********Hebrews 13:15

Hebrews 13:15 (NRSV)

15 Through him, then, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name.

Praise for God is found throughout the Bible. One of the major doctrines in the Bible is praise for God. The Psalms are full of praises to God. The New Testament is full of praises to God.

◦ The Samaritan leper that was cleansed by the Lord Jesus returned to the Lord Jesus to give Him praise.

◦ When Jesus raised the widow from Nam’s son, there was praise for God.

◦ When Jesus calmed the seas, the disciples bowed before Him and in awe praised Him.

◦ When Jesus road in on the Donkey, there were praises to God!

◦ In heaven the elders and the angels bow down before Him and lift up their praises to Him.

In heaven and on earth, praise for God is going on. We are to be praising the Lord!

◾ Praise: (Webster’s) “to commend the worth of; to glorify God or a god); praising or being praised; commendation.”

◾ Praise: (Holman Bible Dictionary) “The Bible recognizes that men and women may also be the objects of praise, either from other people or from God Himself, and that angels and the natural world are likewise capable of praising God. Nevertheless, human praise of God is one of Scripture’s major themes. Praise comes from a Latin word meaning ‘value’ or ‘price.’ Thus, to give praise to God is to proclaim His merit or worth. Many terms are used to express this in the Bible, including ‘glory,’ ‘blessing,’ ‘thanksgiving,’ and ‘hallelujah,’ the last named being the transliteration of the Hebrew for “Praise the Lord.”

The Lord Jesus is worthy of all our praise. We are to praise Him because there is none like Him. We are to praise Him for Who He is and for what He has done! The writer of Hebrews declared the persistence of our praising, the Person that we praise, and the pattern for our praising. Christians should steadfastly, sacrificially, and sincerely praise the Lord Jesus. I want to challenge Christian men and women to begin to daily, faithfully, consistently, and courageously praise the Lord. Do you praise the Lord everyday? Are you consistently praising Him in good times and bad? Is He worthy of your praise? Do you lift up your voice in praise for the Lord? This verse gives us some facts about what the Bible says about Praise.

I. The occurrence of our praise. (15b–c)

The Bible tells us how to praise and when to praise the Lord. The Bible gives us instructions on praising the Lord. The writer of Hebrews is instructing the 1st century Hebrews on the Lord Jesus’ sacrifice for sins. Because He laid down His life for ours sins on the cross, there is no need for any further offering. The Lord Jesus shed His blood to save and sanctify His people. He went outside the camp bearing the reproach of our sins. He bore our sins on the tree! Because of what He did for us, we are to praise His holy name.

The writer of Hebrews exhorts God’s people to praise God for sending His Son Jesus to be the “once for all” sacrifice for our sins. Hebrews 9:11–14 says, “But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. 12 Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, 14 how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”

In verse 15 the Bible says “Therefore” which calls for us to look back to the previous verses to give us the reasons for the exhortation to praise the Lord. “Therefore” because of all that Christ has done what are we to do? He tells us in verse 15.

A. We are to praise Him collectively. (15b)

“Therefore by Him let us”

“Let us” is found 13 times in the Book of Hebrews and it is used to exhort us to do something together. This is the last time in Hebrews that it is used. We are to collectively praise the Lord! We cannot collectively and genuinely praise the Lord if we do not individually praise the Lord. We are to come together and lift up our voices in praise to God. Church ought to be a celebration.

We come together to celebrate the Day:

→ hell was shook up,

→ death was torn up,

→ the devil was beat up,

→ the Savior got up, and sinners were woke up.

This exhortation to praise the Lord is for you and me. Church for some folks is:

→ An interruption

→ An inconvenience

→ Not a celebration, but a chore

They would rather:

◾ pout than praise

◾ complain than celebrate

◾ sit than sing

We are to collectively praise the Lord Jesus Christ. We are to come together in unity and praise Him collectively. Psalm 108:3 says, “I will praise You, O LORD, among the peoples, and I will sing praises to You among the nations.” “Let us” exhorts everyone to participate and get involved. It doesn’t matter if you can carry a tune or not. We are to praise the Lord because of Who He is and what He has done. We are to come together to praise the Lord Jesus. He is worthy of our praise! We are to bring our praise with us! We are not to wait for some choir or special singer to inspire us. We ought to come to church inspired and ready to praise the Lord!

