Key Text: By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name (Hebrews 13:15).
Men “have tasted…the powers of the age to come” (Hebrews 6:5) even now. What former ages had possessed in an imperfect form, a form which itself pointed to a fuller realization, is now a present blessing – a better covenant (7:22), better sacrifices (9:23), a better possession (10:34), a better hope (7:19), and a better way in Christ: “Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and high Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus” (Heb. 12:3). Hebrews 13: 7 encourages believers to remember the leaders, the apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor-teachers of the first generation of the Apostolic Church. Verse 17 tells them to follow and obey their present leaders in voluntary submission, important in every part of the work of the church.
Of course, these leaders should not be dictators. Instead, they should be guides, and they should search the Scriptures and give teaching to help build up the believers. They need to be alert to guard against false teaching or false prophets who might lead believers astray.
Believers are not to be taken in by every new teaching, “carried about with divers and strange doctrines” v 9. And, diet and ceremonies do not establish believers. This suggests that some of the Jewish Christians were being tempted to return to the ritual of the Jewish system. This Jewish ritual established the greatest barrier between Jew and Gentile. For a Jew to return to a doctrine involving clean and unclean meats was a tacit return to the Jewish sacrificial system. Jesus is presented as the fulfillment of the sacrificial system. Paul asked for special prayer so that he could come back to a place of ministry among the Hebrew Christians. He ends his Epistle with one of the most beautiful benedictions in the Bible. Paul recognizes God as the God of peace and he asked for spiritual well-being for the people.
We must do more than lift our hands as we pray or clap or hands as we sing, though both are scriptural. We must be one with Jesus, completely taken up with Him, loving Him with our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength. Only then does our praise become an offering or sacrifice of worship v 15. We cannot do this lightly since the sacrifice of praise is costly. And even though it costs us the love of the world and a death of self and sin; however, it brings us joy. AMEN!
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