Review: I Wish Someone Would Explain Hebrews to Me!

The appearance of a new book by Stuart Olyott is always a welcome event and his latest offering is no exception. He is a master of good communication and clear Christ-centred teaching.
The letter to the Hebrews is one of the hardest books of the New Testament to understand, yet as the author says in his introduction, if we do not understand Hebrews we will misunderstand the Old Testament. In fact, he says, “Hebrews is the best commentary on the Old Testament ever written”. In 23 chapters he carefully states, illustrates and applies teaching of this letter. In every chapter he paraphrases each verse to bring home, in today’s English, the train of thought and argument. This is a most helpful feature as it enables the reader to grasp the big picture.

The author always remains faithful to the text, allowing the Bible to speak to us. He does not avoid difficult passages – in fact he spends more time explaining them. For instance, he sets aside a whole chapter to explain the difficult verses in Hebrews 6: 4 – 6 that speak to those who have fallen away.

This book is primarily for those who wish to fully grasp the teaching of the letter to the Hebrews. However the book will also be more than useful to any teacher about to embark on a series of Bible studies or sermons on this vital letter. Read it — you will not be disappointed. This book does explain Hebrews!

This review was first posted on GoodBookReviews.org. The site has been closed as of March 2019