Urgent Exhortation

 ​Hebrews 13:22 Brothers, I urge you to bear with my word of exhortation, for I have written you only a short letter.
 
THE Hebrews writer urges the church to bear with his words of exhortation. He urges them to listen to what he has written and to live into these truths of God. Some of us may feel this urging is too forceful. We don’t like to be exhorted to listen. Can’t we decide for ourselves what to believe? No, we can’t when it comes to God’s truth. What’s the point of teaching and preaching if we can waiver on what is true?
   It is a matter of life and death to understand who Jesus is. We don’t have the capacity on our own to know God. We need good teachers and preachers to exhort us into the Christian life.
   And this is gooc! When you look at the root meanings of “urging” and “exhortation” you will discover the writer is saying, “I invite you to listen with intensity.”
   When Jesus used “invite” in his teachings, he was intensely urging us to pay attention to those with great needs. For example, he said in Luke 14:13 “But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed.” The invitation is grace. It is an act of mercy and compassion to offer comfort to those with such great needs. But what happens if those invited do not listen intensely? They will miss the banquet.  
   That’s Hebrews’ point. He urges them to not miss the life-giving truth he has invited them to know. He has taken time in a short letter to teach the primacy of Jesus Christ among all creation. He has urged the church to see the Old Covenant sacrifices as illustrations of the New Covenant sacrifice through Jesus, the Son of God. The church has heard they must meet regularly and to fix their eyes on Jesus. Hebrews has given the church a taste of the heavenly banquet, ready for them to enjoy. The time has come to partake of the meal. He hopes they have gained a good appetite for the truth of Jesus Christ. He urges them to be ready and willing to fully engage in the salvation banquet Jesus offers to them.
   Mankind has great needs. Our Lord wants us to hunger and thirst for righteousness. If we do we will be filled (from Matthew 5:6) Pay attention to what is good for you. Reject the things that are wrong. Understand the way to Jesus and avoid the poisonous false teachers. There is no room for error when it comes to your salvation. The teaching and the hearing of God’s Word must be an intense intersection of truth.