A Study of Hebrews
“Jesus Is Better”
Sermon # 26
“Public and Private Ethics”
Hebrews 13.1-6
At first glance Hebrews 13 may appear to be just a grouping of unrelated closing thoughts to the letter, but such is not the case. The writer of Hebrews now begins to give some ways in which believers can live out their faith. We now enter into the arena of ethics.
There is a lot of talk in our day about the need for ethics, but not very much is being done about it. The problem I believe is that we are approaching the whole idea backwards. Our modern world has kicked the Bible aside as being ill relevant and out of date. They have aside the only foundation for moral behavior but yet they want ethics. We even have something today called “situational ethics” – but if one’s conduct is determined by the given situation then it is not an ethical code. Ethics cannot exist apart from a standard of right and wrong.
The writer of Hebrews reminds us that there is a standard for conduct is still the word of God.
In our last message on Hebrews we looked at how “Grace Is Better Than the Law.” There we compared two mountains; Mt Sinai, representing the law of the old covenant and Mt Zion representing the grace available through the new covenant. Chapter twelve ended in verse twenty-nine with the very ominous words, “For our God is a consuming fire.”
“Let brotherly love continue. (2) Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels. (3) Remember the prisoners as if chained with them—those who are mistreated—since you yourselves are in the body also. (4) Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge. (5) Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (6) So we may boldly say: “The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”
Public Ethics (Within the Church) 13:1-3
The primary moral standard for a Christian is love and the particular love that is being talked about here is love of fellow Christians.
•Love the Brethren (v. 1)
“Let brotherly love continue.”
The word translated “brotherly love” is literally the Greek word (Philadelphia) it is composed of two root words phileo (tender affection) and adelphos (brother). This is a special New Testament word for love of the brothers and sisters in Christ. Brotherly love is the natural outflow of being saved. When a person is saved they are naturally drawn to fellowship with other believers.
The writer begins very simply with the injunction, “Let love of the brethren continue.” It is not they had never had it. The verb tense (imperfect present active) suggests that there had been a lull in their expression of love one for another, they are therefore to pick it up, and practice it once again. Perhaps in the hard day grind of living, their love for one another had diminished as they tried to live with a bunch of people who got on their nerves. The Church is made up of people with different personalities, backgrounds and interests. It is easy to love some people and then there others that we have work at it to love.
Brotherly love is so important that John says in (1 John 3:14), “We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death.” The presence of brotherly love is an inner witness of validity of our salvation.
Jesus said that it was the presence of brotherly love that proved to the world that their faith was the real thing. John 13:35, “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
This is not a love based on personal liking, but one based on a shared relationship.
•Love Strangers (Exercise Hospitality)
(v. 2) “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels.”
Our first responsibility is to our brothers and sisters in Christ, but our responsibility does not end there. The word translated “entertain” in the NKJV is (philoxenias) or “love of strangers.” A stranger by definition is someone we do not know personally.
Let me share with you what the Life Application Commentary says about Hospitality. I also shared this with the Bible study on Wednesday because in our study of the Book of Romans (12:13) Paul exhorts the believers to be “given to hospitality” or literally to “pursue hospitality.” But I want to share again because I believe it has some powerful points to make about hospitality.
“Hospitality means being friendly to strangers, not just having friends over. Christian hospitality differs from social entertaining. Entertaining focuses on the host – the house has to be spotless; the food must be well prepared and abundant; the host must appear relaxed and good-natured.. Hospitality, in contrast, focuses on the guest. Their needs – whether for a place to stay, nourishing food, a listening ear, or acceptance – are the primary concern. Hospitality can happen in a messy home. It can happen around a dinner table where the main dish is canned soup. It can even happen when the host and the guest are doing chores together. Believers should not hesitate to offer hospitality just because they are too tired, too busy or not wealth enough to entertain.” [Life Application Commentary:Romans (Wheaton, Illinois: Tyndale House, 1992) p. 240]
The phrase rendered “for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels” brings to mind a scene from the story of Abraham found in Genesis 18. Abraham entertained angels without knowing it when he welcomed the strangers to his tent. Does the writer mean that the Hebrew believers or today’s readers might expect a similar experience? Not necessarily. It not that hospitality should be given with the expectation of seeing an angel. We should remember that the word “angel” simply means messenger, so any messenger of God whether it be a visiting preacher or missionary are to received as His angels.
The point of the second half of verse two seems to be that we will never know how important or far reaching a simple act of kindness may be.
Verse three continues with “Remember the prisoners as if chained with them—those who are mistreated—since you yourselves are in the body also.”
We exhorted to remember those who are mistreated as though it were us.
Personal Ethics (Within the Home) (12:4-6)
God honored marriage by establishing it in the garden of Eden. Jesus honored marriage by performing his first miracle at the wedding in Cana (John 3). The Holy Spirit honored marriage by using it as a picture of the church and the relationship that is exist between each believer and the Lord.
There is a two-fold application of ethics in the home.
• Commitment in Marriage (v. 4)
“Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.”
The words of verse four are the answer
of the writer of Hebrews to those attacks on marriage both ancient and modern. When the letter to the Hebrews was written there were probably two major issues associated with marriage. One was asceticism, which is the view that celibacy is somehow spiritual superior to marriage. And the other, more like our modern age was libertinism, was the belief that every one had the right to pursue whatever made them happy sexually.
If you publicly express today a belief in the sanctity of marriage, that it is honorable thing, that is to exist between one man and one woman, you will automatically open yourself to ridicule.
To even suggest that sexual sin comes under the judgment of God is to be branded as intolerant if not guilty of hate speech. But that is exactly what the writer of Hebrews says in verse four, “…but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.” The fact remains that premarital sex, sodomy, prostitution, homosexual acts as well as adultery are all covered by the two terms translated “fornicators and adulterers.”
The point to remember is that God views infidelity as serious and will allow the natural consequences of the pain, guilt and hurt take there toil in the lives those who violate this command.
The call to Christians is to demonstrate in their lives a radically different under-standing and commitment to marriage.
Christians are called to be outrageously pure.
•Contentment in Material Things (Money)
The next great principle of the Christian
life is contentment.
(v. 5) “Let your conduct be without covetous-ness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Matthew 6:19-21
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
1 Timothy 6:10
“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”
Mindset (v. 6)
“So we may boldly say: “The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”
“Public and Private Ethics”
Hebrews 13.1-6
Public Ethics (Within the Church) (13:1-3)
•Love the ___________ (Philadelphia) (v. 1) “Let brotherly love continue.”
_______________ (1 John 3:14)
_______________ (John 13:35)
•Love __________ (Philoxenia) (Hospitality) (v. 2)
(Rom 12:13, 1 Pet 4:9, 1 Tim 3:2)
Personal Ethics (Within the Home) (13:4-6)
•Commitment in ____________ (v. 4)
•Contentment in _________ ________ (Money) (v. 5) (Matt 6:19-21, 1 Tim 6:10)
