Sacrifice, Submission, and Supplication: A Look at Biblical Church Life - Hebrews 13:15-19

I recently talked with the mother of a young teenager, both of whom attend a church in this area.  In the course of the conversation, the mom mentioned that sometimes it is discouraging to go to a small church.  “Sometimes,” she said, “there are only fifteen people there.  And there really isn’t much of a youth group.  But I like their contemporary music.  What kind of music do you have at your church?”

I could see this was going to go nowhere.  But I told her we have a blend of contemporary and traditional music and an excellent pianist.  I didn’t get a chance to tell her how our music is selected each week according to the text that will be preached so that our music isn’t simply supplemental, but a part of our worship experience each week.  I didn’t say much about the youth group thing.  But it did make an impression on me that her first concerns were music style and programs for her teenaged daughter.  It has been my experience, and I believe my experience is typical, that the vast majority of people who go to church consider those two things to be at or near the top of their church-search priority list: what kind of music do you have, and what do you have for my kids?

How do you feel about those things?  Do you sometimes wish our church was larger so we could have a worship band and a youth program for all ages?  Do you feel that those are the most important things a church needs to provide for believers?

There are a lot of texts in the New Testament that address the matter of what church should look like.  Contemporary worship styles and youth programs are not mentioned very often in the Bible.  I don’t believe they are mentioned directly at all.  If those two issues are typically the preeminent factors in choosing a church, then that would explain at least some of the reason why Grace Fellowship is not larger.  We don’t have those things.  Therefore most evangelicals who are looking for a church would be seriously disappointed if they visited our church, or other small churches like ours.

I attended a pastor’s luncheon in Mifflintown on Friday and spoke with several other pastors from our association.  One pastor mentioned his concern that his small church needed to start a youth program soon.  I do not think that youth programs (or worship bands, for that matter) are wrong.  I just don’t think you can make a case for either of them being the major thrust of a church’s ministry from the scriptures.  I was tempted to say to him that we don’t have a youth group because I’m still trying to establish an adult group in my church.  But I didn’t.

I want to look at one small snapshot in Hebrews in regard to this idea of what a biblical church should look like.  There are other places in the New Testament where we could read in much more detail about church leadership, or the exercise of spiritual gifts within the body, or how to administer church discipline.  But in our text today, we see three aspects of church life that are seldom emphasized.  The writer of Hebrews seemed to think these three things were worthy of mention.  They are sacrifice, submission, and supplication.  Let’s read Hebrews 13:15-19.

15 Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. 16 But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

17 Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.

18 Pray for us; for we are confident that we have a good conscience, in all things desiring to live honorably. 19 But I especially urge you to do this, that I may be restored to you the sooner.

We ended last week in verse 14 by talking about our sure hope of heaven.  Like the Jewish Christians of the first century, our hope is not in an earthly Jerusalem or an earthly kingdom of Israel.  Rather, we seek the world to come, and the heavenly city, the New Jerusalem.  The apostle Peter said that in accordance with the Lord’s promise, “we . . . look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.” (2 Peter 3:13, NKJV).  Since that is our hope, Hebrews 13:15 tells us to “continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to God.”

A sacrifice is an act of worship.  The Jews were to bring sacrifices to the Temple on a regular basis as part of their worship of God, and those sacrifices took various forms.  There were grain offerings and several different kinds of animal sacrifices.  But all of those sacrifices were the product, or the fruit of someone’s labor.

Here in verse 15, we are told that in response to the sure promise of heaven we have been given, we are to continually express thankful praise to God “by [or through] Him.”  In other words, we should be perpetually grateful and tell God that we are so.  The heaven that we look forward to, that has been secured for all who believe, by means of Christ’s sacrifice for us, should cause us to offer a sacrifice of praise to Him.  We are to bring to Him, as it were, “the fruit of our lips” as a sacrifice.  What is the fruit of our lips?  What is it that our lips produce?  Words.  In this case, they should be words of praise to a gracious God.

Some churches make much of praise.  They have what is often referred to as “praise and worship teams” that consist of musicians and singers that lead the congregation to presumably praise and worship God.  That is wonderful, and it should be a part of the daily life of every Christian to speak the praise of God, if not in song, at least in words of prayer.  Much of that praise should be the expression of gratitude to God.

