Chapter 13: 1-6

“Let brotherly love continue. ² Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels. ³ Remember the prisoners as if chained with them—those who are mistreated—since you yourselves are in the body also. ⁴ Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge. ⁵ Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ ⁶ So we may boldly say: ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?'”

Last week we looked at a part of the moral conduct that Paul lays out for us here in Hebrews. One of the most amazing things that you can glean from this is the absolute transformation of Paul.

When we first meet Paul (then called Saul) in Acts 7, he is presiding over the execution of Stephen, the church’s first martyr. Paul was a Pharisee, one who grew up on strict rituals and the overperformance of the law. So much was their commitment to the ‘Law’ or their version of the ‘Law’ that there was no room for compassion and love. No room for grace and mercy, no room for kindness and perceived weakness. They really had the idea that they were better than everyone else, including Jesus, by the way.

When Paul got saved when he experienced grace and kindness for the first time, it really transformed him. The man who wrote about the grace of God to the ‘chief of sinners’ was truly a transformed man.

As we explore these moral modes of conduct, we see some crazy ideas that are promoted by this former Pharisee; his pharisaical brethren would have been ashamed of how weak and soft he had become. But these perceived weaknesses are the very strengths that help others to see the wonders, the grace, the kindness, and the love of God.

Last week we explored ‘brotherly love.’ This intentional kindness and service to each other that is driven by the love of Christ in us is a far greater testimony than any man-made rule of conduct. And when love is the driving force and the motive of what we do, then adherence to the Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes becomes a natural outflow. We are loving, kind, generous, humble, patient, and on and on we can go. But all of these flow from brotherly love.

Today we will look at marriage.

• Marriage is honorable, verse 4

For the last 50 years, the governments of the world have attacked the family. They have encouraged men and women to be sexually active in their youth and then settle down as they get older. Governments have invented new ways to ‘recognize’ marriages as civil unions and partnerships more than true, solely committed marriages where one pledges love and service for life.

For the very first time in the history of the USA, more babies were born out of wedlock than in wedlock than ever before. This is the first time since 1845 when they began keeping records that more than 51% of all babies born were born out of wedlock.

Marriage is honorable. God says that — not me, not a church, not a country. God says it, and all other opinions are no longer valid. Marriage, we are told in Ephesians 5, should mirror how Jesus loves the local church. It should mirror how the local church serves and honors the Lord. Marriage is the pinnacle of human interaction. In it, we see the true understanding of grace and kindness, of eternal and immediate forgiveness; we see the power of sacrificial love, and through godly marriage, we see the expansion of the kingdom through childbirth.

As a Missionary Baptist pastor, you can see the importance of missions. As a church, we have and do support missions in Ukraine, Pakistan, Kenya, in the USA, and we support missions to our prisons here in Ontario, Canada, and on and on we can go. But what we do know for sure about the family is that it is the fastest and surest way of building a church. When godly families have kids, and the men lead those families as the spiritual servants, then we know that 93% of those kids will follow the Lord. Godly marriages are the best and fastest way to build the Lord’s churches. This is why the devil and his minions are so focused on destroying traditional marriage. The Lord’s churches and His people do all in their power to promote and preserve marriage. Get married young, have lots of kids, and lead them to serve the Lord.

• Enjoy Sex in your marriage, verse 4

The ‘bed is undefiled’; this is God telling married people to have fun. Enjoy your sexual life, and have fun doing it. A man and his wife can explore any manner of sex between them without shame and fear. The most important thing is that the sexual experiences are between that man and his wife ONLY. God calls on men to be enraptured with their wives. The following passages are to be taken as plainly as they are read.

Proverbs 5:18-19, (NASB) “Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth. As a loving hind and a graceful doe, let her breasts satisfy you at all times; Be exhilarated always with her love.”

Proverbs 5:15, (NASB), “Drink water from your own cistern and fresh water from your own well.”

The Song of Solomon, we have learned, was only to read as one neared marriage. Many have tried to make it about the church and Jesus, but it is about a man and his wife; it explores their intimate lovemaking and interactions in many scenarios. God allows us to explore and enjoy each other, and no one is allowed to attach any shame or limits on it. A man and his wife are free to explore their sexual needs. Sex is not about making babies; it is, first and foremost, about pleasure and the intimacy that can only be had between a man and his wife.

God designed your sex organs and your brain, and He instilled the desire for sexual intimacy. God wants you to have a wonderful sex life with your spouse. Get married and have fun. God wants you to.

Proverbs 18:22, “He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favour from the LORD.”

