Acceptable Service

Hebrews 13:1-6

Let brotherly love continue. Don’t neglect to show hospitality, for by doing this some have welcomed angels as guests without knowing it. Remember those in prison, as though you were in prison with them, and the mistreated, as though you yourselves were suffering bodily. Marriage is to be honored by all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, because God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers. Keep your life free from the love of money. Be satisfied with what you have, for he himself has said, I will never leave you or abandon you. Therefore, we may boldly say,

The Lord is my helper;

I will not be afraid.

What can man do to me?

This is the Word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God.

We are continuing in the "therefore" of Hebrews 12:28. The author has told us we've received an unshakable kingdom — and the only proper response is reverence and awe, and acceptable service to God.

But what does acceptable service actually look like? We do not get to decide what that reasonable service to God is. In a world that believes truth is relative, the Bible gives us specific directions on what it means to follow after God. We cannot say, “To me, reasonable service means…” if that action is contradictory to what Scripture says.

Reasonable service is not a feeling. It's not a mystical experience. Today we are going to look at five very concrete, very ordinary ways of living. Next week we will look at even more.

And here's the thing — all of these actions, or ways of living, hang on one promise. That's our big idea today:

Big Idea: God’s presence allows us to love generously, live purely, and hold loosely.

So now in our passage today, the author shows us what a "spiritual house" looks like when it actually lives together.

1. Love Without Limits (vv. 1–3)

Hebrews 13:1

Let brotherly love continue.

A. Brotherly Love That Continues (v. 1)

The Greek word for brotherly love is:

φιλαδελφία - philadelphia

adelphos - brother

phileo - love

This is more than just an appreciation of others. This is a family affection, the natural love of siblings. Not sentimentality. Covenant loyalty.

How many of you have friends who are considered part of the family? When I grew up, I had Uncle George. We were not related at all. George Ho was one of my dad’s roommates in college that he brought home to my grandparents’ home for holidays. My dad’s Scandinavian family, of which my dad was the oldest of 7 kids, adopted a 6’4”, 300lb+, half-Chinese, half-Hawaiian man, who looked like he could have been a sumo wrestler to a little kid, for no other reason than he needed somewhere to be for the holidays. My aunts and uncles all treated him like he was one of the siblings. All of the cousins of my generation knew George Ho as “Uncle George.”

He was a part of our massive Skolrud Family Christmases when I was growing up because he was a part of the family, not by blood, but because he needed family, and my dad’s family took him in. That is the brotherly love that Christians should have, especially for other Christians.

When the author says that brotherly love should continue (menō), he isn't introducing a new command. He's saying don't let what's already there die. See, the danger the author of Hebrews has continually been warning about is drift. And brotherly love is one of the first things to cool when people drift.

And he's not asking them to start something new. He's already commended them in Hebrews 10:32–34:

Hebrews 10:32–34

Remember the earlier days when, after you had been enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to taunts and afflictions, and at other times you were companions of those who were treated that way. For you sympathized with the prisoners and accepted with joy the confiscation of your possessions, because you know that you yourselves have a better and enduring possession.

They sympathized with prisoners; they joyfully accepted the confiscation of their property. This is a call back to who they already were. This isn't a new burden. It's a return to who you already were.

Application (believer): Is there a brother or sister you've quietly stopped loving well? Not with drama — just with distance. Today's the day to close the gap.

Application (unbeliever): The church is not a club of people who happen to like each other. It's a family — and there's room for you in it.

B. Hospitality That Welcomes Strangers (v. 2)

Hebrews 13:2

Don’t neglect to show hospitality, for by doing this some have welcomed angels as guests without knowing it.

The author now makes a slight shift from family affection to strangers. Different command. Different target.

Hospitality in the ancient world was life-or-death. There were no hotels, no roadside assistance. There was no OnStar navigation in your ox cart. A traveler without a host was genuinely exposed to danger. Offering hospitality wasn't a nice gesture; it was survival.

