Everyday Worship

Hebrews 13:1-25
P. G. Mathew | Sunday, November 30, 1997
Copyright © 1997, P. G. Mathew

What is worship? It is love expressed to God in adoration and actions, a love that is not from ourselves but shed abroad in our hearts in abundance by the Holy Spirit. But worship is also love expressed to our brothers, including our spouses, children and fellow believers, in words and deeds. In Hebrews 13:1 we read, “Keep on loving each other as brothers” and in the Greek it is “Let brotherly love (philadelphia) continue.” In this study we want to examine this aspect of worship, that worship is brotherly love expressed in everyday life.

Everyday Worship

Christians are to worship God every day and serve him as Lord. This is the purpose of redemption as we are told by the writer to the Hebrews in Hebrews 9:14. The blood of Christ cleanses our consciences that we might serve the living God, and that service means serving him in all of life. In Hebrews 12:28 we read, “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship [or serve] God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our ‘God is a consuming fire.'” That refers to this idea of worshiping and serving God all of life. We find the same idea in the practical section of the book of Romans, beginning with Romans 12:1, where we are instructed to offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable unto God which is our spiritual act of worship.

These scriptures about worship, therefore, are not speaking to us merely about coming to church and worshiping God in prayer and confession in a church service. No, they are telling us to live for God all of our lives. So in Hebrews 13:1-25 we are given practical illustrations of how we should serve God acceptably, with reverence and awe, understanding our God is a consuming fire.

Now, as in the Epistle to the Hebrews, as in other New Testament epistles, we find a general division. There are sections on doctrine and sections on duty, sections on belief and sections on behavior. In the book of Hebrews the first twelve chapters, especially, articulate doctrine while the thirteenth chapter deals with duty, practice, conduct. We see the same thing in the book of Ephesians and other New Testament letters. There is a general section that deals with doctrine and there is a section that deals with practical life and ethics. Christians must conduct themselves in a certain way in everyday life, and by doing so we are worshiping God.

Christian Conduct

How should we behave as Christians? Consider this: In the early Christian church, Christians led such exemplary lives that when Governor Pliny the Younger wanted to accuse them of crimes, he could not find anything to accuse them of. Instead, he wrote to Emperor Trajan concerning the behavior of Christians, “They bind themselves by an oath, not to any criminal end, but to avoid theft or robbery or adultery, never to break their word or repudiate a deposit when called on to refund it.” These ancient Christians paid serious attention to the biblical injunction that proper conduct must proceed from the gospel, the doctrine.

Peter tells us about this in 1 Peter 2:15: “For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men.” And in Titus 2:7,8 Paul says, “In everything set them an example by doing what is good. . . so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.” And Jesus himself said about his followers, “You are the light of the world and the salt of the earth.”

With this understanding, then, let us look at Hebrews 13:1-3. This section speaks about everyday worship of God expressed through our conduct. Verse 1 speaks about brotherly love (philadelphia), verse 2 speaks of hospitality or love for strangers (philoxenia), and verse 3 speaks of love for those who are in prison and suffering (philodesmia).

What Is Brotherly Love?

What do we mean by brotherly love? It is one word in Greek–philadelphia–which comes from two Greek words, phileo, meaning to love, and adelphos, which means brother. Adelphos means from the same womb. So, literally, philadelphia means love for that person who came from the same womb as you. In the church of Jesus Christ we are brothers and sisters born of God, and so brotherly love means a love for all who are born of the same Father.

In Ephesians 4 we read about the sevenfold unity that we as Christians experience. Beginning with verse 3 we read, “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit,” that is, the unity that the Spirit of God has already produced in the church. Maintain it “through the bond of peace.” Then we are told of seven reasons for maintaining unity.

First, Paul says, “There is one body. . .” The body of Christ has many members but it is one body. This is why the Bible says that if one member suffers, all suffer because they are vitally connected with each other in the body of Christ. Then Paul says there is one Spirit. He is referring to the one Holy Spirit who regenerated each of us and who indwells each one of us. He says there is one hope to which we are all called, which is the hope of the glory of God–that Christ is coming and we will see him face to face and live with him forever. There is one Lord, meaning one Lord Jesus Christ who loved us and gave himself for us. Christ died for our sins and was raised for our justification. This one Lord ascended into the heavens and is seated on the right hand of God the Father as the Sovereign Lord of all. There is one faith, meaning the gospel. There is one baptism, meaning we all died with Christ, are buried with Christ and are raised with Christ. And finally we are told there is one God and Father of all. Here we see the idea of adelphos–from the same womb. This one Father is the Father of you and the Father of me; therefore we have a bond between us as brothers and sisters.

