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Hebrews Study Crowd SLST

Hebrews lecture draws 125

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Daniel Stevens, Ph D, shared insights on the majesty of Jesus Christ as found in the book of Hebrews.

By Karen L. Willoughby

SALT LAKE CITY – Jesus is alive! Today. Right now. The divinely human Jesus is alive in heaven, where He is sitting as He has the last 2,000 years-plus, at the right hand of His Father, Almighty God.

So says the Bible in at least 100 places – Romans 8:34, Mark 16:19, and even Psalm 110:1, plus 97 more – and so says Daniel Stevens, Ph.D. , an associate professor of New Testament Interpretation at Boyce College in Louisville, Ky., the undergraduate arm of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Stevens spoke Jan. 30 at a three-hour colloquium on the New Testament book of Hebrews. The event was hosted by Gospel Grace Church in SLC and sponsored by the Salt Lake School of Theology.

The lecture, preceded by a catered barbecue dinner, brought together about 125 people from Utah (with perhaps a few of them from Idaho.) Josh Lankford and his guitar led in the singing of Christ be Magnified.

Others have explored various Christian themes in Hebrews, such as five warnings against abandoning the faith, the call to endurance, and the theological development of the early church. For this lecture, at least, Stevens focused on “The Majesty of Christ.”

With his words anchored in the English Standard Version (ESV) of the Bible and the Greek New Testament, Stevens opened with a question: “Who does Hebrews say Jesus is?”

Those in attendance at the colloquium were treated to dinner and fellowship time prior to the three lecture sessions.

The author of Hebrews doesn’t identify himself and there is no greeting, Stevens said. He suggested one of Paul’s friends wrote it to Jewish believers about 70 A.D., or at least in the second half of the first century. “With the word ‘us’ in chapter two, [v. 3] the author connects himself with believers,” Stevens said.

“Jesus is God and man forever,” Stevens lectured. His focus in the opening lecture was on the nature of Christ, starting with Jesus’ true and full divinity (which he’s had since He created the world and will have throughout eternity;), and, since the incarnation – when he arrived as a baby born by Mary – His true and full humanity, which He also will have throughout eternity.

Stevens asked and then proceeded to answer questions:

  • What did Jesus do? He made atonement for peoples’ sins.
  • What does Jesus do? He intercedes for us as a priest, and sits as king. (Only kings could sit; everyone else had to stand, and to bow before the king.)
  • What is Jesus’ role in salvation, according to Hebrews? He has two roles – king and priest – which “require the one person of Christ to have these two natures, and Hebrews’ explanations of Jesus’ priesthood and kingship don’t make sense without both [natures],” Stevens said.

After a short break Stevens talked about Jesus’ work.

  • The story of Jesus’ work that undergirds Hebrews is the same as what is found in the rest of the New Testament and in the early creeds of faith, the “I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord .…” The earliest creeds – statements of faith – date to 341 A.D.
  • “Jesus works atonement in Hebrews, and that receives most of the focus, but He also does far more than priestly sacrificial atonement,” Stevens said, before listing several things Hebrews depicts Jesus doing.
  • Among them, Jesus offered a new covenant, which established a closer relationship with God. He provided access to God’s presence. He advocates for believers. He sets the example for believers’ faith and obedience.

Stevens’ third lecture summarized the word of Jesus:

  • Hebrews bases every claim on Jesus’ interpretation of the Old Testament Scriptures.
  • The Scriptures are the Word of God.
  • The Scriptures come from Jesus.
  • The Scriptures speak about Jesus.

“Sometimes, Jesus speaks directly through the Old Testament scriptures in His proper person,” Stevens said.

Bottom line, people still today can, should, and do bow at the majesty of Jesus Christ, Stevens concluded. “When you look at Jesus, what you see is God. … When you talk about God, you’re talking about the Son,” he lectured.

Among other zingers Stevens injected into his lecture were these:

“What did Jesus come to do? Anything you can hope for, to reconcile you to God.”

Over 125 people attended the Winter Colloquium put on by the Salt Lake School of Theology and hosted by Gospel Grace Church.

“Sin does something to a person. It stains us, changes us; it’s a defilement. Jesus purifies us of our sin. Jesus purifies the inner self.”

“What is the role of the scriptures? They are the authority on doctrine and standard truth.”

“The writer of Hebrews teaches the Bible as if it were God speaking to us. To read the scriptures is to have God speak to you.”