The author then goes back to this logic of looking from the greater to the lesser, talking about some who have “welcomed angels without knowing it.” There are a few different examples that we see in the Old Testament.

Abraham at Mamre - Three visitors come by Abraham’s tent. He stops them and offers them water to wash their feet, has Sarah make some bread, has one of his servants slaughter a young cow to cook up, and prepares curds and milk himself. He gives all of this to the three visitors as they sit resting under the shade of a tree.

One of these visitors is described as The LORD - which many read as a “Christophany,” an appearance of Christ before his incarnation- who tells Abraham and Sarah that they will have a son. The Lord also tells Abraham that he is about to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah.

Lot at Sodom - Two of these visitors are specifically described as angels, who went to Sodom to see if their actions justified the outcry that had gone up to the Lord against Sodom. They meet Lot, who was at the city gate. He insists they stay at his house, providing water to wash their feet and making bread for them to eat. When the men of Sodom come to Lot’s house with the intention of sexually assaulting the visitors, Lot pleads their case, saying the visitors are under his protection, begging these men not to do such an evil deed. When they try to attack Lot for judging them, the angels pull Lot back into the house and blind the men of the city.

Gideon - In Judges, we see an angel of the Lord meet with Gideon to tell him that he would lead the people of Israel in victory over the Midianites. Gideon tries to talk this messenger down, saying that it felt like the Lord had abandoned Israel after bringing them out of Egypt. Finally, Gideon went and got bread, meat from a goat, and some broth to give to this messenger. With his staff, the angel touched the rock where Gideon placed the food, and a fire came up, consuming the food, and the angel immediately disappeared. It was then that Gideon realized he was visited by an angel of the Lord.

Manoah and his wife - Manoah’s wife was unable to conceive, but was visited by an angel of the Lord who told her she would have a son who would begin to deliver Israel from the Philistines. She told Manoah about the encounter, and Manoah prayed that God would send the messenger again. When the angel appeared to Manoah and his wife, they were amazed at what the angel said. They brought a sacrifice of a young goat and some grain. Then, like with Gideon, a fire came up from the rock, consumed the sacrifice, and the angel went up into heaven through the fire.

Showing hospitality to strangers can unwittingly be hosting angels. How much more will ordinary hospitality toward ordinary strangers matter?

Quick caveat here: this is not a call to look for angelic encounters. This is a call to serve anyone we can — because we never know the weight of the person at our table. Jesus said as much in. Matthew 25:35–40

Matthew 25:35–40

“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink; I was a stranger and you took me in; I was naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you took care of me; I was in prison and you visited me.”

Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and take you in, or without clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick, or in prison, and visit you?”

And the King will answer them, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”

Application (believer): Who is the stranger at your table this month? Not the person you owe — the person you don't know yet.

Application (unbeliever): The gospel creates a people who make room. That's not natural. That's Christ in us.

C. Solidarity That Enters Suffering (v. 3)

Hebrews 13:3

Remember those in prison, as though you were in prison with them, and the mistreated, as though you yourselves were suffering bodily.

There are a couple of ways this passage could read. Our text says that the readers should remember those in prison and those who are mistreated as if they themselves were being mistreated. However, that is not the only way that phrase can be translated because when you are working with ancient languages in which there was no punctuation, no lowercase letters, and words had multiple meanings, sometimes you have to guess. This is why there are often footnotes that say “could also be translated as…”

The other way this phrase has been translated is “Since you yourselves are in the body,” or of the body” — All of these readings can be true.

If it is “as if you were also suffering,” that aligns with doing to others as you would have them do to you.

If we look at this as, “You are in the body” — the author is telling his readers they are vulnerable to the same treatment. This is a call to solidarity with others.

If we look at this as, “You are of the body” — the author is saying the church is one body, so their suffering is your suffering. Paul tells his readers in 1 Corinthians 12:26 that if one member of Christ’s body suffers, all the members suffer with it.

None of these interpretations are contradictory, and all of them could apply to the author’s message.

