HEBREWS 13:15

The Bible says in Hebrews 13:15 “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.” Of course, this verse is teaching us about the importance of always being thankful. It starts out with the phrase “by Him.” This is referring to Jesus because Jesus is the last one mentioned in the previous verses. Everything that we do as Christians must be “by Him” because without Him we can do nothing. We are totally dependent upon Him and His grace. Hebrews 13:15 says “therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God.” “Therefore” refers to what was said in the previous verses, and in those verses we were reminded of the wonderful city of God that Jesus is leading His sheep to enter. Christians always have something to be thankful for because Christians always have that wonderful future with Christ to look forward to.

This verse calls praise to God “the sacrifice of praise to God.” It is interesting that praise involves sacrifice. Praise involves sacrificing the feelings and responses to life that we otherwise would have had. Instead of having the normal human reaction, the believer has “praise to God.” That is because this praise to God must be done “continually.” If I praise God continually, it means that I praise Him through all of the circumstances that come my way in life, whether bad or good. To do this I should praise God when I am rich or poor. I should praise God whether I am in good health or bad. I should praise God whether people hate me or love me. I should praise God even when my loved ones suffer. I should praise God at all times and in all situations. To do this I must “sacrifice” or “put to death” what I otherwise would feel as a human being in this world. How can I possibly do this when terrible things happen to me? I can do it by remembering what Jesus has done for me. He died for my sins. He forgave me. He will take me to heaven. No one can take that from me. That is the thing that I can and should praise Him for every day. Every day I can pray, “Thank you, Lord, for coming into this world to die for our sins. Thank you Lord for touching my heart on the day that you saved me. Thank you Lord for the future you have prepared for me in heaven.” Learn to thank God for these things, and you will always be able to be thankful.

There is another type of sacrifice that believers can make in their service to the Lord. It says in Hebrews 13:16, “But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.” This verse is speaking about doing things for others. When you do something for someone else, you are giving up money or time or something else for their sake. That is why it is called a sacrifice. By the way, this verse implies that God will not give you back what you gave up. If He did, it would not be a sacrifice on your part. Of course, those who teach a gospel of prosperity in our age could not teach the truth of this verse.

The Bible says in Hebrews 13:17, “Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.” The first part of this verse is very similar to verse 7 that says, “Remember them which have the rule over you.” In both verses the phrase that is translated “have the rule over you” means literally “those who lead you.” It does not mean to dominate, or to control, or to order. The word that is translated “obey” in verse 17 means “to be persuaded.” A true Christian leader is speaking forth the Word of God. Therefore, a believer should allow himself to be persuaded by the Word of God.

Some people refuse to be persuaded. A Christian leader should be like a parent who cares for his children. The leader teaches the Word so that the hearers may benefit thereby. The leader is a watchman who watches over the souls of his listeners. This responsibility is a very great responsibility that many have failed to fulfill properly because they gave their own words to the listeners instead of the Word of God. But the day will come when they will give an account for how they fulfilled their responsibilities. God uses His Word. Therefore, preach the Word.

The listeners will also give an account for how they received teachings from the good Book. The way that you respond to what you hear will either be an encouragement or a discouragement to those who see your response. You will cause those who teach joy or grief. But one day you also will give an account to how you have listened. One is called to speak, and another is called to listen and to respond. Both will give an account to the One who called them.

The writer of the book of Hebrews was one who taught. He desired to teach by both the written Word and by the spoken word. His prayer request is found in Hebrews 13:18-19, “Pray for us: for we trust we have a good conscience, in all things willing to live honestly. But I beseech you the rather to do this, that I may be restored to you the sooner.” He asked for prayer because he knew that prayer changes things. This writer was undoubtedly a great Christian. He walked with the Lord, he was close to the Lord, and he was used of God. And yet he knew that he needed the prayers of other believers on his behalf. We know that the Lord wants us to pray for each other. Some prayers are answered by the Lord only when believers pray for each other. Jesus said in Matthew 18:19, “That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.”

The writer of Hebrews said that he had “a good conscience.” It is critical to have a good conscience to be able to live by faith. And according to this verse, it is also critical to have a good conscience to have your prayers answered. It says in Psalms 66:18, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” There are two important things that must be done in order to have a good conscience. The first thing is to confess your sins as often as you need to. Do not delay. Do not wait. Confess your sins and be forgiven. The Lord is merciful. He will forgive. Jesus will give grace and mercy. The second important thing that must be done in order to have a good conscience is to do the right thing as often as you can. If you know that you have done what God wanted you to do, you will have a good conscience. If your prayers are not answered, it may very well be because you do not have a good conscience toward the Lord.

