HEBREWS 13:1-19 - Unyielding

Introduction

On October 22nd, 1844, hundreds of thousands of people stood on hillsides, in meadows and meeting houses all over the United States, England, Norway, Canada, Australia and Chile, waiting on the fulfillment of a prophecy by an upstate New York lay preacher and farmer named William Miller. Miller had carefully read through the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation and had determined that the Second Advent of Christ would take place in 1844. (He had originally announced that Christ would return in April of that year, but when nothing happened that day he revised his date to October 22nd.)

As dawn broke on that day (which would later be referred to as the Great Disappointment), all of Miller’s followers all over the world—many of them dressed in white “ascension garments”—began to shout for joy in anticipation of the arrival of Christ. They were ready to leave this world behind them, many of them having sold off their farms, homes and possessions. The morning hours stretched into noon, but Christ had not returned. As the sun began to sink toward the western horizon many people began to sense a growing unease that perhaps they had been mistaken, yet they waited there through the evening hours as night fell.

At the stroke of midnight a great cry of lamentation went up as people realized that they had been lied to—and now had to go back down the hill, homeless and destitute. Some gave up their faith altogether that night, while others were determined to figure out where they went wrong—Miller himself gave up Bible prophecy for good, but many of his teachings are perpetuated today through two major heterodox groups that came out of that Great Disappointment: the Seventh-Day Adventist Church and the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Now, aside from the heretical nature of their teachings, we at least have to admit that the Millerites’ behavior on October 22nd made sense, right? If Christ really was returning, if the world really was going to come to an end, then why not sell off all your possessions and leave this world behind?

Truth be told, that tendency to respond to the world coming to an end by withdrawing from the world isn’t really that uncommon, is it? The Great Disappointment of the Millerites is an extreme example, but look around you today and you will see the same instinct—how many times a day do you see those commercials on FOX News selling you plastic five-gallon buckets full of emergency food rations? Because “the world is falling apart—get your 25-year shelf-life survival food kit TODAY!!!”

But what is remarkable about this kind of reaction to a crumbling world order is that it is not at all what we find in Scripture! As we have been studying the book of Hebrews, we have been taking note of the historical context of the book—the recipients of this letter were living in Jerusalem in the final years or months before it was destroyed by the Roman siege in AD 68-70. Things were crumbling all around them, and the writer of Hebrews sends this epistle to encourage them to hold fast to Christ in all of it. He concludes Chapter 12 with a dire warning that Jerusalem’s doom is drawing near:

Hebrews 12:27 (LSB)

Now this expression, “Yet once more,” indicates the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.

But then he reminds his readers that they are not going to crumble with Jerusalem!

Hebrews 12:28 (LSB)

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe;

What is the Christian’s response to a crumbling world? It is not fear or capitulation or retreat—it is to see the unshaken kingdom of God that is being bequeathed to us by the death and resurrection of Christ, and in that confidence we stand unshaken! What I want you to hear this morning, Christian, is the command of God’s Word here before you to

Live in this crumbling CULTURE with unyielding COMMITMENT to Christ

In Chapter 13 we have an extensive series of exhortations and commands—this is how you are to live in this crumbling world. This is what it means to serve God with reverence and godly fear; this is what a Christian looks like in a world that is falling apart.

In the first seven verses we have a series of commands that can all be summarized under one heading:

I. Be unyielding in LOVE for the BROTHERS (Hebrews 13:1-7)

The first command to these Christians living in a city and a culture that is being shaken apart all around them is

Hebrews 13:1 (LSB)

Let love of the brothers continue.

The word here for “love” is the Greek word philadelphia - literally, “brotherly love”. What is being described here is the way that we are to love one another especially in the Body of Christ, the Church. Remember, the church in Jerusalem was being torn apart at this time by apostates who were falling away from Christ and back to Judaism; the author is commending his readers to keep on loving one another despite the hurt and pain of those who were abandoning their faith.

