Hebrews 13:4 – Marriage and Sexual relations:
1. Marriage is to be honored by all believers. The word “honor” (timios) means highly esteemed, counted as the most precious, warm and tender bond, held as the most valuable of bonds, as being the dearest of relationships. “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it” (Ephesians 5:25). “For this cause shall man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh” (Ephesians 5:31-32).
2. The bed is undefiled. The word “undefiled” (amiantos) means that the bed is unstained by sin, absolutely free from all moral impurity, uncleanness, and defilement. This is saying at least three things.
First, husband and wife are free and encouraged to be close in bed. Closeness and intimacy are a gift from God; it is even a picture of the intimacy that God calls for His bride the church Ephesians 5:22ff.
Second, the closeness in bed between husband and wife will prevent unfaithfulness.
Third, the bed is to be kept undefiled. Only husband and wife are to be close in bed, and only with each other. There is absolutely no place for anyone else in the bed. The importance of the bed in marriage cannot be overemphasized. God’s Word says that it is so important that husband and wife are not to separate for any period of time except for fasting and prayer, and even then separation is not to occur unless it is by mutual consent. (1 Corinthians 7:2,5).
Sexually immoral people and adulterers will be judged by God. These two words include all forms of sexual vice: premarital sex, adultery, homosexuality, and abnormal sex. God knows who commits these sins. He has to know them to judge them, and He knows them by name. He sees every immoral act, exactly what is done. No one can hide from Him. There is not a closed door or any darkness anyplace that blocks His sight. God calls every sexual vice by its proper name. Men may call it love and care and exciting and stimulating. They may call it an act of manhood or womanhood, but Bible calls it by its real name: immorality and adultery.
God knows what immorality causes: loss of innocence, broken homes, damaged minds, destroyed lives, disease, unwanted pregnancies, abortion, guilt. The list could go on and on, but such devastation and destruction of life and emotions are the reasons why God pulls no punches with sexual sins. God made man’s very nature for the love of a spouse and a family. And when we don’t live as we were created to it brings to us damage.
Sexual immorality always involves others, not only the illicit partner but the parents and family including children, brothers and sisters, and often grandparents, other relatives, friends, and neighbors. It involves all those who care for and look up to the immoral person. The judgment of God is not only eternal in its consequences but temporal as well. We, and our loved ones pay for our immorality today or tomorrow. Consider the consequences of David’s sin.
Hebrews 13:5-6 – Now we are called to be content. Contentment comes when we live life without coveting what we don’t have and by being satisfied with what we do have. It comes also when we know God personally: experiencing His constant companionship and care, knowing that He never leaves or forsakes us. If we focus our love upon God we lose our love for money and possessions. Solomon wisely observed Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income . . . (Ecclesiastes 5:10) for the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.
Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. (1 Timothy 6:10). No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.(Matthew 6:24)
A believer is to be content with what he has. This does not mean that a believer is not to improve himself, or work and make money and be wise in investments. Scripture teaches the very opposite: we are to work and invest and make money. We are to make enough so that we can meet the needs of the world. What this passage means is that we are to be satisfied with our lot in life which includes: our abilities, our home, and our possessions, whether it is little or much to be content with our present situation. Again, this does not mean that we shouldn’t plan and make improvements in our lives but our lives our to be focused on God who will never leaves us or forsakes us.
He is our helper, and we are secure no matter what men may do to us. The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? (Psalm 118:6). Even if the world’s economy and peace collapses, believers, true believers would be secure in God. God provides for us until He is ready to take us home to be with Him in heaven. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.(Matthew 6:33-34).
Hebrews 13:7 – Remember your leaders: this is reminder to keep our pastor in our prayers. We are to follow his example and life. We have a tendency to say to people don=t follow me, follow Jesus, and thus avoid people from considering our lives as an example of what it is to be like Messiah. But on the contrary our lives are examples that we truly are disciples of Jesus. A person who has been faithful in proclaiming and teaching God’s Word, should be held in high esteem so that we can follow their faith.