Chris Hile coordinated the late January colloquium for the Salt Lake School of Theology.

“We consider an SLST colloquium to be a success when it equips Christians in Utah to know the Bible better, to grow in their love for God, and to equip them to be faithful followers of Christ in their everyday life,” Hile told UI Connections. “We believe that was the case this weekend, and we hope that these colloquia continue to provide opportunities for everyday Christians to grow in their understanding of the Bible and theology.”

Funds given through the UISBC’s York-Dillman State Missions Offering help Salt Lake School of Theology host seasonal events like these. The next colloquium is to take place in the Salt Lake City area in late August. More info to come in the months ahead. 



Karen Willoughby

National correspondent for Baptist Press

and other state Baptist newspapers

White Bird 1

Pleasant View Baptist gets a new school and new pastor

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By Karen Willoughby, UI Connections Staff Writer

Pleasant View Baptist Church, White Bird, ID

WHITE BIRD Idaho – This scenic village four hours north of Boise has a population of 88. Yet between 30 and 40 people attend Sunday morning services at Pleasant View Baptist Church.

That’s up from the seven who called Randy Myers as pastor in October 2019.

“Then Covid came in March [2020,]” Myers told UI Connections. “That slowed things somewhat, but the Lord has blessed us. We’ve had a number saved and baptized, and a number of new people because of Covid.”

Pleasant View Baptist also started a weekday Christian school this fall, despite no money, no building, and no teacher until just before the school year started.

“It was not possible for us to do it,” Myers said. “God works in so many different ways. We just have to be available and pray all the time, all the time. Pray without ceasing.”

Schoolchildren in White Bird are bused to school in Grangeville, 18 miles north, and Myers didn’t like what he was hearing about school board decisions there related to library books and gender diversity.

“Last year the high school approved and placed a litter box in the girls’ bathroom because a girl identified as a cat,” Myers said.

Pleasant View congregation in prayer

“I didn’t know how to do it, [start a school] didn’t know where, didn’t know when we’d get a teacher. And we didn’t know how to finance it. We started praying about it.

“I went to a Gideons’ banquet, and asked, ‘Would you guys pray with us about a Christian school?’ A pastor across the table asked me, ‘What salary would you need for a teacher?’ I said, ‘I guess $1,000 a month for 9 months. He thought a minute and said, ‘I can give you that for a school year.’ I called him the next morning to make sure I heard him right.”

Myers told that to the Pleasant View congregation. A location for the school came next. The White Bird church seats about 60 people, and there are only two small classrooms. Someone suggested the former White Bird two-room schoolhouse, now being used as a recreation center.

“I went to a monthly meeting and asked if the Rec board would be open to us using the building for a school,” Myers said. “They said, ‘Sure, and we won’t charge you anything.’

“That was the second thing we needed for a school. We get to use one of the rooms, and we pay for utilities.

White Bird Christian School now meets in the home of the original two room schoolhouse in White Bird, ID (image: Idaho County Free Press)

“Now we needed a teacher,” the pastor continued. “It was June and we needed to start in August. We’re praying and praying and praying.”

The last week in July, Pleasant View Baptist hosted a fundraising meeting for a woman who wanted to do ministry in the Czech Republic. A couple came from Grangeville to hear her, and during the fellowship that followed, the couple heard about the plans for a school and the need for a teacher.

“I’m a certified teacher,” said the woman from Grangeville. “I’d like to do it.”

Pleasant View Christian School has four students this year: one in first grade, two in third and one in sixth, “because we started late,” Myers said. He anticipates several more students next year if for no other reason than White Bird students catch the bus at 6:30 a.m. and don’t get home until 4:30 p.m., a 10-hour day for youngsters.

“We’ve got the school board going, the finances going, and we’re ready for the next school year,” the pastor continued. “Everything’s functioning and everything is doing well. The Lord is blessing everything.”

New pastor

Myers turned 79 last month. He’s ready to retire (for the second time) and move to Leoma, Tenn., where he and his wife Sue have been given the no-cost (except for utilities) use of a spacious house. But he didn’t want to leave until a new pastor had been called.

Randy and Sue Myers retire in February after forty years serving Utah and Idaho churches

Some churches spend two years or more to find a new pastor. This one, however, came just as easily as did the school.

“My God is so awesome,” Myers said.

Bill Horn, longtime pastor of First Baptist Church in Clearwater, died from Covid in 2020. The church has been looking for a pastor ever since. Don Starn, a member of the search committee, recently called a reference for a prospective pastor for Clearwater, and passed on to Myers the name of the reference: John Morris of Alamagordo, N.M.