The next six verses go on to describe some of the specific ways that they were to love one another. Look at verse 2:

Hebrews 13:2 (LSB)

Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.

The word translated hospitality is philoxenia—philadelphia is love of the brothers, and philoxenia (from xenos, stranger) means love of strangers—of those who are not from your own tribe, your own neighborhood. Christian, in this crumbling world where there is so much mistrust, so much fear and hatred, when people are so prone to looking with suspicion or judgment on others, you are called by God to

Be unexpectedly GENEROUS (v. 2; cp. Matt. 5:47)

As Jesus Himself says in the Sermon on the Mount:

Matthew 5:47 (LSB)

“And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?

It’s one thing to be generous and giving towards “your own” people—but to go out of your way to show kindness and generosity to others? No one in this crumbling world wants to do that! So Christian, you show that you belong to an unshakeable kingdom by your unexpected generosity toward others!

In verse 3, we see that unyielding commitment to Christ in this crumbling world means that you will

Be courageously LOYAL (v. 3; cp. Hebrews 10:33-34)

Hebrews 13:3 (LSB)

Remember the prisoners, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you yourselves also are in the body.

The Christians in the Jerusalem church were beginning to suffer persecution for their stand for Christ—in a world where it is “every man for himself”, these believers were ready to stand with those who suffered--

Hebrews 10:33–34 (LSB)

partly by being made a public spectacle through reproaches and afflictions, and partly by becoming sharers with those who were so treated. For you also showed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted with joy the seizure of your possessions, knowing that you have for yourselves a better and lasting possession.

Christian, in these days when you will begin to see your brothers and sisters in Christ suffering loss for their faith, will you stand with them and be associated with them, or will you back away into the hedge, trying to avoid the consequences of being identified as a Christian? This hour calls for courage—will you stand, or will you back away?

The next command comes to us in verse 4—as a citizen of the unshakeable kingdom of Christ,

Be unapologetically CHASTE (v. 4)

Hebrews 13:4 (LSB)

Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled, for the sexually immoral and adulterers God will judge.

The author is harking back to his reference to Esau’s immorality in going after strange wives (Hebrews 12:16; cp. Gen. 26:34-35) to remind his readers not only about the necessity of being faithful to your marriage covenant with your spouse, but also to your covenant with Christ as Savior. Throughout the Scriptures faithfulness to God is pictured in terms of faithfulness in marriage—a sexually immoral man cannot justify his infidelity by saying, “Well, at least I’m married!” And in the same way a person cannot be faithless to Christ, openly embracing their sinful behavior and justify it by saying “Well, at least I am a Christian!!”

Christian, you live in a world and in a culture where marriage is ridiculed, avoided and actively targeted for destruction. Don’t let all the wedding reality shows on cable fool you—our culture hates everything to do with marriage, because it hates the inescapable connection that it has to Christ and His Bride, the Church. So you live with an unyielding commitment to marriage—if you are married, you embrace, honor, defend and protect your marriage in every way. And if you are not married, then you live your life in preparation for the day that God brings you together with a spouse—in chastity, honor and purity in every way.

In verses 5-6, the author goes on to exhort his readers that your unyielding commitment to Christ in a crumbling culture means that you will

Be confidently CONTENT (vv. 5-6)

Hebrews 13:5–6 (LSB)

Make sure that your way of life is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,” so that we confidently say, “The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What will man do to me?”

What is the love of money but a faith that money will meet your needs? When it is your security, when it is your refuge, when it is your shield against the troubles of this world? Money is your rock, your fortress, your deliverer in which you trust... See—that’s the insidious thing about having a lot of zeroes to the left of the decimal point in your bank account: You see all that cash and say, “There’s nothing I can’t handle; I’ve got all this money!”

The lie of this world is that contentment is found in being able to buy whatever you want whenever you want it. (But ask a millionaire if they are content because they have money, and none of them will say that!)

