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Hebrews 13:22-25 – Blessings and Greetings

For thirteen chapters, the author of Hebrews has encouraged, warned, and exhorted us to persevere in the Christian faith. Jesus fulfils all God’s promises to save us from our sin, and is the substance of the ordinances and administrations of the Old Testament. We should willingly bear the same rejection and reproach of the world which Jesus bore, because it is in Jesus that we find peace with God.

As the author of Hebrews concludes his letter, he pronounces a blessing and offers greetings to his readers and hearers. In these last words in Hebrews 13:20-25, he prays that God would equip us, work in us, and shower his grace upon us.

Verses 20 to 22 are described as a benediction, which means “good word”. The words found here are a blessing and encouragement, often found at the end of New Testament letters and often pronounced at the end of a church service.

Firstly, the author prays that God would equip us. He prays “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” (vv.20-21). He describes God as the God of peace, the God who by his own will and act has brought peace between us and him (Romans 5:6-8), and grants us peace even in the midst of troubles and trials in the world.

The God of peace is the one who raised our Lord Jesus from the dead. This is the only time that the author speaks explicitly of the resurrection (he has referred elsewhere to Jesus’ ascension). But he makes clear that the peace we have with God comes through Jesus, who is not dead but alive and ascended on high. Therefore he is an active great shepherd of the sheep, the one who watches over his people.
Jesus the great shepherd is the one who blesses and equips us by the blood of the eternal covenant. As the author has explained over the course of his letter, that is Jesus’ own blood shed as part of the eternal covenant of grace. Through Jesus, our great high priest, the great shepherd, whose own blood saves us and brings us peace with God, we are equipped with everything good.

Secondly, the author prays God would work in us. God equips us with every good thing through Jesus Christ so “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” (vv.21-22). God equips us through Jesus to work in us to sanctify us and help us to live the lives of thankful obedience and perseverance which we have been encouraged and exhorted to live over the previous chapters.

He prays that God would work in us so that Jesus, God in flesh, may be glorified. He asks God to equip us through Christ that we may do good deeds through Christ so that we may bring glory to Christ.

Thirdly, he wishes us to be showered in grace. After offering greetings from himself and from others with him (vv.23-24), he ends his letter with a blessing: “grace be with all of you” (v.25). The author has written because he wants his readers and hearers to live in God’s grace, to receive God’s grace, and to persevere in God’s grace. This grace is not just for a select few, but for everyone.

As we read these words, we should be reminded that it is God who has sought to bless us and greet us back into his loving presence, through Jesus Christ. God is a God of peace, who provides us with stability in the turbulence of life in a sinful world and the struggles of faith.

It is God who demonstrates his power to give eternal life because he has raised Jesus from the dead, and raised Jesus to his side. It is through Jesus’ blood that the promises of God in the covenant of grace are ratified and our sins set aside. It is through Jesus, our great shepherd, that we are watched over, kept and preserved, from the lures and snares of this world.

All this is done so that we may be equipped through the Holy Spirit to do God’s will and offer sacrifices of praise which please God, to the praise and glory of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ forever.

So, “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.”

Ash

Come worship with us this Sunday at 10:30am. We worship together at Kelburn Normal School hall, 16 Kowhai Rd, Kelburn. We hope to see you there!



Hebrews 13:15-19 – Sacrificing the Fruit of our Lips

Last week we read of how the author of Hebrews encouraged us to bear Christ’s reproach and go to him “outside the camp,” focusing on Jesus’ unchanging person and unchanging teaching. This is part of a series of applications of the teaching of the previous chapters, encouraging us to persevere in Christ, because he has fulfilled all the types and shadows present in the figures and sacrifices of the Old Testament.

As we join Jesus outside the camp of worldly acceptance and living, seeking the city to come, how ought we to live? According to verses 15 to 19 of Hebrews 13, we should offer praise to God, share our lives and possessions with each other, and obey the leaders God has given us.

Firstly, we are encouraged to offer up praise to God. In verse 15, we are encouraged to “through him … continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.” Instead of offering up rams as sacrifices to God, we are instead to offer up a sacrifice of praise. This sacrifice is offered up through Jesus, empowered by him and not by our own strength. Our lifestyle ought to be one of praise continually offered up to God, in spirit and in truth (John 4:24).

The sacrifice of praise to God is described as “the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name”. The author has in mind Hosea 14:2 which encourages Israel to return to God, asking him to forgive their iniquity and they will then “pay with bulls the vows of our lips”. The Greek translation of Hosea 14:2 says “pay the fruits of our lips”. The idea here is that what we speak and say ought to offer up praise to God, both in what we say and how we say it. Our words should be like bulls cast upon the altar of our lips, sacrificed to God.

