Love Among the Brethren

Hebrews 13:1-3

Well for the next while we are going to be talking about love. Do you think there is anything more misunderstood or abused among people than love?

Now right here is where maybe I would normally say something along the lines of “our culture really doesn’t understand love.” As if to say, we do, but they don’t. But I don’t think that would be entirely true. Because these verses would not be here if we understood love as we should.

In fact the whole book has been leading up to this point. These 6 verses at the beginning of chapter 13 are all about love. It’s expression among us, it’s expression from us toward the stranger, the suffering. Its expression within marriage, our understanding of love and sex (you think that might be under attack?). Money, our possessions.

The heights and depths of the theology of Christ in this book are difficult and profound, but we will see the outworkings of our Christology, our doctrine of Christ in the way our worship expresses itself in love.

Notice the end of the passage last week. Hebrews 12:28 “28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe,”

Hebrews 13:15 “15 Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.”

How do we offer acceptable worship with reverence and awe? How do we offer up a sacrifice of praise to God? The practical daily interactions with one another is a big part of it.

Ligon Duncan said, “our salvation is all by God’s doing and based on what Christ has done, which frees us to be living sacrifices to God, not so that He will accept us, but because He has accepted us in Jesus Christ.”

So We’ll look at three ways we are to love today, but I want to take them in reverse, as I think verse 1 hits us the hardest.

So let’s start with verse 3. I want to start here because we have already spent so much time on this over the past couple of months. This is the final outworking of our understanding of persecution and suffering as we’ve been looking at it.

He says “Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those mistreated, since you also are in the body.”

Who do you care about most? You know who I care about most? Especially when I am running on default without actually engaging my mind and heart… Me. This is probably true of you as well.

Now we live in a place and time here in this country where people don’t tend to go to jail for preaching the gospel. That’s who he is speaking of here. But I don’t think you have to do too much imagining to see that we may be there before the end of some of our lives.

It shouldn’t be odd to us that believers go to jail. It’s strange in an ultimate sense that people would be imprisoned for Christ, but it is one of the most normal things throughout church history. And in fact throughout the world it is as common as anything else.

We had a missionary a few weeks ago tell about his friend who went to jail for preaching Christ. I will admit, it is easy for me to hear about it, and not give it a second thought. Shameful isn’t it?

The grounds for the love we should have for brothers and sisters imprisoned for the gospel is that we are all part of the body of Christ.

The reality is that we have so many cares and concerns in our own lives that other believers suffering in chains for Christ is often neglected in our thinking. But the bible is filled with people visiting, giving, and especially praying for these people. Paul himself gives accounts of his friends visiting him, supplying his needs and praying for him. We should be in prayer constantly for members of Christ’s body as they suffer for him as if we were the one’s suffering. It says a lot about our love, what we pray for.

This second love in verse 2 explains that we should have a love for the stranger. That word hospitality is the greek word that means love of the stranger.

Traveling Christians would often find themselves having to look for lodging in the local inns. These were places filled with prostitution, thieves, infested with fleas, and the visitors would be targeted by all three. So this exhortation to take them in has both spiritual and physical needs in mind.

We don’t exactly live in that same world in that same way, but we are called to hospitality.

Isn’t it crazy that we are in the most connected age in history—I can take my phone out of my pocket and facetime someone in China right this second—and yet the stats show we are in the most lonely age in history. Facebook and instagram don’t and can’t replace real human interaction in your homes with your families. Have people over to your homes. Especially have those newcomers to church over to your homes.

We’ll see this in verse 1 but it is the long among the brethren that is most surprising to a lonely lost world. Show that same love to those who visit.

He cites here the account of Abraham being hospitable to the 3 strangers in Genesis 18. Of course those strangers ended up being 2 angels and the Lord himself.

I don’t think the motivation then for being hospitable is that we might actually get to have angels over for dinner and wouldn’t that be really cool. But rather that you never know the way the Lord will work both in your life and in the life of the one you are showing hospitality to. There is blessing in opening up your home.

Verse 1. Let brotherly love continue. What is implied in this verse? Well that brotherly love is taking place already. See the command isn’t simply to love one another, but to make sure that it continues. Now why would he have to say that?

Isn’t this the first thing to go? And quickly. Brotherly love—love among Christians in the local church—is something that will quickly decay if not purposefully preserved and revived.

Now I think this is really important here to ask what continuing in brotherly love actually looks like. I’m convinced that brotherly love is not tolerating the brethren.

Jesus, in the upper room in John 13 told us to love one another. He says this is how the world will know that we are Christ’s people, by the way we love one another.

Do you think about that as you interact with your family in this place?

Perhaps here you think like me. I can grit my teeth and get through anything. But Loving one another is not speaking merely of the way we act on outside, but what is going on in your heart that expresses itself among the brethren. 1 Cor 13:5 says that love is not easily provoked to anger. That word is talking about being stirred up on the inside.

You can grit your teeth through that can’t you? But is that the definition of love? No Scripture says that doesn’t happen if you are loving like Jesus.

We find ourselves once again at the heart of the gospel don’t we? I cannot do this, I need help. This work of love among us is one that has to be provoked by the Spirit. Paul says this in Galatians 5. The flesh causes these awful things to happen, the Holy Spirit causes these wonderful things to happen. The first in that list of fruit is Love.

Do you love the brethren? Is this family to you?

Maybe you say, listen you don’t know my family!

See God demonstrates his own love for us in that while we were sinners Christ died for us.

How do you think about Christ’s sacrifice of love on your behalf? Was he merely acting out of duty? Or was this his delight that he went to the cross and offered himself up as our once for all living sacrifice?

See if we have not love like Christ we are a banging gong and a noisy cymbal.

Ephesians 3:17–19 “that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”

It is only by being rooted and grounded in the love of Christ, that we would know the love of Christ, be filled with all the fullness of God, and then love one another.

Go today and love one another as Christ has loved you.