Hebrews 13:7-16
The writer of Hebrews begins
this way in verse seven. Remember, remember your leaders,
those who spoke to you the word of God, consider the outcome
of their way of life and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is
the same yesterday and today and forever. Do not be led away
by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart
to be strengthened by grace, not by foods which have not benefited
those devoted to them. We have an altar from which those
who serve the tent have no right to eat. For the bodies of those
animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high
priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp.
So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify
the people through his own blood. Therefore, let us go to him outside
the camp and bear the reproach he endured. For here we have
no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. Through
him, let us then continually offer up a sacrifice of praise
to God. That is the fruit of lips that
acknowledge his name. Do not neglect to do good and
to share with what you have. For such sacrifices are pleasing
to God. Amen. This is God’s holy and
inspired and inerrant word. We give thanks to him that he
speaks to us. Let’s pray now and ask for his
grace to hear. Our God, we thank you for this
day that you have made. We rejoice. We are glad in it.
We thank you that we can gather in the Lord’s house on the Lord’s
day with the Lord’s people and sing your praises, confess our
sins, affirm our faith. But we can also come expectantly
with our hands out upon our knees, with our eyes up towards heaven.
And we can say, speak, Lord, for your servants are listening.
So that’s our attitude now, Lord, speak for your servants are listening,
but help us to hear, help us to see, help us to believe and
help us to leave this place today going and doing what it is you’ve
asked us to do so that. So that our lives may be pleasing
offerings, sacrifices of praise and your holy sight through Jesus,
we pray. Amen. We sing a little hymn from
time to time called Amazing Grace. How sweet the sound, who saved
a wretch like me. I was once lost and now am found,
was blind and now I see. And there’s a stanza in that
hymn that after we’ve rejoiced over our salvation, it helps
us put into perspective what it is to live the Christian life.
And we sing these words through many dangers, toils and snares. I have already come. It is grace
has brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home. One of the things you’ll notice
as you sing Christian hymns, whether they’re new ones, modern
ones, or even ancient old ones, is that there is a progression
in the movement of hymns. They often start with God. They
lead us then to a knowledge of ourselves and who God is and
what He’s done for us. And then it sort of leads to
how we ought to live the Christian life. And so any good Christian
hymn has movement. It has movement through the Christian
life. And Amazing Grace is just like
that. It speaks of our salvation, how
amazed we are that God has been gracious to save sinners such
as we are. But it also speaks to the situation
we find ourselves in as Christians. And that situation for us is
that yes, there are many dangers. There are many toils and many
snares, and it’s grace that has brought us safe this far, and
it is only by grace that we will land safely at home. You see,
as Christians, we often forget, maybe we don’t even recognize
but ought to, that the gospel saves us. and it takes us all
the way home. We need the gospel every day. We need it in its fullness to
save us, but we need it in its vastness to get us safely home. And so we are gospel-centered
Christians, yes for salvation, but also for the Christian life. Let’s speak for just a moment
of these dangers, toils and snares. You can go back through your
week you can hit the rewind button and you can make it back through
Saturday and Friday and Thursday and Wednesday and old Tuesday
of this week what a day and Monday and then you’re back to last
Sunday and we realize that week after week God, on His Lord’s
Day, gives us grace that we might live the next week until we can
safely make it back to church and be filled up again with His
grace. But we look back at a week like
this week. What a wild week it was. What a tumultuous week.
And that we could just speak of politics and elections. But many of you made trips to
the doctor’s offices. You were in school or at work
or you were living life in your home at the kitchen table or
at the the kitchen counter or in the the den you lived life
with your neighbors you you encountered all sorts of things dangers,
toils and snares. There’s dangers, the world, our
own flesh, a remnant sin, the devil and all his evil and wickedness. There’s toils, our hard work,
our labors, our vocations as God gives them to us. There’s
snares, there’s evil, there’s sin, there’s deception, there’s
the desire to have the easy life. And it’s grace, brothers and
sisters, that saves us. It’s grace that brings us thus
far, but it is grace that will lead us safely home. So we want
to consider from these few exhortations that come in chapter 13, verses
7 through 16 of the book of Hebrews, we want to consider today how
these encouragements will safely get us home to heaven. How will
they get us home? It’s grace that will lead us
heavenward. It’s grace that will help us in our toils. It’s grace
that will help us through dangers. It’s grace that will give us
eyes to see Jesus and to see the dangers around us. And it’s
grace that will help us to heaven. There are a couple of admonitions
he gives this writer of Hebrews, whoever he may be. He gives to
the church. He gives to us. And the first one is this. Remember
your leaders. Verse 7 says this to us. Remember
your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider
the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. And
I can imagine that many of you have names and faces and memories
on your mind of saints who in the past during your Christian
walk have stood out to you. The memory of them as you recall
their way of life, their gospel message, what they taught you.
