Outline of Hebrews: The Five Sermons that make up the Book of Hebrews

Hebrews does not read like the rest of the letters in the New Testament. All the others start with some sort of greeting, but the anonymous author of Hebrews starts dramatically with an awe inspiring sentence. Since there are five warning passages in Hebrews, many commentators have speculated that the "Letter to the Hebrews" actually started as five written sermons which the author then edited into one letter. Following this analysis, the letter can be outlined briefly like this:

The First Sermon on the greatness of Christ

1.1. Since our Saviour is greater than the prophets (Heb. 1:1-4)

1.2. And since our Saviour is greater than the angels (Heb. 1:5-14)

1.3. Therefore we must not neglect such a great salvation (Heb. 2:1-4)

The Second Sermon on the superiority of Christ

2.1. Since our Saviour has such great humanity (Heb. 2:5-9)

2.2. And since our Saviour shares in our humanity (Heb. 2:10-13)

2.3. And since our Saviour’s humanity has liberated us from the devil and death itself (Heb. 2:14-15)

2.4. And since our Saviour’s humanity means he can truly empathise with us and pray for us (Heb. 2:16-15) 

2.5. And since our Saviour is greater than Moses in His work (Heb. 3:1-4)

2.6. And since our Saviour is greater than Moses in His person (Heb. 3:5-6)

2.7. Therefore we should not neglect such a great salvation (Heb. 3:7-18)

2.8. Instead we should rest in such a great salvation (Heb. 4:1-13)

The Third Sermon on the reign and intercession of Christ

3.1. Since our compassionate Saviour is already reigning from the place of ultimate authority (Heb. 4:14-16)

3.2. And since our Savour is perfectly qualified to act as our Priest (Heb. 5:1-10)

3.3. Therefore we must not neglect such a great salvation (Heb. 5:11-6:8)

3.4. Instead we should continue to work for God and trust in His promises (Heb. 6:9-20)

Fourth Sermon on the superior priesthood of Christ

4.1. Since Christ is a priest after the order of Melchizedek (Heb. 7:1-23)

4.2. And since Christ’s priesthood is so great (Heb. 7:26-8:13)

4.3. And since the Old Covenant’s tabernacle/temple/sanctuary and its sacrifices were inadequate to the task of dealing with human sin (Heb. 9:1-10)

4.4. And since the New Covenant’s sanctuary and sacrifices are perfect for the task of dealing with human sin (Heb. 9:11-15)

4.6. And since the Old Covenant was only a shadow of the New Covenant (Heb. 10:1-4)

4.7. And since the reality of the New Covenant has already come (Heb. 10:5-10)

4.8. And since Christ’s shed blood both has made us holy and enables us to become holy (Heb. 10:11-18)

4.9. And since all these benefits are freely available to us by faith alone (Heb. 10:19-25)

4.10. Therefore we must not neglect such a great salvation (Heb. 10:26-39)

The Fifth Sermon on Saving Faith

5.1. Since saving faith is so simple (Heb. 11-1-3)

5.2. And since we have seen saving faith lived out in the Old Testament (Heb. 11:4-40)

5.3. And since saving faith endures (Heb. 12:1-11)

5.4. And since saving faith is lived out in everyday life (Heb. 12:12-17)

5.5. And since saving faith gives us astonishing privileges (Heb. 12:18-24)

5.6. Therefore we should not refuse to listen to God’s word with saving faith (Heb. 12:25-29)

5.7. And therefore we must live out our saving faith in everyday life (Heb. 13:1-19)

5.8. Concluding prayer and final remarks (Heb. 13:20-25)

Detailed Outlines

The first two sermons are quite short and simple, but the last three are quite complicated, so they can be outline in detail like this:

The Third Sermon on the reign and intercession of Christ

3.1. Since our compassionate Saviour is already reigning from the place of ultimate authority (Heb. 4:14-16)

3.2. And since our Savour is perfectly qualified to act as our Priest (Heb. 5:1-10)

   3.2.1. because He is more compassionate than any human priest (Heb. 5:1-4)

   3.2.2. because He has more right than any human priest (Heb. 5:5-6)

   3.2.3. because He is more compassionate than any human priest (Heb. 5:7-10)

3.3. Therefore we must not neglect such a great salvation (Heb. 5:11-6:8)

   3.3.1. by remaining ignorant of God’s word (Heb. 5:11-14)

   3.3.2. by building on what we have learned (Heb. 6:1-6)

   3.3.3. by failing to produce good fruits that honour God (Heb. 6:7-8)

3.4. Instead we should continue (Heb. 6:9-20)

   3.4.1. continue to work for God (Heb. 6:9-12)

  3.4.2. continue to trust in the promises of God (Heb. 6:13-20)

Fourth Sermon on the superior priesthood of Christ

4.1. Since Christ is a priest after the order of Melchizedek (Heb. 7:1-23)

   4.1.1. Description of Melchizedek’s priesthood (Heb. 7:1-3)

   4.1.2. Why Melchizedek’s priesthood was greater than the Jewish Levitical priesthood (Heb. 7:4-10)

   4.1.3. The Levitical priesthood was imperfect (Heb. 7:11-25)

      4.1.3.1. because it was established after Melchizedek’s priesthood (Heb.7:11-13)

