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HOLY HELP FOR THE HOPELESSWHO JOYFULLY OBEY THE KINGHebrews 13:1-6INTRODUCTION There is a “Visa” commercial I’ve seen a few times this fall, usually played during a football game. It shows a series of video clips of fans of the New Orleans Saints football team getting ready for a game while the song, "When the Saints Go Marching In" plays in the background. One guy is getting his body painted gold and black, the team colors. Another guy gets the Saints’ symbol shaved into his hair. Lots of people are shown buying Saints’ shirts and other items in a sports apparel shop. It is at this point, as men buying Saints’ apparel are using their Visa Cards to pay at the cash register that a guy with a pink shirt and a sweater tied around his shoulders comes to the register with a can of tennis balls and pays in cash. While he does so the music stops and the checkout clerk and all the men in line look with scorn upon the cash paying tennis player. Then the music starts as the rest of the Saints’ fans buy their stuff with Visa. The humor and point of the whole commercial presumes that we the viewers know what behaviors go along with being a fan of the New Orleans Saints. We know that a guy with a sweater tied around his neck, purchasing a can of tennis balls is not a football fan. Obviously, Visa wants all football fans to view using their Visa card as another behavior that all fans engage in. However, the whole point of the commercial is rooted in the idea that when a person loves his football team you know it by the kinds of behaviors that he or she engages in, including the kinds of things he or she buys. This is exactly the same argument that the author to this letter to the Hebrews is making in chapter 13 of his letter. He has spent the bulk of this letter describing the work of Jesus as our high priest and our wrath bearing sacrifice in fulfillment of the entire OT. He has urged the recipients of the letter and us to hold fast to Christ, to pay attention to this message of the gospel, to run the race God has set before us with endurance, to endure suffering as the discipline of our heavenly Father because through Christ we are receiving the promised eternal inheritance. He ended chapter 12 with the command that because we are the recipients of a permanent, unshakeable eternal kingdom we should be grateful and thus worship God with reverence and awe. Verses 28-29 of chapter 12 tell us that we are like football fans in that we are full of joyful exuberance in the knowledge that we, contrary to what we deserve, are receiving an unshakeable kingdom. We are overjoyed because we have come, through Christ, to Mt. Zion, not Mt. Sinai. Therefore, like every true fan there are certain behaviors we exhibit that demonstrate that we are true fans of God and of his Christ and of the kingdom that we are receiving. Chapter 13 is a description of the kinds of behaviors that characterize everyone who is the recipient of God’s eternal, indestructible kingdom. Therefore, the commands in this chapter will make no sense to you if you are not grateful and full of joyful worship of God because you are receiving that kingdom. You will resist and rebel against these commands if belonging to God's kingdom is not the greatest treasure in the universe to you. Every citizen of God’s coming kingdom loves to obey the king out of joy in him and gratitude for the amazing salvation that has been given on the basis of the work of Jesus. It is because of what Jesus has done, as described in the first 12 chapters of this letter, that we are citizens of that heavenly kingdom and thus it is because of what Christ has done that we want to obey these commands. Obedience to these commands is the effect of Christ’s living and dying for us. We love to obey our king because we are receiving the kingdom, not in order to earn the right to receive it. MAIN POINT The work of Jesus creates people who, out of their joy in God, love to…I. Love other believers without partiality and regardless of the cost (vv. 1-3) The fact that Christians are to regard one another as brothers and sisters has been stated and alluded to many times in this letter. In chapter 2 we are called the brothers of Jesus and the children of God. He gave his life for his brothers, who are the sons of God by virtue of our union with the Son of God who took on human flesh so he could make atonement for our sins. Numerous times the author addresses this local church to which he writes as “brothers”. In chapters 3 and 10 we are exhorted to encourage one another as brothers. In chapter 8 we discover that we have been made the children of God by the life giving, new covenant work of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, because of this gracious, sovereign work of God through Christ in our lives, making us his own family, we are to make sure that we keep loving each other as brothers. We are to act like a family because we are a family. Parents love it when their children love each other. Some of you know that our oldest daughter Julia, who is a nurse at UW hospitals and our son Jordan, who is a junior at UW-Madison are sharing an apartment in Madison this year. We were not sure how this would go but it has been a great joy to us to see them enjoy living together and taking care of each other, usually. God our Father wants his children to love each other. Christ died first to reconcile us to God and second to reconcile us to one another. Without question, second only to faith in Christ, love for other Christians is the distinguishing mark of a person who has truly been converted to Christ. Verse 1 does not say “keep on politely tolerating each other as brothers.” It says, “keep loving each other as brothers.” There are no exceptions to this verse. It doesn’t matter your age or your health condition or your economic status or your vocation or your educational status or your marital condition or how big or small is your family: if you are a Christian then you are to be actively, assertively seeking to love other Christians. It is what marks those who are grateful for the fact they are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken. Our first loyalty is to the family of God, not our biological family. This is exactly what Jesus meant when he said that "anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me." We do love our biological families but as they are part of the visible church, because the home is a little church. How we love our