Chapter 13: 1-6

“Let brotherly love continue. ² Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels. ³ Remember the prisoners as if chained with them—those who are mistreated—since you yourselves are in the body also. ⁴ Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge. ⁵ Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ ⁶ So we may boldly say: ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?'”

Over the last two weeks, we talked about serving the Lord with reverence. As I get older, I appreciate that I get to wake up every day and see my family. It is a privilege that many do not have. Each day many people see their loved ones for the last time. We live in a time when we can see the hand of God in supernatural ways all over the world in reports from missionaries, often in real-time. We live in a time when archeological discoveries continue to bolster our faith and help to give us confidence in the Bible. God has blessed us to live in a special time; many generations of Christians never got to see the resurrected nation of Israel or see the hand of God in the Six-Day War. Many Christians did not live in a time when scientific discoveries simply awed us with the power and accuracy of God.

When we are confronted with these wonderful things, a sense of awe and reverence should come over us as we see how amazing God is and the very world around us.

• Love is the true mark of regeneration, verses 1-3

Jesus spoke these words to His disciples as He was preparing them for His departure. These verses are not often mentioned when we talk about being a child of God and living as a Christian, but Jesus thought this was important enough to mention it on the very last day (John 12-19 covers about one day) that He was with the apostles before He was executed.

John 13:34-35, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

This is our identifying mark, Godly love for each other, and in Hebrews 13, Paul is pointing this out to us as a part of true moral living as a child of God. Love is the first pre-requisite; all else is useless without Godly love. The root word here for love is ‘philidelphia,’ referring to brotherly love as we see it translated. Notice that Paul expected it to be already there: ‘let love continue.’ This a sense of deep friendship and partnership. Brothers and Sisters in the Lord working together to help and lift each other up. We supply each other’s needs and do so willingly. When we look at the first church in Acts, we see this very thing happening, chapter 4:32-36,

“All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power, the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.”

We see here that this was the common practice of the Lord’s churches and still should be. If someone amongst us has a need, WE, the Lord’s people, should be the first ones to jump in, give, help, reach out and meet the need. We are not to be stingy and hold back; we are to willingly give without expecting repayment.

• Strangers, Angels, and Prisoners, verses 2-3

These are saved strangers; these are saved brothers and sisters in the Lord. Look at the context; this is a message to save people. Many of the Lord’s people were in transit a lot in these days of the book of Hebrews. They moved because of jobs and family, and many moved because of persecution. They went looking for safe spaces for themselves and their families. The Lord’s churches were to extend love and grace to these traveling spiritual family members. They were to show hospitality and godly kindness to people looking for a bit of peace. Some of the churches had entertained angels posing as people in need of help.

Paul also encouraged these churches to remember the prisoners. Again, once we understand the context, this is referring to prisoners for the sake of the Gospel. Paul knew about this firsthand. He had been in prison for the Gospel on numerous occasions, and in particular, when he was in Rome, he was allowed to have his friends visit him and help him as he awaited his trial before Caesar.

All around the world today, there are men and women who are imprisoned for the Gospel. Even here in North America, I just saw a video of a Pastor being arrested simply for reading Bible verses out loud during a ‘pride’ parade. There may be a time in the not-too-distant future when we will begin to be arrested and imprisoned for speaking the truth about sex, genders, and the like. Would it not be wonderful to know that our brothers and sisters in the Lord are praying for us and sending us a few treats if they can, taking care of our wives, kids and homes, if possible? What a blessing not to have to worry about those things because we know that our loving spiritual family will fill the gaps and meet their needs.

This is the biggest and most important part of the moral and spiritual growth in the Lord’s people. Brotherly love and kindness are more of a mark of spiritual maturity than any other thing you can think of, and when this is in place, all other endeavors have the right motive and thus glorify God as our Father.

Matthew 5:16, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

God bless you,

Dr. Sean Gooding
Pastor of Mississauga Missionary Baptist Church

How to Connect with Us

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MississaugaMissionaryBaptistChurch
CLICK HERE to join us online via Zoom
Online: https://mmbchurch.ca/
Email: seangooding@mmbchurch.ca; support@mmbchurch.ca

Chapter 12:22-29

²² “But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, ²³ to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, ²⁴ to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel. ²⁵ See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, ²⁶ whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, ‘Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.’