Historical background: Roman prisons had no state provision. Inmates depended entirely on family and friends for food and warmth. "Remembering" prisoners meant literal survival — visiting, providing, caring for the family left behind. This is why we see in Paul’s letters where he is thankful that Luke was with him, that the churches had sent him provisions, and he asks Timothy to send him his parchments of writings.

And again — he's calling them back to Hebrews 10:34. They already did this. He is saying, “Don’t stop!”

Modern expression: remembering, giving aid to, and praying for persecuted Christians around the world (Voice of the Martyrs, etc.). Christians should be able to identify with the sufferings of others.

Application (believer): Who is suffering right now that you've kept at arm's length because their pain is inconvenient?

Application (unbeliever): A faith that enters suffering rather than avoiding it is a faith worth examining.

2. Live With Undivided Hearts (vv. 4–5a)

Hebrews 13:4

Marriage is to be honored by all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, because God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.

A. Marriage Honored by All (v. 4a)

When the author says that marriage should be “honored by all,” he is not making a claim about specific people. The word “all” in this circumstance means “ALL.” So, just as married people should honor marriage, single people should also honor marriage. But the “all” does not stop there. The culture should honor marriage. Does our culture honor marriage? Absolutely not.

But the church's sexual ethic should be Biblically grounded and serve as a public witness, not just a private rule.

There have been times in the history of the church when celibacy has been seen as "holier" than marriage. Paul denounces this in 1 Timothy 4:1-5 when he tells the young pastor that there would be those departing the faith, teaching the “doctrines of demons,” forbidding marriage, and demanding that people not eat certain foods. Paul goes on to say this:

1 Timothy 4:4–5

For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, since it is sanctified by the word of God and by prayer.

False teachers forbid marriage. False teachers say that you can’t be married and serve the Lord well. Or they will go in a different direction and claim that marriage is oppressive. False teachers do everything they can to tear down marriage and the family. But God is the one who created marriage and called it good. Marriage is not a concession to weakness. It's a creation ordinance, a command by God that humanity be fruitful and multiply, an ordinance that Christ himself honors.

Paul beautifully described the relationship between husband and wife in Ephesians 5, showing a mutual self-sacrifice that is actually describing something bigger than the union between a husband and a wife. It is the union of Christ with his church.

Ephesians 5:28–32

In the same way, husbands are to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hates his own flesh but provides and cares for it, just as Christ does for the church, since we are members of his body. For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. This mystery is profound, but I am talking about Christ and the church.

God created marriage and called it good. And because marriage is good, we should honor it as such.

Greco-Roman marriage was often a social or economic arrangement where fidelity was only really expected of wives. It was not seen as a social “taboo” for the husband to be unfaithful in the marriage. The author's call was countercultural because he is telling both husbands and wives to honor their marriage and that the culture should honor marriage as well.

Application (believer): If you're married, is your covenant honored — or tolerated? If you're single, do you honor marriage as good?

Application (unbeliever): God designed intimacy to be safe. That's not repression — that's protection.

B. The Marriage Bed Undefiled (v. 4b)

One of the greatest ways to honor marriage is to keep the marriage bed “undefiled.” Our modern definition of undefiled:

undefiled

Pure and Clean: Not polluted, dirty, or damaged.

Uncorrupted: Free from moral sin, evil, or bad influences.

Unspoiled: Retaining original beauty, value, or excellence.

The Greek word used by the author is amiantos. It is the same word he used to describe Jesus as the High Priest we need.

Hebrews 7:26

For this is the kind of high priest we need: holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.

In describing Jesus as our high priest, the author says that Christ was perfect, not tainted by sin, not tainted by sinners.

This means that the standard for purity in the marriage bed is the purity of Christ himself. How do we do that? Firstly, the marriage bed must be kept as God created it to be — one man with one woman in a lifelong covenant. Again, Genesis 2:24 says:

Genesis 2:24

This is why a man leaves his father and mother and bonds with his wife, and they become one flesh.

