Hebrews | Chapter 13

Hebrews 13:1-4

“Sympathy, Empathy and Harmony”

 

  • Introduction
  • Vs. 1 The Standard is LOVE
  • 2-4 Making love visible

 

Introduction

The first 11 chapters of Hebrews are doctrinal in nature and address Jews specifically, but the 12th and 13th chapters are fully of practical exhortations that apply to Christians. This is a common pattern with most New Testament letters as they seemed to always be doctrinal then duty, position before practice. On my outline of this letter, I’ve called this section “Faith that Functions” as the exhortation is directed at the church.

  1. 1-4 Here we are given three areas where Christians need to exercise love: strangers, the suffering and marriage. Applying; Sympathy, Empathy and Harmony
  2. 5-9 Next, we see how the church needs to behave in society, without covetousness, being content with their position and processions.
  3. 10-21 This last section the writer deals with how they are to practice their faith among others by not trying to offend those who disagree with you, by being a blessing and praying for folks.
  4. 22-29 The final section is the writers’ closing remarks.

It is interesting to read this section with its “practical exhortations that apply to Christians” in light of the first century Christians position in society as they were viewed as they were rebuked by the immoral societies in which they lived. The reason for this was that these believers lived up to the standards that their doctrine demanded. This is what was behind Peter’s statement in 1 Peter 2:15 where he wrote, “For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men”. The standard of Christian behavior is brought forth in the 13th chapter and they are done so with two presuppositions:

  1. These standards are based upon biblical truth established in the first 12 chapters of this letter.
  2. These standards apply only to the true Christian believer.

Vs. 1 The Standard is LOVE

Vs. 1 Paul wrote to the church in Rome, in Romans 12:2, “…do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” The world is unloving, and Jesus is calling His followers to not conform to this but rather be transformed by His love! The follower of Christ is not to live isolated from those that are unloving towards them they are to live among them loving them anyway. We are not to exclude ourselves from people living life hiding behind the walls of the church we are called to infiltrate society and penetrate their hatred with love. There was no mystery to Jesus’ intentions for His Church when He said in Matthew 10:16 “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore, be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.” We are to be IN the world just not OF the world! The primary standard for Christian behavior is LOVE and the specific word used here is Philadelphia or brotherly love. The fact that the writer says that it should “continue” suggests that such love already existed among the body of Christ. They were not being told to “make it happen” but allow it to continue which tells us that such affection was a natural condition that accompanied faith in Christ! The apostle John in his first letter said, “He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.” The believer’s life is not to seek God’s blessings but to distribute them to others. 2 Peter 1:3 tells us that, “His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness” We have no need to ask for God’s blessings but that such blessing be used by us for others. We in correctly sing the song “more love, more power” as if our problem is that we have used up all that was given us from God but truth be told our problem is not a “supply problem” from God it is a “distribution problem” from us! We need to distribute what is already ours in Christ, that’s the statement that the writer makes here in 13:1. Such love is first on the list in the authors exhortation for three reasons:

  1. John 13:35 “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” God has given the world the right to evaluate our authenticity based upon how we treat each other! It is of critical importance that each and every believer follow Paul words in Philippians 2:3-4 “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.”
  2. 1 John 3:14 “We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death.” God has chosen love as the basis that reveals our true connection and spiritual identity too Him. The proof of our salvation is His love within our hearts that loves others. We can and should ask ourselves, “Do I have a greater concern for others than I do myself?”
  3. Psalm 133:1 “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” God has chosen Christian love as the basis behind our unity and joint fellowship. We truly love each other to the degree that we lay down our lives for each other.

