The preacher has reached the end of what he wanted to teach. Now he turns to the practical application he expects in the congregation. There are a number of little intricacies here and there in this last chapter, but the overview makes the main point which we should take away. Read the Scripture through and then check below.
12:29 For our God is a consuming fire.
Chapter 13
1 Let mutual love continue. 2 Do not neglect hospitality, for through it some have unknowingly entertained angels. 3 Be mindful of prisoners as if sharing their imprisonment, and of the ill-treated as of yourselves, for you also are in the body. 4 Let marriage be honored among all and the marriage bed be kept undefiled, for God will judge the immoral and adulterers. 5 Let your life be free from love of money but be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never forsake you or abandon you.” 6 Thus we may say with confidence:
“The Lord is my helper,
[and] I will not be afraid.
What can anyone do to me?”
7 Remember your leaders who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
9 Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teaching. It is good to have our hearts strengthened by grace and not by foods, which do not benefit those who live by them. 10 We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat. 11 The bodies of the animals whose blood the high priest brings into the sanctuary as a sin offering are burned outside the camp. 12 Therefore, Jesus also suffered outside the gate, to consecrate the people by his own blood. 13 Let us then go to him outside the camp, bearing the reproach that he bore. 14 For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the one that is to come. 15 Through him [then] let us continually offer God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name. 16 Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have; God is pleased by sacrifices of that kind.
17 Obey your leaders and defer to them, for they keep watch over you and will have to give an account, that they may fulfill their task with joy and not with sorrow, for that would be of no advantage to you.
18 Pray for us, for we are confident that we have a clear conscience, wishing to act rightly in every respect. 19 I especially ask for your prayers that I may be restored to you very soon.
20 May the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep by the blood of the eternal covenant, Jesus our Lord, 21 furnish you with all that is good, that you may do his will. May he carry out in you what is pleasing to him through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever [and ever]. Amen.
22 Brothers, I ask you to bear with this message of encouragement, for I have written to you rather briefly. 23 I must let you know that our brother Timothy has been set free. If he comes soon, I shall see you together with him. 24 Greetings to all your leaders and to all the holy ones. Those from Italy send you greetings. 25 Grace be with all of you.
And here we go. What is the Preacher calling them to in “this message of encouragement” he has given them? What does applying all his theology on sacrifices amount to? It amounts to turning our lives into a living sacrifice as Jesus did with his life. We are “in Christ,” baptized into him. We are part of his Body. Our lives should follow the pattern of his. Our lives may end in martyrdom as it does for thousands of Christians every year around the world. If we are not expected to pay that ultimate price, we must certainly expect opposition if we simply live out what he instructed by word and example. The preacher reminds us of the main sacrifices every man and woman is called to.
- Continue the mutual love of brothers and sisters in the faith.
- Practice hospitality, not in our own circle, but towards strangers who appear.
- Don’t forget compassion for prisoners (dependent back then on others to their provide food, for starters, but often enough in terrible conditions in our day.)
- More compassion for the “ill-treated.” This covers many things, including those tortured, abandoned, left without food, care, or hope, etc. He words it so that it can apply to our bodies simply as human beings or to the various sufferings and persecutions of “the Body” (of Christ).
- Uphold marriage as the only acceptable situation for sexual union, with personal practice of what we proclaim.
- Don’t be “money-minded,” chasing riches, but be comfortable with what you have–the Lord is working with you day by day so you will have enough–which is exactly what he instructed us to pray for: food for the day.
- Follow the good example given by our leaders (who suffered and died resolute in their faith).
- Beware of “new” teachings that promise advantages but are not what Christ taught.
- In short, make praise your sacrifice to God, while “do[ing] good and…shar[ing] what you have”–the other kind of pleasing sacrifice.
If you live the faith in these ways, God can “carry out in you what is pleasing to him through Jesus Christ” (see verse 21).
Summing it up: “our God is a consuming fire” (v. 12:29) and we, living out our faith as above, become an acceptable sacrifice, part of the flame that is God’s all-consuming love. Our union with the Lord is complete.