have rejected the Epistle to the Hebrews,594 saying that it is dis
puted by the church of Rome, on the ground that it was not written by Paul. But what has ...
5
Angelic apparitions could be either metaphoric or real depending on who you ask.
"Throughout Scripture, we see numerous instances in which angels were an integral part of God’s plan. One verse alludes to the possibility of angels walking among us today: “Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to ...
5
The writer of Hebrews approached the subject of Melchizedek through a combination of different avenues.
1) What’s listed explicitly in the text, through both direct information from scripture (the King of Salem/Peace), and through translation of his name (King of Righteousness).
2) The way Melchizedek acted, playing the part of a priest by blessing God’s ...
4
John Owen in his introduction to Hebrews, in my mind the best commentary written on Hebrews ever. In it Owen maintains it was written by Paul, denies the inconsistency of styles and explains the lack of Apostolic title as a kind gesture to avoid the bias the Hebrews had against him while also moving somewhat into Peter's office. To get around this tension ...
4
I have researched and written about the case for Priscilla's authorship of Hebrews. Your summary of Harnack's arguments is good. Please refer to several of my published articles on the following website: www.clarksons.org/spiritleads/ruth_hoppin.htm. My book, "Priscilla's Letter" ("La Carta de Priscila") has even more details. As for the "masculine ...
4
John Calvin says (Commentarium in epistolam ad Hebraeos, translated by John Owen in 1853):
Were any one to object and say, that some had died twice, such as Lazarus, and not once; the answer would be this, - that the Apostle speaks here of the ordinary lot of men; but they are to be excepted from this condition, who shall by an instantaneous change put ...
4
In answer to your question;
(note) all Scripture is quoted from the King James translation.
The key word in:
Hebrews 10:26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
is the word truth.
John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man ...
4
The passage is not talking about regular sins but in Matthew Henry's words it is talking about a total and final falling away.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
The sin here mentioned is a total and final falling away, when men, with a full and fixed will and resolution, despise and reject Christ, the only Saviour; despise and resist the Spirit, the ...
4
In Moses' time, the sanctuary was cleansed once a year on the Day of Atonement.
(Leviticus 16:30 KJV) For on that day shall the priest make an atonement
for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins
before the Lord.
On this day, two goats are chosen. One is sacrificed on behalf of the congregation for their sins, and the blood is ...
4
Because although Christians cannot lose their salvation, they can still appear before the Lord in shame rather than in confidence (1 John 2:28). The good shepherds who watch over the flock want them to enter into the best the Lord has for them, and not be "scarcely saved" (1 Peter 4:17-18). Not all Christians will inherit a crown and rule with Christ; that ...
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