Hebrews Study Guide - Anchor Church Sydney · Read Hebrews 4:14–16. Hebrews makes a big deal...

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HEBREWS OVERVIEW

'Burn your white flags' is an aggressive way of saying ‘no surrender’/‘no turning back’! To burn your white

flag means to give up even the possibility of surrender.

Hebrews was written to believers in Jesus who faced pressure to give up. Their temptation was to buckle

under the pressure of the culture around them, and return to the religiosity of their past. The author writes

to remind them that Jesus is so incredibly superior to every alternative in life, that it’d be crazy to walk away

from him. Hebrews issues a stern but loving warning not to repeat the mistakes of their forefathers.

We may not feel the pressure to return to the legalism of the Law, but we do face the temptation to give up

our faith. The casualties of secularism's raid on the church lie strewn across our generation. We live in the

post-evangelical, post-Pentecostal, post-everything age without the scaffolding to rebuild our faith. As

people are walking away from their faith, the rise of the ‘recovering [insert brand of Christianity]' is

emerging. We are facing the pressure of a culture whose views are directly at war with our faith—a soft

persecution of ideals and a war of words pushing the people of God towards retreat.

It’s only as we are reminded of how amazing Jesus is that we will see with clarity the war we’re in and brace

ourselves. Hebrews is a sermon about how Jesus is better than anything our past life has to offer! Jesus is

BETTER!

For His Glory

Matt Sparks

Lead Pastor

Anchor Church Sydney

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Pray for God to reveal himself and renew your faith as you open his Word.

The Letter to the Hebrews was written to struggling Christians who were tempted to give up on faith. Read Hebrews

10:32–34. What difficulties were they facing? Why might they be tempted to give up?

What difficulties are we facing as disciples of Jesus in our secular post-Christian context? What difficulties are you

facing personally? How might we be tempted to give up on faith?

Before beginning this study series, how do you expect the writer of Hebrews to encourage his audience to keep going?

If someone said to you, “I can’t see God, so there’s no reason to believe in him!”, how would you respond?

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Read Hebrews 1:1–2.

How has God revealed himself to us? How can we know God?

How is Jesus better than the Old Testament prophets? As Christians, how should we read the Old Testament?


What do we learn about who Jesus is and what he has done (at least six things)? Slow down and discuss the meaning

and significance of each description about Jesus.

How do these truths encourage us to keep going in the face of external pressure?

How do you view Jesus? Is your view of Jesus too small? Often there can be a disconnect between what we confess to

believe theoretically and what we functionally believe in practice. What would it look like to truly believe and live with

Jesus as supreme?

Pray for one another and for God to enable you to run the race of faith with perseverance.

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How might we be tempted to drift away from God? How might the original audience of Hebrews have been tempted to

drift away? What were they drifting away to?

Why does the author speak so much about angels in chapter 1? What point is he making (1:4)? How is Jesus superior

to the angels?

Why does the author use so many Old Testament quotes in chapter 1? Why would this have been powerful evidence

for his original audience?

What are the consequences of drifting away and ignoring God’s offer of salvation (2:1–3)? How do we guard against

drift?

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What does it mean that God has put everything under Jesus’s feet? What isn’t under his authority?

This truth can feel unreal in a secular society hostile to faith. How does the author address this experience of ‘not

seeing everything subject to him’ (2:8–9)? Why is Jesus’s death the reason for him being crowned with glory and

honour?


Why did Jesus have to become human?

What did Jesus accomplish through his death? Why couldn’t God just save us? Why did Jesus need to die?

What does it mean that God made Jesus ‘the author of salvation perfect through suffering’? Wasn’t Jesus already

perfect?

Where do you feel held in slavery to sin (2:15)? Where are you experiencing temptation? How does Jesus help us? How

can we experience his freedom?

Jesus is glorious, supreme! And we are now his siblings (2:10–13). What does this mean for our identity and how does

this shape our life in the face of hardship and temptation?

Pray for one another and for God to help you in temptation and protect you from spiritual drift.

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What lessons have you learned from the mistakes of others?


The author compares Jesus to Moses. Who was Moses? Why was he significant in Israel’s story? How is Jesus better

than Moses? Why does the author make this comparison?

The author uses the mistakes of Israel during the Exodus to warn the Christians about falling away from God. Why did

Israel fail to enter God’s ‘rest’ of the Promised Land (3:7–11, 16–19)?

What does the author say to his audience to warn them (3:6, 12, 13, 14, 4:1, 11)?

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Sin is deceitful, leading us into unbelief. What lies are you believing and living from at the moment?

It can be so easy to give up and tap out of the Christian life. You may have heard it said that the journey of faith is not a

sprint but a marathon—it doesn’t matter how you start, but how you finish. It’s vital that we run to the end! Where are

the pressure points for us to tap out early?

How do we reconcile these real warnings about falling away with the assurance of our secure salvation in Christ (eg

John 10:28–29)?

What is does the promise of entering God’s rest refer to for us (4:8–10)? Read Revelation 21 and remind yourselves of

the beauty of God’s future rest. Why would it be foolish to give up before the end?