It sticks. It’s a memory. Their name comes
to mind when someone asks you, who was one of the most influential
Christians in your life? And the writer of Hebrews is
saying to this audience, he’s saying to us through God the
Holy Spirit today, remember those in your life who were leaders
in the church, and they spoke to you the Word of God in such
a way that it established you as a Christian. It firmed up
your faith in Jesus. Maybe much like we read of Paul
speaking to Timothy. And he says, remember what your
grandmother Lois taught you and your mother Eunice, they taught
you the word of God and it was able to save you. He’s saying,
recall to mind, embrace the entire life of these in your life who
taught you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their
way of life. He’s likely speaking of those
who have already gone on to heaven. Their work is done. Their work
of serving the church and serving the saints is done. And he’s
saying, remember their life, the outcome of it. And embrace
it. All that they were their godliness. They’re speaking his word to
you. and in the end what was on their epitaph? What was on
their tombstone? Embrace that and he says in fact
imitate it. Imitate it because that is one
way that God will safely get you home. He will put people
in your lives who will live in such a godly way before you that
you can’t help but say that is what I want to be. That is who
I would like to be like. And so there’s a particular challenge
in this not just to remember our leaders to consider the outcome
of their ways and to imitate it. But maybe it’s this as well,
be imitatable. Is that a word? The Apostle Paul
says over and over in his writings, as I follow God, imitate me. And so we’re to be godly examples
to one another of what the Christian life is to look like as it is
lived out. And so, brothers and sisters,
be worthy of someone who follows after you and they’re imitating
your way of life. Oh, yes, you sin. But let them
see your repentance. Oh, you’re fallen and broken
and sin and humanity, but let them see God at work in you through
the power of the gospel and the work of his word and spirit as
it washes and sanctifies you. But there’s a challenge for us
there. Yes, consider our leaders. Remember their way of life and
the outcome of it. But be worthy of imitating. Maybe it’s been a Sunday school
teacher, a pastor, an elder, or a deacon. Or you can identify
with chapter 11 of Hebrews where we went through the great heroes
of the faith of Moses and David and Abraham, of Sarah, of Gideon
and Barak and all those others who died in faith, not yet receiving
what was promised, but looking for it from afar. Imitate those
who’ve lived a life of faith in Jesus. But you know the supreme
example of the one we imitate. The leader we ought to remember
is only Jesus himself. You see, I and the elders, the
deacons, others who influence you in your Christian life, we
can only point you to Christ. We are not saviors. We cannot
save you or sanctify you or help you. Only Jesus can. And so that
leads us to our second consideration here. In addition to remembering
our leaders, he says remember Jesus Christ. And that is far
greater. Remember Jesus Christ, verse
8 says. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday,
today and forever. You see, leaders throughout the
church are human. We read of many Christians in
our biographies. We read of missionaries and martyrs
and church historians tell us of all the wondrous things that
Christians have done throughout the centuries. But friends, they
are just people. They are mere men. And so we
remember Jesus Christ, that he is the same yesterday, today
and forever. There is one leader that we all
ought to look up to. Yes, God manifest his glory through
human leaders on Earth. He does that. But look to Jesus. He never changes. The same yesterday,
today and forever. Remember chapter 1 of Hebrews.
The writer of Hebrews is setting forth the superiority of the
Son. And he spends many chapters saying
Jesus is better than angels, Jesus is better than Moses, Jesus
is better than the Levitical priesthood. Jesus is better than
all the sacrifices of blood of bulls and goats and rams and
all kinds of offerings. But in the very beginning of
Hebrews, you may remember from our beginning studies of it,
He says that Jesus is superior to all others. God speaks through
Jesus, His Son. He’s the heir of all promises.
He’s the creator of the universe, the sustainer of all things.
And after He made purification for sins, He sat down at His
exalted seat of authority in heaven. Jesus is the same yesterday,
today, and forever. Men will fail you. They cannot
save you. They can only point you to Christ.
But notice Jesus. He does not change. He is the
same yesterday, today, and forever. One week every month after we
participate in the affirmation of faith, whether it’s the Nicene
Creed or like today, the Heidelberg Catechism, we often sing a song
in praise to the Trinity. And one week out of the month,
we sing the Gloria Patri. Many of you have grown up singing
that, but it affirms this very truth. Glory be to the Father
and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning,
it is now and ever shall be world without end. Amen and amen. Why do we sing that? Because
we need to remember that Jesus is the same yesterday, today
and forever. The world changes. Presidents
change. Kings change. Rulers change.
Mayors and town authorities change. Judges change. But Jesus never
does. He is the same yesterday, today
and forever. Jesus never changes. So you want
to get safe, safely arrived in heaven. Remember your leaders.