That is the standard that God called good when he set forth from creation what a marriage and sex should look like.

Anything outside of God's design for marriage and sex defiles the marriage bed.

However, it is not just the act of adultery or sex outside of a God-glorifying covenant marriage that defiles the marriage bed. Jesus taught that the heart commits what the hands haven't.

Matthew 5:27–28

“You have heard that it was said, Do not commit adultery. But I tell you, everyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

What we watch, what we imagine, what we rehearse in the mind is just as sinful because Jesus tells us that we have already committed those acts in our heart.

And the author of Hebrews is unflinching in his warning: adulterers and the sexually immoral (pornos) will be judged by God. The word for sexually immoral is the Greek word “pornos.” This is where we get our word “pornography.”

Our culture tries to tell us that pornographic things don’t harm us, but are good for us, and should be celebrated as art. But Paul tells the church in Ephesus the exact opposite.

Ephesians 5:3–6

But sexual immorality and any impurity or greed should not even be heard of among you, as is proper for saints. Obscene and foolish talking or crude joking are not suitable, but rather giving thanks. For know and recognize this: Every sexually immoral or impure or greedy person, who is an idolater, does not have an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty arguments, for God’s wrath is coming on the disobedient because of these things.

Like Paul, the author of Hebrews is not giving a soft cautionary insight. This is a strong warning: Sexual immorality will be judged by God.

Now, when I was growing up, there was this teaching going through the conservative church called “Purity Culture.” In many ways, it was a response to the sexual revolution of the 60s and 70s and was marked by books like “I Kissed Dating Goodbye” and teaching adolescents and college students that anything sexual outside of marriage is bad.

Though the intention was good, of wanting the youth in the church to desire to save themselves sexually for marriage, the implications of the teachings actually taught young people that God thinks sex is bad. It shamed young people for the fact that their hormones were doing exactly what God designed them to do. The church taught young people to avoid anything sexual instead of teaching that, within the marriage covenant, it is a gift to be enjoyed with your spouse.

God was the one who designed marriage, as well as sex. He calls it good.

Application (believer): What have you allowed into your heart, your screen, your imagination that has no place in a covenant?

Application (unbeliever): The gospel doesn't shame your desire — it redeems it. The Gospel shows us the truth about our desires and what he designed those desires for. There is forgiveness in Christ and freedom from shame for the ways we have chased our desires in a way God did not intend

C. Free From the Mastery of Money (v. 5a)

Hebrews 13:5a

Keep your life free from the love of money. Be satisfied with what you have…

Next, the author tells his readers to keep themselves from the love of money. He tells them to “be satisfied with what you have.” The love of money says, “I don’t have enough.” That feeling of not having enough money doesn’t stop when you have more than you need. Those who are driven by money and wealth will keep working for it even when they couldn’t spend all the money they already have.

But Scripture tells us often to be content. Contentment is the opposite of the love of money. Contentment says, “I have enough. God has provided.”

See, the love of money is fundamentally a fear of abandonment. Thinking that the love of money is only a secular thing is a trap that we must not fall into. Christians fall into the trap of wanting more money and hoarding because we don't believe God will show up.

Worry is a form of atheism.

It is a lack of belief that God will provide what you need when you need it.

Application (believer): What are you holding with a closed fist that God is asking you to hold with an open hand?

Application (unbeliever): The emptiness that money can't fill was made to be filled by a Person.

But the antidote to greed isn't discipline — it's presence. And that's exactly where the author goes next.

3. Rest in an Unbreakable Promise (vv. 5b–6)

Hebrews 13:5

…for he himself has said, I will never leave you or abandon you.

A. The Promise That Frees Us (v. 5b)

When the author says “…for he himself has said" — he is pointing back to God's covenant promise to his people.

Deuteronomy 31:6

“Be strong and courageous; don’t be terrified or afraid of them. For the Lord your God is the one who will go with you; he will not leave you or abandon you.”

