An elderly woman walked into a small rural church. A friendly usher greeted her at the door.
“Where would you like to sit?” he asked.
“The front row please,” she answered.
“You really don’t want to do that,” the usher said. “The pastor is really boring.”
“Do you happen to know who I am?” asked the woman.
“No,” said the usher.
“I’m the pastor’s mother,” she replied indignantly.
“Do you know who I am?” the usher asked.
“No,” she said.
“Good,” the usher replied. (Van Morris, Mt. Washington, Kentucky, www.PreachingToday.com)
This is a very practical chapter, so I feel like this illustration today. I don’t want to be boring, but we do have a lot of information to process together today!
In the remaining passages of Hebrews, I want you to see that we need to have love in all things, this attitude is critical to successfully live a life on earth. We also need to have an attitude of contentment.
We can be content in our faith, hope and love.
The last chapters of Hebrews close with the banners of Christianity; chapter 11 faith, chapter 12 hope and chapter 13 love.
In Hebrews 13:1-6, we looked at the areas we need to thrive in. Loving your church family v.1, loving strangers v.2; loving those who suffer v.3; love for your spouse v.4. And most of all we must love our savior and Lord Jesus Christ vs. 5-6.
The writer is writing to encourage them in the face of tragedy and charging them to stay firm in their Christian faith, hope and love.
So, they were asked to reflect on the example of their spiritual leaders in verse 7
Hebrews 13:7 Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct.
I certainly believe that verse 7 is referring to their mentors who had influenced them spiritually. The people who encouraged them to know Jesus as Lord and Savior.
Do you remember your spiritual mentor(s)? I know mine had a great influence on me. They were strong in faith, love and had incredible hope. It seemed nothing would shake them. They would either have an answer to life’s difficult issues or they prayed for resolve, understanding and wisdom to move forward.
Ross and Betty were champions of faith to me. Ross was a career navy intelligence officer. He spent 25 years of his life in service when the navy offered him a promotion to admiral. He declined the promotion for the reason that he wanted to spend the rest of his life dedicated to the Lord’s work. He faithfully served in a home office of a mission agency and at the same time was teaching and serving in a church for 40 more years until he died at 87 years old.
We need to recall, that when the book of Hebrews was written, the social and government persecution was severe. The main targets were spiritual leaders. Much like you would see in any era. Today in countries like China, Arab countries, even in places in Africa.
The writer of Hebrews is invoking the memory of such people. Come back with me to verse 7. The believers are encouraged in the act of “remembering”.
What does it mean to “remember”? The call to “remember” is used as a cultural, Hebrew term implying that a person has passed on from this life.
The Hebrew culture remembers their loved ones. If you ever get a chance to travel to Israel, you’ll see the acts of memory in the graves that surround the eastern gate. They place stones on the top of the grave to remember and honor the life of those who passed.
It is not uncommon to us, for we “remember” during communion when we remember the Lord’s death.
There are also two other reasons that I think the writer is calling the believers to remember their spiritual leaders/mentors who died. I also think that they have been martyred.
The 1st reason I think this reference is to “remember” because the use of the aorist tense that mentions them in past tense. You can see this in the phrase “those who have spoken the word.”
The 2nd reason is seen in the second half of verse 7. The believers are to consider how these spiritual leaders lives ended “considering the outcome of their conduct.”
The conduct of their leaders was exactly as told by the apostle Luke in 6:28 “But to those of you who will listen, I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.”
The point the writer is promoting is that, believers should be loving people in spite of a cruel world. They need to be content with life and God’s ordained plan as those faithful people who have gone on before them.
Now notice the phrase “whose faith follow” in the middle of verse 7. He is encouraging them to follow the example of their spiritual leaders who I think were martyred for their faith.
We need to imitate the right way of life.
It is important to understand the object of these leader’s way of life. They were firmly committed to Jesus and to the hope of the Gospel. Notice in verse 8, their trust is in the same Jesus, who in past times was trustworthy.