Consider the outcome of their ways and imitate it. Remember
Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and forever. Well, there’s
a third thing, an important one. Remember the gospel of grace.
Yes, we remember our leaders. Yes, we look to Jesus who never
changes. But friends, we need to remember the gospel of grace.
What saved us in the beginning is what will get us safely home
to heaven. We find this in verses 9 through
14. And in 9 through 14, we find some confusing verses. We find
verses that not only confuse we who sit here today in the
pew, but these verses cause a little consternation to biblical scholars.
What’s he saying in verses 9 through 14? He’s saying, remember the
gospel of grace. You see, the audience, the original
audience who received this epistle to the Hebrews, they were tempted
to go back into some form of Judaism. They were tempted to
go backwards from faith in Jesus alone for their salvation to
faith in Jesus plus Old Testament sacrifices, plus Old Testament
Levitical laws, plus other things that they believed could save
them. And the writer of Hebrews, much like the Apostle Paul does
in his letter to the Galatians, much like we have to say in our
modern era today, we have to say we believe in the gospel. The good news of salvation for
sinners in Jesus Christ. God saves sinners. And we simply
must put our faith and hope and trust in Jesus. There’s no sacrifices. No, that’s been done in Christ.
There’s no rituals. There’s no dietary laws. There
are no this, that and the other rules to keep. It’s simple faith
in Jesus. And he’s saying, He’s saying
there’s really no comparison between the sacrifices of bulls
and goats. For Jesus, Jesus’ sacrifice can
purify you of all your sins. Do you know what all those sacrifices
of blood of bulls and goats could do? All it could do was temporarily
hold back the wrath of God until Jesus could come and obey God
perfectly. and make satisfaction for sins
on the cross. Only Jesus’ death, only Jesus’
bodily sacrifice, only Jesus’ perfect propitiation for your
sins can purify you and make you holy. No dietary laws can
do that. No Old Testament sacrificial
rituals can do that. No, what do we call it, southern
Christianity? I don’t drink and cuss and smoke
and chew and, what does it go with girls that do? That’s what
we say sometimes. All those little things that
we try cannot save us. They cannot sanctify us. Only
God, by His Word and Spirit, because of the power and the
efficacy of the sacrifice of Jesus can save and sanctify us. And so he’s saying, remember
the gospel of grace. And you know, friends, we’re
very tempted to listen to the voices out in the world today.
There are all these smiley preachers out there. Their teeth are white.
If I ever come in here with white teeth, don’t trust me anymore.
A preacher with yellow teeth is very trustworthy. But they
promise you the good life. They promise you ease and comfort.
They promise you material blessings. And you know, sometimes God gives
us those things. But you know, sometimes He gives
us hardship. Sometimes He gives us pain and suffering and heartache.
Sometimes our children don’t live like we want them to. Sometimes
work and job and money and stock market and retirement portfolios
and our medical charts that are doctor’s office don’t look like
we want them to look. Life does not always go the way
we want it to go. And we must remember the gospel
of grace. It is grace that has saved us.
It is grace that is amazing. It has saved a wretch like me.
It is grace that has brought us safe thus far. And friends,
it is grace, it is the gospel of grace that will lead us home.
And no additions to Jesus will save you. If you hear of a gospel
that says, Jesus plus prosperity equals salvation, you say, no,
I reject it. Jesus plus personal happiness
equals salvation. No, we reject that. Jesus plus
whatever, we say no. We remember the gospel of grace. And we read at the end of verse
9 and the beginning of verse 10 in chapter 13, it says, Do
not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is
good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not foods which have
not benefited those devoted to them. You see, he’s saying this
supposed food others are dishing out And these other gospels,
this so-called food that is nourishing the saints of God, he’s saying
it has not benefited them all. And what does your heart need,
dear saint? It needs the gospel of grace. And friends, for century
after century, actually for millennia after millennia now, God has
been dispensing that grace to those who look up to him in faith
and receive it and rest in him alone for salvation. And simply
this, friends, we remember the gospel of grace that has saved
us and that will lead us home and land us safely in heaven. Where does that gospel of grace
come from? It comes from, as we sing, God’s oath, His covenant. In eternity past, God and the
Father, God the Son, and the God the Holy Spirit agreed that
sinners needed to be saved. And so Jesus said, I will go
and be the sacrifice. And so we’ve seen that salvation
worked out in our gospel of grace that we so desperately need to
believe in. Yes, for salvation ultimately,
but for salvation now is rooted in Jesus’ better sacrifice. It
is not rooted in the blood of bulls and goats. It is not rooted
in your best life now, or having high self-esteem, or having riches
and material blessings. It’s simply rooted in Jesus and
His perfect work on the cross. What does it say of Jesus? Well,
it says that He was cursed. It says that He was sent outside
the camp to die for our sins. He was that scapegoat we read
about in Leviticus chapter 16. The sins of the church were placed
on Jesus and he was sent outside the camp outside the gates of
Jerusalem and all the sins of humankind of the church were
put upon him. And the wrath of God came and
rested upon Jesus. He was the scapegoat. He was
the sin offering. He was the goat that atoned for
the sins of the people. And so we believe we believe
in the gospel that our leaders, our former leaders have proclaimed
to us. We believe in the gospel of Jesus who never changes. We
believe in the gospel of grace that will lead us home. Oh, we
sing that hymn very often. We sing it at funerals. We sing
it a couple of times a year in the church service. Grace will
lead me home. Did you notice our passage says,
we seek a city. We seek a city that is not here
on earth. It is a city to come. And so what is the fitting response
of a Christian who remembers his leaders, who remembers Jesus,
who remembers the gospel of grace? Well, there’s three things we
ought to do to respond. We find these right at the end
of our passage. It says, first, let us go to
him outside the camp. and bear the reproach he endured.
