July 2024: Is Your Saving Faith at Work?

Published on 07/01/2024 by Dr-Shirley-Cheng.

What must we have to please God? It is faith, as we learned in Hebrews 11.

This faith is what both pleases God and what saves us. This faith is an active faith that does not rest. It actively seeks after God. It actively does what honors Him. It actively obeys. So while we're not justified by good works, good works are evidence of saving faith. To conclude his epistle, the writer of Hebrews shows some of the ways we should live out that saving faith.

Hebrews 13 - Chapter Thirteen of the Epistle to the Hebrew Christians

"Let brotherly love continue. Don't forget to show hospitality to strangers, for in doing so, some have entertained angels without knowing it." (Hebrews 13:1-2, WEB)

In the closing portion of his epistle, the writer gave a series of exhortations on how we're to live out our faith as we await the return of our High Priest. The original recipients of Hebrews had consistently shown love to one another, and the writer exhorted them to continue expressing their brotherly love. Love is the main characteristic of Christians. It is the sign that the world uses to identify us as Jesus' disciples, as Christ himself said, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, just like I have loved you; that you also love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:34-35)

One way we express brotherly love is by showing hospitality to strangers, those who need our help at times of need, such as lodging at our homes when they have no other place to stay. To give us an incentive to show hospitality, the writer reminded us that without knowing it, some had entertained angels in their show of love. We know that Abraham and Lot both had angels as their guests when they initially didn't realize it (Genesis 18-19).

"Remember those who are in bonds, as bound with them; and those who are ill-treated, since you are also in the body." (Hebrews 13:3)

Brotherly love also entails empathizing with the sorrows of others, including our persecuted brethren who may be in bonds and chains. We can feel their pain due to ill treatment or abuse since we are fleshly or physical beings. We are to remember them. This doesn't simply entail acknowledging their plight but also involves visiting them in prison or helping them or their families who are in financial need.

"Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the bed be undefiled: but God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers." (Hebrews 13:4)

The major sins that the writer focused on throughout his epistle are disbelief and apostasy. Rarely did he mention any other sins. This, along with Hebrews 12:16, is the only place he warned of sexual immorality. Marriage should be held sacred, where each spouse should remain true to their partner, spiritually and physically. The marriage bed should not be defiled by fornication (sexual immorality) such as adultery. God will judge all sexual sinners, including adulterers and adulteresses. They will not inherit God's Kingdom (1 Corinthians 6:9-10).

"Be free from the love of money, content with such things as you have, for he has said, I will in no way leave you, neither will I in any way forsake you.' [quoted from Deuteronomy 31:6] So that with good courage we say, 'The Lord is my helper. I will not fear. What can man do to me?' [quoted from Psalm 118:6]" (Hebrews 13:5-6)

We should not love money. Greed is the root sin that leads us to many other sins. Rather than pursuing after earthly riches, we should be content with our divine blessings (such as our daily bread, the clothes that keep our bodies warm and the roof over our head) and seek after the most precious treasure: a sacred relationship with our God and our Lord. Instead of finding security in the uncertainty of material things, we are to seek shelter under the sure wings of God, who promised His people that He will never forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:6). Thus, we have the courage to proclaim that we have nothing to fear when God is on our side. What can people do to us when we have God with us forever? What is there more to want when we have God? To have God is to have everything. To not have God is to not have anything. God is more than life since He is the Creator of life.

"Remember your leaders, men who spoke to you the word of God, and considering the results of their conduct, imitate their faith." (Hebrews 13:7)

We are to acknowledge and esteem our spiritual leaders, who taught us the Word of God. We are to consider their godly conduct and what their conduct produces, such as divine favor and eternal blessings. We are to mirror their faith. We are to imitate those who imitate Christ.

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." (Hebrews 13:8)

Like Yahweh God, Jesus is immutable--unchanging. If he's trustworthy, loving and gracious in the past, then he is so today and will remain so forever. His unchanging spiritual nature and qualities make him entirely trustworthy and dependable. He is our immovable rock under which we find complete rest and peace and refuge, eternally.

