Hey Dr. Bill Senyard here with Gospel App ministries and Gospel Rant Podcast. Thanks for listening. We have a lot to cover today, two chapters, 8 &9. They represent a single argument or sermon. Very important. Very relevant today. We will dip into some weeds, but the punch line is golden.

Review. From what we have seen in previous shows, the prime targeted audience of the book of Hebrews is Messianic Jews, believers, but they are observably ‘drifting’, ‘dull’, and suffering from ‘dead works’ (nekron ergon). I am going to suggest that we are all prone to all three. It is time we start admitting it.  In 6:1, he says they should have moved past trying to repent of their dead works (nekron ergon)—hold on to that phrase. We will see it again.

In that mode, it seems that they were abandoning meeting with their gathered brothers and sisters in Christ and running back to find solace in Judaism again, or to the Jewish mystery religions. Both look pretty good on paper, but they are powerless to clean the conscience of a backslider.  To make it worse, real persecution is coming, Nero—and their guilt-stricken faith will be shattered and rendered ineffective. They will feel orphaned.

So in this show, chapters 8 & 9 we will cover three points that are ridiculously relevant today.

• The problem—what are these dead works.
• What they have been doing to fix the problem—that isn’t working no matter how hard they try
• The real remedy then and today.

Believe me when I say that #3 is the big deal for the author of Hebrews, not the argument leading up to it. You will see what I mean. Such good news. If we get stuck on the argument, we end up with mere theology that doesn’t help hurting and lonely people today.

Welcome to God’s Love for the unlovable and Gosepl Rant.

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