2007 Book of Hebrews Series –
“Loose Change”
Hebrews 13:7-16
Sermon preached at Curwensville Presbyterian Church – October 21, 2007
Prayer Introduction: At the beginning of this year looking at the Book of Hebrews – I asked how many of you had made New Year’s Resolutions. I was surprised at how few people even make resolutions. In talking with you individually, I discovered that it is – in large part – because you have become convinced that true change isn’t possible. Why make a resolution, since I’ll never keep it?
This morning’s passage –
I. Yesterday, Today and Forever (vv.7-8)
Our passage begins, “Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith” (v.7).
Notice that it says – Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith; and not consider their faith and imitate their life.” A righteous life flows out from faith.
This is the trouble with moralistic preaching, rather than preaching that takes us to the cross. We all know how we ought to live. That isn’t the problem. The problem is a sinful heart that does not desire to live as we ought. Jesus is the way – the only way – to overcome our sinful desires; so that we desire to live a righteous life.
I can stand here and preach until I’m blue in the face, that God’s Word reveals we ought to live a life of sexual purity, love others, be content, tithe, work hard, etc.
But if I tell someone homosexuality is a sin, or skipping church for some lame excuse is a sin, or that gambling money away through bingo and lottery cards is a sin, or that living off of welfare when you are physically able to work is a sin…
If I preach these things, many will simply get angry and/or say – that’s just your opinion. It is not my opinion; it is God’s Word. But we must desire righteousness. We must desire to please the Lord. We must desire to follow the Lord. We must desire genuine faith. Like those who have gone before us.
Remember your leaders. Remember their faith in Jesus. It wasn’t just a faith in word only, but in word and deed.
For the original audience, the Hebrews listening to this letter, they were reminded of leaders who persevered in the faith – even in the midst of trials. And the author is saying you can persevere as well. You can have the same faith; because the one in whom we place our faith hasn’t changed.
Verse 8 – “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”
This really blows the excuse: “Times have changed” doesn’t it?! It’s harder to believe in Jesus today because times have changed? Rubbish. It’s harder to make church a priority in today’s world. Rubbish. Today’s world is too busy to have the time to…Rubbish!
Temptation hasn’t changed. And neither has the way out – Jesus Christ. And here we see why change (keeping resolutions) is so difficult – but how to do it. We have convinced ourselves that today’s world – our life situations – make it too difficult to change; but nothing has changed. And the way to change, the way to keeping resolutions – is to go to the one who has never changed. The one who has overcome the world.
II. The Way We’ve Always Done It (vv.9-10)
Let’s dig into this a bit more, by looking at The Way We’ve Always Done It. Verses 9-10 say, “Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by ceremonial foods, which are of no value to those who eat them. We have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat.”
There were many Hebrew Christians who were being criticized, because they were no longer following the religious traditions of the Jews; including, certain foods you were supposed to eat and not eat.
The tradition was driving people, instead of the grace of God in the cross of Christ. We know all about being driven by tradition.
Why do we do things a certain way, “because it’s the way we’ve always done it.” In other words, tradition.
How does a tradition get started? Often, a biblically based idea is done; but soon nobody remembers the biblically-based part, just the fact you have to do it, because you’ve always done it – and it takes on a life of its own.
Tradition – as illustrated in the children’s time earlier in the service (a tradition in itself) – is empty of grace. Our hearts – our hearts! – are strengthened by grace. We must focus on filling our hearts, not just filling our traditions.
The Nominating Committee talked about this just this week. For the first 180 years of this church we had between 3-6 Elders, and a few Trustees and Deacons only started in the 1950’s. It was 25 years ago that this was increased to 9 on each board. This, perhaps, made sense for a while; but eventually it just became the tradition that you needed 9 on each board. And so, we put many people on a board who were neither called nor qualified – just to fill the space.
Somewhere we got it in our mind that we need a certain number of people on a board, a committee, in the pews! Why? What is better a room full of unbelievers, or half-full of disciples?
