Hebrews 13: Stanly Community Church

Transcription

1 If you really trust Jesus Christ for the righteousness you need to live with God in heaven, then your conduct should reflect a desire for what is right in God s eyes. Anything less betrays a rebellious and unbelieving heart. While Christians are not sinless, they nonetheless do not love or habitually practice sin. The greatest desire of their heart is to do God s will, although they pursue it imperfectly (Rom. 7:21-25). Because the Holy Spirit has given them a new nature, they not only genuinely love God but also other people (1 Jn. 2:1-11). Theirs is a way of life that bears witness to God s law (Ps. 119). After presenting Jesus Christ as the truly obedient Son whose righteousness reconciles sinners to our holy God (Heb. 12:28-29), the writer of this letter now calls true Christians to live righteously. sets forth five areas of obedience in which we should continue: Love, kindness, suffering, purity, and contentment. Living Righteously (13:1-6) Continue in Love (v. 1) Because it is the essence of God s moral law, love is the predominant fruit of God s Spirit that is visible as He sanctifies His children with His Word (Gal. 5:22; cf. Heb. 4:11-13). As Paul says in Galatians 5:14: For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The Lord Jesus made it clear that love for God results in love for neighbor and thus fulfills all the law (Matt. 22:37-40).! 1

2 Sincere love for God means that you will love Christ His Son (Jn. 8:42). Love for the Son is the motivation for the believer s obedience to God s law (Jn. 14:15; 1 Jn. 2:5). It is not satisfied with sin (1 Corinthians 13:4-7). Rather, love selflessly desires the good of the one being loved according to God s will (Rom. 12:9; 13:8-10). Christian love should, therefore, be most evident among believers (1 Jn. 3:14-16). We will instinctively love our brothers and sisters in the Church because they are also partakers of God s divine nature (2 Pet. 1:4), which is characterized by love (1 Jn. 4:7-19). The writer is saying that true faith in Jesus Christ will manifest itself in a sustained brotherly love for all the saints of God. Do you love those who love God and desire to do His will? Continue in Kindness (v. 2) Living righteously also involves a habitual kindness, which flows from love. This, too, is a fruit of God s Spirit at work in us (Gal. 5:22). However, kindness is more than a sentiment. It is demonstrated when we generously open up our lives to others, and it can manifest itself in countless ways. It is the basis for the Christian hospitality spoken of in verse two.! 2

3 Accommodating others is a reflection of kindness, and the concept goes beyond briefly entertaining them. In the first century, it commonly meant providing lodging, meals, and all the attention this required, while also making the guest feel welcomed. For early Christians, it also involved hosting church meetings, itinerant teachers and other professing believers in your home (1 Tim. 3:2). This was obviously a very dangerous proposition when Christians were persecuted. It was difficult to know the true allegiance of those they hosted. Would their hospitality expose them to harm or even false doctrine (2 Jn )? But the writer urges the Church to not forget this Christian virtue as we entertain strangers. He even notes that some have unwittingly entertained angels in their homes. There is no New Testament record of angelic beings who were hosted in Christian homes, so this likely refers to biblical accounts such as Abraham and Sarah (Gen 18:1-3), Lot (Gen. 19:1-2), Gideon (Judges 6:11-24), and Manoah and his wife (Judges 13:6-20). Given the writer s frequent references to the Old Testament, this is probably what he has in mind. The point is that God uses our kindness to accomplish His will. We should be wise and cautious, but we should also bear witness of God s grace in our lives by making ourselves available to others. This may mean opening our home, but it certainly means opening our hearts.! 3

