Written ~ 11-27-2024
Read Hebrews Chapter Thirteen
Hebrews 13
In the last chapter of Hebrews, the author is wrapping things up with really wonderful words of encouragement. We have learned a lot through reading and studying the Book of Hebrews, now it’s time to apply all those things to our daily lives.
Hebrews 13:1-6…
1 “Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters. 2 Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it! 3 Remember those in prison, as if you were there yourself. Remember also those being mistreated, as if you felt their pain in your own bodies.
4 Give honor to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage. God will surely judge people who are immoral and those who commit adultery.
5 Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said,
“I will never fail you.
I will never abandon you.”
6 So we can say with confidence,
“The Lord is my helper,
so I will have no fear.
What can mere people do to me?”
These verses give us quite a lengthy list of things to remember, don’t they? So, let’s break them down a little bit…
- Keep on loving each other
- Show hospitality to strangers
- Remember those in prison
- Remember those who are being mistreated
- Honor marriage and remain faithful
- Don’t love money, be satisfied with what you have
In Matthew 22:37-38 Jesus said, “…You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. The second is equally important: ‘Love you neighbor as yourself.’” When we love the Lord and want to serve Him, the very first thing we must do is love each other. The rest of this list shows us ways we can show love to others.
In Hebrews 13:2 it says, “…some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it!” Loving each other and finding ways to express that love can come in many different ways. Sometimes we just need to look outside of our busy lives and look at people around us. Serving within the church is wonderful, but it is those outside of the church who need Jesus.
Look what Jesus says in Matthew 25:35-40…
35 For I was hungry, and you fed Me. I was thirsty, and you gave Me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited Me into your home. 36 I was naked, and you gave Me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for Me. I was in prison, and you visited Me.’
37 “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see You hungry and feed You? Or thirsty and give You something to drink? 38 Or a stranger and show You hospitality? Or naked and give You clothing? 39 When did we ever see You sick or in prison and visit You?’
40 “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to Me!’
If ever we feel hesitant to help someone in need, think about what Jesus said. “It was Me you were doing these things to.” It’s not about getting accolades because we are helping another person, it is about loving each other, serving the Lord and having the attitude we are ministering to Jesus when we help supply the needs of others.
Hebrews 13:4…
4 “Give honor to marriage and remain faithful to one another in marriage. God will surely judge people who are immoral and those who commit adultery.”
For those of us who are married, we have a responsibility to love and honor our spouse. Remaining faithful isn’t just with our bodies, it’s with our hearts, and our thoughts. Honoring your spouse is not placing blame on them when things are going amiss in the household, instead it is being a part of the solution to make things better. A husband and wife are a team, if one spouse decides the other is making all of the mistakes, that is certainly not the case, both parties have to take on the responsibility of what’s going on in their household, it takes both the husband’s and the wife’s participation. You must be on a united front. Decisions are made together, even mistakes are made together. That’s what it means by “becoming one” when you are married to the one you love, “your person,” you should want nothing more than to smooth over any accusations and tension and provide support, love and respect…in doing so, you are honoring your marriage.
For those of you who are not married. Praying for the person God has waiting for you is key. The things you desire in a spouse should be things that give honor to the Lord. In the meantime, your body is to remain holy, it is the temple of the Holy Spirit, it should never be used for immoral sexual relations. Sexual relations should be well guarded and sacred, only between a husband and wife. In The Message Bible it says, “…God draws a firm line against casual and illicit sex.” We must treat our bodies as a holy sacrifice, one that is pleasing to the Lord.
Hebrews 13:5a…
5 “Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have…”
In a society that wants more and more, as Christians we need to be careful not to get dragged into the love affair with money and material possessions. There is a very fine line between the blessings of God and our desires becoming the all-important thing in our lives. Think about the “stuff” you spend money on, how are those things giving honor to the Lord? Most of us have homes that are packed full of “stuff.” What do we do with all that “stuff?” Verse 13:5 says “…we need to be satisfied with what you have…” Do we put the highest value on those things which only give us temporary satisfaction? Or do we put the highest and truest value in things that give honor to the Lord and will reap an award in Heaven?
One of the most important things to remember is what God says in Hebrews 13:5b…
For God has said,
“I will never fail you.
