Sermon on Hebrews 13, Portrait of a Growing Christian

What would be your test for whether you are someone you know is a growing Christian?  If you could put a thermometer or some other kind of measuring device in the soul, you could see if their faith was increasing, if their love was becoming deeper, or if their hope was budding and blooming.  God can measure that, of course, but we can’t measure that as well.  If we’re in intimate relationship with a person we can perhaps see aspects of that growth by what they share with us from their inmost being.

But the best measure we have in general is behavior.  What behaviors should we look for in growing Christians?  I suppose you could create several lists with different behaviors on them and the Scriptures often do that.  There is the more general “fruit of the Spirit” list in Galatians 5, or the list Peter gives in 2 Peter 1, or James’ overall depiction in his letter.  Here before us today we have the author of Hebrews list.  He has been wrestling, so to speak, with a congregation of Jewish believers who were edging back closer to Judaism and considering giving up the distinctions of Christianity.  He was showing them the extreme danger of doing so and strongly motivating them to get back to the center through his rational arguments from the Old Testament and his challenges to their experiences and wisdom.

Now, as he concludes his letter, his “brief exhortation” as he calls it in verse 22, he wisely gives a roll call of Christian behaviors that give evidence of spiritual growth.  As this congregation moves back toward Christ, how will it be reflected in their living?  And guess what, there seem to be 11 basic behaviors and one internally oriented behavior that make up his portrait.  That is 12 facets to this diamond, 12 articles of clothing for the spiritual fashionista, 12 hats we should be wearing.  And as we go through the list I want us to each pick one item that stands out to us as the item of greatest need for us in our personal growth.  Let’s observe the items of spiritual growth proof and compare ourselves to see how we’re doing and where we need the most help.

Loving

“Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters.”

Now this assumes that we have love for one another as brothers and sisters, but that spiritual growth as a Christian includes perseverance in love.  And that is the real test isn’t it?  Can I keep on loving you?  In the first flush of relationship I thought you were the bee’s knees, but now I’ve come to see that you have foibles.  You get kind of judgmental if I don’t behave or believe exactly like you.  You sing off key.  You don’t always follow through on things you say you will do.  You don’t know how to take a joke.  The worst thing of all is that you don’t always agree with what I think is important.  What’s wrong with you anyway?

But this is just the kind of thing that tests any relationship.  If I love only the things I see in myself I’m not any better than an unbeliever.  God’s love looks beyond what I like about myself and considers you more important than myself.  It teaches me to appreciate you despite of and maybe even because of our differences.  I get more irritated with Christians than anybody else.  I guess I expect more of them, so they disappoint me more.  That’s why they are the ones I need to learn to love at all times.

Hospitable

“Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers.”

Hospitality is a state of mind that says, “What God has given to me I am willing to share with you.  My home is your home.”  Our greatest test in hospitality is two-fold.  One, am I willing to share what I have with someone in need, and two, am I willing to set aside my pride of reputation?

Sharing what I have with someone in need stretches my resources and those resources may already be paper thin.  But like the widow who showed hospitality to Elijah, God is able to multiply the little we have in order to meet both our need and the need of the one we are hosting.  It is a test of faith in God’s provision of unlimited resources.

Then there is the Mary/Martha syndrome.  Showing hospitality takes work.  I’m famous for wanting to have people over but not taking into consideration how much work that means for my wife.  Hospitality can’t all be laid on the shoulders of one member of the family.  But we can also suffer from a need, like Martha did, to look good to our guests to the point that we spend more effort doing for them than being with them.

Empathetic to Those Suffering Persecution

“Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison.”

This is not an injunction to prison ministry.  It is a reflection on how dangerous it is or can be to be a Christian and how concerned we need to be to identify with those persecuted.  That’s why he adds the phrase to remember those who are mistreated.  Going to the prison to minister to one of ours who has been detained simply for their faith in Christ runs the risk of our being viewed with the same hatred.  It means we might get imprisoned too.

But the biggest factor in this evidence of spiritual growth is that we must remember the persecuted as if we ourselves were being persecuted.  We have to demonstrate that we will do for them what we would have someone do for us.  We are not experiencing much persecution here in our country.  But there are still ways we can identify with those here who are being persecuted, praying for them if nothing else, learning about what they are experiencing if we don’t know.  November 2 is the international day of prayer for the persecuted church.