What is the condition of entering God’s rest (4:2-3)? How can we make sure that we do not fail to enter God’s rest (3:1,

12–14)?

What practical steps are you taking now to ensure you’re still following Jesus in 5, 10, 50 years? How can we

‘encourage one another daily’ to keep running the race of faith?


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How can we access the presence of God? How do different cultures and worldviews try to access the presence of God?

What does a high priest do (Hebrews 5:1, cf Leviticus)? What is a mediator and why do we need one? Why can’t we

access God’s presence directly (cf Habakkuk 1:13?

Why was the Old Testament priesthood ineffective (5:3, 7:11, 23, 27)?

Who is Melchizedek (Genesis 14:18–20)? What point is the author of Hebrews making by comparing Melchizedek to

the Levitical priesthood? Why is Melchizedek better than the Levitical priesthood (7:3, 4, 16)?

How did Jesus become high priest (5:4–10)? How is this different to the Levitical priests (7:16)?

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Why is Jesus a better high priest (7:18–19, 23–28)?

What does Jesus achieve for us in his high priestly ministry (7:22–28)? Why is it important that Jesus is without sin

(4:15, 7:26–27)?

What does it mean that Jesus has gone through the heavens (4:14, 6:19–20, 8:1–2, 9:11–12, 24–26, cf Colossians 1–3)?

How does this offer us ‘hope as an anchor for the soul’ (6:19)

What is Jesus doing now (7:25)?


Hebrews makes a big deal about our weakness and need. How are you experiencing weakness and need in your life?

How does Jesus help us in our weakness and need?

Read Hebrews 5:11–6:3.

The author of Hebrews criticises the Christians for being slow to learn and stuck on baby’s milk when they should have

moved onto solid food. How is your spiritual diet? How do you feel about theology/doctrine/growing in knowledge of

God? How can we move onto solid food together? And how do we square this with Colossians 2:6?


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Many of us have regrets. We’ve thought, said, and done things we’re not pleased with, and many of us can feel

burdened by guilt and shame. How can we deal with our guilt and shame? What solutions do various cultures and

worldviews offer to ‘cleanse us from sin’?

What was the tabernacle1 (cf Exodus 25–40)? What is the relationship between the Mosaic tabernacle and the true

heavenly tabernacle (8:2, 5, 9:11)?

In these chapters, the author of Hebrews compares old covenant worship and sacrifices to the new covenant. What

was deficient about old covenant worship and sacrifice (8:7–8, 13, 9:8–9, 13, 25, 10:1–4, 11)?

1 The tabernacle was constructed during the Exodus as the portable earthly dwelling place of God.

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Why is Jesus’s sacrifice of himself superior to old covenant sacrifices? Why did Jesus have to die? What did his death

achieve (9:12–15, 26–27, 10:10, 14)?

How does Jesus’s death deal with the guilt, shame, and uncleanness of our sin (8:14, 10:10, 14)? How is this good news

for you?

What is the significance of Jesus sitting down (1:3, 8:1, 10:12, cf John 19:30)?

The author sums up his argument from chapters 1–10 in 10:19–25. How would you summarise the message of

Hebrews so far? How has this letter impacted your life?

We does it look like for us to draw near to God with confidence and full assurance of faith?

The original audience of Hebrews faced hardships that tempted them to give up on faith (10:32–34). What hardships

are you facing at the moment?

What is the message of Hebrews to us in the face of our hardships (10:35–39)?

The community of faith plays a vital role in perseverance (10:23–25). How can we take responsibility for one another

and encourage one another to keep going in our faith?


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What is your experience of ‘faith’?

What is faith (11:1)? Faith can be a struggle—even Jesus’s disciples struggled to believe (Matthew 8:26, 28:17, Mark

9:24, John 20:24–29, etc) and so do we! What do you find difficult about faith?

What were the great cloud of witnesses in chapter 11 commended for (11:2, 39–40)? How do their stories inspire your

faith?


How can we make it to the end of our journey of faith? What obstacles do we face? Why is it so important to keep our

eyes on Jesus? How does this help us?

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We will face struggles of many kinds. What does Hebrews 12:4–11 tell us about hardship (cf Romans 5:3–5, James 1:2–

4)? What does hardship produce in our lives? How do you feel about this?

What do we learn about God in this? What is his desire for us?

How have you seen growth in your life through hardships you’ve faced? How should we respond when we face

hardships and suffering?

The author concludes that we are ‘receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken’ (12:28). What does this mean (12:18–27,

especially v 27)?

How should this reality shape our way of life (12:28–29)?

On this basis, the author of Hebrews gives various ethical instructions all under the banner of ‘worship’ (12:28). What

is biblical worship (cf Romans 12:1)? Which of these ethical instructions might need special focus in our life together

(12:14–16, 13:1–19)?

Look at the author’s concluding prayer (13:20–21). What do we learn about God? What does he pray for his readers?

As we conclude this study series on Hebrews, review what you have learned. What has God convicted you of? Where

is he leading you to repentance and obedience? Where are you tempted to give in to the world? What ‘white flags’ are

you convicted to burn?


Hebrews Study Guide - Anchor Church Sydney · Read Hebrews 4:14–16. Hebrews makes a big deal...

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