This episode focuses narrowly on the explanation of John 8:56, in which Christ notes that Abraham "rejoiced to see My day and was glad." The explanation is very pertinent to the question, "Do Jews and Christians believe in the same God?" For if the father of Judaism, Abraham, actually saw the pre-incarnate Christ, in the context of making a covenant with Yahweh, then faith in God the Father is intimately linked with God the Son. Genesis 15:6-18 describes the covenant that God made with Abraham. When two parties made a covenant both would walk in between animals split in half, pronouncing blessings and curses for keeping the covenant. Abraham did not walk in between the animals but instead saw a "smoking oven and a flaming torch." When interpreted through the words of Christ, that Abraham SAW Christ's day and was glad, Abraham evidently saw his perfect representative, Christ, making a covenant with God the Father--good reason to rejoice. Abraham is described as "ungodly" in Romans 4:3, but is commended because he believes in God who justifies the ungodly. The Abrahamic covenant then anticipates the New Covenant that Christ instituted, in which ungodly men are justified by faith in Him. So even at the very beginning of Judaism, justification by faith in Christ, albeit not explicit, affirms the basis by which sinners approach a holy God, through a perfect representative. With respect to the question then, one can certainly say that Christians and the first Jew (Abraham) believed in the same God.
Who was the God of Jesus?
"This initial episode sets the stage for the question by asking ""who was the God of Jesus?"" All Jews were monotheists, daily reciting the shema, ""Here o Israel, the Lord Our God, the Lord is One."" Christ, a good Jew, affirmed this core belief of Judaism, but identified this God as His own Father, even claiming that He was the God of the Old Testament, citing the Name of God made known to Moses, ""I am that I am."" [YHWH} (Exodus 3:14, John 8:58) So, while the New Testament affirms that Jesus' God was Yahweh, it also describes the Trinitarian nature of the One God, Jesus being God the Son. Both God the Father and God the Son are one is essence, but distinct persons of the Godhead. John 1:1 consequently affirms the oneness of God described in the shema, but notes distinctions within the godhead, ""In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God."" Jews prior to Christ only had glimpses of this Trinitarian God in the Old Testament, for the explicit revelation of the godhead only came with the incarnate Christ, who ""explained"" the Father. (John 1:18)
Break up Your Fallow Ground, and Let the King of Glory Come In!
This final episode of the series encourages and challenges believers to break up fallow ground and seek the Lord until God rains His righteousness on them. (Hosea 10:12) The series has lately highlighted how genuine and consistent seeking after God doesn't just lead to righteousness but encounters with God Himself. The psalmist in Psalm 84 consequently longs for God's dwelling place, and in psalm 26:8, David calls it the place where "His glory dwells." Taken together, the Scriptures call for believers to balance the call to deny themselves in breaking up the fallow with the ultimate reward of being so transformed that God Himself, the river that never runs dry, satisfies the longings of the Christian. The latter part of the episode addresses the challenges of breaking up fallow ground. While it definitely includes hardened sinful habits, the program deals with the thought life of many believers that, while not overtly sinful, nevertheless amount to vast fields of wasted mental engagement on things that go nowhere. God wants to dwell in our minds, so the initial daunting task of reorienting thought life around what is pure, noble and excellent (Philippians 4:8) is nevertheless a mandate. The episode closes with a practical challenge to seek God consistently through prayer and reading of the Scriptures, to the exclusion of social media and even news.
The God-centered Motivation Behind all Good Works
This final episode sums up what constitutes a good work. Good works fundamentally seek the glory of God and aim to honor God as God and give Him thanks. All good works build on the finished work of Christ, which is the application of Christ's work of redemption to all who believe in Him. Christians don't work to be saved, but do in fact work since they are "God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works." (Ephesians 2:10) The latter part of the episode focuses on the response of the two faithful servants in the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-29). Both live for the pleasure of their Master and invest the gifts and talents that God gave them to bring Him a return on His investment. The text indicates that they delighted in bringing pleasure to God. This core desire to honor and please our Lord, Who has given us everything, is the driving motivation behind all good works.
ALL ‘Good” Works’ Grow out of Worship
This episode spells out the disconnect between believers' conception of good works and those of unbelievers. Worship of God is the indispensable element of all good works, according to the Scriptures. Believers, because of a cleansed conscience (Hebrews 9:14) and a new heart given at regeneration, aim to worship and serve God, and bring forth "good" works as they abide in Christ. (John 15:5) Unbelievers, even if they accept and adhere to Biblical morals, really don't have the worship of God in view. The basis for good works or being a good person is often the low standard of not committing felonies and/or adherence to acceptable moral standards as defined by the culture at large. Since morality and "good works" aren't related to the honor and worship of God, a completely different standard of what constitutes good works predominates among most unbelievers. And, it is typically based on a comparative assessment of oneself in light of others. These differing standards of what constitutes good works help explain the disconnect between believers' and unbelievers' conception of good works. The latter part of the episode suggests a different tactic in reaching unbelievers, focusing on using the "worship" standard of good works, instead of morality, untethered to worship of God.
