Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16

The various military branches of our government expect that their members will perform their duties. The Army private is to follow orders, not originate them. The chain of command reaches up to the generals and admirals themselves, as even they are ultimately under the command of this country's "Commander-and-Chief," the President of the United States. Duty is paramount, no matter what the soldier's rank. A similar situation exists for the Christian.

The book of Hebrews forcefully reminds Christians that our relationship to God in Christ is far better than any which existed in the Old Testament. On that basis, the writer does not hesitate to challenge Christians in the closing verses of the book. These concluding words, abrupt in tone and pointed in comment, call believers to perform their Christian duties before God.

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We have the first duty of displaying Christian love (13:1-3). The exhortation to love is brusque and implies that concern for each other has begun to weaken. Since we are brothers in Christ, we must not stop loving each other. A question naturally arises at this point: how do we show this love? That is directly answered in two ways.

Hospitality is encouraged as one way to show love. Showing loving "hospitality" to others is focused toward "strangers," since you cannot logically expect them to reciprocate. The possibility even exists that you may show hospitality to an angel. While this clearly happened in the Old Testament to such people as Abraham, Lot, and Manoah, the implication is that it may still happen today.

Being actively sympathetic toward needy persons is another way to show love. "Remember" has the idea of remembering by giving aid and assistance. We are to focus attention in this area toward those believers who are in prison or who are being mistreated. Once again, we show this love with no expectation of getting anything in return.

Our second duty is found in verse four. We are to display Christian morality.

God established marriage, and its sanctity must be upheld by believers. In all respects and circumstances, marriage should be considered of great value and sexual relationships properly maintained within it. We live in a sexually permissive society, as seen in the recent spate of "gay" marriages across the country as well as the openness of promiscuous sex which is commonly flaunted. The half-time exhibition of the Super Bowl which "featured" Janet Jackson is only the tip of a large iceberg. While this grieves our hearts, the world too often accepts it and smiles on it. God, however, will judge.

The third duty occurs in verses five and six: display Christian contentment. The believer's behavior is governed by God's presence, not by financial wealth. Our materialistic society stresses wealth as the way to joy, contentment and success. Yet, Hebrews challenges us to be content with what we have because no matter how little (or how much) it is, God Himself is with us. Experiencing the presence of God is what provides true contentment in life. With God as our Helper, we need not fear whatever comes from the hand of man.

We have a fourth duty, which is to "remember" our spiritual leaders (13:7-8), keep them actively in our minds. The church's spiritual leaders give forth the Word of God and have faith which believers must imitate. The exhortation here is two-pronged: leaders must set the right example, and believers must follow them. As the leaders and believers fulfill their obligations, Christ will be honored. He is the ultimate source and goal of our faith, and He never changes.

Our final duty is to offer spiritual sacrifice to God through Christ (13:15-16). A contemporary chorus by Kirk Dearman reflects this emphasis: "We bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord; we bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord. And we offer up to You the sacrifices of thanksgiving; And we offer up to You the sacrifices of joy." In the Old Testament the "thank (praise) offering" was rarely given (Lev. 7:12), but Christians can offer this spiritual sacrifice "continually." Today God desires the "fruit of our lips;" He wants our words to be of the nature that confess His name, exalt Him for the God He is. As we do this, we will naturally "do good" to others and "share" with them of the blessings God bestows upon us. This will cause others to remember that the true God lives.

Yes, we live in a sin ridden society which neglects, ridicules, and often blasphemes the true God of the Bible. Our society, however, is not that much different from the New Testament Roman Empire. How do we influence society? By living up to the duties God sets forth before us.

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