Participants: Ty Gibson, James Rafferty
Series Code: BOTB
Program Code: BOTB00013A
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00:20 Welcome to of the book, the program that explores
00:24 the word of God book by book, 00:26 just as the word of God reads. 00:27 I'm Ty Gibson and with me is my co-host James Rafferty, 00:31 and we are in our concluding study in the 00:34 book of Hebrews James. 00:35 So, would like to invite our friends to grab a Bible, 00:38 pull up a chair, and look at Hebrews 00:40 chapter 13 with us. 00:42 And you know, Ty it has been incredible. 00:43 It's been quite a journey. 00:44 It's been a fast journey and we want to be sure 00:47 and emphasize for all of our listeners and viewers 00:49 that we have not been able to cover in detail 00:52 the book of Hebrews. 00:53 In these short sessions together. 00:55 I mean there's so much more here. 00:56 We've had to skip a number of verses. 00:58 We just want to encourage you that these programs 01:01 are given to encourage you to go back into the 01:04 Bible and study it for yourselves. 01:06 Allow God to become the One who leads and directs and 01:10 strengthens your faith through the study and through 01:14 the understanding of the word of God. 01:16 In our previous study together James, we saw that 01:18 the book of Hebrews has two very, 01:21 very prominent guiding themes. 01:24 One of those themes is the idea of superior things, 01:28 or better things. 01:29 13 times in the book, the word better is used, 01:32 which means superior in strength, more powerful and 01:36 over and over again Paul is bringing home to us this 01:40 idea that in Jesus Christ, we have a superior priesthood, 01:46 a superior sacrifice, a superior revelation 01:49 of God's character. 01:50 Every thing in Christ supersedes everything 01:53 that has gone before Him. 01:55 In fact, Hebrews chapter 1 introduces a better God, 01:58 Hebrews 2 a better man. 01:59 Hebrews three introduces a better home, that God has 02:02 established for us. 02:03 Hebrews 4 a better rest. 02:04 Hebrews 5, a better obedience. 02:07 Hebrews 6 better promises. 02:09 Hebrews 7, we have a better priesthood. 02:11 Hebrews 8, a better sanctuary. 02:13 Hebrews 9, or a covenant, Hebrews 9 a better sanctuary. 02:16 Hebrews 10, a better sacrifice. 02:18 Hebrews 11 better faith. 02:20 Hebrew 12 a better experience, and so vice a versa. 02:23 What we see here in the book of Hebrews is something 02:26 better that is held out to us. 02:27 And the second over arching theme, that we've noticed 02:30 in the book of Hebrews, is pretty exciting one James. 02:34 That is that God approaches us in the book of Hebrews 02:38 through the Apostle Paul with relational intentions, 02:42 relational language. 02:44 He wants us to know that He is eager to enter into 02:48 a personal relationship with each one of us. 02:51 He is a consuming fire, and so this relationship 02:54 brings us to Him. 02:55 In the Old Testament, we found people that were afraid 02:58 of God because of the awe of His presence. 03:01 And in the New Testament through our Mediator Jesus Christ, 03:04 we have this gentle admonition to draw close to God. 03:09 Not to forsake Him, not to turn away from Him, 03:12 not to refuse Him to refuse to enter into this 03:14 relationship that He wants to have with us. 03:17 And now when we come to the concluding chapter 03:20 of the book of Hebrews. 03:21 We notice that the Apostle Paul is leaving us with 03:26 some concluding moral directions and admonitions. 03:30 There's kind of a list here of very important things 03:34 that He wants us to be mindful of. 03:37 Now that we have come to Christ, now that we have entered 03:40 into a faith relationship with God through Christ, 03:44 Paul wants us to grasp the fact that Christianity is 03:48 a very practical venture. 03:49 There are things that we need to take into consideration 03:52 and keep uppermost in our thinking, 03:54 as we make this Christian journey. 03:56 "Let brotherly love continue," he says in 03:59 Hebrews 13 verse 1. 04:01 And it's interesting because, "let brotherly love continue", 04:05 Paul knows that the secret of letting brotherly love 04:08 continue, is to at first partake of that brotherly love. 04:12 And that is what he has done. 04:14 He has shared, he has revealed the love of Christ toward us. 04:17 He wants that to be our food. 04:19 To be the source of our energy. 04:21 The motive power for us. 04:23 And then, as we partake, he wants that love to continue 04:26 to work through us. 04:27 God's love is a powerful force James. 04:30 It's a re-creativity power. 04:32 We partake of God's love and then in turn, we are made 04:37 able to let brotherly love continue. 