The Bible says in Hebrews 13:20-21, “Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” These verses contain the writer’s prayer for the believers to whom he was writing. The word that is translated “perfect” means “to prepare” or “to make fit for use.” The writer’s hope and prayer is that these believers would be prepared “in every good work to do his will.”

How can any human being become prepared to do God’s will? We have too many limitations and sins. We are far too weak to bring ourselves into such a godly preparation. The One who will “make” us prepared is God Himself. God must do the work of salvation in the heart of a lost soul, and God must prepare every saved person for His service. It is all God’s work, and He will do His work. The Bible says in First Thessalonians 5:24, “Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.” God is faithful, even when we are not. If you are a believer, God is working in your heart and life to prepare you to better serve Him. God does this because of Jesus. God is guiding your life. If you are a true believer in Christ, then God is always guiding your life because Jesus is the “great shepherd of the sheep.” A shepherd does many things for the sheep, and one of the things that he does is to lead the sheep. You can count on that. In all the things that are happening to you, whether good or bad, the Lord is always your shepherd who is always guiding your life. It says in Psalms 23:1-2, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.” A preacher named Joseph Gilmore during the Civil War took this idea and wrote:

He leadeth me, O blessed thought,

O words with heavenly comfort fraught.

Where’er I go, where’er I be,

Still ‘tis God’s hand that leadeth me.

Sometimes ‘mid scenes of deepest gloom,

Sometimes where Eden’s bowers bloom,

By waters still, over troubled sea,

Still ‘tis His hand that leadeth me.

The reason that Jesus is the great shepherd of the sheep is not because we deserve it, but because of “the blood of the everlasting covenant.” It is wonderful to live under the new covenant instead of the old covenant. The writer has emphasized this point in the book of Hebrews, and he is making this point one last time. It is an “everlasting covenant”. It will not be replaced by anything else. It will still be in effect millions of years from now and even then we will be praising the name of Jesus Christ, “to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

The Bible says in Hebrews 13:22, “And I beseech you, brethren, suffer the word of exhortation: for I have written a letter unto you in few words.” In this verse the word that is translated “beseech” and the word that is translated “exhortation” come from the same root word that means literally “to call along side.” This word presents the picture of someone who is alongside of you to give you words of encouragement or comfort. The writer is encouraging these Christians to “suffer the word.” The word that is translated “suffer” means literally “to endure.” Sometimes the truth is hard to endure. The Word of God can touch us right where we have our weaknesses: right where we need it the most, and that can hurt. The Bible says in Revelation 10:9, “And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book, And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.” The Word of God can be as sweet as honey, but it can also be very, very bitter. Make sure that you have a mind that is receptive to the whole counsel of God, and that you are willing to endure even that which is bitter as it convicts you of your sins and failures.

The Bible says in Hebrews 13:23-24, “Know ye that our brother Timothy is set at liberty; with whom if he come shortly, I will see you. Salute all them that have the rule over you, and all the saints. They of Italy salute you.” These two verses add some evidence to the fact that the writer of Hebrews may have been the Apostle Paul. Whoever wrote the book of Hebrews was a Jewish believer with a great knowledge of the Old Testament. Whoever wrote the book of Hebrews was a close companion of Timothy and was in prison with Timothy at some time in Italy. Whoever wrote the book of Hebrews used a vocabulary with some words that are found elsewhere in the New Testament only in other writings from Paul. Whoever wrote the book of Hebrews used certain phrases that sound very similar to phrases that can be found in other writings by Paul. For example, Hebrews 13:20-21 is similar to the benediction found in First Thessalonians 5:23-24 that says, “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.” The Apostle Paul could very well have been the writer of the book of Hebrews, but we do not know for sure.

The Holy Spirit gave these last words to the writer of the book of Hebrews in Hebrews 13:25, “Grace be with you all. Amen.” We must have grace from Christ, or we can do nothing for Him. At the start of our Christian life, by grace we became saved through faith. And then after being saved throughout our Christian life, God uses grace to enable us to serve Him. Grace is when God gives freely to those who deserve nothing. Of course, grace is only possible because Jesus died for our sins. If you think that you are going to be able to serve God because of how disciplined you are, or how good you are, or how much you have reformed yourself; you are greatly mistaken. To serve God in this world, you need grace more than anything else. It is no wonder that the Holy Spirit gave us these last words in the book of Hebrews: “Grace be with you all. Amen.”

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