Oneness or Division?

When we look at today’s church, we see many denominations. But did you know that denominationalism is not a biblical idea? In fact, it is the result of sin in the church. All who are born of God belong to one body–one body with many parts, as Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 12:12. And in verse 13 he writes, “For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body–whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free–and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.”

We read about great oneness among believers in the early chapters of the book of Acts, but by the time we arrive at Acts 6 we find divisions in the church. All these early believers were Jews, but there were some differences among them. The Jews who spoke Greek or were born and brought up outside of Israel were called Hellenistic Jews, while the Jews who were born and brought up in Israel were known as Hebraic Jews. They were all born of God and in the church.

But in Acts 6 we notice that these believers were not loving one another. In the distribution of food, the Hellenistic Jewish widows were not being treated the same as the Hebraic Jewish widows. Somehow the Jews of Israel thought that they were in some way superior to the Hellenistic Jewish believers. But in thinking that way, they were violating this principle of oneness–that in the body of Christ there is one God and Father of us all and so we are all one.

We saw a similar phenomenon when the Pentecostal experience came on the horizon during the turn of the century. Blacks and whites used to worship in the same church at first. But then people began to make distinctions and soon we began to hear, “You blacks worship in your own church. We whites will worship in our own church.” These are unbiblical distinctions.

In fact, we see this type of thing all over the world. In India there is a church for the upper class and a church for the untouchables. In many cities we find a church for the Chinese, another church for the Koreans, and many other separate churches for other groups. But do you see the nonsense of this behavior? Do you think there will be separate sections for the Chinese, the Koreans, the blacks, the American Indians, the poor, the Jews, or the Greeks in heaven? Of course not! So we need to understand that divisions of this type are violations of the biblical command that tells us, “Let brotherly love continue.”

Continuing in Brotherly Love

How important is it to continue to love each other as brothers? It is crucial to the Christian faith. Now, I have no doubt that there was a time when these Hebrew Christians really loved one another. They were filled with zeal for God and love for another. In Hebrews 6:10 we read, “God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.” But as time went on, these people began to freeze. Sin came in and they began to doubt their faith. They grew weary of being persecuted and mocked on the behalf of the gospel. They began to dream of repudiating salvation and going back to Judaism.

We read about this in Hebrews 10:32-34. The writer refers to what was true previously in that church: “Remember those earlier days after you had received the light. . . ” This is speaking of the first love of a Christian. These people were enlightened, born of God and given understanding into the gospel, and this was manifested in their actions: “Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions,” which is the unshakable kingdom of God.

But what happened? Some time passed and now these people were no longer in a state of love toward God and one another. They were doubting their faith and toying with the idea of turning their back on the only Savior, Jesus Christ. They began to say to themselves, “Maybe salvation is not by grace after all. Maybe we can obtain it through the legalistic righteousness of Judaism. We are so tired of being persecuted. Maybe we will go back to Judaism because we know these Jews will receive us with outstretched hands and open hearts, and our lives will be so much easier.” There you can see how the fire of love–love for God and love for the brethren–was beginning to die.

This passage should cause us to examine our own lives, shouldn’t it? I challenge you to think of how you loved God when you first came to know him as Savior and Lord and compare it with where you are now.

When Brotherly Love Declines

As the Hebrew Christians’ love for God and their brethren cooled, what did they do? In Hebrews 10:25 we read, “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing.” You see, a number of these Hebrew Christians were not even showing up in worship anymore. Why? They had lost their interest in other people. They were always looking inward, thinking, “I want to take care of myself. Who cares if somebody else is having trouble? I have to live my own life.”

This is what happens when sin enters into the church. In Matthew 24:12 Jesus himself said, “Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.”

These people were not interested in the gathering together of the saints for worship and fellowship. They were becoming self-centered, in other words. Sin is self-centeredness–love of self and, at the same time, hatred of everybody else. A self-centered person says, “I want to take care of myself. I have no time for anyone else.” So the writer to the Hebrews warns his readers, “Do not throw away your confidence, your faith. You need to persevere, do the will of God and finish it. Do not shrink back and be destroyed; rather, believe and be saved. Why? Everything will be shaken except the kingdom of God which you are receiving. Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, your faith.” And so in Hebrews 12:28 we read, “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful and worship God with reverence and awe, for our ‘God is a consuming fire.'” And then he urges his readers, “Keep on loving each other as brothers,” meaning, letphiladelphia, the love of the brethren, continue, abide, remain.

