Hebrews Chapter 13 Verse 9

• Diverse and strange doctrine is the warning here. What constitutes strange doctrine? (And doctrine is simply a belief or set of beliefs taught by a church) That’s right! Anything outside of the Bible! Another way to translate this word strange is without knowledge! The worst come from within us! But man there are some doozies out there in the world!
• The Mormons teach that dinosaur bones came from another planet and putting on the full armor of God includes protective undies! Catholicism teaches doctrine such as the Confraternities of the Cord which states that when one wears a knotted white cord around their waist that they are protected from temptation! These are just few mild examples, certainly much more drastic instances exist! So how do we protect against diverse and strange doctrine? Know the truth!

Hebrews Chapter 13 Verses 10 – 14

• The altar of religion is inaccessible to man. It is a place of constant remembrance that man cannot fulfill the righteous standard of the law. No man can be made perfect by any man-made altar! It makes such wonderful, practical sense!

• And so it’s time to go! We had no vehicle, no method, no way…but the Way has come and His name is Jesus. The God/Man…and through Him as the altar and the High Priest, perfect and perfect, He has made a way for every sin to be forgiven of every man…so, religion…it’s been good…thanks for all you’ve shown me…but it’s time to go…

• “Go out of the camp” the Holy Spirit proclaims and this is a requirement of those who would experience communion with God the Father through the Son. This is a requirement for those whose citizenship is in heaven. The place of permanence and perfection…we must exit the camp!
• Now the camp speaks of the wilderness. Jerusalem is a city, right? So the camp, the altar…these things speak of the wilderness…wandering about, going in circles, coming back to the tent altar day after day performing religious rites and duties…Paul explained to the Colossians that in that model the flesh is not defeated…so here’s the secret, here’s the truth…found in that word camp…that word can also be translated castle…
• Used ten times in the Bible this word speaks not only of the castle and kingdom of this world which man sold to Satan but it also speaks of the law…the Ten Commandments handed down by God to man that no man can live up to on their own…but Jesus said that through Him we are more than a conqueror! Through Him there is nothing we cannot do! Jesus said that the whole law is fulfilled in this…loving the Lord with all your heart soul mind and strength and loving others as yourselves!!!
• So how do we exit this castle of the flesh?   This realm of the enemy and evil? How do we depart the castle of the law and go outside the gate? How do we move forward? We press in to Jesus! That is how the lust is defeated! The anger is defeated! The addiction is defeated! The foolishness of the flesh is crushed…it’s done daily…and day in and day out you become stronger being transformed into the very image, the reflection of the Son of God going from glory to glory 2 Cor 3:18 tells us!

Hebrews Chapter 13 Verse 15

• How easy it is to complain and yet how important and telling it is if we are thankful and God honoring with our lips instead…

Hebrews Chapter 13 Verses 16 - 17

• Just one note here. In ministering the Word of God I have heard this statement, once quite recently, “Who are you to tell me how I should ______,” fill in the blank? Not much grieves me much more directly than a statement like that. That’s a cut that turns into a scar. It almost never goes away. Because in that statement I hear, “I know what’s best…not you, and not God.” Not that I’m God, certainly not but neither I nor any servant of Jesus minister for personal gain. I have nothing to gain from you doing what I want! And so all that I advise, all that I direct is in accordance with the Word of God! I’m not peddling opinions here…
• The grief that overshadows my heart when someone is blinded by pride or lust or fear is immense. Why? Because I know what is coming. Great tragedy. Quite frankly it is much easier to win souls than it is to watch out for them. And when consequence of foolishness occurs, when the tragedy hits, or the loneliness hits, or the loss hits, the waste hits…guess what happens…they come back for encouragement…that is a hard place for me…because encouragement doesn’t help. All that will help is brokenness…and what a gift that is!

Hebrews Chapter 13 Verses 18 – 25

• This is the point of the book, the point of salvation, the point of the cross…to make you complete. The idea in the Greek is the same as setting a broken bone, or mending a torn net…it is the idea to outfit a ship in preparation for a voyage or to equip an army for battle…where would you be if you ceased slapping His healing hand away from your fractured understanding and foolish pride? The broken rottenness in each of our bones?
• Where would you be if you stopped fishing with torn nets and let Him mend them? Where would you be if you rejected the idea of setting out each day without being prepared by God? Where would you be if you stopped running into battles against the flesh unarmed?
• From the thorough explanation of the New Testament, the New Covenant and the truth of Jesus Christ in the first ten chapters, to an exhortation towards faith in chapter 11, then to a proclamation of hope in chapter 12 and finally to the highest calling in chapter 13 for us to fight for love…the writer ends with the seal of our God…grace with us all. Not just as fact, but as a plea…