The emphasis of Hebrews was born out of the concern of the writer for those who had been true to Christ in the past but who were now wavering. Signs of defection from the faith brought both a warning against apostasy and a fervent exhortation to press onward to spiritual maturity. The epistle argues that the death of Christ renders obsolete the Old Testament sacrificial system and presupposes thorough familiarity with that system by those to whom...