Worship Means Love

What is life except to love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves? That is why I said worship is an expression of this love to God in adoration and action and to people in terms of sacrificial love toward them.

In Matthew 7:12 we read the Golden Rule, “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” And in Romans 13:10 Paul writes, “Love is the fulfillment of the law.” He who loves his brother fulfills God’s law.

Now, we must realize that no man can love the brothers without loving God with all his heart, mind, soul, and strength. And we must also realize that we do not get this type of love that sacrifices oneself for the sake of another as Jesus Christ did from ourselves. In Romans 5:5 we read that God himself pours out his love into our hearts in great abundance. If we are born of the Father, it is a fact that God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing. God pours into our hearts his love in great abundance. Our love for our brothers is a demonstration of this gift of love that God has given to us; thus, if we do not have that love, it is an indication that we are not born of this Father.

The Sign of Love

In John 13:34 the Lord Jesus Christ gives us a new commandment: “A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” In the same way that Jesus Christ loved and gave himself for us, we also must lay down our lives for our brothers. And then in verse 35 Jesus said, “By this all men will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.” In other words, philadelphia, love for the brothers, is the only sign for the world to know that we belong to Jesus Christ.

In 1 John 3:14 we read, “We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers.” How do we know we have been saved? Is it because we gave a testimony? No. We know because we love our brothers. If we sacrificially love our brothers and sisters who are born of the same Father, we receive great assurance of salvation. According to this verse, if we love our fellow believers, we can draw the conclusion that we have passed from death to life, from darkness to light, from hell to heaven–praise God!

Not only that, if we are Christians, practicing brotherly love is the way we imitate our Lord Jesus Christ. First John 3:16 tells us, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.” Christianity means following Jesus Christ and imitating him, especially in this issue of brotherly love.

The Joy of Brotherly Love

What happens when Christians practice this brotherly love among themselves? It gives great delight to the heart of God. When a father and mother see their children loving one another, they have great joy in their hearts. So also when our heavenly Father sees the members of his church loving one another, there is great joy in his heart and jubilation in heaven. Psalm 133 tells us, “How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!”

It is always a wonderful thing to see a home where everyone loves one another. And when people love each other in the church of Jesus Christ, it is also a beautiful thing to see. Such a church stands in sharp contrast to the church of Corinth, in which people said, “I am of Paul,” “I am of Apollos,” “I am of Cephas,” and “I am of Christ,” and in contrast to today’s idea separate churches for blacks, whites, Chinese, Koreans, untouchables, aristocrats and so on. Such divisions give pain to the heart of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But when we love one another, we give great joy to God. It is good and pleasant, beautiful for us as well as for God.

In Psalm 133:3 we read, “For there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.” God is looking for families and churches in which people love another, and he will be pleased to pour out his blessings upon such families and churches. Therefore, as the writer to the Hebrews exhorted us, let brotherly love continue.

What Happens If We Do Not Love?

What happens when we do not practice brotherly love? We find some answers in biblical history. In the first family we find two sons, Cain and Abel. Cain did not love Abel; in fact, in Genesis 4:8 we read that Cain hated his brother Abel and killed him. Hatred is the opposite of brotherly love, and when we do not love our brother, we begin to seek his destruction rather than his edification, success and progress.

What about Esau and Jacob? In Genesis 27:41 we read, “Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. He said to himself, ‘The days of mourning for my father are near. Then I will kill my brother Jacob.'” Let me assure you, if we do not love one another, if we look only inward, if we say, “I don’t want to worry about anybody else,” what we are really doing is hating our brothers. Sadly, like Esau, we may end up trying to murder them.

In Genesis 37 we read about Joseph and his brothers. Verse 14 tells us, “So [Jacob] said to [Joseph], ‘Go and see if all is well with your brothers and with the flocks, and bring word back to me.'” Out of love Joseph went to see about the welfare of his brothers. In verse 17 we read, “So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan.” What was the response of Joseph’s ten brothers? “But they saw him in the distance and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him” (v. 18). Let me make this point again: If we are not going to love our brothers, we may find ourselves plotting their murder.

