Study 14 Good Advice for Anyone. Chapter 13
This letter was written to a church, or group of churches who are in the position of:

1. Having had a Jewish background
2. Having been scattered into various parts of outlying areas outside of Israel proper because of persecution by their Jewish relatives (by relatives I don't mean their immediate siblings etc. I am referring to their former connection to Judaism)
3. Feeling tempted to go back to Judaism, now that persecution has 'cooled off' and they find themselves living in an undesirable gentile world.

… Paul has written them very convincingly to not throw away their faith in Jesus as the Messiah, the very Son of God. We have looked at the many approaches that Paul has used to shake them up and wake them up to what they are about to do. The very bottom line of it all ...if you throw away your faith … there is no getting it back without Jesus actually coming and dying again on the cross. And that will not happen.
Convinced that these believers will consider prayerfully everything he has written to them, he ends his letter to them with some advice that is good for any and all Christians.

1. He urges them to continue showing brotherly love. Paul is referring back to what he said to them in 6:10. There he said to them, God is not going to forget your labor of love which you clearly demonstrated amongst each other … and are still having toward each other. So by saying continue … he is using this as a starting point. Note, it is always good to lead a disciple forward by recognizing where they are in the Lord and then building from there. So, just what is brotherly love and how does it differ from 'Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself'? Note the following scriptures and characteristics of brotherly love:
   1. For a Christian to have 'brotherly love' in a sense is automatic. So why tell us to 'do it' if it's automatic? It is only automatic in the sense that God has included this as part of His law that he has put into our hearts. It is written there and therefore we know we should do it, we want to do it … but sometimes we fail to do it. 1 Thessalonians 4:9 ESV Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another,
   2. Brotherly love involves hospitality. Verse 2 refers to entertaining strangers. Ro 12:13 says, Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality. This refers mainly to food and shelter. In these historical times there was no such thing as welfare. The poor were forced to beg. It is really 'bad press' if Christians are seen begging. The numbers of Christians in need of food and shelter in biblical New Testament times would be much greater than ours because of the anti Christian attitude at that time. Times could change for us here. In many countries of the world the anti Christian sentiment results in persecution. 1Jo 3:17 But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?
   3. Brotherly love involves connection. (verse 3)1Co 12:26 And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. This is difficult, if not impossible to do, if we are disconnected. It is easy to enjoy the comfort of our homes and minister to our own needs. We have everything we need. It is when something major happens to one of us that we have the opportunity to connect. But very often the category called ONE OF US is limited to our local church. ONE OF US is really much WIDER than that.
   4. Brotherly love is described as a most effective form of advertising. John 13:35 "By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." Why did Jesus make this statement? Why would it be important for outsiders to see the love that church members show toward each other? A church should be known as the Place Where Love is. The outsider should not see the church merely as the place pick up some free food. When he or she does that, they rarely see the church. They see one or two persons. But they do not feel (or even see,) love in the sense of connection and fellowship. The reputation of a church in the world should be, Those people really enjoy each other. It must be nice. It would be good to be part of something like that.
2. He underscores the fact that Marriage is honorable. In the early church they were about to head into a time when celibacy would be viewed as some higher form of spirituality. This verse says it is good for all. There is nothing in scripture that says celibacy is better. One possible exception is when Paul made reference to the times in which they living: 1Co 7:26 I suppose therefore that this is good because of the present distress——that it is good for a man to remain as he is. The times in which they lived were also beginning to be characterized by licentiousness. The main subject of the small book of Jude is all about false teachers who preached that we had license to do what ever we please and … 'once saved … always saved'. God's grace is so great and he loves us so much he just wants us to be happy and do whatever we please. 'Whatever we please' was stretched to mean that sex outside of marriage was also OK. This looks an awful lot like the prevailing attitude of our present day. Very few, it seems, remain virgins up to their wedding night these days. In many cases we have grossly misjudged God in the way we assume what His grace really is.
3. He calls them to a Behaviour without covetousness. 1Ti 6:5 … supposing that gain is godliness … :6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. Most of us have heard about the 'name it and claim it' group of prosperity gospel preachers. We wonder how they can get away with it. But we need to be careful because the roots of it are in our own vocabulary. We freely use the words, 'God blessed me with …' But maybe He didn't. Maybe the 'blessing' is just something we wanted badly, worked hard for it … got it, and then said that God blessed us with it. What if He didn't want you to have it all? We all have a lot to learn about God's will in our lives. As the verse above points out … contentment is the great gain. If you are content … you are rich. Contentment rests on the fact that God takes care of us … so we will be just fine.
4. He tells them to remember their Leadership. (let's include verse 17 here as well) Paul is telling us to look at their lives and imitate their walk of faith. Their lives should be consistent … like Jesus, who is the same yesterday, today and forever. How easy it is to 'pick and choose' what we want to believe. One preacher says this, another says that. In the times of these Hebrew believers the issue was more about how Moses Law was to be seen within a New Testament church. Some preached law … others preached grace. Sermons and books can be like the wind. When a christian author writes on a biblical topic, very often he does so with a particular bias. He or she has seen a particular aspect, it becomes big with them … they look all over the bible for supporting scripture and then they write their book. We read it and think, Wow, I never noticed that before! And then we promote the book. Then we find an author who saw it and interpreted the topic differently and we think … “Oh no! I was too quick to make up my mind … this guy looks to be really on the right track.” And that is the main problem with topic centered books and sermons. First they blow this way … and then the wind changes. How much better to be grounded in scripture … chapters and books of the bible. The more true we stay to verse by verse, chapter by chapter, book by book study and research, the less likely we will be to be blown back and forth.
   Going back to the influence of Judaism on these Hebrew believers, Paul reminds them that Jesus, our sacrifice, died for us outside of the temple and the city. What this means is that, to a Jew, a sacrifice was not legitimate unless it happened at the temple altar. Therefor they cannot claim Jesus as their sacrifice. But we can. Dying out there, He died for the world … not just for Jews. The longing of the hearts of the Hebrews might have been to go back to this old and familiar system … but Paul is saying … if you do, you can't have Christ, who by the way, is the only way to eternal life. And as far as having Jerusalem as our beloved city … don't worry about it … God has a brand new one for us. We don't need the old city and temple as the place where we offer our sacrifices … we just come to Jesus spiritually and offer the fruit of our lips (verse 16 also) ...our worship. In verse 18 Paul wants to be seen as one of the leaders who is not 'blowing' in a certain direction, but is one of the consistent, steady, faithful ones who is attempting to be honorable in every way. In another place he comes right out and says, Follow me … as I follow Christ1.
5. The closing Salutation
   1. Pray for us. He is writing from prison. He says 'I will get out of here sooner … if you pray for me.' 2 3 I am reminded of what Paul wrote to Philemon … Philemon 1:22 But, meanwhile, also prepare a guest room for me, for I trust that through your prayers I shall be granted to you. Paul had no reason to expect release. Simply because Philemon had written, “I'm praying you will get released ..”, Paul says, “Well then, if you are praying for my release, build be a room … show a little faith here.”
   2. Paul breathes a prayer for the Hebrews to be made 'complete'. That is a good reminder to those who thought they were missing out by not going back to Judaism. It's a good reminder for us too, … we are not yet complete. God is not finished with us. (21)
   3. In reference to this letter … (this book of Hebrews) he says, in the words of the BBE translation: Heb 13:22 But, brothers, take kindly the words which I have said for your profit; for I have not sent you a long letter.
   4. Timothy has been released … If he comes here soon, we will visit you together. This is another word of faith … their faith, as they prayed for Paul's release.
   5. Goodbye … greet the other pastor/elders in your area. We who are in Rome say Hi.

