Hebrews 13:1-6

"Let Brotherly Love Continue"

Children,

do you see Jesus?

(By faith)

Where are you?

(In the heavenlies)

So what?

(how do you show on a visible level the fellowship of the invisible city?)

Let Brotherly Love Continue . . .

It would be easy to treat Hebrews 13 as a series of loosely connected exhortations,

separate from the main body of the exposition.

But you must never lose sight of the central exhortation of Hebrews:

You have a great high priest, the Son of God,

who has passed through the heavenlies,

has brought the great and final sacrifice before the throne of God,

and therefore has brought you before the throne of God,

where you now stand in the heavenly Assembly.

You have been washed with pure water,

you have your hearts cleansed from an evil conscience,

and so you may enter into the heavenly Holy of Holies,

as a kingdom of priests, gathered together with the heavenly hosts!

Therefore,

do not lose heart,

do not neglect your confidence,

do not forget what God has done in Jesus Christ!

Last week we saw in verse 14 that we are to pursue peace and holiness,

and that our pursuit of peace and holiness is motivated

by our participation in the heavenly worship.

Israel was motivated by Sinai-

which, quite frankly, was the motive of fear and trembling.

Our motivation comes from the heavenly Mt Zion,

where the blood of Jesus speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

Jesus has offered the final sacrifice that has dealt with sin once-for-all.

And if your sins have been decisively dealt with,

if God has cleansed you from all your sins,

then you may pursue peace and holiness with great confidence,

because "by a single offering Jesus has perfected for all time

those who are being sanctified." (10:14)

Hebrews 12 sets the stage then, by reminding you of your participation in the heavenly worship.

(Read 12:28-29)

Hebrews 13 then applies this to all of life.

Because you participate in the heavenly worship,

therefore, "let brotherly love continue."

This is the word "philadelphia"-brotherly love.

It refers to the love of a family-in this case, of the family of God.

There are three philo words in our passage:

love of brothers (philadelphia, v1)

love of strangers (hospitality, v2)

love of money (v5)

Where is your heart set?

If by faith you see the heavenly city,

and if by faith you behold Jesus sitting at the right hand of God,

then there will be lots of practical consequences!

1. . . . through Hospitality (2)

First, brotherly love includes showing hospitality to strangers.

We often think about hospitality as having friends over after church.

But if all you do is have your friends over,

then you are no different from the world.

True hospitality means opening your home to strangers.

Now, the strangers in view are not just anyone.

Hebrews is not saying that you should go to the mall,

walk up to a stranger, and invite them to stay the night.

No, we are still in the context of brotherly love-

love of the brethren-which means our fellow believers.

Obviously this should overflow into our treatment of unbelievers as well,

but the focus is on "brothers."

I once received an email from a Christian in Australia

saying that he was going to be in South Bend for a couple days-

could we get together.

We had him over for dinner, but to my shame I let him stay in a hotel.

That was not hospitality.

Hospitality is found in Genesis 18,

when Abraham urges the 3 travelers to stay for a meal

(which takes several hours to prepare);

Hospitality is found in Genesis 19,

when Lot takes in the two angels for the night, so they do not have to stay in the square.

Hospitality is found in Judges 19,

when the Ephraimite takes in the Levite and his concubine from Bethlehem,

so that they do not have to endure the indignity of sleeping in the square.

Hospitality has to do with your attitude toward your home.

We often view our homes as a "haven" from the outside world.

And so it should be!

But we may not be selfish.

If your home is truly a haven,

then it should be a place where friends and strangers can find rest.

A haven is a port-a place where ships can be safely anchored even in the midst of a storm

Hebrews tells us that Jesus is the anchor of our souls.

He is our haven-our port-our place of refuge where we may ride out the tempest around us.

Therefore our homes must become places of refuge,

where Christ is the center-the anchor of our souls.

When I was in seminary I learned about hospitality from David and Sharon Covington.

They rented a third-floor apartment from a professor-

two itty-bitty rooms, with a bathroom, and the landing as a kitchen.

But in that little, tiny apartment, David and Sharon carried on the gracious hospitality

that characterizes them in their Quincy, California, home.

-a place where strangers quickly become friends.

And verse 2 reminds us that Abraham and Lot "entertained angels unawares."

I don't think that Hebrews is saying that it is likely that you will entertain angels.

Rather, Hebrews is saying,

"think about how redemptive history would have been different,

if Abraham and Lot hadn't shown hospitality?"

God would never have promised a son to Abraham.

Lot and his family would have perished in the destruction of Sodom.

Without hospitality to strangers,

the entire shape of redemptive history would have been different-

so you never know what God is going to do through hospitality.

2. . . . through Remembering the Mistreated (3)

A second focus of brotherly love is "those in prison, those who are mistreated."

And again, this is not referring to the common criminal,

but those who "in the body."

Hebrews is referring to Christians who have been unjustly imprisoned for their faith.

There is nothing wrong with establishing prison ministries

in an effort to convert criminals, but that is not what this passage is about.

The early Christians would bring food for those in prison,

and would hold special worship services in the prison,

risking their own imprisonment in order to maintain the unity of the body.

The "mistreated" is a broader category.

In 11:37 we heard about those who "went about in skins of sheep and goats,

destitute, afflicted, mistreated-of whom the world was not worthy."

Those who are afflicted and mistreated for their faith should be remembered.

At the moment our congregation does not have anyone in this category-

for which we should be grateful to God.