A good, loving, and sexually fulfilling marriage is a part of good moral Christian conduct that bolsters the Kingdom of God.

God bless you,

Dr. Sean Gooding
Pastor of Mississauga Missionary Baptist Church

How to Connect with Us

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MississaugaMissionaryBaptistChurch
CLICK HERE to join us online via Zoom
Online: https://mmbchurch.ca/
Email: seangooding@mmbchurch.ca; support@mmbchurch.ca

Chapter 13: 1-6

“Let brotherly love continue. ² Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels. ³ Remember the prisoners as if chained with them—those who are mistreated—since you yourselves are in the body also. ⁴ Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge. ⁵ Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ ⁶ So we may boldly say: ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?'”

Over the last two weeks, we talked about serving the Lord with reverence. As I get older, I appreciate that I get to wake up every day and see my family. It is a privilege that many do not have. Each day many people see their loved ones for the last time. We live in a time when we can see the hand of God in supernatural ways all over the world in reports from missionaries, often in real-time. We live in a time when archeological discoveries continue to bolster our faith and help to give us confidence in the Bible. God has blessed us to live in a special time; many generations of Christians never got to see the resurrected nation of Israel or see the hand of God in the Six-Day War. Many Christians did not live in a time when scientific discoveries simply awed us with the power and accuracy of God.

When we are confronted with these wonderful things, a sense of awe and reverence should come over us as we see how amazing God is and the very world around us.

• Love is the true mark of regeneration, verses 1-3

Jesus spoke these words to His disciples as He was preparing them for His departure. These verses are not often mentioned when we talk about being a child of God and living as a Christian, but Jesus thought this was important enough to mention it on the very last day (John 12-19 covers about one day) that He was with the apostles before He was executed.

John 13:34-35, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

This is our identifying mark, Godly love for each other, and in Hebrews 13, Paul is pointing this out to us as a part of true moral living as a child of God. Love is the first pre-requisite; all else is useless without Godly love. The root word here for love is ‘philidelphia,’ referring to brotherly love as we see it translated. Notice that Paul expected it to be already there: ‘let love continue.’ This a sense of deep friendship and partnership. Brothers and Sisters in the Lord working together to help and lift each other up. We supply each other’s needs and do so willingly. When we look at the first church in Acts, we see this very thing happening, chapter 4:32-36,

“All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power, the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.”

We see here that this was the common practice of the Lord’s churches and still should be. If someone amongst us has a need, WE, the Lord’s people, should be the first ones to jump in, give, help, reach out and meet the need. We are not to be stingy and hold back; we are to willingly give without expecting repayment.

• Strangers, Angels, and Prisoners, verses 2-3

These are saved strangers; these are saved brothers and sisters in the Lord. Look at the context; this is a message to save people. Many of the Lord’s people were in transit a lot in these days of the book of Hebrews. They moved because of jobs and family, and many moved because of persecution. They went looking for safe spaces for themselves and their families. The Lord’s churches were to extend love and grace to these traveling spiritual family members. They were to show hospitality and godly kindness to people looking for a bit of peace. Some of the churches had entertained angels posing as people in need of help.

Paul also encouraged these churches to remember the prisoners. Again, once we understand the context, this is referring to prisoners for the sake of the Gospel. Paul knew about this firsthand. He had been in prison for the Gospel on numerous occasions, and in particular, when he was in Rome, he was allowed to have his friends visit him and help him as he awaited his trial before Caesar.

All around the world today, there are men and women who are imprisoned for the Gospel. Even here in North America, I just saw a video of a Pastor being arrested simply for reading Bible verses out loud during a ‘pride’ parade. There may be a time in the not-too-distant future when we will begin to be arrested and imprisoned for speaking the truth about sex, genders, and the like. Would it not be wonderful to know that our brothers and sisters in the Lord are praying for us and sending us a few treats if they can, taking care of our wives, kids and homes, if possible? What a blessing not to have to worry about those things because we know that our loving spiritual family will fill the gaps and meet their needs.

This is the biggest and most important part of the moral and spiritual growth in the Lord’s people. Brotherly love and kindness are more of a mark of spiritual maturity than any other thing you can think of, and when this is in place, all other endeavors have the right motive and thus glorify God as our Father.

Matthew 5:16, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

God bless you,

Dr. Sean Gooding
Pastor of Mississauga Missionary Baptist Church

How to Connect with Us

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MississaugaMissionaryBaptistChurch
CLICK HERE to join us online via Zoom
Online: https://mmbchurch.ca/
Email: seangooding@mmbchurch.ca; support@mmbchurch.ca