What a challenge our reading in Hebrews has been.

• We've seen Christ magnified.
• We been strongly challenged to "pay attention", to "grow up", and to not reject God's message.
• We've seen the symbolism of Old Testament worship explained in the light of Jesus' sacrifice.
• We've been reminded of the faithfulness of the saints in history and been challenged to live out the same kind of faith!

In chapter 13, the writer is preparing to sign off -- but wants to leave us with a collection of loosely connected instructions to guide us in living out this new and better way of relating to God.

Love

1 Brotherly love must continue.

Don't let it stop. This is paramount. Jesus said this was such a noteworthy characteristic of His true disciples that it was a mark by which people would recognize us as His:

John 13:34-35
34 "I give you a new commandment - to love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 Everyone will know by this that you are my disciples - if you have love for one another."

Whatever we take away from this far-reaching and deep letter, we mustn't let anything seem more important to us than keeping this central commandment of our Lord at the forefront of our lives.

Hospitality

2 Do not neglect hospitality, because through it some have entertained angels without knowing it.

Practice hospitality -- both because this is one of the ways of demonstrating the brotherly love we've already discussed and because you may never really know who you've blessed with your generosity. On several occasions, the Bible recounts times when faithful men were meeting with what they thought were simply other men -- only to learn that they are angelic beings. You can read examples at Gen 18:2-15, Gen 19:1-14, Judges 6:11-18 and Judges 13:3-22.

This is especially valuable in our culture because it is increasingly rare. To regularly have other people under your roof and around your table is seen as somewhat remarkable.

Compassion

3 Remember those in prison as though you were in prison with them, and those ill-treated as though you too felt their torment.

Remember Jesus' statement that what we do for those in need is regarded as though we had done it for him.

Sexual Morality

4 Marriage must be honored among all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, for God will judge sexually immoral people and adulterers.

Regardless of what compromises in these areas are being made by our culture -- we should never compromise what we expect from ourselves and eachother.

Greed vs Reliance on God

5 Your conduct must be free from the love of money and you must be content with what you have, for he has said, "I will never leave you and I will never abandon you." 6 So we can say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper, and I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?"

Contentment and trust are the way to be free from the greed and materialism that drive so many people today.

Rejection of Novel Doctrines

7 Remember your leaders, who spoke God's message to you; reflect on the outcome of their lives and imitate their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever! 9 Do not be carried away by all sorts of strange teachings. For it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not ritual meals, which have never benefited those who participated in them.

It is alluring to consider "the next new thing". We've been trained to assume that latest is greatest, newer is better, and the passage of time always brings progress. But it simply is not so.

Jesus is unchanging. So if someone is bringing a "new" teaching, be on highest alert for deception.

Expect Some Opposition

10 We have an altar that those who serve in the tabernacle have no right to eat from. 11 For the bodies of those animals whose blood the high priest brings into the sanctuary as an offering for sin are burned outside the camp. 12 Therefore, to sanctify the people by his own blood, Jesus also suffered outside the camp. 13 We must go out to him, then, outside the camp, bearing the abuse he experienced. 14 For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.

It shouldn't be surprising that we experience some opposition. Jesus faced it to the ultimate degree -- and warned that those who follow Him should expect similar treatment. So we have to choose: Do we value comfort and acceptance by our culture so much that we're unwilling to give it up for the surpassing value of all we have through Jesus? Our writer urges us not to hesitate, but to go to Jesus!

Be Givers, Generous with our Praise and Sharing

15 Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, acknowledging his name. 16 And do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for God is pleased with such sacrifices.

These verses need no elaboration -- only implementation. We should be quick to worship, quick to praise, quick to serve, quick to share.

Following Our Leaders

17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls and will give an account for their work. Let them do this with joy and not with complaints, for this would be no advantage for you. 18 Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience and desire to conduct ourselves rightly in every respect. 19 I especially ask you to pray that I may be restored to you very soon.

I wonder how often we've thought about this -- the importance of being easy-to-shepherd people? Having been on both sided of leadership, I recognize the truth that our choices and actions can make leadership over us into either an amazingly joyful experience or an unimaginable headache. We do not benefit when we make leadership an unpleasant experience for those who lead us.

And, apart from some final personal greetings and messages, that concludes our look at Hebrews.

Except for his prayer -- which makes a good prayer for us for the day:

Our Prayer Today:

20 Now may the God of peace who by the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep, our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 equip you with every good thing to do his will, working in us what is pleasing before him through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever.

Amen.

Scripture quoted by permission. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated,
are taken from THE NET BIBLE®, New English Translation (NET) copyright ©1996-2006
by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved. 

 

SCOTT PURCELL | Elder

Scott committed his life to Christ as a child under the teaching of his parents and church. He graduated from Ozark Christian College in 1989 with bachelors degree in Biblical Literature and served 8 years as Minister of two churches in Missouri and then 3 years as a Church Planter in San Marcos. Since then, he has worked as a technical trainer at Dell and Rackspace. In 2008 Scott and Nan joined HCBC-NW and then Hutto Bible in 2011. Scott serves in Small Group leadership, as secretary to the Elder board, and as the elder over IT and Discipleship. Scott and Nan have been married since 1985 and have three children (Mindy Schultea (married), Kate, and Matthew) and two grandchildren. 

 

Scripture quoted by permission. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated,
are taken from THE NET BIBLE®, New English Translation (NET) copyright ©1996-2006 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved.

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