Living a Life That Pleases God
Hebrews 13:1-6
Hebrews 12:29
for our “God is a consuming fire.
Hebrews 13:1-6
Keep on loving each other as brothers. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering. Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?"
1. Love Fellow Christians
Hebrews 13:1
Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters.
...its one word in the Greek, philadelphia.
-And its derived from 2 words...
-Phileo which means to “to have a great affection for.” -And adelphos which means “brother” or “from the same
womb.”
>Literally it means “to have great affection for those who come from the same womb.”
1 John 3:14
If we love our Christian brothers and sisters, it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead.
John 13:35
[Jesus said], “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples."
2. Show Hospitality
Hebrews 13:2
Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.
Literally “entertain strangers” philo-xenia to “love strangers.”
3. Help the Hurting
Hebrews 13:3
Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.
> If they hear that any of their number is imprisoned or oppressed for the name of their Messiah, all of them provide for his needs, and if it is possible that he may be delivered, they deliver him. If there is among them a man that is poor or needy, and they have not an abundance of necessaries, they fast two or three days that they may supply the needy with their necessary food. ---- The Apology of Aristides
4. Stay Sexually Pure
Hebrews 13:4
Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.
Hebrews 13:4
...and the marriage bed kept pure
Celibate monasticism: marriage is spiritually inferior.
Culture of the day: marriage is irrelevant and is a hinderance to sexual freedom and fulfillment.
1 Corinthians 6:13-17
You say, "Food was made for the stomach, and the stomach for food." (This is true, though someday God will do away with both of them.) But you can't say that our bodies were made for sexual immorality. They were made for the Lord, and the Lord cares about our bodies. Don't you realize that your bodies are actually parts of Christ? Should a man take his body, which is part of Christ, and join it to a prostitute? Never! And don't you realize that if a man joins himself to a prostitute, he becomes one body with her? For the Scriptures say, "The two are united into one." But the person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him.
Hebrews 13:4
Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.
> I would say and have said to such a person, “If you understand from the Bible that what you are about to do is sin, and you decide to do it because God has promised to forgive sin, then probably your decision will be evidence that you are not born again, you are not a Christian but are still ‘in the gall of bitterness and the bond of iniquity.’”
>
> (*Acts 8:23) *NIV: you are held a captive by sin ---John Piper, Sexual Relations in Marriage, February 15, 1981
1 Corinthians 6:9-10
Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
Ephesians 5:5-6
For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person — such a man is an idolater — has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God's wrath comes on those who are disobedient.
1 Thessalonians 4:3, 6-7
It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you. For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.
Revelation 21:8
But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars — their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.
Revelation 22:13-16
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. "Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. "I, Jesus…
5. Be Content
Hebrews 13:5
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have…
1 Timothy 6:10
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
> If your gross household income is $35,000 you are in the top 4% of the world’s wealthiest people. --- Giving What We Can Give
1 Timothy 6:6-8
But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.
Philippians 4:11-12
I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
How can you be content?
1st Cultivate a thankful heart
2nd Avoid comparisons to others
Hebrews 13:5
Don't love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, "I will never fail you. I will never abandon you."
Literally: I will never, never leave you. I will never, never, never forsake you.
Hebrews 13:6
So we can say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?"