04:40 We are able to love one another, when we have a clear 04:42 perception of God's love for us. 04:45 When brotherly love continues, when we let brotherly love 04:49 continue, then verse 2, 04:51 "Be not forgetful to entertain strangers for thereby 04:55 some have entertained angels unawares. " 04:57 When we let brotherly love continue, we won't be 04:59 forgetful to entertain strangers, because brotherly 05:02 love will motivate us to entertain strangers. 05:05 It is an incredible thing that Jesus told us that in all 05:07 our interactions with our fellow human beings, 05:10 there is a sense in which we are dealing with Jesus. 05:14 He said in Matthew, chapter 25, that anything we do to 05:18 anyone else, it is as if we did it to Him. 05:20 Anything that we fail to do, when someone is in need, 05:24 it is as if we failed to minister to Him. 05:27 So there's the sympathetic connection between Jesus 05:32 and every member of the human race. 05:35 So we need to be mindful of this. 05:37 We need to relate to people in the light of God's love for us, 05:41 realizing that we're always in an ultimate sense 05:44 dealing with our God. 05:45 In fact, that is exactly what Paul brings out in the verse 3. 05:48 He says, "remember them that are in bonds as bound with them 05:51 and them which suffer adversity as being yourselves 05:55 also in the body. " 05:56 In other words, you are part of corporate humanity. 05:59 And again, the admonition, "let brotherly love continue", 06:03 is foundational to this. 06:05 Because basically what God is saying to us here is 06:08 when you let brotherly love continue, you will not 06:10 only entertain strangers, 06:12 you will also remember those that are in bonds. 06:15 You, will remember those that are in adversity. 06:17 You will remember that marriage is honorable and 06:20 the bed is then defiled. 06:21 And that whore mongers and adulterers, and that word 06:24 whore mongers means male prostitutes or fornicators 06:26 that God will judge them. 06:28 I like this, its balance. 06:29 Today marriage is under attack, but with brotherly love, 06:33 understanding God's love, marriage is honorable 06:36 the bed is undefiled. 06:38 So this is a series of admonitions in moral 06:41 instructions that Paul is giving us. 06:42 And we need to remember at, as we continue to work through 06:45 these, that this is all in the light of the Gospel. 06:49 This is all in the context of all the better things 06:52 that we have in Jesus Christ 06:54 as our high Priest in Jesus Christ, as our once 06:57 for all sacrifice in Jesus Christ. 07:00 As the Mediator of the new covenant, through whom we 07:03 understand that God is the One, by His power and might, 07:06 is going to write His law in our hearts, 07:09 and remember our sins no more. 07:11 It is all in that context, it's not moral instructions 07:15 that are given to us that we're called upon to carry out, 07:19 merely as a matter of doing what is right 07:23 in our own strength. 07:24 This is moral instruction that is coming on the tail end 07:27 of a beautiful and powerful presentation of the Gospel. 07:31 A motivating presentation of the Gospel. 07:33 It motivates us to put love in a different perspective. 07:37 Marriage is honorable, because marriage is the full 07:40 perspective of what love entails. 07:42 Love involves commitment to someone through 07:45 thick and through thin. 07:47 So, it pulls us all way from the cheap, fake, imitation 07:50 manifestations of love, that are manifest through fornication 07:54 manifest without commitment 07:56 and it brings us into this full commitment to the marriage 08:00 union in which the bed is honorable or another way to say 08:03 it says that God created sex. 08:05 Sex is the physical is part of that marriage relationship, 08:09 it is a positive thing. 08:10 It is a good thing, when it is done in the 08:12 context of commitment. 08:13 And then he continues on in the verse 5. 08:15 When brotherly love continues again, your conversation 08:18 will be without covetousness. 08:19 You will be content with the things that you have, 08:22 for God has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. 08:25 Yeah, praise the Lord. 08:26 There is just so much peace in knowing that what we have 08:30 from God, that He is providing for our needs and that 08:35 we don't need to be anxious about the material pursuits 08:39 that has just saturated our society. 08:41 We can be content with those things that we have, 08:45 because we have an ultimate possession, 08:48 that is Jesus Christ and the heavenly home that 08:52 He has prepared for us. 08:53 This life is so short, James. 08:55 It is passing by, James says, like a vapor. 08:59 It is here today and it is gone tomorrow, and then we 09:01 launch into eternity future. 