If you believe in the gospel of grace that saves you, you
will identify with Jesus and say, I am a disciple. You will
not flee into the night like Judas and Peter and say, I do
not know the man. But you will follow him wherever
he goes, even if outside the camp. And you will bear reproach
for naming the name of Jesus. Friends, let me just tell you
this. This doesn’t encourage you, but maybe maybe it should. It will be harder and harder
to be a Christian in this nation. And he says, you go outside the
camp where Jesus went and you bear that reproach with him.
Remember Moses a few chapters back, he considered the reproach
of Christ greater than the wealth of Egypt being a son of Pharaoh.
And do you remember where Moses ended up? Oh, yes, he’s in heaven,
but he was on the Mount of Transfiguration with Jesus and Elijah. God brought
glory to his name because he considered. The reproach of Christ
greater than the wealth of Egypt. There’s a second response. It
says, through Him let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise
to God that is the fruit of lips that acknowledge His name. Friends,
if you love the gospel, yes, you identify with Jesus. But
you continually offer a sacrifice of praise. No, we don’t come
into the altar, we don’t come into the temple or the tent or
the tabernacle and burn things and hope that smell goes up to
God and that it’s pleasing to Him. As Christians, we offer
our obedience. We offer our good works. We offer
our worship on the Lord’s Day. We offer our daily lives as we
serve our fellow man in whatever vocation God puts before us.
We offer our lives daily and hourly and moment by moment up
to God. And the aroma of our obedience
rises to heaven and it pleases Him as it reaches His nostrils.
And so it says, through Jesus, through Him, let us continually
offer up a sacrifice of praise to God. That is the fruit of
lips that acknowledge His name. There’s a third and final response
that is fitting for us as Christians. He says, do not neglect to do
good and to share what you have for such sacrifices are pleasing
to God. Do you want to please God? Identify
with Jesus outside the camp, bear his reproach. Do you want
to please God? Absolutely you do. So continually
offer up to him a sacrifice of praise. But this third thing. You have extra. Others have need. Share it. And in doing so. You have offered a sacrifice
that is pleasing to almighty God. Now, why is the writer of
Hebrews writing these final exhortations to the audience of the Hebrews? Why is he writing them to us?
He’s reminding us. That rooted in our salvation
of the gospel of grace are these requirements that out of gratitude
for all that God has done for us in Christ, we will do these
certain things. We will do these certain tasks.
We will do these certain to do’s as Christians, and it will bring
pleasure to almighty God. Friends, do you want to safely
arrive in heaven? Maybe you think someday about
space travel. Maybe you think someday about
taking an airplane trip to somewhere. How is it that you get to that
destination? Well, you buy your ticket, you get in that vehicle,
and you make your way there. Well, friends, the church, the
sanctuary of God, fellowship with the saints of God, that
is the way that you will safely make it to heaven. This is, this
may sound weird, this is our spaceship, in a sense. This is
our traveling machine. We go together. to Zion. Think of the Old Testament, how
they marched up the hill to Jerusalem and they sang songs like I was
glad to hear them saying to the Lord’s house, let us go for our
feet are standing on Zion, the city of Almighty God. That’s
how we ought to see the church. And our daily lives is marching
design together. With the help and blessing of
the church and the word and the spirit, the gospel of grace,
the leaders who set an example for you and Jesus, who remains
the same yesterday, today and forever. Amen. Let’s pray. Our
great God, we thank you for these wonderful truths, for they are
the anchor for our soul. Things change around us, they
change fast, they change quickly, they change often. But you never
change, and we thank you that you’ve given us your church so
that we might grow in grace and live out of that grace week after
week until we meet you for that eternal Lord’s Day where we are
with you and your people in heaven forever. Help us, we pray, to
make it there safely by your grace and with the help of your
church. In Jesus’ name, amen. Let us stand together and respond
to God’s word as we sing 473 Victory in Jesus.