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Hebrews 13:1
This last chapter of Hebrews opens with some instructions to the Christian. This first verse covers one of the commandments given by Jesus as He states in Matthew 22:39 (NKJV) in quoting Leviticus 19:18, “…‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” Jesus goes on in the next verse of Matthew to tie the true law of the old covenant, which was meant to be bound in one’s heart, to the law/commands of the new covenant in and through Christ Jesus; and that is, “On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 22:40).
This is a command to love one another.
Jesus not only teaches us of the new covenant through which He is the redeemer and fulfillment of the old covenant, but shows us through His teaching that the idea of the new covenant was present in the old covenant all the time. But God, in His great love and justice, is faithful, and is required in and of Himself in His own being as Almighty God to allow one to prove themselves, even if the result is that one falls flat on their face as a result. This is to show us that we are incapable of doing/earning righteousness/favor in God’s eyes. We have sin, and we cannot rid ourselves of sin. This is the story of the old covenant – to allow man to give proof of earning/doing the things in which will gain self-righteousness in the eyes of God. But, as we see throughout the Old Testament, no one was able to accomplish this – it is the proof to man that we are incapable of gaining righteousness in the eyes of God in and of ourselves.
But the new covenant in and through Christ Jesus gives us another way – a better way to receiving a cleansed conscience, which in itself is a cleansed heart (Hebrews 7:18-19; 8:6). Hebrews 9:13-14 (NIV) states, “How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!”
How do we love one another? Jesus gives us the answer in the first part of the greatest commandment as He states in Matthew 22:37 (NKJV) as He quotes Deuteronomy 6:4, “‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’” Jesus follows this commandment by stating the importance of it in Matthew 22:38, “This is the first and great commandment.”
The self-centeredness of sin prevents us from loving our neighbor as ourselves. It is only through Jesus and the forgiveness that He offers us that frees us from the effects of sin that we may truly love our neighbor as ourselves. If you have never opened your heart to Jesus and asked Him to forgive you of your sins, today is the day! The Apostle Paul proclaims in Romans 10:9-10, “if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
Dear LORD,
The world is in need of brotherly love. Please help us to be the brotherly love that shows Your love to the world that they may see You in us, that You would be glorified through our lives – in Christ. In Jesus name I pray, amen.