1 Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters. 2 Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it! 3 Remember those in prison, as if you were there yourself. Remember also those being mistreated, as if you felt their pain in your own bodies.
4 Give honor to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage. God will surely judge people who are immoral and those who commit adultery.
5 Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.”
6 So we can say with confidence, “The LORD is my helper, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?”
The Writer to Hebrews has painstakingly laid out the Hebrew history and the role of Redeemer Christ-- God's ultimate grace for humanity. He made it clear, using Jewish tradition and religious law that humanity cannot possibly please God, cannot possibly attain righteousness through self-determination and control. He has brought us to the point in the narrative where every good writer causes readers to ask-- "ok so what now?"
Chapter 13 begins to wrap this all up for us. Because of Christ's great sacrifice, because of God's great love and grace, because of God's unconditional love and forgiveness of sin, we are positioned for something truly new! We are made ready to receive anew nature that can live sinlessly. Yes, that's right, I said we can become able to live without sinning. When you are in Christ, by faith, there begins to be a new nature in you that, should you live according to it, will help you live for God's purposes instead of your own.
When that becomes true for you, then the verses of this passage can well describe how you naturally live. You will continuously love other believers. You will always show hospitality to strangthers. You will care about and for those who are oppressed and abused. You will have the inner wherewithall to honor and unconditionally love your spouse, regardless of how you may be treated by him orher. You will no longer feel the pull of money and materialism. We might actually learn to be satisfied with what God's will grants us. You will live in the knowledge that God, in fact, "will never fail you" or "abandon you." Whatever it is that you face, no matter how troubling or dangerous, you will have the inner nature necessary to respond with peace that the Lord is my helper.' Others, no matter what they threaten are 'mere people,' and have nowhere near the power or resource to affect your eternal life. You are a new creature in the image of Christ Himself. And, THAT is precisely how you can now live, if you are willing.
Your servant in Christ's Love
Dan
drdanelliott@gmail.com
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