      4.1.3.2. because it was limited by being limited to ancestry  (Heb. 7:14-17)

      4.1.3.3. because it was part of the weakness of the Law of Moses (Heb. 7:18-19)

      4.1.3.4. because God gave it lesser promises than Melchizedek’s priesthood (Heb. 7:20-22)

      4.1.3.5. because each Levitical priest ended in death (Heb. 7:23-25)

4.2. And since Christ’s priesthood is so great (Heb. 7:26-8:13)

   4.2.1. because He is purer than any earthly priest (Heb. 26-28)

   4.2.2. because His heavenly reign makes Him more influential than any earthly priest (Heb. 8:1-6)

   4.2.3. because His priesthood is part of the new, more powerful covenant (Heb. 8:7-13)

4.3. And since the Old Covenant’s tabernacle/temple/sanctuary and its sacrifices were inadequate to the task of dealing with human sin (Heb. 9:1-10)

   4.3.1. because the earthly sanctuary was only symbolic (Heb. 9:1-5)

   4.3.2. because sacrifices were insufficient to deal adequately with human sin (Heb. 9:6-10)

4.4. And since the New Covenant’s sanctuary and sacrifices are perfect for the task of dealing with human sin (Heb. 9:11-15)

   4.4.1. because its sanctuary is the God-made reality, not the man-made copy (Heb. 9:11)

   4.4.2. because its sacrifice is perfect (Heb. 9:12-15)

      4.4.2.1.  by means of the perfection of Christ's blood shed for sin (Heb. 12-14)

      4.4.2.2. by means of the perfection of the ransom that Christ paid (Heb. 9:15)

4.5. And since both Covenants demand that sin must be punished (Heb. 9:16-28)

   4.5.1. in the Old Covenant the bloody death of animals was used to make some things pure (Heb. 9:16-22)

   4.5.2. in the New Covenant the bloody death of Christ now makes heaven pure for us (Heb. 9:23-28)

4.6. And since the Old Covenant was only a shadow of the New Covenant (Heb. 10:1-4)

   4.6.1. because no amount of animal blood is sufficient to deal with human sin (Heb. 10:1-4)

4.7. And since the reality of the New Covenant has already come (Heb. 10:5-10)

4.8. And since Christ’s shed blood both has made us holy and enables us to become holy (Heb. 10:11-18)

4.9. And since all these benefits are freely available to us by faith alone (Heb. 10:19-25)

4.10. Therefore we must not neglect such a great salvation (Heb. 10:26-39)

   4.10.1. by deliberately keep on sinning (Heb. 10: 26-31)

   4.10.2. by caving in to the demands of the world (Heb. 10:32-34)

   4.10.3. by not bothering to persevere through difficulty (Heb. 10:35-39)

The Fifth Sermon on Saving Faith

5.1. Since saving faith is so simple (Heb. 11-1-3)

5.2. And since we have seen saving faith lived out in the Old Testament (Heb. 11:4-40)

   5.2.1. in the life of Able (Heb. 11:4)

   5.2.2. in the life of Enoch (Heb. 11:5-6)

   5.2.3. in the life of Noah (Heb. 11:7)

   5.2.3. in the life of Abraham (Heb. 11:8-19)

   5.2.4. in the lives of Isaac, Jacob and Joseph (Heb. 11:20-22)

   5.2.4. in the life of Moses (Heb. 11-23-29)

   5.2.5. in the lives of Joshua and Rahab (Heb. 11:30-31)

   5.2.6. in the lives of numerous other Old Testament saints (Heb. 11:32-40)

5.3. And since saving faith endures (Heb. 12:1-11)

   5.3.1.  Saving faith endures by Christ’s example of endurance (Heb. 12:1-3)

   5.3.2. Saving faith endures God’s discipline (Heb. 12:4-11)

5.4. And since saving faith is lived out in everyday life (Heb. 12:12-17)

   5.5. And since saving faith gives us astonishing privileges (Heb. 12:18-24)

      5.5.1. the privilege of approaching God without trembling fear (Heb. 12:18-21)

      5.5.2. the privilege of being a member of the heavenly Church (Heb. 12:22-24)

5.6. Therefore we should not refuse to listen to God’s word with saving faith (Heb. 12:25-29)

5.7. And therefore we must live out our saving faith in everyday life (Heb. 13:1-19)

   5.7.1. Saving faith changes the way we relate to others (Heb. 13:1-3)

   5.7.2. Saving faith changes the way we think about sex and money (Heb. 4-6)

   5.7.3. Saving faith changes the way we think about church (Heb. 13:7-

      5.7.3.1. about church leadership (Heb. 13:7-8)

      5.7.3.2. about what is taught in church (Heb. 13:9-10)

      5.7.3.3. about how the world may despise the church (Heb. 13:11-14)

      5.7.3.4. about how we worship God in church (Heb. 13:15-16)

      5.7.3.5. about church leadership (Heb. 13:17-19)

5.8. Concluding prayer and final remarks (Heb. 13:20-25)