Hebrews 13 The Value of Relationships
We closed our series out in Hebrews with chapter 13. This book and chapter have given us an excellent lead in to our next book Ephesians as we will see reinforcing statements like love others, serve in oneness, affirming plural eldership, not giving up your faith, remaining humble, just to point out a few…
CARE FOR THEM
My heart breaks when a human being created in the image of God is seen as waste: a waste of time, a waste of money, a waste of human interaction… As a Christian as a church we are to recall that we were once strangers in need of gospel hospitality and Jesus saved us from our sin and received us into his kingdom.
1 Let brotherly love continue. 2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. He was saying don’t lose your love for people. We will see why this is so important when we contrast Revelation 2 and Ephesians 1. There is no place for name calling and disparaging words in the kingdom of God or in any kingdom on this planet. Yet it happens in social media, committees, by deacons, pastors, staff, church goers, and church watchers. Remember we are loved adopted co heirs in Christ. don’t neglect to show hospitality to those outside of Christ not like they are a plague and come up with a list of fears that will make you think you’ll be lost. Because I am God’s… Do not neglect to show hospitality to all. It is a lesson that can set free those with great power and slaves in shackles. I feel quite confident in saying if you have a cold heart to others it might do you good to invite someone that looks nothing like you over for a meal and discover what you do share in common. Paul is talking about outside the church now. See what happens when we don’t get outside the church, outside our homes, outside our Sunday school class rooms, we can’t faithfully live this out. I think one reason we don’t is once we are in our home, our church, our kingdom we don’t want to get out. I become the king of my castle. If you don’t get into a habit of sharing your kingdom with others you get you will get protective of it and never share it. And this is going to come into play big time when we get to vs 17.
This scripture is saying we need to have strangers over for dinner, not a cheap dinner. We are doomed if we don’t fix this. 50 churches a week close 1/3 of churches in the next decade will cease to exist. Ministry should take place in your neighborhood. Ynou are missionaries. That’s why we are encouraging life groups in homes, to be in world, wherever you are. incarnational ministry. Go love people outside your covenant community. This requires initiative. You need to go seek out that person. If someone knocks on your door and says, I invited myself over, what’s for dinner? That’s not initiative, it is also not the person you should probably have over. That’s creepy. Know your neighbors. We get bored and lazy. The church is not called to meet the needs of its members. We are going to see in Eph 3:10 we are a missional agency “10 so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.
3 Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body. Matthew 25, Jesus tells the story of basically Judgment Day, and He separates out men and women. And to one group, He says, “Listen, I was thirsty, and you didn’t give Me anything to drink. I was hungry, and you didn’t feed Me. I was naked, and you didn’t clothe Me. I needed shelter, and you would provide none for Me. I was in prison, and you would not visit Me.” And they freak out. They go, “When did we see You?” Anybody remember His answer? “What you did to the least of these, you did unto Me. In 2018 We need to think about how to reach these people intentionally. Just just hope something is happening. Not just hope someone drives on our campus and drives away hoping their life was changed, but be so intentional about what we do that we know our city is being changed. We need to ask what do we need to do, change, to make that happen
CONTEND FOR IT
Next he’s going to get into marriage and money, which to this day, are still the two killers of men and women. . 4 Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. 5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.6 So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”
He says, “Marriage is difficult. Contend for it. Fight for it.” Where marriage isn’t fought for, isn’t contended for, it isn’t worked at, it isn’t given to, there’s heartbreak and suffering. So, we’ve got to guard our marriages, and then
CONTENT WITH IT
verse 5, “Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with it what you have. we don’t strive after money. It’s not an enemy of ours, we just don’t strive after it. That’s not what we work for. I’m excited about some new life groups starting up. We are going to take our Sunday messages and use them as launching pads to go deeper into our lives. We’ll be able to take sit down in a home over dinner, coffee and go even deeper on how to contend for our marriages, how to be content with what we have. Some of our life groups start up this week. Mine meets on Tuesday nights. others will meet on other nights. last week my group briefly looked at practical ways to protect our spouses from sin.
Relationships Inside
CALL TO MIND
7 Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. vs 7 And now within the church, there are leaders. And I want you to remember those leaders of old who led you to Jesus, watch their life, imitate their faith and know how to run this race correctly.” whoever is next behind us will say, “Oh, I remember him. I remember her.” And so, since so many of us don’t have that, I pray that we will contend to become that. Who is that for you? Don’t have that? Read some great biographies of faithful saints like “Bonhoeffer went to the gallows embracing the Scriptures and not giving the Nazi regime the satisfaction of his losing a single jot of his confession of faith. In the end, isn’t this what we deeply desire—to know that the martyrs who stared down unimaginable evil looked past this veil of tears to see heaven opening up and Jesus standing at the right hand of God the Father?”
DON’T BE CARRIED AWAY
9-12 9 Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them.
He says don’t burden your spiritual leaders, be weary if people who pose as spiritual leaders but their orthodoxy doesn’t give life to your heart. He says their teaching hasn’t benefited them, how can it benefit you? This week I had to deal with this very subject. There was someone gaining influence in individuals lives who is teaching Universalism… So I read his book, communicated with this former pastor and professor…
And then he says, 10 We have an altar from which those who serve the tent have no right to eat. 11 For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. 12 So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood.
CARRY OUT
17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you. The greek for Obey and submit mean obey and submit. You could obey with anger but your not submitting in your heart with a sweet spirit. Acts 14, 1 Tim. 1 Leaders is plural, plurality of elders… This is a tough passage. In our culture is also influenced by postmodernism, which holds that there is no absolute truth and that each person is free to make up or interpret “truth” as he sees fit. Church has been invluenced by it to, because of the lack of teaching on subjects like this one or what we will look at throughout the book of Ephesians. The key word Oneness and Unity will be seen over and over again. Such unity is impossible when there are those in the body living influenced by postmodernism and entitlement.
If we go back to vs 1 here is where this can mess with us. And In some congregational churches everyone seems to have an equal vote, so there are no pastors or group of elders who have authority. There is a joke about the Baptist who was stranded on a desert island. When rescuers finally found him, they saw three buildings on the island. They asked, “What’s that building?” “That’s my house,” the Baptist answered. “Well, what’s that second building?” “That’s my church,” he said. “But, then what’s that third building?” “Oh, that’s where I used to go to church.”
Never follow a pastor who is not painfully aware that one day after he quits breathing, he will stand in front of Jesus and give an account for how he lead, treated and spent his life on the bride. Hebrews 12:5“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord…” nor be weary when reproved by him… 8 If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Hebrews 12:5–8.
18 Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things. 19 I urge you the more earnestly to do this in order that I may be restored to you the sooner. Paul says he is living this out, so you live it out. He’s going back to our mission saying get off of your temp. city campus, don’t make it all about your buildings, don’t make it all about living in your temp. city. Get outside the gates, be a witness. Risk what Jesus did, outside of the church, incarnational ministry, hospitality, care for the oppressed and poor, guarding our marriages,. Inside the church, honor your leaders if they submit to God and remember grace alone. Be weary of any teaching that adds anything to the cross.
He ends on Jesus is Greater:
A CARING GOD IS PLEASED IN THE PROCESS
20 Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, 21 equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
God isn’t just looking at the end result. He uses the process. Maybe you feel like the process is owning you right now. As a Christian, there is a sin getting the best of you, maybe you blew it big time last week. Whatever that sanctification process looks like it is pleasing to God.
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