"Don't be carried away by various and strange teachings, for it is good that the heart be established by grace, not by food, through which those who were so occupied were not benefited." (Hebrews 13:9)

We are to guard the truths of God that we've learned. We are not to be swayed or carried away by various strange (foreign) teachings that the Bible does not support. Numerous false teachings have infiltrated the Christian community, and we must be watchful of them. We must resist falsehoods

Our hearts (minds) are to be established by divine grace, not by food (or worldly things). Those who immerse themselves in sensual pleasures are not benefited. We are to focus on what lasts, not on what is temporal. We should pursue after divine knowledge to fill our minds rather than to fill our stomachs, so to speak.

"We have an altar from which those who serve the holy tabernacle have no right to eat. For the bodies of those animals, whose blood is brought into the holy place by the high priest as an offering for sin, are burned outside of the camp. Therefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people through his own blood, suffered outside of the gate. Let us therefore go out to him outside of the camp, bearing his reproach. For we don't have here an enduring city, but we seek that which is to come. Through him, then, let us offer up a sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of lips which proclaim allegiance to his name. But don't forget to be doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased." (Hebrews 13:10-16)

The writer once more returned to the Mosaic covenant and pointed to a prototype of Jesus in its animal sacrificial system. He was referencing the sin offerings that the high priest officiated on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16) or the sin offering that the high priest offered for himself whenever he sinned (Leviticus 4:1-12). Unlike the sin offering for an individual commoner, the sin offering for the high priest (as well as the sin offerings on the Day of Atonement) was burned outside the camp (outside Israel's wilderness encampment, and later outside Jerusalem) after its blood was brought into the holy place (or into the most holy place on the Day of Atonement) for atonement purposes. None of the meat could be eaten by the priests, unlike the sin offering for a commoner. Like such a sin offering for a high priest or for the nation on the Day of Atonement, Jesus was sacrificed "outside the camp." He was executed outside the gate of Jerusalem.

The writer exhorted us to go "outside the camp" to Jesus to fellowship in his suffering. Our "outside the camp" refers to outside our fellowship with the world. We are not to hold on to the world or its fleeting pleasures but be willing to go outside and suffer reproach with Christ for his sake.

Though we live in the world, we do not belong to the world and should not be attached to it. We don't have an enduring home in this current world system, but we look forward to the new world that's to come. Our true citizenship is in the heavenly Kingdom of God with Yahweh and Christ, so we are to set our minds on heavenly things and live as Kingdom citizens. We live as Kingdom citizens by offering sacrifices to Yahweh through Christ. Our sacrifices are praises to God and good works we do (such as sharing what we have with the poor) to bring God glory, with which He is well pleased.

Indeed, we are tremendously blessed to partake in the grace that's afforded to us through the sacrifice of the Son of God. It's only those of us who accept Christ as our Lord and Savior who can enjoy such privileges: eternal forgiveness of our sins and fellowship with God in His glorious Kingdom. Those who still hold onto the old system will have no right to partake in such blessings, as the writer noted at the beginning of this passage: "We have an altar from which those who serve the holy tabernacle have no right to eat." The "altar" stands for the new system or the sacrifice of Christ specifically, with Jesus as the High Priest. Those who refuse to let go of the old system (those who served the tabernacle) cannot partake the meat (divine blessings) of our altar. One has to let go of the old system to enter into the new.

"Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they watch on behalf of your souls, as those who will give account, that they may do this with joy, and not with groaning, for that would be unprofitable for you." (Hebrews 13:17)

We are to submit to and obey our spiritual leaders. They are set over us by God to preserve our souls (lives) and spiritual well-being, and therefore are accountable to God for their leadership. We are to make their job a joy to do, not a burdensome task, by heeding what they tell us and not rebel against their command. If we resist them and they groan--well, it does not benefit us to have unhappy leaders.

"Pray for us, for we are persuaded that we have a good conscience, desiring to live honorably in all things. I strongly urge you to do this, that I may be restored to you sooner." (Hebrews 13:18-19)

The writer asked that his original readers pray for him and his fellow soldiers of Christ. The writer strongly desired that his recipients pray for him to be restored to them sooner. Apparently, he was busy in his ministry and missed his recipients tremendously and hoped to see them sooner than he anticipated.

The writer and his fellow workers were confident that they had a good conscience due to the cleansing of Christ's atoning sacrifice, where they desired to live honorably in all matters. They diligently pursued after a life of holiness, which he had exhorted his readers to do likewise.

