HEBREWS: THE INFINITE SUPREMACY AND SUFFICIENCY OF JESUS CHRIST

XXIV. Our Duty To Remain In Christ's Timeless Truths

(Hebrews 13:7-16)

I. Introduction

A. We live in an era of great need for an encouraging word amid man's discouraging spiritual failure, so a word from God on the infinite supremacy and sufficiency of His Son Jesus Christ is both desirable and fitting.

B. The Epistle of Hebrews offers it, and Hebrews 13:7-16 presents our duty to remain in Christ's timeless truths amid a vacillating, unstable world of increasing apostacy. We view the passage for our insight:

II. Our Duty To Remain In Christ's Timeless Truths, Hebrews 13:7-16.

A. The author of Hebrews gave three calls for believers to remain in Christ's timeless truths, Hebrews 13:7-9a:

1. Believers must remain in the truths of their past godly Christian teachers and leaders, Hebrews 13:7:

a. Believers are to remember those who have led them in speaking the word of the God unto them, and to "observe carefully" (anatheoreo, Arndt & Gingrich, A Grk.-Eng. Lex. of the N. T., 1967, p. 54) the "outcome, result of" (ekbasis, Ibid., p. 237) their "conduct, way of life" (anastrophe, Ibid., p. 61) and to "imitate" (memeomai, Ibid., p. 523) their faith, Hebrews. 13:7.

b. These leaders were evidently former leaders who had passed away (B. K. C., N. T., p. 812), so believers were to recall and consider carefully how their former godly leaders who had taught them God's Word had lived with God's resulting blessing as a template for how they also were to live with God's blessing.

2. Believers must remain in the truths of our timeless Lord Jesus Christ, Hebrews 13:8:

a. The rationale behind considering and mimicking the teachings and lives of past godly leaders was that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Head of the Church, is timelessly the same yesterday, today and forever, Heb. 13:8.

b. If we would desire Christ's blessing in our era, we must function as proven godly Christians of the past believed and lived only to be rewarded by God since we are accountable to the same unchanging Lord.

3. Believers must avoid being led off into diverse and strange teachings, Hebrews 13:9a:

a. The teachings about which the author warned his readers were "various kinds" (poikilos, Ibid., Arndt & Gingrich, p. 690) and "strange, foreign" (xenos, Ibid., p. 550) teachings, and the readers were not to "be led or carried away" (paraphero, Ibid., p. 628; the present passive imperative is used [parapheresthe, U. B. S. Grk. N. T., 1966, p. 777; The Analyt. Grk. Lex., 1972, p. 306]) from the truth by them.

b. Thus, believers in Christ are not to let themselves be influenced by teachings that are different from and/or strange or foreign to the timeless Biblical Christian truths once-for-all delivered to the saints (cf. Jude 3).

B. To illustrate and apply these axiomatic calls to remain in Christ's timeless truths, the author directed how his readers were to avoid a particular false Judaistic cult and its beliefs that enticed them, Hebrews 13:9b-16:

1. The conjunction gar rendered "for" appears in Hebrews 13:9b after the call not to be led away by errant teachings, introducing the reason for that call, Ibid., U. B. S. Grk. N. T.; Ibid., Arndt & Gingrich, p. 151.

2. Accordingly, the author explained that it was a good thing that one's heart be strengthened by grace, not by external things like foods that have not benefited those in Judaism who are devoted to them, Heb. 13:9b.

3. Furthermore, the author and his Christian readers had an altar from which those who minister at the Old Testament tabernacle had no right to eat since they do not believe in Christ, Hebrews 13:10 NIV.

4. Besides, the Old Testament sacrificial system itself typologically anticipated Christ's sacrifice, for the bodies of those Old Testament animal sacrifices whose blood was brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin were burned outside the camp of Israel, anticipating Jesus' suffering outside the gate of the city of Jerusalem by shedding His blood to sanctify the people, Hebrews 13:11-12. (cf. John 19:17-20)

5. Accordingly, the author called his Christian readers to go outside the camp of Judaism, bearing Christ's reproach, for Christians have no continuing city on this earth, but seek one that is to come, Heb. 13:13-14.

6. By Christ, then, we believers are to offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name, Hebrews 13:15. We must also not forget to do good in sharing material goods with others, for God is pleased with such spiritual sacrifices, Hebrews 13:16 with 13:2; Gal. 2:9-10.

Lesson: We believers must remain in Christ's timeless truths by recalling and mimicking the lives of godly past Christian teachers and leaders, by sticking to the truths of our unchanging Lord and by not being led off into various kinds and foreign teachings that veer us away from the timeless truths once-for-all delivered to the saints.

Application: May we thus remain committed to Christ's timeless truths for the Church.