Proclaiming our allegiance to His name: Hebrews 13:15-16

Proclaiming our allegiance to His name

Hebrews 13:15-16 CSB

15 Therefore, through him let us continually offer up to God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name. 16 Don’t neglect to do what is good and to share, for God is pleased with such sacrifices. 

Therefore always points to what was said before. As the writer of Hebrews has pointed again and again to the supremacy of Jesus Christ, the only right action is to proclaim our allegiance to Jesus. It is a foolish thing to chase after this world and to chase after being comfortable. Regardless of what suffering or hardship we will face, compared to eternity it will be for a moment.

            Therefore, let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God. The word continual here means all, any, every, the whole:—all (manner of, means), alway (-s), any (one), × daily, + ever, every (one, way), as many as, + no (-thing), × throughly, whatsoever, whole, whosoever[1]. We are called to bring praises to Jesus Christ daily. Every moment of every day can be a place of worship. Our very lives are to be a temple of The Holy Spirit and in all that we do we are called to honor and glorify Jesus Christ. Why should we bring continually the sacrifice of praise, because of what the Lord has done for us. It is easy to worship and sing praises to the Lord when things are going well and are comfortable. But when things are hard and difficult with when we truly bring the sacrifice of praise. Our greatest weapon and tool to overcome hardship and the opposition of the enemy is to praise through the storm.

            That is, the fruit of lips that confess his name. At the name of Jesus every knee shall bow. At the name of Jesus, the sick are healed and those who are oppressed by the devil are set free. At the name of Jesus is found all authority in God’s kingdom. Through every storm and every hardship may we confess His name. May we confess His name over every disease and every situation. Regardless of what we face our God is greater. Jesus demonstrated His authority over death, sin, and the grave through all that took place at Calvary. When we confess the name of Christ over our lives and situations daily, we are reminded of our victory in Him. One of the enemy’s greatest weapons is discouragement and may we confess the name of Jesus Christ over discouragement every time discouragement rises up and rears its ugly head.

            Don’t neglect to do what is good and to share, for God is pleased with such sacrifices. The word good is the Greek word ĕupŏiïa and it means well doing, i.e. beneficence:—to do good.[2] As followers of Jesus Christ our lives are to be marked by the goodness and charity of the Lord. We are called to seek the good for all people. Regardless of how people are to treat us, we are called to love them sacrificially. Is this easy? No. Nothing about the Christian life is easy and it cannot be accomplished in our own strength or power. But regardless of what we face we are called to do good and to share.

            The writer of Hebrews says for God is pleased with such sacrifices. It requires great sacrifice to do good and share when things are hard and difficult. The original audience desired to abandon ship and turn their backs on Christ. But the solution is not to abandon and run from Christ, the solution is to pursue Jesus Christ in an even greater way. As we abide in Him, His grace and strength are sufficient for all things. Regardless of what we face the Lord will see us through. We are simply called to live for Jesus on a moment-by-moment basis. Our relationship with Him is not dependent on our feelings or own personal thoughts in the moment. Our relationship with Him is based on His finished work at Calvary and the unchanging truth of His word.

Prayer

Father help me to be the son or daughter you have called me to be. Help me to lay down simply pursuing comfort in this world and to truly pursue your heart. Help me to see things as you see them. Help me to rely on your grace more and more. Deliver me of every lie and deception of the enemy. Draw me ever closer to you in the midst of every storm and trial. Strengthen me each day by your grace and your power. In the name of Jesus, Amen!

[1] James Strong, A Concise Dictionary of the Words in the Greek Testament and The Hebrew Bible (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2009), 56.

[2] James Strong, A Concise Dictionary of the Words in the Greek Testament and The Hebrew Bible (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2009), 33.