Joshua 1:5

No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. I will be with you, just as I was with Moses. I will not leave you or abandon you.

This is not a slogan. This is covenant. This is a promise that we can cling to, hold to our chest, and trust the one who said it.

Word study moment: the Greek piles up 5 negatives in the translation of this sentence to say “I'm not going anywhere." Literally, the passage is saying: “I will never, never, never, never, never leave you or abandon you."

This is the ground of everything the author has been telling his readers. It is not our performance that will make us feel safe, protected, or strong. It is not our willpower that will give us security. It is His presence.

This week, starting this past Friday, is the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles, or Sukkot. The Israelites were to live in temporary booths “that your generations may know” that the Lord made Israel dwell in booths when He brought them out of Egypt (Leviticus 23:42–43). The point was generational memory: the God who delivered them from slavery also preserved them in the wilderness. It was to be a reminder that God was always with them

And the one who says "I will never leave you" is the same Jesus who tabernacled among us.

John 1:14

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

Dwelt = Tabernacled

Christ is the one who ate with sinners and strangers, who was himself a prisoner (Matthew 27). Emmanuel - God with us.

Christ is the one who kept the marriage covenant with his bride, the church, perfectly, and, as Paul tells his readers in 2 Corinthians, he is the who, though he was rich, yet for your sake became poor.

Christ is not just the commander of this passage — he is the fulfillment of it.

B. The Confidence That Flows From It (v. 6)

Hebrews 13:6

Therefore, we may boldly say,

The Lord is my helper;

I will not be afraid.

What can man do to me?

Psalm 118:6, the verse the author quotes from, is a processional psalm of deliverance. The psalmist has been surrounded, near death, and God has become his salvation. Quoting it here puts the words of a delivered man in the mouth of the congregation.

"The Lord is my helper" - This is the same concept behind very present help in trouble that we see in Psalm 46:1:

Psalm 46:1

God is our refuge and strength, a helper who is always found in times of trouble.

The author is stacking Old Testament comfort under the feet of anxious Christians who are being persecuted, seeing their friends get put in jail, having their possessions taken away. He is reminding his readers that God is always with them. God is not unaware. God is actually taking care of them and providing for them through the trouble and hardships.

"What can man do to me?" — this is bold speech grounded not in our circumstances but in God's character. This question is what drives Christians to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ to the nations. It’s what drove men like Adinoram Judson, who served as a Missionary in Burma (Myanmar) for about 40 years, facing persecution, imprisonment, the death of two wives, and the deaths of multiple children.

“What can man do to me?” is what drove John Gibson Paton to preach the gospel on Vanuatu, an Island off the coast of Australia that was known for cannibalistic natives who reacted violently to outsiders. People told him, “You will be eaten by cannibals!”

He responded,

“Cannibals or worms, Christ is worthy of my life.”

John Gibson Paton

Let me stack one more Old Testament verse for us to stand on today.

Isaiah 41:10

Do not fear, for I am with you;

do not be afraid, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you; I will help you;

I will hold on to you with my righteous right hand.

Application (believer): Don't throw away your confidence. A confidence not in yourself but in the Lord. What fear is driving your hands closed today? Preach this promise to that fear.

Application (unbeliever): The God of the Bible does not stand at a distance. He says, "I will never leave you." Come and see.

Conclusion: A Call to Repentance and Faith

So our big idea today, again:

Big Idea: God’s presence allows us to love generously, live purely, and hold loosely.

But here's the honest truth — we don't. We drift. We cool. We close our fists. We let our hearts wander.

And so the call this morning is not to try harder. It's to come back to the One who has promised to never leave. If you are in Christ, this promise is yours today. Repent of the fear that has driven you to close your hands. Receive the presence of God again as your true security.

And if you do not yet know Christ — the One who says "I will never leave you or abandon you" is inviting you to Himself right now. He kept every command in this passage on your behalf, and he is present with you even now to save you.

Next Step: I will repent and submit my life to Christ.