But we do have brothers around the world who continue to suffer for the faith,

and we should remember them!

Because the rationale for remembering prisoners and the mistreated

is that "you also are in the body,"

and when one part of the body is hurting,

the whole body is affected.

3. . . . through Honoring Marriage (4)

A third focus of brotherly love is honoring marriage.

This may seem obvious, but that doesn't mean that it doesn't need to be said!

There are two aspects to this:

First, "Let marriage be held in honor among all."

The first point is your attitude toward marriage.

Whether you are married or not,

you need to view marriage as an honorable institution.

And second, "let the marriage bed be undefiled."

It starts with your attitude, but your actions are equally important.

Do you honor marriage with your lips?

Then honor it with your actions!

Hebrews says this in the middle of Roman culture-

a culture that did not honor marriage.

Divorce was easy and sex was cheap.

We too live in a culture where marriage is not held in honor,

where the marriage bed is regularly defiled by sexual immorality and adultery.

And we are called to be different.

Because God will judge the sexually immoral and the adulterous.

Certainly it is true that God will judge the sexually immoral in the world,

but Hebrews' point is that God will judge those in the Church

who are sexually immoral.

Divorce rates among evangelicals match the divorce rate in the nation as a whole.

If we are no different from the nations around us,

then judgment will begin with the household of God,

and if it begins with us, then what will be the result

for those who do not believe?

What does it mean to "honor marriage"?

In practice, that means to do everything in your power to promote godly relations

between husbands and wives.

It is not enough for you to "avoid" sexual immorality.

There must be a positive effort to honor and promote godly marriages.

I've seen you do that as you offer to watch each other's children,

so that spouses can get an evening alone.

You are honoring marriage when you speak well of your own spouse,

and when you encourage each other to greater love and faithfulness in marriage.

Likewise, keeping the marriage bed undefiled is not just a negative command.

Respect for marriage must be joined with maintaining purity in bed,

as you delight in your wife or husband.

Proverbs 5:18-19 states positively what Hebrews 3:4 states negatively:

"Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth,

a lovely deer, a graceful doe.

Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight;

be intoxicated always in her love."

4. . . . through Being Content (5-6)

The fourth way to show brotherly love is by being content-

keeping your life from the love of money.

We are seeing in Proverbs in the evening service that the two lures of folly are

easy sex and easy money.

The seventh and eighth commandments forbid adultery and theft.

And that is the order we find them here (and throughout much biblical teaching).

Sex and money are two of the main temptations that we face.

And Hebrews warns against these two things as well.

The call in both areas is to be content with what you have.

Do not be grasping after sex.

Do not be grasping after wealth and riches.

Hebrews chooses an interesting way to approach contentment.

He cites a familiar statement, used several times in the OT:

"I will never leave your nor forsake you."

That was what God said to Jacob in Genesis 28:15,

as Jacob left the land to go look for a wife.

It was what Moses said to Joshua in Dt 31,

as Moses gave his farewell charge to Joshua before his death.

It was what God said to Joshua in Joshua 1:5,

as Joshua was preparing to enter the promised land.

Joshua was to lead Israel,

and Joshua's faithfulness would be rewarded

with the inheritance that God promised Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

In other words,

the largest chunk of wealth that God ever gave to his people was at stake.

-the inheritance that symbolized the eternal inheritance!

And yet the LORD spoke to Joshua saying,

"Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you.

I will not leave you or forsake you.

Be strong and courageous,

for you shall cause this people to inherit the land

that I swore to their fathers to give them." (Josh. 1:5-6)

Be content with what I provide.

Walk before me, trust in me, and I will provide the promised inheritance.

Even so God speaks to us and promises us that he will give to us all that we need.

Contentment does not mean that you have to stay in your present job

(God promptly led Israel into the promised land and gave them new homes, etc.),

rather, contentment means that you do not set your heart on money.

You do not set your heart on promotions, new jobs, or any material thing.

Contentment comes when you see by faith.

If your inheritance has been already received by the new Joshua, our Lord Jesus Christ,

who has entered that inheritance in the heavens,

then you may be certain that Jesus, the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings

will provide for your needs.

"So we can confidently say, 'The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?"

This quote comes from Psalms 27, 56, and 118-

all three of which say this.

If the LORD is your helper-if Yahweh is on your side-

then what can man do to you?

Certainly the LORD has helped Jesus.

As God had promised Joshua, so he has done for Jesus-

and because God will never leave Jesus,

therefore he will never leave the one who lives and believes in Jesus!

If you see by faith the heavenly city,

and if you share in Christ, the one who has delivered his people from sin and death,

then you will be content because you see that God will provide

for all your needs in Christ.

Conclusion:

Verse 7 functions as a hinge between verses 1-6 and verses 8ff.

"Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God.

Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith."

Your leaders are to be examples to you of brotherly love,

showing hospitality,

remembering those who are mistreated,

honoring marriage,

and being content.

You are to look at Rolf and Shane, and Jay and Andy, and myself.

You are to consider the outcome of our way of life,

and imitate our faith.

Notice that it is not a blind imitation-

the call to "consider" our way of life

means that you need to compare how we live to what God has said!

But your elders are called to be examples to the flock,

and as we come to our election of deacons this Wednesday,

you are to consider the character of David Belden, Jon Hill, and Brian Pitts.

Are they men of exemplary character?

But this call to remember your leaders and imitate their faith

comes back to the very heartbeat of faith:

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever."

You imitate the faith of your elders because they show you Jesus.