spouses and children and parents is an expression of our faith in Christ. However, the biological family is not where our first loyalties lie. Therefore, there will be times when we will have to choose faithfulness to Christ and his church over faithfulness to our family. Letting brotherly love continue will impact how we spend our time as families, how we use our homes, how we spend our money. Our love is not narrowly restrained to those who are related to us by blood but is wide and expands to all those who are related to us by the Spirit. Parents, if you want your children to be Christians you must model this love and loyalty to the well-being of other Christians for them. Children that grow up in homes that are regularly involved in cheerful ministry to the needs of other Christians are more likely to embrace Christ and his church than those where church involvement is limited to attendance of meetings. Verse 2 tells us that our love for other believers cannot be limited to those we have known for years but must also include those who are strangers to us. I don't like the NIV translation because of the associations that come with that word "entertain." The word translated "to entertain strangers" is a compound word which literally means "love of strangers". The point here isn't that we are to show strangers a good time but rather we are to warmly welcome, care for and share our time and resources with Christians who are strangers to us. This letter, being written to a church in a time of persecution has in view the refugees of persecution. Every Christian is to be ready to use our resources to help our brothers and sisters who have been driven from their homes by persecution and whom we have never met before. However, the broader principle is that we have an obligation to be welcoming and hospitable to those strangers whom the Lord sends to us. I regularly hear from new people who join us that we are a friendly church. I want to commend you for reaching out on Sunday mornings to our guests but I also want to encourage us to do better. This verse is written to all of us, not just to the welcoming committee. I know that not all of us are gregarious, outgoing people who feel comfortable meeting new people. But all of us have a role to play in helping those strangers the Lord sends to us to feel welcome and cared for within our fellowship. We are to be open to inviting new people into our small groups, into our homes and into our lives. It is not God's will for you to have the same group of friends when you die that you have now. Your circle of friendship is to be inclusive, not exclusive. The root word for stranger is often translated "foreigner" in the Scriptures, that is, a person from a different race and culture. There is no place for racism and prejudice in the church of Jesus. We are to welcome all who come to us, regardless of race or ethnicity or cultural differences or clothing style or hairstyle or how many tattoos they have on their body. There is no room in the church of Jesus for partiality and preference based on human distinctions. We are to be hospitable to those who are new to us and to those who are different from us. Now notice the motivation in v. 2. We are reminded that in the OT, Sarah and Abraham welcomed three strangers to share a meal with them and that Lot welcomed two strangers into his home while living in Sodom. In both cases the strangers they welcomed, unknown to them, were angels who brought the blessing of God to each of them. In Abraham's case the "strangers" brought the promise of Isaac's birth and in Lot's case the strangers brought salvation from the destruction of Sodom. When we warmly welcome strangers into our midst we are bringing God's blessing among us. Those who join us will be the agents of God's saving work to us in the future. We have seen this repeatedly in our church. Ten years ago, none of us knew each other. All of us were at one time strangers to each other and yet now, in the fellowship of the church we are the means of God's blessing to one another. You who were at one times strangers to me have often been agents of God's grace to me. I have regularly witnessed how you who were at one time strangers have been agents of grace to one another. God wants that circle of blessing to continue to grow and so we are to continue to be hospitable to strangers. In addition, in v. 3 we are to assertively provide for those who are in prison and being mistreated as a result of their faith in Christ. This verse is a specific application of the "golden rule" in which Jesus states: "Do for others what you would have them do for you." If you were thrown into prison because you were a Christian, what would you need from your brothers and sisters in Christ? If you were being physically mistreated because of your faith what would you need? Do for other Christians who are suffering persecution what you would want done for you if you were in their position because some day you may be in there situation. This is where ministries like "Voice of the Martyrs" or the compassion ministries within the EFCA are helpful. We need some of us to pay attention to these sources of information and help our church to be involved in ministering to the tens of thousands of Christians around the world who are suffering from persecution. But again, the principle in this verse does not only relate to caring for those who are in trouble because of persecution but also to those who are in physical need due to the troubles of life. I have been encouraged on many occasions as I've seen our church respond to the needs of others within the congregation but I want to encourage us to do better. Our small groups need to be centers of caring for one another. Jo Yungerman and her "Church Life" team need more help to provide for the several families in our midst that are in trouble right now. We need to contribute to the Emergency Relief fund generously so we can help these families who are in distress. The church is a community of strangers united by their common delight in God’s salvation who are growing in their love for each other and continuing to extend that love to the newest strangers who join with us. These strangers then become agents of God's grace to us and to the others whom God brings to us. It is this community of love that is the first fruit of the work of Christ. As each of us personally is captivated by the glory of God's saving work in Christ we learn to extend his love to one another and to those strangers he sends to us in the ways in which he has called and gifted each of us to do. The work of Jesus creates people who, out of their joy in God, love to…
