Unless the LORD builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the LORD guards the city, The watchman keeps awake in vain. (NASB) Ps. 127:1   There is no room here for “rights” but only for “thankfulness.”        Call To Submit. The Holy Spirit’s next mark of a mature Christian is willingness to submit to leadership.     Obey your leaders, and submit to them; for they keep watch over your souls, as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you. (NASB) Heb. 13:17   This one is often misunderstood and abused. There are two key words we need to look at“obey” and “submit.” The Greek word for “obey” is PEITHO which means “to be persuaded.” It is the opposite of being forced. The Greek word for “submit” is HPEIKO which means “to yield” or “to give way.” When we put it all together, the passage is talking about being persuaded of the truth and yielding to leaders. The passage has the idea of not fighting with our leaders but submitting to their teaching and their spiritual guidance. This is necessary for the health of the local church.      But there are times when we should not be cooperative. This is explained by the word, “watch,” which comes from the Greek word AGRUPNEO. It is a combination of two Greek words which mean “to search” and “sleep.” Taken together they mean ‘to search for sleep,” “to be sleepless,” or “to be so constantly on guard.” Did you notice that the Holy Spirit has assumed that the leadership team is sleeplessly watching out for you? When the Holy Spirit calls you to obey and submit, He assumes that the leaders are sacrificing themselves for you. A pastor once told me that when he started work in the morning he “put on his pastoral hat.” Now I reacted to the phrase “put on his pastoral hat.” He was not a sleepless leader eagerly watching over souls. A mature Christian submits to sleepless spiritual oversight.      Call To Prayer. The final mark of a mature Christian is one who prays for others.     Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a good conscience, desiring to conduct ourselves honorably in all things. And I urge you all the more to do this, that I may be restored to you the sooner. (NASB) Heb. 13:18-19   We are called to a life of prayer not just for ourselves but for others, as well. Prayer is a wonderful time to offer the sacrifice of praise to God and to lovingly support others. Prayer is an expression of love for others.      Conclusion. Hebrews has been a hard hitting book. It has been a very serious book since it deals with our souls. If you are not sure that you are a Christian, Jesus is asking you to make sure. He simply asks you to trust Him for the forgiveness of your sins. If you are a Christian, the Holy Spirit is calling you to become a mature Christian.          In Hebrews 5:11-14 we discovered that the marks of a mature Christian were missing from these dear people. In the final chapters of Hebrews, God calls them to faith and then on to maturity. That is the ultimate goal of Hebrews - a mature Christian.     Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. (NASB) Heb. 13:20-21   Dr. J. Vernon McGee summarizes the purpose of the book of Hebrews with,     We have been told, “Let us go on to perfection.” He means for us to go on to maturation, to being full-grown children of God. It is marvelous to admire a little baby in the crib, but if you come back in twenty years and he/she is still lying there saying, “Da-da-da,” something is radically wrong. There are many saints who need to come to maturation, to grow up, and the Epistle of Hebrews will help them to do that.                 < Back
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