In today’s journey through Hebrews, we are challenged to examine our own spiritual maturity. Are you still sipping on spiritual milk, or are you ready for the solid food of God’s Word? Alan offers a candid view from his journals, urging believers to grow in their faith and discernment. Listen in as we explore how consistent time in the Scripture can transform your faith from a superficial understanding to a profound engagement with God’s eternal wisdom.
Welcome to Add Bible, an audio daily devotion from the Ezra Project. Allen J. Huth shares a Bible passage with comments from over 35 years of his personal Bible reading journals and applies the Word of God to our daily lives.
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Today in Hebrews chapter 5, we’ll learn about Jesus being our High Priest. Let’s listen to Faith Comes By Hearing’s reading of Hebrews chapter 5. Hebrews 5
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For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness. Because of this, he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins, just as he does for those of the people. And no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was. So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him, You are my son. Today I have begotten you. As he says also in another place, You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek. In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek. About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.
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In 1993, after reading Hebrews chapter 5, I wrote, Jesus is the high priest. Like Judaism, Christianity needed a high priest. Christ is higher than the priesthood of Aaron. He is in the order of Melchizedek, who had no beginning and no end. Eternal priest, Jesus Christ. In 2005, remember I was in Thailand. I am now in Bangkok, ready for the trip home. In fact, I wrote in my journal today, The Long Trip Home. Yay! Concerning Hebrews chapter 5, I wrote, Jesus, higher than the angels, higher than Moses and the law, and higher than Aaron and the priesthood. He is our high priest who offered himself as the sacrifice for our sins. He learned obedience by the things which he suffered. Suffering, though not pleasant, also builds our faith in God. I continued to write, We have become dull of hearing and need milk instead of solid food. Thus, we are unskilled in the word of righteousness. Referring to verse 13. As I turn to my journal in 2013, I’m reminded that we started with the journal in 1993. There’s 20 years between those two journals and, of course, the one in between in 2005. There’s a big difference in life, isn’t there, between being 38 years old and 58 years old. When I was looking through my personal Bible reading journals to see which ones I would use for the book of Hebrews, those journals started in 1983. And since then, I’ve read Hebrews 17 times over the years. I had notes in my personal Bible reading journals in all those 17 years. I selected 1993 because I read various books of the Bible that year. 2005, I also read various books of the Bible. And in 2013, I read 25 books of the Bible in that year. In those other 14 years, sometimes I read the whole Bible in the year. Sometimes I read just the New Testament. Sometimes I read the Bible chronologically. So I vary my ways that I read the Bible each year. I hope that’s an encouragement to you to do the same. In 2013, because I was reading only 25 books of the Bible, I could take the pace slower. So, for example, on Hebrews chapter 5, I actually split it into two days. I read verses 1 through 10 on the first day and the rest of the chapter on the next day. Here are my notes concerning Hebrews chapter 5. On the first day, I opened my journal with a phrase that said back to 4.14. So I was referring back to chapter 4, verse 14. Let’s see what that verse said. It said, That’s the introduction to chapter 5. Now back to my journal. I wrote back to 414. Jesus is the high priest of Christianity. He is a priest of mercy and grace. Priests are called by God to serve fellow believers. Jesus was appointed by God the Father, Son, and High Priest. Not a priest according to Aaron, but a king and a priest according to Melchizedek. Melchizedek preceded Aaron and the Levitical priesthood. So that was my journal entry concerning verses 1 through 10. The next day I finished chapter 5 of Hebrews and I wrote, People then and now become dull of hearing, not maturing in faith. Some even experience the blessings of faith, then fall away. That ends my journal entries concerning chapter 5, but let’s take a look at the main principles of this chapter. Verse 1 describes the duties of a priest. It says, The next few verses pretty much say a priest does not become a priest because he wants to. A priest becomes a priest because he is appointed or called by God. The author then makes the same point about Jesus. He didn’t do this on his own. He was appointed by the Father. Verse 5, So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him, You are my son, today I have begotten you. As he says also in another place, You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek. Did Jesus act as a priest on our behalf? Take a look at verse 7. In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. Those were priestly duties he interceded for us. Verse 9 says, He