PEACE IN THIS LIFE

HEBREWS 13:17–25

May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing His will, and may He work in us what is pleasing to Him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen

(Hebrews 13:20–21).

As the author of Hebrews closes his letter, he continues to encourage his readers to pursue the things that will help them enter more deeply into the peace of God’s sabbath rest. In verse 17 he tells us to obey our leaders and submit to their authority. The idea of obeying and submitting to the elders in the church is obnoxious to most American Christians. Americans don’t submit to anybody, unless they are in military service. There are many men who insist that their wives submit to them, but who won’t submit to their pastors in anything.

Submitting to the elders does not mean just going to church and giving your money. It means that when the elders make a decision you don’t like, you allow them to make that decision because God has put them in office and has not put you there. We are told to obey them as commanders of God’s new army, so that they may be happy and relaxed in their work. If they are unhappy, that is not good for the church, and our lives will suffer. If there is any command that modern evangelical Christians need to hear and heed, this is it. The church will make no progress until Christians recover a genuine respect for the authorities God has set up in the church.

Peace in the church comes from order, as we have just seen. It also comes from prayer. Prayer keeps the entire body keyed in to the ultimate Authority and Head of the church. Also, we can afford to submit to the elders because we have the privilege of taking matters to God in prayer (vv. 18–19).

The author provides his prayer for us in verses 20–21. He calls God the God of peace, or, in terms of this letter’s theology, the God of sabbath. God has raised Jesus from the dead. And if He has done that, He will do anything necessary to bring His work to completion. Why would God raise Jesus and then leave the church impotent and useless in history? Clearly, God is ready to give us everything we need to do His will.

But because of our sinful hearts, we need to have our attitudes continually adjusted. Thus, not only will God give us what we need to obey Him, He will also work in our hearts to make us more and more into the image of His son, Jesus.

CORAM DEO

Psalms 146–150

Christianity teaches that God is our Father and the church is our mother. A mother has real authority, so when your elders make a decision, regard it as coming from the Lord unless it blatantly contradicts Scripture. God will usually back up His elders. If we rebel, we will answer to Him.

For further study: 1 Peter 2:13–25; 3:8–9; 5:1–11