What about Jesus? In John 1:11 we read that he came to his own but his own received him not. In fact, they cried out, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” Who were these? His own brothers.

How important, then, is brotherly love? In 1 John 2:9 we read, “Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in darkness.” And 1 John 3:15 tells us, “Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him.” The evidence that we have passed from death to life is that we love our brothers who are born of the same Father. (PGM) So when we lack brotherly love it is a very serious problem in the church and in the home. Brotherly love is the evidence of spiritual life.

The Example of the Early Church

It is very beautiful to read the early chapters of the book of Acts and see how the believers behaved, at least in the early times when the Spirit of God first came upon the church. In Acts 2:1 we read, “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.” What does this verse tell us about the early believers? They loved one another! They were all together in one place, praying and praising God, and waiting for the Spirit of the living God to come upon them.

In Acts 2:44 we read, “All the believers were together and had everything in common,” and in Acts 4:32 we read, “All the believers were one in heart and mind.” Imagine that! This is what Christianity is all about. Born of God, every believer is a brother or sister indwelt by the same Spirit; therefore, there is a natural connection among the members of a church necessarily. When one member suffers, every member suffers, and when one member rejoices, every member rejoices.

In Acts 2:44-47 we read, “All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all people.” There was no legislation decreeing that these believers should live in a commune. This was a spontaneous, Spirit-produced love life.

In Acts 4:32-37 we read, “All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.” This is a picture of God’s church. We are one family, and if one member does not have anything to eat, he will be provided for.

Not only that, this oneness is not limited to the local church. In Acts 11 we read how some prophets came and prophesied to the church of Antioch. In verses 28-29 we read, “One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. (This happened during the reign of Claudius.) The disciples, each according to his ability, decided to provide help for the brothers living in Judea.” Brotherly love within the Christian community is transnational. The people in Judea were in serious trouble, and the other disciples in other places helped them. In fact, elsewhere in the book of Acts we find the apostle himself raising money in Macedonia and Achaia and then carrying it to Jerusalem because the brothers were very poor there. This is an amazing display of brotherly love.

The New Testament Teaching

What does the New Testament teach on this subject of philadelphia, love of the brethren? In Romans 12 we read of practical service to Christ, and in verse 10 we read this injunction by St. Paul: “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.”

Think about that. Not only we ought to be devoted to God, but we are to be devoted to one another. Paul is not saying, “Be devoted to your wife,” although you should be devoted to your wife or your husband and your children. No, he is saying, “Be devoted to one another” meaning all members of the body of Christ, beyond our immediate family. What else does Paul say? “Honor one another above yourselves.” Within the church we are to be devoted to one another in brotherly love and honor others above ourselves.

What does it mean to consider others above ourselves? Do you remember the story in the Last Supper as told in John 13? The disciples were together in the upper room, but each one refused to wash the feet of the others. Why? I am sure it was because each one thought he was superior to the others, and thus did not want lower himself to do the job of a slave. But what happened? Jesus himself began to wash their feet. And just as Jesus did, we are to be devoted to one another in love and honor others above ourselves. I think we should ask God to forgive us for our self-centered living.

Philippians 2:3 tells us, “Consider others better than yourselves.” Do you begin to see how we have fallen in this area? We have a tendency to elevate ourselves above everybody else. And that behavior, in turn, produces fights, cliques and gossips. But Paul says to consider others better than ourselves. We should confess today, “O God, we have failed to honor other above ourselves and to consider others better than ourselves. Have mercy upon us!”

God Teaches Us to Love

Paul wrote 1 Thessalonians to the church started by his ministry in Thessalonica. The Thessalonians Christians were only about six months old in their knowledge of Jesus Christ when Paul wrote this. In 1 Thessalonians 4:9 Paul says, “Now about brotherly love we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another.” What does the Spirit of God teach every child born of God? To love one another. This is a wonderful truth!

Not only that, Jesus said this is the sign by which the world will know that we are his disciples. And in verse 10 we read, “And in fact, you do love all the brothers throughout Macedonia.” Not only in Thessalonica, but throughout Macedonia, they loved God’s people.

What else does Paul say? “Yet we urge you, brothers, to do so more and more.” There is room for increased loving of our brothers and sisters. This, as I said before, is the evidence of our salvation.

