Hebrews 13:9a
"Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines…."
Hey, I surf the Internet. I know what’s out there, and hear it from every direction. Do you realize that you can pick and choose everything from soup to nuts in the realm of spiritual things off the Internet - let alone in the book stores and TV? And what’s it doing? It’s confusing the issue. People don’t know what to believe. I told a fellow a while back after he asked a couple of questions and I said, "Look, you people are getting pied pipered." Oh, he asked back, "What do you mean by that?" Evidently he didn’t go to the same school as a kid that I did. You all remember the story of the pied piper don’t you? Well, he played the flute and the rats, yes, the rat that it said, "Followed him into the river." That’s exactly what the human race is doing today. You've got pied pipers piping the tune and people are just following them to their doom in what is known as religion. And the Scripture is so plain, "Don’t be led away with every strange doctrine," but get rooted in the Word of God. For God is NOT found in any form of mans religion. Why? Because who is the hidden ruler of man? None other than the spirit of this presence darkness, the spirit of the world, the prince of the powers of the air, ie...Satan, and darkness or religion are his realm of deception. Man became Satan's puppet when Adam ate of the fruit when God ontological essence within Adam died and became separated of God and the ontological essence of Satan's spirit moved in as a strong man. And therefore His activities through his religion has hindered and blocked God for hundreds if not thousands of years. Of mankind's history. For this is the teaching of John's Revelation.
Hebrews 13:9
"Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. (teachings, that’s the other word for doctrine) For it is a good thing that the heart be established with (not the Levitical Law but with what?) grace; (the freedom, the liberty, the benefits of our benefactor, the activity of God doing what only God is able and wants to do) not with meats, (or foods, this is not as supposed for when seen in the way Paul has been relating things this has to do with religious customs, rites and traditions of Israel's law) which have not profited them that have been occupied therein."
What is Paul saying? Hey when you’re under Grace, you’re not under a set of rules and regulations of religion in how to approach God with this particular sacrifice or how to be in the Temple at this particular day and hour and so forth. We’re set free from all that religiousness. We now have free access into the throne room, any moment of any day. And we point out to people every once in awhile that back there in the Book of Acts, the disciples went up to the Temple to pray about the 9th hour. Why? Because for them it was a stipulated hour of prayer under the Levitical Law and their religious custom or tradition as a habit. Or as Paul has said elsewhere, "as is the habit of some" (paraphrased). Here he is relating back to chapter 9 verses 9-10 and Deuteronomy 14:3-21; Romans 14:17 and 1 Corinthians 8:8, Colossians 2:16-20; Titus 1:14-15. Now in the next verse we need to have our ears open and our eyes opened to hear what the Spirit through Paul is saying clearly. Listen to God's voice closely and with much attention.
Hebrews 13:10
"We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle (or meaning the Temple)."
In other words, those still under the Levitical Law in all it's religious form. Now don’t forget, and we mentioned this before, that while Paul is writing this, the Temple in Jerusalem is still going. It won’t be destroyed for another several years. Now we don’t know exactly when Hebrews was written, some have estimated in about 65 AD and the Temple wasn’t destroyed until 70 AD. So never forget that the Temple is still going while our New Testament is being written.
In fact, I think I made mention of it in one of the earlier parts of our Hebrews study; that wasn’t it amazing that God didn’t permit any of the other empires or even the Romans to destroy the Temple until Paul and Peter's epistles were completed. Because, after all, until Paul’s epistles were completed, and the Age of Grace was now made available, the Temple was necessary. It was the only approach to God. But now with the Age of Grace opened up and Paul’s epistles finished, God could permit the Temple and the city of Jerusalem to be leveled and destroyed and they were. For the flag of the Roman general was the sign of desolation that destroys as prophesied through Daniel's visions. Alright, but now, when he’s writing, it’s still operating. So they still had an access to God in part, but, that the end of it was near, those who were still under Temple worship didn’t understand because they were steeped in religion and they had a hardness of heart, ie...unbelief. But, with the revelation that this system of religion under Judaism and the Levitical priests could not offer sacrifice on the alter of the cross of Christ. And that those who did those old things have no part in our alter as there are no meat offerings to be found on our alter, the cross. The cross is now empty as the thumb is empty. They who practice such have NO fellowship with God or His Christ. They through their practice are enmity to God.
Do you remember what we found out about the word enmity? Enmity means: from a primary echtho (to hate); hateful (passively, odious, or actively, hostile); of the devil who is the most bitter enemy of the divine government. Webster's 1828 Dictionary says this: "The quality of being an enemy; the opposite of friendship; ill will; hatred; unfriendly dispositions; malevolence. It expresses more than aversion and less than malice,and differs from displeasure in denoting a fixed or rooted hatred, whereas displeasure is more transient.
I will put enmity between thee and the woman. Gen 3:15.
The carnal mind is enmity against God.Rom 8:7.
A state of opposition.
The friendship of the world is enmity with God. James 4:4." So to be friends with the world and its many forms of religion and governments makes us enmity or hostile to God, His Christ and their rule.
Hebrews 13:11
"For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned without the camp."
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