"Now may the God of peace, who brought again from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep with the blood of an eternal covenant, our Lord Jesus, make you complete in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen." (Hebrews 13:20-21)

The writer prayed for the God of peace to perfect the Hebrew saints in every good work to do His will through Christ, to work His powerful work in them so they could be empowered to do His will to please Him. Yahweh is the One who had the power to raise up Jesus the great Shepherd from death with the eternal covenant established by his blood, so what the writer requested of him for his recipients was a piece of cake for God to accomplish! It's God's good pleasure to help us both to will and do.

"But I exhort you, brothers, endure the word of exhortation, for I have written to you in few words. Know that our brother Timothy has been freed, with whom, if he comes shortly, I will see you. Greet all of your leaders and all the saints. The Italians greet you. Grace be with you all. Amen." (Hebrews 13:22-25)

The writer could not help but to exhort his recipients one last time. He implored them to heed his exhortations which he wrote about in his "brief" letter. To him, he felt that he had much to cover, but time and space did not permit him.

The writer noted that Timothy had just been released from prison. This Timothy might be the same Timothy who ministered with Paul. If Timothy went to him shortly, the writer would go see the Hebrew saints together with him.

The writer greeted all the leaders and saints of his recipients' congregation, and noted that the Italians greeted them. This may indicate that he was currently ministering in Italy and so the Italian brethren sent their greetings to his recipients.

Finally, the writer blessed them with the greatest commodity: divine grace. Every aspect of our Christian journey is upheld by the grace of Yahweh and His Christ our Lord. We can do nothing without it.

Highlights of Hebrews 13

While we cannot work to earn our salvation (since God's standard is absolute perfection), our good works or obedience to God is evidence of our saving faith. If we are disobedient to God, then our faith is very questionable. Fruits of our saving faith include brotherly love, showing hospitality, keeping our marriage holy (without any sexual sin), caring for the persecuted, shunning greediness, respecting our leaders, rejecting false teachings and obeying true Biblical teachings, and willing to suffer the reproach of Christ with Christ. Simply put, we're to live according to God's laws as we live here, for our true citizenship is the Kingdom of God while we're merely passing through this current world as pilgrims.

Since Jesus is unchanging, we can and should entirely trust in him and his sacrifice for us. Thanks to his sacrifice, we can enter into God's presence through prayers anytime and will enjoy eternal fellowship with Him in His coming Kingdom.

Thus, we must never lose heart. We must stay strong and loyal to our God and our Lord at all times, at all costs. We must endure our trials with divine empowerment and hold on to the truth: if God is with us, then what could people do to us? Even if they kill us, God will resurrect us!

As Jesus said, "Don't be afraid of those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul. Rather, fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna." (Matthew 10:28)


~*~ Q&A with Dr. Shirley ~*~

Question: In John 6:44, Jesus said, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up in the last day." What did he mean?

Answer: To understand what Jesus said, we need some background information found in Romans 3, Romans 5, Ephesians 2 and John 17. I'll just sum up what they teach:

Humans are totally depraved. This means humans are affected by sin in every facet. They are enemies of God, do not seek God on their own, and thus, are considered "dead" in their sins in God's eyes. Due to their total depravity, they cannot seek after God or turn to Jesus on their own.

For anyone to turn to Jesus for salvation, God has to draw that person to Christ. God has to convict them of their sins, has to open their heart to accept the Gospel message and in turn, become a believer. This is what Jesus meant in John 6:44. No one goes to Jesus on their own unless God his Father draws that person to Christ. And anyone God draws is given to Christ as his sheep, and Jesus assured us that he'll safeguard the sheep and resurrect them unto eternal life someday.

On multiple occasions, Jesus spoke of his sheep and noted that it's the people God gave him to look after. Throughout the book of Acts, you'll read how it's God who helped to open the people to accept the Gospel. Sinful humanity is so sinful they cannot even take the first step on the right path on their own.

Do you have Bible questions and want answers? Contact Dr. Shirley and she'll be happy to answer your questions by the grace of God.

Did you enjoy this newsletter? Then you may subscribe to Dr. Shirley's newsletter by filling out the contact form at the bottom of this page.

Do you have Bible questions and want answers? Contact Dr. Shirley and she'll be happy to answer your questions by the grace of God.

Did you enjoy this newsletter? Then you may subscribe to Dr. Shirley's newsletter by filling out the contact form at the bottom of this page.