(A) Introduction

The final exhortations of this great epistle are about the Christian's objective and how this might be achieved.

(B) The Christian's Objective.

The Christian's objective is summarised in verse 21. We are to do God's will and please Him. That is a key request of the Lord's Prayer: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed by your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Mt6v9and10. If we please God we shall be the sort of person that He can take a pride in. Remember God's words to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. Job1v8. It would be something if God could speak equally well of us.

A loving Son wants to be a credit to his father. When Thomas More was Lord Chancellor of England he often passed through the Court of Westminster where his father worked as a judge. He would always stop and kneel before his father to ask his blessing before continuing on his way. Our Heavenly Father loves us but we do well to kneel in his presence to ask his blessing upon our lives and for help to live worthy of our calling.

(C) How we are helped to achieve our Objective

(a)By those that keep watch over us

(1) The name given to a Christian leader is 'elder'. It is helpful to look at the appointment, qualifications and role of the very first elders instigated by Moses. They were capable men who feared God who were given authority to: teach God's laws, show men the right way to live, remind the people of their duties and settle disputes. They exercised authority under Moses. See Exodus18.

The Christian elder exercises his authority under Christ as he helps men and women do God's will and walk the way that leads to life.

(2) The Christian leader does this by watching. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. It is very significant that a church leader is not called a priest, a rabbi or teacher, a prophet or preacher, but an elder or pastor. A shepherd or pastor does a lot of watching. He is concerned for the welfare of the flock as a whole and individual sheep in particular. The good shepherd will intervene when the welfare of the flock is in danger or just one sheep is going astray.

The elder is a bit like a lieutenant in charge of a platoon of soldiers. The aim of the lieutenant is to make his platoon effective in action. To do this he will need to give instruction to all his men. He will be concerned that his group of men work as a unit. They will need to take collective action. The lieutenant also watches each of his men. Some will need encouragement or reassurance, others discipline and a few correction. If the lieutenant does his job properly his platoon will be an efficient fighting unit.

It is possible to be a good preacher or a skilful teacher without being an elder. The elder is not detached. He keeps watch over the group of Christians he has responsibility for. He accepts responsibility for them whereas a teacher or preacher may not. The elder is concerned about how each in his church relate to one another and to what extent the group as a whole and individuals in particular are fighting the good fight of faith.

(3) The Christian leader's authority over us only extends to helping us to do God's will and to please Him. It is a limited authority - just as a school teacher's is. The teacher can tell his pupils with confidence to stop gossiping in lessons or to do their homework. However he cannot tell a boy what friends to have or a girl what football team to support with much expectation of being obeyed.

So a Christian leader can tell a young convert not to marry a non-Christian but he cannot tell the convert whom to marry. Heavy discipleship is very wrong. There are pastors who want to control every aspect of the lives of their flock. They should aim to be like Jesus who although strict on some things like: status, wealth, hypocrisy, lack of faith, worldliness and the fear of man - was very easy going about other aspects of life. He didn't say anything much about politics, diet, the environment, or animal welfare. Nor does he give us a list of doctrines to believe! Paul writes to the Galatians: It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Gal5v1. You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. v13. There has to be a balance between the freedom we enjoy in Christ and the need to serve one another in love. It is the elder's responsibility to maintain that balance.

(4) The Christian leader should be obeyed when discharging his duty. The church functions as a family or as a body. It is only healthy and effective in unity. The leader has to ensure that the health of the body is not threatened by the waywardness of its members. The members have a responsibility to respect and obey the leadership when the well being of the church is at stake.

I know from my experience as a teacher the joy of being respected and obeyed by a whole class. I also know the misery of struggling with disobedient, disruptive, children who make the work a burden. The classes that benefited most from my teaching were the ones that submitted to my authority because with them I was at my best and gave my best.

So it is in the church. No one benefits from unruly, lawless, behaviour. The elders are stressed and unhappy. Their ministry is joyless and a burden. How different when the leadership is respected and obeyed. Everyone is helped to live in the will of God and to please him. The under shepherds will be able to present a well fed, healthy, and contented flock to the Great Shepherd to whom they are accountable.

(b) By Prayer
The writer asks the Hebrew Christians to: Pray for us. v18. Prayer helps the Christian to:


(1) Do what is right - to have a clear conscience.
(2) Live honourably in every way - at church, work and play.
(3) Enjoy the benefits of fellowship. The writer wants to be restored to fellowship with his readers. See verse 19. That is one of the reasons we pray for the sick and infirm - that they may be able to meet with God's people again.

So prayer helps us to do God's will and to please him. There are special times when we need to pray for ourselves and our brothers and sisters need to pray for us. This does mean we are open with one another. Many Christians do not get the prayers to help them do what is right and live honourably in everyway because they do not share their problems. We need prayer before we make difficult decisions - like changing job, giving up office in the church, or leaving the church. Problems at work should be prayed over. If someone is giving us a hard time and we do not know how to remedy the situation prayer will bring enlightenment. Perhaps there is someone we need to forgive but we don't know how. It is a matter for pray. Very rarely does anyone bring up these sorts of concerns in a prayer meeting. Why not? Don't we believe in the efficacy of prayer? Are we so self sufficient and buttoned up that we are unable to ask brothers and sisters to deal with these personal matters in prayer. I am afraid we are. A couple in our church used to pray regularly that I would keep my temper. That is the sort of prayer we need. I was glad of it.

The dear apostle Paul was open. He wore his heart on his sleeve. He makes a list of his problems in his second letter to Timothy - disloyalty, loneliness, the cold, lack of reading material, the hatred of his enemies and the lack of support at his trial. See 2Tim4v9to18. I have not doubt that Timothy, John Mark and the whole church Ephesus prayed to Paul's advantage.

(c) By God himself
The writer believes that God will equip us with everything good for doing his will and will work in us what is pleasing to him. v21. So God himself plays the crucial part in our service and our spiritual development. He can be relied upon to do this because he has shown his commitment to us:


(1) He has made peace with us. God has agreed, and it is the ultimate agreement or eternal covenant, to save us because of the blood shed, the sacrifice made, by Jesus.

(2) He brought back from the dead OUR Lord Jesus. In raising Jesus God restored to us, for our help and benefit, the Great Shepherd of the sheep. In raising Jesus the Good Shepherd became the Great Shepherd.

If God be for us who can be against us?
God our help in ages past our hope for years to come.
ANY COMMENTS FOR JOHN REED: E-mail jfmreed@talktalk.net

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