A leader who faithfully proclaims God’s Word is a leader to follow. As the Amplified New Testament says: “Remember your leaders and superiors in authority, [for it was they] who brought to you the Word of God. Observe attentively and consider their manner of living the outcome of their well-spent lives and imitate their faith [that is, their conviction that God exists and is the Creator and Ruler of all things, the Provider and Bestower of eternal salvation through Christ; and their leaning of the entire human personality on God in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom and goodness].”
Hebrews 13:8 – We need to remember that the source of power is Jesus the Messiah. Ministers and leaders come and go and eventually they all die. But the Source of our lives and power never leaves and never passes away. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. He is forever present with us, and He never changes.
F. F. Bruce said, “His help, His grace, His power, His guidance are permanently at His people’s disposal; why then should they lose heart? Others serve their generation by the will of God and pass on; ‘but he, because he abideth for ever, hath his priesthood unchangeable’ (Hebrews 7:24). (The Epistle to the Hebrews, p.396).
William Barclay said, “It is in the nature of things that all earthly leaders must come and go. They have their day and they lead their generation, and then they must pass from the scene. They have their part in the drama of life, and then the curtain comes down. But Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and to-day and for ever. His pre-eminence is permanent; His leadership is for ever. And therein there lies the secret of earthly leadership.
The real leader is the man who is led himself by Jesus Christ. The men who have made the Churches, the men who have led others on the upward way, are the men who in every age and every generation have themselves been led by the eternal and unchanging Christ. He who walked the ways of Galilee is still as powerful as ever to smite evil and to love the sinner; and, even as then He chose twelve to be with Him, and then sent them out to do His work, so now He is still seeking those who will bring men to Him, and Him to men” (The Letter to the Hebrews, p.223)
1. “Jesus Christ the same yesterday”: yesterday – in times past – Jesus Christ sacrificed everything for us, even to the point of dying for us. In fact, He suffered to the ultimate degree for us: He took our sins upon Himself and bore the guilt and judgment for us.
2. “Jesus Christ the same today”: today – in the present hour – Jesus Christ will do everything for us. Yesterday He suffered to the ultimate for us; today He has been exalted to the ultimate for us. He, the very Son of God, the great High Priest who has passed through the heavens and been exalted to the right hand of the throne of God. And He has been exalted for one reason, to shower mercy and grace upon His followers, to meet their every need. No matter what the need is, He meets it.
He meets our need for mercy. No matter how terrible our sin, no matter how often we fail, if we will repent and confess and change our sinful ways and turn to Him and cry for mercy Jesus, will forgive us. He meets our need for grace. He pours out His grace upon us, blessing and favoring us with whatever we need: strength, knowledge, understanding, wisdom, ability, and necessities of life. He strengthens us through all our sufferings and trials and temptations. He comes to meet our every cry and need for help.
3. Jesus, the same forever, eternally, from now on. Jesus has not only been exalted to the ultimate degree to meet our needs today, He lives eternally to meet our needs forever and ever. He met all the needs yesterday. He meets all the needs today. He shall meet all the needs eternally. He will never fail to meet a single need of the person who places his confidence in Him.
Hebrews 13:9 – Jews were used to having religious regulations for everything, and it was hard for them to adjust to freedom in Christ. It was difficult for them to accept the truth Paul expresses in 1 Corinthians 8:8, that food will not commend us to God; we are neither the worse if we do not eat, nor the better if we do eat.All their lives they had been taught and had believed that what you ate and did not eat was extremely important to God. Even how it was prepared and eaten was important. Now they are told that those who were thus occupied were not benefited.
Spirituality comes not by foods. Being spiritually concerned about food is unnecessary under the New Testament. In fact, insisting on dietary regulations for religious reasons is against the gospel. Paul uses pretty harsh words to describe those who propagate such ideas (1 Timothy 4:1-5). God had a hard time convincing Peter that the dietary and ceremonial restrictions of Judaism were no longer valid.
Peter even argued with God when He commanded him in a vision to kill and eat a variety of unclean animals. The Lord had to tell him three times, What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy (Acts 10:15). The Colossians were exhorted: let no one act as your judge in regard to food (Colossians 2:16). As Christians, our hearts are only strengthened by grace.
