Preaching Hebrews: The End of Religion and Faithfulness to the End

by Douglas D. Webster

Hebrews is a powerful meditation on the gospel. It is a sixty-minute sermon delivered to a worshiping congregation. The spiraling impact of theological exposition and pastoral exhortation is impressive. Hebrews weans us away from our preoccupation with the start of the Christian life and focuses our attention on the perseverance of faith. Life is not a sprint; it's a marathon. Faithfulness to the end affirms faith from the beginning. If we let the word of God have its way with us, Hebrews will deepen our faith in Christ and strengthen our faithfulness. Like Jesus in the Gospels, Hebrews sees the fundamental difference between apostasy and faithfulness as the difference between a religion about God and a Christ-centered relationship with God. Any form of Christianity that competes like other religions for the attention of its adherents through its rituals, practices, pastors, traditions, and sacred spaces, has fallen back into an obsolete and worldly strategy. The pastor calls for a decisive end to religion, even the best religion ever conceived. The flow of reasoned argument for Christ and against religion, along with the pulsating emotional intensity of ultimate issues laid bare, and heart-felt warnings against complacency and unbelief, deliver a powerful and timely message. ""Most scholars believe that Hebrews began life as an exhortation preached to a congregation. So who better to engage with it than a very fine preacher and astute theological thinker? In this work Doug Webster provides the reader with a multitude of insights into the text and meaningful, relevant applications to today's culture and church life."" --Graham A. Cole, Dean, Vice President of Education, Professor of Biblical and Systematic Theology, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School ""Douglas Webster's treatment of Hebrews is fresh, focused, and foundational. While wide reading of other writers is evident, his own deep understanding of this central New Testament writing is vividly present, and his pastoral application of its message is steadily before the reader."" --James Earl Massey, Dean Emeritus, Professor-at-Large, Anderson University School of Theology ""This book shows us how a twenty-first-century preacher can apply the great biblical sermon that we know as the Epistle to the Hebrews. In a series of lively and hard-hitting chapters, Dr. Webster takes us into the heart of the gospel message and demonstrates that it is as relevant today as it was when it was first proclaimed."" --Gerald Bray, Research Professor of Divinity, Beeson Divinity School ""Have you ever wished that a pastor or teacher would sit down with you and some friends for a fireside chat to explain clearly the entire Letter of Hebrews? Then you should read this book by Doug Webster, an enthusiastic pastor-teacher who will help you catch the fire, the warnings, the encouragements, and the grand vision of Hebrews for life today."" --James W. Skillen, President (retired), Center for Public Justice Douglas D. Webster is professor of pastoral theology and preaching at Beeson Divinity School and a teaching pastor at The Cathedral Church of the Advent in Birmingham, Alabama.

222 pages, Paperback

Published October 9, 2017

About the author

Douglas D. Webster is Professor of Pastoral Theology and Preaching at Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham, Alabama.

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Next time I preach through Hebrews, this will be my new companion commentary. The first sentence got my attention immediately, “Before Hebrews was a letter, it was a sermon.” That perspective keeps the exposition moving and focused. The author is consistent in keeping the flow of the book in sight. In fact, I still plan to time a reading of it out loud, to test whether it does fit into roughly an hour. The idea of the whole book as a sermon fits well with the way it presents itself as a "word of exhortation." There are aspects of the big picture that are lost when we drill down at every juncture, and Webster does a good job of showing how the author of Hebrews resisted that urge.

It was clear that the intended audience was primarily pastors/teachers, and the book is very useful as a companion to preaching and teaching. There is enough of commentary and theories to locate the exposition within the broader scope of scholarship, but the book keeps moving with clear focus on the text. That makes this book all the more useful as a companion volume for those preaching or teaching Hebrews.

The substitution of "pastor" for "author" gave a clear sense of the pastoral intent of the author of Hebrews, though it sometimes felt a bit contrived. However, when you don't know who the author is, it does get boring to say author/writer throughout. And a pastoral perspective keeps application in view.

One theme that resonated particularly with me was the mention of pastor-dependence in our churches. Webster referred to that problem at several points, and I think that is significant concern. He quoted Flannery O'Conner and the Christ-haunted south in support of the problem. It is hard to take the lead (as a pastor) without suffering temptation--like Moses at the rock. The danger works both ways, putting both congregation and pastor at risk. That would be a interesting topic to discuss in classes on preaching and pastoral theology or with a group of church lay leaders and their pastor.

I found Preaching Hebrews helpful, encouraging, and challenging. The organization of chapters suggests a sermon or Bible study series. The illustrations and citations throughout provide helpful tools for comprehending and communicating the concepts of Hebrews. For example, the story about killing lone cockroaches unforgettably illustrates the absurdity of stamping our particular sins without addressing the core (where they are coming from) issues.