HEBREWS 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
It’s like the life of the heroes of faith in Hebrews chapter 11, where we see that people of faith lived and died as witnesses to the certainty of God’s promise.
In verse 8 the word “same” means consistency, as opposed to changeableness and unreliability.
The writer of Hebrews is saying that there is one Man whose character and Word does not change through the ages, He, Himself remains constant. The author is holding Jesus as the superior focus for pressing on with stability in a constantly changing world.
The unchangeableness of Jesus Christ, character, nature, purpose, plans and promises keep believers established and can help us avoid being swept away by either persecution or trials of life, but also an established believer can avoid the swift currents of varied and strange teaching mentioned in verse 9.
Hebrews 13:9 “Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines. For it is good that the heart be established by grace, not with foods which have not profited those who have been occupied with them.”
The point the writer is saying; because of Jesus’ immutability (unchanging nature), believers can trust Jesus today and tomorrow as their leaders did yesterday.
What was it that challenged their faith, hope and love in Jesus Christ?
There are clues in verse 9. The word “various” is from the Greek word Poikilos, which is used to describe something diverse, variegated or many colored. And there is another word in verse 9 that helps understand what the writer is talking about.
The word “strange” is the Greek word xenos means foreign, it is used metaphorically to mean not belonging to the Christian faith. Whatever the strange teaching was, it twisted the truth of what Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection freed them from. It was alien to the truth of the New Covenant that Jesus inaugurated.
I think we can understand the tension of what kind of situation was in verse 9. There are always people who are not content, that are willing to compromise to make their life situation better. What a better way than to take the pressure off and formulate a teaching that could be acceptable to all.
It’s not surprising that kind of teaching sprung up from some people who were trying to blend the Christian Jews back towards Judaism. However, these teachings where not based on the unchanging person and work of Jesus Christ.
Notice what the strange teachings were based upon…food. The book of Hebrews was written to a Jewish audience, and the Jewish religion has a lot of rituals, some of which include the eating of certain foods. As you know, Jews cannot eat pork and shellfish. In fact, they must eat only kosher foods, but their food rituals do not benefit them.
One of my uncles was a Hebrew, at family gatherings he would say Augie, (that was my aunts nick-name) is there any pork in that dish? She would say, no! It’s good to eat! When he was older he lost his vision and she would bring him a plate. Before he ate, every time he asked that question. Many times she would head the question off by saying it’s pure for you.
Verse 9, is referring to some type of food that they needed to avoid to keep a certain religious standing. No surprise here for us to understand this, being that its lent and people still practice some form of this today!
Hey, as a child I was told not to eat meat on Fridays and give up something for the season of lent to make yourself better spiritually or to be a good religious person.
But importantly notice in verse 9, it is not rituals that help us abound, it is grace that enables the heart to be content. Allow me to show you this verse again. “For it is good that the heart be established by grace, not with foods…”
There is no benefit in religious ritual of any kind. Following the rituals of any religion does not make you content or spiritually settled.
Only the grace of God can do that. Only God’s supernatural gift of grace, given freely to those who depend on Him. His grace can strengthen your heart.
So, trust Jesus with your life. Depend on God’s grace to strengthen you. His grace is far superior than depending on any religious ritual, because Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
What ultimately benefits believers is God’s grace that strengthens our hearts- not food nourishing our bodies.
Grace makes the heart firm in relation to God through Jesus Christ.
Being established by grace is a blessing given to us by what Jesus accomplished on the cross for everyone who believes that Jesus paid for your sin and made peace with God.
I would like to close our study today with two more passages.
We all need to remember the apostle Paul’s writing in Romans 1:16-17 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”
And to go ahead to one of the prayers in Hebrews chapter 13 verses 20-21
Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, 21 make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
Believers who are established by grace:
- Love their Savior.
- Love their church family.
- Love strangers.
- Love their spouses.
- Remember and honor their spiritual leaders past and present.
- Desire to imitate and follow others who follow Christ.
- Find their security in an unchanging Savior Jesus Christ.
- Don’t get carried away with religious rituals.
- Have joy peace and contentment is all things.