Letter to the Hebrews Volume 174

 Sacrifices Pleasing to God Part 1

Hebrews 13:1 Let brotherly love continue. KJV

The writer of Hebrews now begins his conclusion of this great letter to the new Hebrew converts to Christ Jesus our Lord the Messiah from their many years following the law of Moses by exhorting, encouraging, and explaining to them what is pleasing behavior to our Father in Heaven from His adopted sons and daughters. The writer begins by telling them to let brotherly love continue amongst them and then begins to list those things which would demonstrate that brotherly love 😍 between them in action in the verses 2-19, this first verse is written as such, "Let brotherly love continue." (Hebrews 13:1) (KJV). The English phrase 'let brotherly love' is translated by the Greek word philadelphia pronounced exactly the same as our American city 🏙, meaning fraternal affection: - brotherly love (kindness), love of the brethren. The English word 'continue' is translated by the Greek word menō A primary verb meaning; to stay (in a given place, state, relation or expectancy): - abide, continue, dwell, endure, be present, remain, stand, tarry. The writer begins this concluding Chapter of this letter with this exhortation because God the Holy Spirit knew that it would be highly likely that the love of many of the brethren and sisteren would wax cold just as I Lord Jesus Christ warned us would be the case during these last days, as it is written, "And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come." (Matthew 24:12-14) (KJV). Note: "Love to our fellow man is good and noble, but this love to all mankind must never cloud us into thinking we can trust all of mankind. We must always be aware that just as the Spirit of Christ works on the earth, the spirit of anti-christ is fully at work as well as the Apostle John warned us with these words, 'Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.' (1 John 4:1-3) (KJV), for there are many very nice and kind people that claim to belong to God/Jesus, but they are of the spirit of anti-christ, therefore, we who truly belong to our Lord Jesus Christ must cleave, cling, and call to one another with this very fraternal affection/brotherly and sisterly love for one another being energized to it to please our first love and our primary love being our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. If we love Christ, then we should love those whom Christ loves so dearly and if we trust our Lord Jesus Christ, then we should be able to trust one another, for love and trust always go hand in hand with God, Amen!"  

Here is what Matthew Henry had to say of Hebrews 13:1, "To brotherly love (Hebrews 13:1), by which he does not only mean a general affection to all men, as our brethren by nature, all made of the same blood, nor that more limited affection which is due to those who are of the same immediate parents, but that special and spiritual affection which ought to exist among the children of God. 1. It is here supposed that the Hebrews had this love one for another. Though, at this time, that nation was miserably divided and distracted among themselves, both about matters of religion and the civil state, yet there was true brotherly love left among those of them who believed on Christ; and this appeared in a very eminent manner presently after the shedding forth of the Holy Ghost, when they had all things common, and sold their possessions to make a general fund of subsistence to their brethren. The spirit of Christianity is a spirit of love. Faith works by love. The true religion is the strongest bond of friendship; if it be not so, it has its name for nothing. 2. This brotherly love was in danger of being lost, and that in a time of persecution, when it would be most necessary; it was in danger of being lost by those disputes that were among them concerning the respect they ought still to have to the ceremonies of the Mosaic law. Disputes about religion too often produce a decay of Christian affection; but this must be guarded against, and all proper means used to preserve brotherly love. Christians should always love and live as brethren, and the more they grow in devout affection to God their heavenly Father the more they will grow in love to one another for His sake." Here is what Albert Barnes had to say of Hebrews 13:1, "Implying that it now existed among them. The Apostle had no occasion to reprove them for the want of it, as he had in regard to some to whom he wrote, but he aims merely to impress on them the importance of this virtue, and to caution them against the danger of allowing it ever to be interrupted." Here is what F.B. Meyer had to say of Hebrews 13:1, "We may not like all the brethren, but there is something in each of them that Christ loves. Let us try to discover it, or love them for His sake. We can love people with our mind and think for them, or with our strength and serve them, even though the heart is somewhat reluctant."

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...


Sincerely in Christ,


Clifford D. Tate, Sr.


Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…