Biblical love only grows in the garden of humility and never in the weeds of sentimental and superficial affection. It has no room to grow where Self-righteousness and self-pity occupy the heart. Such love is illustrated in three social venues:

  1. 2 “Sympathy to the stranger”
  2. 3 “Empathy to the oppressed”
  3. 4 “Harmony in the marriage”

 

Vs. 2-4 Making love visible

Vs. 2 “Sympathy to the stranger”: A stranger can refer to unbelievers as well as believers. A stranger is by definition is someone that you don’t know personally! The First area on display is in the area of hospitality towards strangers where we are to display Sympathy and comfort in their situation. Hospitality was something that the ancient world practiced as people would put up guests for the night as there weren’t many Inns. Christians are being exhorted to be no less hospitable than the world even thought they were far more miss treated by the society. It was being included as a mark in which ALL Christian’s should practice as it is a basic trait. The phrase, “for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels” is NOT being put forth as a motivation for such hospitality but for the sake of aiding God’s glory! We can never know what a simple act of hospitality can help further God’s work in human hearts. In a real sense we are not ministering too mere angels but Jesus Himself as we are told in Matthew 25:40 “Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.”

Vs. 3 “Empathy to the oppressed”: This is closely related to the above practice but looks beyond just the stranger and has a heart for the oppressed. The Christian needs to do their best to identify with those in need, to put ourselves in their place. We must not look like the Pharisee of the parable of the Good Samaritan who, out of a sense of religious concern, shut their eyes to the need of the stranger and walked by on the other side, and thus earned the scathing rebuke implied by the Lord Jesus. This verse serves as a warning against spiritualizing and sanitizing the Christian life where we like some Eastern Religions don’t touch the person who is in pain and going through oppression. There are far too many Christians that when they see the need of the oppressed make a call to the church as if that alone resolves their participation! They need to remember the words of JFK when he said, “ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.” The church has no message to the world accept the gospel and it has no action towards the world that is not centered upon brotherly love! The Christian isn’t called to have just a vocabulary of nouns; they must have with those nouns’ verbs! One of the greatest cures for pity and “woe is me” attitude is loving service to others. It was not uncommon to see Christians in the first century to sell themselves in slavery to get the money to free another believer. We can demonstrate empathy in three ways:

  1. By simply being there for another: To listen, encourage and strengthen a person who is being oppressed.
  2. By giving direct help: Paul thanked the Philippians for sharing in his affliction by giving financial support to carry on his ministry. Such practical and financial help encouraged Paul spiritually to continue.
  3. By prayer: Paul wrote in Colossians 4:18 “This salutation by my own hand–Paul. Remember my chains. Grace be with you. Amen.” He encouraged prayer as a basis empathy towards his suffering.

Vs. 4 “Harmony in the marriage”: “Marriage is honorable among all” may have been written to counter the reaction of some that instead of the sanctity of marriage were pushing the sanctity of celibacy. Paul would warn in that some would in 1 Timothy 4:3 “forbidding to marry” But here we are told that God not counts marriage as “honorable among all” but the bed as undefiled among the norm of promiscuity. God showed His intent for marriage by honoring it, Jesus performed His first miracle at a wedding and the Holy Spirit used it as an illustration of the church as the bride of Christ to Jesus. The bible gives three reasons for marriage:

  1. Propagation of children: Creation of mankind was commissioned by the command of God to be “Fruitful and multiply” Gen. 1:28.
  2. Prevention of sin: Marriage is also provided as a means for the prevention of sexual sin and immorality. Paul in his letter to the Corinthians said in 7:2 that, “because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband.”
  3. Partnership and companionship: In Genesis 2:18 “The LORD God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.”

Marriage is honorable in three ways: The husband being the head as demonstrated by Jesus being the head of His church. By the wife loving yielding to her husband as the church does to Christ and by both husband and wife in mutual love for each other living together in respect and care for each other.

            Finally, marriage is God’s way to promote purity and security in a relationship so that the God given plan for intimacy would not be manipulated into just pleasure without love. Go use two words to describe the worlds view of sex in “fornicators and adulterers” both of which find their root words in the Greek in the word “pornia and pornos”. It is in the Christian marriage where God has ordained the idea of security and fidelity where sexual drives are channeled through Christian love. When the purpose of God is acted upon in obedience intimacy as God intended is realized.

