Following Jesus

By Daniel L. McNab

Christians are to be salt and light to the world by the life they live. Yet, if like lot they become so comfortable with the customs and habits of the culture in which they find themselves, how then will they be able to lead those who seek Him to Jesus the "light of the world?"

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Mar 3, 2011
• ISBN: 9781449712600

Daniel L. McNab

Daniel L. Mc Nab earned Th. M. and Th.D. degrees from at Andersonville Theological Seminary. He writes from his home in Florida, USA. Dan may be contacted about copies of this or other books: [e-mail]

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Chapter 1

Do You Know Who Jesus Is?

Hebrews 1:1-4

"God who at sundry times and in divers ways spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets,

2. Has in these last days spoken to us by His Son whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;

3Who being in the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, .and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.

4. Having become so much better than the angels as He has by inheritance obtained amore excellent name than they.(Ps.2:7))

5. For to which of the angels did he ever say: You are My Son, today I have begotten You?

And again, "I will be to Him a Father, and He shall be to Me a Son? (2 Sam .7:14).

Influenced by the Holy Spirit Moses recorded in Genesis 1:1:In the beginning God created, and the writer of Hebrews was inspired to write in Hebrews 1:1 God who at various times, and in different places spoke to the fathers by the prophets has in these last days spoken unto us by His Son.

This sets God the Creator of heaven and earth apart from all competing deities. Without any pre-amble, and without any need to clarify, the Bible states the existence of God who is Maker of heaven and earth, and when God speaks all should listen.

The object of the writer of the letter to the Hebrews was to show the superior claims of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and to lead his readers from putting confidence in the rites and ceremonies of the old sacrificial system under which they had been brought up.

It was of essential importance that he should admit that their belief in the inspiration of the prophets was well founded. He fully admitted that all the beliefs of the Hebrews on that level was well founded, yet showed that the new revelation had more important claims to their attention.

Yes, in ages past God spoke to mankind through heavenly angelic messengers, and God revealed His divine will to His spokespersons through dreams, and visions.

Then later God spoke to the ancients through the prophets. The message He gave to Noah, and Abraham, and Moses, and Isaiah and Daniel were not the same. Finally God’s manservant Micah prophesied: Thou Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be least among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall come forth unto Me He that is to be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. For a period of fifteen hundred years, in different ways and to people of different backgrounds God gave His revelation to the world.

Each succeeding message revealed a little more about God and His plans for us as the situation warranted. Finally God spoke to humanity directly in the person of His Son Jesus Christ.

God was the Covenanter, and Provider to Abraham; to Moses He was the great I Am in the burning bush. Isaiah saw the holiness of God in the temple and cried out, Woe is me! For I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts." The young prophet to be had only seen a vision of God’s awesome and resplendent train and it filled him with Godly fear.

To Ezekiel He was the Balm in Gilead

All these glimpses of God by His revelation through angels, the patriarchs, and the prophets to mankind were only a mosaic, and not a full revelation of Himself.

Finally at a time predetermined in eternity past God sent His Son Jesus Christ.

The Lamb of God slain from before the foundation of the world entered human history to reclaim what Adam lost. The writer of the letter to the Hebrews wrote to encourage those early converts to Christianity and believers today to hold fast to the faith we have in Jesus Christ, and not turn away. He wrote to remind them and us today, that Jesus was the fulfillment of all the Old Testament prophecies, and that Jesus was all the fullness of the Godhead made visible.

Therefore under the influence of God’s Holy Spirit he wrote: "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, whom He hath appointed heir of all things"

These last days Ever since Jesus came to earth mankind has been living in the last days. We have been in this time period when the affairs of this world are being wound up. Please listen to me; I am in no way setting a time table. The writer of Hebrews can be taken to mean that since God has given His final word in the person of Jesus Christ time has been winding down.

The apostles and believers who lived as early as the first century looked forward to the soon return of our Lord and Savior.

If to those saints His coming had such a strong appeal, how much more urgently should we watch for our Lord’s return in our day?

The Great I Am who spoke to Moses from the burning bush the writer of Hebrews tell us is the very God who now presents Himself in bodily form. He is the express image of the Father come down to earth in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Epistle to the Hebrews is one of the greatest books in the word of God, and although no one knows with 100% certainty who its human writer is, or the exact date of it’s writing, all Bible students are in agreement that its author is the Holy Spirit. The writing of this epistle is generally attributed to the apostle Paul, a view with which the S.D.A Bible Commentary and many other Bible Scholars agree.

The early Hebrew converts were persecuted, and harassed, and ostracized by family and friends because they embraced Jesus Christ as the Messiah. Because of the hardships this caused many had stopped meeting with fellow believers, and some had seriously considered returning to the old sacrificial system.

My brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus Christ what hardship or suffering have you endured for the cause of Christ? Are you facing difficulties because of your stand for your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? Are you down-hearted? Are you or have you considered turning away from the truth of God’s word?

Where will you go? Paul wrote this letter to tell you who-ever- you are, not to turn back! Do not; oh do not apostatize from the faith. Will you turn aside to the old system, and reject your Lord and Savior? Will you reject your only hope of salvation? Your only way of escaping the fires of hell?

It is easy to believe when the going is smooth and easy, but how will you fare when circumstances change and your faith and beliefs are called into question? How will it be with me?

The letter to those Hebrew believers is just as applicable to us in these days before the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as it was to them.

Today, in many lands, in many cultures, and even here in our land of the free the religious freedom of many are more frequently being restricted.

There is something wrong if anyone cannot walk outside and look up at the heavens, or walk down to the beach and look at the ocean, or walk in the woods and observe the activities of nature and know that there is a divine Creator.

Psalm 19:1 declares: The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth His handiwork... and Psalm 14:1 The fool said in his heart ‘there is no God

The first given to be noted in the word of God is that ‘He is’ and the second is that ‘God has spoken!’ Is anybody listening? God has spoken through His Son Jesus Christ.

The whole Bible from Genesis to Revelation is a mosaic of the revelation of God’s deep abiding love for His creatures.

God had employed many methods in communicating His will.

His revelation began as recorded by Moses with Adam and terminated with Malachi over a period of over 3,500 years.

God in ages past chose not to give all His truths to any one person. The message that He gave to Noah was not the message He revealed to Abraham and after that to Moses. What He told Isaiah, He did not tell Micah.

Over a period of fifteen hundred years God revealed His will. Then a period of 400 hundred years elapsed during which there was no word from God. This period of time was known as the silent years. Then John the Baptist began preaching a message of repentance by the Jordan River the forerunner of Jesus the Messiah who in (Matthew chapter3; Mark chapter1; Luke 3:2-38; John 1:29) presented Jesus to the nation of Israel as the Lamb of God. Interestingly, although they were cousins Jon had never met Jesus,