In our study of Hebrews chapter thirteen, we will look at how the Christian life is a life of love. Paul concludes this letter to the Jewish believers with an encouraging picture of what it means to live the Christian life.
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Let brotherly friendship continue;
The Hebrew word for love here is hesed and it speaks of a loyal love. This is a sacrificial care for our fellow Christians because of our relationship through Jesus Christ. Paul urges us to hold on to this love because it is going to get tougher and tougher for a Christian to walk the walk in this world. As times get tough, the flesh tries to get us to focus on ourselves and what we need but Paul urges us to follow Christ's example and serve in the tough times.
but don't forget to be friendly to outsiders; for in so doing, some people, without knowing it, have entertained angels.
That loyal love extends to those that we have not even met before. The body of Christ is a very large body and we do not even know most of its members. Several people such as Abraham, Jacob, and Joshua were visited by angels that took the form of men. It is just as possible that God might send an angel to you in the form of a person that you don't know.
Remember those in prison and being mistreated, as if you were in prison with them and undergoing their torture yourselves.
This love (hesed) is demonstrated to our brothers and sisters who are suffering for their faith. Would you be willing to trade places with an imprisoned Christian so that they might go free? Maybe not, but that is truly the love that is being referred to here.
Marriage is honorable in every respect; and, in particular, sex within marriage is pure. But God will indeed punish fornicators and adulterers.
Paul makes the distinction between this type of love and the physical relations between a man and a woman. The marriage that he speaks of is the union of a man with the woman that God created just for him. This is second only to our individual relationships with God and comes before our relationships with others. We should be close to our brothers and sisters in Christ but we are only united with our spouse.
Keep your lives free from the love of money; and be satisfied with what you have; for God himself has said, "I will never fail you or abandon you." Therefore, we say with confidence, "ADONAI is my helper; I will not be afraid what can a human being do to me?"
Paul warns that one of the biggest enemies of this hesed type of love can be the love of money. The love of money comes from a false sense of security that it gives a person. It can become what we put our trust in instead of God and so become an idol. The love of money also can affect out relations with others as we are unwilling to help the needy if we are concerned about the cost of the help.
Remember your leaders, those who spoke God's message to you. Reflect on the results of their way of life, and imitate their trust - Yeshua the Messiah is the same yesterday, today and forever.
Paul urges the Jewish believers to remember those that had shared the gospel with them and to imitate their faith. At this time, it was not easy to be a Christian or to share your faith. These people did so because the gospel had penetrated their heart. Paul reminds the believers to hold onto Jesus who is unchanging and not go back to the Law.
Do not be carried away by various strange teachings; for what is good is for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods. People who have made these the focus of their lives have not benefited thereby. We have an altar from which those who serve in the Tent are not permitted to eat.
The strange teachings were efforts to add parts of the Law to the grace of God. The Judaizers wanted people to hold onto parts of the temple worship practices but Paul reminds them that our altar is in heaven not in a manmade building. He makes a clear statement that those who remain in the old ways and reject Jesus have no right to the kingdom of heaven. When you try to add any part of the Law to grace, it ceases to be grace and it is only by grace that one is saved.
For the cohen hagadol brings the blood of animals into the Holiest Place as a sin offering, but their bodies are burned outside the camp.p So too Yeshua suffered death outside the gate, in order to make the people holy through his own blood. Therefore, let us go out to him who is outside the camp and share his disgrace.
This loyal love is loyalty to Jesus Christ and not the ways of men. Paul urges the Hebrew believers to accept the "shame" of being a Christian. They were trying to be accepted by the Jews at the same time that they were trying to follow Christ. Paul reminds them that Jesus was rejected by the Jewish religious rulers and He said that the rulers would hate them as well. The same thing applies to us who did not come out of a Jewish background. We are called to follow Jesus and not a religious system. If and when we decide to do that, the religious establishment will hate us just like they hated Jesus. Paul reminds the Hebrews that they must go to Christ outside the camp and we must as well. Today, there are those who want to bring a lot of the Jewish practices into the Christian faith but they do not fit. As a Christian, we trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ to save us but that is incompatible with the idea of following a religious system to be saved. There are even many today that will tell Jews that reject Jesus as the Messiah that they will get another chance to accept Him after they die. That, my friends, is a lie that is straight out of the depths of hell. Telling people what they want to hear instead of the truth of the gospel is not loyal love (hesed). Real hesed is loving them enough to tell them that they must accept Jesus Christ or they will be condemned. It is not popular but it is the clear truth that is contained in the gospel.
For we have no permanent city here; on the contrary, we seek the one to come.
The city of Jerusalem is probably the most controversial piece of land in the world. Many forget that there will be a new Jerusalem and that is the one that is most important.
Through him, therefore, let us offer God a sacrifice of praise continually. For this is the natural product of lips that acknowledge his name.
Because of the fact that Jesus delivered us from sin and death, it is natural for praise to come out of our lips through our hearts. Here, Paul describes it as "fruit of lips" and, just as fruit appears on a healthy tree, praise for what God has done will come out if our walk of faith is healthy. We see that this praise is done in the open and not as some kind of "closet Christian". Even in the face of extreme persecution, the early disciples stood up and boldly proclaimed the gospel of Jesus Christ.
But don't forget doing good and sharing with others, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
Our willing joyful service is also a form of praise to God. This loyal love flows out of a heart that has been gripped by His grace. This giving of our time and resources is pleasing to God as we demonstrate His love to the world.
Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your lives, as people who will have to render an account. So make it a task of joy for them, not one of groaning; for that is of no advantage to you.
What does Paul mean by having confidence in your leaders? In our world today, we are taught that a leader must go to some college where he or she is qualified to be a leader in the church. This is not what Paul is talking about. He is speaking of the fact that their lives demonstrate what they are teaching. The greatest test is whether they demonstrate the loyal "hesed" love that Paul has referred to. Submitting to their authority is not blindly following someone because they have been given a diploma from some college. It is a respect for the fact that the leaders are in their position by the will of God. If He wanted them removed, then, He would do so. That being said, if we do not have confidence in them, we should move on and trust that God will deal with them.
Keep praying for us, for we are certain that we have a clear conscience and want to conduct ourselves properly in everything we do. And all the more I beg you to do this, so that I may be restored to you that much sooner.
Paul was a man of prayer and we see that he was not too proud to ask people to pray for him. He asked them to ask God to make a way for him to visit them.
The God of shalom brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep, our Lord Yeshua, by the blood of an eternal covenant. May that God equip you with every good thing you need to do his will; and may he do in us whatever pleases him, through Yeshua the Messiah. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Paul's prayer for the people recounts the power of God to make things new. He asks that that same power be in the believers to follow the will of God.
Now I urge you, brothers, to bear with my message of exhortation; for I have written you only briefly. Know that our brother Timothy has been released. If he comes soon enough, I will bring him with me when I come to see you. Greet all your leaders and all God's people. The people from Italy send greetings to you. Grace be with you all.
Paul closes with news of Timothy and the hope that they would see them soon.
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