became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, being designated by God a high priest. We know what that means. That means He did make a sacrifice for the sins of the people. Another priestly duty. By making that sacrifice, He became the source of eternal salvation for each of us. Again, we want to shout, Hallelujah! Thank you, Jesus! But the chapter ends with another warning. Don’t become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food. for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness since he is a child but solid food is for the mature for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil there’s our application from this chapter have you become dull of hearing in your christian walk Has the Gospel message lost its luster in your life? Are you living on milk? Or have you graduated to solid food, maturity in your faith in Christ? Are you skilled or unskilled in the Scriptures? Have your powers of discernment been trained by constant practice? And what would that be? Staying in the Word of God, daily time in the Word. As you do that, you will graduate from milk, to solid food. You will mature in your faith. Aren’t you glad we just don’t read Hebrews, put it away, and walk on with our lives? Hebrews is challenging us to mature, to grow in our faith in Christ. I’m being challenged. I hope you are too. Lord Jesus, thank you for being our high priest. Thank you for offering prayers and supplications. And thank you for offering the great sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins. You and you alone are our source of eternal salvation. May we never get dull of hearing the story of your great sacrifice for our sins. Lord, thank you for the book of Hebrews. It’s solid food. As we continue, let us move on from the basic principles of the oracles of God to maturity in our faith in you. Grow us, Lord, we ask it. In Jesus’ name, amen. Thanks for listening to AdBible today. We started on radio on October 1st, 2024. I hope you noticed some differences in AdBible from other programs. For example, we are fully committed to the Word of God. That’s why we play full chapters on the air, not sound bites. It takes a lot of our program time, but it’s my belief it’s more important for you to hear the Word of God than me. You may also have figured out by now I’m not a pastor, just a layman like most of you. So these recordings are not based on sermons. They’re based on my personal walk through the Bible over several decades of my life. Therefore, AdBible is a unique perspective of how the Bible impacts life, not a teaching series you get at your church. I share personal Bible reading journal entries from my life, from my journals, I’ve never thought would ever be shared with anybody. What I share are raw, authentic notes from Bible intersections of my own life. My life is no different from yours, so I hope the stories and applications I share are relevant to your life as well. I hope you are enjoying this unique radio program and therefore will help us stay on the air. We have so much more to share. Visit EzraProject.net and donate today. Or send a check to the Ezra Project 1399 South Havana Street, Suite 201E, Aurora, Colorado, 80012. That’s Ezra Project 1399 South Havana Street, Suite 201E, Aurora, Colorado, 80012. When you do, I will send you your first copy of A Day by Day Through the Bible book. There are 11 books in the series, so I will surprise you with one of my choosing. Or, after you donate at EzraProject.net, look at our resource page, pick a book you want, and let me know your choice at the contact section on our website. We are happy to send you the book of your choice. I know you’re going to enjoy it. Thanks for listening to AdBible today. Maybe you wonder if Old Testament prophecy is true, came true already, or is coming true in the future. First, most prophets had a recurring theme. God loves us. Because he loves us so much, he gave us commandments, rules, statutes to live by. If we live by them, we can be blessed beyond what we can think or imagine. But when we choose to disregard, ignore, and set aside his rules, we are subject to his curses. We live under curses until things get so bad we cry out to God. He’s always there, waiting for our cry. Most often, but not always, he responds with grace, love, mercy, and forgiveness. We get back in line, then the cycle repeats. The Old Testament prophets cover this cycle over and over. Sometimes we wonder how the Israelites could have been so foolish. Yet, in our day, we have the same choice. We know God loves us. We generally know the rules, and we’d know them a lot better if we were more consistent in our time in God’s Word. Yet we decide, like those in the Old Testament, to ignore them and live out our lives. Things don’t often go well, so we finally cry out to God. As we see in the Old Testament, prophecy comes true as God restores rebellious, disobedient people like us back into right relationship with Him. But it is not always the case. Sometimes he has enough and does not deliver them. So yes, Old Testament prophecies are true, they came true, and they will come true in the future as we cycle through the same life choices the Israelites made. Thus, the value of reading all the Old Testament prophets. Maybe we will learn what they tried to teach. God loves us. Keep his rules, love him back, and enjoy his blessings.