4 Continue in Suffering (v. 3) Even if we are not persecuted, we must not forget those prisoners who are mistreated. This Hebrew congregation was surely hearing of persecution in other places, and it was making some wonder if following Christ was worth it (Heb. 2:1-4). But as long as we desire to live godly in Christ, we will suffer persecution to some extent at various times and in various ways (Jn. 21:15-23; 2 Tim. 3:12). We are in the body also as we journey through this sinful world. The world hates Christ, and it will hate us also because we are His (Jn. 15:18-19). We are not immune to persecution. We must remember the persecuted saints especially those imprisoned in their sufferings (Col. 4:18). Quite often, out of sight means out of mind. It is easy to avoid thinking about what is unpleasant, especially if things are more favorable for us at the moment. We get caught up in our fleshly quest for ease and happiness and forget that God has left us in this world to fill up the sufferings of Christ as we represent Him (Col. 1:24). We are called upon here to consider the suffering of the persecuted as our own ( as if chained with them ). If we love righteousness, then we should appreciate that our persecuted brothers and sisters are suffering for doing God s will. We must not run from suffering but embrace it, because it is inevitable for the saints of God. That does not mean it is enjoyable, but we must be resigned to the fact that God has a purpose in it.! 4

5 We do not need to seek persecution; it will find us if we are living righteously. Just do not forget your persecuted brethren. Remember to pray for them with sympathy and with praise to God that He is glorified in their faithfulness to His will. Continue in Purity (v. 4) The next area of obedience, in which we should continue, is perhaps the most resisted of all. But the sexual purity of the believer is absolutely the will of God. First Thessalonians 4:3-6 plainly declares: For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you should know how to possess his own [body] in sanctification and honor, not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all such [persons]. The Scripture is clear that sex is a gift from God to be shared only within the covenant of marriage between one man and one woman for their life together (Matt. 19:1-12; 1 Cor. 7:1-9; 1 Pet. 3:7). Not all people need to be married, but most of them do in order to avoid sexual sin. The union between man and wife is designed to reflect God s relationship with the saints (Eph. 5:22-33), and it establishes the family unit for the good of human society (Prov. 22:6). The LORD has ordained this from the beginning of creation (Gen. 2:24-25). The intimacy of marriage is by His design.! 5

6 The writer is simply affirming these truths in verse four when he says, Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled. That is the will of God for everyone, and Christians are to be prime examples. If you are a true believer, you were not saved from sin s penalty to go on sinning (Rom. 6:1-2). You were saved from sins power so that you can obey the LORD from the heart. The believer s sexual sins are forgiven in Christ (1 Jn. 1:9), but you should not desire to continue in it (1 Jn. 2:28-3:9). It is better to marry than to burn with passion (1 Cor. 7:9), but see to it that you are careful whom you marry (2 Cor. 6:14). Then maintain sexual purity within that relationship. True believers can and do commit sexual immorality of all sorts, but they cannot continue in it without guilt, God s discipline (Heb. 12:7-8), and many undesirable and painful consequences. However, if you can engage in sexual immorality without guilt and the desire to obey God, then you are not God s child. Repentance, not mere remorse, is the norm for a Christian. Know this, however, that fornicators (i.e. sex outside the marriage covenant) and adulterers (i.e. those who break the marriage covenant) God will judge. The ungodly will receive their just reward for all sins, of which sexual immorality is frequent.! 6

7 Continue in Contentment (vv. 5-6) Finally, the writer says you should always be content with such things as you have. You should behave in such a way that reflects no desire for anything that God does not provide for you ( conduct without covetousness ). Contentment is the opposite of covetousness (Ex. 20:17; Lk. 12:15; Col. 3:5); it is a satisfaction with God s will for your life (1 Tim. 6:6-10). If you trust in Christ, then you trust in the heavenly Father just as Jesus does (Lk. 22:41-42). You believe God s promise to the saints that He will never leave you nor forsake you a composite of Old Testament references (e.g. Gen. 28:15; Deut. 31:6; Josh. 1:5; 1 Chron. 28:20). And believing that He works for the good of the believer for His glory (Rom. 8:28), you confidently ( boldly ) declare with the psalmist (118:6), The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me? If you desire everything the world sets before you and seek to have it outside of God s will, then you are not content and are not really a Christian. Those things will never satisfy you if your faith in Christ is genuine; only righteousness will quench the thirst and satisfy the hunger in your soul (Matt. 5:6). You will wait on the LORD and not worry about what the world offers or threatens.! 7

8 If you obey God in these things, then you are living righteously as those in Christ should. By continuing in love, kindness, suffering, purity, and contentment, you bear witness to the grace of God in Christ and glorify Him for salvation in His perfect Son. Does your life reflect a desire for what pleases God?! 8