Sermons

The Letter to the Hebrews Bear Reproach, Give Praise, Do Good Hebrews 13:13-16 Near my house there’s a trail that where I often walk and pray. I have walked that trail hundreds of times. And over the years I have seen two older ladies who also walk that trail. I’ve seen then, and I’ve greeted them. But I’ve never told them about Jesus. Think about that. Here’s two ladies who might not be trusting Jesus Christ. They might still be under the guilt of their sin. They might be without God and without hope in this world. They might be facing God’s punishment in hell forever. And I’ve never talked to them about Jesus. So why is that? I’ve got lots of excuses, but the biggest reason is because I’m afraid. I’m afraid of how they might respond. I’m afraid of their disapproval, their criticism, their reproach. And I’m pretty sure I’m not alone. I would guess that most of us have people in our lives whom we have not spoken to about Jesus because we are afraid of reproach. Think about your neighbors. Think about your friends. Think about people who work at stores you visit. Think about people at work. Most of us have people in our lives whom we have not spoken to about Jesus. And the main reason is because we are afraid of disapproval, criticism, and reproach. But in today’s passage in the book of Hebrews God tells us how we can be set free from fearing reproach. So let’s turn to Hebrews 13:13. If you need a Bible, go ahead and raise your hand and we will bring one to you. Hebrews 13:13 is on page 1010 in the Bibles we are passing out. Last week we saw that the readers of this letter were tempted to pursue a strange teaching – the teaching that, when your heart is weak with guilt or fear or insecurity, the way to have God strengthen your heart is by eating certain foods. And we saw in vv.7-13 that our hearts will not be strengthened by eating certain foods – but by receiving God’s grace. And that the way we receive God’s grace is by going to Jesus – by turning to Jesus with our weak hearts and trusting all that God promises in His Word that He will be to us in Christ Jesus. When we do that – God will pour His grace upon us and strengthen us and fill us and empower us. But then at the end of v.13 he says that everyone who goes to Jesus will bear the reproach Jesus endured. You can see that in v.13 – 13 Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. So everyone who goes to Jesus outside the camp WILL bear the reproach Jesus endured. If you turn to Jesus with your heart full of guilt, fear, and emptiness, and find forgiveness, peace, and fullness – you will bear the reproach Jesus endured. But why? Why, if we go to Jesus, will we bear the reproach he endured? To understand why, we have to go back to v.11, which talks about the Old Testament sacrifices for sin -- 11 For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. In the Old Testament a bull was offered as a sin offering. The fat and kidneys and liver were burned on the altar, but the rest of the bull was taken outside the camp to the garbage dump and burned up. And that’s a picture of what would happen to Jesus – as we see in v.12 -- 12 So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. Jesus suffered outside the camp, outside the gate of Jerusalem, at a place where criminals were killed. It was not a place of honor. It was a place of shame. It was a place of reproach. And as he suffered the religious leaders mocked him. The soldiers scoffed at him. The people made fun of him. He endured reproach. So what does that mean for us? V.13 -- 13 Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. See, we can live inside the camp, inside the city, seeking what is honorable to the city and what is praiseworthy to the city. Or – we can go to Jesus – who is mocked by the city, scoffed at by the city, reproached by the city. Which means we will also be reproached by the city. We will bear the reproach Jesus endured. But why? It’s because if we go to him, he will strengthen our hearts so much that we will love him. We will worship him. We will identify with him. And we will obey him by speaking of him to those around us – • We invite a co-worker to lunch and share the Gospel • We write an email to an old friend sharing what Christ has done in your life • We ask a neighbor if he’d be interested in studying God’s Word • We invite a friend to your home group or Sunday worship • We go to the mall and humbly and graciously ask people if they would like to hear about Jesus And when we do this many will be interested, and some will come to faith. But some will scoff. Some will mock. We will feel reproach. So that’s why, if we go to Jesus, we will bear the reproach he endured. It’s because everyone who genuinely goes to Jesus will speak of Jesus, and will suffer reproach. But reproach hurts. It is painful. And the author knows this. The author knows that the possibility of reproach can make us disobey Jesus and not speak to people about him. And so in the next verse the author gives us a truth that will help us overcome the fear of reproach – So how can we overcome our fear of reproach? The answer is in v.14. But to get the flow of thought, let’s read vv.13 and 14 together – 13 Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. 14 For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. Notice the first word in v.14. It’s the word “for.” So v.14 is the reason that will help us be willing to bear Jesus’ reproach. And a crucial part of Bible study is noticing the reasons, and thinking about them until you see how they are reasons – so the Holy Spirit can use those reasons to persuade your heart. So how is v.14 a reason, and how does that reason help us be willing to bear Jesus’ reproach? Let’s read it again – 14 For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. Picture it like this. Over here is the camp, the city of the world. If we live there we will be affirmed by the city, accepted by the city, and praised by the city. And over here is Jesus, who is mocked by this city, scoffed at by this city, reproached by this city. So we have a choice. We can stay in the city of the world – living for its acceptance and affirmation and praise. Or we can go to Jesus outside the city – living for Him, speaking of Him – and be mocked by the city, scoffed at by