The Letter to the Hebrews: Living Theology
Living Theology: now that’s a phrase I embrace! Put simply, theology is the study of God and to my mind, what use is the study of God without application? To me, studying God should always lead to real change in our lives and I have always aspired to live out my theology in my everyday life. Sermons without application bore me. The study of God is the foundation on which to build a life.
When I attended the Living Theology Today course in 2008, back then it was the first step to exploring my sense of calling to become a vicar! Well, that still hasn’t come to pass – yet! – but Living Theology Today reinforced my desire to do exactly that: live theology today and everyday.
The Letter to the Hebrews has much to say about faith in action.
Having covered the key theological insights in the book of Hebrews, the practical application cannot be ignored. The author does not compose his argument merely for the thrill of academic and intellectual stimulation. His pastoral instinct to develop a living faith in his readers is his main motivation. As Andrew Lincoln states in his commentary “All good theology is applied theology”. The letter is a combination of theological reflection and ethical exhortation. The writer does not concentrate on the organisation and worship of the church, but on the personal faith of each individual. The Letter is laid out as a series of teaching points each followed by a practical application. To keep the readers on the right track, the writer stresses all the good results that follow from being loyal to Christ, but also clearly identifies the results of disobedience. The letter is structured so that following each comparison between Jesus and Jewish traditional religious practice, there is a warning followed by an exhortation – “Therefore let us……”. The warnings are progressively more serious in their response to God – neglect, unbelief, immaturity, culminating in outright rejection. However, if the readers worry about the warnings and their implications, they can draw comfort and assurance from the portrait of Christ that leads the reader into the encouragements.
If the readers needed role models to inspire them, they need look no further than Chapter 11. With the benefit of hindsight, the writer provides a retrospective overview of the Hebrew Hall of Fame, interpreting the characters’ actions as “by faith”. Ordinary people do extraordinary things because of the faith and hope that they have in an extraordinary God. Moses demonstrates how hope for tomorrow brings strength for today (v26), an important point for a people who have endured, and will go on to face, persecution, as referred to in Chapter 10: 32-34.
Chapters 12 and particularly 13 go on to show that although the Christian faith is about our personal relationship with God, it also needs to be outworked in our relationships with others – living theology at work. From The Letter to the Hebrews: an evaluative outline of the key themes and theological insights by Helen Redfern
We’ll go on to look at chapters 12 and 13 in more detail in the next couple of days. I’m coming to realise more and more how key relationships are in upholding and demonstrating our faith. Whatever we believe and however passionately we believe it, it is actually how we treat others that will make a real difference.
I was struck as I read this extract by the phrase ‘how hope for tomorrow brings strength for today’, because I talked about this in church a couple of weeks ago – that it is our faith that makes us strong, our hope that ‘this too will pass’, our hope that God is working for a better future, a perfect eternity and that whatever life looks like right now, our hope in the promises of God will see us through.
So I looked up the verse referred to here and found it pretty random at first!
He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. Hebrews 11:26
But you see, Moses was able to endure all that he endured because he could see it as part of a bigger picture. Sometimes we are too good at avoidance. We keep the peace because we are uncomfortable with confronting what needs to be dealt with. But the bigger picture is that discomfort, even suffering, in the short term is the life-giving choice, because it resolves into a better outcome for all.
There, I lay down that challenge for us all today. Whatever situation you find yourself in, there is a bigger picture.
