29 Proper Christian Conduct – Part 2

The author begins the final portion of his letter, by continuing to discuss the subject of “Proper Christian Conduct”. First, he discusses how believers are to relate to their church leaders:

1 Proper Behavior Toward Faithful Leaders

Hebrews 13:7

The passage makes it clear, that we aren’t to simply follow all leaders, but those who faithfully teach and model the Word of God.

The most important way to determine the character of a godly leader, is whether they have “spoken the Word of God”.

Unfortunately, much of what is seen as preaching today, doesn’t present the true Word of God, as many of these preachers, spend much of the time presenting anecdotes and illustrations.

Yet, the Bible itself is clear, that it is the thorough teaching of God’s Word, which leads to faith and spiritual growth:

Romans 10:17

Which was why the apostle Paul said the following to his protégé, the young pastor Timothy:

1 Timothy 4:16

Those in leadership, should never expect others to simply follow them, but it should only do so, as the individual follows Christ:

1 Corinthians 11:1

2 Unchanging Nature of Christ

Christians should be unwavering in their commitment to Christ, because the Lord Himself is immutable:

Hebrews 13:8-14

God is not moved by circumstances, but remains sovereign through, and over all things.

And likewise, His Word never changes, which is why the believer should never be swayed or “carried about with various strange doctrines”.

At the end of verse 9, the author shows that the believer’s heart is only established by grace, as opposed to temporal things which only have limited value.

And it’s because Jesus was the fulfillment of the Law, He established the New Covenant in grace.

The fulfillment is seen in verse 10, as the author showed the distinction between the Old Covenant Levitical system, and the grace found in the cross.

Therefore, the author shows that one cannot serve both the old and new systems, since the “old” has been fulfilled in the “new”. And most importantly, only the New Covenant was established in grace.

Under the Old Covenant system, while the blood of the sacrificial animal was brought into the sanctuary by the high priest, the animal itself was burned outside of the camp.

This was to picture how Jesus, the ultimate sacrifice for sin, would suffer outside of the gate, suffering in the environs of Herod’s palace, and then crucified at Golgotha.

The idea of being “outside the camp” also speaks of being outside of the Jewish establishment, which rejected the grace of Jesus, oddly preferring the Law.

Therefore, the idea of going to Jesus “outside of the camp” speaks of the necessity of meeting Him at the cross.

3 Sacrifice of Praise

While the sacrificial system was an everyday occurrence under the Old Covenant, it had lost much of its meaning for the individual, having just become part of life.

Therefore, in verses 15-17, the author soke of a greater sacrifice for the believer:

Hebrews 13:15-17

While the altar was the focal point under the Old Covenant, the cross is in essence the “altar” of the New Covenant, where of course, Jesus was sacrificed.

Even though Jesus was sacrificed once-and-for-all at Calvary, just as there were constant sacrifices under the Old Covenant, the believer is to continually offer the sacrifices of praise.

And the reason the believer can offer continual praise, is because of what Jesus accomplished at Calvary.

Verse 16 shows, that praise isn’t the only thing the Lord is pleased with. He’s also pleased by our good works toward one another.

This points to the two relationships the believer must have:

• Our vertical relationship with God
• Our horizontal relationship with one another

In verse 17 the author shows how obedience and submission are an integral part of “Proper Christian Conduct”.

As the Lord established the church, He also established the necessary roles and responsibilities.

While church leaders are to be accorded proper respect and obedience, they’re to take place if the leader fulfills the requirements he’d previously stated:

Hebrews 13:7

The author showed how the leaders “must give account” (to the Lord).

They are responsible to the Lord for what they do and teach.

When the leaders act in such a responsible manner, those in the church should desire that their leaders would serve joyfully, thus benefitting the entire body.

4 Final Words

Hebrews 13:18-25

The author began his conclusion, by asking for prayer from the church, showing the importance of intercessory prayer.

He was able to state, that he had a good conscience in how he had acted, having done so in an honorable way toward these believers.

In verse 19, he also prayed that he would be reunited with them soon. Because we cannot be certain as to who authored the epistle, therefore, we don’t know the occasion or reason for the separation. However, we see a picture of someone who shared great love for the body he’d served.

He then pronounced a blessing upon the believers, much like that Old Covenant priestly blessing from Numbers 6:

“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.”

In verse 23, he spoke of how Timothy had been set free. Some have used this to suggest that Paul was indeed the author, but the fact remains that Timothy was well-known throughout the early church.

Finally, he again asked that the believers send greeting (on his behalf) to their church leaders, and then stated that the believers in Italy (probably Rome), had passed along their greetings.

The epistle concluded in a similar fashion as did many of Paul’s, with a prayer that God’s grace would be with them.