 

Hebrews 13:5-9

“Being content in a chaotic world”

 

  • Introduction
  • 5-6 New circumstances by JOY

 

Introduction

As noted last week the author follows the New Testament letters format of doctrinal then duty, position before practice. The final chapter being that duty and practice of “Faith that Functions” an exhortation directed at the church. Last week we noted in the first 4 verses the concise purpose or witness of the church, “Let brotherly love continue” as it was to be visible in three social arenas: strangers, the suffering and marriage. Applying; Sympathy, Empathy and Harmony. Now we take up the next 5 verses (5-9) as we see how the church needs to behave in society, namely without covetousness, being content with their possessions and position.”  There are two primary areas in which a person deals with covetousness:

  1. Possessions
  2. Position

 

Vs. 5-6 New circumstances by JOY

Vs. 5-6 The first examination as it deals with covetousness in verses 5-6 is in the area of possessions. There is today a danger of materialism but that is not the only thing that we can covet as we can along with desiring more possessions also desire a better position. I suppose that the recipients of this letter would be naturally susceptible to such covetousness as they were undergoing sever persecution and would long to be out of it through a change of circumstances. I believe that the context of this letter goes far beyond the current of “keeping up with the Joneses” as I don’t believe they were concerned with such. Theirs was not a desire to be like the world but a desire to avoid the harsh persecution and the constant thought that if their position or processions were different, they could avoid their current situation. But in general, the exhortation remains the same and that is in believing that be content or full of joy we need to have more than what God has already granted us. It is easy to fall into this trap of covetousness instead of lusting after more of His love or becoming greedy for His grace. God in His wisdom by way of our transformation has caused the follower of Christ to be radically different with regards to our happiness as it is far more secure that the unbelievers happiness which is based upon favorable circumstance: God does not create joy by new circumstance He creates new circumstances by JOY! He transforms our hearts which makes it unnecessary for removing us from our adverse situations and circumstances. Our happiness, if you will, isn’t as fickle as our feelings it has the security of God’s presence in the midst of our turmoil! This isn’t the Christian’s “vow of poverty” and you won’t find such a thing anywhere in the New Testament. Our poverty would be another’s riches and it is clear that God has allowed differing levels of prosperity among His children.

 In these two verses the writer reveals three things that we will need to examine: The exhortation, The reason and The consequences. 

  1. The exhortation: “Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have.” The word “conduct” was originally translated into English in 1611 by the word “conversation” and at the time the meaning in English had a broader meaning to include “manor of life or behavior” hence the interpretation “conduct”. The Greek word “without covetousness” is a phrase that means “without the fondness for silver” as the exhortation is against coveting the love of money. The word “content” means “to be possessed with unfailing strength”. The thought is that the believer should be satisfied with that which God has provided that meets our needs instead of striving for that which feeds our desires. The word “content” means more than the believer being “satisfied” as it refers to Christian being dependent upon the Holy Spirit and therefore independent of favorable outward circumstances. The phrase “with such things as you have” in the Greek means “the things which are currently around you” and refers to the circumstances you find yourself in. The exhortation is plain for the believer: Don’t let your life be consumed with the pursuit of financial gain as a means of escaping unfavorable circumstances and situations instead depend upon the Holy Spirit to strength you through your present circumstances. Admittedly such an exhortation, apart from the reason, falls into the category of “easy for you to say”.
  2. The reason: “For He Himself has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you.” The reason the follower of Christ can have this perspective and heed this exhortation is because of what the writer says here: “For He Himself has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you.” The phrase “For He Himself has said” tells us that the following promise and guarantee was spoken directly by God! The Greek word for “leave” is not the usual word for leave instead it is proceeded by two negatives which in the Greek don’t make a positive but instead further strengthens the negative of the Greek word that means to loosen or let slip, This promise in the Greek is: “I will not, I will not ever cease to sustain you and uphold you!” The word “forsake” is also proceeded by three negatives and is a word that means to reject or be helpless or abandoned or left destitute or to let one down. This is a triple assurance that says: “I will not, not ever, no never, let you down, leave you destitute or abandoned.” Or God promises to rescue us when we find ourselves in difficult circumstances.
  3. The consequences: “So we may boldly say: The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” The consequences of the above promise are found in Psalm 118:6 where we can say as the Greek says for the word “boldly” or we can say courageously “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” When the first word is “Lord” the last word “man” has no has nothing to cause us fear. The point the writer is making is NOT that there is something wrong with prosperity but instead that we must learn to be content with what God has given: Contentment is not in having what you want; it is wanting only what you have. The secret is not in trying to define the “standard of living” but as the author writes, coming to the personal realization that Jesus will “never leave you or forsake you” and this has nothing to do with a dollar amount! The promise of God is that He is our great and unending resource and will never fail us. The strongest negative in the New Testament that is a positive is that: “I will never, never, ever, under any circumstances, leave you or forsake you.” The Apostle Paul said it best in Romans 8:31 “If God is for us, who can be against us?” We already have the greatest resource anyone could ever want, “The Lord”! There is that wonderful story in Genesis 14:23 when Abraham returned from battle with the five kings, having recovered the wealth of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah which had been taken by the invading armies. Abraham brought this wealth back to the king of Sodom, who offered him a great reward. But Abraham said, “I will take nothing, from a thread to a sandal strap, and that I will not take anything that is yours, lest you should say, “I have made Abram rich” Abraham was saying, “I will only take what God is content to give me. I don’t want riches from any other source.” That is the attitude that the author of Hebrews is saying these followers of Jesus needed to adopt, “If God grants me increase, fine; I’ll take it. But I am not going to struggle after it. This is not my goal. I will not make the increase of money my purpose for living, for I am content with what I have.” Paul wrote to Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:6-7 “godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it iscertain we can carry nothing out.” This kind of contentment causes the believer to not only be content but also, uncritical to those who have been granted by God to have more possessions. We won’t be judging those who have more than we have, instead we will be thankful for what God has granted them and content with what God has granted.

