A Better Life Through Christ
Hebrews 12-13
St. John’s United Church of Christ
Greeley, Colorado
November 10, 2024
Rev. Juvenal Cervantes
Have you ever been at a place where you felt awkward, wondering, “I don’t deserve to be here.” Such was the feeling I experienced several years ago as I was invited to pray at the Colorado General Assembly of Colorado. I was among lawmakers in the opulent state capitol. This is an inept analogy of the entire Christian life. We have access to benefits and blessings that come with knowing Him and it changes our behavior because we’re living in the kingdom of God.
We’ve been studying the book of Hebrews and today we close out the series on this wonderful book. The entire book of Hebrews points out that Jesus is better.
Today we want to talk about a key concept: living in the kingdom of God. We will look at the benefits, the blessings and the behaviors that follow.
The first hearers were a small persecuted group of people, formerly Jews. They are living in a pluralistic society, likely Rome and the temptation was to go back to Judaism. It is also assumed that they knew about the Christian story, redemption, creation, the fall, they understand about the sacrifice system, they know all about the exodus. They know all the details of the tabernacle, the holy of holies, the curtain that separated God from others. A common theme was therefore, in light of, because of this, run the race of endurance.
The benefits in a kingdom that cannot be shaken, principally access to God. The writer talks about the difference between Mount Zion and Mount Sinai. Mount Zion is the dwelling place of God, and
For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them.
This is a reference of the Ten Commandments given at Mount Sinai.
For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.”
Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.”
He’s saying, “But not you.” Look at verse 22.
But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
Abel’s blood was crying out a as a sign of vengeance, Christ’s blood was shed as a sign of grace.
Then in the following verses, he says, “don’t miss the message”
Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.
Here is the point: The entire Christian life is based on what Christ has accomplished for us, not what we do for him.
Religion says, “Do this… and you are accepted.” Grace says, “You are accepted, now obey.” All of life is a response to what Christ has already done for us. The Christian life is not, you get Jesus and all goes well with you. The Christian life is, you get Jesus and you have more than enough to whatever you go through in life.
We see this also in the writing of Paul. He offers gospel indicatives first and then gospel imperatives. Indicatives are statements of facts. Let’s talk about what Christ has done: you’re totally forgiven, you are fully loved, completely accepted by him.
Then he moves from access to God, the benefits of the Christian life to the behavior. Hebrews 13:1-9. Here we find six key distinctives of the Christian life:
1. Radical love.
Let brotherly love continue.
Some believe, my role is to be right. In the kingdom of God, you may be right, but without love, you are wrong. Yes, truth is our shield, coupled with the fruit of the spirit.
2. Generous hospitality
Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. We don’t know who we are serving, and we know that Christ identifies with those in need.
3. Care for the marginalized
Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body.
He is alluding to empathy: care for others as if you were mistreated or in prison.
4. Biblical sexuality
Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.
The vision of sex and marriage in the bible is countercultural in our society. Sex outside of marriage dishonors God. We dishonor God’s design for marriage through divorce, though living together, by not preparing for marriage (we work more on the venue than on preparing for marriage), by having a redefinition of marriage, completely dishonoring God’s design. The hookup culture believes in disengaging the soul and the body and we Christian must proclaim and live out that there is a more beautiful vision for sexuality and that is the one that God proposes for us. Sexual purity is a noble goal for all of us, additionally, let’s confess that we’re all sexual sinners, all of us. Jesus said, “If you lust…” We are all in need of sexual purity. Jesus is our example of purity.
Sexual purity is not a destination, it is a relationship with Jesus who is pure. We are not made righteous by our sexual purity; we are made righteous by him.
”Humans do not need freedom from their body to discover their true authentic self. Rather we can celebrate our embodied existence as a good gift from God. Instead of escaping from the body, the goal is to live in harmony with it.” (Nancy Pearcy, Love Thy Body)
Then she quotes Jean-Paul Sartre, the great philosopher, atheist: There is no human nature because there is no God to have a conception of it. Man is nothing else, but that which he makes himself.
Pearcy point out: If there is no blueprint for what it means to be human, if nature reveals no purpose that we cannot form our morality.
So, if we take God and remove him from the equation, this is what we end up with. Of Couse we know that we are embodied humans, we are sexed humans. So, we live not according to our preferences or our desires, yet it can be challenging for many of us. We are going to live according to God’s desires and bring glory to him, not by our own pleasure, by our own desire, but instead give our lives to him so that we can live integrated, wholistic, congruent lives.
5. Christ centered contentment.
Verse 5:
Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Why be content? Because Jesus is better. Materialism is a major sin, because you are saying Jesus is not enough. Two things that reveal we are consumed by materialism: 1) You are not content, and 2) you are not a giver.
So we can confidently say,
“The Lord is my helper;
I will not fear;
what can man do to me?”
We don’t have to keep us with everyone. We have enough with Jesus.
6. Honor and gratitude
Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith
Pause and honor those who lead.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
CS Lewis: All that is not eternal is eternally out of date.
The book of Hebrews closes with a beautiful benediction:
Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.