Christian, this is how you live with unyielding commitment to Christ in this crumbling culture—that you are known by your contentment in Christ rather than your contentment in your salary! That you can take it or leave it: Glad when you have money in the bank, but not bothered when you don’t, because you have all the treasure you need in Jesus Christ your Savior! That He is able to shield and defend and provide and satisfy you more than all the Benjamins in all the treasuries in all the world!

Your unyielding commitment to Christ in this crumbling culture means that you will love the brothers—with unexpected generosity, courageous loyalty, unapologetic chastity, confident contentment. And in verse 7, we learn that your unyielding commitment to Christ means that you are called to

Be enthusiastically NOBLE (v. 7)

Look with me at Verse 7:

Hebrews 13:7 (LSB)

Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith.

Later on in our text we see the author calling on his readers to obey their leaders; here he is calling them to remember them. The idea here seems to be that he is calling them to remember leaders who have led the way by their martyrdom—remember those who have suffered and died for Christ: the “result of their conduct” can also be translated “the end of their lives”. Remember those who faithfully brought you to Christ through the proclamation of the Gospel, and consider the way their lives ended in faithfulness and resolve to live that way.

The world around you hates nobility as much as it hates chastity and loyalty and generosity—our favorite pastime as a culture is to take great heroes of the past and slander them for bigotry or racism or immorality or greed or hypocrisy. But this is because (like everything else) they hate anything that reminds them of Christ. So live your life in such a way as to unapologetically delight in the nobility and honor and courage of those who have gone before you in the faith!

The world around us is being shaken apart—we live in the midst of a crumbling culture. And so we are called to be unyielding in our commitment to Christ—in the face of a world riven with hatred and suspicion we are called to be unyielding in loving the brothers. And as our text continues starting in verse 8 we see that we are called in the same way to

II. Be Unyielding in GUARDING the GOSPEL (Hebrews 13:8-13)

Why are we to be unyielding and unchanging in our hold on Christ? How can we have the tenacity and courage and assurance to stand firmly for Him as this world is shaken apart around us? Verse 8 shines like a brilliant sunbeam through the clouds of chaos in our world—if you take nothing else away from this morning, let this verse be etched into your consciousness:

Hebrews 13:8 (LSB)

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

He has not changed—He is the same God that spoke all the worlds into existence at the beginning of time, He is the same God who “upholds all things by the Word of His power”, He is the God Who will never leave you nor forsake you, He is the same God to Whom glory will be prescribed forever and ever!

And this means, Christian, that because He is the same and does not change, then you must

Have no appetite for NOVELTY (v. 9; cp. Gal. 1:8)

in the Gospel:

Hebrews 13:9 (LSB)

Do not be carried away by varied and strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, through which those who were so occupied were not benefited.

The word for “strange” teachings is the same root as the word “stranger” earlier in our text—we are to love strangers, but avoid strange teaching about the Gospel. As the Apostle Paul wrote in Galatians 1:8:

Galatians 1:8 (LSB)

But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should proclaim to you a gospel contrary to the gospel we have proclaimed to you, let him be accursed!

Christ has not changed, which means His Gospel has not changed! Charles Spurgeon, in his inimitable style, spoke of his response to some of the novel teachings about Christianity abroad in his day:

I am frequently told that I ought to examine at length the various new views which are so continually presented. I decline the invitation: I can smell them, and that satisfies me. I perceive in them nothing which glorifies God or magnifies Christ, but much that puffs up human nature, and I protest that the smell is enough for me (Charles Spurgeon, Sword & the Trowel; 1877, 81)

The specific “novelty” that was plaguing the recipients of this book was the notion that the righteousness of Christ was not enough; that in addition to Him you had to obey the Law of Moses—particularly in avoiding foods “unclean” according to the Law of Moses:

Hebrews 13:9 (LSB)

Do not be carried away by varied and strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, through which those who were so occupied were not benefited.