the city, and reproached by the city. So why would we want to go to Jesus outside the city? The reason is in v.14 -- 14 For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. The city we have here, the city of the world, is not lasting. Let that sink in. None of its praise, honor, or prestige is lasting. And when we identify with Jesus and speak of Jesus none of its mockery, scoffing, and reproach is lasting. But there is another city. It’s not here yet. It is still to come. The Bible calls it the heavenly city. The new Jerusalem. The new heavens and earth. And the way to seek this city is by leaving the city of this world, going to Jesus, and bearing his reproach. And if you are living with Jesus -- bearing Jesus’ reproach – then the moment you die, or Jesus comes back – at that moment you will enter the city that is to come. And when you enter the city that is to come, you will come into the very presence of God the Father. And he loves his Son. He loves having his Son honored. And he knows that to honor his Son, you bore the reproach Jesus endured. So he will look you in the eyes and say – You spoke of my Son to your neighbors, and bore Jesus’ reproach. You spoke of my Son to your friends, and bore Jesus’ reproach. You spoke of my Son to your work associates, and bore Jesus’ reproach. Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of the Lord. And forever you will feel the Father’s pleasure, the Father’s favor, the Father’s love. And that will more than make up for any mockery, any scorn, any reproach you bore. And when we see that the reproach of the world will not last, and the pleasure, favor, and love of the Father will last forever – we will be set free from fearing the reproach of the world. And so we gladly leave this city of the world, and go to Jesus, and bear his reproach, because here we have no lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come. And then in vv.15-16 the author answers one last question – How should we respond to all of this? In vv.9-14 he has just rocked our world with all that we have in Christ. Think of it. Whenever our hearts are weak – with guilt, or discouragement, or fear – we can turn to Jesus Christ. Even though we have sinned against him, because of his death on the Cross we can always turn to him and by faith alone he will lift the guilt from us, he will encourage us when we are discouraged, he will relieve our fears. And everyone who turns to Jesus Christ will love Jesus Christ. We will want to glorify Jesus Christ, and speak of Jesus Christ -- and so we will speak of him to everyone around us. And as a result we will bear Christ’s reproach. But we know – that’s not lasting. We are seeking the city which is to come, where forever we will feel the Father’s pleasure, favor, and love. And so how should we respond to this? With two sacrifices. Israel offered animal sacrifices to God in the Old Testament. We don’t offer animal sacrifices. But there are two sacrifices we are called to offer – First, continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God. That’s in v.15 -- 15 Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. Because of Jesus, our sin can be forgiven and our weak hearts can be strengthened. And because of Jesus, we are headed for the city that is to come where we will know God’s love and favor and pleasure forever. So – offer up a sacrifice of praise to God. We take time here Sunday mornings to offer up a sacrifice of praise to God – and that’s good. But what the author says here is astonishing. Underline that word “continually.” “Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God.” Continually. He’s not talking about constantly speaking shallow clichés. He’s talking about seeing all that we have in Christ – so we are genuinely, meaningfully, humbly praising God all the time. He envisions that throughout the day you will be saying -- Thank you, Father, for being willing to punish my sins in your Son Thank you, Father, for forgiveness of sins in Christ Thank you, Father, that you strengthen my heart through Christ Thank you, Father, for my future in the city that is to come Thank you, Father, that forever I will know your love and favor and pleasure That’s one kind of sacrifice we are to offer. But there’s a second kind – offer a sacrifice of doing good and sharing what you have. That’s in v.16 -- 16 Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. When your heart is strengthened by Christ, and when you are living for the city that is to come – you will no longer move toward comfort and ease and having more and more. You will be so satisfied in Christ and so secured in Christ that your heart will overflow with a longing to do good and share with others. So ask yourself – is the impulse of your life to gain more comfort, more ease, more security? Or is the impulse of your life to meet needs, to share what you have, to help others? And here are some ideas: You can volunteer at the Community Pregnancy Center, loving and supporting young girls who are pregnant and helping them see the tragedy of abortion and the loving alternatives. You can tighten up your budget and squeeze out $50 a month to take the Gospel to an unreached Muslim people group. You can become part of the set up and take down team here Sunday mornings. You can organize a cleanup of your neighborhood park. You can mow the lawn for the widow down the street – and tell her about how Jesus fills your heart so you love to serve. You can devote 5 minutes a day to praying for those in your home group – asking God to strengthen their hearts, and empower their witness. You can go to Morocco in the spring, devoting 10 days to rebuilding earthquake-damaged homes, so those who speak the language can explain to Muslims that it’s Jesus who gave you a heart to serve. These are all sacrifices with which God will be pleased – and to which one day he will say; “Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of the Lord.” So, Mercy Hill Church – Bear Jesus’ reproach, by telling others about him Continually offer a sacrifice of praise And do good and share what you have. But don’t forget where these come from. They come from hearts that are constantly turning to God’s grace in Jesus for strength. It all starts there. So constantly turn to God’s grace in Jesus for strength.