HEBREWS 5:7

The Bible is speaking about Jesus in Hebrews 5:7-8 where it says, “Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared; Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered.” This passage is referring to the passion of Christ. Specifically, it is speaking of the time of prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane; just before He was arrested to be crucified. Jesus was facing the terrible torture and death of the crucifixion. He was also going to take upon Himself the sins of the world: something that we cannot even imagine. The most that we will ever suffer is the guilt of our own sins. Often we are not even aware of that, and when we are, we can place our sins on Jesus by faith in Him.

Jesus “had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears.” It is recorded in Matthew 26:37-39, “And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and he began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful even unto death: tarry ye here and watch with me. And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.” Jesus faced death, and He prayed about it. But the Father did not take that death away from Him. Jesus faced suffering, and He prayed about it. But the Father did not take that suffering away from Him. Let that be a lesson to us of what life will sometimes be like, when we follow God. We might do as Jesus did and pray three times with strong crying and with tears. But the Father may say “no” to us also. If He does, may we have the grace to say as Christ said, “nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.”

Notice that Hebrews 5:8 says about Christ, “Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered.” How could Jesus learn? Is He not the divine Son of God who knows all things? One thing to know about Jesus is that when He came to the earth, He temporarily gave up some of His divine options. He was born in a manger. God became flesh. Speaking of Jesus’ youth, the Bible says in Luke 2:52, “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.” Even though Jesus is God, He experienced human life in many of the same ways that others have experienced it. Only Jesus lived human life the way that it should be lived. Without sin Jesus became more and more exactly what He should have become. He increased. He learned. By the time that He was thirty years old He entered the greatest public ministry ever lived. He was all that a human being could be and should be. Of course, He was more than just a human because He was the Son of God. But if you look at His human side, He is the culmination of what every human being should have become and could have become. And yet at the end of His human life, the Bible says, “Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered.” This is one reason for the sufferings that God allows in our lives: so that we might learn. If you have not suffered, you have not learned all that God wants you to know.

Jesus was perfect. Because He was perfect, He was qualified to be the Savior of mankind. He was qualified to do the greatest of all works: to save man from sin. Hebrews 5:9-10 says, “And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him; Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec.” Whenever you hear about someone who has been rescued or saved from a life-threatening situation, it is always a wonderful story. Such saving is always temporary. But Jesus is “the author of eternal salvation.” Of course, there is one great condition to receiving the salvation from Christ: the condition of faith. True faith always comes with an obedient heart. That is why it says that Jesus is the author of salvation “unto all them that obey him.” Jesus learned obedience, and He expects us to obey Him.

The writer of the book of Hebrews penned in Hebrews 5:11-12, “Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing. For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.” These two verses are a sad commentary on the condition of many people who call themselves Christians. The problem existed in the first century, and it exists even more today. There are far too many people who call themselves Christian but who do not know the basic concepts of the doctrine of Christ or the doctrine of salvation. They do not know that the Bible is the sole source of faith and practice. They do not know how to be saved, and they are not sure if they are saved or not. How sad it is. But it does not have to be that way. It is possible to learn “the first principles of the oracles of God.”

Notice that this verse says that every Christian should be a teacher. Speaking to all Christians the Bible says in this verse, “ye ought to be teachers.” The only way that the Great Commission will be fulfilled is when every Christian does something to spread the Gospel of Christ and to teach others. Everyone can teach somebody something. The older women can teach the younger women. One person can teach a neighbor. Another person can teach a co-worker. But they can only teach if they know something. And they can only know something if they read and learn the Word of God, and if they themselves have had a good Bible teacher at a good church. The most important book in the world is the Bible. If you claim to be a Christian, and you have been saved long enough, and you still do not know sound doctrine; then a terrible thing has happened to you. The Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy in Second Timothy 2:15, “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

The Bible says in Hebrews 5:13-14, “For everyone that uses milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercized to discern both good and evil.” There is nothing more important than knowing the difference between right and wrong. God said, “Be ye holy for I am holy.” But we can only be holy if we know what it means to be holy. We must know the difference between right and wrong from God’s standpoint. There are so many sources that teach people the wrong things: the music, the movies, the news media, the schools, the people of the world, the false religions, and sometimes even the teachers that are supposed to be of the true religion are teaching falsehood. The only way to know the right way is to know the Word of God in order to be able “to discern both good and evil.”