For what are you grateful to God?  Besides good health.  Or a good job.  Or a loving spouse.  Or your children.  Or to be an American citizen.  I mean, after we all state that we are grateful for all the standard stuff we enjoy, what is it that you are most grateful to God for?  I DID NOT SAY, what is it that you SHOULD be most grateful for, but what ARE you most grateful for.  For the Christian, when he is asked for what is he grateful, there should be absolutely no hesitation, no lag time, no careful pondering, not even a second of pause.  Praise to God for our great and mighty Savior should be on the tip of our tongues and ready to be expressed continually.  We are most grateful above all other things combined, for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  If that is not your immediate response to the question, and if it is not your regular practice in church and at home to express your gratitude to God for His Son, then you should examine yourself and decide if you really understand the Gospel.

Thankful praise is the sacrifice of our lips to God.  But it’s easy to sound grateful.  What other evidence is there that we really understand the Gospel?  Verse 16 says that in our giving of thankful praise to God, we must not forget another kind of sacrifice: love for one another.  We are not to forget to do good and to share.

The verse says that God is pleased with such sacrifices as doing good and sharing.  Why is doing good and sharing considered to be a kind of sacrifice?  Because if I’m doing good and sharing, I am also being selfless.  The person to whom I am performing some good is receiving a blessing from me, and according to Jesus, I am actually supposed to serve others without any thought of receiving anything in return.  That is why it is sacrificial.  It costs me to do good.  It costs time, and often it costs money.  Sacrifice is not really sacrifice if it does not cost me something.  And with these particular kinds of sacrifices of doing good and sharing, the writer says God is pleased.  In fact, He is well pleased.

Do you want to be well-pleasing to God?  Do you want to actually prove your gratitude to God and not just talk about it, or even just sing about it?  I believe what the author here may be saying is that the true believer not only sacrifices to God with his lips, but also with his hands and with his possessions.  Praise, doing good, and sharing to meet one another’s needs are all sacrifices with which we are well-pleasing to God.

So the church should be a group of people that is characterized by these kinds of sacrifice.  We have no need to bring sacrifices of animals or grain offerings.  Our sacrifices are the sacrifices of praise from a grateful heart, the sacrifices of doing good and sharing, or just loving one another and caring for each other’s needs.  If someone came and visited our church, are these the sacrifices they would see here among us?

The second thing mentioned in our text which should be a characteristic of a biblical church in addition to sacrifice is submission to church leaders.  Submission implies church membership.  Christians are supposed to voluntarily place themselves under the spiritual oversight and care of godly men.  That accomplishes two things: it promotes peace, and it places a very high premium upon spiritual maturity within the leadership of the church.

Verse 17 speaks of the weighty responsibility church leaders have.  The NKJV uses the word “rule” to describe the job of church leaders.  That may communicate more than the verse really means.  Other versions translate verse 17,

Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls (ESV).

Yield to those taking the lead of you, and submit, for they watch for your souls (Green).

Be obedient to those leading you, and be subject, for these do watch for your souls (Young).

Churches are to have mature Christians as the leaders in the congregation.  Not everyone is equal, but rather, some are given the greater responsibility of providing leadership, guidance, instruction, encouragement, and teaching for the others.  These leaders have been given the responsibility for caring for the souls of others, and because of that, they will also give an account for how they performed their duties.  James says, “My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.” (James 3:1, NKJV).  Luke 12:48 says,  For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required.

There is a higher standard to which church leaders must answer because they have more responsibility.  If that is the case, if church leaders will have to give an account for their leadership, and if they will receive a stricter judgment than those whom they lead and teach, then shouldn’t those whom they lead and serve be submissive to them for their leaders’ sakes?

A shepherd’s job is a relatively thankless job to star with, but he really doesn’t appreciate sheep who are constantly wandering off, leaving the flock, exploring the countryside and getting into trouble with wolves and lions.  That really makes the shepherd’s job a drag.  So it would certainly be beneficial to the shepherd if the sheep would just do what he says and follow where he leads.  He wants his sheep to prosper, not die.

