Hebrews Chapter Thirteen, Being Seduced By Corrupt Doctrine

 

Hebrews 13:9a Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines.

 

Coming off of the heels of the previous verse, the author counsels the Hebrew Christians not to be carried about by various (a variety) and strange (contrary to Scripture’s revelation) doctrines. Backtracking a little further, we are reminded of the elders, who are appointed to rule over the church. Christians are counseled to “remember” them. If their doctrine and conduct align, we are to mimic the constancy of their faith.

Hebrews Chapter Thirteen, God Can Not Change

 

Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

 

The equivalent verse to this passage in Hebrews may be found in Malachi, where we read, “For I am the Lord, I do not change; therefore you are not consumed O sons of Jacob,” Malachi 3:6. Yahweh explained to Israel that He is unchanging. Who He was to Adam, Noah, and Moses, He is today. Furthermore, He adds the people may attribute their physical deliverance from immediate and severe reprimand for disobedience to His unchanging nature; that God wants all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.

Hebrews Chapter Thirteen, Follow The Leader

 

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.

 

In the previous passage the Hebrew Christians are instructed that their conduct should not derive from covetousness, but from the sure knowledge of God’s word that He would always be with us, see Matthew 28:20. The elders, or bishops, or overseers, are to be measured by their conduct, to ensure that what they teach (having spoken the word to you) agrees with what they practice (considering the outcome of their conduct) before blindly accepting their governance.

Hebrews Chapter Thirteen, Justifying Greed

 

We are to be content with what we already possess. Paul went so far as to say that Christians ought to view their possessions like, “those who buy as though they did not possess,” 1 Corinthians 7:30. Materialism distracts from a Christian’s purpose, which is the furtherance of the gospel and our Master’s business. 

Hebrews Chapter Thirteen, Covetousness & Christ

 

Hebrews 13:5 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?”

 

Conduct, simply put, is our behavior or demeanor. The Hebrew Christians are instructed not to have their behavior and demeanor influenced by covetousness, which is greed, or the desire to amass things. Even our selfless acts can be influenced by this sin. We may not get material things from good deeds, but we may receive laud from it, which panders to sinful self.

Hebrews Chapter Thirteen, Defiling Marriage

 

Hebrews 13:4 Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.

 

The conversation regarding brotherly love transforms into general dictums of, to put it one way, Christian conduct. Love is the undergirding that upholds all other principles, which is why the writer led with its reminder. We are to love strangers, and the saints that are prisoners for His name’s sake.

Hebrews Chapter Thirteen, Suffering In The Body

 

Hebrews 13:3 Remember the prisoners as if chained with them—those who are mistreated—since you yourselves are in the body also.

 

It becomes clear by this point that the author’s theme is brotherly love for this series of verses. Beginning with the succinct command to let brotherly love continue, he explores the topic of what constitutes brotherly love among the saints.

Hebrews Chapter Thirteen, Entertaining Angels

 

Hebrews 13:2 Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels.

 

Verse 2 continues the narrative about brotherly love, spreading it abroad to a universal love, whose veracity is occasionally tested by the angelic host, it would seem.

Hebrews Chapter Thirteen, Commending Love

 

Hebrews 13:1 Let brotherly love continue.

 

The writer’s tonal shift culminated with the word picture of God being a consuming fire, devouring all that offends in His children, perfecting them for the kingdom they are predestined to become inheritors of. Material creation will abate, but that which is eternal remains. And God’s purification, or sanctification of the believer will have been completed and we will stand holy and blameless before God, free not only from sin’s power, but its very presence.

What Can I Make The Bible Say? Luke 5:32

 

Luke 5:32 “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

 

In this chapter of Luke’s gospel, we read a passage about Jesus our Lord sitting with tax collectors and sinners, and the Pharisees chiding Jesus and the disciples. Their question was both simple and accusatory: “Why do You eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” Luke 5:30.

Hebrews Chapter Twelve, A Consuming Fire

 

Hebrews 12:27 Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain. [28] Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. [29] For our God is a consuming fire.

 

God warns through Haggai the prophet that He will shake the earth once more, and this time the heavens (the terrestrial heavens and space) will be shaken as well. Material creation will be dissolved, leaving only that which cannot be shaken, or that which is eternal behind.

Hebrews Chapter Twelve, When God Speaks

 

Hebrews 12:25 See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, [26] whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I shake not only the earth but also heaven.”

 

The contrast is made again with the Sinaitic covenant between God and the Jews, and the Heavenly, eternal covenant made in Christ. The author has been exploiting this imagery since verse 18 to help his Jewish readership ascertain the benefit of knowing Jesus as Lord, and relying solely on Him for one’s eternal destiny.

Hebrews Chapter 12, The Assembly

 

Verse 23 speaks of the general assembly. The Greek for “assembly” is the word paneguris. It is applied to describe an assembly gathered for a festival feast in Heaven, contrasted to the congregation assembled to hear the Law and the terror it produced. Moreover, they are the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in Heaven. Where is this assembly registered? In the Book of Life, Revelation 20:12, 15, 21:27. The Book of Life has a longer title.