The Do's And Don'ts Of Love

The Do’s and Don’ts of Love

Hebrews 13:1-9

Intro: I am a commercial guy. I enjoy the commercials on TV just about as much as I do the programming. There is a commercial out right now that I really like. It stars the M&M guy. It starts out with the M&M guy sitting at a piano playing and singing the popular Song titled I Will Do Anything For Love. As the song goes forward, he is singing and he says I will do anything for love but; I won’t do that. It shows women trying to take bites out of him or cooking him or putting whip cream on him.

. Our scripture this morning is much like that commercial.

. It gives us the do’s and don’ts of love.

. We are back in Hebrews this morning and we are starting to wind down this book also.

. Last week we finished our series in Nehemiah and now we are winding down Hebrews.

. The writer of Hebrews has spent the first 11 chapters laying out doctrine to the Hebrew people and us.

. He has explained the sufficiency of Christ to them. Helping them and us understand that Jesus was God in the flesh. That they no longer needed someone to talk to God for them. Now they had direct access to God.

. Jesus was their High Priest and He has made the final sacrifice that the High priest made.

. He sacrificed himself for them and all mankind.

. In Chapter 12, the writer encourages us to be faithful and run the race of faith all the way to the finish line.

.Now as he is ending this epistle, he gets to the practical matters.

. He is telling us how we as Christians should live our lives.

. The first thing he deals with is love.

. What you should love and what you should not love.

. Let’s look at our scripture.

. 1Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters.

2Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it!

3Remember those in prison, as if you were there yourself. Remember also those being mistreated, as if you felt their pain in your own bodies.

4Give honor to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage. God will surely judge people who are immoral and those who commit adultery.

5Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.”

6So we can say with confidence, “The LORD is my helper, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?”

7Remember your leaders who taught you the word of God. Think of all the good that has come from their lives, and follow the example of their faith.

8Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

9So do not be attracted by strange, new ideas. Your strength comes from God’s grace, not from rules about food, which don’t help those who follow them.

. The first thing we see here is that you are to:

.Love Your Brothers and Sisters In Christ.

. Look at verse one again.

. 1Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters.

. How many of you go to family reunions.

. I’m not particularly fond of them myself because I usually don’t know anybody. Inevitably when your there, you look around at your family and kind of shake your head and say. Am I really related to those people.

. Guess what, they are looking at you and saying the same thing.

. Folks you can pick your friends as they say but you can’t pick your relatives.

. We all belong to family’s through flesh and blood.

. If you are here this morning and have accepted Jesus Christ as savior, you belong to another family. You belong to a spiritual family.

. You belong to the family of God.

. The writer of Hebrews says that we are to keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters. That’s how close we are to become with each other.

. We are to concern ourselves with the well being of our fellow Christians.

. This goes back to what we have been talking about since I got here. Love God, Love each other.

. This is the central theme in the New Testament.

. The writer of Hebrews says love your brothers and sisters in Christ.

. Then He goes on to say:

. Love Your Spouse

.Look with me at verse 4

. 4Give honor to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage. God will surely judge people who are immoral and those who commit adultery.