In other words, do not look for your righteousness through the Law, but

Be strengthened by GRACE (v. 9; cp. Col. 2:7)

The human heart has not changed one bit in the past two thousand years—even when it comes to the foods you eat making you a worthy person. The original readers of this letter would have struggled with the legality of eating a bacon cheeseburger, for instance—mixing milk and meat, eating meat from an animal with a cloven hoof that doesn’t chew the cud. And the writer of Hebrews would rightly admonish them that they are not more or less righteous before God by what they eat!

But there are just as many Christians today who are just as legalistic about bacon cheeseburgers! Not because they aren’t kosher, but that a good Christian won’t eat it because “red meat is bad for you”, or “nitrates in bacon are unhealthy” or “cheese is bad for your cholesterol”, and on and on it goes.

Can you see the same legalism at work? It’s one thing to be conscious of your health and to guard against the sin of gluttony, but see here that you can be just as legalistic over corn syrup and Red Dye #5 as you can be over kosher foods—counting yourself as more righteous because of what you eat or don’t eat.

But a heart nourished by grace can enthusiastically bow its head and thank God for a meal of Skippy peanut butter on Wonder Bread just as much as over a farm-to-table sustainably raised responsibly sourced free-range organic grass-fed pasta! It is the grace of God through Christ that nourishes you in righteousness, not what you eat!

Be unyielding in guarding the Gospel—have no appetite for novelty, guard against the legalistic habits of counting your righteousness in anything other than Christ. And in Verses 11-13 you are reminded that when you stand unapologetically for Christ in this crumbling culture, you must

Embrace the inevitable REPROACH (vv. 10-13; cp. Heb 12:2)

Hebrews 13:10–13 (LSB)

We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no authority to eat. For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as an offering for sin, are burned outside the camp. Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate. So, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach.

These Christians were going to pay for standing firm in Christ—they were going to be put out of the synagogues, banned from the Temple, unwelcome at family gatherings—they were going to bear sharp reproach for their commitment to Christ. But those priests who banned them from participating in the peace offerings in the Temple were themselves disqualified from partaking of Christ! Don’t fret over not being invited to Shavuot dinner when you have been invited to the Table of Christ! Don’t grieve over being kicked outside the gates of Jerusalem, because that’s where Jesus died!

In the same way, beloved, there are far too many Christians in our day and age who want a proverbial “seat at the table”—they want to be invited to all the right conferences, to write opinion pieces in all the right magazines, be invited onto all the right podcasts—and so the shy away from any teaching from God’s Word that would be controversial or offensive to the sensibilities of a crumbling culture. But what kind of Christian is too proud to be exposed to the reproach of the world, when he claims a Savior who gladly bore the reproach of the world? Your commitment to Christ in this crumbling culture is demonstrated as you are unyielding in guarding the Gospel—gladly bearing the inevitable reproach of a world that will not hear.

And as you suffer that reproach, being willing to be regarded as ignorant and foolish in the eyes of a crumbling culture, verses 14-19 call you to

III. Be unyielding in BUILDING the KINGDOM (Hebrews 13:14-19)

Do you see the connection?

Hebrews 13:13–14 (LSB)

So, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach. For (because) here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the one to come.

Bear that reproach gladly, Christian, because this crumbling culture is not yours! This fading and falling world is not your inheritance! Every single week as God gathers you here for worship in the Name of Jesus Christ, He is gathering you here as citizens of His Kingdom—this gathering is an outpost of the Kingdom of Heaven, a colony of the Heavenly City to which we belong. And every week as you gather here as citizens of that City, He gives you the tools to establish that Kingdom in the midst of the ruins of this crumbling culture. So when you gather here, beloved, build this Kingdom

In faithful PRAISE and meaningful FELLOWSHIP (vv. 15-16)

Hebrews 13:15 (LSB)

Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess His name.

We come into His presence to confess the Name of Jesus Christ our Savior—but notice that this is a continual sacrifice, isn’t it? This is a sacrifice that we are always offering. Christian, your sacrifice of praise to God by confessing Jesus Christ as your only Savior takes place here in gathered worship every week; only see to it that it does not cease when you leave these doors. Do not have one set of lips that bear the fruit of a good confession between the hours of 11am and 1pm on Sundays, and then exchange them for another set that bears a different kind of fruit the rest of the week. Let the lips that bear the fruit of good confession of Christ as Savior bear the same fruit every day.