So along with the writer to the book of Hebrews we say,

Do not neglect the wonderful salvation that God has provided for the lost world. If you do it could lead to discontinuing your belief in the very basics … that Jesus, God's Son died to pay for your sins, rose back to life and is now our high priest in heaven. You CAN make it to the end. Others did. It's worth it all.

Ro 8:18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy [to be compared] with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

2Co 4:16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward [man] is being renewed day by day.
17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory,
18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

Mt 5:11 "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.
12 "Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

1Pe 4:12 ¶ Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you;
13 but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.



1I Corinthians 11:1 ¶ Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.
2Imprisoned Iranian Christian Pastor Farshid Fathi was due to have been released today, 10 December, from jail in Iran.
Unfortunately, Farshid has not been released today.
 He has been imprisoned since December 2010.
 Today is the start of a three-day national holiday in Iran, and there are indications that Farshid may be released soon.
 We are hopeful that he will soon be free, and we ask you to continue praying for his release. 
Thank you for your prayers for imprisoned Christians in Iran


3Dear friends,  We are overjoyed and celebrating!
Farshid Fathi has been released today (21 December 2015) after five years in prison for his faith.
We are deeply grateful for your faithful prayers for Farshid while he has been in prison. We would like to request that you continue praying for Farshid today and in the coming weeks. Please pray especially for protection, his family and his adjustment to life outside prison.
We will share more information when possible.
Joyfully in Christ,
Elam Ministries