The Bible says in Hebrews 6:1, “Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God.” There are some things that Christians who are grounded in the Word of God will already know. Four of those things are mentioned in this verse: “the doctrine of Christ,” “perfection,” “repentance from dead works,” and “faith toward God.”

The doctrine of Christ teaches us who Christ is and what He has done for us. Jesus is God and man. A true Christian must understand who Jesus really is. The cults and the false prophets are wrong on this basic question: Who is Jesus Christ? Jesus is God and man. The Bible says in John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” In John 1:14 it says, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” If you are a Christian, then you should know who Jesus is. Jesus is God. Your God is the One to whom you pray, and the One whose name you call upon.

The second doctrine that a well-grounded Christian should already know is the doctrine of “perfection.” There is a lot of misunderstanding about perfection. One of the things that divides Armenians and Calvinists is a disagreement about the doctrine of perfection and a misunderstanding, on both their parts on the doctrine of perfection. The word “perfection” means “completeness.” There is spiritual perfection and there is practical perfection. Spiritual perfection refers to our standing in Christ. The moment that we are born again we are placed in Christ. We become identified with Him. The righteousness of Christ becomes our righteousness. We are perfect in Christ. The Bible says in Romans 3:22, “Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe.” It says in Romans 5:17, “For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one, much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.” It says in First Corinthians 1:30, “But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.” The Apostle Paul also wrote in Philippians 3:9, “And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.”

There is a difference between the perfect spiritual standing that has been given to us in Christ and the practical reality of our daily life. We can grow in Christ and in experience and in wisdom, but we will never be perfect in this life. There is no such thing as anyone attaining perfection. That is why it says in First John 1:8, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” Paul wrote in Philippians 3:11, “Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect.” It is a wonderful thing to know that Jesus has given to us a perfect standing even though we are not yet perfect in practice. But we will be perfect in heaven, and that perfection we will owe to Christ and what He has done for us.

Some Christians do not understand the doctrine of “repentance from dead works.” Jesus Christ came into the world to save men and women from sin. Christians are sinners who have repented of their sins. Non-Christians are sinners who have not repented of their sins. The word “repentance” means “a change of mind.” Until one repents, one is living in human selfishness which is called sin. When one repents and turns to Christ, one has a change of mind about one’s selfish ways. One turns “from dead works” to good works, because true faith involves the desire to do the right thing. True belief involves true repentance from dead works.

True repentance and true faith go together. Therefore, it is not surprising that the next doctrine to be mentioned is “faith toward God.” To have faith means to have confidence in. It means to depend upon and to rely upon. If you have been saved, it means that you have relied upon Christ to forgive your sins. The just must live by faith. People who have no faith can only hope in themselves or in some other human being or in false religion. But a Christian who is grounded in sound doctrine understands that faith in Christ is everything. Without faith it is impossible to please Him. It is also impossible to live the true Christian life without a constant faith in God. Faith is the victory that overcomes the world. Jesus said that with faith as a grain of mustard seed, we can remove mountains and see them cast into the sea. What a wonderful opportunity the Lord has given to us to live by faith in Him. By faith we know that our sins are forgiven. By faith we know that He loves us. By faith we know that even the bad things that happen to us will somehow turn out for good. By faith we look forward to the return of Christ and to being with Him forever. Faith in Christ is everything. If we have no faith in God, we have nothing. One’s personal relationship with Christ through faith in Him is more important than anything else. It determines salvation, and it determines our existence both in this life and in the next. If you have never turned to Christ by faith, do it now so that you can have true faith in God. You will also have forgiveness of sins and eternal life.

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