Hebrews 3:1 Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus
The book of Hebrews is the revelation of Jesus Christ. It reveals Christ and is the revelation of God. Hebrews 1:1 says, “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son.” Hebrews 3:1 says, “Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus.” So, He is the supreme revealer of God the Father. Hebrews is a revealer of Jesus Christ. We are told several times to look to Jesus or consider Jesus. So, the Bible is the revelation of God.
Hebrews 4:8 also speaks of Jesus. It says, “For if Jesus had given them rest [those coming out of Egypt], then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.” Now, the reference there to Jesus is a reference to Joshua. It is the same name, translated Jesus here, speaking of Joshua. Earlier the Bible speaks of the gospel. Hebrews 4:2 says, “For unto us was the gospel preached.” The gospel means good news, glad tidings. Almost always in the New Testament it has a very technical and specific meaning, primarily the gospel of Jesus Christ as told in I Corinthians 15, that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again just as God said He would.
So, your understanding of gospel there really is important because it colors the way you understand the rest of the book of Hebrews. In short, Hebrews is one of those books that requires a bit of time and thinking. This morning after reading Hebrews 3 and half of chapter 4, I told my wife, “More and more I come to the conviction that we ought not read the Bible; we ought to study the Bible.” Those are two different things. It is a daunting task. Let me just encourage you that the Bible is the revelation of God and you should study it.
I have to be honest, growing up I did not like the word study for reasons that are self-evident, but I am curious, so as a boy I liked to dig holes. Sometimes when digging a hole, I would hit on something. Maybe it was a manmade object or maybe it wasn’t, but I would say, “Wow, what is this?” I kept digging until I found out. Well, every day of your life when you are reading the Bible, you ought to be saying, “Hey, what is this?” and dig until you find out.
Let me give you four watchwords that may encourage you in this task. First, there is time. You’ve got to have it. You have to give yourself time. I have a firm conviction on the best time of day to study your Bible. However, that could be based on a number of things, the main object of which is what is the best time for you to have a fresh mind and be curious about what you are reading. This may require a little bit of a lifestyle shift for you. If you are going to read in the morning, it requires time. I would take half the time you allot to read and the other half ought to be thinking about the Word of God.
It may mean getting to bed earlier so you can get up earlier. It may mean having supper earlier or later. You may have to shift things. I know a preacher who grew up on a farm in the Midwest and he told the story of how his dad’s farm milked their cows before anyone else on that stretch of highway. The reason was they had to account for Sunday School on Sunday morning. So, literally every day’s schedule was tailored to one day, Sunday, and one event, Sunday School. It was important enough to them that they constructed a schedule where they could do what was important to them. I would say the same thing for you. You need the time. I read half of Hebrews 4 because I just didn’t have time and I didn’t want to read it and not understand God’s meaning for my life.
Second, there are tools. Ask your pastor about what tools you could use to better understand the Bible. Don’t just read it and not have a clue. You want to have some measure of understanding. There are a lot of tools available on your phone. You can find out what words mean and get good insight into what the Bible is saying. For me, I have greatly benefited from J. Vernon McGee’s app Through the Bible. He made broadcasts over virtually every chapter in the Bible. I don’t necessarily agree with every comment I hear, but it is a help from a man who loves the Lord Jesus. I don’t have time when I am reading my Bible in the morning to listen or read a lengthy commentary, but maybe later when I am brushing my teeth, before supper, or when I take a walk, I can listen and profit.
Third, thinking is critical. If you have twenty minutes to read your Bible, I would take no more than ten to read because you need the rest of the time to think about it. Thinking is kind of a slippery idea, but thinking really is important. Personally, I generally spend about twenty minutes every morning reading. Sometimes more if I have time or less for whatever reason. I actually double the time I am thinking about what I read pretty much every day.
You say, “Wil, you are a preacher.” That is true, but I believe we can understand more of the Bible than we are understanding now. We just need to give our ears a rest and our minds a workout. Most people have their ears plugged most of their disposable time. They listen to podcasts or other things. That may be good, but it’s too much. At some point you have to stop listening and taking in input and start thinking and assimilating what you have heard and read. Thinking takes time. For me it is hard to think well if I am static and still, but if I am walking or pumping my legs in some way, I can think more clearly.
Finally, there are takeaways. Use a journal. For me that has come after long practice. What is my takeaway? Write it down. You may not be a preacher, but you need to find out what God is saying and put it in words to help you understand what is being given from the Word of God. It takes practice. It doesn’t happen overnight, but with time it can happen and it will make all the difference in all the world. Think of a brick for a fabulous castle. A castle isn’t built overnight, but if you lay just one little brick every day consistently as a habit, it will make all the difference.
When do you stop studying? You can study forever and not reach the bottom of what you read, but what you are aiming for is the takeaway, the proposition, the sermon in a sentence, the big idea. What is God saying? There may be a number of things, but the more you can see what God is saying, it can relieve your mind to say, “Ok, my time is done and it’s time to move on.”
God’s Word is a revelation of God Himself. If you want to know God, you have to know His Word. If you are going to know His word, you have to study it and not just read it. Time, tools, thinking, and takeaways are four watchwords that can help and encourage you in that endeavor today.