I will never abandon you.”
What a wonderful promise from God! No matter what we have, no matter what we go through, God is there every step of the way. This promise should be a constant reminder that the way we live our lives shows He is the one who guides our steps. It will be evident the Lord is with us because our lives show honor and glory to Him in everything we do.
Hebrews 13:7-9…
7 “Remember your leaders who taught you the word of God. Think of all the good that has come from their lives, and follow the example of their faith.
8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. 9 So do not be attracted by strange, new ideas. Your strength comes from God’s grace, not from rules about food, which don’t help those who follow them.”
We have a wealth of information in the Word of God. I realize it’s hard to read through the Old Testament because some parts are difficult to understand. But the faithful people who loved and served the Lord have a story to tell. All of the prophets who foretold the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, give us hope for the future. Some lived anywhere from 500-2000 years before Christ walked the earth. But they never questioned the Word of God. Their steadfast faith is definitely something we should remember, something we should study. Their faithful lives are still worthy examples for us to follow today.
Throughout my lifetime I have sat under the teachings of several Pastors and Bible teachers. Whether it was from the churches I attended over the years or all of the Christian schools I went to growing up, I absorbed countless truths from the Word of God. I may not readily recall everything I have learned, but it has given me a foundation of faith in the Lord that I am so grateful for. Even though Pastors and teachers are an awesome tool for us to learn the Bible… What if you had the chance to walk alongside Abraham or Moses or King David and you could ask them anything you wanted to, what would you ask? These were men of God, their faith in the One who created them is astounding! That’s what the Old Testament gives us. The Old Testament gives us their testimonies, so we need to remember those leaders of old, they are teaching us valuable lessons, lessons for living our lives through their examples of faith.
In our modern times, we also have the New Testament, so not only do we have the incredible stories of the faithful men and women of the Old Testament, we have the recorded truths written by those who walked with Jesus while He was here on earth. We have documentation from the faithful followers of Jesus Christ. They laughed with Him, they cried with Him, they were taught by Him. We read the physical accounts of the ministry and the miraculous works of Jesus from Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. We have the 13 letters Paul wrote to fellow believers. Twenty-seven books in the New Testament record eyewitness accounts of what Jesus did here on earth and what is still to come.
So, when verse 13:7 says, “Remember your leaders who taught you the Word of God…” who comes to your mind? And when you think about them do you, “Think of all the good that has come from their lives?” When we place our admiration upon a particular Pastor or teacher, let’s make sure we , “Follow the example of their faith…” From the beginning words of the Old to the very last word in the New, Jesus Christ is the One we find. He is the shining light throughout the entire Bible. That’s why the next verse should be on our lips at every moment of our day!
Hebrews 13:8…
8 “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever!”
Adam and Eve had the same Lord, Noah had the same Lord, Abraham and Sarah had the same Lord. Isaac, Jacob and Joseph all had the same Lord. Joshua, Samson and Ruth had the same Lord. King David and Solomon had the same Lord. Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, Jeremiah and all of the other prophets had the same Lord! Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, Timothy, James and all of the believers being added each day had the same Lord. You and I have the same Lord. Every believer in every generation to come after us will have the same Lord! That truth stands the test of time! We can see it! The Scriptures have been questioned and debated throughout each generation, but in the end, it’s the Word of God that prevails through everything.
When we have put our faith in the One who is the same yesterday, today, and forever we have to trust that He has everything under control. And we can trust the words written in the Bible because it comes from the very heart of God.
Since we know Jesus never changes, we must remind ourselves “not to be attracted by strange, new ideas… our strength comes from God’s grace…” He is the one that has final authority over everything.
When we look at the Bible as a whole, think about all of the lives that were poured out as an offering to the Lord, we read about them and gather vital information from them, so we can apply what we have learned to our own lives.
In verse 13:17a, it says,
17a “Obey your spiritual leaders, and do what they say. Their work is to watch over your souls, and they are accountable to God…”
If you have a particular spiritual leader who has poured a wealth of knowledge into your life, pray for that person, they need the strength of the Lord to continue ministering to people with a pure heart. Their responsibility is great! Their words of wisdom are not coming from a selfish place, but from a heart of servanthood to the Lord, they want the Lord’s message to pierce our hearts and create change within our very souls.
