Hebrews

Religion, in its many forms, has a common thread: doing good in order to be accepted. That was the pattern of Old Testament legalism too. The result was a constant undercurrent of fear: fear of God's anger and fear of being inadequately good. When God gave the Law to Moses, the mountain shook and the people were terrified (Hebrews 12:18-21), but the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ brings us peace as we are welcomed into relationship with God through repentance and faith.

The chapter and verse separations in our Bibles were not part of the original manuscript but were added in 1227, to make it easier to locate texts. Although they are generally helpful, they can distort the relationship between different ideas. Today's verse in Hebrews 13:1 reads more helpfully when conjoined with the last verses of the previous chapter: "Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our 'God is a consuming fire.'" (Hebrews 12:28-29).

Like Hebrews 13:1, today's verse gives another example of how to worship God acceptably (Hebrews 12:28-29). Hospitality is an important part of a Christian’s lifestyle, as it had been for Abraham.

Following Jesus in the 1st Century was not easy, and often dangerous. There was no place for Christianity in the Roman Empire: it was an illegal religion. Jews, who were tolerated, felt compromised by their co-religionists following Jesus, which challenged their Christless religion; and consequently were willing to create civil disturbance in order to stop the Christian gospel from spreading (Acts 17:5-9).

Marriage, in the Bible, is the lifelong union of a man and woman. That exclusive relationship is designed to enable children to be brought up in a loving home. Marriage is a unique mixture of love and commitment, the contentment of being known, the joy of sex and the responsibility of parenting. Physical intimacy is the glue which affirms love and cements mutual security. It is God's idea to make two people into one (Genesis 2:24).

Money is not wrong, but loving it, is. Money is only a convenient way to exchange what we have for what we need. Instead of having to carry around farm produce or livestock when we want to purchase what we need, we have the value of what we have earned in money. We can be tempted to think that the more money we have, the more secure we are. Therefore, we can be restless or fearful if we think that we do not have enough; and our peace can disintegrate.

God has promised to be with His people (Hebrews 13:5). It is both the sign that they are His people (Exodus 33:16) and that they can be personally confident that they will not be overwhelmed (Joshua 1:9).

The Early Church was a dangerous place. The radical nature of the gospel granting full forgiveness to penitent sinners ran alongside unpredictable violent persecution. And yet the message of the gospel was genuinely attractive, bringing many new disciples of Jesus Christ as they heard of His saving grace. Those who brought the message were also disciples, but a bit further along the road (1 Thessalonians 1:8). They were the practical role models for the next group of new believers.

The simplicity of the gospel is wonderful (John 3:16): truth to be believed and Christ to be received by faith (Colossians 2:6). We trust what we have heard and read, and we believe in Christ who we cannot touch. But the tentacles of religious thinking easily snare the unwary.

The Lord Jesus and His disciples did not cocoon themselves away from the world; they were missionaries (sent-out-ones). Jesus was sent from heaven to earth (John 17:3). Jesus sent His disciples (the word means 'learners') as the founding apostles (the word means 'missionaries') into the world (John 20:21).