Look on then in verse 16:

Hebrews 13:16 (LSB)

And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

The word for “sharing” is the Greek word koinoneia - it is also translated “fellowship” in the New Testament, and it is used to describe the kind of intimate, family-level fellowship between spouses in a marriage or members of a church family. Here is another unyielding commitment to Christ—your unyielding commitment to one another! Look around you at your brothers and sisters gathered here in the presence of God this morning—these are the people that God calls you to love like no other!

it’s interesting the way the author introduces this command— “Do not neglect” doing good. It’s another demonstration of the power of the Word of God to plumb the depths of human nature, isn’t it? Because it’s easy to “neglect” doing good for one another—it’s easy to “forget” each other, isn’t it? This verse calls us to be intentional about our fellowship; to be actively seeking this kind of ministry to one another.

The kind of deep, meaningful, sacrificial fellowship that God calls you to in this passage cannot be accomplished by occasional appearances on Sunday morning; it cannot flourish where people bolt for the doors immediately after the benediction, it does not thrive where people are too busy to spend time with one another or never see one another except once a week for an hour or so. Don’t neglect these relationships, don’t forget your people here—God delights to see your unyielding commitment to Christ demonstrated in meaningful fellowship.

Verses 17-19 go on to exhort us to be unyielding in building God’s Kingdom here

In faithful SERVICE and fervent PRAYER (vv. 17-19)

Hebrews 13:17 (LSB)

Obey your leaders and submit to them—for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account—so that they will do this with joy and not with groaning, for this would be unprofitable for you.

As God provides faithful men to watch over your soul and feed you by the faithful proclamation of God’s Word, remember that they will all stand someday to give an account of the state of your spiritual health. The writer pleads with you here: Don’t wear out your shepherds by being sheep that have to be constantly chased down, constantly pulled back into the fold, constantly coaxed back out of the brambles of the world. They love you, and they delight in you; love them and listen to them and pray for them so that you will have the treasure of shepherds who are joyful and not exhausted!

Hebrews 13:18–19 (LSB)

Pray for us, for we are convinced that we have a good conscience, desiring to conduct ourselves well in all things. And I urge you all the more to do this, so that I may be restored to you the sooner.

We don’t know the circumstances that had separated the author of Hebrews from his friends, but see how he covets their prayers for him and his companions to “conduct themselves well in all things”. Christian, pray for one another; the shepherds who have watch over you, your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, those to whom God has given influence in His Kingdom. We have seen far too many tragic failures among prominent Christians who did not conduct themselves well; who did not stand with unyielding commitment to Christ in a crumbling culture, but who went along because they wanted prestige or wanted to avoid conflict. And though you and I will never be that influential in the wider world, your conduct will have an eternal impact on those around you! So seek God in prayer for your church, your leaders, your spouse, your children—that they may have a good conscience before God, that they bear good testimony to Christ in all that they do and all that they say.

Today is Fathers’ Day. And though these exhortations of this chapter apply to every believer, no matter their standing—parent or not—I want to specifically address my brothers here at Bethel. You are either a father now, or will, by God’s grace and in His timing, be a father someday. And so let God’s Word call you this morning to demonstrate unyielding commitment to Christ as you shepherd your family through our crumbling culture.

As Michael Foster writes,

The presence of a benevolent, godly father is one of the greatest gifts that can ever be given to a child. A godly father is a sermon that preaches the truth about God the Father day in and day out.

Christian dads, in a culture that is crumbling around you, when so many are retreating and hiding and hunkering down out of despair or anxiety over the state of this world, you are the one who stands—alone, if necessary, standing for your Savior, and standing for your family. Thank God that He has ordained for you to live in an age when you must live the kind of unyielding commitment to Christ that will give them a lifetime of stories about your faithfulness to Him (and so to them).

