Hebrews 13:17-25
As we come to the closing passage of Hebrews this week, we find that the author wants us to know that God has not left us to live the Christian life on our own. Jesus didn’t save you from your sins and then say to you, ‘Okey, you’re on your own. Go do the best you can. Go live the Christian life.’ No. God saved you and equipped you and that is good news.
God provides all we need to safely and securely navigate the Christian life. First, he provides us guides, or leaders. If you were going on a safari, wisdom would dictate that you hire a guide to help you navigate the treacherous passageways. Thankfully, God has provided us guides/leaders to help us navigate the difficult journey from the ‘city of destruction’ to the ‘celestial city.’
Furthermore, we are told in v21 that God will ‘equip you with everything good that you may do his will.’ In other words, God will equip you to do his will. He will equip you with everything you need to live the life that he has called you to live.
That means that if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, God supplies you with the resources that you need in order to do what He calls you to do. That is an incredibly encouraging truth. One of my favorite prayers from Augustine’s Confessions is his prayer when he says to God, “Command what You will and give what You command.” Augustine is saying, “Lord, You can tell me to do anything that You want to tell me to do as long as You’ll help me do it. Please don’t command me to do something and then withhold from me what I need to do what You’ve commanded because I’ve got a fickle heart. I want to do it my way. So, when You command me to do something, give me the ability to do what You command by the grace work of Your Holy Spirit in my heart and life.”
A great benediction then draws together the glorious themes of this majestic letter. Biblical benedictions are not merely prayers to God on behalf of other people. They are addressed to the people, but they invoke God’s blessing on those people, so they are pronounced by those whom God has authorized to stand as links between the Lord and his people. The main blessing which the author of Hebrews is pronouncing on this original congregation and pronouncing on you who are trusting in Jesus Christ is that God will equip you with everything that you need to live the life that He has called you to live. The writer’s great benediction becomes a great doxology as he breaks out in a song of praise to Jesus: ‘To whom be glory forever and ever. Amen’ (13:21).
No wonder the writer concludes the letter with these words: “Grace be with all of you” (13:25). It was “by the grace of God” that the divine Son became human to “taste death” for us all and to free us from the fear of death (2:9, 14–15). Since Jesus is our merciful and faithful high priest, we may “draw near to the throne of grace” to “receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (4:14–16). It is God’s grace that strengthens our hearts to endure in hope during our lifelong pilgrimage toward the everlasting City of God (13:9, 14).
I hope you can join us this week as we conclude our study in the Letter to the Hebrews with a grand finale of praise to Jesus, our great High Priest. If you are traveling during this holiday weekend, we pray for safe travel and a refreshing time for you.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Wayne
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