Hebrews 13:7-12

“Positional Security”

 

  • Introduction
  • 7-9 Don’t covet their position, imitate their faith
  • 10-12 We have an Altar

 

Introduction

Last week we began our look at the authors 2nd exhortation and how the Church and Christians needed to be viewed in society. The content of this view was through the lenses of persecution as the Christian was being exhorted to, not let their life be consumed with the pursuit of financial gain as a means of escaping unfavorable circumstances, instead they were to continue to depend upon the Holy Spirit to strength them. As noted, the exhortation was followed by the reason for it as well as the consequences of having heeded it. The reason for the exhortation was the guarantee of God that is established upon a positive double impossibility:

  1. That God will never let you slip from His grasp; He will always uphold you!
  2. That God will never let you down, leave you or abandon you!

The consequences of believing those promises is given to us in the form of a quote from Psalm 118:6 as we boldly ask in light of those promises: “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” It is here that we discover that the immediate consequence for our believing God’s promises is a security that cannot be broken as we will be people who have found that true, “Contentment is not in having what you want; it is wanting only what you have.” The promise of God is that He is our great and unending resource and will never fail us. It is this promise that causes the Apostle Paul to write in Romans 8:31 “If God is for us, who can be against us?” This is also what Abraham was saying in Genesis 14 when he said, “I will only take what God is content to give me. I don’t want riches from any other source.” This kind of contentment causes the believer to not only be content but also, uncritical to those who have been granted by God to have more possessions. That exhortation based upon God’s promise not only covers the pursuit of financial gain as a means of escaping unfavorable circumstances it also includes the pursuit of another person’s position as a means of escaping unfavorable circumstances.

Vs. 7-9 Don’t covet their position, imitate their faith

Vs. 7-9 The second area that we deal with the covetousness is in the area of position. The exhortation is to remember how those leaders who have died lived and spoke the word of God to them. Verse 8 This verse is commonly translated out of context but doctrinally correct. Yes, Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever but what is at issue is not the unchangeableness of Jesus but rather the faith of those who had held of to Jesus as the Messiah even at the cost of their own life.

The body of Christ is full of diversity and as Paul would write in Romans 12:4-8 that, “we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.” There needs to be diversity without division as we are inter connected to each other by the gifts that God has given to each believer.

The first thing we discover is that there is a structure of leadership within this body.

Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God; consider the outcome of their life and imitate their faith. Verse 17 we remind us to, “Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.” The writer says that the readers were to “remember the lives of those who poured the word of God into you, who they lived their lives among you.” Don’t covet their position, imitate their faith! That’s the context of the statement about Jesus Christ as being the same yesterday and today and forever. What Jesus was to people who went before us is tremendous encouragement for us today as those saints went through like trials. It is this changeless Jesus that those who went before us found as the great refuge for believers in a changing world. It wasn’t the “powerful faith” of the Luther’s, Wesley’s, and Moody’s, it was the ordinary faith in a “power filled God” that made all the difference. Life in the body of Christ also involves a simplicity of belief.

            The final warning in covetousness is with teaching and to be taking captive by strange teaching that would bolster or benefit someone’s adherence to it. The word here is “stop being carried away” by false teaching that apparently emphasized external religious activity. Theses religious teaching of works seemed to offer to those undergoing persecution a “technique” or practice that they could do to change their situation. It appears many of these were tied to dietary restrictions that some taught had spiritual value. Over the course of church history, we have seen these fades come and go such as “as giving up meat for Lent, burning candles for certain observances, counting beads in the rosary”.  Through this letter the writer told us again and again that such biblical observances were shadows pointing towards the substance in Christ and that the shadows had no real value other than that.

Vs. 10-12 We have an Altar

Vs. 10-12 Chapter 13:10-14 are some of the most difficult to interpret in entire book of Hebrews, the reason for this is that they are written to Jew’s very familiar with the sacrificial system and would have comprehended the point the author was trying to make. The author reminds his readers that you can’t have both “shadow and substance” religion and relationship.

First in verses 10 we read, “We have an altar” the author says, “from which those who those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat.” At issue in this statement is who is the “WE” that the writer includes himself as and what altar is he referring too described as “those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat.” I believe that the “WE” is Christian Jews and the altar mentioned is the specific sacrifice of Christ in which none of the sacrifice was to be eaten afterwards. That sacrifice was the atonement for sin in which the remainder of the sacrifice was to be burned outside the city. This took place on the “Day of Atonement”! It seems as though the believers are being told that Jesus’ sacrifice was being placed by some of the Hebrews as being less than an atoning sacrifice and as such they could still believe in Jesus and the Levitical sacrifices as well. The author of Hebrews makes it clear that those Jews who persisted in adhering to the sacrifices can and will have no part in the blessings of the New Covenant. These two sacrifices as a basis of right standing before God are mutually exclusive. The writer uses the phraseology of the ritual of partaking of the sacrificial meal.

There are far too many that were following religion that was pointing to the reality in the symbols which was Jesus and decided to follow the symbols! The writer is asking his readers to look carefully at those following symbols instead of the substance and see if they are better off? With all those dietary restrictions are they indeed healthier? Does following their legalism make them more loving are gracious towards their fellow man? Their diets didn’t strengthen their hearts, build up their love but following the substance which is Jesus does! Grace accomplishes what legalism never can, but you cannot follow the symbols once the substance has come; if you value the temporary and the external than you will never find the reality in the eternal and the substance!

            The writer uses the illustration of the tabernacle, when the sin offerings were brought into the tabernacle the priests were forbidden to eat of them as the sacrifice was the sin offering and were taken outside the camp and burned there. The priest could eat of the meat of the burnt offerings, and the other offerings, but not the sin offering. Those bodies were cast outside the gate and there burned. Thus, it was with the Lord Jesus when he came. They took him outside the city of Jerusalem and put him to death on a cross outside the gate. The point is that religion puts its emphasis upon the external and is ignored by God. We can only experience our proper function when we receive what God has done in Christ, without any need for religious observances, lighting candles etc., but by a quiet act of faith. That is the simplicity of belief in Jesus Christ. It is so uncomplicated, so simple, so available to all.

 

Hebrews 13:13-25

“Sacrifices to God”

 

  • Introduction
  • 13-14 What to offer God?
  • 15-21 Four characteristics
  • 22-25 Closing words

 

Introduction

The appeal has been made, “The chief sacrifice” has been once for all offered not by temple priests but by “God the Son” the offering of Himself outside the temple the first testament has been fulfilled by Jesus as He had said in, Matthew 5:17-18 saying, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.” Is there nothing left for these Hebrews to sacrifice to God? What offering do followers of the Jewish Messiah now make? This is the closing words being written by the author of Hebrews as he answers this question.