09:03 Amen, so we can come boldly and say, "the Lord is my helper," 09:07 verse 6, "I shall not fear what man shall do unto me, when 09:10 brotherly love, continues, we will remember them that have 09:14 rule over us, who have spoken to us the word of God," 09:17 verse 7, "and we will follow their faith, 09:20 when we consider their conversation. " 09:23 Now, I like this in the New American Standard Version, it 09:25 says, "remember those who lead you, who spoke the word 09:29 of God to you and consider the result of their conduct, 09:32 and then imitate their faith. " 09:34 That's interesting. 09:35 It is! What it is saying there is don't just follow anyone. 09:38 Even those who preach to you, pastors, whoever they are. 09:40 But at the same time as you are listening to what 09:43 they are saying, see how they live their lives. 09:46 If their lives correlate, if their lives lined up with 09:50 what they are saying, then imitate their faith. 09:52 Faith has actions and those action should be in harmony, 09:55 that fruit should be in harmony with the words 09:57 that they are speaking. 09:58 Right in the next two verses, it is a very clear that 10:02 this is not a blind obedience to spiritual leaders and 10:06 those who preach the Word of God to us, 10:07 because he said to us in verse 9,"don't be carried about 10:10 with the various strange doctrines. " 10:12 So he is admonishing us to remain doctrinally pure, 10:16 which means that there is a responsibility that 10:19 each one of us have. 10:21 In a priesthood of all believers to be Bible students 10:24 for ourselves, to search the Word of God, to know what 10:27 we believe on the firm foundation of God's Word. 10:31 As we are simultaneously benefiting by the preaching 10:35 of the Word, those who have the rule over us as 10:38 they are referred to here. 10:40 Those who have spiritual leadership over us, 10:43 we look to them as teachers of God's Word. 10:46 And we manifest respect for those who have this 10:50 spiritual role over us at the same time. 10:52 We are diligent Bible students for ourselves, 10:56 lest we be swept away. 10:58 He says, here with strange doctrine, and there is 11:02 no shortage James, of strange doctrines in our world. 11:05 Yes, different and strange doctrines. 11:07 You know what I like about, this is verse 8, says, 11:09 "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. 11:12 God is consistent. 11:14 What is consistent about God, love. 11:16 Love is consistent with God. 11:17 And so in 1 Corinthians Paul is and it's interesting, 11:20 1 Corinthians 13, Hebrews chapter 13. 11:23 1 Corinthians 13 is the love chapter. 11:25 In that Chapter Paul basically outlines 11:28 how significant love is. 11:30 In relationship to doctrine, in relationship to prophecy, 11:33 in relationship to speaking in tongues, 11:34 in relationship to giving our body to be burned, 11:37 in relationship to speaking with the tongues of men 11:39 and of angels, love goes beyond all that. 11:43 All of that is passed by and love comes out on top. 11:46 Even in faith and hope, love is the consistency, God is love, 11:50 love is the consistent jewel that we want to put 11:53 above everything else. 11:55 Doctrine, and everything else, come short of this rule of 11:58 faith for us, and that is to let brotherly love continue. 12:01 Paul gives us a clue here on how we can remain 12:05 doctrinally pure. 12:06 He says don't be carried about with various and strange 12:10 doctrines, for it is good that the heart 12:13 be established in grace. 12:15 So, establish ourselves in grace, because every true 12:19 doctrine, every truth of Scripture is going to be 12:23 ultimately, a manifestation of some kind of 12:27 avenue toward understanding God's grace. 12:31 Any doctrine, any teaching that compromises the 12:35 grace of God, and returns us to dependence upon 12:39 ourselves for salvation. 12:41 Any works based religious movement or teaching, is going 12:47 to be contrary to sound doctrines. 12:49 Amen, in fact, I liked that in relation to Colossians 4 verse 6 12:52 Paul here speaking in Colossians 4 verse 6, of how 12:56 that our speech, our conduct, our experience, 12:59 should be always with grace and seasoned with salt so that 13:04 we should know how we ought to answer every man. 13:07 There is a place for salt there is a place for the 13:09 manifestation of that salt of the word. 13:13 But the entrée, the main dish is grace. 13:16 We should have a lot of grace, but don't leave out, 13:19 in a world bland with iniquity, don't leave out the salt. 13:22 We need to make sure that we have that truth, 13:25 that salt in the there because part of what Paul 13:28 is giving us here, is an admonition as to how to live in 13:31 the context of God's love. 13:32 We're going to continue through Hebrews 13 and note 13:35 the additional admonitions that the Apostle Paul 13:39 gives in his concluding remarks with the book of Hebrews. 13:42 But we need to take a break and we will be back 13:44 just a moment. |
Revised 2014-12-17