HEBREWS 13:9

The Bible says in Hebrews 13:9 “Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein.” This is a very important verse to understand. It is a serious warning against “strange doctrines.” The word that is translated “strange” comes from a word which means “foreign.” It is a strange doctrine if it is different from or foreign to the doctrines of the New Testament. Of course, the way to be prepared to identify these strange doctrines is to make sure that you know the true doctrines very well. If you understand the New Testament in great detail, and if your understanding has been given to you by the Lord, then you will be prepared to recognize the strange doctrines. The reason that so many people have fallen into false doctrine in these last days is because people have not been students of the Bible the way that they should have been.

Hebrews 13:7 told us to only remember the teachers “who have spoken unto you the Word of God.” There are many other teachers who do not speak the Word of God. It says in First John 2:18, “Little children, it is the last time; and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists.” These false teachers are the source of all of the strange doctrines, and there are many people listening to them. Why do so many people listen to the false teachers? We already gave one reason: the fact that people have not studied well enough the true doctrines to be able to recognize the false. Another reason that people so readily listen to false teachers is that false teacher are often very good speakers, and they have a pleasing and entertaining way of speaking. The Bible says in Romans 16:17-18, “Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.” They are good speakers: very good speakers. If you do not know the Word of God, you will enjoy hearing them. Jesus said in Mark 13:22-23, “For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall show signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect. But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things.” One reason that people are willing to listen to these false prophets is that people have “itching ears” whereby they want someone to tell them what is false. These people do not want the truth. They want someone who will tell them what they want to hear.

Notice that Hebrews 13:9 says that believers can be “carried about” by the strange doctrines. In other words the teachings that you listen to will have a very important part in what direction you go in life. In one way or another every person is “carried about” by the philosophies and ideas that they have accepted. That is because thoughts are followed by actions. If you receive the proper teachings from someone who speaks forth the Word of God, then your heart will be “established with grace.” If you understand the Word of God, then you know that it has grace as a major theme. No one can be saved without grace. No one can walk with Christ without grace. Believers are totally dependent upon grace every day of their lives. Grace includes all of the thousands of things that God does for us every day of our lives. As long as God showers His grace upon me, then everything will be fine.

Anyone who thinks they are relying upon their own efforts and abilities in serving God, does not understand the Biblical teaching about the grace of God. Paul wrote in First Corinthians 15:10, “But by the grace of God I am what I am…” The Bible says in Romans 6:14, “…for ye are not under the law, but under grace.” Paul wrote in Second Corinthians 9:8, “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.” The Apostle Peter wrote in Second Peter 1:2, “Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord.” The Bible says that grace comes through knowing God and Jesus. Grace comes through a relationship with Him, and through the knowledge that comes from studying the Word of God. The more that you truly understand and think about the Word of God; the more that you will know an experience God’s grace.

Hebrews 13:9 says, “established with grace.” To be established means to be strengthened: to be made firm. You will not become established by law. You will not become established by works. You will not become established by discipline. You will only become established by God’s grace. God giving to you freely through Christ what you cannot do for yourself is how to become established. Reading God’s Word in spirit and in truth is how to become more established in the grace of God. That is because God’s grace is channeled into you through faith, and “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” If you listen to other teachings that are different from the Word of God, those teachings will tear you down. They will weaken you. They will take you away from the grace of God. Most of the denominations of our day have many teachers who fall into this category. They teach, but they do not speak forth the Word of God. They speak, but they do not expound the grace of God. Therefore, most teachings in most churches “have not profited them that have been occupied therein.” Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word of God.” If you have teachers who are not speaking froth the Word of God, they are wasting your time. And at worst, they are leading you astray.

In Hebrews 13:10 the Holy Spirit is still teaching us about the false teachers, and it says, “We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle.” Who were those who “serve the tabernacle?” They were the Jewish leaders who had rejected Christ. They symbolize the religious leaders of today who teach a religion of works, and who know nothing about the grace that comes by faith in Jesus Christ. The false teachers “serve the tabernacle.” In other words they are involved in the ceremonies of religion, but they do not know the Truth.

The “alter” of the Christian is to bow at the feet of Christ and to worship Him in spirit and in truth because He is God. Why is it that those who serve the tabernacle have “no right” at the altar of Christians? That is because God wants His believers to reject the false teachers. It says in Romans 16:17, “…mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned, and avoid them.” It says in Second John verses 7 and 10, “For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist…If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed.”

In speaking of the animal sacrifices that were made by the false teachers in the Jewish temple, the Bible says in Hebrews 13:11, “For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned without the camp.” The phrase to be especially noticed in this verse is “without the camp.” It speaks of being separated from or isolated from everyone else. Someone who is “without the camp” is rejected. That was one of the things that Jesus suffered in His life upon this earth. The most social of all the social beings, God, walked this earth and was cast out from the company of men. Hebrews 13:12 says, “Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate.” That is why Jesus was crucified outside of the city of Jerusalem. There is an important symbolism there. Isaiah 53:3 says, “He was despised and rejected of men.” It says in John 1:10-11, “He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not.” One of the reasons that we should not love the world is because the world does not love Christ. It says in First John 2:15 “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”

If you are going to serve Jesus in this world, you must understand that you are called to live in a way that is similar to His life. Jesus said, “The servant is not greater than his Lord.” The people of the world are of a different spirit than the people of God. What is there in common with reference to them and with reference to us: nothing. Those who would please man cannot please God. You cannot serve God and man. It says in Hebrews 13:13, “Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach.” This verse implies that Jesus is without the camp even now. That is why the name of Christ is hated by the world. That is why the world always finds new ways to look down upon true faith in Christ. In order to walk with Jesus, we must walk where He walks and He walks “without the camp.” Every Christian will eventually face situations just like Peter did at the trial of Christ. Will you stand with Jesus or will you warm your hands with the wicked in their camp? Human beings do not like to be reproached by other human beings. That is a hard thing to take, especially when you are trying to do the right thing and treat others properly. In order to be willing to take it, you must love Christ and be close to Him.

Hebrews 13:14 gives us another reason to be willing to bear the reproach of Christ in this world. It says, “For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.” The words that are translated “no continuing city” means literally: “no city that remains.” One thing about the world is that it is temporary and everything in it is temporary. The cities are definitely temporary. Human history proves that. Every great civilization has ended in ruin and destruction. Every single one has been temporary. When we look to the future we also know that the cities of this world are temporary. Some day there will be a great city that will rule the world. Some people think that the city will be the capital of a revived Roman Empire. It will be ruled by the antichrist with great power, but that city also will come to its end. Speaking of the destruction of that city, the Bible says in Revelation 18:16-19, “And saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls! For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and a many as trade by sea, stood afar off, And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city! And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! For in one hour is she made desolate.”

Hopefully, if you call yourself a Christian, the city that you love and that you look forward to living in is the one described in Revelation chapter 21. It says in Revelation 21:10-11, “And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear a crystal.” And it says in Revelation 21:18-23, “And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, crysolyte; the eigth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a crysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelveth, an amethyst. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls: every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was of pure gold, as it were transparent glass. And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the lamb is the light thereof.”

Some day you may stand at the death-bed of a dear loved-one. If they know Jesus, you can have this consolation as they leave you: they are going to that beautiful city, the only city that remains forever. For all who go there, it will only be because of Jesus and we will thank Him forever.

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