II. Honor marriage (v. 4) It is absolutely fascinating that the next fruit of Christ's work in his people is how we treat marriage and our sexuality. It is a command given to all of us, men and women, young and old, married and single. Every person sitting in this room who professes to be a Christian is under command by your savior to make sure that you honor marriage and keep the marriage bed undefiled or pure. We need to answer a couple of questions: why should marriage be honored by all? What is honorable about marriage? What does it mean to both honor marriage and to dishonor marriage? There has often been in the history of the church a tendency to overspiritualize Christian living; to minimize and treat as less than holy the mundane facts of life. It is true as I just said that the first fruit of Christ's work in our lives is love for other Christians. It is true our first loyalty is to the church. However, that does not mean, as has often been taught in the church, that marriage and family and the work of providing for them is somehow unspiritual or less pleasing to God. Every letter in the NT includes a command regarding sexual purity but this is the only letter that connects sexual purity to the larger issue of honoring marriage. I think this author has included this command to honor marriage because of his emphasis on the eternal, heavenly focus of our faith. He aims to help us see that people who are eager for heaven are not indifferent to the realities of life on earth, especially in the matter of marriage and the use of our bodies. Marriage is the first institution of God's created order. It is, in God's view, a sacred and honored institution for a number of reasons. 1) It is honorable because it is the means by which God creates new beings in his image. 2) It is honorable because it is by God's design a partnership of two equal but distinct persons who work together to manage God's creation. 3) It is honorable because it is an expression of the fact that there is one God who has always existed as three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, each one fully God and yet united as one being. Husbands and wives by being distinctive persons, male and female, who are also joined in a covenant union of love that finds expression in physical union manifest, in a small way, the glory of God as a Trinity. 4) Finally, marriage is honorable because it is and always has been a physical symbol and parable of the love of Jesus for his church and the church's submission to her loving head. Therefore, when God saves people through Christ and guarantees that they will receive an unshakable kingdom and thus these people are full of gratitude and joy in God they delight to honor this sacred and glorious thing called marriage. What are some ways that marriage can be “dishonored”? As I mentioned, throughout the history of the Christian church marriage has often been viewed as a less spiritual condition. Celibacy and the forsaking of domestic life have been viewed as the more spiritual way to live. This happened almost immediately in the church. When Paul wrote to his protégé Timothy who was a pastor in Ephesus he told Timothy that one of the forms of demonic teaching he had to oppose was that teaching which forbid people to marry. Marriage is dishonored when it is viewed as a way of life that is less pleasing to God and inferior to a single, celibate life. However, the more common way that marriage is dishonored is through sexual immorality. Sexual intimacy and gratification were created by God to be enjoyed only within the confines of the marriage covenant. Therefore every expression of physical affection that is only appropriate for those who are married dishonors marriage and defiles the marriage bed. How do you know what is appropriate? The biblical standard for physical affection between unmarried people has always been this: if you cannot do it with your brother or sister or mother or father, than it is inappropriate and dishonors marriage. Every expression of physical affection that would be inappropriate between the unmarried members of biological families is sexually immoral and dishonors marriage. If you can't do it with your brother, you can't do it with your boyfriend. If you can't do it with your mother, you can't do it with your girlfriend. In addition every action of self gratification is a defilement of the marriage bed as all physical gratification is designed by God only for the marriage bed. Marriage is dishonored when people are unwilling to make the commitments and sacrifices necessary to make a God-honoring marriage. When husbands do not love their wives as Christ loves the church and when wives do not respect their husbands as the church respects Christ, marriage is dishonored. When spouses talk sarcastically of their spouses or of the marriage, it is dishonored. But probably, in our culture, the most common way marriage is dishonored in addition to sexual immorality is when people who are not married act as if they are married. In 1960 490,000 unmarried couples were living together. In 2005, the Census Bureau reported 4.5 million co-habiting couples, an increase of over 1000%. Most are between the ages of 25 and 34 (Wikipedia). Between 50% and 60% of new marriages involve partners who have lived together first (Karen Peterson, USA Today, 7-8-02). When couples live together as if they are married when they are not, this greatly dishonors marriage. But even when couples who are not married and not living together share non-sexual intimacies that ought only to be shared by married people, marriage is dishonored. There needs to be aloofness and a restraint between unmarried people and between married people who are not married to each other that draws a sharp line around marriage itself. The amount of time that is spent together, the sharing of financial resources, the kinds of things that are talked about must be carefully monitored so that unmarried people do not act like married people. There are things that only married people share with each other and do with each other that encompass far more than just sexual expression. Christians are careful to not cross those lines in their relationships with members of the opposite sex. Please notice that there is a warning attached to this command. God will judge those who do not honor marriage and do not keep the marriage bed undefiled. This is so important for all of us who live in this sex saturated, marriage diminishing culture. God takes marriage and the intimacies he designed for marriage very seriously. People who claim to be Christians but who engage in illicit sexual conduct are deceived people. Unmarried people who act as though they are married and yet claim to be Christians are deluded people. People who do not fight against and repent of every form of sexual immorality will not go to heaven because they are obviously not fans of God and of his kingdom. You can recognize those who are receiving an unshakeable kingdom by the energy they invest in honoring marriage and keeping the marriage bed undefiled. The work of Jesus creates people who, out of their joy in God, love to…
