UNBELIEF, As Addressed In Hebrews

By Gary McDade

A new Bible class for the church Sunday mornings at 10 a.m. with the teacher, Gary McDade, directing the study. Overview of the course: This study is primarily for those who want to go to heaven and realize this world presents immense dangers which threaten that possibility. Everyone is invited to attend, however, it is designed specifically, as addressed in the book of Hebrews, “for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come.” Because “if they shall fall away” it is impossible “to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the son of God afresh, and put Him to an open shame.”

As suggested by the course title, the book of Hebrews will be the textual basis for the study course. The thirteen exhortations in Hebrews within what is called the “Let us” passages—because the exhortations begins with that grammatical feature constituting a very formal use of the first person plural imperative and is known technically as the hortative mood—aiming to exhort--- in the original Greek being first person plural, aorist subjunctive middle and “the first person plural of the subjunctive is used in exhortations,” which use is designed to urge someone to do something—will be examined and applied from its ancient setting to the corresponding circumstances being faced today by members of the church of Christ. Additional emphasis on the thirteen times the word “better” appears will combine to caution Christians today from returning to former times when the lusts of the flesh ruled in our lives whether it was involvement with immorality or indifference or deception from manmade doctrines. The word “better,” which may seem low key to modern readers, was an effective deterrent to Jewish Christians from returning to their former lives before they obeyed the gospel of Christ.