Hebrews
The Conclusion
Professor: Dr. R.J. Rushdoony
Subject: Conversations, Panels, and Sermons
Lesson: 33-33
Genre: Lecture
Track: 33
Dictation Name: RR198S33
Location/Venue:
Year:
Let us worship God. Oh come, let us sing unto the Lord, let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation; let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto Him with psalms. Let us pray.
Almighty God our heavenly Father we come again into Thy presence especially joyful in this season. We thank Thee that unto us a child is born, a son is given, and that His name is wonderful, the mighty counselor, the prince of peace. We thank Thee that of the increase of His government there shall be no end. How great Thou art oh God, and we praise Thee. In Christ’s name, amen.
Our Scripture is Hebrews 13:7-25, The Conclusion. Hebrews 13:7-25.
“7Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.
8Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
9Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein.
10We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle.
11For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned without the camp.
12Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate.
13Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach.
14For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.
15By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.
16But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
17Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.
18Pray for us: for we trust we have a good conscience, in all things willing to live honestly.
19But I beseech you the rather to do this, that I may be restored to you the sooner.
20Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,
21Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
22And I beseech you, brethren, suffer the word of exhortation: for I have written a letter unto you in few words.
23Know ye that our brother Timothy is set at liberty; with whom, if he come shortly, I will see you.
24Salute all them that have the rule over you, and all the saints. They of Italy salute you.
25Grace be with you all. Amen.”
(B.F. Weskit?) divided Hebrews 13 in three sections. The first, verses 1-6, social duties, which we have already considered; then second religious duties, verse 7-17; and three, personal instructions from the writer. This is an apt division, but there is a most impressive fact present in all three. These exhortations to faith and Godliness are as warm and kindly as the preceding chapters are often stern and harsh. Hebrews is not addressed to one particular congregation planning to defect to the temple, but to the Hebrews in all churches. At that time most Christians were still Hebrew believers, they were Hebrews converted to Christ. In the various churches, some Jews had apparently considered defection, but all Jewish Christians were instructed and armed to cope with this problem.
This kindly tone reflects too the fact that the faithfulness of most was apparently unquestioned. In verses 1-6 the social duties are cited, brotherly love among the Christians must continue, some who are in error and astray in their abuse of sacrifice and atonement, must now be forgiven if they recant, and are to be treated as brothers in the faith.
Inn’s or Hotels in that era were also brothels, and when you took a room a prostitute came with it. As a result Christians provided hospitality to all traveling Christians in order to avoid ungodly situations and problems. Paul for example went to synagogues to see if any would invite him home after he spoke. Abraham entertained strangers, we are told, not knowing at first that they were strangers. Now the likelihood of any believers entertaining strangers was of course unlikely, but the moral duty was the same. Hospitality to the saints.
The saints in bondage are to remembered even as we would want to be remembered when imprisoned also. Pagan and aesthetic ideas are to be avoided, sex within marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled, but it is whoremongers and adulterers whom God will judge. Paganism associated sex with sin, and spirituality with asceticism, and falsely so. Our behavior is to be without covetousness, we are to be content with what we have. For God’s promise is this: “I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.” So that we may boldly say: “The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.” A marvelous verse to memorize.
These words are based on Deuteronomy 31:6 and Joshua 1:5. With this assurance we should be of good courage. The religious duties, verses 7-17 begin with a reminder to be thoughtful and grateful to the churches faithful leaders. We are to follow their faith and the goal of their lives; the primacy of Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and forever. We should be steadfast in the faith, we should avoid being influenced by strange teachers and teachings. These would be novel doctrines about Jesus Christ and about meats offered to idols.
Our altar, our sacrifice and our high priest is Jesus Christ. And those who are still tied to the old sacrificial system have no right to eat of the communion offerings. On the day of atonement and on the consecration of a priest the sacrifice was to be burned outside the camp; similarly Jesus Christ was sacrifices outside the camp, outside the gate. We must therefore go outside the camp, leaving old Israel behind, to join Jesus Christ whatever the reproach. For here we have no continuing city, but we seek one to come.
Jerusalem which crucified Jesus Christ is not the city of God. We have here thus another word to the Jews who were thinking of returning to the temple system. Just as Jesus Christ the messiah was sacrifices outside the city, outside the gate, separated from it, so they too must separate themselves from the old in order to become a part of the new. The new Jerusalem is very different from the old.
God wants from us the sacrifice of praise, we must be grateful and thankful. In relationship to men we are to do good and to communicate; that is, we must be merciful, and faithful in providing charity. These are the sacrifices pleasing to God. We are to be obedient and appreciative of all who are in positions of religious authority: “Give them thereby joy in their service to you.”
