We are in the final chapter of the book of Hebrews and the author has been reminding us how to be more like our Savior. In Friday's passage he spoke of having love for one another, of ministering to each other, of refraining from being sexually immoral, and of keeping ourselves from being motivated by greed.
Today he speaks of respecting and following those who are good examples in the faith, of not being seduced by false doctrines, of being willing to suffer for the name of Christ, of being generous to others, and of always maintaining an attitude of praise toward God.
"Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." (Hebrews 13:7-8) The gospel we have accepted does not change, the word of God does not change, and the Lord Jesus Christ does not change. We must not compromise in any of these areas, for if we do, we are going astray. If any teacher or preacher promotes a doctrine that does not line up with the word of God, we must reject their message. Everything we are taught should be compared with the Holy Bible, and we should not attend a church or listen to a program where things are taught that contradict what the Lord has said.
"Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by eating ceremonial foods, which is of no benefit to those who do so. We have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat." (Hebrews 13:9-10) Eating certain foods or avoiding certain foods is not going to make us more holy. We don't need to mix laws of the old covenant with the grace of the new covenant. When the Lord called the Gentiles to faith in Christ, He instructed the Apostle Peter (and by extension He instructed everyone) to preach the gospel to Gentiles and minister to them. This meant entering their homes, something a devout Jew like Peter was loathe to do. This meant eating at their tables, a thing which made Peter (raised under the law) very uncomfortable. Under the old covenant the Gentiles were indeed unclean, and the Jews were forbidden to mix closely with them for good reasons, since the Gentiles lived in idolatry and immorality. But now Jews and Gentiles who are in Christ are of the same family and therefore they are free to eat at the same table, even if the food on that table includes items which the Jews were previously forbidden to eat. Christ has made these believers clean from the inside out and nothing they eat or refuse to eat is going to change that. As the Lord Jesus Himself said, "What goes into someone's mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them." (Matthew 15:11)
The author is telling his readers, "Don't become caught up in the rules and regulations of the old covenant. Those who are trying to persuade you to do so are not living in the grace in which you are living. They are still trying to obtain righteousness through works. You will not profit by falling under the influence of those who try to persuade you that now that you've been saved by grace you must place yourselves under the law."
If we are going to follow Jesus, we must be prepared to suffer for His name. "The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through His own blood. Let us, then, go to Him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace He bore. For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come." (Hebrews 13:11-14) Those who reject fellowship with Christ will reject fellowship with Christians as well, and we must be prepared to deal with the attitude of those who hate us because we are His followers.
The type of suffering that most often ensues is ridicule or exclusion. I don't personally know anyone who has been beaten or imprisoned or martyred for the name of Christ, although there are places in the world where believers are suffering in this manner. But there's no doubt it will cost everyone something to follow Christ. He warned us about this ahead of time, telling us that since the world hated Him, the world would hate us also. He said that since the world persecuted Him, it would also persecute us. (John 15:18-21) There are people who will dislike us for no other reason than that we are Christians. We are going to be excluded and avoided by certain people because we follow Christ. We may be passed over for promotions because our superiors at work look down on us for believing in Christ. Our opinions and suggestions may be ignored and rejected, even when they are reasonable and good, simply because there are people who think followers of Christ are illogical. But the Lord Jesus Christ was willing to identify Himself with us, and out of reverence for Him we should be willing to identify ourselves with Him and bear the scorn that so often comes along with proclaiming His name.
We are to be filled with thanksgiving for what Christ has done for us. We no longer have to bring sacrifices of atonement to the Lord, since Christ has made the one and only sacrifice we will ever need. We are only to bring Him a "firstruits offering" in the form of our praise, and as a "thank offering" we are to treat others as Christ would treat them. "Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise---the fruit of lips that openly profess His name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased." (Hebrews 13:15-16)
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