III. Trust God not money (vv. 5-6) There probably is not a more relevant thing to say to we who live in the U.S.A. and who are in the midst of the annual buying binge that is called Christmas. Everyone who is receiving the unshakeable kingdom seeks to not love money but to be content with what we currently possess. Loving money and being content are opposites. You cannot be content and love money. A sure sign that you love money is that you are not content with your present economic and living situation. We live in a media saturated environment which is designed to create discontent. There are billions of dollars spent every year on the development of advertising that has as its primary objective to create in you a discontent with what you have and a love for more. Companies don't spend those billions foolishly. Advertising works. There isn't a person in here who is not affected by this onslaught of seductive advertising and so there are many ways that our love of money and our discontent is expressed. For some our love of money is expressed in the anxiety and fear we regularly feel about our job security, the status of our retirement accounts or the economy. For others our love of money can be identified by the inordinate pleasure we find in shopping and buying new things. For others our lack of contentment and love of money is heard in our complaints about our low pay or our resentment when we observe others buying things we cannot afford. The fact that we love money is clearly seen when we do not regularly, cheerfully and generously give money to God's work. Fewer than 10% of Christians give at least 10% of their income to the church. Average giving for all Americans is about 2% of income to all charitable causes. 50% of the members of churches in the U.S. give little or nothing to their church. American Christians give less of their income to the Lord now than we did during the Great Depression. There is no question that many professing Christians are not taking this command very seriously. One of the best ways to keep your life free from the love of money is to increasingly give more of it away. When the majority of our time is taken up with earning money and then taking care of the things that our money buys and little to no time is spent in pursuing Christ and loving others, you are loving money. The motivation for not loving money but being content is that God has promised that he will never leave us and he will never forsake us. The author is simply repeating what Jesus said in Matthew 6: you cannot serve God and money. How do you serve money? You serve money by organizing your life around obtaining more of it and buying more stuff with it. Why do you do this? You aim to obtain more money because you believe that money will save you. You believe that money and what money buys will make you happy and secure. What does it mean to serve God? It means to organize your life around God and to obtaining more of him. You do this because you believe that he will save you. You invest your time and energy in knowing God because you believe what the psalmist says: "Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you." The author is simply making the point that God will never forsake you but money will. All it will take is an economic downturn or corporate downsizing or an injury or an accident and your money will fly away. But God will never leave, if you belong to Christ. Ultimately, money and the stuff it buys is going to burn up. When you stand before God on that final Day of Judgment how much money you had and the amount of your possessions will not matter at all. Money cannot deliver you from the greatest threat you face, God's wrath against your sin. Only the love of God in Jesus can save you in that day. Therefore, trust the God who will never leave you, not money and possessions which will one day desert you in your hour of greatest need. Finally, notice the result in the lives of those who do not love money but are content because they are relying on the God who will never forsake them: these are people who are confident. They respond to God's faithfulness by being confident of God's protection and provision and thus living their lives without fear of men. How much of the greed for money and things is rooted in our fear of other people? We want to impress others or we want to insulate ourselves from needing others or we want to protect ourselves from being harmed by others and so we spend out time accumulating money and stuff. But when we rely upon money we are in great danger of being harmed by others. Money and possessions cannot protect us from evil men. However, if God is our refuge and not money, then losing money cannot harm us. The loss of earthly possessions is not fatal if God himself is our help and not our possessions. The only people in this world who are actually safe and secure from all harm are those who have God as their helper through Christ. All others are living in a state of delusion. Where is your security found? What gives you greater pleasure, knowing God or knowing how to use your Ipod? What do you anticipate more, joining the crowds at the mall buying stuff or joining with God's people in worship on Sundays? What do you fear more, a stock market crash, losing your job or standing before this God who is a consuming fire? Are you content with your current economic status or are you resentful? Everyone who is receiving God's unshakable kingdom is in a fight to keep their lives free from the love of money and to be content with their present condition. The work of Jesus creates people who, out of their joy in God, love to…
© Copyright 2007 John Swanson.
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