What is better a full board of people who never show up, or a small board of faithful servants?
What is better – going through the motions, or engaging our heart?
hat is better – obeying the letter of the law or the spirit of the law?
What is better – being strengthened by the act or strengthened by God’s grace?
Can it be both? Sure (sometimes anyway – you have to put aside the act if there is no way of having it be done faithfully), but you must continually remember that the purpose is to go to the Lord to be strengthened by his grace.
People ought to be with the church for the worship (in fact, it is commanded), but they must also engage their hearts. But the tradition of how the worship service is carried is not commanded.
The Lord calls us to set apart the day (4th commandment) and to gather together (Hebrews 10:34), for Scripture, prayer, sacraments, fellowship (Acts 2). But the Lord doesn’t mandate what time the community must gather. If the whole day has been set apart – then it doesn’t matter much does it? – and probably shouldn’t be restricted to an hour?! The Lord doesn’t matter what hymnal you use. The Lord doesn’t mandate the order of the service.
Our faith isn’t strengthened by tradition, but by the grace of God in the cross of Christ. Change is difficult – in our individual life, and even more so in our corporate life. Change is difficult – and only possible by going to God through Jesus Christ.
III. The New Way (vv.11-14)
Let’s look to The New Way – revealed powerfully in verses 11-14 – “We have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat. 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.”
I wish I had the time to explore this Old Testament context with you. In summary: the Israelites – in the wilderness heading toward the Promised Land – camped together. Everything unclean was taken “outside the camp.”
Jesus Christ – the perfect Son of God – willingly took our uncleanness. Jesus went outside the camp for us. Jesus suffered, not just physically, but suffered the disgrace of being unclean. He bore the disgrace for our sin.
And why? “To make [us] holy through his own blood.”
So what are we to do in response (verse 13): “Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore.”
He bore disgrace by identifying himself with us, let us now bear disgrace by identifying ourselves with him.
The new way – living the new life – means being an outsider; not going along with the crowd, but going outside the crowd. We are called, through Jesus, to live a life that is remarkably different than the world.
Jesus said, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” (Matthew 7:13-14).
Change comes not through tradition, nor through self-will. I read about a man who went to the bookstore and asked where the self-help section was. The clerk said, “If I tell you that would defeat the purpose wouldn’t it.”
We can’t help ourselves, we need help from outside of ourselves. We need help that comes outside of the camp, outside of the world, outside of your comfort zone. It comes by meeting God at the cross of Christ. That is the only place where it comes. You must meet God – outside the camp.
IV. Sacrifice of Praise (vv.15-16)
Going outside of the camp is a Sacrifice of Praise. Verse 15 – “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise-- the fruit of lips that confess his name.
Through Jesus, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise. Not through a tradition. Not through the way we’ve always done it. Not, with the “in crowd.” Not through the world.
Through Jesus.
Verse 16 concludes – “And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”
Doing good to others is not a sacrifice of praise in and of itself; doing good to others THROUGH JESUS is. You cannot do good apart from Christ!
Christ was the atoning sacrifice for us – disgraced outside the camp. We return a thanksgiving sacrifice of praise – in word and in deed – outside of the world.
Jesus says of those who truly follow him – “If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you” (John 15:19).
Does the world hate you? Despise you? Think you are weird? If you were accused of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict?
Does the world hate you, or are you getting along quite fine?
We cannot change – we cannot keep
our resolutions – if we are embracing the world. “Do not love the world or
anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not
in him” (1
In order to change, we must embrace our heavenly Father through Jesus Christ; even if – and especially if – it sets you apart from the world.
Soon the Christmas season will be upon us – and we will read lots of accounts about the mistreatment (or at least misunderstanding) of Christians. That is to be expected. We are outside the camp; because that’s where Jesus is…
THE TRUTH WHO SET US FREE – AMEN!