On July 23, 2009, Circuit Judge Daniel Rozak was issuing a two-year prison sentence to Clifton Williams’ cousin for felony drug charges when Williams stretched and yawned loudly in the courtroom. Judge Rozak took the interruption as an intentional disruption to the proceedings so he gave the thirty-three year old Illinois man a six month jail term for contempt of court even though he wasn’t on trial. Imagine what the judge might do if he moonlighted for worship leaders on Sunday mornings.

EXHORTATION: Wake up and praise the Lord!

Do we really collectively praise the Lord Jesus? Some folks like the words on the screen; some like the words in the Hymnal; some don’t like the songs; some want this and that and we lose focus on why we come together and Who we gather for! As a pastor, I have promised God’s people that we will not sing songs that do not magnify the Lord Jesus Christ, that are not Biblical, that are ungodly. Our songs of praise ought to lift up the Lord Jesus and enhance our worship of Him.

→ The problem is that we come to church, but we do not come to worship.

→ We come into the same building, but we do not come together.

→ We are here in body, but somewhere else in spirit.

→ We are worried about the temperature and the time.

→ We are worried about someone getting our seats or somewhere we have to be.

We are to be in the same place for the same purpose to lift up the Savior’s praise. Are we collectively praising the Lord! Psalm 34:3 says, “Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together.” May the Lord God revive His church from this day forward that we come together to celebrate Jesus. We are to praise Him collectively. We also learn in this verse:

B. We are to praise Him continually. (15c)

“Therefore by Him let us continually”

The writer of Hebrews exhorts God’s people to collectively and to continually offer praise to God. Our praise is to occur when we come together and when we are apart.

◾ We are to praise the Lord in worship and in work.

◾ We are to praise Him in the morning and in the evening.

◾ We are to praise Him when we feel like it or when we don’t feel like it.

◾ We are to praise Him in the good times and the bad.

◾ We are to praise Him when the sun is shining or in the storms of life.

◾ We are to praise Him in sickness and we are to praise Him in health.

◾ We are to praise Him when everything is going our way and when nothing is going our way.

A body is not crippled until its heart has ceased to praise. Louis Albert Banks tells of an elderly Christian man, a fine singer, who learned that he had cancer of the tongue and that surgery was required. In the hospital, after everything was ready for the operation, the man said to the doctor, “Are you sure I will never sing again?” The surgeon found it difficult to answer his question.

He simply shook his head no. The patient then asked the doctor if he could sit up for a moment. He said, “I’ve had many good times singing the praises of God, and now you tell me I can never sing again. I have one song that will be my last. It will be of gratitude and praise to God.” There in the doctor’s presence, the man sang softly the words of Isaac Watts’ hymn:

→ I’ll praise my Maker while I’ve breath and when my voice is lost in death

→ Praise shall employ my nobler power;

→ My days of praise shall ne’er be past, while life, and thought, and being last,

→ Or immortality endures.

We are to continually praise the Lord! Continually: diapantos, dee-ap-an-tos’; through all time, i.e. (adverb) constantly-always, continually. Psalm 34:1–2 says, “I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. 2 My soul shall make its boast in the LORD; the humble shall hear of it and be glad.” Andrew Murray wrote, “Christ has redeemed us wholly for Himself; our lips belong to Him, and He claims that we shall speak of Him and praise Him continually” We are to praise the Lord collectively and continually. Does that describe the way you live? Do you continually praise the Lord? Can I get a witness today of how God has blessed you, saved you, sustained you, rescued you, thrilled your soul? Our praise for the Lord Jesus is to be ongoing. The Bible tells us about the occurrence of our praise. We also learn in this verse about:

II. The object of our praise. (15a, d)

Two parts of this verse magnifies the object of our praise.

→ We exhorted in this verse not to praise man, but the Master, not one another, but the One that is above all others!

A. Who our praise is through. (15a)

“Therefore by Him”

We are to come to God through the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation and we are to come to God through Jesus Christ in celebration. We cannot approach God apart from Jesus Christ our Lord. We cannot pray to God, serve God, worship God apart from the Lord Jesus Christ. Our praise is to be in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. God is pleased with praise that lifts up the name of the Son of God! It is through Jesus Christ alone that we can worship and praise God!

→ That means we are to mention Him and magnify Him in praise.

→ That means we are to be conscious of Him and celebrate Him in worship.

→ That means we are to learn of Him and be challenged to live for Him through the preaching! It’s all about JESUS!

