Life And Love On The Horizontal Plane
Part of Hebrews - Pastor's Bible Study
March 8, 2018

LIFE AND LOVE ON THE HORIZONTAL PLANE
HEBREWS 13:1-7

  1. Our Commitments On The Horizontal Plane

    1) Fellow believers (v. 1)

    • The phrase “brotherly love” is one word in Greek: Philadelphia. It is a compound of philos, which means kindly disposed, devoted, and adelphos, which means brother, hence the idea of brotherly love or

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      .

    • The basis of spiritual fellowship on the horizontal plane of life is

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      . (v. 1)

    • These Jews were rejected by family and friends because of their faith in Jesus. But, the deepest fellowship is not based on race or family, it is based on the spiritual life we have in Christ.

    • This kind of love demands something from each of us, a

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      to one another. We’re not just attending church services together at a particular place and time each week. We are members of the same body. We have a church family, and we should love one another accordingly. But, it takes a commitment to one another and a commitment to loving one another.

    2) Strangers (v. 2)

    • While we in a church love one another and do so knowing we’re in and a part of the same family, the author says that that kind of love for a church family should also be expressed
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      to people who are not a part of your local church, i.e. to strangers.
    • Philadelphia (brotherly love) is juxtaposed with philoxenia (love for strangers).
    • This love for strangers is played out practically in the form of
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      - the act of being hospitable (kind, friendly, gracious, receiving, etc.) toward guests.
      • This was a very important ministry in the early church: many Christians were persecuted and had need of a place to stay, there were also many traveling ministers that were taken into the homes of church members.

    3) The imprisoned (v. 3)

    • In the days of the Hebrews, it was not uncommon for fellow church members to be arrested or persecuted. It would be tempting to shun away so as to
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      yourself, but as a fellow Christian the right thing to do was to show concern and love, even minister to those who were imprisoned for their faith and relationship with Jesus. (Ex. Paul and Epaphroditus)

    4) Marital relationship (v. 4)

    • At the time of the writing of the book of Hebrews, many held a low view of marriage.

    • The author places the adjective “

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      ” at the front of the sentence in Greek. He is emphasizing that we should honor marriage and all that is involved in it.

    • The marriage bed being the most intimate, personal aspect of the husband-wife relationship should be kept undefiled.
    • Marriage should not be broken by adultery or defiled by fornication.

    • Adultery is a marriage partner cheating on the spouse. Fornication is someone outside of a marriage engaging in sexual relationship with someone else’s spouse.

    • Charles Swindoll: As Christians in a corrupt world, we may not be able to reverse the destructive ideas and practices that mark us as a “modern” society, a society with its doors wide-open to promiscuity and perversion. However, we can attend to our own marriages and set an example of purity, sanctity, and faithfulness.

  2. Our Contentment On The Horizontal Plane

    1) Content with material possessions (vv. 5-6; cf. Phil. 4:11-12; 1 Tim. 6:7-8)

    • Covetousness literally means the love of money, but it can be applied to a love for more of anything.
    • If we love God and others as we should, then we will have a right relationship to material things.
    • If anything destroys our fellowship with God, it is fellowshipping too much with material possessions.
    • Contentment cannot come from material things, because material things cannot satisfy.

    • How much money does a man need? A little bit more.

    • Isn’t this really the root of lust for material wealth? We doubt God’s faithfulness as

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      and
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      .

    • God brings contentment. He will never leave us, nor forsake us.

    • Money and material possessions are unworthy of our faith, our hope, and our love.

    • When our love is for money and we’re discontented, then we won’t display our

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      for others correctly and certainly not God.

    2) Contentment with God-appointed position (v. 7)

    • God has given each body (local church) leaders, elder, pastor, spiritual leaders who speak the Word of God to those under their spiritual care.
    • A spirit of discontentment in God-appointed position leads us to fail to
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      those who lead us or even to
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      against the direction leaders provide.

    • To ignore or rebel against spiritual leadership is to neglect an essential means God has provided for our spiritual nourishment.

    • When we as believers placed under leaders, find contentment in our position, we can “remember” our leaders, “consider” their conduct, and “imitate” their faith.

Application:

  • How am I doing with my commitments and contentment? Am I expressing brotherly love? Showing hospitality? Being faithful in my marriage? Being content with my possessions? Embracing my place under leadership in the church?

    • Commitment means not compromising with your culture when the shifting standards of society are at odds with God’s Word.

    • Contentment means trusting that He is your ultimate Provider, He knows what’s best for you, and he will never leave you nor forsake you.

    • We have to take these principles and get them out of realm of the theoretical and into the realm of the practical.