Pleasant View members called Morris and his wife Trish in late January; they plan to move to White Bird in late February. His first Sunday preaching is to be Feb. 4.

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Safety for Groups in the Home and Classroom

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This article is reposted with permission from Ken Braddy of Lifeway Christian Resources on 09/16/2021 as a training tip article for utilizing safety when you meet in Bible study groups, whether in home or on the church campus. More articles like this can be found at https://kenbraddy.com.  

NASHVILLE, TN- A message featuring a Red Cross nurse and prevention instructions appeared in the U.S. publication Illustrated Current News in 1918[i]:

  • Do not take anyone’s breath
  • Keep mouth and teeth clean
  • Avoid those who cough and sneeze
  • Don’t visit poorly ventilated places
  • Keep warm, get fresh air and sunshine
  • Don’t use common drinking cups, towels, etc.
  • Cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze
  • Avoid worry, fear, and fatigue
  • Stay at home if you have a cold
  • Walk to your work or office

Today we are using some of the above guidelines such as practice social distancing, cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze, wear a mask, and stay at home if you have symptoms of sickness.

In the fall of 2021, churches and their Bible study groups are facing some hard choices. The fall was supposed to be a time of regathering, but the rise of the COVID variants plus the number of new cases involving the unvaccinated and children have caused groups to be cautious once again. How can groups practice safety in the classroom and in the home? If 2020 and 2021 have revealed anything to us, it is the fact that we are not going to agree on how to go about living in a world with the COVID virus. Depending on their stance related to the pandemic, pastors have felt the disdain of pro-mask and anti-mask people, as well as pro-vaccine and anti-vaccine people. Groups have become a microcosm of the church, and even among friends, divisions over philosophy, practice, and politics have strained or broken relationships. The Apostle Paul’s appeal for unity in the church seems incredibly timely these days, doesn’t it?

Safety in the classroom and the home for Groups

Fall is upon us, the COVID variants are raging, hospitals are full, and more children than ever are contracting the virus. The unvaccinated are filling hospital beds as the virus makes its way through that part of our population. What options do Bible study groups have in a world like this?

The Venn diagram below might be helpful in quickly assessing your options. We must all decide what level of guidance we will give groups regarding the safety of members. There are 5 approaches we can take to help groups make decisions about the safety of the people in their groups.

The Heavy-Handed Approach – Heavy-handed doesn’t mean it’s a bad approach. It is one in which church leaders mandate or strongly recommend that group members wear masks, practice social distancing, and observe other safety precautions. This approach requires a level of intestinal fortitude on the part of the leader.

The Helping Hands Approach – In this approach to guiding groups, the leader helps groups by being proactive. Chairs in classrooms are spaced out, optional masks are given to the group leader to distribute if wanted by the group members, and classrooms are cleaned in between usage by different groups. Most churches have grown lax in their cleaning precautions since mid-2020 when we had less information about the virus. Familiarity with the virus has caused us to be less cautious than we were in the early days of the pandemic. As we face down the COVID variants, it’s probably time to return to more disciplined cleaning for the time being.

The Hands-off Approach – This is an intentional decision by a leader who is uncomfortable with controversy. I get it. No one likes being griped at. We want people to like us. This is why some leaders do not address the “COVID elephant in the room” – they don’t want to lose their jobs or their friends. A hands-off approach in a pandemic is not advisable, in my opinion. Leaders are supposed to lead, not acquiesce to those who threaten you.  If you think this is the best approach, consider the actions of the Tekoite leaders at Nehemiah 3:5. “Beside them the Tekoites made repairs, but their nobles did not lift a finger to help…” Their hands-off approach got them a place in history – they are forever remembered as hands-off leaders who refused to lead during a desperate time in Israel’s history.

The On-the-Other-Hand Approach – As we head into fall 2021, we should help groups consider other ways to meet together, much like we did in 2020 when the pandemic was in full swing. We can tell group leaders, “On the other hand, you might consider meeting online again for a time, meeting outside, or meeting on a different day and time so you can spread out in a larger unused room.” To an on-campus group, we might suggest, “On the other hand, why don’t you place group members in smaller pods and have them meet in homes for a time?” We might even suggest that now is the time for the group to plant another one, send out some of the group members to start it, and reduce the size of the group so that social distancing is easier for both groups.

