Hebrews 13:1-9a

As the author begins to wrap up the letter, he gives a basic checklist of things the 'hebrew' Christians should keep in mind.

They should...

1. Love one another (1)
--It's not 'natural' to love, it's 'supernatural'
--love is a command (John 13:34)
--love is how we show we are Christians (John 13:35)
--love involves putting each other first (Romans 12:10)
--love is how we obey the law (Romans 13:8)

2. Show hospitality to guests (2)
--The guest may be an angel
--Abraham entertained an angels (genesis 18:1)
--Gideon entertained an angel (judges 6:11)

3. Remember those in prison (3)
--The prisoners in mind may have been Christians being persecuted

4. Honor the institution of marrage (4)
--We should improve ourselves before we blast others

5. Enjoy freedom from the love of money (5a)
--The love of money comes with chains
--Contentment is a key to happiness
--We tend to live beyond our means

6. Be thankful for God's prsence (5b-6)
--We already possess the greatest treasure
--Matthew 13:44-46

7. Get serious about being Christlike (7-8)
--Emulate those who are Christlike
--Don't get caught up in novelty, stick with classics

8. Be careful about strange teachings (9a)
--There are some blatently odd teachings in evangelicalism
--Other strange teachings sound deceptively wise
--The recipiants of this letter seem to have been dealing with legalistic teaching
--A lot of strange teachings simply ignores the fulfillment of Christ and focuses on OT teaching