Letter to the Hebrews Volume 180

 Sacrifices Pleasing to God Part 7

Hebrews 13:9 Be 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. KJV Note: CEV=Contemporary English Version

The writer of Hebrews now wants to warn those new Hebrew converts to Christ Jesus our Lord who are coming out of their 🧓 old Jewish traditions  to adhere to, abide in, and acknowledge grace and not those things that they had been so used to in their past. This warning serves as a reminder to all of us in Christ today as well and every generation of converts to Him that grace alone through faith is how we were converted and so shall it be only how we must sojourn the rest of our days on the 🌎 earth. If grace was sufficient to convert us opening our spiritual 👀 eyes, then it surely will be sufficient to keep us day to day. So, the writer of Hebrews declares these words of wisdom to them and to us, "Be 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." (Hebrews 13:9) (KJV). The ⌚ time of the writing of this ✉ letter was a very 😕 confusing one for those who had found themselves being taken out of a system of 🛐 worship that was all they had ever known, that is, the 🔭 observance of special dates and times (all established by God for them to do), however, now that they are 'in Christ' those previous cumulatings, celebrations, and ceremonies were no longer to be their focus or focul point, but they/we were to now focus on our personal relationship with Jesus Christ and 👂 listen to Him teaching us and guiding us into the things and places that He wants us to carry out His will on the 🌎 earth in our lives. When the writer warns the new Hebrew converts then with these words, 'Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines', he is declaring to them what Vincent's Word Studies says here, "These teachings represent various phases of one radical error - the denial of Jesus's Messiahship and of His Messianic economy as superseding Judaism and all other means of salvation. Among them the writer's mind would naturally turn to the prescriptions concerning clean and unclean meats and sacrificial festivals. These teachings were various as contrasted with the one teaching of the Gospel; they were strange as they differed from that teaching." The Old Jewish system required very strict dietary restrictions for the consumption of certain 🍲 foods which are all very good because they come from God, however, the writer of Hebrews wanted them to know and understand that in Christ all foods are now made clean and each member of His Mystical Body has the individual right to choose for themselves what they will consume or will not consume without judgement from others whether they are clean or unclean, just as Paul wrote with these words to the Church @ Rome, "Welcome all the Lord's followers, even those whose faith is weak. Don't criticize them for having beliefs that are different from yours. Some think it is all right to eat anything, while those whose faith is weak will eat only vegetables. But you should not criticize others for eating or for not eating. After all, God welcomes everyone. What right do you have to criticize someone else's servants? Only their Lord can decide if they are doing right, and the Lord will make sure that they do right. Some of the Lord's followers think one day is more important than another. Others think all days are the same. But each of you should make up your own mind. Any followers who count one day more important than another day do it to honor their Lord. And any followers who eat meat give thanks to God, just like the ones who don't eat meat. Whether we live or die, it must be for God, rather than for ourselves. Whether we live or die, it must be for the Lord. Alive or dead, we still belong to the Lord. This is because Christ died and rose to life, so that He would be the Lord of the dead and of the living. Why do you criticize other followers of the Lord? Why do you look down on them? The day is coming when God will judge all of us. In the Scriptures God says, 'I swear by My very life that everyone will kneel down and praise My Name!' And so, each of us must give an account to God for what we do."

Here is what Albert Barnes had to say of Hebrews 13:9, "That is, they should have settled and fixed points of belief, and not yield to every new opinion which was started. The Apostle does not exhort them to adhere to an opinion merely because they had before held it, or because it was an old opinion, nor does he forbid their following the leadings of truth though they might be required to abandon what they had before held; but he cautions them against that vacillating spirit, and that easy credulity, which would lead them to yield to any novelty, and to embrace an opinion because it was new or strange. Probably the principal reference here is to the Judaizing teachers, and to their various doctrines about their ceremonial observances and traditions. But the exhortation is applicable to Christians at all times. A religious opinion, once embraced on what was regarded a good evidence, or in which we have been trained, should not be abandoned for slight causes. Truth indeed should always be followed, but it should be only after careful inquiry. This is the proper foundation of adherence to the truth. The heart should be established with the love of God, with pure religion, and then we shall love the truth, and love it in the right manner. If it is the head merely which is convinced, the consequence is bigotry, pride, narrowmindedness. If the belief of the truth has its seat in the heart, it will be accompanied with charity, kindness, good-will to all people. In such a belief of the truth it is a good thing to have the heart established. It will produce: (1) Firmness and stability of character; (2) Charity and kindness to others; (3) Consolation and support in trials and temptations. When a man is thrown into trials and temptations, he ought to have some settled principles on which he can rely; some fixed points of belief that will sustain his soul. Not with meats - The meaning is, that it is better to have the heart established with grace, or with the principles of pure religion, than with the most accurate knowledge of the rules of distinguishing the clean from the unclean among the various articles of food. Many such rules were found in the Law of Moses, and many more had been added by the refinements of Jewish rulers and by tradition. To distinguish and remember all these, required no small amount of knowledge, and the Jewish teachers, doubtless, prided themselves much on it. Paul says that it would be much better to have the principles of grace in the heart than all this knowledge; to have the mind settled on the great truths of religion than to be able to make the most accurate and learned distinctions in this matter. The same remark may be made about a great many other points besides the Jewish distinctions respecting meats. The principle is, that it is better to have the heart established in the grace of God than to have the most accurate knowledge of the distinctions which are made on useless or unimportant subjects of religion. This observation would extend to many of the shibboleths of party; to many of the metaphysical distinctions in a hair-splitting theology; to many of the points of controversy which divide the Christian world. Which have been of no real benefit to their souls."

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…