Thursday, February 28, 2008

Christ: Prophet, Priest and King (An Analysis of Hebrews), Winford Claiborne


Christ: Prophet, Priest and King (An Analysis of Hebrews), Winford Claiborne

While attending Freed-Hardeman University I became friends with two great men of our brotherhood, Winford Claiborne and E. Claude Gardner. Brother Claiborne was one of my professors and brother Gardner was president of the school. I see them regularly at the lectureship and look forward to any opportunity to be in their presence. This book is dedicated to brother Gardner by Winford Claiborne. So the book is precious to me for various reasons, but the subject of Hebrews is important to every man, woman, and child. The subject of Hebrews is the superiority of Jesus Christ over every other being—men, beasts, and angels. It stresses the superiority of Jesus and Christianity over every other religion. Yes, Jesus is superior to Mohammed, Confucius, Buddha, Moses, Abraham, Luther, and any other man you can name. Yes, Christianity is superior to Islam, Buddhism, Catholicism, Hinduism, Satanism, Judaism, the New Age Movement, and any other religion you can name.

Winford Claiborne is a very meticulous student of the Scriptures. I know this because he was a very meticulous teacher in class. As an illustration, my wife and I had to write a term paper for his class. Upon returning the graded papers he asked me if he should penalize a student who had spelled his name incorrectly. Now, I had looked in the FHU Catalog to make 100% sure I had spelled his name correctly, but I considered there could be a misprint in the catalog. So I said that he should be lenient since his name could be easily misspelled. (In fact, he explained they had misspelled his last name on his birth certificate.) His reply was, “Well, I agree. That is why I am giving your girlfriend an A even though she misspelled my name.” When I looked at my paper it received a lower grade. I had made the mistake of not capitalizing “Greek” and misspelled judgment as “judgement”. Being a religious paper one can imagine how many times those two words can show up on a term paper. Well, he discounted my grade for the same error at every occurrence of these two words. I can laugh about it now, but it sure was not funny then! It was a lesson in being meticulous and illustrates the high level of performance he expected and strove for in his studies.

This book is an analytical outline of the epistle of Hebrews. It contains a well-written introduction, brief but poignant commentary, illustrative quotations from modern day writers and observers, and very appropriate application for our lives. The book is divided into chapters corresponding to the chapters in Hebrews and is for assisting in study to prepare and teach a class on Hebrews. Each chapter closes with review questions, which makes the book a suitable tool for use in the classroom as the student’s book.

Brother Gardner and Max Patterson kept encouraging Winford Claiborne to publish this manuscript on the epistle of Hebrews. I was hesitant to buy another book on Hebrews since I have several excellent books on this wonderful epistle, but because of my deep admiration for brothers Gardner and Claiborne I decided to purchase a copy. Reading through the book has been very rewarding and exciting. I highly recommend using this book to study one of the greatest pieces of writing from the greatest book man has ever been given. A study of the book of Hebrews will strengthen your faith.

Winford Claiborne delivers a regular radio address on the International Gospel Hour. This is his fourth book published by the International Gospel Hour. All proceeds from the sale of his book are used solely to support the gospel radio program. The International Gospel Hour also has a web site
www.gospelhour.net that contain sermon texts and audio lessons. If you enjoy great “true to the Book” gospel preaching that is direct and plain, then you will not be disappointed. Tell your friends about the program.

Originally printed West Virginia Christian, Vol. 13, No. 4, April 2006, p. 8. Reprinted by permission.

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