Secondly, we are encouraged to share our lives and possessions with each other. “Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God” (v.16). Rather than viewing our time and possessions as existing solely for our benefit, we should view them as possessions which we can use to help each other and do good deeds.

Instead of offering animals as sacrifices to please God, we offer up good deeds and our possessions to help each other out, seeing these as sacrifices offered up to God. In place of putting the ram on the altar, we might put the ram on a spit roast for us all to enjoy as a meal, so to speak. Serving one another with what we have, and doing good is a sacrifice which is pleasing to God, and acceptable to him.

Thirdly, we are called to obey our leaders. Verse 17 says “obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.” This sounds hard and scary in our day of caution about authority, especially when it has been abused. But God places the eldership over us to care for us, guarding over our souls as under-shepherds. When we submit to them, we make the job easier, which helps them do so with joy instead of groaning!

Since they are called to watch over our souls, prayer is an important way we can obey and submit to our leaders. The author himself, as a leader, asks them to “pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things” (v.18). This is even more important as he is currently away from them (v.19) and hopes to return soon.
All of these encouragements are outward focused. They focus us upward to God, and outward to each other. They encourage us to think of everything which we do, and everything which we say, as sacrifices offered up to God. How would it change the way we speak, the way we act, and what we do with our time and our possessions if we thought about them as thank offerings to God for saving us?

We also have a timely reminder to keep the leadership of the church in prayer. We should pray that we might be faithfully taught and led in the green pastures of God’s word, and encouraged to live our lives as sacrifices pleasing to God. The leadership of the church desires our prayers for them, that they may grow in grace and godliness, and in turn help us to do the same. Pray for your pastor! Pray for the elders and deacons, of this and every faithful congregation.

As we go outside the camp, we can devote our lives to God and each other as a thank offering. Best of all, we can be sure that God will find our feeblest offerings pleasing and acceptable, because Jesus’ sacrifice has brought us peace with God.

Ash

Come worship with us this Sunday at 10:30am. We worship together at Kelburn Normal School hall, 16 Kowhai Rd, Kelburn. We hope to see you there!


Outside the Camp

Hebrews 13:9-18 – Outside the Camp

Life in this world is shifty, changing, and uncertain. Society’s views can change in a generation, leaders in an instant, lives upturn in a moment. In this uncertain world we can trust in the unchanging nature, will and purpose of Jesus (Hebrews 13:8), who has secured our salvation and fulfilled all the types and shadows of the Old Testament.
Because Jesus is unchanging, his message is also unchanging. So the author of Hebrews can encourage us to focus on Jesus’ teaching (Hebrews 13:9-14). To do this, we ought to avoid false teaching, embrace the gospel of grace, and follow Jesus outside the camp.
Jesus is unchanging, and the truth is too, so the message which we receive and pass on should not change either. In verse 9, the author exhorts us to “not be led away by diverse and strange teachings”. The Greek word for diverse can also mean “many coloured”, which helps us understand what is meant.
The teachings described here are false, because they are in some shape “colourful” or “strange”. A teaching which is dazzling to see, beautiful to the eyes yet complex and unclear, leading to destruction. Or, a radical “insight” or a new and different teaching received, which is completely foreign (and often contradictory involving mental gymnastics) to the teaching of Scripture. We must stay away from false teaching.
Instead, we should embrace the gospel of grace. The author continues in verse 9 to say “for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them.” For his original hearers, the context was the Old Covenant system of food sacrifices, fulfilled and replaced by Christ.
Our hearts should find strength in God’s grace, fed to us through his Word and the administration of the sacraments. This is made clear in verses 10 through 12, where we are reminded that we “have an altar from which those who serve the tent [Jews] have no right to eat” (v.10). The altar is in heaven, not earth, and is that on which Jesus offered himself, not the earthly copy (see Hebrews 9).
Jesus fulfils the sacrifice on the Day of Atonement, when “the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood” (vv.11-12). Placing hope in any old Jewish sacrifices is pointless, because they pointed forward to Jesus. And now that Jesus has come, we find forgiveness only in Jesus’ once-for-all sacrifice, not by any other way of salvation.
Avoiding false teaching and embracing the gospel of grace will not find adoring fans in this life. So he exhorts us to “go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come” (vv.13-14).
The atoning sacrifice was removed from the camp to symbolise the removal of sin, and Jesus likewise was crucified outside Jerusalem, despised and rejected by men (Isaiah 53:3). We should go to Jesus where he is found, outside the camp, despised and rejected. If that means the same for us, so be it. Our home is not here on this earth, in this present evil age, but in the heavenly city which Abraham looked to (Hebrews 11:10), capital of the kingdom which cannot be shaken (12:18-29).
This passage encourages us to learn more of the faith once for all delivered to the saints, and avoid false teaching. The best way to discern a counterfeit is to study the original, and so we should devote ourselves to learning more of God’s grace, gaining strength from it.
We should also expect to see plenty of false teaching, which looks slick and enticing with smooth talking and with great entertainment values. There is plenty of that in our city, on television, and the internet; together with the worldly radical insights which preach a message foreign to Scripture, sometimes bending and twisting God’s Word to try and make it fit. As appealing as it may be, the end is destruction. Jesus is unchanging, and his truths never change, so we must stick with the message which does not change.
Nor should we expect our desire for the gospel to make us “Mr. Popularity”, but instead accept that at best we will be tolerated, but some will certainly despise us and reject us for our faith in Christ. We trust in him whom the world rejected, but has become the cornerstone. We cannot expect to be loved by this world for our stand.
Yet as we avoid false teaching and embrace the unpopular message of Jesus, we can take encouragement that Jesus is unchanging, and his promise to bring us to his side in the city not made with hands endures. Because there is where our true home is.