Vs. 13-14 What to offer God?

Vs. 13-14 The Author takes his final few words to exhort his 1st century Hebrew believers to not follow the false teachers back to placing their faith in the sacrificial Jewish system. I can only imagine how difficult it was for some of these Hebrews who were being torn from their traditions to stay with trust in Jesus alone, to do so would “bear His reproach” which would have meant exclusion from their Jewish brethren.

The mention of not having “HERE” a “continuing city” is speaking about “here on earth” is reminding them that they are being threatened with exclusion from public worship in Jerusalem, the “Holy City” they will not be excluded from worshipping a the true “Holy City”. Yes, the temple was an ancient wonder of the world, and they would no longer be permitted to enter through the “Eastern or Golden Gate” because they had embraced Jesus who is far more beautiful they earthly gate. He said of Himself in John 10:7-11 that He Himself was, “the door of the sheep. All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.” Their fear was that they would no longer e able to abide in the tabernacle when they ought to remember Jesus words in John 15:4 that they were to, “Abide in Jesus…. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.” The fear was in losing the losing the symbols when the substance had come; in losing religion while gaining heavenly relationship! The point being brought out is that followers of Jesus must be willing to go out from the Levitical system even if doing so would bare reproach by their fellow Jews. They couldn’t keep the Levitical sacrificial system and by a follower of Jesus! The moment Jesus dies upon the cross the veil of the Temple was torn in two, and the Levitical sacrifices ceased to be a part of God’s plan as the substance replaced the symbol.

Vs. 15-21 Four characteristics

Vs. 15-16 This letter was written to the Jew’s and sacrifice was extremely important to them; they were purified by sacrifices; sin was dealt with by sacrifices such acting was ingrained in their life through obedience to the First Testament. They no doubt wondered what part “sacrifice” was to play in their life in the New Testament, did God still demand obedience to the sacrificial system if not for atonement in some other way? The simple answer is YES! Hebrews 13:15 “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.” A “sacrifice of praise to God” is now what they and us are to offer to God but what does such an offering look like? Verses 15-19 give us four characteristics of this “sacrifice of praise to God”!