²⁷ Now this, ‘Yet once more,’ indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain. ²⁸ Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. ²⁹ For our God is a consuming fire.”

We are about to explore the differences between the two covenants and see the wonder that we have in Jesus. Last week we dealt with the scary side of God; the wrath God, the God who can destroy the whole universe with a thought, and we were called to have reverence in the presence of that kind of power.

Today we will contrast the two covenants and see the wonders of the new one we have in Jesus, and this should also cause us to have deep reverence in the light of His matchless kindness and grace.

• Mount Sinai, the First Covenant.

There are two mountains associated with the covenants, and the first was that of Sinai. David Guzik’s commentary points out that Sinai was the covenant of the law; it was desolate and associated with Egypt. Sinai was a place for Israel, and there were just a few angels who delivered the law to Moses. The old covenant seemed to be based on earning and deserving. Sinai was a place that spoke of judgment and punishment. There was fear at Mount Sinai; it was a desert; nothing lived there; it was a place of earthly things, and on we can go. The covenant reminded us of all that we could not do; it reminded us of sin and the judgment that comes with it. There was a lot of death associated with the Sinai covenant. Animals by the millions died, people died for breaking the law, and on and on we can talk about death.

• Mount Zion, the Second Covenant, verses 22-26

Zion is the place where Jerusalem sits; the law was at Sinai, the cross at Zion. On Zion, we have a city; there was life, and still is life. Zion is associated with life, heaven, and we are told that there is an ‘innumerable company of angels’ there. The focus of Sinai was Israel, but on Zion, the focus was ‘whosoever.’ God is still the Righteous Judge, but the work done in Zion satisfies the justice that He requires from us. In Sinai, the sacrifices had to be done over and over, but in Zion, the sacrifice was done once and for all. At Sinai, only Moses could draw near to God, but at Zion, we are all called to draw near to God, to seek Him, and we are promised to find Him. He is near at hand.

At Zion, with Jesus as our Mediator, we are made perfect in His blood, and there we have an invitation of grace from the Throne of God.

Matthew 11:28, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

John 7:37, “On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.'”

Isaiah 55:1, “Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; And you who have no money, Come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk Without money and without price.”

At Zion, the price was paid in full, done, finished. And when we come to the Lord Jesus in simple childlike faith, our sins are removed forever, and we are cleansed.

Psalm 103:12 NKJV, “As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.”

Isaiah 38:17 ESV, “Behold, it was for my welfare that I had great bitterness; but in love you have delivered my life from the pit of destruction, for you have cast all my sins behind your back.”

Isaiah 43:25 ESV, “I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.”

These are the promises of Zion. Oh, what a God we serve whose grace and kindness are unmatched, and no one can be like Him.

• A Call to Reverence, verse 28

Just so we are not confused by this merciful God, Paul throws in verse 29, our God is a consuming fire. This same God – the All-Powerful, All-Knowing, and Ever-Present – is the God of Zion. It is He who redeems us and calls us His children (1 John 3:1). This knowledge, this grace, this mercy, this kindness, and this love should humble us and cause such reverence to fall on us when we come to terms with what we deserve as rotten sinners and what our gracious God did for us when we think of what Jesus did for us when we contemplate that God would be mindful of us; mere clumps of dust whose days are seventy years or at best eighty years.

Psalm 103:13-15 Berean Standard Bible, “As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him. “For He knows our frame; He is mindful that we are dust. As for man, his days are like grass—he blooms like a flower of the field.”

This is the awesome God we serve. May His kindness hush us and calm us in the storms. May His presence keep you grounded when you cannot see the paths and know that He is on your side. I pray that you will read these verses with reverence and joy.

Numbers 6: 24-26, “The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.”

God bless you,

Dr. Sean Gooding
Pastor of Mississauga Missionary Baptist Church

How to Connect with Us

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MississaugaMissionaryBaptistChurch
CLICK HERE to join us online via Zoom
Online: https://mmbchurch.ca/
Email: seangooding@mmbchurch.ca; support@mmbchurch.ca