Maritally Faithful

“Marriage should be honored by all.”

Being faithful to my marriage vows is a huge test of my faith in Christ.  Nearly every movie I watch about married couples, every novel I read, every advice I receive says to me, loud and clear, “You need to be happy, and if you are not happy with your spouse, you need to find someone who makes you happy.”  The irony of this is that remarrying does not typically make you happier except in the short run.  That initial happiness wears off as the same issues that occurred in the first marriage reoccur in the second.  If second or other marriages work it is because you changed, not your spouse.

Do you honor marriage?  Do you demonstrate loyalty to your husband or wife?  Do you keep your commitment no matter what?  It is an unfortunate trait of our souls that positive reinforcement is not enough, many times, to keep us on the right path.  The author of Hebrews has to remind us that “God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.”  What are you doing to encourage your faithfulness to your vows?  If you are struggling, what steps are you taking to get help?  A growing Christian does not settle for inactivity about this or for infidelity.

Dependent on God More than Money

“Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have.”

Our teacher here knows our hearts.  We will always want to take the easy way out.  And when it comes to facing the daily challenges of life, we would much rather find ways to avoid depending on God for our daily bread and all other wants and needs.  Money seems to be the answer we look to most.  If I can get enough of it I won’t have to wait on God.  Money becomes my soother, my quest, my savior, my love.

God wants us to know that He is for us and that we don’t need to be afraid.  He is on our side and He will provide what we need.  A growing Christian is developing this confidence.  A growing Christian is learning to say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.”  Can you say that with conviction, or is fear eating your lunch?

Imitative of Faithful Leaders

“Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.”

Should growing Christians be mimics?  Yes, the characteristic of a mature person is knowing who to imitate.  Do you look to those who have demonstrated courage under fire, faithfulness to Jesus, and solid teaching?  Then you are showing maturity.  Are you imitating their faith or imitating their personalities?  A sign of maturing is being able to separate someone’s idiosyncratic ways of doing things from the faith behind it.  Imitation should be of substance not form.

For the writer of Hebrews this challenge is another way of encouraging them to give up on the dangerous notion of going back to Judaism.  Their former leadership has set the bar for them.  They did not defect.  Their lives turned out a blessing.  Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  Their leaders knew and lived that.  They must also.  And so must we.  A growing Christian will find himself or herself becoming more and more committed to the Lordship of Jesus, like those before us were and were thus able to hand on a faith worth imitating to the next generation.

Committed to Sound Doctrine

“Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings.”

A growing Christian is becoming less and less susceptible to error.  For the writer of Hebrews this particularly meant his readers would be less susceptible to being drawn to dietary restrictions and other Old Testament forms that Christ’s coming replaced.  It also meant being willing to suffer with Christ in order to show our commitment to that coming kingdom.

For us it means, more than likely, other forms of doctrine we find more persuasive than Old Testament forms.  It means not being tempted by prosperity gospels that seek to play to our love of money and our consumeristic selfishness.  It means not being deceived by the cults that come to our doors, which means we have figured out why we believe what we believe in orthodox Christianity.  The only way to get to this place of growth is by study of Scripture and that means an openness to learn from Jesus and a discipline to stay with the curriculum.

Singularly Worshipful

“Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise.”

Worship is expressing value to something or someone outside of ourselves that gives our lives meaning.  It occupies our thoughts and we get emotional about it.  And typically, we are not therefore embarrassed about people knowing we worship it.  We want them to know.  For the believer that something is and must be God.  He alone is worthy of our utter and complete devotion.  He alone gives us the true meaning for our lives.

These readers were showing a decline in this area and had to be challenged to openly profess Jesus’ name.  They were perhaps fearful of the consequences of publicly affirming Jesus, and they were personally doubting Jesus’ worthiness of worship.  I’m guessing we don’t doubt Jesus’ worthiness to worship, but we are more prone to fear public affirmation of Jesus because people will look down on us.  And to be sure there are wise and unwise ways to praise him in public.  But growing Christians are becoming more and more concerned about others knowing Jesus and less and less concerned about our own reputations or even safety.  That the world might know is more important than that the world might think I’m okay.

