LIVE LIVES FOLLOWING THE LEADERS OF FAITH

Passage: Hebrews 13:1-8

Key verse: 8

NIV

Concluding Exhortations

13 Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters.(A) 2 Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers,(B) for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.(C) 3 Continue to remember those in prison(D) as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.

4 Marriage should be honored by all,(E) and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.(F) 5 Keep your lives free from the love of money(G) and be content with what you have,(H) because God has said,

“Never will I leave you;
    never will I forsake you.”[a](I)

6 So we say with confidence,

“The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.
    What can mere mortals do to me?”[b](J)

7 Remember your leaders,(K) who spoke the word of God(L) to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate(M) their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.(N)

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Footnotes
  1. Hebrews 13:5 Deut. 31:6
  2. Hebrews 13:6 Psalm 118:6,7
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

Sacrifices Pleasing to God

13 Let (A)brotherly love continue. 2 (B)Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby (C)some have entertained angels unawares. 3 (D)Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body. 4 (E)Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge (F)the sexually immoral and adulterous. 5 Keep your life (G)free from love of money, and (H)be content with what you have, for he has said, (I)“I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 6 So we can confidently say,

(J)“The Lord is my helper;
    (K)I will not fear;
what can man do to me?”

7 Remember (L)your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and (M)imitate their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is (N)the same yesterday and today and forever.

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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway

Upon closing the letter, the author of Hebrews urges the Christian readers to live a life of faith so that they can confidently claim the help God has promised to them (6).

The foundation of Christian life is to love one another. We are to love each other in our fellowship (1), show hospitality to strangers (2), and care for those who are suffering in prison with sympathy (3). In our effort to live a life of faith, we need to honor marriage as God's institution and keep ourselves from sexual immorality (4). Keeping our lives free from the love of money is also an expression of our faith in God, who has promised that he would never forsake us (5, Deu 31:6).

We have examples of spiritual leaders' lives we can learn from and imitate (7). Consider the people who taught us the word of God, who served Jesus, and who led us to do so. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever (8). It means even if our life circumstances may change, we can trust Jesus the same way as our leaders have.

Prayer: Father, thank you for your faithfulness. I find comfort in knowing that we can follow the teaching of our leaders who loved and served Jesus with their lives. Please help me to live as a Christian according to your will and bear spiritual fruits that are acceptable to you.

One Word: Jesus is the same