Hebrews 13:1

Hebrews 13:1 says, Let brotherly love continue.  The writer now begins to give us several practical applications of our faith as followers of Christ.  The first is to let brotherly love continue.  Everyone who is truly a follower of Christ is a brother or sister of everyone else who is truly a follower of Christ.  There are no divisions by race, nationality, or any other human qualifier.  I am not sure that we always live as though we believe this.  If I cannot love all my brothers and sisters in Christ, then how can I love the lost people of the world, and we are called to love them as well.  Verse two adds, Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.  This tells us two things.  The first is that we are to be kind to and help strangers, which is what is meant by entertain strangers.  The second is that these strangers might be angels that we are helping.  We may never know if we have done this.  Verse three continues, Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.  This is a call once more to have compassion for those who are suffering for their faith in Christ, no matter who they are or where they are.  We are to remember them as if we ourselves were suffering the same fate.  We need to ask ourselves how long it has been since we have truly been burdened by compassion for others.  Often, if the suffering does not affect our daily lives, we simply ignore it.  Verse four states, Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.  There is a lot written about marriage today, but a true marriage is not just between two people but is between two people and God.  If God is not the center of the marriage, then it becomes just a legal arrangement.  Verse five adds, Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.  This tells us that even in our conversation we are not to covet what someone else has materially.  We sometimes attempt to cover our covetousness by saying that we wish we had something that someone else has and they had something better.  We are advised to be content with what we have, because we as followers of Christ have Christ and all His promises to us forever.  Verse six continues, So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.  Do we boldly say this, or do we keep quiet about our relationship with Christ when out in the public for fear of what people may say about or do to us?  We are to boldly proclaim Christ, no matter what.  Verse seven says, Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.  We are told to follow those who have rule over us, but I believe in this case it refers to pastors and teachers.  We are to follow their teaching because they have spoken to us the word of God.  We do not have to go to God through them, but we are to learn from their faithfully presenting the word of God.  Their lives should reflect their faith, as should ours.  Verse eight adds, Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.  Who Christ was is Who Christ is.  He is the Savior and Lord of all who believe in Him for all time.  Jesus Christ is the Messiah looked ahead to in the Old Testament and the Messiah looked back to in the New Testament and since.  There never was and never will be a time when Jesus Christ is not the Redeemer of all who will come to Him by faith.