  1. 15a BY HIM CONTINUALLY: There are two things I notice to start with about this “sacrifice of praise to God” that is different: First is that where such “sacrifice of praise to God” ORIGINATES as we are clearly told that that what we offer is “BY HIM”! Yes, we offer to Him but we can only do so BY Him! Second the “sacrifice of praise to God” is not situational but are to be offered CONTINUALLY! We are not to be evaluating whether such “sacrifice of praise to God” is warranted because it meets our criteria and expectation. Instead, we are to offer to God as Paul wrote to the Thessalonians in 1 Thessalonians 5:18“in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”  Losing the right to no longer be able to offer animal sacrifices from the Aaronic priesthood wouldn’t stop or hinder the offering of the sacrifices of praise that all believers were to offer. This was something that the Rabbi that was before the Christian era in Alexandria Egypt spoke about saying, “They offer the best sacrifice who glorify with hymns the Savior and benefactor, God.”
  2. 15b-16 WORD AND DEED: The first thing we note about our “sacrifice of praise to God” is that it is NOT just verbal but based upon verses 15-16 that it is to be in Word and Deed. God no longer wants a grain offering, He wants the fruit of your lips. The Psalmist said in Psalm 7:17, “I will praise the LORD according to His righteousness and will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High.” The sacrifice to God is praise from our lips as the word “PRAISE” is “hallelujah” and that is what God wants us to offer to Him continually our “hallelujahs”. But God doesn’t just want our “sacrifice of praise to God” from our mouths He wants them in our actions as well. If our verbal praise is not matched by our physical action of doing good and sharing, then it’s not a “sacrifice of praise to God”. True worship involves action if it is to honor God. Out LIPS must match our LIFE as these are to be inseparable. James said in 1:27 that the “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.”The “sacrifice of praise to God” that we offer is with our hands as much as it is with our lips as we do good to one another and minister whenever, wherever and whatever to the needs of others in Jesus’ name. Having said that they have offered a better sacrifice because it is of praise, the author now speaks of the obligation that such praise should generate practically to our fellow man. “doing good” must be the byproduct of our praise to God. The word “share” in the Greek means to make oneself a partner with those who are in need. These persecuted believers are being told that true praise towards God is made visible when we share what God has given us to others. To be clear I’m not speaking of communism which says, “What’s yours is mine!” Instead, we are talking about Common-ism which says, “What’s mine is yours!”
  3. 17 UNITY: The author writes, “Obey those who rule over you” and then goes on to clarify chiefly whom he had in mind as “they watch over your souls”! Clearly this is a reference to those who teach the word, and the contrast is against those whom some of them have obeyed that were teaching false doctrine. The phrase “Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you”; suggest that there is a direct benefit to the hearer of truth as there is for the speaker of truth! The unity that is associated with “sacrifice of praise to God” has to do with leadership in the body of Christ and specifically with submission given to Church leadership. Those that were given the responsibility to feed and lead God’s flock were to be given a respect that was seen as a “sacrifice of praise to God”! This in no way was to suggest that such submission to leaders excused what can be blind obedience to tyrants but what the author was writing about was submission to godly appointed leaders were they were to be obeyed because they didn’t serve themselves but God and His people! Such leaders are seen in that they are caring for the welfare of God’s people, and they alone will give account for their labor! The apostle John’s last letter tells it like it is when he wrote, 3 John 1:4 “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.” Pastor’s average stay at any church is between 5-7 years and the large reason for this is a lack of unity and maturity in the body he is called to serve. The sacrifices that are required upon God’s servant can be great and when no spiritual progress is made many a servant can become overwhelmed and look for somewhere else to serve. The phrase, “Let them do so with joy” is aimed NOT at the pastor but at the sheep as it is the congregation’s responsibility to help their pastor’s out by obeying the Word of God taught through their pastor’s and allowing the Holy Spirit to cause their own maturity. Again, this isn’t a statement that suggests that pastors are “infallible” only that they act in manor that Paul wrote about in 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13 saying, “we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. Be at peace among yourselves.” You will find a joy filled pastor when joy find a joy filled church and you will find a joy filled church when you find a joy filled church!
  4. 18-21 PRAYER: The phrase, “Pray for us” indicates that the author was familiar to some of his readers. Furthermore, the words, “that we have a good conscience, in all things desiring to live honorably”, is an allusion to the authors conduct and heart towards them and the truth and suggest that some of these readers were being told lies about the writer and he wants them to not believe the lies and instead commit him to their prayers. Verse 19 tells us that at the current writing of this letter the author was under arrest and but was anticipating his soon release. Here are the specifics; prayer for the leaders in the church as prayer is what makes things move forward in the power and spirit of the Lord. The author isn’t being arrogant when he writes in verse 18 “Pray for us; for we are confident that we have a good conscience, in all things desiring to live honorably.” What he is saying is that to the best of his knowledge that he had only ministered to the people faithfully not that he had done so perfectly! He had a clear conscience that he had acted and taught the people faithfully. Furthermore, such faithfulness had made him a target and he had suffered for it and longed to be freed so that he may continue in it. Verses 20-21 describe what that faithfulness looked like as it would bring about their peace operating through God’s power as they present God’s truth! The author saw that the first testament was pointing to the new testament and as such was transitory as sinful humanity needed a “Living Priest” not just a dead prophet Jesus is like Aaron’s rod that budded.

Vs. 22-25 Closing words

Vs. 22-25 The close of this letter is again an exhortation desiring them to heed what he has just written them. The author appeals with the readers not to become impatient with the counsel of this letter, he even makes an apology based upon the brevity of his words in this letter. The “few words” is under 10,000 which is far shorter than both Romans and 1st Corinthians and can be read from start to finish in just under an hour. Yet this is one of the most doctrinally rich letters in the Bible. We aren’t given the specifics of Timothy’s imprisonment, but it is not surprising. The closing words are open to debate and not a clear understanding of where the readers resided. It could mean that the author was writing from Italy or that the author was with those Italian believers at the time of the writing.