Ash

Come worship with us this Sunday at 10:30am. We worship together at Kelburn Normal School hall, 16 Kowhai Rd, Kelburn. We hope to see you there!


Hebrews Life

Hebrews 13:1-8 – Life in the Christian Community

The author of Hebrews has written of how Jesus is the fulfillment of Old Testament types and prophecies. The author has warned us multiple times to persevere in trusting Christ for our salvation. Now, in chapter 13 the book of Hebrews moves on to some points of application for the Christian life. Firstly, in verses 1 to 8 the author covers how we are to live as members of the Christian community.

We can group these encouragements around three commands: to show love for each other, to love doing good, and to love imitating our leaders.   Firstly, we are to show love for each other. In verse 1, the author exhorts us to “Let brotherly love continue.” He suggests two ways in which we can share “brotherly love” with each other.  

One way we can show brotherly love is by offering hospitality to each other, and to strangers: “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares” (v.2). In the author’s day, hospitality was an important social custom because inns could be dangerous places (cf. Genesis 18:1-15, 19:1-3). In our day of social isolation, opening our homes to each other and to strangers is one way in which we can encourage each other and open a door to the gospel.  

A second way we can show brotherly love is to actively care for those imprisoned “as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body” (v.3). While likely referring to Christians imprisoned for their faith, we can show the same love today by caring not only for those imprisoned, but also Christians undergoing difficult trials of life. We can also pray and care for the persecuted Church in other parts of the world.  

Secondly, we are to love doing good. Two examples are given of holy living: faithfulness in marriage, and contentment. In verse 4, the author tells us to hold marriage in honour, and not defile the marriage bed, because God will judge those who do not. We live in a society whose ethics and morals are much like those of the author’s day. Just as maintaining sexual purity before and during marriage was important then, so too it is today. We must all honour marriage in our lives before we marry, and in our marriages. We must not follow the worldly way.  

A second way to love doing good is to show contentment. This is described in verse 5 as avoiding a “love of money” and to “be content with what you have”. Everything we have is a gift from God, and showing contentment is a way of honouring God, because he knows what we truly need and “will never leave you nor forsake you” (v.5; Josh 1:5). Likewise, avoiding a love of money means we avoid making an idol of self-sufficiency, and instead view money as an opportunity to do Kingdom good, knowing that God is our helper (v.6; Ps. 118:6).  

Thirdly, we are to love imitating our leaders. The author exhorts us to remember “your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith” (v.7). The God-appointed leaders of the Church – the Elders (teaching and ruling) and the Deacons are those to whom we should look as examples of living. Like us all, they sin and fall short of perfection, but they are called to live lives of maturity and example to us (see 1 Tim. 3). We are not called to follow their personality, but consider the way they live and imitate their faith in God accordingly. Just as our leaders should strive to follow God and mature in faith so too we should look to these men as examples and do likewise.  

In reading these commands we could be tempted to dismiss these words as out of date or not speaking to us today. After all, we live in a rich and vibrant society where we have so much wealth and enjoy so much pleasure. Why deny our heart’s desire for contentment and holiness? Why care for others, and why on earth would we imitate men who have failings just like us? The answer comes in verse 8, where the author states that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”  

Because Jesus is unchanging, the commands and the promises of God are unchanging. Living a life of Christian community where we love each other, love good, and love imitating our leaders is just as valid for us today, because the redemption we have received from God through Jesus is the same for us today as it was in the author’s day. When we do these things, we are demonstrating our faith in Jesus, and our trust that God will draw us to his side.  

We join the saints of old (v.6, Ps 118:6) in saying “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” As we start a New Year together, instead of picking a few resolutions to abandon, let’s adopt loving community together as a pattern for our lives.

Ash

Come worship with us this Sunday at 10:30am. We worship together at Kelburn Normal School hall, 16 Kowhai Rd, Kelburn. We hope to see you there!