Forgiveness-focused Salvation Usually Indicates a Worship Disorder
This episode addresses the subtle idolatry of many believers who fail to grasp the purpose of salvation, which should be, according to Hebrews 9:14, service/worship of God. The previous episode noted typical reasons why many say they go to church: "being a better person" and "feeling better about oneself" are some of the anthropocentric responses indicating a worship disorder. Salvation in this skewed perspective is principally about the forgiveness of sins and addressing low self-esteem, making man's needs the purpose of salvation. Hebrews 9:14 however insists that forgiveness of sins is simply the necessary condition of being a better worshipper: "the blood of Jesus cleanses our consciences from dead works [forgiveness] to serve the living God." Biblical salvation always has worship and service to God as the driving motivation behind all religious activity. While it necessarily addresses mankind's sin issues, and by declaring him holy, his esteem issues, salvation always considers the endgame, which is worship and service of the living God. All "good" works flow from sanctified worship. If worship of God is not the ultimate goal of salvation, then believers will naturally make themselves the idol gods they serve, corrupting all so-called "good" works they produce.
Why Go to Church? Your Answer Might Reveal an Idol/Idle God
The last few episodes highlight a central goal of salvation: pure, undefiled worship/service of God. Embrace of this objective, according to Hebrews 6:1 is through "repentance from dead works" and "faith toward God." This episode poses a simple question designed to test if we've truly repented from dead works: "Why do we go to church?" The Biblical answer, according to Hebrews 9:14, is that it enables us to become better worshippers. We correctly seek to be equipped for the work of ministry SO THAT we can serve God better. A common answer among those who have only partly repented from dead works is that they go to church to be better people, possibly indicating that worship and service of God is not really the ultimate objective. Their anthropocentric religious activity is aimed at self-improvement, mostly gaged by feelings and comparative assessments with others. (see the Pharisee and the Publican, Luke 18:9-14). Theocentric worship, not anthropocentric worship decked out with the form of godliness, must be the goal. Consequently, repentance from dead works is a repudiation of EVERYTHING and EVERY WORK that ultimately replaces worship of God with another substitute. And, it is absolutely essential to produce good works acceptable to God.
Good Works and a Clean Conscience
Unbelievers are unable to do good works because all their works are described as "dead." This fact alone severely corrupts true worship. The author of Hebrews made this connection in Heb. 9:14: "how much more will the blood of Christ cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God." Since good works are essentially the outflow of sincere worship of God, and pure worship cannot flow from a defiled conscience, it naturally follows that unbelievers with defiled consciences cannot truly worship/serve God and produce good works as a result. This episode stresses that salvation cleanses the conscience of all DEAD and so--called "good" works" based mostly on self-idolatry, for the purpose of undefiled, exclusive worship of the LIVING God.
Born Again to Worship..and Work
This episode brings together many of the integral themes discussed so far, highlighting the impossibility of unbelievers doing good works. This conclusion is inescapable in light of Jewish failure to produce good works. Uncircumcised in heart and ears, the best that Old Testament believers produced was worship contaminated by self-idolatry and works that were essentially "filthy rags." (Isaiah 64:6) For this reason Christ emphasized the absolute necessity of being born again (John 3:5-8 ) in order to "worship God in Spirit and truth" (John 4:24)
Worship that Reverses the Great Exchange
This episode focuses on the high bar of true worship articulated by Christ in John 4:22-23, "An hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth." The statement naturally begs the question, "Were Jews previously worshiping the Father in the flesh and a lie?" This would be the natural conclusion of Christ's insistence that one MUST be born again and Paul's description of the great exchange in Rom 1, where men exchange the truth of God for a lie. Importantly, God had revealed His truth perfectly, highlighted by Christ's acknowledgment that "salvation is from the Jews." The Jews were nevertheless no exception to the great exchange, indicating that even though they were the blessed recipients of God's Word, the rampant idolatry of their hearts constantly produced fleshly worship more disposed to self-worship than the worship of the one true God. Idolatrous worship reigns among the unregenerate, those Jews who are "uncircumcised of heart and ears." (Acts 7:51) Regeneration, being born of the Spirit, is therefore the necessary precondition to worshipping God in Spirit and truth. With respect to the question about the possibility of good works for unbelievers, the logic is inescapable. If Jews prior to Christ couldn't escape their fleshly worship of the lie, even though they were entrusted with God's perfect Truth, how can unbelievers do good works when their idolatry is not remotely tempered by the Word of God?