Be the man who shows your children how to love the people of God with sacrificial love. Be the man who shows your daughter what kind of husband she is looking for, show your sons what it means to love a woman with godly purity and delight.

Be the courageously loyal friend who will not back down when your brother in Christ is suffering persecution and trial. Stand firm, shoulders squared, knees bent, balancing on the balls of your feet ready for the fight. Grow a backbone; be like the Archenlanders in A Horse And His Boy, “Ready to be friends with anyone who is friendly, and don’t give a fig for anyone who isn’t”. Laugh often, occasionally even at yourself.

Feed your soul (and your family’s souls) with “stories of the saints of old, stories about their faith.” As Rich Mullins sang, “stories like that make a boy grow bold, stories like that make a man walk straight” (Boy Like Me/Man Like You).

Tell the story of Athanasius standing alone against the entire Christian world to defend the deity of Christ, tell the story of Martin Luther standing before the Holy Roman Emperor and the Papal legate, John Knox chained to the oar of a French warship vowing to return to St. Andrews, Nate Saint throwing down his rifle and falling to an Auca spear rather than hurt the people he loved, Hugh Latimer watching the executioner approaching with his torch, and turning to his friend Nicholas Ridley tied with him at the stake and saying, “Be of good courage and play the man, Master Ridley; we shall this day light such a candle, by God’s grace, in England as I trust shall never be put out.”

Remember them, teach your children to consider the outcome of their lives, and imitate their faith.

Be the man who is unyielding in guarding the truth of the faith—not out of fear, but out of delight for the truth of the Gospel. Some parents think they need to insulate their kids from any and every idea contrary to their own understanding of the Gospel—but that’s like teaching your kids to hunt by never showing them what a deer looks like! Go out there and find an example of this world’s wickedness and show them how to kill it!

Your kids’ favorite cartoon show suddenly introduces a transgender character? Don’t pull a Ron Swanson, throwing your TV in the trash and forbidding anyone ever to look at that show again—watch the show with them, talk through the worldview behind it, and then take out your 30.06 of God’s Word and blow it away!

Fathers, show your children what it means to be unyielding in building the Kingdom of God in this world until Christ comes or until He takes you home. Let the Name of Christ rest on your lips in worship just as much at work as it does on Sunday morning—your kids will know if that Name means something different coming out of your mouth on a Thursday night as it does on a Sunday morning. Show them that, next to them, God’s people in His church are your favorite people in the world. Show them that sacrificial love, show them how to respect and obey and pray for the leaders who have charge over your soul. Show your children what it means to be a churchman in this day and age when men are avoiding church in droves. Delight in the fellowship and sacrificial love between your brothers and sisters in Christ.

Does this weigh heavily on you, brother? Do you hear all of this on Fathers’ Day and despair of being that kind of man—that kind of father? Then let that weakness drive you to the foot of the Cross of Jesus Christ. You have no strength for this labor in yourself; the work of a faithful husband and father is beyond even the best of men, and we have all fallen well short. But your Heavenly Father, the God of peace, brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep—through the blood of the better covenant, the eternal covenant, your Savior Jesus Christ has purchased your life so that He may equip you to do all of these things—He will do all of it in you so that you will be pleasing in His sight. Look to Him for your salvation, lean on Him for your holiness so that you will be the man your family needs you to be, the man your church needs you to be, the man this crumbling culture needs you to be—unyielding commitment to the eternal glory of your Savior, Jesus Christ!

BENEDICTION

Hebrews 13:20–21 (LSB)

Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, our Lord Jesus, equip you in every good thing to do His will, by doing in us what is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION:

Write down something you learned from this morning’s message that is new to you, or an insight that you had for the first time about the text? ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ Write down a question that you have about the passage that you want to study further or ask for help with: ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ Write down something that you need to do in your life this week in response to what God has shown you from His Word today: ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________