Then in verses 18 through 25 we have some final comments, and in verses 20-21 a prayer. There is in verse 18 a request of prayer for the writers of the letter. They want to work with a good conscience before God. Then a personal note from one, Paul, who asks for prayers, that he be restored to them perhaps, from prison, very soon.
In verse 25 the prayer begins by stressing Jesus Christ. First as the resurrected Messiah, or verse 20 rather, as the resurrected Messiah, second He is the great shepherd, that is, the king of the sheep, then third the everlasting covenant has been made in His blood.
The prayer in verse 21 also calls for their maturity in Christ’s service. May God work in them what is well pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever amen. The conclusion then states that Timothy is now free, and he will visit the churches shortly. Greetings from the saints of Italy are sent to all the churches. And the letter concludes: “Grace be with you all, amen.” The serenity of this conclusion tells us that the writers, whatever the wavering Hebrew’s might do, were confident of the outcome. God’s king and kingdom would triumph, the defection of foolish and sinful men could not alter the outcome.
The letter thus concludes beautifully. A bit painfully, but beautifully because the writers themselves were Hebrews. It was painful for them to separate themselves from their people, and to see what was coming in the way of judgement on their own people. They face a situation that many a person has had to face since. As they, broken with their own nation, because they’d seen its direction, or their own church, wherein maybe generations of their forebears were members, knowing that if they are going to follow Christ they sometimes have to leave family and friends, church and nation behind. It’s never easy.
It was painful for these the Hebrew writers of this epistle at that time; it is still painful within the Jewish community as more and more in our time are departing from the synagogue. But it is also a great joy. Because their continuing city is not the old but the new, and they are the people with a future; and so they must stand with Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever. Let us pray.
Our Father we give thanks unto Thee for this Thy word; we thank Thee that our life is not only a continual parting, but also a continuing union with the things of tomorrow, the things of eternity. Teach us therefore, boldly, to move forward, in the confidence that for us the best is yet to come in Christ. In His name we pray, amen.
Are there any questions now about our lesson? Yes.
[Audience Member] You know Rush, I noticed in verse 18 the stress on a good conscience, and how frequently in the epistles, especially Paul’s epistles that’s highlighted, whereas today one doesn’t hear too much about that concept of a good conscience before God. Can you comment on that?
[Rushdoony] That’s, I’m glad you raised that point Andrew, because in our lifetime we’ve seen a loss of consideration for matters of conscience. In the puritan era, a great many books were written about the conscience. When in the 20’s I started school, at the beginning of the 20’s, teachers would speak about the conscience, an appeal to the conscience of students, but that’s all but disappeared. And of course it’s been because there has been an erosion in the very idea.
For Freud and others it became just a ridiculous thing to think of it religiously or morally; and so the erosion in the concept became very great. If you had a conscience it was because you were affected by the super ego, or the id and the ego were at war in your being. It was nothing connected with morality, or an absolute standard.
As a result, talk about the conscience became comparable to appealing in intellectual circles, to a fairy tale or a myth. So very little is said in educational circles about the conscience. This is why I was not surprised recently when I read a statement by a police detective that in so many of the young punks they deal with now, there seems to be now sense of guilt. They are very careless about the many killings they have done; in fact before we came up here to Calaveras County in Vallecito, in southern California I was told by a police detective that many of the veteran hitmen were now confined to a few big jobs because young punks were ready to take on a killing for twenty dollars.
Now maybe the price is a little bit more because 20-25 years ago, 21-25 years ago this was, this was a situation where we still didn’t have the Carter inflation and the dollar was worth a little more; but this police detective told me that they are the most brutal and calloused of killers, these young punks. Something has happened in other words, we have wiped out for them the fact of conscience. Now this doesn’t mean that under God they still don’t have one, though as Paul tells us its seared with a hot iron. It’s callused. But we have a situation today where parental teaching and the church teaching and especially the school teaching no longer give a place to conscience.
A book could be written on the decay of conscience since World War 2. Are there any other questions or comments?
Well, let us conclude then with prayer.
Our Father, we give thanks for Thy word. We thank Thee that, Thy word and Thy spirit guide, bless, and protect us, in the many vicissitudes of this life. We thank Thee our Father that Thy mercies are new every morning, give us grateful hearts, that in all things we praise Thee as we should. And now go in peace, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost bless you and keep you, guide and protect you, this day and always, Amen.