Sermon Tone Analysis

Psalm 81:10–16 / Hebrews 13:1-6

Brotherly Love

Neighbor / Brother = all of humanity

Luke 10 - The Good Samaritan

Who proved to be the good neighbor / to be neighborly?

The one who showed mercy

Everyone in your life is your neighbor, and it may be the least expected that is neighborly.

Jesus’ prescription: Go and do likewise; even if they don’t or wouldn’t expect it, be neighborly to them

Familial Relation - blood kin (the blood of Christ)

Galatians 3:7-9 “Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham.

8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.”

9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.”

Hebrews brings Abraham into the picture in v2

There is a real (even when not realized) connection between all believers.

This is a part of the Communion of the Saints stated in the Nicene Creed, and therefore in our current Hymn of The Month

If blood is thicker than water, how much more the blood of Christ?

The examples of loving our neighbors that are spoken to in verses 2-6 can and should be thought of or applied as loving our brother man, but especially so for brothers and sisters in Christ.

What follows may seem like just more law; more thou shalts and thou shalt nots, but remember this is the closing of a sermon to God’s People, Holy Inspired Instructions based on God’s grace and love to us, and how best to spread that love and grace to others for God’s Glory and our benefit in time and eternity.

Strangers and Angels

Herein we find the reference to Abraham:

This is sometimes taught as being hyperbole; intentional exaggeration, but I do not believe it is that at all.

In Genesis 18 and 19, Abraham (not Lincoln), aka the Father of our Faith, was visited by three men.

(Angels in the Bible generally do not appear to people as glowing, winged creatures, but rather as human men.)

One he continually addresses as Lord, and afterwards in verse 27 says: “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes,” so those who deny that Abraham knew he was speaking to God I believe are in conflict with the text.

Side note: My personal belief (I cannot dogmatically defend it,) is that Abraham spoke with a preincarnate Christ rather than a bodily manifestation of the Father)

There is no indication that Abraham specifically knew the other 2 to be angels, perhaps believing they were human companions.

The point being made is a specific teaching about hospitality.

There is more to be said, and is said in Scripture, such as not being an enabler for those who use the pretense of ministry to mooch off faithful believers, but the over-riding concept and command is to show hospitality to all, and yes the hook is that there is a possibility of angelic visitation.

Not an expectation, but a possibility.

Fellow Prisoners

Those in prison; those who are mistreated, especially in bonds

The call to remember here is not merely to remind or keep in our awareness of the circumstance, rather it is another instance of empathic sharing or cooperation.

This is made evident by the statement: as though in prison with them.

Romans 12:15 “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.”

Because we are bound together in humanity, but much more so for all who are in Christ, the suffering of our brothers and sisters, as well as their blessing, ought to be shared, considered.

We ought to be affected in heart and mind by their circumstance.

For some, empathy comes more naturally than others.

That said, if we find ourselves unmoved by the circumstance of human suffering, especially that of fellow believers, we need to seek God’s help in changing and softening our hearts.

The grounding reason for this is that mystical truth that we are one body in Christ.

So then, there are at least three levels to which this should be applied:

Empathy for human suffering (and rejoicing)

Empathy for believers anywhere

Empathy for members of our own congregation

Marriage

This verse is very often misquoted and mis-applied.

The text does not say that marriage IS honored, or that the marriage bed IS undefiled.

Both these statements are demonstrably and obviously untrue.

Holy Matrimony has been dishonored and attacked long before this current generation, and the marriage bed has absolutely been defiled all the way back to the earliest ages of human existence (all the way back in Genesis.)

The command is one of intention, priority, and action.

Marriage is not the godly state as opposed to Holy Singleness

Holy Singleness, whether temporary or lifelong is one of chastity, and participation in the life of the church family, not an imposed metaphorical prison sentence for lesser people

Marriage is not under attack on only one front

Many Christians in America today seem to think (or at least speak and act) as if the U.S. Supreme Court ruling of 2015 was the beginning of the attack on marriage.

Truth be told, while it gets the most press, it is neither the beginning nor the most common movement against marriage.

The ubiquity of unwed fornication, marital infidelity, various abuses inside marriages, and a casual acceptance of divorce as if a solemn vow was not made before God about a life-long committment are far more numerous.

The command and challenge to believers today then is to reclaim, herald, and display in our speech and choices that God’s plan for marriage and family is a picture of the Gospel itself (see Ephesians 5) to be adhered to, held in high esteem, and passed on to the next generation in both word and deed.

The grounding force is no idle threat: that God, not our perceptions, opinions, or laws is and will be judge.

Contentment

Pauls statement in Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through him who strengthens me,” is most commonly quoted out of context.

In Philippians v10-13, Paul is talking about being content in every situation God puts him in.

See the same reasoning in that text with ours today:

Philippians 4:12-13 “I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound.

In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.

I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”

See how that to Paul, the all things he can do has nothing to do with contests or personal goals, but rather facing any circumstance because he knows God provides.

Hebrews 13:6 “So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?””

See here in today’s text in Hebrews that Christian contentment is about trust in God’s provision.

This is not an excuse to be a couch potato.

Recall that in 2 Thessalonians 3 Paul says those unwilling to work should not eat, or that even his instruction to the church for care of widows in 1 Timothy 5 is based on actual need.

This is, however a challenge and command that is very counter-cultural to 21st century Americans.

We think we are not rich or we are not chasing wealth if we don’t have a Mercedes or always have the newest game system or the popular brand clothes.

Just watch any show on HGTV about people renovating or buying homes.

While they are at a minimum exaggerations of truth, it is no uncommon to find a couple having their first child, and so describe their NEED as a minimum 3 bedroom home with office and bonus rooms and on and on and on.

If we as a society had any clue about the way most people in the world live right now, much less historically, we would see that as a people we are very rich, and in love with being so.

God’s people ought to question if our priorities, needs, and wants are not sometimes (because for all of us they sometimes are) not only extravagance, but a lack of trust in God’s provision, and a lack of good stewardship and generosity to others.

Remember that all the commands in scripture are in the context of God’s strength.

His provision.

He calls us to live lives beyond our capability and then enables us to live them as we turn to him.

Church Family, seeing this (Hebrews 13) is the closing of a sermon of doctrine, of instruction, and of heralding the goodness of God, I will close with the benediction found in verses 20 and 21.:

“Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever.

Amen.”