Socially Compassionate

“And do not forget to do good and to share with others.”

Can you forget to do good?  That usually happens when you have become so comfortable in your own life and so insulated from the suffering of others that it just never crosses your mind that people need help.  I’m pretty prone to this.  I like routine and I am able to establish a pretty comfortable one since I don’t have to worry about having money to purchase food or pay my utilities or mortgage.  I forget that others are struggling week to week to stay in their homes or have enough for meals.  So we have to be reminded to do good and share with others.  I recently heard a report on giving that noted that those making over $200,000 a year have decreased their giving by 4.5% over the last year.  Interestingly, those who make less than that have increased their giving by 4%.  The more aware we are of the need, the more our hearts should open up.

When we do, we are told that God is pleased with our sacrifice.  Isn’t that cool?  I was talking to a woman who was recently divorced and is struggling to make enough to care for her kids and herself.  She is waits tables in a small restaurant.  When she was out with some friends for a rare dinner out at another restaurant her waiter was really struggling.  Being sensitive to his plight she tipped $10 on a $10 bill, a 100% tip.  The next day at work one of her customers did exactly the same thing for her.  Then another customer saw some military guys eating there and chose to pay for their bill.  When she informed them they thanked her and said, “We want to pay this forward,” so they asked her to pay for another customer in the restaurant, after tipping her $20.  When she told the other customer he said, “I don’t need my bill covered,“ and she replied, “Well, just consider it a blessing.”  When she came back to clean up he had left her $20.  God is pleased when we share with others in need.

Committed and Submissive to Church Leaders

“Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority.”

If the Hebrews had been more confident in their leaders, remembering how faithfully they had served them, and had been submissive to them, they would not have gone so far as they had in considering abandoning Christianity for Judaism.  But there is something in us that rebels against viewing submissiveness to leaders as a mark of a growing Christian.  Wouldn’t a growing Christian be more independent and not need to submit to leaders?  Doesn’t maturity negate the need for following leaders?

I think rather just the opposite.  Maturity recognizes the valuable role leaders play and learns more and more to trust God that the leaders He has put over us are part of His plan to mature us.  To be sure, leaders don’t lead well if they don’t encourage their followers to become more independent in decision making and self-feeding from Scripture.  And there is a mature way to confront leaders when they are in the wrong or at least you believe they are.  But ultimately you are to work at having confidence in them (seeing the best in them) and submitting to their authority.

And the reason given is that they are responsible to God for you.  God will hold them accountable for how they lead.  When Moses assumed this responsibility it became an extremely frustrating one as Israel constantly rebelled against his authority and complained about his leadership.  We want our leaders’ work to be a joy, not a burden, because in the long run that hurts us, as well.

Praying and Dependent on God

“Pray for us.”

Growing Christians know that nothing good gets accomplished by sheer human effort.  If those we care about are going to live honorably in every way, it will be because God is accomplishing this in them.  And in some mysterious way our prayers are going to help.  God has factored prayer into His algorithm for spiritual success.  This is hard for us to understand, so it is best we take it as God’s testimony to what is true rather than trying to fully explain it.

The writer himself follows his own advice and prays,

Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

If I believe that God can do that and wants me to ask Him to do that, I must pray.  I must make that part of my spiritual routine while at the same time not letting it become merely routine.  It is the most amazing power I could possibly wield.

Conclusion

So there you are.  Eleven traits of growing Christians.  If you try to focus on all of them you will become discouraged or perhaps confused.  Which one did God speak most clearly to your soul about?  Which one stirred the most emotion for you or the most challenge?  That is the one I would take a moment to ponder and bring to God.  The one that speaks the most to me is the one about praying.  I must ask the Lord to speak more to me about this for my growth in Christlikeness.

Perhaps you could pray like this:

Lord, make me…

Singular in Worship

Socially Compassionate

Imitative of Faithful Leaders

Dependent on God More than Money

Committed to Sound Doctrine

Praying and Dependent on God

Committed and Submissive to Church Leaders

Maritally Faithful

Empathetic to Those Suffering Persecution

Hospitable

Loving…