The Skillful Hands Approach – Psalm 78:72 says of King David, “He shepherded them with a pure heart and guided them with his skillful hands” (CSB). It takes discernment, wisdom, and application of biblical principles to skillfully guide God’s people. As we move into the fall and winter months of 2021, we all need a fresh word from God about how we can lead our groups most effectively. We are in unprecedented times, and people who have skillful hands are needed now more than ever. Having skillful hands means not only knowing the right course of action, but moving people toward that preferred future. We skillfully lead, guide, coax, and persuade people to act in their own best interests, the interests of others, and in ways that honor God at all times.

And now for the potentially controversial part of this blog post…

We live in an incendiary time when words create worlds, and battles take place not with weapons, but with words that cut to the quick and do significant harm. You may not agree with what I am about to suggest, and I respect your right to your opinion. We may have to agree to disagree, but here are my thoughts about safety in classrooms and home groups:

  1. I am in favor of the COVID vaccine. The one caveat I have is that if your doctor suggests differently, then don’t get it! You and your physician will know what is best for you and your body. I have friends whose loved ones have died unvaccinated. I have other friends who now have untold debt because of a preventable 4-to-6 week hospital stay (one friend is planning on refinancing their home to pay a mountain of medical debt – hospital bills have proved devastating). I recently talked to a grieved pastor from east Texas who buried 5 church members in one week (all COVID related deaths). I got the vaccine, as did my wife. I am thankful for the way God has gifted men and women in the medical field with great knowledge and wisdom. Many worked tirelessly to get the vaccines to us. I grieve when I see videos of people who were unvaccinated making deathbed pleas for friends and family members to consider being vaccinated, struggling to breathe as they make their pleas.
  2. I am in favor of masks – kind of. Do I like wearing them? No. Do they help? Yes. They are not perfect, but they do provide a level of protection, albeit imperfect protection. I am not in favor of wearing masks forever! Let’s get to a higher level of herd immunity, and then we can eliminate the need to wear masks. I don’t balk if a local business asks me to put one on to do business with them. It’s just not a big deal to me. Nor do I balk if a church asks me to wear one while I’m in a group or on their campus. It’s not a hill I want to die on. We’ve got bigger fish to fry.
  3. I am in favor of groups meeting together. The social isolation we’ve experienced over the last 18 months has proved one thing for sure: we need each other. We are designed by our Creator for relationships. Genesis 2:18 says that “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper corresponding to him” (CSB). Adam needed Eve, and they both needed and walked with God in the Garden of Eden. If meeting together means sitting further apart and wearing a mask for an hour, then I’ll gladly make that exchange because I need my fellow group members, and they need me.
  4. I am in favor of protecting others. I don’t know who is unvaccinated. According to the statistics, it looks like a good number of people are not vaccinated! So if I can help them avoid the virus, a financially debilitating hospital stay, or death, I’ll gladly do my part. I’ve heard others say, “If the unvaccinated die, then they die…it’s their own fault.” I would rather take the approach that Peter did in 2 Peter 3 when he encouraged the church with these words: “Also, regard the patience of our Lord as salvation…” (2 Peter 3:15). People who die without Christ will be eternally separated from God. Peter encouraged his readers to use their time wisely, and every day the Lord “delays” His return is another day to be His evangelist. If my actions can prolong the life of someone else, giving them more time to hear and respond to the gospel, how could I choose otherwise?
  5. I choose faith, not fear. As believers, we have nothing to fear. I do not fear death. I do not fear a virus. I fear the One who stands as the Righteous Judge, the One who sacrificed His Son in order for me to have eternal life. I reverentially fear Him. I do not fear COVID. But if I can immunize myself through the work of God-gifted scientists, I will. If I can protect myself, my family, my friends, and my community, then I will. I want to have as long a life as possible in which to serve God and others.

In the end, each church, each group, and each individual will have to make their own decisions about the kind of safety they will want in groups that meet on campus or in homes. Whatever the decisions may be, I know that the world will see Jesus when they see our love for one another. Stories of churches, groups, and individuals fighting over masks, distancing, and vaccinations will not advance the Kingdom of God. If we can accomplish safety while maintaining our unity, we will keep our Christian witness intact. There’s a lost world watching us. Let’s give them something to watch that points them to Christ.

[i] https://www.clinicaloncology.com/COVID-19/Article/07-20/Vaccine-Efforts-In-the-1918-Flu-Pandemic/58837