In 1 Peter 1:22 the apostle writes to believers scattered throughout another part of the world, especially in what is now known as Turkey. He says, “Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth. . .” Peter is speaking about the salvation of these believers. He continues, “so that you have a sincere love for your brothers,” meaning the moment you are saved, something happens and you want to demonstrate this gift of God’s love to your Christian brothers and sisters. This was true of the Thessalonian Christians and it was true of these people also.

But then Peter adds, “Love one another deeply, from the heart.” In other words, there is room for improvement. Peter was urging these believers also to show a greater degree of love to others.

Showing Sympathy

How can we grow in brotherly love? In 1 Peter 3:8 we read, “Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble.” We must be sympathetic, meaning we must suffer together with others.

Now, I am not currently experiencing any big problems. I am not sick; I have enough money; I have a house; my wife is not divorced from me; my children are okay. I have no big problems. But I know of people who are sick or do not have a job or are going through a divorce or are suffering in great ways. And so when Peter tells us that we are to sympathize with our brothers, what does that mean? It means that I must identify myself with these people who are suffering, and I must feel their pain. And as I do that, I must also be asking myself, “What can I do in word and deed to help them?” And then I must do something. That is what Peter means by “Be sympathetic, love as brothers.”

In Hebrews 4:15 we find that word “sympathetic” used in reference to Jesus our great High Priest. There we read, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses. . .” What does that mean? It means that we have a high priest who is quite capable of sympathizing with our condition of weakness. And we must realize that we are not speaking of a mere feeling when we speak of Jesus sympathizing with us. The writer continues, “But we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are–yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” In other words, Jesus Christ sympathizes with our condition and does something about it. Therefore, when we go to him, he will give us grace and mercy to help us in our time of need.

As Christians, we should do the same for each other. I may have no big problems at the moment. The doctor hasn’t told me I have a heart condition or a serious disease. But I must put myself in the place of that person who has just been told that he or she has six months left to live. I must feel that person’s pain in the real sense of the term. I must pray and I must write down what God tells me to do in word and in deed to help that person, and then I must do those things. That is what brotherly love means.

We Must Demonstrate Brotherly Love

In Revelation 2 we find an account of the Lord Jesus Christ walking around, with eyes like blazing fire and feet like burnished bronze, among seven churches of Asia Minor. And Revelation 2:1-7 gives us Jesus’ observations of the church of Ephesus. What is the condition of this church? Oh, everything seemed all right. The Ephesian Christians were quite doctrinally correct. They were champions of orthodoxy. But what did Jesus say to them? “Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love,” and this is a serious issue. Jesus was not speaking about some small detail the church could quickly fix. One’s love for God and others is the very heart of the matter.

Let me tell you, orthodoxy–that is, dead orthodoxy–is not Christianity. I have seen orthodox people who have no sense of what it means to love. They are frozen, cold, and uncaring–not interested in anyone but themselves. But they are orthodox. They might turn their backs on you when they see you, but they are orthodox. In fact, they can eloquently describe their theological position, as this church of Ephesus no doubt could.

But Jesus looked into the very hearts of these people with his eyes that are like blazing fire. What did he conclude? “You have forsaken your first love.” In other words, he was telling these people, “You have fallen from a very high place of love for God and of your brothers that once characterized you just like the church of the Hebrews had done. Yes, you are still coming together, you are still singing, you are still praying and you are still doing everything. There is nothing wrong with what you are doing except for one thing: Your vitals are being attacked and there is no love. You have big time trouble, in other words!”

So what does the Lord Jesus Christ, the head of the church, tell these Ephesian Christians? “Remember the height from which you have fallen,” meaning they fell from the high place of brotherly love to the bottom of self-centeredness. And then what does he say? “Repent and do the things you did at first,” meaning they must come back to that position of brotherly love where they would sympathize with others, feel the pain of others, sacrifice for others, be compassionate to others, consider others better than themselves and go out of their way with their time, with their substance and with every other resource to show love for others.

Let me assure you, this is the will of God for us. And I think we all must confess our sin today. There was a time the fire of love was blazing in our hearts, and we were self-sacrificing. We went out of our way to do things for others gladly and continually. But gradually we got married, had children and began expanding our estates. We now have influence and possessions, but we have become introverted and interested only in ourselves.

Imagine the reality of the Lord Jesus Christ walking in our midst. What will he say about us? Will he say, “I don’t like it, but I will give you some time. You must remember, repent and do the things you did at first”? If so, may we heed his counsel! May we begin even today to serve our God acceptably in reverence and awe, loving our brothers as Christ would have us to do. Amen.