The same thing is true in principle in the church setting.  Submission to church leaders makes their job way more pleasant.  But our text is not saying that.  Listen to the verse:

17 Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.

The writer is saying that lack of submission to church leaders is unprofitable to those who are disobedient.  Of course, it makes the pastor’s job unpleasant and difficult and discouraging, but even worse, it is unprofitable for the person who disobeys.  Disobedience to godly church leadership holds no advantage to the person disobeying.  But on the other hand, this is at least implying that obedience and submission to leaders in the church is advantageous and profitable because those whom you obey are the keepers of your souls.  They care for you.  They are charged by God with this responsibility.  And if they take that responsibility seriously, why wouldn’t you listen to them?

Sacrifice and submission are two of the characteristics of a biblical church body.  The third characteristic we see in verse 18 is prayer.  I’ve referred to it as supplication.  This is the first time in this entire letter that the author of Hebrews has spoken of himself, and of those with him.  He asks that the Christians to whom he is writing pray for him and his companions.  Do you pray for me?  Do you pray for Brendan as he prepares his Sunday School lesson each week?  Do you pray for Kathy as she picks the music and the scripture readings each week to help us sing our praises and our gratitude to God in worship?

Pray for us!  Pray for Sharon as she interprets for Robert and Bob each week.  Pray for one another as we all go through this vale of tears, as we all walk in this pilgrim journey that is filled with “many dangers, toils, and snares.”  “Pray for us!”  Pray for those things we mention each week.  Write them down on the back of your bulletin.  And, attend prayer meeting.  I believe most of you never give our weekly prayer meeting a thought.  But you should know that nearly every Thursday night, almost all of you are prayed for by name.  Pray for one another.

The author encourages the people to pray for him and his comrades because, “we are confident that we have a good conscience, in all things desiring to live honorably.”  What does he mean by that?  I think he is referring to the previous statements regarding the role of leaders in the church.  The author has apparently ministered to his readers in ways other than as a writer.  In verse 19, he speaks of being restored to them.  Obviously, he knows at least some of the people he is writing to.  Apparently, the clear conscience of the writer and those with him is the result of their faithful service to that body of believers.  Their consciences are clear that they have served well and faithfully and honorably.  Therefore, they are not only in need of prayer, but they are worthy of being prayed for by those to whom the minister.

Then finally, in verse 19 we read a somewhat curious statement:  “I especially urge you to do this [i.e. pray for us], that I may be restored to you the sooner.”  This man believes in the power of prayer!  It seems clear that their prayers could result in his visiting with them again sooner, rather than later.  It may be that he is just saying, “Pray that things will work out and the Lord will govern my situation in such a way that I will be able to come to you sooner.”  Maybe he was sick, and he was asking them to pray for his health so he could come to them sooner.

Do we actually think the Lord answers prayer?  Sometimes it seems we are hesitant to pray because of some strange understanding of God’s sovereignty, as though prayer is really not effective.  We aren’t really going to get God to do anything He wasn’t planning to do anyway!  Maybe that is true, but whatever may be the case, we are commanded to pray and it is certainly not meant to be an exercise in futility.  We ask God do work, to act, to move in our lives to accomplish His purposes, to effect change within us, and to meet our needs.  And that is exactly what He does.

How should we pray as a church?  How should you pray for your pastor?  How should we pray for each other?  The details change from week to week.  Six months ago, I would have asked you to pray very differently for me than I do today because of my physical condition.  Six months from now, my prayer requests will probably be different again.  But there are certain things we should pray for that remain constant: a deeper love for God and His people; a better understanding of His word; a more consistent walk of obedience; deliverance from evil and temptation; a greater satisfaction and contentment with God Himself; and for His saving grace and mercy in the lives of those who don’t yet know Him.  These are things we can always pray for.

Sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving, submission to those who lead you, and supplication for leaders and each other.  These are some of the most important things to look for in a church even if most believers do not consider them to be high priorities.  God does.  May the Lord work these things in us, in this congregation, so that we might be well-pleasing to Him.