All other religions cannot please God, reach God, be blessed by God, and used by God because they have denied God’s Son! Only Biblical Christianity is pleasing to God! The Lord Jesus is the object of our praise! When we find ourselves enthralled with Jesus, praising Jesus, loving Jesus, worshiping Jesus, then we find ourselves worshiping and praising and serving God! Jimmy Draper wrote, “We have nothing to offer God apart from Him. There is nothing in us that is acceptable to God. There is nothing in our merit, nothing in our strength, nothing in our wisdom. We cannot go one step without Jesus Christ. If we are to know God, if we are to walk in fellowship with Him, if our hearts are to be kept warm, it will be by Jesus Christ. It is by Him that we come to God. He is our great High Priest. He is still the One who brings us into the Holiest of all. He brings us into the presence of the Father. We go there in Jesus’ name. It is all by Him. The sacrifice of praise we give to God is by Jesus Christ. He is King of kings and Lord of lords. He is Almighty God. HE is Eternal Father. He is Everlasting Sacrifice. He is the Eternal High Priest. We cannot get to God without Him.” Do you direct all your praise through the Lord Jesus Christ? Is He the passion and priority of your praise? The Lord is the object of our praise! The Bible tells us who our praise is through. We also note:

B. Who our praise is to. (15d)

“Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God”

When we say “Hallelujah,” we are saying “Praise the Lord!” We are to praise God! Not everyone that is singing is praising the Lord! Not everyone in church is praising God! Not everyone that holds a hymnal is heralding hallelujahs! Not everyone that stands for the singing is singing in the right spirit. It is our responsibility and privilege as children of God to praise God. I’ve talked about our praise for God! He is worthy of all our praise. He is the object of our praise! We are to make worship about Him! We are to sings songs about Him.

→ We are to glorify Him in our praying, in our praising, and in the preaching!

→ We are to magnify Him in the singing, in the service, and in the sermon!

Our praise is to be to God alone through Jesus Christ our Lord!

David Ruiz wrote a great song entitled, “You are Worthy of my Praise.”

I will worship with all of my heart. I will praise You with all of my strength.

I will seek You all of my days. I will follow all of Your ways.

I will give You all my worship; I will give You all my praise. You alone I long to worship; You alone are worthy of my praise.

I will bow down and hail You the King. I will serve You; give You everything.

I will lift up my eyes to Your throne and I will trust You; I will trust You alone.

Are we honoring God by worshiping Him alone? The Bible tells us when to praise Him and Who to praise, and how to praise! The Bible tells us of the occurrence of our praise. The Bible instructs us about the object of our praise. Lastly, we note:

III. The offering of our praise. (15e–f)

A. The definition of praise. (15e)

“Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.”

We learn in this verse the Biblical definition of praise. Praise is an offering to God. It is the fruit of our lips and it is giving thanks. Offer: anaphero, an-af-er’-o; to take up (literal or figurative) bear, bring (carry, lead) up, offer (up). What a picture. The people would not offer up the animal sacrifices any longer. They would not carry up the lambs, the goats, the calves, to the temple any longer. By the way, when the people brought their sacrifices to the temple they were to bring their best for the Master. They were to bring animals without blemish! They were not to offer up the lame, the blind, the worst, but they were to offer up the best they had!

In 1984 Kirk Dearman wrote this song, “We bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord. We bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord. And we offer up to You the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and we offer up to You the sacrifices of joy.” We are to offer up the best that we have! It is to be a sacrifice of praise and it is to be offered to God! He is to get our best! That means that we are not to half-heartedly praise the Lord Jesus! That means we are not to be disinterested, bored with, or ready to leave during our worship of God!

Our praise should be the best for our Lord! As a pastor, I have to say that our times of praise and worship are lacking much of the time! Sacrifice: thusia, thoo-see’-ah; sacrifice (the act or the victim, literal or figurative) sacrifice. It cost the early Christians to praise the Lord! It cost them something to testify that Jesus is Lord! Lamoyne Sharpe wrote, “A sacrifice is something that costs. The testimony of these early Christians often resulted in persecution and even death.” That didn’t stop them from praising the Lord! John Phillips wrote, “Can we praise God without cost to ourselves? For these hesitant Hebrews to lift up their voices in praise to the Lord Jesus meant the fierce hatred of their fellows. For many in the world today it means the same. For everyone it means the investment of time, to say the least. How many hours, one wonders, did David spend perfecting the words of his psalms? How long does it take to perfect praise, to soberly think through the immense realities of the grace and the goodness and the glory and the government of God? Is praise the glib singing of a chorus, or is it hours spent in God’s presence with heart uplifted in awe and worship at the wonders of His person and His works? Is praise the thoughtless line or two of a hymn sung with others at a worship service, or is it the voice of testimony raised among people in glory to God at home, at work, at play?”

