6.10.24

This week we are looking at the last couple of verses of chapter 12 and the first 9 verses of chapter 13. And it seems like an abrupt and sudden change of direction. He’s been talking for chapters about how to deal with suffering and hardships - and how keeping our eyes on Jesus is the key to not only survival, but to thriving in a shaken world.

But suddenly he begins to talk about community, and the essential need of being part of a robust community of people who have experienced the gospel. So why the sudden shift in topic? Well, it’s actually not a shift. But it’s a part of his continuing argument. And essentially what he’s saying here is, here is how we receive a kingdom that cannot be shaken. If you are going to make it in this hard life, you need a deep, robust community of others who have experienced - and are experiencing - the amazing grace of God.

The chapter divisions in our Bible are arbitrary and were added later. And so the connection between the end of chapter 12 and the beginning of chapter 13 is easily lost. And what the author says is, that our God is a consuming fire. The consuming fire he talked about earlier in the chapter, when the people of God were traumatized with fear as Moses was meeting with God on Mt. Sinai, because of what Jesus has done, that consuming fire no longer fills us with fear, but actually indwells us in the fiery presence of his Spirit.

The argument of the writer in chapter 12 has been that, because of the life and death of Jesus for us, the presence of God can now come directly into our lives. And so the question now arises, “So how do we worship God acceptably now?” In the Old Testament, worshipping God acceptably meant to keep all the rituals, eat the right foods, wear the right clothes, making the right sacrifices. But because of Jesus - what is the new way for us to worship God acceptably?

And his answer is: community! Love one another as brothers and sisters. Show hospitality to strangers. Care for those in prison. And what all this means for us is simply this: the new way that we now worship God acceptably is through Christian community. And we experience God, not through outward rituals, but through being in community with others who have also experienced his grace.

This is how we show the world the glory of God. It’s not in living a good moral life. It doesn’t come through cleaning ourselves up and maintaining a good testimony. But it’s comes through radical new relationships between brothers and sisters in the church. Attending a church is important. But digging in deep with community is essential if we are going to be able to experience and display the consuming-fire presence of God in our lives.