Hebrews 13:20-21…
20 “Now may the God of peace—
who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus,
the great Shepherd of the sheep,
and ratified an eternal covenant with His blood—
21 may He equip you with all you need
for doing His will.
May He produce in you,
through the power of Jesus Christ,
every good thing that is pleasing to Him.
All glory to Him forever and ever! Amen.”
These verses are the concluding words from the illusive author of Hebrews. It’s a brief exhortation to remind us of who God is, what Jesus has done for us and what we need to do for Him…
- God is Peace
- God raised Jesus from the dead
- Jesus is the great Shepherd
- Jesus ratified (confirmed) an eternal covenant with His blood
- Jesus equips us
- We do the will of God
- We please the Lord in all we do
- We give glory to God forever
When you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior you were given the perfect way to the Father and now as a believer and follower of Christ you have peace with the Almighty God. In the Book of Romans, Paul talks about having peace with God and also the peace God gives to us…
- Romans 2:10, “…there will be glory and honor and peace from God for all who do good…”
- Romans 5:1, “…we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.”
- Romans 8:6, “…letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.”
- Romans 15:13, “I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in Him.”
- Romans 15:33, “And now may God, who gives us His peace, be with you all.”
What Jesus did on the cross, cleared the way for us to stand before God without judgement, we are at peace with the Creator of the Universe.
In God’s infinite power and glory He raised Jesus from the dead, we should never ignore that truth. Let’s take a look at several Scriptures that confirm God raised His Son from the dead…
- Acts 2:32, “God raised Jesus from the dead, and we are all witnesses of this.”
- Acts 4:10, “Let me clearly state to all of you and to all the people of Israel that he was healed by the powerful name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, the man you crucified but whom God raised from the dead.”
- Acts 5:30, “The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead after you killed Him by hanging Him on a cross.”
- Romans 1:4, “…and He was shown to be the Son of God when He was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord.”
- Romans 4:24, “…for our benefit, too, assuring us that God will also count us as righteous if we believe in Him, the One who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.”
- Romans 8:11, “The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, He will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.”
- Romans 10:9, “If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
- Galatians 1:1, “This letter is from Paul, an apostle. I was not appointed by any group of people or any human authority, but by Jesus Christ Himself and by God the Father, who raised Jesus from the dead.”
- 1 Thessalonians 1:10, “And they speak of how you are looking forward to the coming of God’s Son from heaven—Jesus, whom God raised from the dead. He is the one who has rescued us from the terrors of the coming judgment.”
- 1 Peter 1:3, “All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by His great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation…”
So, why is it important that we understand and believe Christ was raised from the dead? Because of what Romans 10:9 says, “If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” It’s not enough to believe there is a God or believe there is a man named Jesus. To believe that Jesus was raised from the dead and that His blood ratified an eternal covenant between us and the Almighty God, that’s what is important. You might be asking what it means to be “ratified,” I had to look it up… Ratified means – Authorized, Confirmed, Finalized, Sealed, it’s a Lasting Mark. When we accepted Jesus, we confirmed a lasting seal and eternal covenant over our lives. Jesus has now become our great Shepherd; He is our protector, and He will guard us from any attack of the enemy. Jesus leads us, guides us, equips us in order to live a life pleasing to God. We gain this knowledge by studying God’s word.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 says…
16 “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. 17 God uses it to prepare and equip His people to do every good work.”
God uses the Scriptures to prepare us and to equip us to do His will and to help us carry out every good work. That’s why it is so important for us to dive deep into the Word and gain knowledge and wisdom from its pages!
We have the Power of the Lord Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit living within us! I think sometimes, especially when things aren’t going so well, we forget the power we have right there within us! Prayer works! Calling on the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ leads to answered prayers! Not only that, the power we have right there within us, helps us do the will of God, it helps us live a life pleasing to Him. We can give glory to God by the way we live because we are tapping into the power of the Holy Spirit.
Verse 13:22a says, “I urge you, dear brothers and sisters, to pay attention to what I have written…”
My prayer is that each of us will pay attention to what the Word of God is saying and allow it to make miraculous changes within us.
~AMEN~