Our praise is to be a sacrifice to God! It ought to cost us something! Some of you will have to get out of your comfort zone. Some will have to remove the pride or fear of embarrassment. Some it will cost you praise of friends and family! David Jeremiah wrote, “Each of us has a responsibility to make a joyful noise to the Lord. We sing with all our hearts and enter into the worship. Not just because we enjoy singing, but because it is part of our sacrifice to the Lord … You should never say you worshiped the Lord if you came to church and just sat there. To worship you must lift your voice to God.” Hosea 14:2 says, “Take words with you, and return to the LORD. Say to Him, “Take away all iniquity; receive us graciously, for we will offer the sacrifices of our lips.” Some of us need to return to the Lord and say to Him “Take away all iniquity and receive us graciously, for we will offer the sacrifices of our lips.” We need to offer the sacrifice of praise to God.

The writer of Hebrews tells us what the sacrifice of praise to God we are to offer. It is “the fruit of our lips, giving thanks”!

Fruit: karpos, kar-pos’; fruit (as plucked), literal or figurative-fruit. We are to be bringing forth fruit to the Lord. We are to offer up fruit to the Lord, not trash! We are to be giving Him something that is delightful, not dreadful! Jerry Vines wrote, “The growth of fruit has to be natural. You can’t force fruit to grow. (Some people’s praise is artificial, manufactured. It’s just like a plastic apple.) But if there is genuine gratitude in the heart, there is a natural welling up that will ultimately express itself in the fruit of the lips giving thanks to the Lord.”

Is your praise manufactured? Do you have to work it up? Does someone have to pump you up? Are you offering up artificial fruit to the Lord? The fruit of our lips should consist in us giving Him thanks. We are to thank the Lord for our salvation, for the forgiveness of our sins, for His mercy and grace, for the breath of life, for the strength to serve Him, for all the blessings He bestows on us, etc … Warren W. Wiersbe wrote, “How easy it is for suffering saints to complain, but how important it is for them to give thanks to God.”

We cannot praise God without thanking God! We cannot worship God without giving thanks to God! We should never get tired of thanking God! We should ever be grateful and thankful for all that He has done! Praise without thanksgiving is like the ocean without the water!

→ It is like clouds without the rain!

→ It is like corn flakes without the milk!

→ It is like Tracy without me!

Many of you never get anything out of worship because you never bring anything to worship! The Bible tells us of the definition of praise. Lastly, the Bible gives us:

B. The designation of our praise. (15f)

“Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.”

We’ve already discussed that God is the object of our praise. Our praise is through Jesus Christ and to God the Father. We are to designate our praise to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Our praise is to be given in Jesus’ name. We are to give thanks to His name! Psalm 7:17 says, “I will praise the LORD according to His righteousness, and will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High.” Our praise and worship is to glorify and magnify the name of the Lord Jesus! We are not to take any of the praise that is due God! We are not to take credit for only what God can do! We are to give God all the glory.

A farmer once took a really bad piece of land and worked the land and made things flourish. He was proud of his accomplishments so he asked his pastor to come by and see what he had done. The pastor was impressed. He said, “That’s the tallest com I’ve ever seen. I’ve never seen anything as big as those melons. Praise the Lord!” He went on that way about every crop, praising the Lord for it all. Finally, the farmer had had all he could stand. He couldn’t take it anymore. He said, “Pastor, I just wish you could have seen this land when the Lord had it all by Himself.”

Are we giving thanks to the name of Jesus? Do we lift up His name in song and in the sermon? Are we glorifying His name in the praising and the preaching? Do we thank Him in our praying? Are we worshiping Him in Spirit and in truth? Are we collectively and continually praising the Lord Jesus? Is our praise directed in and through the Lord Jesus? We cannot praise God apart from the Lord Jesus. Are we offering the sacrifice of praise to God? Are worship and praise and testimony costly to you?

Is God pleased with our worship? We need to evaluate where we are and move to where God wants us to be! We need to learn to praise Him! We need to repent the sin of half-hearted worship and praise! We need to repent of our complaining and negative spirit. We need to give the Lord our best in praise! We need to come together ready to worship and praise the Lord! Some of you do not praise God because you do not know God! You have never been set free from your sins and you have nothing to praise about! Turn to God today and trust in Jesus today! He will save you and give you a song of joy and praise! He will give you life eternal and we can spend the rest of our days practicing for that day when we stand in His presence!

Bibliography