HEB 13:9 Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by ceremonial foods, which are of no value to those who eat them. 10 We have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat. 11 The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp.

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Dr Tong started by reminding the audience on what was taught during the previous week. The apostles Paul and John faced the challenges from many advocates of heretical teachings, but the key to distinguishing orthodox from heretical teachings lie in the correct understanding of Christology. Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of the church. Many people thought that the church is built upon Peter the rock. But the apostle Peter himself declared Christ to be the cornerstone (1 Peter 2:6). Christ was not simply a good man, the best example for all humanity. He is God, and His perfection as a human being came from His divinity. The liberals are only interested in the humanity of Jesus Christ. The damage they did to the church is not lesser than that of the heretics. Dr Tong declared that any church that refers to Christ only via his humanity will surely decline and fail. All Christians ought to affirm that Christ was truly man, and truly God, the mediator between man and God.

This was why the author maintained that we are not to be carried away by strange teachings. The author followed by telling us to be strengthen by grace and not by ceremonial food. Jesus Christ said that we are not to live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Matt 4:4). Unhappily, many preachers do not understand this, and are interested in leading a life of good food. The apostle Paul said that their stomach is their god (Phi 3:19). Confucius said that to the people, food is as important as heaven. But Jesus Christ said that His food is to do the will of God (John 4:34). He also said that we should not labour for food that will spoil, but food that will last into eternity (John 6:27). This eternal food is to be found in Christ Himself, as He asked us to eat of His flesh and drink of His blood. In other words, we are to know that Christ is not of this world. We are to do His will as our food and aim to be obedient to His commands as the ultimate thing that will satisfy us. The things of this world are simply of no value to us.

Dr Tong said that in his church in Indonesia, they have a 6 am Saturday prayer meeting when his preachers will take turn speaking to the gathering. Every one of the preachers were good at preaching in their own way, but one stood out special. This preacher once knew a beautiful girl who was his classmate in the seminary. They broke up because the girl's parents forbade the relationship to carry on, but he accepted this as God's will. He said that when he was studying in one of the best university in Indonesia 7 years ago, suddenly he ran out of money. He was not willing to call his parents for help, because he believed that the LORD was going to use this opportunity to test him. So he called upon the LORD to deliver him and supply his needs. Nothing happened for the first day, and he had nothing to eat. He kept waiting and was very hungry, but no one came to help him. Days past, and he kept waiting in faith. Only on the 7th day did a stranger give him money for food, and he was down to only 50 kg by then. He shared that the first 3 days were difficult, but the Holy Spirit was with him for the rest of the 4 days, and it passed quickly. He believed that the LORD had used the incident to train him to rely solely upon God for His provision, and the LORD was faithful to him. But when he remembered that our LORD fasted for 40 days and night, he felt ashamed about this experience. Dr Tong said that he was greatly moved by his testimony, for this young person was willing to be obedient to the LORD even though he was tested in the matters of love and his daily provisions. Dr Tong believes that the LORD will surely use this young person mightily in his ministry. Ironically, when Dr Tong preached the next day, the parents of the preacher's ex-girlfriend were sitting right in front, and Dr Tong wondered how they now felt when he proclaimed that God will want to use this person mightily.

Conversely, many preachers have failed in the twin matters of sexuality and material need, and sold out their birthrights easily. Dr Tong said that he knows personally two preachers who were gluttons, and their ministry failed completely. If we know alot about good food, but little about the Word of God, we are far from the truth.

The next verse seems strange, about an altar the sacrifice upon which the priest cannot partake. This verse reminds the reader of the Day of Atonement in the Old Testament, when the High Priest entered into the Most Holy Place. He would only do this once a year, on the 10th day of the seventh month. He would bring the blood of the sacrifice into the Most Holy Place, leaving the body of the sacrifice outside the tabernacle. He would first seek forgiveness for his own sins, before seeking forgiveness for the people's sins. The sacrifice would be of a healthy, one year old lamb without blemishes. The meat of this sacrifice would be burned outside the tabernacle, and the priests would not partake of it, unlike the usual offerings.

All Jews would have known about the altar of the Old Testament, but the author was using this to remind them that the Old is passing away, and all the rituals are going away. There exists now a better way, through our LORD Jesus Christ. The reader is once again reminded that we have not come to Mount Zion on earth, but the new Jerusalem in heaven. All earthly system will pass away, just as the system of altar sacrifice ended at 70 A.D. when the temple was destroyed by General Titus of Rome. The Jews were persecuted, and the most significant event was the mass suicide of the Jews who defended Masada. About a thousand of them died rather than surrender to the encircling Roman troops. This incident became a historical rallying call for the Israeli today.

But the author's idea of the altar is completely not of the ritualistic one, which had passed away. The altar he was referring to was the sacrifice of our LORD Jesus Christ. All these pointed towards Jesus Christ, the lamb without blemish. This ritual represented how Christ would be made an atonement for our sins, and how He would suffer the pain of hellfire as if He were to be burned up. He gave of Himself as the eternal offering to God, His blood was the atonement, while His body was sacrificed outside of the city.

In totality, the author admonished the reader not to be swayed by false teachings, and to be strengthen by God's grace, seen in the sacrifice of the unchanging Jesus Christ. We do not rely on food and material things, but on the blood of the lamb upon the eternal altar. Because of that, our faith is strengthen and we are encouraged when we realised that we do not belong to this temporal world, but have placed our faith in the eternal one. We are to transform our entire life and not live as if we are still living in the traditions and rituals of the past, but live only for the kingdom that is eternal.

Disclaimer: This summary does NOT represent the official position of STEMI (Stephen Tong Evangelistic Ministry International), and is the personal opinion of the author, expressed without prejudice. Expressed opinions are meant for academic discussions only.