Scripture: Hebrews 13:1-6 (ESV)
“Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body. Let marriage be held in honour among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we can confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?’”
We now enter into the final chapter in the book of Hebrews. There is a sudden shift in the content of what the author of Hebrews talks about. As we have seen Hebrews is a big book with deep and profound theological truths. The book has been teaching us about how the New Covenant through Christ is superior to the Old Covenant which was mediated through the priestly system. We saw how Jesus is superior to the Old Testament kings, prophets and leaders. We saw how Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross is superior to the Old Testament sacrifices which had to be offered again and again. We saw how Jesus is the superior high priest, how he is a priest forever of the order of Melchizedek. These are all deep, profound theological truths that have pointed us to the greatness of Christ. As we saw yesterday this should all lead us to bowing down before God in awe and wonder.
And then there is a shift. The author of Hebrews, having given that deep theology, now turns to his readers and says: “Since all these great things are true, this then is how you are to live”.
Show brotherly love. Show hospitality. Look after those in prison. Honour marriage. Don’t be consumed by the love of money. Be content with what you have.
These applications all seem somewhat disconnected don’t they? They don’t seem to be immediately related, and in some ways the author of Hebrews could have chosen any of a whole range of different applications. But the point is the same. Since you believe all these deep things about Jesus, and since God has done all these wonderful things through Christ, your life should now look radically different from that of the world.
In light of the superiority of Christ’s love for us, the Christian is to love far better than the world loves. In light of the superiority of Christ’s work which welcomes us into God’s household, the Christian is to show hospitality far better than the world does. In light of the superiority of Christ’s liberation of the spiritually imprisoned, the Christian is to remember the prisoner better than the world does. Christ is the greater husband to the bride of Christ, the church – and so the Christian should honour marriage to a far greater extent than the world does. In light of Christ emptying himself and voluntarily impoverishing himself for our sake, the Christian should be unaffected by the temptation of money.
In the light of the superiority of Christ, every aspect of the life of the Christian changes.
So what has changed for you?
Prayer:
Dear Father, now we are beginning to see just how radically different our lives should be in light of Jesus’ superiority. Please help us to live accordingly in every aspect of our lives. Change us from within we pray. Amen.
Spiritual Challenge:
Pick any area of your life, consider how the superiority of Christ should change that aspect of your life. Then make a change accordingly.