How We are To Live as Christians
Hebrews: An Anchor for our Soul
Hebrews 13:4-6
Hebrews 13:4-6 can be summed up in three statements:
- Christians are to be sexually pure
- Christians are to be confident in God’s provision and protection
- Marriage is be Honored and Faithful to its Design
Marriage was
The original design of marriage is from God. All other designs are ungodly and unfaithful to the designer and the design.
All Scripture presupposes marriage to be:
Between
Committed
Marriage finds honor not because of culture or history, but because it is from God.
- Marriage is to be Protected against Sexual Sin
Adultery is .
In Greek the word for “sexually immorality” is the word .
“Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. 19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your bodies.”
1 Corinthians 6:18
Four habits of those who protect and build marriage:
- They know and study their Bibles
- Don’t Chase Wealth
“Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” 1 Timothy 6:9
Jesus spoke more on than on heaven or hell.
Those who are independently wealthy have a unique challenge in caring more about God’s kingdom than theirs.
“Jesus looked at him and said, ‘How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! 25 Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.’ 26 Those who heard this asked, ‘Who then can be saved?’ 27 Jesus replied, ‘What is impossible with man is possible with God.’” Luke 18:24
The reason God instituted tithing isn’t for the Church! It’s !
Three times in Scripture unfaithfulness in marriage and love of money are linked. Those who are dissatisfied with God’s provision will see it leak into other areas. Sin doesn’t stay stagnant!
- Remember Whose Child You Are
“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. 30 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”
Matthew 10:29
Nothing happens . God is never lost, out of touch, or taken by surprise.
“Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? 28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?”
Matthew 6:27
If God controls every detail and he cares about the grass on the roadside, how much more will he care for you.
The gospel is rooted in three things:
Daily Meditations
Memory Verse: “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’”
Hebrews 13:5
Monday
Read Hebrews 13:1-6. That the author chooses to write specifically on marriage at the end of his letter demonstrates the importance of the subject in his mind. In what ways do you think most people are tempted—through their comments, thoughts, attitudes, or behaviors—to dishonor and defile their marriage?
Why is sexual purity important according to verse 4?
Tuesday
Read Hebrews 13:1-6. Why does marriage matter to God?
In what ways does our culture promote the dishonor and defilement of marriage?
Wednesday
Read Hebrews 13:1-6. List some practical ways to keep ourselves free from the love of money – especially when we have a surplus of money.
How can we keep the right perspective on money when we experience shortages?
Thursday
Read Hebrews 13:1-6. What attitude toward money ought Christians to have? Why?
How does the gospel provide us with the motivation and the ability to keep ourselves from the love of money and to be content with what we have?
Friday
Read Hebrews 13:1-6. According to Hebrews 13:5, what fact about God can foster a contented spirit?
What does it look like to be content with what you have?
Saturday
Read Hebrews 13:1-6. How can we learn to be content? See Hebrews 13:5.
In what circumstances do you find it difficult to be content?
How can we fight against our culture’s constant enticements toward covetousness?